Category: <span>The Jersey Shore</span>

About a month ago I volunteered to tell a story  for the 8th annual Storyteller’s Tellabration.   It’s been a few years since I’ve tackled this kind of creative endeavor and I’m a little nervous.

My genre of storytelling is a hybrid of personal memoir and ancient mythology.   In the past I’ve delved into ancient gods/goddesses from different cultures and I’ve always learned something important.  I’ve added some links below of stories told if you are interested.

Thanks to the internet I found my muse right away.  She was hardly known in the pantheon of gods/goddesses.of Hindu mythology.  She was called Akilandaeshvari and her name holds the key to understanding what she is all about.  In Sanskrit, Aki is Universe, lan is ruler, and deshvari is Goddess…………..she is the Goddess who Rules the Universe and her powers are unmatched by any other.  But the Sanskrit also says something else.  Akilanda can be  also translated as Never-Not-Broken.  She is the Goddess of Never-Not-Broken.  Reconciling those two translations took a bit of meditation and contemplation. Within days my obsession took over and I researched and read and tried to paint the image I found of her.

I looked at all the places where I was broken, physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually.  Slowly as I came to understand her story and the symbolism I could see why Never-Not-Broken = Ruler of the Universe.  As a life long yogini I have learned what it means to ’embody’ something.   I watched my self *embody* Ahkilandaeshvari.

Her story teaches us about resilience and how with each break, crack, rupture, trauma, crisis, catastrophe we survive, we become stronger.

I suspect that her fame will grow during these turbulent times we are living in.  The way she rides the crocodile down a raging river is a lesson in itself.

…to be continued

Here’s an invite to our Tellebration if you want to come.

Divine Dramas………

More Divine Dramas – Daghda’s Harp

 

Ancient Wisdom StoryTelling The Jersey Shore Yoga

Many years ago I had the pleasure of working at the NJ Center for the Healing Arts. A wonderful group of various therapists, psycho-, massage-, art-, and other practitioners of the alternative/complementary arts/sciences all worked under one roof. The founder had a vision for how to treat mental illness in today’s society. She was a beacon of light to many and I applaud her for her accomplishments and the ripple effect of healing & inspiration she provided to the whole community, clients, and the world-at-large.   I was honored to offer astrological & feng shui consultations along with some hatha & dancing yoga classes during my early years studying yoga therapy.  It was a rich time.

While there, it was clear that much of the physical space was dedicated to art….The walls were filled with paintings painted by past & present clients.  Every now and then new ones would appear.  I loved peeking into the art room to see them in action.   It never occurred to me that art or painting or drawing could be therapeutic, or healing, or anything other than a means to an end, a picture upon which lots of opinions/judgements might be heaped.  “I like it” I hate it” etc.    Of course, I proved myself naive, again, it happens a lot.

Anyway, today  it’s nearly two decades later and I’m excited to be working around art again.  It’s in a different context, of course, but after such a long time learning & practicing integrative yoga therapy I’m comfortable teaching whever the winds blow me.

Anything can be therapized these days and that’s maybe a good thing?  It acknowledges that we all need healing.  All of us.   Everybody.  This is something I know to be true.

And, the kind of healing that occurs when we fully engage in a process that eliminates words can be felt thru and thru.  It has to do with how the hemisphere’s of the brain are organized.  Healing, though, is not a right-side/left-side experience, but rather what happens naturally when balance is acheived.  This is what yoga/meditation teaches us.  That amazing blissful state that occurs after one does some focused hatha practice, is the same calm, blissful state that occurs when we’re in the zone of: artistic expression, dance practice,, or musical harmonies & rhythms.

That zone, that particular kind of present moment is a very seductive state of being, and once you’ve experienced it your entire being becomes engaged with trying to have the experience again.  The challenge & difficulty is to get there naturally, chemically & substance free.  But, I digress.  Neptune is one of the astrological significators for spiritual practice, yoga, imagination, fantasy and more.  For more keywords of Neptune go here.

On July, I’ll be facilitating a weekend of workshops on yoga & creativity at The Sanctuary.  For the *intensive* on Saturday we’ll be at a local art gallery.  I’m excited to see what happens!   Namaste.

Blogging Geometric Art Holistic Health The Jersey Shore Uncategorized Yoga Therapy

May I devote my life to learning.

May my highest self shine forth

May I uplift my soul through meditation & prayer

May I join with others to share love & truth.

 

This Sunday we’ll be practicing Metta Meditation at The Sanctuary.   Metta, or loving-kindness is one of the heavenly abodes according to Buddhist thought.  It’s a particular state of mind, of being, that is imbued with peace, love, & harmony.  It feels good.  It feels great to practice it with others.  Lot’s of others.

The spiritual practices of the east are very comforting to me. Yoga relaxes the flesh and Meditation reorganizes the mind.  Once you’ve got flesh & mind calmed down life is good.  The difficulty is that something inevitably  changes, and  peace is disturbed. When a pebble lands in the pond, the mind  alerts and the body, due to the time and culture we live in, immediately goes into fight/flight/freeze.  There’s very little pause and reflect anymore, which of course is a YUGE problem everywhere.

When we meet for metta practice, we are acknowledging that some of our life’s challenges are other people, or better said, our relationships with other people.  Metta Meditation is a way to relieve the stress of our internal conflicts with people, places, or things.

The Jersey Shore is packed, already.  It’s like it was when I was a kid.  It’s time to see with ‘new eyes’ again.

Jai Bhagwan.  Om Shanti Om.

Asbury Park Blogging Meditation The Jersey Shore

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The emphasis is still on yoga at The Sanctuary and more of you are discovering what is possible with a commitment to practice.

Kripalu Yoga & Integrative Yoga Therapy are my chosen yogic methodologies to teach.   The group classes are slow, gentle, challenging and oriented towards healing and removing the obstacles that prevent us from being fully authentic.   If you are interested in simply exercising your body, another class/teacher might be more appropriate.   Please read some of the articles on this website to gain a sense of the teachings that are offered.  I began my yoga studies in 1976, became a full-time teacher in 2000.  I teach  from decades of experience & years of training.

Group Yoga classes are multi-level and suitable for all bodies.  If you are a beginner to yoga call ahead and let me know you’re coming. I’ll be happy to meet with you before/after class. Or, just show up if that’s the best you can do. 732.531.9013 is the number to leave a message if you wish to speak to me. Be patient. It may  a day or two to return your call.

PERSONAL YOGA THERAPY is available by appointment.  To support your commitment to well-being and spiritual development I’m offering a Summer Special for  new clients and returning clients.  Please call to arrange a free interview to see if this is right for you.  Sessions can be at your home or at The Sanctuary.

  For up-to-date- info   Go to Class/Workshop Schedule Page

The Jersey Shore Yoga Yoga Therapy

Nothing is the same since Sandy.  That’s not necessarily good or bad either.  It’s different.  There’s a lot of construction, everywhere.  New businesses, new residences and new rules too.

My hyper-local beachfront has been a real hub of activity.  It seems like it’s the staging ground for the ongoing, never ending, beach replenishment.  My most familiar beaches are more than triple the size they were last year.

It all seems a bit futile to me.  How we still think/believe we can negotiate with mother-nature.

I’ll be traveling for a while now and looking for a ‘story’ to bring home from my adventure.   My application was approved and I’ll be returning to the NJ Storyteller’s Festival at Grounds for Sculpture  in September!

more later.

Blogging The Jersey Shore

What fun!  Telling stories.  Together.  For an audience.  I’ve learned so much telling my tales.  It’s a process, like anything else.  The wanting, the picking and choosing, the endless editing, the voice, the gestures, the eye-contact or lack thereof, the embellishments, the applause, it’s all part of a storyteller’s craft.   Yes?

It’s summertime here at the Jersey Shore and it’s time to lighten up a bit and laugh.  I’m working on a story that was inspired by a trip to the Clinique counter at Macy’s.  As usual, you can spin a story in a gazillion ways, and according to writer Deena Metzger, the  “story is not what happened”.

Thus, it begs the question, what is a storyteller to do?  Tell the truth?  Embellish?  Misrepresent for the sake of a laugh?

So far, for me, it’s like doing a yoga pose.  First find the ease amidst the discomfort.  Then, notice thoughts & emotions as the words are put together.  Be aware of body sensations and breath during delivery and presentation.  Make adjustments where necessary.   Yup, The Yoga of Storytelling…..so much to explore here.

Have a nice day.   a-pinkdanceganeesh.gif

July 8, 7pm, Stories in the Park, Bradley Beach, NJ.   Go here for details.

StoryTelling The Jersey Shore Yoga

Heading to the NJ State Folk Festival this weekend where I’ll see one of my favorite harp teachers.  I’m really excited to hear some current folk music.   It’s been a while.   As a “baby-boomer-extraordinaire” I spent countless hours listening to people like Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, and Tim something?……   It’s a maritime theme this year and I just attended a local photowalk and took these pictures (scroll down) experimenting with b/w in the fog. I rarely spend time around boats so the sychronicity is hard to ignore.

Music touches and heals us like no other activity. It’s A Documented Truth. Playing instruments, singing songs, or listening to others play and sing lights up our brain cells and activates the neural plasticity that is being written about so frequently now.

That yod I mentioned yesterday….it’s energizing my Sun in ways that are amazing to experience…physically, mentally, and most obvious (to me) synchronistically.   Does that make sense?  It’s hard to verbalize.

Time to go learn Row, Row, Row your Boat on my harp……

Jai Bhagwan…..

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Blogging Harp Music My photos NJ The Jersey Shore

Just opened an account @ soundcloud….they’ve really simplified all the uploading and downloading so  amateur people like me can share some music…….

So, here’s the tune The Factory Girl, at least part of it…..    I tried to really slow it down and use very few notes so that you can feel the “bones of the song”.   Story at 2pm.    ……told under the auspices of a disseminating moon

Om shanti.

 

 

 

Harp StoryTelling The Jersey Shore

 

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This Sunday I am hoping to participate once again at the monthly Circle Of Stories.  It’s open to anyone and if you want the time/place details let me know.

StoryTelling is a new art/hobby/practice for me and I’ve enjoyed watching the process that I put myself through to get from inspiration to presentation.  It’s usually exhausting and exhilarating both at the same time. I wonder why am I doing this.  It’s stressful, yet fulfilling too.  What keeps me coming back is the creative challenge to be authentic, entertaining, and deliver a message in three short minutes.

I’ve learned that it really is best to prepare.  Write things down.  Stand in front of a mirror. Practice enunciation.  All that kind of stuff.

My plan today for this Sunday is to continue the story that began with the ill-fated cruise in the Caribbean.  The ship broke down under a full moon sky and we remained motionless in the hot, humid Atlantic air for more than 12 hours.  What happened after that was amazing!

But, you’ll have to come on Sunday to find out!

I appreciate the oral tradition of storytelling. So much more gets communicated than just words alone, especially if such words are simply fonts on a screen.  Old fashioned cursive writing on your  paper of choice adds minimal, non-verbal detail to our words.  But,  the wisdom and knowledge that gets communicated through the sound of the voice reigns supreme for not just understanding and wisdom, but also for entertainment and healing.

Thinking about bringing my harp but undecided yet.

 

 

 

 

Asbury Park Blogging journal entry NJ StoryTelling The Jersey Shore

 

 

 

I came across this old post and thought you should re-read it now that the Cardinal Cross is here.

Waking up to ice on my windshield on April 15 is a stunning reminder that things are indeed changing.

…more later

Ancient Wisdom Astrology Blogging lunar phases My photos The Jersey Shore