Ben's Weekly Spark 3.3.19: "Right Now, It's Like This," Freeing The Feminine &
...A Weekly Digest of
Community-Generated Tools, Tips & Experiences for Accessing
JOY, HOPE, PEACE & LOVE...
Happy Sunday friends!
I hope this past week has treated you well! It's been rainy here in LA, which always makes me want to slow down and stay in. I know that in other places in the country it's been cold and snowy. My family in Iowa has been managing many feet of snow, having been trapped on their property as they wait for snow plows to clear the roads.
((ARIAN SCHUESSLER, The Globe Gazette)
Feels like an appropriate time to be exploring the subject of "Surrender."
Whether managing inclement weather, travel and busy work schedules, or tumultuous emotions, it can be a useful practice to find peace with things as they are. To go with the flow of what's presented.
My friend J'Nae once shared the mantra, "right now, it's like this," with me. It's a phrase used by some Buddhist teachers in circumstances that cause anxiety or fear. It encourages us to be present with what's going on, to turn toward it and be with it, rather than wishing for it to be something else or trying to change it.
“Right now, it’s like this” is an invitation to explore what is present. At the same time, it clearly reassures us that impermanence is hard at work. So even though the mind threatens me with the idea that “it’s going to be like this forever,” this phrase helps me call bullshit on that. It helps me let go of the main message from the mind, “that something has to be done,” to this vital message of the dharma: “that maybe something has to be felt.”
My intention with this month is to use this phrase a lot. I've got a lot of work projects coming together, and I am challenging myself to be present with things as they are, to surrender to life as it comes and to be in flow.
***THIS WEEK'S SPARKS***
🔥 FREEING THE FEMININE
There's an international event planned for women's empowerment and sisterhood on March 8th if anyone wants information. Hosted by Global Sisterhood, which "is an organization that provides a path for emotional freedom and wellbeing. We provide the space, tools, and community for women to know, love and believe in themselves. We hold transformational spaces both online and offline in the form of Sister Circles all over the world to drive this mission."
🔥 MAKING FRIENDS WITH YOURSELF
Finishing our last month's theme of "self-love," I wanted to offer this well-written article on the importance of spending time discovering oneself through meditation.
🔥 SURRENDERING TO LOVE
If you didn't get a chance to read this month's practice theme, "Surrendering to Love" it is up now on my blog. I'm looking forward to exploring this more with you all throughout this month, including at this month's yoga/music/movement workshop next Sunday (read below.)
🔥 "GO WITH THE GROOVE" VIDEO
Thanks to everyone who watched the live "Go With The Groove" video this past week. Each time I watch those videos from The Great Create, I'm reminded that so many of you donated to make them possible. Thank you to the donors who helped us shoot that footage! It's been so useful for me to have great video to share!
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CONSIDER BECOMING A PATRON!
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UPCOMING EVENTS:
ONE WEEK FROM TODAY!:
Sunday, 3.10-
Special candle-lit, restorative experience.
Because this month's theme is "Surrendering to Love," I'm going to be offering a special Royal Heart Tribe Experience this month, with restorative yoga and yoga nidra.
If you're not familiar with these styles, restorative yoga is a completely passive form of yoga where you are set up into a resting posture and then release/surrender into the posture for about 10 minutes. This allows the body to truly relax in a way that it rarely gets to, and can be deeply restorative to the body. Yoga nidra is an ancient practice that reboots your nervous system through audible cues that guide your awareness to different parts of your body.
Thanks for reading this week's Spark! Hope you have a great week!
LOVE,
