Ease
Monday Mettā
A new + beautiful way to experience Mondays.
Many of us are hard on ourselves most of the time. We think this is the only way we can “get things done” or “be successful” or “be the best.” Self-criticism propels us forward. We push and push until we have created exactly what we (thought we) wanted out of life.
What if you spend an hour, or a moment, going easy on yourself? What kind of self-talk does that take? Can you still do all the things you’re “supposed” to do, but does a deep breath help? Or a pause? Or less attachment to the outcome?
Life does not have to be a guilt-ridden, pressure filled slog inside of a muddy soup of doubt, insecurity, and self-loathing. It can be easy…
Perhaps this mettā takes you one step closer to ease.
May I go easy on myself. May all beings experience ease.
✨
So glad you’re here.
Intuitive Tarot Card Reading
Use your intuition to guide you to a specific card below. Choose the card with the crystal on it that calls to you. At the end of this newsletter, you’ll see the cards flipped over, with a reading for each one. The card that you choose here will have your reading for the week.
Card 1: Pyrite Choose this card if your self-worth has been feeling low.
Card 2: Kyanite Choose this card if you’re feeling confused about a situation or relationship.
Card 3: Clear Quartz Choose this card if your energy needs amplifying.
Wait to scroll down to the bottom of the newsletter until you’ve chosen your card!
Yoga:
1/2 hour yoga sessions, personal and on demand. Book your online yoga session here.
Noon on Mondays: a 45 minute flow with Yin elements.
Email me for the yoga zoom link! All classes are in USA Eastern time.
📚Rachel’s Recommendations
I read a lot. I used to read one book at a time, devouring up to two books in a day when I was young. Now, I read three or four books at a time, leaving them folded open and face down in every room of the house: I have a bed book (usually something on Reese’s list), a bath book (typically about fungi or walking in forests), a waiting-for-coffee book (something someone has recommended), and a book I listen to on walks. Throughout the year, I share my recommendations every few months, and try to round them up at the start of the new year. Well, we’re halfway through March, so I’m a little late, but here are my recommendations from 2022:
Personal Curiosity
Awakening the Buddha Within by Lama Surya Das. It’s a short, personable guide to Buddhism with real life applications of the Eightfold Path. If you are dipping your toe into Buddhism or need a refresher, this is the perfect text.
Taking the Leap by Pema Chödrön. I was interested in her observations on emotional equanimity and the idea that life is simply a series of events that challenge us to react neutrally. For my essay on this, head here.
Thich Nhat Hanh’s meditations from his short book How to Sit.
Tao Te Ching, using the annotated version by Derek Lin. I recommend reading this text over and over again, by different translators and annotators. It always has something new to say. For my essay on this, head here.
Fiction
Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keene. It’s a story about two young kids, neighbors, who experience a night of complete transformation when a violent episode occurs. The family members, in both sets of families, are chronicled.
The Sleeping Car Porter by Suzette Mayr. This book got me with its style. Suzette writes about a Black, queer sleeping car porter in 1920s Canada on a fateful trip across the country from Toronto to Vancouver. Her writing is like the chug of a train—insistent, continuous, and without breaks.
Children of Sugarcane by Joanne Joseph. A story that took her years to write, and is partially based on the experiences of her great grandparents. It takes place in India and South Africa, mostly in the late 1800s, when Shanti, a young girl, travels to the sugarcane plantations of Natal.
Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand. I love Elin Hilderbrand, zoom through her books, and this one was as good as any of them! A haunted hotel on Nantucket during the summer months and a chronicling of the characters that work and stay there… what could be more fun?
The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller. Heller does a fantastic job expanding the life of a woman through 48 hours. Our main character makes a possibly life-changing decision and we see the reasons why, reasons that go back decades.
Ariadne by Jennifer Saint. A retelling of the Greek tale, which I knew little about! It was a fun read and I’d recommend it to anyone who just wants to take it easy but also get mythological.
Auē by Becky Manawatu. The story follows two brothers, one eight and “abandoned,” one a young adult and in search of the truth about his parents. The word auē is Maori for “to cry, grow, groan, wail, bawl,” and “to express astonishment,” which accurately describes the tone of the book. (Auē is pronounced “ah-weh.”)
Father of the Rain by Lily King. This one was a tough read and yet, I couldn’t put it down. Lily King’s main character is devoted to her parent who struggles with addiction and illnesses. It’s a full-on book that made my heart grow in size.
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi. Transcendent Kingdom is the story of a daughter and her mother, with themes of immigration, religious upbringing, and addiction. Gyasi’s first book, Homegoing, is one I recommend to most, and tells the story of a West African family over many generations.
Afterlife by Julia Alvarez. It’s the story of a Vermont woman has just lost her husband. She is surprised by a young woman who knocks on her door one day asking for refuge, all while she is managing her relationship with her three very different sisters.
The Power by Naomi Alderman and her (very different) book The Liar’s Gospel. Both oriented around women’s stories, The Power is about what happens to life on earth when young girls mature into an often-fatal power. The Liar’s Gospel is a reimagining of the life of Jesus from four people who were close to him.
Non Fiction (ish)
Fever by Jonathan Bazzi, translated by Alice Whitmore. Did I think this book would have me on the edge of my seat? No, but it did. Jonathan lives in Milan with his boyfriend of three years when he gets a fever that just doesn’t go away. As he tracks down the diagnosis, he also describes his childhood in Rozzano, and his relationship to who he truly is.
The Marmalade Diaries by travel writer Ben Aitken. Not much traveling to be done during lockdown in England in the fall of 2020, when Ben rents a room in the home of an 85-year-old woman whose husband has recently passed. This book is sweet and charming and shares daily life between the two.
Life as Told by a Sapiens to a Neanderthal by Juan José Millás & Juan Luis Arsuaga (trans. Thomas Bunstead, Daniel Hahn). Imagine a Carl Sagan-esque guy in a car with the Bill Bryson of Spain. Connections are made. History, philosophy, and science is explained. Human behavior is observed. And one of them is always hungry.
American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin by Terrance Hayes. A book of poetry written during in 2016 and 2017, with about 70 poems with the exact same name. Great book, great poet.
The Scent of Light by Kristjana Gunnars. This is a collection of five of her novellas, each one a ‘fictionalized memoir’ and each one transporting and beautiful. The first (and my favorite), The Prowler, details her life growing up in Cold War era Iceland.
Questions I am asked about the Holocaust by Hédi Fried. She is a survivor of Auschwitz and has collected commonly asked questions that students pose when she visits their schools. There is also an illustrated edition available.
Nature and Such
Reading the Water by Mark Hume. I have never been fishing, probably never will, and yet this memoir about fly fishing and fatherhood got me. Mark is an environmental journalist and author from British Columbia, and his writing was so good that even I was captivated reading about “casting” and “fly tying.”
How to Catch a Mole by Marc Hamer. Marc describes his final season as a molecatcher in Wales, musing about his relationship with nature, his experiences as a wanderer, and the life of a mole.
Deer Man by Geoffroy Delorme and translated by Shaun Whiteside. This one stunned me. Geoffroy is so compassionate and vivid in his descriptions of spending seven years living with roe deer in France.Yes, seven years. Roe deer. I can’t even.
Seed to Dust by Marc Hamer. Part memoir, part year-long garden story, this is one of the most soothing books I’ve read in a while. Marc works for Miss Cashmere, a wealthy woman with a glorious garden. He guides us through the seasons as he tends to and creates her garden, and at the same time, he offers his thoughts and little wisdoms of what it means to “be a man,” a laborer, and a part of an ecosystem.
In Torbjørn Ekelund’s book A Year in the Woods: Twelve Small Journeys Into Nature, Ekelund takes one overnight camping trip a month in the forest near his home in Oslo. For my essays on this book, head here and here.
Food Rules, the illustrated version, by Michael Pollen. My favorite “rule” is one that describes thanking everybody who participated in creating the food you’re about to eat— from the husband who cooked it to the person who sold it to the drivers who transported it to the people who grew it.
With Gratitude,
There are three beautiful ways you can support my work writing and teaching!
Make a micro-donation, either through Buy Me a Coffee (or in my case, a love note), or after you’ve listened to one of my meditations on Insight Timer.
Book a personalized yoga class, contact me for a Tarot or Akashic Records reading, come to a 🌕Full Moon Yoga🌕 or a Monday Noon Class.
Forward this newsletter on to anyone who might want a little love! Ask them to subscribe! Tell them you love them!
Thank you thank you!
Much love and gratitude,
Rachel xo
PS- I love hearing about the cards you pick and your related experiences. Please email me or comment below to share what came up from your card reading this week🔮
Your Tarot Reading, Revealed!
Card 1: Pyrite // King of Pentacles
I can’t think of a better mentor in self “worth” than the King of Pentacles. The pentacles suit is all about worth—financial, spiritual… abundance at its highest. Let this card be a meditative guide for you this week, and a physical one. Which activities make you feel strong, creative, and interconnected? For me, that would be a hike in the woods. After using the King’s image as inspiration in a meditation, head off to do your favorite, uplifting activity.
Card 2: Kyanite // Five of Swords
Confusion can lead to heartbreak if clarity isn’t achieved. This card illustrates that perfectly— the suit of swords is the suit of communication and speaking your truth. The swords themselves reflect what’s in your heart but also help you slice through the chaos to find clarity. The striking image of the hearts crossed by swords is a reminder that staying silent can often lead to more confusion. Ask the right questions, listen carefully to their answers, and speak to what you need from there.
Card 3: Clear Quartz // The Fool
There isn’t a more energetic archetype than The Fool—and having drawn this card, consider yourself amplified. You’re about to start something new, something that will take energy but also give you energy back. Perhaps you have a journey already in mind, or perhaps this is the push you needed to begin something you’ve been thinking about starting. The Fool also reminds us that you have a well of energy inside of you… all you need to do is take that first step!
✨I use House of Intuition’s Crystal Encyclopedia and Judy Hall’s Crystal Bible to interpret the crystal meanings. Intuitive tarot inspired by Sarah Greenman, who was in turn inspired by Chris Corsini, because inspiration is contagious✨