I am at Ease...
Welcome to Monday Morning Mettā
A new + beautiful way to experience Mondays.
I am at ease. May all beings be at ease.
You may not be. You may not be at ease, right at this very moment. But you can be.
Being at ease doesn’t just mean feeling totally and completely comfortable. It can also mean being comfortable with feeling discomfort. With knowing that whatever you’re experiencing won’t go on forever. With the realization that you can give yourself a moment, and come back to whatever you are doing that needs your attention.
Also, when you say it, even if you don’t feel it, it does become reality. Take a deep breath and remember, you are at ease.
So glad you’re here.
Fun 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.
Wait to scroll down to the bottom until you’ve chosen your card!
Card 1: Red Jasper Choose this card if you are feeling unmotivated and in need of a little oomph.
Card 2: Green Aventurine Choose this card if you are feeling competitive or searching for some success.
Card 3: Yellow Calcite Choose this card if you need some self-doubt clearing!
My Online Class Schedule This Week:
Tuesday: noon // 1 hour
Wednesday: 5:45pm // 45 minutes Yin Yoga
Friday: noon // 45 minutes
Thursday noon classes will begin in October!!
Tuesday Yin classes will begin in October!! (same time)
All classes $15 or pay what you can.
*email me for the password!
Next FREE breathing class is Monday, October 4! 8:15pm (eastern).
Thanks to all in being patient with my fall schedule. I am happily juggling teaching in person, working with private “yogis,” writing workshops, and more. Keep up with my newsletter for weekly class schedules!
I Have Things to Say: The Eight Worldly Dharmas
Stick with me as I attempt to distill a couple thousand years worth of religious/philosophical/psychological information in a few paragraphs. Ha. Enjoy.
In the Buddhist view, ordinary life involves suffering. Anguish. Dukkha. This is true for everybody. Life is a series of moments and many of those moments are ones of suffering. We suffer from circumstances outside of our control. We suffer when things do or don’t change according to our preferences. We suffer, in large and small ways, when we are not feeling connected and grounded.
After we experience suffering, we often react. This reactivity, without thinking, without mindful awareness, often causes more suffering. You don’t have to be Buddhist, or, as my teacher says, Buddha-friendly, to understand this. Things happen you don’t like, you react without thinking, and it makes it worse.
In Buddhist teachings (the Buddha Dharma), there are eight (8) worldly dharmas, or concerns, that are the cause of most of our suffering. They are:
Hope for Pleasure // Fear of Pain
Hope for Gain // Fear of Loss
Hope for Praise // Fear of Blame
Hope for Fame // Fear of Insignificance
*chart and information from Sarah Powers.
A little hope and a little fear is fine. Good, even. The problem, or suffering, comes with toxic hope. With constricted fear. Hopethat is all-encompassing, that feels make it or break it, that takes away from the inner light and self you are trying to cultivate. Fear that is prohibitive, that prevents you from experience, from feeling, from being.
I have had the GREAT PLEASURE of being at the daily mercy of toxic hope and constricted fear. In a small way, for example, I hope for Fame or Praise. This hope happens every time I post something on Instagram, which I try not to do all that often. I cravethose “likes.” I nod knowingly when I get a ton of comments, smugly thinking, “I knew this would be a good one.” I blush when I surpass a certain number of likes. My blood begins to pump. I get a rush. It’s fantastic. And, it goes away just as quickly and I am still left with a gaping hole of need. (follow me on Instagram??????)
Constricted fear is another feeling I swim in, regularly. I am almost addicted to fear of Blame. In my last few years of teaching (Trump years, let’s be clear), I was terrified to say anything even remotely controversial. I read and re-read my emails to parents, checking them with other teachers, before sending them out. I wasn’t as free, loving, curious with my students because I was afraid that if I said something “wrong,” they would take it home to their parents and my career would literally END right then and there. I stood outside of myself to teach, watching every move, never sticking to an opinion, even the right ones. And so I forgot how to be a leader.
I think, I think… the Eight Worldly Dharmas are there to remind us that what we hope for and fear in this life needs to be balanced out by settled, mindful intention. Toxic hope leaves us wanting more and more, never able to fill up. Constricted fear tells us to stop, to get small, to not feel or live.
Part of the mystery of life, the beautiful magic of life, is that we encounter pleasure and pain, gain and loss, praise and blame, fame and insignificance all the time. What meditation does is helps us deal with what feels intolerable. It helps us stand in who we are.
I post on Instagram sometimes, and I try not to look at the post again until hours or days later. I am training myself to believe that self-worth comes from inside, not a click of a heart. I write my opinions now, in newsletters and in blogs and even for work, and it’s a little scary, but with meditation has come some confidence. Not only do I value my thinking, I also know I can handle any of the repercussions. Or at least, I can handle them better than falling apart after receiving an email. LOL. I’m trying.
We’ll come back to this, kids. It’s not like we’re going to figure out the Eight Worldly Dharmas in one sitting. It’s just food for thought, for now.
(but omg do you guys still like me?)
Exciting News- I’m Teaching in Person!
I’ll be teaching at Sruti Yoga, starting Friday! Come experience my gentle wake-up yoga classes 3x a week (in person!) at Sruti Yoga Center in Great Barrington. Expect breathing, movement, a little Yin yoga, and a lot of love.
My schedule is: Monday / Wednesday / Friday: 7:45-8:45am
Thank you for reading. It means so much to me to have this little community newsletter actually go somewhere. Please share with anyone who might be interested in getting a little love each week.
Much love,
Rachel
xo
Your Tarot Reading, Revealed!
Your Tarot Reading, Explained!
Card 1: Red Jasper LOL. Now’s the time to get weird. Emotions are coming up to the surface that you are going to have to deal with in order to push forward through what’s blocking you. Do something ritualistic, something that has meaning for you, and allow whatever feelings may come up to swirl around in you. And, don’t forget to drink water. Sometimes a glass of water is all you need to get up and get started.
Card 2: Green Aventurine Ok, ok! You got this! Whatever success you’re looking for is happening, albeit slowly. Take stock in what you do have, in what you are already doing, and go from there. Ask for help/get support if you need it (don’t go at it alone). I’m not saying you’re going to win but… you’re going to do well. Keep on keeping on.
Card 3: Yellow Calcite I’m smiling as I get this card. Your self-doubt is hindering your new beginning. Take a breath and step forward, with joy. The Fool reminds us to be joyful, to move through the world with child-like wonder. Gather your faithful companions and your most precious belongings (literally or figuratively) and go for it. The sun guides your way!