May I be Happy...
May I be Happy...
On Being and Becoming // October 18, 2021
Welcome to Monday Morning Mettā
A new + beautiful way to experience Mondays.
May I be happy
May I be healthy
May I exist with ease
An oldie and a goodie.
This phrase is a personal favorite. I say it to myself a lot, when I feel great, when I feel yucky, when I feel regular. It’s not aspirational for me— as in, I don’t have to be happy, healthy, filled with ease at every moment. Because that’s insanity. But what this phrase does do is simply calms me down, promotes an inner smile, and reminds me to be kind to myself.
(And we are so often not kind to ourselves. So, look upon this as not another way to attain perfection, but as a way to remind yourself you are love, and you are loved.)
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: Lace Agate Choose this card if you need guidance about how to manage stress and uncertainty.
Card 2: Angelite Choose this card if you’d like a direct message from your angels or spirit guides.
Card 3: Clear Quartz Choose this card if you’d like a little help understanding your limitations and seeing the way forward.
Class Schedule This Week:
In Person:
Wednesday 7:45-8:45am at Sruti Yoga Center.
Online:
Tuesday: noon // 1 hour
Tuesday: 5:45pm // 45 minutes Yin Yoga
Thursday: noon // 45 minutes
*Go to TheMobiYogi.com for the Zoom link and connect with me directly for the password.
On Being and Becoming (a new blog)
In an effort to understand more about my own culture, I started taking an Introduction to Judaism course through the St. Thomas Synagogue. (Read more about my interest in the history of Jews in the Caribbean and my trip to St. Thomas here.) I grew up in a “mixed” home, although “being Jewish” was stressed. I suppose people would call us High Holy Days Jews-- celebrating the big ones (Chanukah) and going to temple twice a year. I had a Bat Mitzvah, though we were not part of a congregation, and that’s about where my Jewish education ended.
In my 20’s I referred to myself as “Jew-ish” or, “culturally Jewish, but non-religions.” A trip to Israel on Birthright didn’t change my mind. When I married a super Jew, I was shocked by how different our Jewish experiences would be. I kind of assumed all Jews were Jews.
This course I’m taking does not teach the reasons for or the rules of Jewish rituals, traditions, and holy days. Instead, it uses source material to explain the great diversity of being Jewish. I am only on week one, but I’m impressed. We looked at the being of Judaism (with no conditions other than birthright, an automatic, inherited being) and of becoming a Jew (the choosing of a set of values, laws, ethical aspirations, learning to be Jewish by action).
Of course, I thought about how this connected to all things, this being and becoming. The non-action of simply existing (being), the action of growing and changing, of mindset shift and interconnection (becoming). In my Buddhist learning (yes, I’m also studying Buddhist philosophy with a teacher, our meetings both great and confounding), I am learning about compassion.
From my previous perspective, compassion has been an effort in becoming. I am not naturally compassionate, at least not in the way I defined compassion. I have natural empathy, usually too much of it, which doesn’t render me free of judgement. Instead, it creates in me a frenetic savior complex. My empathy usually manifests as a call to action, a desire to fix, to control, to convert. As I’ve attempted compassion instead, I have to fight my natural “being” instinct.
To make things even more confusing, in Buddhism, the wisdom of compassion is “knowing when to do nothing.” It’s being, notbecoming! It’s responding with curiosity, with an inner wisdom of what the person needs, which may not include fixing the situation. I mean, what?! My Jewist/Buddish brain is spinning.
Either way, for most of us mortals, we have to work on being through becoming. Even as a Jew, calling myself Jewish means only that I was born one. I continue to become one through my interest, curiosity, actions, and learning.
In yoga, this being and becoming happens in every class, in every pose. By breathing into stillness, we are being. By our actions, movements, simply showing up for class, we are becoming. Becoming into being, being through becoming.
Rachel’s Recommended Reading
To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey. I recommend this, and her other book The Snow Child, to everyone and all. On the surface, this book is about a 1885 expedition through the Alaska Territory. It floats back and forth in time and in perspective, giving voice to Sophie, the wife of one of the explorers, and Josh, an historian in the present day. Opening the book is like walking through a beautifully curated museum, where archives and artifacts come to life.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. Trigger warning— it is about a post-pandemic world (the book was written in 2014) where a traveling troupe of musicians and actors navigate the world as it is now, and as it was before. It’s a little bit scary, sad, fascinating, and I couldn’t put it down.
We Support Each Other
There are two beautiful ways you can support my work writing and teaching yoga!
Forward this newsletter on to anyone who might want a little love! Ask them to subscribe! Tell them you love them!
Come to one of my online yoga classes or schedule a private class, tarot reading, or reiki energy session!
Thank you thank you!
Much love,
Rachel
xo
Your Tarot Reading, Revealed!
Card 1: Lace Agate // Judgement You are not alone in your uncertainty. Find a nurturing teacher and group to connect with— whether that’s in group therapy, or by taking an art class, or by coming to yoga. Know that you have your people looking out for you, both in person and spiritually. Also, take a bath or jump in the ocean! (Really- water is a great opportunity for a release and a rebirth.)
Card 2: Angelite // Justice Oh man oh man. This is a nice, if stoic, reminder to act in accordance with your “higher self.” You, and your “guides,” know when you aren’t being true to yourself, and they are … gently… reminding you to get. it. together. Be true to your self, your decisions, your actions. When you behave from a place of integrity, your guides stand with you.
Card 3: Clear Quartz // Knight of Wands You have the green light! Go ahead, get going! Whether it’s a new project or a new outlook, get creative and trust your instincts. Ok hold on, wait one sec though. Your limitations are that you are impulsive. You act before thinking. As long as you know you have that tendency, you won’t be surprised when the outcome is mayyyyyybe not exactly what you envisioned.