Categories
Yoga

“Let There Be Light”

Invited to fundraising event for Ambassador Christopher Stevens Memorial Fund in Middle Eastern Studies at the International House, UC Berkeley… felt so nostalgic to be here as nothing’s changed. I was that girl in the cafe studying way back when. Memories … I love this place. No I did not know Chris personally – invited through my sister who could not attend … rather distant but he’s an Oski too and returning to my alma mater gives me the thrill each time. It’s the energy of the place where anything and everything was possible and all the potentials were still untapped.

I hope the funds will help foster better understanding between this country and the countries in that region of the world so this kind of tragedy does not happen again. Violence is not the way to solve problems – peace and understanding based on mutual respect is… so hope the fund will get more American students interested in studying about this region. I know it’s weird but I actually spent maybe 3-4 years of my childhood in Teheran, Iran. I have some fond memories – childhood memories – then we returned to Japan – and my childhood memories continues with fond memories in Tokyo, especially because of my grandparents who – bless their souls – were very loving. I know – it’s weird but this world is not as divisive as it may appear – it’s all interconnected.

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I put this post up because I wanted to share the group that catered this event with the yummy food pictured above …

There were some meat options such as chicken and I think maybe beef but I have no photos of them as I do not eat them. The other plates featured above were more than plenty. In case you live in the East Bay and have a gathering you can use help on, this feast was catered by a group of ladies calling themselves:

Women’s CooP Catering

“Empowering Middle Eastern Women One Event At a Time”

Mufadhella Al Badeh, Founder
Women.coop.catering@gmail.com

Categories
Beautiful Rituals

Yoginis at “Matangi” Yantra Drawing

Vignette from last month … A workshop drawing the symbol “Matangi”, creating your own portal of creative Shakti, taught by Chanti Tacoronte-Perez.

Matangi is considered to be the Tantric form of Sarasvati, the goddess of music and learning. Like Sarasvati, Matangi governs speech, music, knowledge and the arts. Her worship is prescribed to acquire supernatural powers, especially gaining control over enemies, attracting people to oneself, acquiring mastery over the arts and gaining supreme knowledge. (Don’t we all need her help? lol)

Yes, Matangi is Wisdom Goddess of creativity and speech. Matangi’s power is to access our authentic voice and to speak from the “deepest expression of our hearts” (Frawley).
Chanti shows the way through the process that “creativity is a balancing act of complete surrender coupled with discipline. Matangi being an “outcast” is free to play in the waters of the unconscious, where the bounty of creativity can be accessed.” Her workshop allows us “to identify our own creative power or explore the possibility of introducing creativity to our practice and life.” (excerpt from her workshop flyer:)

We began (really with hot cup of chai …then) with meditation and contemplation of Matangi and our own creative shakti. In constructing the Matangi yantra, we slow down our minds, shift the mood and perspectives where you can see your inner-Self a little better. Taking time out – Chanting and focusing … in meditation and contemplation of “Matangi and our own creative Shakti(power/energy)”.
Yoginis in a beautiful private yoga room.
SO peaceful.

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sm_IMG_6812A lovely yogina brought over a plate of homemade raw cacao/dark chocolate covered coconut balls to share …sweetened only with maple syrup, she says. Thank you for where to find the recipe – found it!

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sm_IMG_6833Look, I picked out this card out of this stack of cards!

sm_IMG_6835Buddha card … You draw to yourself what you find inspirational in his teachings.

yantraLines not straight and not as symmetrical as I’d like it to be but … for first timer, it’s okay? It’s the process that was most special …Used the wrong paint brush – next time, shall use a thinner brush for more control… Drishti focal point to the center of the geometrical shapes until you start seeing … the vision.

Thank you Friend for hosting Chanti’s Yantra session. Love Chanti – she’s so down to earth and so skilled – Usually, anyone sharing the same set of teachers is a kindred soul. Kind of felt this sisterhood and feeling of serenity sweeping over the room as we used the ruler, compass, pencil and erasers like kids back in school … all yoginis, all certified yoga instructors maybe?, drawing and sipping chai. Felt soooo much at home:)

Here’s Chanti’s homepage www.yantrawisdom.com.

She’s in Hawaii most of the time so for the yoga classes … when you are in the islands – Aloha:)

About Chanti:

Chanti’s passion is to inspire everyone to find their creative Self though movement, effortlessness and sadhana. She has been studying and teaching yoga in the Tantric Hatha Linage since 2005 initiated by her teacher Yogarupa Rod Stryker, founder of ParaYoga. Chanti has studied the art of Restorative Yoga & the practical applications of yoga therapy with Judith Lasater and she travels to India yearly, where she studies Sacred Art with Mavis Gewant and Pieter Weltevrede. Currently Chanti is attending Pacifica Graduate Institute pursuing her masters in Humanities with and emphasis on Depth Psychology deepening her exploration of healing through creative practice.

A soothing art therapy for the yogini needing an escape, some self-care. To me any place of yoga practice is a … sanctuary. Dear Yogini Friend, thank you again and again for holding the space, to me a sanctuary, so lovely.

Categories
Uncategorized

Break the habit …

stopbusy

The word busy in Japanese character looks like this:

It’s a combination of two characters “leaning in” side by side.
The character on the left is 人 meaning a person and the character on the left is…
亡 … meaning “dying” … so it does not take a rocket scientist to decode this any further. The sign of losing one’s essence is when you are just busy busy busy.

That’s when I take a deep breath, stop – then turn inward to find (not lose, lol) myself.
There seems to be a general conditioning among us that unless you are busy, you are not a valuable important human being
based on a notion that doing lots of stuff and more you do lots of stuff is equated to your self-worth.
It’s a mindset ingrained in us… it would be nice to strike a balance.

It’s interesting to observe that someone who is very very busy is the one who gets asked to do even more – whereas there’s someone who is doing very little. The theory is that if you want to get something done, you ask the one who appears to be overloaded not someone who is not busy because? The one who is overloaded is the hard-working most capable one and the other one is just lazy and slow… REALLY? Our perceptions are sometimes so askew.