Shine Your Sacred Self
It’s hard sticking to your spiritual and/or health routine during the holidays. Family comes to you or you travel to them. There are late night parties filled with tasty, tasty munchies and lots of opportunities to revel in wine-soaked smiles.
That’s all a good thing, and, I’d argue, just another dimension of your practice. Tantric philosophy says that each moment offers it’s own opportunity for waking up. Continue reading “Finding the Thread of Yourself”
The world around us reflects the world within. We see what we expect to see, people reflect back to us our histories, habits, and ways of being. Alcoholics Anonymous has a saying, “water seeks its own level.” In life, we gravitate to people and situations vibrating at the same frequency as the energy within us.
When we gather together with family for the holidays, we are often faced with deeply ingrained habits and ways of being reflected back to us by our family members. Perhaps these habits are buried deep within our subconscious and we are unaware of them. Continue reading “Holiday Reflections”
A slice of life in Nicaragua.
I woke early to squeeze in a short hatha yoga practice and meditation before an early morning private class date over at Hotel Spa Granada, site of my favorite pool in the city! Walking there, I enjoyed the relative cool of the morning and the view of Volcan Mombacho shrouded in clouds. After a poolside yoga class followed by a delicious breakfast of fresh fruit and yogurt, I headed over to Hotel Dario for some sweet coffee and a meeting with some local yoga teachers who are working to open up a boutique hotel and yoga studio here in Granada. I think we have some exciting retreat workshop collaborations in our future!!
Yoga chat is always fun, and we probably would have easily gotten lost in that conversation if it weren’t for the fun event we are planning. Continue reading “What I did Today”
Just a short list of some media that’s inspired me to live more deeply and authentically. Please share what’s inspired you, what you’re reading now?
The Yoga Sutras were written some 2,000 years ago (yes, yogis, the date is debateable), and they were written in Sanskrit, a language of such subtlety that each syllable can have many possible meanings. The sutras speak to the human condition and the challenges we face as humans. These challenges remain the same whether you’re living in India 2,000 years ago or the United States today. Read these often, and choose many translations.
Many events in our life have rituals to mark them, if we’re lucky. I was privileged to be a guest at my first Nicaraguan wedding last month. Shortly after, I returned to the States for a visit and to attend my cousin’s wedding there. The juxtaposition was interesting!
Nicaragua Wedding –
The happy couple stopped by our house the day before to inform us that they would be getting married the next day at 4. We had less than 24 hours notice.
US Wedding –
My cousin proposed 3 years ago, and the ensuing time was spent planning and saving for the perfect wedding. “Save the Date” invites went out last January.
The last three days of my life were spent in mourning. Mourning for a young soul I never met, but in mourning nonetheless. The phone rang early Monday morning to inform us that my boyfriend’s nephew had passed away. He had been living in Costa Rica for the last several years, so I never had an opportunity to meet him.
Families are sprawling in Nicaragua. I’m sure this is partially thanks to the Catholic church’s strong influence on the country. Thus, as we set off early Monday morning for the home of the grieving mother, I was under-prepared for the scene in store. At first, there were just a few people gathered outside under the shade of a tree, silently sitting while mom and abuela wept. Throughout the day the crowd grew. Neighbors came toting their own chairs, as the family didn’t have enough to seat all of the supporters. Coffee was made in small Styrofoam cups and passed around. Then pan, white bread served on plastic platters carried around by nieces and neighbors to keep all the mourners comfortable. The story of what happened was repeated time and again by momma.
Mercury went into Retrograde for the third time this year at the beginning of the month. I felt the effects early enough in the forms of difficulties in communication with friends and family that sometimes led to hurt feelings or a breakdown of plans. In case you’re not familiar with Mercury in Retrograde, it’s characterized by difficulties communicating, breakdowns of electronics used in communicating – phones, computers, fax machines, and a general ‘not working out’ of plans made. It’s a poor time to make any big decisions such as changing jobs, buying a house or a car, or for signing contracts.
This does not bode well for the job search which I started in earnest in October and continues through this month with growing intensity as I see the ‘green energy’ in my bank account dwindle. Continue reading “Working with an Inward Focus”
It’s been a long 2 months away, Internet World. First, my trusty laptop finally gave up the fight — after working for 6 months held together by a wish, some shoestring, and duct tape. Then I went home to the States to visit some family. My visit was perfectly timed – I got there in time to see the amazing fall colors, spend Halloween with my little sister, and cower from Hurricane Sandy.
After so much time away, I have so much to write about!! My first adventure driving in Nicaragua, my first time being party to bribing a cop, or having my camera stolen by customs? Or my hunt for longer term work in Central America, the early stages of Mercury going retrograde, or the many revelations that come from spending time with family. Where is a girl to start?
Retail Therapy at the Colonia
One of the wonders of ex-pat living is discovering that certain activities and/or habits in which you would most likely never engage in your place of origin become common features of your new life abroad. Take for example, my strong affection for the Colonia, a grocery store chain here in Nicaragua. For many years, while I was living in Brooklyn and NYC, I had the pleasure of shopping at farmer’s markets, smaller family-owned grocery stores, and natural food stores. Unlike the rest of the US, there are not many big grocery store chains in NYC with the exception of Whole Foods. Whenever I was outside of NYC, the grocery stores generally frightened me in the US – they were huge and I found the amount of food and sheer size of the building to be completely overwhelming. Thus, the pleasure I derive from the Colonia is somewhat puzzling but nonetheless comforting. It’s not nearly as big as US grocery stores nor as imposing but generally looks the same just with different stuff and in Spanish.
As promised, while on la isla, I took lots of photos. Life on the Island of Ometepe is much more tranquillo and laid back then life in Granada. One of the first differences I noticed is that Ometepe and many of the towns I traveled through to get there are much more Sandinista than conservative Granada. This is evidenced by the familiar negro y rojo of the Sandinista flag tagging telephone poles, park benches, casas, and tiendas.
