Rainy Day

On a day like today, it takes a dedicated coffee drinker to come out to Stumptown for a cupper, and it takes a dedicated Muslim to come out to pray. When I look out the coffee shop window and see a Muslim prayer room packed out on a rainy day, I think to myself, I'm glad that I drink coffee.

Kali Myth

At the beginning of a jam, I started with the following speech.

What did you learn over this weekend, and throughout the day? What did it teach you?

Responses included safety and communication.

We expanded on those ideas.

I spoke about the inward gaze: reflecting the experience of partnership inward, a reflection of personal ownership and responsibility. What can I learn about myself through this experience?

We welcome Kali onto the scene. How she swallows raksa bija, the great demon whose blood drops transform into another demon. She assimilates it, and it transforms to reveal an aspect of her own self. It is representative of our shadow side.

In partnership, there are moments of charge fueled by an emotional response, and that response eventually stills into a lucid moment of reflection. Through partnership, one can accelerate the process of self-understanding by turning the gaze inward in such moments, and observing the shadows of ourselves.

I encouraged our students to retain the gems from the weekend by putting them into practice. I spoke about patterns and cultivating the power to change with clear vision. I spoke about taking personal responsibility for changing your own reputation. Align with a vision, and discover the power to change your reputation.

A Deeply Grateful Student

I dedicated this past weekend to teaching the foundations of Thai massage, and was warmly received by a classroom full of enthusiastic students. I felt strongly about offering a Thai massage workshop in NYC, and affirmed my intuition by the response from the students. It was a transformative journey for all of us, and I was honored to create the container.

The comedian inside me made several guest appearances, and created many opportunities for us to laugh together throughout the weekend. The teachings which have been passed down to me emerged in such a beautiful way, and I saw the students assimilating the principles and gaining perspective on this path. To develop mastery in the art Thai massage, one must make a substantial investment of time, both in study and more importantly, in practice.

When I left Bali this past September, Arno reminded me that practice was the essential ingredient to transforming my Thai massage practice and taking it to the next level. As he says, "Be humble, and repeat." Since then, I had been teaching very little Thai massage, and doing bodywork as often as possible. I know that my practice is the foundation for myself as a teacher, and following Arno's advice, I felt in no rush to share what I have been learning.

This weekend offered an affirmation of just how precious a gift I have received to share. The practice of Thai massage is deeply healing, for both the giver and receiver, and creates an extraordinary medium to communicate love through touch. In the presence of this kula, I felt the teachings emerge effortlessly, and I felt more like a channel than a facilitator. I heard my teachers voices guiding me along, and witnessed the magic unfold.

At the closing circle, I asked the students to reflect on the weekend, and to affirm something that they experienced which brings more joy and meaning into their life... something that they would like to integrate more fully into their life. As soon as people began to share, I felt myself choked up with emotion, and overflowing with gratitude... the tears streamed down my face, a deep resonance of joy beat in my heart, and I felt such gratitude and homage... homage to all of the teachers in my life, and then towards all those who have dedicated their lives to share the teachings in this lineage.

My heart goes out to all those who have helped me to advance on this path, and especially to Gwyn & Arno who model the way, and offer such a brilliant inspiration for so many.