Flying High

It was an AWESOME week!

There was circus training...

Wall Running

Harness Bungee

Silks

OMG! AWESOME!!! If you're in the NYC area, you HAVE to go there and try it! #SoMuchFun

Click here for The Muse, Brooklyn, NY

The facility is fantastic, the instructors are amazing, everyone there is exceptionally friendly and the workout is outstanding. I knew these activities would not be easy, but WOW! People who have mastered these circus arts are incredible athletes. It was an absolute blast! One of the other students told me it was her "happy place." I can see why. :)

Then there was a super fun band rehearsal for upcoming shows later this month. I love these guys...

Front: Me and Junior (my friend Hune);
Back: Joey (my friend Hoey),
Alan (my new friend), and Frank (my friend Fronk)

Me and Frank (Fronk)

Then there was a fantastic gig with another group - a twenty piece orchestra and five vocalists! I love these guys too...

Eight piece string section 

Me and Neal (Trumpet)

Front: Me and Jay, Joe, and Prim (Vocals); Back: Robert (Guitar)

With Tony B. (Vocalist)

With Jay and Prim (Vocalists)

It was such a happy week! On Sunday, just as I was wondering how to hold on to that feeling of joy and keep it going this week too, the minister at church said we have to "somehow" plug into that space of love and stay connected. (I thought, "Yeah, but HOW?" because I had been thinking that gratitude would be the way.) She continued on to say that awareness was a good place to start and that we should start to recognize when we slip into a place of fear or worry. Then we can say a prayer, meditate, take a walk in nature or do something that might lift our spirits and get us back to the love space.

Something sounded familiar. My instructor at The Muse had me close my eyes and practice twisting my leg around the fabric to get the feel for it in Silks class. Eventually, the movement will become instinctual and I will be able to do it in the air, without looking. (THAT'S important because it's an essential part of how you support your body weight as you climb. If you lose your footing, you'll want to regain it quickly, without thinking.)

AHA! So the spiritual training mirrors the physical training! It's just like practicing a physical movement. You get to know the feeling of it in the body as you practice. You become aware of the motion. It's like rehearsing a song too! While practicing, you get to know how the notes feel in your instrument; in your voice as you sing or in your hands as you play. In a similar way, we can pay attention to how we feel spiritually in a more specific way - fine tune our awareness. By paying attention to ourselves, our emotions, our instincts, we can notice if we begin to shift from a place of love... and practice ways to recover. What an incredibly important skill to learn! As we soar higher and higher, this spiritual practice will become our safety net. We'll be able to return to the love space instinctually!

I love it when everything all ties together! Here's to flying high!

xoxo!

Namaste,

T

United

The perfect end to an extremely busy week came on Sunday.

I attended the wedding of a wonderful friend and his partner.  The spirit of Love that filled the air was simply incredible.  All who were present felt Blessed to witness the couple's declaration of a most genuine and precious Love.  It warmed our hearts, brought tears to our eyes and sent our Spirits leaping for joy.  The magic and beauty that we felt defies description by mere words.  It seemed we all witnessed a bit of Heaven - the way things are supposed to be.  We laughed, cried and drank it all in as if our parched souls had finally found an oasis.  By sharing their Love with us, that couple had actually fed our souls.

As they stood before us, baring their hearts to each other, someone in the intimate crowd gathered there in the couple's living room said, "I love love."  The woman standing next to me was compelled to introduce herself to me, and I to her.  We all came together under that umbrella of Love.  There were family members, friends, and complete strangers gathered in a feeling of unity.  Isn't that what love is all about?

As I was eventually saying my goodbyes, along with so many lovely people, we spoke of a sense we had, of a "cloud of Love" surrounding us.  We bid the couple hold on to that cloud and always refer back to it in times of challenge.  I vowed to myself to hang on to it and carry it with me as I ventured back out into the world beyond the comfort of their enchanted home that evening.

With so much going on in the world at this very moment, I will carry the remembrance of that Love this week.  I will seek out that which unifies people and accept it as truth.  I will dismiss that which seeks to divide us.

I believe we are one family.

Namaste,
T

"Don't let them deceive us

Orchestrating our defeat

Pushing us to ruin

We fight our brother in the street

Just because he wears a different face

What a disgrace

I believe that we're all family

And together we can find all that we need..."

-Tanya Diona 

"Family Reunion" lyrics

P.S.
As if Angels have just sent me confirmation of these sentiments, I just viewed these two posts (which I will post, in sequence, after posting this blog):

As I write this, peaceful protesters unite and line the streets across the country...

Making a List, Checking it Twice

(Ring Ring...)

Tan:  Hello?

Mom:  Are you writing your blog?

Tan:  No.  I don't know what to write about.  I got nothing.  So, I'm organizing my closets.

Mom:  Write about that.

In church today, the lecturer spoke about distractions.  She reminded us about how we are all connected to each other and to the Divine and that we are ALWAYS connected that way - but sometimes we forget.  Sometimes we have "Divine Attention Deficit Disorder."

That explains a lot.  Could that be the reason why we can feel lonely for no good reason at all or why good friends can feel like unfamiliar strangers all of a sudden?  Is this why it can feel like we're not going anywhere or don't have anything - when in reality we have absolutely everything we need and are exactly where we are supposed to be?

It reminds me of the holidays and how easy it is to get distracted.  It's all too easy to do what we, in our family, call twirling.  Twirling is what you do when you're not sure which way to go.  You start to go one way, then something catches your attention in the other direction so you turn and go that way instead.  This keeps happening until pretty soon you feel like you're running all over, but you're really going nowhere except around in circles.  If it happens when you're Christmas shopping - that's when you know it's time to go home and get organized.  Make a list and stick to it.  

Okay.  Can't we apply that solution to the spiritual twirl as well?  Let's see... if a list were to help me out of a spiritual twirl, what would that list look like?  Something like this?

This week, I'll try to stay focused.  I'll make lists for tasks to be accomplished and get something done.  I'll also carry around this spiritual reminder list.  If I feel myself beginning to twirl, I'll go home and regroup.  Maybe I'll organize my closets or something.  :)

Namaste,

T

P.S.

Ever since thinking of this title (Making a List, Checking it Twice),  I've been walking around the house singing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town."  So, I found this on Youtube:

xoxo!!!