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WHAT’S NEW? Just Breathe!
Does anyone else feel as though the planets are conspiring to give us an absolute whirlwind this fall. The News is cluttered with politics and scandals, and the energy around us is very tense and heightened. It’s time to just breathe! Our breathe is such a powerful tool, and such a simple one, you see it recommended by the medical professionals to the yogi.
I encourage you to take a moment to just reflect on your breathe, listen to its sound, relax the jaw and drop your tongue to the bottom of your mouth….pause for a moment and just breathe. Close your eyes. Inhale deeply through your nose, expanding your abdomen and exhale following your warm breathe back up through your esophagus, continue to exhale until your stomach muscles are drawn to your spine. Inhale deeply through your nose for a count of 5, hold for a count of 5, now exhale for a count of 7. How do you feel?
The breathe has the ability to calm, to slow down, to refocus us when we are distracted, and quiet the mind. Sometimes the energy around us is buzzing a little too much for our comfort level.
I encourage you to practice the power of your breathe or Pranayama daily, your body, spirit and mind will thank you for it!
Blessings & love, Sheri
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EVENTS, JOURNEYS + WEBINARS!
Guatemala: Unconditional Love in Action
October 19th – 29th, 2019
With its dramatic, volcano-studded horizons, lush forests and cobblestone streets, Guatemala is an iconic destination for anyone craving beauty, culture and spirit.Our service activities will range from village fresh water initiatives, to classroom educational support and other community needs.
This is a very beautiful journey of the heart and if you like to give back I would not miss it!
CAMBODIA: Unconditional Love in Action
Join David Ault on this profoundly heart-opening spiritual journey of service to Siem Reap, Cambodia – home of the incredible ancient temples of Angkor Wat.
To open oneself deeply, to risk feeling the suffering of others, and to wish to relieve that suffering – is the definition of compassion and the cultivation of the Buddha within us.
As Gandhi once said: The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.
You will explore the amazing temple at Angkor Wat, build in the 12th century, while giving totally of yourself to the service of others. You will come home feeling a deeper sense of self-realization, a clearer vision of what it is you want from life and clarity about your purpose.
This Unforgettable Journey will allow you to become familiar with two school facilities, one located in Siem Reap which serves more than 500 children, and the other in Nokor Krau with approximately 200 children. You will become a part of the class room learning environment, enjoying playtime and community. Trips are also made to the surrounding villages to distribute used clothing, engage in well-digging, and support in distributing seeds to the village communities.
At the end you will have made endearing friendships and remembered a valuable and precious lesson – we are blessed. We have so much that we take for granted and this tangible act of service and volunteerism reminds each of us to never forget that.
Trip Tuition: $1980 USD based on double occupancy – Single Occupancy Supplement is $545 USD.
OUR FEATURED ARTICLE
Toltecs,as spiritual warriors, are always asking themselves what are they creating and why? They seek to take responsibility for their creation so that they may make the necessary changes to put forth a more uplifting, fulfilling and loving dream.
It behooves us to take the time to sit back and reflect on what is causing our discomfort and suffering in or lives. If we look deeply we can see that it is our interpretation of what we perceive that is causing our problems. If we feed ourselves poisonous stories, judgments and beliefs about the people and situations around us, how else can we feel but unhappy? Yes, there is a lot of injustice out in the world, however that world is simply the projection from our own minds – and to make that outside world a better place we must end the suffering within ourselves first. Then we can project compassion and love rather than our own emotional poison and pain. (After all, you are what you eat!)
Some years ago, I had the opportunity to read an article and listen to an interview by Thich Nhat Hanh a Buddhist teacher from Vietnam. Although the article was released in 2003, the message is as appropriate now as it was then. (Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly, Bob Abernethy’s interview with Thich Nhat Hanh, September 19, 2003, Episode no. 70)
I enjoyed the way he expressed his feeling about the war, creating peace and what our responsibilities are as conscious humans. When asked to talk about the values of Buddhism, he ended up revealing common sense regarding suffering and the human mind – no different than what a Toltec would share – but with Buddhist language, of course. Take a look at his answer to this basic question:
Q: Is it possible for you to sum up the essence of the true values of Buddhism?
A: Buddhism teaches us not to try to run away from suffering. You have to confront suffering. You have to look deeply into the nature of suffering in order to recognize its cause, the making of the suffering. Suffering is the First Noble Truth, and the making of the suffering — namely, the roots of suffering — is the Second Noble Truth. Once you understand the roots of suffering, the Fourth Noble Truth — the path leading to the transformation of suffering — is revealed. And if you go on that path — namely, the path of right thinking, right speech, and right action — then you can transform your suffering.
If you practice in a community, you help the community to transform suffering. And if you practice as a nation, you help the whole nation to transform suffering.
The Buddha spoke about suffering in terms of food. Nothing can survive without food, even your love. If you don’t feed your love properly, your love will die.
Your suffering is there because you have been feeding it. If violence, hate, despair, and fear are there, it is because you have been feeding them by your unmindful consumption. Therefore, if you know how to recognize the source of the nutrients of your suffering, and if you know how to cut off that source of nutrition, then the suffering will have to vanish.
This is a very important teaching for our time, because the amount of violence and craving in us and in our children comes from our practice of unmindful consumption — watching television, reading magazines, having poisonous conversation. We bring a lot of poisons and toxins into our body and into our consciousness. If you don’t stop producing these toxic items, and if we don’t know how to protect ourselves by mindful consumption of these items, there’s no way out.
What I hear in Thich Nhat Hanh’s words, is a call for all of us to take responsibility for this world and what we are creating through the control of what we choose to feed our consciousness. The next time you are upset, pissed, angry, frustrated or irritated; I invite you to look deeper into what you are telling yourself. Ask yourself if you are enjoying what you are eating in the moment.
Is it truly that tasty? Is it?
With All my love & blessings. Sheri Rosenthal
Want to see our whole line-up for the upcoming year?
Visit our Trips at a Glance page.
