June 21 Summer Solstice Sweet Devotion

Hiya, Loves, today is the longest day of the year, the time in which light inhabits the land the longest....and the day the light was shown on the fact that a Lake Tahoe Mindfulness Community (LTMC) blog article hasn't been written since April! Where does the precious time go? Into the light, of course, oh right.

Today's LTMC morning was once again off the charts as we celebrated the union of two sweetheart sangha* members who just this week got happily hitched! They first met at LTMC where cupid's arrows were a flyin'. Although we're pretty sure they would have meet either way, as destiny would have it, LTMC is happy to take the credit! So, today we celebrated our two beloveds and then moved to discussing the native ceremony of Sundance, happening this time of year all across the country. The drum was played as we added a song to our repertoire--Temple Heart, sung originally at the newlyweds wedding day. Conversation then moved to a beautiful Eastern ceremony called Touching the Earth and a story of the Buddha, who was presented with those who doubted his ability to attain enlightenment.  He was asked to produce a witness who could vouch for his ability to be so mindful. Buddha touched the earth as his witness, which of course responded immediately, and in doing so, all doubt vanished. In its place, the morning star appeared, shining brightly in a clear night sky. When we perform the ceremony of Touching the Earth, we consent to our own ability to transform our suffering and practice living in a state of clarity. Summer Solstice and the ceremony of Touching the Earth seem to go hand in hand (pun intended), encouraging every person's ability to tend and grow the light within. Well, as you can see--it was a full morning, good thing we have all this daylight today!

LTMC wishes everyone a beautiful and light filled Summer Solstice with the morning star shining ever bright upon your practice.


*Sanskrit word meaning, "community"