Happiest Martin Luther King Day-- Come Walk with Me....

Hello Beautifuls, today Lake Tahoe Mindfulness Community met for an evening sunset walk and practiced walking with our spiritual ancestor, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I hope your day was as insightful as ours. Here's a tribute poem that was read before we practiced, enjoy:

Martin Luther King Mindfulness Walk
January 19, 2015 at Paradise Park, Meyers, CA
©Karla Johnston, InnerConstellation.com

“Even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow,
I still have a dream.

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up
and live out the true meaning of its creed,
‘We hold these truths to be self-evident
that all men and women are created equal….’” *

I have a dream today,
come walk with me and embody:
persistence, bravery, equality, leadership,
tender justice, forgiveness and mercy.

Let us walk as a free people
and allow our freedom to ring--
“….When we let it ring from every village and every hamlet,
from every state and every city,
we will be able to speed up the day when all God’s children--
black, white, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics—
will be able to join hands and sing…
‘Free at last!
Free at last!
Thank God Almighty,
we are free at last!’” *

*Adapted from Martin Luther King, Jr’s, “I Have a Dream” speech, delivered August 28, 1963 in Washington, D.C.

"Je suis, Charlie" 3.7 Million Unify and March

I woke this morning knowing I wished to blog about the march taking place in France this past weekend--over 3.7 million people turned out to protest the terrorist attacks taking place in France over the last week: at a magazine office, a Kosher grocery store, and the assassination of a police officer. If you wish to see the details here's a link.

I felt tremendous hope when watching this event unfold and here's why:

• 3.7 million people turned out to protests terrorism. That's more people than took the streets after the liberation following World World II, setting a record in French history!
• 56 world leaders were in attendance and walked with the people, including world leaders from Jordan, Israel, Turkey and Tunisia, countries literally submersed in daily terrorist acts of violence. 
• French Muslim leaders harshly condemned the killers and asked Muslims to turn out "massively" for the rallies. I don't know the count. 

"Charb," the chief editor for French magazine Charlie Hebdo and among the slain, was quoted as saying, "I would rather die standing than live on my knees." The people of France seem to have taken his words to heart as they protest his death and that of fellow journalists after posting satirical cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad. The tragedy brings to light the value of free speech and freedom of expression. These values were North Stars for the journalists and editors of Charlie Hebdo. I will await the following days and watch events unfold as a result of the peaceful, unifying march of over 3.7 million strong. 

Love Dual! Wait...What?

I just got home from being with my Lake Tahoe Mindfulness Community Peeps and am inspired to

Pull them in --heart-side!

throw down the gauntlet! It's a love dual, baby, will you accept? Here's the challenge:

Today offer someone a heart-side hug and hold it for three in-breaths and three out-breaths. Inspire others by sharing what happens at the bottom of this post (in blue, click on "Comments/Leave a Comment") or on the Lake Tahoe Mindfulness Community Facebook page: 
https://www.facebook.com/groups/570858886370763/

You know I'm a power of the heart cheerleader and have all confidence in our electromagnetic heart--scientists show that its waves are detectable 5 to 8 feet from the body. If you want to read more here's an Inner Constellation article on the power of the heart:
http://innerconstellation.blogspot.com/2011/06/youve-lost-that-loving-feeling.html

If you have a nice smooth heart rhythm (thank you, HeartMath, Mindfulness Practice, Meridian Tapping, hangin' with Mindfulness Community), then get it groovin' with others--pull them in to your heart-side for a heart-side hug!

Ok, enough, I'm entering a state of euphoria here. Let me know your results below or on Facebook.

New Year's Resolution Resolved!

Happy New Year 2015, Inner Constellation Readers! Winter is turning, and the IC theme for January is moving from “stillness” (December) to “resolution.” I don’t know if you’re one to set a New Year’s Resolution, but if you’ve ever aspired for personal improvement, no matter what the time of year, this article is for you.

A few days ago, I had a temper tantrum, a sudden irritation that spurted out of me so fast, I didn’t realize it had manifested until…well, it had manifested. It was late, past my bedtime and fortunately me and my beloved (who was the lucky reciprocator) realized I was tired and feeling the effects of a fairly emotional day, so we stopped what we were doing and put me to bed! However, when my eyes opened to the new day, a resolution become clear—my seed of anger needs attention.

What do I mean by “seed”? I’ve considered this metaphor for years—emotions as seeds, present in each of us: anger, jealousy, sadness, as well as patience, generosity, love, etc. Which seeds do we choose to water? For instance, on the particular day of my flair up, I had interpreted a court procedure resulting in a heart-breaking chain of events rehashed the entire day. I had practiced mindfully tending to my emotions, aware that my seeds of anger, grief and judgment were being watered again and again, but still the residual flare up. I obviously needed to raise the level of my self-care. Here’s a question to consider when an emotional seed appears—what is its antidote? In other words what is the emotion’s opposite, in the case of anger, the antidote might be: patience, acceptance of how things are, peace, humor, gentleness. What if  I make a conscious commitment to selectively water anger’s opposite, the seeds of patience, peace and gentleness? Next time I become aware of anger in my body I will:

1)      stop

2)      identify what’s present

3)      breathe while giving myself the antidote

Breath my anchor, in and out, while establishing compassion for myself, patience and acceptance. Hmm, good food for thought, this will take daily practice. I look forward to diving deep into the January theme of resolution*, and the commitment that Inner Constellation practitioners take to mindfully identify, transform and resolve all resistances so we can flow into the year 2015!


*if you would like to receive the M-F email Inner Constellation Blessing send as a gift, please contact me.