Not Flying Away! Touching the Earth...

Yesterday I had an exchange with another person that began to turn sour. We had entered into a differencing of opinions that led to a drawn out analysis. I lost patience...in other words my mindfulness turned into forgetfulness. I forgot that this person was precious to me and that understanding was more important then business. I forgot that our interaction was actually causing stress versus alleviating stress. Luckily, in a few minutes time, we both realized our thoughts had been carried away, literally. I brought myself back to my breathing, back to being mindfully attentive. Soon after, we were able to reconcile our differences and come back to a peaceful resolution.

Later, I contemplated my true desire to never add to another's load, to practice diligently not watering the seeds of frustration and stress in another. A poem came to mind that so beautifully conveys coming back to oneself in moments when we've been pulled of course:

Earth Touching

Here is the foot of a tree.
Here is an empty, quiet place.
Here is the cool green of the grass.
My Child, why don't you sit down?

Sit upright.
Sit with solidity.
Sit in peace.
Don't let your thoughts lift you up into the air.
Sit so that you can really touch the Earth
and be one with her.
You may like to smile,
Earth will transmit to you her solidity,
her peace, and her joy.
With your mindful breathing,
with your peaceful smile,
you sustain the mudra of Earth Touching.

There were times when you didn't do well.
Sitting on the Earth, but it was as if you were floating in the air,
you who used to go in circles in the triple world
and be drawn into the ocean of illusion.
But Earth is always patient
and one-hearted.
Earth is still waiting for you
because Earth has been been waiting for you
during the last trillion lives...

...Walk as if you were kissing the Earth with your feet,
as if you were massaging the Earth.
The marks left by your feet
will be like the marks of an emperor's seal
calling for Now to go back to Here;
so that life will be present;
so that the blood will bring the color of love to your face;
so that the wonders of life will be manifested,
and all afflictions will be transformed into
peace and joy...

...the beautiful path is always patient.
It is always waiting for you to come back,
that path which is so familiar to you,
that path which is so faithful.
It knows deeply that you will come back one day.
it will be joyful to welcome you back.
It will be fresh and as beautiful as the first time.
Love never says, "This is the last."

The path is you, My Child.
This is why it will never be tired of waiting.
Whether it is covered now with red dust
or with Autumn leaves
or icy snow~
do go back to the path,
because I know
you will be like that tree,
the leaves, the trunk, the branches,
and the blossoms of your soul
will be fresh and beautiful,
once you enter the mudra of Earth Touching.

~Thich Nhat Hanh*
Call Me By My True Names, p. 197-198

Whether standing or walking, sitting or lying, I'm determined to practice grounding in mindful awareness and keeping my North Star in sight. Tremendous gratitude for those who practice alongside me, patiently watering my best seeds and joining me in shining bright.


*for more, please enjoy this beautiful dedication episode: Coming Home to the Present: The Life and Teaching of Thich Nhat Hanh

Winter Mindfulness Retreat: January 6, 2018

Happy almost Winter Solstice, Beautifuls! Please consider joining us at the Beach House for another retreat along the shores of Lake Tahoe. We're so fortunate to have this amazing property another year and look forward to being together to nourish and love each other up! We'll be leaving from The Studio promptly at 8:45 am so please RSVP so we can be sure to save a seat in the carpool for you (Email or FB event page). Also, our famous Vegan spread potluck will commence, consider bringing a contribution to share with community. Other than that, just bring your sweet self (and your beloveds to share the day with you...a New Year's surprise perhaps?:). May your holidays be bright as we all enjoy a huge exhale on January 6!

Tea With Sweet Santa

Give the gift of your Presence this season 

December is upon us! Last night, as I sat and pondered the Christmas display decorating our fireplace, gratitude and joy were strong. Eve of November 30, and I'm embellished and ready for the treasures of the holiday. I'm giving myself, my family and my community the greatest gift I can possibly imagine--strengthening the gift of my Presence.

I've begun 90 days of restoration that started on November 21 in the form of an at home Winter Retreat Plum Village style. What's the winter retreat entail?

• Time each day to sit comfortably in a way that is restful
• Time each week with people who restore and foster joy (thank you, LTMC:)
• Time each week to listen to a loving and tender talk given by one of my teachers, Thich Nhat Hanh
• Time to contemplate and journal
• Time to sing, create, write and nourish myself and others

Time and space are two enduring factors over these next 90 days. To give myself and others more space and time during the holiday hub-bub season has helped grow my compassion and joy. Since making this commitment the treasures have been many. One is that I've begun experimenting with Haiku--17 syllables condensed into 3 lines of 5/7/5 units. Here's an example:

(5) Tea with Sweet Santa--
(7) the only gift exchange is

(5) our joyful presence. 

Haiku will be the theme for my 2018 Inner Constellation blessings,* beginning this month of December ('cause I'm excited to start!) Haiku is the perfect tool for perfecting the beauty and simplicity of language, which has been a focus of my writings for the last few years. 

It's not too late to begin a winter retreat, heck it's only December 1, and the holidays may be more magical as a result. If you would like support on your journey, the following may be of interest:

• Weekly community gathering every Wednesday from 7:30a-8:30a with Lake Tahoe Mindfulness Community
• Winter Retreat 2018 with Lake Tahoe Mindfulness Community on Saturday, January 6 (more details coming...)
• I would also be happy to meet with you privately and assist in whatever ways best benefit your personal practice. 

May your December be peaceful and free with the possibility of leisurely tea with sweet Santa....

*Mon-Fri short and sweet, uplifting ditties gifted to your inbox. If you would like to be added, please contact me. 

Gettin' the Groove Back (Just in Time for Thanksgiving:)

Two days of heavy rain/sleet/snow breaks up just outside my Tahoe window. Life, the constant metaphor, is presenting a beautiful practice opportunity. The sun shines through magnificent puffy white and silver clouds in a canvas of blue sky. "Happy Thanksgiving" is a very real and visceral reality for me this year--I was released from hand therapy yesterday after 4 months, graduating with flying colors as my finger is only 5 degrees from straight! I'm back in the full time ASL interpreting saddle and life is a relative normal as routine returns, which means...creating has returned. Keyboard skills and writing are restored. I couldn't be happier. For the first time in almost a year, I sit before the muse with an open heart, waiting....

She Loves by Shiloh Sophia McCloud

What Needs to Be Said
©Karla Johnston, InnerConstellation.com

Almost a year since my focus has been pure,
intent on writing.
The reasons why:
lengthy illness and passing of a beloved pet,
injury, physical therapy,
deterioration and death of a loved one,
and all the day-to-day…
melt away,
insubstantial
as I meet you here,
in this constant and healing plane,
knowing a patient wait.

After so lengthy a gap
what needs to be said?

Space between the many moments
will allow gratitude to deepen and penetrate—
more space,
more space.

Love is the shining star of service,
guiding all paths to right action—
more love,
more love.

If these two guidances only are remembered—
space and love—
anywhere one goes
a panacea gently flows.

Right Livelihood: Land and Ocean

As we celebrate Veteran's Day this weekend, it seems a perfect opportunity to continue contemplation of the Noble Eightfold Path, picking up where we left off--step 3 on the path to happiness: Right Livelihood. One of the quickest ways to a happy life might be the path of service we choose. Thank you to all those brave ones who keep us safe and free and to all service men and women who care for people in harms way--running into the path of danger while most are running away.

How we express service is an expression of not only our skills but our hearts. What motivates our paths of service? Money, fame, love, sacrifice?

The Inner Constellation theme for November is service, which is directly connected to wholesome livelihood as a way to happiness. As beautiful life would have it, my husband recorded a movie this weekend, The Hurt Locker, written by a journalist who was on assignment with a bomb disposal unit in Baghdad. While watching the film I initially formed the impression that one particular character was fiercely ego driven, but then, as his story progressed, service to something much bigger than himself materialized--protecting human life. What struck me regarding this choice of service is the discipline and practice it takes to disassemble one's instinct for self preservation. Putting others before oneself is a calling, and it's also a practice in developing compassion.

Most of us will never serve in such an intense capacity, but we can consciously look at how we do serve and what drives our actions--perhaps it's compassion for animals, our planet, or a deep passion for what we love. Right livelihood expresses what we treasure and can move us and others in the direction of freedom.

From this land and across the many oceans, our choice of service affects the lives of people, animals, plants and minerals. Each human being is as varied as the cosmos with talents that are numerous, mysterious and complex. On this Veteran's Day weekend, InnerConstellation.com* would like to honor and thank all the men and women who serve our country and protect the freedoms we enjoy everyday.

May all live in the world unharmed,
in a state of ease and grace.


 *mindfulness services are offered to Veteran's and their families at InnerContellation.com, scroll down for flyer details

Letting Go With Roses and Turquoise...

Fall Retreat 2017: Coming Home to Our Ancestors

Ancient Cottonwoods at our Glenbrook nest are about to pop! It looks as if we have this one timed perfectly and LTMC looks so forward to this day to sit together in community and enjoy this gem of a property tucked into a slice of Tahoe heaven. As our calendar has turned to October, LTMC plans a day of sitting meditation, walking meditation and total relaxation with the theme of coming home to our Ancestors. We also look forward to enjoying a Vegan potluck that has been known to be out-of-this-world delicious as we practice mindful eating together. Please RSVP for carpooling information from The Studio as our retreat location parking is limited. More details can be found on our Facebook Events page. Hope to see you there for a peaceful and happy Fall day.

September Theme: Healing the Ancestral Heart

This month's Inner Constellation theme is Healing the Ancestral Heart. How appropriate that it was my dear pop's birthday weekend--He would have been 77 years old. I spent the weekend reflecting on our happy times together and found myself caring for my ancient Geraniums. A poem was born. This piece also honors my momma, as she watered my love of plants and flowers with the many hours spent in the greenhouses where she worked...more precious memories.

  Ode to Wintering Geraniums

©Karla Johnston, InnerConstellation.com

Every year they are brought indoors because

I can never bear to lose them to Tahoe's winter.

Four-inch annuals ten years ago

now fill the breadth of a sliding glass door.

Sitting upon my zafu*

I meet them most weekends,

clean the dead leaves

and collect red, heart-shaped petal offerings for the altar.

I've sat beside them for difficult phone conversations,

to journal great joys,

inhaling their pungent, earthy scent.

This year a tomato seed found home in their rich soil,

sprouted and bore fruit.

I'll care for it, too, through the winter

and gather more bright happiness. 

*round, Zen meditation cushion

Right Speech: Open Sky

This week continues the pondering of the Noble Eightfold Path or the path to happiness. Right View is the first of the eight steps to a happy life. It's the foundation for walking into the big wide world. Then, as we decidedly identify and step onto the road of well-being, we can begin practicing the second of the Eightfold Path--Loving Speech (aka Right Speech).

When I think of Loving Speech, I think of the metaphor of a boundless, open sky, recognizing the inherent goodness and limitless nature of every being. When we practice Loving Speech we remember this innate quality and speak to it, again and again. As I was pondering Loving Speech, I pulled a tea bag fortune that seemed to sum up the idea perfectly....

Awww, heck yah! The two questions come to mind again: Are my words alleviating suffering? Are my words creating happiness? Speak to a person's goodness and strengths, call them into remembrance again and again.

Another component often paired with the second step to happiness, Loving Speech, is deep listening. When we stop and truly listen to another we know better what to say, and what not to say. The same two questions can be asked: Do I listen purely to alleviate suffering? Do I listen for ways to water happiness?

The Noble Eightfold Path is a practice. May we enjoy the experiment of speaking and listening in loving ways. Next week on the path to happiness, number three--Right Livelihood.

You Vow To Do What!!!

The word "vow" can cause many people to break out in hives! Itching and scratching yet? However in Eastern tradition the word "vow" implies consenting action. A vow is also made with sovereignty and freedom, not under coercion, threats, or violence. In the West we also tend to think of vows in connection to our relationships, specifically the vow of marriage, where faith is placed in a human being. 

There are Four Vows of an Awakened Being or also known as Four Bodhisattva* Vows, where one's faith is placed not in a vacillating human being but in the sustainability of goodness (my translation). In any situation, no matter how difficult, we can respond mindfully with kindness. This doesn't mean we are stepped on like a doormat. No way! Allowing oneself to be stepped on like a door mat goes against our first and highest ideal--loving kindness! And, if we're not in good working order, love and compassion cannot be extended or sustained. We studied and sang the Four Bodhisattva Vows at the most recent Summer Retreat 2017. They matched perfectly our retreat theme of, "consent."  In our study, we discovered Thich Nhat Hanh's fresh translation of the Four Bodhisattva* Vows:  

The awakened way is unsurpassable; I vow to embody it.

• However innumerable beings are, I vow to meet them with kindness and interest.

• However inexhaustible the states of suffering are, I vow to touch them with patience and love.

• However immeasurable the Dharmas** are, I vow to explore them deeply.

• However incomparable the mystery of interbeing***, I vow to surrender to it freely.

–Thich Nhat Hanh

The Four Vows consent to actively be a source of kindness, peace, compassion to everyone, including ourselves. All suffering stops with us, all happiness begins with us. In these end days of summer may we consent to be happy, healthy and strong, safe and protected, free from inner and outer harm, may we live in the world with ease and grace.  


 *    Awakened Being
**   Spiritual teachings (and the practice of them in our lives)
***  Interconnection with each other and all things

Consent...I've Got Your Back!

Hello, Loves. Getaway café is a breakfast sanctuary for Lake Tahoe Mindfulness Community (LTMC). We go there every Wednesday after our time in community. One morning a few weeks ago during breakfast, it was mentioned that happiness in all its forms: peace, joy, love is available at any moment.  No matter what predicament we may find ourselves in, happiness is also always available. A single word came up to help us practice peace, joy and love in the midst of  a hard time. That single word became our August theme – – consent. 

I had the opportunity to practice consenting this week when I went to the doctors to get pins out of my hand (What!!!???). To my disappointment, the bone wasn't fused enough, and I was told we'd reassess in another two weeks. Two more weeks of no work, no writing, no tennis, no biking, a vacation change...blah, blah, sob. In the time it took for the doc to leave and the tech to come in to dress my hand, I stopped the blah, blah, breathed and consented. The most beautiful truth popped into my head, "at least I have a hand to break!" Was this Pollyanna thinking? Well, yes, but it was also realistic thinking because it's true! On the drive home (with my pinned hand), I noticed the most amazing giant sunflowers growing at the elementary school garden, and the sky was so robin-egg blue. Oh, and that night the stars shone entirely bright. Simple miracles await my engaged attention every day.  Stopping, consenting, breathing and goodness floods in. 

LTMC comrades are flowers, blue sky, bright stars in a clear night. I cannot tell you how many times I've sat in community and just consented, knowing each of us are committed to nourishing goodness. I trust our practice, our teachers, the teachings and can let go. There's a line in a chant that's one of my favorites, "teaching and living the way of awareness in the very midst of suffering and confusion...." This is LTMC's job description! 

Working with trauma survivors, I believe one indicator of resiliency is the ability to hold both suffering and happiness in equal attention. This skill isn't easy, it takes practice and conscious consent to dwell happily in the present moment no matter what comes our way, and...it's easier when comrades have got your back! Come soak in Summer Retreat Sunday, where you'll be surrounded by flowers, spacious sky and Tahoe's brightest stars. 

Summer Mindfulness Retreat August 13, 2017

Six days away, our Pretties, and LTMC is feelin' the summer love of Tahoe after a fabulous torrential soaking, our LTMC signature experience...Sierra Pureland is smelling soooooooo good! If food prep is up your alley, please bring a vegan potluck yummy to share and a plate, utensil and cup to diminish our waste. If not, just bring your sweet self for a day of total abandonment and nourishment! See you all Sunday....

Join the Conversation, FB event page: Summer Retreat 2017

About Summer Retreat 2017

Right View: Dividing Light From Dark

Happy Friday, everyone! Last week there was an Inner Constellation post on the Four Noble Truths. The last Noble Truth is that there is a path to happiness. I don’t know about you, but I’m high steppin’ myself over there! So where is this path to happiness? In answer, the Buddha proposed what's called the Noble Eightfold Path, outlining very concretely the steps to a happy life. I've been spending my one arm days pondering the first step--Right View. 

Often when people see the word, "right," they can get a little hung up, I know I did. Perhaps the word skillful versus non-skillful may be helpful. Right or Skillful View is the ability to differentiate between what is healthy and what is not healthy. One of the ways I like to practice nurturing Right View for myself is by asking two questions: 

• Does this alleviate suffering? 

• Does this encourage happiness?

“…God said, “Let there be light.” I like to imagine that light replied, saying, “God, I have to wait for my twin brother, darkness, to be with me. I can’t be there without the darkness.” God asked, “Why do you need to wait? Darkness is there.” Light answered, “In that case, then I am also already there.”


Every moment we have choice, light is there, darkness is also there. Happiness is there, and so too is suffering. Can we discern the most wholesome choices, moment to moment? On the road to happiness, the first step is identifying what is beneficial to our well-being and to the health of others. If this cannot be defined, then all other striving for happiness will fall short. Separation of light from dark is necessity. Then, once our sights are clear, we can keep steppin’ towards further creation. And that brings us to the second of the Noble Eightfold Path for a happy life…Right Speech. See you for that contemplation next week.

One-Armed Writer & An Experiment With Voice Recognition!

Poor pinky...so dramatic!

So, I'm here in the garden taking a bit of forced R and R. Last week I took a  tumble on my mountain bike, causing a severe break to poor pinky. Surgery followed resulting in pins, and now my writing hand is sufficiently bound and casted. Six days taking it easy, elevating my hand, icing and taking ibuprofen has me ready to figure out the next four weeks of one armed life!  

Thus proceeds an experiment in voice recognition! I've verbally prepared an email to myself, which I then copied and pasted into this blog article. It's a great practice in mindful speech. Please excuse the punctuation :)

With all this pondering time I've been thinking about the Four Noble Truths discovered by the Buddha:

1) There is suffering.
2) There is a path leading to suffering.
3) There  is happiness.
4) There is a path leading to happiness.

A natural tendency was to go over the course of events leading up to the accident and identify bad choices made and the domino effect these now have on my livelihood, my clients and my husband (who is my left-hand man) for the next four weeks. Indeed, there is ill-being and there was a path (quite literally) leading to ill being. 

Ah, but there is also wellbeing...writing is one of my paths to happiness, as is physical exercise and the work that I do. All require my dominant hand! The next four weeks is an experiment in the beauties and adaptations of a one handed world. 

How are we to practice the Four Noble Truths--to recognize suffering and the path of suffering and become more skillful at choosing a path of happiness and wellbeing?  Well, darling, that there is the stuff of life and the school of hard knocks!

The answer to such an exquisite question brings us to the Noble Eightfold path--see you in a couple days to explore these gems....

Fruit of Independence Day!

Happy July 4th everyone! As I type, I'm kicking it in the backyard sanctuary with Martin Luther King Jr's book, "Stride Toward Freedom," on my left and my journal on my right, and bloggin' it up in the middle! It's a good 4th so far. July's theme was the suggestion--fruit. This theme came up after we went on a wildflower walking meditation as a community. The flower fruit was popping and we were fortunate enough to soak it up in that moment in time. Brainstorming this theme of fruit, I'm pondering two aspects:

1) Fruit happens when natural order guides it into being. Natural law is always in the director's seat--for instance, take our lovely wildflower friends, no one plants them, waters them, or cares for them in any way, shape or form except creation/natural order (wind, rain, soil, sunshine, insects, etc). There is a natural cycle to the bearing of fruit.

2) Fruit happens when conscious effort has been applied. Wait, didn't I just say creation rules? Yes, indeed, and we are agents that either help it along or hinder it. No rain? Go get the watering can! If within us, with diligence and effort, we move towards goals, be them material, personal, or spiritual, our thoughts, actions and words will precipitate the development of fruit. Take one of my favorite Freedom Series peeps, Martin Luther King, Jr., by his non-violent ethics and sheer determination to uphold these principles, a nation and its people were transformed. He had conviction the fruit would ripen, even though with his efforts it had only begun to take seed.

This is a deep theme, ya'll! Be heartened, for it's summer and we're going to pop whether we like it or not and yet...I'll be getting up and finding a watering can if someone is in need. It's my day of independence as I commit to look closely at what I'm allowing to ripen without interference and what I'm consciously helping along or arresting based on my thoughts, actions and words. I feel a blessing coming on...

~By Their Fruits
Plant the seed, watch it grow--
Poison Oak or
Sunflowers?

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"

Shining Light on Devotion

The month of June is dedicated to the theme of "devotion," and like every perfect theme, opportunities presented to practice with this North Star quality this weekend. The following is a poem of thanks to all my beloveds who took the time and heart to come to a day that will be forever remembered as one of the most treasured yet in my sweet, sweet life. Your gift of devotion has strengthened our community, thank you:

Afterglow
©June 4, 2017 Karla Johnston InnerConstellation.com

June 3, 2017 Lake Tahoe, CA,
although, it could be anywhere…

The gift:
“Has the entire community assembled?”
“Yes, the entire community has assembled?”

“Is there harmony in the community?”
“Yes, there is harmony.”

Noble community, please listen:
Transmission of the Jewels,
the Five MindfulnessTrainings
serenely, reverently.

A gentle feast follows: cherries, strawberries, mixed fruits,
chickpea, quinoa and pinenut salads, almond cookies,
homemade jam, almond cheese and unleavened bread.

The seal:
Shining Light…
Vowing that every word spoken will be from a place of love,
knowing that shining light on one star,
shines light on our entire constellation.
Round and round and round:
I am remembering who I am,
we are remembering who we are:
open, authentic, curious, imaginative,
searching for wisdom, lifting up,
pure-hearted (please pass the tissues!)
enthusiastic, sensitive, courageous, gentle,
eternal, fearless, leading with the heart,
magical, clear-seeing,
feeling deeply, effortlessly, ease-fully,
honoring where we’ve come from.

Dear Thay, spiritual and blood ancestors, beloveds,
What have we transformed?
Suffering
How?
Dwelling happily in this present moment
in full awareness.

I love you,
I love you.

We are pinpoint luminaries,
interwoven among equally bright nations:
none more advantaged,
all sparks Eternal.

We are remembering

who we are. 

Fearlessness...GRRRRRR

Month of May brings snow to Tahoe and fierce resilience as bright Daffodils push up and out in spite of stormy elements. Tahoe spring seems the perfect metaphor given our theme of "fearlessness." What does it mean to be fearless when one is committed to practicing peace, compassion and understanding?

A mindfulness training comes to mind:

Aware that words can create happiness or suffering, we are committed to learning to speak truthfully, lovingly and constructively. We will use only words that inspire joy, confidence and hope as well as promote reconciliation and peace in ourselves and among other people. 

It goes on to say...

We will do our best to speak out about situations of injustice, even when doing so may make difficulties for us or threaten our safety. (9th Mindfulness Training (of the 14): Truthful and Loving Speech)

Fearlessness is required when engaging in Truthful and Loving speech--not to be carried away by another's words or actions but staying anchored to our commitment to practice peace and understanding. Yet, as we engage with our world, this training recognizes that situations of injustice will arise and we are obligated to do our best to speak out in a truthful and loving way.

Whom are examples of people modeling and living such fearlessness? Martin Luther King, Gandhi, Thich Nhat Hanh, Hafiz, Malala Yousafzai, Maya Angelou, we could go on. It's the fruits of such teachers that enable us to know with certainty that we too can be fierce in choosing freedom, love, peace, and understanding above all else. Doing so on a moment-by-moment basis becomes our fearless acts of resistance.

True fearlessness seems to require open-heartedness, not turning away or shielding ourselves but engaging fully, using North Stars we hold dear: kindness, compassion, freedom, peace....GRRRRRR, we're kittens, but we're also lions!

Four Questions...

I approach this day with an open heart.

Some mornings as eyes open to morning light, a sweet little invocation slips in. This particular morning, I shared the above snippet with a friend of mine, Hillary, who remarked that the words were "timely and timeless." Indeed, it seems that with rest and stillness, comes clarity that transcends time and space and befits situations we may find ourselves in.

Recently while care-giving and doing Metta for a beloved one, four questions came to mind:

1) What is your suffering?
2) What can I do to help?
3) What are your joys?
4) What can I do to lengthen them?

When our hearts stay open and we listen deeply, the answers to the above questions materialize. As life unfolds and we care for our beloveds, interact with our "not-so-beloveds," have fun and manage difficult situations, it's possible to look deeply and discover--What's your suffering and how can I help? What are your joys and how can I lengthen them? We can ask these four questions to ourselves as well, taking care of our pain and remembering to also water seeds of peace and joy as we move through this glorious life. In every moment of the day, we have opportunities to practice keeping our hearts open and free....

Emptiness Is Not Nothingness

Avalokita 

This week in community the topic of "emptiness" was explored with much sharing about the realization that when we hold onto a specific form, we suffer. Instances were mentioned regarding our felt sufferings when a loved one passes away. A dear one in attendance had experienced the loss of an immediate family member just a few days ago and related.

It's interesting that in Native American tradition, when a loved one dies, it's believed that we gain fuller access to their wisdom ~ for there is no longer a form keeping us separate. What a lovely idea to practice with.

Discourse on Absolute Truth comes to mind with the following directives:

When seeing, hearing, or sensing something and considering it as the only thing that can bring comfort...one is always inclined to get caught in it and rule out everything else as inferior.

Why is spiritual form less than physical form? Perhaps we fear the nothingness of ourselves or our beloved one, but is that ever possible? Or perhaps we've become attached to the idea of our loved one being a form we can see, hear, and experience physically. Zen enjoys immensely the questioning process for it promotes concentration and ultimately insight.

Come stretch, feel, pull, experience with LTMC, the great wonders that are outside our perceptions of solid space and time this week. It's our commitment to practice with emptiness as a space full of possibilities. We are interwoven, connected beyond the boundaries of a separate self, free of identity or form. Is your head spinning yet? We'll see you next week :)

MP3 of Avalokita Heart Sutra
Sutra lyrics

Sowing Seeds (And Digging Up Roots)

I just returned from a Deer Park retreat in Escondido, CA, a mindfulness practice center in the tradition of Plum Village/Thich Nhat Hanh. The retreat theme was, "Turning Outward with Inward Stability," with the encouragement to increase our engagement with our world. Mindfulness practice is twofold:

1) taking care of suffering 
2) cultivating happiness and freedom

Another way to look at this might be to know the mud, but to also know the lotuses. How do we cultivate delight everyday? How do we encourage the lotus to grow and push up through the muck? 

These questions corresponds nicely with the April mindfulness theme of sowing seeds. How do we plant seeds of peace, love and understanding in our daily lives? When we engage someone with our smile, hold the door open for an elder, shovel snow for our neighbor (spring in Tahoe:), we sow seeds that can't help but grow beautiful flowers. These simple acts could be called right conditions. Using our spring gardens as metaphors--with fertile ground, sunlight and rain, the cherry tree blooms effortlessly. Consciously cultivating the right conditions in ourselves and in our loved ones is our mindfulness practice. When we do so, suffering is lessened right away.    

I feel a poem coming on...."In the garden of a clear mind, a flower blooms..."

Spring Mindfulness Retreat: April 30, 2017

Come soak up a day of sitting and walking meditation in community to celebrate spring as it comes to the mountains of Tahoe! We will practice with the theme of "Sowing Seeds," during a day interspersed with song and practice poetry. Yummy, light fare will be provided to warm our bellies as we take our practice outside. Please bring a mug for soup and tea as well as a spoon and napkin to support our eating meditation. Feel free to bring a light vegan dish to share, or if you're not of the nature to cook, there will be plenty of opportunities to serve in other ways to ensure that everyone has a comfortable and enjoyable day.

Jesus In A Flower Pot

 

Happy Spring, everyone! Although Tahoe is still locked in snow tunnels--the Robins have arrived, chipmunks are out of hibernation and the doves are cooing! Below is a Spring Tribute, please enjoy and may it benefit your practice of looking deeply....

Jesus In A Flower Pot

©2017 Karla Johnston, InnerConstellation.com

Jogging alongside Tahoe snow banks 7 feet high, 

baking in March sunshine,
I run on black warmed asphalt.

Spring run-off gurgles through gutters like a river
as Gore-Tex runners
skim through the wet,
splashing snow-melt
in sprays of liquid light.

Neighbor's house is passed for the hundredth time,
but in this moment, snow has melted and crumbled away,
exposing a beraggled flower pot--
a tiny plastic Jesus stands askew among the carnage of winter,
water jug tipped,
cradling a loaf of bread—
compassion's cup extended.

Feet stop running,
hands come together in one full breath…
bow
and receive
spring's blessing.

How Does One Experience Nirvana?

LTMC, dang, you guys, we're going deep! This week we just began our new book, "No Death, No Fear" which led to the discussion of Nirvana. One definition of Nirvana is the extinction of all notions, all ideas. We tried wrapping our heads around that possibility and how exactly to succeed in extinguishing our notions. An example of a tangerine was presented and how by pure experience we taste the yummy fruit yet are not shaken when the tangerine is no longer a yummy fruit but rather fuel digesting in our stomach! Can we have similar appreciation for beautiful moments, painful moments, knowing that the only truth is impermanence and the fact that form will undoubtedly change. How can we let go of our notions and experience Nirvana? Unanimously, we decided--it's a practice! Our community discussion settled and a little ditty was born. Please enjoy and may it benefit your practice....

How Does One Experience Nirvana?
©Karla Johnston, InnerConstellation.com

“Nirvana is the extinction of all notions…all ideas.”
~The Heart of the Buddha’s Teachings, Thich Nhat Hanh

Woke at 4:00am wide awake…
checked on sweet P, elderly cancer cat,
who sat, head up,
as she pushed affectionately into hands reaching
through moonlight for tangible reassurance.
Buried my nose behind her ear,
filled up with warm, sleepy scent—ambrosia.

Back to bed,
followed my breath,
noticed the catch between inhalation and exhalation.

At 7:00am, woke to administer medication, food preparation
and identified the clouds brewing—restlessness.
Nephews court date is tomorrow morning,
the separation of our 2,000 miles deepened the heart-chasm….

Burst of energy had me answering emails, cleaning kitchen
before I finally pulled myself from the whirlwind I had become,
sat by Sweet P and opened my journal,
“I’ve got to write this out,” I convinced myself.
First sentence, “I’m a busy bee, unable to get to the cushion...”

I pause, smile and realize—writing it out isn’t what it used to be.
A landmark sentence hits the page, “I just need to sit.”
Close journal, shut eyes, follow breathing:
body,
feelings,
mind,
objects of mind.
In doing so, calm arises,
concentration,
happiness, even joy
as perspective naturally widens.

Space. Stillness. Insight—
writing it out, talking it out, fuels the telling of a story:
Sweet P is not only cancer.
She is 2# of deceptive tough fluff found by the roadside,
rolling-on-head-in-sunshine honey girl.
Nephew is bright eyed, ripping off baby clothes to run wild through the petting zoo,
squealer-of-delight.
We are so much more than narrative,
a running commentary!

When a story is no longer told,
the characters break free.
In one breath of awareness,
all suffering ceases.
I suddenly remember our Eternity. 

Day of Jedi Training (ie Day of Mindfulness:)

Lake Tahoe Mindfulness Community is offering our first online Day of Mindfulness (DOM) this coming Saturday, March 11 from 7:00a-7:00pm and this blog article can hopefully serve as an introduction to DOM as a way of deepening our personal and community practices.

Before the days of an iwatch, lay persons and monastics who practiced mindfulness used to look to the night skies and come together according to cycles of the moon. They would sit, do walking meditation, listen to dharma talks, practice eating meditation and nourish themselves, their loved ones and their communities. In the Plum Village tradition practitioners are encouraged to take collective as well as personal days of mindfulness to set time aside for personal reflection and awakening. Thich Nhat Hanh has famously said, "One Buddha is not enough," stressing that the next Buddha will not be one person but the communities that practices the way of understanding, peace and compassion. Days of Mindfulness are opportunities to water our Buddha nature and the Buddha nature in our loved ones and communities.

So, all this being considered, March 11 is a full moon day set aside for online community to come together with two supportive anchor points--the 7:00am uberconference call and the 7:00pm uberconference call. All the juicy hours in between are for your enjoyment and reflection. Suggestions will be offered via the DOM Facebook events page for access during the day. If you are not on Facebook, please email the following contact and you will be added to an email send list with all DOM links.

Lastly, some folks may question, why online? LTMC does four seasonal retreats every year for our community to come together in person to practice. We've also met since July 2014, every Wednesday morning with between 10-15 people in attendance. Even though we're a small mountain community, our retreats have attracted as many as 25+ people--we're a destination sangha along the shores of Lake Tahoe. It's not uncommon for folks to visit for short lengths of time and then go back to wherever home base may be. We've brought our mothers, sisters, brothers, kids who have visited LTMC from all around the US. An online forum is a way for us to reconnect and practice with our long distance beloved members again and with our larger sangha community. Living in an isolated and often weather-beaten area, local LTMC folks can't always drive 4+ hours round trip to join in our closest Days of Mindfulness. Another thing we've considered in offering an online forum is our presently encased snow town wherein some populations cannot physically get out and about. We've met families in our local community with loved ones who are bound to place due to illness or circumstance. Perhaps an online Day of Mindfulness may serve to benefit these populations and encourage practice no matter where one may find themselves.

LTMC looks forward to strengthening our practice together and offering support in whatever ways serve our communities best. Please consider joining us and bringing along a few loved ones too. In the words of Master Yoda:

Luminous beings are we...not this crude matter.

Stretch and pull, shine across the ether...see you on Saturday :)

Snow Shoveling Sangha!

Four mountain gals showed up for LTMC this week but The Studio parking lot was a no-go as we had received another dumping the eve before. No problem, we've got this! The winter has prepared us well. So, LTMC squeezed into our breakfast location across the street (where we go after our Wednesday sits, yum:). Thank you Getaway Cafe for saving the day! Within moments of wading through the snowy goodness and up into our home temple, the plow guy came--our hero! Beautiful practice to sit in meditation and send Metta to that sweet savior clearing our way.

During community discussion, the theme of managing strong emotions came up and one of us shared an inspiring success of mindfully calming herself before addressing an individual who did serious damage to property and to her art. We were reminded of Thich Nhat Hanh's wisdom, which was skillfully practiced in her volatile situation:

Below was an excerpt read in our current book: The Mindfulness Survival Kit regarding applying the ethics of Mindful Living:

1. We learn how to be relaxed and release tension in ourselves.
2. We learn how to breathe and calm ourselves when we have strong emotions.
3. We learn how to keep communication open with relatives and friends and how to restore communication when it has broken down.
4. We learn ways of looking deeply in order to realize interbeing and no-self and to overcome fear.

In the wise words of one LTMC member, "It's a practice!" Heck yah, but, we've got this, our winters have prepared us well. Have a joyful week "being" snow angels and the like....

"May all beings be happy,
may we be healthy and strong,
safe and protected,
free from inner and outer harm.
May we live in the world with ease and grace."*


* LTMC dedication, inspired by the Metta Sutra and written by Karla Johnston, InnerConstellation.com

~~Readings for the week of February 26: The Mindfulness Survival Kit p. 186-203

Suchness of Loved Ones....

The theme of "Suchness," in the month of February is kicking my @$$, in regards to relationships with my loved ones. It's been awhile since I posted a poem and this morning as rain turned to snow, the muse of deep looking tapped me on the shoulder. A dear sweet member of my family has given me permission to blog this poem of insight that was the result. In doing so, may it alleviate suffering in all beings and help water seeds of hope in the enduring opportunities for transformation (IC Truth number #3).

Photographs
February 20, 2017
©Karla Johnston, InnerConstellation.com

I was leaving you
to go to the country club
and dine with the in-laws.
Wise 5-year-old heart knew I preferred to stay with you.
Arms wrapped tightly around the other
in a goodbye embrace.
We turn for a picture, catching a moment in time…
heads pressed together,
infatuated grins mirror the other as we squeeze close.
Our dark eyes sparkle against a crushed black velvet dress,
no tears--confident in the enduring presence of love.

Now, year 2017, Day after Valentine’s,
an entirely different photograph:
dark eyes askew, drool clings to trimmed beard.
DUI, fleeing arrest.
I’m on the other side of the screen,
so immediate my love for you,
breathing to calm a racing heart.
Thoughts bombard—could have killed himself,
killed another….

I carry both photographs to the altar,
prop them against a yellow flowering begonia,
sit down and get still.
All my life, I’ve pondered this mystery:
why don’t I love everyone as deeply as my kin?
Breathing in,
breathing out,
finally an answer is born--
because I’ve experienced my loved one’s goodness,
I have known their shining beauty
not just their scorn.

Gaze at the pictures, child and man,
breathe, my dear.
In every human being all possibilities exists--
the lovable child and the slobbering drunk.
Do not be moved--
be forever grounded in goodness
and the enduring presence of love.