 Musings from Kripalu
"Stretch yourself."
-Maya Angelou on OWN
I just finished teaching another one of my spacious retreats at the Kripalu Center where we spend two and a half days embracing the myriad (excruciating and comical) ways we hold on to stress and clutter.
We talk about how our stress and our stuff makes us feel. We release it ceremonially with love.
One person's pledge to delete the 4,000 emails from 2009 was met with a collective gasp. Our clammy hands clapped enthusiastically to her resolve and courage. Another talked about how he was going to change his answering machine message to "If your call is important to me, I will return it." For a third participant, it took everything she had to simple breathe more deeply.
It takes courage to really let go. It takes courage to feel the feelings that come up when you take a decisive step and face your fears. It takes courage to commit to what really matters.
Courage - as in the "heart" - the only place within that really knows what's going on...
and sets us free.
May this season (and newsletter) inspire a wellspring of letting go.
Happy spring!
Stephanie
Mary Oliver on Letting Go
What is it that you're trying to release? What would you like to let go of if you could? Right now? Today? This year?
This excerpt by Mary Oliver may help you take that deep breath and just r-e-l-e-a-s-e ...
"...To live in this world you must be able to do three things:
To love what is mortal;
to hold it
against your bones knowing
your own life depends on it;
and, when the time comes to let it go,
to let it go."
-Mary Oliver, "In Blackwater Woods"
Your Amazing Life
Well, maybe it doesn't feel so amazing all the time... but what if it could!?
As I prepared an email announcing my upcoming (once-a-year) program at the New England School of Feng Shui, I came across a huge collection of beautiful testimonials I've gathered since I began teaching this course a few years ago. The more I read the more I remembered what a remarkable journey it was - to slow down and connect with the place within us that is not at all attached to emotional drama and outcome. As one participant wrote:
"I'd like to thank you, and the clearing you've created; for allowing me to catch a glimmer of myself... I feel more like me."
Together we've moved mountains!
Mountains of stress, invisible holding patterns, negative beliefs; attachments to things that keep us stuck, relationships that we're ready or need to let go of, spaces that don't feel good, don't support their occupants, and/or are environmentally disturbed; collective fears that affect everything around us.
We clear all kind of things - from photographs of people from the past, to electromagnetic influences of cell phones, properties that could use some "loving up."
Over four days we develop our clearing muscle, and come away feeling deeply grateful, expanded, grounded, empowered, hopeful, energized.
Join us!
April 29 (pm) - May 2, 2011
New England School of Feng Shui
Woodbury, CT
For cost and details:
One-Minute Clearing
 "Let the past drift away in the water." -Japanese
Saying
Run
your faucet for a few seconds until the water temperature feels just right.
Fill the sink bowl with water. Breathe in E-A-S-E as you watch the water level
expand. Breathe out R-E-L-E-A-S-E.
Wash your hands with awareness, breathing out all
thought and tension. Feel the water on your skin. Notice the scent of the
soap. Notice the lather. Notice your thoughts.
Empty
the bowl, allowing the water to release all thought and tension. Gently dry
your hands. Feel the texture of the towel while you consider...
- Why it feels good to let go.
- How it is easy for me to expand and release with the water.
Try it for one minute every day for a week and notice the flow of changes, shifts, synchronicities...
What are the biggest obstacles for clearing the clutter in your life? Do you yearn for a simpler life but have no idea how to cultivate it or where to begin? Could you use an energizing boost of inspiration and a taste of what deep spaciousness feels like?
Join me. Simple Life, Spacious Life: A Clearing Circle for Women.
April 17, 2011
1-5 pm
The Women's Well
West Concord, MA
Join us!
Exciting News!
There is much cooking at SpaceClear to inspire a clear home and spacious life... I am giddy with excitement and can barely contain myself!
In brief, here's what's new or can expect to come your way soon ...
- A second edition of my book Your Spacious Self (available in May, fingers crossed);
- An e-book app of Your Spacious Self for mobile phones and e-readers like the iPad (for those of you who can read tiny print and carry your phone everywhere). Best part: it includes several audio meditations that I've recorded specifically for the app (and not available anywhere else).
- I've been invited to become a regular contributor to the Travel to Wellness magazine beginning July 1. Read one of my articles and get a sneak peek here: www.traveltowellness.com.
- Kripalu published an excerpt from Your Spacious Self called "Clutter is a State of Mind; Clearing is a Way of Being." Read it here.
- SpaceClear.com is getting a make-over! Promises to be even more beautiful and navigable. I'll let you know when it launches.
- Another book is in the works ... stay tuned!
Video to Knock Your Socks Off
To save or not to save? I wrote a blog post about an amazing Chicago street photographer that no one had ever heard of... until now.
It generated the most comments I've received on my blog thus far.
Check it out, watch the video and enjoy this beauty of a story and photographs that will touch your heart (and maybe knock your socks off).
Contact Us - Stay Connected
Email: [email protected]
Web Site: www.spaceclear.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/SpaciousSelf
Mission
Clearing a path to your true nature -
one small step, drawer, moment - at a time!
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