Blindsided by Dean Solon

there is an aspect of not-being-in-the-truth when i claim to be blindsided by an experience, by an event, by something another person has "done" to me...because it ws always an inherent possibilty, was always a nearly-foreseen potentiality, was always one of a nearly infinite multitude of arising and unfolding realities.

enlightenment is an unfolding and unwinding, a disclosing of the obvious, a clear viewing of the already seen...a giving up of the wrestling [with-God] scene.
all that is, of the universe/multiverse, is known to each of us;  the life(s) journey is the integrating of what, already, is known.
     everything is known to me, even if not [yet] understood by me.
     therefore, each of us is a future buddha.
     therefore, each of us always has been a buddha.
     because once one becomes a buddha,
     one experiences always having been a buddha
     and always being a buddha.
     past/future/present one thing.  one thing.
     time a nearly infinite space.

so what it is i am asserting:  there is an aspect of not-being-in-the-truth when you---when any and all of us---claim to be blindsided by an experience, by something that has been done to you...because you always might have seen---and so DID see---its arising and unfolding possibility.
which is, in this quantum multiverse, no different than asserting that you DID see its arising and unfolding reality.

no shame, no blame, no excuses; no contradictions, no paradoxes, no confusion; no clinging to victimhood, no holding tightly to being traumatized.

being here, being present, in the quantum multiverse---in THIS quantum multiverse---is traumatic, in each and every moment.

being here, being present, in the quantum multiverse---in THIS quantum multiverse---is a great good fortune opportunity, is a brilliant bright light experience.           

Grieving by Dean Solon

am thinking of all the people who come and go, who perform on stage and make their [un]timely exits.  to applause and-or to silence.  i miss the now not-visible, and let them be[come] not-here now. 

each a contributor, an actor, an actress, in a passion play.  i weep, i laugh, i am quiet, am quiet.  am doing my best, am not-wrestling with God.

nebulae swirl around my head.
oceans swim around my heart.

Every Day An Earth Day by Dean Solon

nebulae swirl around my head.
oceans swim around my heart.

bringing attention, lightly, to feeling the sensations of your breathing...allowing your breath to be natural...feeling the sensations of each breath, relaxing into each breath...feeling it through you...the soft sensations of breath coming and going, without effort.
sitting here, sitting now, encountering this present moment...sitting on sacred ground.

one hand on the earth.
you sitting quietly, your body, your physical form and being, on the earth.
sitting quietly, here, now, every day an earth day...every day an earth day.
sitting quietly, one hand on the earth.

nebulae swirl around your head.
oceans swim around your heart.

Getting to Mindful - by Jen Ristine, LMT, NCBTMB, MBA

White and glowing, the moon and stars, set on a blanket of midnight blue seemed to rest gently on the peaks of the gigantic Rocky Mountains that first night I spent in Colorado almost twenty years ago. College diploma crammed into the trunk of my car along with everything I owned, I headed out west to find myself, my call, or something profound, deep, and true. Excited as I was during the weeks leading up to my great adventure, I felt lost and alone as I drove myself along route 70 from Pennsylvania to Colorado. Tears of sadness filled my eyes and wet my cheeks that night I arrived in Colorado and laid looking up at the night sky. Deep inside my body something felt off; an awareness beyond the racing thoughts and emotions that something about my adventure was not right.

Looking back, I think that moment in Colorado was the beginning of my journey toward mindfulness, the practice of being present. In that moment, I think my spirit, through physical manifestation of queasiness and cold, was realizing that my journey to truth not an external quest but rather an internal one.

Now, I’m a do-er, so it took me a little over a decade to begin to understand what my spirit knew that night in Colorado: that being present in the world is not about what, how, when, how much, where one does in the world. Rather being present in the world is about whom one is in the world and the depth and quality of the relationships one is in with the world, with other life in the world, and with the energy that transcends the world. The last six years of my life have been the richest in my mindfulness journey whereas the first ten years seemed to be more a mixture of stumbling, backpedaling, falling, randomly choosing a route, and disconnected progress.

The most profound difference between the first ten and the last six has been getting help to unearth my truth. Becoming mindful involves getting to one’s truth and living through that truth. (What a process – and I’m still in it!) I got support for my spirituality, my emotional and mental health, and my physical wellness. The body is how we experience the world; there is no being without a body. Paying attention to my body affected my journey deeply. This significant season of my journey inspired me to become a bodyworker, specializing in therapeutic massage and bodywork with a focus in mindfulness. For me, bodywork empowered me to find grounding in myself, to stand strong and still amid sweeping emotions and thoughts that had previously sent me reeling, and to begin to explore who I am truly, in the world. The emperor in the movie, Mulan, looks with stillness into the eyes of the warrior ready to kill him and says, “The mountain does not bend to the wind, no matter how it howls.” It is this message that my spirit knew instinctively years ago as I looked up at the Rocky Mountains: when I become mindful of who I am and live out of my truth presently, I will not be blown around by the winds of the world. Mindfulness Bodywork Therapy was born out of this experience.

Jennifer Herfurth Ristine, MBA, NCTMB, is a nationally certified massage therapist who completed her massage training at Sanford Brown Institute in 2007. She specializes in listening to clients and is able to provide massage and range of motion stretching that fits the individual needs of her clients. Jennifer’s training includes Swedish and deep tissue massage, neuromuscular therapy, range of motion stretching, and pregnancy massage. She is also a certified Reiki II practitioner and Trauma Touch (TM) Therapist. To schedule an appointment or learn more about her work, contact jenristine1113@gmail.com or 484-213-8239. 

Passover and Easter 2012 by Dean Solon

sacred time, sacred space.
potentiality, reality...palpability, presence...of a sacred week.

the jewish wisdom tradition:  a superb master, Moses, has experiences.  remarkable experiences.  has an awakening event, encountering the divine, encountering God, receiving teachings, co-creating a covenant with the Divine Presence that will ring a bell for other sentient beings for more than 3,000 years...and counting. 
a Promise made, that always is open for fulfilling:  each of us may be Known, each of us may be knowing.

the christian wisdom tradition:  a superb master, Jesus, who exemplifies and embodies and expresses the Promise as one who is Known and as one who knows.
the passionate story:  He lived,
                                             He died,
                                             He lives, still.
a reminding and remembering of the covenant, that has been ringing a bell for other sentient beings for 2,000 years...and counting. 
a Promise made and fulfilled:  each of us is Known, each of us may be knowing.

sacred time, sacred space.
potentiaity, reality...palpability, presence...of a sacred week.  of sacred moment(s),
here, now.

BLOSSOM into SPRING with the Dance of QIGONG

BLOSSOM into SPRING with the Dance of QIGONG

Karen Steinbrecher    QiGong Practitioner   

Did you experience Spring fever in the first few weeks last month?

Although the premature warm weather gave us a Spring preview with blossoms on the shrubs and trees and bulbs in bloom, now we are officially in Spring, which in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is associated with the Wood element. There is a sparkle in the air, we are ready to play baseball, watch the butterflies flutter with light-hearted images of young lovers and love bursting all around us.

Practicing, dancing Qigong, we can transition and follow the Seasonal changes with grace, as we adjust our bodies and unblock our meridians to align body, mind, and spirit to find peace and harmony towards optimum health.  Qigong is more than a set of flowing movements, it is an attitude that works to restructure one’s perspective on life, leading to balance and harmony with the world around us.

In every culture sages are revered for their ability to live in harmony with Nature and with themselves.  The outward reflects the inward.  It was the great, ancient sages, the Taoists, who discovered the acupuncture meridians, the principles of Qigong, as well as the healing qualities of herbs.    The ancient Taoists of China saw living according to the Tao, the Natural Way, as both sociological and ecological, the dance of life as being all-encompassing. Taoist Qigong traditionally emphasizes the body, for nature and the physical world are sacred.  In Taoist philosophy and TCM medicine, Spring is a time to cleanse, nourish, and support the Liver and Gall bladder. Inspired by the Wood element, envision a young tree as a pale seedling beginning to push through the winter-hardened earth, reaching for the warmth and light of the Sun.   This is how insistent your own life force becomes during this point in our year’s cycle.

Taoist Qigong alludes to a cosmic order of sorts, following the rhythms of nature, that  we see in the world around us as well as the rhythms we feel inside ourselves.

Spring is also a time of ‘emergency,’ where one’s life force pushes forward unexpectedly and in potent ways.  Any suppressed feelings or intentions clamor to come forth.  It is no surprise then that the emotion most associated with the liver is Anger.  Just as it’s not uncommon for a woman in childbirth to lash out in anger during the throes of labor, one may find the exhaustive work of your own ‘birthings’ brings you to a similar emotional pitch.  If you use Qigong to move energy through your liver and break up stagnation, you will find that you can transform anger into kindness and forgiveness, beginning with forgiveness of self.  This is empowering, a rebirth to joy and love.

With Qigong practice we follow the TCM practice of the 5 Seasons. The Wood element    focus is upon the Liver and the Gall Bladder.  We dance, practice flowing movements that help us to detoxify, let go.  Here at the Resiliency Center we practice Zhang Fu, movements that correlate with our organs.  What is Zhang Fu?  Zhang = Yin organ, Fu = Yang organ, Yin being the Liver, Gall Bladder being the Yang.   The TCM functions of the Liver govern the free flow of Qi which in turn will ensure the harmonious flow of emotions, blood, and water; it also governs the tendons and ligaments.  Liver function is reflected in the nail, known as the “free & easy wanderer ~ Alchemist.”  It opens into the eyes -the sense of sight.  The Gall Bladder, Yang, eliminates toxins in the body, emulsifies fats, and regulates cholesterol levels. Practicing these special movements enables us to flow into Spring.  

From an ancient Taoist monk, Huang Di Nei Jing:

     “Heavenly Qi moves down to meet the rising Earth Qi.   As a result living creatures bloom and bear fruit”

Qigong is about blending and using the Powers of the Universe to become more whole as humans.  Let us be thankful.  Life is a beautiful journey, a dance.  Be happy. Enjoy and learn from life itself.  Come dance Qigong with me!

Karen Steinbrecher      Qigong   Practitioner at the Resiliency Center       $10.00/class

contact: 215-836-7184   karensteinbrecher@msn.com  Thursdays @ 2 P.M. and 6:15 P.M

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome or PCOS By: Dr. Georgia Tetlow

Polycystic ovary syndrome was originally described as a syndrome including amenorrhea (lack of menses), hirsutism (excess body hair), and obesity in association with enlarged polycystic ovaries. The classic definition of PCOS includes women who have irregular periods, do not ovulate and have hyperandrogenism (excess testosterone and DHEA-s). It is a condition in which there is an imbalance of female sex hormones. This hormone imbalance causes changes in the menstrual cycle, skin changes, cysts in the ovaries, difficulty getting pregnant, and is often associated with type 2 diabetes and increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

In a typical menstrual cycle, follicles develop in the ovaries. These follicles contain eggs, and once an egg is sufficiently mature to be released, it travels into the fallopian tubes and this is referred to as ovulation. Polycystic ovaries are much larger than normal because there are multiple undeveloped follicles which become follicular cysts, thereby creating polycystic (multiple cysts) ovaries.

PCOS occurs most commonly in women during their reproductive years and its estimated that up to 10% of all women have PCOS. There is uncertainty as to the actual cause of PCOS but these factors are likely involved: genetic predisposition, insulin resistance, obesity, and/or environmental chemical pollution.

PCOS is most commonly treated with oral contraceptives to suppress the excess androgens (testosterone) and Metformin to treat insulin resistance by making insulin more efficient. But these treatments don’t address the underlying issue, the medications merely control the symptoms associated with PCOS.

Dr. Tetlow works with women with PCOS to make dietary and lifestyle changes in addition to focused nutrient supplementation. The right nutrition can make a big difference for women with PCOS, including an organic, whole foods diet with limited amounts of sugar and processed foods. A regular exercise program (30-45 minutes daily) is crucial to aid weight loss and improve insulin sensitivity. Supplements that can further aid PCOS include chromium, a mineral that helps to stabilize blood sugar and Chaste Tree Berry which is a herbal product that encourages ovarian production of progesterone. Dr. Tetlow has successfully worked with many women with PCOS using an approach that supports long-term, optimal health.