Time is a funny thing.
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I’ve noticed that as certain times of the year cycle back around, I’ll unconsciously “remember” important moments that occurred around the same time. Like they’ve left an imprint on my being that I only recognize in hindsight.
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May 14 is one of those days. When I was in graduate school, my best friend passed away. May 14 was her birthday. .
Over the years, special things seem to occur on this day. Even when I don’t remember that this day is special.
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One year on May 14th, I taught my first yoga class after graduating from teacher training. Another year on May 14th, I embarked upon one of the most beautiful adventures I’ve ever had — a road trip with no destination, filled with experiences that would expand my mind and heart forever.
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Every year, big or small, something magical seems to transpire on May 14th. And this year, it was especially beautiful.
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When my friend died, I moved across the country and started my first yoga teacher training program. This is where I was first introduced to @trevorhallmusic and his music.
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I came home one night and listened to every song I could find.
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I remember laying outside, looking at the stars, and the song that I am playing above came on — The Lime Tree. Something about it moved me and I felt my friend’s presence so strongly. I wept and wept and wept and wept. Listening to this song on repeat. .
Through watery eyes, I looked to the stars as if asking them “What am I supposed to do with all of this inside me?” And in that moment I heard her voice, “Just keep your eyes on the stars.” And then, a shooting star streaked across the sky. 💫
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I’ve wanted to learn this song since I started playing guitar. But every time I tried to learn, for whatever reason I couldn’t. .
Then a few days ago, I finally picked up my guitar, and the song just poured out of me. Effortlessly. It was only after learned it that I realized that her birthday was just a few days away.
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So yesterday, on May 14th, I played this song, in the courtyard of my second YTT program, in her memory, in her honor. .
Time. It’s a funny, beautiful, amazing thing. .
#thelimetree
#singingheals
#timeheals
#guitar
#devotion
#yoga
#love
#jai
“Bodhichitta is a Sanskrit word that means “noble or awakened heart.”... It is said that in difficult times, it is only bodhichitta that heals. When inspiration has become hidden, when we feel ready to give up, this is the time when healing can be found in the tenderness of pain itself. Bodhichitta is also equated, in part, with compassion — our ability to feel the pain that we share with others. Without realizing it we continually shield ourselves from this pain because it scares us... This tenderness for life, bodhichitta, awakens when we no longer shield ourselves from the vulnerability of our condition, from the basic fragility of existence. It awakens through kinship with the suffering of others. [To awaken bodhichitta is to] become so open that we can take the pain of the world in, let it touch our hearts, and turn it into compassion.”
-Pema Chödrön, from Comfortable with Uncertainty
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#compassion
#love
#meditation
#awakenedheart
#sky
#ॐ
Next time I do something that means everything to me, someone please tell me to take a picture. 🙏🏽
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This weekend I taught my first chanting workshop that was open to the public. My intention going into it was to allow myself to just be present for the experience. To be fully there, so that I could receive and take everything in.
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Sometimes when I show up to do things I really care about, I’m so attached to everything going perfectly that I don’t give myself the space to take in the beauty of what’s happening.
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This time it was different. From the moment people started arriving, I could feel that I was really with everyone. Really connected.
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I opened with an invitation to share our names and what inspired us to come. I had actually earlier decided specifically not to start this way, reasoning that there was so much to do that we wouldn’t have time.
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But there in the moment, I knew that this space needed to be opened. We were all there to use our voices after all. Singing, speaking, crying, yelling — they are all just different expressions of the same truth. Beginning the afternoon with an exercise in speaking openly and freely, seemed the right place to start.
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What I wasn’t expecting in this exercise however, was that as we went around the circle and shared our intentions for being there, every single person also looked me right in the eyes and shared that I had somehow and someway made an impact on their lives, and have helped them on their journey. That I was part of the reason that they wanted to come that day.
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Right from the start, I was hit with an overwhelming amount of love and validation — something that in the past I might have brushed off or somehow discredited. But that day, I allowed it all in. .
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This moment, allowed me to forget perfection, to forget the agenda, and just be present for the experience and do exactly what I was asking everyone else to do — be open with my true and authentic expression. .
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(A little bit more to go in the comments.....)
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#singingthesoul
#embodyingthespirit
#chanting
#mantra
#workshop
#devotion
#bhakti
#allow
#receive
#grateful
#jai
#ॐ
Throwback to that time I played my guitar and sang my guts out in front of a crowd full of people.... while my guitar was completely out of tune.... and I nervously stumbled over the lyrics.
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But you want to know what? No one cared. I don’t think anyone even noticed. In fact, afterwards @ddayepoetry asked when I plan to release my first album!
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That’s one of the amazing things about singing, making music, and sharing it — people are just so thrilled to be in the presence of it, that perfection is not required. .
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In fact, to me, part of the beauty of organically created music, is the imperfection. This is where everything that’s interesting and compelling lies. It’s like the little crack that reveals the inner-most soul of the creator. 👁
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This weekend I am teaching my very first chanting workshop, and I am so so excited to share this wonderful gift of singing. My hope is to empower people to embrace imperfection, to love imperfection, and to sing anyway. 💓🌬🎶
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I hope that you can join me Saturday 3/30 from 1:00-3:30pm at the lovely @metta_yoga for Singing the Soul: Embodying the Spirit.
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We will discuss the history, science, and spirituality of using singing as a healing modality and spiritual practice... and of course SING! ✨
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Get your ticket in advance for a discounted price. I so so appreciate your support! 🙏🏽
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Link in bio for more information and to register. ✨
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#embraceimperfection
#singanyway
#comesingwithme
#singingisourbirthright
#singingheals
#sacredsongs
#devotionalsinging
#chanting
#sanskrit
#jai
#ॐ
Photo by Winona Grey Photography @winonagrey
