In class yesterday we did a beautiful Karuna Meditation. Karuna is one of the Four Divine Abodes of Buddhism. The Four Divine Abodes are also referred to as the Four Immeasurable’s established by the Buddha himself – Metta (loving-kindness), Karuna (compassion), Mudita (sympathetic joy), Upekkha (equanimity). These four boundless qualities cut through the idea of separation. By dissolving the boundaries that separate us, we open ourselves up to the ease of equanimity, the full-heartedness of love, the tenderness of compassion, the radiance of joy. Often times it’s believed that we have no control over the people and energy around us. As cliche as it sounds, collective peace begins with you. I encourage you to take responsibility, give this meditation a try and notice the consequences. Through sending love, compassion, joy, understanding to all, that energy is felt, it helps to transform and is eventually reciprocated. KARUNA <COMPASSION> MEDITATION When you first begin this meditation, perhaps you are just hearing the words in your mind. But in time you move past the words and begin to feel the …

Authentic (adjective) — of undisputed origin; genuine. I had a wonderful conversation with my friend the other day on the subject of authenticity and what it FEELS like to live in such a way. We essentially spoke about how challenging it is to live in our TRUTH and so it got me to thinking. I believe living in truth requires a couple different things: 1. A willingness/openness to experience our genuine desires, feelings and emotions. <once we are aware of these desires..> 2. An allowing of these desires to move us and influence our lives. The thing that makes these responsibilities so challenging is that we often have a rigid idea of what we want our lives to look like, how our jobs will unfold, who we will spend our days with, whom we love, how we are treated, how we wish to feel etc etc. And so we then have this choice whether to stay rigid in our small understanding of how we believe our life should or should not unfold or instead let …

The masculine and feminine archetypal energies at play within our lives and in our relationships are fascinating to me. The archetypes can be expressed through both men or women although most people are majoring in either masculinity or femininity and minoring in the other. David Deida says that the masculine nature is always seeking freedom. This is the onward urge that has led to airplanes, wall street, sports and endless new technologies, to name a few. The masculine thrives off of breaking through barriers, removing constraints and overcoming adversary. Deida writes, the essential “Masculine plea” is, “I want out of here!” That doesn’t mean a man (or a more masculine woman) always wants to run away, but rather that his masculine nature is going to have him constantly seeking ways to escape the constraints he experiences in the world around and within him. On the other hand, femininity carries our longing for the embodied experience of love, unity and beauty. The feminine is saying in endless ways “show me the love!” Which one do you identify most …

I was recently reminded of the importance of true and deep connection. Not the kind of connection where you ask someone how they are and they quickly answer “good, you?” I’m talking about the kind where you ask someone how they are and you look each other in the eyes and wait for a meaningful response. I used to have the mentality that I didn’t need anyone. I was the classic case of “I can do it myself”. When I was 18 I moved to Europe for university, not caring that my friends and family were no closer than an international flight away. I just wanted my freedom. It’s been a slow, long journey but I have come to realize that making significant connections is a fundamental need and that having freedom is far less fulfilling without sincere relationships to go along with it. I could travel the word ten times over searching, but unless I was willing to be vulnerable with myself, true connections were not going to find me. Brené Brown says: “Vulnerability is the birthplace …