Archive for the ‘Down to Earth Community Blog’ Category

Ever wonder about your classmates’ notes?

Here are mine.  These are my notes from the session that ran from 9/16-11/4 of this year. A glimpse into the kinds of notes I take during class. Any thoughts? Laurie
notes-9-16-through-session

November 18, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Laurie Jerva  No Comments

After the Storm

Leaf detached
from Tree today;
a powerful 5 a.m. storm
set her free
Gentle Wind carried Leaf
in fanciful flight;
released from its
summer home,
Sky,
cradled by Wind,
Leaf
looped/tumbled/rose/fell
Earth waited,
ready to catch her;
a snowfall
of crimson, russet, gold
also came to rest
in a colorful, patchwork carpet
for Earth
Leaf creates soil;
nourishment for Tree
Winter:
hibernation
preparation
restoration
Spring, once more;
variations on green
Leaf appears
Tree lifts Leaf
to Sky
SKS
October  2009

November 14, 2009   Posted in: Sue Scolaro  No Comments

Karuna

Like a caress.
Like an old, worn blanket, wrapped around the shoulders.
Like a smile from a true friend.
There will always be a sense of sadness about her.
Behind the eyes, it will remain, quiet and poised.
The difference is, now she knows this is not all she is; it does not define her.
For so long, she accepted karuna as [...]

October 24, 2009   Posted in: Sue Scolaro  No Comments

Grief

Grief is
pain, deeply imbedded,
rising to the surface,
unexpected,
quick,
sudden.
Grief is not
self-indulgent,
self-absorbed,
selfish.

No, it is none of those.
It is connection
with our lost past,
our lost hopes,
our lost people.
When grief comes upon us,
the cause is often
just a word,
a flash,
a note.
We do not sit and wait
for its visitation.
It takes us unaware;
washes over us.
Time is of no consequence;
images may even sharpen, in time.
I [...]

October 5, 2009  Tags:   Posted in: Sue Scolaro  No Comments

Sweet

Like the taste of the Rasas, yoga itself has a particular flavor.
If you can let go
of preconceptions,
of long held beliefs,
of resistance,
you will be allowed
to savor
its sweetness.
All roads lead here,
in one way
or another.
There are myriad ways
to arrive.
We make it difficult; it is really
quite simple.
Each lesson is just
another road.
You get to choose
which is best
for you.
Whether through the [...]

September 9, 2009   Posted in: Sue Scolaro  No Comments

Accepting and Stability: Balancing Feminine and Masculine Energies

I sense I am standing in the midst of a transition. I know the seasons are changing from summer to fall. The elements are changing from fire to metal. Each day the sun rises and sets. Each moment there is birth and death. All this is happening each day. All this is happening inside of [...]

August 27, 2009   Posted in: Brenda Kayn  No Comments

Communion/Vigil

At seven, the pattern
was already set;
the thread, which would run
throughout her life,
in place:
the white communion dress,
the white veil,
the white shoes:
cleansed of sin,
instilled with fear.
For now, she was afraid.
Her family was a constant concern.
She feared for their safety.
She worried about them.
She had absorbed the belief
that it was her job
to keep them safe.
She would do that by [...]

July 8, 2009  Tags:   Posted in: Sue Scolaro  No Comments

The Abyss

It took me years to touch the bottom of an 8 foot pool.  Once I did it in this one particular pool it didn’t bother me anymore, but outside of that pool I still have issues with the deep end.  The pool that I have at home is only 5 feet deep in the middle [...]

June 2, 2009  Tags: , , , ,   Posted in: Laurie Jerva  No Comments

Connection

It was in the garden
where the connection
was made.
When the bee drank
thirstily
from the yellow snapdragon;
when the white butterfly
perched
upon the coneflower,
she remembered
planting the sunflowers
in the cool,
spring soil;
scattering wildflower seeds
along the split rail fence;
waiting eagerly
for the seeds
to sprout;
anticipating each
new bloom
as it burst
through the ground;
being enchanted
by the fragile,
shell like beauty
of miniature poppies
in salmon,
delicate pink,
deep red;
the wildflowers
receding
as the sunflowers
took center [...]

May 29, 2009   Posted in: Sue Scolaro  No Comments

Finding happiness in imperfection

My yoga practice is many things- a chance to return to the breath, a moment to refocus the mind, a space to move my body. But, most of all, it is a discovery of all the parts me I forget sometimes, or the parts I tend to see through a fog. It is through this [...]

May 21, 2009   Posted in: Anna Bender  One Comment