It Is a Good Day

Landforms, clouds. Trees in mist, always possible. Choice? Walk. Into, out of, through. And then we die.

the dynamic stillness

it is here
in the breath
it is here
in the stillness between breaths
     it is here
     in the active mind
     it is here
     in the resting mind
it is here
in the dream's panorama
it is here
in each moment of awakening
     it is here
     when all is well
     it is here
     when fear has nothing left to fear
even then
there is pure noticing
even then
there is no need for doing
     no frantic searching
     can find the obvious
     no seeking needed
     to find that which seeks
it is here
where it can never be lost
or found

from Gifts with No Giver: a love affair with truth

Nirmala

Torn Almost in Two

It's never too late to burn the fuel of desire.
Stanley Kunitz' "Touch Me"

closing::opening::next year at Eighth Street

darling duality-defeating dancers,
no doubt, you've heard the oft-quoted paean to possibility, "When one door closes another door opens." Something--a thought, a relationship, a physical or metaphysical space--ends, crashes, shifts. Whether it was as I wished or left much to be desired, I am the line that carries and continues, the bridge over the dark (or light) waters of uncertainty. I want to have compassion for the one who yearns for ease and comfort even as he knows there is no telling what will come next. Can I carry the yearning for a more engaged existence as a flame that illuminates and warms, rather than one with a sharper, more brittle burning? Hell, maybe the whole thing just wants to turn into glorious and fully exhaled ash that scatters in a good breeze and leaves the hearth scrubbed and ready for the next fires. 

But I digress, ever-so-melodramatically. 

I say adieu and fare thee well to Jeffrey Bihr Studio, site of Thursday night Soul Motion, The Ocean Refuses No River. Thank you for your settled intimacy, your warm maple floor, the kimonos that witness patiently from the north and south walls. 
I say bonjour and let's dance! to Eighth Street Studio (aka Soul Motion Central, aka Berkeley Dance Jam's Warm Room). Thank you for your clean bamboo floor, your white muslin curtains and relaxed, open feel. Beginning January 6, Soul Motion classes will be a full two hours, from 6-8pm every Thursday. Class cards will price sessions very close to the current suggested cost of $10; single entries will be $15.

Excited! You?

A Berkeley Soul Motion New Year's Day Dance

dear depth chargers,
shall we dance together on New Year's Day, bringing our intentions, our openness, our enthusiasm*, our hesitations, our hopes; our feet, bellies, hearts, hands and eyes? and, together, inspire each other to offer these gifts to each newly birthed moment, today of all days?

yes.

Begin Again: A Soul Motion New Year's Day Dance

Saturday, January 1, 2011
11am-2pm (opening circle at noon)
Western Sky Studio, Berkeley
2525 Eighth Street, bet Dwight & Parker
$10-15 entry; no one turned away; all are welcome!

*[ARCHAIC] Religious fervor resulting directly from divine inspiration, typically involving speaking in tongues and wild, uncoordinated movements of the body.

(e)merge (into, from) the darkness: dance!

how about:
The Ocean Refuses No River
weekly Soul Motion practice
this thursday, 12/2, 6:30-8:00pm
Jeffrey Bihr Studio
5390 Miles Avenue
Oakland 94618

Soul Motion in Nevada City
this Friday, 12/3, 5:15-7:15pm
this Sunday, 12/5, 10-noon
South Yuba Club
555 Searles Avenue
Nevada City 95959

the way out is the way in

dear teachers,
there is patience, and there is procrastination. {i know both}
there is acceptance, and there is complacency. {i know both}
there is fear, and there is love. {i know both}
there is solitude, and there is isolation. {i know both}

six and a half years of practice {ongoing, not ending}
a year and a half of training modules {ongoing, not ending}
two plus years of local weekly teaching (one to eight students), and covering for my traveling teachers (20-80 students) {ongoing, not ending}
ditto local special events (SM Odysseys, 1/2 day workshops) {ongoing, not ending}
ditto ditto advice and support from my teachers, students, fellows, friends
one daylong workshop

countless hours absorbed in class plans, music choices, marketing, blogging; reaching out, reaching in; shpilkis beyond belief. joy and satisfaction beyond the beyond.

and now i am a certified Soul Motion teacher.

thank you vinn, zuza, you, me, god, sky and earth and water and fire!