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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020
MINDFUL SOUL CENTER bi-monthly magazine
ARE YOU DIVINE BALANCE MEDITATION RECIPES & FOOD DELICIOUSNESS
THE YOGA DIARIES
C O B R A
OAKLAND BUDDHA
DEJA DREWIT'S SELF-CARE CORNER
WHAT IS THAT? AHIMSA
FEATURES CONTRIBUTORS in alphabetical order
Christine Boyd Miller, PhD Christine is a California mountain mama transplanted from the East coast. In The Yoga Diaries
she explores the obstacles &
challenges she faces as she learns new yoga poses, explores new
ideas
and
attempts
Needless to say that
The Yoga Diaries
she's
not
writing
to
maintain
a
regular
practice.
she shares the benefits & joys too! When
or
practicing
yoga,
frolicking in the redwoods with her son,
she
spends
her
time
hula hooping, cooking,
and helping her husband tend to their garden and bees.
Megan Nolan Megan
is
a
personal
trainer
and
yoga
instructor
with
over
14 years of experience. She has worked with hundreds of clients and
students
who
have
experienced
the
aches,
pains,
and
challenges of having to spend long hours at their desks. As an entrepreneur and working
Movement is Vital
on
the
writer herself she spends pend a lot of time
computer.
She
has
come
up
with
a
plan
to
combat these difficulties and teach us that Movement is Vital with each issue teaching us how to deal with our life at a desk. She runs Vitality Wellness Maui and created the Yoga At My Desk program.
Deja Osbourne Deja
is
an
artist,
an
oracle
deck
creator
and
owner
of
DejaDrewit. Born in Russia and raised in NY, she now lives in California. As a young girl, Deja experienced bullying and as a result developed social anxiety. Drawing was her escape. As she healed she knew that she wanted to inspire and help people through her art but wasn't quite sure how. From 2005 until 2013,
Deja's Self-Care Corner
she
worked
as
a
graphic
artist
and
designer
in
the
fashion
industry. She left to raise a new baby and discovered a way to use her art to help others and started to create oracle decks. Check out her Self-Care Corner.
Charles Sharar Charles Shahar is a clinical psychologist by training, and a social researcher by profession. He has taught yoga and meditation for over 18 years, and is currently living in India. Please visit his website at: www.lightfigures.com
Uncovering Existence 4
SEP/OCT 2020
CONTENTS
15-17
SELF-CARE CORNER Artist Deja Osbourne shares her monthly selfcare and personal power deck picks with us.
ARE YOU DIVINE?
21-26
Charles Sharar explores this question in-depth and shares a meditation for you to practice too
BUDDHA IN THE HOOD 30-32 Intrigued with this story I told a few people about it and Gillian Maxwell of Distinctively Dressed who lives in Northern California ventured there to take a few pix and videos for me to share with you here.
WHAT IS THAT? AHIMSA
40-41
Our regular feature detailing some unusual terms, conscepts and ideas yogic or otherwise.
THE YOGA DIARIES
37-38
Making masks and exploring ahimsa, Christine Boyd Miller, PhD shares her experience with us.
COBRA
45-48
Not only do we explore the yoga pose, we take a look at the Cobra Effect, the Cobra itself and its symbolism too.
MP3 MEDITATION
36
Finding Balance
SELF-CARE CHECKLIST
34-36
It's always important to take care of ourselves so not only can we enjoy this one precious life, we can serve others when our cup is full.
FOUNDATION 08 Masthead
DELICIOUSNESS This issue we're skipping out on the regular recipes and food deliciousness section - we're doubling up for the holidays! Stay tuned.
07 Editor's Letter 04 Contributors 10-13 Goal Tracking Worksheets 28-29 Giving: Fundraising Effort for Dogs
INSPIRATION & POETRY 19
This is Daily Life by Amy Adams
20
Sympathy by Paul Laurence Dunbar
27
Quote: Louis Camuti
42 Upcoming Workshops & Masterclasses, Free Yoga
35
Buddha Jokes
43 TMSC Recommends: Books, Music, Podcasts
52
Quote: Albert Einstein
49 Mindful Soul Center Podcast Episode Guide
SUPPORT THE WORK
54-55 Monthly Moons Holidays, Stones, & Flowers 50
Shop the Back to Basics Yoga Collection
53
Support The Mindful Soul Center 5
DEJA'S SELF-CARE CORNER
MEDITATE Breathe, sit quietly, and clear your
mind.
ways
of
There
are
meditating
many if
you
don’t have time to sit quietly there
are
ways
to
meditate
when you walk or drive simply by
focusing
on
your
breath
and clearing your mind. Sit in silence for at least 5 minutes and
give
Allow
your
your
process
any
mind
mind
a
break.
to
just
thoughts
that
come to mind.
DECK: MY QUALITY TIME SELF-CARE DECK
DEJA DREWIT Cards and messages by Deja Osbourne of Deja Drewit. Deja creates cards to inspire amd help women overcome obstacles amd fears. Learn more about Deja here.
15
I TRUST IN DIVINE TIMING Whatever
you
are
so
eager
to
have
or
do,
shall be yours when the right time comes. If you are going through a difficult time, this too shall pass. We often think we don’t have time and allow it to stress us out. Time is unlimited and never actually runs out. Live in the
moment.
waiting
Be
period.
present. Some
Find
things
joy
in
cannot
the and
should not be rushed.
Great things are worth waiting for. I like to think
the
better
it
longer will
be.
I
wait Every
for
something,
stumbling
the
block
is
here to teach us. We grow wiser with each experience. When you look back on your life in the future you might ask yourself, “Why was I so impatient?” Everything turned out okay. “Why didn’t I just relax and trust that everything would come together?”
D E C K :
P E R S O N A L
P O W E R
D E C K
17
by Paul Laurence Dunbar (b. 27 JUN 1872 d.9 FEB 1906)
I know what the caged bird feels, alas! When the sun is bright on the upland slopes; When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass, And the river flows like a stream of glass; When the first bird sings and the first bud opes, And the faint perfume from its chalice steals— I know what the caged bird feels!
I know why the caged bird beats his wing Till its blood is red on the cruel bars; For he must fly back to his perch and cling When he fain would be on the bough a-swing; And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars And they pulse again with a keener sting— I know why he beats his wing!
I know why the caged bird sings, ah me, When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,— When he beats his bars and he would be free; It is not a carol of joy or glee, But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core, But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings— I know why the caged bird sings!
Sympathy From and
Lyrics
Company
Domain
and
Angelou's
of in
the
was
famous
bird sings!
Hearthside
1899. the
This
by
poem
is
inspiration
poem
-
I
know
Dodd, in
the
behind why
the
Mead Public Maya caged
Are You Divine? by Charles Sharar Who are you? When asked such a question most individuals would reply that they are a human being, with a body and a mind. Most of us have wondered what happens to our being when the body dies. Do the personality and identity dissolve along with it? If a higher
aspect
of
our
being
survives
the
body’s
death,
does
it
exist before the body was born? If so, how long has it existed for and will it exist forever?
To even attempt to answer such questions we need to define the nature
of
our
being.
If
our
being
survives
death,
then
it
is
obviously more than just an individual body. If we believe it has incarnated
many
times
on
this
earth
and
has
donned
many
different bodies and assumed many personalities, then what is it that has survived throughout and between such sojourns?
This is where the idea of the soul comes in. It is assumed, at least by most of the world’s religions, that we have an individual soul. Again, if we believe in reincarnation, we may also posit that the memories of individual lifetimes are stored by the soul as seeds or potentialities, between lives; and that these have an impact, albeit
an
unconscious
one,
on
our
current
dispositions
and
behaviours.
Finally, we can ask whether there is anything of our being that remains
unchanged
experience
as
an
and
unaffected
individual
soul?
We
by can
anything call
it
that
“pure
we
being”
because it seems to reflect our essence or originality. Does this pure being live forever? If so, then would the comings and goings of an individual’s body have any relevance to it? Moreover, is my pure being different than your pure being?
21
d n a t s g o d t o h a o t p u s e o g " ! g k n n i o h m t y t r s e i v A Buddh Make me one with e and says: " Why did the Buddhist coroner get fired? He kept marking the cause of death as “birth" What happens whe totally absorbed w n a Buddhist becomes working with? He ith the computer he is enters Nerdvana : -)
35
Balance a guided meditation If you're feeling anxious or stressed take a few minutes to get it together and connect with your intuition. This music meditation will relax your mind and body so you can reset and find your place of center. When we're centered and calm, we are more connected to intuition allowing us to make choices with more ease. Heavy tasks become lighter.
Headphones are recommended but, of course you can listen without them if they interfere with your comfort. You
don’t
need
to
know
‘how
to
meditate’
to
Listen for Free
experience the benefits of this meditation track. Sit comfortably on the floor, on a pillow or chair with your hands facing up. Hit play and close your eyes and allow yourself to relax into the meditation. This piece will place you in a relaxed meditative state. Do not operate
Buy the MP3
heavy machinery whilst listening.
To listen for free, simply click on the button and a new window
will
open.
This
meditation
is
available
to
download three ways. If you are a subscriber an mp3 file comes with the issue or you can purchase this issue of the magazine below for $7.50 or buy only the meditation mp3 for the low cost of $3.33.
Buy this issue
Finding Balance Through Ahimsa Making Facemasks: A Lesson on Ahimsa By Christine Boyd Miller
Ahimsa is an ancient yogic principle rooted in nonviolence. It means causing no harm toward any living thing; the earth itself. I’ve been trying
to
live
my
life
according
to
this
principle
and
it
has
had
a
profound effect on my general outlook and how I react to conflict. My greatest conflicts lie within though, and practicing ahimsa inwardly is more challenging for me than practicing it toward others. As I grow daily through my ahimsa practice toward the earth and other living beings, I am becoming kinder to myself.
I
have
struggled
on
and
off
with
depression
for
several
years
and
recently have been trudging through the deepest depression of my life since my sister died seven months ago. In the dense fog of tragedy and pain, practicing ahimsa has been a saving grace. It has also become crystal clear to me that if I don’t take care of myself with love and kindness, I don’t have the energy to express ahimsa outwardly.
I’ve always thrown myself into taking care of others as a way to avoid dealing with my problems. After a while, my reserves become depleted and I have a convenient excuse for not taking care of myself. Like the proverbial oxygen mask - if I’m not healthy, I can’t practice ahimsa toward the earth and all its beings.
When the shelter-in-place (SIP) orders began, I used the opportunity to throw myself into my yoga practice. My local yoga studio took all of its classes online so I could, and still can, practice yoga in real-time with my
teacher
and
fellow
yogis
every
day.
In
the
beginning,
I
even
attended two classes a day sometimes. My goal was to bring yoga into my quarantine routine. After a few weeks, a combination of factors interrupted virtual
my
classes.
new I
was
routine, hard
I
on
pretty
much
stopped
myself
about
it
at
attending
first,
but
my
once
I
remembered to look at the disruption through an ahimsa lens, I started to feel better about it. I’m struggling to get back to a regular yoga practice, perhaps a less ambitious one. I’ve realized that practicing ahimsa every day keeps my yoga practice alive even if I’m not attending class.
Shortly after the SIP, a friend of mine started a mask drive for our county’s homeless population. I have a sewing machine that, until a couple of months ago, I could barely figure out how to thread. Next to my barely used sewing machine was a bin full of fabrics that I had intended for years to turn into beautiful clothes. I’ve always wanted to learn how to sew but have never been able to move it up the chain of ever-piling priorities. The mask drive was the ideal opportunity to both practice ahimsa toward my community and learn how to sew.
37