NEWSLETTER – SUMMER 2009

This we know………
The earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth.
All things are connected, like blood which connects one family.
Whatever befalls the earth befalls the children of the earth.
Man did not weave the web of life—-he is merely a strand in it.
Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.
—-Chief Seattle, l854

These well known words from Chief Seattle speak to what I see as enlightenment – connection to self and other. How could it be otherwise? Yet though we may agree with the importance of this, how do we live that out in our daily lives, in each moment?

Through the processes and tools of Continuum and my experience in the Portals of Perception workshops with Susan Harper & Hubert Goddard, I am becoming clearer about the “how to do this.” It is through awareness, a practice of mindfulness, that anchors me in where and how I am in each moment, whether it be walking, sitting, meditating, dancing or washing the dishes. As I discovered in my month long retreat in January, 2008, this practice is the key to becoming connected to self & other.

Remember yourself – again and again and again——

“To embody the spirit of this world such that others may experience it as well is what the art of blessing is all about.” David Spangler, Blessing

With love & blessings, Doris

June 6, 2009

Summer Offerings for your contemplation. Would love to have you there!

Sunday Retreat Days

Sunday, July 26 - 12-5pm @ Yoga on 7th, 156 E7 (between Main & Quebec – enter @ side off alley). Investment $75 (20% off for underemployed).

PERCEIVING AS KNOWING – “Continuum is life as I don’t know it.” How do we contact the mystery, reach into the awesome unknown & tap into the well of origin, the sourcing pool to innovate and experience ourselves in new ways?

In this retreat day, we will explore the myriad ways of coming to be with ourselves in the moment, be it sitting, walking, standing, laying, meditating, or washing the dishes. You will learn new tools to enhance your awareness of how you are in the moment and then to have the choice that enables you to move beyond those limited habit patterns into new possibilities that you can embrace with comfort, confidence and even with joy!

We will use the tools and processes of Continuum with breath, sound, and movement as well as the parameters of perception from the work of Susan Harper & Hubert Goddard. These tools enable us to anchor, direct & contain these new energies.

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Sunday August 9 – 12-5pm @ Source Point Studio, 3263 Heather (between W 16 & 17). Investment $75 (20% off for underemployed).

RECLAIMING OUR EROTIC SELF – “Erotic means to be in relation, knowing what those deep relations are that engage the whole body – our heart, our mind, our spirit, our flesh. It is being exquisitely present.” (Terry Tempest William) In that moment of erotic connection, we call the inner life into play & feel pulled towards something much greater, more vital & stronger than simply ourselves. Without that erotic engagement, we feel the loss but often don’t know where & how to satisfy that longing. This is particularly true in our culture which usually defines the erotic as pornography.

In this retreat day, we will explore ways to reclaim our sensuality, our erotic connection to self and other: through following sensation in the movement of our bodies that is pleasurable, being aware & with what is, through primal undulating wave motions, expressing the spiraling life force moving within us, and through the sound waves of our breath & our voices.

There will also be opportunities to explore through expressive arts.

By connecting to this primal, sensory-based experience of movement, we allow a fuller creativity of our being and the expression of Health & Wholeness.
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We offer you a unique opportunity to combine this Retreat Day on Sunday August 9, making a weekend event, with Tannis Hugill’s Authentic Movement workshop on August 7 & 8 – 10% discount if you register for both.
Details on Tannis’: tannisis@shaw.ca, www.awakeningbodywisdom.com