The Practice, An Anchor in Uncertainty ~ Wed, Feb 3, 7:30-9pm

AN ANCHOR in UNCERTAINTY

Have you ever felt uncertain?  Is there anything you’re uncertain about now?  So many of us are finding ourselves faced with the “unknown” right now...around work, relationships, finance, where to live, doing work that we feel aligned with and being abundantly compensated for it, and more.  There are anchors during times of uncertainty.  Come ready to discover yours, or deepen your relationship with an existing anchor.  When it’s time to shed an old layer of skin, like a snake does, if you don’t know what’s on the inside, what you can trust, it can feel like a part of you is dying...like there may be something to fear and pull back from, when moving forward is best.  Come anchor into the breath...let it guide you towards deeper roots into clarity, trust, faith, and knowing.  It’s time, and you’re ready...even if you don’t know what you’re ready for!


Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010  7:30-9:00pm

We’re calling this event THE PRACTICE, and it’s for ALL levels of experience with the Breath.  It happens for now in the sanctity of my healing space in West Hollywood.  Reserve your space as soon as you know you’ll be coming, as it fills up quickly...

We’ll set some intention very quickly in the beginning, and then get right down to the business of the Breathwork; an ancient 3-part breathing meditation that takes you beyond the dream of the limited ego experience....into the space of GRACE, the space of KNOWING, the space of deep REJUVENATION.

This is designed to be a place to work deeply with the breath and build /strengthen the muscles for your home practice.

ARRIVE on-time or better yet, early.  No one will be admitted after the breathwork begins to honor and support the safe space created for The Work.

When:   Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
Time:       7:30-9:00pm

Exchange:   $40  (no one turned away)

Where:  1226 Havenhurst Dr. #9
                (Havenhurst is 1 block West of Crescent Heights between Santa Monica Blvd and Fountain Ave)

Parking:    It’s best to park at a meter on Santa Monica Blvd or in the West Hollywood City Lot just South of Santa Monica Blvd behind Out Of The Closet between Havenhurst and La Jolla.  The City Lot is $1 per hour in quarters.  Other meters in the area are free after 6pm.

RSVP:      Due to size of the space, please RSVP to hold your place.  If need be, we’ll start a waiting list. 24hrs cancellation by phone. (310) 922-4890

BRING:      A folded blanket and/or yoga mat to lay on for the breathing meditation, water, and a smile!

LOVE,
SCOTT
http://trustthebreath.com
http://scottschwenk.blogspot.com

30 Days + of Gratitude ~ Day 16

1. I'm grateful today for the power of Faith. Like my garden, the more attention and nurturing I give it, the stronger it grows...and in turn, the more fuel I have with which to nurture it ever deeper.

2. I'm grateful for my Vita Mix blender...it's like a blender on steroids...most days I make an live smoothie made of some type of dark greens like spinach, fresh fruit like bright green Granny Smith apples which are lower in sugar, and fresh purified alkaline water (see #3 for more on this!)

3. I'm grateful for my water purifier/alkalizer. It gives me fresh clean living water without having to put used plastic water bottles into the ground, and needs next to know maintenance....not to mention the money I'm saving.

4. I'm grateful for the space in my schedule that this Holiday season is giving me to take my personal practices deeper than I remember going in the past, to hold a loving steady focus on releasing any and all attachments from the past that no longer serve the Truth of what I am and what I am here to demonstrate through how I walk through life.

5. I am grateful for the new shoots popping up all through my garden...they inspire me to open my heart wider each and every day, and to notice and have appreciation for all of the new growth being birthed within and all around me in the people I know and am meeting.

30 Days + of Gratitude ~ Day 14

1. I'm grateful for my Apple Care warantees. This morning when I went to wake up my MacBook, the screen stayed black. Thanks to apple care, the needed parts are on order and it'll be up and running better than ever very soon!!

2. I'm grateful for the Trust I'm deepening around recognizing and expressing truth....my truth, the truth of a situation, and the Presence of Truth itSelf.

3. I'm grateful for Peter's burritos at the West Hollywood Whole Foods...he puts a lot of love and care into my food, and my body and heart recognize it! Plus they're super tasty!!

4. I'm grateful for the power of repetition in the things I'm practiing. With each repetition, my awareness around the practice deepens, guiding my approach to the next practice period.

5. I'm grateful for the massive power in cleaning. I've been cleaning my home and all the crevices and corners for days now....this deep deep cleaning I helping me to release old attachments to the past that had the power to take me out of the present.

Cross-Training for Freedom

Ever get in a rut with routines? Maybe it's not a rut as such, as much as a plateau. There's a part of me that can crave the familiar through routine, ie; eating the same foods, doing the same tried and true exercises at the gym, eating at the same restaurants, etc.

While routines are a great way to cultivate a certain aspect of discipline, it's equally valuable to shake things up a bit, to go into brand-new situations and find my "legs", as-it-were, in a new environment.

Athletes regularly cross-train their bodies across a vast spectrum of exercises and disciplines to train balance, agility, strength, and Awareness. English Theatre actors cross-train their capacities as actors by studying things like fencing, dance, singing, and writing.

Zen students often cross-train in Archery, Flower Arranging, and Gardening as well as deepening through classical practices like seated meditation, solving koans, and doing self-inquiry.

As I've been spending more time focusing my awarenes in Los Angeles lately, I've been drawn to learning new skills and expanding others...and all as a way to sharpen embodied agile Awareness across a broader spectrum.

It's easy (mostly) for me to be aware of the Presence when meditating, doing breathwork, teaching, writing, and other "active" spiritual practices. I'm endeavoring to widen the birth for Truth and Spirit and Self-Love by engaging in things where I'm more of a beginner.

Today I dragged myself to a grappling class led by a friend who's something like a 5th degree blackbelt in Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do. In this arena, I am a beginner in a class of students who've been at it much longer than me. Oh, and I say 'dragged myself' as I had a tremendous amount of resistence to class come up in the hour before it was time to go. Meanwhile, I was looking forward to it all week long. Anything like that ever happen to you?

"How you do anything is how you do everything."
~ David Elliott

I'm looking at taking a cooking basics series at the Epicurean School here in LA. While I've cooked since about age 5 (there're some great stories about nearly averting fires, lol!), as I've been cooking more and more for myself, I've notice that the box of ideas I cook from is a lot more limited than I'd like.

And jumping into a cooking program, or martial arts, or the video dance jam classes I've been toying with at Equinox...all these are venues for me to be brand-new, to be a beginner, and to bring conscious Awareness into blind-spots.

These are practical ways for me to play with my edge around the unknown. To see what comes up through my ego about not being perfect in the first class, to digest some of the competitive energy I still carry, and to see how intuition works with and through me in these situations outside my familiar comfort zone.

I love it! I'm always glad, walking out of one of these classes or new situations, that I go for it. I trust myself to ask questions, to make mistakes and learn through experience. And where insecurity arises...that's great! It points out where I can bring more self-love, trust, and faith. It lets me know where my work is with myself.

There's a difference between what I'm working with around all of this, and say shopping the "spiritual buffet". How do I know? I was a busy consumer on that buffet for a number of years. Shopping the spiritual buffet would be like reading and trying little bits of a lot of different things without focusing deeply enough on anything to realize the fruit of the practice. Usually it comes along with seeking peak experiences more than burning off of tightly held illusions.

Deepening Trust

On a scale of 1-10, how much Unconditional Trust do you have that all your needs will be cared for even in the face of no evidence? Mine varies. I'm actively working with deepening it. And on the whole, I rarely judge myself for my level of trust. I know I'm a work in progress, that my work isn't about perfecting my human-ness, rather recognizing the perfection in everything as it is.

"Anyone can be enlightened in Heaven, can you be enlightened in Hell?"
~ Adyashanti

How do you find out how much Unconditional Trust you have? On the mat of real life. Life brings circumstances that appear beneficial or challenging. How I see them depends on my point of view. My emotional experience often lets me know, usually quite quickly, what my prevailing point of view is in the moment, often surfacing a buried (albeit potent and active) point of view for me to see and work with. If I'm experiencing any sort of contraction or suffering, I've learned to recognize that I'm invested in some sort of illusion.

In all actuality, there is never a problem. (This goes back to yesterday's entry on "Let It Go, Rise Up" where I mention finding a "good" tree and "bad" tree in nature...no such thing.) The idea of something being a "problem" presupposes something going south...and usually the feeling that something is "wrong". These are all ideas.

A racoon on the hunt for food and not finding any, doesn't need to call a therapist for meds to deal with survival anxiety. It relies on instinct and intuition to navigate to the next food source. It doesn't think of itself as a "bad racoon" for not finding food within a certain fabricated time frame. AND, it lives in harmony with the seasons. (Leaving aside climactic changes, etc.. This is an analogy, lol!).

Point being, pain may come and go, suffering is optional. Suffering is always based on investment (known or unknown) in some form of illusion.

Remedy? Truth.

How to find the truth? Ask yourself really good questions.

How to learn to ask really good questions? Trial and error. By doing it.

A GREAT starter question? Can I know for certain that "x" is the Absolute Truth?

Great questions, the ones that create the most space in mind and being, are the ones that don't necessarily have answers. They create a shift in point of view.

Around a two-dimensional circle, there are 360 degrees, or points of view (at least). If I have a particular point of view, especially one I am adamant is "right", it's useful for me to remember that there are at least 359 other points of view that could be equally right. Letting myself explore these other points of view can "unhook" me from my original point of view, and give me some spaciousness in my mind, my emotions, and my body.

Having right answers isn't all it's cracked up to be. Having Trust is.

It's a journey. This is just one of millions of points of view on Trust. : )