"In Search for Stillness"
 Dear Friends,
Approaching
10,000 feet with 60 pounds on my spasming back, gasping for breath with
each step, feeling like it might be my last on these bruised and
blistered feet, I wondered, "Why am I doing this?" I kept repeating my
mantra in cadence to my brutally slow cross country progress: "Al-lah,
Al-lah, Bud-dha, Bud-dha"; and every so often I would stop and lean
against a tree and say, "Lord Jesus, have mercy on me";. I figured if
one of them was busy with a war or something, one of the others might
hear my pathetic cry for the strength to get me up this mountain.
It
had all started at 8,600 feet in Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National
Park. Actually, it had started about 3 months before when I heard that
Yashi and Belden Johnson were leading their annual trek and vision
quest and invited me to join them. My terminal busyness had caught up
with me again. I was exhausted! I knew that I wanted to find stillness,
but I felt trapped in the world I myself had created. Everything I had
to do seemed so important, a sure sign that my ego had once again taken
over.
The purpose is to be in the present moment and enjoy each step you make.
- Thich Nhat Hanh
Read the entire letter from Michael here
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*Changes to Nevada City Dance Schedule / 2 Sunday Sweat Your Prayers
For some time we have been turning people away from our Sunday Sweat
Your Prayers. After hearing your thoughts on the matter I have decided
to try a 3-month trial of holding 2 weekly Sunday Sweats.
Starting October 3rd we will have an 8:30am and 10:30am Sunday gathering.
Each will start with a stillness meditation 15 minutes prior class. The
first class will be a quieter, more spacious meditation (not without
going through all the rhythms though) the second will be our regular
full on, let it all go kind of dance and social connection. For those
hearty dancers, you are welcome to do both. Also, for this 3-month
period only we will offer an additional discount to those who buy
90-day dance cards. Instead of 5 dances for $60 we will offer you 6.
For people who pay the door price of $15 you will be able to do the
second dance for only $10 for a total of $25.
I hope that this will help to reduce the crowds while providing a
quieter and more spacious dance floor for those of you in the earlier
class.
*South Yuba Club Closed on September 18-20. There will be no class on Friday.
There will be class on Sunday at Seamanís Lodge in Pioneer Park, Nevada City prior to the Kathy Altman workshop.
I
just spent a week dancing with Kathy in Sonoma. It was one of the most
powerful and transformative experiences in my 20+ years of doing moving
meditation. Please donít miss our yearly opportunity to have her here
in our own local community.
Blessings,
michael
Waves: Heaven and Hell
- Date: September 18 - 20
- Teacher: Kathy Altman
- Where: Nevada City
- Cost: $325
- Contact Info: Michael Stone 530-477-7757
- Time: Friday and Saturday 11am-5pm; Sunday 1-6pm
Most
of us spend our lives seeking heaven, what we imagine will make us
finally feel good forever, and running like hell from everything that
makes us uncomfortable.
In Waves: Heaven and Hell, we use our movement practice to find true
heaven in being grounded, centered, and expanded in each moment life
brings. This is the real value of practice, to learn how to be open, be
available, and maybe even playful as we get knocked off kilter or
forced out of our comfort zone.
Finding and sustaining our presence, no matter what we feel or what
goes on around us, is the dance that will reverberate long after this
workshop ends.
More info and to register
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Blessings,
michael
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Upcoming Shows
September 8th, Gary Zukav and Linda Francis: Making Your Life Count
Gary Zukav is a Harvard graduate, Vietnam Veteran, Green Beret,
recovering person, spiritual wayfarer, and a favorite guest on Oprah.
Gary Zukav is the author of The Dancing Wu Li Masters, The Seat of the
Soul and most recently Soul Stories. He and his partner Linda Francis
will be joining us to talk about expressing our soul into the world. link for more
September 15th, Bill Plotkin: Nature and the Human Soul
Bill
Plotkin, PhD, is a depth psychologist, wilderness rites guide, and
ecotherapist. He is the author of Soulcraft: Crossing into the
Mysteries of Nature and Psyche and Nature and the Human Soul:
Cultivating Wholeness and Community in a Fragmented World.
link for more
September 22nd Gail Larson: If You Want to Change the World. Tell a Better Story
Gail
Larsen is a communications coach, speaker and workshopÝleader, group
facilitator, and an award-winning entrepreneur. She founded Real
Speaking in 1991 to support her clients in mining the deep well of
their life experience and self-expression to become powerful platform
speakers.
link for more
September 29th Jean Houston: Creating your own story
Dr. Jean Houston, scholar, philosopher and researcher in human
capacities, is one of the foremost visionary thinkers and doers of our
time, one of the principal founders of the Human Potential Movement.
She has written 26 books and is the founder of The Mystery School which
is dedicated to training people in recognizing and remembering the
great mystery that dwells within each of us. link for more
October 20th David Whyte: The Three Marriages (a pledge drive show)
David
Whyte, Poet, Author, Lecturer holds a degree in Marine Zoology and has
traveled extensively, including living and working as a naturalist
guide in the Galapagos Islands and leading anthropological and natural
history expeditions in the Andes, the Amazon and the Himalaya. He
brings this wealth of experience to his poetry, lectures and workshops.
link for more
October 27th ShantiMayi: Spiritual Inspiration
ShantiMayi
is a rare being. She is the only westerner, as well as the only woman
ever to carry the grace of her lineage of exceptional Indian sages
around the entire world. In her talks are forums of inspiration people
have an opportunity to address the concerns, questions and discoveries
that people bring to this precious time. ShantiMayi inspires us to
enliven the wonderful potential within us all. link for more
Conversations is now a weekly show. For more information go to our website.
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Poetry Corner
God speaks to each of us as he makes us,
then walks with us silently out of the night.
These are the words we dimly hear:
You, sent out beyond your recall,
Go to the limits of your longing.
Embody me.
Flare up like a flame
and make big shadows I can move in.
Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror.
Just keep going. No feeling is final.
Don’t let yourself lose me.
Nearby is the country they call life.
You will know it by its seriousness.
Give me your hand.
-- Rainer Maria Rilke
The privilege to refuse our flowering
I look out
at everything
growing so wild
and faithfully beneath
the sky
and wonder
why we are the one
terrible
part of creation
privileged
to refuse our floweringÖ
-- David Whyte
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Well of Light Seva Team
Seva
is selfless service to a cause you believe will benefit others. It is
the willingness to perform any task for a greater cause without
prospect of recognition or reward.
Well
of Light has many opportunities to serve our community. If you would
like to participate on the Well of Light Seva Team please call Michael
Stone @ 530.477.7757 or email michael@welloflight.com
"I
don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know: the only
ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and
found how to serve."
- Albert Schweitzer
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