New Year Blessings
I am excited to welcome this New Year in. It’s riding on a wave of satisfaction — I am filled up by my time off with close family under one roof, for just the right amount of time — and anticipation! I did not expect to feel such lightness at the turn of this year, but it is here and I welcome it. So much gratitude for connection, simple and ordinary, even on festive days. I will invite this light to continue to manifest and grow with the new year — celebrating the ordinary and extraordinary light of connection and good will in our community of sentient beings.
As Beop Jeung reminds me:
Our being alive
is the act of joining together in
the party hosted by the universe.When we use our kind and benevolent mind,
the kind and benevolent energy of the universe follows.
On the other hand, when we possess gloomy and foolish thoughts,
the gloomy and destructive elements in the universe come swarming.
This is not an invitation to blandly turn toward frothy distractions, to gloss over, deny, or ignore destructiveness — but to remain aware of our inner state and cultivate, as much as possible, our kindness and benevolence. Or, in other language, we can focus on “virtuous objects” in our meditation. The first time I heard this phrase, I cringed: it sounded so judgemental and prissy. But a little deeper into the teaching, I understood a “virtuous object” could be something as simple as the flame of a candle, or a beautiful flower, or a mantra or mudra that brings inner smoothness — a pleasant feeling — to the mind. It could be a buddha or guru if one were so inclined. This is the sanskar or groove in my being that I choose to reinforce in practice — the pleasant feeling of benevolent kindness, where I find it. Then, even in the face of harshness and conflict, training this way, there is the possibility of compassion, the possibility of equanimity, of fellow feeling: to be open to transcendent alternatives — like peace, like prioritizing care and stewardship over of territoriality and violence.
And so again, a few more words from Beop Jeung, written late in his long life, which had included many years of monastic retreat in the Korean mountains:
The teachings of those whose eyes have been opened,
though they may be said to have begun from within themselves,
they are never said to have ended there.
After understanding the self, do not become trapped in it.
Beginning from the self, you must then reach the entire world.
Your ultimate concern must lie within the world.
My teaching schedule resumes with a new time-slot for Meditation: A friendly approach at Mosaic Yoga Studio – in person and online, Wednesdays at 7:30 EST. I look forward to practicing with you!
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Happy New Year
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Teaching Schedule
I teach 5 weekly yoga classes at Mosaic Yoga Toronto.
Please prebook as class sizes are limited and frequently fill up.
Live-streaming is available for meditation and restorative classes.
225 Sterling Road, Toronto
Wednesdays 6–7:15 pm — Rope Wall
Wednesdays 7:30–8:30 pm — Meditation: A friendly approach
Thursdays 12–1:15 pm — Gentle Rope Wall
Fridays 6:45–7:45 pm — Reset/Restore
Sundays 12–1:15 pm — Rope Wall
