“It’s not happiness that makes us grateful but gratefulness that makes us happy.” – Br. David Steindl Rast
Becoming Free + The Shared Regret of Ida Rolf & Moshe Feldenkrais
a note from Carl: Last week I had the opportunity to participate in a retreat with Will Johnson in Santa Fe. Will is a unique character- kind of a modern mystic, a Rolfer, embodiment teacher, long-time meditator and author of many wonderful books, including two that I love, The Posture of Meditation and Breathing Through…
You Have Everything You Need
a note from Erin I don’t know what I’m doing. And I’m ok with that. There’s a little book on Zen which I adore, called “Open and Innocent: The Gentle Passionate Art of Not-Knowing” by Scott Morrison. This favorite quote comes from that book. I love the title, and I love that question. (Don’t you?!)…
The Bluebird In Your Heart & The Courage to Listen First
a note from Erin: “The only wisdom we can hope to acquire Is the wisdom of humility: humility is endless.” – TS Eliot I was sitting on the porch last night, sipping prosecco with Carl and a dear old friend whom we’ve known since we were all in our 20s and who is visiting from…
You’re a Genius and We Need You
a note from Erin: Hello! Oh, what a splendid and rich weekend we shared at our Trusting Your Life Retreat with my dear friends and extraordinary teachers, Nan Seymour and Laurie Wagner along with an incredible group of participants. So much beauty and courage and kindness – it was the kind of gathering that makes you think…
This Brutiful World + Offering Blessings, Tasting Tears
a note from Erin: One of my favorite things about living in my neighborhood is walking in the nearby graveyard. It exists on 120 acres and is dotted with graves from the 1840s onwards. A fantastic bird-watching spot, it is filled with abundant trees sheltering old and new graves. I’ve walked here regularly over the past…
Listening Liberates
a note from Erin I’d love to share with you an excerpt from one of my favorite books of recent years, called Seven Thousand Ways to Listen, by Mark Nepo. It’s so gorgeous. It reads like poetry. It’s one of those books where I’ve dog-eared at least 100 pages and filled my journal with gorgeous quotations.…
Your Raw & Tender Heart
a note from Carl: We heard about the tragic shootings in Orlando on the last day of our recent retreat in California. There is a particular rawness in taking in that kind of news after a week of working with meditation and embodiment practices – somehow it seems more viscerally heart breaking. When my heart…
Flourish at the Speed of Life
I thought I was ready to finally teach my wonderful Women Embodied work online this summer. In fact, I loved doing my free taster course earlier in the spring and I got so much amazing feedback, it’s a surprise I’m not doing it. (Yet.) As I sat with myself and did some inner listening about…
a note from Carl: “Sometimes the truth depends on a walk around the lake.” -Wallace Stevens I have been reflecting on and deeply appreciating this line from Wallace Stevens on morning walks recently. On one of these mornings I almost didn’t leave the house because there was a sink full of dishes, a long to-do…
To Your Inner Authority
a note from Erin: Friends, when I sat down to write to you this morning, my heart and mind were buzzing with so many things I want to share. I wanted to write to you about embodying freedom and the workshop we’re teaching this Saturday, inspired by this quote from Thich Nhat Hanh: “Freedom is…
Beckoning Paths of Spring + An Invitation to My Free Course
A note from Erin Good day! In Salt Lake City right now it is Spring, Glorious Spring. The unique blue of Utah skies, pink and white blossoms popping open on trees every single day, blossom-litter on the sidewalks, voluminous bright clouds and birdsong everywhere. It’s cool enough that the sunshine feels like a welcome gift,…
On Not Doing My Best & The Generosity of Forgiveness
Here’s a paragraph from a Buddhist book I love which I’m relating to so tenderly this week: “When we look in the mirror, the one thing we don’t want to see is an ordinary human being. We would like to see someone special. Whether we are conscious of this or not, we are simply not…
What Should I Do With My Belly?
What should I do with my belly? I am asked this question frequently, especially since I love to dole out generous permission for clients and students to refrain from holding it in and constantly “tightening their core.” Allow me to share some ideas and invitations. I’m not a believer in “the right way.” I much…
Poets As Lifeboats
A note from Carl: The Great religions are the Ships, Poets the life Boats. Every sane person I know has jumped Overboard. That is good for business Isn’t it Hafiz? -Hafiz Ah, to start a morning with Hafiz…I remember Michael Meade saying he likes to get up early and read Hafiz first thing before his…
Withnessing
A note from Erin: “A spring wind blew my list of things to do away…. “ – Greg Brown Yep, that happened yesterday. I’m a day late in sending this to you. It was a good thing. Nearly 70 degrees and sunny here, and spring fever won over my to do list. (That plus a…
25 Things
For more than a year, an inner voice has been nudging me, “Write more. Write. Write.” I’ve been doing some of that, but mostly keeping it to myself, wondering where on earth I should share my writings…. and finally, the obvious solution dawned on me. How about my own blog? So, diving in today, prompted…
Make of Yourself a Light
A note from Carl: There is a story that I love from Lord Of The Dance, the autobiography of the late great, Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche. Chagdud Tulku was one of the early Tibetan teachers who came to the West, and his teachings helped spread the Buddhist teachings to many people in North…
On Living Like Water and Jane Goodall’s Example
A note from Erin: When I was 18, one of my most mind-blowing, life-altering reads was the Tao Te Ching as translated by Stephen Mitchell. I still have the same worn copy. I’ve been thinking about it a lot in the past year. Mostly because of Jane Goodall. About a year ago, Jane Goodall came…
So Much Wisdom I Can’t Find Anything
A note from Carl: Last week we took our martial arts lovin boy to see Kung Fu Panda 3. I have loved this series of movies, and the recent was my favorite of the three. There is one scene that keeps coming back to me as a teaching, as an open question, as just a great line.…
Please Tell Me: What Do You Love?
A note from Erin: Last Fall we traveled to Tucson, AZ, to attend a retreat with clinical psychologist and meditation teacher Tara Brach, whom we adore. We were invited to do a particularly touching practice on the final afternoon of the retreat. We partnered with a stranger and spent 5 minutes each in the following inquiry:…
Intimacy With Your Spine
Intimacy With Your Spine A Skeletal Immersion with Carl and Erin Saturday, Feb 27 12-5 pm In this day-long course we will explore several wonderfully enlivening and intimate movement lessons around the spine. Some lessons will be subtle, some dynamic, and all will lead to a greater sense of intimacy and connection, and thus greatly…
Trust Your Life: An Embodied Writing Retreat
GROWING TRUST IN YOUR LIFE An Embodied Writing Retreat with Erin Geesaman Rabke, Laurie Wagner, and Nan Seymour WHERE At a lovely private home in Salt Lake City, Utah, location disclosed when you register WHEN July 15-17, 2016 Opening evening gathering on Friday from 7-9pm. Saturday & Sunday 9am-5pm. FOR WHOM For YOU!…
Does It Love You Back?
A note from Carl: Often, I tend to read my books one at a time. For the last few months though, since our birthday season in October/ November, (when Erin and I usually gift each other the books we both want to read:) I have had 6 or 7 going at a time. A chapter…
Russell Delman In Salt Lake City
March 18-20 2016 “The Challenges and Opportunities of Awakening Humanity” (from Russell) Dear Friends, I enthusiastically anticipate my return to Salt Lake City. With a core group of consistent people and the fresh energy of new folks, we always seem to explore essential human questions with both depth and lightness. This year our focus is:…
Freshness In The Ordinary
A note from Erin: Greetings from lovely San Rafael! We are so happy this week to be starting our second 3-year Embodied Life training with our dear friend and mentor, Russell Delman, and 30 other people from around the world. The wonderful Irish poet, John O’Donohue reflected in an interview years ago on how he understood the…
Grief and Praise For The Dying and What Lives
A note from Carl: It seems there have been many losses in the last weeks. There are many losses everyday, yet sometimes that fact shines through more clearly. One that has been particularly moving for Erin and myself this week is the death of Stephen Levine. Stephen was such a poetic writer and teacher about…
The Endless Harvest of Early Seeds
A note from Carl: Greetings Friends, I just returned from a week of staying in a remote cabin outside of Boulder, Utah with our son, Mesa. The week gave Erin some cherished solo time at home, where she was free to follow her own rhythms for the first time in 6 years (much needed for…
Too Blessed to be Stressed? NOT! **Happy New Year!**
A note from Erin Happy New Year, friends! I’ve been having a great few days, cleaning, clearing, smudging, visioning, dancing, writing, resting. How’s January so far for you? I love this reminder from John O’Donohue, “When we approach with reverence, great things decide to approach us. Our real life comes to the surface and its…
Embodying The Masculine 2016
A 14-week Course for Men Begins Monday, Feb 22nd 7:15-9pm at Mindful Yoga Collective For as long as humans have existed, men have gathered in sacred circles to speak, listen and connect together around the great mysteries of life. These circles have become increasingly rare in modern life- and we need them, perhaps more now…
Resources & Inspiration for You + All Day Sit for Peace on Friday
A note from Erin: Part of me didn’t want to write to you this week – as with Thanksgiving week, I find I feel hesitant to add to all the noise in your inbox. Sales galore and so many messages. But I missed connecting with you. So I’m writing anyway. :) I hope it’s inspiring…