“Today you get to be a flower. Your fragrance decides us. Choose well what pollen and nectar you send out into the tender breeze of our hopefulness. We need beauty now. ” – Jaiya John
A note from Erin:
Dear Beautiful Human,
I’m sending warm solstice greetings your way. Here in the Northern Hemisphere, we’re deep in the season of sacred darkness. I want to wrap myself in this blanket of darkness and settle in for a good long while. However, yesterday we celebrated the Solstice, and already the light is returning. This morning, after meditation, as I sat sipping my coffee, the sky put on such a magnificent display – the kind of ever-evolving glory of a sunrise that makes you want to sing!
A little report from our corner of the world: The finches are gorging at the feeder, with a hopeful squirrel waiting for dropped seeds underneath. The mantle over the fireplace is a sweet scene of red-hatted gnomes needle-felted by my mama. There’s a Santa in a snow globe, some Ukrainian nesting Santa dolls, a lovely white orchid, and an altar to Carl’s mom. Our kiddo is recovering from strep throat, our Christmas tree smells divine, the twinkle lights are lit, and I’m feeling so grateful just to be alive. (And this month, I seem to have a new part-time job of unsubscribing from political texts. Anyone else? I’m floored by how many!)
More than ever, as our son is older and our nearby family has moved out of state, we’re aligning our winter schedule with the vibe of the season: Slow. Cozy. Tucked in, often with a piñon fire. I’m a devotee of hygge. I’m in love with the deep, rich quality of winter sleep. My soul roots are hydrated by these long nights and deep dreaming. We’re planning to spend some of these next quiet weeks recording new podcasts, taking walks in the canyons, resting, writing, reading, and enjoying this sacred, slow pace.
We are happy to share a new podcast episode we recorded with our dear friend Alexandre Jodun, who kindly asked to interview us for the podcast. A listener recently wrote to Carl, “I’m often awestruck by you and your beloved’s inspirational podcast. I wanted to take a moment today to say how much I appreciated your tri-alogue on Friendship Wisdom. Such beautiful commentary, filled with poetry and pain and illuminating clarity. Thank you!” (Thank you for listening, Per!) We hope you, too, might enjoy listening. Here’s the link. We’ve got more coming soon!
I’m always thinking about this – whatever our practices, whatever our circumstances: How can we be a makeweight for a more loving world? May we consider the pollen we’re sending out, and do so with intention, with beauty, with a wish for the thriving life of all…
During this time, when we see the most immature, selfish, and deeply unwell leaders in positions of power, the call toward courageous loving could not be more important. To be alive during this absurd and dangerous time is challenging on so many levels. To name just one horrifying example, how about the world’s richest person taking away aid from the world’s poorest? There is much to be outraged about. It’s mind-boggling and heartbreaking. I think of Rowen White quoting her elders who say, “You’ve got to love what you love more than you hate what you hate.” This morning, I was thinking again about a line penned by Barry Lopez. He said simply, “Evidence of the failure to love is everywhere around us.” We see it in so many places. I’m determined to correct that – at least in my own heart and in my own corner of the world. Imperfectly but devotedly. I take heart in remembering how very many deeply good and beautiful people (like you!) are out there tipping the scales toward a more loving world. Thank you.
Yesterday, on Solstice, as we enjoyed an offline day of quiet reflection by the fire, person after person came through my heartmind. Friends, family, students and clients past and present… I hold with such love and reverence these threads of connection we share in this shimmering web of interbeing. I was and am sending so much love and appreciation to so many. I’m deeply touched by the way that together, through these threads of connection inhabited with care, we can make a strong net of lovingkindness to hold one another and the world.
This intention is at the heart of Refugia, our upcoming 13-month Depth Training. As we pass through this exhale of the year and prepare to inhale into the New Year, perhaps you, too, are in soulful consideration of how you’d like to spend this precious life. We invite you to consider joining us for this beautiful opportunity. The steadying, the deepening, the heartening, the growth, and the encouraging that can happen when we gather regularly and circle around the intention to become a protected place where the love of life for life itself can flow through us, where Soul can reveal its wisdom, where embodied presence is fully invited – well, let me say without exaggeration that magic happens. Magic that matters.
Truly, I don’t know how people get through times like this without teachers and communities of loving others who practice together!
Refugia intends to ripen our capacity to tip the scales toward love, beauty, and thriving life. To help us love and serve the world in our own unique ways – without martyring ourselves. To radically, (which I mean in the original sense of the word – rootedly) deepen our capacity for embodied presence, fierce compassion, brave lovingkindness, and deep listening. We’ll practice reviving soul manners, growing a sacred relationship with grief and sorrow, freeing our voices, deepening our relationships with self, others, and the sacred, and step ever more fully into embodying our unique soul medicine. Whatever else happens in 2026, we know Refugia is going to be powerful and beautiful.
We are deeply excited about this new year and look forward with great joy to creating Refugia with the inspiring people who are called to join us. If you’ve been considering it, we gently invite you to apply today.
Personally, I’ve been feeling a beautiful fire under my ass and my aspirations. Mary Oliver, whose work was loving the world, has gone. So has Barry Lopez. So have many of our teachers of Feldenkrais, Dharma, and more. Joanna Macy has left us, though she also left us a potent body of work that is woven throughout Refugia. Andrea Gibson has died, and left us so many invitations to open the heart and embrace this precious, temporary life. Our beloved friend Francis Weller is gratefully still here, though he closed his therapy practice last year and his mentoring practice a few weeks ago. After many years of deep work together, we’ve graduated into that place of being mentors ourselves. Carl’s mother left us a few weeks ago, quite unexpectedly. A few days ago, I read the obituary of a former dharma brother with whom we practiced for many years. He died at age 59, just 2 weeks after receiving a cancer diagnosis. I’m feeling it so strongly – if there’s something you, I, or we want to do with our lives – don’t wait. As Rilke wrote, “The impermanence that haunts our days is their very fragrance.” Ain’t it the truth.
We’re excited to share that we will be hosting a free information session about Refugia on Sunday, January 4th, at 11 am MT for 90 minutes. Please join us! Please feel free to share the invitation with anyone you think might resonate. It will be rich. We’ll share a bit about the inspiration behind this offering, we’ll read some gorgeous poetry, we’ll share about the learning territory we’ll delve into through the year, and we’ll make time for questions. It’s a no pressure gig. Sign up here to join us. All registrants will receive a recording, so feel free to sign up even if you can’t join us live.
I’ve shared this quote from Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel many times before, and it’s always in my heart, so I’ll share it here again, as a heart wish for all of us. (Italicized words added by me.)
“May this new year bring you well-being, joy, and limitless opportunities to grow. Let’s be fierce in our commitment to value and utilize even the most challenging circumstances as a way to deepen our understanding and cultivate compassion for others (as well as ourselves.) Let’s continuously find creative and skillful ways to serve living beings and this precious planet, our home, and look at life around us as the rich ground for awakening from self-absorption. If we can do this, how can we possibly lose?”
May it be so.
From my heart,
Erin
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