More reflections on Mutual Support

With no blog posts in either February or March, an objective reader might quite rightly assume that I have given up on my practice or that I am seeing so many clients that I have no time for writing.  And neither assumption would be quite right.

Life, and even my Breema life, has been full.  I certainly have not given up on my practice.  I now have a couple of wonderful people that might even be termed "regular customers" (Blessings to you each and every one!), and as you can see from the upcoming events page, I have been out there teaching classes, doing public demonstrations, and giving free and low-cost sessions.

I am grateful for the support of The Mount Airy Learning Tree who have sponsored my classes, the American Friends Service Committee who have hosted my monthly work at Friends Center, and, most recently, Jeff and Heather at Pilates in Germantown who are hosting my public event on Saturday, April 16th.  Looking further down the road, I will be teaching another course in June through MALT.  I will also be at Empowered Yoga in Willmington on Saturday, June 4th.  I will offer free mini-sessions at the Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference, sponsored by the Mazzoni Center, on June 2nd and 3rd.  I am very excited about the opportunity to be a nurturing ally at what is probably the largest gathering of transgender folk in the world!  It will certainly be a very busy June!

I am also profoundly grateful to Matthew Tousignant, Sara Fishkin, and Sara Moore-Hines, the three other Breema instructors in the Philadelphia area. We have begun to work together at various events and the experience of having peer support and encouragement is incredible. The opportunity to watch these gifted practitioners share their understanding and to receive as a student has helped me to clarify the core of my own teaching.  It is a joy to remember the power of receiving Breema.  To gather in a circle with others who share a common experience and a common aim is deeply nurturing.  I do encourage us all to reach out with an atmosphere of support to individual friends and to the community.  It is truly the way that we will heal the planet.

Now it has been very easy to see the good things in life as wonderful support for my self and for my work. 

But one of the real gifts of these last few months have been the empty and the challenging times -- the times when no one has called and I have not been clear about next steps, the times that I have planned events and worried that no one would show up, the times that someone pushed a button and gave me the opportunity to see myself in my full humanness.

There have been many days of unknowing, of discouragement, and inertia.  I was recently at the Breema Center in Oakland for an instructors' intensive and heard a talk on the twin challenges of inertia and anxiety.  It is so true that the human mind tends to bounce back and forth like a ping pong ball between these two reactions.  It is like when guests are coming for dinner and at one moment you fear that you have cooked way too much food and the very next moment you are afraid everyone will starve. 

When my mind is lost in anxiety or inertia over there, and my body is rushing through the day over here, I find that there is precious little space for me to receive the inevitable events of life -- the computer glitch, the marketing call, the unkind remark, the unexpected and uninvited change in plans.  In this scattered, very human state, all of life is a challenge.

The philosophy and the practice of Breema, invites us all to simply bring the mind to the body and to breathe, to unite and nurture the mind/body connection.  It is my experience that in this unified state, there is an opportunity to see the events of the world in context and for the feelings and emotions to enter in with a different energy.  In this unified state, I am more often able to see the gift in both the easy and the challenge, in what my mind wants to call both the "good" and the "bad." 

In this united state, there I find a confidence in me that can remain rooted in spite of the winds and the tempests of life.  The computer glitch becomes an opportunity to understand the program at a deeper level and to nurture patience and self-compassion.  The marketing call becomes a reminder to connect with the breath and to learn to say "No thank you" without judgment.  The unkind remark becomes an opening to connect with another who is hurting.  The unexpected and uninvited change in plans becomes an opportunity to nurture resilience.

The prophets, psalmists, and the early Friends spoke of this opportunity to return to the body as a way of inviting God to reign once again at the center of all things:

The Psalmist:

           Be still, and know that I am God.

George Fox:

Be still and cool in thy own mind and spirit from thy own thoughts, and then thou wilt feel the principle of God to turn thy mind to the Lord God, whereby thou wilt receive his strength and power from whence life comes, to allay all tempests against blusterings and storms.   

Margaret Fell:

Now, reader, in soberness and singleness of your heart, …. Let the truth of God have place in the heart . . . . for truly the Lord, whom we seek, will suddenly come to His temple, and who may abide the day of His coming...

And my all-time favorite, Isaac Penington:

Give over thine own willing; give over thine own running; give over thine own desiring to know or to be any thing, and sink down to the seed which God sows in the heart, and let that grow in thee, and be in thee, and breathe in thee, and act in thee, and thou shalt find by sweet experience that the Lord knows that, and loves and owns that, and will lead it to the inheritance of life, which is his portion.

I am grateful for my full life.  I am grateful for the sweet nurture of support.  I am grateful for the challenges that show me my true self and which offer me the opportunity to remember that I am not the author.  I am grateful for the opportunity to give and receive support in each moment.

As they say at the Breema Center:

The more our Being participates, the more we are able to support life and recognize that Existence supports us. Giving and receiving support take place simultaneously.

May gratitude be your constant companion.

Two other quick updates: 
Hold me and the Germantown Clergy Initiative with well wishing on Wednesday, April 13th.  We will be taking a bus load of students from Germantown High School to Washington, DC.  We will be visiting the Howard University as part of our annual college campus tour program, with side trips to the Smithsonian Institution and the National Museum of African American History and a stop at a local soul food restaurant.  May we be blessed with traveling mercies and be the opportunity for new possibilities in the lives of these young people.

Activity with the Earth Quaker Action Team has been a great blessing over the past two months.  As many of you have probably heard, our action at the Philadelphia Flower Show received quite a bit of publicity.  Unfortunately, because of my trip west to the Breema Center, I missed a wonderful action in Swarthmore.  Next will be the PNC shareholders' meeting in Pittsburgh on the 26th of April.  Hold us and the shareholders in the Light that we may all be faithful to God's highest intention.

Hope to write again, sooner next time. 

Martin Luther King day of service

Newsflash:
With the support of the American Friends Service Committee, Breema bodywork,offered at a low, voluntary sliding scale will be coming to Friends Center for one full day at the end of the month.  Sessions available to those who work at Friends Center.  Because the space is being provided for free, I am able to offer free intro mini-sessions to first time recipients and longer sessions at a discounted rate.

I am open to working at other work spaces in the Philadelphia area.  If you have ideas, contact me (see below).

*  *  *  *

It was a busy and inspiring Martin Luther King Day weekend and a lot of new opportunities blossoming for my Breema practice.

One of the nine principles of harmony at the core of the Breema teachings is "mutual support."  That principle has certainly been alive for me this weekend as I have seen that giving and receiving happens simultaneously in the same activity.  It is almost as if when I step out into the world to be of use, the world steps forward and offers me what I need to know and to hear in that moment.  And even when it is not exactly what I wanted to receive, often if I look closely, there is a necessary gift in it.  The more I see the principle of mutual support working in the world, the more I see that God is a good and generous God and our world is one of abundance.

So I happen to share my birthday with Dr. King -- January 15th. This year I turned 51.  As you might imagine, my family supported me in making a big deal out of the big five-oh last year, but no plans were in place for this year.

We have only recently returned from a Hjelt family reunion in Jamaica where we celebrated Traci's parents' 50th wedding anniversary, Traci's mom's 70th birthday, Christmas, the new year, and a deep love for each other.  We made special t-shirts and enjoyed playing with tie-dye:

We ate a lot of wonderful food:

and of course spent some wonderful time at a beautiful beach (Frenchman's Cove http://www.frenchmanscove.com/ near Port Antonio):

And I had to opportunity to work with Chris again almost every day for eight days.  What a gift!

So life got busy after we got home and my birthday did not get onto the list of things to think about.

So happens that Rebecca was scheduled to bring a prepared message to the campus-wide Meeting for Worship at Guilford College on Sunday the 16th as part of Guilford's Quaker Leadership Scholars Program.  Given that she is a senior and in four years we had never been able to visit for a special occasion, Traci decided to go down for the weekend.  I had made prior arrangements to participate in a health fair on Monday morning, organized by my friend and former Pendle Hill student Victoria Ford.  (You go girl, it was FAB!)

So, as a result, with my family out of town, I was on my own for my whole birthday/MLK weekend.

Saturday morning I went out to find Girard College the host and site of the MLK health fair and to set up the mats for Monday's exhibition.  (I might have had pictures, but Rebecca asked to borrow my camera for the rest of the semester and it was on the train going to North Carolina, sorry.)  Victoria gave us a wonderfully spacious site in the center of the room, inside the inner circle.  So we had a bit of a buffer between us and the bustle of activity in the room, but at the same time a central location with a lot of visibility.  It was calming and supportive to spend time in advance setting up the space, thinking through the logistics, and writing a short list of things I realized I needed to bring but had not thought of the first time.  It was great to find Victoria puttering around doing last minute things and feeling pretty calm given that in 48 hours literally thousands of people would be arriving for her event.  It was great to meet other people setting up their displays and to hear about some of the many inspiring organizations that were planning to attend.

After setting up, I had scheduled an appointment to trade bodywork with Danielle Stimpson, founder and prime mover of the Philly Community Wellness, an alternative bodywork cooperative at 12th and Carpenter, just across the street from the Philadelphia High School for the Creative Arts.  As a result, the entire wall of the factory where Danielle's studio is located is covered with the most amazing tile art creations.  It is worth the trip, just to see the mosaics!

The Philly Community Wellness is a cooperative organization of bodyworkers dedicated to making bodywork affordable to the general public, to folks who have not otherwise considered receiving bodywork, and people of modest economic means while still honoring the economic needs of the practitioners.  They offer a wide range of modalities, all of which are practiced fully clothed in a community room, either on a table or on a pad on the floor.  Note: sounds like Breema!  And all practitioners are required to participate in their voluntary sliding scale.  Note: Does that sound like me?  They have a number of reiki practitioners, and a few thai yoga massage therapists, and many other modalities.  As of yet, though, they have no Breema listed among their services.

I thought I would honor my birthday, check out the facility, and introduce Breema to the Philly Community Wellness!

So Danielle is a bundle of enthusiasm and a dedicated bodyworker and healer with a strong community vision.  I found her to be very generous with her time and her experience.  While she was just turning 30  (and surprise, we both shared a birthday with Dr. King) she has been working in the field for many years and knows a lot about the legal and liability aspects of starting a bodywork business.  I hope to learn a lot from her as I address the issues of licensing, insurance, and registering my business over the next few months.

The space itself is small and very intimate with three tables and two chairs.  The middle table can easily come down to make room for a Thai yoga pad on the floor.  The coop has only just begun to get off their feet, but with a community acupuncture class in the studio space preceding us, a yoga studio with a full class across the hall, and a couple of other practitioners and clients sharing the space, there was a wonderful atmosphere and energy for our work together.

Danielle received Breema for the first time.  Her receptivity and sharing of her experience was delightful.  She returned the share by giving me a reiki treatment and I experienced it with warmth and power and deep rest.  It was a gift.  Literally a shared birthday gift, but also the gift of a new resource, the encouragement that there are others who share the values I have set out for my own practice, and a joy to experience a young woman growing into her vision and power.  Giving and receiving happens simultaneously in the same activity.

Sunday morning was business meeting at Green Street Friends Meeting.  I was given vocal ministry to share during the Meeting for Worship.  The theme that was arising among us was the power of paradoxical truths, of resting in God and being challenged to live faithfully into the will of the Divine.  I remembered the witness of the redwood trees at my beloved Ben Lomond Quaker Center.  I remembered how they have such shallow roots that if they did not live together in community and intertwine their root systems, they would literally fall down.  And yet they grow to be among the largest and the oldest living things on earth.  I also remembered how in spite of their gigantic size, the growing parts of them are the tiny green tips at the end of the branches, reaching for the sky.  I was filled again with the understanding that we are invited both to rest in the love of God and God's community at the same time that we are invited to stretch into the uncomfortable so that we may grow into faithfulness in building up God's community here on earth.  Again, giving and receiving in the same motion on our journey into faithfulness.

At Business Meetng, Green Street Friends affirmed their interest in establishing a deeper on-going relationship with EMIR, a non-profit organization about half a mile from the Meeting.  EMIR provides practical and compassionate services to families who have experienced homicide here in Philadelphia.  The Meeting would like to have a more active and supportive relationship with the diverse community around us, and it is exciting for us to take on such a commitment.  It is clear that, if we can be faithful in our action, we will be challenged to stretch and grow at the same time that we will be blessed as much as any gift that we might have to offer .

Sunday afternoon I slipped out of Meeting for Business a few minutes early in order to attend the 28th Annual Celebration of the Life and Legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  The event was put on by the Neighborhood Interfaith Movement, an organization in Mt. Airy that I pass each time I take the bus up to Chestnut Hill to worship with the Evergreens.  The evening was filled with music and inspirational readings.  There was an award presentation from the Shalom Center by their Executive Director, Rabbi Arthur Waskow, followed by a talk given by Daisy Khan, Executive Director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement and co-founder of the Park51 project in Lower Manhattan. 

The event gathered together an amazing community across boundaries of age, ethnicity, religion, and class.  We were nurtured by a festive evening of community and song.  And when we heard the words of Dr. King and Ms.Khan, we were reminded of the need to continue to stretch beyond our comfort zones to help fulfill the dream that Dr. King and so many others dedicated their lives to.

Monday, I had to rise early to be in time for the Breema exhibition.  The earliest staff were scheduled to arrive at 4am to prepare for almost 4,000 volunteers and participants for dozens of service opportunities, a Civic Engagement Expo, a Kids Carnival, as well as the Health and Wellness Fair.  Luckily, I only needed to be there by 7:30.

But by 7:30 the place was hopping.  Groups were setting up exhibit tables.  Volunteers were arriving to start work.  Even though we were in the basement and a bit away from the largest of the crowds, there was a constant flow of people, spontaneous line dancing, and numerous other entertainments.  I was joined just before 9 am by Matthew Tousignant and Sara Moore-Hines -- two of the three other Breema practitioners living and working in the Philadelphia area. It was a joy to work together and I was grateful for their support of the event.  It was the first opportunity we had ever had together to bring Breema to the larger community.

And the community was ready.  My original vision was that two of us would be working at any one time and the third would be available at the exhibit table to greet interested recipients, to answer questions about Breema, and to help organize those who were waiting to receive a session.  None of the three of us ever had much more than about five or ten minutes to sit at the table.  The first volunteer lay down about 8:30 and the last one stood up a bit after 1 pm when all the other booths had been taken down and only a few stragglers were still waiting for their rides to come pick them up.

Mostly we worked on women, but a few courageous men were willing to lie down on a mat in public and receive nurturing touch.  We worked on people of all races and ages.  Not everyone was convinced.  In fact there was considerable skepticism in the room.  Over my shoulder I could see many people watching us with looks that ranged from confusion to disbelief.  One young woman from a center city AIDS service center went back to her exhibit site and tried heroically to get her co-workers to come try out this strange thing.  "It's good, I tell you.  It's really good,"  I heard her say.  There was clearly some interest because folks kept on watching throughout the day, but none of her primarily young, primarily African-American, primarily male colleagues to the leap to come try us out.

But many other young people did, and that was what was most inspiring to me about the day -- the number of young people, mostly African-American, who had come out for a day of service, who spent the day developing what might become a life-long habit of volunteering and community service, who were curious enough and willing enough to lie down on the mat and receive nurturing touch from three light-skinned, middle-aged strangers.  I was pleased that young activists were receiving a clear message about the importance of self-care and renewal.

The work that Matthew, Sara and  I did was better because we worked together, side-by-side.  The room was large.  There were lots of distractions and background noise.  Even though we were enclosed by a circle of tables, there was a press of people around us, and an occasional child running after a lost ball.  By working together we were able to create an atmosphere of reverent calm in the middle of it all.  I was often distracted by the group of people waiting to receive a session or the bustle of dancers learning the Electric Slide.  But, in that same moment, I might also get a glimpse of Matthew giving a recipient a deliciously long, slow stretch, or Sara listening deeply to the feedback of a young person who had just received her first bodywork experience.  In that moment, I could be reminded to return to my breath and connect with the weight of my own body and come back to being present to the person that I was working with.

And so it is in this every day life.  Distractions pass us by constantly, competing for our eyes and ears, for our attention, and for the mind's chatter.  And just as many distractions as there are, there is support, if we choose to see it, to remember and to come back and be present to the essential work of the moment.  It is because of this gift, this lesson that I need to learn again and again, that I practice Breema.  It is the same reason -- the lived experience that in any moment that I remember to be open to it  I can be both nurtured by community and challenged to stretch -- that I am a Quaker.

I am grateful to Victoria Ford and her staff for organizing the health fair and for inviting me to be a part of it so that, once again, I could remember.

My MLK weekend ended with a wonderful tribute concert put on by the Philadelphia Orchestra.  It is an annual free event, sponsored by GIGNA, my first time to hear Philly's finest, and my introduction to Thomas Wilkins, the delightful guest conductor.  I had heard Charlotte Blake Alston before at the launch party for Fit For Freedom, Not For Friendship and she was wonderful reading King's I Have a Dream Speech set to beautiful orchestral music. But the event was stolen by the performance of the Philadelphia All City Choir.  I strongly encourage you to go hear them if you get a chance!

And what else would one love to cap a weekend than a visit to Wissohickon Park after a snow storm:

May our new year be filled with gratitude for the Dream we have inherited.

My first Youtube video

Latest Newsflash:
My self and two other Philly area Breema practitioners/instructors will be giving free Breema mini-sessions at a major MLK day event on Monday, January 17th.

Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service
Signature Site Health and Wellness Fair

Monday, January 17 · 9:00am - 1:00pm
at  Girard College
2101 South College Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19121

Here is a link for more information:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=175368305812759

Feel free to pass on the word.



News Flash 1: 
Mt. Airly Learning Tree has published it's winter catalog of classes.  I am offering a three week series of Breema bodywork classes on Tuesday nights, March 8, 15, 22 from 7-9 pm at the Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting.  Will be a sweet and nurturing time.  You can register here.  Hope some of you might consider joining us.  Feel free to bring a friend you are wanting to get a bit closer to.  Space is limited.

* * * * *

News Flash 2:
I am now on Youtube!
For more  about that experience, keep reading below.

* * * * *

Over Thanksgiving weekend, at my parents' condo in South Alexandria, VA, just outside of Washington, I had the very sweet opportunity to give Breema to both my parents, my sister, and my younger brother.

For a complex variety of reasons, it was a first for all except my mother.

In our family, gatherings  are very word and food focussed. When we children were young, the family lived in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Kaduna (Nigeria), Jakarta (Indonesia), Cebu (Philippines), Freetown (Sierra Leone).  Dad was a foreign service officer and we spent two to four years in one country before moving on to the next place.  On one hand, life there was perfectly ordinary -- going to school, having friends, being family -- and, on the other hand, we met people from around the world, were exposed to a variety of cultures, and were deeply blessed to learn that the United States was not the prime center of the universe.

We also had the opportunity to eat some of the most delicious food in the world, often while listening to interesting conversation about world politics from experts in the field.


Food, particularly south east asian food, and intellectual conversation have always been the cornerstone of our family gatherings.  None of us are shrinking violets and conversations can easily become quite forceful.


Having had such a wonderful experience working with my mother-in-law recently, I thought it might be just as personally enriching to offer more directly to give bodywork to my family members at our annual Thanksgiving gathering.


I had also had in the back of my mind the interest to collect video clips to make a personal Breema video to add to this blog and to give potential clients a better sense of what they might expect when receiving a treatment from me.


We had a wonderful Thanksgiving day, working together to put together a world-fusion meal -- traditional turkey augmented with rice pilaf stuffing, oriental black mushrooms, chinese greens and tofu for the vegetarians among us, and a surfeit of desserts many made by brother Charley.  Guests included friends from our childhood days in Jakarta and their housemate, a Nepali graduate engineering student studying in the local area.


Conversations were fascinating and animated, ranging from the  impact of recent volcanic eruptions on the social structure of central Java, the American colonial experience in the Philippines, and the difference and similarity between Jewish and Quaker spirituality.

At one point there were three different conversations swirling around me -- each I would have  been happy to be involved in, but with one on top of the other was more than a bit overwhelming.

The next morning I set up the Breema mat.  I worked in the living room, a bit off to the side, but in the middle of the gathered family.  My father was first.  It was wonderful to experience him relax into the work and to have a chance to give back to the man who had brought me into this world.

My brother Charley took video footage of the first 10 minutes or so.  More about the adventure of turning it into a video below.

Mom, Charley, and my sister Gay followed in succession.  All in all it was almost 4 full hours of Breema in the midst of the family circle.  People continued their conversation, but in more muted tones.  A sense of quiet warmth filled the room.  Mid-afternoon lunch followed.  It was sweet.  I look forward to continued opportunities to work with my family members and to see how the relationships between us all shift and change.  As way opens, Quakers might say.

* * * * * 

The making of the video was a whole other adventure.  I had never myself produced a video.  I knew that I wanted to have appropriate music in the background, but was aware that Youtube would not let me post music without official authorization.  The little bit of playing with video content that I (and other members of my family) had done were on a Mac platform and both of the family Mac's belong to our daughters off at college.  My home computer is a PC, not so well known for its video-friendly programs and features.

So off I jumped into the video production field.

I did have a good idea of the music I wanted to use.  My good Quaker friend Carin Anderson is a wonderful singer/songwriter whose songs explore the interface between spirituality, faithfulness, and social justice.  Two songs from her album Welcome Home seemed perfect for this application.  Carin was very gracious to agree to let me use her music on the video.

I  found a basic video program pre-installed on my computer.  If I were more of a natural manual reader, perhaps things would be easier.  But at heart, I am more prone to just jumping in and playing around.

At first I did not figure out that I could cut the 10 minute clip up into smaller bits. I did figure out how to make simple opening and closing credits.  My first version with the full uncut clip was longer than the two songs I had chosen to use so I found some ocean waves music to fill in the gaps.  The transitions between the audio clips were a bit clumsy and the effect was not very satisfactory.  The first feedback that I got from those early drafts was that the video was very sweet, but too long and too slowly paced.

It is my experience that feedback is often not what I hoped for, but often very useful.  My first response is frequently to stick in my feet, say that it is good enough just as it is, and only then to slowly begin to listen to the truth and gift that the feedback holds for me.

So I let the first draft simmer on the hard drive, not posting it anywhere, while I stewed about next steps.  I imagined  there must be some way to cut the video clip into pieces, so I went off in search of tips on how to do that.  Of course the directions were written primarily for those who already know how to do the thing, and the first time I tried, the necessary tool was not accessible. With a bit of perseverance, though, I figured how to select the video clip correctly and voila, I made two cuts and discarded a section of video!

The editing of the video was pretty painstaking and I did not have as much control with the effects as I would have liked.  Some of the final timing of transitions were more gifts of grace than intentional creative genius.  The final cut is probably still a bit long, but it fits well into the time defined by listening to each song once through.


The funniest part might have been my initial effort to post the movie to Youtube.  I worked my way through the process for the first time, started to upload to Youtube and discovered that the file format was not compatible.  I was quite surprised and frustrated.  It took me a bit of searching and some time to discover that I needed to convert my draft video project into a saved movie to generate a file that could be easily uploaded onto the web.


So here I am taking another step into the the brave new world.  Who would know that these are the skills needed to have a simple bodywork practice?  Now I know just enough to perhaps do a better job next time.  Will be working with Traci's family during her parents' 50th anniversary gathering over the week between Christmas and New Years.

Looking forward to the opportunity.  Let us see what comes of it.

My mother-in-law, Chris.

Last week, Traci and I traveled to Ashland, OR, to visit her parents.  Her mother, Chris, was going through her first chemotherapy treatment for a new diagnosis of lymphoma.  Chris is a wonderful mother-in-law.  We share a deep love and admiration for her daughter, interest in international development, working for justice and peace in a damaged world, prayer, and the healing arts.

She has been a leading light in the development of a Threshold Choir and herself sings regularly at the bedsides of those who are struggling with living, dying, and other life transitions.

She also participates in a healing touch group in her church.

She and Jack (Traci's dad) are phenomenal grandparents to our two daughters, Rebecca and Grace.

So we just wanted to be there, to be a listening ear, and a practical help during what turned out to be the first week of recovery after her first chemo infusion.  (Just a note.  Chris has encouraged me to write this post and it is good to know that her cancer has been caught very early, is very localized, and slow growing.  The doctors and the family are all grateful and encouraged while trying not to be unrealistic or over confident.)

The week before we left -- not wanting to push, but needing to make sure I was prepared -- I quietly inquired if  Chris would be interested in receiving some Breema while I was there.  If so, I wondered whether they had materials to make a mat on the floor or if I should bring my own mat with me.  Traci and Jack both thought me a bit ridiculous even to ask, certain as they were that Chris would jump at the offer.  I just wanted to be respectful and prepared.  I was quite relieved, both when Chris herself eagerly said yes, and when we figured out that we could easily generate a firm, soft padding with materials on hand so that I did not need to carry the bulk and weight of a Breema mat all the way across the country.

Our time together was sweet and tender (except for arriving the day before the election with the resultant distraction of a discouraged nation mindlessly voting into office a host of backward looking defenders of the rich and the corporate -- but that is another story for another blog that I don't think I'll spend my time and energy with today.)

It was wonderful to have the opportunity to shop, cook, and wash dishes for Chris and Jack for a week.  To wake up slowly, to hear what Chris' ideas and plans were for the day and to figure out how we might support those ideas.  To be two extra pairs of listening ears that allowed for additional conversations and moments to take out and examine different feelings and emotions.

We spent a good bit of time watching Traci and my newest, favorite, British TV series, William and Mary, available on Netflix, but not (not yet, I hope) to watch by instant download.  After the first half of the second episode, Chris was hooked!  Jack is less vocal about such things, but his non-verbals communicated the same thing.

Traci and I were able to get away for daily walks, many in Lithia Park -- stunning fall beauty, a mix of dark conifers and brilliant  reds and golds, a beautiful creek bed tumbling down from the steep hillside above the city center.  We also saw evidence of beaver activity in the small park across the street from Jack and Chris' house.

But for me, the core blessing was my first ever opportunity to work intensively with one person over a number of days.  It is like learning the intimate colloquialisms of a local dialect, the tender opportunity to sink into the work, to get to know the other person and yourself in relationship to them.  To give and receive feedback.

To be nurtured by and to support their life energy.

As we worked, we often listened to one of Chris' favorite meditation CD's, Returning by Jennifer Berezan.  It is not usually the custom to listen to music while doing Breema, but for this work it was perfect.

As I worked on Chris's belly, I could feel the powerful rhythmic pumping of life flowing through her and I was filled.

The fourth day, as we worked, the local deer came to nest outside the window in the yard between us and the neighbors.

On the fifth and last day I was there, Chris went for an early morning walk.  She had three ideas, two about a shopping trip we could do together and one to invite a dear friend and semi-professional photographer, Lee Bowman,  to come document our work together.  The photos on this page are part of that gift.  To see more, check out the gallery on my facebook page.

Lee, I am grateful.

It was hard to leave and come back home.  After a wonderful weekend with my brother in San Francisco experiencing the very best of Balinese gamelan music, and a private tour from the curator of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, (thanks Charley, it was a wonderful time) I returned to Philly on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Chris called.  She had been to see the doctor.  Her white blood cell count was amazingly strong.  She attributed it to our Breema work together.  I attribute it to the natural healing wisdom of her own body, perhaps nurtured by the Breema.

But for it all, I am grateful.

Greene Street Friends School Fall Fair

I spent most of the day, Saturday, Oct 23, at Greene Street Friends School Fall Fair.  It was a wonderful community event, organized by the school's Spanish teacher to raise money for the annual 7th grade class trip to Costa Rica. 

There was quite a large and diverse crowd of families, food, lots of games, great music, a large book sale stand, and vendors selling arts and crafts and more.

I set my mat up on the grassy area on the upper level of the school yard only slightly removed from the water balloon toss and the ticket sales booth.  There was a wonderful atmosphere of joy, friendship, and deep respect for young people throughout the day.  Greene Street is clearly a wonderful school which nurtures and challenges students.

Sandra, the Spanish teacher who organized the event and supported the 7th grade students and their families to pull it all off (with countless additional volunteers from across the school family) is an amazingly impressive person -- gifted at interacting with students, articulating a large vision with consistent positivity, and finding that of God in each person that she meets.

My own hope was to get to know the Greene Street Friends School community better, have another venue where people get exposed to Breema, and spread my name and my publicity materials a bit further.

Truth be told though, my offering of bodywork was probably not a very good fit for the event.  The crowd was predominantly families with young children and most of the parents were dutifully following their children's lead -- joyfully tossing water balloons and risking a drenching, running off to the haunted house, and cuddling on a pre-K sized couch with the school guinea pig.

The space I chose was good, but the location was too far out of the way so it was hard to draw a crowd, to have them watch, and by watching recruit the next recipient.

In fact I spent most of the first 3 hours watching the games, talking to the two or three people I knew from the neighborhood and the Quaker Meeting, and beginning to wonder why exactly I was here.

It was fun.  It was a beautiful day, but body work was just not happening.  There were some hints of a few people with a bit of curiosity. But there was not enough openness to overcome the hesitations. I did not feel right about going out into the crowd to aggressively solicit clients.

So I stood around, enjoyed the activity around me, watched the students have fun, and watched my inner dialogue and worked on the lesson of acceptance.

And then, in the last hour and a half of the fair, it all shifted.  First a good friend who had experienced my only short session earlier in the day outright instructed her husband to come lay down on the mat.  I found myself distracted by the fact that he went through most of the treatment with his eyes open.  I told myself the story that he was not very experienced in receiving bodywork, was not truly comfortable, and was resistant to relaxing.

Working with the Breema principles of "No Judgment" and "Single Moment Single Activity," I renewed my intention to come to the breath and the weight of my body.  My aim was to watch myself having these thoughts,  to give them no energy, and to let them pass away, so that I could return to a simply doing Breema.

I also learned a small lesson about judgment.  In our short debrief after the session, Tom commented about what a lovely place it was to receive bodywork, looking up at the trees and the sky and feeling connected to nature.  So much for the story I had been telling myself.

Before I could even finish the treatment with Tom, Sandra, the event organizer, came up with her partner Liza in hand.  Sandra wanted a treatment herself, but she had a few last things to take care of before the fair ended and she hoped to come back.  In the meantime, she wanted Liza to experience a session if there was time.  There was and I worked with Liza for about 45 minutes as the fair was coming to a close and volunteers began packing up the tables and other supplies.  It was a very sweet session and I felt deeply nurtured by Liza's receptivity to the work.

It took Sandra another 30 minutes to unhook herself from the details of pack up, but after almost everyone else had departed, she came over, lay down on the mat, and received a session with such gratitude and grace.

We worked together for almost an hour in the quiet of the end of day.  We shared some thoughts of the experience and some of our visions and hopes for our respective work.  It was such a sweet honor to share this time with such an inspiring and dedicated teacher after her long day of hard work, to contribute a small bit to her refreshment and renewal, to give and receive life from each other.

I certainly knew why it was that I had come to be part of Greene Street Friends School Fall Fair.  I could only be grateful.

Northwest Farm Fest

It has been a busy week and hard to find time to write this post. 

I did quite a bit of work with the Germantown Clergy Initiative – my first shift welcoming students outside of Germantown High School and half a day visiting upper-class English rooms recruiting students for our weekly men’s mentoring group.  I did my last two required hours of work at the Weaver’s Way farm and our family now qualifies for a 5% discount on all our purchases there.  I helped my friend JoAnn Seaver replace rotted wooden handles on her wheelbarrow.  It was such a joy to see her literally dancing around her garden pushing the grey barrow with its shining new red handles.  Well worth the $25 in parts and a few hours sweat labor.

Last night Grace returned home from college for the first time and is settling into the kids room in the new apartment.  Rebecca is on the train and arrives tonight. 

This morning I think I got a really good deal off of Craigslist for a used bike.  I’ve been looking for a long time, searching for something decent under $100, not too far away to go buy, and as best as I can tell not stolen and being laundered on the internet.

I am sure that the bike is not stolen – I talked to the seller, go his name, his home and cell phone, arranged to pick it up at his office.  The bike was his wife’s and she is just not riding it at all.  So it is a Huffy, but one of their high end models, the Superia, 15 speeds, great tires, runs great, ready for the road.  Bought it for $65.  The reviews give it pretty good marks.  The downside is that it is a heavy bike, the seat is a bit hard, and the breaks wear out pretty quickly.  But it feels really solid and is definitely in my price range.  I look forward to riding it to Chestnut Hill for morning worship.  We will find out if it, and I, really can climb the hills easily.

But this post is about Northwest Farm Fest.

I did my first public bodywork event last week at the Weaver’s Way sponsored public celebration.  I got the idea at the last minute and I almost backed out a couple of times.  But the lesson I keep learning is if I take a step forward in faith, the Divine and the universe want good for me, and I will find support.

So I only decided on Thursday to find out if it was possible, only spoke to farmer Dave while I was doing work hours at the farm on Friday afternoon, just barely had time on Friday night to get together a business card to hand out to people .  

Luckily I had almost everything I needed already – my Breema mat, some old blankets to put on the ground, literature to explain Breema to those who like to read before they do, spare socks for those who needed to borrow, a short stool and a small chair for folks to sit on while they watched, pillows for extra support.  I did buy a thin plastic drop cloth to keep the blankets and Breema mat dry. 

On Saturday morning, I was all packed and ready.  My only real hesitation was that I did not have a partner who was willing to be the first body to lie down on the mat or to fill in during a lull in the schedule.  Traci was out of town and the girls were off at college.  Last minute emails did not turn up a volunteer. That small critical voice within grabbed me by the back of the neck and planted the vision of me sitting there in the midst of a crowd, not knowing anyone, with no one on the mat, no one stepping forward, and finally at the end of a long day packing up feeling a bit sheepish.

I almost did not go. 

Silly me.

The weather was absolutely beautiful – warm enough to be comfortable lying still on the ground outside for an extended period of time without any chill, but cool enough for me not to get overheated while continuously working on people for a number of hours.

The setting was delightful.  I found a flat patch of clear ground nestled in a circle of trees, just off the road where folk walked into the festival, a bit away from the center of the crowd, but close enough to see and be seen easily.  It is wonderful to give Breema while connected directly to the earth.

The overall event was sweet. 

I was touched by the diverse mix of community members that attended – a very balanced mix of white folk and people of color, most, but by no means all, African-American.  There were lots of families with kids of all ages.  There were perhaps a half-dozen bi-racial couples with young children.  And there were elders -- one woman, using a walker, hiked patiently up the long drive from the main road and kept her spirit and her smile strong for the 15 or 20 minutes it took her to get there.

By far the most popular event of the day was the hay ride – a tractor pulling a long flat bed that ran constantly, all day, always filled to the brim with 40 – 50 people. Children dashed by with parents in hand to catch a seat before the tractor could pull off again.  There were also displays and information booths, cooked food and freshly harvested produce for sale, pumpkins to decorate, and face painters.  Farmer Dave gave guided tours of the farm and a series of local music groups kept the crowd entertained.

I arrived just before the event was scheduled to start, obtained final permission to participate from the event organizer, and set myself up as the first participants started to drift in.  And there I was, all dressed up at the party, with no one stepping forward to lie down on my mat, and a dry wave of shyness flowing over me.

But the lesson of the day was not to wait for someone else to step forward towards me. It was my time to step forward myself, in faith.  So I stood up, walked over to one of the display booths, and started to chat.  

 

This particular booth was a group of people from OARC, the sponsoring organization of the West Oak Lane Jazz and Arts Festival.  Weaver’s Way Coop has a store in the Ogontz Avenue corridor, a predominantly African-American neighborhood a few miles from the original Mt. Airy store.  They were giving out literature, free T-shirts from last year’s festival, and free compact fluorescent light bulbs.  The young woman working the booth had a bright energy and a warm smile, and after giving me her literature was eager to chat about who I was and why I was here.

 

I could not get more than about a sentence and a half out of my mouth before she started asking how my bodywork might relieve a persistent pain in her neck and shoulder area, and before I could really respond, she was on her way across the road to lie down, relax, and receive the nourishing energy of a Breema treatment.

 

I did not stop giving Breema sessions for three and a half hours.   

 

Each time a session was drawing to a close, someone else was watching from a short distance away, ready and willing to be the next recipient.  I worked on about seven or eight people.  They ranged in age from their late twenties or early thirties to their late sixties or early seventies.  I worked on both men and women, African-Americans and white folk, those with significant experience and comfort receiving bodywork, and those who were relative new comers.  None had ever heard of Breema before.  Each treatment was a gift where I received back as much nurturance as I provided the person I was working with.

 

One single dad gave his phone to his young daughter as entertainment while he lay down on the mat.  She snapped the picture below which he generously emailed to me right then and there in between the holds, leans, and brushes.  It was the first time I had ever given Breema to someone while they were actively connected to the world wide web.

 The last person walked up as the organizers started cleaning up the site.  She was an African-American in her late sixties or early seventies, a teacher, and a cancer survivor.  She asked what this whole thing was about.  I started to explain with words but stopped and said it would be easier to show her.  She said she thought that she could get down on the ground.  Our work together was sweet.  She was grateful for the release in her hips and lower back.  I was grateful for the direct and intimate connection to life across gender, age, and culture.

 

I was reminded again.  If I step forward in faith, God and the universe wants good for me.  I will find support.

 

Next post:  Breema and the Nine Principles of Harmony.

Business cards

It is very interesting to notice how much of a bodywork practice is business, publicity, and self-promotion. 

So much of me just wants people to call, find a time that works on both our calendars, come over and lie down on the mat.  Then we could do bodywork and delight in that.

But there are so many little aspects in preparation.  I am very lucky to have this wonderful apartment with light, high ceilings, and space in the living room to do Breema.  There are some logistical pieces that still need to be worked out -- primarily among them where does Traci go if I have booked a session and she is "home".  We have not yet had this problem.  Probably the apartment will still work well.  There is generous space in the bedroom area to leave us enough privacy to work.  But these are the kinds of details which need to be worked out  and then lived into to create a nurturing environment for the work.

Certainly this blog is a significant first step in reaching out.  I am very happy with the number of people who are visiting.  Keeping the traffic to the blog will be even another step.

The excitement of this week is that I decided -- pretty much at the last minute, while harvesting vegetables at the Weavers Way farm -- to participate in their Farm Fest Northwest community day Saturday, 10/09/10.  A number of times back in California I had been part of a group of Santa Cruz  Breema practitioners who set up some pads on the lawn for Earth Day and other similar events, offering free short sessions in order to let people know about and experience a taste of Breema.  (New post coming to say more about that wonderful experience.)

I pretty much had what I needed, except for something I could hand out about me, my practice, and information about how to contact me.

I thought about doing a flyer but decided that a piece of paper would likely get folded up, stuffed somewhere, and recycled (or just thrown away) -- if it even got home.

So the idea of developing a business card popped up.  It was actually a fun project.  Because I already had the basic design of the blog worked out, I had some basic elements of the branding in place -- a photo, a tag line, a look.  I was able to find simple instructions on the web.

When I was done at the farm it was 4:30, I had directions to Office Max to buy the business card stock, but the directions were from the apartment.  Not wanting to back track and up for an adventure, I set out to follow my nose to see if I could find my way to Roosevelt Blvd.

I thought I knew where I was going, but Washington Lane did not run into Roosevelt where I hoped it would, so I turned right (the correct direction, I thought).  Of course I ran right into Friday afternoon rush hour traffic.  I began to think this was a pretty bad idea and would be lucky to find my way home.  I actually felt lost and questioned my sense of direction.

So I turned around.

But, having already invested fossil fuels in this endeavor, I pulled into a small strip mall with a copy center, hoping they either had business card stock or could direct me to a local store that might carry them.  The copy shop was closed.

I went into the phone store next door.  The guy there did not know of a specific office supply store, but he thought that there might be something at Roosevelt Mall on Cottman Ave., just another 6 - 8 blocks down the road.  I pulled out my instructions to discover that the Office Max I was looking for was at Roosevelt and Cottman!

Well it was not in the mall exactly.  You know how commercial sprawl is these days, businesses stuck around the corner and down an alley, not visible from the main parking lot.  If I had approached from another direction, I might never have found it.  But there it was!

Next problem -- too many choices.  Not just one kind to choose from and none of the choices having the same reference number I had.  But I chose white card stock, ten to a page, 250 total, for an ink-jet printer, $14.99. Took a deep breath, remembered I had a body and that none of this was of particular significance, and walked up to the cash register.

The bonus!  I got to drive home down Roosevelt Blvd from the north and east which I had never done before.  The better to give directions for visitors coming from that direction.

Driving home, I felt profoundly grateful for the support of the universe.

So now I have business cards.  I like them a lot, though I am sure I will continue to tweek them a bit ( have already printed three slightly different versions.  Luckily I only have to print them 10 at a time.