How do we meet the Goblins and Ghouls of Our Times?
Today is Halloween. Many neighborhoods are filled with decorations—ghosts, jack-o-lanterns, skeletons, witches, tombstones, and assorted monsters. Since I was a little girl I have always loved Halloween. I remember the thrilling excitement of getting dressed up in a costume and going trick-or-treating. Then returning home, and gazing with wonder and delight at all of the special treats I had collected.
I still love Halloween and delight in and walking around our neighborhood with my grandson to admire all of the creative decorations popping up in front of people’s homes and sharing in his budding excitement.
However there are some ghouls and goblins surrounding us right now that are not fun and are in fact menacing and dangerous—Nazi-styled rallies, racist polarization, plans to dismantle the government and destroy the minimal protections we have in place to address climate change...Audible sighs are leaving my body as I write these words.
My body is queasy and tight as I wonder how we can meet these dangers, how we can address the challenges and tensions in the midst of this critical election with voting already begun…and the likely turmoil and chaos we may be facing after November 5?
Here are some things that are helping me:
Welcome whatever you are feeling. Don’t ignore or resist it. Drop into the tension and turmoil within yourself. In this way you don’t have to tie up your energy in what you don’t want to feel and you respond more fully to what is needed.
Land in the present moment with as much gentleness, kindness and compassion as you can. Let breath be an anchor and ally to be right here.
Ask yourself, “What would love have me do today?” and let that guide you into action. As Angeles Arrien said, “Action is an antidote to anxiety.”
Jack Kornfield recently wrote: “As a citizen, a grandfather, an elder, a spiritual guide, a writer, and a mentor, I write you a heartfelt message. This is a painfully divided and polarized time.
Do not be discouraged. Vote.Encourage anyone you know who might think it’s not worthwhile to vote to stand up and add their voice, their care, and their heart. We need all hands together in this time. The issues before us as a nation and as humans ask for our mindful loving awareness, our best intention, and our courage.”
Brother David Steindl Rast, a Benedictine monk says, “The gift within the gift of any given moment is opportunity.” We can drop in deeply and find the opportunity of this time.
The Environmental Voter Project is offering the opportunity to phone bank and turn out voters who care about what is happening with the climate. This is a great time to reach out.
Don’t let the ghouls, goblins and witches take shelter in your own heart. Keep choosing love.
“The gift within the gift of any given moment is opportunity.”
No matter what happens in this election, the dramatic changes on our planet are providing us with multiple opportunities to engage. Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, a marine biologist, policy expert, author, teacher—and heroine of mine, encourages all of us to find what brings us joy as an integral component of engagement. Her newest book, What if We Get it Right? is encouraging and inspiring. Here is a Venn diagram she has created that I find very helpful and I encourage you to fill it out for yourself.
We are all needed. Living with meaning, purpose and joy is a great antidote to the gloom and doom of the ghouls and goblins
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Upcoming Sensory Awareness Workshops in
Barra de Navidad, Mexico
How does my love for life want to express itself?
February 8 - 15, 2025
When we focus on how our love for life wants to express itself it opens a vital, unfolding path. Rather than being trapped or overwhelmed by what we cannot do, this love guides us into what we can do.
During our time together in this workshop we will cultivate the inner quiet to discover both what hinders our expression of love and what awakens it.
As Howard Thurman so eloquently encouraged: “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
There will be 14 classes over the 8 days. Each class is 2 – 3 hours long.
Tuition: $875
Cultivating a Kind, Adventurous and Joyful Approach to Life/
Cultivar un Enfoque Amable, Alegre y Aventurero
February 22 - 28, 2025 and a bi-lingual English/Spanish workshop
The capacity to wake up, be present and respond to whatever each moment is asking of us is the foundation of Sensory Awareness practice. This leads to more freedom, ease and joy even in the midst of difficulty. In this workshop through simple, direct explorations of our sensory experience, we will discover our capacity to rest, to be in connection, to meet what hinders us and to trust in what enlivens us. Pema Chodron outlines the fundamental approach to life which we will be exploring:
“There’s a common misunderstanding among all the human beings who have ever been born that the best way to live is to try to avoid pain and just try to get comfortable. A much more interesting, kind, adventurous, and joyful approach to life is to begin to develop our curiosity, not caring whether the object of our inquisitiveness is bitter or sweet.”
As we develop our curiosity every moment brings its own rich possibility and opportunity to meet it with kindness.
There will be ten 3.5-hour sessions conducted bilingually in English and Spanish over the 7 days, and there will be ample time to explore the town, rest on the beach and swim in the ocean. This week in Mexico is an opportunity to pause, recalibrate, and replenish.
Tuition: $700
* Scholarships available for all those actively engaged in responding to the Climate Crisis.
* Veterans and Wildland Firefighters are welcome to participate on a sliding scale from $0 to anything you would like to offer.
* Everyone is welcome no matter the capacity to pay. Just contact Lee