Greetings and welcome to my first Substack post!
I look forward to being in touch and to supporting each other to be present, awake and responsive to these precious, turbulent and critical times we are living in, and to keep turning towards how our love for life wants to express itself.
I had a very surprising discovery as I began to prepare this post. I recorded an introduction which you will find right below this paragraph, with a brief guided Sensory Awareness practice. Then after that was over an unexpected impulse arose in me. I paused to consider it and it felt right so I made a second video which you will find a few paragraphs below this one. I will tell you more about that in a moment.
A welcome and introduction
But first I need to share an experience from 1978 that has continued to guide my life. When I was a new Zen student at Green Gulch Farm, a branch of the San Francisco Zen Center, I met Harry Roberts who changed my life with his pithy, deep and brusque teachings. I went to Green Gulch to study Sensory Awareness with my teacher Charlotte Selver and she arranged for me to live at the Zen Center for the four months of the course. I knew nothing about Zen or meditation.
What is meditation all about?
One day when I was with Harry he blurted out: “So you want to know what this meditation stuff is all about?” I eagerly responded “Yes.” He continued in his gruff voice: “Well it doesn’t matter whether you sit on a log in the woods or one of those round black cushions in the meditation hall, the first thing, not the most important thing, but the first thing is you have to stop all the busyness in your head. The second thing is you have to find your song. And the third thing is you have to sing it.” This continues to be the best definition of meditation that I have ever heard.
Sensory Awareness practice, the embodied experience in the present moment that helps us stop the busyness in our heads and respond to my favorite question — “What does this moment ask of me?”, has been my song for over 50 years. We live in a sentient, physical body that functions miraculously without our effort or control and yet connects us to all of life. This ability to sense and abide in our embodied experience can be a refuge and resource in any moment.
We are living manifestations of nature intimately connected to this Earth through every breath we take, through gravity that locates us on this ground, through everything that sustains life. This living relationship can provide comfort and sustenance even when we feel overwhelmed and discouraged. It can help us return to the present moment, it can help us return to our senses and discover how our love for life wants to express itself. (Return to Our Senses is the name of my website where you can find the workshops and programs I am offering.)
So now we come to Gretel…
I never expected “Gretel” to be part of my song, and yet here she is demanding to be heard and to belong. Gretel is an imaginary grumpy dinosaur who has a significant presence in my 5-year old grandson’s life and thus in mine… and now perhaps in yours, who knows…? She emerged from some stories I used to tell him about a magic horse who would swoop him up from his home and fly him to all kinds of places to meet new friends who showed him their world — Pulpo, the octopus, introduced him to living in the ocean; Aguila, the eagle, took him soaring into the sky and to her huge nest with her babies; Coyote and Serpiente, the snake, introduced him to the desert.
As he became entranced with dinosaurs we took trips back in time to Dinosaur Land and that is where he met Gretel, the very cantankerous tyrannosaurs rex who flips her lid, breaks things, gets swept away by emotions and hurts other creatures, often finds herself in trouble and thinks she knows everything. Gretel is an alter-ego for Bodie (and in truth for me too). She gets to express things we don’t often express and she helps us process what is under the surface and needing attention. I somehow think she might bring some relief and support as we try to meet these crazy times. So who knows, she may become a regular element of my bi-weekly Substack posts. We will see, but here she is now —
Here she is! Meet Gretel!
What to expect…
This is a new platform for me, so I am exploring my way and will experiment with creating a written post every two weeks (with a possible greeting from Gretel), and once a month I will post a recorded Sensory Awareness practice for paid subscribers.
I hope you will let me know more about you. You can reach me at leelesser@gmail.com.
To receive new posts, stay in touch with Gretel and continue to learn about my work:
Learn about upcoming workshops
You can learn more about the classes and retreats I offer at my website, Return to Our Senses.
A 9-month online program focusing on How our love for life wants to express itself, integrating Sensory Awareness practice with resources, challenges and inspirations to find our song and respond to these critical times.
A 9-month online program in Spanish, ¿Cómo quiere expresarse mi amor por la vida?
In October I will offer a 4-week online workshop From Our Individual Bodies to Our Earth Body — What does this moment ask of us?
Two workshops in Mexico in February of 2025, How does my love for life want to express itself? and a bi-lingual English/Spanish workshop Cultivating a Kind, Adventurous and Joyful Approach to Life/Cultivar un Enfoque Amable, Alegre y Aventurero
I will be offering a number of workshops in Spain in the summer of 2025. I am confirming plans over the next few weeks and details will be posted soon on my website.
People staffing projects addressing the Climate Crisis, Military Veterans, and Wildland Firefighters are welcome to participate in programs I offer directly for free (though you have to cover your own expenses).
Sliding scale is always available for anyone in all of the programs I offer directly so please don’t hesitate to reach out.