The Tension of Opposites
I feel. Deeply. I always have. As a kid I was identified as the emotional barometer of the family; when issues arose with my parents or my siblings, my emotional state would indicate that instability. I was labeled as “sensitive”, a label slapped on me because I showed what I felt, I (eventually) spoke what no one else was addressing, and I (eventually) refused to lie with secrets as my bedfellows. Truth has always been hard for me to turn a blind eye to, and so, I feel.
The Kindness Calendar
The Kindness Calendar. A beautiful initiative my younger brother posted on social media and which was put out into the world by https://www.actionforhappiness.org/. I am making it my daily Mindfulness practice for the month, and I invite everyone to do the same. For more information, visit the latest episode of The Examined Life with Bram […]
True Warriorship
Over the past few weeks I have acted on, with intention, my disdain for the outgoing so-called president (my autocorrect tried to capitalize the P in president when I intentionally made it lower case for a reason) through the posting of memes and some thoughts written out to share. In doing so, I knew that […]
The Difference A Decade Makes
Facebook reminded me today of what I have been thinking about over the last few days. It’s been a decade.
Lucky 13
I am in Paros once again, giving the annual yoga vacation that, as of this year, has morphed into the now-annual yoga and meditation vacation. Once again I feel my soul land here. Once again I find myself at home, this time with a very rudimentary grasp of the basics of the Greek language. Once […]
Start Your Next Chapter Now Weekend Workshop Aug 11-12
For the vast majority of my career, I have worked on projects and endeavors on my own because I a) felt that what I wanted to convey was deeply personal and had to be expressed as my unique expression, and b) needed to feel a deep connection with whoever I collaborated with, because without it, I would lose connection to the inspiration that motivated me to share my offerings initially. I can count on one hand the people I have collaborated with over the past ten years, and it has been a while since the last time. I’m happy to announce that it will happen again in a few months!
Paros Musings Pt 3
I just woke up after the deepest sleep I’ve had here over the last two weeks, and as usual, the dogs are barking in a call and response manner, the roosters are crowing (don’t get excited, they do it all day, every day…even a broken clock accurately tells the time twice a day), and the birds are chirping. But instead of just taking it all in, the thought, “It’s the last day” came hurdling through my mind, and with it the onslaught of emotions.
Paros Musings 2017 Pt 2
I’ve always known there was something bigger than what I had been exposed to that was waiting for me, ever since I was young. It was because of that knowing that conventional education did very little for me and seemingly asked everything of me.
My Work
There’s a lot I don’t want. But like it or not, this is. It all is, undeniably. And I have a choice as to whether I’m going to rant and rave and object and age into a curmudgeonly, bitter man, or if I’m going to do everything I can to work with my own feelings of anger, disbelief, disappointment and fear so that I acknowledge and experience them fully, and then occasionally alter those vibrations into different ones that lift my spirits.
An Homage to Luna Yoga on its 14th Anniversary!
I first came to Luna Yoga in the late summer of 2008. Until that point, I had practiced a much gentler style of yoga with the first teacher I was blessed to find along my journey, Joan Ruvinsky. I was initially introduced to the deeply-rooted philosophical teachings that Joan incorporates, but I soon found myself craving a more physical practice. I had quickly formed a home practice after first starting in yoga, and as I found myself attempting more advanced postures at home, I always kept an element of caution to my movement, knowing I needed to find a space where I could be supervised as I went deeper into it. My sister from another mister, Sonia Papasimakis-Collins, was at that time the Store Manager of the Ste-Catherine St Lululemon store and had been telling me for months that I had to come try this teacher whose studio was in Old Montreal, and whose classes were beyond what she ever could have expected from a yoga session.