Early Winter Part 3: Finding Refuge

Welcome to the Yoga Church Sunday Sermons Early Winter 2020 | Opening to Mystery Our sermon this week explores some common themes of the yoga church: How do we root our identity in something deeper than the always shifting nature of life? How do we find refuge and comfort in a world that can't offer absolute security? If you struggle at all with perfectionism or anxiety, please watch this sermon. It ends with a poem by Rainer Maria Rilke and I got this message from one of the women on our film crew: "I have to tell you, I WEPT ... (Continue Reading)

By |2020-01-11T16:55:30-07:00January 12th, 2020|Winter, Yoga Church Sunday Sermons|0 Comments

Early Winter Part 2: Yearning

Welcome to the Yoga Church Sunday Sermons Early Winter 2020 | Opening to Mystery Happy New Year!! 2020. Pretty wild... There's so much talk about goals and resolutions and hopes and dreams right now. And some of it is useful. My husband and I spent New Year's day sitting in the sun talking about obstacles we've found our way through, things we're proud of, and the big stories we need to let go of (an ongoing task). We talked about what's real right now. And we decided we're ready to be more playfully curious. You might have figured out ... (Continue Reading)

By |2020-01-04T18:58:30-07:00January 5th, 2020|Winter, Yoga Church Sunday Sermons|0 Comments

Early Winter Part 1: Seeking

Welcome to the Yoga Church Sunday Sermons Early Winter 2019 | Opening to Mystery Can you believe we’re at the end of a decade? It feels like kind of a big deal. And as I look back over the past 10-years I’m overwhelmed by all that’s happened. I’m no stranger to big changes, but the past decade has been intense for me. It contained both a deep experience of fulfillment and a life changing experience of depression. It was filled with soul level transformations that will ground and shape the rest of my life. And while I'm interested in welcoming ... (Continue Reading)

By |2019-12-28T15:20:38-07:00December 29th, 2019|Winter, Yoga Church Sunday Sermons|2 Comments

Spiritual Practices for the Winter Solstice

Welcome to the Yoga Church Sunday Sermons Spiritual Practices for the Winter Solstice Through the practice of intentional season keeping we can let our souls rest in our intrinsic relationship with Nature. We can reconnect with the rhythm of the earth and the festivals our ancestors celebrated. We can follow the natural cycle of balance-activity-balance-rest and find healing from the stress, depression, anxiety, and general spiritual malaise that affects so many of us.  Remember the wheel of the year isn't linear. There's no hard stop. It's a constant cycle of waxing and waning. We're coming to the end of the ... (Continue Reading)

By |2019-12-20T20:20:18-07:00December 20th, 2019|Winter, Yoga Church Sunday Sermons|3 Comments

The Sabbath Box

Welcome to the Yoga Church Sunday Sermons Late Autumn 2019 | Reflections on the Practice of Sabbath The Sabbath Box In last week's sermon we talked about two Sanskrit words: samyoga (joining with) and viyoga (separating from). This week, as we turn our attention toward the practice of Sabbath, I think these words are useful. If we understand Sabbath as a spiritual practice, then it's not simply about rest. It's about nourishment and deep connection. Sabbath is a time to set aside the demands of daily life. It's a time to direct our attention inward, toward the heart of ... (Continue Reading)

By |2019-12-07T12:09:40-07:00December 8th, 2019|Sabbath, Samhain, Yoga Church Sunday Sermons|0 Comments

Late Autumn Part 4: Turn, Turn, Turn

Welcome to the Yoga Church Sunday Sermons Late Autumn 2019 | Exploring Darkness My dear friend has a little sticky note on her bathroom mirror. It reads: "What you pay attention to grows." I can't remember if there's an author's name or not... But I always remember the quote. It's such a simple sentiment. And a deeply powerful truth. What you pay attention to grows. Life is a series of small moments. And if we allow our attention to get lost on the wrong things we run the risk of creating an identity that isn't connected to the truth ... (Continue Reading)

By |2019-12-13T11:58:34-07:00December 1st, 2019|Samhain, Yoga Church Sunday Sermons|2 Comments

Late Autumn Part 3: The Kind of Person I Am

Welcome to the Yoga Church Sunday Sermons Late Autumn 2019 | Exploring Darkness You've heard me say it before... The Yoga Church has two goals. It's my hope that together we can: Connect with Divine Mystery (however we understand it), And through this connection, learn to love better. These are beautiful goals. But I'm not interested in simply saying pretty things. I'm serious. My inner yearning for the Mystery of God is a yearning for compassion and justice and love. So I ask, how do we learn to love better? How do we actually practice loving ourselves, our communities, and ... (Continue Reading)

By |2019-12-13T11:55:06-07:00November 24th, 2019|Samhain, Yoga Church Sunday Sermons|1 Comment

Late Autumn Part 2: Prayerfully Awake

Welcome to the Yoga Church Sunday Sermons Late Autumn 2019 | Exploring Darkness What do you want? I'm not talking about Christmas list desires here. I'm talking about the call of your heart. What do you want deep in your bones? This question takes discernment. It takes deep listening. Luckily, as British author Jilly Shipway says: "In the same way that the darkness of the night gives us rest and dream time, so too the dark half of the year gives us an opportunity to pause, rest, and rejuvenate." In other words, this is a great time of year to ... (Continue Reading)

By |2019-12-13T11:50:01-07:00November 17th, 2019|Samhain, Yoga Church Sunday Sermons|3 Comments

Late Autumn Part 1: Unraveling Truth & Fear

Welcome to the Yoga Church Sunday Sermons Late Autumn 2019 | Exploring Darkness Let's start with a confession. Writing is hard. OK, I know that's not a very dramatic confession and I hope you're not too disappointed. ;-) But seriously, I almost quit writing this month. As in, no more sermons... I write a lot. It's a major part of my work. And usually I love it. But over the past month writing beat the crap out of me. I've never hit a block quite like this and I seriously almost threw in the towel a couple times. But I ... (Continue Reading)

By |2019-12-13T11:46:33-07:00November 10th, 2019|Samhain, Yoga Church Sunday Sermons|8 Comments

Spiritual Practices for Samhain

Welcome to the Yoga Church Sunday Sermons Spiritual Practices for Samhain As October turns into November we reach the peak of autumn. In the Celtic Wheel of the Year we celebrate the cross quarter festival of Samhain (pronounced saah-win), which is understood as the end and beginning of the year. It's a moment of transition where autumn gives way to winter. The harvest is complete. The beautiful autumn leaves are now composting into the earth. The days are becoming darker. The frosts have started to come. And much of the natural world is slipping into dormancy. We're often taught ... (Continue Reading)

By |2019-11-02T19:01:47-07:00November 3rd, 2019|Nature, Practice, Samhain, Spirituality, Yoga Church Sunday Sermons|0 Comments
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