Thursday, August 8, 2013
Lesson#4 June Red Tent
June's Red Tent was held in our new more permanent location at Centered, (thank you Lauren) a place for alternative and holistic health. Centered includes yoga, kids movement, holistic healing, massage, a juice bar, martial arts, and much more. It is the brain child and labor of love of one of our Red Tent Sistars. The space is beautiful and new so it feels wonderful to help co-create the beautiful energy and feel of this space.One of the most moving parts of this particular gathering was the blessings of all four directions, (thank you Dawn) it was lovely and I feel so appropriate for the new space and the connection/closeness to the summer solstice.
Lesson#3 (From June) Kids Market at Market on Main
Our little community has gained a beautiful thing, thanks to the vision of one woman. We have a Market on Main in a circular area around our courthouse, with a huge fountain for children to play in, free live music, local farmers, artisans, bakers, and artist, all selling their wares/art/creations. I love that it happens in the evening. There is usually at least one vender cooking food/meat that they raised (dinner), and of course the awesome pastries are to die for! Sometimes my studio offers a free yoga practice for all in the grass. The whole shebang has an artsy, community feel to it, and I love going even for 30 min. a week. It makes me feel like part of my community. I splurge there weekly, on pastries, soap, homemade bread, flowers, etc. I love supporting locals, and its a weekly treat I look forward to.
Evie participated in the Kids Market on Main. It was 5$ a table, a few homeschool friends, and non homeschooled friends joined her. Evie made lovely earrings and dream catchers. The dream catchers she had just learned to make from GMCPP program. Her sign was also a thing of pride.
Evie participated in the Kids Market on Main. It was 5$ a table, a few homeschool friends, and non homeschooled friends joined her. Evie made lovely earrings and dream catchers. The dream catchers she had just learned to make from GMCPP program. Her sign was also a thing of pride.
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| Evie with earrings and dream catchers |
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| Alexa with wallets and bows, Lizzy with art |
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| Lilly and Josie with their awesome bags made out of animal feed bags |
Lesson#2 (From June) Playthink! Movement and Flow Arts Festival 2013
Playthink! Is a one of a kind festival. My second year in attending, Evie and Mark's first. It was beautiful! WONDERFUL! Evie never wanted it to end. Playthink! happens on a one hundred acre farm in Berea Ky, with no cell service, unplugged completely from the world. It consist of dozens of workshops daily on every flow art from yoga-to fire eating-hula hooping-belly dancing-martial arts-silks and Lyre, well you get the picture. LOTS OF FUN! The icing, the cherry on top this year was a Red Tent teepee set up, completing the experience. Oh and the Fairies! The Fairies and Fairy blessings.
Evie brought her friend Elizabeth, and they together explored their feelings as budding women in the Red Tent, hung and moved off the ground by silks, did yoga, self painted and adorned others, belly danced,sang and chanted, hung out by the fire pit dancing until 3a.m. spreading their wings a bit in a safe environment, experienced the love of different flow arts, experienced communal meals with 300 other people, made new friends both young and old, experienced life where all there is, is happiness, love, amazement, and joy when trying something new. There aren't enough words for this kind of experience, its life changing, it's awesome to see adults playing and joyous, and its awesome to gain self confidence as a teenage girl. I didn't take many pics, I was too busy experiencing, below are some pics of us, but mostly of Playthink! Festival. Can't wait for next year! Yes thee are A LOT of pics...but man I couldn't leave them out, and I have so many more!
Evie brought her friend Elizabeth, and they together explored their feelings as budding women in the Red Tent, hung and moved off the ground by silks, did yoga, self painted and adorned others, belly danced,sang and chanted, hung out by the fire pit dancing until 3a.m. spreading their wings a bit in a safe environment, experienced the love of different flow arts, experienced communal meals with 300 other people, made new friends both young and old, experienced life where all there is, is happiness, love, amazement, and joy when trying something new. There aren't enough words for this kind of experience, its life changing, it's awesome to see adults playing and joyous, and its awesome to gain self confidence as a teenage girl. I didn't take many pics, I was too busy experiencing, below are some pics of us, but mostly of Playthink! Festival. Can't wait for next year! Yes thee are A LOT of pics...but man I couldn't leave them out, and I have so many more!
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| The Red Tent Teepee |
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| Hula Hooping |
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| Our Vender Booth |
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| Evie on the Healing GeoDome |
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| Looking up Inside the Teepee |
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| Being Blessed by the Fairies with Friends |
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| I really wanted to Run away with the fairies! |
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| Evie being adorned by Angela |
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| Mark Playing with FIre |
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| Evie adoring me |
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| Besties |
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| My daughter and "other" daughter..they are growing up so beautiful! |
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| When I look at pics like this I am so overwhelmed with gratitude for the relationship I have with my only child. |
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| Friends I met last year from Northern Ohio! I was soooo glad to see them again! |
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| Fairies, Fairies, Fairies....take me with you! |
Lesson#1 9th grade! (From June) Two Week College Prep Program GMCPP
Its official my babe is a highschooler! Summer break is just getting started in June, but Evie began her 9th grade year with the two week long program at the college, her third and final year. This program is only for middle schoolers and she has passed into highschool. She will be eligible to participate in the monthly educational excursions, but not in the two week program next year.This program meets everyday 9am-3pm for two weeks.
This year her program included the Team Leadership Obstacle Course, in which she finally made it to the top of the tower! We were so proud! She was proud of herself for tackling her fear of heights and getting to the top. There was a presentation by four of the leaders of the black engineering group from University of Kentucky, discussing several different types of the engineering programs offered at UK. She attended daily workshops in the fields of (and more) physical therapy, art, chemistry, computers/photography, and electronics. A student of the Kentucky Technical College (where the program is held) of Apache descent spoke with the students and taught them how to make dream catchers (she has made and sold several). Evie also spent those two weeks hanging out with one of her best friends, Elizabeth, who also goes to the program. Elizabeth was homeschooled up through 5th grade. She had a great time and embraced her natural ability to lead on many an occasion. Below are some highlights of her two great weeks!
As always we are very grateful to have been included in this program and will miss it next summer.
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| Pics for a photo contest |
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| pics for a photo contest |
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| selfie :) |
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Lesson #52 (From May) Family Yoga
I have been teaching family yoga since Sept. 2012 and I love it. Below are various pics from class. I am always so glad to have my daughter in class with me. Most importantly is that she wants to be there, learning, growing in her own practice.Here are just a few pics.
Lesson#51 (From May) Red Tent May A Gratitude Gathering
Our May Red Tent Gathering was all about Gratitude:
"May is all about gratitude and sharing what is growing in our lives! Let's talk about what we are grateful for and what is growing in our lives that we have manifested. There is so much creative energy bumbling around us right now."
It was a lovely gathering. I was so stressed when I got there, just with building and life in general and after talking and sharing with the other beautiful women in this group I felt so much more empowered and my doubts about myself were gone, or at least buried for awhile. My favorite activity was the wrapping of a red string from woman to woman as we discussed our gratitudes. Then we all cut our strings and wore them as a reminder of our grateful hearts. Mine was too tight and I took it off the next day, Evie however has worn hers since May, and it is now August 2nd.
"May is all about gratitude and sharing what is growing in our lives! Let's talk about what we are grateful for and what is growing in our lives that we have manifested. There is so much creative energy bumbling around us right now."
It was a lovely gathering. I was so stressed when I got there, just with building and life in general and after talking and sharing with the other beautiful women in this group I felt so much more empowered and my doubts about myself were gone, or at least buried for awhile. My favorite activity was the wrapping of a red string from woman to woman as we discussed our gratitudes. Then we all cut our strings and wore them as a reminder of our grateful hearts. Mine was too tight and I took it off the next day, Evie however has worn hers since May, and it is now August 2nd.
Lesson#50 (From May) His Holiness the Dali Lama
I really don't even need to write anything else....we spent two days hearing the Dali Lama speak, 14,000 hearts and souls were lifted and filled. I knew it was going to be awesome, but awesome doesn't even begin to describe. I was so thankful to share this with my husband and child,to experience the two days as a family. The Dali Lama makes you smile, I smile while typing that sentence-Happy Life! If everyone followed his advice we would all lead a happy life. That is how he ends many sentences...."therefore, happy life." -HH the Dali Lama.
This event was coordinated through the Buddhist Monks of Louisville and the city of Louisville, who have committed Louisville to become a City of Compassion. The first day was attended by 14,000 people, there were people lined up from the entrance at the Louisville Yum! Center, down the street, and across the bridge into Indiana! The line connected in two different states! This first day was a public talk with beautiful musical performances by locals and more famous musicians such as Ben Sole, performing music written and dedicated to HH and compassion. There was also a panel of speakers from leaders of different faiths. Leaders who have come together regardless of religious beliefs, to promote and help heal humanity with compassion.
Day two was a public teaching on the Buddhist faith. The stage was set as a temple, there was a ceremony of the seating of HH the Dali Lama, the monks chanted and sat around him and the Dali Lama blessed many of the supporters of the talks at the end of the service. This day was awesome as well b
ut very lengthy and in depth. An audience of about 7-8,000 attended. The Dali Lama was so funny at lunch time, he spoke longer than scheduled before lunch, and mid sentence he looks down and says "oh, let's eat now." and waves.
I could speak about HH for hours, his compassion, the love for all humanity that seems to ooze out of his pores. I feel that regardless of your religious/spiritual beliefs that there is no doubt that His Holiness the dali Lama is touched by the hand of God, Allah, The Universe, The Divine, The Goddess, whatever YOU want to call this Grace, this Power, this Energy that touches all of our lives.
Some random quotes that Evie noted from HH the Dali Lama:
"Do not be a slave to sensory experience."
"To much anger, to much fear, is eating our system."
"Religion of any kind, generaly provides a bases for hope."
"Respect all religions, and respect all non believers for peace/"
"There is spirituality without religious belief, but deeper spirituality with belief."
and of course....
"Happy life, happy family, happy society, and then happy humanity."
This event was coordinated through the Buddhist Monks of Louisville and the city of Louisville, who have committed Louisville to become a City of Compassion. The first day was attended by 14,000 people, there were people lined up from the entrance at the Louisville Yum! Center, down the street, and across the bridge into Indiana! The line connected in two different states! This first day was a public talk with beautiful musical performances by locals and more famous musicians such as Ben Sole, performing music written and dedicated to HH and compassion. There was also a panel of speakers from leaders of different faiths. Leaders who have come together regardless of religious beliefs, to promote and help heal humanity with compassion.
Day two was a public teaching on the Buddhist faith. The stage was set as a temple, there was a ceremony of the seating of HH the Dali Lama, the monks chanted and sat around him and the Dali Lama blessed many of the supporters of the talks at the end of the service. This day was awesome as well b
ut very lengthy and in depth. An audience of about 7-8,000 attended. The Dali Lama was so funny at lunch time, he spoke longer than scheduled before lunch, and mid sentence he looks down and says "oh, let's eat now." and waves.
I could speak about HH for hours, his compassion, the love for all humanity that seems to ooze out of his pores. I feel that regardless of your religious/spiritual beliefs that there is no doubt that His Holiness the dali Lama is touched by the hand of God, Allah, The Universe, The Divine, The Goddess, whatever YOU want to call this Grace, this Power, this Energy that touches all of our lives.
Some random quotes that Evie noted from HH the Dali Lama:
"Do not be a slave to sensory experience."
"To much anger, to much fear, is eating our system."
"Religion of any kind, generaly provides a bases for hope."
"Respect all religions, and respect all non believers for peace/"
"There is spirituality without religious belief, but deeper spirituality with belief."
and of course....
"Happy life, happy family, happy society, and then happy humanity."
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