My current contemplation is how my dharma practice can help me expand my comfort zone.  I would love to be the kind of person who is just totally loose and comfortable in any situation, but I”m not.  Yet.  I’m working on it and step one is to clearly admit my comfort zone boundaries.  I don’t think they are huge but I do like a good cup of coffee in the morning and that is something that I can learn to let go of.  There are other things I might not tell you about but I don’t think the list is huge.  The whole point is not to be spoiled and to be able to be fine with whatever, so that I can be grounded and open and helpful to others no matter what.  This week offered several opportunities to practice this.

We got to the Berlin Train Station two hours early in hopes of getting a reserved seat.  No such luck.  Customer service was, well, kind of non-existent.  I guess the train employees are overworked at this point.  The station was packed.  Long lines.  Especially in the bathroom which costs 80 cents.  That really, really annoyed me and I almost lost my equilibrium then.  I mean, that is a basic human service.  But, what can you do?  Put the coin in the slot and for that you get a choice of 8 stalls in the biggest station in Berlin, and blah blah blah.  OK, I’m letting that go.  Onward.

The station is very modern and that is kind of cool. But the platforms are all outdoors. The wait can get pretty cold. I'm letting that go, too, and pulling my scarf tighter. Glad to have a scarf, right?

After a mad scramble, and getting kicked out of my seat twice, Dave finally found us two unreserved seats. Some people did have reserved seats including the nice old lady and her son who were next to us. They bought their tickets three months in advance. I settled in to finish my YJ article on Uttanasana.

The landscape is flat, flat, flat. Lots of modern windmills. The train ride was 7 hours but 45 minutes of it was on a ferry. Yes, the train went right on to the huge ferry and that was sort of fun.

We arrived in Copenhagen and got off on the wrong stop.  Nanna met us and put us back on the train for one more stop and then we were there.  Ta da!

“When you are practicing generosity, you should feel a little pinch when you give something away.  That pinch is your stinginess protesting.  If you give away your old, worn-out coat that you wouldn’t be caught dead wearing, that is not generosity.  There is no pinch.  You are doing nothing to overcome your stingness; you’re just cleaning out your closet and calling it something else.  Giving away your coat might keep someone warm, but it does not address the problem we face as spiritual practitioners: to free ourselves from self-cherishing and self-grasping.”    – Gelek Rimpoche

I was honored to be invited to attend the Shuso Hossen (or as he calls it, the Buddhist bar mitzvah) of my friend, Neil Theise.  He gave a brilliant dharma talk that so inspired me.  He reminded us to buy peonies when they are still in bud so that we can have the opportunity of experiencing their entire life, all the way through blossom to becoming a pile of fluffy petals on the table.  Even their fragrance lingers on for a long time.  And we are all like that. The child is still in us and the dead skeleton is in us, too.  It sounds depressing the way I am writing it, but the talk was uplifting and moving.  The whole ceremony was.  The Village Zendo, headed by Roshi Enkyo O’Hara, is a warm, elegant environment with a lot of fun, smart sangha members.  

My friend, Chodo, getting ready to properly document this special occasion.

The Village Zendo.

Bop bop bop -- mallet on wood. Time to get started!

This poem was posted up on the wall and was part of Neil's talk.

Everyone gathers around Neil and Roshi for a group photo. Isn't Neil cute? He looks sooo happy.

Me and Neil. He looks dignified. I look like a deer in the headlights but I think that is jet lag face. I wore my new Happy Face t-shirt that I got in Japan (of course) to show Neil how happy I am for his accomplishment. And grateful for his wisdom, inspiration and generosity.

Each group or team was assigned to read the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali.  Then through discussion they were to pick one sutra that they want to explore or that resonates with them and make a presentation about that sutra to the group.  Here is what they came up with — fantastic!

Each person on the Bodhisattva team had a sign on her head representing an obstacle to practice. Anu -- my translator -- was in front trying to meditate.

But it is hard to practice when the obstacles come alive!

....and spin around you in circles!

...and start dancing to Lady GaGa!

But Anu's commitment and calmness prevailed and she conquered her obstacles, becoming luminous and mirror-like.

Great job, Bodhisattva Team!  Next up, Sokrates!

They began their presentation by saying that they have no talent. I like that they all borrowed shirts from Kumi, who is an accupunturist, and are holding spatulas. I asked them why and they said, No reason.

Sokrates team had everyone else get in their groups and then they had us sing together in harmony: Ah, OM, Sukha, Cyndi, David, Joe... it was fun and creative. If we work together, we can find balance and harmony. Then Kyoko led us all in our final recitation of the Dedication of Merit all together. Beautiful job, Sokrates.

Next up, Nadeshko. Miho was the MC for this group which enacted a fairy tale.

Here is the lazy person.

Here is the good, hard working person.

Here is the Noriko monkey.

The hard working person accidentally threw her ox into the lake but the goddess came up out of the lake and said because you are good and honest you can have your ox back and also a golden ox -- that thing she is holding is the golden ox.

Hardworking Miyo is so happy to have her ox back and a golden ox.

I didn't exactly understand the rest of the story or what sutra it was but the next thing I knew we were all up and dancing in a conga line!

And then Miyo, who is also a Zumba teacher in Osaka, led us in a kind of Bollywood dance for about five minutes! And that was their sutra presentation -- great job, Nadeshko.

Honeymoon's sutra presentation was about Purusha and Prakrti and how to become more balanced through the gunas. Here is Shizuka being Purusha.

Here are the 3 gunas: Chama is tamas, lazy boy on the floor watching TV; Yukiko is hyper active, agressive Rajas; and Hideyo is a sattvic princess with a miner's light on her forehead. They are pulling on each other all the time because they are out of balance.

There was more -- Hisako got into balance through yoga practice and then Hideyo's miner's light turned on as she became enlightened. And, then somehow, we were all up in a circle, swaying together and singing We are the World. Very fun!

Smile team -- on the subway. Check out the subway strap that Maya is holding -- very clever.

Maya did a fantastic dance showing us how she was frustrated with all the aggression around her.

Then Fumiko, who you can see from her mat bag, is a yogini gets on the subway. She is nice and considerate and her energy shifts the vibe of everyone else on the subway. The power of our practice!

Then they all did a yoga dance together!

Opening their hearts to each other...

Their sutra was the one that is like the Dedication of Merit: friendliness, compassion, joy and equanimity. Bravo!

It was the very first meditation intensive that we’ve had at OM that is no yoga, all meditation, all weekend.  Intense, yes!  It was also the inaugural OM300 teacher training event, so, all in all, an exciting development for OM yoga.  Here is David on Friday night with a packed house of eager meditators. At the end of the weekend, they were all still fine.  I introduced the evening and then finished my intro by saying, “Good luck meeting your mind!”  One person saw me on Sunday and said, “Wow – you weren’t kidding!”  For those of you who couldn’t attend this one, we will do another full Meditation Weekend Intensive it the fall and probably a 3 hour meditation sit in the spring.  Stay tuned.

I am missing Rimpoche today.

There are some amazing and important events this week that you should try to attend if you can.  They are in support of the Tibetan community that had been in exile since the Chinese invaded them in the 1950s.  My teacher, Gelek Rimpoche, rode out in the back of a truck and never saw his parents again.  Trungpa Rimpoche walked out through the mountains, only moving at night and it took months.  These are the good stories.  It is still going on.  The children, elders, monks, nuns and all the Tibetans really need our help.  They have given us so much with their beautiful dharma teachings.  

Tomorrow night — at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine — a big concert with Laurie Anderson, Philip Glass, Bobby McFerrin and others hosted by Ann Curry — it’s not expensive and it will be super fun, I guarantee

Go to www.tibetfund.org to learn about the events, to contribute or to sponsor a person.  I have sponsored an elder before and it is so good to do that.  You will feel good, too. You can sponsor a child, a monk, a nun — read their stories.  It is so moving.  We are all connected – do what you can.

Thank you.

Just got home today from a 10 day retreat with Gelek Rimpoche in Michigan.  It snowed almost every day.  I am sleep deprived and deeply moved by the entire retreat.  Rimpoche was so inspiring.  His stamina is incredible — way beyond any of his younger, more fit, students….like me.  I am looking forward to sleeping some this week because my dreams have been filled with mantras lately.  Which isn’t a bad thing…

My precious guru.

…about the awesome, smart, fun and inspiring Neil Theise coming to OM yoga tomorrow night to give a talk on STEM CELLS AND THE SCIENCE OF BEING.

It’s Wednesday, Feb. 17 from 7-8:30.  Click this link for more info:

http://www.omyoga.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=181:feb-17-stem-cells-a-the-science-of-being&catid=96&Itemid=93

http://www.omyoga.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=181:feb-17-stem-cells-a-the-science-of-being&catid=96&Itemid=93