"The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house." Audre Lorde
Dear Ones,
Ooof, it's been a week. How you holding up, Dear Friend?
I'm tender; swinging back and forth between fear, deep gratitude, depression and joy, with wild bouts of productivity, and then profound stillness.
Like the rest of the world, I'm cancelling everything throughout my spring, and possibly beyond. This includes retreats at Spirit Rock in California, the YMCA of the Rockies in Colorado, and my most disappointing cancellation, celebrating my mom's 75th birthday, which we were planning on doing 'Girl Trip' style together in Vegas this May.
For the past couple of years I've been speaking about Embodying Radical Presence, which keeps evolving, morphing and showing up in different iterations. At first it was about loving my anger, not fearing it, but really listening to the wisdom it had to offer. And then it was about being radically present to acknowledging our power, privilege and positionality in sharing practice with historically marginalized communities. Now, with this global crisis, it's about being radically present for the stillness that is needed to create the conditions for skillful action.
The lesson I keep coming back to over and over.
Nurturing Ourselves Whenever I feel overwhelmed with life, I know that being in the frenzy of scarcity is like adding fuel to the fire. There are 3 things that help with that: Speaking with Elders
What a blessing to speak with Arinna Weisman and Zenju Earthlyn Manuel this week. Arinna reminded me to "hold tight, and hold through", and Zenju reminded me that it wasn't just mine, but that we were in a collective "sorrow and grief", and that stillness and rest were the only antidote. Being in Nature
Though I kick and scream about living in Connecticut, we live just a few minutes from the beach of the Long Island Sound. Almost daily, we spend time walking its expanse, breathing in its air, and feeling the comfort of spaciousness. Cooking
A few days in, and started dreaming of Ina Garten...the Barefoot Contessa! When I'm stressed, I cook...(a lot!), so have been spending time with the abundance of one of our local farms, Stone Gardens Farm.
Letting Ourselves Cry The first few days of feeling the impact of the pandemic on the lives of Cristina's (my honey) friends and family in Italy and London, and then the impact on our lives, I immediately went into fix it mode. Which is helpful to a point, until I realized I couldn't feel my body anymore. I needed to find that sacred pause to tap in, to feel and to connect. The Mayor of Rome invited her city to open their doors and balconies and sing together every evening. I was especially moved by someone singing Puccini's 'Nessun Dorma'. If opera isn't really your thing, here's a version of the Queen herself giving it a go! Thank you, Ms. Aretha
And Now that the Conditions are Right...
Let's come together and practice.
Tonight, New York Insight's POC Sangha will be opening its "doors" to invite our friends of color from around the world to join us online. This is my home Sangha where I started practicing over 15 years ago, and it's always a joy to be home again. If you're not able to join us tonight, or are an ally / accomplice who would like to support the teachings, you can offer the generosity of Dana, the ancient practice of giving to keep the teachings alive. Thank you.
Dear Ones, there will be many more options for us to practice together including some online retreats, recorded talks, guided meditations, and I'm opening up my MNDFL Mentoring practice again! Please send me a message at Booker@LeslieBooker.com for more info, or go here to book a 15 minute consultation.
Be well, patient, kind to yourselves and others, and surround yourself with as much nourishment as is humanly possible.
Our mailing address is:
Leslie Booker
PO Box 132
New York, New York 10031
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