Saturday 27 February 2016

A Short Visit To East Cork Awakens Warm Memories







 Balleycotton Light House brings back childhood memories of summer holidays 'caravaning' in Garryvoe. I still remember the first time that my feet stayed up automatically and I swam. That first
 swimming experience flowered into years of summer adventures on the surface and in the depths. Writing and remembering now brings back so many wonderful swimming trips. The most amazing one was when I encountered wild dolphins. This happened in the Red Sea a few years ago. I was swimming with a group off the coast of Egypt and a pod of wild Dolphins swam below us. They were so graceful and serene I was completely captivated. Then three of them came right up to me and swam around me. When I turned to the left they turned with me,  and when I turned back to the right they did too. We played for a while together they would turn and I'd follow or I'd turn and they would follow. We often made eye contact my mind had stopped and we 'danced' in a quiet connection that I will never forget. Then the pod moved off and my 'friends' left too, but that encounter still warms my heart as I relate my story to you here.



As I walked along the beach earlier today I had no idea that writing this post would reawaken my dolphin encounter. 






 Life can be so interesting when we allow our minds to just flow.





The river was high, almost in flood as we passed through Midleton.





On this winter afternoon, and the summers of long ago and my first swim in Garryvoe were nowhere in my conscious mind. Isn't it so interesting how memories can surface and nourish our hearts.
 I hope that my memory can reawaken some happy memory in you too. 




Friday 26 February 2016

LOVE NOW





Let's Stop postponing our Love, Peace and Joy.  I'm sure you know what I mean when I talk about waiting to feel Love for ourselves until some time in the future when we have ' It All ' worked out.
I'm sure  that I'm not the only one who does that. One of the aspects of releasing that has really transformed my life is the way it allows me to Love myself and my life with all it's imperfections. The mind tells us that if we relax and feel Love for ourselves right Now things will fall apart. The mind tells us that struggling and worries are what allows us to deal with life's challenges. In my experience the mind ( my mind anyway) had this all wrong. I have discovered that when I Release my non loving feelings and allow myself to relax into the Love that is always present, life flows along effortlessly. Solutions to issues turn up in unexpected ways and life becomes an adventure rather than a struggle. So I encourage everyone to Release , to Let Go and have a fabulous life.
Stop right now and allow yourself to Let Go of your thinking for just a moment and notice the space all around, allow your body to relax, pay attention to the silent space between your thoughts. There is  infinite Love in that space no matter how small the space. Each time we pay attention to that space our sense of Love expands and expands here in lies the solution to our life.


Monday 22 February 2016

Lessons for Castletownbere and T'ai Chi Beginners


Pushing Hands Practise at yesterday's class in Castletownbere.


trim.818589BC-0731-452E-B291-00BC77D4F38A from ann on Vimeo.





Short Form Lesson for Castletownbere class



trim.E99CA055-2D9A-4231-9BD1-6DC348617900 from ann on Vimeo.




Full Mini Form for all Beginners


Full Mini Form from ann on Vimeo.




Sunday 21 February 2016

Lester's Story

Thanks to all for making our day of Releasing such a success,  and here is the story about Lester awakening that I promised to share.





Lester . . .
“Wait a minute!” he thought. “If happiness is when I’m experiencing love for the other one, then that means happiness is a feeling within me.
“And if I felt unloving in the past? Well, I know I can’t change the past, but could I possibly correct the feeling now inside myself? Could I change the feeling to love now?” He decided to try it. He looked at his most recent unhappiness, the day he left the hospital.
“First,” he asked himself, “was I experiencing a lack of love that day?”
“Yes,” he answered aloud. “Nobody gave a damn about me, not the nurses, not the orderlies, not even Dr. Schultz. They did not care. As sick as I was, they threw me out, sent me home to die so they wouldn’t have to watch one of their failures . . . well, the hell with them. They can all go to hell.” He was shocked at the vehemence in his voice. His body trembled with rage and he felt weak. He really hated the doctor: He could feel it burning in his chest. “Oh, boy,” he thought, “this sure isn’t love.”
“Well, can I change it?” he asked. “Is it possible to turn it into love for the doctor?”
“Hell, no,” he thought, “why should I? What did he ever do to deserve any love?”
“That’s not the point,” he answered himself. “The point is not whether he deserves love. The point is, can you do it? Is it possible to simply change a feeling of hatred into a feeling of love—not for the benefit of the other person but for yourself?”
As the thought crossed his mind, he felt something break loose in his chest. A gentle easing, a sense of dissolving, and the burning sensation was gone. He didn’t trust it at first. It seemed too easy, so he pictured again the scene with Dr. Schultz in the hospital. He was surprised to find that it brought only a mild feeling of resentment rather than the previous intense burning hatred. He wondered if he could do it again.
“Lets see,” he thought, “what did I just do? . . . Oh, yes. Can I change this feeling of resentment into a feeling of love?” He chuckled as he felt the resentment dissolve in his chest. Then it was totally gone and he was happy. He thought of Dr. Schultz again, pictured him in his mind and felt happy, even loving. He saw now, reliving that last meeting, how the doctor had hated to tell him the things he had to say. He could feel the doctor’s pain at having to tell a young man in the prime of his life that his life was over. “Dr. Schultz, you son-of-a-gun,” he said, grinning, “I love you.”
“Well, it worked on that one,” he thought. “If my theory is sound, then it should work on everything.” Eagerly, he began trying it on other moments, and the results were consistently the same. Each time that he asked himself if he could change the feeling of hostility or anger or hatred to one of love, the dissolving process took place. Sometimes he had to repeat it over and over until he felt only love for the person. At times, the entire process would take only a minute or two; at other times, it might take him hours of working on a particular person or event before his feelings were only loving, but he would doggedly stay with it until it was completed on each person and each incident.
His entire life came up for review in bits and pieces. One by one, he changed to love all the old hurts and disappointments. He began to feel stronger as the weight of his pain dropped away. He was happier than he had ever been in his entire life, and he kept it going, feeling even more happiness with each new thing corrected.







Wednesday 17 February 2016

T'ai Chi lessons and a happy memory.


I love this video of last year's music students 'figure 8 ing' and couldn't resist sharing it when I came across it earlier. It brought back lots of happy memories of sharing time with you guys. One of the aspects that I love about my 'work' is that it allows me to meet and practise with so many different and wonderful people. It is just lovely to wake up each morning knowing that I will have the pleasure of 'taiching' with people who want to live life to the full and explore the mysterious. To meet one another in this wonderous practise.


trim.84C2A8C8-53B1-490A-AD57-D914887F067F from ann on Vimeo.



Short form to Single Whip


Short Form To Single Whip from ann on Vimeo.



Full Mini Form for T'ai Chi beginners.



Full Mini Form from ann on Vimeo.



Monday 15 February 2016

The Next Releasing Workshop On February 20 Is Now Full

I am really looking forward to sharing this fabulous skill with you all on Saturday it is promising to be a great session.




Releasing is a fabulous tool for "Letting Go " of limiting beliefs and feelings that keep us stuck in life. Have you noticed that when you are in good form and feeling warm and loving towards your life that things seem to flow more smoothly?  Releasing allows this ease and  flow in life to become a daily experience.








Sunday 14 February 2016

On This Valenine's Day








                                    Love is alwas Loving you,

                                    Without this Love you cannot breathe,

                                   as without air you cannot live.

                                
                                   Love is Meditation , Meditation is Love.

                                   Heart has no frontiers,

                                   Meditate on This.


                                  You are this Love, you are That.

                                  Simply be Quiet and stay as such.

                                             Thank You 

                                                                 I Love You

                                                  Papaji

Thursday 11 February 2016

Partner Work and applications at this week's T'ai Chi




trim.04B09DD1-5499-49BC-8FF6-5FC7F9F781D9 from ann on Vimeo.

Pushing Hands Practise at Tuesday Evening's class in Blackrock. We have put in a lot of work over the last few years and it really shows in the soft connection and flow seen here. It is a great joy and privilege to work with people who are committed to their practise.


 ARC House Cancer Support at NICHE in Knocknaheeny, we are making great progress with our Mini Form, it's hard to believe that it is only our second term of T'ai Chi.

 
trim.EA097AF4-951F-4A96-8B4F-071108C0CC4F from ann on Vimeo.


We worked on the application of White crane Spreads Wings today and as you can see its not alllll work.


trim.CD95B44A-A93B-4775-9E00-2966C5BD2296 from ann on Vimeo.





Tuesday 9 February 2016

T'ai Chi Lesson and a few photos from my trip west yesterday.





Dawn heading West





Mystical Mountains,






Beacons for the traveller.



I don't know why this video looks like this but it actually works it's Sunday's Short Form from ceossing Hands.


trim.230467BD-710F-48A0-B127-6EB8720CE3A1 from ann on Vimeo.



Monday Night's lesson and a little beyond so you can see where we are heading !!!!!!


Short Form To Single Whip from ann on Vimeo.




Here is the Full Mini forn for all T'ai Chi beginners. 

 
Full Mini Form from ann on Vimeo.








Saturday 6 February 2016

Godspeed Edgar Mitchell ( an email from Eben Alexander)


.


Dear Friends,Edgar Mitchell
Forty-five years ago today, Edgar Mitchell, one of the great explorers of our era, was piloting Antares, the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) for the Apollo 14 Mission, down to land in the hills of the Fra Mauro highlands on the Moon (February 5-6, 1971). His partner in the LEM was Alan Shepard, who, almost ten years earlier, had become the first American to visit outer space.
Today, this heroic explorer is venturing into an even more “undiscovered country,” as he has left the physical plane. Edgar Mitchell, who will go down in history as one of the truly great explorers of the ages, passed over on February 4, 2016. During the third successful moon landing mission, he had become the sixth man (of twelve total, to date) to walk on the moon.

I was fortunate to stay with Edgar during a trip to Florida July 10, 2012, as we connected our efforts to advance humankind (along with John Audette and Bob Staretz, both very crucial in this collaboration, and long-term friends of Ed’s) through the joining of Edgar’s Quantrek and Eternea (the brainchild of John Audette, which I also helped to found).

I enjoyed hearing about his childhood, growing up on a ranch in New Mexico next to one owned by Robert Goddard, the “father of American rocketry” (a fascinating synchronicity!), and how he, like me, had first soloed an aircraft at the young age of 14. To have such an extraordinary experience at that tender age of discovery weds one’s soul forever to the realms beyond earth.

Although I had followed his original journey in February 1971 as a teen-ager fascinated with space travel, hearing him tell of his grand epiphany, or savikalpa samadhi experience, an “ecstasy of unity,” while returning from his “sacred journey” to the moon, remains a true highlight of my life. Here is how I recall our conversation:

“I was basically unemployed,” he explained over breakfast in his home. “I had piloted Antares down to the Fra Mauro highlands, taken the longest walks ever taken on the moon, through those dusty lunar hills with Alan, then piloted the ascent module back up to rejoin Stu in Kitty Hawk. As we left lunar orbit to head home, my work was done. So I had three days to relax and enjoy the view.

“We were in barbecue mode, with the spacecraft rotating every couple of minutes to avoid any area overheating in the intense sunlight. I could see ten times as many stars as you can ever see from earth, so the view was spectacular. With the rotation, I would see the earth, moon, and sun pass by the window every few minutes. The immensity and serenity of the universe struck me in an entirely new way, out there suspended between the great blue jewel of earth and the dusky moon we were leaving behind. The setting was perfect – I suddenly sensed the profound consciousness of the universe – how it is completely interconnected and aware – an absolutely indescribable awareness. My life was changed forever.”

Thanks to his courage, vision, and keen intellect, the world was changed forever, too. His grand achievements as a scientist and moon-walking astronaut were only Phase 1 of his fascinating life journey. In many ways, it was the second phase of his remarkable life, in which he pursued with tireless enthusiasm a passionate interest in deepening our understanding of consciousness, the nature of reality, and of humanity’s place in it, that I believe history will truly revere.

In my opinion, his greatest quality was his love for others, and for all of humanity. His epiphany led him to courageously pursue the deep study of scientific aspects of consciousness, to found the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS), and to help lead humanity towards metanoia, a far grander awareness of our spiritual nature and of the unity of conscious awareness and the universe. His intuition that science and religion greatly strengthen each other, that their natural synthesis is an inevitable aspect of human history, is one that I share deeply. 

He wrote several wonderful books about his trip to the moon and resultant life journey, which I have personally found to be most inspiring. In particular: The Way of the Explorer (1996) is a beautifully written saga of his life building up to and including the Apollo 14 mission, and of the powerful consequences of his epiphany, and Psychic Exploration (1974) is an extraordinary compilation in which Dr Mitchell assembled some of the best scientific minds on earth in addressing the deep mystery of consciousness.

Godspeed, Edgar Mitchell! The world is a far better place for your having lived in it. Prayers and blessings of gratitude for your courageous achievements in this lifetime, to help awaken humanity to the true spirit of our destiny.

I offer my heartfelt condolences to Karlyn, Elizabeth, Kim, Mary Beth, Paul, and the rest of his family.

Eben Alexander III, MD
Charlottesville, Virginia
February 6, 2016

A Simple Exercise To Awaken Gratitude








I have found that answering these Questions is a great way to awaken my sense of Gratitude and lift my spirit. They can be fun to share with friends and you will be surprised by what you can learn even about yourself by taking the time to explore them.



1) What teacher are you most thankful for and why?  What did you learn from him or her?
2) What’s the season you’re most thankful for, and what’s your favourite part of each season?
3) What electronic device are you most grateful for, and what does it add to your life?
4) What musician or type of music are you most thankful for?
5) What are you most grateful for that brings beauty to your daily life?
6) What form of exercise or physical activity are you most thankful for?
7) What foods are you most thankful for?
8) What local shop or restaurant are you most grateful for?  How does it contribute to your quality of life?
9) What book are you most grateful for, and why?
10) What act of kindness has made the greatest difference in your life?
11) What challenging experience has ended up changing your life for the better?
12) What form of art are you most thankful for: music, acting, writing, painting, drawing . . . something else?
13) What place do you feel most grateful for and why?
14) Name three days in your life that you feel especially grateful for.
15) What colour do you feel most thankful for—is there a colour that you can’t imagine living without?
16) Is there a personal limitation or flaw that you’ve come to appreciate?
17) What vacation are you most grateful for?
18) What philanthropic cause or organisation do you feel thankful for?
19) What product do you use on a daily basis that you most appreciate?
20) What, from this year, do you feel most grateful for?