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The Travel Yogi

Contests & Giveaways, Guest Posts

FULL Scholarship to Jen Pastiloff & Emily Rapp’s Vermont Retreat

August 21, 2015

By Jen Pastiloff

*Update! Amy Ferris has added $100 and an anonymous donor has donated the balance so the spot will be 100% paid for. The winner only has to pay for travel expenses (i.e. getting to Stowe.)

Hello from the sky! I am on my way to do a workshop in Chicago.

It’s still novel to me to have wifi in the sky, but I had to share this asap. I just got wind that someone very generous wants to help send someone, who needs the help financially, to attend the writing retreat I am doing with best selling author  Emily Rapp in Stowe, Vermont.

The winner will get a  FULL scholarship from these amazing benefactors.  This is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am so touched that she is doing this. Per her request, I will not share her name, except with the winner. This will be our third retreat to Stowe, and we could not be more excited. Submit your essay here.

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So, here is the deal. First off, I would rather give this spot away to someone who has never attended my retreat. With that out the way, here goes:

Please write an essay by SEPTEMBER 9th (no more than 1500 words) on any of these topics:

  1.  The idea of being “enough.” Or, the word “enough.” (I launching a workshop in September for young women called Girl Power: You Are Enough as well as writing the book. For questions or queries on my book, please contact my agent at adriann@wolflit.com.)
  2.  Finding your voice
  3.  Why you need time to get away
  4. The notion of female friendship
  5.  Body image
  6. What feminism means to you

. Please tag any friends you think might be interested. My editors on The Manifest-Station will help me pick a winner, as well as Emily Rapp. Submit via submittable here.  Please do not submit any later than September 9th. The retreat is October 22-25 in Stowe, Vermont. You do not have to be a “good” yogi or an accomplished writer. Just be a human being. That’s all we request. And have a sense of humor and an open heart.

Info on the retreat (hosted by The Travel Yogi) here. Continue Reading…

manifesting, Q & A Series

The Manifestation Q&A Series: The Magical Mira Kelley.

January 11, 2013

Welcome to The Manifestation Q&A Series.

I am Jennifer Pastiloff and this series is designed to introduce the world to someone I find incredible. Someone who is manifesting their dreams on a daily basis.

Someone like Mira Kelley.

Mira is a regressionist and an author whom I met when I saw the beloved Dr. Wayne Dyer speak in Atlanta last year. I’d always been scared of regression. Of the unknown, of what I didn’t understand.

After meeting her and doing this interview with her, I am no longer afraid. I am ready. I am healed.

Here’s what Dr. Wayne Dyer has to saw about the lovely Mira:

“I spent one spectacular afternoon in a hypnotic time lapse in which I was taken on a magical journey into a past life with Mira Kelley. In fact, I was so taken by this experience that I included a verbatim transcript of the entire past life regression in my latest book titled Wishes Fulfilled. This remarkable woman put me totally at ease as she skillfully guided me through deeply ingrained but long repressed memories that brought me to a new level of awareness of who I am and what path I was to take.

I can still recall vividly even the most minute of details that took place in our life changing session together, and I feel such a sense of clarity about my life path up until now, and more significantly about the direction I now feel compelled to follow. The thing that resonates so profoundly with me since our session together is that I understand not only what I have been doing and why, but what I now know I must do in the future.

This experience with Mira was truly one of the peak experiences of my life. She was so skillful and yet gentle and compassionate throughout every moment of this wondrous time I spent examining the world of the invisible. I am writing these words with profound emotion and I offer her my sincere enthusiastic endorsement. Whatever you do, don’t miss this opportunity to experience a regression with Mira.”

I met Mira in Atlanta last year and knew I wanted to get to know her better after listening what Wayne had to say and then meeting her. She is lovely and gentle and kind and I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did. Please feel free to reach out to her to book a session by clicking here. What an honor this is…

Jennifer Pastiloff: What are you most proud to have manifested in your life?

Mira Kelley: I used to be a corporate attorney in a large New York City law firm. I was a good lawyer and received a certain satisfaction of serving my clients well, but my heart was aching for true fulfillment and meaning. In time I was able to release the limiting beliefs and fears that were holding me back and to allow myself to be who I truly am. I am most proud of giving myself the freedom to follow my calling to inspire people and bring light to their lives through regression.

Jennifer Pastiloff: Can you share with us what it is you do? What a past life regression is? I was very moved when you spoke of it as being more of a parallel life.

Mira Kelley: I assist people in connecting with other lives they have lived. This gives invaluable understanding of who they are, what soul connections they share with loved ones and what is their purpose. During the sessions people experience both emotional and physical healing and receive guidance from their Higher Self. Regression is a very transformative process. By suspending the input of their five senses, people are able to go within and experience other lives they have lived in very personal, real and powerful ways.

People refer to these experiences as past lives. However, my work has thought me that time is a construct that we experience only here on Earth. In reality, everything exists in this one eternal moment. Therefore, all the lives our soul creates are not past or future. They are simultaneous to the present life we have.

Jennifer Pastiloff: I got the chills when I listened to your conversation with Wayne Dyer and you spoke of your years of being a lawyer as preparing you for what you are doing now. You were simply getting ready for your Divine Purpose. I waited tables at the same restaurant for 13 years and I look back on those years as a getting-ready stage to be fully self-expressed and fully come into my bliss. Can you share with us a bit about the transition from being a lawyer to doing regressions? For many people, this type of shift is inspiring but also terrifying. Letting go of “what feels safe”……

Mira Kelley: For me it seemed very terrifying at first too. I was making an excellent living as an attorney, yet my heart was pulling me in a different direction. I was aware of my fears and beliefs around the idea of being a healer. I knew that jumping off a cliff without a parachute would not work for me. For some it might but not for me.

So rather than leave the safety of my legal career and dive into the unknown abruptly, I chose to do it step by step. I pursued my passion in every moment to the extent I could in that moment. At first these actions were small, like reading a book with regression stories. I studied with every teacher my heart directed me to. I regressed myself, every family member and every friend numerous times. I spoke about my passion with everyone I could. When I felt ready, I began seeing clients whenever I could. In every moment I was following that which felt exciting to the best of my abilities.

Simultaneously, I was working on shifting my beliefs. Our beliefs are the plan upon which we build our reality. I chose to see different possibilities for myself. I chose to believe that I could be myself and I could financially support myself by doing what I love.

Because I allowed for the expression of who I am, in what initially seemed like small ways, the energy began to build up. With time the exciting actions I took became bigger and bigger. And here I am today – having found safety in myself, rather than in a job, and loving every moment of my life.

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Jennifer Pastiloff: Why were you called to Wayne Dyer? I loved that you apparently had a knowing that you must connect with him and you did. As if it was already orchestrated. It seems to me further evidence that you are, as they say, ‘walking the talk’.

A friend and I had a conversation and my friend shared that Dr. Wayne Dyer was doing a tour through Europe called “Experiencing the Miraculous.” The word “miraculous” spoke to me and in that moment I had a clear knowing that he is ready for the miracle of healing. Two years prior to this moment, I was in the audience where during a talk he gave, Dr. Dyer announced that he had just been diagnosed with leukemia. I shared this intuitive feeling with my friend. Knowing about the regressions I do, he knew that my work holds the potential for a physical healing. My friend encouraged me to reach out to Wayne Dyer.

I dismissed his suggestion. I imagined that Dr. Dyer would have many capable healers around him. And I talked myself out of the idea by saying to myself, “Why would he even want to have a session with me. After all, my official title is not even regressionist. I am an attorney.” Yet, the feeling that I need to reach out to him persisted. After a month of this dialog in my mind, I finally decided that if I am meant to be a tool in the hands of God in whatever way and to be of service to someone I should not resist that. I wrote a letter to Dr. Dyer. The relief I felt after sending the letter was tremendous. I no longer needed to have that dialog in my mind because I felt that I have done all I could possibly do. And I honestly forgot about it. A month later Dr. Dyer reached out to me and several months later, I flew out to meet with him and for us to do a regression.

Jennifer Pastiloff: I know Wayne speaks of you in his latest book (a must read!) Wishes Fulfilled, but for those who haven’ yet read it, would you share a bit about your session with him?

Mira Kelley: As with everyone, what a person experiences during a regression is very appropriate for who they are and where they are in that moment of their life. Wayne Dyer experienced a lifetime that very clearly connects with the person he is today and the teachings he shares with the world.

The session was very emotional. As tears were streaming down his face, I was crying along as well. I am very grateful to Dr. Dyer for including the full script of our session in his book Wishes Fulfilled. I want to encourage everyone to read the book and the story of another life he has lived.

 

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Jennifer Pastiloff: Having a sense of humor is one of the most important qualities a person can have in my opinion. I loved how in your recorded conversation with Wayne he was trying to ask you a question and it wasn’t very clear. You took a long pause and finally said “I know there was a question there. Ask it.” It made me smile. When was the last time you laughed at yourself?

Mira Kelley: I love your question. I like to joke how in my mind sometimes we are me, myself and I. This inner dialog is something everyone can relate to as we all do it. In my mind, we love having fun, especially when it has to do with being playful and curious, flowing through life, and allowing for miracles. And when in a situation my limitations show up, there is always a voice which loving teases me, urges me to a better way and always, always makes everything so light that I always end up laughing at myself and through that lovingly accepting myself.

Jennifer Pastiloff: What was your “aha” moment that this was what you were meant to do with your life?

Mira Kelley: I never had an “aha” moment per se as people describe it, because, honestly, I never could have imagined that my life could be what it is today. My passion for regression was always there, so you could say that my “aha” moment was when I chose to surrender and to trust myself and my life and to allow for the flow to take me.

My regression with Wayne Dyer was a life-changing event for both of us. Following my session with him, I returned back to my life as an attorney in New York City. A few days later, Dr. Dyer called and told me that we would like to include the transcript of our session in his book “Wishes Fulfilled.” I was moved beyond what words can describe. In that moment I said to myself, “Mira, Wayne Dyer believed in you. Now it is time for you to believe in yourself.”

Jennifer Pastiloff: Who has been your greatest teacher?

Mira Kelley: My greatest teacher has been my excitement.

My answer may seem unusual so allow me to explain. My excitement has brought me the greatest joy and fulfillment. But it has also allowed me to face myself, to release my limiting beliefs, and to overcome what I perceived as the greatest challenges.

In order to pursue my love for regressions, I had to overcome my belief that I cannot financially support myself doing this work. In order to be able to share the stories of my sessions and the powerful lessons of healing and transformation, I had to overcome my fear of speaking in front of people.

That which we find exciting in every moment is the recognition of our true self. Those things that call us, no matter how small or big, resonate with us because they mirror our essence. When we follow them we are always faced with more of ourselves. And if we transcend the fears that will inevitably come up, we will always find ourselves in a greater, more expanded place.

Jennifer Pastiloff: Who/what inspires you the most?

Mira Kelley: My clients inspire me. The wisdom and the transformations that take place during the sessions inspire me. My lovely nieces inspire me. Reading a good book always inspires me. Looking out the window and marveling the scenery always provokes moments of inspiration. The list is endless. The magic of life gives me that which I need in every moment. Life is abundant in inspiration.

Jennifer Pastiloff: I love how you said how important it was to not simply think of yourself as being able to be healed but rather that you are healed already. Can you share with us a bit about this?

Mira Kelley: The reality of being a person who is able to be healed and the reality of a person who is already healed are two different realities. One is a reality of a present challenge where a potential of improvement exists. The other one is a reality of health and vitality. If you focus on creating the ability to be healed, you will be reinforcing that reality, that potential with the keyword being “ability” not “healed.” That creates the need for a process. We all need some kind of a process to transform. The mastery in the creation of our lives comes in the ability to shorten the process needed.

In this moment, there is a version of you who does not have the emotional and physical challenges that you are dealing with. All possible realities already exist in creation. This you exists. In your thoughts and actions be that reality. Absorb the lesson present in the challenge and live as if you already are a person of exuberant vitality and joy. This allows for the shortening of the process and for the greatest alchemy of transformation.

Jennifer Pastiloff: What has been the greatest gift in your life?

Mira Kelley: The magic and miracles that Dr. Wayne Dyer brought into my life has been the greatest gift for me so far.

Jennifer Pastiloff: Anita Moorjani, and of course, Wayne Dyer have both changed my life. Tell us how you came across the lovely Anita, author of “Dying to be Me.”?

Mira Kelley: I belong to a large group of people who email each other on spiritual topics. Anita’s story arrived in my inbox. It was sent by someone I don’t know personally. I read her story and absolutely loved it. It spoke to many of the things I believed but more importantly it spoke to my understanding on the simultaneity of time and the possibility for instant physical healing once the emotional challenges are resolved. Anita’s story and her words deeply moved me.

The following day, as the magical synchronicities of life are always orchestrated, I spoke with Wayne Dyer for a first time. Our conversation was brief but I mentioned to him that I want to send him Anita’s story. He too was deeply moved by it and shared it with the wonderful people at Hay House. They too were impacted by her story and offered her to publish her book.

By simply trusting my instincts to bring up Anita’s story in the brief first conversation I had with Wayne Dyer, I became a stepping stone on her path to inspiring and uplifting the world. And in the unfolding of that I gained an even greater trust in my spontaneity and more importantly, I connected with a woman who is truly my soul sister.

Jennifer Pastiloff: Gratitude is the greatest force In my life. Most of my classes are set to this theme. If you could say thank you right now, who would it be to?

Mira Kelley: I would say: “Thank you, Mira.” And I would also say, “Thank you, Dr. Wayne Dyer.”

I agree with you that gratitude is such a force in our lives. In addition to always thanking those around us, I would like to encourage everyone who is reading this, to also always thank yourself. After all, you are the source, the masterful creator of your life, the one who allows for all great things to come. And that needs to be appreciated.

Jennifer Pastiloff: If someone wants a session with you, how would they go about that? Are they all in person or do you do them over the phone as well?

Mira Kelley: I lead my clients to a deep state of trance and because of that I prefer to do all my sessions in person. If you want to have a session with me or learn more about what the sessions are like, please email me at info[at]mirakelley.com or through the contact form on my website at www.MiraKelley.com.

Because not everyone can travel to meet with me in person, I have created a guided regression CD that people can use at home. It is called “Healing Through Past Life Regression … And Beyond.” The recording follows the same process I use with my clients. The CD set also has a guided meditation, which is truly transformative. People can get the CD set on my website at www.MiraKelley.com.

Jennifer Pastiloff: What fulfills you?

Mira Kelley: Every session fulfills me tremendously. Every session is a miracle. I am always in awe how divinely orchestrated every meeting is and how the person is always given that which will guide them and support them in their highest good. When conversing with the person’s Higher Self during a session, I reminded of the wisdom and healing that is always there for us.

Last night, after a long and productive day, I shut down my computer as I was getting ready to go to bed. And I though to myself, “I cannot wait for tomorrow. I have such exciting things to do.” I couldn’t help but laugh at myself. Those exciting things I was looking forward to were really just more work – making calls, responding to emails and so on. My life fulfills me because I am on purpose.

Jennifer Pastiloff: When I met you in Atlanta, I was struck by how warm you were. When you meet people do you immediately sense their Divine Self?

Mira Kelley: Thank you so much, Jennifer. I recently spoke with someone who said to me that I bring forth the divinity in people. I was really struck by these words. What a beautiful way to explain how when I interact with someone I always naturally, instinctively connect with their divine essence, their Divine Self.

Jennifer Pastiloff: What has been the most moving experience you’ve had while leading a regression?

Mira Kelley: The understanding of the simultaneity of existence in the field of regression is very, very novel. Up until the moment I encountered it myself in a session, I have never read about it nor heard anyone else talk about it.

I very vividly remember the very first time the concept of the simultaneity of existence was revealed to me.

John was my very first client outside of my circle of family and friends. He experienced 6 lives all of which overlapped in time. They all transpired between 1900s and 2040s. In two of the lives he saw, right now, he is still alive and thriving.

The session with him began as any other session would. John experienced himself as a man in his early 30s. John first merged with the life of that man on the day his son was born and he was really happy to have him. When telling me about himself and the development of his life, John was very specific with names and dates. He was a rich banker who lived in New York City. His son was born in 1940, so John himself must have been born around 1910. We explored how his son died in a car accident in 1957, how his daughter got married in 1963. Later, John’s wife died and he lost his fortune. He ended his life in 1978 by committing suicide.

John’s spirit rose from the body after the body died from the gun wound and went to the other side. On the other side, he was met by his spirit guide. John and his spirit guide discussed the need for John to be reborn again and face the issues he was unable to face during the life he just abruptly ended. He experienced himself being reborn very quickly. And this is where things got very strange for me.

John was born with a darker skin in the South and was adopted by a white family. It was the summer of 1950. When John said that, I froze. I held my breath, leaned back in the chair as if attempting to disappear. I was hoping that John would not hear me breathing and somehow snap out of experience he was having and start judging it. In the life we had just previously reviewed he died in 1978. And there he was being born in 1950 in a different life. It did not make sense to me. We reviewed the entire second life and John died in his 90s, which brings us to the 2040s. And to make matters even more perplexing, my client as the person he is today was born in the mid 1980s. This adventure in timelessness continued with 4 other lives which also took place in the same 140 or so year period.

When I conversed with his Higher Self, I asked why all 6 lives overlap with each other and with his current life. The Higher Self explained to me that all lives are lived simultaneously. It is not that our soul moves from one body to another in a liner progression of time. The oversoul creates splits of itself that experience these lives simultaneously, since there is no time on the other side. In John’s case the 1900s and 2000s are a fertile ground for experiencing the understanding his soul is seeking to gain.

The session with John was mind-blowing. He was the first of many clients who brought me a new and greater understanding of time and miracles. I share all these stories in my upcoming book “Parallel Lives” which is coming out in June 2013. I can assure you – it is an exciting read, a true adventure.

Jennifer Pastiloff: What would you say to someone who feels scared about doing a regression?

Mira Kelley: I would say, “I understand your trepidations. I want to assure you that all you will discover is more of yourself. And that is something wonderful, healing, empowering and exciting.”

Jennifer Pastiloff: What is up next for Mira Kelley? Where can we find more of you? And when can I book a session ☺

Mira Kelley: I am looking forward to a wonderful year of traveling and sharing with even more people. And I look forward to each and every session I will do. I look forward to people all over the world listening to my guided regression and meditation on my CD set “Healing Through Past Life Regression … And Beyond” and transforming their lives through this powerful work. I also look forward to the release of my book “Parallel Lives” in June 2013.

You can connect with me on my website www.MiraKelley.com or through my Facebook page www.facebook.com/MiraKelley. I would love to connect with and share with everyone who reads this.

And I most definitely look forward to the first chance we have to do a regression with you, Jennifer, as I know it will be a wonderful experience for both of us.

Mira and Wayne Dyer

Mira and Wayne Dyer

 

The beautiful Mira!

The beautiful Mira!

 

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You can join Jen and Wayne Dyer’s daughter Sommer for a life changing yoga, writing & Manifestation retreat in Maui Feb 16-22 with The Travel Yogi by clicking the photo below or this link.

Maui!

Maui!

 

Guest Posts, Manifestation Retreats, Travels

Why Bali?

December 1, 2012

Why Bali?

by Bianca Martorella, life coach.

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When I first learned about the trip, I was so excited to go. My friend (in order to protect the innocent, let’s just call her …) Sonia, initially told me about the Yoga retreat, led by Jennifer Pastiloff. We had just finished our coaching certification program with IPEC (Institute of Professional Excellence in Coaching) and the timing couldn’t be more perfect. With some initial supportive coaching and a minimal down-payment a day later, I committed. The more I talked about it, one week soon turned into a month away from work and loved ones, as a sabbatical of sorts. In addition to the yoga, I also decided to volunteer at an orphanage. Also referred through friends and with much additional research, I signed up with Volunteering Solutions for a 2 week program in Bali. Fortunately, the timing coincided nicely with the retreat. Planning was easy and therefore meant to be.

As I started to talk more and more about my adventure, I was often asked why I was going. To be clear about my intentions, just in case you’re curious, I thought I would share them here …

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To immerse. One thing has become clear to me over the past few years, is that I love immersion experiences. Experiences that will challenge me to grow and learn. Experiences that are so far out of my comfort zone, that I have no choice but to embrace them. Although it may have always been the case for me, it first became clear through my experience at Landmark Education. For better or worse, the experience transformed my life and my way of being. Among many other things, I found a sense of courage and confidence – that again, may have always been there – but wasn’t realized until that time. Next, came running the NYC marathon which took months of focus and training to run 26.2 miles through my beloved city. With that, I realized my humility and ability to commit. And most recently, IPEC, a coaching certification program. Throughout the course, I learned to embrace people fully, love openly and to be vulnerable. A tall order for this type-A, tough and feisty New York’er. Regardless of the experience, there are always lessons to learn when you immerse yourself in something new and different. You never know what it will be …

To give back. This is an obvious one. Life in the big city can get pretty selfish sometimes. I have done some volunteering in the past, but not like this. I always thought about it, but never really had the courage until now. This would be an opportunity to give my full time, attention and focus on to others. Time to not care about myself, what I am wearing, how my hair looks, or if my toes are perfectly pedicured. This would be an opportunity to embrace, support and love others selflessly.

To love and nurture. If there is one that I’ve learned over the years is that there are many sources of love that can be experienced and expressed … first and foremost the love that comes from within. I was never really sure if having children was in the cards for me. I have always wanted a family and children to love on, but I’m 36 – rounding the corner to 37 – and up until recently, very single. I do of course believe it’s still possible and I will never give up on wanting a family of my own, however, this is an opportunity to explore the lover and nurturer from within. A chance to embrace that side of me that seldom gets to be expressed in this ‘cut-throat world’.

To embrace spirituality. I’m no expert … but from what I know … Bali is dominantly Hindu, and being home to thousands of temples and holy shrines, is a spiritual place. The Balinese embrace tradition, are constantly praying, believe in karma and focus their whole existence on worshiping their ancestors through rituals and offerings. Families stick together through thick and thin – love, support and accept each other. Although I believe in God, I never truly embraced my religion and I want to define for myself what spirituality means to me. I want to embrace the act of prayer and really get what it’s like to give of yourself in blind faith.

To heal. There is nothing like a good stretch and some meditation to heal the mind, body and soul. After a few years of some hard running, I realized I needed to take a break. I need a form a exercise that has less impact on the body. Additionally, it’s great to be a able to take time everyday to focus on your health to kick off some new good habits into your daily routine back home.

So, there they are … without judgement and without needing to prove anything, those are my reasons.

Namaste,

xoxo B

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by Madison Rosner

by Madison Rosner

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photo by Madison Rosner

photo by Madison Rosner

thank you Simplereminders.com

thank you Simplereminders.com

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To book a coaching session with Bianca please email binxmarto@yahoo.com. To read her blog click here.

Jen’s next week long retreat is in Maui with The Travel Yogi feb 16-22. Assisted by Sommer Dyer, daughter of Wayne Dyer. Click here to book.

Inspiration, Manifestation Retreats, Steve Bridges, Travels

The Unearthing of Things

November 27, 2012

photo by Madison Rosner

Sitting outside our private villa in Ulutwatu, the breeze just enough to be deemed perfect, and I wonder if I am really here. I must be. Awan, one of the staff here at Uluwatu Surf Villas, just brought us out our morning eggs (yes, he comes into the villa every morning and prepares us breakfast to our liking.) My eggs a little less runny, Robert gets the toast and the weird flourescent jam. We both drink the coffee, me always going for the second and third cup, my husband always the moderate one, taking one cup and sipping it slowly. I must be here. I can see the ants crawling all over the table. (They don’t bother me.) I see the ocean just past our private little pool (a private pool!). I hear the sound of the waves crashing, one of the rare occasions the ringing in my ears is lessened. I must be here. I must be.

So it’s established. Here I am.

Is it the being here or the memory of being here that I am after?

Is it the having had it happen or the ability to write about it in such a way that I can make you feel as if it happened for you too?

I am not sure.

From Wikipedia:

Memory is the processes by which information is encoded, stored, and retrieved. 

I am equally in love with floating in the pool naked, a light rain falling and an almost full moon above as I am with the drinking of a Bintang and the being able to tell you about it in words that will (I hope) last forever, longer than the sea, longer even than me. I know there are different types of people. I get that. The types of people that are so present, who wouldn’t dream of the moment meaning anything than what it was.

You’d think I would be that way, being a yoga teacher and everything. I am here. I am. I strive to be present but there is something in me that screams Hey! This is your dharma. You were meant to share this. Who are you to keep this locked in your mind? Go! Go now and write!

So I am here, indeed. I am here with every intention to send my experiences out in capsules for you to open and discover what it is you want to share. What it is you want to feel. Where it is you want to go.

People often ask me how I have such a steel trap memory. My sister and I both. (Although as I have aged my memory has become less steel-like and more sponge-like.) Here’s the thing: when you lose a parent so young, all you have are your memories of him bringing you home chocolate covered marshmallows and carving magic wands out of sticks and seesaws by the Cooper River Park in the rain. That is all you have so you preserve them and seal them so they can never disintigrate into I don’t remembers. You become an expert memory maker. You have no choice really, because how else could you survive?

Your imagination must have someplace to call home.

My imagination is calling this home: The rain clicking its heels on the swimming pool here in Bali. The nothing to do-ness that comes with being on vacation and just how inspiring that nothing to do-ness can be. Floating on a surfboard in the Indian Ocean, the red sun a character in your life like an ex-lover or a grandfather with its legendary personality. The twin girls dancing a traditional Balinese dance, moving their fingers precisely, elegantly, in a way my stubby hands could never coordinate themselves to do on their own. Their eyes darting left and right, each sharp movement a story with a beginning, middle and end. The sky opening up and letting in color that no camera can talk about. Not even on a good day. Secret colors and gestures that fall apart when an iPhone tries to lock them in. The happiness here. The happiness here is where I am calling home. It is getting placed next to: my father eating his nightly chocolate ice cream in between two waffles with powdered sugar on top and my summer at Bucknell University churning out poems before bed like they were sleeping pills. I will place it next to my retreat last February in Mexico, the last time I saw my dear friend Steve Bridges before he died and how close our eyes were there, for that long moment above the beach there in Puerta Vallarta as he told me he could never leave the earth before having a family and how we became that family because he did leave the earth. Too suddenly and too soon not a month later and that moment we shared was the best conversation and the most treasured I have ever had with anyone so as I sit here in the rain in Bali I am placing this pool and this palm tree and these offerings for the gods right there next to Steve.

My imagination is that large. It can hold it all.

That line above makes me feel Walk Whitman-esque: Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes. 

Who can explain why the value of something increases, decreases. Or what we choose to store as memories? Why we fall in love with someone, as quick as the pressing of your face into their shoulder blade as you ride on the back of their motorcycle, the wind slapping you with confirmation- Yes! This is love! Or a moment like the one when you watch them sleep and a surge of protectiveness knocks you awake. You want to make sure they take the next breath, and the next.

You want to watch them forever.

We never know where we will find our history, where we will discover what has formed us, what we will find in the rice paddies. Exhuming beauty from the soil, excavating remains.

The unearthing of things long forgotten.

Part of the way memory works is by being able to locate it and return it to our consciousness. How can we do that if we haven’t saved it? What are your ways of saving it? What are you saving?

This is an important question. Think hard before you respond. What are you storing up in there? I hope it isn’t traffic jams and being pissed off and upset and gossip although, hey, I am not perfect and I have some of that up there. I am making room though. I am pushing it aside and making room for this watermelon and these flowers and my husband at Padang Padang Beach in Bali and what it feels like to have achieved a dream like this.

And what does it feel like?

It feels like a sigh. It feels like a dropping the shoulders down away from the ears and returning as well as a departure. It feels like a bumpy car ride along Balinese country-side and it also feels like my sofa at home with a glass of wine in my hand. It feels like all of me and also a part I have yet to know. Or rather, yet to remember.

Because it has always been there, hasn’t it?

It has always been there next to my father and my grandmother and my little 3 year old nephew showing me how he “drops in” on the skateboard ramp and all the other memories I have sought out to bring back into consciousness, it has always been there but like the red sun I had just thought it was a myth.

I did not believe it until I saw it and felt it and reached up into the sky to call it mine before sending it back into the world.

 

 

by Madison Rosner

by Madison Rosner

Steve Bridges and I. www.stevebridges.com

Gratitude

Thank the Universe in Advance

September 5, 2011

Thank the Universe in advance for what you are manifesting!

That is the theme of my classes and my life this week.

So here’s what I am thankful for that is on it’s way:

1) A cure for Prader Willi Syndrome ( my best buddy/nephew Blaise suffers from this.)

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EO930NCKxCA]

2) My Manifestation Yoga ® t-shirt & bracelet line becoming a world wide success. I will be donating all profits to my charity G.A.M.E. Gifts and Miracles Everyday: Free Yoga/Skateboarding for kids with special needs.

3) My Mexico retreat with The Travel Yogi is a fundraiser for Prader Willi research. That money will help find a cure. So thank you! Sign up now. Jan 28- Feb 4 to Xinalani.

4) My new apartment with an extra room where I can do my own yoga and teach yoga privates. We also have an office where my husband can work on his award winning films. Our kitchen is divine and there is loads of light!

5) My tinnitus mellows out and my hearing is crystal clear!

6) My yoga dvd with Skye Dyer music is a huge hit and the beginning of many more to come.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaIHASbf3tc]

7) My memoir is a bestseller and helps inspire many people.

8) Manifestation Yoga ® is a world wide name!

9) My travels around the world with Laura Donnelly as her personal yoga teacher since she has become a huge star around the globe.

10) I’ve brought poetry way back into fashion.

11) My friend Amy Esacove’s film “North Blvd” wins an Academy Award and she is off in NYC doing the show on Broadway.

12) My friend Shana Feste becomes one of the most sought after director in the world and wins an award for female directors who have changed the world.

13) I have bought my parents a house and they are able to retire so they have loads of time to go visit the grandkids who live far away. I am also able to fly my sister and the boys out every two months from Atlanta so we can see each other very often! Money is just energy and I am so thankful it flows so easily now into my life.

14) Christy Turlington and I do a special together about Giving Back! She talks about Every Mom Counts and I talk about GAMEyoga.org and PWS research.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F6hngJFGOk&feature=player_embedded]

15) The next year to be as painless and filled with joy and unforgettable moments as possible for my soul sister Emily Rapp whose baby boy has Tay-Sachs Disease. Her blog “Little Seal” has become a best selling book and she has become an inspiration to people everywhere.

16) My husband Robert Taleghany’s movie “Eyes of The King” starring Luke Goss is an absolute money making slam dunk hit. Luke is a international A-list star and Robert’s Led Zeppelin project is also an unprecedented slam dunk.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_DBFqNr73w]

17) The VeggieBoomBoom show starring Krista Allen is changing the way people eat and treat animals!

18) My Annabel Ruffell painting is worth $50,000 dollars, the cheapest of all her paintings.

19) I am traveling the globe leading Manifestation Retreats ® along with my buddy chef Caspar Poyck and Randy Bruck aka the Malibu Healer, helping transform lives, eating good food, and drinking good wine. Wayne Dyer often joins us. Sometimes it’s Oprah.

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A mantra for you: “Whatever I need in the form of assistance to guide me in the direction of my life is not only available, but is on its way.”
What are you thanking the universe in advance for? Act as if! Be in the feeling of what you want to receive. Feel free to share what you are manifesting and grateful for. Yell it from the mountaintops!

THANK YOU! THANK YOU FOR ALL THESE THINGS SHOWING UP!