WONDER is the most abundant state to live in

Blessings for this New Moon in Aquarius & the Lunar New Year

Dear Readers,

Hello! Wishing you every kind of blessing for this season! Yule! 2023! Epiphany! Lunar New Year!

I’ve had so many things to write to you. However, between the end of November and the new Gregorian year, my inbox was swamped with promotional emails that made it both daunting to open (42 emails overnight? How does one keep up with that?) and impossible to find the newsletters and missives that I actually wanted to read. Out of pure practicality, I decided to just wait until things slowed down to reconnect with you all in this space.

So, hi.

What is new in life and practice?

It’s a new university quarter for me, in which I am both studenting and teaching. I hadn’t taught a group of people in-person since February of 2020, and it has now been a number of months since I’ve gathered live with yoga students via Zoom, so coming back into the classroom and re-assuming the seat of the teacher has been such a delight and honor. I love teaching, and I especially love learning about how to be a better teacher from my students.

Relative to the past fifteen years, I’m not “publishing” very much in this season of my life. My podcast is collecting dust. I’m not making new yoga videos or meditation recordings, updating my blog or even posting much on Instagram. I am, however, making a lot. Some of this work will never see the light of day. That’s okay. It’s the work I need to make to make the work that will be published. Some of the work is on a slower arc of time. That’s okay, too. Rushing has never lead me anywhere worth being.

One of the things I’m working on with my students is manifesto-writing. A manifesto is a special kind of document; it has a propulsive energy to it. Of course, this genre can be used for either positive or negative aims, but we are focusing our efforts on ethical communication and specifically on encouraging helpful habits of mind. A manifesto is a kind of spell; it requires a vision of the future that is clear, even if the conditions are beyond anything we could currently imagine— often, the “vision” is really a quality of “feeling” and the trust to put to words this feeling that almost always exceeds the capacity of language. A manifesto holds both the feeling and the state of being required to inhabit that feeling with a confidence that is not necessarily accessible to the rational, logic-seeking mind.

As Mercury stationed direct last week, by the early-morning light of the twinkle-lights in my studio, I wrote myself this manifesto, but really it’s for all of us:

[image id: handwritten text that reads “A quietly creative life is fulfilling. No one has to see it for it to matter. You don’t need a witness for your life to be real. To notice is to be the most lucky. Wonder is the most abundant state to live in.Curiosity and contentment— how to surf that wave is what I want to explore next.]

a waning moon morning. [image id: nearly all black photo, house and tree in foreground, sliver of a moon, shrouded in moon-shine at center of photo.]

A Blessing for the New Moon in Capricorn (today). EDIT: I know it is actually new moon in Aquarius today. I was in full Capricorn appreciation mode and wrote from feeling rather than logic. PLEASE FORGIVE ME, but the blessing STANDS! <3

[image id: hand-drawn with sharpie and markers, a new moon with vertical rainbow trailing. words read “A mantra-prayer-blessing-spell for new moon in Capricorn glyph. May our trustworthiness become a lighthouse to all, but especially ourselves. May we delight in both our efforts and our pure leisure. May we swim in the actual oceans and in the metaphoric ocean of all stories in time-space. We decide the shape we’re in” May we trust this season of life. Heart Kelly] NOTE: “We decide the shape we’re in” is a line from the song “The Waves We Give” by Beautiful Chorus. Bless them.

I’ve been soaking up my own process, reveling in early morning meditation and rainy bike rides over the Willamette River. I swept every altar clean this fall, opened my ears, and am just refilling those spaces. With gratitude, mostly.

Reading + Recommending:

• I have mentioned Alicia Kennedy’s newsletter before, but oh my gosh it is so good, and I would love for you all to experience the joy of reading it. I’m in a seriously good groove in my own kitchen practice (Kitchen Sundays are back!!), and reading her essay “On Domestic Writing” resonated deeply.

• This post by Sophie Strand on the out-of-body/mind cognition of spiders taps into something I’ve been exploring for the last three years of my meditation practice. It was so special to read and know another swimming in that ocean of inter-being/ extra-knowing.

• I’m listening to this playlist called “The Art of Forest Bathing” a lot while practicing yoga nidra.

What is new this day? This year? I’d love to hear. Now that I’m back in the swing of a full schedule, I’m playing with the idea of offering an in-person meditation and writing workshop this spring. If you would like details, please reply.

LOVE TO ALL+++

Kelly

It’s the Year of the Rabbit, but for me it is also the year of the Ascot. <3 [image id: photo of me holding up my arm to invite a child into the photo, smiling, face still tanned from Maui, LONG HAIR DON’T CARE, black and beige striped turtleneck topped with pink silk scarf wrapped twice and tied with a square knot. A HAPPY PHOTO.]