This Wednesday Sandbox gathering we let go of our stories with Barra Kahn. Some of you may have come to one of Barra's intense workshops at Sandbox or CSL last year and this one promises to provide deep transformations to those who chose to come.

A human being who is incapable of surrendering cannot find his core; she cannot find her divine nature; he cannot truly release into love.  The ability to surrender is an essential inner movement from which all good can flow.

How attached are you to your story?  How does it feel to let it go?  Letting go of our story can make space for new relationships, new options, new passions, new ways of being in the world to come into our lives.  In this new year session, we will explore what part of our story our ego holds onto for dear life, and how we are connected to it somatically.  We will work in community to uncover the roots of our doubt,  our resistance, our fear.  We will explore opening up to trust, to faith.

Come explore with us where you are holding on, and where you are letting go.  Bring your will, your doubt, your negative intent, and your open mind.  Bring it all.  We will explore it.  And hopefully, we will let some of it go.
The playshop begins after dinner at 8pm.  I invite you to join us, though as always what ever choice you make you will be honored in.

This entry was posted on December 31, 2009 at 3:25 PM and has received 769 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

12/31 is a Blue Moon - the second full moon in one month. Pretty rare and also there is a lunar eclipse that day and it is last day of the year. Additionally Mercury is retrograde that day. So plenty of astrological excitement to go around.

This entry was posted on December 29, 2009 at 4:48 PM and has received 1257 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

Interesting graphic showing the quality, costs and envirnomental impact of bottled water at Fast Company

I use a filter on my tap at home and the office and refill my bottle for the car.

Bottled water? "Just say no"

This entry was posted on December 14, 2009 at 5:58 PM and has received 881 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

For this Yule party I surrendered control of hosting - both to the many helpers and to the universe and turned down the perfectionist voice in my head that said I "should" do this or that. I also set a clear intent that the event would be easy, fun, spiritual and growthful and exactly the right people would turn up for that to be. Thank you universe for helping!

Thanks everyone who helped, if I missed your name below it is not due to lack of gratitude; rather it is lack of sleep on my part!.
Thank you to

• Thia for long hours of help on the basement and backyard and love and support for me and for looking after herself
• Millie for early set up, cuddle area design, apple cutting lesson and magic
• Leonard for candles and light in back yard, greeting, lots of clean up and for bearing his chest to all
• Gail for leading the quarter callers, calling East, cleaning up spilt candles in basement and for having firm buns in Santa Baby outfit. And for being so empowered that when you wanted to be sure that there was great dance music you brought your own dance mix CD along and got the dancing going.
• Marley for offering to call a quarter and gracefully being ok that someone else ended up calling it and for lots of dish cleaning without being asked
• Edie for smudging, calling South so passionately, sharing her Yule poem in circle, washing dishes for reuse and for doing healing on me when I got overwhelmed
• Roseann for calling West so beautifully and clearly
• Roger for calling North with gusto even though he was a quarter virgin until the party
• Ondre'a for fire tending and bring her magic powders to add to the fire
• JudyRose for doing a wonderfully spiritually smudging for the circle abd for sexy dancing
• Anthony for playing violin to both get people to the ritual and for the improv quarter music
• Hillary for enthusiastically leading people to the ritual even when they were distracted by the party upstairs, for starting the pagan singing by the fire (what an unexpected delightful surprise)
• Davinda for leading the singing of beautiful native American songs by the fire
• Penelope for sharing her laser wand healing with me and others and for changing out of jeans into one of my sexy red skirts in mid-party then doing a yoga demo in it too
• Floyd for dancing up a storm with me and at least 20 other women
• Jeanne for helping with clean up and food and drinks and for unzipping her bond-girl jump suit just a bit more
• Barb for calmly organizing the food area
• Kathleen for helping to greet
• Lori for helping to greet
• Erika for offering to play piano
• David G for helping to clean up (as he always does at Wednesday gatherings too)
• Randy and Richard for starting the fire and making it roar
• Alex for teaching me Tibetan breathing healing methods and a wonderful shoulder rub
• David H, Reed, Kathy et al for helping start Sandbox all those years ago
• Tom and Melanie for doing an impromptu tantric yoga set on the dance floor at 2:30am
• Everyone who stepped up and helped out when they saw something needed doing without being asked.
• Myself for setting a clear vision, inviting interesting and diverse people and for looking after myself before and during the party so I could be a centered, calm, playful and welcoming hostess.

Merry meet, merry part and merry meet again
love
Michael/Michelle

This entry was posted on December 13, 2009 at 4:55 PM and has received 972 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

This Wednesday Sandbox gathering we have fun singing carols and pagan Yule songs.

David Hollies told me that he used to do Christmas big time. He had a big
neighborhood party, a fancy tree, lots of lights, and decorations all over the
place.  Since his brain troubles started a few years ago, he has had to be much
more careful about how he spends his energy.  He had to ask himself what was his
favorite part of Christmas and how could he continue to manifest that piece.
Here is what he figured out:

"Once I posed the question, the answer was obvious.  I just love getting a bunch
of people together and singing.  So a Wednesday Dinner Gathering dedicated to
caroling has become the centerpiece of our Christmas celebration.  We bring the
piano out of mothballs, light a fire in the fireplace, pass out
songbooks, and dive in with enthusiasm."

"Often, someone brings a guitar. We also have a piano for anyone who
feels inspired to play that.  I, for one, have a hard time carrying a tune, so I
find it helpful to sing with others.  Musical accompaniment makes it even
easier.  So, if you're a musician, please come and play with us.  Drums, flutes,
didigeroos (however you spell it!), or whatever calls to your musical
expression.  We hope you'll join us."

While David Hollies can't travel to events right now he will be with us in spirit and Gail Hollies will be with us in person (possibly in a sexy Santa outfit). Speaking of which if you want to dress up for this event as Santa, reindeer, elfs etc or just don a sarong then go for it!

BRING: Your enthusiasm -- good singing voice is NOT a requirement.  We'll
provide songbooks.  Piano fingers (we'll have a piano),
guitars, other instruments, or small percussion items.

The singing begin after dinner at 8pm.  I invite you to join us, though as always what ever choice you make you will be honored in.

This entry was posted on December 7, 2009 at 11:28 PM and has received 733 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

This short video interview with Tantra folks Mark Michaels and Patricia Johnson is interesting. (I have met them at various events many times - they give great workshops on tantra). One idea I particularly liked - would you rather be in a committed relationship or a devoted one?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/suzie-heumann/partner-as-guru-relations_b_369023.html

This entry was posted on December 1, 2009 at 3:57 PM and has received 1590 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

Eve Ensler writes about grass roots womens rights actions in Pakistan. Bringing in the light, bravely these activists help improve society.

"As I leave Pakistan, I think of Fauzia, Abaaz and Samar. One reveals her destroyed face to stop the burning of others, one disguises her face to support her child and protect her security, one uploads an explosive video on Facebook to expose and stop a hideous practice. Each one of these strategies involved creativity, originality, bravery and very little money. I think the U.S. government and the military, the Pakistani government and army could all take heed from the vision and bravery and work of women like these. The change needs to come from the ground. Religious extremism is a virus. It feeds on poverty, malnutrition, humiliation, sexism and fear. As President Obama gets ready to formally announce his plans for a troop increase in Afghanistan, we must recognize that putting more US troops on the ground will only increase the violence, bombings and terror in the region. Our strongest methods of inoculation are to feed, help educate and honor the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan and to support the women, providing them with resources to do what they need to do, what they know how to do."

This entry was posted on December 1, 2009 at 3:42 PM and has received 1577 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.