A Feng Shui Introduction and Yin and Yang Meditation
Please enjoy the Audio lessons below!
Terah Kathryn Collins introduces you to the basics of Feng Shui
Yin and Yang as Romantic Partners and Yin and Yang Meditation
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2019- Year of the Yin Earth Pig
By Karen Abler Carrasco
The PIG! Here she comes, on February 5th–the wonderful, sassy, enticingly luscious Pig year, at long last. The culminating 12th sign in our Chinese zodiac, lazily strolling up to share her sensuous self. It is impossible to scold her for her slow pace. She is so charming and vivacious you will realize you can relax along with her and take time again to enjoy all that your 5 senses bring you of life and beauty. Ms.Pig just wants to get along with absolutely everyone in her world, no exceptions. She is wallowing in happiness when those around her are also content, so indulge her, and yourself.
The Earth element of 2019 echoes the Pig’s generosity, as it coaxes everyone to settle in around a wide dinner table loaded with earthly delights. And for dessert we are served all of this in a sauce of yin, bringing our attention inward, to all things soft and pliant, nurturing and deep. Mix these ingredients all together and you have a delicious image of 2019, the year of the Yin Earth Pig.
Aren’t we so ready to bid farewell to the amazing Yang Earth Dog experience of 2018? Put down your hammers, shovels, brooms and pencils, the trudging through the tedious work required of you is done for now. All of that dogged effort to deal with the bureaucratic, the technical, the in-your-face foundations of your livelihood, and the confrontational views of the wider world beyond–it was a hard working year and you deserve a rest. Pull up a comfy seat and start to savor the feast of your accomplishments thus far.
Our accomplishments are many when we have seasoned our life experiences with the flavors of each of the eleven zodiac signs preceding the Pig, or Boar, as some call it. A blending of the finest qualities of the other animals and elements, if fully digested, has salted and cured us into the well rounded, full-bodied meal that is the Earth Pig year.
The pig’s ingredients are an astonishing list of goodness. She is strong, honest, diligent, courageous, generous, lenient, focused and forgiving. She will work tirelessly to bring about peace and friendship, yet does not overly self sacrifice. If a person or project has become rigidly stuck in the mire of misery or defeat, she moves on with no harsh judgement or regrets for the effort spent. The Pig has plenty of vitality to spare, and will quickly find fresh delicacies to savor. Life is an endless delight for this optimistic creature, who is puzzled by anyone who chooses a joyless alternative. “There is plenty for everyone if we all share,” she says, “and sharing is so much fun.”
Good fortune showers those who adopt this belief with the vibrant innocence of the Pig. As long as moderation in expenditure is practiced, and excessive passions are allowed to mellow, simmer and steep for awhile, all will be well. While there is much work to be done in the larger society to bring this kind of comfort and well-being to all the systems of life, the plump, juicy seeds of a great humanitarian transformation are well planted in the fertile, nurturing soil of this Yin Earth Pig Year.
Ms. Pig sweetly urges, “Eat dessert first!” And be guilt free, because the treats offered this year are offered to all human psyches equally. Let’s let the Yin Earth Pig infuse us with a trust in the benevolence of an eternally fruitful universe and a deep delight in our species’ incredible diversity of experience. When we serve up the very best of our True Selves to each other, without reservation, judgement or fear, we all enjoy the feast of Heaven on Earth. Let us give thanks for our blessings, and dig in!
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New Moon Meditation
Happy New Moon!
Bring a pen or pencil, paper, and find a comfortable place to rest… Enjoy this process of exploration into New Beginnings.
Let us know what you’re going to begin!
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The Incredible Resiliency of Being
By Liv Kellgren, WSFS Instructor
My mom was enjoying a romantic weekend away.
With her boyfriend.
On a motorcycle.
It did not end well.
Crisis = Danger + Opportunity
The Chinese character for Crisis is actually two characters side by side: Danger and Opportunity. Danger seems to be short-lived and easily identifiable. Danger, hot water! Danger, mind the gap! Danger, accident ahead! Meanwhile, Opportunity triggers the start of a much longer process, teeming with questions and decisions that can only unfold over time. Opportunity, go back to school! Opportunity, travel abroad! Opportunity, 6 months of rehab!
I’m really glad that Danger is over so quickly.
Read MoreEssential Feng Shui Tips: Yin and Yang
We are the “Goldilocks species,” meaning that we like our environments to be not too cold or hot, not too dark or light, not too small or large, but juuussst right. We like a balance between the two extremes called Yin and Yang. On one extreme, Yin is associated with curved shapes and small, cold, dark, or ornate settings and items. On the other extreme, Yang is associated with angular shapes and large, light, hot, or open settings and items. Feng Shui observes that the more extreme our home designs are, the more uncomfortable they may feel to us. Most people are happiest and most comfortable with a balanced mix of Yin and Yang features in their environments.
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Life on the Yang Side – Where’s my Yin?
By Liv Kellgren, WSFS Instructor
I’ve been thinking about Yin and Yang lately.
Yin is a slow, patient waltz; Yang is a fast, tripping polka. Yin is an easy whispering beckoning; Yang a loud, demanding push. Yin can be a calm, sweet smile; Yang can be a wild, breathless anxiety. But they’re not glued in these extremities, they slide along the Yin-Yang Spectrum. Also, they are not alone in their positions, as they each need the other for self-identity. For example, that slow, patient waltz can feel really Yang if you’d rather sit out the dance altogether. They are always in relationship to each other, they aren’t fixed in their expression, they each exist as a part of the whole… Sounds a little too much like a riddle. The Yin-Yang spectrum is Nebulous? Changing? Fascinating? Yesyesyes.
As you can see, I’ve been thinking A LOT about Yin and Yang lately. Perhaps you’ve seen the circle, two spinning paisleys, the black one with a white eye and the white one with a black eye. Sometimes I even think they are watching! Those “eyes” remind us that within all Yin is Yang, and within the Yang there’s a little Yin, too. I even notice how Yin and Yang somersault around each other, each taking turns in the predominant role. Together, they symbolize balance. Or at least the search for Balance. I know I’m looking for Balance.
Like most people in-this-culture-at-this-time, I live on the Yang side of life. (And I like it!) A pot of coffee, workout at the gym, grocieriesplaygroupsearrands and then naptime for the kiddies at noon. Yep, some days do indeed squish together. This life in the suburbs with two kids under 3 has become a life of early mornings, to-do lists and a tile floor covered in loud, hard toys. It’s all too easy for me to turn my engines on full speed and gogogo; It’s an automatic setting at this point. But I’ve learned it’s unsustainable (unfortunately): Too much coffee = reflux. Stepping on toys hurts. What day is it, really? How do I create/find/allow for moments of peacefulness – especially if everything else in this life right now is not?
The one gift that Life on the Yang Side has for people like me (like us?) is that just about anything else is Yin. Looking at the Yin Yang Sliding Scale of Sanity, I’m waaaaaay over on the Yang Side. Not as far as it can go by any means, but far enough that there’s wholelotta Yin waiting to be discovered! I’ve been able to incorporate some Yin features into our daily lives that have helped me find some important moments of balance.
• We go outside for a walk – even if it’s just around the block – once or twice a day. This may seem a little Yang-ish, but we walk slowly, look at bugs, pick flowers, meander, hold hands, look at stars.
• We don’t watch the news. Ever. We have a TV and cable and Roku for kiddie movies, foreign films and stand-up comedians, but no “reality” TV. This alone has nearly erased that wild, breathless anxiety.
• We stop and listen to each other. To talk to the toddler, I’ll get on her same level, make eye-contact and summarize back to her what I heard. To talk to the baby, I’ll get on his same level (or lift him up to mine), and agree with everything he babbles, filling in the incomprehensible gaps. (The toddler now listens and talks to him the same way!) My husband and I stop what we’re doing, turn toward each other, make eye-contact and listen – without responding. These moments have established a deep connection between us and the freedom to self-express.
And I’m looking for more. Life on the Yang Side can be a challenge. And I want to create/find/allow for even more moments of Yin. What is it that YOU do to seek out Balance?
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