This spring equinox celebration literally marks the end of an era. After holding the New York City Manifestation Community Café at the TAI Group space for almost nine years, we are about to close this chapter of the Café. TAI is moving out of this space in April. We are exploring other space options, but at this point, we truly do not know where our new home will be, come April!
 
What better time to stand at this threshold of unknowing than at the Spring Equinox?
 
For nine long years (note the number nine), we have been gestating in the womb of this beautiful space, generously donated to us so we could offer the gatherings to our community without charge.
 
Now, we are ready to birth into the unknown. At this last celebration at TAI, we will explore, through ritual, the sensations felt by a seed when it finally feels the warmth of the light above calling to it. When it feels the breeze, as its outer protective husk begins to crack open. When the water percolating from the surface quickens the life in it.
 
As the seed readies to respond to the call of the elements, and to the call of the still-small-shoot-within, it does not really know what to expect. Will the layers of earth it will have to grow through be rocky? Will it have the strength to penetrate those layers of rocky soil? Will there be enough nourishing earth on the surface? Is the fragile shoot going to burst through too early, only to be covered over by fresh snow? Or maybe the surface will not even be habitable; as a new oil slick spreads on the ground the little shoot hoped to call home!
 
Even with all these uncertainties, the seed continues its upward journey – inexorably – even audaciously.
 
Which parts of us are bursting open right now, in a song of new, green, life? What in us has lain dormant for years, and is now called to come forth? Of course, just like the little seed, we have no guarantees of success. But like the little seed, we have hope. And we have faith in the ultimate benevolence of the Universe.
 
Please come and join us at this last Spring Equinox Celebration of the New York City Manifestation Community Café at the TAI Group space. Let us step together into the unknown future – where anything is possible!

The name for this month, February, is derived from the Latin verb februare, meaning “purification.” In cultures across the West and the Near East, there have been rituals to celebrate this threshold time – when winter is not yet finished, but there are stirrings and intimations of the impending return of light. This time has been celebrated as Imbolc, Candlemas or the return of Persephone, to name just a few.

Each of these ancient cultures understood that the light that is soon to return from its time in the underworld is both similar, and very different, from the light that disappeared at the end of autumn. It is a gentle light – young and tentative, a first blush… In the words of the Irish poet, John O’Donohue, this returning light has a “hospitality for the shadows.”

Where in our lives have we been in the underworld? In the land of shadows? And how do we need to purify, to prepare - to receive some of these parts back into the light of consciousness? What thoughts, ideas, projects have been incubating, germinating – maybe even fermenting – disintegrating and then being constituted anew – within us? And how does that moment of reconstitution – of transmutation – feel in our bodies?

This month, we will delve into this mystery of the underworld journey and the gifts it has in store for the willing journeyer. Innana, the Sumerian Goddess of the Earth and Heavens, will be our guide, as she journeys into the underworld to visit her “dark sister” Ereshkigal, and returns transformed from the experience. Our focus this month will be on the rituals around the preparation for this return.

Dear friend,
 
As I write this invitation, we stand at a threshold – as a community, as a country, and most likely also as individuals. The old forms are no longer holding; the new forms are yet to be realized. Mother Earth is in her Dreamtime in the Northern Hemisphere. When we gather this month for our Manifestation Cafe, we will be sitting with the energy of the Presidential inauguration and all the feelings and emotions engendered by this event, as well as with the knowledge that we are coming to end of the Manifestation Café as we know it.
 
For the past eight years, we have been able to host our Cafes without cost, since the space was kindly donated by TAI. March will be last month when that will be possible, since TAI is moving out of that space in April. It is thus a moment of reckoning for us as a community. Do we close our doors this spring, or do we want to be reborn with a new form and with new vigor? Do we dare to reimagine ourselves in a new way? We will each need to delve deep inside ourselves and ask the questions, “What does the Manifestation Café mean for me personally? How do I see it in the near future? Do I have friends and family who might benefit from such a place of gathering and community? And… what am I willing to do to help reinvent it?”
 
This month, we will use the time we are together to do a community dreaming ritual – to dream our future into being. The idea is borrowed from the Australian aborigine worldview - their idea of Dreamtime. According to the indigenous Australians, their ancestors – mythical beings who lived a long time ago – dreamed the land they live on into being. However, this worldview does not see time in a linear fashion; so for the Australian aborigine, there is no past and no future. Consequently, the ancestors really did not dream the landscape a long time ago, it is being dreamed right now, every day – with each person singing and dancing and painting. The land is being constantly birthed. And if they stop, if they forget the songs and the dances, creation will cease to be! Not only are individuals and small community groups enacting the Creation Myth every day, different tribes then share their Dreamings, their songs - like beads on a string - to create Songlines. These Songlines are both mythical and VERY PRACTICAL highways that crisscross the vast outback, and also the nightly skies. These are maps composed of songs and dances and paintings. It is these Songlines that have allowed generations of Australian aborigines to navigate the vast stretches of land with few landmarks, without any traditional maps or navigational tools – to know where to find water, food and shelter. As the saying goes, "you'll never find a lost aborigine in the entire outback!"
 
What will our Dreaming be for our community? For our country? For ourselves? What are we preparing to give birth to this Spring?
 
We invite you to come and dream with us this month.

Winter equinox and the season of gift giving

Now, we stand at the threshold of a new year. We say goodbye to the colors of autumn and its cool, crisp days, and prepare for the deep silence and stillness of winter. The harvests have come in. Now is the time to celebrate what we have gathered in this, yet another year, on Mother Earth.

As we step into December, we are in the season of gift giving. Unfortunately, it often feels that our culture has lost the grace and art of giving - of passing on what is of value - of bestowing blessings on each other. Instead, this season, for many, may feel like a frenzy of gifting obligations with no heart in it (remember Nietzsche's scaly dragon called "thou shalt?"). Or, it may be a season of loneliness, of counting one's losses, and contracting into oneself not for rest, but out of fear.

How then can we, as a community, bring back the grace and blessing of gift giving? 

We will do so, in part, by celebrating a time-honored ritual in our community, started by our teacher, Rick Jarow, many moons ago. It is a ritual of gift giving that comes straight from the heart. Here, each person brings with them an object - not new or expensive in a monetary sense - but one that is of value for them. One that tells a story. We place the objects on the altar at the center of the circle. And after a period of meditation, we make our way to the altar, and with our eyes closed, let one of the objects choose us (instead of us desiring or avoiding this or that). We then come back to our places, and go around the circle as each gift is held up in turn, and the giver tells the story of the object, what it signifies for them, and what blessing it brings to its new recipient.

We hope you will join us in this beautiful heart-warming ritual of mutual blessing and gift giving.

What to bring

For this ritual to work effectively, each person attending MUST bring a gift - because we want each one to leave with one. Please remember that this is not a new, shiny object - but something that has meaning and value for you, but one that you feel is now ready to be passed on to someone else.

Also, since it is a festive season, let us all bring some finger foods and/or non-alcoholic drinks to share at the end of the Cafe.

Listen to the story told by the reed,
of being separated.
"Since I was cut from the reed bed,
I have made this crying sound.
Anyone apart from someone he loves
understands what I say.
Anyone pulled from a source
longs to go back..."   

-- Maulana Rumi  
 
As summer is saying its last goodbyes and fall is almost here, our world and our minds are increasingly taken over - not by the movement in the medicine wheel, not by the harvest and celebrating its gifts, but much more so, by the frenetic activity all around us. Of course, there is the election around the corner, with all its ensuing madness. There is name calling, finger pointing, vitriol; there is that smug smile, that holier-than-thou stance. And then, just past that threshold, lies the "holiday season," with accompanying concerns about relationships or lack thereof, of buying and receiving gifts that may feel like a chore or a pressure, of feeling left out of the circle of life, or being so hemmed in that there's no space to breathe!

Within all this frenetic madness, we take an evening to step back, relax, be in community, and read the lovely poetry of Rumi. These poems are in fact not meant to be read alone and silently to oneself, but to be read aloud, indeed sung aloud, to each other - for all to drink in the elixir. Let us see whether the words of this thirteenth century Sufi mystic, even in translation, may be just the salve we need at this time:

... Hear the love fire tangled
in the reed notes, as bewilderment
melts into wine. The reed is a friend
to all who want the fabric torn
and drawn away. The reed is hurt
and salve combining. Intimacy
and longing for intimacy, one
song...
 

Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower."     

-- Albert Camus  
 

After a hiatus of two months with a lot of personal unraveling on my part (my father passed away after a one and a half month stay at the medical ICU, involving an emergency trip back to India on my part), we are back to our monthly schedule.

It is that time of the year, when one day feels like summer - hot and sultry, while the next morning comes with a nip to it. It is a great reminder that this is a transitional time, a threshold moment, when something is receding, while something else hasn't yet risen above the horizon. Things are a bit unsure, tentative. Like all such liminal moments, it is a time to pause and take note of what is here, what is leaving, and what is just arising.

On Friday, the 23rd, we will do just that. Together as a community, we will take stock of this time period when we haven't met, take stock of the rhythms in our lives, and rhythms of Mother Earth around us. And we will make some gentle observations about where the trajectories of our lives might be leading us as the planet leaves the House of the South - the house of the Midday Sun, of the Medicine Wheel, and begins its journey toward the House of the West - the house of harvest, of sharing and gift giving, and of beginning to think about the long winter ahead. We will do this work using the tools of ritual, writing, movement and sharing.

As the medicine wheel continues to turn in its inexorable journey through the seasons, we now arrive at the Summer Solstice. This is when the sun is at the zenith. The days are long and hot; the nights short. It is the time of the year when the solar energies - that of going out and doing things, accomplishing, are at their peak. We are thus called to reflect upon the relationship we have with the solar energies in our lives at the moment. Interestingly too, cultures across the world have created temples and monuments to honor the ability of the sun to illuminate, to reveal what is normally hidden in the shadows. While monuments such as the Stonehenge and the Pyramids are well known, there are a plethora of others, which were designed using precise calculations, such that the sun shines in a very specific way during the solstice, and reveals statues or structures within in a unique way. Some examples include the Ajanta caves in India, and the Kanayama Megaliths of Japan. What, in the back walls of our hearts and souls, are waiting to be illuminated at this time?

Let us get together in ceremony to delve deeply into the energies of the summer solstice. Everyone is invited. Bring along friends, and if you wish, simple finger foods to share after the ceremony.

In May, we experienced an interactive workshop, "At the Crossroads: Calling in New Energy," with Manifestation Cafe members Susan Wells, dancer, healer and yoga teacher, and Aiyana Stern, poet and healer. We brought in new energy using Afro-Brazilan dance and instruments, shared hands-on healing, and then went deep within to write about our new directions and inner wisdom, and shared what we wrote.

In April, we created three Community Peace Mandalas with our resident expert, Carolee Bongiorno. Creating a Peace Mandala together was a great way for us to reflect, discuss and hone into our healed vision for our beloved Mother Earth, and for the society we live in. We explored, together, what the word "peace" means to us, and how can we help manifest it in our lives and in our environment. We started with some free-form movement and then got into mandala making. We are very happy that RIVAA Gallery at Roosevelt Island, New York, has offered to host our mandalas as part of their exhibition this fall. 

Spring is just around the corner. The seeds that had been buried deep underground through the winter are beginning to sprout. Trees are giving out tentative new shoots, and a few flowers are beginning to brighten the landscape. Squirrels and birds are beginning their frenetic activities, getting ready for the longer, warmer days, preparing for their young ones to arrive in this coming time of plenty.

Synchronistically, our Cafe falls on Good Friday! No matter what our religion of birth or choice may be, we can all relate to the Easter story - a story of brokenness, of death, of passage through dark times, and then resurrection into new light and life.

Come and join us, as we celebrate this turning of the medicine wheel. At this time of the year, as the days become longer and warmer, we take our leave from the House of the North, the home of the White Bear, and move toward the East. We invite in the robin, the hummingbird, the eagle - as they take flight into the rising sun. At this ceremony, we will reflect on things in our life that we are ready to leave behind in the House of the North - at the place of death and burial; and focus our attention on those aspects of our lives that are ready to sprout and to blossom; those things in us that are ready for a rebirth. 

And just as a teaser, chocolate (or more precisely, cacao), will be an integral part of this ceremony. Please feel free to invite friends, but if you are inviting several friends, do drop me a line.

When we look around us - at our personal as well as sociopolitical discourse, we are sorely aware of the violence that underlies and taints a lot of it. Violence is not just manifest physical violence, but includes psychological violence. Furthermore, violence may be directed toward another, or toward oneself. When faced with violence around and within us, we often throw up our hands and say, "oh, but what can I do?" This month, we have an opportunity to learn about a methodology developed specifically to facilitate dialogue that is intentionally devoid of violence.

Nonviolent Communication (NVC) was developed by psychologist Marshall Rosenberg, who grew up in inner-city Detroit and was daily confronted with violence as a child and an youth. As he engaged with the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, the NVC methodology slowly took shape. NVC is based on the idea that all human beings have the capacity for compassion, and only resort to violence or behavior that harms others when they don't recognize more effective strategies for meeting their needs. Habits of thinking and speaking that lead to the use of violence (psychological and physical) are learned through culture. NVC theory supposes all human behavior stems from attempts to meet universal human needs and that these needs are never in conflict. Rather, conflict arises when strategies for meeting needs clash. NVC proposes that if people can identify their needs, the needs of others, and the feelings that surround these needs, harmony can be achieved. The practice of NVC uses the basic steps of observation, identifying feelings and needs, and making a request.

Please come and join us, and learn about this wonderful methodology of communication that draws from age-old insights from cultures across the world, as well as from contemporary research in psychology. The workshop will be led by Diana Crowder and Louise Murray.

This month, we will take a closer look at our dreams, and learn to excavate treasures that might be hidden within the often bizarre dream imagery. Cultures since times immemorial, and from all latitudes and longitudes, have revered "strong dreamers." In many cultures, a distinctive trait of the medicine man/woman has been their ability to dream, and then, to use the dream messages for the benefit of their tribes. In modern Western culture, Carl Jung has done the most in reinvigorating interest in dreams and dream analysis.

In this workshop, we will learn to work with our dreams using the deceptively simple method developed by a contemporary dream shaman, Robert Moss. "Lightning Dreamwork Game," as Robert calls it, is fast, playful yet reverent, and helps us to understand our dreams freshly each time - rather than using canned interpretations from some variation of "101 dream images explained" type of a so-called self-help book! Most importantly, it teaches us that for a dream to be able to have power and meaning in our lives, we NEED to take actions prompted by the dream.

To get the most out of this evening, please start paying special attention to your dreams from today (this includes daydreams, fantasies, musings...). Write down even short snippets or single images that linger in your mind as soon as you wake up (or images that come floating in as you are drifting off to sleep, or even daydreaming). Dreams are ephemeral; the images dissipating like morning dew if we wait for a "good time later on" to record them. So, one has to be diligent and disciplined. Also, please note that WE ALL DREAM; and with intention, attention and practice, we can learn to retain more of their messages.

If possible, please come with a short dream or part of a dream you'd like to work with during the workshop. If you don't have one you'd like to share, though, no worries. We will use material from volunteers, or we will just cook up some fresh ones using journeying/visualization techniques!

In addition to working with our personal dreams, we will also take some time to engage with a dream that we will dream together. Specifically, we will explore the imagery that comes up when we visualize the future we would like for our beloved Mother Earth. And then, we will sense into the action steps that are wanting to be born, for us as individuals and as a community, to make this dream come true.

As we enter the month of December, we stand at the doors of yet another paradox. On one hand, we are getting ready to enter the depths of winter. It is the time of the great white bear, the time for frozen landscapes and the stillness of hibernating animals. For us humans, too, it may be a time for diving inward, for reflecting, incubating, dreaming. It is indeed a productive time, although the productivity may be more internal than manifest. On the other hand, as we stand at the threshold of the Winter Solstice; the wheel actually starts to turn away from winter - with the days becoming longer and nights shorter. At some deep level, Mother Earth, in all her wisdom, knows that reality is complex, multi-layered and textured. So, while we settle in for dreamtime, we do so with the hope and anticipation of Spring that follows inexorably.

This year, we will celebrate the winter solstice as a community. Come expecting to dance, reflect, share, and make resolutions about which seeds you will nurture during this dreamtime. Also, if you are inspired, bring some food to share to contribute to the holiday spirit.

This month, you are invited to a time-honored tradition of the advanced manifestation community started by Rick Jarow. For many years, our community has had an annual retreat in the fall at the magical Ananda Ashram in Upstate New York. Since last year, we haven't had the retreat, but we have kept the tradition alive by having a "mini-Ananda" here in NYC.

This year, once again, Rick will attend and lead the circle for this special occasion. As we get ready to cross over into the dark time of the year, this gathering will give us an opportunity to take stock of where we are, and generate some intentions for incubation.

In addition to the wonderfully spontaneous nature of the circles when Rick is present, we will do our much-loved "gift exchange" ritual. Autumn is a time for gift-giving - a time for bringing in the harvest and sharing with family and friends. Each year at Ananda, we have concluded our retreat with a ritual that honors this tradition. To participate, please bring an object that has a special meaning for you, but which you feel is now ready to be given away. In this ritual, we give away a special, meaningful object to someone else in the circle. In this way, we share its power and lessons learnt with someone else.

Please note that this object does not have to be new or expensive; what matters is its meaning to you, and what it means for your personal journey to now give it away.

PLEASE NOTE THAT EVERYONE ATTENDING THE NOVEMBER CAFE NEEDS TO BRING A GIFT, SO THAT EVERYONE LEAVES WITH ONE (AND WITH ITS BLESSINGS).

In addition, please bring drums or other musical instruments for chanting/ singing/ dancing/ drumming.

Finally, please bring some finger foods to share at the end of the ceremony, in the spirit of Ananda!
 

Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower."     
-- Albert Camus  
 
In our day-to-day lives, we are often so caught up with tick-tock time that we forget the vast range of experiences of time available to us! Mother Nature, for example, is much more at home in the circular time of the year turning through the seasons. All traditional cultures have ways to mark and celebrate important transition points in this turning wheel of time.

One of those trans-cultural points of celebration are the twice-a-year equinoxes - in spring and in autumn. Of these, the autumn equinox is at our door here in the Northern Hemisphere. It is a point of the year where summer is ending - the days are starting to get shorter and the nights longer. There's a nip in the air. But autumn in its full glory is yet to make its presence felt. It is a threshold moment - a liminal time - when things are more tentative, unsure. We wake up in the morning not knowing whether we'll need a jacket or should wear short sleeves. Psychologically and spiritually, too, these times call upon us to sit patiently with those parts of our lives that are in transition. Things that are either ending, or things that are getting ready to be born.

Together, we will celebrate this liminal time of the autumn equinox on Friday, October 2nd (Gandhi's birthday!) through some rituals and guided visualization. In preparation for the ritual, it might be a good idea to reflect on the things in your life that feel unresolved at this time. Our goal is not to force anything, nor to run or hide from them, but to sit with them with interested curiosity.

We hope to see you at the celebration on October 2nd.
 

The point is that our true nature is not some ideal that we have to live up to. It’s who we are right now, and that’s what we can make friends with and celebrate.     
-- Pema Chödrön  
 
This month, we have an unique opportunity to explore and experience a very special form of bodywork. Called the Rosen Method, after its founder, Marion Rosen, it is a way to reconnect with oneself and live with more ease.  

Rosen Method bodywork uses gentle touch and words to support a deepening of physical and emotional awareness. It helps one open and move through the layers of chronic tension that separate us from ourselves. This process develops our ability to explore and uncover hidden truths about mysterious aches and pains, to live in the present moment, and to feel more confident and rooted in the body.

At this workshop, after an introduction to Rosen Method, you will have the opportunity to receive and give this type of touch under the guidance of a wonderful practitioner of the method. You will also be able to observe a mini-session/demonstration, and be able to ask questions.

Given by Certified Rosen Method Bodywork Practitioner:
       Elizabeth Smith, RN                                                  
       Hospice and Palliative Care Specialist       

Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love.” 
― Rainer Maria Rilke

This month, we will have another opportunity to work with Jadina Lillien on creative constellations around the rather provocative theme of "forbidden love." At this workshop, we will contemplate some of the following questions: What am I not allowed to love, including the parts of myself that seem to be undesirable? What long-forgotten loves, people, moments and feelings are calling for my attention? In this session of constellations, we will see where these treasures are hidden, finding that we are the secret and have everything we need to become ourselves and to live fully, with more to give.

This work is based on the dynamics of family constellations first formulated by Bert Hellinger. The process of Creative Constellations focuses specifically on the creative process, and particularly on any blocks or challenges we might be experiencing in the manifestation of our creative process.

It was a somewhat unusual summer solstice celebration this time, where we read two poems from John O'Donohue, and contemplated the various meanings of words such as "light" and "fire" - have for us. While celebrating the sun at its zenith, in its full power, with an abundance of life and manifestation all around us, we also took a moment to reflect on the shadows that are necessarily thrown in high relief by the bright summer sun. We then wrote (or drew) for several minutes to a prompt from one of the poems, "what does my found world look like?" In the end, we shared our writings and artwork. It was a beautiful evening!

In May, we had a wonderful time with Rick. The focus of the discourse and contemplation was on letting go and not holding on to any ego narrative too tightly. Rick also spoke of how we can choose a better narrative for our life's experiences. What if, for instance, instead of all our common fears and complaints about how we humans are abusing the earth and leading the ecosystem to the brink of collapse, we switched the narrative? What if, instead, we said, "Gaia is smart. There are been five ice ages already with mass extinctions, and there were no human-like races to do all the pollution and pillaging! What if Gaia is knowingly supporting our evolution and even our adolescent escapades, because with her long foresight, she knows that when the next impending galactic disaster strikes (say an asteroid in collision course), we humans will be the only species with the gift of innovation to avert the disaster?" What a wonderful story! Rick also urged us to contemplate the fractal nature of the Universe - what Eastern mystics call Indra's net. Instead of tensely pursuing ego-dictated careers and concrete manifestation goals, what if we rephrased the question to, "which part of Indra's net am I being asked to hold up at this moment?" The "work," then, is to let go of the plan and get with the Plan.

We ended the evening with some energizing Qigong exercises. Thank you, Rick, as always, for a wonderful time of reflection and contemplation, and we hope to see you at the Café again soon.

In April, we had a wonderful Vision Workshop, facilitated by Barbara Phillips, a certified Life Mastery Institute DreamBuilder coach and long-term participant in the NYC Manifestation Café.

In this guided experiential workshop, we explored what we truly long for in four life domains:  health and wellness, relationships, vocation/creativity and time/money freedom. We ended with a clear vision of our dream, a vision that we would truly love to manifest into reality, and experienced how it would feel like if we imagined that we were already living that life in our own future. It was a wonderful and uplifting experience. Thanks again, Barbara. 

It was a beautiful day to celebrate the spring equinox! Snow was coming down, wet and heavy, at a time of the year when everyone is tired of the long and harsh winter, and would give anything for a glimpse of sprouting green! The day was thus a perfect metaphor for a threshold moment - which is an essential element of an equinox. How do we work with such a threshold moment - a time of birthing? When all we can think about is the gaiety of spring, how do we still make space of the lingering winter? Indeed, how do we honor the lingering frozenness of certain aspects of our lives when everyone around us tells us that it is time to get up and go? How do we stay present with what is, while preparing the ground for what is being born, but not yet fully there?

In an exquisite ritual led by Swaha Devi, we reflected on the theme of the Spring Equinox, and how it was manifesting in each of our lives. We began with a checking in, followed by a guided meditation, then a moving meditation, culminating in an art project. The project was to create an art piece using paper, glue, seeds, flowers and stems - letting our intuition guide us. There was no specific agenda, and no intended final product. We ended by sharing our experiences from the evening and some food to celebrate Mother Earth's bounty.

We had another wonderful family constellation workshop with Jadina Lillien. We started with an individual contemplation of our relationship with our mother ("the ground of all things"). We then did two group experiences. The first one was on our experience around home and immigration. This is a powerful theme, especially in this country, where virtually everyone is either an immigrant or a descendent of an immigrant. The last group exercise was on exploring, what Jadina so beautifully called, "the song of our system." My understanding is that it was about why we are here (both at the workshop, and more generally, on this planet), and what types of support structures we can count on to strive on our trajectories. Finally, we did one "typical" family constellation for one of the participants. It took off from the home and immigration theme, and was complete with not just the ancestors, but also included the statue of liberty and a Native American chief! As always, it was a powerful experience for all who participated. Thank you once again, Jadina, for your wonderful workshop.

Our original plan for this cafe was to celebrate the new year by acknowledging the passage of the winter solstice. As the days begin to get longer and the nights shorter, our plan was to do a ritual to invite the sun back into our lives. In other words, the idea was to prepare ourselves for manifesting our visions in this new year.

However, as time for the cafe drew near, it felt like it was not time yet to invite the sun back. We felt that doing that would be kind of forced. In some ways, by doing it, we would be capitulating to the over-culture which tells us, "No more excuses! Now that all the holidays - Thanksgiving, Christmas/Hanukkah, New Year - are all over, it is time to get your act together, pick up your list of New Year resolutions, and get cranking!" We felt that it was an artificial imperative based on an arbitrary clock time. The days are still dark and cold, the nights are still long, the desire to hibernate still dominant. So, instead, we worked with the theme of the threshold guardians. We asked, as we reach the threshold of spring, what are the resistances we are facing as we contemplate our hopes and desires for what we would like to manifest in 2015.

We contemplated the idea of the threshold guardian from a Tibetan Buddhist perspective. Using the teaching story of sticky hair as a prompt, we meditated on what this threshold guardian looks like in our lives right now (often configured as a scary "demon" figure). Next, instead of trying to fight with and defeating this demon, we explored what this demon might be needing from us, and how by giving it what it needs, it can be transformed into an ally. It was a powerful experience for all involved, and we hope that this work will help us manifest our cherished visions as the year unfolds.

We had a wonderful ritual celebrating the upcoming winter solstice. We reflected on how, as the days are getting shorter and the nights longer - with the dark, often overcast days - we long for solitude and deep inwardness, as well as for the warmth of a supportive community. And we long for light - firelight, candlelight, a hearth - the "contained light" around which we can gather as a community, to share our experiences, our stories, as well as food and drink. 

As we approach the winter solstice, we fully enter the North of the Medicine Wheel - the place of hibernation, of the bear, the place of stillness, incubation and dreams. As the trees around us release their final leaves, we meditated on what in our lives we knew was at an end, but that we were still holding on to - afraid to let go. After the mediation, we wrote down what needed to be released, and with the community as witness, we let the altar fire consume the paper with that knowing. 

Finally, we sealed in an envelope something that we felt needed to incubate through the winter, so it can sprout in spring.

For those of you who were not at the circle, but would like to participate in this part of the ritual, please take a paper, pen and an envelope. Then, ask yourself, "what is it that I want to incubate this winter, which I hope will be ready for sprouting in spring?" Write down the first thought that pops up - no censoring, no second guessing. Then, put the paper in the envelope, seal it, and place it on your altar, inside a book that you'll remember, under your pillow... On March 21, I will send out an email when you can open the envelope, and see what happened to the seed that you had incubated at the peak of this winter.

We had a wonderful mini-Ananda, with Rick, and with old and new friends. Lots of reflections about how manifestation is more than always getting our way. About how to navigate our way toward manifestation when the going is not easy... We ended with the time-tested Ananda ritual of gift exchange, where everyone put whatever they wanted to give away at the central altar, and then, in a meditative state, we each went to the altar and picked up whatever came to us first, rather than picking and choosing. As always, we got what we really needed - something that will be a talisman for our journey ahead into the winter, and then into the new year.

What is a Creative Constellation?

This work is based on the dynamics of family constellations first formulated by Bert Hellinger. The process of Creative Constellation focuses specifically on the creative process, and particularly on any blocks or challenges we might be experiencing in the manifestation of our creative process. This can also include challenges with specific projects.

So, what is holding you captive? And what is the way out? Where is the resource? During this evening, we will work with one or more of the participants to explore the story we are constellating around our creative endeavor, including but not limited to, our families and ancestors, the symbols for our creative process and/or the challenge, our emotions, our supporters/mentors/guides etc. Once we can visualize and viscerally experience the dynamics we are constellating, we will have the opportunity to reimagine the constellation in a way that opens some of the current blocks, and allows the energy to flow in new and creative directions. Finding how present day collective circumstances are reflected in our personal and creative lives is also a contribution we make to the world.

What does the work entail?

One participant is chosen as the subject, who briefly describes their creative project and the point of tension or unease in the process. Then, with the help of the facilitator, other participants from the group are invited to represent the various actors in the constellation. For example, the constellation may include family members possibly going back a generation or two, symbolic aspects of the project and/or the challenge, the archetypal forces present, etc. The subject first places these "representatives" in relationship to each other as seems most appropriate. Then, based on the felt experience within this "field," the representatives move relative to each other until a new constellation is created. The process continues as the subject and his/her representatives express their felt experience within the constellation and continue to move until the energy within the field begins to flow more easily. The process comes to a natural end when the subject and the facilitator are comfortable with the flow of energy within this new field, and the subject senses that a positive shift has been achieved relative to how the constellation was initially configured.

What is your role in this process?

You are free to participate actively, or just witness. Even just witnessing this work carried out for someone else's constellation, or by serving as a "representative" in someone else's constellation, could be a very transformative experience. In case several participants wish to work on their constellations, the facilitator will attempt to accommodate as many as possible within the given time, but without rushing the process for any one constellation. Of course, just like any other personal material discussed in the Manifestation Cafe, what is revealed at the circle remains within the circle, and is not discussed outside, in order to create a container of safety within which the work unfolds.

At this circle, we did two shamanic journeys, both accompanied by a buffalo medicine drum. In the first, we traveled to the lower realms, met with an ally in this plane, and were informed about what in our lives and experiences we must leave behind as we move from the summer to the fall. The second journey was a partner journey, where we paired up and journeyed to the upper realms on behalf of our partner. Here, we again met an ally from this realm, and asked to be shown clearly a special gift that our partner had inside of them, and that they were now ready to bring into manifestation in the middle plane. At the end of the second journey, the pairs shared the gifts they brought back for their partner from the upper world. We then shared together our take-home messages from both journeys. We found that both the journeys were powerful for the participants, irrespective of whether they were veteran journeyers or first-time voyagers.

At this circle, we did a shamanic journeying, taking stock of our summers and preparing for the fall... In retrospect, it appears that this cafe was a preparation for the autumn equinox celebration next month. Being in mid-August, we had very small attendance at this cafe, but people who did attend found it a powerful experience. In the Native American tradition, we invited in ourselves, our ancestors, our guides, and anyone in our lives who needed healing. We then reflected on how our summers had been, and what messages were bubbling up for us at this time. We then purified ourselves and the space with sage, and journeyed to the lower world, to meet an ally and ask for a clear message of what is it that we are to bring forward with us as we move toward the fall. The journey was accompanied by a powerful buffalo medicine drum made by me (Sushmita) in a ritual setting. In making the drum (this past winter), we had actually journeyed to the animal whose hide we were using (buffalo in my case), and the tree whose wood we were using for the hoop (maple), and asked their permission to use their offering to make our drums. After we made the drums, we journeyed again to ask this animal and the tree what medicine they wanted us to carry with the drum, and finally, after the drum was dry enough, we were taught "our medicine song" by the drum we just made. It is an extremely powerful experience, and if any of you are interested in knowing more, or attending such a ritual/workshop, please write to me directly.

What is a mandala?

To become aware of the mandala is to be conscious of what is going on around us. It is this consciousness that helps us see our connection to the world and to one another. The pattern found within the mandala can help us describe the nature of our being, as well as the nature of our cosmos. The study of the mandalas often include contemplating the core of reality, what is the "true center" of the world in which we live. The mandala can serve as a structure within a variety of ideas and beliefs that can be shared. The mandala connects, rather than divides. Mandala is an ancient Sanskrit word which means circle. Another description of a mandala used by Tibetan Buddhists is "an integrated structure organized around a unifying center."

Mandalas are tools for spiritual meditations. A mandala can be sacred as when used in spiritual ceremony or practice, or it can describe the basic structure or design of an object or entity. Powerfully conveying the idea of wholeness and unity, the circle is a symbol employed in many religious traditions. It has been used for thousands of years as a pattern to illustrate spiritual ideals and concepts. Mandalas continue to be used in healing and in ceremonial rituals, as well as in art forms to represent spiritual concepts. The mandala requires no adherence to a specific belief system nor does it necessarily imply a set of beliefs when used in conversation or creative activities; it is a tool that can be comfortably used in a variety of settings. In the early Twentieth Century, Carl Jung observed that mandala-making was used in many cultures to represent wholeness and healing. Jung's work drew attention to the process of mandala-making as a way to facilitate healing through creating art, as well as by giving expression and form to something that does not exist.  Mandala-making is also used for personal growth, to quiet the mind, or to give expression to spiritual ideas. Mandalas provide a centered structure from which to explore and to put order in our lives as a whole. 

What will we be doing this Friday?

At this cafe, we will be creating our own personal mandalas. So, please bring paint, brushes, glue, images, patterns, geometric shapes, quotes or anything else that speaks to you. 

Come join us this coming Friday at the NYC manifestation cafe, where we will celebrate the summer solstice (albeit slightly belated). Now is the time of the year when the sun is in its full power and glory in the northern hemisphere. Indeed, mother earth is "on fire!" It is a time for expansion, for manifestation and for generosity. At this summer solstice ritual, we will work specifically with the theme of generosity, and honor the part of us that feels abundant and full. From this place of abundance, we will connect with our urge to offer our gifts to our community, and indeed to the world. 

To make the ritual truly meaningful for each one of us, we are asking you to bring with you a small object (anything you choose) that has personal meaning and value for you; but one that you feel you are ready to give away in a spirit of passing it along to someone else who might need it now.