THE ZEN OF TENNIS

We played tennis today.  It was so exciting!!!  

We didn't actually play.  We booked an hour session with a tennis pro at the local park.  And he put us through the drills.  And 25 minutes into it, we were so hot and sweaty and flushed yet exhilarated and excited. Crossing Noah's path, I told him it might be hard to keep up this pace for another half hour.  And with those words uttered, it started to drizzle.  The water felt so lovely on my face.  And then it started to rain a little harder.  Our tennis pro called our session off.  Yay Universe!!!

I used to train.  On Mondays and Fridays at the 9:00 a.m. tennis clinic.  About 6 people per court forming a line and running to the base line to hit a sequence of forehands and backhands and volleys.  And then running to the back of the line to start all over again.  

At first, I felt so inadequate.  My shoulder would hike up.  I didn't know how to have the tennis racket become an extension to my arm.  My footing was all off.   So, I practiced.  I kept on showing up, consistently.  I bought tennis sneakers so I could hug the court better.  Tee hee!!! And a little tennis skirt so I had somewhere to store the balls when we got a chance to play with the others.  And then Noah got interested.  He joined me at the clinics.  

I stopped when I got injured.  And then Noah got injured and the weather hit 98 degrees by 9:00 a.m. and we traveled ....

I had forgotten how wonderful it was.  To run after a little greenish yellow ball and smack it with all your might.  I had forgotten how good it felt to release energy in this peaceful and constructive manner.  Harnessing and controlling your ener-CHI and allowing it free reign on a little harmless ball.  And my tennis sessions helped me become peaceful and calm in other parts of my life.  

Thank you WSM Ishmael for a great session today.  Looking forward to doing it again on Thursday!!!

I am so grateful.  I am so blessed.

Expanding my Heart

It poured - Thursday, Friday, Friday night into Saturday morning. And then it stopped. At 5:30 a.m. GingerMama and I stepped outside and had a walk/run sniffing the air and talking to frogs.  It was wet and humid - we jumped into puddles and were so glad to be out without a downpour.  We walked in the door at 6:45 a.m. and it began to rain again.

Beautiful, lovely rain - feels like a monsoon type of rain - easy to sleep to as it slaps onto the roof and beats out a rhytmic patterns that lulls you back to sleep. Great for the earth and the plants and for raising the levels of water of Lake Okeechobee so that water restrictions are not necessary.   That's the way I see things.  The lady on the TV said it would be a miserable day. Maybe that's why I got rid of our television.

Went to yoga this morning and it was packed - I guess the rain limits our outdoor activity choices. And WSM Steve's theme in yoga was PERSPECTIVE - how we view things. The class was intense as he led us through downward dogs and hip openers and backbends.  Time to expand our hearts  - opening our chests wide and allowing our hearts to shine.

Today, I pushed myself beyond my comfort zone.  I had great focus and felt my body shift in all these peculiar ways.   And the Universe rewarded me.  Dr. Steve picked me for an assisted dolphin pose - placing his feet in my lower back and helping me push even further into the pose. It was so wonderful - I moaned. And came out of the asana, face glowing in bliss and contentment.

And then some handstands and more backbends and then into vrschikasana using a chair against the wall and assisted (thank Goddess). Supposed to look like this. Tickled pink that I could get myself up onto my forearms and get my body to bend that way. Tee hee!!

I sweat and I released and I felt great.  And the rain on the ceiling of the yoga studio was so relaxing during Shivasana (where we lay on our backs and let our bodies relax and absorb the experience).

I drove home singing along with the radio.  And the sun was peeking out beyond the rain clouds.  GingerMama and I went for another walk as it started to drizzle.  And as we were walking in the rain, I found myself singing.

Joy to the World. 

All the boys and girls. 

Joy to the fishes and the deep blue Sea.

Joy to you and me. 

Tee hee!!!  It's back.  That lightness in my heart.  That feel good energy.  That anything is possible sensation.  That I love this life feeling.  It feels so good.  The heavy clouds have lifted. And I am at peace with what is and what I don't know and whatever is about to come.

Life is good!!!

NO INTERFERENCE

One of the hardest parts of a relationship is COMMUNICATION.

Lately, Noah and I are learning how to communicate about PARENTING - the art of being response-able for another soul. Not that Ginger Mama needs PARENTING. However, in our household she is still considered a LITTLE PEEP - a soul that needs response-ability in order to survive & thrive in our home.

The communication with GingerMama is divine.  Having read and related to so many things in Cesar Millan's book, my Doggess/Goddess and I are vibing at a new level.   We have transcended, for the most part, verbal directions and prompts.  I am paying attention to her signals and what she needs.  Focusing on what I do want to happen and visualizing it and sending out the energy.  Power vs. Force.  And redirection. Clearly communicating what needs to happen instead of what I don't want.  GingerMama is responding to my calm assertive energy.   It takes a great deal of observation and patience.  However, the rewards of this connection are so AWEsome. 

We've managed to get bathing down to a science. Being that GingerMama's core temperature is so hot, she sweats a lot. And summer here in Florida is not always a treat - fleas, mosquitoes, little green things in the grass that attach to her fur. Once a week, GingerMama likes to be bathed, soaped up with coconut/neem shampoo and brushed down.

We walk four times a day - a major walk in the early morning - 4:44 a.m. - we are out doing "sadhana" with the stars. This is our longest walk of the day. In the stillness and quiet of the world, we explore and sniff together the wonderful scents of the grass, the trees and the streets.  And then we have two shorter walks during the hottest part of the days, some visiting with the neighbors, a little bit of hide and go seek running and plenty of naps.  Ginger Mama also likes to coach me when I swim.  She runs up and down the pool while I do laps, making sure she is at whatever end I am to give me kisses and encouragement.

Yesterday, Noah took over the bathing routine. I was inside swaying to music and washing dishes. And then he knocked on the door. And out of my soapy, yummy, smelly and wet experience I left and entered his world.  And GingerMama and him were not seeing eye to eye and there was some pulling and force applied. And I said something - an unsolicited comment, advice, tips, blah, blah, blah.  And Noah looked me in the eye and said: NO INTERFERENCE.

And he's right. 

I cannot tell him how to do things with GingerMama. She will tell him. He will learn to communicate energetically with him when he is ready and in his own way. In his own style. And yet, I find the comments are so fast on my lips and ready to escape.   So, I take a deep breath. And another one. And one more, for good luck. Tee hee!!!   

There is really NO THING that I need to say. I know he can do it. I know GingerMama will show him the way.  My job is to sit back and let HIM do it for himself, his way, in his own time, in his own manner.   NO INTERFERENCE.

I am so blessed to learn this lesson Meow.   This will be most helpful when we have BABIEs.

Doggess Goddess Language

I've always been a Cat.   Physically in many other lifetimes although I still feel it in my bones and in my heart meow.  As such, it has always been easy for me to intuitively communicate with Meows.  Mine, those I meet on the street, those who cross my path...

Trying to learn how to communicate with GingerMama, my Doggess Goddess, I am trying too hard, not exhibiting patience, reading too many "experts" that do not resonate with my heart.   So, I stopped.  I took a deep breath.   GingerMama and I went outside to try something different.  I  sat at my creative table and made some space.   Tackled a pile of paper - things torn out from magazines, old cards, funky paper - sorting and clearing and cutting and filing.  And I relaxed and released the stress of learning a new process and not being kind and gentle with myself.

Ginger Mama was laying out under the table, sprawled out and sleeping peacefully. All of a sudden, she let out a yawn and gave a big stretch and I felt her toe pads touch mine.  Our feets were connected.  I had an A-HA moment.

My Goddess Auntie Catalina was the first to share with me how wonderful the scent of the paws and the toes of a doggess goddess can be.  And I truly get the scent thing.  Reverting back to my animal nature and connecting with GingerMama in an earth form.  

For me, however, it was the heat.  The heat emitting from her toes.  The transfer of heat from her toes to my toes and the wave of ener-CHI that transferred into me.    If I remember my high school Physics correctly -  heat transfer from GingerMama to Goddess changes the internal energy of both systems involved (possibly Law of Thermodyamics).   And it happened.   A warm, loving exchange of energy that had us both sighing and stretching and happy.

I have practiced this for years with my Meows - taking daily naps and quieting my mind and slowing my body down.  Body to body, connected by fur and skin, allowing the Ener-chi flow from Meow to me.  Letting the Meow heat and purr vibrate through my skin and into my bones and flow through my veins.  It makes for an awesome internal massage.

To show me that I am getting it and keep up the good work, the Universe sends me a sign.  Among the pile of dog training/language books I have, Cesar Millan (the Dog Whisperer)'s book, Be The Pack Leader, jumps off the shelf and lands open on Page 120 - "...learning how to communicate rules, boundaries and limitations through ENERGY.  There is no substitute for that energy and bond - no tool that money can buy - and almost no experience on earth can rival the kind of spiritual closeness that occurs when you and your dog are truly, naturally in sync."

By Goddess, I think I've got it!!!

"IN ORDER TO REALLY ENJOY A DOG, ONE DOESN'T MERELY TRY TO 

TRAIN HIM TO BE SEMIHUMAN.  THE POINT OF IT IS TO OPEN 

ONSELF TO THE POSSIBILITY OF BECOMING PARTLY A DOG"

- Edward Hoagland