Eulogy for Anne and Ed Travis –  By Kit Muehlman

Opening

Thank you all for coming together to help say goodbye to our parents.  It was such a surprise to learn how they left.  Some of you saw the sensational and inaccurate headlines on newspapers and TVs.  But the overwhelming response has been understanding and compassion.

When I was booking my bereavement flight, the agent was stunned to hear I’d lost both parents.  He asked whether it was an accident.  “No accident” I told him. …….. Then he said………. “your parents loved each other very much”……. 

Mother and Daddy would have been married 60 years this Thanksgiving.  They built a life with devotion and commitment and nurtured four children in faith and love.

Mother and Daddy truly cared for each other in sickness and in health.  By leaving for the Great Beyond together, they sidestepped the .“till death… do us part”, clause..  May God receive them with boundless compassion and understanding.

Daddy was my hero, always a strong, steady presence.  He was born into prominent family in North Carolina, but preferred to work behind the scenes calm, rational, and helpful.  I could always rely on him………. Daddy could fix anything.

I’m going to tell a story for my brother, Edward now.  When Edward was 8 or 10, he saw a squirrel get run over in the road, and ran home to tell Daddy about.  Daddy asked when, and Edward said it was just now.  Get it quick, Daddy told him.  Now, we all thought Daddy could fix anything, so Edward ran to get the squirrel.  Remember that Daddy grew up in farming country in North Carolina in the 20’s and 30’s and he knew what to do with squirrels.  Edward brought the squirrel back, and Daddy skinned it, cooked it in the backyard, so Mother wouldn’t know………. and ate it.   He was a very kind man, but also a practical one. 

Daddy had an important job, designing factories and paper plants, and he enjoyed making and inventing things in the basement.  He loved the outdoors, and he knew where all the food plants in the neighborhood were, persimmons, apples, pecans, and muscadine grapes.  He loved walking his dog and meeting neighbors.

Daddy nursed Mother back to health after three nervous breakdowns. It must have taken everything he had during those times, to keep the family going, work, and maintain his marriage. I was 6 and 12, and I knew life was different, but had total trust that Daddy had everything under control.

Daddy had a quiet dignity, and we learned from him to trust life, to be content.  He was so composed that when Mary was learning to drive, and in a huge, totally empty church parking lot.  Well, she sideswiped a light pole, and Daddy didn’t scold, or say anything.   We could count on him to be calm and kind.  He lived his life with a sense of wonder and a sense of duty.  I believe he has no regrets.  He made the most of every day God gave him.

Mother and Daddy loved God and their Church.  Mother grew up Methodist in Ohio, and became an Episcopalian when they moved to Atlanta.

We never doubted Mother loved us.  She showered us with helpful suggestions, and more often than not, we’d have to admit she knew what she was talking about.  She was a homemaker who was intellectually curious.  She and Daddy read books and magazines every day.  She didn’t enjoy cooking, but made wonderful traditional dinners, including our favorites, mashed potatoes and her awesome pound cake.  Mother was dedicated to raising four children who could take care of themselves and make their own contributions to the world.   Together, they sent all four children to college.

She nursed Daddy back to health after two near fatal accidents. 

The second happened here at Holy Trinity about 10 years ago.  Daddy was changing a light bulb and fell 28 feet to the marble floor.   Some said angels had carried him down so that he survived.  But he was seriously injured, and said there hadn’t been enough angels. When the doctors asked for a picture of him for his facial reconstruction, Mother said “I don’t know whether to bring a picture of Robert Redford or Paul Newman.

 She lived simply and loved feeding birds, gardening, and creating beauty with needlework.  One of her greatest passions was charity work, and she taught us it is better to give than to receive.  She was an active elementary school parent, and played the fortune telling witch at my Girl Scout Halloween party -  I didn’t know until years later.  Among her papers was a long list of charities she supported, and she was a steady volunteer at churches.  Prayer and studies of the nature of God sustained her.  Her greatest passions were her life with Daddy, and her never ending love for her children and grandchildren. 

Closing 

I am so grateful for all that my parents taught me.  From Daddy, I learned how to be practical, flexible, industrious and full of wonder.  From Mother, I learned how to find beauty in everyday living, and to share my spirit with community.  They were faith in action.  May God receive them in everlasting peace and divine love.

Thank you all for your expressions of love and understanding and for your prayers and many kindnesses.

Not exactly on the beach, I’m doing yoga in a screened in porch, listening to the waves, watching sparkles on the water.
The extended Muehlman family is spending a week at Edisto Island in South Carolina. It’s a long drive to “civilization”, and we’re face to face with the infinity of the ocean.
Practice this morning is dedicated to my mother, passed away three weeks ago today, to the creative force of the great Mother, the ocean, the regeneration inside us all. With love, with gratitude for the unending love and nurturing of Ma.

The Sublime Path of the Great Return

Paul Muller-Ortega, June 20 and 21, 2009

Last weekend, Paul Muller-Ortega taught “The Sublime Path of the Great Return” at Seattle Yoga Arts to about 50 yogis and yoginis in Satsang. Satsang is a rare occasion for contemplating life’s deepest purpose, and Paul brought a scholarly Svatantra viewpoint informed by decades of study and practice.

It’s a big question, the purpose of our lives.   At times, the question burns with an urgency, a persistent itch that grows and grows until we find ourselves in a room with fellow seekers, and here we were, looking for answers, or at least a technology that leads us to our own answers.  In Satsang, we sift the thoughts inside in a process of self-examination, looking at motivations, and other intangibles, following the golden thread of what’s most true.

Paul offered tantalizing descriptions of the journey to inner consciousness, those trackless realms of ever-surprising wonder, divine astonishment, and luminous serenity.  Through meditation, we increasingly refine consciousness, purifying, stabilizing, and creating circumstances where life organizes itself in the most coherent, congruent luminous structure.  With progressive, cultivated, sustained, systematic practice we move into the “Palace of Consciousness”, and out of the garage!  The word “outrageous” arrived again and again, outrageous teachings of Maharaji, outrageous freedom, outrageous sound of the Absolute in OM.

We practiced mantras, which Paul calls the “spaceship” to inner planes, inner worlds, to extraordinary vastness where we experience the deepest spaces of the Absolute.  The vibrations of the mantras “stir golden sunlight consciousness”, and my experience of meditating with this group was quite different than my meditations in my home studio.  It was as if the narrow band of the mental meditative state refracted and expanded into a velvety dark boundless universe. My head started to drop, over and over, as my consciousness journeyed in a free fall…… far from my body.  Was I going to sleep?  Every time I “fell”, my thoughts had just started to take a little trip away from the mantra.  Is this the place ego creates itself?   Is this the place Paul calls the Individual Identity Assembly Point?

He repeated that it’s not about the language, it’s about creating and sustaining a practice, a technology, that takes us to our deepest, truest Selves.  We won’t be satisfied just reading about meditation, just as reading about yoga practice is not as satisfying as yoga practice.  He insisted that “we can’t talk our way into this”, but, Oh My Word, the language was so seductive.  Paul’s sparkling, fluid abundance of words was rich and full of promise.  His words were a map to expansive mysterious inner lands.  My vague hunger turned toward an inner treasure in the heart of consciousness, and at a 1 pm lunch break, the idea of food was only marginally interesting.   Nevertheless, in the presence of actual food shortly thereafter, my physical hunger arrived healthy and robust.

We meditated sitting, with the abovementioned risk of free fall, and also we meditated standing which was much more wakeful for me, fortunately.  We chanted several mantras, some with the accompaniment of Paul’s wife Barbara, on the Harmonium and Benji and Heather Wertheimer on strings and drums. Paul told us ancient myths, sacred narratives or stories embedded with infinite meaning.  We visited with old friends and met new friends.

Now what?   Paul closed by saying that we’re all walking a mysterious path, and every meeting shifts and deepens our alignment with purpose and meaning. We’re prompted from inside by a voice of intuition and insight. It speaks to us in silence in the dark of the night, in the wildness of nature.   It guides us to the degree that we listen. When we cultivate that listening, that focus, that contemplation, we begin more and more to taste and to touch the always present Divine.  The power of Grace is always present, and it’s up to us to find practices, and to sustain practices, that demonstrate to ourselves that such is actually the case.

Mix in Blender:

1/3 Cup Low Sodium Soy Sauce

1/3 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar

1/3 Cup Water

1/2 Cup Nutritional Yeast Flakes

Add to above and Mix while pouring in a slow stream:

1 1/2 Cup Sunflower Oil

OK, I just WISH I had created this one.  It’s great on salads,vegetables, fish, chicken.  I like the soy sauce and yeast so much, sometimes I add extra s.s. and yeast on top of a salad after the dressing.

On my first week long retreat with John, I was very aware of all the strangers on mats around me, and I was particularly aware that I was older and less flexible than many. My mind was full of judgement, and I was trying to journal myself out of a difficult state of mind. But I found I was critical of myself for being critical! So, there was plenty of time to meditate and just be with that, watching as well as feeling. Noticing how the crowd, many of whom knew each other from years of practicing together, increased my discomfort. Knowing I am not my thoughts, and having them at the same time.
So. John’s teaching was seeping in. On the third day, I pushed up into my first solo full backbend. WOW! I yelped in the pose, but it wasn’t what happened to my body that I was feeling. There was an electric current that shot through me, and when I came down, the world was perfect, purnata. I was fine, everyone was fine, and everything was just the way it needed to be. My energy was clear, strong, easy. Practicing in the middle of a crowd was just right. We are all one! I went back to my journal and just smiled. I could only imagine my previous state of mind. This lasted for days, and when I got stuck sleeping in the Seattle airport on the way home, it was a swell adventure. The ecstasy was still with me in the morning when I woke up on a bench, and the other blanket lumps woke up, and we all smiled at each other. The feeling of oneness was bliss.

The intensity of the feeling has faded some, but I can recall it vividly.  

The main thing is showing up for practice.

About Private Yoga Sessions

Private yoga sessions with Kit may be the most appropriate way for you to begin a yoga practice or to address a concern.  For beginners or experienced students, private sessions offer more  time and personal attention than is possible in a group class, to give you a “leg up” with specific physical difficulties.

Who Can Benefit?

• Are you wanting some practice with the basics before starting regular yoga classes?  A private yoga session is a great way for beginners to find their comfort zone more quickly, learn the basic poses and alignment principles, and address individual concerns in a custom session or series of sessions.
• Do you have a physical limitation or injury you want to address to stay safe in regular classes?  The Anusara principles of alignment are highly therapeutic, and will bring ease and freedom on and off your yoga mat.
• Do you find it difficult to attend public classes, and you want personal attention to stay motivated?  You can benefit from regular private sessions, at my home studio or at your own home.
• Are you ready for support for lifestyle changes?  Private sessions are highly recommended for relief from anxiety and improved sleep,  and support for weight control or stopping smoking.  
• Are you hunting for complementary therapy for a chronic condition such as arthritis? Private sessions can help normalize your body by easing pain, renewing energy, and establishing calm and healthy breathing patterns.  

What to Expect

A private session with Kit begins with a look at your situation and a plan of action.  The session will include asana (yoga postures), guided meditation, breathing exercise, and hands on therapeutic adjustments as needed.  You will receive a plan for continuing your practice, whether at home, in group classes, or between private sessions.

Pricing

• Single 75 minute Private Session – $65
• Ongoing series of 6 x 75 minute Privates – $300
• Private Session at Your Home, 75 minutes – $95
• Series of 6 x 75 minute Privates at Your Home – $420

A deposit is paid at the time of scheduling, and your sessions can be weekly, or once or twice a month, or monthly.  Depending on your needs, you may be joined by a friend or family member at no additional cost.

Encouragement

A problem can be seen as an invitation to learn to treat ourselves even better, and to learn new skills and attitudes so that our lives can be more easeful and more joyous.  When we find more ease and freedom in our bodies, we create more brightness and goodness in our part of the world.

Yoga with Kit is not meant to diagnose medical conditions or replace professional health care.  If you have medical issues, please consult with a medical professional before beginning a new yoga practice.

Woof!  I went to Scott Howe’s Monday yoga class, the 5:30pm class at Quantum Health in La Conner, and he kicked our butts!  That’s yoga speak for an awesome class.  It was 83 degrees, and I felt more flexible than usual, and a bit more slippery, too.  Scott provides towels!  During Savasana, Corpse Pose, Scott talked to us the whole time, taking us deeper and deeper.  I heard some soft snoring, which is certainly a sign of deep relaxation (was it me?).

Scott will have a web presence in 2009!!  Right Scott?!

Gluten Free Yam Pancakes (serves 2)  These tasty pancakes will amaze even your gluten eating friends and family.  

Ingredients

1 largish yam, cooked, peeled, and somewhat cooled or cold.  About 1 1/2 cup when mashed.  Roasting gives a dryer yam and better texture to the pancakes.  If you boil it, be sure to drain very well.

4 eggs

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup ground flax seed

1 tsp baking powder

oil or butter for griddle

Directions

Mash the yam well with a fork or masher.  Don’t use a blender, as it makes the batter too thin.)

Mix flaxseed, baking powder and salt, and add these and the rest of the ingredients to the yam.  Mash with fork or use an electric hand mixer.

Allow the batter to sit for 10 minutes for the flaxseed to work it’s glutenous, gluten-free, magic.

Pour three inch pancakes onto a heated, oiled griddle or pan.  Spread them out to about 1/2 inch thin or less.  When the bottoms are slightly browned and the pancakes are cooked enough to hole together, turn with a spatula and a fork.  The fork helps hold the pancakes on the spatula.  These take a longer cooking time than flour pancakes, so check the middle of the first one before you turn off the heat.

Serve with butter, cinnamon, maple syrup.

Give thanks for the fruits of the earth, the plentitude of eggs, and the miracle of a tongue that tastes.

Oatmeal Flaxseed Cookies – reasonably healthy and still scrumptious.

Ingredients

1 stick butter (unsalted)

1 cup Sucanat (or brown sugar)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/4 c flour 

1/4 cup ground flaxseed  (I have a coffee grinder dedicated to grinding flaxseed for many baking uses.)

2 tablespoons whole flaxseed

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)

3 cups old fashioned oats

play with additions: 1 cup chopped walnuts, 1 cup chocolate chips, 1 cup raisins, 1 cup dried cherries

1. Heat over to 375.

2. Beat together butter and sugar until creamy.

3. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat well.

4. Add combined flour, baking soda, salt, ground flaxseed.

5. Stir in oats and your chosen addition (s).  Two cups total of additions is plenty.

6. Arrange rounded tablespoons of dough on ungreased cookie sheet.

7. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.

8. Cool one minute on cookie sheet; remove to cooling rack.

Blessing:

Sitting comfortably and steadily, bow your head to your heart, and honor the many seeds of aspiration there.  May this practice give us the guidance to recognize our highest dreams and aspirations.  May the breath of the Universe expand our vision.  May our practice give us the strength and devotion to live our aspirations, wisely and compassionately, for benefit of all.  May we act wisely and compassionately, without grasping at result, without attachment to the fruits of our actions.

Ardha Adho Mukha Vrksasana (Half Handstand at Wall) with Muscle Energy and Shoulder Loop

Start in a short Down Dog with heels at the wall.  Inhale and expand with possibility.  Be sensitive to the seeds of aspiration in your heart, your heart’s deepest desires.  Draw strength from the earth into your fingertips, up your arms and into your heart.  Curl the bottom edges of your shoulder blades into your back to support the back of your heart.  Float your chin a little to open your heart’s desires even more.  Spread your toes to hug your leg muscles firmly to the bones.  Contain the energy in your legs with your leg muscles.  Keeping that, step your feet up the wall to make an “L” shape.   Draw strength from the earth up into your heart. Hug your legs together to contain and channel your energy.  From the highest aspirations in your heart, curl the bottom edges of your shoulder blades in and extend your heart’s desires to the earth.  Strongly extend through your legs to expand even more.  Let the breath of the Universe fill you.

Keeping the strength in your arms and legs, smoothly step back down to the earth.  Step forward to Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend).  Bow to your heart’s desires.  Listen.  Soften any hardness around your aspirations.  Just do your best, and release any attachment or hardness around results.  That’s yoga.