SUMMER UPDATES

Dear Women,

I am sitting at my kitchen table writing you early in the morning. The sun is rising; the city is quiet. My kids are at a sleep over, and Tom is still asleep. I realize how deeply I long for these quiet mornings to myself where I can be alone, with no one to take care of and nothing to do!

I haven’t written you all since before summer and wanted to share a little bit about my time. I have the intention to share more about my work in these letters and will do that as the year goes on, but for now, I’ll share this photo! Here is a picture of the women I trained with in Canada in June in a retreat with Kimberly Ann Johnson called Mothering the Bones. So much deepened for me there, a kind of knowing settled more deeply into my body—and also a real clarity around the work I am doing.

Such beautiful and powerful women! We were staying on a farm on a river in Deacon, Ontario. We had so much fun and we were all in the work of the body, holding each other’s bones, each other’s hearts. So much wisdom in women! How powerful it is when we circle together with a common intention. How loving the mirror of sangha can be. How deep the sense of belonging. We know this—and to experience it is such a blessing. The place in me that has felt she doesn’t belong, or is somehow not right or not good enough, is relaxing more and is able to receive more love—and therefore give more love.

I took the summer off group teaching and was able to share that time with my family—with Tom and my children. Last year I felt I wasn’t as present with them as I hope to be. That time to really be with them, more focused, felt really good.

We spent two weeks in the Eastern Sierras as we do each August with family. I was so relaxed those weeks in the mountains, at home in my body and in nature. Lots of hikes, lake swims, even fishing! Here’s a picture Tom took of us after our plunge in Tanaya Lake in Yosemite.

Sophia and Boone. My children. We had a beautiful summer together. Their joy and open heartedness inspire me so much. I notice that the love between us keeps deepening as we all grow. But they are growing so quickly, which is a joy to witness and also heart-breaking. I guess that’s how it is. But, as I remind them, they are still my babies!

I do feel I have fresh energy and strong inspiration for this next season. I will be teaching a lot, bringing this work to women in new places.

I’ll be teaching a course on the Four Immeausurables, which is Buddhist term for our inherent qualities of calm, joy, compassion, and love. The course is called Awakening the Heart and I’ll be offering it at the Berkeley Alembic Foundation. It’s an in-person gathering on Monday evenings and it begins tomorrow. They have wonderful streaming so you can watch online as well, or the recording. You can find out more and register here.

I will also be holding a Month of Meditation in October. This month will be a good starting point for those wanting to learn a Tibetan meditation practice and to experience how simple, restful, and clarifying a sitting practice can be—for our bodies, hearts and minds.

So good to make the time to stabilize our spiritual practice —to have support, guidance, and structure. I will be framing our work through the lens of the sacred feminine and a practical understanding of our nervous system. I don’t want to underestimate how important it is to practice like this in community. Women have always charted the course of our spiritual lives together.

Hopefully you can join me in this as we start off the year. It would be wonderful to see you! In the meantime, beautiful to connect again, and let’s practice together soon.

With love,

Jenny