Moving into 2020 with Excitement!
Happy holidays to one and all! We wanted to take an opportunity to share with you our excitement. Marianne and Katie (founding teachers) and Jennifer (Studio teacher) have been reflecting, dreaming, and planning for 2020, and it’s almost here! Please find below, highlights from each of us and all of us.
From Marianne: “2020 — Seeing Possibilities with Clarity”
For me, 2020 is a year of Manifesting Vision. In a very real way, it is a synthesis of over 3 decades of healing, remembering, discovering, and evolving through pathways of deep connection with myself and the infinite world of which we are part. I feel as if I've been planting and tending a new and ancient garden most of my life. The garden is nourished by mindfulness and compassion. It thrives in a relational atmosphere of being aware and being kind. Its harvest is realization and embodiment of Interbeing— bone-knowing that everything is part of everything. At last, the time of sharing this bountiful and beautiful harvest has arrived in the year 2020, through Monterey Bay Meditation Studio.
The dishes through which this harvest will be served include new retreats ("Re-Membering: Cultivating Sacred Conversations with the Natural World"), renewed courses ("Evolutionary Living" and "Interconnected Living"), and a year-long, collaborative program honoring the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day ("HomePlace: Cultivating Sense of Belonging and Awe"— webpage and details coming in January!). The latter is especially scrumptious with its involvement of dedicated scientists, teachers, authors, and artists. Its intention is to awaken and support our realization of our profound connection with the Earth and Cosmos— everywhere is Home and everyone is Kin. With this awareness, we naturally enter into a healthy reciprocal relationship that inspires action and interaction sourced in love rather than fear. Imagine that! ... Seriously, take a moment right now to let that possibility in and sense what living that relationship might be like. What might it be like to be you in that field?
From Jennifer: “Experiencing Outside the Box”
I am so excited and inspired by the growing community of MBMS that I decided to offer a lot more courses, drop-ins and retreats this coming 2020 because I don't want to miss out on connecting with all of our studio-goers! My passion and purpose lies in empowering people to build their relationship to the energetic world beyond our physical reality, and my offerings reflect this focus. I kick off the year in collaboration with Katie Dutcher, where we support people in exploring creative ways to hone in on their highest calling for the new year.
I have a lot of fun being creative and encouraging others to "experience outside of the box" along their journey of self reflection and growth. For example, for those who are interested in new ideas for mindfulness practices, I'm offering a course filled with different indigenous healing practices for overall wellness. I feel joy when participants are willing to try something new, explore and not take things too seriously because this leads to surprising and wonderful new discoveries. It is with this perspective and curiosity that I approach all of my offerings, and I look forward to joining with anyone who feels called to participate in my 2020 offerings!
From Katie: “The Feeling of Being Among My People “
Looking back at what this year has brought, what I have LOVED is something that happens in the middle of a course or retreat: when I have the sense that we’re all feeling something like “ahhh, I am among my people.” When we join together for a day or a month, it doesn’t matter the length of time, we get to share what’s on our hearts, we get to witness each other in strength and vulnerability, we get to hear gems of wisdom gleaned from others, and we get to know, really know, that we’re not alone.
This is the feeling— belonging and connection. I seek to create environments that feel safe and spacious, so that we can all show up as authentically as we’re able… and then magic can happen.
My teaching is grounded in my own experience and my practice, which means that much of what I teach (maybe all of it!) is sourced in what I need. I am learning that this is the gift of life— that we get to take our pain, respond to it by growing, and then offer our new gifts of presence and compassion to others. What a great “recycling program!” This is why I am pleased to offer opportunities for revolutionary shifts in how we work with anxiety and uncertainty (head-on, rather than hiding), as well as working with the special gifts of those of us who are introverted and highly sensitive. This is why I invite us to spend time taking in nourishment from going slow and reflecting, from spending time in the natural world, and from seeking words of wisdom.
From all of us: “Enjoying Our Community”
For the first time in our four years, we are offering a new way of being together that is more informal and organic. Beginning January 7, we will offer a new type of community drop-in on Tuesday evenings. We’ll open the doors at 6:30 pm and welcome folks to come and hang out together. We’ll show up as we are, we’ll chat and enjoy each other’s company, and then we’ll meditate 7:00 - 7:30 pm… $5 as always, no need to register or commit in advance, just show up. And whenever you’d like to bring a friend, their first evening with us complimentary. This idea was generated by our community members at our community potluck, and we are happy to be listening. :) Marianne, Jennifer, and Katie will share the hosting of these Tuesday evening gatherings, and we’re excited to see our community grow and deepen! (All details about weekly drop-ins will be posted by the end of December.)
We are also delighted to announce that we have found our “retreat home.” For 4 years, Katie, Jenn, Marianne, and Patricia, have led our weekend retreats in various locations, searching for the place that felt just right, so we are very thrilled to be returning to IONS EarthRise Retreat Center in Petaluma for this year’s 3-day retreat “Awakening to Interbeing.”
There is more to be planned and posted, more than will fit on this page. :) We hope that you will join us, and that you will continue to let us know your thoughts and ideas. We are part of each other.