April 2024 ~ Full Moon
Time for tea, hot chocolate, your preferred drink - I found it hard to choose what to include this month so it's plentiful. Sending goodness via the web seems important at this time... Read on
10 days ago we (Sarah Davies, Lucie Nerot, and myself, our assistants and mentors) graduated over 40 new Open Floor Teachers in a powerful and meaningful ceremony as we brought our EU Teacher Training to a close. 2.5 years that began online in February 2022. Wow!
The excitement, vulnerability, pride, and relief we ALL felt was immense and gave me hope for our world as each person stepped/danced through the arch to meet their vocation. Congratulations!!
“Dance, when you’re broken open. Dance, if you’ve torn the bandage off. Dance in the middle of the fighting. Dance in your blood. Dance when you’re perfectly free.”
On Monday night I hosted a Seder, the ritual meal for Passover, in my home. One of the passages we read out together was:
"The Passover Seder includes two powerful rituals of grief: dipping a leafy green into salt water and removing ten drops of wine from our cups. With salt water we stop to imagine the tears of our enslaved ancestors. With red drops of wine we stop to have empathy for the sufferings of our enemies. This Passover we gather even as our fellow Jews remain unfree, held hostage in perilous conditions. This Passover we gather even as Gazan civilians mourn their dead and fear daily for their safety. May we be granted the opportunity to hold the teachings of Pesakh and the dissonances of the present moment in ways that help us become people of greater heart and hope, seeking liberation and safety for all."
Passover Kavannah (Intention), 5784 by Rabbi Maurice Harris
Holding dissonance
Expanding to hold what doesn't know how to exist within you.
As I seek to create co-existence within me, I offer that as a drop into the ocean of pain and suffering at this time, whilst celebrating all the goodness and willingness I see all around me.
What a world.
What a time.
I look forward to seeing you on a dance floor soon, and if that's not possible, for something here to nourish/inspire/energise you.
You can view the rest of my April full moon newsletter here.