peace sweet friends - i hope this love note lands in your inbox at a moment of ease and spaciousness.
so every wednesday, i’ve been teaching a community meditation class in the heart of inglewood. i’ve been finding that when i’m preparing for class, life funnily enough, gives me the curriculum and outline the week before through a series of test, strange, chance encounters and lessons.
last week, i was preparing a talk on ‘the joy of being you’. lo and behold, this was something that i was sitting with after spending much of february offline, well… just off of instagram. i was noticing the constant tug and pull at my attention. i was slowly descending into the comparison trap.
“should I be doing more? filming more? dancing more? collaborating more” more, more, more. forgetting that i have so much on my plate to begin with. i was noticing how i was starting to doubt myself and my capabilities. my mind was being pulled into old thought patterns and ways of being. so i made the decision to disconnect.
each morning as i sat and wrestled with my mind in meditation, i was reminded of how meditation invites us to reclaim our lives by reclaiming our focus, our attention, and ultimately, our power. we’re living in a time where it’s so easy to wish to be somewhere else or be someone else. we can get so caught up in the lives and stories of others, we lose sight of the life we’re living and the life that is happening and unfolding right in front of us.
as we train the mind in meditation to come back to the present moment, back to the breath, and back to the body, we’re cultivating this ability to take back our lives from the hands of others… whether it be friends, family, co-workers, society, etc.
as we return to what is present, we’re reminded that life is happening right here and right now. we don’t have to wait until things get better or wait for conditions to change, there’s so much beckoning for our attention now.
and maybe this is why the practice of meditation is often perceived as something so hard and uncomfortable to do. we’re being asked to be accountable and yet, if there’s anything that i’ve learned through my own practice, it’s that meditation is a liberative practice.
by being accountable, by reclaiming our focus and attention, this is how we get free.
this meditation by tara brach has been on repeat.
*drum roll please*
after a long 3 years of brainstorming, ideating, sitting with and finally putting pen to paper. when i first started to teach and share my art online back in 2017, i started receiving emails from many of you asking if i offered mentorship or a teacher training. i often felt flattered, but just not ready. in the last few months, i’ve been realizing that ‘ready’ is the tomorrow that never comes. so i’m really excited to announce more ways that you can experience me and to mentor those who are on the path of teaching and facilitating.
mentorship has allowed me deepen my own personal and professional practice and i believe it’s essential for those who are wanting to show up as their most authentic self in the teaching space.
as i prepare to launch my mentorship and mindfulness training this fall, i’ll be offering a few introductory workshops for aspiring mindfulness teachers and wellness practitioners who are embarking on this new path.
you can learn more and sign up, here.
if you have any questions, please feel free to send me an email or leave a comment!
may this moment be one of ease
may this moment be one of peace.
and may this moment be one of insight.
with gratitude,
dora
this is incredible news, Dora! I am filled with joy for you as you embark on this next endeavor and I love what you said about the illusion of “readiness” in your newsletter. I’m doing teacher training May-Oct so I’ll definitely be signing up for these workshops and keeping an eye out for mentorship news!
Beautiful Dora, thank you for guiding my attention back to what is here and without need of change ♥️