Three Spaces meditation

Recently, I was invited to a precious gathering. There was a yogini / acupuncturist, a yogi / health educator, a shaman / bodyworker and myself. (So you know this might be a potent evening!)

We had dinner and then gathered for a 45 minute meditation.

My friend led it. She introduced a Nyingma type of meditation (Dzogchen) that they also apparently do at Ligmincha – a Bon po retreat / meditation center near Charlottesville VA.

I am not authorized to share the meditation, so I’m not going to. And I wouldn’t share it outside of the person-to-person transmission anyway (reading something vs. hearing it / feeling it / and being able to clarify / ask questions at the time is quite different!).

I will however share what arose for me.

Feeling into my heart, at first, there was very little spaciousness. I had had an extremely busy week – packing, studying, working, seeing clients, selling books on Amazon etc – hectic busy at times. So at first, my heart was less than spacious. Makes sense.

Then within 5 minutes, my heart opened up and somehow I started seeing fantastic galactic objects in my heart space – nebulas, colorful pastel gas clouds, stars, comets… it was wild!

Then I felt both inner space (which I just described) and outer space – not the black void outside of the Earth, but the space around me. Was there a difference between my inner space and the space around me in the room?

About 20 minutes into the meditation, I somehow felt a strong strong pull toward the center of the Earth. It was as if Mother Earth were tugging at my heart strings and I was almost at risk of being sucked down into the Earth. It was comfortable though – it was somehow one of the most grounding things I’ve ever experienced.

We were instructed to look around the room without having our eyes stop on any object. Nothing to discriminate about. Nothing to judge or categorize. Just see if inner space feels like outer space – no difference! Wow.

This was quite an interesting meditation. I look forward to going through it again. I am going to ask my friend to lead me through it if she has time. Pretty phenomenal!

I definitely believe I have a strong connection to the Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. I have been “raised” Drikung Kagyu – but in the Drikung lineage, there is a lot of overlap with Nyingma masters. There have been several Tertons in the Drikung sect.

It is what it is. I am looking forward to heading back to this gathering in the future, as it seems to draw some rockin’ individuals!

Thanks for reading. Please donate to my massage school / blogging effort fund if you are able (so so grateful!).

km

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amidst busy preparation time, PPN Astrology still percolates

I am having the time of my life here in December 2017. Not sure how, but I am getting a LOT done. Prepping for massage school upcoming in January – selling books, packing things, studying Ethics of Touch and Pathology, etc. On top of that I am still seeing about 5 – 8 clients a week and assisting with a Craniosacral Therapy class.

Let us pause for an integration break. So much done, and yet to do. It is good to check in with my deeper slower healing rhythms – to connect with an organic pace that allows me to differentiate past from present, now from worrying about the future. 🙂

So as I productively go through each day, I am still doing Svaroopa Yoga each morning for about half an hour. My body gets to rest down, supported and relaxed. It is the perfect way to start my day.

And during this Yin Yoga, I still have fantasies of teaching PPN Astrology. I am slowly writing down those thoughts – perhaps in 8 or 9 months it will become a reality. One step at a time – I am heading down to Virginia Beach for a 10 day retreat around Christmas which will be incredibly rejuvenating – Qigong on the beach, meditation, Buddhist prayers, Zapchen somatics, Dream Work Play. Then I move out of my apartment. Next I drive out West for school. And that is about as far into the future as I want to plan for now!

But there are apparently these underlying currents which I tap into in the mornings on my yoga blanket. Currents which speak of resourcing, grounding, stabilizing groups of students so they can go on to deeper insights about their pre- and perinatal ages and stages.

Thank you for reading and please donate to my blogging efforts if you can!

I will be posting some amazing photos from Colorado as I will be close to 14K peaks, hot springs, desert dunes and sacred mountains. Yay!

km

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I am so excited about massage school (want to donate to my massage education fund?)!

Hello dear readers,

I am so very excited to be going to massage school in beautiful, sacred, pristine Crestone Colorado in January (later in the month). I will be driving out there, so just that road trip will be an adventure!

I have started a Go Fund Me page to assist me in getting the funds I need to feed myself and pay for all the miscellaneous costs – laundry, gas money, buying materials, etc. Fortunately through the generosity of a friend and my parents, I have the majority of the tuition, lodging and fees covered! Yay!

If you want to donate, you can either click here:

Kirby’s GoFundMe page

Or you can click on the link below.

I am doing the home study work (studying at least an hour / day) for school and I am learning lots of interesting things – plus I get to color all the muscles of the body. 🙂

Ethics, Business Management, Anatomy and Physiology and Pathology are the subjects I am learning now. Which will mean at school we (I) can focus more on the meridians (Qigong, acupressure, Shiatsu), reflexology, Swedish massage and more! As they say in Tibetan, although this has a bit more of an anxious component, I am “Tsa gyi Tsi gi chai gyi du” – meaning I am excited and nervous about this upcoming time!

Thank you for visiting and if you can donate, thank you for that as well!

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1 Hour Coaching Session

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an inspiring book (Tibetan Buddhism)

Every once in a while (or in my case, several times a year), I come across a rare book in Tibetan Buddhism which I wonder how it made its way to the public.

Personally I am very inspired by some Dharma stories of previous Tibetan Masters – like Dzo Khyentse Rinpoche or his student, Patrul Rinpoche. I love the book by Lama Surya Das – the Snow Lion’s Turquoise Mane. It is full of inspiring stories of Lamas making subtle or abrasive emphatic moral points, while practicing humility and grace. So very inspiring. That is not the book I am going to talk about here though.

I inherited a small library from a Dharma practitioner who recently passed away – early this year. I was amazed and awe-struck by how gracefully she passed through the hellish gates of cancer. And I am sincerely grateful for the Dharma artwork and the books she left for us. May her Dharma activities spread far and wide!

One of the those books is by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, a Nyingma mater of Dzogchen and Dream Yoga. The title of the book is Dream Yoga and the Practice of Natural Light.

In this particular case, this is not a special retreat book – only for the eyes of people who have received special instructions or special transmissions or initiations. I have been fortunate to see a couple of those books, but the wisdom contained in Chogyal Rinpoche’s book is still vast and precise. It is not a long book. But he covers – very rapidly I might add – the basics of Dream Yoga and the stages that we might pass through as our practice stabilizes and our realization becomes more pure.

He does go so fast through some topics (which I am glad for) that it is very important that we find an authentic teacher to lead us through this complex and potent practice. One of my heart teachers, Drupon Thinley Ningpo teaches Dream Yoga – he is based near Tampa Florida (Drupon is also my root lama, so I am a little biased in recommending him). He is an incredible practitioner, his presence is so compassionate and wise and he is not afraid to tell you how he really feels – like if you are ready for the practice you are asking about. (You might not want to hear it but Dream Yoga is NOT a beginner’s practice. It is quite advanced. Without a foundation under us, we are just wasting our time trying for such a profound practice. It is highly recommended that we finish our Ngondro before attempting such a subtle practice.)

In Dream Yoga (the book), Chogyal Rinpoche talks about several dreams that he had when he was younger. Let me just say it is extremely inspiring to hear what is possible. Who knows, maybe if I apply myself diligently for fifty years or more, I might one day have a dream full of mandalas and dakinis like he describes!

If you can get your hands on this book – it is cheap on Amazon – I would highly recommend it. Even if you are not working on this particular practice, hearing about what is possible is very inspiring and motivating!

Good luck on your journey!

km

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In spite of prepping to leave for school, staying busy!

Hello dear readers,

As you probably have heard, I am heading off toward the setting sun in January, so I should say the low sun and cold days, driving West to go to a unique massage school. It is a heaven and earth school, meaning that in addition to massage techniques, they teach a lot about the acupressure meridians and we do qigong almost every day. I love the sound of that!

Crestone Healing Arts Center

And yet, in spite of much to do, furniture to sell, things to pack (I am moving out of my apartment for four months – finding new housing when I return) and home study material to pore over.. I am staying busy with clients! I am very happy about this as I need to money. But it is a pattern I have noticed.

In 2013, when I was prepping to go to Florida, I somehow had dozens of clients in the last months prior to leaving! How bizarre! And it might be happening again.

Maybe I need to constantly be preparing to go somewhere – like every three months or so. Then my practice will be full when I am here =^P

As far as my quasi retreat is going (I intended to do more practice during the month of November), I am still doing yoga or qigong every morning. My meditation has fallen off a bit, but I get to my cushion every other day or so. At least I am practicing sound self care, eating well and listening to my body & heart about finding a good balance between being social and getting enough rest / integration time.

Thanks for reading!

km

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got my books for massage school; need to study :-)

Hello dear readers!

I just got my home study books for massage school. Exciting! And it is amazing how many chapters they have assigned to have finished in the next six weeks – I think 2 or 3 chapters a week of reading will be necessary, plus memorizing countless muscles. Thank goodness I have a bit of background in Anatomy and Physiology already! Whew!

I have been told many great pieces of advice about the school I am going to. Some days it is literally studying, learning and practicing 12 hours a day. So I was told, “Don’t bring any novels – you won’t have time to read them!” And of course I will be reading so many other books, I wouldn’t want to strain my eyes like that!

I am definitely looking forward to the hiking – the School is at 8,200 ft (high desert mountains) and it is hiking distance from some 10K and 11K mountains. Plus it is in sight of some 14,000 ft peaks! Not to mention being close to some hot springs and the famous sand dunes. It should be very interesting what all this looks like in the winter time!

I am excited and I already have my work cut out for me. I will start when it is easy. Tomorrow is Friend’s Giving and then Thursday is Thanksgiving with my family, so maybe this weekend I will dive into the material.

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I am still giving great bodywork sessions in the time leading up to driving West. If you are in Central Virginia, let me know for in person bodywork. If you are at a distance, let me know if you want to discuss your astrology chart.

Thank you for reading,

km

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marketing what I offer

A few months ago, I was speaking with a loving relative, when I told her about being a rare male in the field of Pre- and Perinatal therapy (PPN), plus offering biodynamic craniosacral therapy, Polyvagal bodywork, spiritual astrology and Tibetan Buddhist practices. I doubt there are many people on the planet who can offer what I am able to.

And coming up in January, I am entering a massage school which is more of an Eastern school of medicine, a Heaven and Earth school, than a bare bones (no pun intended) kinesthetic anatomically oriented school. There we will focus heavily on acupressure, Shiatsu, Qigong, Tai Chi among other beneficial modalities.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining about my wealth of modalities and skills. But sometimes it is tough to clarify what it is that I offer. Why would someone want to pay me $75 or $85 / hour? Especially if I don’t take health insurance. Therefore I don’t have enough clients, some months I struggle financially.

With that said, I am a pioneer. Whether it is in the PPN field (because this field is so cutting edge), or the helping-people-embody area (this is fairly new as well when we bring compassionate trauma resolution work into the picture), or looking at PPN topics in the astrology chart (not many people doing this either). The work I do with babies and mothers, of supporting the family in a biodynamic manner – assisting mother (and hopefully) father to slow down enough to come into the same awareness of organic pace that their baby is in, this work is also quite rare – it is birth process work (PPN again) with biodynamic craniosacral and Polyvagal (working with the nervous system) work informing it.

And I need to clarify, concisely and precisely, exactly what it is that I do. This is what my intention is over these next 6 to 12 months. How am I going to thrive on this planet? How am I going to attract what I want and need?

Energy follows intention. So I need to be clear at all times what my momentary and deeper intentions are. 🙂

I’m not sure what this blend of topics will look like. I suspect I will choose one or two and focus on them. And this massage school is a positive step in that direction.

Wish me luck! (and donate to my blogging efforts if you like)

Thanks for reading,

km

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For every $25 you donate, Kirby will write a blog post (article) on the topic of your choosing, within his areas of knowledge. Thank you!

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Ri Wo Sang Chod (Mountain of Burnt Offerings)

Had a good time this evening on Afton Mountain at a friend’s house.

I led a practice of Ri Wo Sang Chod, which is a bit of a shamanic practice: making offerings to countless beings, most of whom are unknown and unseen. This vast generosity practice helps to purify negative karma or at least karmic debts we might owe to them and others.

There were six of us. It was chilly – 40 degree F plus a gusting cutting wind. However, I did qigong practice with another friend this morning, which I think helped to open up my channels. (Side note – we did seated qigong, which I did not even know was a thing!) I mention my channels because, other than my fingers, I wasn’t cold at all. It was pleasant to be visualizing Guru Rinpoche above my head and beseeching him to assist in the burnt offerings (because I can’t see any of those non-corporeal beings).

The sun was setting. Some of the rare clouds above were golden hued in the waning light. I was experiencing bliss among friends (who mostly all were shivering or struggling to keep their hands warm). This was one of the first times I did not worry about that. I was visualizing the Om Ah Hung syllables strongly radiating white, red and blue lights from my three places. May I be of benefit to countless beings.

It was fun. Then we went inside where it was warm and had a delicious potluck meal. Good stories, good company, right time, right place, right practice. 🙂

May all beings encounter the precious teachings and put them into action! (And then realize the fruit of authentic practice.)

Another aside – a friend recently commented that I am a Ka-Nying. Meaning that I have many Drikung Kagyu practices and teachers under my belt, however, I also have many Nyingma practices that I do (and maybe even a few Nyingma teachers). Very fascinating!

Differentiating levels and layers of healing

There seems to be a Ray Castellino theme on here…

This most recent video discusses many things – including the functional range (how do we stay in the healthy range of our nervous system?), what it takes to be a Pre- and Perinatal (PPN) Practitioner, he differentiates PPN Practitioner from Educator from Trainer, and finally he discusses the differences between healing trauma, just receiving bodywork and actually going as far down the rabbit hole as possible to work through preverbal trauma (actual PPN work).

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I appreciated how he emphasizes that doing preverbal work, the deepest PPN work, whether it is preconception, conception or gestation phases, is like opening a barn door – the horses and cows will just come and go as they please. That is unless we are really diligent, we work with a very skillful professional team and we have ample professional, clear, presence-cultivating support around us. Otherwise doing the PPN work is messy. I like this description.

That’s because one or two of my clients and peers have remarked, “I have been doing this work for months [or years if they do it sort of part-time], why does it feel like there is so much further to go?!” That is why I feel it is appropriate to let our clients know what they are getting themselves into. This PPN work is the best container for healing our deepest traumas and unmet needs, AND it will take a minimum of 3 years to heal it if we have ample resources and are willing to lean into a qualified and skillful team of support practitioners. Because most of us (we are talking preverbal material here) resist getting support, I think it is more appropriate to say it will take at least 5 years for most people. There is unfortunately an imprint in most of us that says, “I should do this alone.” That is what we learned, it is what was modeled for us, it is what we built a body around. :-O

So if someone is only able to do a session a month say, and does not attend many birth process workshops or womb surrounds (a small group that meets for 3 or 4 days straight and provides the best container for bringing up deep material AND allowing us to integrate it at the same time), then I think this healing process is more like 10 years.

That sounds like a lot, but moving toward being a whole person, a complete being is so so worth it! In a previous video by Ray Castellino, he mentions that pushing aside our shadow material (repressing or suppressing it), for a short amount of time is fine. The problem is if we push it aside for years, then cells of our body start to also feel pushed aside. These cells start doing their own thing – they go out of control. Yet these cells feed on our bodies. And this process is called cancer.

Not trying to scare you at all, rather just pointing out the reality nature of our soma / psyches. Body mind healing.

Enjoy!

Meeting Ray Castellino

7 Principles for Harmonic Resonance & Natural Sequencing

I just have to post (promote) this video of Claudia McClean interviewing Ray Castellino. It is about Sequencing and more importantly (perhaps) about the Creative Collective Process – how can we work more efficiently in groups or as individuals. It references a number of Pre- and Perinatal Therapy (PPN) concepts but most of what they are discussing is understandable to a lay person.

Amazing how he describes how energy that is locked up in our shadow can come forward with ease (with a solid practitioner’s guidance) and we can honor that experience, integrate and gain from bringing light to that part of our shadow selves.

Just. Wow. I am going to look for more of his videos as he explains things very succinctly yet thoroughly.

Link to Ray Castellino youtube video

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Hi dear Readers, Help me buy tea so I can continue blogging. So if you enjoy what you are reading, please make a little donation. Thank you very much!

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