To Hades & Back

I have just returned from a life changing and eye opening experience traveling with Bridge of Diamonds to bring yoga based stress relief to children. Haiti....the impressions are still very clear-in my mind, heart, and senses. Traveling from Philadelphia to Miami and then to Port au Prince. The contrast is sharp, almost surreal. Third world country. The heat. The noise. The chaos of baggage claim, yelling, jostling, pushing, sheer pandemonium .One of the church group I met there compared it to when she was in Africa. As you leave the building faces of vendors press against "security" fencing attempting to make a buck hawking their wares. Horns beeping, UN Peacekeepers with assault rifles very present. There are buses, "tap-taps"-brightly colored small trucks that carry way more people than they can hold safely, and cars going in every direction. There is a scent-smoke, diesel, excrement, and a dust that pervades your very being, with an underlying floral. Traveling to my encampment hosted by Partners in Development, the roads are rocky craters with enormous puddles. I worry about mosquito borne disease.  People are everywhere, there is graffiti,  trash, razor wire, and rubble at every turn. Goats, chickens, and malnourished dogs  cross our path as they graze through the trash. Yet amid all this, as our bus....some holes in the floor, tempermental, door that ties shut...bus.... drives by,  and the people wave, smile, chasing us saying .."hey you!" We arrive. There is a clinnic on site, we unload suitcase upon suitcase of donations and supplies and prepare for the morning. People line up early to get into the clinic, but not all will be seen. There is alot of hypertension and diabetes. There are babies that are nine months old and weigh nine odd pounds and their parents turn here for help. They become part of what is called "Medica Mamba".The construction team goes to their site to construct a home for a lucky family. The day starts for the yoga team as well, as the children roll in and we teach on tarps and dirty mats under a corrugated roof in the courtyard. The children are very appreciative all week long...a hug, a smile, a bead give them joy. Their clothing a mix of hand me down fancy dresses to hand me downs with holes in them that reveal no underwear.  Many seem to have respiratory issues, and they are very thin. They are  hungry, and beads, plastic bags and paper are observed in mouths.  We feed them when they come-"spagetti," (Creole version) with a hotdog and an onion round. We see them sneaking a spoonful at a time out side the perimeters to their friends who were not fortunate enough to come. There are just too many. They receive a cup of "ji"-juice which is extremely sweet. They ask for water, which there is none, and it is extremely hot. We practice yoga, read a story, make some art. They leave, and we see more. We take excursions to visit orphanages, and it it intense, yet the children seem glad- we leave them with a Beanie baby, goody bag, and treat. They lick wrappers and smile. The director and I talk and he says he cannot give them much, but he can give them an education....we agree that children are the future of Haiti. I feel immensely sad that I can't do more. At a church service I smile at a mother holding a baby boy, she smiles back and hands him to me-me, "blanc" stranger. I hold and rock him and he falls asleep for the whole service. These are beautiful people, with much faith, and they deserve better.  To Hades and back.....I am looking foward to my return.

visit my website and muse further...www.morgansmuse.com

The Perfect Storm

The thermometer in my car today read 107 F! I happen to have no air conditioning at the moment in my vehicle -my view point is that this is "boot camp" or "tapas" (austerity) for my upcoming Seva to Haiti; (or what doesn't kill you certainly makes you stronger..) It is feeling like a pressure cooker out there, and not just on the eastern seaboard of the U.S. Everywhere you look temperatures are at extremes. A friend informed me that there were warnings for 122 F in Cyprus. The middle and entire south of the country is in a critical drought situation,  hundred of counties are being declared a disaster area in terms of agriculture, and there are wildfires abounding. Living where I am in the proverbial garden state, I notice that the reknowed "jersey corn" of legend is no  where near the height it should be....and the bases of stalks are brown. This corn crop failure is country wide, and we have set ourselves up for the perfect austerity storm....other than oil, we are a corn based economy, ugh oh Charlie Brown. If you read Michael Pollen's brilliant book "The Omnivore's Dilemma" it breaks down our food chain and gets into how this corn reliance happened...read the book, no trailer here, but you will thank me! But to make a long story short, our scenario is thus...

manmade global warming =
more extreme weather =
drought/flood conditions =
crop failure =
Austerity!

You see, corn is everywhere, it is the sweetener most used (high fructose corn syrup) it is hidden in names like monodiglycerides (yes corn is even in most brands of ice cream!) Factory farm livestock are fed corn (not the natural diet, just used to add pounds and make $)  and yes, it is in our gas; so now....if there is a short supply , demand is ever present, and, yes you guessed it my friend in our consumer based economy, prices go up. Resulting in....austerity.
We need to see the writing on the wall. Perhaps this summer of extremes will open our eyes to creating ways to discipline our selves, and through sacrificing our convenience, lighten the load that we have placed on the Earth. Get involved, explore permaculture, see where you can change things up for yourself, your community. Heat has a way of purifying, so that new growth can take place. Use this time we are experiencing to see where you can purify the way you consume, act, and live. We are all interconnected, and we can ride through the storm, or sink the ship...I prefer to sail.

Home is Where the Heart Is

Home....there are many varied definitions. A place to hang your hat; a place to take shelter,; a roof over your head; a place to come back to. On and on.
I am about to embark on a journey away from "home" here on the east coast of the good old USA. I am going to Haiti in August. I am raising funds to get there for a service trip through a group called Bridge of Diamonds...(more on this at the end of this posting!) HUGE undertaking! I will be doing Karma yoga there, working with children to bring them  art and yoga based stress relief, and perhaps, bringing them home to a peaceful pace in their hearts.
People have had varied reactions to my imminent journey....everything from "are you crackers?" "why would you travel so far from home, to that place?", some have no reaction, and some say "wow, that is amazing." The truth lies in all these statements. Yes, undertaking this on at 53 may be a little crackers. And it is a lot. Amazing, though, to be fortunate enough to have this opportunity to have the chance to make a difference to children that truly need it. And yes, physically I will be going into a place that is the total opposite of what is considered home- leaving the dwelling that gives me shelter and its comforts and going into the unknown. But the reality is that, no matter what challenges are awaiting me, wherever I travel, here or abroad, that I am home; home within my heart. I am excited to be taking this journey and will be writing about it and documenting with pictures.

I need help to get there. I have to raise funds to cover the trip. Right now I am almost halfway, and the clock is ticking. If you are interested, go to     
www.yogakids.com/bod/haiti2
look at the faces, read the stories, and then if you are so moved, please click on donation, and list me...Maureen Heil, as the person you wish to sponsor. Any help you, reader, can give is deeply appreciated .....thank you!

Stay Tight Inside Those Ruby Slippers

Visual....girl clicking her ruby slippered heels together while chanting.."there's no place like home, there's no place like home...." Dorothy of Wizard of Oz classic movie fame. Young girl from farmbelt goes on a quest over the rainbow to Oz, and on the journey to find what she's looking for, the proverbial "bluebird of happiness," realizes she had it in side herself, all along. We are very much like Dorothy from Kansas, we are always looking over the rainbow, seeking the "answer." Whatever that may be for us. We meet many characters on the way that are there to guide, some we recognize from lifetimes before, just as the Lion, Tinman, and Scarecrow, were familiar to Dorothy, and  they are there to assist us on the path. We meet many challanges, just as Dorothy had her nemesis...a.k.a "the Wicked Witch." Those challenges want to keep us off the path, like the scene where the poppies appear and lull Dorothy and her guides gently  to sleep.But a soft snow awakens them, just as we can wake up and continue our journey. We can awaken our conciousness, raise the vibration and see what our truth, our story really is, or we can stay asleep. As Glinda the Good tells our girl....."say tight inside the ruby slippers, their magic must be very powerful or she (wicked witch) wouldn't want them so badly."  Those ruby slippers have the power, the power of being home, inside ourselves. All we need to do is click our heels together and realize we are home, inside our heart.

All or One

Yesterday was May Day, in some traditions known as Beltane. It is an ancient Celtic fire festival, celebrating the union of father Sun and mother Earth and fertility as the season moves into the bounty of summer. People danced together, celebrated, and worked together- side by side. No divisions, everybody joined in and worked for the great harvest, and then reveled again in the fall to celebrate communal success.The model of simple unity. It has been said that "the Earth has enough for All creatures needs, but not enough for One man's greed." In these modern times this becomes a more urgent statement, almost a plea.When will we realize what each of us does effects the other?  But we continue to struggle with duality and separation; we isolate ourselves, it becomes "mine, me, I" instead of "we." We create a struggle, and by doing so misery. We lose sight of that interconnection we share with the intricate and fragile web of life that supports each and every one of the creatures on the planet, including ourselves. In the tenants of yoga, it is said we are all One. And  in Tantric texts that everything is Sacred. That we all hold that spark of Divinity within, we are one with the Divine.  Sun/Moon; Man/Woman; ....night/day, good/bad, birth, death, rebirth....all things are interconnected in this beautiful mosaic of life.  There is no separation. If we are so intertwined, what we do to another, we do to ourselves. Think carefully about your impact, tread lightly on this Earth that supports your very being, as well as your neighbor across the globe.  A butterfly flaps it's wings and effects the wind on the other side of the world, what will your effect be?

The Labyrinth

Non attachment-one of the yamas on the yogic path, is most likely, for most of us, the hardest to attain. We are connected to and limited by our attachments to our 'stuff' and our relationships. I am personally struggling with this one; letting go of things, much less people is incredibly difficult.We hold on to things that don't serve us. We attach to the morning cup of coffee, the basketball trophy from 5th grade,  the job, to relationships that no longer meet our needs. Think about it...it is how we identify ourselves. But in order to attain moksha, or liberation, we need to let go of attachments that prevent us, bind us,  from realizing who we really are. A scene from the Jim Henson movie "The Labyrinth" comes to my mind. If you have not seen it, do yourself a favor, rent it. It is the story of a teen girl, who is discontent with her present status-always having to watch her baby step brother. In a vengeful moment, she wishes for the Goblin King to whisk said little brother off to his kingdom. Be careful what you wish for...poof! She now has to go off in search of her little brother. On the path through the labyrinth, (just as we do in life) she meets many challenges. The Goblin King tricks her with illusion (which is around us all the time ) and she forgets her quest to liberate little brother. A creature with every possible thing you can imagine attached to her back tries to make her forget who she really is with  childhood attachments..."now dearie you need this... look at this.... and that....ahh remember your old.... and you can't do without this, etc." But she looks in the mirror and sees herself (self realization) and remembers her mission of liberation for her little brother. Thankfully a happy ending. We are very much like the heroine of the movie. We go around discontented with our role in life, attaching to this and that, thinking it will bring contentment and we forget what is really important. We pile on thing after thing, seeking, but not certain for what,  in the illusory attempt to gain happiness. This seems to be the year of liberation, whether we choose it or not. All around things that no longer are working seem to be crumbling away, relationships are ending, people are in transition.  This year of 2012 is a time to put down the attachments that have become part of us, even though they weigh us down. It is time to make your way through the labyrinth of life, look into the mirror, see yourself, and liberate who you truly are.

Crossroads

This morning it was foggy, beautiful, but foggy. Blocking signs that direct us in our travels.  It softly surrounds you, shields you, and at the same time blocks your vision of what lays ahead. Crossroads may be right in front of you-unseen through the haze until you come right up upon them. Life is a lot like this. We stand at forks in the road, unaware of which way to turn through the fog that hides the future from our eyes. We are given choices; take this path or that. We waver, afraid of making a turn in the wrong direction. The one guarantee we have is that it is going to end up somewhere.  But the end of the journey is hidden in the mist, and we often don't know for sure where the trail may lead.  We all encounter these times in our lives, where the sense of direction is unclear.We just want to stay put until the fog clears. There are no GPS systems with precise step by step instructions, no lighthouses to guide our ship. All we can know for sure is to  take the journey that feels right, and trust the destination will be where we are meant to be.