Photo courtesy of https://www.pexels.com/@cottonbro
What do Corona hair, courage and meditation have in common? Whelp, like most people across the globe, I'm sheltering in place here where I live. This means foregoing luxuries like hair salon visits. And while I realize this is a first-world problem (of course) it feels less so when you're venturing into an entirely new arena, which for me is getting on camera and talking about things like my past, life survival tips, and ways to build emotional and mental resilience. For me, it takes tremendous courage to step into the limelight. This woman who spent her childhood singing and dancing on stage has become accustomed to blending into the background. And add Corona hair to the mix, and well, you can see how much I'd rather blend with the wallpaper or the carpet (whichever I can disguise myself against more easily) than get on camera. Why isn't shapeshifting a thing? I've spent almost 40 years practicing the art of resilience. It started with the Herman Hess book "Siddhartha". My mother handed it to me one day while I was crying about taking a test. I think. The details are hazy. But I remember she asked me to read it. I was 7. You see, in second grade I was already at a 6th grade reading level so reading more advanced books wasn't completely out of the realm of possibility. But, I know you're probably thinking this one was a little out there. And you'd be right. It was. It still is. What can I say? My mother was a hippie and well you fill in the blanks. :) Now I realize that she was trying to give me something she herself couldn't quite verbalize. Maybe her own intuition told her I was ready. So she handed me books the way a doctor prescribes medicine. And in my eagerness to please her, I read them.
After reading Siddhartha, I became fascinated with meditation. My mother showed me the basic lotus position and from there I started my practice. Around this time I also started journaling. I think I've shared before that got my first journal when I was 7 at a store in a mall called Fluff n' Stuff. I bought it with my allowance and it was one of the proudest moments of my entire young life. It was a Kiki and LaLa journal and it was adorable. From that point on, writing and meditation became every day things for me.
When I got older and moved to Boulder, CO to attend college I immersed myself in studying Buddhism and started training in the Vajrayana tradition at the Shambhala Mountain Center. Later, I trained with Ed Brown at Green Gulch Farms in the Zen tradition and also studied under Reb Andersen. This is when I took up a mindfulness practice studying Jon Kabbat's Zinn's work at Kaiser. Since then, I've taught meditation and creative journaling to humans of all sizes. With so much happening now, I feel compelled to teach again and share some of the wisdom that helped me create the Milo series and also what is helping me navigate these overwhelming and frightening times. OK, so remember when I told you guys that no one really knows what they're doing? Well, I'm happy to say that's true here. I have complete Beginner's Mind. Living moment to moment, embracing the inner critic, laughing at myself and enjoying my pink hat. :) Sending so much love to you all.
Love,
Jenna