April 28, 2008
surfing buddhas
coming down from a jam packed week-end of surfing...the ocean has been my temple, it has been my playground, it has been my medicine, it has been my home, my place of peace on so many levels. i have fallen in love with the ocean being out here in hawaii. she has taught me so much about life, about letting go, about cleansing, about surrendering, about healing. and so i have been on this mission of giving back to her.
i've been involved with a nonprofit organization called surfrider. the essence of this group is that it was developed by a bunch of surfers in california to protect the ocean. surfers are a selfish community, it's all about their wave, their break, blah, blah, blah...but also, there's another side, where it's about connecting with nature, sharing their stoke, playing like kids, which is the side that i connect with.
on saturday mornings, i'm volunteering the hawaii girls' court with a program called, spirit sessions. i serve as a mentor, where i teach them yoga and work one on one with a girl who's been involved in some kind of trouble. she was terrified of the ocean, resistant to going in and so we spent the entire morning watching the waves and talking story about surf, and exchanging our deepest darkest secrets. she started to open up and soften a little. taking baby steps into jumping into the ocean...to be cleansed of her past.
yesterday, was a monumental day in teaching monks from bhutan how to surf. this was the second time that we had taken them out. laughing and smiling was the universal language. these monks were so trusting, coming from bhutan, some of them could not even swim or speak english, ready and willing to float in the craziness of waikiki. my stomach muscles hurt so badly from laughing so hard.
then we went to their prayer session at the honolulu academy of arts. they lead us in chanting for an hour and were available for any questions that we had. the monk that i was watching over, referred to me as his teacher, was the one who made the sand mandalas. they are beautiful colorful intricate designs made out of sand. he had me come over and taught me how to do it. pinching a small amount of sand between your fingertips and letting the sand slip through ever so gently, not grasping too tightly or letting go too loosely, another meditative practice learned.
the next lesson was how to do prostrations. a form of prayer, using the whole body, holding your hands in the shape of a budding lotus, starting from the top, symbolizing your body, to your throat, symbolizing your voice, then to your heart and down to the floor. this practice allows one to cleanse and purify your past and future.
then off into the surf, playing with friends and yet also all by myself. i am so full of gratitude that i have the ocean to teach me such profound lessons. go with the flow...
~namaste
Posted by soul sista' at 11:56 AM | Comments (0)
