This December, give yourself permission to open the most beautifully wrapped, the most dazzling, the most illuminated gift of all. You can find it in a moment of stillness and silence by hearing its sound: Anahata, Anahata, Anahata, Anahata. It is your own heart! Receive the spirit and life force that comes through this vessel to touch and join you to those around you. This is the season to celebrate the light of love. Love experienced through our heart center, the Anahata chakra, is not dependent on outside stimulation rooted in desire. Instead, it is experienced within as a state of being accompanied by a feeling of expansion that includes everything that comes into its field.

We have many triggers from our past and from the state of affairs in the world that can cloud the heart with fear and the accompanying darkness. A sense of contracting, of being squeezed, goes with fear, hate, and anger. Know, however, that your true essence is love, and do not take the bait to make you hate!

Join us for a class or meditation practice this month to get out of your head and into your body to practice mindful awareness of the moment. The mudra of the Anahata chakra can be practiced by holding your hands in front of the heart with palms touching. Then allow the thumbs and pinky fingers to remain touching while the hands open like a flower. Focus your attention there as you breathe deeply with gratitude to receive and give the gifts of your heart.

December updates:

• Date for talk/meditation session. In December, Juanita will offer this session on Friday, December 18, at 6:45 p.m. As always, there is no charge for this gathering, which provides an opportunity to ask questions about and discuss meditation and experience a short meditation.
• Holiday schedule. We will not hold classes on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Otherwise, we maintain the usual class schedule during December, with one exception: on New Year’s Eve (Thurs., Dec. 31), we will host a single class at 9 a.m. Please join Angie to conclude 2015 with this practice that is appropriate for everyone.

For a full list of December classes, please see the calendar page of this site or a hard copy available at The Pots Place. Note, too, that we post daily updates on our Facebook page, should you prefer to keep up with us there.

Accessing studio after class has begun: Remember that even if you are running late when the gallery downstairs is closed, you can still join us for class. If the front door is locked, come to the back door of The Pots Place (look for the blue building) and ring the buzzer. The teacher will then unlock the door remotely for you to enter through the pottery studio.