Dear Community,

When doubt surfaces and discontent sets in, we can choose to radically change our perspective, seeing this not as hindrance or setback but as proof that our hearts have not given up on us. A quiet strength within you calls for your attention and asks a question, if not this, then what? We actively ask, what, and soon more questions percolate: when, how, by what means, with whom...? Loori says that with access to these fundamental questions we also gain what he calls an impetus to find our true humanity and to become completely free. The questions become the ground of our spiritual perseverance. Discontent alchemizes into unwavering curiosity that sets us out looking for answers. Insight, however small, motivates us to change, try new things and thus realize for ourselves a fresh or new view. The answers transform us on a cellular level. The way that we perceive and navigate the world changes - we are actualized in body, speech, mind and heart. It seeps into our endeavors and our relationships. It affects the way we show up in the world. Then in time, and guaranteed, the heart chirps up again, ushering in a new wave of questions. The quest for clarity returns. Answers experienced become our realization and ultimate actualization, over and over again. A sage patience blooms - a knowing that every struggle carries its own hidden wisdom and that growth and transformation have no end. 

The spiritual journey is an incredible undertaking, an endless adventure of boundless opening. JDL

There are times when I find myself attempting to run faster on this path. I see it as a type of impatience where a spiritual consumption sets in - more books, more classes, more certifications, more teachers. I can actually trick myself into believing that there is an ultimate destination and that if I can simply achieve X, Y, and Z then I will finally arrive. I look to astrology, oracles, and knowledge holders to validate my progress. I am learning that this is some serious western conditioning - an impulse to know my place in the hierarchy of things. Culturally we are more motivated if we have a sense of where we are going and how we are doing in comparison to others. That said, I don't agree with it. It feels flawed to me as it only further creates divisiveness within ourselves and with others. I crave empowerment to come from within myself. Instead of seeking the teachings and knowledge holders for approval, what I really crave from these supports is to understand where I am and how I can best stay clever and openhearted. 

March through December we look to the Buddhist Ox-Herding images and their corresponding verses as an artistic illustration of the student on the path. While we will look at them 1 through 10, it's important to note that they are not linear nor hierarchical. They are helpers in our active practice of listening to the heart. We can gaze upon an image or hear the poetic lines and compare them to our lived experiences, with the intention to expand from a narrow mind to a limitless beginner's mind. In the spirit of for now, we can practice taking up what helps and letting go of what does not. We can practice listening to each other, holding space as a living, breathing dynamic, instead of fueling beliefs and patterns that divide, compare and diminish. My intention for our community is to create the ecology (container, context and content) for inner seeing and empowerment to come alive. 

I encourage you to scroll down, just below my signature, to see the first image and its verses (click the link next to March 2025). I will be saving my commentary for April's newsletter so as to allow for study that is deeply personal and relevant to your experience. Just beneath that you will also see all 10 images and a refresh on how we will approach these teachings within community circles. Thank you - know that it's a profound gift to wander and explore this terrain with you. Here's to finding that ox. 

In gassho (non-duality), 

Meg Lucks

El Getsu Endō | "Brilliant Moon, Way of the Circle"

Lay-Ordained, Abiding Guide

The Heart Revival Center for Yoga