Summer 2026
I write this from the Mid-Coast of Maine in the little cabin called Mt. Spruce that I have been returning to off and on for 30 years. I am spending two weeks here, following a 5 day silent retreat at Kripalu.
As I have found in years past, being surrounded by the sea, the pines, the wildlife, without wi-fi, without TV (or AC), all lend itself to letting the fruition of the silent retreat and my years of meditation practice take a deeper hold. The silence is palpable here. Each of us is born with a spiritual impulse and when followed, it can take us into what teachers of every spiritual path and religion have told us is possible, to directly experience the very Truth of our Being. This is not for just some of us, but for everyone, no exceptions.
This Truth is known by many names, our True Nature, Pure Consciousness, Spirit, Awareness, the I AM, God, Being, Reality, the Big Everything, and my latest favorite, GUS! Great Universal Spirit. As we awaken to Truth, we dislodge and eventually shed our mistaken identity, this body and egoic mind, and as it recedes into the background, with much of our years of conditioning, the Light of Awareness, our True Nature comes to the foreground. There is a tangible identity shift that usually takes years of integration to stabilize and abide in.
I first came to Greenwoods which includes only 3 rustic and very modest cabins overlooking the Penobscot Bay in 1996, two years after opening Willow Street Yoga Center in Takoma Park, MD. After my two weeks there, I wrote about my experience in the quarterly Willow Street Newsletter. I just found that piece in the archives and it made me more than smile. You can download it here. if you want a fun read about gawking and loafing!! It was also so interesting to see my thoughts, feelings and my aspirations almost exactly 30 years ago!
Some things are slow to change, like the vintage 1950’s fridge which still sits in my tiny kitchen cabin. And thirty years later here I continue to practice asana, meditate and enjoy and rejoice in the fruits of Yoga, and gradually, yet inevitably have witnessed the light of Awareness grow brighter as it permeates my being.
I return on July 11, and there will be grandchildren to host, classes to teach, retreats to lead, and well, all the wonderful stuff of life. Somehow I don’t feel as much separation between “on the cushion” and hiking the Camden hills or playing Pickleball. I think I’ll count that as a win!
Check out this good stuff in the pipeline below!
Our Scotland Retreat, coming up soon in August, has filled and we are looking forward to going back to the beautiful venue of Ardoch on the bonny bonny banks of Loch Lomond for the second time. See the venue here.
Maria Hamburger, teacher extraordinaire of functional movement as well as yoga, and I are excited to do our annual YOGA & MEDITATION weekend at a new venue this year, MAR-LU-RIDGE in Jefferson, MD. It will be over Halloween weekend, October 30 – November 1. The singles are all taken, but we have double rooms available. All have private baths and the food we hear is excellent. For more information and to register, please click here.
For 2027, we have the warm turquoise waters and cool breezes of Negril, Jamaica to retreat from the chill of Winter. The dates are February 6 – 13. We only have a few spaces left for this, and you can click here for all information and to register. Fares are going up due to the Iran chaos, so do book early.
Wishing you warmth of heart and coolness of mind and body as we enter probably the hottest summer on record. I look forward to seeing you whenever and wherever our paths are blessed to cross.
ps. For anyone seriously on the path to Awakening, I have found numerous books to be helpful, but the one that really stands out that I continue to read again and again, is Stephan Bodian’s, “Wake Up Now, A Guide to the Journey of Spiritual Awakening.” Stephen was a former editor of Yoga Journal, a student and teacher of Adyashanti, (my main meditation teacher), and a realized teacher in his own right. It is a gold mine!
Namaste,
