à la carte spirit by ilona fried
Animals
When Ladybugs Bring Luck. And Death.
Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it. – Mary Oliver As I stood at the kitchen sink on a sunny Sunday afternoon in mid-October, a ladybug* crawling along a window screen punctured my reverie. I went outside to take a closer look. Ladybugs are considered messengers of good luck, and I … Continue reading
Cleaning a Pond, or Maybe It Cleaned Me. A Feld-Zen-Krais Tale.
“We are still alive,” intoned one of the priests at Two Streams Zen, a tiny farm tucked into the woods in Westhampton, MA, where I attended a half-day retreat that included sitting, walking and working meditation. Her stark words landed smack between my eyes. They were a reminder, at the beginning of the work period, … Continue reading
Veni, Vidi, Edi Prosciutti
At the end of a recent post,”Is Yoga My New Pork?!“, I mused about my longtime curiosity about prosciutto. When I visited Italy in 2007, I didn’t partake but had a close encounter with it: while sitting at a restaurant’s bar, I looked up and found myself staring at a pig’s dark hoof. My eyes followed the … Continue reading
Facing a Frantic Bird, Facing Fear
I love being in nature and observing wildlife; that helps me feel centered and connected to the cosmos. When wildlife comes indoors, however, inner peace flies out the window. I morph from a quiet, harmony seeking human to a frantic, freaking-out idiot. To wit: years ago a bat entered my third floor apartment when I lived in Somerville, … Continue reading
Feldenkrais Off the Mat: Making New Choices
I’ve met several Feldenkrais practitioners during a recent visit to the East Coast. In some conversations it arose that I began my Feldenkrais training in one program and switched to another. People asked why. I shared my reasons (since they are not relevant to this post, I’m omitting specifics). I received various reactions. As one practitioner said, “Good for you for … Continue reading
à la carte spirit by ilona fried 
Recent comments