love, light & transformation, bahay kalipay-style

Bahay Kalipay

Rebirth at the House of Happiness.
I am dancing, the goddess
recreating the universe, spilling
over into this new realm of being.
Unafraid and emboldened by LOVE.
I am spinning a new web with
which to catch my dreams,
my silvery thread woven with
the newly discovered sense of
strength, courage, steadiness,
commitment. Commitment to living.
Living with intention, with light.
The full moon shines, then the
Sun rises. A new day.
A new opportunity to offer and pray.
To give thanks, to give love.
To be love.

Mmmm. What to say... So grateful to Bahay Kalipay, to Pi and Daniw especially for offering us the House of Happiness for this last weekend's retreat. So grateful for the open-hearted participants and the wonderful friends (Elaine, Kai, Audi, Alexandra, Claudia, Aya, Daniw...) who joined us in song, movement and satsang. Also, feel incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to share with and be guided by two real stars/bright lights/teachers that I really respect and love.

It's the retreat that nearly didn't happen--several times. And yet, it was abundantly clear as soon as things got started that the Easter-themed yoga offering, which was first conceived over a year ago during my first trip to Bahay Kalipay, was also always meant to happen. As usual, the Universe conspires against us mere mortals for our own betterment.

With only a one-month lead time before the date, we announced Love, Light & Transformation, a collaboration between myself, my dear friend and visiting philosophy teacher James Boag and inner dance healer Pi Villaraza, which was held this last Easter weekend, April 5 to April 8.

However, almost immediately, everything clicked into place. We dove into the themes of Easter: love, forgiveness, sacrifice and rebirth through a variety of modalities. James shared through rich talks based on practical ways of embodying yoga philosophy while I shared poetry that touched on the themes that we were discussing. We both led asana class with the group. And nightly, James led kirtan, elevating the frequency of the retreat, if not the entire property. Pi facilitated one group inner dance and a partner inner dance the following day, both beautifully feeding into the flow of the retreat. And throughout, Daniw, the embodiment of mother divine herself, gave her love through the deliciously prepared raw food, which nourished us every meal.

There was an abundance of love. There was a lot of light being shone in all sorts of dark corners. And in the end, a lot of lightness because of it. I could feel the shifts and transformations happening within the group. It was lovely to see and amazing to be a part of.

I'd like to write more about the experience, but I find that I am still quite in the process of processing it. Instead, I offer two pieces of writing that I wrote and then shared in the last morning of the retreat. They offer the most sincere insight of how special this weekend has been for me. The first is "Bahay Kalipay" above. The second is the untitled piece below:

What is this feeling? Newness? Space?
I feel the mystery of it. And I am a little afraid.
Afraid of its expansiveness. Of how much
it occupies my being. But beyond fear,
I feel curiosity. I cannot overlook its magic.
How shiny and bright and alluring it is.
And beyond curiosity there is awe. Awe
at its sheer simplicity. How great it is.
How whole and full and incredible it is.
What is this feeling?
It is love. Not your ordinary love.
Not your extraordinary love. Love. LOVE.
All encompassing, beating, the pulsating
vibrancy of the universe located in my heart of hearts...