Kindness and Truth

ahimsa

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Kindness and Truth

October 31, 2020 in Blog

As I sit down to write this month, I’m counting. We are 48 hours from Election Day. These few days hold the blue moon on All Hallows’ Eve, Samhain, All Saints Day, All Souls Day. It’s been 230 days since we closed the door after our last class at 401 N. West Street. It’s 25 days until Thanksgiving. It’s 61 days until we turn over the calendar to 2021— blessed be. It’s a time of remembrance, and hopefully a time for change. A movement toward kindness and truth.

Day to day reality has, for most of us, changed radically since last year at this time.… Read the rest

put your inner critic in the corner

September 1, 2016 in Blog

Put your inner critic in the corner

by Jill Sockman

My inner critic has a strong voice. Maybe she was a cheerleader. Or lead vocalist in a metal band — the kind where it sounds like a lot of angry screaming instead of singing. I’ve worked hard, and I mean really, really, really hard in the past few years to put her in her place. And please note I said put in her place — removed from her throne — not banished from the kingdom of my inner world.

Because she absolutely does have a place. The benevolent(-ish) side of that inner critic is the instigator for much that I have accomplished, and is in part responsible for making me who I am.… Read the rest

practicing forgiveness

November 5, 2015 in Blog

Practicing Forgiveness

by Jill Sockman

We’ve all been wronged. At one, some, or countless times in this life, you’ll be faced with the disappointment of being let down. People will turn on you, lie to you, talk about you behind your back, leave you, be cruel to you… there are so many ways that we (intentionally or not) hurt one another in this life.

So what do you do when that happens? I imagine there have been studies performed, papers drafted and books written about the steps that we, as humans, go through when we experience the pain of someone else’s flawed humanity.… Read the rest

integrity and a yamas refresher

October 5, 2015 in Blog

Integrity and a Yamas Refresher

by Jill Sockman

I’ve come to use #specialtimes to describe events of late. By the accounts of many around me, we are in the midst of a time of big transitions, and I don’t just mean the weather. It’s all pushed me to pause to take a look at just what integrity means. So you might want to settle into your seat or scroll down right now, as I have the feeling this is going to take a hot minute.

The word integrity means “adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character” and “the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished.”… Read the rest

Ahimsa on the Inside

October 2, 2014 in Blog

Ahimsa on the Inside

by Jill Sockman

If you’ve hung around a yoga studio with any regularity, you’ve probably heard the word ahimsa before — usually translated as non-violence or non-harming. Seems pretty simple, as the “thou shalt not kill” of the yoga world. And that’s not incorrect, of course. Killing is pretty much off the menu for any spiritual tradition that I know of, and the notion of doing the least amount of harm seems to fall right in line with a kindly “love thy neighbor” approach to life.

Unlike the Niyamas (observances), which are more personal and address how you treat yourself and till the inner soil, ahimsa is one of the Yamas (social restraints) in the Yoga Sutras. … Read the rest