Author: Ki McGraw

Today marks 21st anniversary of our wedding here in Seattle. There were 90 people gathered to celebrate us and support us in upholding our commitments. Only 13 are still with us, as others have passed away, moved on or fallen from our contact in the passage of time.

Our vows concluded with the statement that we intended to uphold them for “as long as possible“. Everyone laughed, as they got the punchline. 21 years later, we are still laughing.

What are you committed to for as long as possible? What support do you need to uphold that commitment? Ki to Happiness needs to thank our community for your support of our wedding vows.

My generation lost one of its icons with the passing of Tina Turner. Her legendary singing and dancing will continue to inspire many more generations to come. Her life story encourages us all to rise above all difficulties and use our talents to the fullest.

Her later years teach us to turn to our spiritual practices in order to face tragedy and loss. Even though she continued to sing rock ‘n’ roll, her Buddhist chanting soothed her soul. I will forever cherish my memories of her from my earliest introduction to Proud Mary all the way thru to her Nichiren Mantra offering.

Whose talents have inspired your whole life? Who’s heroic journey have you followed after? Ki to Happiness keeps rolling on the river like Tina sang.

One of our students in our independent yoga teacher training program has taken a fascination in the posture called Scorpion. He watches us as we kick up onto our forearms, and then allow slow, steady balance to recalibrate our knees bending with the feet approaching the head. Then he attempts to do something similar at the wall for support.

When he’s with us in class, we spot him in the center away from the wall. His delight is contagious. He is doing things with his body he never imagined he could.

Is there something you’d like to do that you don’t think you would be able to? What kind of support might you need in order to practice? Ki to Happiness delights in other’s delight.

While we had a cool cloudy Spring day, my friends on Guam were battening their hatches against Typhoon Mawar. I reached out to them to let them know I am thinking of them and sending them love and support. I recall our times together during the super typhoon Paka in the late 90s, and pray they are spared from such devastation.

Big storms are humbling. They let us know we are not in charge. I am humbled again, simply in recalling the winds that were in excess of the instrument’s ability to record the speed for being broken in the gusts beyond 250mph in that double eye system.

What storms have you weathered? How humbled? Ki to Happiness is humbled by nature’s beauty, softness, and power.

In my time off yesterday I rolled up my sleeves and tackled a neighborhood garbage issue. The community cleanup took place the day before, and, despite my hopes that they would address it, it remained. So I strategized and prepared, and now it is resolved.

As I concluded, soft, gentle rain began. It felt like a blessing from nature. It has washed away all remnants of the debris and detritus.

How do you participate in your community? Do you know your neighbors? Ki to Happiness knows her neighbors appreciate every effort toward improving our community.

Instead of participating in the University District street fair, I wondered if there might be another such event here in our new district. Before I had a chance to ask anyone about that, a new student approached me and invited Hatha Yoga Center to participate in a community social in July. I signed us right up!

Instead of the old adage “ready, aim, fire”, I fired immediately my “yes.”Now I’m starting to “aim” by getting other community members to work our booth and give live yoga demonstrations as they hand out brochures, flyers, schedules and business cards. By the time the event occurs, we will all be ready.

Can you say yes to the synchronicities in your life? Are you able to listen to guidance even when you don’t feel ready? Ki to Happiness acts on synchronicity as it is a message from Higher Guidance.

This weekend, the University District Street Fair will rage on at our old location. For 10 years, we accommodated the noise and commotion of the oldest street fair in our nation. We participated in those days by handing out flyers for classes, giving live demonstrations in our display windows of postures and chanting along with my harmonium even as we conducted classes and our Yoga Teacher Training.

This quiet cool morning here gave me pause to appreciate my deep sleep, undisturbed by street fair’s loud set up. The cats and I heard the birdsongs as dawn broke gentle and pink. The prospect of teaching two well attended yoga classes before conducting a private session in this quiet, clean environment, brings a smile to my lips.

How does noise and commotion effect your ability to practice and serve? Have you had enough time at the fairs in your life? Ki to Happiness is content with no fair in this quiet and clean location for practice and service.

Our heat wave has broken with fresh coolness to start this day. The new moon in Taurus invites us to set intentions for the next month. Letting go of the past challenges, we can make use of what we’ve learned from them and transform that energy into forward progress.

The frustration, anger and hindrances of the last eclipse pattern with Mercury and Pluto retrograde all empower our intention. Honoring and respecting those energies, not denying or minimizing them gives us a starting point for change that integrates our lessons. No need for spiritual bypass when we are comfortable with being uncomfortable.

What have you learned about yourself this last month? How can you put those lessons into your intentions for next month? Ki to Happiness honors and respects all emotions as energy wanting motion and intends to direct it toward peaceful service of the One.

Two moves ago, we had an old church for the Hatha Yoga Center with some space around it for gardening. When we left it due to real estate development, I brought with me as many plants as I could. I took the hens and chicks out of the ground, put them a container and placed it on our window sill for a decade.

In our new location, I put them back in the ground. Now they grace our sidewalk planting strip in front of our building. They are a part of our history as well as our future with room to spread out in plenty of sunshine.

What part of your history have you brought with you? Is there room for it to grow in your future? Ki to Happiness replants the best of her history with hope for the future.

During this warm Spring heat wave, we need some help with this new space. We moved here during a heatwave last summer, and were too busy settling in to attend to some details. In being settled now, our attention can turn to the need for a new screen for one of our windows, as well as learning how to reset an outdoor electric socket and turn on a spigot.

I turned to one of the members of our community for back up. It’s not so much what he does, but would he knows. In one brief text he told me exactly how we will proceed to deal with all three issues.

Who backs you up? Where do you turn to for those things that you don’t know? Ki to Happiness backs up her community which also backs her up.