A TED talk by Sheila Kelley.  Video here.  
This is worth watching all the way through.  I loved the ending statements the most. 

TED Talk:   Video here.  

Trusting kids with their education. I like that he says you can hack your way into taking control of your education from inside the school system too. I would love some sort of wilderness/awareness school based out of Dharma Door Retreat or at least near by (this has been a dream since the beginning).

Let's take a look at the human brain and the implications of embodying our right or left hemispheres.

"Who are we? We are the life force power of the Universe with manual dexterity, and two cognitive minds. We have the power to choose moment by moment, who and how we want to be in the world. 

Right here, right now, I can step into the consciousness of my right hemisphere where i am the 50 trillion molecules that make up my form... that is one with all that is. Or, I can choose to step into the consciousness of my left hemisphere, where I become a single individual, separate from you, separate from the flow. I believe that the more time we spend choosing to run the deep inner peace circuitry of our right hemispheres, the more peace we will project into the world, and the more peaceful our planet will be."

~Jill Bolte Taylor

Click here for the video.  

TED Talk with Amanda Palmer: Click here.  

My first dharma door was backpacking.  My second dharma door was yoga.  Since then, other dharma doors have opened for me, but I will always recognize the foundation that backpacking and yoga have given my life. 

Dharma and yoga can be defined many ways.  I often look for the most simple definition.  Take a deep breath, be present to the sensations in your body, you are doing yoga.  Feel the ground under your feet, notice your relationship to nature and those around you, pay attention, now we are on the field of dharma. 

The poem below found me many years ago and it was then that I created the little art piece pictured. If you have been to Dharma Door, you may have seen this poem and perhaps read it.  I do not know who wrote the poem.  I have added a line at the end. Knowing that we are made of star dust, and seeing another artist's work, inspired my drawing.  I like that the poem is written in an egg. Yoga is not limited to the ideas in the poem.  As I continually seek more freedom from the fluctuations of my mind and the outdated habits of my body, I revisit this poem, I return to my movement and begin again. 


Yoga and You

Yoga begins
with a promise,
and as a promise, yoga holds a vision of the future,
where by skillful practice you can fully realize your gifts and talents.
Yoga promises a future
in which you actively engage in an ongoing process of growth and definition.
This promise is only as good as your commitment.
The secret to yoga
is to honor the promises you make to yourself.
By honoring yourself, you learn to count on yourself.
In this counting, you being to make an account of your life.
We are defined by the choices we make. 
Choice is infinite.
Learn to choose to keep your promises to yourself.
Not out of necessity, but because greatness is in you.
Be accountable for your life.
Seek what yoga offers;
the fulfillment of a promise kept,
a perpetual eternal promise,
that continually affirms life.
Yoga beings...with one breath.