The Insight Center Newsletter June 2021

AWAKENING Insights 

“Quiet time alone helps us all.”  Steven Forrest 

“Dear co-dependents:

You do not have to please everyone. (P.S. you can’t anyway.)

It is ok to make & maintain boundaries.

Managing their drama is not you job. (P.S. it will never stop anyway.)

You may initially lose a sense of heroic harmony (P.S. you may want to look at how that got dumped on you.)

But you will get peace. (P.S. you deserve it.)” Margaret Gervais

“Obstacles are challenges to overcome, not permanent prisons.” Mark Jones

“People with good/pure souls don’t magically appear in our lives.

You have to earn them.

Once you begin your journey towards a higher vibrational lifestyle and let go of all things that are spiritually weighing you down.

You’ll naturally start aligning with them.” @bespiritual

“Equanimity is a radical acceptance of not-knowing and a means of not taking everything so personally.”  Christopher Willard

“Everything you are looking for is on the other side of surrender.” Jaymee Carpenter @loveistheauthor

“Practicing detachment and individuation.” Margaret Gervais

“pick the path that lights you up. the one that you know deep down is the right choice. stop listening to doubt. start connecting with courage. do not let the idea of normal get in the way. it may not be the easy path, but you know great things take effort. lean into your determination. lean into your mission. lean into the real you. “ yung pueblo

“What do your toes know? What whisper runs through your veins? What awakens in the touch of your skin – just now, in this moment?” Lopön Charlotte Z. Rotterdam.  Buddhadharma: The Practitioners Quarterly, Spring 2021. Page 15.

“The impact of change is like a wave of various intensities building up force in the ocean and heading for the shore. It is going to happen.”  Margaret Gervais

“if you spend too much time fearing change, you will forget to celebrate it. everything you love and cherish in life exists because of change. the continuous back and forth between endings and beginnings makes all things possible.” yung pueblo

I am fully vaccinated and welcome back all fully vaccinated clients for all services in person in Portland. I will also continue to see clients via Zoom.

If you have questions regarding any of these offerings or would like to schedule an appointment, please contact me at  theinsighthcenter@gmail.com.

MEDITATION insights

“Do not fear things that arise in the mind; question them, know them. The truth is more than thought and feelings, so do not believe and get caught by them, See the whole process arising and ceasing. This understanding gives rise to wisdom. “  – Achan Chah

“Meditate to find or return to balance. Meditate so your psyche can process and let go. Meditate for peace.” Margaret Gervais

“When life knocks you down, the first thing you should do to regain your balance is shift your attitude from inner resistance to inner acceptance and willingness. Acceptance means: ‘I accept that this problem, sorrow, or emotional pain has arisen to show me something valuable.’ Willingness means: ‘Let me wait to receive the answer within my heart.’ This revelation of a deeper insight occurs not through our compulsive attitudes of ‘It must be this way’ or ‘It must be that way.’ It arises when we become relatively still inside.” Acharya Shunya

“My nerves feel frazzled. I meditate to ease the distress and find relaxation, peace and ease for my nervous system.” Margaret Gervais

‘I woke up and felt really out of it. My mental processing felt dull and barely filtering through quicksand. Is this a good time to meditate? YES. In meditation I viewed the lethargic state of my mind, over and over and over until it had processed and was gone. I finished refreshed, more clear-minded and at peace.” Margaret Gervais        

“What happens when we sit is none of our business. The practice is to accept whatever arises instead of trying to control our experience. What we can control is our wise effort to be present with what is.” Narayan Helen Liebenson, The Refuge of Sitting.

“During long deep meditations deep breaths will arise. Releasing tension. Restoring peace.” Margaret Gervais

“If we can allow some space within our awareness and rest there, we can respect our troubling thoughts and emotions, allow them to come, and let them go.”  Tsoknyi Rinpoche, “Allow for Space”

“To experience emptiness is not a descent into an abyss of nothingness but a recovery of freedom.” Stephen Batchelor, “Nagarjuna’s Verses from the Center”

“Meditation neutralizes drama.” Margaret Gervais

“To experience emptiness is not a descent into an abyss of nothingness but a recovery of freedom.” Stephen Batchelor

“It’s the ‘I expect/want things to be normal’ thing that trips people up.” Margaret Gervais

MEDITATION COURSE

I am teaching Vipassanā Meditation and Spiritual Practices Courses in Portland and on Zoom. Contact me if you are interested, theinsighthcenter@gmail.com or read more at https://theinsightcenter.net/meditation/

GRIEF insights

“Grief is one of the heart’s natural responses to loss. It takes courage to grieve, to honor the pain we carry. We come face to face with genuine human vulnerability, with helplessness and hopelessness.  These are the storm clouds of the heart.

We need to respect our tears. Without a wise way to grieve, we can only soldier on, armored and unfeeling.  Let whatever feelings are there, pain and tears, anger and love, fear and sorrow, come as they will. The grief we carry is part of the grief of the world. Hold it gently. Let it be honored. Keep in mind that grief doesn’t just dissolve. Instead, it arises in waves and gradually, with growing compassion, there comes more space around it.” Jack Kornfield

Grief helps us relinquish the illusion that the past could be different from what it was. Sharon Salzberg 

HEALING insights

A recorded Grounding Exercise is available at The Insight Center – Resources. Use this exercise as often as needed to help you be grounded during these challenging times.

This is an 11.11 minute grounding exercise to help you get grounded. A lot of us have chaotic lives, busy minds, a lot of stress, and we are not grounded. Being grounded means that our mind, body, nervous system, and energy system are relaxed, at ease, and held. We can be rooted in the earth like the strong roots of a huge old tree.

During challenging times, this exercise can be really helpful. Connect and ground through your root chakra every day.

There is no need to over think this! Please relax, breath, listen and follow these simple instructions. You can do this exercise daily – or as often as you need to do it.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at theinsightcenter@gmail.com.

REIKI l and ll WORKSHOPS

All Reiki Workshops will resume this summer! Please watch future Newsletters for dates and/or contact me if you are interested in a Reiki l or ll Workshop.

ASTROLOGY insights

We are in retrograde season!

Mercury is retrograde until June 22

Jupiter is retrograde June 20 – October 18

Saturn is retrograde until October 11

Uranus us retrograde August 20 to January 16, 2022

Neptune is retrograde June 25 to December 2

Pluto is retrograde until October 6

See my drawing of these retrogrades at https://theinsightcenter.net/blog/.

When planets are retrograding, we are being asked to review, rethink, revise, and remember. We may be ready to move on from 2020 and get back to business, and yes, that is happening. But do so thoughtfully. Move into 2021 with the wisdom you gained in 2020. Remember what you learned. Remember what you let go. And know that these retrograde times are for reintegrating with insight.

Saturn is the planet of discipline and seriousness, and Uranus is the wild cowboy/cowgirl planet that is impulsive, rebellious and demands individuation. Saturn and Uranus are at a 90˚ angel to each other, challenging each other, all year. We can look at these energies in your chart and see where these two powerful forces are instigating change. Where are you being asked to be serious and work hard and where are you being invited to rebel and individuate? To activate this transit well this year we need to do both.

COMPREHENSIVE ASTROLOGY COURSE

Starting February 2022, my Comprehensive Astrology Course for 2022  begins. This is a course I developed with all original materials and is taught in person in Portland and online. The class size is small, and all topics are personalized with your own charts! In this one-year, twelve class Course (1 class per month), you will learn each concept in depth.

Please contact me for course outline, fees, or questions at  theinsighthcenter@gmail.com

ASTROLOGY FOR TEAMS OR FAMILIES

I would love to do this transformative Workshop for your professional team or family. Please reach out to me for Workshop information at  theinsighthcenter@gmail.com.

ASTROLOGY 101

This is a one-hour online webinar which introduces Planets, Signs, Houses and how to understand a chart. I teach the foundational pieces of Astrology so you can better understand yourself, others, and what is going on in the world. The presentation is free and posted here: The Insight Center – Resources.

GIFT CERTIFICATES are always available. I have a beautiful digital Gift Certificate that I will personalize and email to you!  Available for 1 hour or 1.5-hour Astrology Reading ($125 or $190), and Reiki Intuitive Healing Sessions for $190.