arline jernigan

I have not written in ages, not here anyway.

I have stopped feeling bad about it, because it does no good to lament.

I was so committed to this journal before, and really loved working on it. I am sure I will again, but right now, it seems I am filling the well and transitioning.

There are so many wonderful things happening in my world lately. Most of them are creative and teaching ventures, that deserve to be shared about.

I have a lot to write about for sure, and will, but I think it will happen when the website gets a reboot.
Hopefully that won’t be too long. I hope to be able to do more with this website all around, because right now, it feels a little stagnant.

Movement is happening though, I promise and I will be back here soon.

LOVE and HUGS
Arline

The other day, I was having a cool conversation with my dad. We talked about a few things rather light heartedly, and one of the things he said to me was. “We believe in some of the same things, but not in others, for example, you believe in karma and I don’t”. I said, “well, yes of course you do, karma, in its simplest sense is merely cause and effect”. There are countless examples of this, and I listed about eight of them off the top of my head. In the New Testament, for example, you will see karma described> “As we have sewn, so shall we reap.” In everyday vernacular, you will hear it as “what goes around comes around.” A visual example of karma would be a string of domino’s, and when one is barely pushed, a chain reaction happens, and the other domino’s sequentially fall. This image can become more elaborate as well. Imagine a whole city built of domino’s, and knocking that first one down. The whole city will be effected, even if it does not entirely fall to the ground.

There is nothing strange or weird about the term Karma. The word Karma means action. There are unskillful actions and skillful actions.

UNSKILLFUL ACTIONS include:
killing
lying
stealing
sexual misconduct
malice in speech
gossip

UNSKILLFUL MENTAL ACTIONS:
greed
envy
wishing harm
hate
ignorance
Self-delusion

SKILLFUL ACTIONS:
Compassion
generosity
humility
Cheerful attitude
kindness
honesty

It is quite useful to understand karma and how it affects us. Individual behavior patterns mirror universal patterns, which is why it is always a good idea to become super conscious of thoughts and behaviors. Consciousness is an aspect of our reality that differentiates us from other creatures, as we can navigate in a sense, through our life, and learn from what we have experienced before. In this, we can take responsibility of our reality, and not be a victim of it. We are not helpless prisoners of fate, destined to live out a birth script etched in stone. Instead, as humans, we have free will, which is our ability to make choices in life. We can choose to act virtuously or non virtuously, or not act at all.

Every time we think or act or speak on something, we are setting the stage for something else to occur. While this may seem obvious, we are often astounded that certain things seem to just “happen” to us over and over again. We are here in this world to experience life, and the situations that present themselves, are a reflection of karma. If unfavorable things happen in life, it is not necessarily “bad karma”, which is a term that many people these days love to use. Really there is no bad or good in the equation, just unskillful action and skillful action. Everything happens for a reason, and we cant always see why. Sometimes however the unwanted things that happen, can be amazing teachers that can pave the way to new and wonderful territory. Attitudes and conscious choice determine so much more than we know, and can provide incentive to take responsibility within the framework of life.

Karma and free will, work closely together, consequently, skillful actions produce favorable results, and unskillful actions produce unfavorable results. It really can be that simple.

Time is not a factor here however, meaning, that there is no way to determine precisely how and when things will fall into place. Some things happen instantly, while other things happen at a snails pace. Often we can see directly how a sequence of events lead up to a particular circumstance, but at times a very close and thorough examination needs to be taken, where all angles and levels are thought of and explored.

Karma can be, and is meant to be worked through through. Everyone, even the most corrupt has the chance to change and can reform themselves at any point. By acting virtuously and practicing loving kindness, compassion, humility, honesty and a cheerful attitude, old patterns will eventually be absolved. It is also thought that sometimes, through grace of divine authority, unfavorable karma may be forgiven, or taken on by another soul.

In the Christian view, it is believed that Jeasus took on the collective sins of humanity as he died. There are other stories of spiritual teachers, that to foster another persons spiritual growth, will “take on” portions of his or her karma much in the same way.

In Hindu and Buddhist teachings, karma is broken down like this>

SANCHITA KARMA (past karma) : it is the accumulation of karma from past situations, even before birth that set in motion a persons possible experiences.

PARABAHDA KARMA(present karma) : karma that is happening at the present moment, it works off past karma and sets the stage for future karma.

AGAMI KARMA(future karma) karma that is acquired in the present that will come to fruition in the future.

KRIYA MANA KARMA(now) instant results from present actions, for example if you slap someone, they just might slap you back.

Moving through karma is a personal choice, so getting clear on what you want your life to be like, will help you move with intelligence, and will ease the cycle of repeated patterns.

It has been raining for quite a while now. It has been beautiful in moments, having a respite here and there, to give a moment for the sun to express itself and to say, in its warm tacit way, “take a breath, there is more to clean here.”

The air does smell sweet right now, and there is a lot of growth potential. There is a lot of beauty and growing, and even the weeds look lush in moments.

My back yard needs tending in a very big way. I fee a little overwhelmed by this, as there is some major cleaning to do. I will have to either invest in some tools and go into the project with random knowledge of how to deal with my mess, or I will have to get help. I could do both, and probably will. I have this tendency to think that I have to work really hard, in every way shape and form, and then feel exhausted, because rather than cultivating and enhancing I want to upheave and fix what ever it is that I believe is ugly or ineffective, right this minute.

This way of thinking leads to procrastination, because I simply cant fix everything, not in the way I would have it to be at any rate, which is beyond perfection.

I have decided that for today, there is nothing to “fix”, and that things are beautiful as they are.
I am alive and breathing, and for that I am grateful.

It is getting late, and I should head up to bed, but I wanted to put some energy into my journal.

So… More later, with the journal and with other parts of this website. It is getting ready to be revamped, like my yard.

love and hugs
Arline

Dublin was wonderful. Well, I was not actually in Dublin, but just south of it in a lovely village called Dalkey. I loved it. It is literally inches from the Irish sea, and when the sun shines, the view is incredible. The sun shined a lot of the time that I was there, so I was lucky to see it.

The people there were wonderful too, very open, receptive and kind. I look forward to going back to them. It makes me happy to share what I love to new bodies, as well as to those who have been with me for a long time.

Travel is going to be more regular with me I think, because that is what my heart is telling me. My home base is still here in Memphis for now. I love my people here, and have no imminent plans of leaving, but my wings are expanding, and am going to spread my energy and love where I can.

It is interesting to me, what being in a foreign place is like, and how it can beautifully take you our of your of habits. Much of the time, we go through the day, and forget to see where we are, and what we have. We can even loose sight, and forget why we do what we do. It is good to be snapped out of your comfort zone now and then. I find when I return to my home, I have a renewed appreciation, and am recharged somehow.

It is also interesting to me, where fear can crop up, and how something benign can bring on a panic state. While I was in Ireland, I had no cellphone service. I still cant get over how much I rely on electronics (at one time I was NEVER going to have a computer, HA). Now, I am grateful for them, as they make life expansive in many ways, but I still shake my head sometimes at this reliance. It was weird, not being able to use my phone on a whim, or when I actually needed to.

I was supposed to go to an exhibit with my new friend Dee. She was initially going to pick me up from where I was staying, and we would venture out. Plans change sometimes, and this is not a big deal, but I was taken by surprise when she called the house and asked me to meet her by taking one of the public transport systems, called the DART. I took a deep breath and said OK, but inside my heart stopped. Typically my fear shows up in situations when I am in a new environment, where I don’t know where I am. I really freak out inside. Once I am comfortable and have a feel for a place, all is well, but sometimes it can take some time (there is no time like the present). The DART station is about a 10 minute walk from where I was staying, and It was pulling up just as I purchased my ticket, my time was short. I was supposed to get into the last car and she would meet me in the car. Well, things got a little confused, because everything is opposite of what I am used to. For example, the driver side of the car is on the right side instead of the left, so I was not sure what was first and last in terms of the DART cars, not to mention, that I only had a few seconds to run into the closing doors. At this time Dee was not sure what had happened, because she did not see me in the car. I got off at the street that she told me to get off on, incase something happened, and I waited for a while. I found a pay phone, and called her cell, but I got no answer. I did not know where the museum was, or I would have gone there, so I just got another ticket and set out to go back to Dalkey, but, I did wait for about 20 minutes or so, to see if I could find her, and as it turned out, we both just missed each other by minutes. She was looking, calling and waiting for me too, but alas, no connection.

This situation was a great opportunity for me to practice yoga off the matt. I focused on my breath, and looked at my situation with humor. I was not really that lost, only slightly separated, and I was able to ask for the direction that I needed to head to, and as I said, I was not that far off track. I was actually able to relax, and enjoy the experience of being out of my comfort zone. Now while this seems simple, and not a big deal, it is to me. I somehow feel stronger and more able to venture out.

I want to thank Dee and Heidi once again for bringing me to Ireland, and to also thank all the wonderful students who came to my workshop. I am excited to return very soon.

Big hugs to all of you

Love Arline

This whole time period is a trip! I feel a billion things swirling around, and I am acting on faith like never before.

The energy around me is palpable and eery, yet somehow I feel safe and calm.

Its funny, the moment I relax, things just flow, and I can move with the grace I desire.

This does not always come naturally for me. Last week in fact, I wanted to hide under the covers for all of eternity, because I felt so overwhelmed. As dramatic as that sounds, it is true. Well, that is part of my process anyway.

I am learning on deep levels, to relax into this process, with help that is. See, I have wonderful people in my world, and great teachers that guide and inspire me. The teachers are everywhere, and so is the light.

With so much that is happening in the world around me, and how it taps into my own matrix of thoughts and feelings, overwhelm is natural sometimes. Making friends with this, and all the other things I see as unfavorable is essential.

I choose to see the abundance and glory in life, even when the discursive thoughts and fear want to bombard me, and even when I see and feel the energy of others fear.

As a whole, and on a very large scale, probably much larger than anyone of us can comprehend, we are reorganizing.

Our nation is being asked to do things differently, and while the change is necessary, and for the most part welcome, there is extreme discomfort around this. It is important to speak to that discomfort and fear, while at once drawing on the faith that change is ultimately for the highest and best cause. The way things were may have worked well at one time, but no longer do, that is evident in all directions.

In the end though, and as always, I have to bring the focus of change back to myself, because myself is the only thing I can change. This is not a new concept at all, but while I know this, I still want things to be a certain way, so being the control freak that I can be, I will sometimes try to make things happen. Usually this approach is laced with friction and obstacles that can leave me frustrated.

It is in the trying to “make things happen”, where resistance to what is really necessary for me and my well being, causes pain and frustration. That does not mean that intentions and goals should not be striven for, but I am coming to find, that the more relaxed I am in terms of outcome, the more that opens up to me. I have been totally amazed and in awe in the moments I can actually chill out with things, and have an open hand instead of a tight fist.

I’m learning, but I really don’t know the first thing about “letting go”. I talk about it constantly in my classes though, and teach techniques via the body and the breath, that are geared towards surrender, but honestly, I have no clue as to how it happens. Letting go just happens, and I have no hand in it.

I can have a completely honest intention to release something I have been holding on to, but sometimes it seems necessary to sit with discomfort, and really observe it, observe the thoughts and feelings around it, because there is a message in the murkiness. There is beauty there, that wants to be cultivated.

I am grateful for the moments I gain insight and clarity, and if it means I have to go into the murk, then so be it.

I asked for change and growth, so here it is.