 As we cross the threshold from the holiday of giving thanks to the holiday of giving presents, I offer encouragement to include in your giving this year-in addition to whatever actual "presents" you may give-the gift of your actual presence both to your loved ones, to strangers and lastly, but not least, to yourself.
"Easy for you to say!" you may well respond. "It's the $@#! Holidays!" (Or: "Have you seen my $#@! in-box??")
How do we find our own presence within; how do we re-discover what some would call our higher Selves, our own souls ... in the midst of the busy-ness of this season, and of our overall lives?
We know when we have touched this place of quiet feeling, a sense of assurance arises within, and our problems seem smaller, solutions more evident, or we are content to simply enjoy life as it is, now, no matter what our circumstances.
"We know when we have touched this place of quiet feeling, a sense of assurance arises within, and our problems seem smaller, solutions more evident ... "
Our children benefit, our spouses, our families, our colleagues.
I have learned for myself that the how is as simple as stopping. In my work of late, I've been using the term "surrender." Surrender in the very best sense, meaning we stop trying to control everything around us (a futile task!), and even what is within our own minds. We stop. Emotions may continue, energies in the body. Chaos may swirl, still, for a while. But we do not need to continue to feed our thoughts, which add complexity to the storm. We can stop.
What is here, under this surrender, within this stopping? Under thoughts of what must be done, what we must do, what we must achieve, or change, and how we can prove our worthiness, or disprove our unworthiness? What is under, beneath, within, before and after our "to do" list, whether accomplished or not? ...continue reading>>>
Ami Chen Mills-Naim is author of The Spark Inside and State of Mind in the Classroom (revised, 2nd printing due in 2016). She leads the "Everyday Satsang" drop-in class through Santa Cruz Yoga. Next class is Sunday, Dec. 13, 2-4 pm at 1010 Fair Ave. Suite E. Class fee is $15. Ami also provides personal and professional coaching, is a global speaker, and leads retreats, webinars and trainings via the Internet and in person. Find more at www.AmiChen.com
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'Tis the season to give books for gifts. We're including Jenny and Becky's list of classics for the tweens and teens. There are a few on their list that I haven't read and intend to! Jenny makes the case for science fiction. Since we last wrote about the delightful 
Workshops. If you're not the right age (tweens and teens) for one of their workshops. no problem, just read these anyway, and at the very least make sure your children, nieces and nephews have them on their shelves.
Sci-fi affected my inner world, too. Thanks to H.G. Wells, Ray Bradbury, Jules Verne, Arthur Clarke, Robert Heinlein, Frank Herbert, Isaac Asimov, Clifford Simak, Ursula Le Guin, and oh yes Gene Roddenberry, I could depart their works and re-enter the atmosphere of pre-adolescence with a reshaped sense of self. Sci-fi distinctively made me aware that I was a human being - incontrovertibly part of something bigger than any group or clique, something that might need saving from itself. As such, I had bigger things to do than worry about what to wear, or who to sit with at lunch. My fantastic excursions actually grounded me. I had a role. I was on a mission. It was my duty to pay attention to things that mattered.
