Please Remember Haiti

The immediate response to the disaster in Haiti has been overwhelmingly powerful, a beautiful display of solidarity, action and empathy, but as time drags on, the situation will only get more desperate and complicated. In the coming days, weeks, months and years of rebuilding, please, don't forget them. The soul of Haiti is the soul of us all and we must take care of each other.

Here are some wonderful organizations doing great work for Haiti. Do whatever you can to support them:

• Partners in Health have been on the ground in Haiti for over 20 years and right now they are in desperate need of assistance to answer the overwhelming need for medical attention in Port au Prince.
• The easiest thing in the world to help is to send $10 to the Red Cross by texting "HAITI" to 90999. Please, just do it. There is no excuse not to.
• The International Medical Corps is providing emergency medical assistance in Haiti and will be staying there to help rebuild their decimated health care system.
• Fill a shoe box for a Haitian child through Million for Haiti. Fill the box with the following: 1 travel toothpaste, 1 toothbrush, 4 granola type bars, 1 bottled water (16 oz.). Mail your shoebox to:

Million for Haiti
3500 American Blvd. #685

Minneapolis, MN 55431

Along with these national and international organizations, keep an eye out for what's being organized in your own community. Look at churches, community centers, yoga studios, crafting circles, and music venues to support their efforts for Haiti.

As you do everything you can by giving money, putting aid packages together, going to benefit concerts, participating in benefit auctions, and encouraging your congressional representatives to support Haiti, also remember the power of meditation. In your daily yoga and meditation practice, take a moment to send your positive intentions to the healing of Haiti.

We're all in this together. Namaste.

Is Mercury in Retrograde or What?

I don't know about the rest of you, but the past few weeks have been a little heavy on my side of the world. I have been deeply introspective as of late, caught up in my own meta-analysis of the human condition and thus, my blog has lain fallow. Yes, Mercury is indeed in retrograde and when that happens there does seem to be a marked increase in communication disruptions and a drain on creative energy in myself and those around me, but Mercury can't be the whole story. It's easy to place the blame for our actions and emotions on an external force, like astrology, a god figure or the weather, but these ideas are most likely based more in our deep-seated need to find order and meaning in our suffering than in any concrete reality of these phenomena. The vast majority, if not all, of our suffering comes from defending the ego, our idea of the self as a separate, vital entity, incongruous with the rest of existence. Instead of owning that suffering as being of our own creation, we externalize the source on natural or supernatural forces out of our control, in protection of an ego that requires blamelessness to retain legitimacy. If we are ever to be free of suffering and the bonds of the ego, we must accept responsibility for the pain we create in the pursuit of differentiation. We must remember that we are all one; there is no Other.

Sorry about my absence. I would like to say that it won't happen again, but that is simply not a promise I can guarantee I will keep. Deep, contemplative states need to happen sometimes and they never follow a schedule. I do know that today I felt more alive than I have in a few weeks. I even went for a run for the first time since I experienced a catastrophic knee injury a year and a half ago. I wish you that same level of joy and freedom in your life every day.

Namaste.