Retreat at Sierra Hot Springs–February 7th to 10th

It may seem ironic that the first “job” we did for the Spiral Collective was a trip to a hot springs resort. But that’s exactly what Catarina, Shanti, Tristan, and I did— we took an intentional time out from our busy work lives to reflect, read, soak in hot springs, connect, and slow down. It was a challenge, hitting the eject button on our day-to-day work lives, and transporting to a space with no outward expectations or striving of any kind. We took with us the question, “How is rest valuable to our lives?”— knowing that rest has an intrinsic relationship to expanding consciousness. 

Throughout our retreat, we observed how taking this time out of our daily lives impacted us individually, and then came together to share our reflections around the fireplace in the resort hotel's lobby. For me, the long soaks in the hot springs, mostly in silence, were an experience of how the mind goes through phases of detachment before it settles into resonance with the heart, and begins to connect with the moment-to-moment awareness of life. Once the simple goal of reaching the hot springs and entering them was achieved, there was nothing more for the mind to do. This settling in took almost 30 minutes, after which I felt that I had become more fully aware of the moment-to-moment experience of just floating in the hot springs. 

This realization helped me understand how, in my day-to-day, I find it hard to detach from the thoughts that keep me trapped in my mind. It underscored for me how important pauses, both long ones like soaking in the hot springs, and short ones throughout the day, are vital to reconnect with this expansive awareness that is otherwise clouded over by persistent thinking. 

Rosen Workshop– March 22nd to 26th 

In March, Catarina and I participated in a 3-day Rosen bodywork workshop held at Los Laureles Lodge in Carmel Valley. We have been regular participants in these workshops for the past three years, since Catarina connected us with Jane Maleck, the lead Rosen teacher of the Monterey Bay area, in 2022. Participating in these quarterly workshops has become an important touchstone for me as I navigate the demands of my teaching career and life in my mid-30s, and as I learn to embrace a larger reality and release stress and worry.

In this bodywork workshop, we were invited, as always, to let go of our busy lives and drop into a much deeper space of openness and presence. From the beginning of the workshop, when the teachers, Jane, Kate, and Melina, held an introduction sharing circle, they guided us into an open acceptance, more through their collective state of consciousness than by any instructions. The lack of step-by-step instructions is a tenet of Rosen, as it is a method that deeply respects the practitioner and the receiver to tune into their own direct experience and to let themselves be guided from this place of connection. I have found that with Rosen, simplicity is the goal. The paradox is that it's hard to achieve a state of simply being in an open-hearted state of acceptance. The best way to do so is by being around others who practice it, and opening to that vibration. 

The Rosen workshop, as it always does, combined group sharing (the opportunity to witness and be witnessed with care and love) with hands-on bodywork. The feelings of tenderness and vulnerability that I felt opened up in my heart for others and myself had the effect of a healing balm. My mind was temporarily freed from attachment, which facilitated a deep rest. I observed that in this state of being of resting in the acceptance of things as they are, a non-thinking and non-doing state, I can completely rest my body and sleep without my mind dreaming. 

English 1A- Cabrillo College Spring Quarter 

In the spring, I took the opportunity to go undercover as a first-year college student (again) and enrolled in an English writing class at the local community college. As a middle school English teacher, I enjoyed being a fly on the wall in an English classroom and the chance to experience teaching and learning as an observer. Although I took the class for credit, my main objective was to remove myself from my role as the teacher and to absorb how education happens when I am not in the driver's seat. 

On another level, my motive was to be reinspired by good teaching and learning. Even though I'm around students all day long, I have found, after three years in the classroom, that teaching can be an isolating role. I often feel like I'm a salesperson peddling the unpopular product of education to students who are not interested in the content or skills that I'm presenting. Returning to the classroom as an observer, I reconnected with the excitement of learning, which I used to fuel my passion for teaching. 

The curriculum of English 1A was your standard reading and writing English course, but the content, chosen by the teacher, was all social justice-themed, which I found very fitting for the political climate of our time. We read James Baldwin and Angela Davis, and our professor asked us to frame the writing assignments in a social-political context. Interestingly, I took this class at the Watsonville branch of Cabrillo College, and during the first week of the course, there was a community protest against the immigration policies of the Trump administration. I participated in the protest where about 1,000 of us marched through the streets with signs. I could feel the support of the large farm-worker and immigrant population of Watsonville. My students took a day off in solidarity with a movement called, "A day without an immigrant," that was broadcasted on social media. I saw many of my students at the protest and they seemed satisfied to know their teacher was looking out for them and their families. In this ambiance, I felt very compelled to do the political science reading that was required for the course. This reminded me how essential it is to make learning relevant to students' lives. 

I wrote three finished pieces for this class, and although they were not explicitly about the expansion of consciousness, they helped hone my thinking about social issues and improve my writing skills. 

Personal Narrative 

Current Event Essay 

Argument Essay