Students' Reflections
Dana, by Alison, The Orchard Oct. ‘05
“ My
experience of dana as appreciation for the teachings has changed and
deepened and I am sure it will continue to do so.
Often, before a retreat, I try to work out how much money to bring.
There is often some fear involved about work being scarce, etc.
Then I come on the retreat and am bowled over by the richness and
preciousness of what I have received. It is always beyond what I
could have imagined.
The fear falls away and I feel able to joyfully offer from an open
heart what I
truly have to give.
The teaching that Sonia as shared with me has brought me more happiness,
healing and freedom than I could ever have imagined. There is no
way I can “repay” what
I have received, but I can offer what I have.
Two pitfalls I have encountered are holding back through fear or
coming from the intention of seeking approval. The way I find the “right” amount
to give is to use the feeling in the body and mind. Creating some calm and then
feeling into how much to offer. The “right” amount always
has a light, happy feeling in the body and mind.
More recently an aspect of dana I have come to appreciate is the
feeling of “joining”.
That the student and teacher form a partnership which is about growing.
That we do it together and also that this support goes out into the world.
So all the teaching and support I receive also reaches all the people
and situations I am in contact with in my life. By supporting the Teacher,
it is helping her to support the many other beings she is offering help
to. We are part of a movement towards wholeness.”
mudra of generosity
Meditation, Michelle, NZ, May ‘05,
“This
One moment is born, It ripples through me like a constant wave of light
moving four thousand light years away.
I am alive! My body moves,
I unfold to the yielding that is taken place
I am in a moment of bliss,
No separation, no end, No beginning
Just Is
You have been waiting,
waiting all this life?
With your nothingness
There was nothing said, not a whisper
Only firmness and a knowing,
You a being bathed in light
Oh this bliss that
unhatched within,
And you know there was nothing there, only the purity of emptiness,
For it is in this Emptiness that allows all to be just the way that
we wish to be,
And in this emptiness
I was filled, I was filled with LOVE Free from suffering
My body no longer aches or breaks. Nothing!
Bliss for this short while”
Reflection on the healing potential of awareness
by Lara Cusdin, NZ, Feb.’06
Tenderness meets Liberation
“It is truly a gift to be fully present for another human being”
What is it to be present, for ourselves, for another?
After a 2 day workshop with Sonia Moriceau an accomplished shiatsu and
meditation practitioner/teacher, I was truly inspired.
Inspired by the truth, by the true nature of mind which is what Sonia
uniquely brings to shiatsu. Forget the techniques, meridian diagnosis
and pressure points.. oh they are there but as a shadow to the real healing.
And what is the real healing you ask... what is the only true healing
for any imbalance of mind/body/soul ... AWARENESS AWARENESS AWARENESS
It is beyond words, but if I could describe the experience I had when
Sonia laid her hands on my body, it was her intention of mind, the pure
awareness of mind and direction of Ki that penetrated through my body
and out to the other side (of the universe). I was beyond my own pain
and for a brief moment could see the appendage of what we call this bag
of flesh and bones, it was like cutting through butter. It was as if
she were a torch (mind) and shone into the cave (body) and exposed the
cells of my being where healing needed to take place, and through her
as light bearer I was able to bring my awareness to that cave and through
breath cleared away the cob webs and literally breathed life into it
once more. Her Ki became my Ki became universal Ki and joined together
in a dance to awaken the mind/body/spirit which desires recognition for
healing to take place.
So simple, so tender, so deeply profound.
I was touched by greatness.
We must learn to be fully present for ourselves so we can be fully present for another and for the universe, everyday.
I am reminded of another profound quote: “can you awaken to the miracles already present” by Namgyal Rinpoche.
Reflections on Private Retreat,
Amarana, Aug. '05
"After the outbreath a space opened. And the next inbreath
comes out of that space, without any thoughts. When we meet ourselves
in that space we can meet ourselves truly with openness.
The inbreath, if not coming from that wide-open empty space, can be
dangerous as it then feeds the thinking mind.
We students are here at The Orchard in order to allow our "ego" -
the opinion that we have of ourselves - to dissolve, to free ourselves
from it so that the wide-open empty space can show itself to us and we
can come to meet everything in a wholesome way.
We students are here at The Orchard to learn, to stand on our own feet,
to become "MATURE".
You, Sonia, supports us with your strength and the clarity of knowledge
of the liberating wholesome path".
Letters from Sonia
January 2004
May 2004
Winter 2004/05
Autumn
2005
Spring 2006
