A Letter from Donna

Hello! It is almost 2010. The big news - besides my new grandson born in May - is a new compilation of all my small booklets into three volumes of Remembering Wholeness. These will be ready by January 2010 and can be ordered at cost for a limited time only. Some of those books are available to download as e-books, with the accompanying cd’s available as MP3 files. Contact me at hakomiway@gmail.com or through www.reflectivepresence.com.

I want to thank everyone who ordered the book that Marlena and I co-authored: Simply Being – a reflective practice guide for helping professionals. It continues to be well received all around the world as it is a practical guide about taking care of yourself through applied mindfulness for anyone in a helping role. See our website www.reflectivepresence.com for more information about that.

I am very close to finishing a couples version of the Triangle Effect, based on the Family Triangles. I hope to have that ready soon for publication. The original book (Seeing Your Life Through New Eyes) will be relevant for a long time and this version about relationships is designed to complement the original book that I co-authored with Paul Brenner MD. That process using Triangles (I’m calling it The Triangle Effect) is continuing to amaze me with its simplicity and power to reveal the roots of our self-image, relationship issues, and emotional needs. I look forward to more opportunities to teach and share that with people around the world.

Traveling to teach Hakomi around the world continues to take up most of my time, but I am staying home more and more. I have opened my office again, which I am sharing with Carlin Favell, Cam Grant, and Marlena Field (www.bodymindspiritcoaching.com). We are located at the Body Mind Center 635 Victoria St. in Kamloops B.C. I like to work with anyone who is willing to look at themselves using applied mindfulness to find out how they can become happier and more fulfilled.

My approach is informed by the Hakomi Method, by mindfulness and applied Buddhism, by the Triangle Effect, and by a bodymind approach to applied mindfulness and yoga which I am now calling Psoma Yoga. Psoma Yoga combines the principles of the Hakomi and Feldenkrais methods with yoga postures and movements in order to facilitate greater body awareness, self awareness generally, and body, mind, and spirit integration. This approach is being offered in Kamloops Jan 23-24, in Hawaii Jan 9-15, as well as in Edmonton, Texas, and the UK later in 2010. For information about the retreat center in Hawaii please go to www.huiho.org.

Some of the wonderful experiences I look forward to this year besides the Hawaiian yoga retreat in January include the Heart of Meditation retreat with Flint Sparks in June... both are at Hui Ho’olana in Molokai Hawaii. This will be the ninth year in a row for this meditation retreat, which fills up now a year in advance.

Again, as last year, Ron Kurtz (Hakomi) and I are doing a retreat called Applied Mindfulness at Hollyhock in BC (www.hollyhock.ca)... this year it is May 30 to June 4. Last year this retreat was a huge success and we expect it to fill up again. Hollyhock is another amazing setting for the kind of work we do.

Wishing you all the best for 2010. Thanks for looking in and please know that you are welcome at any time. I hope to add some new articles and pieces for your interest every month or so. Thank you!