Friend Friday- Meet Maria Kim

(http://sherri NULL.machighway NULL.com/~heidiros/wp-content/uploads/203 NULL.jpg)

On Fridays, I’m going to introduce you to my friends–one at a time.

I’m going to do this because I believe when we are introduced to someone with words from the heart, they become a part of our community. Our community grows. Our circle of care extends.

I love meeting someone, learning about their dreams or needs and feeling into whether I have something to offer. I love connecting people. I love helping others take the next right step in their lives.

So, I’m going to introduce you to people I love. And it may inspire you. You may have something to offer. You may have a message for someone I introduce. He or she may have something to offer you. I want to offer the dance of connection. I want to grow a community that is steeped in love and inclusivity and care.

Meet Maria Kim. Maria is my dear friend. She is also my teacher, student, cheerleader and inspiration. She is deeply, fully and quietly woven into my life and I am forever grateful for her.

I met Maria about six years ago. We were studying with the same teacher for a brief period of time. We attended a retreat together. One bright and sweet memory of the retreat was Maria walking through the house where we were all staying offering slices of mango (or was it papaya? cantalope?) to everyone. Maria is a Cancer with Cancer rising and is a nourisher extraordinaire.

Shortly after the retreat, Maria contacted me and wanted to start studying astrology. As I wasn’t teaching classes at the time, we decided to do one-on-one sessions.  I learned as much in those sessions as she did. Maria is a wonderful student. The questions she asks are always a joy to answer. Her questions affected me deeply. They still do. They always offer a larger perspective and a nudge in the direction of that bigger world.

Shortly after we started working together one-on-one, I was invited to teach in Seattle for a weekend every other month. Maria joined the class. This meant we flew to Seattle together six times over one year. At first I thought I’d use the time on the flight to prepare for class but I soon realized the beauty of 4 hours talking non-stop with Maria. On our return flights, we’d get to the airport early and we’d take turns buying bagels and chai. We loved that time out of time.

Maria is so good at so many things. She is an amazing athlete and in her youth spent most of her hours on a field or a court. She majored in East Asian studies. She knows computers inside and out. She was a programmer for a number of years. She is a Chef extraordinaire and did her internship at Alice Water’s Chez Panisse in Berkeley. Currently she is building a business in property management and real estate development. She gives herself fully to whatever she does.

In her “spare” time, she studies Taiko drumming (incredibly cool), astrology and the Ageless Wisdom. She has also helped to build a community garden in her neighborhood (http://hpgarden NULL.org/)–once again–from the ground up. And she’s extremely interested in working with children and educating them about growing and preparing food.

She invests fully in group work and is like a quiet backbone to whatever project she is giving herself to. She was one of the five founding members of the Hello Love Experiment (http://www NULL.helloloveexperiment NULL.org)! At a time when I needed a lot of support and encouragement in my leadership, she whispered words I needed to hear.

In fact, that’s one of the ways I think about Maria. She whispers mysteries to me. I don’t always know what she means at the time, but her words are often inextricably linked with my next life step or my next line of growth. I trust deeply what she sees. I know she holds the largest vision for me and I trust her to hold it and remind me of what is possible.

Maria is about to embark on a whole new chapter in her life. In November, she will begin training to become a Grinberg Method (http://www NULL.grinbergmethod NULL.com) practitioner. The Grinberg Method offers skills that are learned through the body and helps people make significant life changes. She will be an amazing in this work. There are very few practitioners in the United States. In fact, right now, I think there are two. So, it’s an exciting frontier as well. Soon, Maria will need guinea pigs to practice the work. I would highly recommend volunteering!

Here’s how I see this community can dance with Maria:  As a double Cancer, she tends to hide out a bit. Though she adds tremendously to a group, a group isn’t the most comfortable place for her to be. In fact, I think it’s pretty exhausting for her. But as you read this now, just think “Welcome, Maria! Welcome to the community. Come on in. Sit down. Can I get you something to eat? Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!” And if you see her in person, just give her a bear hug and say, “hey pal. good to see you.” She’ll look shocked but I think she’ll like it.

Big fat love.

******

On another note, Rachel Putter of the Grinberg Method (http://www NULL.grinbergmethod NULL.com) is offering FREE movement classes in Los Angeles on Tuesday nights April 13, 20 and 27th from 7-8:30 pm. Go check this out. It’s brilliant stuff. She’s at 7327 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA 90046. She can be reached at 323-493-2759.

Here is Rachel’s description:

The movement class teaches you to go beyond your normal patterns of movement following different movement parameters. It teaches through a technique called Stopping Movement – with each movement (which is free and comes from your body – it is not choreographed), you stop on the beat and then go to another movement. One of the aims is to move from the mind to the body and to allow for you to not know what your next move will be – learning to move naturally and freely. The level of demand and challenge grows from class to class and so does the pleasure.

You can watch some of the Grinberg Method movement class in Switzerland here:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjECn1gmYTc (http://www NULL.youtube NULL.com/watch?v=wjECn1gmYTc)