Where We’ve Been + Where We’re Going
Hi <3,
Our Summer series, Confluence, has been such a gem of deepening for me thus far. I’ve found myself at the edge of anxiety, perfectionism, doubt, self-care, curiosity, boatloads of compassion, story, poetry, vulnerability, reflection, and experimentation.
This series is unfolding in real time, meaning I don’t have an agenda, I’m taking it week by week, asking myself and trying on- what anchors us to soul, spirit, innate wisdom, internal stability, belonging, and dignity, so that we have more capacity, flow, resilience, inspiration, self-trust, agency, authenticity, and creativity in our lives.
I’m leaning into years’ worth of study and experience in holistic practices and my love for poetry and story, and most importantly, I’m risking being wrong and making a mistake for the sake of learning to trust the wisdom that lives within.
Thank you to those of you who have been along for the ride thus far!
This is where we’ve been and where we’re going in case you want to follow along and/or there are any gems for you to pick up or remember:
We started with creating time and space to arrive in the felt experience of being supported, held by something bigger, swaddled in compassion, which says, “I am with you in your wholeness, I got you, I’m here with you”.
This is a key starting place in Yoga, Somatics, and the fairytale of The Lindworm (a timely tale shared in week 1) because the hyper vigilance, the bracing against life, the constriction due to hurt and harm will not soften and arrive in presence if it does not feel safe to do so. When we are in this place of constriction, connection, choice, and clarity are offline.
In week 2, after establishing this foundation, we moved into curiosity and self-inquiry, gathering evidence of what is helpful, strengthening the muscle of self-trust, and identifying the values/dreams/truths that live in the heart/soul/center of us; from a place of presence, support, safe enough, and compassion, there is more capacity and appetite to become curious and open to exploration and experimentation, gathering evidence that bolsters our self-trust and the value and importance of the dreams, values, and truths we hold dear; we anchor, re-root, tap into the wisdom of our soul and how it ripples through our body, senses, mind, emotions, and outer world (relationships, environment, work, creativity) by simply getting curious from a place of “I am held, I am supported, nothing is inherently wrong with me, somebody/something has my back”.
We continued to dance with genuine curiosity that is coming from a place of held and supported as an extension of our dreams/values/truths. This is because, sometimes, knowing where to start with what we value, what we hold true, and what we dream of can feel overwhelming, creating undue pressure. So, we bring it back to what is curious and explore (this week has been ripe with journaling and poetry).
Next week, week 3, what is percolating is a practice of anchoring into the infinite. We forget ourselves, our magnificence, our interconnectedness, our genius, our divinity and it can really weigh heavy and constrict the internal river of life. So, I’m sensing we’ll explore and come back to this through practice (there’s likely to be a heavy dose of mythology).
Also, mark your calendars for a special Summer Solstice experience: Solstice Story Weaving, 6/19, 6-7:30 pm at Cowee School (Franklin NC), Donation-based. I’m pairing up with a dear friend and amazing human, Madison Traviss, to gather us during this auspicious time to celebrate, to connect, and to create as our wise ancestors would have been doing thousands of years ago (I’ve had the pleasure and privilege of experiencing story weaving with Madison and it is AHmazing, heartfelt, and soul nourishing). If you are new to story weaving, here is some info. shared by Madison:
What is story weaving?
A shared experience that allows each participant to reflect and share stories rooted in a shared word of phrase, find themselves in the stories of others, and weave those resonant words or phrases into their own woven writings.
Share in Woven words and connectivity:
Opening round,
First share + harvest writings,
Weave harvested writings,
Woven stories share,
Closing share.
“Listen to all, plucking a feather from every passing goose, but follow no one absolutely.” - Chinese proverb
Lastly, there is NO class the first Sunday of June (this Sunday) because I will be out of town. This class will start back up the first Sunday in July, 7/6).
Please feel free to let me know if anything here resonated or if you’ve been in the series live time, your feedback is much appreciated, valuable, and will be informative for future offerings.