As we slow down and pay attention to the sensation in our bodies, we prepare ourselves as a vessel of attunement. The alchemists spoke about the importance of preparing the inner vehicle so that transmutation could occur naturally, where the unmetabolized aspects of our experience can be converted into the gold of our true nature.
In this way, we can begin to discover the wisdom inherent in even our most difficult emotions, when they are brought into the vessel of presence. Once located inside, we heat them up with the fire of our curiosity, warmth, awareness, and compassion. Then we can finally see what they are, and what we are.
As we begin to integrate the various levels of our experience – and see how they weave together and craft our perception – we might become astonished at just how intelligent the journey truly is.
And how fortunate we are to have a body, to have senses, and to have a heart that is sometimes broken and sometimes whole. How rare that truly is. How unique this particular star truly is.
We may never know what it is like to take birth in another place where it may not be organized quite like this one, so for the short time we are here we could give our lives to this curiosity, to the painful, messy, chaotic, joyful, gloriousness of being an open, sensitive, tender human being.
Able to reflect on our experience, to know what it is like to have a heart and to navigate the mysteries of separation and union. To be able to see and hear and touch and feel the purity of form, and to know the sacredness of matter.
And from this awe and this revelation, to do whatever we can to help others. To listen to them. To hold them. To validate their feelings. To pay careful attention to the way they are making meaning of their experience. To be that attuned vessel where love can find safe passage here.
Image: from the holding field of Carina Nebula
At times, the emissaries of the dark
surge to resume their rightful place
in the inner ecology of the heart.
They contain an eruption of light,
but it is a light not understood
in a world that has forgotten.
Contradictory, chaotic,
and beyond resolution,
yet overflowing with
wisdom nature.
Like a black sun, or a rose
with poisonous thorns.
What appears as obstacle
is revealed as path.
Inside the symptom
the cure is hidden.
Dear friends, registration is now open for my weekend intensive, The Path is Everywhere, 15-18 June at Sunrise Ranch in Loveland, CO. More information/ registration here.
Many of us find ourselves interested in and longing to participate more intimately in life, open our hearts, heal old wounds of unlovability, and awaken to our true nature; to work through old patterns of shame and self-abandonment. We sense the real possibility of living in a different way, but there are not a lot of viable pathways in our modern world which facilitate this sort of discovery.
What might a spiritual approach to life look like in the modern world? One that is emotionally-sensitive, body-aware, and psychologically mature? One that honors both the darkness and the light, which includes difficult feelings, and isn’t organized around some new belief system. One that holds the tension between the opposites that the sacred is always, already here, and the truth that sometimes we are not able to see this and live from it.
During our time together, we'll step into a very alive and provocative, yet nourishing and safe vessel of healing, wisdom, and love. Over the course of the weekend, we'll explore therapeutic, somatic, and meditative approaches to psychological growth, emotional healing, and spiritual transformation, and how we might approach these mysteries within the context of our lives exactly as they are.
Psychotherapy and shadow, mindfulness and compassion training, meditation, body awareness, and relational work each offer a unique set of views and tools addressing the nature of a rich life of inner abundance and resources, one that is imbued with purpose and meaning, oriented in our innate longing for wholeness. Within the holding context of an empathic, attuned relational field, we will explore these approaches as well as the mystery that the path of the heart truly is, the value of not-knowing, and how it is love itself that is the ultimate medicine.
The weekend is open to anyone interested in healing, spirituality, mindfulness, psychotherapy, meditation, yoga, opening the heart, and the mystery of awakening to our true nature. We'll meditate together (no experience required), explore what an integral approach to spirituality and healing might look like for those of us active in the world, and have plenty of time for questions, sharing, and discussion.
We'll begin on Friday evening at 7pm and end Monday morning at 12pm, meeting for a total of eight sessions. You will be well nourished at Sunrise Ranch, with fresh, local, organic food, including plenty of choices for those on special diets.
To learn more or register, please visit the retreat's website.
