The book is highly acclaimed, so I came to it with high expectations, and while not being able to put it down, I wasn't exactly sure where to put it in my categorizing of book loves, but, then, I woke about three, thinking what it really is about. It is about Joy, about seeing deeply and between, about living in innocence and with curiosity and appreciation. I woke exhilarated, thinking of Sophie, a child of child-mind.
I want to share something of my weekend, and yet, I have no words, though a deeper awareness of my cells and spaciousness, of what it is to sit and stand, reverberates in me. Perhaps I can offer a taste.
In one workshop, we worked with the power of pausing. What tools can we use to remind us to pause, to refresh? I thought of the pause button on the computer. Another, when triggered by a person or situation, hears the voice "recalibrating" from the GPS in her car. Pausing can help us step out of a cycle of constriction. We can pause, focus on the breath, and the tangible sensory experience that greets us where we are.
Sounds rather esoteric, I suppose, but what we did was throw balls, and tap each other awake. We put our hands to our ears and brought them away until there was more sensitivity in hearing. We walked together and separately, and lay down in the grass. What did we see? Hear? Receive?
Perhaps, you can toss a ball up and down 40 to 100 times in a minute, and tap your head and shoulders and cover your eyes, and lie down, and notice what you see, feel, hear. Then, without pausing, write continuously, answering this question.
"What is alive in my heart?"
Pause and then answer this question writing continuously. "What most wants to be heard in me?"
Ah, now, I find myself with "What most wants to be herd in me?" We spoke of being a shepherd. Perhaps what most wants to be heard and herd in me is Joy, though what I wrote on Saturday was "trust", and perhaps they are the same. Joy and Trust!
If you are interested, the conference next year will be May 3 to 5, and it takes place here:
http://vallombrosa.org/
Information on Sensory Awareness is here:
http://www.sensoryawareness.org/
The Blue Flower is a symbol for inspiration. May you inspire on the petals, stamens and pistil, ovary and fruit, of this day.