november: Awakening

Hello.

Welcome to the inaugural month of Bewonderment! We are so happy you are on this journey.

This month’s theme is Awakening, a theme that feels a bit counter to what is occurring in our physical world here in the Northern Hemisphere in November. As the natural world readies itself for a long winter’s nap, we are beginning to awaken to ourselves.

Below you’ll find the month’s practices:

  • a short newsletter with further musings on awakening and the growing pains associated.

  • a simple three-step act of mindfulness intended to gently invite awareness and self-compassion designed to be repeated throughout the month.

  • several journal prompts to further explore what awake feels like for you.

  • a multi-modality creativity exercise that is an act of aspiration.

Each of these practices ties into the theme, some in ways that are obvious and others more roundabout. You may want to do them all together in one sitting, or spread them out over time. Let your intuition guide you. Some will feel resonant, others less so. Take what you need, leave the rest. Know that you can always return to these practices when the time feels right.

Our first open studio session will be November 16 from 7-8pm CST. The Zoom link is at the bottom of this page. These sessions are designed to allow you to share your experience, ask questions, and brainstorm ideas. They are not intended to be places to receive feedback on your work, but to build community.

Always feel free to reach out if you have questions, hang-ups or want to share your triumphs! The link to our email is at the very bottom of this page.

Be well,

SRB

Your Practices

  • Contemplate

    Consider this month’s theme in our short newsletter.

    Read

  • Meditate

    Connect to stillness with a simple mindfulness meditation.

    Click here for Written Meditation

    Sit

  • Journal

    Explore your journey with these journaling prompts.

    Write

  • Create

    Dive into your playful side with these creativity exercises.

    Create
 

Open studio session

November 16, 7-8pm cst

Join the crew for a little Bewonderment jam session. We’ll talk about why we’re here, what we hope for, and what’s awakening in us.

JOIN ZOOM HERE
 

We don't hear much about how painful it is to go from being completely stuck to becoming unstuck. The process of becoming unstuck requires tremendous bravery, because basically we are changing our DNA. We are undoing a pattern that is not just our pattern. It's the human pattern: we project onto the world a zillion possibilities of attaining resolution... This pattern keeps us dissatisfied and causes us a lot of suffering.

— Pema Chödrön

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field. I’ll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase “each other”
doesn’t make any sense.
The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don’t go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want.
Don’t go back to sleep.
People are going back and forth across the doorsill
where the two worlds touch.
The door is round and open.
Don’t go back to sleep.

— Rumi

 

Once the soul awakens, the search begins and you can never go back. From then on, you are inflamed with a special longing that will never again let you linger in the lowlands of complacency and partial fulfillment. The eternal makes you urgent. You are loath to let compromise or the threat of danger hold you back from striving toward the summit of fulfillment.

— John o’donohue

 

SEE YOU IN THE STUDIO SESSION!

As always, we are here if you need any help or guidance. Just send us a note below.