RETURN

RETURNING TO OURSELVES

As we enter the new year the messaging is all about making changes to our habits, manifesting newness in our lives, or otherwise improving ourselves and our circumstances.

What if, instead of trying to make ourselves anew, we returned to the core of who we are instead?

Now, this asks us to presume that we are, at our core, wise ones, love-filled beings of light; that at our core, we are perfect. This is also quite different from the messaging most of us have been indoctrinated with, that which tells us we are bound by original sin. If we walk away from this month with even an ghost of the belief that we are perfect at our center, we will be miles beyond where we started.

It is easiest for me to do this by imagining my core as a small child, guileless, raw and unregulated. In some ways, this is what makes toddlers so trying and parenting so heroic; that little person doesn’t yet have the ability to regulate or censor. Adults teach them that so they can effectively be in the world, but something is lost when we get too good at tamping those desires and feelings away.

This is what we are going to work to reawaken this month: those unregulated feelings, desires and joy.

If we also presume—and herein lies another leap of sorts—that no emotions are “bad,” but that it is how we act upon them that can cause problems, we can begin to embrace that childlike experience for all the information it provides. This, my friends, is the best of all worlds: embracing our pure childish selves with the capacity of a mature, regulated adult.

This month’s practices are intended to return to that inner child. They will ask you to be with yourself, meaning present, embodied and to witness what happens. I invite you to notice when you are resisting, avoiding or shutting down (all very adult responses though arguably not very regulated) and make note of what behaviors occur when you encounter these tendencies.

For example: when faced with an uncomfortable emotion like despair or frustration, do you change the subject, turn to scrolling on your phone or eat a sleeve of thin mints? When asked to try something new and unfamiliar, how do you respond to your uneasiness? Do you make self-deprecating remarks, quit before you can fail or get sweaty and awkward?

Beneath all these feelings and responses, behaviors and patterns, is a gold mine of information. When we get acquainted with the wise core of our being, we also make friends with all the sensations, easy and full of dis-ease. It all sounds a bit heavy and hard and like therapy, but hey, the rewards are lightness and ease! Give it a shot, what do you have to lose?

quarterly Ritual:

Want some extra support as you navigate this month? We will come together for our Quarterly Ritual on Saturday, January 7th from 10AM - 12 noon. We will workshop and brainstorm some of the activities for the month, talk through the experience of diving into what makes us uncomfortable and explore our inner child together. RSVP below and SRB will send the Zoom link the day before.

1:1 Connection

We’re in a brand new quarter! Just a reminder that every member gets one 1:1 session per quarter with moi. If you are looking to jumpstart your practice, want support around a new project or tips on how to sustain and build your creative life, make your appointment today. Check out the information below.

Looking forward to seeing you all on Saturday, January 7!

SRB