Monthly Archives: May 2013

Deep Listening

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Some of us think our way through life, others feel our way through.   See, hear, feel and perceive the subtle flow of hidden forces at work in your daily, ordinary life.  Clear your mind, open your heart and expand your awareness. We learn to listen to ourselves by listening with our whole body and soul.  Open your inner ear, and listen to the quality of the sound of your inner voice.

Do not get caught in the content of the words–instead notice the quality of energy in the thoughts. Allow your whole body to speak to you.  Notice where the energy arises.

  • Acknowledged sensations, and breathe into them.
  • Assimilate your experience, slow it down by taking a few deep breaths–and feel it in your body.
  • Appreciate the energy in the physical felt-sense, and let it shift into an emotional feeling.
  • Allow the energy to keep moving. . . Notice if memories, images, pictures or other impressions arise.
  • Let your intuition begin to put the pieces together and your create insight and meaning out of your experiences.

[Heaven Can Wait 2010]

We learn to listen to others with the same sensitivity.  To acknowledge what someone is saying.  It helps to slow down (and breathe) as we listen and take in what is being said, so we can appreciate the emotional quality of the energy behind what one is saying.  You may even have images, picture or other subtle impressions that give you insights into another’s experience. This capacity to listen deeply to another is enhanced by embodied awareness.

In one of our embodied awareness seminars, a participant Stacy said, “Deep listening has been beneficial for me both personally and professionally.  I have found it has increased my awareness of felt sense and my understanding of emotions (mine and others). It has also increased my confidence in my intuition. I practice deep listening within dyads and with family and friends the feedback has been right on…..Yes! I am right! ”  In the past I have always doubted myself so I am so grateful for the opportunity to really solidify this practice for myself and increase my capacity in such a profound way. It is creating expansion in all aspects of my life. Deep listening is allowing me to become more embodied completely”.

What changes  for you, when you listen deeply to yourself?

What changes when you listen deeply to others?

Take a deep breath…

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[image from www.sacredbodyinstitute.com]

Breathing practices help you become aware of subtle energies and rebuild your vitality and inner spiritual force. You can use breath work to over-come obstacles, maintain clarity of focus, energize your spirit, relax your body or calm down when you are over excited.

Folk wisdom says to calm yourself when you are upset, ‘take a deep breath and count to ten before speaking’. Stress reduction therapists train patients to take deep breaths to soothe anxiety. Lamaze childbirth coaches teach pregnant women to use the breath to ease pain in labor and delivery. The Hindu culture has made a study of the breath and developed the science of pranayama, yogic breathing practices. In India, it is taught that slow, deep breaths relax the body and calm the mind; while rapid breathing stimulates the body and energizes the mind.

Radical Self Care, Chapter 4 “Energy Awareness and Breath Work for Radical Self Care”. Dr. Beth Hedva.

Learn to support yourself with your breath.

How are you breathing right now?

Are you breathing in or out?

Are you holding your breath?

Is your breath shallow?

Are you breathing deeply?

What do you observe?

In one of our embodied awareness seminars, Meaghan, who works as a psychotherapist and counsellor, shared,

“The aspect of embodied practice I feel most serves me is breath work. I integrate this for myself by getting on my yoga mat nearly every day. I really notice a difference when I am grounded how much space I have available to do a number things, including supporting others.  I bring this embodied practice and really notice the impact when I sit with clients in my work, particularly the earth breath and the water breath”.

“I use these to bring grounding when people come in the door from the flurry of whatever their life has been in the moments prior to deepen and come into a place of inner work. The water breath is great for soothing once we have dived into something significant that may have stirred things up a little for them”.

“Breath work is a foundation I am currently grateful for and see the impact of on a daily basis”.

 How has breath work helped you stay present in your body?

What type of breathing practice do you rely on most?

Following Inner Guidance to Realization

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Inner guidance is a spiritual sense that takes you in the direction of realization of your true nature.  Those . . . .’ah ha!’ moments that bring a spontaneous break-through beyond ordinary limitations.

When we unify with our spiritual Self, and awareness expands—we emerge into feeling peace, happiness, infinite possibility, creativity  mystical states of ‘oneness’ and freedom– all independent of one’s external circumstances or external conditions. Realization is a glimpse into ‘enlightenment’.   India describes it as a state of spiritual Self-realization, ‘nirvana’, stillness. Japan calls it ‘Satori’ or ‘beginner mind’; and in the West it has been called self-actualization.

Realization implies making it real through embodiment of the experience.  Intuition is integrated through action. Intuition (and all the subtle senses) clarifies a pattern.  Spiritual discernment helps us see the many paths and options ahead of us – to continue the pattern, to walk a new direction, and how to choose which direction to go. Realization organically follows.

The choice is to continue down the path of Self-realization…to continue to check in for guidance, to be guided by an emerging inner sense of freedom, well-being, health and wholeness–free from conditioning, re-activity, prejudice or expectations–and to act from that.

[Radical Self Care, Chapter 5 “The 12 Senses of Embodied Awareness”. Dr. Beth Hedva].

In one of our Embodied Awareness seminars we used a sentence completion exercise to expand intuitive perception and cultivate the inner Observer and therefore inner guidance, by answering a series of questions. We sat in a circle, and each person explored the experience of realization by answering the question:

“What is it like when you courageously follow your guidance…” .     Here are some of the responses:

When I courageously follow my guidance…everything is radiant.

When I courageously follow my guidance…there is Feminine receptivity.

When I courageously follow my guidance…there is light.

When I courageously follow my guidance…I must  dance with my resistance.

When I courageously follow my guidance…I sometimes get in trouble!

When I courageously follow my guidance…I get pretty excited.

When I courageously follow my guidance…I am open to making mistakes.

When I courageously follow my guidance…I am able to embrace the light and the shadow with love & joy.

When I courageously follow my guidance…I move mountains.

When I courageously follow my guidance…there is a tidal wave of joy.

When I courageously follow my guidance…I become acceptable.

When I courageously follow my guidance…I burst at the seams with ideas.

When I courageously follow my guidance…It feels right & good.

When I courageously follow my guidance…I feel unburdened.

When I courageously follow my guidance…I end up where I need to be.

When I courageously follow my guidance…there is wisdom.

When I courageously follow my guidance…I am open and curious and full of joy.

When I courageously follow my guidance…I step around the source of my resistance rather than reacting to it.

When I courageously follow my guidance…I learn to understand my body and deal with my fears.

When I courageously follow my guidance…there is rebirth.

{ Rebirth Oni H. }

{ Rebirth Oni H. }

When I courageously follow my guidance…I surprise myself and enjoy myself.

When I courageously follow my guidance…I am peaceful.

When I courageously follow my guidance…I jump rather than thinking about everything way too much.

When I courageously follow my guidance…I honor the information from all my senses as opposed to doubting it.

It would be great to hear from you.

                                                    What is it like when you courageously follow your guidance?