Present Presence: Why I Bow To Now

Earlier this month, I completed the last weekend retreat of my year-long training in Alchemical Healing with one of my mentors.  The weekend had special significance for me- I had begun the training a year ago on my birthday weekend.  It marked the completion of a cycle- a full year of in-depth study of the Five Elements, the psyche, spirituality and the unfolding of Tao in my life.   A full year of growth, change, and bonding with my fellow alchemists.

I dreaded the weekend because I do not do well with endings or  goodbyes.  I was not quite ready to let go of the magic of the experience. I literally braced myself for what I expected to be a "weepy weekend". Because the training was to be centered on Metal, I prepared myself for the 'letting go' and the grief associated with that element.

During the retreat, we were introduced to the Gasho practice of making eye contact, embracing, and

bowing to one another before parting.  And as we circled the room embracing and bowing to each of the 20 members of the group, something magical happened.  Instead of feeling sad and grieving the good-bye, I felt profoundly INSPIRED.  Inspired because I had the opportunity to silently acknowledge each person for their presence in my life, and to thank them for sharing  their unique light with me.  I felt complete, and ready to move forward without sadness, but with honor, joy and gratitude.

Moving around the meditative circle, I realized that the Metal element is about so much more than the art of letting go. I realized that times I had felt grief- the emotion associated with Metal- it was result of feeling like I had not truly honored the person, the place, or the moment when it was right in front of me.  Grief weighs us down with the feeling of "gone too soon", but too soon for what?   Too soon to have honored the sacredness of what we have lost. And sometimes that honoring- through prayer, ritual, art, community or even time- is the only thing that can pull us through grief.

Since that weekend, I have been inspired to live more fully, and love more completely.  To honor that each moment- even this moment as I am writing or you are reading-  has its beauty and wonder.  And I thought I'd share some tips that have helped me to bow to now on a daily basis:

1)  MORNING BREATH

Our bodies are a wonderful teacher.    When we still ourselves and watch our breath, we see that for each exhale, or letting go, there is an inhale, or inspiration.  In perfect balance.  If we continuously exhaled, we would deplete ourselves, but if we continuously inhaled, we would explode. 

And the same is true of our lives.   Every time we let go, we are creating space for something new and something magical to enter.  So before you roll out of bed, take a minute to watch your breath, breathing in love and exhaling gratitude.

2) GIVE THANKS

Ahhh gratitude.  So many times our thank-you's are focused around something concrete that someone has said, done, or given us.  We are trained from a young age to say "thank you" as a socially

accepted response.  But thanking someone in your life just for being in your life takes your thank you to a whole 'nother level.  Try writing a heartfelt thank you letter  to someone who has really touched you or inspired you (You'll feel uplifted even as you write it!)

3) SEE THE LIGHT

The word 'respect' comes from the Latin root words meaning "to look" and "again".  So "look again" at a person or situation that is causing conflict for you.  Look for the light of the person's honorable  intentions, or the light of how the situation is helping you grow.  You may gain some insight or understanding into how to resolve the conflict, and your light will get an extra boost. I see you.

4) CAPTURE THE MOMENT

We are literally surrounded by beauty, but often we're so trapped in our own heads that we fail to see it!  This trick really helped me:  I kept my camera in my pocket (well... phone) for a few days and took a picture every time I saw something that inspired me.  I ended up with a week's worth of pictures of simple pleasures: my daughter cooking with a toy chef hat on, the insanely vibrant yellow color of the leaves on the tree in front of the PJs, a quartet of violinists playing classical music in the subway station.  Just by taking a pause and a breath- no matter what else I was doing- reminded me that each moment is truly a gift not to be taken for granted.

5) PRESENT PRESENCE
This flower essence blend was alchemically orchestrated to help us awaken our capacity to live fully

in the present.  It includes White Chestnut, to quiet the mind; Impatiens, to keep us from fixating on the future, and Iris, to awaken our capacity to experience beauty and wonder. Let me tell you, it's working miracles in my life right now!

 Wishing you a fall season full of inspiration!