Learning to listen to our intuitive energetic centre is one of the most liberating choices we can make in our lives.....directing us towards self-expression, responsibility and trust in ourselves. As simple as it is, it allows us to move, to share, and to heal. Mostly in the West it remains hidden, its subtlety overlooked by more seductive displays of outward strength and form which are easier to label as achievement and progress.
Female Figurine (“Bird Lady”). Egypt, from Ma’mariya. Predynastic Period, Naqada II, circa 3650–3300 b.c. Terracotta. Brooklyn Museum
In many eastern traditions (including Tai chi, Qi gong, Sacred Dance and Yoga) our energetic support is at the heart of practices that direct us inward to develop balance and vitality of mind, body and heart, irrespective of outward presentation. With the exploration they invite, we realise how strongly guarded the patterns of holding and tension are in our bodies, perhaps from a life held in check by coping or from an investment in outer strength that in truth disguises an inner vulnerability that we fear (sometimes so deeply buried that we are not even conscious of it).
In many eastern traditions (including Tai chi, Qi gong, Sacred Dance and Yoga) our energetic support is at the heart of practices that direct us inward to develop balance and vitality of mind, body and heart, irrespective of outward presentation. With the exploration they invite, we realise how strongly guarded the patterns of holding and tension are in our bodies, perhaps from a life held in check by coping or from an investment in outer strength that in truth disguises an inner vulnerability that we fear (sometimes so deeply buried that we are not even conscious of it).
“And we love life, if we could only find a way to it”, quote by poet Mahmoud Darwish
With a re-focus of effort we can learn to be both alert and relaxed (soft listening) and trust this energetic support, developing our capacity to relate differently to the tension inside us. It builds a different kind of resilience, inner strength and patience in contrast to a world needing instant fixes and external perfection. A path of practice naturally emerges, inviting us continually to step into what we do not yet know, to explore the intersection of truth and perspective, to become familiar with vulnerability, to have the confidence to be imperfect and start to take responsibility for the whole of our human expression...mind, body, and heart.
Life can take a different turn when we explore relating in this way with less trying to be who we think we should be and more soft listening to how we actually are. Our energetic support becomes the source of expansion, strength and a centredness that signposts towards the self-compassion we need to relate to the tension buried within us. With this we start to understand the difference between external support, control and force and the balance and vitality that inner strength brings. Our growing personal experience leads us towards an evolving process of healing for ourselves as we begin inhabiting our mind, body and heart afresh and understand the real freedom these practices can bring.
“I love how awareness of the body connects us
to its rhythms and its currents,
how it leads us towards an inner landscape beyond form and substance,
where we can find the soft and subtle energetic expression that is the pulse of our being
and feel the pull of our minds revealed as tension in the body
lighting up our path to healing.”
With a re-focus of effort we can learn to be both alert and relaxed (soft listening) and trust this energetic support, developing our capacity to relate differently to the tension inside us. It builds a different kind of resilience, inner strength and patience in contrast to a world needing instant fixes and external perfection. A path of practice naturally emerges, inviting us continually to step into what we do not yet know, to explore the intersection of truth and perspective, to become familiar with vulnerability, to have the confidence to be imperfect and start to take responsibility for the whole of our human expression...mind, body, and heart.
Life can take a different turn when we explore relating in this way with less trying to be who we think we should be and more soft listening to how we actually are. Our energetic support becomes the source of expansion, strength and a centredness that signposts towards the self-compassion we need to relate to the tension buried within us. With this we start to understand the difference between external support, control and force and the balance and vitality that inner strength brings. Our growing personal experience leads us towards an evolving process of healing for ourselves as we begin inhabiting our mind, body and heart afresh and understand the real freedom these practices can bring.
“I love how awareness of the body connects us
to its rhythms and its currents,
how it leads us towards an inner landscape beyond form and substance,
where we can find the soft and subtle energetic expression that is the pulse of our being
and feel the pull of our minds revealed as tension in the body
lighting up our path to healing.”
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