“Let’s heal those 10 bodies, shall we?”

I was minding my own business when I heard that phrase float through my head.  My response was immediate: “I’m in!”   I got the reference to the Kundalini Yogic teaching that each person has 10 interconnected, mutually influencing energetic bodies.  Invisible and influential.

The physical body is just the one that you can see. 

The other 9 energy bodies are there, albeit not seen, known, or understood by those who haven’t been raised or exposed to this perspective.

If raised in a culture which incorporates this knowledge, this is not front page news. 

Many in Western culture are now aware of references to the energy centers (chakras), pathways (nadis, meridians), or energetic layers of the body (biofield, aura).  Some are curious. Some are critical. Some are uninterested.  And many remain innocently ignorant.

Yet all are influenced by the energetic architecture of their bodies. 

In wisdom traditions and healing systems worldwide and throughout history, there is an awareness of this influential, invisible world.  It is the world of energy – the infrastructure of reality as we perceive it.  From this perspective, the whole must be considered for healing since everything effects everything. 

Think of the complexity within the miracle of your body – the one you can see.

Without you paying the slightest bit of attention, your food gets digested, oxygen is recycled, bones grow, learning happens, toxins are released, and the world’s sensory information gets translated.  All while you are driving to the food store.  This idea is amazing, yet hasn’t even scratched the surface of the wonder of your physical body.

Now multiple the wonder by 10.

I don’t find it a coincidence that I heard this invitation this week.  Looking ahead in my calendar, I see my next 3 scheduled events offer the chance to immerse within the healing frequencies of sound, energy, light, and celestial healers. 

The New Year has begun. And January 1st feels like a dim memory.

Has it only been 16 days since we entered a new decade full of optimism (or holiday fatigue for some)?  I recall January 1st. I was nestled under a blanket by the Christmas tree as my top 5 priorities for 2020 seemingly wrote themselves onto the page in my journal. (And yes, I was surprise by what topped that list!).

Why then is my memory of that lovely “me time” so dim today?  

I clearly see how a busy schedule with lots of interactions, to do-ing, and planning could easily lead me onto the mindless treadmill.  Without a commitment to tune into those dreams (goals) on a weekly basis, I would easily succumb to sleep walking through the year. But that is not gonna happen to me this year.

I’m unwilling to give up on myself that easily.  Nor do I wish to squander the precious moments of this Life. 

Intent is important, as are self-reflection, Soul dreaming, Treasure Mapping, practical action, and personal commitment to follow through.  Looking at the time segment of one year (2020), I began with my intent to discern what my Soul is dreaming for the year.  I did this on the 1st and you can do it whenever you choose.  (Hint: if self-reflection isn’t scheduled, it likely won’t happen).  What do you do once that time is scheduled?  Try this process.

Settle within the depth of your being and ask your Soul for the top 5 priorities for this year. 

This isn’t a thinking exercise nor a creation process from the small mind.  It is simple and entirely doable.  Settle into a quiet space with the intent to drop within your being and talk with your soul.  Ask the top 5 priorities question and record the answers.  Don’t overthink this, make it complicated, or use too many words.  It is quick, flowing, and at times nonlinear.  Sometimes the list completes itself as you shower, commute to work, or do an errand.  Soul time, not linear time.  

Pay attention and have some fun. The Soul wants to download the Map Markers for the year.  So let it. 

Once the list writes itself, keep those priorities in front of you.  Visually. Post them in your bathroom so they are viewed morning and night.  Write them in your journal and create a bookmark that moves through your journal. Create time in your week to review these priorities and how you are living them (or not). If you snooze, you lose focus.   Self-correction on a weekly basis requires only small tweaks to course correct.  This is practical and ultimately less painful than the need for a massive overhaul when you’ve wandered off the Soulful path.  

Summers are my happy time being a warm weather creature living in the Northeast United States. 

The comfort of warmer weather, longer days of light, and a slower pace are soothing to my soul.  This combo also invites me to spend as much time outdoors as possible.  And I get the thrill of rediscovering what I call my Sacred Pond in the Pocono mountains.  

I call it mine because I am the only human inhabiting the space. 

To be fair, this summer I shared the pond with a hundred thousand water lilies, a blue heron who was fishing, butterflies and bees gathering nectar, a white duck taking a meticulous bath, birds singing, trees dancing, clouds traveling above offering intermittent shade, a beckoning path, and a blank page.  Even though I was the last to arrive and only visiting, I loved to claim it as my happy place. Settling in on the first of many mornings, I arranged my chair in my typical sunny spot.  

I prepared to gaze upon the wonder of the space, but a damn bush was blocking my view. 

I felt a surge of indignation (at a bush no less) for limiting my capacity to enjoy the natural arena.  Recognizing that bushes have a right to grow, I settled my mind into an appreciative space.  My body naturally released layers of stress as I simply looked around and followed the sounds of the natural world.  All seemed to be in perfect order … until I’d glance through that damn bush to try to see a whole section of the damn pond. I noticed I “glitched” each time my gaze swept in that direction. 

It was like trying to see the play on stage when a (damn) tall person was sitting in front of me.

I solved that one by limiting my range of vision.  Again, I settled into a peaceful place.  No longer bothered by the limit I refused to see. That was a fine solution until the hot sun started cooking me.  No small breeze was offsetting that fire in the sky. So, I moved my chair up the path to the shade of the pine tree. 

Wow!  What a view!  I had my pond back with no obstruction! 

Who would’ve thought that a small elevation in my “view” – a shift in my perspective would reveal the solution to my dilemma of being stuck in the bushes?!  Apparently Life knew it was that simple.   

Shifting perspective. Elevating my point of view.  I got the message. 

Many luscious moments later, my eyes strayed to the sky where a magnificent bald eagle was circling. She flew in circles – coming closer to me with every loop.  I stood to witness the majestic creature and I marveled at how clear her vision was to locate a mouse from such a high elevation. 

It was as if nature was making a point of teaching me the benefit of changing my perspective. 

As I stood to follow her flight pattern, I began to see the radiating energy patterns flowing in all directions from the eagle.  Once I witnessed this, her flight pattern shifted.  I was transported as she demonstrated the expanding interactive potential of energy when in a “flow pattern” – when one was in a coherent relationship with the surrounding environment. I craned my neck to gaze above me through the tree tops to track her movement. 

Sunday was a brilliant day as I found myself immersed within a day long practice of “Light Bathing.” 

This wasn’t my plan nor did that term pop into my mind until I was already deep within the process.  With my morning shake in hand, my plans rearranged themselves when I was called to engage my Soul in meditation.

Sitting in my pajamas on my back deck, journal nearby, I closed my eyes and dropped into the moment. 

The birds sang.  My neighbor swept his patio. Planes occasionally flew above me.  The breeze rustled my hair.   I wandered through a visually rich inner landscape.  My Soul Conversation was enlightening.   Amidst all of this movement, Stillness emerged.  

I was lost in a dream the other day. Caught up in an old story about how to live life – my way. 

I felt the stress of this dream – occurring in the light of day with eyes wide open. This was my clue that I was dreaming. Stress – a friendly reminder that I had my knickers in a knot over something I thought was a problem. I noticed my tension and took a breath. Enjoying another deep breath, I asked one question:

“Am I present?” 

Of course this is a trick question. Each time stress offers the invitation to ask this of myself, the answer is the same: “No, I am not present. I am lost in the story of me and the way life should be.” Yet, the beauty of this undefended awareness is the opening of potential of noticing what is here. What would happen if I took a few minutes to really notice what was happening?

“Noticing” is a simple practice which has the potential to bring you rapidly into contact with what is happening.

It is so simple that this powerful practice is often engaged in a cursory fashion or overlooked altogether. This is especially true in our fast paced, self important culture. Silly really – this wasting of our precious engagement with Life – in order to get one more thing done, to get someplace faster, or to stay lost in our storyline just a wee bit longer.

So, I drop within the moment and notice.

I breathe consciously and tune into my body. The breath moves me in unpredictable patterns if I let it, as if there is a wisdom in the rising and falling code that unlocks tension I did not realize was there. When I notice my body, places of tightness automatically soften as if they were just waiting for my glance in order to relax. My posture shifts. I feel younger, gentler, and more trusting.

It doesn’t matter why my mind is scattered, my body tight, my breathing shallow, or my attention turned inward. 

Without a need to know anything, I just allow the breath and inner awareness to move as it will. Everything breathes, softens, and opens. This happens rapidly when I enter the action of noticing with an open mind and heart, willing to be with whatever I encounter without having to create a story about it.

At some point, without effort, my noticing turns to my environment.

The texture of the fabric of my clothing or furniture, the sounds near and far which harmonize with the movement of the light and my breath, the array of colors and objects patiently waiting to be seen. As my awareness broadens, the perceptions integrate into a living story worth exploring.

I realize that my stress has dissipated – my personal story has dissolved.  

I recognize the awareness of one pulsating, moving presence. There is a conversation occurring – Life is speaking and Life is listening – and I am that. The wisdom flows unimpeded and is easily translated within this relaxed Presencing experience.