Tag Archives: relaxation

Emerging, Moving and Meditating.

Woman pruning tree.I wonder if being pruned feels to the plant as challenges and obstacles on my path do to me? It can seem quite brutal at times and yet we often look back on such incidences as important lessons that have been pivotal in the process of unfolding into full potential. I am still very much in the thick of my process but even now I can see how the recent and ongoing challenges are shaping me into a space of courage and positivity. Rather than fuss over who ought to be doing what I have taken up the gauntlet and am doing everything I can to reach my goals of happy, fulfilled, independent and meaningful living with my Beloved. My online readings have been launched and there is already positive feedback from that offering, more to come I am sure! The other initiative is a new meditation class that will be launched at the Maleny Yoga Shed tomorrow.

Body Awareness Meditation classes

We are going to save the full format of “Buddha Meets Your Body” for workshops and to have the weekly class as a meditation that focuses on bringing awareness into the whole organic being of mind, heart and body. So it’s minus the talking for the most part and aims to give participants an experience which they can take away and reflect on for themselves. It will be simple even when there is movement involved, for the first class people will be lying down for most of it and only moving the body in very subtle ways. When you bring awareness to any part of the body change follows as quickly as a thought can move and shift and change, possibly even quicker than thought in fact. Our bodies have their own wisdom and you never truly know anything until it is known throughout your being. And everything moves with greater ease when you are coming from a place of relaxation, a quality that tends to be undervalued much of the time.

Awareness energy meditation

So in the class we focus on relaxing and grounding before embarking on journeys of deep exploration, bringing awareness to deeper and deeper levels of consciousness. I know where we will begin but who knows where it will end up and that is the most exciting part of any expedition into the unknown. My Beloved and I will be learning as we go and excited to hear what others experience in the safe and supportive space that we will be creating for participants. For those who love to dance we will also be offering an hour of dance in the afternoon, “Dance Yourself Open”, from 5-6pm. I have a vision of building community with those who are interested in expanding their inner awareness and taking the understandings gained in meditation class on to the dance floor. And ultimately out into the larger world!

Dance Yourself Open

This is a dream that I have………

International Yoga Day at the Maleny Yoga Shed:
https://www.facebook.com/events/990292787752470/

Body Awareness Meditation Classes at the Maleny Yoga Shed:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1746496392299679/

 

 

Positive Currents In The Constant Sea Of Change.

falling apartI’m late again and this time it’s a positive shift in the sea of constant change that has thrown me into an ungrounded state for a time. I discovered the good news late at night when I was getting ready for bed so the timing wasn’t the best. But I did some slow breathing and managed to relax enough to get to sleep soon enough. The next day which is when this post was supposed to be written my Beloved and I moved into our latest lovely house sit. Another positive but I found myself feeling a bit strange and having a bit of a hard time staying in my body.

spiritual energy

It’s obvious that something deep in me was triggered by yet another shift in the wonky sands of my current existence. I don’t know what exactly but methinks it was quite likely something to do with survival, base chakra stuff, and with any luck that particular bit of energy has now moved on. I tried to be in the moment as we packed and moved and when I got the chance I also followed up on the new potential that had emerged and in the end I found peace within myself. So if you are experiencing a lot of change even be it positive, just remember that it is still stress for the body and you need to practice self-care.

My self-care included love-making and having a lovely meal cooked for me, a nice hot curry to chase away the cold that’s been hanging around for a week now. All activities that will help you get back into your body, dancing or physical exercise are also helpful with grounding. Of course connecting with Mother Earth is probably one of the best methods, touching nature with your bare skin will release all kinds of stress out of your system. Our new place is close to town but you would never know it, lots of tall trees and birds and so quiet apart from natural sounds.

mother earth

Dear Mother Nature, thank you so much for the unwavering support that you always offer to me, thank you for the peace you bring with your very presence!

A Balancing Act, Relax And Take Responsibility.

My Beloved weighs fifteen kilos less than I do, a skinny little runt who must have hollow legs because he certainly doesn’t eat any less! To my fond eyes he is the perfect size but there is a part of me that can’t help feeling a bit envious at his ability to eat everything in sight without seeming consequence. Of course the trick is always to find the best diet for your particular body type and if there are two of you then a certain amount of compromise is probably required.

Men are from mars

It’s the age-old question for those of us women who don’t quite fit the ideal laid out in the current cultural archetypes, is it about health or how you think you should look? Health has been the paramount question for me but lately indulgence has been a bit of a byword and that can definitely go too far at times. The thing is when you improve your diet you do become more sensitive, no matter how often I notice this in my response to food I still seem to need reminders.

be-happy

At the end of the day I want to be happy more than anything else, pretty much the way I am right now except that I’ve noticed it keeps getting better. That’s all pleasure by the way, our capacity for opening to this kind of energy I do believe is infinite. Follow your bliss sounds shallow but it can actually be fairly deep, and if you truly relax and surrender you can go beyond whatever ‘stuff’ you may have picked up along the way. RELAX and enjoy the journey, the one thing you can be sure of is change so try and get comfortable in the flow of life. RESPONSIBILITY is being able to respond to the shifts and changes that inevitably are a part of following our flow, it can be FUN too!

Big Rainbow

So I think I will be fairly relaxed with my food, just watch the sugar thing and try to have a few green smoothies every week. Relaxation is a bit underrated as a quality but I think it is the key to so many of the ways in which to move into new ways of being in the world. So I will continue to spend lots of time with my Beloved, that’s always relaxing whatever we’re doing! And we are going to the joining gathering very soon to present our first workshop together, very exciting!

Remember to have fun!smiley face daisy

Bigger, Better, Faster……….Slow Down!

Rainbow Man at the Enchanted Gathering.

Rainbow Man at the Enchanted Gathering.

Life has been a little bit crazy what with being between two house sits for almost three weeks, ending in the moving haze I referred to in an earlier post and arriving in a house full of Celtic musicians. Then a couple of days at the Enchanted Gathering with lots of magic, frequencies and dancing, freezing cold and fires burning as the Wizard and the Rainbow Man kept crying, “More wood, more wood!”.

The Enchanted Gathering.

The Enchanted Gathering.

So it’s been very busy and quite intense and my Beloved and I have been enjoying the chance to slow down and begin to get to know our new environment which we now have all to ourselves.  I’ve also started reading a new Diana Richardson book, “Slow Sex”, if you’ve read my posts before you might remember me talking about her book “Tantric Orgasm For Women”. I’ve read the introduction and the first chapter and already I’m feeling very inspired, and not just about sex either, the principles she is talking about can be applied to everything that we do.

couple make love

In fact her inspiration to write the book came from another writer called Marc David who wrote “The Slow Down Diet”, he is a nutritionist and expert on the psychology of eating. He talks about eight qualities that are an integral part of how we are nourished when we eat and it is less about what we eat and more about the way in which we do it. Awareness and relaxation are two of these qualities and you will hear a lot about these in any book on tantric sex worth it’s salt.

passionate embraceWhen you slow down there is an entire world of sights and flavours and smells to savour, and if you can actually relax you offer your body the opportunity to respond to all of this treasure. Most of the time we have ideas about things, whether it be food or sex, that we try to force upon the body. Then when our experience is less than satisfactory we think that there must be something wrong with us, if we can create that ‘perfect’ body somehow it will all made right.

It is so important to nourish ourselves on all levels of our being, bring the sacred into everything that you do and you are well on the way to true fulfillment on a soul level. And remember that life was meant to be fun!

Once Upon The Sea Of Blissful Awareness.

Ayahuasca image 4I only just remembered that I am supposed to write a post for tonight! I am in a space of no-time with my Beloved and I completely forgot what day it was, that is true relaxation. So I am going to honour that lovely place that has no deadlines by staying there and making this the shortest post I have ever published.

So I offer you a little exercise if you fancy it, this piece of music gives a sense of where my consciousness is floating at this moment, in the sea of love, of life. Turn it up and listen in the most relaxed space that you are able to achieve at this time, let the music take you deeper in to your body and if it feels good maybe even move your body. Imagine that every part of your body is listening to the music, not just your ears but every part of your physical being!

And surrender to the ocean of bliss that is the life we were born to live!

This is Shpongle: Once Upon The Sea Of Blissful Awareness: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAQkxJ4zHh4

 

Pleasuring Into Ecstasy: Slow It Down Sweetheart!

PinkOshoFlowerPoemYou know there are some blogs out there that really keep it simple and focus on one big project, like cooking your way through a famous french recipe book over a whole year. And then there’s someone like me, exploring every aspect of consciousness she can send her awareness into, moving fluidly and sometimes for no apparent reason from one project to another, and then back again!

Well I’m back to where I had got to in “Tantric Orgasm For Women” and really enjoying being able to read and find that sometimes an open body and heart is as good as any book. But it is an excellent text-book and very inspiring too, relaxation is the key and I can attest to the value of letting go of tension and generally slowing everything down. So you do need to be able to trust your Beloved, even then you may be holding tensions you are not aware of, so a safe space to be together in is crucial, and that is emotional and spiritual space, not just the physical.

soulmates

The more that you let go, the more you can allow the body to guide the experiential navigation of two energies coming together, you become more sensitive to subtle energy, sensuality is heightened, which can only be a good thing! And anything that you do comes out of a place of non-attachment.

“Action is an overflowing of energy; action is in this moment, a response, unprepared, unrehearsed. The whole existence meets you, confronts you and a response simply comes. The birds are singing and suddenly you start singing-it is not activity. Suddenly it happens. Suddenly you find it is happening, that you have started humming-this is action.”

Osho, Transcribed Teachings, Tantra: The Supreme Understanding: in Diana Richardson: Tantric Orgasm for Women, p 139.

pink-flower-fields

The Valley Of Love.

Relaxation is one of those states of being that tends to be undervalued in this culture, where action and achievement are held up as the pinnacles we are meant to be aiming at. Personally I just don’t have the motivation to climb that particular Everest, how about we go gliding through the canals of Venice, or if you really like winter sports then try sledding down the hill and simply letting go. When I can make the space for it I am pretty good at letting go, and when I allow it, I have become adept at actually relaxing into my fullness.

Mount Everest.

Mount Everest.

If you have a look at tantra you will find a lot of talk about relaxation, instead of going faster and faster and heading towards a ‘peak’ orgasm, you relax and allow the subtle energies to be perceived and felt, and sink into what is known as a ‘valley’ orgasm. I’m not speaking from personal experience, ten years ago when I was in my last relationship I knew nothing about any of this stuff although some of it happened spontaneously. I was already beginning to clear my stuff and move energies and as a woman it is much easier for me to be in that tantric space, it’s all about ‘being’ rather than ‘doing’.

When the opportunity to move into relationship as a spiritual practice arrives I will embrace it wholeheartedly, but in the meantime I will practice relaxation in all areas of my life as best I can. Things work better, we operate more harmoniously when we are coming from a relaxed space, but that’s a discussion for another post.

Good news for anyone who suffers from performance anxiety in the bedroom, which would be just about everyone at some point in a relationship. And for those of you who aren’t worried, are you on automatic pilot doing the same thing every time because you know it works, and if you try something new you might get rejected and isn’t that simply the worst possible thing that could happen! I’m not hearing relaxation in any of that description, and while I may be exaggerating a little and focusing on the negative, there are some truths in what I say.

More on this subject another time, in the meantime have a listen to Frankie Goes To Hollywood singing “Relax (Don’t do it)”, I don’t think I ever really listened to the words before, it’s about valley orgasms!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyl5DlrsU90

Give Your Dreams Wings!

I really do appreciate my good health, especially after my immune system has spent pretty much a whole week at the gym! The pleasure in being embodied is even sharper and everything seems to flow, just as well considering the busy week that I will be navigating in the river of my life. The sense of being tuned in to the flow of spirit is also feeling clearer and there is a sense of joy in being alive that comes from being connected to all things.

You know those moments when something pops out of your mouth unexpectedly, it isn’t an expression that you’ve ever used before and you don’t really know where it came from. But for the person you are speaking to it really hits the spot, that happened for me with someone I was counselling and it really made my night! I’d like to share it with you if I may:

Be clear about what you want to manifest.

Then give it over to a higher power and that’s what gives it  WINGS!

wingedheart

It’s the bit about the wings that is a new expression for me, but I think it will now be something I use a lot, for myself and for others. Those moments when we are relaxed and open to possibility are when we truly allow ourselves to become a part of life’s flow, it’s a kind of channeling and often happens when we are focused on something other than ourselves. Or if you are very tired, it’s never a bad thing for my client if I am exhausted when giving a reading, the veils become even thinner then, although I don’t particularly recommend it as a technique for developing your psychic abilities!

The bottom line here is, relaxation is the key to so many things, you can build up to a climax through tension and it can be pretty amazing, but if you find the ecstatic flow in the valley your climax will go for much longer. And while this can obviously apply to sex, it has much broader applications in an inspired and creative life!

Ahhhhhhh………..don’t you just love life!!!!!

Spirit In The City.

My recent trip away demonstrated to me once again that part of my role is to be a bridge between different worlds, in a shamanic sense we are talking about otherworldly realms. But in societal terms it is about moving in circles that almost feel like they are on different planets, even though they are in the same city. Rich and poor is an obvious contrast but even within the one strand you will find a huge variety in how people think about the meaning of life.

Sydney, Australia.

Sydney, Australia.

What I do encounter in the city on the rare occasions when I do go there, is the sense that a lot of the time people are actually trying to avoid thinking about meaning and purpose in relation to themselves. This is of course endemic in the culture but somehow it feels a lot stronger in a place where there are so many people packed into the environment. Everyone is rushing around until its time to settle in front of the television and turn off the brain, more of a dulling down in my opinion rather than relaxation.

Jacaranda trees in the city.

Jacaranda trees in the city.

Of course not everyone is looking to play their part in the latest zombie movie, I spent a few days with a friend who is a ray of sunshine in the cityscape. She held a toning night for me where I got to meet other amazing souls and connect with old friends. We toned for a woman in her nineties who was passing over at that time and it was incredibly powerful, I was toning with two of my toning buddies the next day and we felt it when she passed.

So if your destiny is to be in an urban landscape there is no reason why it cannot be a positive and uplifting journey, there is much to be done to change the way we do cities and the right people need to be there playing their part. For me though, the country is where I must be, this is where the land and I will sing together, nestled in the bossom of a wondrous and caring community.

May the land and I be one, forever and ever, amen……………..HO!

Deep Medicine.

I’m beneath the water line now, the tip of the iceberg far, far above me as I dive into the deepest parts of me. Letting go of EVERYTHING, the notion of being imperfect, of somehow not being good enough, a superficial idea created by superficial people who are not really worth giving attention or focus to, ( I include myself in that last description!)  I LET GO, there is nothing held in this drop into my bones, into the heaviness that needs do nothing ‘cept be, what it is in each moment, the present is a gift.

Iceberg

And from this place of deep rest, of relaxation and release my gifts may emerge, defined not by the expectations of others, ’tis a reaching out of soul, of love and life. I am whole and in that wholeness I heal not only myself but the community at large, receiving my radiant light and being uplifted by it. Giving freely and flowing through a life full of joy and delight and good music!

My medicine journey took me to exactly where I needed to go, I perceived my need as releasing certain feelings associated with a particular person. What I realised in the safe space of the sacred circle was that this was an extremely narrow view, it was the tip of the iceberg when it was all that lies below the water line that I needed to journey to. That’s where I went and I was so deep I can’t tell you exactly what happened down there, I was beyond conscious comprehension as my body rocked and jerked to assist the movement of energy.

I am now very conscious of the fact that even when I am ‘relaxing’, there is still something being held somewhere, in the letting go of my journey I actually let go of all of it. It was such a beautiful and deep rest, and I will remember that feeling and do my best to continue my healing path so that I may be in that kind of truly restful space more often.

May there be peace within me, ohm shanti, shanti, shanti……………

stillness2