Receiving Right as Rain
Receiving sounds easy. Receiving sounds like we would all want that, someone to offer us something and all we have to do is accept. But is it that easy? What happens inside you when you are offered something unexpectedly? Do you open to receive it? Do you cringe and shut down? How easy is it?
When the weather turns volatile, as it does so often in the Spring, temperatures fluctuating wildly, rain and sun alternating hourly, your body and mind can find it hard to know where to rest. You can begin to feel irritated, uneasy with so much change, so much movement. One of the ways to respond to such movement, such random fluctuation, is to practice being receptive. To practice being receptive, you might need to fortify yourself and your intentions, you might need to practice saying something to yourself like “I can receive this” or “I can accept this” whatever it is. It could simply be an inconvenience like rain. Or it could be more something more devastating like an argument with a family member, a loss of a job or a relationship, or even a death. How might you receive these things?
Hexagram 2 - The Receptive is all about earth and the idea of earth as embodied in a steady and loyal mare. For us, in our time and place, this image may not be so clear, as the mare is not a common sight in our cities anymore. But we certainly know the steady, loyal and tireless earth. The earth, who these days takes more than her share of toxic waste and somehow turns it into beauty each and every day, each and every season. We all know this. If you look you will see how each Spring, the earth returns to us the hope of all things in growth, all things in their green, their blossom and their potential for fullness.
In being receptive, you are willing to embrace the moment of yielding to rain, to sunshine, to dark even. You are willing to receive the nourishment of whatever the world decides to bring you. You are willing to see what grows when you allow such nourishment to be taken in. Sometimes you become caught in the cultural ethic of constant motion, you forget that to receive you may have to be still. You forget that without any effort on your part there will be alternation of movement and stillness, light and dark, noise and silence.
The Receptive invites you to look at what will nourish growth, what you will need to carry on with your work, what you will use to connect you with your world. What kind of reception will you give what the world offers you?
Inspiring Force
Inspiring Force is the translation for Qian Hexagram 1 of the Book of Changes, more commonly called the I Ching. In keeping with my theme of change this year, beginning this week, I will profile a hexagram from the Book of Changes each week, using the themes and teachings found in each of the hexagrams to shape the post. I’ve been waiting a long time to play with the hexagrams in this way and the moment has finally arrived! I hope you’ll enjoy it as I know I will.
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Force is a tricky word, even a taboo one. No one wants to have to use force. No one wants receive force. Yet, force is exactly what it takes to move forward in certain situations. Like Spring, for example. Force is required for any plant to re-emerge after the Winter. It is no small feat for green to happen above ground. Warmth happens, loosening happens and then something happens. We don’t think of it as force when we see it on the trees, but it is a creative force, some might say an inspiring force, the pure energy of growth that we witness as the world turns green around us.
Lately, I’ve been thinking and talking a lot about power with, a form of relationship where you might think force would not appear. The definitions of force include: “ active power” “cause of motion or change”. In this way we can think about the force of nature, the force of sunlight, of water, of earth. These are the forces that are always at play in our world. In Chinese medical language we call the forces at play yin and yang. And now here at the advent of Spring, the yang energy, the force of growth is writ large. It is the ruling principle you could say of Spring, the energy of growth. You can use this energy, this force, to energize your life.
In power with relationships (what you might also call mentoring or coaching) the force of our choices creates movement, change and a sensation of active power or agency in your life. Your health and the health of your world depends on you becoming an active agent in your world. Do you feel like an active agent in your world? Are you a force of nature on your own behalf? Want to learn more about how you can be?
What, you might ask, does it look like to use the force of growth, of this yang energy in your life? It can look all kinds of ways, but it is the energy of movement, of implementing ideas, taking action. You can nurture and grow your ideas with words, music, dancing, with all kinds of movement. Still, it can be very important when you engage this kind of energy to be open to the scary parts, too, like being on a roller coaster, or in a car, plane or train that is moving fast. You might feel that funny feeling in your belly, the sensation almost of seasickness, when the vehicle you are in (your body or your car or the airplane) is taking you places almost faster than you can bear. This can happen. And if it does, drink more water, eat more green food, take more walks, spend less time on the daily news and more time on your biggest vision for yourself. Also you can call on some essential oils to vitalize and enhance your vision and energy such as Peppermint, Lavender or Yarrow. Peppermint will open all your senses, bringing clarity and sharp focus. Lavender will relax your muscles and allow movement to happen. Yarrow will bring energy up and help you to pay attention to your intuition. Just smelling these powerful plant allies can be all that is needed to mobilize your energy and attention for yourself. You can learn more about using essential oils here at thenectarofplants.com.
I’m available for mentoring, visioning, I Ching readings and all kinds of creative exploration of the rising energy of these times. Meet me here!
Smelling Spring
Spring isn’t officially here yet, but in my neck of the woods, the days are noticeably longer, brighter and warm. And they smell. Yes, the smell of damp new growth, of warmth and possibility. This year, for maybe the first time ever, I am feeling in sync with the sprouting energy. I am ready for some change. Ready to step into the next movement. I attribute this readiness to a long leisurely few months of a lot of staying home. A lot of staying home. A lot of cooking and a lot of reading. The book list is always growing but most recently I have been reading up on epigenetics in preparation for some new workshop material that I will be presenting on the West coast starting this coming Friday. I’ll be talking about epigenetics, essential oils and Chinese medicine.
Chinese medicine was born from the wisdom of constant change, from the acknowledgement that the forces of night and day, light and dark, are both opposites and partners, that they both reinforce each other and change into each other. The discussion on epigenetics and essential oils is all about choice and change (now doesn’t that theme sound familiar???). Epigenetics basically says that how we interact with our environment produces changes on the genetic level, changes that can be measured and even passed on to the next generation. Added to the discussion is the notion that with conscious choice we can inhabit these types of changes in whole new ways, evolutionary ways, ways that allow us to bring forward all kinds of wisdom from our experience. The key, however, remains the idea of change by choice.
Essential oils are the key players here as they both contain the essence of the plant, the actual substance itself and they can activate our senses with their aroma. Smell is our oldest and most primal sense, one that protects us, enlivens us and brings us great pleasure. Through the activation of our senses we change our perception, literally and emotionally. When we smell something, we instantly recognize its character, its “meaning” you could say for us. It may be an exact recognition, such as “smells like cut grass” or it may be a vague one such as “smells like my grandma used to smell”. Either way it can often be a pivotal experience. Essential oils allow us to make change by choice by bringing consciousness to our sense of smell and altering our experience of ourselves.
When I teach about essential oils I frequently offer the following exercise as a way in to this kind of knowing:
Pick an essential oil to work with or if you don’t have one just walk outside and smell the air.
Smell the oil chosen or the air for at least one minute.
Sit quietly for a minimum of 5 minutes and observe the following:
Where in my body am I experiencing sensation?
What is the nature of the sensation I am experiencing? (warm/cold/heavy/light/still/moving)
What is the quality of the sensation I am experiencing? (sharp/dull/burning/numb/tingling)
What thoughts arise?
What feelings arise?
4. Write, draw or dance this experience for yourself.
Notice how different things feel after just these few minutes.
For this exercise, please try to let your body be your guide rather than your thinking mind. Everyone experiences smells differently and there are no good or bad smells, only different and unique bodies.
I’d love to hear about your experience, so if you are willing, please share right here!
Perhaps you want to join me for this lively new material in either Vancouver or San Francisco! Look here for more information!
The blog will be on break while I am on the road. I’ll be back with more Monday Morning notes on April 1.
Enjoy the smell of Spring!