It is that time of year where we are reminded of balance. In the northern hemisphere, this is the transition time from the frenzy of summer heading back towards the rest and quiet of winter. Winter is far in the distance, but closer than we think. In dance, this is the moment of the pivot. If done well, we can witness the momentum pause and shift creating an incredible act of beauty that is felt in the body. This is the pause between the in breath and the out breath. That pause, that pivot, this time is a meeting place holding what was, as well as, the possibilities of what is to come. These may seem like minuscule moments but they are what accentuate the dance of life. If we miss the pause and keep going in the same direction or miss the pause and quickly change course, the beauty is lost, we become less stable.
We can experience this with our own breath. Breathe deeply into your belly. Allow your lungs to fill with air, pause, exhale emptying your lungs, and pause. Repeat this process several times, noticing the pause and noticing how you feel. Now change your breathing so that there is not a pause in between. Breathe in and out. Do you notice a difference? The first method is calming and the second is activating, actually we utilize this breath in ceremony to help us move into an altered state. But if you continued to breathe like this you might hyperventilate. The pause is important. The pause creates a shift in the energy.
Here we are, being asked to take a collective pause, to find our footing, to remember our balance as we shift gears to head towards the dark part of the year. The beauty of the pause is that we do not need to do anything, we simply allow the energies to shift around and within us. However, if you are feeling unbalanced, then you may need to readjust.
What helps you to readjust is personal and may depend on what’s going on in your life. There are many self-care activities that help me, but when I really need balance and restoration, I go to the Trees. Trees support our root chakra, calm our nervous system, and open our Hearts. They move at a slower rate than we do which invites us to naturally slow down and take a deep breathe. They are also wise Beings who may just give us the wisdom that we are needing.
One of the great gifts of working with Plants is that they meet us exactly where we are at that particular time. They offer us the wisdom and healing that we need. If we are in a group of people, we may each receive a different gift (though often there is a common theme). If we continue to work with the same Plant over years, they will continue to share their different healings and teachings.
Sometimes this frustrates my students. They want to come to class and have me tell them the gifts of each of the Plants rather than learn them for themselves. (To be fair, I do share particular gifts from certain Plants which I think are important that they know.) But the majority of their learning (which is life-long) is dependent on their relationship with the Plants and what the Plants want to teach them. What they need and what their clients need varies and they can only meet these needs by knowing how to gain the wisdom directly from the Plants.
Sometimes this frustrates potential customers or clients. They want to know what Essence will help with a headache or what exactly will occur in a session. But the Plants do not work like this. This is not a symptomatic system. We are looking for the root cause, which we find by following the path of my client’s story, what experiences led them to this headache (or other condition). There is not a one size fits all when it comes to healthcare. We each contain our own multiverse. What helps one person return to health may cause an imbalance in another because they have different root causes, they have different multiverses.
In our culture, we have moved towards being homogenized. We can travel to nearly any town in the US and find the same big box stores. There is great comfort in that. We know what to expect from them. If we need something, we know exactly where to find it, no matter where we are. The price for this comfort is the loss of the essence of each area (among other issues). I have noticed that the places who exude the strongest essence are those who have a strong connection to Nature, who allow the town (and the people) to be formed by the natural environment, such as Ithaca with the gorges and waterfalls or Sedona with the colorful mountains.
The same is true for us. When we try to be just like everyone else or treat everyone as if they are the same, whether it be the same diet, the same clothes, the same religion, the same medicine, or the same beliefs, we overlook the unique essence of one another. Our world becomes less beautiful. We are not the same. We each have had very different life experiences that have contributed to the formation of who we are (even amongst our siblings). Our bodies respond differently to the same experiences. Something that is fun to one person may be traumatizing to another. These are what make life interesting. When we learn about another person’s experiences or perspectives, we expand our own understanding of the world. This world (really this multiverse) is vast and complex, we could never understand everything. If we all had the same experiences, we would miss so much. It is together, through our differences, that we begin to glimpse the endless possibilities. And it is together, and only together, that we grow and thrive.
As I’m writing, I see Redwood Trees. Redwoods have inspired humans for many generations. Each Tree is vastly unique. They grow in the same Forest and yet, they each take on their own form. Part of their form is due to their experiences (one might even say traumas), including fire. We don’t look at their forms and think there is something wrong with them because they should all be straight and tall or a certain way. We appreciate the uniqueness, it is what endears them to our Hearts, what encourages us to connect with them.
This is the same for humans. For a while, I have been noticing a common theme of disconnect. People not wanting to listen to one another, especially those with differences, or wanting to create homogeneous communities. Somehow, it is suggested that this protects us. I think it weakens us. This feeds the myth of separation and limits our own growth and expansion. One of the great gifts of humanity is curiosity. We can utilize this gift to get to know one another, listen to someone’s story or experiences and enjoy their glimpse of the multiverse.
I think we have been choosing this disconnect out of fear, especially fear of change. It is true, if we connect and truly listen to one another, we may just change. Our beliefs might need to shift or expand. While that may be scary, when I look out at this world, I think we desperately need change. That change needs to be based in Love and guided by Nature. We do not get there through disconnection nor judgment. It is connection, appreciation, and empathy that leads us to the path of Love.
This path of Love leads us back to community, to who we are meant to be, to our rightful place as part of Nature. This path of Love leads us to our beautiful future of thriving, together.
May it be so.