It's midnight on the day before my guest blog piece on Peace is due; but I missed my own declared deadline which was the day just ended.
The Mind Map loaded with ever-increasing ideas, words and notes about Peace was started weeks ago and boy did that feel like a victory over my often, okay usual, last minute completion of anything with a due date, or dreadline, as I lovingly refer to it.
I'd even kept my agreement to myself to do the actual writing on the morning of my self-imposed submission date. But as I wrote, some Squirrel!!! idea took me and the article on a trail that didn't feel quite right. Sure, it was talking about Peace and how we can get there with steps and tools, but it wasn't what I wanted to publish. Now I'd spent the writing time and ended up with crap on the page, along with feeling like crap about what I read there.
As I've learned through my writing life, I let it rest, figuring that when I came back to it I'd realize that maybe instead of crap, I had a great piece or at least part of one. Nope. I felt even worse about it because not only had my writing window been blown, but I now couldn't justify enjoying the rewards I'd set up to indulge in. Bummer. And I had nothing to submit...double bummer and self-love and peace destroyer.
Clearly, something shifted because here you are reading this! How did I move from freaked out to calm and confident? My first step towards peace (and a completed article) was to:
1.
STOP and sit in a
favorite chair,
2.
Let out a few tears as
I was being healed and comforted by my Velcro cat, Yasmina, and then
3. Sing my chantra I Am the Light several times to continue clearing what was holding me back from a sense of peace and flowing writing.
Just like magic, I was
ready to write something congruent and submittable because I had cleared the
blocks, the stoppers, the resistance, to Flow that leads to calm, harmony
within oneself and serenity.
Whether I am zonked out during an Acupuncture treatment, sitting alongside a river, or singing at the bedside of a client's final hours of life, the uninhibited circulation of energy throughout all of my being (the mental, physical, emotional and spiritual bodies) brings forth Peace. Time and time again, using breath work, stillness and singing releases whatever I’m holding onto that is blocking my Peace.
Does this practice apply to two individuals, a corporate team, or nations? Absolutely. When we are experiencing anything but peace in our personal, work, community and world relationships, there are blocks keeping Peace from being possible.
Each time we feel less than peaceful with ourselves and others, let us ask ourselves what is blocking us from flowing into Peace.
Is it judgment, fear,
ignorance, a righteous position we’re not willing to let go of?
Chances are it is one
or more of these.
We all have blocks and resistance within us, and the power to let go, open up and flow into Peace.
I leave you with that, for a river is calling me to come sit and sing beside her on a rocky blanket.
Heather Michet is an impassioned
healing artist, educator and Ceremonial Songstress who weaves lyrical, a
cappella vocals throughout a wide array of ceremonies in a myriad of
settings. From weddings in the woods, graveside memorials, and ashes
scatterings at the shore, to house blessings, birthday parties, and natural
births in bedrooms, her Celtic style voice embraces the heart and stirs the
spirit of all who gather to honor life events.
You can connect with Heather and her work in any (or all!) of these ways:
* Listen to her music on YouTube
· * Read
about her Ceremonial Songstressing at Purple Crow Sings
· * Learn
about her wellness tools rooted in nature at Iris Healing Arts
7 comments:
Heather, thank you for being our guest this weekend and sharing your wisdom and inspiration. I love the picture of your river. I know sitting beside the flowing water would be peaceful for me.
I enjoyed your post so much, Heather! I loved learning a little about how you unblock your energy. Do you teach others how to do that? Or is it something you developed just for yourself?
I enjoyed your post! The river is beautiful and calming. Is it a river near you or a picture you look at? Love your you tube video.
Thank you, Judith.
Sarah Raplee - Thank you for reading and for commenting. I'm glad you found the unblocking helpful! Yes, I do teach folks how to breakup their blocks and move into Flow.
Merci, Diana McCollum!! That is a section of the Clackamas River, several miles east of Estacada. Thank you for reading, commenting and watching my video!
Blessings to all :)
A beautiful post about unblocking. I also appreciate your early comments about your process and admitting to having to work at achieving peace. I used to be much better at marshaling breath and stillness in mediation. However, over the past four years, for a variety of reasons, achieving that stillness of the mind has been quite difficult for me.
However, I have found my peace in dance/movement instead of stillness. I've been dancing now for the past four months in a form called Nia, which is very connected to earth, self, and the universe. I find that the movement centers me in my body. Because it takes all my concentration, and sometimes all my energy, my mind cannot wander. I now understand how many athletes (runners, rowers, dancers) work so hard. Not that I'm an athlete--far from it as I'd not kept up with regular physical exercise for a good ten years or more.
This movement doesn't allow for my myriad of ideas, speculation, questions, worries, that circle all day every day. Nia (a combination of Yoga, Tai Chi, martial arts, and dance) uses breath very much in every movement. As we move from yin to yang and then combine the two forces within the dance, it forces me to be fully present. That presence is a peace that has been absent in a long time.
I love your view of the river and your connection with nature. Thank you for sharing this.
Maggie Lynch - Thank you so very much for reading my post, your kind words and for commenting with your beautiful descriptions about your experience with Nia. I am so happy to hear that you've dissovered something that works well for you. I've not done any movement through Nia, however the combo of elements it encompasses draws my interest and wish to try it!!
I, too, find Peace and flow in movement which is why I love hiking, walking, cycling and any activity involving water (in it, on it, beside it!) I find that different moments and states of my mind/body often call for different ways to rebalance or shift. For example, the experience I wrote about in this blog post really needed the breath, sound & stillness approach. My brain was buzzing and that needed to slow down! At other times, a hoof-it hike or bike ride is what it takes to fell more grounded or centered.
I often use this quote from my Jump Journal with clients: "Discover what works for you and do it. Discover what does not work for you and don't do it."
In each moment, it's our individual needs, ways and desires that guide us to what helps us achieve whatever we wish to.
Thank you again so much for sharing your thoughts, comments and experiences with me!
Bright blessings for Peace and Flow.
Heather,
I just read your blog post. What I'm most able to identify with is the humanness you write about. Deadlines (Dreadlines, love that one) affect me the same way you've described, creating blocks instead of flow to create what is intended. The technique you describe and used to center yourself, breathe, and unblock your mind and energy is something I will practice with more. The scalable aspect of peace you suggest is a great practice to bring peace to myself, my home, and my community. Thank you for sharing and opening the veil to your humanness for all to learn from.
–Michael
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