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For background on this series, head over to the welcome letter or find the entire series on the roots section of my page.
How do we communicate with the world around us? Both other people - friends, family, strangers - and also the natural world? How do we listen and recieve? How do we speak and show up? How are we being?
We will travel through a few areas here that place us in this contemplation more closely… 1) how we commune with the lands around us 2) how we show up and listen in conversation, and 3) how we activate and utilize our voices in the world.
First, the ever flowing energy exchange between our beings and the natural world - the lands which we live on and those that we visit.
“Knowing that you love the earth changes you, activates you to defend and protect and celebrate. But when you feel that the earth loves you in return, that feeling transforms the relationship from a one-way street into a sacred bond.”
- Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
There is an opportunity to show up and to be in a way that drops you into the microcosm of life around you, that drops you into that sacred bond. When we take this opportunity to feel into the energy that is simmering around us - from a plant in your home, to the grass in your yard, to a bird in the city, we become a part of this microcosm. As we open our senses, feeling ourselves as part of a whole, as part of this planet rather than just occupying it, we can soften into something much greater. While this might feel easier in forests or near great waters, the subtleties of life are present in even the busiest of cities and in everywhere in between. Wherever you wander today, take a pause and recognize how life adapts and evolves in all spaces and try stepping back considering yourself another being in that ecosystem rather than looking out at it.
Beyond this sensing, I also invite you to greet the lands that you live on and visit, to begin to commune with them. A teacher of mine framed it in a beautiful way that has remained with me… just as when you visit someone’s home, you say hello and sometimes even bring a gift for them… so to can we do this with mother earth. A visit where you ignore the host and walk right by them through the door versus saying hello and giving them a hug when you enter sets a completely different foundation for a much deeper experience, a one of respect and of connection.
How can this translate to our journeys and to our day to day? There is no right way to do this. We can be guided by the wisdom of indigenous communities all over the world who have brought offerings such as songs, of tobacco, incense, for generations and generations to their lands, however try what feels right and true to you.
Maybe there is a tree in your yard or neighborhood that you have barely given a thought to… walk up to them and say hello, introduce yourself. Eventually you could just sit with them or bring a glass of water or even a simple prayer to share with them. Perhaps in time, you may also open to see if messages come back to you in return. The same general concept goes for when we visit new places… you may not have as much time to build relationship with the natural world around you however acknowledging your arrival can shift the experience. You can be dropped in the middle of NYC and still take a brief moment in your minds eye to say hello to the lands as a whole… thank you for having me here, thank you for holding me during this visit. Or at a beach vacation… walk to the water, say hello, thank you for allowing me to visit and recieve your healing cleansing energy. Thank you for allowing me to play and float and recieve your ancient wisdom as the blood of this Earth.
It is quite simple today for us to jet set to different places and thus a reverence for this earth home and the lands that welcome us has slightly faded away. I invite you to bring back an awareness of your living surroundings, a gentle greeting and acknowledgement as we wander mama earths great being. All of life is so deeply interconnected, may you be willing to commune with it.
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Second, how are we showing up when connecting with others? You may have been prompted before in your life (or simply done this naturally) to reflect on where you are, who you are with, what actions you are doing when you feel most fulfilled or when you are feeling drained… and taking that inventory into how you may want to craft your time moving forward. While these can be extremely valuable crumbs to follow, another component that I find is often left out from this discussion is how were you being? How were you being when you feel most fulfilled or most drained?
What do I mean by this? Many of us can operate our days on such a mission towards task lists or even just with an energy of leaning forward constantly towards the next moment. We have 10 minutes before a call or an appointment and try to fill that space to the brim. Don’t get me wrong, a passion for life and crafting yours filled with joy and action is beautiful… where we can miss the deeper connection available to us, however, is taking that same energy of forward momentum into the interactions, the moments themselves that we have been planning to get to, planning to make time for in the first place, rather than showing up fully and identifying qualities of your being state that allow you to be most present. Perhaps that is a a deep breath or a conscious intention as you navigate your day.
Whether you are ordering a coffee at the barista counter or at lunch with your dearest friend, how you listen, your body language, the energy field you choose to occupy can drastically affect the experience at hand…
There are times when surrender and not needing to be anything else than how you are showing up in that moment is the best approach… if we’re having a crappy day, allow the crappy feelings to come and to go AND other times we can proactively choose to make the day more connected, more sacred. It is like the pencil experiment… when you hold a pencil in your mouth forcing the shape of a smile for a certain period of time, you actually can feel happier. To a point, we can trigger or kickstart a new experience within our own selves and more importantly, can become more comfortable with doing so over time. So back to the examples… you can order coffee with your earphones in and zero eye contact or you can acknowledge that there is another human being standing in front of you and perhaps give them a smile and 2 minutes of presence while ordering… this can leave both of you a bit more energized, a bit more seen. WIth your dear friend… listening without assuming you already know what you want to say, giving them the gift of true uninterrupted attention and willingness to perhaps see something brand new with this conversation. How you are being can at times create a much greater impact than the location or even person you are with.
If you seek for deeper connection, initiate it. I recently heard someone share how we often mirror rather than model… in relationship, around others… it feels easier to mirror someone else’s mood rather than settle into yourself and be courageously you. Reclaiming in a way your needs and desires which ironically can give permission to the other to do so, to join you in vulnerability or to signal to you that that’s not where they are at today. A good conversation can be medicine, a power elixir. Dip your toe in the uncomfortable, wade deeper into resistance, and perhaps as you break through the first wave, a little more magic may arise.
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Lastly, lets tune into how we use our own voices, our own words. If you are familiar with the Hindu chakra system, while the energy centers each represent their own themes, they are deeply interconnected with one another. Free flowing energy in the throat chakra often requires stability, clarity, authenticity, courage, and love moving through the lower chakras to be activated fully. To bring this into practicality, our voices often radiate the well being of our entire selves. As we examine the previous letters and thus examine the nature of our minds and settle deeper into our vessels, we open up the opportunity to speak not from the mouth, but from our core essence.
A shortcut to try this out is to truly imagine speaking from deep in your belly. Before a big meeting or a conversation, drop down into that space and see what shifts.
I will close this third contemplation by resurfacing one of the four agreements… The first of the Four Agreements based on the ancient Toltec wisdom that sheds light upon that which creates needless suffering is to Be Impeccable with your Word. Ruiz elaborates suggesting the following… “Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.” - Don Miguel Ruiz
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How we show up… how we are sensing the world around us… how we are listening and seeing others… and how we use our own voices… all swirl together to bring us this opportunity for an intentional being state, for proactive sacred communication. This is the invitation, the spark, that I invite you to explore.
May you commune with the world around you… may you initiate and open a sacred communication line to your surroundings.
May you see and approach the day with intention and openness towards what may arise.
May you activate your voice from deep within you.
May you ignite the magic waiting to be lit.
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With love,
Erin