Awaken & Feel

I started my new Awaken & Feel course last week! It was so healing and restorative for ME!!

Awaken and Feel are the first two steps of Self-Mastery. I talked a lot about these 8 steps in Healing Tree. On p.125, I said:

“For those who get in their own way, for those who are too hard on themselves, for those who are looking for hope, my wish is that the following eight steps of self-mastery will provide a foothold.

THE EIGHT STEPS OF SELF-MASTERY 

1. AWAKEN: Stimulate your physical body strongly enough to bring your mind back into your body.
2. FEEL: Feel everything honestly.
3. WATCH: Identify all your feelings without judgment.
4. ACCEPT: Embrace all parts of yourself with ownership.
5. CHOOSE: Choose for your True Self.
6. ACT: Take action that aligns with your choice.
7. EVALUATE: Set a goal. Awaken, feel, watch, accept and choose again for that goal.
8. CREATE: Create yourself and your life as you really want it to be.”

Up until now, whenever I taught these 8 steps, I have taught them altogether in a single Self-Mastery class. After working with many different students on and offline over the last 10 years, however, I’ve realized I can help people to more fully experience the healing power of each step by breaking them down.

Most of us want to jump right to “Accept.” We have a notion that being able to completely accept the thoughts and emotions we struggle with could bring us the much-needed relief we are longing for.  But many will ask, “how can I  accept?”  My answer? We have to wake up the sense of the place inside where we already accept.  How? We start by awakening and feeling our bodies, to develop more sensitivity to our bodies, minds, and, most importantly, ki-energy sensations. Through ki-energy, we will eventually be led into the deep healing spaces of our hearts. Without building a strong foundation in the initial two steps, we might try to force acceptance with our thoughts, potentially leading us to struggle even more.

I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed awakening and feeling my own senses in class last Wednesday!  Throughout the process of writing, publishing and promoting Healing Tree, I have done a lot more sitting and a lot less teaching of Body & Brain’s basic exercises, so I realized I needed this class as much as anyone! With each simple, mindful stretch, tap, vibration and breath I could feel my busy mind coming back to my body; I could feel my nervous system relaxing and my brain waves moving from fight or flight to rest and digest.  I could feel myself letting go: my body opening and releasing tension, my circulation improving, and a natural sense of well-being arising. Then, there was the sudden and natural welling up of appreciation for myself, for my body, for the life energy that flows within me, and for this healing moment. The present moment.

Our bodies are always in the present moment. It’s our minds that ping-pong endlessly from the past to the future and back again.  When we bring our minds back to our bodies, we can discover the peace of the present moment. It takes time and consistent practice to train ourselves to feel ourselves, instead of just thinking about feeling ourselves.  We practice allowing ourselves to feel all our feelings – even the stress, the discomfort, the struggle – and then we can allow ourselves to truly feel the gratitude, the peace and the love that’s on the other side of the struggle.  That’s why I named this class, “Awaken & Feel Course: Discovering Self-Love Through Your Body.”

When we stimulate our bodies, awaken the ki-energy flow within, and feel ourselves sincerely, we are giving ourselves the attention and care we need. It is a great act of self-love to receive the nourishment of the present moment.

For anyone who feels they need more of this in their lives, I created this class to give you the time, the space, the opportunity, and the permission to give yourself the love and energy you deserve.   

This class is ongoing, so you can jump in anytime. Please visit my Services page to learn more about how you can join me! I look forward to healing together~