Your Life Is a Tree (Mary Angelon Young and Regina Sara Ryan)

Your Life Is a Tree (Mary Angelon Young and Regina Sara Ryan)

If we put aside concepts, we really don’t know what a tree is. It’s a mystery of creation. The tree of life is a universal archetypal symbol. African, Celtic, Norse, and Cabala trees of life are discussed. Trees are a portal into appreciation of life and nature. Walking in a forest, we can feel sacred space. The decimation of trees and forests is also heartbreaking. It’s important to connect to and respect all beings, including trees. The three parts of a tree—roots, trunk and branches, and crown—are considered metaphorically. Our roots, including belief systems we’ve inherited, are useful to revisit. Gender, cultural, historical, and familial roots sometimes need pruning. Trees have interconnected root systems and are not separate from other trees. We grow together and absorb from others. The heartwood near the center of the trunk is analogous to the stored wisdom we gather through experience. The lifeblood of the tree moves to and from the leaves. Every tree has a pattern which can be seen in its rings. We all have patterning and go through cycles as trees do. Being aware of our patterns opens us to the call of our heart. Individuation, a term used by Jung, is an ordeal of growth. There is stability in the trunk and effortless expansiveness in the branches. The crown produces shade, berries, seeds, and fruits which are shared. We can honor our outpouring and what we affect in the world. Seeds contain a legacy, the thing that comes next. The fruit of life is about realizing our immortality. The seed is perfect, despite a tree’s twistedness due to environmental conditions. Creativity is a way to take refuge in our being. The practice of praise counterbalances hatred and polarization. Mary Angelon Young is an author and workshop leader with a background in Jungian psychology. Regina Sara Ryan, who was the editor of Hohm Press for 35 years, is an author, workshop leader, and retreat guide.

Quietude Disturbs the Brain (Lalitha)

In spiritual practice, quietude is a deeply desirable, nourishing nutrient. Most practitioners find quieting the mind to be very difficult. It takes a lot of stamina and strength to stop ourselves from being habitually drawn to the stimulus of contention or disruption through distractions such as the news and social media. We can start with basic practices. The human being craves constant stimulus even if it’s painful. The urgency for stimulus has been researched in studies which show that many people intentionally give themselves electric shocks rather than spend 15 minutes in quietude. The wisdom heart, the intuitive mind held in the heart, signifies the context that we can access and root in that affects choices we make in business and life. The vagus nerve is the nerve of quietude in the human body. We can start a habit of turning on the vagus nerve reflex. It is helpful in going on retreat to set a clear intention and schedule. Good company on the path refers to those with willingness and centered calmness who we can borrow from if we feel collapsed. It is an extraordinary asset for practitioners. When strong and steady, we can hold up and help companions in personal crisis, without losing our seat, which is not fixing or rescuing. Quietude is the root of being and a priceless treasure. It is not stagnant but is very interactive and juicy. It’s important to produce relationship as a fruit of sadhana, even if no one is around. We can be eaten up by entities that live off emotional food produced by the distractions of life today. Do we have the ability to choose quietude over distraction? We can’t do anything about others but can be that which produces presence and makes quietude a committed priority. Lalitha is a spiritual teacher with an ashram in British Columbia, Canada, who was empowered by her master Lee Lozowick in 1998. Her books include Waking to Ordinary Life and Cultivating Spiritual Maturity.

The Benefits of Recapitulation Practice and How to Engage It (Rick Lewis)

Every time we tell a story, something new can enter our heart. Sharing a story with others can help us regain a piece of our humanity. Being in the present and letting go of the past can be a spiritual ideal, but if we trace back things that happened we may find buried aspects of ourselves. A spiritual act can pave over the past. Rick tells stories of his experience with recapitulation, of being an entertainer at corporate events, and of starting an online writing group. Looking at the past can bring us into relationship with what has actually been and allow for healing. The reality we’re in is only apparently separate from the past and future. Ego wants to create distance between who we want to be and who we are. There is joy in being honest with oneself and others. Sometimes we don’t want to write about ourselves or see what has gone on. Sharing life stories is group recapitulation practice, which is bonding. When our experience is acknowledged by another person, we get to integrate it. If it is toxic, it is defused when held by the matrix of a writing community. We generally don’t open to the present because we’re too busy surviving it. Taking time to recall what transpired, we live it for the first time. What’s important is doing the work of being undefended to our truth. Once that occurs, the benefit of being around a person—whether a teacher or not—is felt and their past is irrelevant. In looking at the past, we get clues about how our machine works and also get to remember the beautiful, sublime gifts we’ve been given. It’s possible to review the past to solidify a sense of self, which isn’t helpful on the path; yet we may be blind-sided by parts of ourselves we seek distance from. The internal work we all do is unique. Rick Lewis is a national speaker and the author of 7 Rules You Were Born to Break, The Perfection of Nothing, You Have the Right to Remain Silent and other books.

Sensation: The Language of the Body (Naomi Worob)

As a culture, we are disconnected from our bodies. In school, we learn to meet standards outside of ourselves and to listen less and less to our bodies. Messages of a hidden curriculum tell us that the body should be productive, emotions should be controlled, rest must be earned, and time is more important than natural rhythms. A controlled body cannot be a sensing body. Sensation is a way to connect to experience, feel our impulses, and take in information. Interoception is awareness of the sensation of the body. Awareness of sensations helps us regulate. Those attending the talk share about their experiences tracking sensations during exercises. The nervous system connects our internal body to the outside world. Distinctions between self-observation and interoception are considered. Sensations lead to impulses, movements, and expressions. Being a witness to our own experience equips us with tools to be with the fullness of life. As human beings, we tend to open to pleasurable sensations and to push away those that are unpleasant. We can intend to make our relationship to senses more neutral, to open our arms and heart to experience all sensation. Somatic experiencing training developed by Peter Levine uses the metaphor of life as a river. When regulated, our nervous system is in the flowing river of life. Eddies are created where we get stuck when overwhelmed. As we integrate overwhelming experiences, our banks widen and we open to a broader spectrum of emotions and the fullness of life. A simple exercise of butoh, a Japanese form of performance art synthesized in post-World War II Japan, is conducted. Naomi Worob is a student of the wisdom traditions and an artist, choreographer/director, and yoga teacher. She facilitates classes, workshops, retreats, and residencies that invite deep embodiment, creative expression, and authentic relating.

A Creative Life Is a Conscious Life (Karl Krumins)

Creativity is going into the unknown with intention. Two “wings” of creativity are passion and play. Some people have titles for their role in creating, such as painter, writer, sculptor. Art connects us to who we really are; it’s an expression of our essence. Creativity is a purpose of the universe. It isn’t a luxury; it’s a primary function of consciousness itself. The big picture is that our life is art. We can develop our own uniqueness so the divine power can express itself in an original way. Working with resistance may be the best way to open to the human impulse to be creative. When we are fully absorbed and engaged, we produce refined energies that the universe needs. Creativity is a kind of prayer. The main payoffs of creativity are our transformation and the benefit to the universe. The tangible result of creativity that is produced is icing on the cake. Art is one of the first things to be censored or banned in totalitarian regimes. Creative people draw outside the lines, and society is all about staying within the lines. Beginner’s mind sees beauty, but it’s hard for professional artists to keep beginner’s mind. Objective art or aesthetic is hard to define but easy to get across through music, theater, painting and other art forms to viewers who are able to see it. Art can objectify the shadow and help us to face ourselves and the healing needed. Ways of bringing creativity into everyday life, such as in mothering, are discussed. Various forms of art are considered including painting and graffiti, architecture and cathedrals, and land art. Framing is also a way of creating beauty in art and in life. How we use our consciousness, where we put our attention—which is all we have—is the ultimate creative act. Karl Krumins has been a spiritual practitioner for forty years. He lived in India for seven years and has a passion for considering the essential similarities of spiritual traditions.