Giving Thanks

Thanks giving. Giving thanks.

What follows was written by a teacher of the Toltec tradition, the same school of wisdom that Don Miguel Ruiz draws on in his books, including The Four Agreements. It begins:

When we no longer take Life for granted, we become grateful for everything that we have. Assuming that we are entitled to anything in life robs us of our awe at the opportunity to be grateful.

I recall a friend of mine calling up one day, struggling with the notion of death. A friend of the family was in the final stages of cancer and was going to be passing on soon. She asked me, “Why Death?”

We talked for sometime and after she had made some peace with the specific issues that were troubling her I asked her, “Why Life?” Why do we get to have this experience at all? We weren’t promised any deal. We aren’t owed this opportunity to create experiences. No one was under any obligation to deliver us any particular deal in this realm. And yet we are here. A wide open opportunity to wake up and do something completely different every day. Every day, every moment even, an opportunity to create something in our life. We might just use the gift of every day to recreate it like every other day. Or, one day, we might not. One day we might look at it a little differently and do something completely differently. What is so different for me these days than the days of old is a profound sense of gratitude for the simplest things in my life. Why have I been blessed with so many gifts and so many moments of opportunity to experience them? My logical mind has no idea. But I will not waste my opportunity today struggling with that question. There may not be many days left so I will savor the ones I have with gratitude. When you are aware that death will someday come, you no longer take life for granted.

Thank you, Life. Thank you for this breath. 
Thank you for this inhale. 
Thank you for this exhale.

Thank you, Heart.
 Thank you for this pounding.
 Thank you for this pulsing.
 Thank you for this Love.

Thank you, Feet.
 Thank you for this walk. 
Thank you for this run. 
Thank you for this Dance.

Thank you, Eyes. 
Thank you for the Sunrise.
 Thank you for the Sunset. 
Thank you for all the Colors.

Thank you, Ears. 
Thank you for the Music. 
Thank you for the Rhythm. 
And thank you for the Stillness.

Thank you, Hands. 
Thank you for the Caressing. 
Thank you for the Clapping. 
And thank you for the Holding.

Thank you, Mouth. 
Thank you for the nourishment. 
Thank you for the flavors. 
Thank you for the Kisses.

Thank you, Nose. 
Thank you for the Flowers. 
Thank you for the Pines. 
Thank you for the Sniffles.

Thank you, Arms and Shoulders. 
Thank you for the Carrying. 
Thank you for the Burdening.
 And thank you for the Hugging.

Thank you, Voice. 
Thank you for Expression. 
Thank you for the Words. 
Thank you for the Song.

Thank you, Emotions. 
Thank you for the Joys. 
Thank you for the Tears and Sorrows.
 Thank you for the Richness.

Thank you, Mind. 
Thank you for the Focus. 
Thank you for the Knowledge.
 Thank you for the Memories.

Thank you, Spirit. 
Thank you for the Connection. 
Thank you for the Wisdom.
 Thank you for the Depth.

Thank you, Self. 
Thank you for the Laughter. 
Thank you for the Play.
 Thank you for You.

Thank you, Life, for the Abundance that is.
 Thank you for the Abundance that is given.


Thank you for this Day.
 Thank you for the Light. 
Thank you for the Stars. 
Thank you for the Night.

Thank you, Life.

Written by Jenny Lumb, Nia instructor, www.norishflourishnow.com, 828-255-2770

This piece was inspired by www.toltecspirit.com

Body like a machine, or Body like a temple?

There are two ways of being with your body;
● Use your body like a machine
● Inhabit your body like a temple

Use Your Body Like a

Machine
When you look after your body with the intention to make it look good, toned and slim, and beat it into submission through arduous exercise instead of creative and sensual exploration, you are using it like a machine. There is little listening, little consideration of the body’s wisdom and most if not all of your focus is on the aesthetic of the body.
In this way of being with your body, you may find yourself judging, berating, blaming and abusing this human organism, if it does not conform to your ideals (and the images of feminine perfection that are promoted tirelessly in the media). You determine what is true for you based on what the outside world tells you and ignore your own thoughts, opinions, preferences and the crucial element, your intuitive wisdom.
Though you may enjoy sexual intimacy with your partner, you find you are hyper focused on the physical release, instead of the building and sustaining of arousal. You may notice yourself with a wandering mind, feeling obligated instead of inspired to accommodate your partner’s needs, thinking “oh well,” when your own needs aren’t met, and disregarding the sacredness of your own sensuality.

When you honor your body like the temple that it is, and seek to notice and respond to its subtle communications to you about its physical, emotional and psychological state, you are inhabiting your body, living from inside, intuitively, rather than from outside, gazing in from the periphery of the sensory experience.
Still choosing to engage in the activities that keep it healthy like exercise and eating wisely is important, however when you are honoring your physical temple you are more motivated by what you feel and sense, versus what you see in the mirror, and how it measures up to others and to the airbrushed images in the media. In honoring your female temple you also value the emotional and psychological benefits of the level of integrity you experience in being true to yourself, versus internalizing the opinions and standards of others around you.
To inhabit your body is to covet sensual and sexual pleasure and know the value of sustaining versus discharging arousal. You experience your body’s sensual expression as the divine dancing through you and your union with someone you care for or love deeply.
The two ways of being with your body I’ve described above are extremes. It’s unlikely that anyone will be just one or the other. The reality is that most of us dance somewhere between the two, body as machine, body as temple. Unfortunately it would be fair to say that most women tend to lean toward the first extreme, using your body like a machine. I believe that this tendency is a factor in the proliferation of depression, discontent and supreme isolation that many women experience in our world today. Despite the great strides that we as women have made through the decades, it is this disassociation that is hindering further and swifter evolution of the consciousness paradigm shift where peace and prosperity are experienced globally. Rather than just looking at our own blessed lives to measure the evolution of consciousness, we need to also remember the vast number of women who still suffer worldwide. This reality reminds us that we still have far to go before our work as a fully embraced, accepting and inhabiting female community is done. And if you believe in the transpersonal power that we each wield, you will certainly understand that your awakening to this embodiment is an awakening for all women.

Psychology studies show that young girls by the age of 11 have almost entirely stopped referring inward for their own truths, opinions, preferences and values,and almost exclusively refer to the outside world be it family, society or media influences to determine for themselves how they interpret who they are. Educating these young goddesses to move towards extreme number two serves to guide them and all women to look inside ourselves for the answers of our nature and our well being.

The practice of referencing inward, is a body centered way of being that I call Embodied Power.
When we practice looking inside for our personal power, our truth, our innate wisdom, we are practicing embodiment. When we take it a step further and dance that wisdom, we are using our embodied awareness as our creative source and inspiration. I use dance here to refer to any authentic expression be it movement of the body, writing, coaching, mothering or the managing of a company. Once embodied and danced, you are living that very wisdom and power, and can claim the role of embodied leader because of the high level of truth and integrity that you radiate and inspire.

As the founder of Vividly Woman, I actualized for my community the Vividly Woman Embodied Leader training; this program guides women back home to this quality of leadership I’ve shared. We begin with the initiation weekend retreat, Dance Your Power, where participants are intimately reintroduced to their three vital centers of embodied power; sensual, emotional and intuitive. The women who continue to further their learning through the three remaining modules that make up the leadership training program, will 1. radically excavate the authentic and unique truth living in these three centers within, 2. profoundly nourish these three long ignored places and 3. lovingly heal the personal wounds that have debilitated and frozen them most of their lives. Through this work I have had the honor and privilege of facilitating and witnessing tremendous courage and devotion of so many women who’s lives have been forever changed.

The journey of embodied awakening is a lush and winding path, a fertile adventure of birthing and re-birthing yourself, and one I am blessed to travel with brave and beautiful women I call sisters. It is a dance of remembering YOUR vital woman aliveness; spiraling, diving and reaching from deep inside the blessed temple that is your body.

Written by Leela Francis Leelafrancis.com