Blossoming Cherry on a Moonlit Night (ca. 1932) by Ohara Koson (1877–1945). (credit below)
There is more to us than we know
Depth Psychology embraces the notion that we are largely mysteries to ourselves. It’s a psychology of the hidden. It is a process of knowing what we don’t know about ourselves and that joy, happiness, and freedom come from a widening of self-knowing. This mysterious, yet-to-be-known place is the source of our creativity, dreams and possibility.
Mindfulness
With life’s rapid pace we so seldom get time to pause, reflect, and look at what’s really going on in our lives, in our families, and in our world. Mindfulness is not only being present in the moment, it’s about being attentive to what’s going on. Not only living your life, but being aware about the way you live that life. Not only what we have, but what we are missing. Not only who we are, but who we are not, and who we might become.
We are wired for:
Connection
Relationship
Seeing and being seen
Experiencing our body’s intelligence
Co-existence with the natural world
“Trauma is a chronic disruption of connection.”
S. Porges
On Being Human
Vulnerability
In the words of poet David Whyte, “To run from vulnerability is to run from the essence of our nature.” To love is to be vulnerable. Vulnerability can be uncomfortable, even scary. It also allows us to feel connected and alive. It deeply and unavoidably invites us into our human-ness. It’s one thing to take a risk on a stage, page, or presentation and quite another to take a risk in honest, true, self-disclosing conversation. This is the necessary stuff, this is the tough stuff. . . and such is life. It is also the source of invention, creativity, and beauty.
Trust
Life can be disillusioning. We may wonder what more could possibly happen to derail our forward movement, to push us past the brink of what we believe we can handle, disrupt the clear vision we had. As the old adage goes, “the one thing we can count on is change.” Change cannot be avoided. It is something we each have the possibility to move – not over, under or around but – THROUGH. The words of a vital, productive 100 year old individual I work with (I’m serious!), remind us to trust our lives: “Every obstacle moved me toward the possibility of an unforeseen opportunity.” Let’s work together to move through and toward your own yet-to-be known possibilities.
Being
Our society is all about DOING: staying busy, over-extended, agreeing to long hours and work-life imbalance where familial and professional exhaustion are considered badges of success. Personal sacrifice is sainted. How did we get here? How do we, as individuals, gain awareness and challenge the status quo? In what ways might we create a new way of being, where we really are being, slowing, experiencing, more available, present and connected? Join me as together we reawaken our Being.