Sensing into this moment for peace
In my last newsletter I touched on the theme of Peace as being a prerequisite for healing, and obviously a bodywork session can be one way of achieving that. But what about the rest of the time?
My suggestion has always been developing more awareness of the present moment as a way of getting us out of our own head - also known as our ‘random thought generator’, our ‘video re-player’, our ‘what-if nightmare creator’ and/or ‘general troublemaker’. Nigel Latta in his last book, Lessons on Living, says that we get to ‘drive our own bus’ in this life. Where our bus goes is our choice but keep our eyes open!
Life takes place in this moment, and if we are not watching, we miss out on the moment, miss out on our own life happening in the here and now.
One suggestion I have for doing that is to focus on our senses. Challenge ourselves to notice five things we can hear in this moment. Don’t judge them as good or bad, just notice them.
What can I feel in my body right now? My heartbeat maybe; the rise and fall of my tummy as I breathe; am I warm or cold; is there air passing over my skin; how do my feet feel touching the ground; if I close my eyes and raise my arm, how do I know how high it is?
List five things that grab our visual attention. Pick the one that seems most significant. Now think of five one-word qualities about that thing that appeals to us. Pick one of those and see if it has resonance for how we would like to be in this moment. Let me know if you want help with this exercise.
By deepening our sensory appreciation of the present, our quality of life grows exponentially.
And we can relieve ourselves of any pressure by not judging every little thing as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ – judging requires mental effort that we don’t need to expend, just be with the is-ness of things.
And stop labelling things. We might say that this flower in front of us is a ‘rose’. Then we will probably look away without deeply observing the colour, shades, shape, texture, a raindrop glistening on a petal, its scent, the aliveness of THIS particular flower in this moment. The flower is here to shine just for you in this moment, check out the wonder, the specialness of its existence in your life right now.
How peaceful does that feel?!
If there’s a little voice in our head saying, ‘This is boring!’, then that’s a sign to bring even more attention to the details. That voice is our ego trying to get us back to worrying about the 1000 things that will never happen, or replaying something somebody did or said to wound us. Sure, maybe the wound was grievous at the time. Maybe it shouldn’t have happened. No one is debating that. But we are the one’s re-wounding ourselves by allowing it to play over and over. This past/present game just drags our own energy down and causes us to miss out on the here and now.
Now often-times what is going on before us may not be a pleasant experience. But we can notice it without judging it, without labelling it, and without personally engaging in it. It is just another moment that ‘is’ in this moment. Let it pass, don’t waste energy on it, there’ll be another moment along shortly.
After a while we become very aware of what is going on, we become more engaged in our awareness of things, without engaging personally in the things, there’s a subtle but important difference. It’s a very peaceful way to be in our daily life.
Sense into this moment to find that peace and just be. It’s so healing!
Ngaio Clinic Closure
It is with great regret that I must advise my clinic at Ngaio is closing this month. For me it is just not economically viable to continue operations there.
I am very grateful for everyone who has supported me over the last six years or so there. I hope that some of you can continue to see me occasionally at Silverstream or Levin.
The Tuesday and Saturday availability will transfer to my Levin clinic.
Thank you all!
Recent CranioSacral Training
In February I attended a five day educational course on CranioSacral Therapy that was combined with an intensive therapy program on ourselves. This allowed us to deepen our knowledge of the techniques especially around Somato-Emotional Release and witness the changes that arose for each individual. But also, especially, to receive and experience some deep work on our own body-held issues and trauma, often reaching back decades. Experiences like these are transformative, deeply moving and sacred.
The ideas for sensing into the moment came from this course.
Pro Bono / Koha Days
One free day each month for anyone in need. Koha is gratefully accepted if you are able, no obligation. Just contact me for details to book.
Please share my website, or this page, with anyone you know that may benefit. Or click on this link to book now.
For back-issues of this newsletter click here
With caring and kindness,
Rhys Dwyer
If you know anyone, from kids up who maybe struggling with body-held tension, energy levels, stress, anxiety, or choices, then please ask them to check me out. Bodywork and present moment awareness may just make a big difference.
Note that bodywork is always complementary to prudent medical care.