Hat tip to Jennifer Todd of Just Breathe Orlando for making me see chakras from a different perspective. She's doing a series of classes on the chakras, and I've missed all of them except last night's on the brow chakra (aka the third eye). There's definitely something for me to explore there--a new way of looking at how our lower chakras (lower on the body, I mean--that is, root through solar plexus) open to place us in the world and in our reality. If you're in the Orlando area, check her out.
I'm also in the middle of a book called Advanced Chakra Healing (the author escapes me at the moment, and the book is in another room). It's part of why I went to Jennifer's class last night.
While I spend a fair amount of time talking to people about their passions, and what living their truth means to them, I sometimes forget to check in with myself--I often end up drifting into things that are good, are helpful, aren't 'me.' One of the paths that turns me on is energy work. I have a hard time seeing how I can use that as anything more than interesting fun (emphasis on 'I'), so it gets shoved to the back except for almost daily Reiki on myself and when requested by others. Journeying is another love. A lot of the journeying I do for healing (of self and others) includes energy work, which is probably not typical for shamanic practice, but seems to be just right for me. So now I'm consciously checking in with Jennifer's work, and the work laid out in this book, to ramp up how I combine the two practices--it feels right, so I think I'm onto something.
'nough about me, though--how about you? Do you see a glimmer of what you could really love to do a lot of?
How many passions is one allowed? I love to do anything related to herbs, aromatherapy, writing, fiber arts (including quilting and embroidery), gardening, reading, journey work and meditation (though I do precious little of either), walking, hiking, and dancing (free, spontaneous,all alone with the music up). Have I left anything out? How,in all that, do I find my passion?
ReplyDeleteThat's a hard one, isn't it? I can say only this--do what you know in your bones to be "right" (remember the line from, oh, A Wind in the Door, or one of those books: Meg is asked "When are you most truly yourself?"). What if your true passion isn't just the doing, but the telling? Like your storybook on quilting?
ReplyDeleteWe often talk about passions as the thing we must do ... and, in a sense, the thing we must do to earn a living (or as part of it)--in other words, what would make you miserable if you had to do without it? What are you constantly called to, no matter what? I, as you know, tend to dive deeply into whatever captures my interest, even briefly--I suppose you could call it 'serial passion' :) -- but when it comes to 'what can I NOT live without,' the answers are much simpler. Not that it makes it easier to set my mind toward earning a living at them.
So, perhaps, two questions to consider: when am I most truly myself (and why?), and what would I be absolutely miserable without? Maybe try going 'without' for a week, and see how many days you last :)