The Alchemy of Relationship

Four days of immersing in Integral Breath Therapy sessions, as developed and guided by my dear teacher, Carol Lampman, demands time for reflective integration. There is an alchemy* that happens in the journey of experiencing and reflecting, in circle and in the pauses. And in the integration that follows in time set aside to be, and to reflect.

And it does not happen alone. The alchemy lives in the relationship — with the one breathing beside me, with the circle holding the room, with the parts of myself I had not yet met.

The depth of the practice shows up, at least a bit, in these two pictures.

On the left, a tree on a residential block, lifted clean out of the ground. Roots in the air, sidewalk buckled, two cones set beside it. Sometimes the work can feel like that — like we are being uprooted, slowly or gradually, and our balance becomes somewhat wobbly. With time and practice, we learn that the wobble is a passing glimpse, and our natural state of being is grounded, secure, and who we are.

On the right, parked on that same block, a dog grooming van striped with caution tape: DE-SHED INSIDE. This idea of de-shedding is quite akin to correcting mistaken beliefs that we all have about ourselves.

What is a belief? A belief is something we hold about who we really are — often unconscious, and either supportive or limiting. We often — myself included — point to this idea of not being enough, of not being OK as we are. And I am increasingly seeing that it can also be a resistance to being as big and as bold and as Spirit-infused as we are. In order to step into our true, Source-like nature, we have to literally shed that which we have outgrown — like shedding the layers of clothing that we no longer need.

This kind of work used to feel draining, and was met with resistance, and often an impression of ‘how much more?’ Increasingly, now, there is a near childlike glee as I am invited to see what is next to be revealed. That did not come easy. It has been years of living in this idea that someday I will fully arrive and there will be no inner work to do. As I have busted that myth wide open — as I have shed this mistaken belief — it creates space for a joyful willingness to (at least sometimes) take in the beauty of what is next being shown to me.

Maybe the tree chose, in some way I don’t understand. What I can see is that it isn’t hiding what’s underneath.

What is just beneath your own surface, quietly asking to be seen? And what might you be carrying that no longer needs to come along?

And that is what I get to offer. The work I feel called to do, that has been transformative in my life, and that I feel passionate about sharing.

I’ve got a couple of offerings next week to support this:

Community Connect — Tuesday, October 6th. A free offering, via Zoom or in person, where we spend time in reflection through journaling and see what those journal prompts show us about what might be there to be shed, or invited in.

The Stories We Tell — Saturday, October 10th, 9 to noon. A more extended time away and apart. We will explore in circle and community, both reflectively and somatically, what is there to be examined — maybe shed, maybe embraced. We begin in Yoga Nidra and close with a sound immersion.

Join me, please, for one or both! Or reach out to schedule a curiosity call or a one-on-one session.

Light and joy,

Rhonda

* Alchemy is referred to, in this context, as the opening into what we have not yet seen about ourselves, and are being welcomed to. There is a mystery about the how, and a trust in the ‘it just works.’