Each of our stories is a part of the universal puzzle… we all share this existence but we experience it uniquely. By listening to each other’s story we learn more about our own, following and learning from the interweaving threads that connects our life experiences.
As the weather gets colder here in New England I feel the familiar call to reflect and simultaneously reach out in contrast to that inward turning feeling that starts to take over as the season changes. I was reminded by a friend this week, as she was supporting me through a challenging life event, that healing and growth happen in relationship. In the spirit of reflection I would like to share a moment of gratitude to everyone who came to Three Stone Studio for Following the Thread of Your Life, our most recent offering in the Contemplative Series, this work comes to life through the presence and contribution of each person.
As Paula and Susan offered a thoughtful weaving of their practices over the course of the day, I was struck by the way these two practices of Embodied Awareness and Biography supported each other. Moving into embodied awareness was an invitation to really empty out and be a witness to my own experience. I have found in my own life that letting go of assumptions and expectations of what that experience will be has a profound effect on my ability to listen, feel and respond. There is a quality of listening that creates an opening for my own emerging experience which I can also extend to others, allowing both of us to live more fully into our expression. It’s a reciprocal action; as I get better at offering this to myself, I get better at offering my listening presence to others and as I practice offering this to others it gets easier to offer to myself.
I recognize during these moments a sense of dilated time; body time feels different that clock time. I relax my need to fill time by “doing things”. When I stop trying to do things or say things which is largely about trying to live into some future moment I have anticipated, I realize there is already so much going on! One of the ways I know I’m moving or speaking from this empty, curious place is that I am consistently surprised by what emerges. This practice, which prioritizes attending to the present, supports the reflection process of biography, so that we are not just recounting past information, but allowing our story to unfold in the present moment leaving room for surprise and discovery.
-Stephanie Turner
Contemplative Series, Assistant Director
For those of you interested in learning more about this workshop with Paula Sager and Susan Kurz, join us January 4 at Voice Body Mind Healing Collaborative in Providence, RI for the next Following the Thread of Your Life workshop.