I am grateful for the knowledge that I have the power to jump out and jump back in. That power is how we create our life, if we know we have it, learn how to use it, and practice, practice, practice.

I am also grateful for the awareness that I am either swimming in the water or floundering around out of it. Being fully present in that awareness is how we experience life to the fullest, learn about our inner and outer realities, and access the infinite guidance of the universe, so that we can spend less time floundering, or swimming upstream, and more time going with the flow. Going with the flow does not mean an absence of effort; swimming is still hard work and there will inevitably be dangerous currents, snags, diversions, steep drops, and predators to deal with. That’s why it’s so great to minimize unnecessary effort and build up strength, energy, and awareness so we’re prepared to meet those challenges with the fierce grace of a mighty fish.

I like the emphasis on the health and strength of the practitioner as a necessity for effective healing of others, and also a benefit of undertaking this practice:

The ability to help and heal is in direct ratio to the amount of personal work the student is prepared to put in.  A practitioner of Shiatsu cannot be really effective if his or her energetic state is still not balanced and harmonious.  Knowing theory and technique alone is not sufficient; the Ki must be strong, and this leads to a healthy body and well-balanced outlook on life.

Of particular importance is being in touch with, and balanced of, Ki.   Consistent  focus on the hara (abdomen) and its energy center (mid-abdomen), the tanden, allows that major source of energy to be harnessed, for self and others.  As Liechti explains it:

The hara and its central focus, the tanden, is in fact the second chakra, where our physical energy is stored.  The japanese say this is where mind and body come together, and by centering ourselves here we become more balanced and more powerful.

It’s refreshing for the patient/practitioner relationship to be regarded as a partnership which is beneficial for both.  That kind of world, where the giver receives, the teacher learns, is where I want to live.  Liechti describes the flow of give and receive as:

The practitioner lends skill, experience, and knowledge as a catalyst in the patients’s self-healing.  The patient lends himself as the medium through which the therapist can practice his or her art.  This exchange of energy illustrates one of the primary laws of the universe – that everything is changing and energy is always in a constant state of flow and change.

That goes right to the heart of e-volvedliving: life is constantly evolving.

This photo will make sense when you get to the final paragraph.

The more I tune in to current reality, the more I show up and pay attention, the more I am Now Here, the more synchronicities I have the pleasure of experiencing. Each occurrence is a sign that I am in harmony with the flow of life, instead of fighting against it or being the fish who’s unaware it’s swimming in water. I am studying the heck out of mental/emotional/physical/spiritual equilibrium these days and it’s wonderful when the insights come in waves which reinforce one another. That’s what keeps me swimming, and what helps me jump back into the water when I can’t see the bottom of the river or which way the current is going.

Speaking of being Now Here, that’s a clever reminder from my man Baron (see Choose Wisely – Part 2). Though I’ve not met him, his teaching greatly benefits Jeph and I, body and spirit, and I am grateful for it.  The library has been a great source of synchronistic materials this year – something about wandering the stacks and letting yourself be guided to the material you need…Last week I picked up a book called Meditations from the Mat, by Rolf Gates, and was  pleasantly surprised to see his shouts out to Baron, from whom he learned how to really teach others.  In the intro, he talks about Baron sharing his teaching philosophy: be there to help others unfold themselves (good metaphor for yoga practice!) and discover their true nature, their core, their essence, their Source.  It was a synchronicity to discover the book (which is full of wisdom very much in line with what I am working on) and the connection to Baron.  I’ll probably have to buy it so I can continue to benefit and receive inspiration for my own writing.

And carrying on the theme of connecting with your source, I was visiting the Communicatrix (a favorite writer and clever, funny, witty gal) remotely a couple weeks ago and read about The Remembrance Challenge.  It sounded like a worthwhile practice so I signed up and today is Day 9 of my effort.  It is aligning nicely (synchronicity!) with the pranic healing exercises (will elaborate in future posts) I started around the same time. I’ve been looking for some assistance with meditation and I like the approach here: filling up instead of just emptying. It’s great, and important, to clear out, and I’m doing that too, but it’s really nice to have guidance around what to fill the emptiness with: the pure you, the Real reality.  Connecting with that reality which is You Now and Here, and accepting it, provides solid ground to take the next steps.  In ‘Getting to the Core of Your Business’ (where The Remembrance is outlined), Mark Silver describes it’s benefit for dealing with the inevitable life crap:

If you are walking and you step into dog poop, it’s not very pleasant. This happens all the time– we step into situations in the world which feel like we landed in the doo-doo. Unfortunately, we spend a lot of time trying
not to have stepped in it.
The truth is, support is right there under our foot. But to take the next step, it feels like we’re sinking deeper into the doo-doo. But that’s the only choice we have, and we find it’s not so bad after all.
The Remembrance gets you through the doo-doo, by putting you squarely where you are. Once there, you remember to witness the Divine Reality, so you feel the strength of the ground under you, holding you up, rather than focusing on the dog doo, that keeps you from taking that next step.

I got a good laugh when I read that because just a day or two beforehand I had stepped in a big pile of…mud…(see photo) but it looked an awful lot like doo-doo, and I definitely sunk deeply into it.  It was cool, though, because J was there and while I muttered “oh-my-god” in a shellshocked way, he sprang into action and directed me around the corner (of the model home who’s window’s we were peering in when this happened) to the water spigot where I was able to rinse off my foot and sandal (and the other foot/sandal for OCD symmetry.)  Cool that I was wearing sandals so it was an easy fix.  And cool that J is so observant and street savvy – one of the many reasons we’re a good team.  It felt really good to react with lightness, even humor, to a messy situation.  I take that as a ray of progress for this control freak!