Sensing-Moving from HEART, 11/9

Overview:  
"A gracious approach is the key that unlocks the treasure of encounter."  ~ John O'Donohue

Arrive & Settle
Gather & Begin

Here We Are -- Turning on haptic touch as we orient through body, place, & breath-sound
Body & Place, I: Haptic hugs along body -- "Here I am"/I am here". As you continue, tune in to hands as primary sensors...then body as primary sensor....then discover the meeting place of both. Rest here. Layer in your breath awareness....and then your awareness of the ground/surfaces supporting you (body resting on ground, ground rising up to meet body)...again, dial into the felt-sense of reciprocal meeting.

Body & Place, II:  Sense your grounded, breathing-being within larger contexts of direction and dimension (around, above, below); feel yourself within this sphere (note what size feels just right for you in this moment).

Center: Arrive at your center for today (could be in soles of feet, low belly, behind eyes, heart, etc). Rest here as you call up something from the past week that was sparked through our last gathering and/or through the invitations for the week.

Sharing -- Thank you!

Inviting Intention & Symbol: We will be inviting Intention & Symbol over the course of the week.
Beauty: the Invisible Embrace (excerpt) by John O'Donohue

Deepening --
Breath-sound exploration: Meeting touch with sound-vibration.
Low Hums -- dropping down, sounding from the ground of your being;
Whispered Hums -- meandering hums, carving pathways through your inner landscapes with sound;
Lunar Hums --  sounding from the cavern of your body, becoming spherically spacious (like the haze around the moon).
Choose your Hum and Explore:  Hands can rest in one place and/or travel. Follow where the sound-vibration leads you.
Arrive in Heart: Rest in the absence of the sound of Hums. Notice the echoes of their qualities still circulating.
Soften and Perceive: Soften yet another layer deeper into your heart.
(The following can be noted internally and/or journal/draw what comes to you)
Ask yourself: What does it feel like to be tender? Gracious?
What does it feel like to be trusted?
Sensing Intention: What of your intention/question is alive for you right now? -- might be pieces, inklings; might already be fully formed. Note images/phrases/textures/tastes.

Gathering to close: Remain rooted & resting in your heart. As you turn your body & attention towards the group, notice the subtleties of difference between seeing from your eyes and seeing from your heart.

Poem & Moving into the week: "Late Prayer" by Jane Hirshfield. Thank you for being here!

Our culture has little respect for privacy; we no longer recognize the sacred zone around each person. We feel we have a right to blunder unannounced into any area we wish. Because we have lost reverence of approach, we should not be too surprised at the lack of quality and beauty in our experience. At the heart of things is a secret law of balance and when our approach is respectful, sensitive and worthy, gifts of healing, challenge and creativity open to us.

A gracious approach is the key that unlocks the treasure of encounter. The way we are present to each other is frequently superficial. We become more interested in ‘connection’ rather than communion. In many areas of our lives the rich potential of friendship and love remains out of our reach because we push towards ‘connection’.

When we deaden our own depths, we cannot strike a resonance in those we meet or in the work we do. A reverence of approach awakens depth and enables us to be truly present where we are. When we approach with reverence great things decide to approach us. Our real life comes to the surface and its light awakens the concealed beauty in things. When we walk on the earth with reverence, beauty will decide to trust us. The rushed heart and the arrogant mind lack the gentleness and patience to enter that embrace.

Beauty is mysterious, a slow presence who waits for the ready, expectant heart. When the heart becomes attended to her restrained glimmerings, it learns to recognize her intimations more frequently in places it would never have lingered before.* 

~ John O'Donohue
*bold/underline added for emphasis and not part of original text.

*NOTES about Symbol -- it doesn't have to make sense to anyone but you. If the symbol is something that you can't bring home with you -- like the shape of  boulder or the way light is moving through the spaces between trees-- then take a picture, make a drawing, or find something that will point you to the larger symbol.

Please take a photo and send it to me, along with your intention. I will be making a compilation gift for everyone of our intentions/symbols. 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENCE HERE.