I teach a regular meditation class, and it’s the highlight of my week. They are very practical meditation courses, we talk and exchange experiences, and are still together. We use mindfulness techniques connected to the senses, and breathing techniques. T
he idea is that the course will give simple and practical techniques to use whenever they are needed, be that on the bus, on a coffee break or even in the shower. Once you’ve developed the habit of meditating and reducing stress, giving yourself a few minutes of tranquillity, this can be expanded on.
It’s a time to sit down with others, to be still in the company of likeminded people and to centre, and chill. I choose different topics of themes for each time, and this time it was well, Autumn. As we got into the session we talked about how Autumn is connected with letting go. I had gathered leaves from the ground, and they covered the table. They were lovely – large and brightly coloured. It was a beautiful evening too, the weather just changing from dry and clear to dark and stormy, it was quite magical.
One of the exercises we did that night was to select a leaf from the pile on the table. I chose one for myself that was brown on the one side and yellow on the other, the two colour fading into each other. Then we picked something, an issue, a habit or a memory that had been bothering us. We placed this in the leaf – removed in from our hearts and minds, and embedded it in the leaf. In one way, the leaf now became part of us, because it contained something of us. This made us feel more connected with nature. In another way, we were removing something old, some baggage and preparing to let it go. The leaf embodied this, as it was old and withering. When we had completed our individual processes we stepped onto the balcony and gave the leaf to the wind. Letting it go was so liberating, we could watch as our issues floated away from us. Breathing in the stormy air, we could feel how there was more room inside now, space had been freed up for us to be in the present instead of the past.
That storm that took my leaf was awesome – it manifested just as I needed something to wash something old away. One of the main lines of thought in alchemy is “that which is above is like to that which is below”. This is from the Emerald Tablet, and it struck me as fitting once the storm took hold of our leaves and tore them away from us. The storm was manifesting the process of letting go. As it raged around the streets in the night I felt freer and lighter, and cleansed. I was the storm and the storm was me. And then all was quiet, the sun shone and the streets were glistening with the first frost, and only tranquillity remained.
Finding the community of Cycle Harmony has made a huge difference to me. I am delighted to be writing to you from the Red Tent and hope to share thoughts and experiences you recognise, or find useful to ponder upon. I look forward to working with you all in exploring what it is to be women, and hope to hear from you. ~ Vild
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