On the first Thursday of each month, practitioners and teachers of the Heartwood Center gather for a community meeting. Over the last few months members have presented a case study and it’s often a person for whom there has been collaboration by two or more practitioners/teachers.
As we sat in a circle this morning, Nancy Floy began by asking us to be still for a few moments, to go to a place of stillness that we all have.
“It’s the most yin time of year, with less daylight and more darkness. Embrace the darkness and find in it the spaciousness and stillness,” Nancy said. She added that with the busyness of preparing for upcoming holidays, we don’t often stop to be still, look inside. The darkness, coolness, dampness call us to do that.
After three to four minutes of stillness, we began to listen, to discuss. I felt awake and ready to listen. I felt a calm, expectant energy in the room.
After presenting the case study situation, a psychotherapist, massage therapist, reiki practitioner, acupuncturist, psychiatrist, chiropractor and others commented on what they could or would offer to help this individual. With each comment, we learned more about the individual practitioners do and the summation was a very holistic treatment approach for the person being discussed. Very enlightening and I was warmed by the level of professionalism and expertise in the room and the unbelievable caring from each person.
As we finished our discussion, Nancy asked us to collectively do one more thing.
“This is not just a case study we been focusing on. She’s a person. She’s a mother, daughter, a person with feelings. Let’s be quiet and celebrate her breakthroughs and her progress because she has had to focus so much on problems and what she can’t do,” Nancy said. We sat silently for about three minutes, focusing our collective good energy and compassion on this woman.
Take time to embrace the spaciousness and stillness of darkness. Give collective compassion.
With so much fear and danger and negative darkness in our world news, it’s so encouraging to know and experience that ‘darkness’ can be so positive when we embrace it with hopefulness, caring and compassion.
How honored I felt to be part of that energy this morning.
I love the thought calling us to …”take time to embrace the spaciousness and stillness of darkness”. I have been one to complain as the days get shorter and darker! I love light and my windows are never covered so that the light can stream in and I can see the beautiful city, lake and landscape from them. But, this quote gives me a new appreciation for the darkness. I have begun to feel that I can pull the darkness around me like a comfortable warm blanket! Safe, restful and warm! Thank you for this blog!