How do I love thee, let me count the ways
1. Make time for yourself to lie down and connect with the earth
Whether I can be outside or not, lying down supine on the earth is my favorite position to forgive. To let everything go, I just imagine it falling into the earth. If I feel something stuck in my gut or heart, I breathe into it, until I can imagine it letting go also. I don’t try to make meaning out of it, or figure it out, or berate myself. I don’t get into any blame games in my head.
For the moment, I practice suspending the story. I say “practice” because it doesn’t have to be perfect and I am always far from perfect with it. I tend to be gentle with myself. The more I am struggling to get out of my head, the more gentler I become.
I imagine it loosening up and melting into the earth. I feel weightless and let myself fall into the earth, too. Usually, I imagine the earth cleansing me.
2. Be even more gentle
In my metaphor of what is happening, I am not a bottomless pit, (even though I feel like one sometimes.) If I still feel tense after a while of letting go, I get curious if there is some judgment filling me back up. I try to be ever more compassionate and understanding of myself. And I don’t connect this with the story, because that would invite more mind involvement. I don’t try to figure out what the judgment is. I just in general feel love for myself and this lets it go without me having to “try” or anything.
3. Let go of “excuses” to stay suffering
Many excuses to stay suffering seem very logical at the time. Some of our biggest obstacles to feeling peace are wrapped in admirable packaging. Here are some words I am talking about:
Figure it out
Responsibility
Acceptance
Just
Try
Expectation
Resolve
Deserve
Don’t let these fool you. They are the goons of Judgment couched in some “upstanding” words. When they are working for Judgment, their job is to confuse us. And they can be very crafty at it.
I am supposed to accept this, but I can’t accept this…
(Add supposed to.)
How do you accept something, you can’t accept?
I try to forget accepting, resolving, expecting, and just let myself be in the breathe. There is nothing to figure out. I image light all around myself and just float there with out any story.
4. Practice Self Compassion
I meet judgment with compassion. And it dissolves. (Not forever. When judgment comes back, if I am aware, I gently remind myself that I love myself). If we suspended judgment, then we would have nothing else to do. Judgment keeps us attached to things we don’t want to be attached to.
If we try really hard to let something go- sometimes we can feel worse-this is because judgment is attaching us to it ever more strongly. Stop judging and there is nothing to do to let it go, it goes by itself. Peace is ours. If we practiced self compassion, the rest could be simple to see.
5. If guilt is there use it
Guilt comes in order to give us awareness into our actions so we can choose something different or restore what we have done, etc. Most times we hold guilt, when our sense of self worth is low, even though we have done nothing wrong. Forgiving yourself for thinking you have done something wrong is key to finding peace.
If you have done something wrong, the guilt shows up to help us take action. Once you decide on that action and commit to it, the guilt is useless and will potentially hurt you, by isolating you or keeping your stuck. Nobody wins. You may feel like you deserve this but I am not sure.
I’d rather spend my energy giving back, making up for it, and contributing/connecting to someone else. Everybody wins. This feels so much better than being stuck in guilt.
6. Ask your inner God/Goddess who you are
Once I dissolve my sticky story, I want to fill myself back up and so I imagine light all around me. I ask myself: What does God/Goddess appreciate about you? I let Spirit answer this by stepping back in my mind. Something different is revealed each time.
I ask to see who I am in Spirit’s eyes and feel myself filled up with light. I continue to float in this light until I am ready to get up. Refreshed and renewed!
7. Do something for yourself
Take a walk, take a bath, call a friend, read something inspirational, sing, dance, love…
Jodi. You are so far ahead of me. What you wrote is beautiful, but I don’t understand it or I don’t get where you are. Where do you go when laying on the ground? I wish I lived closer. I would love to go to your seminars. Love you, Mary
Mary, I was hoping this would be something you can understand. I am so sorry! Where do I go? I just spend time in my body. If I was to go on a shamanic journey, I go to my sacred place, which is in my imagination.
Someday you might! Let me know how I could may the reclaiming your soul retreat doable for you!
xo
Jodi
This is a wonderful post, Jodi. I always need the reminder to be curious (asking questions diffuses so much, doesn’t it?) and practice self-compassion — I have loads of it for everyone else but tend to short change myself! But I’m not going to “try” too hard, I’m just observing and now letting it go….. 🙂
Laura Zera recently posted..Travel: Dialing it Way Down in Fiji
You do have so much for everybody, and that’s a start, but you are equal to all of them and just as wonderful!
I love to lie like this at the end of the day. It just feels good, like I’m releasing all the stress from my day.
Kelly Hashway recently posted..Writer Wednesday: How Many Documents Does It Take To Draft A Novel?
You need it, busy lady!
Wow. What an helpful demonstration of practicing acceptance. “There is nothing to figure out” – That’s something we can all lean into a little more.
Thanks for supporting our program ‘Nourished’ – We are very excited about it and looking forward to supporting others to complete mind and body health!
Figure out is so often reaped in judgment. Ugh! Time to love ourselves! So glad you are doing the program!
I don’t know if I’d recommend laying on the earth. Why, the earth’s been sucking folk up with sinkholes and whatnot. You just never know where or when it may happen but I couldn’t do it. Plus, I don’t like grass and dirt. Gives me the creeps to think about touching them. I know that’s a little strange, being from the south and all.
totsymae1011 recently posted..Getting the Juice
I heard there were fire ants down there, it might be quite a different experience that up here!
Lying down on the earth, even if it’s in my house–love it. I try to do that twice a day while belly breathing. In tai chi we also practice a standing meditation that roots us into the earth. I was told recently that my root chakra is “huge.” Guess it’s working. Loved this. And it was fun catching up a bit on your blog.
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I know you didn’t interview me when you wrote this post, but it felt like you could have. I’ve had to do much of what you’ve suggested lately since I change jobs. Sometime we have to give ourselves a break and adjust. I am enjoying my new place, but to get here, I had to let go and give a little. For me, as you know, writing is my thang, so the dust bunnies get to hang out a little longer than usual. On another note, loved the photo of you, Jodi.
brenda recently posted..Never My Love
Love the idea of letting “stuff” sink into the earth.
Where I live, though, it’s a journey to get to a park or lawn where I can do that. So, I try to do a water release – same idea, but release the crud into the pool as I’m swimming, or down the drain as I’m showering.
Beverly Diehl recently posted..The Wisdom to Read Leesa Freeman
Great nuggets of information, Jodi. I love #7: Take a walk, take a bath, call a friend, read something inspirational, sing, dance, love…
I’ve done all these things at one point or another. Very rewarding, indeed.
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