AGREEMENTS
For the May gathering we welcomed a new member to our circle, so I took my time with the agreements. Because we were talking about personal power this month, I underscored the policy of not offering help to anyone unless they ask for it. It may seem counterintuitive, but part of claiming your power is being able to ask for help when you need it. The flip side of that is respecting someone’s power is not victimizing them and assuming we know when and how they need to be helped.
GETTING TO KNOW YOU
Along the theme of empowerment, I asked everyone to name an area in their life where they recently started to feel especially empowered, and another where they were still working on stepping into their power. The area of empowerment needn’t be something huge and obvious. What I was interested in was awareness of new growth. The example I gave came from my experience flying in Montreal. I’d never flown with that school before, and when I got there I was surprised to find that the rig didn’t have a net but an airbag to land in. One of the instructors called me over from the other side of the rig and, silly me, I tried to cross the landing mat. Of course I ended up falling about two steps in, and I did this in front of the entire class. Teachers and students couldn’t help laughing at my faux pas, but what I noticed in myself is that I was able to join them without any sting of embarrassment! I’d spent most of my life being afraid of falling, and being even more deathly afraid of falling in front of others. This fear really challenged me while I was learning how to ski, and frankly has held me back from trying other things out. Getting to the point where I no longer was ashamed to fall (read “fail”) in front of others felt like a huge coup!
My growth area for feeling empowered was feeling impatient to find myself (again and again and again) in yet another transition period. This was true for me several days ago, but since then I have remembered that these liminal spaces are sacred spaces, and I have since relaxed into the flow and not put so much pressure on myself to figure out the next ten steps ahead of me.
OPENING MEDITATION
We revisited the personal sun meditation. This is the third time I’ve brought this into Dreamers & Schemers, and each time feels new and invigorating, as if we can get deeper and deeper into this practice. Everyone in the room was really able to feel their energies gathering and their power radiating through their being. I am so pleased about this because it is one of my favorite tools, and it is so fun and easy to do anywhere, even on the subway! Back in January I shared how I use this “off the mat,” and you can read about that here.
SOLAR PLEXUS OVERVIEW
This is the third chakra that we’re studying and it’s been really helpful reviewing the preceding chakras and seeing how they relate to one another. I’ve been really pleased with my decision to structure this year’s Dreamers & Schemers around the chakra system because it’s prompted me to bring in gemstones and essential oils to every gathering, and that’s been really fun and educational for everyone! This month we really honed in on the solar plexus being the seat of our personal power and our sense of identity.
PARTNER PRACTICE
As the months go by I’ve been intentionally building in partner activities because one of the underlying skills that Dreamers & Schemers helps participants build is the ability to hold space for others. The flip side of that is also experiencing the effect of being witnessed on one’s own work. Partner work may seem scary at first because it demands a certain amount of intimacy, but it also lets us practice being vulnerable and openhearted.
This session we did the “Who are you?” exercise again. It was really fascinating for me to see how veteran Dreamers & Schemers approached this exercise in comparison to last year. I just love watching individual grow and change and being able to reflect that back to them. It’s one of my favorite parts of this work!
SPRING CLEANING
This exercise is a fun way to approach the question “Who am I?” because it allows us to conceptualize of identity as something that, while complex and dynamic, is also something we can wear lightly and review / renew regularly. The most interesting part of this exercise is the stuff that comes under the “maybe” pile, and I shared a diagnostic tool (adapted from the work of Byron Katie) to help us let go of limiting beliefs.
ANCESTOR MEDITATION
The tool that I think everyone was most excited about is one from my Akashic Records work. I was able to put it directly into practice during my plant medicine retreat in Peru this past April, when sh*t really hit the fan and I needed to feel the support of my ancestors and my personal power at the same time (because one or the other wasn’t enough to get me out of my funk). This is another really handy tool that is fun and easy to practice anywhere and everywhere because it’s incredibly simple and really subtle, so no one who sees you will know you’re doing anything out of the ordinary. (I love tools you can use on the subway, or while walking down a busy NYC street.)
ADMIN
Everyone’s schedules continue to shift and it’s been challenging keeping our gatherings on the second Thursday of each month. The next gathering will be on June 22, when we will be working on the heart chakra!
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