Summer: running out the back door in bare feet, sleeping with the windows open, eating outside and feeling free. My daughter is pure summer radiance, a halo of curls around her sweaty, smiling face.
Freedom and radiance surrounds me and I want it on the inside, too. I want that feeling of being alive to my core.
What on earth do we do with the parts of us that don’t feel good, or are in the way?
Transform them into something beautiful. Cook them until they turn into something delicious. It’s a much gentler process than I ever could have imagined. This week I realized my solar cooker was teaching me about this process of transformation.
Say I want to turn a sweet potato into a delicious meal. With apologies to my hardcore raw food friends, I really want my sweet potato cooked. Sticking the potato out in the sunshine might warm it up a little bit, but won’t do much very quickly. My solar cooker’s reflectors concentrate the sun and a dark pot absorbs the heat. As the sun moves across the sky, I need to turn the cooker a few times to keep it focused. In about 3 hours I will have a meltingly delicious sweet potato.
Some important aspects of solar cooking are true for creating transformation in all of life:
- Focus: When we amplify our focus on something, we give it more power. What are you focusing on and is it what you really want?
- Receive: We need to be able to take in all the beautiful energy coming towards us – this one can be hard for me!
- Adapt: Conditions change and we need to continually refocus. Is what’s giving you energy shifting?
- Be patient: Can you allow things to unfold at their own pace?
What are you wanting to put in your pot in order to be transformed into something wonderful?
How are you cultivating the skills of focus, receptivity, adaptability, and patience to help you cook up something radiant and free?
Loving life’s juicy questions,
emily
P.S. Curious about further embodying the sun’s radiance and energizing your life? The sun is a core image in both qigong and dance practices.
Drinking in the light of the sun at the Healing Waters Qigong Practice Group. Spring Forest Qigong is a movement and meditation practice that can help you to heal yourself and to heal others. The slow gentle, slow movements help balance your body. Guided meditations help you build a sense of inner peace. When your body is in balance and connected to love you can heal more quickly and more completely.
These costume reflects the radiant life energy cultivated in the ritual dances that make up The Hive and the Well practice. The Hive and the Well is a practice that helps you embody your fullest self through movement and community. We dance to be nourished by nature and by Source. We dance for wellness. We dance to awaken our creative spark and to flourish in life. Open to all, no experience necessary. Photo is of Living Wisdom’s BEE LOVE.
Feeling so worn out you don’t know where to start? One-on-one qigong healing support can be helpful. Contact me for a free assessment to see if this is right for you at emily@wisdomdances.com.
