Gift of Flow

We call it play or practice or movement.
We call it my time, our time.
But what we call it is not as important
as the fact that we gather to do it.

To be present to each other,
even though we may be a world apart.
To connect our individual worlds and lives
together through this mystery we call flow.

Come play with me and in our fun,
May we find the connection we crave.

Come practice with me,
For together in our practice we can get better
at our connection to love, peace and each other.

Come move with me,
Move away:
       from isolation
       from fear
       from anxiety
       from stress
And move with me into a place where we can all belong.

Come discover with me the gifts
that flowing together can provide.

The invitation is open.

Flow

Gossamer strands weaving in, out and around.
Full of mystery but yet so simple.
Not static, but moving, flowing,
Connecting one to another.

It's there waiting patiently for you.
Waiting to offer up it's gifts.
Gifts of:
                       Peace
                       Possibility
                       Creativity
                       Healing
                       Connection

Dive into the flow.
Experience it's gifts.
It's waiting  - no judgement
Just come, find the flow's gift for you.

Inspirations and Motivations

I am starting 2017 by participating in a challenge. I never thought I would ever participate in any type of challenge, let alone a fitness challenge. I’m just not the type. I have discovered that part of growing is trying new things – so here I am starting a fitness challenge through Taijifit(TM). There are different ways to participate. I am committing to showing up in the online class or the recorded Facebook-live post every day in January. I am committing to engaging in creativity by posting a picture or video each day of me doing a specific move. I am challenging my point of view by creating pictures or video of how I see a specific principle of Taijifit in my week. I am on Day two and having a blast!

Today in class, our teacher, David-Dorian Ross, spent some time discussing the idea of motivation and inspiration. He proposed that they really are two sides of the same coin, and I tend to agree with him. At the end of class he asked us to reflect on what inspires and motivates us. This seems like a good way to focus my thoughts for my first blog of 2017.

I am, by nature, a worrier and a bit of a control freak. I like to know what is going to happen and have a plan. If I don’t…well… then I can worry with the best of them. I am working on this and am hopeful that 31 days of Taijifit will help with some tools to keep the monkey-of-worry at bay. Here is where part of my inspiration comes in: I am deeply inspired by those who can be spontaneous and seem to be able to handle the worst that life throws at them with grace and while exuding inner peace – somehow keeping the internal chaos under control. What motivates me is that I know my tendency towards worry and stress is not healthy for my mind, body, or spirit.

This is where my intentions for 2017 come into play. I call them intentions, because I think it gives more space for them to develop over the course of the year. There is space as I grow and change for the intentions to grow and change with me. This is my intention for 2017, to create space. I want space to reconnect with music – all kinds of music (hey, if you have suggestions of what I should check out, leave a comment with a suggestion). I want space to explore color and incorporate color in my life; I want to see where this journey will take me in my spiritual health and perspective on life. And most of all, I want to create space to just stop.

I think this last one will be the hardest for me, but probably the one I need to do the most. We are a busy family with lots of things going on. It is rare there is a day without at least one thing on the schedule. For me, part of this stopping is making space for what I call “stop days”. These are days where there are no limits on how much TV is watched; we can get dressed or not; we are just together with no agenda or schedules. It is space to just be, to let our bodies and brains wind down to a state of true rest.

This year I want to find a better balance between doing what I am called to do by God and being who I am created by God to be. Doing is action. Being happens in the space I create between the doing. Being is where my contemplative spirit finds room to grow. It is the balance between doing and being the practice of my faith and spirituality find its completeness.

I’ll ask you the same question that David-Dorian Ross asked us in class today – what inspires and motivates you? And I’ll add one of my own: how does that shape your goals or intentions for this next year?

Come join me on the journey, it should be an exciting one.

Self-care of the Soul

Self-care is something that is sacred in my life. It is something that is necessary as I work in the emotionally and spiritually intense world of hospital chaplaincy. One of the things in my self-care inventory is Tai Chi. This slow fluid form of martial arts has become another form of moving meditation and prayer, just like the labyrinth has been for me.

In my exploration of Tai Chi, I have discovered a group called Taijifit. It is an online group that offers live-streamed workouts. The beautiful thing about this online group is that we gather from all over the world to play and do moving meditation together. Taijifit has become an essential part of my self-care routine, and you can find me in the online classroom about 5 days a week. We close each class with some variation of the following “guidelines for life:” “1) Keep your heart open, 2) Take time to play, and 3) Go with the flow. I have found myself reflecting on these guidelines and how they have integrated into my own daily living, and I’d like to share some of what has been ruminating in my brain and heart.

Keep your heart open: as a chaplain I encounter all kinds of people from all walks of life and beliefs. My role is to be present to them in their time of need and help them tap into and use their own spiritual/philosophical belief system as a source of strength and healing. To do this, my heart and mind has to be open to the many different ways of believing and orienting to the world that people have. The other side of an open heart is that I sometimes find my heart feeling more deeply and profoundly the pain of others. And when that happens I find my own healing in the moving mediation of Taijifit and the spoken words of gentle and healing imagery by the instructors that guide us into the movements. And in this I find myself letting the movement becoming a prayer, where I send off the deep feelings of my heart that are not mine to keep to God for safekeeping, and in doing so I find my emotional balance again.

Take time to play: my life is full between my daughter’s activities, my involvement in my church, and my work as a chaplain.  It is easy for me to lose sight of my own needs and time for fun. But as I hear these words after class each night, I am finding that I am becoming more able to put the never-ending to-do list away unfinished as 7:00 pm approaches, and by 8 pm the cell phone is put to silent (unless I am on- call). I am becoming more aware of my daughter’s invitations to play – even those that come in her sneaky tickle attacks of me. I am learning that I do not have to be doing something “productive” every minute of the day. I am learning that it is ok, and even good for me to spend the hour I spend at my daughter’s soccer practice just sitting out there, not really even watching practice but instead just enjoying being outdoors. This whole “take time to play” for me has really become an invitation into Sabbath time.

Go with the flow: ok, to be completely honest this one is really, really hard for me. I am a bit of a control person. I like a plan and to know what is going to happen and what I am going to do and how I am going to respond. I know, counter intuitive for being a chaplain in a hospital where you never seem to really know what the day will be. I’m pretty good at going with the flow at work, so perhaps that is why I tend to be a bit more controlling in other areas. Taijifit has really challenged me on this one. As I grow into applying going-with-the-flow in all aspects of my life I am finding that 1) I am a better mom 2) I am less stressed which means 3) my physical ailments related to stress are better. Essentially I am a healthier person all around. I am learning that if I am able to let go a bit more and open myself up more I am also more present and aware of the workings of God and Spirit going on around me and through me. I am more spiritually centered. This is a really good thing when you are a chaplain and chaos ensues. Ok, being spiritually centered is also really important when parenting, too.

This is all still very much a work in progress for me, but I am excited about where the journey is taking me in my spiritual life. I would like to invite you to consider with me how do you need to keep your heart open, where in your life do you need more play time, and how can you release some control and move into going with the flow of life.