Spring Mudra - Elements of Wood and Wind

Spring Mudra – The Elements of Wood and Wind

Continuing with my offering of Tai Chi Mudras that my teacher, Virginia Scholl, has been sharing with my Tai Chi class.

Spring is the season of wood and wind according to Tai Chi Philosophy, it is also associated with waking up, pushing up and out from the depths, a renewed energy. A youthful masculine energy emerges at this time of year — grandiose and pushy at times! This is a time of new beginnings when life bursts forth in uninhibited joy, when hope returns and everything is growing towards the light.

There is incredible drive and determination available during this season of wood and wind. This energy can take us away with it, giving rise to impatience and impulsivity. Conversely it can be hard to meet, resulting in feeling overwhelmed and even a bit depressed in the presence of the all the greening and blooming. If we, like the trees around us, are well rooted deep in the earth and in our past, we can stand tall in the present moment and reach toward our visions for the future.

Practicing this Mudra supports me helps me to fully accept the invitation spring offers. I urge you to try following along with Virginia in this video. It takes only a few minutes, even if you slow it way down. It is a lovely way to begin or end your day

Whispering these words to yourself quietly as you learn the movements:

Holding these seeds in my hands and planting.
The roots push down, stems push up into, buds, and flowers.
Then falling back down to earth
to bring what is inside to the outside.
And standing in this present moment, I acknowledge
Where I have come from and where I am going
With strength and kindness to bring me home.

Here Virginia goes through the Spring Mudra 3 times, with the last in silence. To activate subtitles, click the CC square in bottom bar.

Accepting Winter's Invitation - Activating the Stillness

February 4th

Breaking News:

Winter is releasing its grip. Here we are, midway between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. On this archeoastrological day of Imbolc . . . you can trust that delicate awakenings are occurring in the deep.

I am continuing with my offering of Tai Chi Mudras that my teacher, Virginia Scholl, has been sharing with my Tai Chi class. Winter is the season of water according to Tai Chi Philosophy, it is also associated with going into the depths and with stillness. Practicing this Mudra helps me to accept the invitation that is inherent in winter. Especially, if you find this time of year difficult, I urge you to try following along with Virginia in this video. It takes only a few minutes, even if you slow it way down. It is a lovely way to begin or end your day.

Whispering these words to yourself quietly as you learn the movements:

May I rest in the stillness of winter
May I cherish my dreams and my intuition
Guide me from fear to courage
And teach me to look deep in the mirror of my soul

Here Virginia goes through the Winter Mudra 3 times, with the last in silence. To activate subtitles, click the CC square in bottom bar.

Turning Towards Next:

The resolutions of the calendar new year are shedding their grandiosity. This is a good time to gently turn into the rising energy of the year and see what is emerging in you and in your life. Gardeners pull out their seed catalogues — I find it is a good time give a few hours to turn towards what is next by consulting with the Wisdom Council. You can find those reflection questions by clicking here. Perhaps it is time to sort the seeds of your new years resolutions and decide which ones to nourish with your attention and energy?

Perhaps you feel some new stirrings and desires that are wanting to emerge...

The days are lengthening.

The sun is strengthening.

The energy is shifting, but it is very subtle at this threshold. It takes courage to stay with the intimate stillness of winter. It takes holding power, being a source of warmth for yourself and others . . . and sensing into messages that are gestating in the stillness of winter.

I hope you are wintering well!

Warmly, Lyedie

And please note: Next up is Spring!

Thanks to Elizabeth Ungerleider for her photo

Activating Mountain Energy - Practices for invoking late autumn Grace

Here I am continuing with my offering of Tai Chi Mudras that my teacher, Virginia Scholl has been sharing with my Tai Chi class. Late Autumn is the season of Metal according to Tai Chi Philospohy, it is also associated with Mountain Energy. I’m struck by how this Mudra invokes a sovereign capacity that many of my clients are stepping into as they develop their ability to take leadership in their personal and professional lives. The sovereign capacity, as I define it here, is the ability to hold a vision through the ebbs and flows of time, to affirm self and others, to be deeply trustworthy.

So below you will find a video for the Metal/Mountain Mudra and a few sovereign building practices I’ve gleaned from practicing the Metal Mudra.

Here are a few practices to develop the sovereignty of metal / mountain energy in your daily life.

• Endeavor to take a lesson from the trees — how they stand tall as they gently let go of their leaves - to relinquish that which has been brought to full harvest

• Allow the sharp edged thoughts that arise in your mind to descend down into your heart where your compassion can soften and transform them

• Look for the hidden treasures, even in these darkening times. And ask yourself if you’d be willing to receive these gifts

• Look back out over the year as if you are on a mountain top. See all that you have received and all that you have lost from a heightened perspective that is also grounded by a wide base.

• Invite yourself to trust that you are part of the great unfolding: Consider the time it took to form mountains, the time it took for the tree to form the leaves that are now drifting to the ground, the time it takes for grief to work its way through us.

• Be the mountain in all its grace and sovereignty

To activate subtitles, click the CC square in bottom bar.

May the diamond clarity of mind
Descend to my heart
To reveal the treasures of my life
Accepting what I have received and what I have lost
And trusting what is invisible and what is hidden

Know that you are always eligible for grace . . .

More on Metal / Mountain Energy from my teacher’s teacher . . .

Of all the five element, perhaps it is Metal that we Westerners find most difficult to comprehend, The word usually evokes in us something rigid, sharp and uncompromising; something harsh, demanding or judgemental.

From a Chinese perspective, Metal is associated with the season of Autumn. It is a time of loss and grief, yet in its clarity and purity it brings us closest to the place of spirit and the work of bringing spirit into form. This is the abode of the sage, the Hermit and the Mentor, those who understand the lessons of receiving and releasing when experience turns into understanding. Autumn presides over all separations and asks us to turn inward, to examine what we have brought to full harvest, to decide what we need to keep and what we need to relinquish. It teaches us to know the balance between appreciating the beauty of life and mourning its loss. This is the time of year when we search for something uncorrupted; a time to turn inwards, a time to find the jewels, the treasures we hold within ourselves.

. . . Like the season itself, Metal spirit asks us to find what is of essential worth, what is of real value in our lives. Although its lessons are not easy ones, Metal’s spirit knows we are always eligible for grace. It teaches us to let go without giving up, without losing trust. It reminds us that with acceptance and surrender, we are able to let go of the old so that something new can be born.

Metal’s spirit knows we are always
Eligible for grace
It reminds us that we are never past healing
And never beyond hope
It has a purity that precludes judgement
And teaches us to trust our innate value
Metal asks us to find
What is of essential worth in our lives;
To understand the dynamic
Between appreciating the beauty of life
And mourning its loss
It is the holy grail
As well as the search for it

Cielle Tewksbury, November 2009

Activating Earth Energy - Practices for bringing strength to our compassion

Life starts all over again
when it gets crisp in the fall.
~ F. Scott Fitzgerald

I’ve found that life becomes distinctly more wonderful when we begin to work and play in accord with the seasons. So I thought I’d share.

In Tai Chi the elements are closely associated with the seasons and the practice helps me find this accord. In the last few weeks my Tai Chi teacher, Virginia Scholl, has been attuning us to the transition from summer to fall by offering this Earth Mudra (see video below) to our small class. Surrounded by the bounty of autumn, we have been bringing in the earth energy I associate with heart centered warrior-ship. This energy, and the capacities that it gives rise to, are often needed by people who care deeply — Capacities like being centered, grounded, balanced, intentional in word and deed. This Mudra provides somatic support for bringing strength to our compassion. This is what I call grit.

Here are a few practices to develop earth energy in your daily life.

• Endeavor to take on less and then stay with the projects you start.

• Express yourself more clearly by saying what you observe, how it makes you feel and why, and what you would like to see happen. (Clean talk)

• Listen to your own inner voices and take their messages seriously.

• Lower your center of gravity so as to feel more centered in your self and be less thrown off balance by other people’s problems, needs, demands, or opinions.

• Let the earth and the very substance of your body give you a sense of solidity; so that when you meet an obstacle, you can stay clear on your intention and work to find a way to solve the problem and move ahead.

• Look for where the activities you are engaged in are generating results. Take a few moments to register these. Savor them and see them as your bountiful harvest. This will help you see the world as fertile ground for your good work.

• Hold your ground. Feel your grit . . . :)

To activate subtitles, click the CC square in bottom bar.

Holding and being held by the earth
May I be centered, balanced, and rooted
And in my desire to nurture and care for others
May I remember to extend that same care to myself

Enjoy!

(Practices adapted from Tai Chi wisdom as written by Lorie Dechar; Bronze sculpture by Linda Hoffman)

Summer Solstice

June 21st 10:57am in Putney, Vermont

Here we are in the fullest of fullness.
One of the great turnings.
May you find time to pause at the top of your breath in celebration.
May your dreams be blooming, 
and the company you are keeping be kind, helpful, and inspiring.

I’m just grateful to be taking a little time away from calendar time to enjoy the languid lag that we all call summer . . . ☀️

Warmly, Lyedie

And here too is a poem by Tony Hoagland — a lovely nudge to pencil in “Sunlight.”

The Word

Down near the bottom
of the crossed-out list
of things you have to do today,
between "green thread"
and "broccoli," you find
that you have penciled "sunlight."
Resting on the page, the word
is beautiful. 
It touches you
as if you had a friend
and sunlight were a present
he had sent from someplace distant
as this morning—
to cheer you up,
and to remind you that,
among your duties, pleasure
is a thing
that also needs accomplishing.
Do you remember?
that time and light are kinds
of love, and love
is no less practical
than a coffee grinder
or a safe spare tire?
Tomorrow you may be utterly
without a clue,
but today you get a telegram
from the heart in exile,
proclaiming that the kingdom
still exists,
the king and queen alive,
still speaking to their children,
—to any one among them
who can find the time
to sit out in the sun and listen.

by Tony Hoagland

Photo credit goes to Elizabeth Ungerleider

2022 Tiny-little-practices-that-make-a-difference — On rushing, and what did Da Vinci mean anyway?

Are you finding yourself rushing through things?

When I was a young mother, and my daughter Jaime was in kindergarten she observed me rush around most mornings; making breakfast, making lunch, trying to get the girls dressed, myself ready for work, and all of us out the door on time. I can assure you it wasn’t a pretty scene — lots of zigging and zagging, frustrations being expressed, and there were those outfit changes (theirs as well as mine).

One day, Jaime piped up. Clearly and quietly said, “You know mom, I’ve been noticing that when you rush around like that it actually makes things take longer.” She had been watching carefully and she hadn’t missed a thing! In her five year old wisdom, she had found the right time to make this observation such that I could hear it, and now 35 years later I still hold the impression of that moment of truth. Out of the mouths of babes . . .

So when I sat down to write this blog post, I noticed that I had a bit of a rush going. The thought was that it should be done already. The feeling tone was in the anxiety realm: with all the uncertainty in the world, what can I offer that is of real use? And underneath the desire to be of use, was even the call to offer something brilliant! It was Friday afternoon, the sensations in my body were a slightly speedy jumpiness that had me out ahead of myself that wasn’t allowing me to focus. My brow was furrowed with trying to figure out what to write about. I was rushing in that way that Jaime noticed makes things take longer.

So, I paused and made use of a practice for unresourceful rushing when approaching tasks that I’ve developed recently for clients. My definition of unresourceful is: Being rendered incapable of using what is at hand wisely or efficiently. As the rushing started to dissipate, I realized that I could offer it as the first of the tiny little practices for 2022. So here goes.

Leonardo Da Vinci was on to something when he said, “Time stays long enough for anyone who will use it.” But how do we use it well when it feels as if it is slipping away too fast? How do we use it well when our insides feel like a rushing river in rapids? And what the hell did Leonardo mean any way?

Here is a tiny little practice to develop quietude in the midst of activity which can give rise to a deeper efficiency — perhaps even experience a glimpse of what Leonardo meant. :)

There are a number of elements that contribute to to unresourceful rushing. When we get future oriented and then stir in a little anxiety (like the pressure to be brilliant) we come up and out of our center and the pace at which our body operates picks up. Driven by this future orientation the Friday afternoon neuro-chemical cocktail of cortisol and adrenaline shifted me into rush mode. This rendered me less able to resourcefully respond to the task at hand — Any chance I had at brilliance was disintegrating like wet tissue paper.

In general, when you are rushing you are operating up and out of most of your body. Think back and notice where your attention and energy is at those times. Chances are that it is floating at shoulder level or above and distinctly forward. Are you even aware of your spine or the back of your head? Can you feel the region of your heart, your butt on the chair?

You can attend to this high up and forward orientation simply by shifting your weight back and settling down into your body. To assist with this, place the palm of your hand on your belly and take a few breaths where you are elongating the out-breath. Elongating the out-breath while inviting your attention down towards your belly decreases the levels of cortisol and adrenaline, naturally settling your nervous system. It is a subtle yet remarkable shift that gives you access to more of yourself, to quietude.

Then return to the activity at hand. Start by giving the activity a specific amount of focused time and attention, say 15-30 minutes to start. Set a timer for that amount of time. Then place your hand on your belly and take a few breaths calling your attention in on the in-breath and settle down into your belly on the out-breath. Then imagine putting a set of blinders on and give the task your full attention until it is done or the timer has chimed, whichever comes first. If the task isn’t complete yet then evaluate and set the timer again. Continue until you have reached completion or the sense of rushing has dissipated and you are feeling resourcefully engaged in the process.

When we are rushing we are not able to find or forge a sense of engagement. Research in physics and philosophy is unveiling the truth that mystics like Leonardo have known for centuries, that time is a construct that is rather elastic. This practice can open up your sense of time, presence the gift that the mystery is offering up in the very moment, and allow for focus. Your relationship with time will shift when you engage in an activity from an inner quietude.

Here is a poem by Chelan Harkin to support this practice. I hope you enjoy both as you meet the gorgeous ruckus that is life on this beautiful planet.

The Flower

The flower
never had a to-do list,
not one day of her life.
She just pointed her whole self
toward light.
The rest
took care of itself.

Lyedie Geer

Putney Vermont

Spring 2022

Tiny-little-practices-that-make-a difference — Celebrating completion . . .

In my last post I ended with a promise to myself, that once I completed the blog I was writing to you, I would celebrate by heading to the beach to build sandcastles with my grandchildren. Done, and what fun we had!! I also promised that next in the series of tiny-little-practices-that-make-a difference would be on celebrating completion, so here it is.

When was the last time you finished a task and danced a little jig? Do you pause to fully appreciate endings? Have you noticed how quickly you move on to the next thing? Perhaps, you are off to the next thing even before you’ve completed the one you are in? Lately I’ve been noticing that most of us, myself included, neglect celebrating.

Forewarning: Celebrating is both practical and glorious. Completing things takes focus and seriousness. Celebration requires releasing into at least a little bit of silliness. :)

Pausing to celebrate even the tiny accomplishments gives rise to being able to enjoy steering a sequence of tasks to completion, the essence of successful project management. All the project management systems in the world won’t help you if you can’t wrestle the small tasks to completion and then celebrate. But beyond that, there is the glorious sense of peace and fulfillment that comes with being able to celebrate completions.

So here is a tiny little mid-summer practice to develop your celebration muscle.

Step 1: For the purpose of developing this as a practice, pick one area in your life to celebrate completing an accomplishment more consciously. Keep it small and simple, something you do regularly.

You could use the one f-ing thing from the tiny-little practice I posted in June. Perhaps it is in the realm of chores at home, or tasks related to work. For example: Completing doing the dishes, weeding the garden, answering all your emails, closing the books on the day, completing a painting or drawing, posting that blog . . .

Step 2: Decide specifically what it is that signals completion.

Specificity is your friend with this step. For example: With the dishes it might be that the counters are clear and clean, in the garden it might be weeding a specific row or bed, with emails it might be that you have answered all the flagged messages or your inbox is empty, with closing the books it might be the act of stapling those slips together or making the deposit, a painting or drawing might be completed with the flourish of your signature.

Step 3: Then choose a way to exaggerate the feeling of being complete. This should feel a little grand and verge on being embarrassing to do at first!

• Raise your hands above your head and shout, “Yes!”

• Dance a little jig

• Play a tune from a playlist of upbeat music that you absolutely love

• Tell a trusted friend, “Hey, I got it done!”

Step 4: Then pause. Pause and let the good feeling of completion reverberate down through you heart center before you move on to the next thing. A few slightly deeper breaths will help to metabolize the value of your completion. This step is important, so don’t rush through it.

Step 5: Once you have allowed for a true pause, move on while taking note of how this tiny practice contributes to enjoying a more substantial sense of self. My clients have found that it also contributes to getting stuff done . . .

Let me know how it goes if you are so inclined!

Now it is time for me to dance a little jig right here in my office . . . :)

Tiny-little-practices-that-make-a-difference — Choosing and then doing the one f*cking thing . . .

Here is a practice to develop your grit. I love this practice for getting engaged in what is meaningful, reducing brain fog, and wrestling effectively with the tyranny-of-the-lists. Choose the one fucking thing . . . and then hold yourself accountable to doing that thing—earlier is better than later. 

Yes, I’m swearing here to call in your warrior aspect. I revel in the way using this word can unleash a spurt of empowering anger, as long as it is not overused in our everyday language. (I used to say to my kids when they would start to sling swear words around willy-nilly, “Save the swear words for when you need the emphasis.”) The sword-like quality of good clean anger is a great ally when being decisive and getting things done is called for.

While sipping your morning coffee or tea, scan out across all the ways that your life is calling to you and then ask yourself, “If all else takes over and my day gets away from me, What is the one fucking thing I’m going to do today?” 

Criteria for determining your one fucking thing:

First and foremost — Make it small and doable. For the purposes of this practice, don’t choose a whole fucking project. Then fulfill two of the criteria below:

It falls into the important but not necessarily urgent category

It furthers something you care deeply about

Accomplishing it will give your spirits a lift

It will make things better later

Perhaps you have been avoiding it and therefore it is weighing you down

It is fun and you aren’t allowing it for yourself

A great addition to this practice is to find a trusted friend who will gently or fervently ask you, “What is your one fucking thing today?” This also makes it more fun!

If you are living under the tyranny-of-the-lists, and you’re up for a radical move, try tucking your list away for a few days or a week, and just focus on the one fucking thing. Once you get the hang of identifying your one fucking thing, you will most likely find that it has an almost magical quality. In systems theory it is referred to as a strange attractor, it generates engagement and a flow that will allow you to intuitively accomplish what you are using those lists to manage. Three things to do today and then the one fucking thing, is the task management system that has allowed me to enjoy being an entrepreneur, after years of living and working less successfully under the tyranny-of-the-lists.

My one fucking thing for today is to get this blog post completed. I plan to celebrate this accomplishment by taking my four fabulous grandchildren to build sandcastles at the beach. 

Oh and the next tiny little practice is celebration . . .

Wolf and Woman
- Nikita Gill

Some days
I am more wolf than woman
And I am still learning
how to stop apologizing
For my wild

Wherever you are on this beautiful planet . . .

December 21, 2019

Perhaps, like me, you have been in semi-hibernation these last few weeks — scurrying home as early as you possibly can to slip into your jammies to read or watch Netflix. I’ve been surrendering to this impulse, as I find when I do that it doesn’t translate as feeling down or depressed. I do long for those summer evenings when I’m out on my paddle-board until well after nine. They seem so far away and unimaginable to me now, with the sun setting at 4:18 and the darkness bearing down on the day.

So, in the spirit of full participation in life on this beautiful orb that spins in space, I invite you to pause to celebrate and to register this tiny but unmistakable turning into increased light that occurs on this auspicious day.  Civilizations have built monuments to capture and magnify this annual momentous occasion. (The Passage Tomb at New Grange in Ireland, The Karnak Temple at Luxor, Egypt, The Standing Stones of  Stonehenge, to name a few) But, if we sharpen our attention, we can attune to this moment with our very selves as instrument.  

Farmers’ Almanac, “Winter Solstice 2019: When Is It, And What Is It?”

The exact timing depends on where you stand on this magnificent planet. According to the Farmers’ Almanac, 11:19 PM here on the east coast of the US is the moment in clock time.  It is great to know the exact timing, but you may feel it it any point in the next few days. 

Working with the cycles of life is an important element of finding and forging fulfillment, rather than settling for success. Here is what I’m learning to look for as I attune to the great turning and to register it in my self as instrument: 

A subtle but remarkable lightening of my spirit
An increase in energy
A lift in my feeling state
A softening in the regions of my heart
A tiny beam of inspiration
A trickle of forgiveness 
A clear yes, or a clear no 

Join with the natural world and catch this moment while it is here. It is as subtle as finding the bottom or the top of your breath. And it is easy to miss in all the hubbub . . . 

I hope that you have fun with this, and may your holiday include a pause that renews your faith in life itself. 

Warmly, Lyedie

Putney, Vermont

Faith

I want to write about faith,
about the way the moon rises
over cold snow, night after night,

faithful even as it fades from fullness,
slowly becoming that last curving and impossible
sliver of light before the final darkness.

But I have no faith myself
I refuse it even the smallest entry.

Let this then, my small poem,
like a new moon, slender and barely open,
be the first prayer that opens me to faith.

By David Whyte
From Where Many Rivers Meet

Attuning to the Gorgeous Ruckus of Summer

Mary Oliver’s last book, Upstream, is here at the top of the pile by my Blue Chair. Have you read it yet? I’m inspired by the declaration that she placed carefully on Page 8, “Attention is the beginning of devotion.” That placement was clearly very intentional on Mary’s part, so I sat up and took notice when I read it. I’ve thought a lot about attention over the years, and I feel the intensity of her writerly gaze leap up from the page there, for I have never thought of attention as devotion before. So holding the idea that attention is the beginning of devotion, I turned towards what has captured my attention of late. Summer, in all its warmth and glory has expanded my heart. The cycles inherent in life have been on my mind. I’m starting to see clearly that our very well-being is dependent on our developing effective ways to attune-to and work-actively-with the cyclical nature of the gorgeous raucous. Yes, and attuning is a sensitive activity. It is a series of often small, responsive moves that generate a life enhancing coherence. I dare say, it is the feminine in devoted action.

Summer is the fullest expression of the gorgeous ruckus. Especially, here at the 45th Parallel North, we look forward to it all year and — just like with lottery winnings or rainbow money — we spend it many times over in our imaginations. The abundant apex of daylight hours that nature tenders to us all on the Summer Solstice (15 hours and 37 minutes) has a demanding invitation in it. “Grab hold of this! Enjoy this! Use it well!” The natural world splendidly orients toward responding to this invitation. In the clock-time trance of our linear calendars, the comfort of climate controlled four walls, and the tyranny of our checklists; we humans leave a lot of that warmth and sunshine out of consideration. This constitutes is a lack of attunement.

So as you hone your summer plans here a few questions to devote some attention to if you would like to attune to the gorgeous ruckus:

• Is there a seed-longing that I’m harboring that requires the warmth and sunshine of summer?

• Is there an opportunity I’d like to seize?

• Is there a new rhythm, ritual, or routine that I’d like to put in place with the buoyancy that summer affords?

• Is there a “cat” I’d like to be sure hang out with in the sun?

• What did I most enjoy about summer as a child, and how might I dip back into those experiences somehow this summer?

• When the autumnal equinox rolls around — when the daylight hours have waned back to 12 hours and 7 minutes and the air has gone crisp — what might I regret about how I spent the summer that could be attended to now with a little planning and intentionality?

Looking back over my responses to the questions above , in what way can I attune my plans for the coming months to the invitation of summer?

The summer invites us to slow down and to seize the day all at once. It requires holding the exquisite polarity of claiming life and releasing our grip on it.

Devote yourself to splendid. You might find it will require being fierce about freeing your attention from the linear trance to whatever degree you can. In the gorgeous raucous splendid is splendid, however small or grand.

Please be brave enough to tune in to your deepest longings . . . And remember to make breakfast. Make love. Make some trouble on behalf of beauty, truth, and goodness.

And thank you for the precious attention you gave to reading this post! Lyedie

Getting More Productive: Tip #2 - Taking pleasure in the doing . . .

Before I close up my week and slip into the long weekend, I want to keep my promise to offer a tip  on productivity. For this one I’m sharing a childhood memory and a poem with you. May these two offerings enhance your celebrations of Labor Day. I'd like to focus on the beauty of summer and the power of being present in a productive moment.

One of my treasured childhood memories is of working alongside my grandmother at her clothesline on a summer day. Here is a snippet of memoir written back in 1995.

My Nana kept clothespins in a ruffled apron made of blue-green chintz in her laundry room. She’d tie that apron around my waist and then we’d go out together. She’d carry the big basket filled with wet laundry and I’d trundle along behind her, apron pockets loaded with clothespins bumping against my knees.  I followed her out, out through the shade of the Linden trees and down a little hill.

There, behind the barn, was an expanse of yard where she and my Papa had strung multiple cotton lines across a wide span. My job was to hand her clothespins from the deep pockets of the apron.  The sheets would take on the scent of grass and sun as she shook them out in the air.  One by one I’d hand her a clothespin and watch how expertly she worked.

I reveled in standing next to her between layers of wide white sheets.  We stood there together amidst a flutter of white, laughing and talking. I’d watch her every move as she stretched each huge cotton rectangle taut along the line and set the pin carefully in the corner. The order was important: sheets, then pillowcases, then the kitchen towels. 

I loved everything about Nana and her clotheslines, and summer. Working alongside my Nana was like being inside of a hug.

And a poem . . . .

Daily

These shriveled seeds we plant,

corn kernel, dried bean,

poke into loosened soil,

cover over with measured fingertips

These T-shirts we fold into

perfect white squares

These tortillas we slice and fry to crisp strips

This rich egg scrambled in a gray clay bowl

This bed whose covers I straighten

smoothing edges till blue quilt fits brown blanket

and nothing hangs out

This envelope I address

so the name balances like a cloud

in the center of sky

This page I type and retype

This table I dust till the scarred wood shines

This bundle of clothes I wash and hang and wash again

like flags we share, a country so close

no one needs to name it

The days are nouns: touch them

The hands are churches that worship the world

Naomi Shihab Nye

Harnessing the Energy of Spring

May 2nd, Walpole, New Hampshire

It is a glorious May morning and I'm just in from a walk. While I was out there I got inspired to offer up a few simple practices for harnessing the energy that spring offers. My hope is that you enjoy them, and they are helpful to you in some way.

Many of us are looking to further our intentionality, resourcefulness and the ability to enjoy life.  Working with the cycles of nature can help us to understand how to sustain these capacities over time. The practices below are intended to build your capacity:

  - To initiate more intentional communications with others

  - To work actively with the cycles of the creative process that are inherent in nature

  - To be more resourceful

Harnessing the Energy of Spring   (A few practices)

Recent breakthroughs in the field of neurobiology are telling us just how connected we are to the natural world and to each other. The palpable uptick of spring is a gorgeous example of this truth.  Our bodies and minds are attuned to the waking up energy at play in the natural world. This provides great support for initiating communication, moving up and out in purposeful ways.

Take a Daily Infusion: Carve out time on a daily basis for an infusion of spring. This could be just 7-10 minutes of your lunch break or a longer stretch if your schedule allows. The idea is to go outside and commune with spring as it bursts forth.  Leave your mobile phone behind and refrain from engaging in conversation. Dedicate this time to being fully receptive and aware of what is occurring in the natural world — the rain falling, sun warming, buds swelling, ferns unfurling, sap rising. Let it all bring a smile to your face. Invite it infuse your energy level and mood as you go on with your day. Doing this on a daily basis will support the initiating practices outlined below

Reflection: Take note of how being receptive to the uptick of Spring actually shifts your well-being, how it changes your energy level and emotional state.

Look for Opportunities to Break out of Winter’s Grip:  As you go through your day, look for ways to break out of the stasis of winter and to push forward into new possibility. The stasis of winter is something we often experience internally as a kind of inertia.  When you are on the verge of breaking out of it you might feel euphoric (and a even a little reckless) from the uptick that spring is giving your limbic system. But it is just as likely that you will experience at least a twinge of anxiety and feel your courage quicken. At those times consciously attune yourself to the energy of spring, the “yes” energy of inspiration and yearning; go with that.

Two Ways to Break out of Winter’s Grip:

1. Start Something: Start a project (small or large) that is dear to your heart, one that you have been considering but that has been in the grip of winter's inertia. Initiate that new project at work. Make that recipe that appears daunting. Throw that dinner party. Send that letter of intent. Teach your child how to knit.  Hurl yourself into preparing that garden bed.

Reflection: How much energy do you gain by applying your attention and energy to something that is meaningful to you?

2. Break Through and Melt Ice: Communicate intentionally by saying what you see and what you’d like to see.  Tell someone what you notice is happening in the space between you. Begin with the data; describe what you observe in as objective and straight forward a way as you can. Then express your warmth and what you hope for, what you would really like to experience and perhaps why. (It could be that there is something you'd like to see more of, or something you’d like to have less of, or perhaps there is something you wish was different than it is.) Be as real as you can, be your authentic self, listen to their response, stand in your intention.  This may feel risky at first and I encourage you to start with the small stuff. Sentence stems are a great help:  

I notice that . . . 

I see that . . . 

Followed by

What I’d really like to . . .

What is important to me is . . .

Here are some examples:  

I notice that we don't have dinner as a family the way we used to . . . I really miss it and it is important to me that we get back on track by having dinner together at least three times a week.

I notice that when you ask me to make changes in the work I submit for approval, even though I value your input, I get defensive. . . . I'd really like to be able to accept criticism more gracefully and be open to feedback so that we can collaborate more effectively .

I notice that when you greet me at the end of the day with that quick little kiss on my cheek . . . that I really want you to linger there with me a little longer. 

Reflections:

What does it take for you to say what you see and to offer your tender hopes to another?

What happens when you do?

How could you become more adept at these conversations?

Go ahead.  The idea here is to work with the inherent full-bodied invitation of spring. Experience how spring works with you to support your intentions. Notice how spring invites us, by its very nature, to be restless in our frozen old habits, to envision new patterns and potential, and to move up and out into the fullness of life. I urge you to harness the energy it offers to do what really matters to you.

Feel free to let me know how it goes.

As a life and leadership coach I help my clients develop capacities they need to meet their objectives, and to fulfill their promise.  Developing a new capacity is building a new muscle; it takes repeated effort and awareness through practice. 

May spring bring be all that you hope for!

Warmly, Lyedie