“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”- Maya Angelou
This quote inspires me. It gentles me and reminds me to be easy on myself.
Living in the moment is really a reminder to unpack and put down the baggage I carry of past memories and tomorrow's fears, much like Charlie Brown’s friend Pigpen with all the stuff swirling around him. Pigpen has referred to the cloud that surrounds him as "the dust of ancient civilizations." My preoccupation with the past and the future holds regrets and worries much like dust particles that clog up my breathing, encumber my stride and weigh on my shoulders.
I’ve gotten better with practice. Now I have flashes of memories instead of lost in scenarios. I sweep out my house. I plant my feet and call in my presence. It really helps.
Life on this Earth is calling me to be present, honest with myself, mindful of my actions and thoughts and clear with my direction. Sometimes clarity means acknowledging my confusion, pausing until I can see a foot in front of me, one step at a time.
I literally sweep my body meridian by meridian to clear the energy, to enhance the flow of the invisible energy network. For thousands of years, Traditional Chinese medicine has used the concept of this channel network for healing. Meridians are paths through which qi, or life-energy, flows.
While living in California in 2009, I met a retired energy healer named Ray. My suffering with Fibromyalgia pain and sharing my struggle with a friend led me to meeting Ray. He was from Australia, had recently lost his wife, and decided to travel and see the world. I had three sessions with him. He agreed to take a look at my energy and provide any knowledge he could. I share this experience as a layperson not educated in the medical field. Take from it what you will.
He was a fairly short, gray-haired man who had a no-nonsense attitude about him. He had advised me to bring food as my first session would be through lunch time. I had a jar of almond butter and some gluten free crackers. The first thing he did was grumble at my jar of almond butter, grab it and throw it in the trash. He told me almond butter is extremely hard to digest and, in his opinion, should be in the garbage. I did later retrieve it, unbeknownst to him.
As he was talking to me, he was moving his hands up and down my arms, legs, around my head, and my torso. He explained about energy that moves along the meridians and sometimes this energy gets bogged down and needs to be supported to ease the flow. Emotions like grief and fear affect our meridians. He explained he was tracing my meridians enhancing all my organ systems. He told me meridians flow in one direction.
I spent nearly two hours with Ray on that first day and felt different. Through my sessions with him I learned about Touch for Health using Acupressure Touch. He showed me a book he recommends to those wanting to do this at home. The Complete Edition Touch for Health; A Practical Guide to Natural Health with Acupressure Touch.
I learned not only to enhance my own meridians, but I could virtually imagine a loved one in front of me and draw their meridians to enhance their energy as well. I trust it all helps.
Other healers practice techniques we can do for ourselves. Donna Eden has been around a long time teaching her healing techniques. She wrote a book entitled Energy Medicine. With one beginner class and her book, I’ve learned a Daily Energy Routine. Donna says, “The Daily Energy Routine can benefit nearly anyone living in the stress-producing polluted, unnatural, energy-scrambling environments that mark our technological progress.” Using a Daily Energy Routine “refreshes your energies every day.”
Life has led me to self-care modalities that have enhanced my life. I used to covet these learnings and tell people they have to use them to feel better. I’ve learned to practice self-care and when asked, share my story and leave it at that. We all have human bodies. We all have similarities and differences. We all want to feel better. We learn from each other. We grow as we go with our health challenges, our mental health challenges and circumstances that happen. There is learning in every experience.
I sweep my meridians and imagine they hum. I sweep my aura so it supports my whole being. I practice self-care and am always learning. I share what's helped me to those who ask having learned not to preach unless they asked. We model for each other. It’s gentling together.
So, if we ever meet and you see me tracing my meridians, I look like a coach with a baseball team signaling the next play. I’m enhancing my day staying in the present.
Participants’ Reflections:
What you talked about today is just exactly what I was experiencing yesterday and all last night. I went to get an acupuncture treatment and while I was there, I asked if there’s anything that can be done to enhance my creativity. I woke up at 2:30am thinking it was 6:30am and I couldn’t go back to sleep. I went to my art room where I’m working on my painting. Wow! I figured out how to get past the problems I had working with acrylics. It reminded me of the artist Basquiat. I looked him up and was so inspired. I want to paint big. I had visions of an art studio, an art show, what I wore to the art show. I forgot to ask her to show me the acupressure points for creativity. I’ll be looking up Touch for Health. The Universe sends us what we need. Stay tuned!
That was an amazing story. I feel uplifted. Thank you for sharing your joy as it amplifies my joy. When I went into the meditation it was different. I was talking to my guide and making agreements about turning my will and my life over again, accepting and surrendering. I imagined myself standing on the edge of a cliff in New Mexico. I could see the red mesas in the background and making a decision. I acknowledged while standing on the edge that I trust, either I would have a bridge made for me or I would get wings to fly. Then I just had a knowing it would be wings to fly. I turned around backwards and put my arms out and started to feel what it would feel like to fall back and let go. I fell backwards trusting and knowing it would be fine and felt my body lifted. It was as if I became a bird, soaring. I even let out a sound. I hovered there and soared, and felt what it would feel like to fly. I didn’t think I would share this, and knew if it felt right, I would share it. After the story about painting, I knew I had to share. I asked recently for an animal totem and the hawk came.
I have so much gratitude for this morning group, what we share, create together and how we sit in the power of presence. Thank you everybody.
That was very powerful reading. I use acupuncture for everything, from depression and grief to healing from a skiing accident. It helps my body heal itself. Between using food and energy, it’s how I can enhance my life. I’m working with energy and my heart. I love the Touch for Health book and Donna Eden book. They have such great exercises and knowledge on how I can make my body work for itself, enhance my wellbeing. I appreciate the reminder.
During the meditation, I had an incredible vision for where I’m stuck in my novel. Something you said triggered my thought process. Thank you so much.
One of the things I really liked about what you said, clarity sometimes means acknowledging confusion. I loved that. That’s what I meditated on and instead of blaming, judging and shaming myself on all those parts, I imagined compassion and grace, and also a form of release. So thank you. it felt good.
Right before the meditation today, I read the obituary of a friend’s father who died. The similarities of her father and my father were just amazing. Born about the same time, both eagle scouts, pilots in WWII, both married in 1948, both had baby boom children and both had a lifelong positive outlet on life. I was soaking in all of those great feelings about my father. I told her I would light a candle during his memorial service. I went into the meditation with. At the beginning I saw all the candles lit and I got really sad and then I was held in water, a great big expanse of dark water, held there. It felt really comfortable. I was sad but held. Then I came up for air. When I went back down the second time, it was a different feeling. All these tropical fish were swimming around me. I felt joy. That was amazing to me. I thought this doesn’t have anything to do with energy. But it does! An experience of energy transmuted.
I can imagine all those colors of tropical fish!
It’s amazing to listen to the sharings, see the faces, listen to your life experiences. Thank you thank you for listening to my words today. I trust this process and I do want to say it is my intention every day to trace my meridians. Do I do it every day? No, I don’t because I’m human. I forget. I put it off, but I always come back to it at some point. Be gentle with yourself. I gentle myself, and remember we’re always learning as we go forward. It’s wonderful to share with a community.