A Second Experience in the Sweat Lodge

This past weekend I had my second wonderful experience in a sweat lodge and as often is the case, this second time around gave my a new perspective.  Not that the first time or perspective was wrong; it’s just that each time it’s a whole different experience.

The second time meant I didn’t have the fears of the unknown, the worries about how I would respond to the heat, the inner questioning of why I was doing this.  Having released those anxieties and questions, I was able to approach this sweat lodge experience in a lovely new space of having no expectations.  In fact, until the facilitator ask us to set our intention before entering the purification lodge, I hadn’t even really thought about a goal – I had just been going for the pure experience.

I did come up with an intention, but it felt off the cuff and it turns out the message I got inside was not connected to the goal.  I had been expecting a message, as this is something I think that everyone gets in some shape or form…inner guidance, clarification, new perspectives, messages.  And I wasn’t disappointed.  My message was like my expectation, simple and pure.  It was beyond the dualities which my mind so often gets distracted by.   The message was to connect into the one, the all.  It may not make much sense to you, but it was perfect for me…because I so often tend to complicate things with my mind.  Instead, I was guided to cut through the complexity and just be with my one, the all, the infinite energy.

I walked out of the sweat lodge with a deep peace, a quiet mind, a relaxed and somewhat sleepy body.  What a lovely place to be and one that I’ve been able to hold to for the past couple days. 

I’m sure the next time the experience comes around I’ll be ready, with or without my intentions, for whatever else may show up.  Because isn’t this the fun of life…to explore and enjoy whatever experiences or tools show up in life and see what happens…kind of life a science experiment.

Thank you to my hostess, Lori Gamroth, and the fire tender, Donna Abler of High Vibration Farm.

Post-Vacation Perspectives

Getting away provided me with the chance to detach from my current reality and come back with new post-vacation perspectives.  Vacation is often a time of stepping outside of our normal routines, enjoying more social time or fun activities, or reveling in deep rest and relaxation.  All of the above were wonderfully true for my recent family vacation and I got the bonus of capturing some powerful new perspectives. 

Upon returning from this trip, these three new perspectives surfaced strongly for me:

• Home Sweet Home – a warm fuzzy feeling for my personal space.  Before I left I was feeling burdened by the house…the never ending cleaning, the projects, the responsibility.  After being in Michigan, which has been hit very hard by these economic times, and seeing all the houses in foreclosure or upside down mortgages, I feel blessed to have the home I have for all that it offers me.
• Important Tasks But Nothing Urgent – while gone I stayed off my computer, didn’t do any work, and stepped away from my self created timeline.  What a relief!  And it allowed me to see that while I have many important tasks that I’m working on, truly nothing is urgent.  And this acknowledgement allows me to step more fully into my desire for a slower summer pace while still taking care of business.
• New Wake Up  Thoughts- each morning as I wake my mind automatically begins to plot out the plan for the day and think about what needs to be done.  I noticed that this pattern is creating some anxiety and tension that I don’t want nor need.  Staying with my above recognition about tasks, I’m trying out a new morning question.  Instead of asking “What do I need to do?” I’ve switched to “How do I want to be today?”  What a difference!  Yesterday after asking this and knowing my answers was to stay balanced and relaxed, I let go of any morning home office work and chose to support myself with a bike ride, slow stretching, a bath, and preparing nourishing food.  Since I knew I worked all afternoon and evening, I honored staying balanced and relaxed by doing no morning tasks and leaving work in the work space.  I felt great and work felt like play.

Have you taken a recent trip that’s given you new perspectives?  I’d love to hear them.