Present Moment Awareness

Present moment awareness is the key to becoming perceptive to energy-whether in daily life, in some form of healing work or intuitive reading, or in wanting to open the connection more deeply when working with a plant medicine.

In states of full presence, I am able to receive complete clarity into my life circumstances or healing process, any problems I'm experiencing, and any aspirations I am working toward at the time and the purpose and teaching behind it.

I become aware of the magic behind the divine orchestrations of spirit and the plants in the unfolding of my life, it's cycles of expansion and contraction, and it's initiations and challenges

The practice of meditation, in its numerous forms and approaches, is in essence coming into present moment awareness. The way to do this I feel changes based on the person and what is happening in their field at the time.

I know for myself and many others, it can be difficult to begin a meditation practice centered around mental focus because our minds are used to being in a constant state of activity.

I realized in medicine work and it's integration, both passive and active forms of meditation are equally effective in cultivating presence, and each seems to be most appropriate for specific kinds of energy that arise in a medicine process.

Sometimes rather than trying to force and fight with the mind to focus, I've found it is more effective to just be with it. After some time I realized that many times when I experience a period of strong mental activity in a ceremony or dieta, and I allow the activity to be, it IS a part of the process that is happening, a "mental purge" of sorts, and as it is witnessed in its depth it becomes quiet and still...and the "connection" in the way I think of a plant connection suddenly becomes very activated and clear.

I have found all of these things to be effective for cultivating presence and meditation practices!

--simply witnessing the antics of my mind without judging the thoughts that arise, feeling they shouldn't be there or trying to change them...or sometimes taking a period of time to physically write the thoughts that arise. Likewise, becoming the witness of the sensations arising and shifting in my body without analyzing them.

--focusing on the sensations of my breath and body--how it physically feels to inhale and exhale, where the breath goes, where the body contracts in response to deep breathing

--dance as a somatic practice-- tuning into places of contraction or tension and allowing my body to move however it wants to to express the energy and emotion behind the contraction

--Cathartic sounding combined with dance--above, but asking the emotions and energy moving if it has a sound and allowing my voice to express the sound

--Being fully present with all of the sights, sounds, smells, and quality of air and temperature wherever I am at the moment

--being fully immersed in a conversation with someone, fully present with the words being shared and the energy behind them, and with the thoughts and sensations that arise in my body as I listen to someone speak with this presence

--listening or playing music and immersing myself in the experience of the sounds and how they land in my body

So if you are one of those people who finds it "impossible" to meditate, maybe try a more active form and feel free to reach out and let me know how that goes!