RENEWAL AND RELEASE
I’ve seen a lot of posts requesting the powers that be that we ease into 2024. it’s January 22, and I’m finally publishing my website. Day one’s are moveable deadlines, right? I think we can call this easing in! A perfect thing happened over the weekend that facilitated this first post and helped 2024 ease on in.
My friend Brittany and I facilitated a “Ritual for Renewal and Release” that involved poetry, Brie, meditation, trees, a chalk-drawn labyrinth, and fire. Today’s rain no doubt washed the labyrinth away, but the intent remains, and perhaps a greenish-blue rivulet, too. There are no hard and fast rules about how one must walk a labyrinth (except for making way for others on the path), but some daily intentions are useful to keep in mind whether we are walking or not.
RELEASE: What can we let go of? Where can we ease tension?
RECEIVE: What is available for us to receive? What new insights or interior knowings bubble up in this newly created space?
RETURN: Is there an opportunity to return to the self and our various communities in a slightly renewed way?
If you think about it, we can “walk the labyrinth” in our minds and with our breath no matter where we are, using release, receive, and return as guides. Labyrinths hold ancient wisdom dating back at least 4000 years, and connecting to that wisdom links us to something larger, a collective consciousness that grounds those who walk. One of the things religions do well is connect groups of people around common language and ritual. The danger is when that language becomes rigid doctrine and ceases to engage the imagination. I’m seeking to create communal experiences that are both interfaith and trans-religious and speak to the seeker in all of us. Welcome to the journey!
PS - Brittany is a brilliant therapist who owns Autumn Counseling in Houston. Look for our future collaborations and call her if you need therapeutic support!
PPS - I am starting to see clients and facilitate groups via the Center for the Healing Arts and Sciences. Click HERE to learn more and book an appointment.