“Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind.”
- Bruce Lee
Thursday, September 22, 2022
Happy autumnal equinox, everyone! My favorite season is here - hooray! For today, day and night are at equal length, inviting us to explore balance and harmony. As the days (ahead) get shorter with the sun setting earlier and earlier, may we embrace the change that is being invited from this season - to slow down, let go, spend more time in reflection and appreciating the harvest of our lives. May we not resist the change and know that darkening days will not last. The light will return. May we enjoy each season for the unique gifts it offers.
The quote above reminded me of two things I have been reflecting on. The first is resistance and the second is willingness to change. I had my somatic therapy session earlier today and I brought forth a drawing I did of a part of me that I have been resistant to explore. It’s a part I feel shame around - the resentful me. I had an interaction with a loved one that brought up intense anger, grief, overwhelm and fear. Instead of communicating my feelings, I seethed, withdrew, disengaged and let off inflammatory energy - the kind of vibe that anyone would want to run away from.
My energy was like a wicked wind - sharp, erratic, unpredictable and destructive. My loved one pointed this out - and not kindly! They asked me, “how long do you plan to dish out such punishing energy?” Instead of doubling down on the storm I was feeling, I paused. Hearing the word “punishing” made me realize I was unconsciously trying to injure someone I love because I felt injured in some way.
I knew three things:
1. That I had every right to be angry in the original situation
2. My reaction did not warrant such an inflammatory response so I knew some old wound was touched, and
3. I did not want to sacrifice feeling connected to someone I love and I certainly did not to injure or cause them pain.
My old patterns would be to either stew rigidly and righteously in my anger, or to do what I did in this case - create a gust of intense energy that blows the other person away and breaks our connection. In that moment, bending meant staying in the aliveness of loving connection rather than following the whirlwind that would result in resentment.
In my conversation with my therapist something profound came into clarity. I knew ahead of time that the resentment I was carrying was old unexpressed anger as well as anger that hadn’t previously been met with acknowledgment, respect, and care (you know the kind…when people dismiss or minimize your anger). To clarify, my loved one was not dismissive and did not minimize my feelings. I am referring to OLD interactions from childhood. What I hadn’t considered was that harboring resentment was preventing me from seeing possibilities.
Unexpressed anger, in this case, was also unexplored options! Resentment is such a contractive and miserly energy. It doesn’t create room for possibilities. There are so many instances in my early life where I felt like I didn’t have choices or options. Most times I was forced to break…break from some authentic feeling, truth, guiding value, and sense of self. Other times I broke from people or I broke my connection with them. To bend is to curve. Rather than stiffen from fear and solidify into a trunk of lonely resentment, I realized that I could move with the winds rather than fight and resist them. Bending was my willingness to change.
I want to be clear that I am not saying that I stuffed down or ate my anger. I did no such thing. Once I chose to bend, I was able to communicate anger without the underlying punishing energy. I was able to express my feelings without opening the trunk of resentment and whipping out all the other wrongdoings I’ve experienced. Bruce Lee was talking about being like water - to flow, yield and bend. Bending offered new options. Bending meant that I am growing out of old habitual stiffening. I could sway, bend out of the way, bend towards, or bend away. My deep roots can support me. This way I won’t break from my feelings, my truth, what matters to me, or from connection to the other person/people in the situation. Following the winds of change…I am encountering a willingness to explore other ways of interacting with intensity.
This weekend we will be exploring dancing with the Winds of Change together! I created the Danza del Viento last year and shared it in July 2021. I am feeling the winds of personal change and am ready to dance into new shapes and forms. This is a revamped/recomposed version of the dance. I hope that you will join us for this exploration!
Classes in the week ahead - Sunday at 10:00AM PDT and Wednesday at 9AM PDT
Puerto Rico was hit very hard by Hurricane Fiona. There is a long road to recovery. There are many different organizations accepting donations. NPR has put together an excellent list. My husband and I have always given to the Hispanic Federation and to World Central Kitchen. Please give what you, if you called to it - to any reputable organization. Here is fine list: https://www.npr.org/2022/09/20/1123971208/puerto-rico-hurricane-fiona-how-to-help
Deeply grateful for this community,
Jennifer
Schedule Going Forward:
- Somos Luceros on Sundays at 10AM PDT
- Embodied Movement Explorations in Body Wisdom & Wellness on Wednesdays at 9AM PDT
- ArcanaDance - next workshop TBA
Somos Luceros
 Somos Luceros is a somatic dance practice designed to illuminate the wisdom of your body and cultivate deep embodiment of archetypal qualities that offer lightness, depth and joy. The dance moves are simple and guided by the language of storytelling, opening new chapters in our bodies where we can see and feel our most luminous potential. Release the stories in your body that weigh you down and reclaim your light. In Spanish, Somos means “we are” and Luceros means “bringers of light” or “bright stars.” This name honors my father, my paternal indigenous ancestors in South America, my heritage, and our collective oldest ancestor, the stars. We are dancing bodies of light.
With immense gratitude for your continued support,
Jennifer
|
|
Somos Luceros – Danza del Viento: An Embodied Exploration of Dancing with the Winds of Change
(via Zoom)
Date: Sunday, September 25, 2022 at 10:00AM PDT
Time Zones: 10:00AM PDT | 11:00AM MDT | 12:00PM CDT | 1:00PM EDT
Pay what you can in exchange for the class experience ($5-$25)
Register for class:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUpduuuqDspHtBSbgd6XaS56dpf_adBvfle
Join us for the Danza del Viento: An Embodied Exploration of Dancing with the Winds of Change
 Winds are a sign or signal to us that a change is coming. We can feel this in our bodies. They advise us to hold steady and to also yield and bend. Sometimes they are the push needed to let go, to uproot, to fly, to soar or to seek shelter.
In this dance, we are invited to explore dancing with winds of change. Together we will fly, soar, glide, become whirlwinds and soft breezes.
We play with embodying different types of winds: those that uproot us, take us off balance, lift us higher, support our glide across to a new plane of experience, allow us to swirl and ride through its blusters, currents and gusts, a refreshing breeze, and winds that usher in a fresh new beginning.
This embodied exploration is a loving template to assist us when we feel change afoot in our lives.
The dance moves are simple and guided by the language of storytelling. You are invited to receive the choreography, bring it into your body and make it your own.
Somos Luceros is a somatic dance practice designed to illuminate the wisdom of your body and cultivate deep embodiment of archetypal qualities that offer lightness, depth and joy. The dance moves are simple and guided by the language of storytelling, opening new chapters in our bodies where we can see and feel our most luminous potential. Release the stories in your body that weigh you down and reclaim your light. In Spanish, Somos means “we are” and Luceros means “bringers of light” or “bright stars.” This name honors my father, my paternal indigenous ancestors in South America, my heritage, and our collective oldest ancestor, the stars. We are dancing bodies of light.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the class/meeting.
Pay what you can in exchange for the class experience:
Embodied Movement Explorations for Body Wisdom and Wellness (via Zoom) - NEW TIME - 9AM PDT!
Date: Wednesday, September 28, 2022
Time Zones: 9AM PDT, 10AM MDT, 11AM CDT, 12PM EDT
Class is one hour
Pay what you can in exchange for the class experience ($5-$25)
Register for class:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMvcumoqTMqEtaLtZJeiQWKZ7CxdtOXn9Bp
Join us for Embodied Movement Explorations for Body Wisdom and Wellness
 Body wisdom is being aware of and attuned to what our body needs to feel well. This somatic intelligence and tending can be accessed and cultivated in many ways.
Every week we will explore a variety of somatic movement practices that include somatic dance, yoga, QiGong, archetypal expression (mainly tarot), and other modalities that emphasize mindfulness and that guide self-knowing.
Classes for the month of September will focus on Listening to our Inner Wise Self.
It’s Virgo season, and soon the seasons will shift from summer to fall. We begin to turn our attention inward and to reflect on where in our lives we need rest, pruning, cultivation, attuning, and care.
 Our guiding tarot card for this class is the Hermit. In the tarot, the Hermit is the archetype of the wise-one within and teaches us the art of self-reflection, self-discovery and self-knowing. The Hermit is the ultimate template for the art of embodied listening. As a guide, it can reveal to us deeper understanding and can illuminate the things, qualities, people, and experiences in our lives that have heart and meaning.
For the entire month we will be exploring the Somos Luceros body of work, Dancing Lanterns of Wisdom: An Embodied Exploration of Listening and Revealing What Has Heart & Meaning. This dance is a template to explore connecting head and heart, walking with our lanterns, expanding our lens of perception, listening deeply, sifting and uplifting, and both embracing and sharing the wisdom revealed.
Image: The Hermit from the Spacious Tarot
In this class we center the experience of living, feeling, sensing and moving in our bodies. We learn practices to know ourselves more deeply, cultivate joy, restore from stress, explore creative self-expression, and ways to nourish the various systems (fluid, muscular, skeletal, organ, nervous, and cellular) of our body.
Come to move your body, develop a deeper appreciation for the intelligence and wisdom of your body, and to learn practices to be well in mind, body, heart and soul.
Wear comfortable clothes to move in. No shoes required. Feel free to have a yoga mat, blanket or towel for floor-based practices.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the class/meeting.
Pay what you can in exchange for the class experience:
|
|
Tarot Sessions - Now October and beyond
 I am now scheduling into October and beyond.
These sessions are my lifeblood and I so appreciate your continued support in scheduling appointments and referring your loved ones and friends to me. As you know, I don't advertise. All of my client work has been via referral. For that I am immensely grateful.
To schedule a session, choose the session type at www.jenniferluceroearle.com/tarot-with-me/sessions and email me your questionnaire.
Tarot Consultation Packages
There are several tarot packages to choose from, including options for multiple one hour to two hour sessions throughout a one year window.
Huge thanks to Brooke Lowe Johnson for the photo (top) above!
|
|
Dance with Janice on Saturdays!
For those of you interested in a Saturday 10AM PDT Zoom class, I highly recommend Janice Steinberg's Nia classes! She is one of our beloved Somos Luceros community members and I dance with her whenever I can. I love her classes and know you will too.
This Saturday, September 24 at 10AM PDT, Janice is teaching Freedom Highway!
To join Janice's Saturday Nia classes (10AM PDT), email her to get on her mailing list. She sends the Zoom link for class via email on the day of class. And like my classes, Janice's classes are donation-based as well.
Email Janice at: janicesteinberg@cox.net
|
|
Mary Lenox's Poetry
Following is the poem, Oneness of the Breath, that Mary wrote and shared with us after class this past Sunday, September 18. The poem matched our dance (moving from the Tower to the Star) beautifully!
Oneness of the Breath
You were there before the beginning of time
A divine gift of life
An eternal flow of grace
To planet earth
Earthlings
Offer prayers, chants, songs, breathwork
In humble adoration
Of your sacred healing power
You are here, there, everywhere
In the air we breathe
In ocean waves, high or low
In seaweeds resting on the sandy shore and so much more
I inhale and exhale you with a smile of gratitude
Feeling the vibrations of you in me
Ever mindful
Without you, the world wouldn't exist
Praise be for you
Omnipresent miracle of love
Uniting all people in oneness
Breath by breath
©2022 Mary F. Lenox
To join Mary's email list: mflenox69@gmail.com
|
|
All There Is with Anderson Cooper (Podcast)
Stephen Colbert: Grateful for Grief
Podcast episode: https://www.cnn.com/audio/podcasts/all-there-is-with-anderson-cooper
 This conversation, Grateful for Grief, is so incredibly moving and filled with wisdom about grief and the process of grieving. Anderson and Stephen talk about both losing their father's at the age of 10. They talk about losing siblings and their mothers. They talk about navigating grief - including resistance to feeling it (wanting to "win" against grief) and also reaching out for connection when grief is all consuming. I can't say enough about this conversation - it was profound and captured the sacredness of grief and summoned all the ways we can be of support to one another in moments of grief. Please listen if you feel called to it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
