Category: Essays
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What does it mean to “hold space?”
I am quite fond of this turn of phrase, “to hold space,” “holding space,” to be a “space holder.” It became my preferred way of describing what I do after learning from and with Shawna Murray-Browne, and leaning away from terms like client or patient if I can.But I also think that just changing the words doesn’t capture the actual difference between working…
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Clearing and Protecting your energy
For those who engage in ritual work, spellwork, or even physical forms of detox and clearing, this may also be familiar to you. As I’ve been writing the Reiki Master Training Manual I’ve been reflecting more on some of the topics that increasingly arise in Level 2 classes and advanced workshops. Usually it’s something along…
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Making peace with The Void 🌑
The Void: cosmic waiting room, interior of a cocoon and its liquified contents, generative space of “everythingness” and “nothingness,” the darkness of being submerged in the earth, ego death and rebirth… the key to transformation and sometimes a frightening place to be. An integral part of all cycles. I started this with just the title…
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Layers of energy along the mind-body-spirit axis
The notion of mind-body connection can be misleading. It suggests they are separate but connected, whereas I would rather say they are existing within the same matrix, two sides of the same coin. It’s the frequency of energy that makes them feel separate (or if you’re inclined to want a footnote, we could call these Gamma, Beta,…
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(You have) Permission to change your mind
I have been struggling with whether to write this, as I usually try to avoid writing essays that are primarily personal updates. (Consider this a disclosure for those who may prefer to know about less about my personal process, you may want to skip this one). But I think in this case I’m making enough of…
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What it takes to Thrive (and survive)
Oof… I needed a break to get this piece finished. And I’m happy to say I rested very deeply. More often in thisspace I am focused exploring how we cultivate the inner resources needed for a satisfied and meaningful life, and untangling the mixture of beliefs we develop in our environments and those in alignment with our…
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Manifesting without Attachment
I wrote several different possible introductions and titles for this essay, I’m still not entirely settled that I’ve found a succinct way to say it. Because maybe I’m not really talking about “manifesting” at all, but more of an alternative to the concept. In my experience it is clear that to a certain extent, manifesting…
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Finding novelty in a time of Sameness
In one sentence we’re already arrived at a contradiction. The pandemic era is full of these, and one is that on the micro level of environment we are often existing in a vast expanse of sameness. The natural opportunities for spontaneity are less present (even as that has perhaps shifted for some since the beginning…
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Redefining being “stuck”
A theme I’ve been working with since last summer is the idea that our ability to ground, to root down, must be in proportion with any focus on expansion or growth. Just like a tree can only grow as tall as its roots can support, or risk being highly vulnerable to the elements, we cannot…
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Breathwork is Trancework is…
One of my primary goals in scaling back the number of hours I “work” has been to create the space necessary to read and learn more, time to reflect, and time for embodied practice. Lately there has been a lot of synchronicity in what I’ve been reading and seeing, mirrored by my embodied experiences. The…