Birth and death… sorrow and joy…the moon and sun are opposed on the spring equinox and at this time we experience emotions and happenings more intensely. Just look at typical Spring weather.
In my own life…in the Spring we migrate back to BC after the Winter spent in Mexico. This causes me to do a ‘forced’ spring cleaning. As I am packing and cleaning, I go through everything I own and decide what is important enough to pack and store. These days when I am deciding what stays and what to purge, I ask myself do I love this? do I feel something.. a tingle? when I hold it up? Here are some tips for Spring cleaning I am inspired by: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/nov/27/top-tips-to-joyfully-declutter-your-home-from-marie-kondo
Soon after we returned home my 92 year old grandfather ‘Papa’ chose to pass away. We flew up to Penticton and ended up missing his death by minutes. It was okay. Everything is as it should be. I know I was not meant to be there for his passing simply because I wasn’t there! Its important to know that death is like birth in that we can plan it all we want but it will never go exactly as planned.. My aunt had been at his side for two weeks and had not left him alone for 48 hours. She left for one hour and he died. I’ve heard many cases of this happening. I find it helpful not to argue with reality. If it’s dark outside don’t turn the lights up bright. If you weren’t there, you weren’t meant to be there. I think there is a huge void in our culture surrounding death. We are afraid of it, we try to sweep it under the carpet and forget about it. Marisol and I went to see Papa’s body in his room. He had died peacefully with his eyes closed, but he did not look like he was sleeping, he looked dead. Marisol was not sombre nor sad. She was joyfully spinning around and being 3. When it was time to leave I asked her to say goodbye and she called ‘bye Papa!’ over her shoulder like any other day. Children understand death inherently then learn to be sad and afraid of it. Also, in other cultures such as Japan and Mexico of which I have experienced first hand; graves and shrines are kept for the dead and in the fall they have special parties for the dead (Obon and Day of the Dead) during which the ancestors are honoured and fed. I really think this is lacking in our culture and as Stephen Jenkinson says: “the ancestors are starving”. I have seen him speak whenever I have had a chance and recommend his work: http://orphanwisdom.com/
We are ‘home’ on Cortes now. Spring cleaning… unpacking… getting back into routine. I look at Spring as chance for a new and improved routine. I am implementing my ayurvedic routine/yogic lifestyle. These days I am focusing on the habits of light early dinners, early bedtime and morning meditation. Cortes is the perfect place for this!
Watch for my upcoming workshop: 5-STEP JSD NECK-SHOULDER RELEASE— 2 HR.
Learn to find key neck and shoulder points, plus distal points to help
release stubborn tensions. Practice the relaxing Basic JSD Neck
Release on oneself and others, holding 5 key neck & shoulder points
bilaterally.
This will give you a short introduction to Jin Shin Do®
A day of bodywork and life enhancing skills.