The Shakti Shine - October 12th, 2020
Shakti Love Notes
We are always growing. I love that! And the more I grow, the more I recognize how important it is for us all to share what we're going through-- even (and especially) me.
So these Love Notes are a space for me to share with you each week-- about the studio, my life, how our community is growing.
Sometimes I forget that I already know what I need.
If you read the Shine last week, you know I've been asking lots of questions. (Maybe even more than usual. ๐)
I still don't have answers. But I am committed to taking appropriate and consistent time for healing, resting, regrouping & staying checked in.
Listening.
Over and over again this week the Universe has said to me "Shhhhhh - not everything needs words. Listen- to the sounds under the sounds, the meaning beyond words. Listen with your whole being. Be patient. Draw in."
It's like we say-- Draw in to create full expression out.
So that's what's happening. And I don't know how long I'll feel this way. I'm just listening. Listening. Heart wide open.
(It feels a little scary to be so honest in this way. And it also feels like I don't know any other way to be anymore. -- Wow, that's refreshing.)
As I feel the pull to draw in, tune in & turn inward, I am reminded to:
Listen
Trust
Leave Space
Explore
Honor
Learn
Streamline
Cut lingering energetic ties
Fortify
Play
Bring Forth
Sometimes I really do forget that I already know what I need.
I'm going to say less for a while.
And in the meantime, consider:
What is it that you already know that you need?
Go ahead and do that why don't you.
I see you. I'm here for you. I love you. Thank you for being here.
xx
Ruby
The Weekly Work
This is where we bring yoga off the mat together
1. Honor Indigenous Peoples' Day by researching the Indigenous communities that stewarded the land you live on today. (For Athens this is the land of the Muskogee and Cherokee communities). Spend today learning more about their history and culture, and share with a friend.
AND Donate to the Indigenous Impact Community Care Initiative Fund, a COVID-19 mutual aid fund organized by Seeding Sovereignty.
2. Listen to Unlocking Us podcast with Brenรฉ Brown as she interviews Sonya Renee Taylor on The Body is Not an Apology
3. Research how "normal" became a code word for "white:" a eugenic history Consider how making anything "normal" keeps all of us from liberation.
Have suggestions for The Weekly Work? Send them our way!
UPCOMING SPECIAL CLASS W ANGELA
Create and explore SPACE in Shakti Trance. Together we create a strong container to support practice, turn within, and move into free form movement. Align with your inner guidance and authentic power. Open to possibility.
Hi, friends! I have been exploring Space and how I can be more present with my self and the work. One way Iโve found extremely helpful is free form dance/movement practice. It has been so vital to my self care that I thought it may be something that Shakti as a community could lean into as additional self care/ support. I am honored to invite you to practice with me in Shakti Trance.
Sharing this exploration feels revolutionary! - Angela
Shakti Love Note from Jensen:
So I want to touch on how during the entire month of September I kind of felt nothing. I wanted tears to flow; they did not. I wanted to scream; I didnโt. I wanted to laugh; I barely did. I wanted to feel uneasy or calm or SOMETHING. Yet, I remained neutral.
We use this neutrality word as a way of stating our opinions or our stance on an issue, when really I prefer to use neutral as a feeling word. An emotion. Instead of the political middle-ground lane of Switzerland, letโs start using neutral to describe when we arenโt happy, not sad, not tired, not angry. But when we essentially feel nothing. This may sound like the beginning of the development of a sociopath, donโt worry that is not what this is. I feel things; I am in fact, sometimes over empathetic for others. However, when it comes to myself I have a hard time articulating what it is I FEEL. Someone can look at me and just from their body language or eye contact I can instantly discern what theyโre thinking or what emotion theyโre displaying. Often times quicker than they even realize. So why oh why is this quality so hard to find within myself?
Maybe itโs because Iโm my biggest critique. Arenโt we all? Perhaps I donโt want to face the music and really sit with myself? Considering how many hours I spend alone, meditating, reading, and journaling, Iโm gonna cross that theory off the list. The last notion came to me as I was dealing with some bad news earlier this week. Indeed I do feel everything. In fact, I feel so much that itโs hard to compartmentalize it all. Iโm constantly finding joy in the little things during these weird and hard times. Iโm constantly looking forward to things. Iโm also constantly worried. Iโm constantly saddened. Iโm constantly pissed off, especially lately. Thereโs no pause in my influx and out flux of sensations. Iโm feeling it all, all of the time. In a way, the good emotions balance out the bad. I presume thatโs where my word neutrality comes from.
I donโt want this post to be a โCheck List of Ways to Keep Track of Yourself during a Pandemicโ, or โSelf-Care Routines during an Election Yearโ. Let this serve as a letter of expression, relation, and connectedness, reminding anyone reading this that he/she/ they is not alone. There will be no advice, no recommendations, only authentic rawness.
As September came to a close and the leaves will soon start to fall, the sun disappears more and more, and the days get cooler, I recognize the humaneness in all of us. The animalistic properties we cannot deny. We are as much a part of nature and apart of the seasons as the trees. We will fall, grow colder and slower; but we will also rise again. Bloom. Grow bigger and better than the last time. Is summer is hot and winter cold, maybe fall is neutral. So if youโre worried about the state or quality of your emotions, as I am, just know this is what this time of year calls for.
Stillness.
PLAYLIST OF THE WEEK
ANNOUNCEMENTS
UPDATED LINK IF YOU TRIED LAST WEEK AND IT DIDN'T WORK - OOPS ๐
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- Here you can connect with each other, we'll post journaling & inquiry prompts, and you'll have easier access to reach us