nourishing the middle

meaning fades to emptiness

awakening

 

 

Painting and Haiku by Monique Gaboury 2020

 6’ 7” x 9″ Acrylic on Wood Panel

 

 

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About the Author:  Monique Gaboury is a licensed acupuncturist, in Freeland, WA, specializing in Alchemical Acupuncture. She loves sharing her passion for natural healing at her clinic and through writing her blog ’Nourishing Change Through Connection’.

Juniper Medicine Alchemical Acupuncture serving the greater Seattle area on Whidbey Island. To schedule an appointment call 360-672-1506 or email contact@junipermedicinewhidbey.com.

 

 

 

Wisdom Has No Name:

A Mythopoetic Healing Story 

 

“I begin to lose my grip. An orange and purple ball of light hangs loosely from the left side of my neck. My neck is tilted to the side trying to hold on. It’s scary. Then the ball moves to the right side of my head behind my right eye- up and around inside my head, down my neck, settling into a pool in my chest- bridging my womb, heart and head where there is now a free channel of communication. My neck feels tingly and open. There is a purple pyramid in my forehead. It is peaceful. A large yellow ball of light in my solar plexus moves up through my neck. The pyramid in my forehead turns into a six pointed star- it is three dimensional and transparent- I am inside of it feeling aligned, open, and peaceful.”

These words come from a healing session (used with permission) of someone who had been experiencing chronic neck pain that had not resolved through various forms of Western medicine and complementary medicine. This experience came about through craniosacral therapy and acupressure with the intention of listening to what the chronic neck pain had to share about what is needed for healing.

Instead of trying to cure the neck pain from the outside in, the inner world was engaged with a spirit of openness and curiosity toward the pain. Wu wei is a term used in Taoism, which roughly translates as doing without doing, or effortless effort. It comes from a stillness and silence deep within one’s own being, and through surrender- the spirit with which one follows the natural unfolding of the Tao without forcing or holding back. Artists, healers and musicians throughout all of time embody the secret of surrender- wu wei- deep listening- spontaneity- of being the hollow reed or hollow bone through which the Tao- the mystery can unfold as a living expression.

In the spirit of wu wei, a whole journey was able to unfold. After this session there was a marked reduction in the neck pain, and an on-going dialogue between the the inner and outer world had begun.

This experience opened up new questions along with new possibilities emerging from the wisdom of the body itself. Listening and following the wisdom of the body is vital and necessary to bringing forth healing and change in a grounded, lasting way.

Instead of taking the metaphors that show up as being literal, concrete and fixed this type of healing asks us to engage in a creative, dynamic, fluid exploration of the unknown and unknowable- unfolding at its own pace, in its own time, in its own way. In this way, we are able to live our way into what is trying to emerge.

Continue reading “Wisdom Has No Name”

 

 

Circumambulating Through the Mists of Indifference: 

Seeing With New Eyes

 

“We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time.” 1

 

Indifference is like a slowly forming fog that goes unnoticed until, heavy and enshrouded, the thick embankment of its pervasive presence is obscuring our vision and dulling our perceptions.

Miriam Webster defines indifference several ways: “marked by a lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern for something : APATHETIC :marked by impartiality : UNBIASED :characterized by lack of active quality : NEUTRAL and not differentiated, capable of development in more than one direction”.

If this experience has to do with a ‘lack of active quality’ and is related to undifferentiated potential, I wonder what is possible by entering into rather than resisting this all-encompassing dullness. I take my inquiry to the forest to walk the labyrinth.

As I cross the parking lot to the path that leads to the labyrinth, a palpable shift is felt in my body. Here in the forest I am at once grounded and expanded. Some invisible, tightly woven membrane begins to soften. There is a sense of relief trickling through my being like life giving waters beginning to seep through the crevices of dry earth.

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