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August 13, 2012

Bearing Fruit. ~ Barbara Moore

Learning to Co-Create Through The Development of Natural Awareness.

August, according to five-element Chinese medicine, is in the season of earth.

It is the time of fruit bursting in its ripeness and purpose to nourish all forms of life. This is the time during which we can ponder what we are ready to bring forth and nurture for our personal and universal enrichment.

A few days ago, I remembered the birth of my two children.

The first was quiet, natural and when my body/baby was ready, the urge to push was uncontrollable, intense and painless. I had no choice but to push. Bringing forth was effortless with no need for will.

As a result, my baby was alert, peaceful and ready to nurse and thrive vigorously.

The second birth was in a busy hospital maternity ward. Laboring mothers were everywhere screaming, cursing and groaning.

While labor was intense, my body knew what to do and with the support of my husband progressed quickly. As contractions reached their peak we were moved into a delivery room and I was told to push, even though my body had no urge.

It was confusing to be yelled at to push with no urge, but I did. With only the force of will, no inner urging, I forced my baby through. It hurt, and continued to hurt for hours.

My baby was sleepy and had no urge to nurse for several days.

Our culture is similar to the latter birth.

We have been removed from the natural rhythms of life. Great intellectual accomplishments that lack depth in the understanding of systemic consequences have removed our view of the stars and observations of nature’s ebbs and flows.

Our food is processed in ways that are inhumane to both animals and the Earth. We wake with alarm clocks and caffeine, only to need medications to relax. We often work at meaningless tasks believing this is our only means for survival, convinced that we need things that are truly inconsequential and often harmful.

Our ability to bear nurturing fruit has been stymied and stunted by isolating processes and the misuse of will. We live in a largely artificial environment that confuses our natural awareness.

How do we allow our creations to grow, mature and bear fruit that supports meaningful life?

We must learn to pay attention once again to the rhythmic universe, allowing our senses to connect, bend and sway. Watch the moon as she moves through her stages and notice the birds nesting, bearing young and converging to migrate.

Cultivating our natural awareness is not difficult; it is our true state of being.

We can begin with some simple exercises such as paying attention to our breathing by noticing the air moving in and out of our lungs and feeling our bellies rise. Another choice is to become aware of the seasons by noting color, smells and enjoying foods that are fresh and locally grown.

Taking note of the moon’s stage and where and when she rises puts us in touch with the skies. Developing rituals that are continued yearly in each season, such as paddling a canoe in late summer and hiking through pungent and colorful forests in the fall is hugely beneficial and allows us observe change over time.

Learning to honor right now and paying attention to what is happening inside and outside, regardless of where we are and what we are doing is a choice.

Once upon a time, I drove an hour each way into a big city for work and had the great fortune to drive east in the morning and west in the evenings. Often, my workday began and ended with a sky full of red, orange, purple and pink. I learned to anticipate the show and began to notice the slight nuances of light shifting as the days lengthened and shortened with the sun.

Creating natural awareness helps us return to a more relaxed state and enables us to release the muscles constricted by our incessant anticipation of the future.

As we relax into our connection with the whole, release the impulse of fear and control, a new comprehension will overtake us, painless though perhaps intense, and our creations will be born into wholeness.

 

 

 

Several years ago I said goodbye to the city and moved to the Sandia Mountains of New Mexico where I’m loving life while gardening, working with herbs, writing, leading breath meditation, and providing counseling and healing arts in person, on the phone and via skype. Web: wisdomcounselingandhealingarts.com email: [email protected]

 

 

~

Editor: Thaddeus Haas

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