What is it to commit to self?
Each day that we wake up, the world is asking for us to arrive, fully present, and to offer ourselves to those around us - our family, our partners, our pets, our work, our friends, and our communities. Each day, we are flooded with choices, requests, demands, responsibilities, and lists of things 'to do'. Each day, we are often the last person that we commit to on our laundry list of life. And yet, without nourishing ourselves first, we cannot arrive fully, here in this moment, and truly give from a place of abundance.
108 Days: A Commitment to Self is an opportunity to step fully into yourself. An opportunity to commit to a practice that will nourish you. An opportunity to remember what it is to 'be' as opposed to 'do'. An opportunity to live from a place of abundance, and to be supported as you embark on this journey.
The world needs. We need each other. And it begins here, in committing to yourself.
It is one day at a time. Sometimes one hour at a time. Sometimes one moment at a time. Sometimes one breath at a time.
It is a journey that may give rise to resistance, apathy, frustration, self-judgment, self-doubt, fear, guilt, love, celebration, a sense of abundance, grounding, and grief . . . just to name a few. In my experience of moving through and leading multiple 108 day cycles, I have experienced all of this and more. And each time I have completed a cycle, I have found that I and others have shed things that no longer serve us, and that we have opened the doors to let life be lived through us even more deeply.
Here and now, the door is open for you to step into this commitment.
It is simple.
Choose a practice.
It can be anything - meditation, yoga, space and time for creativity, staying away from technology after a certain hour of the evening, taking a daily walk in nature, journaling, drinking water regularly. Whatever it is, it simply needs to be something for 'you'. Something that will feed and nourish you as you move out into the world. It can take ten minutes, it can take an hour.
Start small. Or start big, but with smaller steps.
The simpler, the better. Your commitment can always grow to meet your needs. There is no 'perfect starting point.' However, experience has shown me that it is generally better to start with a small step, a bite-sized morsel, even if the vision at the end of the tunnel is much larger. Want to write a novel? Wonderful! Begin by choosing a smaller step that will lead you to the bigger vision. Writing uninterrupted for twenty minutes a day, for instance. This journey is about the process, not the product. Your learning curve will ebb and flow in all directions. Each direction will give you an opportunity to know yourself more fully, and to learn how to reconnect and recommit to yourself.
Mark the date.
We will begin on January 20th, 2015. If you're within driving distance of Western Massachusetts, there will be monthly opportunities to connect face-to-face. If you're not local, there will be bi-weekly group phone calls to share, explore, and receive support. I will also send regular emails every ten days or so (if you choose this option) exploring different experiences within this journey, things that inspire, things that make you laugh, things that I am learning - because I, too, am on this journey with you. Lastly, I will post to this blog regularly.
Email me.
Let me know who you are. What your commitment is. How you would like to participate. Why this is important to you. The best way to stay in touch with you.
Who I am. Why I do this.
I am a lifelong learner. Committed to cultivating the sacred self. Committed to cultivating community. I have learned from the theories and philosophies of Chinese medicine, massage therapy, food as medicine, yoga, and indigenous traditions. I am a writer. An artist. An advocate for education. And currently, I am pursuing my graduate degree in conflict resolution and mediation.
I have a long history of holding space for others to shed what no longer serves them in a variety of settings - professionally, around the fire, and on-line. Just as I have a long history of being held by others to do the same for myself. I find great joy in bearing witness and providing space for the growth and vulnerability of others. And most importantly, I am human, perfectly imperfect, whole, and open-hearted.
For me, 108 Days: A Commitment to Self, is an opportunity to cultivate the soil of my life. To dig my fingers deep into the thick of my life and my soul, and to plant seeds that will enrich my experience of life, and the lives of those around me. Being able to open the door to invite others into this experience is a blessing.
What does it cost?
Nothing except what you bring to it. In other words, I do not charge a fee in order for you to engage in this commitment. It is my heart offering to the world at large. If, at the end of this cycle, you feel called to engage in an exchange of any sort, I humbly accept whatever you may wish to give. The deepest exchanges I have experienced have been found in the connection, growth, and community of support in this cycle.
