The body holds memories. The body holds spirits.

The Earth body. The human body.

My body. Your body.

Can we be present with and appreciate the stories we’ve held? There is darkness and pain, there is light and beauty, there is pleasure that we have not been allowing ourselves to feel.

When I sit with how I am to serve the world today, I first noticed what seemed to be tension. Instead of labeling it as such and trying to fix, figure out, or change it, I simply sat with it.

Presence.

I followed the sensation - listening, allowing. Unfolding. Welcoming. It opened into pleasure. Instead of something I wanted to hide, I realized it wanted to be seen.

Our bodies are holy. Our pleasure is holy. Sacred. Alive. Welcoming of all. Brilliant.

Worthy of honoring, respect.

Connected to the Divine. Worthy of life.

My connection to Holy and Divine is a journey. My connection to pleasure is a journey. It is still unfolding, clarifying. I have held the weight of my lineage, at least partially connected to the Catholic church, which feels clouded with judgements of right and wrong. When I talk about holy and divine now, I long to find definitions that connect me to you in understanding and clarity, in a way we can relate to each other. I have judgements of the Catholic church and wish to separate my experiences of holy and divine from religious contexts that have felt stifling.

I have a desire to welcome my pleasure fully, making space for it, because it is true aliveness and beauty. I have a desire to be fully present with my experience, not looking for outside validation for my safety or worthiness, but to know my worthiness inherently. To know that I am holy and divine. To feel that in my body.

As I sit with that in my body, pleasure opens up where pain and tension has been held. I open to being seen more fully. I open to moving my body in ways it has felt stuck. The journey continues. There is still pain and tension as I write, but there is also more pleasure, hope, and capacity to be with.

I do body work. To connect you to your body. You to me. You to God. You to your pleasure. To your life force. To your joy. To others around you. To Earth. To Love. To Wholeness.
~
This post was inspired by a song that was stuck in my head:

"You and I
drink this water,
You and I
breathe this air,
You and I
walk this holy ground,
You and I
live here."

Song by Laurence Cole, based on the words by Winona LaDuke, taught to me by song leader Yuri.

As songs get stuck in my head these days, I listen, inquire, and follow the threads. They have messages to tell. What messages are you listening to?