Jungian psychologist and story-teller Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes once wrote “In some way, regardless of gender, locale, age, marital status, everyone is a mother.”
I love this idea, especially these days as I’ve been thinking about how so many people on the planet right now — regardless of gender identity — are birthing a new paradigm shift, a renewed and refreshed movement towards balance, wholeness, respect for all beings.
Given that Spring is a birthing season, what better time of year to celebrate Mothers, and the acts of nurturing, rearing, promoting growth? After all, now is the time that any seeds of dreams, ideas or projects you have been gestating through the winter, are ready to come out. That is why I think of this time of year to be a time of “emergenc-y”, when, just like a women in labor, your life force is pushing to be come out into the world.
For me, as I “mother” the system of healing and living that has become The Way of Joy, I bow my head in gratitude to my own beautiful and courageous mama who taught me well the importance of letting things bloom in their own timing. Even now, at the age of 91, she continues to be a model of unconditional love in my life. I am so grateful.
One of my latest “birthings” is a powerful virtual program to optimize the power of this season. I have gathered some of my best information and tools in a Seed to Blossom Starter Pack to give you a quick shot of energetic fuel to make this Spring the best one yet. And there are a couple spaces left in the Live VIP workshop on May 22. Contact me directly
“Renegade-Woo” Vicki Dello Joio, founder of The Way of Joy: A Spiritual Fitness Program, brings together East Coast Attitude and West Coast energy consciousness as a master teacher, transformative speaker and performing artist. Integrating over 40 years of Chi Kung practice with other martial arts as well as her work in Yoga, Feldenkreis, physical fitness and theater, Vicki has developed a dynamic set of tools to transform obstacles into opportunities and enhance creative potential. Book: The Way of Joy, CD: Short Meditations for a Busy Life
In last week’s blog, I spoke about Spring as a time of emergenc-y, when you “give birth” to new/renewed energy to grow into your next level. In my book, The Way of Joy, I note that the focus of this season is: Birthing new ideas and projects, nourishing what is coming forth, nurturing growth.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Spring is also associated with the liver, which houses the emotion of anger. When we become stagnant or feel stuck or stopped momentum, it is easy to get angry. Nourishing the liver helps transform that anger, according to the Healing Tao, into kindness or forgiveness. Because the liver rules the tendons, it is also important to include flexibility exercises, such as qigong or tai chi, into your fitness routine.
This is also a great time of year to do a liver cleanse. Other ways to benefit your liver are through eating sour foods such as lemon water, fermented foods like sauerkraut, etc. It is no accident that the deliciously lemon-y flavored weed, oxalis grows in such profusion at this time of year. (NOTE: Use just a few leaves to spark up your salad. A little is good for you, an over-abundance can become toxic, especially for kidneys so avoid oxalis if you have kidney stones or rheumatoid arthritis).
But most important, be sure to tend to any early signs of new life you may be seeing these days. What buds are emerging today?
Click to learn more about upcoming Spring Workshop. Vicki Dello Joio, founder of The Way of Joy: A Spiritual Fitness Program, is a teacher, speaker and performing artist. Integrating over 40 years of Chi Kung practice with other martial arts as well as her work in Yoga, Feldenkreis, physical fitness and theater, Vicki has developed a dynamic set of tools to increase awareness, transform obstacles into opportunities and enhance creative potential. Book: The Way of Joy, CD: Short Meditations for a Busy Life.
Whether or not you can see signs of Spring yet in the area where you live, Nature has begun to move us forward into this next season.
Although many people associate Spring with light-hearted images of young love and butterflies, Spring is also a time of “emergenc-y,” where your life force — as well as any suppressed feelings or intentions — may come out in unexpected and potent ways. Signs of budding energy emerge in our bodies and spirits as Nature begins to show signs of birthing.
In my book, The Way of Joy, there is a concept, Circles Open into Spirals, which looks at how the Natural World, and we as humans, evolve through an unending cycle of life, death, and rebirth. For me, perhaps because I was born in the Spring, there is no time when these cycles are more evident than during this time of year. Whether you believe in reincarnation or not, on a purely physical plane our actual bodies are born, live, then die and return to the earth as compost, which is in itself the source for new life.
Given that this is a time to water the seeds of what you have planted, how will you nurture and tend to what is growing in you or may even be clamoring to Burst Forth?
Jungian psychologist and story-teller Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes once wrote “In some way, regardless of gender, locale, age, marital status, everyone is a mother.”
