Pop-up Wellness Respite

   

Massage Camp

     A friend and I were able to touch in after the disaster in Puerto Rico this past month with a mobile massage offering. Our pop-up beach spa focused on volunteers, health care workers, teachers and organizers. At times we went off the beach and into the communities with hopeful hands. Thankfully, it wasn't difficult to find willing massage participants. I feel so enriched by those who reflected their open hearts and minds right back at us. The healing power of loving presence was so clear and permeating, we were often brought to tears. Sharing intentions of healing energy and holding space for even short periods of time was truly meaningful and worthwhile for all involved.

Now to bring those loving intentions and actions into daily life where it's often easy to get side-tracked with unhelpful mind states. The homework I've assigned for myself is to keep a softer lens on my day-to-day encounters. Knowing that any action can be healing when done with love, why bother with any other motivator? I'm inspired to explore more ways to generate and serve it up in 2018. I believe we are all being called to uplift the collective consciousness. It feels like an energetic emergency! Just think of all the ways there are to acknowledge our infinitely interconnected selves.

One Love

I suspect that January's blue moon was partially responsible for the ease in feeling the cosmic alignment that's always in play? Or maybe it was the ocean salt soaks, barefoot sand walks, and fires at night while communing with the stars. The sounds of the cicadas, coquis, crashing waves, and the occasional booming surround-sound systems all resonated with my own natural rhythms. Even the bug bites reminded me of our unavoidable connectedness.

To top it off, which we did regularly, thanks to a remarkable invention by Moses West! His super amazing Atmospheric Water Generator kept us very happily hydrated all month long. Drinking atmospheric water was transformative to my whole being. Every cell in my body seemed to dance when I drank it. Guzzling our finely filtered surroundings also added a whole new meaning to becoming one with nature. I hope his brilliant solution for harvesting clean water and making it available to all, catches on fast! Especially since we all know WATER IS LIFE.

Moses West and his Atmospheric Water Generator

Paired with the purest water I've ever ingested, it was also my first time traveling with vegan intentions. For the most part, I felt victorious and found my way around animal agriculture just fine. Especially (and mainly) because we quickly took meals into our own hands. Our first few rounds of shopping opened my eyes to sparsity and long lines. I became concerned that I'd end up eating nothing but processed chemicals to survive. The kid in me was secretly hoping I'd be 'forced' into buying those enormous canisters of Keebler Elf soda crackers featured in every aisle. Instead, my travel companion and I sought out real food at the farmer's market. Twice per week a truck pulled into town with fruits, vegetables and nuts. We were able to keep a cooler maintained for continuous salad making. Fresh, pungent turmeric (acquired from a local garden) went on everything, along with apple cider vinegar and olive oil. Consequently, we ended up thriving rather than just surviving.

Teacher massage day in Vieques

Knowing that everything and all of us are connected, how can we contribute to collective healing today? There's little doubt of the collective disturbance and discord in us (as individuals, and as a society). Thankfully, we all have direct access to the healing power of loving presence as the anecdote for much of our suffering. Confrontations with fear, skepticism and doubt seem to be scattered all over the place, but serve as great reminders to simply trust in the supreme power of love.

I am seeing that to give is to receive and in receiving we allow others to have the gift of giving. In this way, how could we possibly identify as the givers or the helpers? Who would be helping who? Perhaps there are no others and we're all in this together? Instead of applauding each other for helping, why not recognize that we are also simultaneously the helped? On that note, here are some clarifying words from the Aboriginal Activists Groups (Queensland, 1970s):

"If you have come to help me you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together."