how strange it is to notice it
clenching less often
while still anchoring itself
into itself,
as though it will save me
from all of my fearful thoughts.
or from words ~ useful
communication, where muscles
loosen, and the space that is created,
has options to offer others.
(so glad I’m not an expert).
what would i say if i
said everything that I wanted to say
as beautifully as i wish i could,
or if i simply accepted –
this moment,
exactly as it is?
>>>pain is a reminder of life, and living:
it is a reminder that we are all equally
subjected to
all the feels.
the good, the bad, the ugly ~
why settle for only a bland sky?
why settle for that which catches your eye?
why settle at all…
move through it ~
this is life, and it is living through you, but your
body is not the extent of your consciousness – it is only
a small part.
***
I’m very much looking forward to my retreat with Francis Lucille at the end of the month. Consciousness is having fun with pain here, why not?
Fiesta Estrellas 
I do an awful lot of jaw clenching myself.
Hope the time off at the end of the month brings plenty of rest and relaxation.
Thank you, lonely author friend ~
I find that the more often I am aware I am clenching it (which is more often) the less often I am clenching it, because I am then relaxing it.
Interesting discovery. I need to be more mindful of that myself. – Drew
🙂
I like your awareness of the clenching and relaxing and how we enrich our lives by embracing it all. Enjoy your retreat Ka!
🙂 Ahh…. awareness… of both clenching *and* relaxing! Yes, well said, Brad – we embrace it all, as we can! Thank you, Ka
My pleasure.
Beautifully done!
Our body holds so many ways of letting us know how we are Being and in what ways we are holding tension. When we become aware we change so many ways we live …
This precious communication, and enabling the flow of this communication, can be all of the lessons we need. 🙂 Thank you so much for your lovely comment, Pragalbha, and adding your wisdom!
You are very welcome 🙂
I fair chirtle my jaw as we say here.. You enjoy your retreat xxxxx
🙂 I’ll have to visit your town in Dundee someday…. very concise! 🙂
xoxo
A lovely and inspiring reflection, Ka. I loved the question about expressing all that you wanted as beautifully as you desired–a feeling I can relate to. Sometimes the raw feeling and inspiration is so rich and vibrant, and the tools at my disposal to extend that awareness into time and space so wonky it seems. But yes, consciousness is having fun with all of these feelings, too. Just the presence of it…
Peace
Michael
Toss the tools;
Surrender the shed!
😀 ! That’s what came to mind, Michael – I used to wish myself this shed to toil away in and become a master at many things, and then dash out and say, “here I am, world, I’m ready for you, been thinking of YOU the WHOLE time!” Thankfully, I gave that shed up….and what you see here is the unfinished business and the racket of a growing passion for life and living and whatever else is more marvelous and real than I can imagine…
I do enjoy my cocoon though, and enjoy decorating it differently every time i find myself right back in that cycle for the butterfly-to-be wash n’ dry…
But consciousness can keep showing me other places, and spaces I’ve created. I am so, just so, delighted to share with you ~
resoundingly, Ka
So, so perfect, Ka! I’m grateful for this… for my feeling of resonance with your unfinished business and the racket of a growing passion for life. It’s a joy to witness and share in from afar… I’m a bit of unfinished business as well, and bustling with loose ends… 🙂
🙂 Enjoy!
This is helpful. Why settle? Move through it. Years ago, my dentist told me I grind my teeth when sleeping. I gave myself hypnotic suggestions to relax my jaw which seemed to help. But I need to resume the suggestions because sometimes I wake up with pain in my neck. Our bodies are good at giving us feedback.
JoAnna, you have this special way of showing me my words: Why settle? Yea, I said that! I love the hypnotic suggestions and have used hypnosis for many barriers in my thinking – it helped – everything helps! I agree that the pain in your neck can be exacerbated by your clenching. It’s nice to notice when we do the clenching…. for me it is yoga – or sometimes, I think with my jaw. Also sometimes I’m just holding something there, that I don’t even know about yet, an energy. Maybe I just need to have a deep conversation and really connect ~ ❤ ~ with new language…creativity is in that chakra, too.
Our bodies will also toss out new communications and new messages, I find. I do a lot of work with energy, patients, and colleagues in share circles, and I receive a fair bit of work on my body to continue on (well now I'll be on retreat! and it will be an exercise in consciousness with a teacher – Advaita Vedanta – Francis Lucille). I keep moving towards efficiency of some capacity – learning through pain – this helps. I'm always changing, and I like when my body and I start a new program. We get to know each other again. Sometimes a new moon or an solar eclipse helps with this (or maybe another transit) or maybe I'm just ripe for it.
Hmmm. Learning through pain…. If we had no pain, how much would we learn? Enjoy your new adventures, dear Ka. It’s an exciting time to be alive! 🙂
It really is 🙂⭐️
How amazing beautiful friend, Ka! There must be something in the air as my jaw appears to have a mind if its own and not only causes terrible pain, but apparently the constant grinding/clenching killed a back molar which necessitated a root canal recently. I’ve known for some time that I grind at night…but I never knew it could cause serious problems. Be mindful dear friend and take precautions to protect your teeth.
I hope you have a wonderful time on your retreat (I known you will!)
Sending lots of love and light 💜
Dear Lorrie ~ 💚💚💚~
It’s true that it can cause a problem if left untended, sadly! Many don’t know! Wishing for you a whole new light and experience with your wonderful, sweet, jaw ~ more ease for you 💓🕊 Lately dove feathers have shown me my recent totem (and a previous one but has returned)…I’m receiving so many blessings and fortunately i have no damage and no pain. Mostly I wanted to convey a poem and used what was a part of my temporary experience, more awareness of clenching and where that leads… I’m glad that you have shifted past that horrible pain. I am no stranger to pain, and so thankful that I have returned to wholeness for now 🙂💓💕 This retreat is special to me, as I keep returning back to the nature of life, with the assistance of a lot of wonderful friends and colleagues put along my path. 👐⭐️ Ka
ya got me, Ka
doing that lion pose!
just sitting here
had me tight jawed.
thanks 🙂
Yes! Lion’s pose/breath!
Thank you ~ ✨⭐️✨😛
Beautifully written!
Thank you Ladyfi 😆
I think we all of us at times grind our teeth… Wonderfully penned Ka.. Learning to listen to our body talk is all part of the journey too..
❤ Hope your jaw eases up on you.. ❤
Thank you, Sue
Yes and the scalp muscles and the masseter (chewing) muscles can all come to let go…. definitely that lion pose/breath helps! 😝
Thanks for your love 💖
🙂 ❤ Hugs
I simply love your work!! Thank you so much for sharing!!!!
That’s a wonderful compliment. Thank you so much!
You’re welcome!!