Chapter Gate
Arriving at a new passageway
tapping into an inner sense of self
finding a deeper strength within
helping your spirit to mend
find peace
to heal from the inside out.
Welcome to this journey of discovery in creating A Wisdom Journey of Your Own.
Your journey may have started years ago. You may only be thinking about it for the first time today. Regardless, this can mark a point in time where your awareness in healing can shift in new ways. I invite you to step in and allow the process to unfold in new ways.
One of my favorite acupuncture points is named “Chapter Gate.” It is a point located at the base of the rib cage, right at the tip of the 11th rib. If you trace out from your bellybutton, navel, you’ll run into a bump there as your ribs slant down. It’s right there at the diaphragm, connected to that place inside you where you pause to take in a deep breath.
This is “Chapter Gate.” The essence of this point for me speaks to that moment of arriving at a transition, as you step into something new. There is a moment at that gateway where you can pause before stepping through. It stands between where you’ve been and where you are headed. You can allow yourself the time to be present to where you are in this moment between the two, with every breath.
What to Expect
Each week, you will receive an email similar to this one that will include prompts for exercises that can lead you into new possibilities for growth and awareness in your life. You may find you resonate with some more strongly than with others. You can choose to follow suggested exercises closely or you can choose to interpret them loosely and turn them into something else all together. You get to choose. It’s your journey. I just put these forward as resources to share. Take what’s valuable, what you find useful. May some of it inspire new growth for you.
Blessings to you on your journey.
A Starting Place
Every journey has a starting place. Even driving to work or school has a starting place as you walk out the door of your home. Today we start with laying out the building blocks that will set the framework for the weeks to come.
First.
A Place to Write.
Find a sacred space that can hold the written word and other forms of creative expression on paper (don’t worry – no one’s asking you to be artistic here – think of a 3 year old with a box of crayons or a jar of fingerpaints). This might be a journal, a bound blank book, or a sketch book. Maybe it’s a pile of paper or index cards. Explore what feels right for you. What feels inviting to you? Let it be something where you can express deeper parts of the self without judgement, without pressure, without expectation of returning, without audience. It’s a container that can hold many present moments as you move through upcoming days.
Second.
Offer yourself a gift of promise for this journey of exploration in healing.
A letter of promise to self:
Beloved,
I step into a new journey, acknowledging the ups and downs of a healing journey.
I create the space to honor both the parts that are easy and the parts that are hard.
I set intention to move forward into healing.
May the blessings of every day be present.
love, me
Or write something else. Let it hold the essence of a commitment to the self.
Third.
Arrive at the Chapter Gate.
Allow yourself to write freely, however it comes through, choppy or in lists, simple sketches. Take a moment with each of these questions.
Where have I been? When did this chapter I’m stepping away from start?
How am I today? Where is my heart in this? What do I need right now?
Where am I headed? Where do I want to be?
Fourth.
As you move through this week, allow yourself a moment each day to be present to your Chapter Gate – take a deep breath in as you leave the house, as you arrive at work, as you move from one thing to the next. Take five minutes at the start of your day or the end of your day to jot down anything you notice from the day. Re-name your intention every day. It helps to write it down. More than once. Let any thoughts that bubble up around the process spill out onto the page.
Do you have reflections to share? I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to contact me here. (Or not what you expected? You can unsubscribe here.)
Blessings,
Lucy
The Invitation
by Oriah Mountain DreamerIt doesn’t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.
It doesn’t interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life’s betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain!I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it, or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul; if you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see beauty even when it’s not pretty, every day, and if you can source your own life from its presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, “Yes!”
It doesn’t interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed the children.
It doesn’t interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.
It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.
copyright © 1999 by Oriah Mountain Dreamer.
Resources
Selecting an image will take you to amazon.com where you can access more information about each title, even browse content inside each book. These are all books that I have found to be helpful and inspiring at different points in my life. Enjoy!
(Full disclosure: These are affiliate links. While I am not urging you to buy anything, purchasing through one of these links does bring me a small percentage. All proceeds go towards treatment for those who face financial hardship. Thank you for your support. Every little bit adds to the collective pot.)