From WeVerb2011 Breathe. How did you make space + peace for yourself in 2011? Contributed by Megan [everlastingpresent.com]
I must make a confession.
I am pretty well practiced at creating peace and space for myself.
I relish walks in urban nature. I treasure alone time to replenish my inner resources. I have a specialty in finding tucked away spots very close to my home that feel “otherworldly”.
By the way, if I can do this in Bakersfield, it may be done anywhere!
In February, I discovered the one Labyrinth in Bakersfield. It is on the grounds of St. Phillip's Church. I remember how I looked up methodologies and how-to’s on Labyrinth walking because I simply had to “do it right” above all else.
I laugh in remembering that.
The first time I went was absolutely phenomenal, as were many times later.
The first time I put a chair in the center, along with my notebook, so I could write what I was experiencing, feeling, tuning into. I didn’t actually bring a “walking manual” as I walked, but the very intellectual “good girl get it right” would check in, midway, to see how I was doing.
By the time I reached the center, I was satiated with divine love. This was such pure prayer, such total prayer. I could feel this love and this communication from the soles of my feet up through my scalp.
I blogged about it, naturally. If you would like to read of this experience as it was written in February, visit here.
I remember I was doing Vagina Monologues at the same time. One of my friends visited later with her boyfriend. She said she was “disappointed” and expected the labyrinth to be something bigger. That is the thing with a labyrinth: the largeness is not in the place, exactly, it is in the presence one brings to the place.
Another favorite time here was with a friend I met at the Art and Spirituality Center. We met here at 6 AM. We wanted to do a walk at Sunrise. We shared ground rules we both needed, including silence from the time we stepped onto the labyrinth until both of us were finished writing our responses and observations later.
This was phenomenal, absolutely, on several levels. To find a friend willing to get up so early at such a sacred place was something I didn’t know I could find in Bakersfield. I did! And we did!
My children love visiting the labyrinth, too.
I had many mini-moments of space creation, primarily in writing, in walking and in contemplative forms of meditation. Sometimes I am completely alone when I do this, sometimes with children, sometimes with people who respect that call to silence ~ and divine conversation ~ and are able to experience the same separately and together.
I will continue to return to the labyrinth here and seek others when I travel.
Wonderful prompting today. Thank you, Megan!
I am Julie Jordan Scott ~ and this is one of my Reverb11 posts. This year, the Reverb Community is taking an individualized approach to this life changing initiative. I am answering several prompts a day in short snippets during either a 30 minute or 60 minute wordsprint. I look forward to reading other Reverb11ers writing & if you are unfamiliar, just use the prompt and use the #reverb11 hashtag on twitter. You'll have a blast!
Follow me on Twitter: @JulieJordanScot
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© 2011
Julie Jordan Scott
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