Translate

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Grace in Healing Trauma

I recently had the great fortune of studying with Raja Selvam Phd. in an advanced program for healing trauma. It was a great opportunity to learn with a very accomplished practitioner and elegant teacher.
 I was deeply moved by his humor, sensitivity and intellect. Teachers like Raja are rare. They seamlessly weave decades of study, experience and compassion into a tapestry of great beauty and complexity. Being in the presence of such a teacher is a gift.  It is a great and generous teacher who can sum up an entire course in one sentence. The most radiant pearl that I came home with was this beautiful heartfelt notion:

"When the heart is vulnerable, it can see great beauty."

After Dr. Selvman spoke these words my entire being took a deep sigh. I felt a sense of coming home into my own humanness and vulnerability. 


I have returned to my private practice with a renewed reverence for the wisdom that our bodies carry and the layers grace that resides in each and every one of us. As the integration of the new material is taking hold and anchoring in my system, I am in awe of the many facets of beauty that we own. We are truly multidimensional beings. 

In writing this post, and sharing my training, I wanted to create an image that reflects the many layers   of magic that I experienced this past Spring. I took thousands of pictures of orioles, flowers, yellow finches, a flying turkey and gem filled floral collages. It is my hope that this image conveys the joy inside of my heart that I feel when I am in nature and in my practice treating patients. I feel that it is an honor and a privilege to be a part of a deeply transformational and precious process. I thank Dr. Selvam and all of the exquisite teachers and pioneers who are paving the way for many of us who are working in the field of healing trauma. 

Thursday, July 16, 2015

The Secret Treatise of the Spiritual Orchid

One of my absolute favorite studies is of the classics of Chinese Medicine. Coming into this medicine takes time, it is a long and slow unfolding. 
Sometimes it feels like molasses. 
Dark and sweet. 
After years of study and practice, small luminescent pearls emerge and one is awe struck by the simplicity and beauty of the medicine. 
This past week, one such pearl emerged, the pearl of wisdom that spoke to the translucent nature of simplicity.


This beautiful orchid gift came to me last week and it prompted me to return to Nei jing Su wen Chapter 8. The Secret Treatise of the Spritual Orchid. I have the translation by Claude Larre and Elisabeth Rochat de la Vallee. 
As I was reading the translation, this small piece jumped off the page and begged to be shared. 

And so here it is:

"The heart is not just a pump to move blood, it is the highest entity in human life. And it is very interesting to understand that morality, virtue and so on are understood by the Chinese not just as being in the field of religion for example, but as essential to keep the quality of life. This is the reason why we have to go and see wonderful scenery, be well rested, have good food and drink and all that, in order that life will be more refined. From this digesting of essences you are then in a position to distribute them."