I like to draw from nature, and everyday imagery, to help paint the picture of bigger concepts. Oceans, rivers, trees, animals…phases of the moon…cycles of growth and hibernation… I’ve often been able to better understand what is going on in my own life, or expand the nuance of my comprehension, by understanding common patterns in other aspects of our world and the universe.
Often these insights and connections come to me when practicing yoga, or during moments of meditation. I try my best to capture some of these flashes by recording them in some way, but the time I have in my day can sometimes limit the extent those musings getting documented. I sometimes only have time to make a simple tweet, like this one about catching butterflies… While I think it stands on it’s own as is, I did want to take a moment to share where that image come from…partially to show a bit about how my brain works, and where/how I orient myself in the world (important for attracting like minds…xoxo), but also to perhaps inspire some in their own journeys? Part of how I have gotten to where I am today is from hearing about others’ paths, and what has helped them uncover and connect to deeper parts of themselves. Each of our paths is unique, but we all have something to learn from each other. <3
Having experienced many various types of pleasure in my life, I can say, without a doubt, that the sense of bliss that comes from self knowledge, connection, and acceptance is the greatest pleasure one can experience (and frees up so much more in how other pleasures are experienced as well!!). I am still very much learning about the depths that bliss can go…
The day I wrote the post I reference above, I had just finished my yoga practice and was doing my final mediation sequence, sitting upright. As I fully embraced the rewards of that days practice, giving gratitude for the openness I was fully enjoying, freed from tightness, toxins and blockages to allow an open flow of energy throughout my body…allowing myself to feel the connection to myself and to the energy that surrounds us all everyday…inviting healing, grounding and abundance to flow through me unabated…I was thinking about how, as I have worked to heal and clear my own path, seeing that progress manifest in various ways, how I have new awareness and heightened perception about what is possible and available to me. It keeps expanding in ways I liken to the infinite expansion of the universe, which is constantly growing, every day, with no end in sight…
But as I contemplated these new connections and awareness, it reminded me that while all of these things are out there right now, and had been waiting and ready, it was not until I was able to clear certain pathways within myself that I could really detect and find them. It’s almost like putting on a pair of special glasses that allow you to see invisible objects, or color for the first time: all of a sudden, you can see things that you never saw before, and as it turns out, have been right around you all along. It is only by doing the work within that I have been able to find this heightened vision. It’s only by sitting with myself, focusing on myself, and removing all the clutter that distracts, or promotes toxic clouds and cobwebs, that the clarity of what I am truly possible of becomes more than fleeting fantasies that flicker in my mind.
I often orient and categorize things by whatever chakra seems to pull at me at the moment, so another way to think of it (for those who gravitate towards similar ways of processing…) is how the light of that chakra illuminates some of these invisible elements. I might use the color of the chakra as part of that visualization, and these things that are suddenly illuminated often feed, support, inspire and heal whatever I am working on or feels open. These things can can manifest as words or general concepts (ie: root chakra work might include “stability”, “foundations”, “grounding”, “eliminating waste”, “community”) or might come as various sensations that are heightened in certain parts of the body.
Sometimes it combines in the form of imagery (and perhaps combined with sensation). One recent visualization while lying down in corpse pose: a tree growing up from my heart chakra while simultaneously grounding down deep into the earth below signified strength and connection I was feeling that day between root & heart chakras. It then evolved to having the tree bear fruit that I could share with others, but only after my tree was strong enough to support creating and sharing that fruit, reinforcing mindfulness of having good boundaries.
Suddenly there is a sky full of “butterflies” for me to catch, these various bits of illumination and energy that feed my soul. Butterflies (BTW) represent transformation and metamorphosis, but I also like this concept because of the way the flight of butterflies feels joyful and light, the way I strive to live life.
And with that came a visualization-of a net casting out from parts of myself that felt particularly open, and how easily it was able to collect these once invisible butterflies of energy… Now illuminated by the proper light or perspective, and using a net that is specific for capturing like-minded energies, I can “catch” these butterflies, which helps further bolster the source of illumination.
It’s more of a catch and release though…and this is a crucial part of the equation: the ability to call in and experience the gifts (insight, healing, inspiration, manifestation, pleasure, etc.) and let that energy flow through me, but to also let it stay free, and return to it’s natural domain. To try and hold on to it, to try and force it to stay, diminishes its power. It must be allowed to flow free. It is always there to recall, but to do so one must continually cultivate the pathways for it to return. It isn’t a task that is, once conquered, forever owned. The energy isn’t mine to possess… These illuminations only stay strong and true when they are allowed to flit and fly free, feed off different blossoms, and share its beauty with others. This is how the energy naturally regenerates and stays strong-flying free, and sharing/feeding from other like-minded channels.
This is how I visualize the intangible matrix of our connectedness-to each other, to our community, to our planet and to our universe.
Said another way (and more to the context of my work), I approach our time together to be about honoring what is being illuminated at the moment for you, then helping you catch those butterflies. Sometimes those energies are primal and erotic…sometimes they are more sensual and intimate, sometimes they feed a fetish, feel therapeutic, or fuel a sense of passion…the list of possibilities is endless, and can often combine multiple influences.
Helping others see and catch those butterflies, bolster their own energies, then helping to practice “catch and release” also strengthens my own energy. Because every aspect of the exchange, when allowed to flow free, is strengthened and benefits. And in the big picture, that exchange benefits more than just you or I…
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