Fumbling our way forward

and how the body knows the next step...

Sometimes all we can do is fumble our way forward. I’ve had some health challenges recently, that have stopped me in my tracks and left me with a lot of uncertainty. Here is what I know - there’s something wrong that’s showing up in the physical body. It could be physical, emotional, or past lives… Who knows?! My body is struggling and that’s almost all I know! And there is also a knowing that it could be better in someway or different. There’s a knowing that there is something out of balance in how I’m living or how I’m embodying my life.

I’m sure many of us have had moments like this where we don’t feel good, but it’s not for an obvious reason like a cold or sickness bug or injury.

So what do we do? How do we move from “here” to “better” What I’m learning to trust is that there may not be a clear map from here to feeling better. Sometimes people get the impression that in Focusing the body should know all of it… all of the route to healing. Or somehow have an answer to any question we give to it. We might even think of the body as omniscient. Our body or being is not like that. It knows more than our mind for sure. So what does it know? It knows something about the next step, even if that next step is tiny, seemingly insignificant, unnoticeable on the outside, it does know the next step or could do, and that this is something we can listen and tune into. At times I like to think of it like how a plant knows where to grow it's roots towards water or how an animal might make a nest in a certain spot just for now, knowing that it needs to make a greater journey across the unknown woodland.

Here is a short guide to finding a next step in your life. Before that, I also want to say that we may need to educate ourselves on the choices and challenges we are facing. We may need to research and gather information… and all of this can inform our felt sense.

1. Think of a process in your life, where you are not sure what to do. It could be an ongoing trouble, it could be a decision you need to make. It could be some thing you long to do but you find hard to make progress on.

2. Pause and feel your whole body, the grounding in the space around you. Sense your interior space. Take time to also acknowledge anything that’s pushing for an outcome or impatient. Without acknowledging these, they can easily start to run the process!

3. Gently and without demand, invite a next step. “what might be a next step?”

4. Listen. It might take a while to form. It probably won’t be the first thought that comes into your mind (that could easily be a part of you with it’s familiar strategies) It could be a symbol or a remembering. Whatever shows up - listen with curiosity to all it comes and particularly noticing what resonates? Is there a “yes” in your body? like some fresh air or some movement, a relaxing, a shifting. Most of us can find it if we wait…and it’s unmistakable when we do. This is how we navigate our way forward, fumble even. We may not know the destination and we certainly don’t know the whole route, the way could be long and convoluted or quick, intuitive and transformational. Who knows? Only our organism can make the journey, step by step.

On the theme of next steps. I’m excited to be teaching a 4 week course alongside Ann Weiser Cornell in beginning January 14th , titled “Life, Death and the Mystery“ Where we will use the skills of Focusing to explore life’s biggest questions.

And note, the Early bird for our Dreams Wisdom Journey ends on 15th December.

Wishing you a restful holiday!

Peter