Sabrina Page's Open Salon Blog

The power of "what if"

Thu, 5 Aug 2010 16:08:30 -0400

It has been said in many ways, many times, but what if each of us unleashed the power of our imaginations. What if each time I had a negative thought about my body or aging: what if I get sick? what if I don't have enough money? What if, what if, what if . . . what if I took every speck of energy I put into negative outcomes and imagined my perfect world, caring and connected; my ideal body, strong and vibrant.

Somehow, today, I am seeing the power of directing my thoughts creatively, to what I can imagine is possible. It feels enormously liberating, as if I have the power to affect my life, as if I have power to help change the direction of our world. What if that's true? What if films were made that imagined a beautiful world instead of catastrophes and violence? What if we imagined aging as an unfolding of wisdom and true strength? What if imagining the positive empowered each of us to take positive actions, however small, to move in the direction of our visions. What if it made life easier, more fun?

What if?

To Begin Again

Wed, 7 Jul 2010 16:07:20 -0400

I wake up moody, worrying about the future. Last night I was reading about the unemployment numbers online. Perhaps that's why I am feeling dark. I wonder what I can do personally, how I can contribute in the face of this daunting economy.

I go through the motions of my morning, with my mind mulling over possibilities. As I walk to the mailbox, a lizard crosses my path, and instead of darting away, he sits quietly. I have the impulse to continue on, knowing he will then move, but I don't. Instead I wait, listening, hoping there is a message that may come from this meeting. I realize that I have been worrying about the worst possibilities rather than focusing on what I want in life. Lizard tells me about dreaming what is possible, being present to the moment so I can feel what needs to arise.

So I begin again. I begin with what I notice in this moment, the sunlit morning and the soft bay breezes, the flowers blooming on my porch. I become aware of the heaviness in my body, the lethargy that is visiting me today. I initiate caring for my self, feeling what parts of my body need to move and expand. On the floor I notice my strength and flexibility. I practice feeling grateful for my life, the beauty of my surroundings, my full belly, my health.

Back to beginner's mind, each moment is mine to participate with, relating to my self and what is occurring all around me - my larger self. It is all I can do, listen, respond, then move in response to my inner feeling, again and again. The plants need watering, the phone rings, ideas that want to be written swirl in my mind. I sit to write. I am no longer worrying. I am once again aware that I am part of the flow of life.

Teachings from the Earth

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 17:04:51 -0400

Two nights ago as I was walking at dusk on a tree lined road nearby my home, an owl swooped across the road from one tree to another. I had a feeling of knowing inside, a knowing that he wanted me to notice him, and in that moment I gave him all my attention. He sat in the tree and I stood below, and we just were there with one another in that timeless way. I felt graced, blessed, honored to have this meeting together. Eventually he swooped back to the tree he had come from, and I couldn't see where he had flown.

As I continued down the road, I felt an immense appreciation for the earth and the clear thread of magical moments like this through the years. These moments appear to me as stepping stones that have slowly and carefully revealed a path of love. Some of my earliest memories are of playing in a creek behind our home in a Philadelphia suburb, arranging the rocks and making little changes in the flow of the stream-and the immense joy of swinging across the bank on a Weeping Willow. Over the years, each new place I lived would touch me deeply in a new way, and I began to believe the Earth was guiding me, even choosing the new homes for me, teaching me through my encounters with her trees and rocks, streams and rivers.

Sometime shortly after college I read these words of Carlos Castenada:

Only if one loves this earth with unbending passion can one release one’s sadness,” don Juan said. “A warrior is always joyful because his love is unalterable and his beloved, the earth, embraces him and bestows upon him inconceivable gifts. The sadness belongs to those who hate the very thing that gives shelter to their beings.” Don Juan again caressed the ground with tenderness. “This lovely being, which is alive to its last recesses and understands every feeling, soothed me, it cured me of my pains, and finally when I had fully understood my love for it, it taught me freedom.

With each passing year, these words become increasingly true for me, and her aliveness ever more tangible. She has held me and rocked me, steadied me when I have been blinded with tears, and taught me to trust. And she has taught me gratitude and appreciation for every moment I am here.

This zoomazing body we live in

Tue, 7 Apr 2009 16:04:17 -0400

Yes zoomazing! I’ll explain that in a bit. We have been graced with these architectural wonders –our bodies - that have the ability to be interconnected with the earth and the entire universe. Yet we tend to live in only a very small part of ourselves, and seem to have lost the operating manual. We have given the responsibility for our own bodies over to the doctors and drug companies, we have bought into the lie that we can’t feel and heal ourselves. We forgot that each of us comes equipped with a zoom feature, a way to focus our attention and energy.

The zoom capability is part of our inherent awareness, the ability to zoom in, just as our camera or GPS can, and focus our awareness. We can also zoom out, all the way out and totally relax our focus. We have the capability to focus on a minute detail or the big picture. One of the lies we have all bought is that we can’t zoom into our own bodies, into any area that we want, and communicate with the cells. We forgot that the button that controls the zoom feature is our intent. Our intent to communicate with our cells or even our dna – or a friend long distance or the Earth – is the mechanism that directs the zoom.

By reowning our intent, we can operate the zoom feature. Something is hurting in your body? Zoom in to that area, and be with it. What does it need? Maybe a little attention, some appreciation, some food, you’ll never know until you ask. I have found that there is incredible intelligence in each and every cell. The body knows what it needs. So part of what makes zooming in work is our ability to listen to what the other needs. The secret of any relationship, with our bodies, or those we love, or an animal or the earth, is zooming in and then being present to what is needed.

So how is it that we can zoom around anywhere with our awareness, once we get the hang of it? That’s the truly zoomazing part: we are not just these bodies, who we are is the consciousness underlying everything. That’s how we have the ability to zoom in or zoom way out and focus on the big picture. See if you can notice where your focus tends to live. Perhaps it’s on your family or the project you are working on. Maybe you shift to work in the day, and family at night. See if you can begin to expand your focus some, or zoom in on something entirely different, like the inside of your heart and feel the blood pumping, or the river that runs by your house.

One of the beauties of the zoom feature is that it can carry an emotion or feeling with it, such as appreciation or love. We all know how good it feels when someone we are interested in turns all his or her attention on us. Zoom some love into your own heart, or to your child. With others, in general, it’s good to stop at the boundary of their skin, unless you have their permission to zoom in further. Heart to heart is wonderful if you are both in agreement. Good boundaries make for good neighbors. It’s also good to stay centered in your own body when zooming, so that some awareness stays at home while another part travels. That’s called grounding, it keeps us from spacing out, getting too out there.

Zoom into your own belly center, about two inches below your navel in the center of your body, and stay connected there as you move around. Like the GPS feature, we can have a sense of home, while we zoom out and feel the big picture. I’m always reminded of the photo of the earth from the moon that the first astronauts beamed back to us. We have the ability to focus our attention anywhere, and even look back at our earth. That is part of our zoomazing body – the awareness to see who we really are. Dial into your intent and begin to zoom around.

Embodying the Red: healing/rejuvenation through the blood

Fri, 3 Apr 2009 16:04:36 -0400

When we think of the color red, one of our associations is blood. Within our bodies, it is the blood that brings the necessary oxygen, nutrients and hormones to our cells. Our blood is our support and vitality, our strength and nourishment. It flows from our heart to every cell though our arteries, then back to our heart through the veins. Through the weight of our blood we feel our relationship with the earth, and interact moment to moment with the earth. Our blood establishes the primary rhythm in life, for the repetitive beat of our heart is the pumping of the arterial blood leaving the heart.

Yet for most of us, we have learned to fear blood and associate it with anger, violence, war – and for many women, the shame of menstruation or menopause. When we feel this red energy within us, we have learned to blame someone else or ourselves, feeling bad for feeling the heat of the red, then either directing our anger against ourselves or another, or possibly repressing it and holding it down.

Sadly, in doing so, we lose our vitality and passion, even becoming depressed. There is a way to partner with the red energy and use it wisely, for it is also our strength and support. We can re-own this red energy and use it as a powerful support for ourselves, to revitalize our health and empower what we desire to create in life. We can make peace with our own blood, appreciating the powerful red energy and allow it to circulate through our bodies in all its fullness and vitality.

Try this experiment with your own body, letting your self feel your appreciation for the blood. Perhaps simply noticing the beating of your own heart, and imagining the blood flowing out to the cells with every beat. Once that becomes real for you, imagine the inflow of the blood from your veins, a wavelike swing rhythm moving towards the heart. Once you are feeling this rhythm, there are many directions to explore. You can add the feeling of gratitude or appreciation, and let the blood carry this energy to every cell. Or you can move around and feel the rhythm of the blood expressed in your movement.

Another experiment is related to the feeling of anger. Find a safe place to be alone. Rather than directing the anger at yourself or someone else, see if you can simply be with the feeling of the red energy inside, and start to move your body, letting your body express the energy in any way that feels safe to you. Own the red energy as your own vitality and strength, and let it support you.

Lately I have been experimenting with feeling the blood as a bringer of nourishment to my cells, and adding love, appreciation, joy, gratitude, peace or courage to the mix. Simply feel the flow of your blood, and send one or more of these feelings along with the blood. Have fun and explore this.

Re-owning the red energy is a powerful antidote to depression and poor health, and a vital support to empowerment at any age. The embodiment of red energy heals anger and redirects the energy into strength, in support of ourselves. It underlies all healing and rejuvenation – and it is our passion, for life, for our creativity, for the Earth, for our truth.