June 2023
I have found the seasons of anguish embedded in the Covid times hard to shake and awkwardly messy to move through at this late date. My story and the stories of others weigh on me, and I struggle with on going fatigue effects.
‘How do you move on? You move on when your heart finally understands that there is no turning back.’
~ J.R.R. Tolkien
Can I initiate and nudge my own turnings? When the longing for a shift in perspective and a lift from the pain-body and its habits be ‘made ready’ for letting go? It seems I can help the cause. The trainings and methods and ways of psychology are useful. But in the end, there seems nowhere to go but to the spiritual realm and to ancient, non-cognitive ways of healing. Turning to forces larger than I, to old grief ways, old prayers & old poetry, to rituals of fire and Walkabout questing… I see that leaning on collective wisdom of the soul moves us.
I have walked this Bralorne Labyrinth many times, for relaxation & stress reduction. I have walked it both in solitude and with company, and I have written about it with delight and gratitude.
Today I walked with new intentions.
In labyrinths, whether ancient or modern, we walk in and we walk out. We coil and we uncoil. We do so both physically and spiritually. The body and the spirit experience an intentional, simultaneous outing. We walk a path one foot after another, and it is a path to the holy place inside us.
~ Bethlehem Centre website, Nanaimo BC
Renewal & Change arise from the ashes of the old. I have chewed and processed my story. Releasing it at the centre seems so important.
Sharing stories is a critical way to processing profound times. I am supporting an initiative, still in its infancy, to document the stories of individuals affected by Covid and by our systems’ responses and restrictions worldwide. Understanding helps our integration.
Share & Listen.
May you be soft with yourself when the wild times of the Heart & Mind come
June 2022
These two years (plus) have been wild and unruly times indeed.
We have been stretched and pulled and strained in countless ways, the pandemic pressing down on our stress places, our connections and our familiar ways of being. For many, old wounds and vulnerabilities have been activated and re awakened. New ones triggered. We have also perhaps found threads and twines of endurance, adaption and new possibilities or learned to see with new eyes.
And now we find ourselves emerging from the Covid tunnel, coming into the daylight each at our own pace. Some of us are understandably stunned by what was in the tunnel and where we find ourselves now and want to look back in to make sense of things. And some of us are understandably running forward, yearning to move on, not wanting to look back much at all.
Collectively it seems we share a mighty fatigue from the grind of it all.
What I know is that when folks step into the journey of beginning to process extraordinary, impactful or traumatic events, they typically do so with the benefit of the passage of time and definitely through supportive interaction/relationship (e.g., hopefully finding expression for their thoughts, feelings and experiences in safe spaces and places). Making meaning of what hardships occur to us in life helps us to create a narrative which an, in turn, assist in an integrative process.
Both for the individual and the collective— I encourage us to reflect on our pandemic experiences and deepen the processing of events which, for many, must be amongst the most extraordinary of our lives thus far. Gentle pacing though is always a good thing.
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Collective grief and individual loss
I have benefited personally and professionally from grief expert David Kessler and his work highlighting the powerful element of grief and loss woven through our individual pandemic stories and the collective losses of the past two years. Finding meaning is a very important part of the grief journey.
His video in 2021.
Also, David works in partnership with yoga teacher Paul Denniston. If you are interested in a lovely practice that can assist in releasing some of the struggle, try his short free exercises.
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Ritual: An invitation
Recovery and integration are helped by some kind of ritual/marking/ceremony—at an individual level or with witness/togetherness and support. Shame can die and hurt can lift in safe spaces.
I hope you are finding a way through your pandemic losses and changes with the help of supportive relationships or efforts.
I have shared about the charming and imperfect labyrinth in my blog on a year living remotely. I found that walking with intention in the labyrinth space settled much for me through unnerving times.
And I am keeping at it because it seems to help. I will be walking the labyrinth of Bralorne the week of summer solstice June 2022. A seasonal time of TURNING.
And again at least twice a season, each season going forward.
My on-going invitation: Join me energetically at the labyrinth!
If you ever want to send me a word (or more) that represents aspects of your story, your losses, hurts, fears, and hopes, I will hold them safe. And then I will walk the labyrinth with intention, compassion and hope for healing. I will burn any words that come my way at the centre of the labyrinth. Releasing and letting them go.
This is a safe harbour for any and all pandemic impacts and story words.
ebruchet@protonmail.com
(email subject heading: Labyrinth)
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Share your pandemic story
The human threat response was powerfully activated during the unprecedented disruption of society. Thankfully we are coming down from that and working with new landscapes in our lives.
I believe that each of our stories matter. With the pain of my pandemic story and those close to me, we have been encouraged to find expression of these tricky pieces (eg writing in a journal, writing creatively, writing letters that will never be sent or through other creative means of sharing one’s true experience). Finding some expression and outlet has helped with clarity and integration.
These folks in the US are doing something quite wonderful—unfortunately a project just for Americans. I’m still searching for a similar project that is open to all Canadians.
U of Ottawa is offering such a process for women. Please connect if of interest.
Stay Tuned for more on important projects to record and help us take steps to better integrate this unique time in history.