This spring has offered me many new experiences…
- It has included interviews and conversations leading to radioshow and podcasts.
- It has included receiving a common last name with my wife.
- It has included looking for and finding a new home.
- It has included my chest opening up in new ways after coughing and being sore.
- It will include my first article in the Mindfulness Bell as a husband, a teacher with hair. (I was a munk for 18 years and offered several articles during that time.)
- It has included clarity to go to Plum Village in June for the Love is Freedom – Earth Retreat, my first trip back to a Plum Village practice center after disrobing soon three years ago.
Life is a process, a dynamic changing stream, it is like a garden. Depending of what we sow and water, our garden will grow. We have certain plants, seeds and soil composition in our garden already, we have a momentum leading in a certain direction. Is this direction in line with my deep heart and purpose?
It has been clear to me since last spring that to lay a solid foundation in my personal life is priority, establishing myself more firmly back in Sweden and in my relationship. This has meant that I have been careful not to engage too much or create too many events since then. You can call this selective watering. This cultivation has helped me learn new things, experiencing love and wellbeing more deeply and has naturally opened up for new engagements. This spring I was capable, open and willing to say Yes.
Recently I spent a couple of hours under a magestic tree, in a park on a calm, clear and sunny morning. Sitting under the tree my own connection with the Earth was strengthened, just by sitting there with my back close to the trunk of the tree. Feeling the connection with my body and the ground, the tree roots helped me to go deeper, to feel more stable and grounded. I also sensed the tree trunk and branches reaching upward and my back and head followd suit. This continued as I stood up and did qigong under this loving canopy. We live our life in a verticle way much like a tree much of the day, we are naturally connected to the Earth and Sky. To become aware of and nurture this connection down and up opens up a whole new level of flow and possibilities.
When conditions are sufficient manifestation happens, nothing comes from nothing or nowhere, it arises from consciousness, when ripe. From a plant, the bud appears and all of a sudden the flower opens, the splendour and beauty that was already in the plant, it´s nature, blossom. What beauty inside of me is ripening getting ready to blossom?
Here are some of the aspects of my flowering this spring:
Down with the Dharma, podcast episode from March 2023
I had a lovely conversation with fellow former monk brothers in the Plum Village tradition John and Dat. This conversation focused on our process of leaving Plum Village and monastic life and how we found our way from there. Here it is for all to enjoy!
Meditation Course – Full Awareness of Breathing
Now and then friends in the US ask me to offer teaching in English. Time and space allowed this to happen and this online course appreared. We had a first lovely session in May, with focus on breath and body. The course continues this Sunday with breath and feelings in the foreground. You can join along the way of this four session journey, you get access to the recorded previous sessions. Learn more or join!
This summer I will go to a couple of spiritual festivals here in Sweden, where meditation, music, community, yoga, workshops and more threads weave together a beautiful web of love and growth. Summer here is a time to be outside a lot, connecting with nature and people. How will you nourish yourself and blossom this summer?
Joyful and loving greetings Jem