What it means to Re-member

During my 5-day Roots of Compassion silent Meditation retreat I came in direct contact with what it means to re-member.  In Latin remember means to be mindful.  This poem above was read each night by everyone in our group and were the only words we uttered each of the five days, as we walked and sat and ate through 9+ hours of practice a day.

I must admit, it felt like I was cheating as I broke my vow of silence to hear my voice croak out these words each night.  And yet I took solace in the fact that the only thing I spoke aloud was this verse, this mantra.  The words invoked a memory inside me and to say I know exactly how I re-aquainted myself with my own wildness, I am unsure, but I do know it has begun.

Here’s the down and dirty of how I experienced this process—

Day 1: settling and softening the whole system 

Day 2: still settling and softening

Day 3: having found my rhythm I sink deeper into listening to the pain in my body, the questions in my mind and touching into the vast landscape of my heart.  Hit HUGE resistance today & find out the story of why.

Day 4: the door of my heart burst open…peace, deep peace

Day 5: ready to go home, not wanting to go home, just beginning to taste this wildness. Solid sense of trust that re-membering, or practicing mindfulness, can heal me and breath life into the ‘real me’ that is lying in wait beneath all the shoulds and the untruths.

Per always my sharing of my own life experience with you is part of my deepest calling to share what is real and what is good.  

What is real for me is greeting myself and the world around me each day with as much clarity, humility and kindness as possible.  What is good is knowing that I am not alone and having the honor and privilege of a 5-day retreat is just the proof one needs to know this is true.  

If you’d like to join the Mindfulness Movement I eagerly await meeting you, and all that you are, the moment we meet.  So get your buns downtown Wenatchee for a Drop-In Practice class, or for the Fall quarter of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction—starting September 28th!  

One way or the other, the re-wilding of your own life, will become known to you, and if you need company on that ride, the Meditate Wenatchee community is here for You!

I leave you with this poem to ponder for yourself. And this question, “what is stopping or blocking you from re-membering who you really are?”

With Gratitude—Kari