New Mexico report

[Guest guest]

Hi Friends,

 

I enjoyed Xan's report on the Gangaji silent retreat, so I thought I

would try to share with you some of the insights I gleaned from two

weeks of training to be a holotropic breathwork facilitator. Whew!

That's hard work!!! And these are courageous people. I felt much as I

did at the Diamond Hill retreat, surrounded by honesty and beauty. For

those who don't know, holotropic breathwork is a fairly intense

breathing practice, wherein one breaths deeply and rapidly for about 3

hours while listening to loud evocative music. The work is done with a

partner, who witnesses, and some facilitators who provided body work as

required and who create a safe container for the process. We each

breathed (and sat) 4 times during the two weeks, listened to lectures on

the practice, and during the second week experienced a number of rituals

(eg the creation of a sacred outdoors altar, and a moon drumming

ceremony) related to shamanism.

 

I arrived full of puppylike enthusiasm, and left somewhat sobered, but

more deeply committed to the work. I was directly and deeply challenged

by my own playing of the victim game, and I am more than ever committed

to dismantling it. I also was struck by the beauty and wisdom of our

Indian visitor David from Chile. He is a native Chilean (sorry I didn't

catch the name of his tribe) from the mountanous north of Chile. He's

soft spoken and very deep and compassionate. He taught us several of

his peoples' dances and took us outdoors to express our gratitude to

Mother Earth. This was a central theme to my experience here, deepening

my appreciation for the planet and learning of my need to be here, to be

part of this grand thing called life on Earth. I learned that the

Lakota's speak not of 6 directions, but 7, the seventh being the

center. I was having a good deal of difficulty being grounded and

present during a talk by a Lakota elder, and a lovely woman in the

training, who had a spiritual emergency a few years back and who had

been helped by the Lakota, sat with me and helped me stay in my body.

It is clear that I have been tryinng to flee my body and my

Earth-existence for years. I acknowledge that I made a contract to be

here and to serve the human race by my presence and so here I am. I am

grateful to Gienee for gently bringing me back into my body. My

breathworks involved a good deal of tonglen for the other breathers in

the room, and I was given a lesson in the difference between doing

tonglen and being tonglen during my first breathwork. It was so

wonderful when the trying fell away and was replaced by being. I also

had fun being the archetype of death and then seeing the joy of the game

of living and dying and living and dying that we are so keen to play.

Finally, I separated my shoulder during the first week and reseparating

it during the 3rd breathwork enabled me to break through into the

emotional pain I have around my brother's difficult life path and I was

able to release a good deal of stored up pain. I feel much lighter

after my two weeks.

 

There was quite a lot else as well, but these seem the most salient

details for now.

 

I'm glad to be back, and I fully support Mary's efforts on my financial

behalf. Please send cash. Lots of it. I promise boat rides to the most

supportive.

 

LOve, Mark