Whose Story Are You Living?
Our Mentoring Circle for July focused on the theme of scripting our stories around choices born out of paying deep attention to what makes us come alive. Our guest expert, Pooja Shahani, introduced us to the concept of using our body as a guide to tap into awareness that transcends the conventional ways of knowing.
As we live our lives, we go through various phases, each of which shapes the story of our lives. We’d like the themes of these stories to be dictated by the essence of who we are deep down. Yet, there are several instances, when chapters of the story of our lives, are influenced by those around us.
How do we then, filter out the noise and let go of narratives we didn’t actively choose? Pooja suggests we tap into the intelligence that resides within our bodies.
The body is a device to calculate the astronomy of the spirit; look through that astrolabe and become ocean
– Rumi
They say, every event that we go through is recorded within the archives of our cells. Our conscious minds may jettison the event, but our bodies remember. Pooja explained that while we make crucial decisions that are shaping our life stories, our body can provide us physical cues on what will work well for us, provided we are willing to listen to it.
Pooja walked us through a simple exercise for tapping into the wisdom of our bodies. The exercise involved starting with a couple of calm deep breaths, bringing to mind, memory of a time when we felt alive, full of energy and vibrance. While present with the memory, we brought our attention to what the memory evoked in our bodies and what it feels like? After staying with the experience for a couple of minutes, we expressed ourselves through colors on a sheet of plain paper. This process of anchoring helped us connect with what our bodies feel like when we are aligned with what we love. It was a powerful process of befriending our brilliant ally – our body.
Thank you Pooja, for teaching us how to reconnect with our internal compass.
