Digesting Our Lives
Periodically, I go through waves of life (personal and in support of others) in which I really remember the simplest expressions of the path— the down on the ground, simple metaphors for how to walk on the path of humaning in a good way—one that allows and invites vitality, balance, harmony, depth and joy. One in which our human bodies and souls emerge in presence, generative creating, and enjoying our lives.
As I have sat in a handful of conversations with people in the last weeks, talking about ceremonial healing work with plants and sound, and what it offers—the biggest metaphor arising is that this space allows us time to DIGEST our human experiences.
Digestion in our physical bodies only occurs well when we can slow down, chew well, and arrive at a pace in which the parasympathic nervous system (and the rest and digest function) can actually receive the nourishment of a meal, a hug, a word of love.
When we are moving at a rapid pace, one in which we are consuming more (food, media, experience) than our bodies can adequately digest, we end up with a backlog (mentally, emotionally and physically) of material that begins to rot from deep within us.
Sometimes, too, the experiences of grief, loss, expansion, terror—they are too much to process alone, and they take time. A single experience of deep loss may take us months and months to digest, integrate and release—even when. we are bringing our attention to it, and receiving regular, supportive, loving care.
The truth is, most of simply need to move at a much slower pace in our lives—one that allows us to meet, digest, integrate and release our human experiences (and our food!) so that we actually receive the nourishment, depth, and meaning of this life.
Sometimes, when I sit with people, they become aware that what they are investing in, in sessions, is the space and time to slow down, and to have a loving witness to their lives. Together, we can create a space where the parasympathetic nervous system can come back online— then, the intelligence of their bodies can begin to defragment and rearrange their experiences, and start too make meaning of and orientation to what is happening on all levels of their being.
With the amount of media, environmental toxins, and. news we all consume, added to the everyday reality of being a human on Earth, with its experiences of birth, death, loss, work, and parenting—we need space to digest.
There are, too, herbs (burdock, dandelion) and amino acids and enzymes (TUDCA, glutathione), and practices (skin brushing, lymphatic massage, castor oil packs), that support our bodies in releasing the excess burdens on our digestive systems, so that we are more capacitated to digest and release all that we consume.
And so that we can arrive, new, alive, and open with each moment of our human experience, no bearing the burden of carry what is old and dead. In this way, we receive our daily bread, and let go of the rest. And we know that it is enough.
It is simple, really—and the devotion of our lives—to walk in this way. It is the way we access the depth, nourishment, presence and satiation for which we so deeply long.
And so it is.
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If you are long for the sacred space to digest your human experience or to more deeply receive the nourishment of your life, I am here.
Starting next week, I will have a space available for a package of sessions (3 or more) for shamanic healing work, or counseling/ integration (please reach out to jane@iamjanemayer.com coordinate). I have single sessions available in November – January before I head offline again for retreat.
If you are longing for a more deeply held ceremonial healing space, there are a few options available in the next 6 months (please reach out to me directly for more information)–
THIS MONTH –
DECEMBER through MARCH —
Private Ceremony (Dec / Jan), here in Birmingham (1 space open)
Group day-long plant meditation with my husband Richy on Saturday, January 3
7-Day Medicine immersion in Spain with Shipibo Elders
If there is anything else your heart desires, please reach out and I’ll either find a way to support you, or connect you to someone in my web of magic makers who can guide you.
All my love,
Jane
