30th September Healing session with Paul and Shamshad for GMSC
Equinox and Autumn Healing Session blog written by Shamshad
This is a reflection on our Equinox and Autumn healing session. It gives a taster of what sorts of things we do in these sessions and the benefits to us all of sharing in this way. You may want to try out some of the activities or reflect on your own on the themes we explored.
Hope you enjoy the read.
Informed by the season and time of year, we focused on the equinox and autumn. Paul reminded us that equinox is when there is equal light and darkness in a day: “It is a key transition point in the year, it’s about being in balance, preparing to go into the darkness for the next 6 months, preparing to let things go (like trees do with their leaves) and harvesting anything within us that has come to fruition over the summer.”
Just hearing these words is a lot to absorb. I encouraged us to take in the words and acknowledge any emotional reaction to what we had heard.
First we allowed ourselves to really slow down and connect with our own bodies and breath, and then connected with the theme. We breathed deeply together. We checked in with the group by sharing how we were coming in; we touched on some health disappointments, sniffles of frustration and latent sadness. We were all invited to give our thoughts a gentle nudge to balance the difficult stuff with a positive reflection. It was humbling to try this together; good to see each others’ faces light up as we saw the first glimmer of a silver lining to a thought cloud.
This practice was used, because our emotions are guides and can be used to help us come more into wellbeing and balance. Whilst positive thoughts can lift our moods and release hormones that can boost and support our immune system, there is a balance to be struck here between sharing authentically and building healthier thought habits. I’m learning with practice what this sweet spot is for me and how powerful a tool this is for group work when taken step by step. Used sensitively it is wholesome and nourishing, acknowledging and gently working the difficulties we might be handling towards feeling better. We all got a lot from our first go at trying this together.
The period of equinox and autumn is a great way to explore how we can balance, heal and journey through change. The next task was to remember how autumn makes us feel, to share a strong childhood or recent memory. We saw blazing autumn leaves, a life time allegiance with trees; we shared in the joy of a boy gathering and stringing conkers with his father, we smelt the deep earthy breath of rotting leaves, we felt the dark nights isolate us, before they brought us together again for a winter gathering.
We were able to see how autumn for some of us was a heavy bag and for others, clearly their favourite seasonal satchel. Either way, there were things we heard that resonated with all of us in our experience as humans. The empathy and kind attention made us feel accepted and connected us a bit more.
The healing sessions are helped because there is already a trust in the GM SC culture and those of us associated with it. We are able to build on this to create a safer space for us to learn to connect with ourselves and to build deeper trust with each other. With an intimate group we were able to reflect back to each other with a tenderness; weaving together our unique autumn healing landscape.
Paul followed by leading us through a visualisation; I found myself standing under a sycamore tree from my childhood. Beautiful drumming and guidance encouraged us to think of the theme of equinox and something we are not currently in balance with in our lives, e.g. confidence. We choose something we are not feeling confident about or we want to be different. As with earlier exercises the link was to only lightly touch on this, then to let that go. Like a tree letting go of its leaves, they fall to the ground to be broken down. Then we were guided to imagine the feeling of balance and to imagine feeling for example, confident and to allow that feeling to build. With our eyes closed and with the deep tones and changing rhythm of the drum we went deeper. Intuitively Paul guided us to send out an arrow of this confidence and our balanced self forwards. The drumming stopped just as soon as we had established our own encouraging pathway ahead. We all felt lighter.
After the drumming visualisation we had a brief check out and feedback. It was clear that the session had done wonders for us all. Calm, community and trust. There were big questions, suggestions and realisations: “how do I heal myself?”; healing in a group can be an important part”; “it can help my healing to be in community.” “profound”. “next time can we focus more on energy shifts?” We all committed to taking ourselves into nature, not needing much persuasion of the importance of self care, but reminded of the benefits of a shared journey and healing in community.
The practices we explore together are uniquely adapted and inspired by each person who attends. We’d love you to come and join in if you can:
The theme for the next sessions will include embracing the darkness, noticing energy levels, using our emotions as guides.
The next Healing on-line sessions are:
- 10am- 12 noon, Monday 11th November
- 10am -12 noon, Monday 9th December
Please contact Paul to let us know if you’d like to attend.
It’s helpful if you book a place in advance, but you are welcome to just come along on the day.