One of our offerings at the Cave is Effiji Breathwork. Effiji means to lovingly remove the mask. My role as a practitioner is to lovingly be in relationship with the breather while that mask comes off. It’s sometimes uncomfortable living as our true selves when we’ve been so used to reacting from patterns developed to protect us and hiding behind those masks for so long. In the 2019 Festival of Faiths Sacred Cosmos: Faith and Science, many of the topics revolved around relationship: relationship with the earth, relationship to spirituality, and relationship to one another. As Mother’s Day recently concluded, I recognize the gift of my most intimate relationships on earth, and am so grateful I’m able to be in them with greater presence than ever.
These people, those closest to me, were my "why" behind diving into Effiji Breathwork. My teachers would say that relationships offer the place to practice deep self-discovery. I’ve done my best as a daughter, wife, mother, friend and neighbor but in an effort to be successful in the way I was raised to believe success was measured, I’ve worn a lot of masks. The only way for me to truly show up is to take off my mask so I interact as my vulnerable self and am fully available to those I’m in relationship with.
During the Festival, Dr. Vivek Murthy gave the example of how relationships have taken a back seat to work. Accomplishment and reputation are emphasized over people - one may receive praise for moving across the country for a career advancement, but likely wouldn’t receive the same praise for moving across the country to be in relationship.
What the? Who have we become?
Mary Evelyn Tucker stated that we are moving from a Declaration of Independence toward a Declaration of Interdependence incorporating Ecology, Justice and Peace. Good news, right?!? She referred to the concentric circle model of Confucius in her presentation.
“Only when personal lives are cultivated are families regulated; only when families are regulated are states governed; only when states are governed is there peace all under Heaven. Therefore from the Son of Heaven to the common people, all, without exception, must take self-cultivation as the root”
Dr. Murphy closed the hour, focusing on the structures that affect loneliness. He said, “There is nothing I have ever prescribed that is as powerful as love." WOW. Read that again. What a powerful statement.
I try to wake up and pray to follow God’s lead every morning - I believe my role on this earth is to lead in Love. Being available and vulnerable is an ongoing effort, and most notable in those relationships closest to me, but the potential for what life has in store if I do this is beyond my dreams. As Andrea Lane sang in church recently, “Take off your mask, I can see you anyway”.
These people, those closest to me, were my "why" behind diving into Effiji Breathwork. My teachers would say that relationships offer the place to practice deep self-discovery. I’ve done my best as a daughter, wife, mother, friend and neighbor but in an effort to be successful in the way I was raised to believe success was measured, I’ve worn a lot of masks. The only way for me to truly show up is to take off my mask so I interact as my vulnerable self and am fully available to those I’m in relationship with.
During the Festival, Dr. Vivek Murthy gave the example of how relationships have taken a back seat to work. Accomplishment and reputation are emphasized over people - one may receive praise for moving across the country for a career advancement, but likely wouldn’t receive the same praise for moving across the country to be in relationship.
What the? Who have we become?
Mary Evelyn Tucker stated that we are moving from a Declaration of Independence toward a Declaration of Interdependence incorporating Ecology, Justice and Peace. Good news, right?!? She referred to the concentric circle model of Confucius in her presentation.
“Only when personal lives are cultivated are families regulated; only when families are regulated are states governed; only when states are governed is there peace all under Heaven. Therefore from the Son of Heaven to the common people, all, without exception, must take self-cultivation as the root”
Dr. Murphy closed the hour, focusing on the structures that affect loneliness. He said, “There is nothing I have ever prescribed that is as powerful as love." WOW. Read that again. What a powerful statement.
I try to wake up and pray to follow God’s lead every morning - I believe my role on this earth is to lead in Love. Being available and vulnerable is an ongoing effort, and most notable in those relationships closest to me, but the potential for what life has in store if I do this is beyond my dreams. As Andrea Lane sang in church recently, “Take off your mask, I can see you anyway”.
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