A cool thing happens when you befriend what is here. You tune into the moment and there is a sensation of expansion and becoming one with life. That is at least how I experience it! Here are a couple of examples from this summer to illustrate what I am talking about. It involves awareness and going deeper into life and this moment.
One morning in July I came early to a game of tennis. I thought it would be wise to use the time to move my spine to prepare for forehands and backhands. Suddenly, without planning to, it was as if I was meeting my spine, my friend! By placing awareness on my spine I was saying “Hello, how are you? I am waking you up!”. I have been practising yoga and doing spinal movements for several years but this was new. I realised it was the first time I truly befriended my spine. I was 100% tuned right into the centre of my body and could see and feel my spine moving. The experience left me surprised and uplifted.
Later in the summer I was in the South of France. I go every year and every day I am there I go swimming. I love moving in the water and also listening to the sounds that come as I move my hands through the water. Although I have been bringing presence to my swimming on many occasions, I don’t think I have ever fully engaged with the water. And then it happened. I was out swimming and the idea came to me to befriend the water around my body. It immediately gave me a new experience. I became part of the water. We were tuned in together. There was no separation. I felt kindness, support and warmth. It was as if I suddenly got it (= the whole point of life).
Befriending what is here might not come naturally to us in adult life but it is worth going there. Practising mindfulness meditation is a good start. The body scan meditation offers an opportunity to befriend the body and links the body with the head so you come into more wholeness. We are all whole and enough as we are although we so easily forget! Mindfulness breathing meditations help tune in to the breath and befriend it. The breath is always here for you, supporting you throughout your life, in any situation you are in. It is like having an invisible friend within. It has served me many times.
I believe that separateness triggers stress and fear, and that befriending opens for wholeness and love. Perhaps you would like to start befriending what is here and see what happens? You could follow a guided breath or body scan meditation, practise yoga or spend time in nature. Any of the above will allow for more befriending, love and sense of wholeness in your life.
