“If you're an alive body, no one can tell you how to experience the world. And no one can tell you what truth is, because you experience it for yourself.”

“...Physicality is simply a form that presence takes.”

“Loving the truth motivates me to discipline myself...love is the source of true discipline.”

Life Practices

In our culture, we get very caught up in learning new things, with the primary emphasis being on learning with our minds—we read, talk, think, and study to learn things. But in order to learn something completely, we have to include not only the mind, but also the body and heart. To do this, we have to practice. A few words about what I mean by "practice." In the past, I equated practicing with disciplining myself in order to be a good person (very congruent with my primary Type One ego). After many years, I am finally coming to understand the deeper meaning of the word discipline, related to being a disciple, or a pupil. I am a student of True Nature. I want to know who I really am, not just these self-images my ego takes itself to be. If I truly want this, then I have to practice. I have to practice being who I am, remembering who I am, not just with my head, but also in my body and heart. It's not a punishment, but a form of devotion to that which is greater than me, that which I love, that which I long to reconnect with.

I offer below some practices that help me to orient my life around learning to be more present. They support me in a practical way to remember myself and be more awake in my daily life. May you also find what supports you in your search to be more truly who you really are.

Mindfulness Bell Downloads
This is a great way to remind yourself to be more present-take a breath, sense into your body, feel into your heart, and allow your mind to clear.

• For PCs
• For Macs

Meditation
No matter how busy you are or how hard it is to sit still physically or emotionally or mentally, having a regular sitting practice is a very important part of being a student of True Nature, of devotion. It is an exploration to get to know yourself better. That's the only goal. So, if you sit for 20 minutes and your body feels uncomfortable or your heart is emoting or your mind flies everywhere, that's OK! Just notice that and you'll know a little more about yourself. And keep coming back to your breath. Over time with this practice, you will begin to feel the support of yourself, the container of your body able to hold you, there to come back to when you feel lost. This is a beautiful thing and will support you in all your other life practices.

A Meditation on the Centers
This can be done in a moment or longer, but it's a great way to re-engage with more of yourself when you feel caught up in something and need a way to come back to yourself.

At any time during the day, take a minute to breathe into your body. Feel into the ground, aliveness, and connectedness of your physical body. What do you notice in your body? What can you sense? Breathing deeply into your body will help you to become aware of more sensation, and bring your attention more into the moment.

Then let the breath move up into your heart. How is your heart right now? How does it feel affected? What sensations or feelings are there? It's all fine. Just notice what's happening and keep breathing, feeling the solidity of your body supporting your heart.

Then let the breath move up into your head. What do you notice? There may be many thoughts swirling around up there—that's OK. Just let them be there without following any of them. Note them and keep breathing, keep sensing into your head. Feel the support of your body, the openness of your heart, and allow your head space to be.

Take a last breath up from the ground, through your feet, legs, belly, up into your heart, and up into your head, sensing into and feeling yourself right now, however you are. And return to whatever you need to do in your day, bringing this sense of self-remembering with you.

Enneagram Invocation
This invocation was created by The Enneagram Institute Faculty to help us stay connected through the Enneagram teachings when we were apart. Feel free to practice it, and check out the mudras that go along with it.

I now remember that I am here and present in the moment
I am grounded, alive, and connected in my body
I am open and receptive to the truth and compassion of my heart
I am clear and awake to the stillness of Mind
I bear witness to the presence of the One

Click here for more information on the Enneagram.

Collage
One of my favorite ways to get more in touch with myself is collage. It's a great practice because you don't have to be an "artist" to do it, and you can collage with intention to explore something or to just be in the moment with what is up for you. Read more about collaging and see some of my collages here.

Poetry
I love to read some poetry every day. It wakes up something in me—joy, delight, inspiration, meaning, understanding, faith—something that I can't plan or create, that just happens.

If you'd like to receive some poetry in your email, you can sign up to be on my Poetry/Prayer List. I send out sporadic email no more than 1-2/week, but usually less.

I also offer Poetry Meditation as a Workshop or single session.

Music
Music can be a wonderful way to feel in contact with the Divine. It can remind us of our True Nature, inspire us, ground us, shake us up...whether you listen or sing or play an instrument, let music affect you!

If you already listen to music, consider expanding your repertoire and trying something different. If you always listen to rock and roll, try classical; if you always listen to soothing music, mix it up and go for something with a strong beat.

Singing is one of the ways I feel in deeper contact. I compose and perform, and have a few CDs available. You can find out more about my music here.

I also lead a form of devotional music called Singing Meditation, which is a participatory group singing practice. You can read more about that here and see my calendar for scheduled events.

Body Prayer
Part of the path of self-remembering is to own our bodies. Unfortunately, many spiritual paths tell us to leave our bodies behind, that they aren't holy, that we should be reaching for higher realms. The way I see it is that we wouldn't have been born into bodies if we weren't supposed to be in them! These bodies we live in are the vessels, the channels of the Divine/True Nature/God. What other way does True Nature have to work in this physical realm except through these hands, this body?

Adyashanti, a Zen practitioner says this: "God's eyes are the ones you are looking out of and into." Our bodies are the temples of God! And Marion Woodman calls our bodies, bodysouls. Our souls express through our bodies; our bodies are their outward expression. And the ways we have armored and patterned our bodies relate to the ways we have armored and patterned our souls.

So, I have found it really useful to do practices to help me be more embodied. The meditation practices, including the Enneagram Invocation I suggest above are examples of embodied practice. There are many other practices such as chi gung, walking meditation, yoga, dance...all of which can be done with more or less presence in the body or not. I also offer a Workshop I call Body Prayer.

Katy's Kitchen
Part of bringing my spiritual practices into my daily life is also about being aware of what I am putting into and onto my body. This is a very individual path for everyone. What has worked for me is to feel more connected to the basics, not relying on commercial products or chemicals or refined foods as much. I more or less follow the Weston Price way of food preparation that includes whole grains, whole fats (yes, butter and cream!), lacto-fermented foods, and raw dairy.

To that end, I make skin creams and mouthwash, as well as lacto-fermented foods like sauerkraut and beet kvass to aid in digestion. I also have found and created a number of bread and baked good recipes that include soaking the grains before cooking them, a process that makes the nutrition of the food more available to our bodies.

I offer one-on-one sessions or classes on how to prepare these foods and products.

A Parting Blessing
I learned this metta-prayer (from the Buddhist tradition) from my yoga teacher, and I say it at the end of my meditation practice. Really, we could say it at the end of any conscious practice session:

For More Information
Please check the calendar, contact Katy or join the Life Practices email list for more information or to find out about future workshops.