November 27th, 2020
By Anne Davis
Guest Writer for Wake Up World
“What you seek is seeking you” – Rumi
This quote has comforted me through many stages of my life. A lifeline reminding me that the best is yet to come, that I deserve happiness, and that I am on the right track. This phrase would course through my veins when I looked at new jobs, when I decided to move to a new town, and when I had my heart broken in a driveway in Ohio.
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Lately, the words have rolled around in my head like the spinning basket of bingo balls. They come out like this:
“Embody what you seek.”
More than a nice turn of the phrase, when we embody what we seek, we take our power back. It is a reclamation of our bodies, our minds, and our spaces. It is a claim to our lives as they are and as we want them to be. And it is an act of owning our stories. It is intention setting and then intention claiming all in one moment – this moment.
No more waiting for the trip to Europe. No more waiting for the right man or the right time or the right message from the Universe. No more looking outside of yourself to get your needs met. Are you looking for adventure? Own it. Looking for peace? Own it. Looking for love? Own that, too.
And what I say “own it”, I mean with your full body and mind. With everything you’ve got — embody that business.
Embody has two meanings according to Merriam-Webster:
- To make a part of a body or system
- To represent in physical form
And I am suggesting you do both. Let’s start with #2 because sometimes it’s easier to get real concrete.
What is it that you seek?
For me, today, right this moment – it is connection. What does it look like, smell like, taste? If it were a piece of clothing, what would ‘connection’ be? If it were an ice cream flavor, a day of the week, an icon, an image, something from nature, something from your junk drawer. Find the ‘connection’ in your life – in your mundane every-days-the-same – and give it physicality.
‘Connection’ for me, today, smells like fresh bread. It’s warm to the touch. It reminds me of coming in from the cold. ‘Connection’ is also the homemade sweater that is soft on my shoulders. It’s caramel flavored, in fact, it’s hot caramel and fudge on my sundae. It’s the small reclining Buddha figurine I found on a walk 15 years ago. It’s a bonfire right after it rages. It’s a conversation where I feel held. It’s an old journal. It’s weathered leather. It’s background music. It’s writing letters with my favorite pen. ‘Connection’ is also my feet in the dirt, steadying my breath, closing my eyes.
‘Connection’ might be and feel like a completely different set of things for you. And it might look different for me on a different day. There’s no right thing – about what it is and what it isn’t.
What is it to you? Get clear. Take your time.
And now for that second bit (#1 in the definition above): “To make it a part of a body or system.” Let’s get really literal in terms of locking it in, making it a part of who you are today. I do this thing I call taking brain photos.
It’s an exercise where you intentionally notice what comes up and then pause while you feel it saturate through your physical self (taste, touch, smell, hear, see). Once you have called attention to the feeling in the sensed experience, lock it in to your cells. Capture it with your breath or touch or your brain’s attention. Make it a part of your body.
In my ‘connection’ experience today – here’s what locking it in looked like to me:
I grabbed my reclining Buddha and sat in the chair that forms to my body. I put on the sweater my mom knitted that encompasses my whole body and is super warm. With my favorite pen, I wrote a letter to my college roommate, who I haven’t connected with in a long time. I let my heart out onto the page – didn’t hold back. As I was sitting, I let the chair and clothing hold me, I closed my eyes and let the feeling of being held sink in. I brought my hands to my heart and breathed deep. During my letter writing I felt such gratitude for the friendship with this old friend and all she meant to me. Again, closed my eyes and breathed deep, hands over my heart. Felt the warmth cascade through me.
In moments, I feel connected. I feel like just what I was looking for. Today.
About the author:
Anne has worked in healthcare for 20 years at both the micro- and macro-levels. For the last two decades, she has worked within the healthcare “system” in order to elicit improvement. Anne has expertise in health program & content development, analytics, and business operations; she works for organizations large & small, focusing on healthcare quality and care transformation.
Anne is a registered yoga teacher, a leader in meditation and breath work. She serves as the Board President for Sea Change Yoga, offering trauma informed yoga and meditation for all.
Through these efforts, both corporate and fringe, Anne realizes that the power of one’s health & wellbeing resides within. Whether on a conference call or on her mat, she strives to remind you of this with each breath.
Anne loves to run, write, and yoga with her family in Falmouth, Maine.
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