What is Embodiment?
Em - Bodied: To be present, centered in one's body.
An ancient way of being, one that has been held within traditions across the globe and is now re-emerging into collective consciousness as a movement away from the overly patriarchal, mind-over-matter worldview that has been largely adopted in industrialized worlds, and into a more holistic, aligned way of living.
Embodiment is the natural state of being for us human beings. It is not a novel idea, but it also is not a call to "go back to the way things were." Instead, it is a call to deepen into all of the wisdom that is available to us in these modern times, and with it, to cultivate an internal state in which we are more grounded, centered, and aligned than humanity has ever been.
It does not take many words to point you to how disastrous our overly industrialized, mind over matter worldview has caused pain and suffering. What might take more convincing is the path that I offer us out of it:
- One that grounds us more fully into our humanity, and into the earthly nature of who we are
- One that brings us into deeper alignment with our highest potential (as individuals, but more importantly, as a human collective)
- One that continues to improve upon the power of the mind, just as it brings the mind into humble connection with the full wisdom of the body
- One that enables each of us to be in a greater state of presence: in tune with reality as it is unfolding such that we can skillfully be discerning our way through it all; and, so that we can more fully enjoy each moment for the gifts that each moment brings, and in doing so, come to that heaven is really here, on Earth, and is an experience that can be embodied, here and now
This is The Embodied Path, and it is with this website, including the free teaching material, the courses, and the 1:1 work, that I hope to open doors for you to pursue it:
So you may become more grounded, centered, aligned, and present to what matters more than ever before
Join me on this journey. I promise, each step of it all will be worth it:
- For you
- For the whole of life on Planet Earth
The Embodied Path: Foundations and Key Principles
- You, as a sovereign human being, are part of a greater whole - a web of life - that spans the whole of Planet Earth. You are not separate from it. More than this, you are interwoven with it, such that all that unfolds within is directly in connection to that which unfolds "out there."
- With this perspective, you are free to work within self, through a mind/body connection that has you exploring your inner realms in an effort to heal, and to otherwise transform in a way such that you bring more light into your embodied experience (light- as in, greater wisdom, peace, abundance, compassion, and all those highest of qualities we are seeking)
- With this perspective, you are free to work outside of self, whether this is in 1:1 relationship, family, community, work, volunteering, service, connection to animals, connection to ecosystems, etc. The point is, when you are in relationship to life outside of self, you are entering opportunities to bring more light (or more pain, shadow, darkness, etc.) into this world. This brings us into our next point.
- You, as a sovereign human being, have the power to impact this world every moment of every day. Being here means that you are in resonance and agreement with the intention to be a light to this world, and that as you enter into each and every moment of your existence, you are hoping to make things better for all of life. To further explain, this means that the intention to tear self or others down for the sake of egoic means is no longer accepted. Here, we hold self and all of life with the intention to lift, to rise, or to otherwise ascend to our highest good.
- With this perspective, you recognize that the intention to hurt others is in direct conflict to the directive, and therefore, and intention to hurt others is an experience to bring awareness to, and further, provides an opportunity for healing.
- With this perspective, you recognize that healing is always a choice worth pursuing.
- As With, So Without. Because you are interwoven with the whole web of life, and because you hold the highest intention to lift up all of life, you recognize that no action can be down to . As I write this section, recognize that this is not an easy principle to understand. The fact that humanity has spent thousands of years pitted against one another, and the fact that modern, industrialized culture is hyper-individualized and preaches egoic pursuit for one's own gain as a competitive model - well, this means that our minds might just have some work to do before we can all envision a reality in which:
- An action that serves the whole is always in alignment with an action that serves Self.
- An action that serves Self is always in alignment with an action the serves the whole.
The Embodied Path: Key States & Skills to be Embodied
The follows outlines the central states that we get to focus on cultivating as we take each step along The Embodied Path. Know that this short list of states is not all-encompassing, but what they do is to set a strong foundation for everything else we do!
As you begin to learn these key states, I invite you to not just think about them in your head, but to feel them in your body. It is the way these feel in your body, and the way that these feelings connect you to your lived experience, that matter.
- Grounding
- Center (similarly, Inner Stillness)
- Alignment
- Discernment
- Presence (Awareness)
The idea for this section is to speak to the key skills to be developed, and those higher states that we wish to embody. A note before jumping into this section: the above list shows 5 skills and states that we get to focus on during our work together. This is not inclusive of the full range of embodiment or spiritual skills and states that we get to work on, but with these 5 you do encompass a holistic range of skills and states that will set you up for all else. Notice that I have added two extra qualities in parentheses, as these are similar skills/states, and they add to the conversation below.
A second note on the use of "skills" and "states" is to speak to the fact that, most of the above terms can be used for either:
- a skill, being something you are becoming better at with the intention that it will help you, and it will help you to make the world a better place
- a state, being an embodied experience
For example, grounding is a skill that you can call upon with intention, but it is also a state that you can lean into, or experience spontaneously.
As the second example, the ability to live life centered, with a level of inner stillness (with calm, lack of chaos, and often clarity being similar characteristics) is a skill to be cultivated. Meanwhile, you may also naturally experience times of feeling centered, and you may lean into this state so that you may experience more of it.
I say this because I want you to understand that each of our foundational skills and states that we are developing here at ForestBody may be used in different ways:
- Grounding as a practice; Grounding as a state being cultivated
- Stillness as a practice; Stillness as a state being cultivated
- etc.
I also say this, because it helps us lean into this next point:
The states and skills we are developing are interwoven and interdependent. They are not necessarily learned in a linear method, but instead, cultivated as you follow your own path through the healing and growth that you are ready for.
Let's break this apart.
First, recognize that the five key states and skills written above are not separate, distinct experiences, but actually have a large amount of overlap. For example:
- Grounding can be practiced directly and intentionally, such as in my favorite Deep Roots Guided Meditation. When this meditation is practiced, there is a significant amount of presence and inner stillness that is also being cultivated. From this space, alignment, then discernment may arise.
- Finding center, or cultivating Inner stillness can be practiced directly and intentionally, such as by doing a thought-based or breath-based meditation. When this meditation is practiced, there is a significant amount of presence that is being cultivated. However, a breath-based meditation may be far more grounding than a thought-based one.
- Alignment practices are invoked to bring multiple parts of self into connection, and therefore, to bring you into more skillful alignment. This being said, every time you skillfully work on any part of self, you are already moving into deeper alignment. (note, I say "skillfully work on any part of self" because it is possible to devote too much time and energy into one aspect, and therefore cause a great imbalance, which in turn will move you out of alignment).
Second, recognize that there is no "correct order" to follow to pursue these skills and states. What I mean is, you do not have to do 1 to then get to 2, to then get to 3, and so on.
In actuality, The Embodied Path is less like a strict path to be followed and more like a garden to be cultivated. The "path" part of the framing speaks to the journey that you, yourself, gets to walk as you take each step. But this path is winding. It is a spiral. You are allowed to take steps forward, then back.
But you are not following the same exact footsteps as others. Although, you are, of course, free to take note of the footsteps made my others, and choose to follow (or to go your own way), which is a skill encompassed by the term discernment.
As you take each step, you are creating a life of your own that is your own beautiful creation. As you become more aligned and discerning, you come to live a life that is more authentic to your true nature, and in turn, you experience the joy and fulfillment that you are here to embody.
The Best Way to Navigate This Website: Guidance for Cultivating Your Fundamentals
Given everything said on this page, there are two things I want you to take away.
The first is that your spiritual path is your own. It is not something to copy/paste from someone else's version of what needs to be done. Instead, it is your path to walk, and you can walk it with more skill, more grace, more joy, more peace, and all those good things as you take each step forward.
This being said, guidance along your path is essential. Not so you can skip on the important lesson that is cultivating your own discernment, but because as human beings, we are meant to be deeply and powerfully connected.
The second is that your spiritual path is interwoven with the whole of life here on Planet Earth. The ancient adage is true: "As within, so without."
When you work on Self, you are working with The Greater Whole.
When you turn your attention to The Greater Whole, you cannot pretend that every aspect of Self is also present and being worked.
Combined, what this means is that, at any moment on your path through it all, you get to choose:
- to focus on Self
- to focus on The Greater Whole
As you do, know that, really, it's all the same thing.
This let's you let go of any b.s. idea of selfishness. If it is truly in serve to you, then it is truly in service to the whole. If it is truly in service to the whole, then it is serving you (at least in a soulful and spiritual way... even if your ego temporarily disagrees).
I say all of this, because my highest guidance for you is that you follow your intuition as it leads you through this work.
Allow your intuition to take you into the practices that speak to you. Allow your power of will to hold you to the fire when things become challenging (yet you know that you are working towards cultivating a higher state).
Feel free to jump around. Again, there is no right or wrong way to do things here. I mean, sure, there are better ways and worse ways, which is why I am here as your guide and teacher (and why I offer 1:1 sessions so that we can be in direct communication).
However, as long as you hold the power of your sovereignty, the devotion to your spiritual growth, and the knowing that guidance is here when you need it, then I know that you will thrive in this space.