Awareness in the Sanctuary 2022 - Yearning - 1 - Inner Vision
Awareness in the Sanctuary 2022 - Yearning - 1 - Inner Vision
Body-Based Meditations to align with that which we yearn for
"ReEducating the Eyes" from the Esalen Series
The seed planted deep.
Guided by an inner vision,
Tuned to a still, small voice,
With the heart as the compass,
And the back’s strength,
The seed, the body,
Seeks its sun.
This “Yearning” series begins with the inner vision. Envisioning our desires is our first step in aligning with them. This lesson explores how the eyes organize the body, and how “opening” the eyes help us notice where our desire is already present and where we lose sight of it. Rabbi Donna Kirshbaum’s introduction grounds this exploration in Jewish wisdom.
“What might your yearning reveal to you about the world as you most dream it could be?
And are you willing to allow yourself to be changed: by opening up to your deepest yearnings, and by letting yourself hope that they might come true?”
The eyes move and focus, affecting the entire body. Close your eyes to track how smoothly you look forward, back, side to side, and to sense how the entire body shifts with the movement.
Our culture has pushed us to more narrowly focused states, we rarely use our panoramic vision – but in nature, we wouldn’t focus on a single leaf, we’d look at the tree.
For this lesson, bring forth an image that represents your desire. For me, it's a beam of light breaking through clouds. For you, it might be a loved one, a place, an object; most important is that it is an image you can 'see' in your mind’s eye. That image will be your talisman to where your path is clear, and where it is not; what you can see and what is hiding in plain sight.
Awareness Through Movement® is Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais’ life work and gift to humanity. The practice is a form of body-based meditation of simple, small, and extreme low-impact movements. Enjoy these lessons as a gift from Bethlehem Hebrew Congregation to our friends and neighbors.
The BHC summer Feldenkrais series, Awareness in the Sanctuary, is in its fifth year. Lessons are appropriate for people of all abilities, body types, levels of fitness, faiths and spiritual orientations. Led by BHC member and Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner® Jacki Katzman with special introductions by Rabbi Donna Kirshbaum.
Lessons are free. Please consider a donation to Bethlehem Hebrew Congregation. Suggested donation $15/lesson. Send checks to Bethlehem Hebrew Congregation, PO Box 395, Bethlehem NH 03574. Or online.
Align your senses and body with your inner sun, Thursdays in July, 9:30 AM, in the BHC Sanctuary and by Zoom (register here):
July 7 - Lesson 1: Inner vision
July 14 - Session 2: Inner voice
July 21 - Session 3: Inner compass
July 28 - Session 4: Inner alignment