The Head and The Pelvis

Life is full of poles and paradoxesWisdom works within and around them allThe pole shift that brings the most clarity, the most reliefIs moving from the head to the pelvisAs my origin of experienceI love Philip Shepherd’s workDeeplyHe once told me:Don’t be aware of the pelvic bowlBe aware from the pelvic bowlAt the time it seemed unattainableBut over the years, I could orient that waySometimes more reliably than othersBut when I do, I am far more openAnd that spinal corridor between pelvic bowl and headIs alive with receptivity and awarenessWhen I orient from my skullI’m consumed by ideas, expectations and strategiesI can barely feel the spinal corridor or pelvisSwami Vivekananda said:The thinking mind is a wonderful servantAnd a terrible masterI can feel this somatically, emotionally and intellectuallyWhen I am oriented from my pelvic bowlPresence is all there isPresence that includes strength, receptivity and agencyMy whole body is included, as is my immediate environmentMy thinking mind is not running the show, but can be available to itWhen I’m oriented in my head, as my thinking mindIt very much becomes the masterAnd it’s terrible at it!Anxiety, strategy, the future, the pastVery little elseEven my immediate environment feels like a picture i’m walking throughI’m not really feeling it or engaged with itSo, during this time of challengeI’m experiencing this dance betweenIndependence and InterdependenceIn the world, in my relationship to the worldAnd in my head and pelvisHaving been an ‘in my head’ person for decadesIt really has taken a lot of practice to orient to my pelvic bowlI’ve learned dozens of practicesAnd made up hundreds moreOne visual I’ve enjoyed is a room full of geniuses in the basement(to me this basement looks a lot like Jeannie’s bottle in I Dream of Jeannie)They can expertly sort any problems the top floors are dealing withIf we’d just take the elevator downElse, we just have a bunch of unused geniusesAnd that’s a real lossIt’s taken me a couple of years to articulate what I want:To inhabit and identify as the fullness of my nervous systemSo that my whole self meets, relates to and engages with lifeMore and more I can expand into broader identificationSometimes I fail entirelyPractices require repetitionSitting with this focus just before and while writingHas been enough to fuel and secure this orientation as I continue with my daySo, thank you for bearing with meIt’s helpful This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fallingtenderly.substack.com