Spring is my season. Perhaps it’s because I was born in May, but I love the idea that everything is waking up, coming alive again. But in our Roaring Fork Valley, spring is tricky. One minute we’re seeing bright colors popping up from the soil and we’re peeling off layers and hopping on our bikes, and the next, the skies darken, the clouds roll in, and the temps plummet from the 70s to the 20s. Toss in cosmic curveballs; planetary alignments, eclipses, and retrogrades, it’s no wonder emotions run high.
For those tuned in, it can feel magical, charged with possibility, allowing us to break through blocks and step into who we want to be. For others, it can feel as though one is standing in the middle of a freeway, chaotic, with everything coming at us, requiring all of our internal reserves just to stay centered. I often wonder what this does to our biology. Just as our bodies begin to awaken from the long winter slumber, we’re hit with another blast of cold, and like the flowers, we droop. And then, we rally, slapping back on our skis and getting in it, which we know is the best way to embrace it. We appreciate how lucky we are to live here and that our valley doesn’t follow a script and that even though it feels like January cold, the light is different, the snow is different, and the air whispers of spring.
I've written about Meghan Gilroy and my transformative mini retreat at her ranch in Paonia. As often happens, when I need support the right person tends to appear just at the right time. I was struggling with the inability to envision the future of my work. I felt disconnected. Within four hours of visiting Meghan she helped me to to uncover the core of my issues buried deep within me. With a combination of gentle energy clearing and skillful inquiry, she helped me to step into the light.
The pivotal moment came when Meghan asked what my earliest memory of experiencing trauma was. I moment in time instantaneously flashed into focus but it didn't seem that big of a deal. That small dismissal was the key to what was holding me back. What I had minimized all these years was, in fact, the root of something that had been quietly blocking my growth and progress. I felt light and was so empowered by Meghan that I invited her to lead a session at True Nature Healing Arts so I could bring her work to my community.
Internal Family Systems
Richard Schwartz began his career as a systemic family therapist and an academic. Grounded in systems thinking, Dr. Schwartz developed Internal Family Systems (IFS) in response to clients’ descriptions of various parts within themselves. He focused on the relationships among these parts and noticed that there were systemic patterns to the way they were organized across clients. He also found that when the clients’ parts felt safe and were allowed to relax, the clients would experience spontaneously the qualities of confidence, openness, and compassion that Dr. Schwartz came to call the Self. He found that when in that state of Self, clients would know how to heal their parts. As it was and story continues with my invited Meaghan to share her wisdom with my community at True Nature Healing Arts. I hadn’t seen Meaghan since my 26 wedding anniversary this past September. I tied a healing mini-retreat with Meaghan into a romantic anniversary weekend staying at our friend’s beautiful ranch in Hotchkiss.Richard C. Schwartz, PHD
Meeting Meghan Gilroy
We sat in a circle in the Kiva, a sacred structure built by a team of more than 300 artisans and experts was said to have originated with the Ancestral Puebloans.
… The kiva is fully equipped with stage-quality light and sound systems—in addition to yoga, meditation, and community events, the Shantays plan to host artistic performances—and each spa treatment room has its own shower and tub. To help counteract the effects of so much activity, a feng shui expert was called on to help cultivate positive energy. In addition, all of the wiring was shielded, and fiberglass (instead of steel) rebar was used to cut down on electromagnetic frequencies; solid wood doors and board-formed concrete walls help dampen sound; and walls that are slightly angled outward help channel noise toward sound-absorbing acoustic panels. The building’s partially subterranean siting also adds to the tranquility, though it incorporates as much natural light as possible via a skylight and upper windows facing the four cardinal directions, each with a large crystal placed in front of it.
Allison Patillo – Aspen Sojourner
The energy was calming as the April snow softly dumped big flakes onto the purple Crocus in the gardens outside and Meghan led an anchored soul-led conversation to tap better into ourselves, followed by a shamanic journey guiding us to find out what our soul is asking of us. She told us how our soul speaks in symbols and led us to observe the images and feelings that arose while on the journey. At the end we went around the circle and gave our reveals and what seemed synonymous was the clarity we all felt with what we needed to do next, and the importance of bringing in mentors, guides, and support systems to help us navigate the parts of life that drain our energy, so that we may better pour ourselves into what lights us up.
Spring is the perfect season to recommit to integrity, not just in our professional lives, but in how we care for our bodies and minds. For me, that means doing my best to practice mindful eating (I’m mindful that I like to eat corn chips), staying hydrated, creating spaciousness for meditation, and getting quiet enough to hear what our bodies are asking for (baby steps). A little discipline helps and taking on one thing at a time, which I believe begins with keeping our phones outside our rooms at night so we are not on them before going to asleep, or in the mornings.
This spring, I invite you to join me in that rhythm simply by taking quiet time each morning to ask your body and soul what they need from you, start listening. And then, just like the flowers do each spring, begin again.
