Women’s Potential Explorer

On the 7th March I attended a Full Moon Sound Bath with my precious friend San, with the beautiful Mariah Boyer facilitating. The sound bath was held on a beach in Darwin, which added an extra element of natural beauty and peacefulness to the experience. It was windy, humid, and the sun was setting entwined in clouds. I could hear the frogs ‘ribbiting’. The experience was fully immersive.

Full Moon Sound Bath is a meditative experience that uses sound vibrations to help calm the mind and promote relaxation. We lay down and Mariah used her singing bowls, to create a soothing and immersive soundscape.

As the sound bath bowls were played, the vibrations would have resonated through my body, helping to release tension and promote a sense of calm and relaxation. The sound vibrations had a cleansing effect, helping to clear any blockages or negative energy from the body and promote a sense of well-being.

The Full Moon can be associated with new beginnings and fresh starts, attending a Full Moon Sound Bath is invigorating and inspiring. The sound vibrations can help to awaken the senses and promote a sense of renewal, allowing you to feel refreshed and energized. This was my experience.

I had never attended a breathwork meditation before. It was an Ananda Mandala Meditation. It was intense, and at times painful, however overall an extremely blissful experience. Release and connected to the others involved.

As I entered the meditation room, I was immediately enveloped in a sense of peace, with a tinge of curiosity. I had never attended a breathwork meditation before, but I was intrigued and excited to see what it would entail. My beautiful friend San had done these on a number of occasions, and she was excited to share the experience with me.

The facilitator, the amazing #FairyJill greeted us and explained the process. We would be doing the Ananda Mandala Chakra Meditation, a powerful practice that involved deep breathing and visualization. She encouraged us to focus on our breath and allow any emotions or sensations to come up and be released.

As the meditation began, I closed my eyes and focused on my breath. It became intense quickly. You hold hands with the people around you and are instructed not to move. I felt my body begin to get pins and needles and begin to shake as I released emotions that had been trapped inside me for far too long.

At times, it was painful. I felt pain in my legs, tingling hands and face, knots in my stomach, and tension in my chest. But with each exhale, I felt a sense of release, as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I was not alone in this experience, and I could hear the sounds of others releasing alongside me. There was crying and laughter all around me.

As we continued, the intensity grew, but so did the sense of connection to the others in the room. We were all in this together, supporting each other as we experienced what came up for us.

Finally, as the meditation came to a close, I felt an overwhelming sense of bliss wash over me. I opened my eyes to see the smiling faces of the other participants, each one radiating a sense of peace and contentment.

As we gathered together to share our experiences, I felt a deep sense of gratitude for the opportunity to connect with others in such a profound way. I left the meditation feeling lighter, grateful for the power of breath and the sense of community that had been created in that room.

Ananda Mandala Chakra Meditation is a type of meditation that combines breathwork and visualization to help balance the energy centers, or chakras, in the body. The practice is based on the traditional Indian system of chakras, which are believed to be centers of spiritual power located along the spine.

During the meditation, participants are typically guided through a series of visualizations and deep breathing exercises, focusing on each of the seven chakras in turn. 

The meditation usually begins by focusing on the root chakra, located at the base of the spine. The meditation then moves upwards to the sacral chakra, located just below the navel, the solar plexus chakra, heart chakra, throat chakra, third eye chakra, and finally the crown chakra.

Overall, Ananda Mandala Chakra Meditation is a powerful practice that can help to balance the energy centers in the body, promoting physical, emotional, and spiritual healing. It can be practiced alone or in a group setting, and can be a valuable tool for those seeking to deepen their spiritual practice and connect with their inner selves.

Practices like Ananda Mandala Chakra Meditation may seem unconventional or “woo woo” to some, the evidence suggests that they can have significant benefits for both physical and mental health. As with any form of meditation, it is important to approach it with an open mind and to work with a trained facilitator to ensure proper technique and guidance.

I loved it, and will be practicing this form of meditation again.

What am I going to do with this one precious wild life?

What a magical way to start the day. A good workout. A coffee watching the perfect sunrise in Cornwall Park.

The sheep, like mythical creatures as the morning mist drifts above the the pastures.

The air crisp. The Tui singing. No clouds in the sky for the first time in a long time.

Day started right

I have been reflecting on equity and privilege. A lot people do not want to change things that may be perceived to having benefit to themselves. I listened to a fascinating podcast with Adam Grant and Malcolm Gladwell, who looked into what were the main factors for people getting in some Ivy League schools, or professional sports teams. The factor was when they were born, as in what months they were born. If they were older, as in able to start school or sports earlier in the year, they had far more chance of getting into the above. Meaning that slightly younger kids (by months) were not getting in because they hadn’t quite reached the same level of maturity. When the students were asked whether there should be age adjustments for this, they thought this was a bad idea. Predominately because it may disadvantage them, and “take their places”, after all their hard work.

This is familiar territory to many women and people who are not white. There is often little adjustment for differences and not much motivation to implement change, beyond lip service and tokenism.

If we think of equity, and flip it around, think of how lack of representation disadvantages all of us because we don’t recognise the talent of those around us. People, we miss out. Humanity missed out.

I read business forums everyday. I also keep up to date with current political landscape. I read widely, and always think about how decisions made by governments, and how these are portrayed and twisted by the media will affect the future of all of us and our descendants.

A possible positive side of this is that politics and media noise does not seem to reflect the vision and positive progressive planning happening in the business world.

Large global companies are reflecting on how they will achieve better social outcomes for their people and their customers.

They are committed to reducing impact of climate change.

Many are reviewing their family policies, and becoming more flexible.

They are focusing on business continuity and diversifying with technology and innovations.

There is EQUITY focus starting to happen. Businesses are thinking about how to give people the log they need to improve outcomes for future generations.

People of all backgrounds, shapes, skin colour, and sexual identities are being heard and represented.

It’s awesome! Let’s get rid of the stink; rid of outdated, cruel, and inhumane ‘rules’ and norms that we have evolved from.

There is hope! There are amazing people doing amazing things!

I had a magical meditation session this morning. It was guided. I’ll paraphrase the beginning.

You are standing before a wise older woman, and shedding your woes: “I worry about global warming, I worry about my children, I worry about war, I worry about the future”.

You stop, and then there is silence for a few minutes.

The wise woman smiles, looks into your eyes, and asks you, “Yes, but what do you love?”

Workforce redesign. What does modern work really look and feel like?

It looks like: Flexibility; hours that suit one’s life; supportive of families; open communication; transparent vision; psychological safety; high trust; meaningful work.

Therefore people need to be trusted to do the work that needs to be done. This is measured by creating meaningful connection with people and setting very clear expectations, and providing support to achieve these expectations.

Listen to people. Value people. Serve people.

I was just reflecting on the potential that women have. The power they have. The often untapped resource! How do we leverage off that resource and grow our communities, love our precious lives? We are all so fortunate to be here; we have something like a one in a trillion chance of being here! I often think about that. Am I doing everything I can to do those odds justice?

Well… the SCOTUS made a decision that will impact women and people with a uterus, particularly those of colour, and those living in poverty. They have sent their strong message to people with uteruses of the world, that there is no protection for you here. They have allowed each state to make their own decision about whether abortion (which is healthcare) is going to be legal or not, allowing extremists to make decisions over millions of body’s. A bunch of states who want power and control, but only to the point of birth, or death of the ‘carrier’, not afterwards….. that’s up to the person to figure it out on their own. There is no SCOTUS ruling that says, you must carry this group of cells to viability and in doing so, your health will be looked after and the human at the end will be supported by the state you live in, if required. A group of cells has more rights than an alive person. Thanks ‘land of the free’.

Soul crushing.

In Aotearoa New Zealand, we believe abortion is healthcare, and that it is no one’s business but the person who has wound up with an unwanted pregnancy. None of my business, and certainly not politicians, and extreme religious zealots.

It’s ok to feel RAGE.

And it is ok to support organisations to fight this and to get people to healthcare friendly states if need be. There is lots of work to be done.