Ask - Receive - Absorb

When guiding clients to listen to their inner wisdom, I’ll often invite them to ask their body what it is they need in a given moment or situation, and just to notice and honor however their body responds. When a response emerges— an image, thought, impulse, or sensation— I ask them to take a moment and just absorb the benefits of whatever has come up to support them.

As they follow this guidance and appreciate what it brings them, they may notice something soften inside them, and a surprising new insight come to mind about how to address their needs.

I’d like to share a personal story. I hope you’ll find it encouraging in you asking, receiving and absorbing the support you need from within and without.

꩜

Several years ago, I sustained a pretty disabling concussion (from an unfortunate interaction with a basement pipe). While recovering, the house where I’d been living got partially flooded by a neighboring building’s burst and thawed pipes, which leaked nasty smelling and allergy-inducing water into our walls.

Two different elders told me: This might take a while. You’d better put your stuff in storage, and maybe move out. But as I was also heavily concussed at the time, I couldn’t imagine doing much of anything, let alone packing and moving.

At first I didn’t know what to do-- I had already received so much help since my concussion, and didn’t want to ask for more. But as I listened to my body, it became clear that I needed to reach out again, in detail, through emails sent on my behalf (I wasn’t able to be on screens) to a large group of friends and community.

What followed felt nothing short of miraculous. People showed up bearing gentle hugs, soft songs, open ears and hands to carry out what had seemed like an impossible task to me... After five surprisingly easy days, my things were washed, packed, and stored, and I had a place to land with friends and focus on my healing. Between long naps and extremely slow walks from my healing nest, I remember drawing a circle, like a navigating wheel or seed of intention, with these words around the edge:

Ask     Receive    Absorb

I learned that truly absorbing the support of our collective body is just as important as drawing support from within ourselves.

And we don’t need to wait for a crisis to do so.

Here’s to you asking for, receiving, and deeply absorbing all that you need, whether it comes from within your body, from the natural world, supportive practices or community.

~Lee