Are you a problem to be solved, or a mystery to be embraced?

Most mornings, along with my coffee, I try to enter the day gently by reading for a little while - preferably something that invites me to think in new ways about myself and my place in the world - and then journaling about whatever is coming up in the moment.

My morning companion these days is "Embers", a collection of meditations by Richard Wagamese. (more about the book here) It appeals to my curiosity about and desire for greater connection with my inner self, the natural world and all beings. The meditations are short, but give me so much to sit with in the moment and then take with me through the day.

I read the following the other morning:

"When I allow myself to feel my body, when I can inhabit it and allow myself to close off the world beyond my flesh, I become who I am - energy and spirit."

He continues,

"... that is when my body sings to me, a glorious ancient song redolent with mystery seeking to remain mystery. Connecting to it, living with it, becoming it even for a moment, I am healed and made more."

I'm always telling people to get out of their heads and into their bodies, and for very good reason - listening to our bodies gives us information and power to change patterns that contribute to pain, stress and anxiety.

I view the mind-body connection as a tool for growth and healing; Wagamese viewed it as ceremony - a mystery or alchemy in which we can connect to our essential selves, to the universes within and without.

I feel like we humans with our big brains and control issues are always trying so hard to get a result, to fix what's wrong, to get things right, to be productive or efficient, that we forget that part of us that exists purely to feel joy.

As I sat and pondered, I wondered, "what it would be like to feel for the sheer joy of feeling, to simply embrace the mystery of being, without needing it to be a means to an end?" This feels both intensely exciting and uncomfortable to me, and I'm bringing these questions into each day. Perhaps you'd like to join me?

• Who are we, if we're not projects to complete or problems to solve?

• What if joy, wholeness, connection aren't results of doing, but a way of being?

• What might your experience of self be like if you allowed yourself to close off the world beyond your flesh, feel your body, and inhabit it?

• How do you enter the mystery of your essential self?

What's coming up for you as you read this? Let me know!

If living these questions also feels exciting but uncomfortable to you, let's explore them together. Book your conversation here - it's free, and there's no pressure or obligation.