Taking Refuge To Restore Balance

In taking refuge you find the stillness that quiets the mind and gives you space to breathe into life more deeply. Think of it as an internal quest to replenish your life force. In this talk, I share the 4 key shamanic practices to restore balance.

Transcript

Take a moment to settle in into the space.

Taking a moment to see if you can settle in even further now and just arrive here in this moment.

Even this moment is a way of taking refuge and taking refuge can be seen as an internal quest,

A way to replenish your life force.

In this talk,

I'm going to share about the four key shamanic practices to restore balance as you take refuge and tune back into your own natural rhythms.

First,

I just want you to tune into your breath.

What is the rhythm of your breathing right now?

Without judgment,

Just take a moment to notice.

Is your in breath longer than the out breath?

Or is your out breath longer than your short breath?

Or are they perfectly balanced?

Just taking notice.

Is it shallow or heavy?

And just allow your focus now to rest.

Just listen to absorb the information and see how and where it settles for you.

There's the same or more like an acronym that's used particularly in 12 step programs or circles,

And it's called HALT.

Translates to hungry,

Angry,

Lonely,

And tired.

And it's what to become aware of so that you know when it's time to halt.

In other words,

When you do feel hungry,

Angry,

Lonely,

And tired.

Then it's time to slow down,

Stop,

Redirect,

And step back.

It's also a call to rest.

And this is the perfect time for reset,

And is best accomplished by taking refuge.

And taking refuge might be a formal retreat practice,

Or it could be to take refuge in the Three Jewels as it's known in Buddhism.

In Buddhism here,

One takes refuge in the Buddha,

The Dharma and the spiritual Sangha.

And it can also mean to take refuge,

Just in a conscious connection with your wise self,

Or your higher power.

Maybe finding solace in inspirational readings or teachings.

And what about discovering sanctuary and community,

Family,

Your congregation or social network,

Or even within.

You might also find refuge in visiting a particular place,

Or a nature setting that you hold sacred,

Or even mindfully sipping your favorite beverage.

When I was studying Buddhism in Nepal,

A couple years ago,

Annie Karen was asked,

How do you know what religion you are if you find truth in so many?

Her answer was,

It's where you take refuge.

And I still remember that I still carry that wisdom because I just found that so simple and yet profound,

You know,

Your religion,

Your beliefs,

It's where you take refuge,

And the first thing that came to my mind when she said that is nature.

Particularly in the forest,

I love the growth forests,

Or in the meadows where you see all the wildflowers and open expansive fields and space.

In caves even,

Often in my meditation I go into a cave,

Or the mountain tops,

You know,

Scaling a mountain or walking or hiking mountain,

You get to see life and see anything around you from a different perspective.

In gardens too,

There's always something blooming,

Something dying in the gardens.

This is where I take refuge out in nature.

And one of my key spiritual practices monthly was a weekend silent solo retreat,

And that was at a center that offered space for this in Ontario,

Canada.

And since not being able to access that I found other ways to have the same experience,

And you can too.

And it's important to know when to put your best foot forward,

And when to step back.

If you're not at your best,

You're not showing up in the world the way that expresses your true nature,

It's time to step back and regroup to recover yourself and be yourself.

Some of that too is about finding sanctuary.

The key is finding what conditions would give rise for you to experience a deep rest and a chance to regroup and reset.

It might be in a temple or church or monastery could also be a quiet corner in your room.

And if you're in a busy office environment,

It might be taking a moment in the washroom.

Anywhere you can step back for a moment,

Shut the door,

Shut out the world for a minute,

Take a moment and tune back into yourself in your own natural rhythms.

It's an internal quest and a way to replenish your life for us.

Retreats also invite opportunities to access dreams and visions without any intrusions,

And away from the chaos.

You stay in it until you feel fully grounded and solid.

Then you re-enter the world with more resilience and resolve.

It's a fresh start and gives you a renewed perspective.

In taking refuge,

You find stillness that quiets the mind and gives you space to breathe into life more fully and deeply.

It also feeds the need for rest so you don't become exhausted or burn out.

And just like a car can't keep moving without gas,

You can take the time to fill up the gas tank so you can also stop and fill up your own fuel too.

So I mentioned about taking refuge in the four key shamanic practices.

So the key spiritual practice in shamanism is also known as the four powers.

It's really a way of being balanced and conscious as you walk through this life.

And they are singing,

Dancing,

Nature,

And sweet silence.

In shamanism,

It's common to ask those who came for healing,

When did you stop dancing,

Singing,

Being in nature,

Tuning into your own nature?

When did you become uncomfortable with silence?

And as you ask yourself those questions,

It gives you a clue to what might need healing in your life.

What's become out of balance?

Where can you restore that sense of wholeness again?

And once you begin to engage in these practices again,

Your spirit is restored.

Your spirit becomes free,

Your heart opens,

And you renew your commitment to living your life in a way that is soul nurturing for you.

I used to love to dance.

Much of my teen and university years were spent distressing on the dance floor.

Emotions were expressed through my body that way.

And quite often I wouldn't be able to share those expressions or emotions through words.

So I would express it through my body on the dance floor,

Moving my body,

Moving it through me.

And I was able to go deeply within as I found my rhythm with the music and the way my body wanted to merge with the music.

It moved me through my teenage angst and through celebrations.

I would do a happy dance whenever I accomplished something or figured out a problem.

And of course,

I love to dance too with family and friends,

Especially at weddings.

And you know what,

My deepest meditation actually happens in dance.

I'm not as good with sitting,

To be honest with you.

But in dance,

I can actually go pretty deep and I really take sanctuary in it.

Oftentimes too,

I would sing along to the music,

Whether it be in dance or in my car,

To the songs in my head or of course in the shower,

And just about anywhere else where the sound wanted to come up.

It didn't always sound that great.

Yet when I could let go of the need to impress or sound a certain way,

It just became pure fun.

I encourage you to take and make time for retreat,

Especially if you're an empath like me.

Being an empath,

Nature and sweet silence are sacred practices I cannot do without.

I find I experience both when indoors and especially outdoors.

So what are the some of the ways that you like to take refuge?

Take a moment and think about that.

How do you experience the poor powers of sweet silence,

Singing,

Dancing and nature?

Maybe even today,

You can go out in nature.

I encourage you to experience the sweet silence,

To find your voice,

To find your primal sound,

Sing,

Allow your body the freedom and expression and dance.

Maybe you want to journal about it.

I always love hearing from you so if you want to share any of your experience you can always put that in the comments below and maybe it'll inspire others too that are listening to this.

And I encourage you also to redirect any blame,

Shame or judgment,

And simply honor where you are right now as the perfect place to be.

Thank you so much for listening.

I hope you enjoy taking refuge.

Reviews

Thank you! Feeling a sense of lightness and direction again.

Thank you for this advice to find a place of refuse to replenish your energy. I do dancing as well. I also love practicing meditation, yoga and tai chi . Walks in nature is always a special treat for my soul. Living in a big city it doesn’t happen often . But I discovered a lot of beautiful parks here where I live and I visit them often .
Much love and gratitude to you 🙏❤️

Thanks Jennifer! It’s nice how you invite us the listeners to write in and share. I am in the process of scheduling time away from work for about a week and have thought about doing a kind of self-organizing retreat. I think it could be very helpful and this talk reaffirmed that.