Embodied Wisdom

“The head comes up with options, the heart knows what it loves, and the gut makes decisions.”

I was at a workshop in Big Sur, California, when I heard these words of distilled wisdom from another student. The magnificent cliffs above the Pacific Ocean punctuated the sentence with the crashing waves. Relaxed from the morning soak in hot springs, the words penetrated deeper. The simple sentence carries so much wisdom that I have relied on them ever since.

In the Western world, we tend to live in our heads. We get all messed up when the head makes decisions, the gut is tied up in knots, and the heart is left out of the equation all together. Things get even worse when the head has to decide what we love.

When I had to decide which college to go to, I made a list of all the pros and cons. I struggled to figure out which way logic would tip the scales. My gut was tied up in knots of indecision. I was totally oblivious to following my passion because that just did not make any logical sense. Did it really matter what I wanted? It’s a wonder that I ever chose a college. However, when I think back on that decision, a sense of peace comes over me. An inner knowing appeared once I just let go of the struggle. Actually, the wisdom that came over me in that moment was that there was more than one “right” answer. Paradoxically, that wisdom helped me to enter a place of knowing the “right” answer for me.

Big things somehow resolve themselves as time forces a decision, but it’s the little things like ordering from a menu at a restaurant that sometimes debilitates me. I am totally annoyed because it should not be that hard. The question is simply, “What do you want?” Yet, there are so many other things to factor in. It’s like the game of chess 10 moves in, the possibilities are staggering.

Enter the idea of embodied wisdom.

Suzanne Scurlock has developed a refined system of six Wisdom Areas: Heart, Gut, Pelvis, Bones, Legs and Feet, and Integrated Brain. After taking many of her courses over the years, I enjoy co-teaching a New Years Retreat to create an embodied prayer each January. This year, the theme is “Transforming Your Story.” I’m excited to add the frame of story, the one that we tell ourselves, and how to transform it into a story that moves us forward instead of holding us back.

As I release the prayer that I created for 2023 to make space for 2024, I edit it down to essentials. I honor all that has come forth and sit on the cusp of a new cycle. Maybe the prayer will be similar or maybe not. It has been a tumultuous year. My story has taken me to lows and highs. The passing of loved ones, leaving an office, starting a new job, and still in the middle of change. I wonder where 2024 will take me… and where I will go…

Releasing my Prayer for 2023

Dear Universe,
My intention is to support relationships and create community with my gifts of healing.
I honor all that has come to pass and all that is still to come.

I give gratitude for the passion for storytelling, teaching, and doctoring.
I ask for support in keeping the joy of my heart ignited with the courage to follow my heartsong.

Thank you for my gut knowing guided by Spirit.
Help me to listen deeply and trust the path, returning again and again.

I am grateful for my creativity and energy.
I ask for continued support to uncover new stories, life-giving directions, and sustainable paths.

I give thanks for my love of detail and planning.
I ask for continued support to see the bigger picture and the un-limiting beliefs.

Help me to hold, support, and manifest the action steps needed as I walk tall in the world.
Grant me the courage to release and the wisdom to renew as I step into 2024.

Yours,
Joel