Invest in Loss, ‘The pattern that connects’ (RD Lang) & How cats land on their feet? Completion #9

During meditaion i am often drawn to chant, sometimes a mantra often the OM and often SHIi. Chanting or singing vibrates the human body and frees the breath and therefore energy – releasing tension and harmoniously calming & cheering the whole body and mind.

Using sound in this way has been observed and practiced by almost all spiritual practices for thousands of years. Here we are back to cymatics but using and experiencing the body as the echo chamber for sound, it can be done anywhere.

While I was setting up the exhibition I was there intensively for days, mostly alone and I often found myself singing and Omming utilising the wonderful accoustics of the huge church. After being there until 2.00am the night before we opened, I went to bed vibrating with singing and tiredness. I was awoken (feeling absolutely blissed out!) an hour or so later, by cold air all around me (Bear in mind this was mid Feb). I opened my eyes to see the church’s white wooden vaulted ceiling above me and realised i was high off the aisle. I was lying ‘flat’ with my arms spread out so lifted my head and saw the large wooden crucifix that stands above the alter, ahead of me. I rested back my head and felt two large hands flat against my back, which lifted me enormous speed towards the ceiling until i was only feet from being able to reach out and touch it. The feeling i was experiencing was the most wonderful ecstatic sensation, with every millimetre of my skin and internal organs tingling with wonder, joy and love. As I laid there just being with the feeling a thought crossed my mind.. I wonder if i am actually here or dreaming? I closed my eyes and opened them again to feel the warmth of my bed and heavy covers around me.

I later shared this experience with my mentor who described it as an incredible act of ‘self healing’.

The heart’s electro magnetic field is over 50 times more powerful than the brain’s. Hearts communicate with other hearts and two pieces of different hearts tissue in a petrie dish will synchronise and pulse together. This also works with animals hearts. Two pieces of brain on the other hand do not communicate, but simply die.

My theory is that the human heart is our most underrated sensory communication organ.

The heart is the organ for Love and I see therefore Love is an underrated feeling. When we learn to love ourselves the heart comes into its own and our real communication with the rest of the world begins

It follows that if;

‘everything happens for a reason’, then with a positive spin;

‘every cloud has a silver lining’.

These off-the-cuff phrases might seem to some superficially shallow, but it’s no coincidence they are often used during times of difficulty to release tension. When explored, they actually enable us to relax more within a situation and taken to their highest level can be used as affirmations of transition.

Once we trust these two phrases we begin to trust ourselves. Once we trust ourselves we can operate from a place of complete confidence in the world and all interactions.

The first venue St Columba’s Church, Scarborough, came to me as it is my mother’s local church. My father was a C of E priest & so was my mother’s father who was also a school/ army chaplain. My name is Gabrielle after my father’s first parish church, St Gabriel’s, Plymouth, where I was born.

My grandfather always had the air of a ‘healer’ to me altho’ I wouldn’t have know what that was. He died after 7 heart attacks & 9 strokes when i was 7.

Church as i grew up was a usually cold place where i would ask questions inside myself.. At the age of 10, I saw while everyone around me was singing out hymns, that God with and an extra ‘o’ says good and Devil without the ‘d’ says evil. I had entered the land of metaphor & began to question what those concepts were and the impact of those behaviours, but mostly with little objectivity.

Real healing has to begin at the beginning, and I have no religion as such. On wanting to show others that all spiritual traditions are teaching the same things – it was simple that i should start ‘close’ to me. St Columba’s i found was by reknown architect Temple Moore and from above has the shape of a Dove of Peace.

It’s all about how we respond to our experience. If we only react in ways born from habits, we will always receive the exact same results. Once we open the space for new ways to show themselves – or rather ‘unlearn’ the habits and respond from the heart – the results take flight * anything can happen, setting your self free*

Using the senses in new ways, I found chanting, laughter & focused exercise allowed my senses to expand and release a physical sensation of the spirit taking flight. Some may say these are just endorphins, but long term mean great self esteem, happiness and longevity. I found gym exercise soul-less. An exercise from centeredness such as yoga, taichi or dance especially something outside in touch with the natural world have the longest lasting joy.