Unknown Speaker 0:05 [musical interlude] Jessicas Stover 0:07 This recording is an offering of Networks for Training and Development's Online University. Rosa McAllister 0:23 Hi, everyone. This is Rosa McAllister with Networks for Training and Development Incorporated. And I'm calling in my from Maui, Hawaii, - beautiful Maui, Hawaii that is - on December second. And it is time for our monthly Healing Circle Call, which happens every Monday, first Monday of the month at 8pm Eastern Time, and I'm thrilled to be leading the call tonight. Rosa McAllister 0:50 So welcome to December. It's the last month of the calendar year. And in case you didn't realize, it's also the last month of this decade. This is December 2019 - 2019. And starting in less than a month will be a whole new decade - 2020. Which sounds so weird, doesn't it? It sounds like it's so far in the future, so far ahead. And yet, here we are, it's upon us. Rosa McAllister 1:26 Now falling into December also means many other things. For many of us, it means in many parts of the world, it means darkness is folding in a little bit more. It means the days are a little bit shorter, or they feel that way because of the darkness. In many parts of the world, people awaken in the dark to start their day, and they go to bed after it becomes quite dark. In fact, oftentimes many parts of the world becomes dark very, very early, oftentimes before we're even out of work. So for many people at this time of the year, it's almost a sadness or a darkening time of the year for people. Because the the light is lower, the light is less, the light is less direct, and we feel less of the light upon us and on us and with us. For many of us, the main parts of the day where the light is on by the sun and light outside, we're inside working. And so it's at this time of year, that no surprise, many of us become a little sadder, a little more and more depressed, a little bit more in ourselves and hunkering down and hibernating just like the bears do. Rosa McAllister 2:42 And it's also a time of year with some big holidays. For us here in North America, Thanksgiving just passed last Thursday, which is a beautiful holiday one of my favorites, but for many people, it's a very trying and very hard holiday. And it's kind of the beginning of the onslaught, as a friend of mine says "onslaught of the damn holidays". We're supposed to be cheery, we're supposed to be merry, we're supposed to be happy and bright, and thinking good thoughts and singing carols, and lighting up our houses, and many things - many traditions like that... cooking and feasting and being with others. And yet for many of us, that's the last thing we want to do. Rosa McAllister 3:27 So I wanted to use this time today, in our Healing Circle Call, to think about this, to breathe together, to hold each other. Whether you're on this call, whether you're listening in later, or whether you're just too busy and you didn't get a chance to call in, we're still holding you and thinking of you. That's what these calls are all about. These were originally designed these Healing Circle Calls with a few friends of mine, probably about five or six years ago, where we just wanted a time to literally breathe together, to come together and hold space with one another even if we didn't say anything... just to breathe together to remember that we weren't alone, that we had brothers and sisters out there who were holding us up, had our back, and we had theirs. So we've expanded this here at Networks for Training and Development and been offering these Healing Circle Calls for I think, a couple of years now, again, the first Monday of every month 8 pm Eastern time. And we do something a little different each time, but it's always for about 15 or 20 minutes with the idea that it's a time where we're just being together, remembering one another, having each other's back, holding each other, and breathing together. Rosa McAllister 4:45 So here we are December 2, 2019 and I'd like us to start off by if you're sitting, sit as straight as you can comfortably with your back as erect as you can. Your hands in your lap, not knitted together, ankles not crossed, all body parts just straight forward or down as much as you can - as much as that's comfortable for you. If you're standing, that's fine. Just try to relax your shoulders down. Drop your arms if you can, so they hang at your side. Try not to stand more on one leg or the other. But just try to be as even as possible. If you're laying down or kneeling or in any other body posture, go for it. Nothing says you have to be sitting or standing or anything, whatever is conducive to you being comfortable for a few more minutes. If you're lying down, just try to lay as straight or as comfortable as you can. Again, not crossing arms or legs, feet or ankles, anything else but just trying to be comfortable. Whatever position you are trying as best as you can to lower your shoulders and relax them. I don't know about you but sometimes it feels like my shoulders are attached to my ears! It is not the best position, try to drop them down where they belong. Rosa McAllister 6:09 Try to relax your jaw. I don't know if you know this, but clenching our jaw for many of us is one of the first signs of tension. And no surprise often brings about terrible headaches and dental problems. So try if you can to relax your jaw. And if you can, just gently, very gently wiggle it a little bit side to side up and down to help remind you that it can be in a different position. And now, let's take a couple breaths together. I'm not going to suggest you do one type of breathing or another. But instead I want you to just be aware of whatever pattern your breath takes. Rosa McAllister 6:52 So when you're comfortable in your own way, just notice your in breath. And try to hold it just for a minute or less. Rosa McAllister 7:08 And then think about your out breath. Rosa McAllister 7:12 And as much as you can, try to get all the air out slowly and comfortably, Don't strain in any way. If you want, close your eyes, but it's not necessary. And again, just find a rhythm with your own breath. Rosa McAllister 7:30 Breathing in as comfortably as you can. Holding it maybe just a little bit and breathing out as fully as you can. And we're going to take just, maybe a minute or two, to just do that in your own time, in your own way, in your own tendencies. Just watch your breath. Rosa McAllister 8:21 If you're like me, your brain will wander and you'll start thinking of your to-do list, especially this time of year. All the busy stuff that we feel we need to do before the end of the year, before the holidays, before the end of the day. before the end of the week, whatever. Try as best as you can, not to erase it, because you're probably not going to be able to, but instead, just think about your breath. And when the floats the thoughts float in, let them and let them also float out. Try to watch them like you would a cloud floating in the sky. Not necessarily engaging one thought or another, but if you do, that's okay. Just bring your thoughts back to your breath. And when you're comfortable, try to find a gap in your breath, the gap between the breaths. That is, you might inhale. Hold it a second, exhale, and instead of looping right into a new breath, gap, give a pause between the breaths. It's known as a "still point". And it's this still point that if we can bring our attention to, it can increase our meditative practice or our stillness within ourselves. It's something to focus on that will help you to not think about all the things on your to-do list, as much. And it cultivates an awareness of the stillness that is always present in the midst activities, in the midst of our very busy lives, our very busy brains, and it can create a profound experience of peace. So see if you can, find your still point... i.e. the gap between your breaths Rosa McAllister 11:01 A friend of mine who's an artist and very visual and is always thinking, I believe, of colors says that when she does a still point breath, she thinks of one color as she breathes in. Rosa McAllister 11:17 She thinks of a different color as she breathes out. Rosa McAllister 11:21 And then she always thinks of a baby blue in between, in the still point, the gap between the breaths. I've tried this and find that's really interesting. I've also tried with other senses, thinking instead of color thinking of smells, what if I could smell or think of one smell as I breathe in, another smell as I breathe out, and a third smell in the still point, the gap between the breaths. Or maybe there's a sound or maybe there's a thought or maybe there's a mantra of sorts, some kind of a saying that you say to yourself, it might be as simple as, Rosa McAllister 12:03 Breathe in. Rosa McAllister 12:06 Breathe out. Rosa McAllister 12:09 Hold. Rosa McAllister 12:13 Breathe in. Rosa McAllister 12:16 Breathe out. Rosa McAllister 12:20 Hold. Rosa McAllister 12:25 Breathe in. Rosa McAllister 12:28 Breathe out. Rosa McAllister 12:30 Hold. Rosa McAllister 12:34 Now again, that's just my timing. Your timing of your breaths might be very different. Your words or your use of color or sound or smell, might be very something very much your own, very different. Play with it and see and see if you can't lurk and linger in your still point for longer amounts of point of time. Not to the point that you're uncomfortable or gasping for air, certainly not. But see what you can do to find your still point. It's said that doing this before walking into a meeting, or making an important phone call, or even at the doctor's office while getting your blood pressure taken, can help still things tremendously. And probably like everything else, if we do it with more regularity. It's amazing how it becomes very easy to do. Very common and just a part of what we do. So as we go forward into this holiday season, into this last month of the year, and this last month of the decade, Rosa McAllister 13:45 I offer to you and I hope you have many beautiful still points. I hope you find release and relief and calm and beauty amidst all the busyness. I hope you're surrounded by love and attention of only the best kind... that you receive gifts beyond measure, and not the tangible ones. But the ones that really matter. The gifts of time, the gifts, the gifts, the presence, the gifts of love from others. More than anything, I hope you see the beauty that you are the beauty that you offer others and the beauty that you bring here today with us. Rosa McAllister 14:38 Namaste, mahalo, gracias, thank you, and Happy Holidays. And let's hear it for 2020... WOO HOO! Aloha. See you next month, first Monday of the month, 8pm Eastern Time. Jessicas Stover 15:03 Thank you for listening. We hope the information provided was helpful. Don't forget to stop by our website and take advantage of all we have to offer. Transcribed by https://otter.ai