Question: Can I come and not teach?

“It’s okay if I come to this and decide not to teach, right? I think I want to teach and keep having ideas about places/people I’d like to teach, but I can change my mind and chicken out, right?

“Right? Right. Okay, thanks, just needed to add that. Phew.”

Answer: Absolutely.

And it’s a legitimate question. And it is 100% okay by me if you don’t want to actually teach this stuff.

There were several people at the last training who had no intention of teaching and just came for the hot, hot, hot epiphanies.

And to eat pie. I mean, to deepen their practice. And to meet Selma and visit the Playground, of course!

And even though all those people ended up deciding that they actually do want to teach? That was not because I tried to convince them. It just kind of happened.

You do not have to teach.

I will love you just the same if you don’t. And I promise that I will never bug you about this or ask you if you’re teaching yet or anything like that.

Question: Can I come if I’ve done this before?

Jenia asked in the comments (and then a bunch of other people in the same situation wrote with the same question):

“I came to the inaugural teacher training in June 2010 and it was fantastic. So much was covered in a day!

“And now I’d like to come to another teacher training event (can’t get enough of this stuff!)

“Havi, what is your thinking: would it make sense for people who are already certified to come in February? (Or maybe there is a step-two teacher training coming up at some point?)”

Answer: Absolutely.

Anyone who has studied with me knows that I’m physically incapable of teaching the same stuff twice, so a lot of the material will be different.

And we have an entire weekend instead of just one day.

And you’ll be able to go even deeper with it.

I’ve studied with Andrey a number of times (in three different countries, too) and even when we’re covering material I’ve learned before, I’m at such a different place. That’s true even over a few months.

So you’ll get everything on a much deeper level and you’ll get to say ohhhhhhh that’s what she meant, and it will be awesome.

That’s it.

What else can I help with? Other questions?

The Dance of Shiva teacher training weekend is Feb 18-20, 2011 in Portland, Oregon.

It’s filling up quickly — I just heard from the First Mate that we have people coming from the UK and Australia too — and I am having a lot of fun developing new material for it.

That’s all for now!

xox
havi

If this seemed like your thing, you might like these too:

• Shiva Nata teacher training!
• Excitements! The Shiva Nata app is now live!
• 90 minutes of happy flailing and shivanautical destuckifying!

Does anyone have a trick to getting level 1 fast vertical arms?

I’m using a mirror and trying to do the movements on my own, or using the DVD and following along — it’s slow coming.

Any secrets on doing level 1 arms fast would be appreciated. I haven’t gotten to legs yet.

I’ve watched the theory of the levels several times, and spent enough time with level 1 that I mostly get it and think sticking there wouldn’t challenge me.

I can’t figure out how to do it to music because i think the music would make it even harder to follow – which I realize is exactly the point — so that’s another option

My strategy has been to just hang in there — and also giving myself permission to ask for help in the process.

Beth says:

Yeah, just keep hanging in there.

One thing I did was play the level 1 fast arms, then hit my DVD player’s SLOW button, which gave me medium-fast level one. Your DVD player may vary but it’s something to experiment with. You could also try the slow arms on fast forward, though that’s annoyingly jerky on my dvd player.

Aso, try with legs for a while; when you go back to just arms it may seem super-easy. :)

Or try it double-fast! Ridiculously fast.

Heidi says:

I’ve been slowing the fast arms down to 1/2 time (on my laptop). It still feels like a challenge, but it’s slow enough to be able to mirror him.

Wheee!

Wendy says:

If you can comfortably do the slow arms and want to try it faster, but can’t do it as fast as the fast arms segment, try watching the “fast arms + legs” segment (if you can ignore the leg movements and just watch his arms), because that’s faster than slow arms but slower than fast arms.

Hope that made sense…! I did this myself and found it really helpful.

Havi says:

In addition to all these other terrific ideas, I would suggest the following:

• do Level 2 for a while and then come back to it (it will seem super slow later)
• do it with music. The way you do it with music is put on some music, and then turn down the volume on your computer or dvd player.
• do the legs for a while
• do Level 1 arms SLOW and memorize the number sequences so that you know what’s coming and then go back to fast
• do Level 2 Transquarters to mess with your head

Hope that helps!

Go go gadget arms.

Or something like that. :)

If this seemed like your thing, you might like these too:

• Shiva Nata and procrastination …
• When do you move up to the next level?
• Mastering the Dance of Shiva?

Question: I am VERY, very interested in both the Shiva Nata practice and the Procrastination Dissolve-O-Matic …because I need *both* hot, buttered epiphanies and a way to get my work done that doesn’t leave me feeling like an eternal fool (in a bad way).

Is there any overlap between the two programs? Or should I just flip a coin? Gracias and thank you!

– Mardou

Anyone?

Hi Mardou! I’m going to open this one up to people who use both.

There really isn’t any explicit overlap.

The way I see it, the main place of connection between Shiva Nata and the Dissolve-o-Matic is this:

• They both help you get better at noticing patterns.
• They both encourage mindfulness without being mean to yourself.
• They both have a playful, loving approach to working on your stuff.
• They both help you collect insights.

From where I’m sitting, the Procrastination Dissolve-o-Matic is about tools, approach, mindset and some tricks. And Shiva Nata is a specific thing that will help you get better at using those tools, approach, mindset and tricks.

It’s impossible for me to say — since I use them both — which is best for what.

If you use Shiva Nata with the intention of getting information about what is stuckified and why and what needs to happen next, you will.

If you use it in conjunction with the Dissolve-o-Matic, some of that work might be more structured or more directed.

Thoughts from people who use both? Or who use one?

Appreciated.

I wish I had more useful things to say about this. It’s another example of being too close to the material (because I’m constantly interacting with it) to be able to imagine what it’s like to just use one.

And warm wishes, of course.

xox Havi.

If this seemed like your thing, you might like these too:

• How to do Level 1 arms FAST.
• When do you move up to the next level?

I’ve been doing and loving Shiva Nata since June.

But I’ve gotten to a weird place with it. I am almost kind of okay at level one. I can do the arms with the legs and squares on my own without the video- just not super fast and still with plenty of mistakes. Especially with the part that goes backwards.

I am wondering at what point do you move on to the next level? I mean I’m not super good at level 1. But I’m a little bit over it too.

I miss the utter bewildering challenge that it used to be.

Do I continue to work where I am until I am perfect and fast? Or can I move on?

Or is it just like me to lose interest as soon as I get kinda sorta okay at something? Maybe that’s a reason to keep at Level 1?

Any thoughts?

Why, yes.

Go! Do it! Next level!

You always want to be challenged.

Even if you’re still making mistakes, you want to be lost. Go get lost.

Basically, the primary rule for when to move forward is this:

Go! Move! Continue! It’s fine!

Don’t wait for anyone’s permission. If you’re not getting insights and moments of bing, make it harder. Skip ahead. Challenge yourself.

The second rule is this:

If you can think a complete sentence while doing Dance of Shiva, you need to move a level. Or at least to make things significantly harder.

What are you waiting for? Level 2! Transquarters! Mess things up!

Exceptions?

Always.

If you’re going to be teaching?

You’ll want to go back to Level 1 and make sure you can do it.

If you have a pattern of rounding corners?

You’ll want to go back to it later and notice where you skipped some bits.

Luckily, you’ll be back. Plenty of times.

Like when you learn Level 3 and it suddenly boots Level 1 out of your head. :)

Anything else?

Yes.

Everything is a pattern. Everything is a pattern.

So if you have a pattern of not sticking to things …

Or thinking that you don’t stick to things …

Or wondering if you need to approach sticking and not sticking differently…

Then bring that intention to your Shiva Nata practice. But make that practice hard. Get lost.

Stand in the chaos.

Flail around and be bad at it. It’s good for you. :)

There is no learning without challenge. I mean, there is, but this way is faster and deeper and more powerful.

If this seemed like your thing, you might like these too:

• How to do Level 1 arms FAST.
• Shiva Nata and procrastination …
• Ask A Shivanaut! Questions from the teleclass.

Havi, do you have any thoughts on the suitability of Shiva Nata for children?

And then Brian asked too:

Have you ever used Shiva Nata with kids? Their brain development is dependent on crossing that middle line in their brain.

And probably seventy other people have asked this too, so apologies if you asked and I forgot.

The short answer: YES!

Yes, very suitable for kids.

It’s crazy good for them.

I haven’t done Shiva Nata with kids myself. However, many of my students have. And they all report the most amazing things.

Kids adore it. Silliness abounds.

Not only is it good for their brains, but they find it easier than we do.

And are less likely to beat themselves up for getting it wrong (the concept of flail and do it badly is generally less challenging for them).

And?

I’m opening this one up to the Shivanauts at large, in hopes of some good stories. Have you tried it?

Share some stories if you have them …

If this seemed like your thing, you might like these too:

• Excitements! The Shiva Nata app is now live!
• What will I do when I finish Shiva Nata?
• Ten basic Shiva Nata principles.

I’m publishing this one because it’s from Claire and also because it’s the nicest. The nicest and at the top of my pile.

And I’ll try to answer some of the others in the But but but! section at the end. :)

Hi Claire!

The question.

Havi,
 I have a basic, easy question! On the DVD, when he’s doing vertical position two, it looks like Andrey’s wrists are bent. But he explained earlier that the arm should be straight from elbow to fingertips.

Hmmm, do I do what he says or what he does? Or does it not matter? I’m too new to figure that out yet.

Thanks!

So many ways to answer this!

There is the short answer. And the longer answer.

And a bunch of complicated things in between.

Let me see.

The short answer.

It really doesn’t matter.

Nope. Doesn’t matter.

The slightly longer answer.

The important thing here is making connections in space.

What we care about is every possible way for these four points to be connected with each other. Then these eight points. Then these sixteen points.

It’s math with your body.

We’re training the brain to make all possible connections between all points. We’re internalizing systems of connections and possibilities.

So whether you bend the wrist or not? What exact angle the arm is? Not important.

What’s not important.

Whether or not you can keep the wrist straight.

That’s a question of anatomy (hmm, does your body do that?).

And, occasionally, also a question of practice (mine didn’t when I started, now it does).

Apply the people vary rule, as needed.

What’s VERY important:

Challenging your patterns.

Including the pattern of wanting to get things right.

Including the pattern of needing external confirmation.

Including the pattern of needing everything to be a certain way.

(I’m not even slightly trying to point fingers or to imply that these are *Claire’s* patterns. These are patterns that tend to come up for many people — maybe relevant, maybe not.)

We are always trying to shake up our patterns.

When I have students who like to get things exactly right, I challenge them to challenge themselves and make the practice intentionally loose and even sloppy.

When I have students who aren’t detail-oriented and just want to flail, I challenge them to challenge themselves and pay more attention to where their hands are (fingers together! palms flat!).

The longer and slightly more passionate answer.

We get so many questions from so many people who want to know why I don’t do Shiva Nata exactly the way the worksheet shows the positions.

Why I don’t do Shiva Nata exactly the way Andrey does it.

Why Andrey doesn’t do it exactly the way he explains it.

My darlings. None of this is important.

Shiva Nata is not like Tai Chi or Karate. It’s not like dance. It’s not like gymnastics.

It’s not about exactness. It is about challenging your patterns.

I get why apparent inconsistencies could be confusing or frustrating.

And, if part of your pattern involves a need to get things exactly right, this may be exactly why you have come to Shiva Nata. So you can stop doing that and learn what it feels like to be another way.

Ow. It hurts. I know. Because you’re expanding your consciousness.

Yes, the points and positions do have symbolic meaning.

Which is really interesting. But in practice, not all that important.

What is important?

CHALLENGING OUR PATTERNS.

That’s it.

(But but but #1)

“But Andrey does Vertical 2 in towards the center of the chest and you do it so the fingertips come to the upper abdomen instead!”

Yes, and that’s because:

a) Andrey is a man. He doesn’t have to worry about smacking himself in the boobs. If he were a woman and even slightly busty, he would also be doing it the way I do it.

b) It still doesn’t matter because we’re making connections in space and challenging our patterns. Challenge the pattern that need everything to line up just so, and use this practice to untangle that.

(But but but #2)

“But you show Vertical 2 with palms parallel to the body whereas Andrey shows them quite clearly vertical degree 90 towards the body!”

Actually, I don’t show them that way. It’s just extremely difficult to portray in a drawing. Which is why the Starter Kit comes with a DVD.

However, the more important point is this:

Most of my students are not physically capable of doing V2 with arms straight, and elbow coming out in front of the body.

If they try to do V2 in that way, they end up moving their shoulders forward and twisting. This makes it much more likely that they are going to hurt themselves.

And since one of my favorite things about Shiva Nata is that it’s practically impossible to hurt yourself doing it, I’m perfectly content to let people do V2 with bent wrists or without full elbow position.

And the really important point is this:

It doesn’t matter.

Because what we’re trying to do is challenge our patterns and make connections in space. That’s what’s important.

Luckily, if inconsistencies tend to really bother you, this practice will help. It will shine some light on what patterns are at play, and give you spaciousness there.

(But but but #3)

“But you write that for V3 the palms should be parallel to the next wall. Quite apart from the fact that its physiologically impossible, Andrey shows his palms consistently parallel to the sky i.e. looking upwards. How does this descrepancy come about?”

Actually, it is not physiologically impossible. I’m doing it right now.

It does require greater flexibility than many of my students have, which is why I would never require it. But it’s absolutely possible. It’s what I often do in my own practice.

When teaching, I do what Andrey does: palms facing up.

The reason for this is that V1 and V3 look very similar to each other, and when practicing at any reasonable speed, most students can’t easily differentiate between V1 and V3.

So I always recommend that for teaching it’s better to make V3 look markedly different from V1.

However … yes, again … it really does not matter. Because (all together now), the most important thing is how we use the mathematical genius of the practice to take apart our patterns and build different ones. Yay.

Bottom line? Really, truly. This is it.

It’s all patterns.

Everything.

Some people love the horizontals and hate the verticals. Pattern.

Some people love the verticals and can’t figure out the horizontals. Pattern.

Some people can’t even see that there is a pattern. Pattern.

Some people are so involved in how the pattern works that they don’t let themselves have fun with it. Pattern.

The question is, what do we do with this information?

Wherever we are, Shiva Nata can help us deconstruct these patterns and build better ones.

Perfectionism is a pattern. Needing to be right is a pattern. Not being able to proceed until someone sorts things out for once and for all and decides who is right is a pattern.

Similarly, not paying attention to detail is a pattern. Not caring at all is a pattern. Not investigating is a pattern.

None of these patterns are “bad” in and of themselves.

Patterns aren’t good or bad. Patterns contain information. And then it’s up to us — with the help of the practice — to figure out how we’re going to use this information.

And to discover what comes next.

That’s it.

Hope that helps.

Lots of love.

If this seemed like your thing, you might like these too:

• Shiva Nata: false gods?
• Needles in haystacks. More patterns.
• The Levy Flight. Patterns. Again.

Like with so many shivanautically-related questions, I suffer from Too Much Information Syndrome.

I’m so ridiculously close to the world of Shiva Nata that questions about it stop making sense. And I apologize for that.

Anyway. What is a Shivanaut?

Or really,

Who is a Shivanaut?

A Shivanaut is …

A Shivanaut is …

• Someone who practices Dance of Shiva.
• Like a cosmonaut, but more awesome.
• A word that I invented.
• A word that needed to come into existence because there wasn’t a way to describe people who shiva-nata it up, other than “practitioner” or “student”.
• Someone who is playful, silly, receptive, hilarious, willing to flail around and be wrong sometimes (or even most of the time).
• Someone who practices mindfulness and brain training, but without taking himself too seriously.
• Someone who is interested in the practice, intrigued by it, cares about it, thinks about it.
• Someone I like.
• Someone who dances with ducks. Possibly. Sometimes. Who knows?

Who gets to be a Shivanaut?

You do.

You don’t have to be any “good” at Shiva Nata (whatever that means, since we’re actually trying to do it wrong) to be a Shivanaut.

You don’t have to practice often to be a Shivanaut.

You don’t have to ever do it for more than a couple minutes at a time to be a Shivanaut.

You don’t magically become one when you learn how to do the legs or when you figure out Level 2.

If you have done Shiva Nata once…

If you have done Shiva Nata once…

And if you have done it badly and flailed around in confusion and made mistakes…

And if you have stepped into the chaos…

And if you have laughed or cried or wondered or tried…

You are a Shivanaut.

You are a Shivanaut.

You just are.

That’s all there is to it.

Dance it up. Mess around. Get it wrong. Get it more wrong. You’re a Shivanaut.

If this seemed like your thing, you might like these too:

• Ack! I’ll never be able to do this!
• Excitements! The Shiva Nata app is now live!
• Shiva Nata: odd and unexpected side effects

“As a new Shivanaut I would love to know: did you have an intention when you started practicing? I’m struggling with finding mine.”

A couple things to think about:

Let me tell you what happened the other day.

The day before yesterday I was having a seriously hard time with a challenge in my business.

No matter how many different scenarios I ran in my head, I couldn’t seem to come up with something that solved the thing that wasn’t working.

I thought it over from what seemed like every possible angle. Nothing.

Then I read Eric’s post about how he was doing some Level 4 while waiting for the water to boil for his tea.

And it occurred to me that I haven’t done full Level 4 in ages. So I put on some sea chanteys and rocked out to Level 4. Really sloppily. Just having fun.

Then I did it while counting the numbers. And then I took a nap.

Yesterday morning I woke up and there it was.

A perfect, simple solution. I knew exactly what needed to be done. The business challenge was not only resolved, this particular solution also solved problems I hadn’t even thought of yet.

It was such a completely typical Shiva Nata moment that I laughed for about ten minutes straight.

Classic Shivanautical epiphany.

What’s my point?

When I gave up ten minutes of my day to doing some Dance of Shiva, I didn’t stop to set an intention.

But since I’d spent the past several hours messing around with this problem, I’d subconsciously set an intention.

I didn’t specifically say hey, I need a solution for this thing. But that was the gist of it.

It still worked.

That happens kind of a lot

When I first started doing Dance of Shiva, I had absolutely no idea the kind of crazy stuff it could bring about.

I was just doing it because I had to learn it for Andrey’s teacher training.

So when I figured out what needed to happen to stop smoking, and how German grammar worked, and why I get hungry when I feel pain …

Well, these were all answers to things I’d been spending a lot of time thinking about.

I hadn’t consciously set an intention. But essentially I had.

So you can set an intention pretty much anywhere on the continuum.

For example …

• You can be thinking about a thing and then do some Shiva Nata.
• You can be thinking about a thing and then actively think to yourself, hey I’m going to do some Shiva Nata on it.
• You can be thinking about a thing and then take a few minutes to decide what you would like to receive from your Shiva Nata practice.
• You can be thinking about a thing and then stop to write down a wish for your practice.

Like this:

“I really need some clarity on this thing that is unresolved. I am ready to take apart any patterns that are keeping me from figuring this out, and I’m ready for whatever needs to be created for this to move and change.”

Of course, it’s useful to have a practice of setting an intention.

That’s because it helps you track what you’re working on.

And it puts you in more of a state of conscious awareness in relation to the patterns you’re working on.

But if you don’t have one, or can’t think of one, I wouldn’t worry about it.

Some intentions that can be good to play with:

• “I’m ready to learn what I need to learn for this pattern to be taken apart and for the new pattern to be born.”
• “May whatever I need to know be revealed to me.”
• “I’m ready for a perfect, simple solution for this thing I’m working on.”
• “Even though I don’t know what I need right now, I can trust that I’m on my way to finding out.”
• “Whatever I’m done with can now leave to make room for the new thing that’s on its way in.”

Or you can just practice. And see what happens.

The only thing to remember is that you still have to challenge yourself.

That means make it hard. That means make it even harder. That means not just doing what you know or what you expect.

Because it isn’t (always) just the intention that brings clarity. It’s the combination of asking a question and then challenging your brain to rewrite what it already knows.

So that what you don’t know yet can emerge from the chaos.

That’s the starting point.

Where you go from here is up to you.

If any of you guys have stories about things that have happened in your practice, with or without actively setting an intention, that would be awesome.

And if you have more questions about this, leave them here.

The Twitter version:

Intentions are awesome. Having one will set all sorts of amazing things in motion. But don’t sweat it. Not having one still works.

xox
havi

If this seemed like your thing, you might like these too:

• Truth elixir, nude dreams, realizations, just being.
• An amazing Shiva Nata story.
• Excitements! The Shiva Nata app is now live!

From someone who knows that it helps to say kazoo to get my attention. Though I almost missed this one!

Random question time! What is the most unexpected side-effect of the Shiva Nata dance you’ve experienced so far? (Also, kazoo :D )

So. Let’s have at it.

Odd and unexpected side effects.

Oh, there are so many.

Though if I had to choose one?

I would probably have to go with the miraculous series of understandings that allowed me to stop smoking.

Because that was really the very first big Shivanautical thing that happened to me, and it was completely unexpected and it just blew me away.

At this point, I tend to just expect all sorts of weird things, so I don’t get surprised as often. :)

What else?

The speed at which I was able to learn German was another one.

But there are others:

• I can’t lie.
• My weird ability to talk to monsters.
• The way I can read the energy of a website the way acupuncturists read the qi in your body.
• The way a pen cannot be dropped anywhere near Andrey without him catching it before it falls to the floor.
• And pretty much every idea I have for a blog post for The Fluent Self.

What about you?

Odd and unexpected side effects?

I’m going to open this one up to the Shivanauts at large! What have you got?

It doesn’t have to be bizarre, as long as it was unexpected for you …

If this seemed like your thing, you might like these too:

• The Levy Flight. Patterns. Again.
• Ten basic Shiva Nata principles.
• Another question about arms.

And my goodness, there were a ton of people on there. Hi guys!

And since we had thirty-seven questions sent in ahead of time …
And since most of those were actually three or four questions instead of one…
And since all of them were really interesting …

I’m turning some of the questions we couldn’t get to into a series of blog posts.

Today we’re starting with two questions that are, delightfully, about things I’m totally not qualified to answer but still have opinions on.

And, as always, assume the usual caveat that I’m not a doctor or a therapist, so (for the record) I’ll be all disclaimer-ey about that.

And before I say anything else, because Shiva Nata is complicated and pattern-centric and weird, you always want to focus on staying grounded, so you can be really present with both yourself and your stuff if it comes up.

And you want to notice what’s going on with you during the practice, so that you can stop or make adjustments if something doesn’t feel good.

“How might Shiva Nata help with Attention Deficit Disorder?”

Here’s how I see it.

Dance of Shiva engages multiple senses simultaneously, so it obliges you to make use of different channels of perception.

Watching the movements requires intense visual focus. You use your hearing to process the numbers and movements. You’re also using touch, in the sense that you are moving your feet against the floor in different patterns and your limbs through the air in different patterns.

Add to that the brain work of following the number sequences (or word sequences). And the simultaneous moving of your arms in different directions following different patterns, building neural connections all over your brain. Wow.

So in a way, it actually encourages you to focus.

And if you’re challenging yourself by making it hard, it should really be pretty impossible to think about anything other than what you’re doing.

Not to mention the heightened awareness of patterns thing, which can help you learn more about what tugs you out of yourself, and when — and it gives you information about what you can do to make your life work for you, given the circumstances you’re working on.

Seems to me that all or any of those things could be useful.

I would LOVE to see some serious research done on Dance of Shiva with ADD. And if people want to jump in with their experiences, or with their students’ experiences, that would be awesome.

“What about Dance of Shiva and bi-polar disorder? Is it okay?”

“I am not sure if this is a question you can answer: the 14 year old daughter of friends is visiting for a week so that I can revise her French classes with her because her grades have gone downhill.

I have thought of doing Shiva Nata in between with her to make revision a bit more fun. But: She was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder last year and is under medication. I am pretty sure that Shiva Nata won’t do her any harm but I still feel a bit reluctant. Do you know anything about conditions in which it is maybe advisable not to do it? Thanks!”

You’re right. I have no idea how to answer this.

In general, doing Dance of Shiva is really balancing, because it’s so systematic and it’s all about connections. Good for the body and good for the brain.

At the same time, it’s a really powerful practice, with powerful sensations.

And there is the emotional component too: whenever you do Shiva Nata with people, you want to make sure that they understand that the point is to do it wrong, so they don’t get overcome with frustration.

Some (most?) people get frustrated anyway. And when there is a lot of emotional stuff going on, sometimes the experience is of not fun. And other times, it’s really liberating to have permission to not have to get it right.

If you’re feeling anxious for any reason and want to play it safe, you might stick to just do something that breaks up the schoolwork, and maybe makes the memorization bits easier.

I might try doing just connections.

Like Horizontal-Vertical connections with numbers and/or words. And then giving her a break and seeing how it feels.

These answers are just starting points. For more questions, probably.

There are so many things to ask. So many things to notice. So many things to need.

The essential thing about using Dance of Shiva, in my experience, is turning everything into information that helps us have a more conscious, intentional relationship with ourselves.

We make sure that our main focus is safety. Grounding. Whatever we need to stay centered and in the process.

And then ..

• We notice things.
• We experiment.
• We take notes.
• We ask questions.
• We make a point of doing things differently next time.

If people in the call only took away one thing from the themes we played with — sovereignty and “Check your patterns!” — I hope it’s this:

“It’s your practice.

Which means that you get to experiment, mindfully.

And to test things. As long as your intention is to learn stuff about your patterns so that you can take better care of yourself, that’s going to help you figure out what needs to happen next.”

And for now, let’s leave it at that.

More guest posts coming up. More answering of questions-that-didn’t get answered.

And big love to all the Shivanauts, and people-who-might-eventually-be-Shivanauts and all the Lurker Mice.

If this seemed like your thing, you might like these too:

• The Levy Flight. Patterns. Again.
• Shiva Nata: odd and unexpected side effects
• Announcement! The teleclass! (NEW DATE)