New Year: Regeneration

Why is it that we need a certain date to start things afresh? Whatever the reason, the new year can be a time full of promise over what to start and what to ditch. How can we be better people and feel better about ourselves?

In the West, we generally think of time as a metaphorically linear road that we move along. We are conscious of a present, but look back at a past, well or not well lived, and anticipate a future that may or not change this scenario. The future lies ahead, and the past is behind us. However, we keep the past alive in our memories. Some can feel very present to us, and we modify ourselves in the present accordingly, for better or for worse.

Of course, this is just a concept of time. What would happen if time were cyclical: a constant birth, rebirth process in which everything regenerates? This is how our bodies work: from the lining of our stomachs regenerating every 2-9 days to our muscle cells every 15 years and our fat cells every 25 years, but our eyes remain the same from birth to death.

My personal feeling about life is that we are destined to meet the same challenges until we are truly able to solve them. They come around and around in different guises, presenting the same problem, and catching us unawares. So, perhaps, our resolutions can be about our cruxes. There are all the superficial ones, like get fit, lose weight, etc., but what’s the underlying problem that has led to someone neglecting themselves?

It’s hard to face ourselves full on, see all the shadow parts, hiding in the corners. There are no quick fix solutions, but gentle, consistent practice, whatever it be. My resolution is to not bury my head. So, I am using a practice at the moment called recapitulation, which I learnt from Rupert Johnson. It’s a shamanic practice that helps you face the difficult feelings and find a way to release it. It is based on a cyclical notion of death and rebirth in which a little part of us dies through our encounters in life. This practice enables us to recapture these missing parts.

There is a link here that explains it:

The Recapitulation Exercise

Alternatively, I thoroughly recommend a session with Rupert who can explain and also offer some very healing sound treatments at the same time:

Rupert Johnson at Yoga Health Mandala

Happy Regeneration! X

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