It is a forgotten pleasure, the pleasure
of the unexpected blue-bellied lizard
skittering off his sun spot rock, the flicker
of an unknown bird by the bus stop.
There’s a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change. But it doesn’t change.
People wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see.
While you hold it you can’t get lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt
or die; and you suffer and get old.
Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding.
You don’t ever let go of the thread.
Zenmai is the Japanese name for the Asian Royal Fern or Osmunda japonica. It’s an edible fern that has also been proven to purify air indoors. This is a practice of unfoldment to be done in Nature. It’s inspired by my studying with Steve March (Aletheia) for coaching and Mark Coleman (Awake In the Wild) for mindfulness in Nature. I am grateful for their wisdom and teachings.
Start by taking a long walk in nature where you can be mostly undisturbed. Refrain from talking to people and using your phone. Pay attention to all examples of zenmai or unfurling of leaves, ferns or other plants that you are encountering. Notice the life potential that is unfolding itself naturally in this process.
When you are ready, sit down for a meditation. Take a few deep breaths, inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth. Gently close your eyes and turn your awareness to your breath. Once you feel settled and present, allow yourself to just be, let yourself unfold.
What are you feeling? What are you sensing in your body? What are you observing in this moment? Can you sense into your innate wholeness? Bringing back to mind one example of zenmai that you encountered during your walk, remember how beautiful it was in its own unfolding. Can you feel the same about yourself?
Trust that the life you want will unfold from where you are now. As you become more aware of the natural process of unfoldment, the one of the fern or leaves that you observed or your own that you are now experiencing, your trust in it will deepen. Accept, love, and value yourself exactly as you are.
When you are ready to end this practice, gently open your eyes and stretch.
Start by taking a long walk in nature where you can be mostly undisturbed. Refrain from talking to people and using your phone. Pay attention to all examples of wabi sabi that you are encountering. Can you see that a tree, among many other trees in the forest, does not judge itself, compare itself, blame itself? Can you see its beauty despite the fact that it may be twisted, decaying, broken, unbalanced or otherwise imperfect? Can you see how it still provides value for the forest ecosystem just by being there, despite (or may be because of) its imperfections?
When you are ready, sit down for a meditation. Take a few deep breaths, inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth. Gently close your eyes and turn your awareness to your breath. Once you feel settled and present, slowly reflect on a part of yourself that you may not have been fully accepting. How can you use the concept of wabi sabi to look at things differently? Can you see the beauty in this physical or character flaw? Bringing back to mind one example of wabi sabi that you encountered during your walk, remember how beautiful in and of itself it was, no matter its imperfections. Can you feel the same about yourself?
Now reflect on the fact that you are original in this world. Can you see how -your mind, heart and body- are completely unique? Can you see that you too, like every thing else in this world, has value and worth simply by existing?
When you are ready to end this practice, gently open your eyes and stretch.
