What’s alive inside of you as you awaken to a sparkling new year and decade?
Human beings are an inventive lot! We have the unique ability to envision new possibilities for ourselves through our conscious powers of intention and also to use our subliminal mind and noetic knowing for a deeper flow of wisdom and guidance. How we tap into these fertile human capacities and keep them growing is another story worth exploring. By embarking on a path of practice for positive growth and healthy change, you can find the guideposts and support needed to awaken your potential and experience the full expression of your being in body, mind, heart, and soul – the whole you!
One such practice, Integral Transformative Practice (ITP), aims to cultivate our many parts – mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual – and provides a balanced approach for lasting change over time. Co-founded by human potential pioneers George Leonard and Michael Murphy in 1992, ITP was the subject of a research project on transformation by IONS in 2006-2008.
In ITP, practitioners are encouraged to step on the path of practice at their own pace and do what motivates and serves their whole being. Practicing with a friend or supportive community seems to accelerate growth and makes the experience of practice fun and joyful. Whatever and however you practice, may it be with a spirit of wonder and offer a wellspring of discovery for what matters most for you and the world.
As you reflect on your hopes and dreams for yourself, humanity, and our planet in 2020, enjoy one of many ITP practices, GRACE – a Balancing and Centering Exercise used by practitioners on a daily basis for maintaining openness, composure and a responsive stance to life’s ups and downs:
GRACE
G- Ground. Feel your feet firmly planted on the Earth. Imagine lines of energy moving down through your limbs to the center of the Earth, grounding there. And then from the center of the Earth, lines of energy back through the layers of the Earth through the soles of your feet, through your body, up through your crown, into the heavens above, connecting your body with the earth. And then from the heavens above, draw a line of energy down through your crown, through your trunk and through your limbs, down to the soles of the feet to ground. Consider your profound connection with this planet and your connection with the entire universe.
R – Relax. Take a breath and relax. Exhale all the way. Feel your shoulders melting downward. Relax any tension you feel in your chest, belly, back, pelvis, or legs. Feel a warming, melting sensation moving through your entire body. Relax fully and completely.
A – Aware. Become aware of your surroundings, the objects in the room and the world outside. Feel the temperature in the room. Notice your feelings, sensations, sounds, and smells. Let all that you can sense become a part of you. Consider the possibility of other, co-existent worlds now invisible to your senses.
C- Center. Focus your awareness on your hara (Japanese for center) about two inches below the belly button in the center of your body. Experience calmness in your hara and the power there that contributes to good in the world. Breathe deeply and let your abdomen expand. Ask yourself this question: “Am I willing to get in touch with and use my own best and truest power?”
E- Energize. Open your arms up in front of you with your hands wide open. Feel high voltage of energy moving out through your fingertips into the world as you energize. Check to see if this energy is equal and even, and move around in this energized, balanced, centered, and relaxed state. Then return to your original position.
Take time now to reflect on how you are feeling in your body, mind, heart, and soul. Whatever you experience is just right for you. Enjoy your practice and allow it to continue to nurture your whole being!
About the Author
Pamela Kramer is the President of Integral Transformative Practice International (ITPI). She has a master’s in counseling, is a certified ITP trainer, and conducts workshops and programs in Integral Transformative Practice and Leonard Energy Training. Ms. Kramer is lead business consultant for ITPI, heads the ITP Mastery Teacher Training, and facilitates new ITP groups.
