Question Life
“EXPAND OR DIE!” is what my meditation teacher used to say…
And that was his nice way of saying if you’re not questioning life then why are you even bothering to be here? The funny thing about questioning life is that we are very subtley doing it from the time we are children. Asking ourselves what’s bad, what’s good, what gives me value, how do I get attention, how are my needs met… always using the experiences we go through to create a blue print that is individual to each and every one of us. Through our life, the highs and lows, the traumas, and events we participate in, the way our parents discipline us or reward us... how we experience and witness life alters our blue print. We then move forward and function through life with an altered blue print. Sometimes we bury the struggles we endured and other times we’re just never really happy no matter how much success we achieve.
Our perspective at Waking Root is about questioning life to understand which experiences had what effects on our life? Is the fact that your parents weren’t really physically affectionate the reason you have intimacy problems with your partner? Did growing up in an environment where children were to be ‘seen and not heard’ in turn inhibit you from having boundaries in your life as an adult? There are so many habits and patterns that we carry without even knowing that we have the power to release the ones that aren’t serving us.
In the Questioning Life series we use exercises of examination and reflection on our lives. Looking back and looking forward to take stock in where are we now and where did we come from. How satisfying is the work that you do? What would your obituary say if you died tomorrow? And are you okay with that? If not, what changes do you need to make in your current life? What limiting assumptions might you be holding onto that could be standing in your way?
We aim to create clarity around the current state of your relationships... finding peace within them or actively releasing those that don’t serve you. We ask you to identify what changes you can pursue in order to get the changes you most desire in your life.
Knowing where you have been and where you are takes us to where you may go… so we then thoroughly comb through your death work. From advanced directives, to legacy work.. considering how you may want to be remembered after you are no longer here. We move through vigil work and consider what you may want the last two weeks of your life to look like. We also discuss funeral plans and what your family should know about your final wishes.
We end the series with grieving and ritual work.. learning to share about our pain and learning how to receive compassionate and non-judgemental support. Sometimes we find it’s much harder to receive than it is to give. Lastly is a session of self appreciation with a Gratitude for Life closing ceremony. In the end we hope to slightly alter that blue print back to a healthier, fuller model that can support what you ultimately want most from life. How can you achieve happiness if you haven’t even recognized what it is about your life that is holding you back?
Questioning Life is about the connection back to where we came from, who we are, and where we want to be in the future… reflecting on our life cycle as a whole to be clear if we’re really where we want to be today.