Cocoon Wisdom

Here we are inside our cocoon…in the soup …dealing with uncertainty. Will we emerge? How will that happen? What will life be like outside of this cocoon. We have detached from everything that was familiar to us. This can be a scary place to be and yet….I want to tell you that there are precious gifts for us here….in the goo of the unknown. 

First Gift: We are learning how to die well. 

I know this is not a subject we normally leap for joy on hearing. But these are not normal times. And we are not living the way we are used to. This is a huge opportunity to acknowledge that we will all die someday and rather than ignore that idea, isn’t it better to say yes and learn how to do it well, rather than having it thrust suddenly upon us. We can befriend the necessity of death. This can mean literal death, but it can also mean metaphorical death…leaving behind whatever we need to release. That could be a relationship, a business or aspects of ourselves we no longer need to carry. It’s important that we acknowledge whatever is leaving…ponder the details of the loss. Give it attention and give it time. I can ’t help but think of the Irish wake…a three-day event to pay attention to the soul who is  leaving our circle…remembering and celebrating that person with music and tears, laughter and a tribute of memories. 

In sitting still with full attention on the leaving, we are actually inviting rebirth. This is how the new can come into our lives.

Second Gift: We move our wounds into our Womb.

What’s important here, is to really fully commit to completely letting go. There is no half-way measure. We are transforming all of our wounds…no leaving any behind for later:)

Remember that the caterpillar and all its elements became part of the soup inside the cocoon. From that goo, a new life will emerge, but it will contain aspects of the old in a completely new way. Whatever is not needed, whatever is blocking the way, we must discard…clear the way for new life. 

Third Gift: We can fully express our new life.

By sitting in the stillness, being patient, allowing time and space, we will eventually emerge as a new being…our gifts will become wider, more expansive and we will be able to express them more fully. The small patch of red on the caterpillar transforms into a huge red spot on the butterfly’s wing. You too are resting in your cocoon as a transducer…you are allowing space so you can give birth to a new life. The old familiar aspects of you are changing, refining. Wombs give birth, but patience is required. It takes nine long months for an embryo to develop. Forty early morning meditations provide gradual growth into wholeness for the human soul.  The gestation takes time….allow it to happen. The Rainmaker emerged from his hut and change happened. 

I know this sounds like a lot to take in. You might be saying, “How the heck do I learn to die well?? The gifts sound great, but I don’t know how to get there.” Well, I have a strategy for you. Don’t I always??

It’s called the 3 X 7 exercise. Here’s how it goes. There are two parts to this exercise.

1. Sit down and write about Death, or your job, or your relationship…whatever needs to go. Write really badly…don’t edit yourself or worry about ‘writing well’. Just write. For 7 minutes.
2. Do the same thing again for 7 minutes, and this time write really, really badly…write from your blood…go deeper.
3. OK now do it one more time…for 7 minutes…really, really, really badly…write from your bones this time. If you’re writing about death, write what you truly need to know about Death…from your bones.

Now read it over and pick out one word or phrase that stands out for you. Put a big circle around it—-underline it several times.

Now, write about that word or phrase. You are consciously learning about Death. You are shedding your old skins like snakes do.

Here’s the second part of the exercise.

Create a ritual.

Go to the ocean and splash water on your face…cleansing yourself, releasing your old layers.

Or light a fire and burn a paper that describes what you are letting go. Be purified by the flames. 

Do a daily Hut Practice. Enter fully into the present moment. Give yourself permission to heal.

This is powerful transformation. Let’s all take this opportunity and emerge into new life.