A starting place, this witness. A practice that steadies, informs, and clarifies this being.

To begin.

Notice. How are you feeling right now? Where are you feeling it? What does it feel like? What is that like for you?

Without judgment.

It’s so easy to move into judgment about why something’s coming up, why it’s feeling the way it’s feeling, and whether it’s good or bad. 

It’s probably not. Not good or bad. Not attached to a single story. Not definable. It’s you. You are an expansive being, made up of so many layers, so many waves of life, so many stories that shape you. Whatever you’re noticing need not be named. It’s not here to be named. It’s you. It’s wisdom. It’s medicine.

Let it be.

Whatever it is you notice, let it be. It’s a bit counter to our tendency in healing conversations. 

I notice something and want to understand it, define it, move it, and be better. You’re doing it. Just noticing is all of those things and none of them. It’s a powerful piece of this living puzzle — being with it. 

It’s hard to be with it if we can’t let it be.

Make room.

It may help to notice what distracts you from witness. For me, sometimes it’s easy things like sugar and television and even informative podcasts.

And then there are the things that bring you into witness. Maybe something like these…

What brings me into witness.

Music that meets my spirit.
Dancing sola.
My own kind of mirror work.
Writing.
Allied resources like acupuncture, herbal support, and stone medicine sessions.
Noticing whether I want to sit, walk, run, swim, fly, or be.

It goes beyond.

This is how we connect. It’s access to the wisdom we carry, an inroad to our souls, a channel to those who’ve come before us, an honoring of where we dwell today. Noticing goes beyond this moment. Without any effort, we are at once here and everywhere.

This is how we widen our healing conversations.

One more note.

I recommend witness especially for work in changing ancient stories, moving patterns that resonate in our bones, and shifting ancestral consciousness. It’s a resource I engage in conversations around dismantling white supremacy, racism, and patriarchy. It’s a resource I engage in transforming my own relationships and living my truth. I’d love to hear where and how a practice like this shows up for you.