How I serve caregiver, empaths, teachers, and healers

I am not overly comfortable with labels, so instead of telling you what I am, I would like to tell you what I do. I provide a secure space, I listen deeply with intuition and experience, and I use powerful questions to illuminate your own answers. Sometimes I illuminate the light, sometimes the dark. This is how I serve caregivers, empaths, teachers, and healers.  

If you are a caregiver, empath, teacher or healer, you know the weight you carry to fulfill your calling. In a world of conflict, it is our role to protect, embolden, translate, guide and aid those in our community. There is little time for rest, and yet we know rest is required to continue the work ahead. My role is to provide a space for this inner work. As caregivers, empaths, teachers, and healers we value connection and sharing of energy. It is often lonely ( even painful) to self-care and engage in our spiritual practices alone. We gather strength from the concern of others, and so we need this concern in order to grow ourselves. We need the concern and connection of others to dive deeper into the depths of our own practice. 

Caregivers, empaths, teachers, and healers need a place where they can be free of concern for the feelings of others and also look at the parts of themselves which they seek to grow. Caregivers, empaths, teachers, and healers are not perfect and sometimes we cannot unpack that less ideal self in front of those who need us to be strong, wise, and loving. There needs to be a place for the caregiver to be cared for, the empath’s feelings to be their own, the teacher to expand for their own sake, and the healer to soothe their own wounds. I hold this space. 

The further you walk down the path of enlightenment the more clear it becomes that you are the only guide, that does not mean you need to walk alone. For caregivers, empaths, teachers, and healers: Connection is required, being seen and heard are required, sharing and being witnessed are required. These are deep guiding values we hold for ourselves as we navigate the world and it is important they be reflected back to us. Especially, when we need to do our own deeper work. Especially when we need a place of non-judgment to investigate our impulses or emotional barriers. 

I hold space for expansion. I listen, illuminate, reflect, and witness your inner work. What kind of support do you need to explore more deeply?

In your service, 

Sherene

Pumpkin Bread

I have been constantly adjusting and perfecting this recipe over the years. We were looking for just the right crumb structure and just the right sweetness to spice ratio. I think we finally have it. 

Take care to adjust the recipe for the size of your eggs. Also, this recipe is made with fresh pumpkin. I cut and clean the baking pumpkin and roast it on a cookie sheet, skin side up with just enough water to come up the side a smidge. I cook at 350 until I can easily prick the skin with a fork. I let the pumpkin cool and then scoop and strain it. It should be soft and easy to puree but not watery. Strain off more water if necessary. 

PUMPKIN BREAD

3 cups of whole wheat flour

1tsp baking soda

1/4tsp baking powder

1tsp salt

3tsp cinnamon

1/2tsp clove

1/2tsp nutmeg

2 cups pumpkin

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup molasses

1/2 cup organic sunflower oil

2 organic large eggs

Pre heat oven to 350. Starting at the bottom of the ingredients list, add all ingredients to a large bowl mixing after each addition. Butter two standard loaf pans and divide batter between them. Cook at 350 until cake tester comes out clean. About 30-35 mins. 

Making Magic: How and Why

When an infant is first learning to control their physical body they often flail about trying to get their hand in their mouth. It fascinating and exciting to watch an infant carefully and persistently try to swat at a toy or catch their own toes. Sometimes as caregivers we give them a little extra sensory help by attaching bells to their wrists or squeakers near their feet. This is how magic spells, talisman, and rituals work; they give our energetic body more direction like the bells on the wrist of a baby. 

Recently a dear friend and I had several conversations about being with certain folk and then afterwards having a feeling like wearing a heavy cloak. Being very empathetic and senstive people, we were often bogged down by these encounters. Neither one of us is especially good at creating boundaries naturally and our energetic bodies needed a little help keeping away the feelings others had put upon us in these specific instances. 

One afternoon last week we gathered our girl children( the little boys were busy elsewhere) and created these little whisks. They are made of lavender and twigs which dust your body in a clean and comforting scent when brushed on the shoulders and arms. As we carefully crafted our own whisks we gave our minds and hearts a chance to focus on our intention of not letting others effect our countenance. Each knot we made in rope, a reminder of our own choices and decision not to engage in drama. Now, when we feel that ill cloak is coming upon us, we can brush it off and leave the smell of lavender behind. We can hang the whisk as a reminder of our intention, and the love we share. The whisk, with it’s lovely scent, acts as guide to our energetic bodies making sure we send the energy where we want it to go- just the same as those bells help the baby guide her hand to her mouth. 

How I Use Meditation in the Face of Conflict

I remember many years ago when I was a new yoga student reading an article about a yoga teacher who walked into a room at a retreat and yelled at everyone. The student writing the article, and the teacher, were expressing how there is a place for anger in a peaceful heart. I have said similar things to my own mother. Sometimes I will express myself passionately and she will ask “ Have your students seen you this way.”  Well, some of them, yes. Because being centered and mindful does not mean there is no anger or fear. It means I recognize these emotions for what they are. They are highlighters, signs of danger, or warnings from my own heart and body. As a practitioner of mindfulness, I can be very angry or scared and realize I do not need to act on these feelings. I can calm myself quickly by controlling my breath.  Controlling my breath sets off a series of other bodily reactions as my brain recognizes there is no immediate threat and I don’t need the adrenaline anymore. Now, here comes the hard part.

When I feel these powerful emotions I know I need to be still, be quiet and listen. Prayer, mindfulness, and meditation are not tools for making the world more happy, or for forgetting the pain and discord that cause our uncomfortable feelings. Prayer, mindfulness, and meditation are tools which I embrace so I may submerge myself in conflict and maintain clarity. When I use these tools, I can still feel my emotions but my body does not react to them. Sometimes anger and fear are based on old emotions (or biases) and I have the chance to overcome them. Sometimes action is required and I can navigate from a position of clarity. I can listen deeply to my heart; I can hear and see solutions which were once obscured. 

This is what allows me to stand with a screaming child, to hold someone’s hand in mourning, to read the news. This is what allows me to give into empathy completely without losing my ability to cope. From this point of clarity, I can navigate scary situations with courage and unknot anger to get the to the deeper problem. I can find compassion for myself and others. 

" Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding.”- Gandhi. 

This "correct understanding” is not just the understanding of each other, but the problems we face and the solutions available. The road to peace takes practice and patience.