what is s.l.o.w. presence ©?
water color art by Julia Latte
I have engaged in deep contemplative, artistic, and somatic practices for almost thirty years. Every practice, study, and engagement brought me closer to healing and gave me a lens to explore the wisdom of being slow, holding grief as a sacred container, and letting go. However, I was missing a connecting thread to weave in healing and cultivating presence as a gift.
a brief history:
While cultivating my soul’s longing, I received a gift of s.l.o.w. presence.
As I started to pay attention, I began exploring how sensations respond to my longings and vice-versa. likewise, how sensations respond to my experience of being open-minded and vice versa. I was in awe of this deep-seated wisdom in my body. While not knowing or experiencing uncertainty in life, wonderment gave me the lens to witness my body’s wisdom. I witnessed how my sensations, longing, orientations, and wonderment cultivated my holistic slow presence.
I call it liberation, an ongoing abhyaas (deep practice). Slow presence became my lens/ a tool/ a framework/ a model that supported me even when I couldn’t connect with my body while in deep pain physically, emotionally, as well as spiritually. Cultivating a slow presence is a practice and it calls for patience.
Sensations
attending to the body’s response to a certain experience or experiences. What am I sensing in my body? It can be anything from a raised heartbeat to sensations of the clothing one is wearing and being aware of one’s body.
Sensations in the acronym S.LO.W., offer a deeper understanding of how our body responds by learning about interpersonal neurobiology associated with somatic sensations.
Longings
what am I longing for in this moment? This is broad as well as a direct connection to one’s intention. How are my sensations connected to my longing?
Orientations
welcoming what is not familiar. exploring instincts for safety. Orientation is a natural response of our autonomic nervous system (without conscious awareness) to scan the environment. The intention is to find something in the environment that anchors our gage to safety. cultivating a newer presence. How do I honor the current moment by simply being present and letting the insights arrive and go? How are my sensations connected to being open-minded to the new information I find? orientation is a tool to reconnect with the body and feel safe. Orientation in a session supports nervous system processing.
Wonderment
awe or wonder of what may unfold invites us to witness the present instead of seeing everything from an old lens. Wonderment is the first step towards deeper somatic healing, that begets let go and fosters transformative experiences and justice. It also opens space for cultivating slow caring attention to how everything is unfolding in front of us.
what does s.l.o.w. stand for?
As a certified somatic experiencing practitioner (SEP), I learned that attending to our bodies consciously gives new learning to our nervous system. It invites us to reclaim our bodies’s deeply seated knowledge and integrate the intelligence of our mind, body, and spirit. This novice integration cultivates deep listening to oneself and transformative experience and justice to our holistic self.
How does slow presence become a healing intervention?
I developed this simple acronym that brings deeper learning from our body’s wisdom. This framework creates a deeper presence and connection. It is also a doorway for entering grief- a sacred companion for holistic renewal. Slow presence is also an intervention tool that paves the way to holistic systematic healing and take compassionate action. I invite you to engage in the wisdom of Sensations, Longings, Orientation, and Wonderment.