Improving Your Visibility

On Thursday, I travel to St. Paul, Minnesota for a workshop by Wendy Palmer. Wendy is a sixth degree black belt in aikido and teaches aikido in Sausalito, California. She's written many books using aikido principles to help people become more conscious, confident, and compassionate. She describes her theme for this year as Visibility -- allowing ourselves to be seen. What a concept!

In a recent newsletter, Wendy wrote, "Our ability to influence situations and direct our intention is a function of presence and focus. Presence is the embodied feeling of aliveness that radiates out into the world ... The capacity to maintain the extension of one's field of presence is affected by self-consciousness or concern about visibility."

This quotation makes me think about how much energy I sometimes put into hiding my true self, my light. Tom Crum has said that we spend so much time worrying about the "lampshade," when it's really the light that people want to see. When that light shines brightly, who cares about the lampshade?

In anticipation of this weekend's workshop, I'm already beginning to notice the times I disclaim myself, contract my ki, or otherwise hide behind walls of fear or self-judgment. My inner critic -- the one that says "nope, not good enough" -- is ever present.

How visible are you? Notice how you spend your valuable ki -- shining or hiding? Probably both. Can you choose to extend and shine, when you want to hide? What might happen?

I'll follow up next week with more on my experience in St. Paul. In the meantime, you can visit Wendy's website below. Good ki!

Judy Ringer

Wendy Palmer's website is: http://consciousembodiment.com/