Embodied Explorations: finding ground in chaotic times

1 hour sensorial ritual designed for times of collective (and personal) turmoil

Maria Jesus Contreras

For weeks I have been itching to offer something to the community that holds this work together. I began with the question: What balms can I offer in times of chaos? What joy or tenderness can I infuse that still grounds us in political awareness but feels beautiful and poetic?

So, welcome to Embodied Explorations, this is a series for paying subscribers of WAVES. I wanted to offer something special in gratitude for your support.

These are curated sensorial rituals that I have prepared for you with a theme in mind. These contain a mix of my research, the exercises I propose in my workshops, and years of trial and error. Essentially, I am sharing the ways in which I myself have found ground in times of turmoil.

I curate sensorial experiences because I believe that the body and our senses play an incredible part in our road to dismantling oppressive systems. The body should be present in this process.

So many of you have been writing to me these days asking me how to find solace in these dark times. So I decided to design this 1 hour sensorial ritual. I usually do this in workshops but I wanted to create a formula that works for this format too, so here it is!

First up, discomfort. We are currently living in a world where information is available everywhere, we are constantly exposed to the reality of a dying planet, genocide, homophobic attacks, and police brutality. The heartbreak generated by this exposure can feel overwhelming and uncomfortable.

This is the heartbreak I want to tend to. The questions that crossed my mind were: How can we sit with the discomfort and arrive at radical change? How can we remain in our bodies, avoiding the typical escape to the mind? Perhaps radical change can only happen in the face of discomfort, I even wrote about it here.

This embodiment exploration can be used in times of collective pain, but also if you are going through a difficult moment personally. To simply take an hour to tend to that feeling is extremely powerful.

If you are not a paying subscriber and want to access this ritual and more, there is currently an offer active.

As you go through this ritual, remember to always be tender with yourself, and know that you are not alone in having these feelings, I have had them so many times, and have felt that doing these kinds of rituals has served me immensely in softening into this hard place where discomfort sits.

What to expect:

• a guided sensorial ecological meditation to get into your body

• herbal tea recipe designed for this theme specifically

• a creative ritual

• journalling prompts

• curated playlist

• radical reflection elements

What you need: