Bad Luck Good Luck, Who Knows?

24 Aug 2024 Leave a comment

by Dr. Tricia Wolanin in Uncategorized Tags: , , ,

There is an ancient zen myth, which discusses a farmer who has a series of fortunate and unfortunate events that arise throughout his life.  Although the farmer does not judge these events, the neighbors do.  They are quick to label the events as good luck or bad luck, the farmer always responds with the phrase: “bad luck, good luck, who knows?” 

            Oftentimes we are quick to judge when things happen if we are having a good or bad day, how the rest of the day will play out.  We want to be like the neighbor and label it.  But it’s important to not have judgmental thoughts of what is out there. These thoughts can become self-fulfilling prophecies, which is great if things are going well but can be a downward spiral if they are not. 

            This was the case last week when I awoke. I had a flight from Santa Barbara, I had a leisurely morning waking up an hour later than my usual work day: 545 am.  My 15 ½ year old dog Bella was slightly overworked with her cough, I think her psychic abilities knew I was leaving.  But I was able to calm her down.  We both were relaxed, and I generally don’t check my messages before my spiritual practice is over, but this time I did.  My dog sitter sent a message at 5am.  She would not be able to be at her home on time, requesting I drop off my dog an hour later. This would have made me a bit late to the airport.  It was 645 am.  I started to freak out sending her several messages, but opted to call her to see if I could drop her off now. It was then 7am.  I got to the house at 710, after a man was honking at me that I was in his parking spot. I reparked the car, yelling “I’m just going to be one minute,” dropped off Bella, and I found out her son would have left the house at 715.  I went back home, showered, and went to my pending doctor’s appointment.  I realized that since I didn’t have Bella, I didn’t have to run back home and would have an hour to spare in Santa Barbara before needing to get to the airport.  Throughout the morning, it flowed like this.  Something that could have been bad to something that balanced it out.  I understood that life fluctuates like this. It’s not good, nor bad.  It is.  Could I go with the flow of what the world was giving me without labeling it?

            And because I was able to, life continued to offer me the vissisitudes of the day.  I could appreciate all that it was.  Bad luck, good luck, who knows?

            If you want to read a deeper version of the zen myth, check out this link below.

https://mindfulness.com/mindful-living/are-these-bad-times-or-good-times-the-story-of-the-zen-farmer

Heal the Healer

04 Aug 2024 Leave a comment

by Dr. Tricia Wolanin in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , ,

“Nobody escapes being wounded. We are all wounded people, whether physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. The main question is not, ‘How can we hide our wounds?’ so we don’t have to be embarrassed, but ‘How can we put our woundedness in the service of others?’ When our wounds cease to be a source of shame, and become a source of healing, we have become wounded healers.”- Henri Nouwen 

Working in the field of mental health today is finally being recognized as a valuable and honorable profession.  Yet, at the same time being a therapist for over 20 years has the potential to carry heaviness with it.  Like most jobs, some weeks are better than others, and this week was on the more hectic side. The week was full of clients, consultations, meetings, crisis situations, paperwork, and a 30 minute presentation to an audience of over 300 people.  As the day ended, I felt exhausted, and wanted to sleep away the weekend. Luckily, my co-worker and I decided to treat ourselves to a sunset sound bath held at Meditation Mount.

I have never gone to this special place, held in the hills in Ojai, a spiritual center that has been active for over 50 years, offering weekly meditations, yoga classes, and other workshops.  For the past several years, I have been holding sound baths on a monthly basis whether in the UK, France, Spain, and now California.  I have to admit, it’s quite rare that I am able to attend these myself.  It’s like a physician who never gets around to going to the doctor.  I was so grateful for the opportunity to be a participant, particularly during a stressful week.

The outdoor space was beautiful, held in the hills of Ojai, looking over the rural fields. The sun shined heavily on us, as we laid on yoga mats.  Parasols were offered to attendees to strategically minimize the sun’s impact.  A family of bunnies looked at us with curiosity, as the sounds melted over us.  It took awhile for my mind to wind down, as I tried to let go of the week’s stressors.  I tried to turn down the wonder of what instruments were being used and where in the outdoor space were the facilitators at. 

As time passed, I noticed my hips getting heavy, tension arising from my first and second chakra.  Although I have led an outdoor sound bath, I have never been in one.  And as I laid on the grass on top of the Ojai hill, I felt as if the Earth was taking the sorrows and traumas from my body that I had heard throughout the week.  My body had served as an instrument during the week, and now it was being cleaned and tuned by the Earth. My mind finally relaxed, and I momentarily fell asleep.  I awoke, prior to the end of the sound bath, I felt restored.  The week’s heaviness had been lifted, and I could appreciate the sunset that appeared before me.

We packed up our belongings, my fellow therapist friend and I discussed how restorative this sound bath was.  Our troubles melted away through the power of sound and the sacred land. There was a realization that as healers, we must frequently care for ourselves as we hold so much of the world’s pain with us in our therapy rooms. I am someone who yearns for restoration through meditation, retreats, and awe experiences.  We vowed at a minimum on a monthly basis, to commit to nourishing our souls in places that can support, nourish, and carry us.  The healers need to be healed.