I loved my Lutheran Lenten group last night. The chairs were in a big circle when I arrived and Pastor Gail had already brought the piano bench in for our altar. As i began to set up for our mini-retreat, the  group began to come in, one at a time.  Howard arrived carrying a really large poster, framed in gold.  At the bottom it said “Crystal Eyes.” I thought that was pretty bold for a Lutheran!

It was a 3-D picture.  When you soften your gaze, (yes, take an Easy Focus) there is a balance that is achieved by your rod and cone vision, so that more of your peripheral vision field is used.

It is a more emotional, intuitive way of seeing the world. Score another one for InterPlay!  In this picture a floating heart appears to come out of a center circle and then zodiac symbols magically arise out of that center and surround the heart.  We worked on that last Wednesday, but I did not love my group that night. It was more like a job that night. So, with Howard by my side and the magic heart floating before my eyes, I softened and relaxed.  Guess what? Everything shifted.  Amazing? No, not really, but powerful nonetheless.

When Martha arrived, I went right over and hugged her! She was not expecting that and drew back a bit, smiling slightly. I took the hint as I stretched my hand out to warmly greet Jack.  That seemed better, so I stuck with the handshake.

Once everyone was settled we began with our theme for the night: Notice.  I did a guided visualization/relaxation with a focus on noticing the places where we hold tension and tightness.

At one point I opened my eyes and that is when it happened.  That was the moment I fell in love.  The whole room was filled with the soft scent of Juniper, the warm glow of candlelight, and all of these brave souls that had come to experience a new way of being in their bodies. They thought they had signed up for an exercise class.  That was not what I wanted to teach and frankly, I am sick of not pleasing myself! I brought exactly what I wanted to bring and it worked!  Guess what? Everything shifted.  Amazing?  No, not really.

As I looked around the room, they all looked so peaceful, so trusting and vulnerable.  I realized how much they were allowing me to guide them and to stretch them in ways beyond the ability to touch their toes. I almost cried. It was so beautiful. They were so beautiful. When they opened their eyes, I asked them to take a soft and Easy Focus and to Notice how they were feeling.

Howard said it was the most relaxed he had been all day and everyone nodded. We all took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh!

P.S. A Lutheran sigh is very quiet, almost inaudible. I am going to work on that next!