Brushing Up Insight

This is an excerpt from the weekly News-Loveletter. If you would like it sent to your inbox directly (with all the other juicy bits, including a mini joy practice), you can add yourself to my mailing list here.

I’ve begun brushing my teeth under the stars lately, and I want to fill you in on the back story. When Dr. Joe Dispenza’s Advanced Follow Up Retreat in Dallas opened for registration, I had every intention of signing on. But my body said, “NO.” And I’ve come to appreciate its messages, so I asked myself what I wanted instead. (If you’ve taken my classes, you know there’s a yes in every no. :)

I wanted a meditation retreat for sure, and I wanted to do it my way at Breitenbush. So I loaded my iPod and phone up with Dr. Joe’s meditations and headed for the hot springs last weekend. Good for my word, I meditated 6 hours daily and read personal growth/spiritual books for many hours more, emerged in pools of hot water. I ate vibrant vegetarian buffet meals. I sat in the sauna, shafts of sunlight pouring in through the swirling mist, then I plunged into icy river water. And I met the most wonderful people. (Diane, Taylor, Sam, Pam, Lareina, and Patrice, what a delight!) My body-mind sang with the good-fit of my choice.

I slept and meditated in a tiny dorm room, one of six in a former milk truck trailer. Morning and night, I ambled up to the bathhouse to brush my teeth. I discovered there the most delightful thing — outdoor sinks. Two sinks stood at the end of a stout building with round mirrors hanging over golden cedar. Tall Doug fir trees reflected in their silver glass. Toothbrushing with a woodland surround. I came to love this time of forest bathing. Overall, my retreat offered gobs of insight, and this happy tidbit was a piece. I knew at the end, I had to replicate this at home. More nature is better.

I found a round mirror and mounted it to the back of my house, parking a small bench beneath. A chipped white enamel metal pitcher now holds my toothbrush and toothpaste there. A folding chair awaits my arrival at sunrise and sunset. I am happy to sit and watch the sky as I slowly give my teeth some love. Bundled up cozy, I watch colors fade into exquisite brightness, and contrasting shadows. I am so small in the belly of dusk and dawn.

And my teeth! They are the whitest on the block.

When did you discover something unexpected that changed your everyday life in positive ways? Are you doing it still?