Petals From Practice…
Through the lens of the Aventine Keyhole, Rome. A unique perspective of the sacred place of pilgrimage that is St. Peters Basilica in Vatican City. A long but quick queue to see through the keyhole size frame of the Basilica’s dome. The neighbourhood of the Aventine Hill offers a calm and uplifting atmosphere with its nearby parks, viewpoints and charming smaller historical sites. The symbolism and archetypal references built within the foundation and frameworks of this ancient and dynamic city can be wandered into infinitum. From a whisper of a visit in October 2024.
“ We write to heighten our own awareness of life. We write to lure and enchant and console others. We write to serenade our lovers. We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospection. We write, like Proust, to render all of it eternal, and to persuade ourselves that it is eternal. We write to be able to transcend our life, to reach beyond it. We write to teach ourselves to speak with others, to record the journey into the labyrinth. We write to expand our world when we feel strangled, or constricted, or lonely...When I don’t write, I feel my world shrinking. I feel I am in prison. I feel I lose my fire and my color. It should be a necessity, as the sea needs to heave, and I call it breathing.”
| Anaïs Nin, The Diary of Anaïs Nin, Volume 5: 1947–1955
What a colourful July it was. Be it through the external gazing upon ancient ruins and old world architecture serving as a backdrop for sprawling urban life, or an internal one where the images and symbols the day brings in inform with equal measure a vast landscape of vivid and cumbersome natured dream state. Yet what has helped anchor me amidst navigating a steady yet stimulating path through Turkey and Albania are the the ripples of featured focus that filter through the theme from last months’ July 2026 ‘Monthly Letter.’
Suffice to say that throughout the last three and a half years of travelling around Asia and Europe, I have come to know what practices nourish and ground me steady within my mind-body as well as rituals for reawakening and re-energising myself in harmony with work-life. So to stretch the borderline between an in-depth yet practical invitation encompassed in a Monthly Letter to a gentle invitation of inquiry via this fortnightly series [ Petals From Practice ], I’d like to leave here on the page a few simple yet formidable suggestions to travel a little further inward when experiencing and receiving moments of information overload - from external environment and unseen yet deeply felt physical mechanisms calling for a mindful moment.
Dreamwork ;
Gathering the dreamy residue of a nights sleep, also referred to as ‘Dream recall’ can be an insightful way to observe the inner tensions being held and released. An aspect of this practice is to notice if there is a motif, a recurring theme of idea/image that seems to seep into the dreamscape more than once - *albeit sometimes waking up in a dizzy reverie isn’t the most essential point of the priorities list of the day.
So to keep the act of recalling a dream simple, placing next to your bed a notepad / journal /diary can be a supportive presence when speaking the words out loud to someone doesn’t feel right or is simply not available. Honouring the sacred essence that the morning brings, inwardly embrace the silence and gentle stirrs of awakening to a new day - in your body first. Then put pencil to paper at the appropriate time. Depending on your practice or intentions of wanting to recall a dreams details of mood /theme / image, a quick dot jotting down of key words upon wakening is more conducive. If you find resolve in this activity over time, then eventually through consistent recall (no matter how sparse or saturated its nature ), there may be a larger theme or source of insight being presented, and when ‘zoomed out’ as a body of work over period of time can speak its message with clarity amongst its abstract chaos. *Adding the date of these morning entries can also add and enrich to the process of astrological practice.
Tending to the minds garden ;
When speaking about dreamwork, I must also invite any curious practitioner to also consider their end of day at-home winding down efforts as a supportive precursor toward a pre-sleep ‘ritual’… This threshold between what the day has brought —— and what the night beholds forms part of the bigger more mystical experiences that take place during the hours of the ‘sleep’ state. Coming back to the sentiment of exploring and travelling inward, it is through this ‘winding down’ / more softened and receptive moments of each individuals day where the workings of mind-body offer a wider sense of ‘permeability,’ a state in which receptivity to more subtle and sensitive sensation and information is heightened.
Whether through the lens of neuroscience, or an intuitive knowing, or through engaging with more eastern classical/traditional wisdom based practices - the realm of sleep and the moments beforehand can be approached with surrender to processes occurring within these periods. A particular interest for me is the ability for an individual to work with themselves - as if tuning into an inactive or disengaged muscle in order to strengthen or condition it to deepen in a more refined/subtle connection. As discussed in the previous edition of The Pause ( find here ), the workings of the mind and the stories created by it in order to form ones’ reality can be an empowering position to move from. Tending to the minds garden can be a soft focal lens upon which the events and encounters of the day can be filtered through and released. Whether in bed or during a quiet meditative window seated in the lead up to sleep, both positions can be supportive if wanting to work with a more permeable mind state. More ‘permeable’ compared to the state that which most individuals inhabit during the middle of the day - where distractions and deviations from a task are more loud or demanding and thus requires robust energetic boundaries. This is a moment of ‘ sifting through the ‘mindstuff’- a window of time that dedicates to dissolving the debris of the day, so that sleep can become a clearer period for rest /repair /replenishment. There are plenty of ways in which to promote relaxation and readiness for bedtime. One way is through Yoga Nidra, a practice that requires a silent and safe space to sit or stay in recline in order to relax the mind-body in an orderly systematic way. With many video and audio guides online, I warmly suggest choosing a guide that provides the meditative journey/ vocal manner / duration / depth that captures your attention and curiosity the most.
May you be happy and healthy,
Frances.
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At the beginning of each month I share themes upon which to approach a sustainable practice sent out as a ‘Monthly Letter’ - a true joy for me as I stay connected throughout my travels. Seeing it as a fresh lens to look through, or as an invitation to reposition into a different angle upon which to tend your garden of practice - explore the journey at your own pace » here to receive the upcoming August edition.
Hari Om.
