Hello you,
My friend and fellow meditation teacher Amanda Gilbert and I are hosting a free gathering at the end of the month -- but before we get into that, do you want to hear something really cool and weird about nature?
*A more reasonable question might be — who DOESN’T want to hear something really cool and weird about nature?
It turns out that not only do spiders crawl, but they can also fly.
Like, through the air.
It's a phenomenon known as "ballooning", which happens when spiders climb to the top of a grounded surface and catch the positive charge of the Earth's electricity to propel themselves through the air.
As it turns out, spiders can ride the electrical current of our planet up to thousands of miles at a time.
(Thank you Liza K. for turning me onto this planetary wonder.)
I am here to attest that I saw this happen first hand.
Late last summer in the grass of our backyard, I watched a small garden spider climb to the top of a blade of grass and raise it's tiny front legs to the sky.
It pawed at the air for a few moments before catching an invisible zip-line, floating weightlessly over to another blade of grass, just a foot or two away.
I spent a good ten minutes following this spider across the yard, a foot or two at a time, zip-lining (apparently) on an electrical current from blade of grass to blade of grass -- each time climbing to the top of the spire and pawing at the air.
I wanted to share this because I think about that spider now, every time that I think about TRUST -- which is the topic of the meditation gathering we're hosting on February 21st.
Trust (and it's companions Faith and Confidence) are qualities that come up a lot when we discuss meditation practice.
It's in that first micro-dose of faith that meditation *might* be useful that leads us to the cushion.
It's in the bone-deep confidence that we can be a home unto ourselves -- which develops through months and years with ourselves on the cushion.
It's in the profound relaxation that can emerge when we get very quiet and still and trust that whatever invisible forces that have carried us along will continue to do so -- without us needing to manage, control, and in some cases... even intellectually understand.
We just climb that blade of grass again and put our feelers up to the current, knowing that it's carried us before.
There will be meditation practice, and breakout groups and sharing from Amanda and I. (Yes it will be recorded, just in case you can't make it live.)
👉 Just click here for sign up and details, and I can't wait to see you there!
Pawing at that current,
Adreanna