Now more than ever before we are living in a time where contact and connection seem so easy – at least in the digital realm. We can text, tweet, email, Facebook message or Skype. As I am writing this newsletter one of my sons is in India volunteering at an orphanage in the tropical heat; my other son, his wife and my granddaughter are getting snowed in in Southern Germany; and my parents are settling in for the long, wet and cold rainy season in Northern Germany. I am so grateful for all the ways I can reach them digitally. Yet, it doesn’t replace in-person contact. It is amazing how far humanity has come with cyber communications, yet we all long for more than this, for never before in history has real, true human connection been more lacking. Much of how we connect just confuses and overwhelms our minds and hearts. We may have plentiful information at our fingertips, but we lack kinesthetic affirmation and somatic validation.
Our need for real connection is imprinted onto every human being born into the world. Having a tangible connection with other people, especially loving and kind people, is an essential element in our becoming fully human. They mirror back to us who we are; they remind us of our intrinsic worth, the beauty and goodness of our being and what life is essentially about: receiving and giving love.
I believe this is one of the reasons people keep coming back to our Celebration of Being workshops, as participants or staff.
They make real human connections! We touch, we laugh, we cry, we cuddle, we dance and breathe together. We hold each other; we look into each other’s eyes. We bring what is hidden, shameful and dark into the light of an other human being’s love and presence – and it transforms! We invite and affirm what is beautiful and glorious in ourselves and let it be seen by others. We challenge each other’s defenses, comfort each other in our woundedness, and celebrate each others true selves to a degree that is only possible when real human beings come together with other real human beings. We have real deep human connections during our workshops and we foster them afterwards in our communities.
This Month’s Practice:
For this February, the month of love and Valentine’s Day, which is all about connection, we have an invitation for you: get away from your computers, your iPads, cell phones and whatever else keeps you from other real people, and give yourself a stretch to really CONNECT with someone person to person – and “show them some love”. It might be your elderly neighbor, a distant relative nobody in your family likes, a good friend you have not seen in-person for months, or it might be your very own spouse, children or parents, who you have not spent a 4 hour period without electronics with in a while. Give them your full and undivided attention – and see what miracles can happen when you truly connect. Now that is love in action!
Happy Valentine’s Day and so much love!
Britta and the Celebration of Being Team
PS: If you live in the Bay Area, come to our real life ” Give Your Love Away” Valentine’s Party on Feb. 14th for singles and couples!! We promise you, you will “feel the love” and it’ll be real!
Click here to get your ticket!
PPS: Also if you’re in the Bay Area, Lee and Britta will be featured speakers at this month’s FemTalks Miracle Salon about Finding and Maintaining Love and Intimacy. FemTalks is an incredible women’s empowerment organization. The talk will be in Berkeley on February 9th.
Click here for more information and tickets!
