INTIMACY ~ by Camille Maurine

An article written for lifebyme.com
(April/November 2010)




The great adventure for me can be summed up as intimacy. Intimacy is a love dance with the currents of life streaming through us and around us everywhere. This body pulsates in communion with the larger body of nature, of the Earth, of our vast, mysterious universe. This heart resonates with every other heart, all vibrating with terror and courage, making life up as we go along. We are in this dance together.

Intimacy evokes my wonder and awe, at the implausible fact of our existence, of consciousness, of love. In this divine display, every thought, emotion, and sensation is a wise movement within me, a teacher, a guide, always leading me into deeper union.

This love is a flow of giving and receiving, an exchange of energy. Each new expression is a stretch. Can my senses open to the wild, wondrous beauty of the natural world? Can I gaze into the eyes of another and marvel at the unique, brilliant creation they are? Can I embrace my husband in his vastness and his vulnerability, cherishing each precious moment we share? Can I surrender in deeper passion, pleasure, and joy, and accept more intensity of connection?

Intimacy requires a softening of body, heart, and mind, a letting go of control and outmoded habits of protection. Yet, for intimacy to be healthy and vibrant, I must exercise its complement, sovereignty. I must move in both directions simultaneously, with awareness.

Sovereignty means I am unto my self, at one with my own soul. It means I’m not owned by anyone or anything. I inhabit my fullness and breathe in my own nourishing atmosphere. I take 100% responsibility for my experience. Sovereignty is having appropriate boundaries, not giving the outer world power over my well being nor allowing my nervous system to be hijacked by fear.

When I get caught, when I’m “beside myself” in some way, I stop in my tracks and mend. With loving care, I tend to every level of my being – physical, emotional, mental, spiritual. I keep my energies circulating freely and creatively with meditation and movement on a daily, almost continual basis. Then, when I sense constriction or reactivity, I more easily return to the flow. I remember. I am at home in my body, at home on the Earth, at home in the Cosmos, playing my part in this unfolding dance of life.

- Camille Maurine


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