The Spiral of Becoming

 On a recent snowshoeing hike at Mt. Rainier National Park with my colleague, Jeff Carter, a Naturalist and Leadership Facilitator, I learned that the lines in a tree trunk form a spiral going around the tree.  The lines at the bottom of the trunk, nearest the earth, are closer together in the spiral.  As my eye wandered the length of the trunk upwards, I noticed the lines of the spiral are more spread out. 

We see spirals in many places in the natural world: a nautilus, a spider web, the tip of a fern about to unfurl, the petals of a rose, a pine cone, a galaxy of stars. In each of these, energy is concentrated in the center and propels growth outward. 

Transformation is birthed from what we hold at our center.  Like the lines on the trunk of the tree transformation looks different in different parts of a system.  Even though we may be part of the same system or organization, our experience at the center of the spiral may be very different from our experience in the farther reaches o f the spiral. 

Where are you on the spiral of your own experience with what you want to bring into the world?

Take a breath.  On your inhale allow your energy to spiral up and out like the branches of a tree reaching towards the sun.  Exhale and see that slowly circling light spiral through you and into the center of the earth.  Notice that you have space above and below you and all around you.  Ask yourself, “What would it be like to have a little more ease  in my becoming?”  Notice your body’s response.