Flow the River Said
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Flow the River Said

The unforced rhythm of grace

The sensuality of nature has a way of getting me out of my head and into connection – not only with my body, but with an order and a flow that is larger than me. Even though I am trying to spend lots of time out in nature it never fails to surprise me what it does to me. How good it is. 

As I start watching, I mean, really watching nature, she teaches me about how to be. I see life with all its struggles, life with all its beauty, life as constant change. Somehow, this puts my own life into perspective, and sometimes in ways that are underneath any intellectual concept. A little bit like magic. To be in this place where my senses get tingly makes me relax about my own stuff. It’s pure medicine.

Chapters:

  • 00:00:00 Intro
  • 00:00:26 Flow the River Said – Solo
  • 00:03:16 The unforced rhythm of grace
  • 00:12:17 Flow the River Said (Remix)
  • 00:18:16 Outro

More info on the Sacred Sensual Retreat can be found here.

Transcript

Flow the River Said

Flow
Flow
Flow
The river says
As she goes and flows
In her rocky river bed

Never stops
Never pauses
Never hurries
Always time to sing her song
Linger in the moonlight
Dance under the sun

Find your pace
The river sighs
As she stretches
Through the hills
Going this way
Then another
Ever falling into place

Always flowing
Always going
Does she rest
Within the land
A grove of green
A sight be seen

As she draws me
I sit down
Funny how her gushes
Rushes
Losen me where I was tight
How her wildness
Makes me calm

Luscious sparkles
Cheerful whispers
Slowly fall my clothes away
The sun so hot
The water icy
Oh so wet
As I come in

She taught me well
My, can I feel it
There’s no point in holding on
All there really is to know
Trust in life and
Flow
Flow
Flow

©️ Laughing Brook/Peter Müller 2024

Intro

The other day I was treating myself with a day off by the lake. I was hanging out there in the sunshine, taking nods, reading a bit and looking out over the water where I could see birds fly and sometimes people pass by on the far other side of that lake. 

As I woke from one of my naps, I rubbed my eyes and what I saw was – I couldn’t quite believe what I saw. What I saw was a horse, a white horse, bathing in the lake. Obviously having fun, and as I watched it, someone was splashing behind it. As it was far away, I couldn’t see all the details, but I could see the water splash up and I could see the horse jump up and down, enjoying and having fun with playing in the water. This spectacle really went on for the better part of an hour. And as I looked again and again, I could see a woman with a horse playing in the sunshine, playing in the water. They were running up the meadow which circumvents the lake and leisurely spending time there. 

What really struck me as I watched this, and deeply touched me, was the intimacy and joy that this woman and her horse had together. It was not like “I’m owning a horse and I’m directing a horse.” It’s like I’m having a day out with my horse, and being very much on eye level, being on a very tender and intimate level with each other. They gave each other space and enjoyed each other. And I sat there and I was deeply deeply touched and really really curious, kind of ? I was really fascinated. 

In the fantastic translation of the New Testament by Eugene Peterson called The Message, in the Gospel of Matthew, he translates a word of Jesus where he uses this phrase of the unforced rhythm of grace, which speaks about the way God is with people, the way Jesus is with people, about the path, the way Jesus modelled for us. This unforced rhythm of grace is a line that in a similar way touched me because it speaks about just being, just like this woman was with her horse, you know, not pushing it to do anything, not forcing it into a certain behavior, to act in a certain way. Like we so often do with ourselves, with others and with the non-human world we live in. This unforced rhythm of grace allows me to be who I am in my own time, with what makes me truly me, what is the expression of who I really am. It allows me and invites me to be who I am. And that is part of what touched me deeply as I watched this woman. 

Eventually she left and as I sat there, I kind of was overwhelmed by curiosity, kind of didn’t want to miss the chance, so I grabbed my things, jumped on my bike and biked as fast as I could around the lake, which was actually quite a distance. Eventually I went up where the woman went and I didn’t catch her and the horse. So I drove a little further, set at another place I really love, by a lake, and pondered with my beating heart about, you know, what does this mean and what was I chasing?

And as I calmed down I realized, oh this was actually not about this woman. I mean bless her for being who she is and what she brings into the world, but it was ultimately about who I am. And I realized it’s about who I want to be, my sensual me, this part of me that wants to be sensual in the world. As the saying goes, it takes one to know one, and in that sense, watching the woman with her horse was connecting me with a side of myself, with something that is deeply a part of me. It was an external event that resonated with an internal trace of mine. 

A thing I did for the better part of seven years was a medicine wheel initiation with Natalie Vickers. And to start into this medicine wheel initiation, you form an intent. And one of my intents I formed was I want to live a full and sensual life. So this encounter touched something which not only brought this podcast into being, but which is really an essential part of who I want to be and how I want to live life. Because in the sensual there lies hidden a true connection to what is around me. It’s a connection to the essence and qualities of things around me, rather than putting some concept and idea around it. It’s about experiencing them immediately. And there’s a quality of aliveness and connectedness and meaning in this kind of relating to the world and to people and situations you meet. So the unforced rhythm of grace that came into my life through this woman connected me with this heartfelt derivation of myself of how I want to be in the world. And nature has this quality of getting us connected with this side of just being, and experiencing what it is to just be. In this sense it’s like watching a sunset, watching a woman with her horse, or watching a river flow.

Outro:

If you want to invite more flow into your own life, you might be interested in coming to a retreat I will offer together with Natalie Vickers in February 25 in Brazil. It’s called Sacred Sensuality Retreat and is at a stunningly gorgeous location near Belo Horizone, right at the edge of a national park. Sacred Sensuality Retreat is all about connecting with your senses to feel more alive in that unforced rhythm of grace.  And that, as last year’s participants told us, can be life-changing. You’ll find a link in the show notes on laughingbrook.net.

My name is Laughing Brook, I am a poet, dancer, mystic, nature coach and man whisperer. 

If you like what you’ve been hearing and would want to support me, please leave a positive rating and a comment on which ever platform you are listing to this podcast. This helps others to become aware of it. Share it with friends. And most of all – please subscribe and  come back for the next episode. 

Thanks for listening, and – keep on flowing, bumping and jumping with the stream of life.

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