Derek Sheahan

August 22, 2025

THE NURTURER | RECEIVING AND THE 5 LOVE LANGUAGES

Derek Sheahan

August 22, 2025

Receiving Love Through the Lens of the Nurturer

Most of us are more comfortable giving than receiving. We find it natural to extend care, support, or encouragement, yet when love comes back toward us, something in the body can tighten. We might downplay a compliment, refuse an offer of help, or brush off attention with a quick “I’m fine.”

But receiving is not selfish, it is sacred. It is one of the four phases of the Nurturer archetype in the Lenses That Liberate framework—alongside Releasing, Resting, and Radiating. Receiving is where the flow of love completes its circle, where we let care enter so it can nourish us from within.

One way to explore this phase is through Gary Chapman’s well-known framework of the Five Love Languages. Each love language, Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, Gifts, Quality Time, and Physical Touch, shows us a different doorway into receiving.

Words of Affirmation: Letting Love Land

If your language is words, receiving may look like slowing down enough to let a compliment reach you. Instead of brushing it away, breathe it in. Notice how it feels to let someone’s truth about your value settle in your heart. This is not vanity, it is humility, the humility to allow love in.

Acts of Service: Allowing Care to Support You

When others do something for us, our independence can protest: “I should handle this myself.” Yet to receive in this language is to let go of self-sufficiency and allow care to meet us. Acts of service remind us that surrender is not weakness. It is trust in love’s desire to carry us, even for a moment.

Gifts: Receiving Without Obligation

A gift can stir feelings of obligation, “Now I owe them something.” But in the Nurturer’s way, receiving a gift is about gratitude without repayment. It is resting in worthiness, allowing generosity to touch us without defenses. To receive a gift is to practice believing that we deserve joy and surprise.

Quality Time: Letting Presence Be Enough

For those who long for time and attention, receiving means relaxing into presence without needing to perform. When someone offers you their full attention, let yourself be seen. Resist the urge to fill the silence or prove your value. Simply allow your being to be enough.

Physical Touch: Softening Into Embodiment

Receiving touch calls us to soften the body’s defenses. A hug, a hand on the shoulder, or intimate closeness, these are invitations to trust safety and warmth. Touch allows us to receive love directly into the body, bypassing words, and reminding us that care is not only felt but embodied.

Receiving as an Act of Love

Through the lens of the Nurturer, receiving is not passive. It is an act of courage, a willingness to open to love in its many forms. When we let ourselves receive, we affirm that love is real, that we are worthy of it, and that the flow of care moves through us into the wider world.

The more we practice receiving, whether words, care, gifts, time, or touch, the more freely we can radiate love back.

Want to Explore More?

The Lenses That Liberate framework offers a path into archetypal practices that reconnect us with the deep intelligence of the body, heart, and spirit.

The Nurturer is just one of many lenses that help us discover new ways of relating, both to ourselves and to others.

Derek Sheahan

May 9, 2023

THE FUNDAMENTALS OF SELF-CARE FOR THERAPISTS

Derek Sheahan

May 9, 2023

The “fundamentals of self-care” include all the practices and routines we start to include in our life outside of formal meditation and inner practices. As therapists, in order to truly get the value from our inward practices, we need to learn to re-structure our life in such a way that this basic sense of goodness can flow through us as easily as possible. We examine each aspect of our life and how we use of time during the day to maximize our connection to well-being.

These “fundamentals ” include all of the ways we turn towards our life with an attitude of goodness. Often the energy in our life is stagnant and rigid and we are unable to feel a sense of flow in the way we live. Before we enter into the inner practices of meditation through this lens, it's important that we examine our lifestyle to make sure we are taking care of ourselves and nurturing ourselves in the best ways possible. In this sense, the basics are not formal practices but general principles we can apply to our life. When we take care of ourselves in these basic ways we are naturally more available to tune into the inner compass of our body, to feel a basic sense of well-being and to move through life in touch with the clearer and kinder aspect of ourselves.

In this way, we start to move through our life with the question, “am I allowing goodness and kindness towards myself in this part of my life?” and “Am I relating to myself through goodness and well-being in this moment?”. We examine different parts of our lifestyle to bring ourselves into harmony with a more nurturing way of being as the foundation for all of the deeper practices. It is not necessary to include all of these different forms of practice, but rather 2-3 to engage with regularly that speak to you at this time.

SOOTHING THE PHYSICAL

STARTING EACH DAY WELL

Before getting out of bed, it’s very useful that we learn to fully rest and start the day on the right note. I regularly advise clients to set their alarm 30 minutes earlier than usual because once they learn to deeply nourish themselves through this practice, it is usually much more rejuvenating than the quality of their sleep.

For each of the following sections, work on these areas gradually in your life. Slow incremental change allows our body to adapt to this new way of being in a lasting way.

Here is a guided morning practice you can do upon waking:

Lenses That Liberate | Derek Sheahan · 2 | Morning Practice ~ Dec 12th 2018 (with music)

HEALTHY SLEEP

Examining our quality of sleep is also a very important aspect of the basics. If we are not receiving enough sleep on a regular basis the rest of our life will be impacted tremendously and again all of the subsequent practices will not have the effect they could. There is a lot of scientific research the last few years and what amount human being actually requires asleep and in my opinion, it is for each of us to tune in deeply to our experience so that that wisdom arises from the inside out as to how much sleep we actually need in our lives. There may be periods in our life where we actually require a lot less sleep or a lot more sleep and when we are attuned to ourselves through the meditation practices we will go through at this level, it becomes possible to know this deeply.

As you get ready for sleep at night, do your best to fall asleep thinking in ways that soothe you, so that you are setting the most fertile terrain for your sleep and how your unconscious mind can continue throughout the night.

Lenses That Liberate | Derek Sheahan · The Morning And Evening Practices

HEALTHY EATING

One of the first things we can examine is the nutrients we are taking into our body every day. Is what I'm eating in my life nurturing me at the deepest levels? Is it truly serving me to consume in the way that I am? Through The Nurturer practices, when we learn to receive a basic sense of goodness in our bodies it is very common to no longer thirst in the same way to receive sweeteners through other forms that are often toxic for us such as too much sugar etc. We learn more and more to come into harmony and in touch with the basic goodness of reality and that feeds us in a much deeper way. We may become satisfied and satiated in a way we previously did not know existed. Coupled with this, we consciously do our best to make decisions in how we eat that serve our deeper development.

HEALTHY LIVING

Another very important aspect to consider is the air we breathe. Air is actually the most basic nourishment we are constantly receiving through our bodies and therefore it's important that we bring our awareness to it. Often in cities and congested areas, the air we’re breathing has a tremendous impact on our ability to go deep inside ourselves and access the sense of goodness and basic well being. Therefore, it is often a very good idea to buy a high quality air purifier to have in your environment so that the air you breathe can of the highest quality possible.

Along with the food and nutrition we consume, it is also very important to consider the water quality we intake. Water constitutes over 70% of our body and it’s essential that in order to keep an energetic flow in our body and a great way of ensuring this is to make sure to drink enough water each day. It is also help the water that is not contaminated as is so often the case in many areas around the world at this time.

When we start to work with the first phase of practice of The Nurturer : Releasing, you may notice that drinking a good amount of high quality water each day can naturally assist the releasing process.

EXERCISE

I've often seen with people who are very attracted to meditation that, although they are very sincere in their practice, things do not progress as they could because there is too much energetic stagnation in the body. As human beings we are built to move. For hundreds of thousands of years, we have always walk 4-5 miles each day out of necessity. In the past, many of the ancient traditions didn't emphasize exercise as important because regular exercise was such an intrinsic part of their lifestyle for survival (going to the well and gathering food etc). In the modern world, where movement is no longer particularly necessary to survive it's important to understand that our body is still wired for regular exercise and when we don't regularly exercising party our entire being becomes stagnant. Therefore, receiving regular exercise in whatever form feels best for you is an essential element of the basics. Any meditation or deeper practice you do that does not include a regular form of exercise will usually not progress to the extent it could without it. Exercise keeps our system flowing, If we are doing a lot of spiritual practice without exercising, then a lot of the stagnancy we may experience in meditation is unnecessary and takes more of our attention to process.

Exercises does not always always have to take a very formal format. For example, regularly dancing to your favorite music is a very great way of both enjoying yourself and at the same time receiving a basic form of exercise to the body. Finding creative ways like this to move your body throughout the day can be very useful if going to the gym or regularly exercising outside feels like too much of a chore for you.

YOGA AND the tibetan rites

While exercising such as active sports, jogging etc, can help to release a great amount of the tension in our body and allow us to experience a greater sense of well-being, practices like yoga can help stretch the muscles and bring us into a much deeper state of rest.

For many people, regularly attending yoga groups and classes will feel very aligned. However for others, they do not have the time or interest in devoting that much of their attention to a practice like this, even practicing 5 minutes of yoga or some form of active movement in the morning can be very beneficial. A sequence such as the sun salutations is a very simple and useful practice for doing this.

Yoga is a popular way to increase flexibility, gain strength, and reduce stress. This system of physical and mental practices originated in India roughly 5,000 years ago. One translation of the word "yoga" is "union," referring to the connection of body, mind, and spirit. There are many different types of yoga that range from gentle to strenuous, but every form of yoga improves your health from head to toe, inside and out.

When done regularly, yoga can keep you healthy. It can aid in the recovery from illness and pain; and it can discourage disease. It can also provide greater mental clarity, emotional balance, and overall wellness. The only requirements to learn yoga are proper instruction from a qualified and knowledgeable teacher and a steady practice. Below is a deeper exploration of the benefits of yoga for your body, mind, and spirit.

The Tibetan Rites, an ancient practice of five distinct movements is a particularly useful form of stretching for our purposes as a preparation for meditation. The focus in this practice is predominantly on awakening the spine. The sequence of particular concern as greatly as we move forward with the depot practices as opening the spine can have many benefits beyond just the physical sense of well-being.

If you are someone that watches a lot of television or Youtube in your spare time and feel you don't have enough time to regularly exercise or do yoga, a convenient way of practicing simple yoga postures is by doing them in front of the television in the evening. As you sit relaxing, you can put yourself in a yin yoga position, gently stretching and releasing tension from your body.

Soothing touch | MASSAGE | BODYWORK

It is also very important for us to receive regular nourishing touch. As mammals are are wired to receive touch regularly and as well as simply feeling good, it has many health benefits. If you have a partner, this can be taking regular periods of time together to exchange nourishing touch in whatever way feels right for a person.

Another wonderful way of receiving version touch, is regularly going for massages. Having another person take care of us in this way and help release the tension for my body can be in a wonderful way of feeling connected to another human being and relaxing deeply.

Receiving regular massage can be a way of receiving very soothing touch. Often it can also be very beneficial to spend time with a partner too in silence, lovingly exchanging touch in ways that rejuvenate the nervous system.

Studies have shown that a hug or a reassuring touch a day can improve our mood, reduce stress, increase circulation and we also feel more loved and appreciated as a result. Being touched also releases endorphins, which is the feel good hormone, and is also shown to be beneficial to our health. We generally feel happier after a hug or reassuring touch which is partly the result of the endorphins kicking in. Sadly a good daily dose of physical contact in our lives seems to be on the decline as we have become more physically isolated by technology. This lack of daily face to face interactions has increased our aversion to contact and is linked to depression. No wonder our sense of detachment is climbing along with our stress levels. Stress can have detrimental effects on our health, both physical and mental, as well as the quality of our lives and relationships.

The skin is the largest organ in our body and is designed, amongst other things, to experience touch. As our brains and bodies have developed extensive and complicated responses to being touched, massage has a profound impact, not just on our sore or tired muscles, but also our physical and mental health.Massage increases the blood circulation to the skin which improves the skins overall complexion and health. The sore, tired knots of muscle are reduced or eliminated and once again the increased circulation to the muscles aids in healing and regeneration. While all this happens we slip into a deeper than usual state of relaxation and the endorphins released improve our sense of well-being. It is not unusual for a person to fall asleep during a massage, despite being well rested before the massage treatment.

DANCING

If dancing is something you enjoy, each day experiment with spending at least 5 minutes dancing to 1-2 of your favorite songs. Doing this allows you to get out of your head and feel joyful in your body for no external reason. When you are driving, enjoying music is a great way to spend your time or one of the other practices on this page. Don’t waste your time in negative thinking, redirect your attention.

SOOTHING THE MIND

Conscious VISUALIZATION (5-7 MINUTES EACH)

Choose a scene from your life that you felt deeply good about. When you are moving around during the day, take pauses and consciously remember this scene, allowing yourself to feel what it feels like in your body. Deepen the somatic feelings in your body through amping up the story in any particular way that feels good to you and spend time resting in this feeling of well being in your body.

Later you can add you more scenes, so a total of three and rotate them during the day. This way they don’t become dull to the mind and automatic.

HOW TO CREATE MEMORY AND FUTURE VISUALIZATIONS USING NEUROLOGICAL AND EMOTIONAL REHEARSAL

How we process, store and retrieve information is different for everyone. Generally speaking, people will remember where they are, who they are with and what they are doing. We also record all of our life experiences (or events) through our five senses — visual, auditory, kinesthetic, smell and taste. All of this sensory information is recorded as a feeling in the body.

As we recall memories and create future visualizations, and the associated feelings, we reproduce a specific pattern of synaptic wiring in the brain. However, everyone recalls memories or creates future visualizations in a different way, and associates them with a different priority of sensory perception.

“Flood your brain with wonderful neurotransmitters to assist you in redirecting brain function.”

The language that we use to visualize life experiences or events indicates how we code or sequence sensory input. For example, you and a friend may remember a special event very differently. Consider that when recounting a birthday party, one person may remember seeing the people who attended (sight), the conversation and/or music (auditory), dancing (kinesthetic), the scent of the barbeque (smell) and the flavor of the cake (taste). The other person may remember the birthday decorations (sight), blowing out the birthday candles (kinesthetic), singing ‘Happy Birthday’ (auditory) and the sweet scent of a flower bouquet (smell). There is no right or wrong way to remember as this internal process is very individual.

As you recall this experience in detail, you are neurologically and emotionally rehearsing the brain pattern associated with a positive emotional state and a joyous event.

The goal is to keep your mind focused while elevating your emotional state and create what we call the “warm and fuzzies.” This may include feelings of love, joy, calm, appreciation, gratitude and connection. This will help you flood your brain with wonderful neurotransmitters that will assist you in redirecting brain function. It will also help you to mentally rehearse the neurology associated with good health.

Describe your memory and future visualizations in detail using as many senses as possible. Where are you? Who are you with? What are you doing? What are you seeing? What are you hearing? How are you feeling? What do you smell? What do you taste? What do you appreciate about this moment? As you turn up the colors and the volume in this moment in time, focus on the feeling. If the feeling had a color, what color would it be? If the feeling had a movement, how would it move? If you could reach out and touch it, how would it feel? Move it through your entire body from your head to your toes. Immerse yourself completely in this feeling.

GUIDELINES:

With both the memory and future visualization steps, you always want to talk in the present tense, as if it is happening right now. Focus on you as the center of the story.

At the beginning of the rewiring process, when the brain is stuck in ‘fight or flight’, it is not uncommon to find it difficult to access positive memories, or anticipate a positive future. If you are finding it difficult to access a positive visualization, this will come in time. In the meantime, you can use your imagination and create a story, real or imagined. Some other ideas for creating visualizations include: asking family/friends for ideas, looking at personal photos, listening to music that evokes positive memories, making up stories from inspiring images of nature.

It is useful to complete two or three full consecutive rounds of the Limbic System Retraining Steps in order to supercharge a positive feeling. In time you can incorporate music or movement, to assist you in reaching an elevated emotional state. Remember the goal here is to recreate the “warm and fuzzies”, otherwise known as “goosebumps” or “God bumps”. Stay in this positive state for as long as you can. Aim for 5-7 minutes for each memory and future visualization step. During these 2 retraining steps we are implementing the controlled use of attention while elevating our emotional state. It is helpful to identify the most emotionally poignant moment of the visualization, name the emotion(s) and linger there.

If anything negative comes to mind during either the memory or future visualization, take this opportunity to refocus only on the positive aspects of the story.

THE MEMORY STEP

Be mindful not to use the same memory or future visualization more than 7 times in a row as it loses its steam.

A good memory might be the first time you held your baby in your arms. Or maybe it is a loving moment with someone. Perhaps it is an experience of connection with people at a special event. Or perhaps an experience of connection with nature. Or maybe an experience of connection to your physical strength; or perhaps it is your connection to music or movement.

As you create new fantastic experiences in your life, you are in fact, creating new memories. For example, you might find that in a few days you experience a tremendous shift in your state of physical, mental or emotional health. From that moment on, you can use this new experience as a great memory to draw from.

Lenses That Liberate | Derek Sheahan · The Power of Visualization and Creating Them

SOMATIC AFFIRMATIONS

Speaking to ourselves out loud in a kind way is a wonderful practice to do both as a meditation and also through the day. Often we wait for others to say the words we are longing to hear, such as, “I love you” or “Everything is going to be okay”. By stopping, connecting with ourselves and speaking the words we wish to hear out loud, our unconscious mind does not know the difference who speaks them and we can receive the nourishment we desire. We can use the words to deepen our felt sense of well-being in our body.

SMILING AND Laughter

Changing your relationship with smiling can be a very powerful inner practice. As you walk around during the day, you can experiment with allowing a gentle smile to form on your face. It's important here that we understand why we are doing this. We are not doing this to pretend to other people that everything is okay and we feel great about ourselves. We're doing this because when we gently allow a smile to form on our face, the deeper defensive mechanisms of the body start to relax because they receive our smile as a cue to relax and that everything is okay on the outside. As we start to smile more in this way our body keeps receiving the message that everything is okay and often after doing this we naturally want to smile more. (Note: If you are already someone who tries to present an image of yourself to others as a lot more happy than you are, this is probably not a practice for you to try at the beginning).

Another way of looking at the basics, is by consciously including more laughter in your life. Laughter positively affects all aspects of being. Studies show that it is a legitimate and powerful form of preventive (lifestyle) medicine, and a complementary option to other established therapeutic strategies for physiological, mental, and emotional health, and more.

Laughing lowers blood pressure, reduces stress hormones, and increases muscle flexion. It increases the circulation of antibodies in the blood stream and makes us more resistant to infection. It diffuses stress, enhances problem-solving skills, and creates a new perspective. Emotionally, it can elevate our mood, counteract depression symptoms and can deepen our connection with others in a seamless way.

sending WELL WISHES to others

A simple exercise : Each hour, spend 1-3 minutes thinking of someone and sending well-being and goodness in their direction. Imagine them being touched by your kindness, imagine their face softening and their heart opening as you send them well wishes. Then stay in the feeling that this brings in your body for as long as possible.

Lenses That Liberate | Derek Sheahan · A Short Radiating Practice

JOURNALING

Here is an audio about the value of journaling regularly.

Conclusion

After becoming acquainted with these practices, we can proceed to incorporate the inner practices of the Nurturer, which involve working with the Womb and Belonging archetypal centers.

For more information on the inner practices, click here.

Derek Sheahan

August 20, 2021

RELATING FROM THE 7 LENSES

Derek Sheahan

August 20, 2021

Once we're familiar with each one of these lenses, we can start to work with them relationally. And each one of these lenses has a different way of relating to the world around us. It's obviously important before we explore that, that we have a very good grasp of how to be in that lens by ourselves first. Once we have that grasp, we can start to explore it relationally.

And so starting with the first lens, the lens of the Sage, through the lens of the Sage, we're accessing that place inside of us that never changes, the ground of our being. We first learn to access that deeply, to dive into it and become it. Then when we're relating from that lens with other people, we can become like a sacred mirror to them. Because we are open and empty, we are simply sacredly reflecting what's in our environment at that moment. So it's a very deep mirror, it's a very deep openness to this is how we can engage to this first lens with people being like a sacred mirror.

Through the second lens, the lens of The Nurturer, again, we're able to access that state of natural well-being, that deep inherent goodness of beingness itself, we're able to tune into that in our bodies. And then when we're around other people, we're able to notice it fundamentally and others. So even if somebody is having a hard time, we're able to notice that inherent in everybody is this goodness, we're able to focus our attention, they're not to the exclusion of anything else, which is bringing that to the foreground.

Through the lens of the Warrior, accessing the more masculine qualities inside of us, we're able to lean back into those qualities rest there and become them. And then we're able to step back into our own nobility, our own inner sovereignty and our being within a able to notice that and other people. That everyone and everything, just by its own existence, has its own inherent dignity. It has its own sovereignty. It's like we're able to bow to that, and everyone and everything we see just the dignity of being itself in our daily lives and whatever we're encountering.

Through the lens of the Alchemist, we're able to touch the humanity of other people. Through these practices, were able to open our hearts and open to our own humanity, our own suffering. And so through the fourth lens, we're able to engage with people through that way. Because we know how to hold our own pain, we're able to be with others in that way too, without feeling overwhelmed.

Through the lens of the Shaman. First we get deeply in touch with our own energetic felt sense. Relating to ourselves as energy. As a sense of I am this before the sense that it's solidified in the body, we are primarily an energetic being. And we learn how to relate to ourselves that way. Similarly, we can start to see the world and other people in that way. What's it like to relate to others as energy to be noticed other people's energy coming towards us, retracting away from us? How much space are they taking up energetically, we get to notice these things and we get to be with them in this mode of being.

Through the lens of the Seer. First examining the core substructures of our own mind, asking ourselves questions like Who am I? Or what is pain? What is difficulty really questioning these core beliefs we have an entering into the core of them in our bodies. And then we can start to approach others and the world around us an extremely curious way. We become curious, childlike, almost about everything. What is that? What is somebody suffering? Who exactly is in front of me? Why What is life in this moment, these sort of questions we can engage with, with our environment in a very open and honest and vulnerable way.

And then through the last lens, the lens of the mystic, firstly, we start to see our own perfection, we start to see the order of things inside of us. We start to restore our faith in the natural order of things inside of us through different practices. And then we can start to see others in the environment around us, as exactly as it should be in any moment. And so on relating to another person from the depth of this lens, we can really see them as complete as lacking nothing fundamentally, even though they may have difficulties, we can stay through that lens with the underlining perfection inside of them. And so all seven of these ways can be engaged with the environment in this way. And we learn to be proficient in all of them. We can rest in the integrated self, that space that's even deeper, that's able to use any of these lenses in any moment, to relate to the environment to people around us. But it's not bound by any of them. It's deeply free. And so these are ways in which we can start to use these lenses that we've been cultivating to start to relate to our environment more fully.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO GO DEEPER INTO THIS Work, YOU CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT THE 90 DAY ONLINE EMBODIMENT COURSE I OFFER WHICH GOES INTO GREAT DEPTH ON ALL THESE LEVELS AND PRACTICES.

I’M DEREK SHEAHAN, A FACILITATOR OF TRANSFORMATION WITH OVER 20 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE EXPLORING WITH THOSE WHO TRULY WANT TO WAKE UP AND EMBODY THE FULLNESS OF THEIR LIFE. ARISING FROM MY MANY YEARS OF MEDITATION PRACTICE, INNER SPIRITUAL WORK AND PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDY, I DEVELOPED THE LENSES THAT LIBERATE MODEL TO SERVE AS AN INTEGRATIVE SYSTEM FOR EMBODIED AWAKENING AND HEALING.

Learn more about the "LENSES THAT LIBERATE" ONLINE PROGRAMME

Derek Sheahan

May 28, 2021

INTRODUCTORY PRACTICES FOR THERAPISTS

Derek Sheahan

May 28, 2021

INHABITING THE BODY

When we have released enough of the bodies tension through the Releasing Practice and have cultivated a uniform sense of body awareness, we are ready to start paying attention to the subtle nuances of energy in the body.

About 3 finger widths below the belly button and in the center of the body lies what is referred to in the Taoist tradition as the "Lower Dantien". This is neutral space of rest that we cultivate during the "Releasing" practice. If we move our attention forward from this space toward the front of the belly at the same height, we can start to experience a more feminine and soothing quality in this space. It is the space of the womb for both men and women and allows us to come into a deep somatic space of nurturance. In this space it is possible to feel like we holding ourselves in our own womb, it can feel like a deep refuge from the world. As we cultivate our awareness by resting our attention in this space, the archetypal energies of care and rest start to present themselves and over time we can start to let this place in the body meet the rest of our life.

Practice Instructions

Start this practice with your feet about hip-width distance apart and your feet pointed forwards.
Have your spine straight and upright and relax the rest of your body around it.
Tuck your tailbone in slightly (so that it moves closer to the wall behind you).
Drop your chin slightly to allow the back of your neck to open more.
Allow your body to shake from your pelvis, making sure the rocking movement is starting from your pelvis in a back and forward motion.
Use the shaking to wake up every cell of your body so that the natural awareness in your body can activate.
To begin with, breathe in any way that helps you to release the tension down through your body and into the earth.
Feel free to make any sounds on the exhale that allow the body to release tension. (sighing etc).
As you practice over time, breathe through your nostrils on the inhale, in deep, slow breaths and visualize that you are breathing directing into the center of the belly rather than through your nostrils.
Exhale through your mouth or through your nostrils, whatever is more comfortable.
Scrunch your toes regularly during the practice so you can somatically get in touch with the felt sense of the earth underneath you.
Scan through all the major joints of the body to make sure the energy is flowing through them fluidly. Start with the feet, then the ankles, the knees, the pelvis, the mid-back, the shoulder blades, the shoulders, the arms, the neck and the head. Bring the breath to each place as you scan, opening the tension and allowing it to dissolve downwards.
Return repeatedly to visualizing the tension from your body flowing down into the earth.
For the entire practice, treat any form of thinking as tension and allow it to flow down through your body into the earth.

GUIDED PRACTICES

Lenses That Liberate | Derek Sheahan · The Felt Sense In The Hands

Lenses That Liberate | Derek Sheahan · The Felt Sense - Dual Awareness

Lenses That Liberate | Derek Sheahan · The Felt Sense - Introductory Body Scan

Lenses That Liberate | Derek Sheahan · Whole Body Listening(Surface)

I’M DEREK SHEAHAN, A FACILITATOR OF TRANSFORMATION WITH OVER 20 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE EXPLORING WITH THOSE WHO TRULY WANT TO WAKE UP AND EMBODY THE FULLNESS OF THEIR LIFE. ARISING FROM MY MANY YEARS OF MEDITATION PRACTICE, INNER SPIRITUAL WORK AND PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDY, I DEVELOPED THE LENSES THAT LIBERATE MODEL TO SERVE AS AN INTEGRATIVE SYSTEM FOR EMBODIED AWAKENING AND HEALING.

Learn more about the "LENSES THAT LIBERATE" 3 month embodiment program

Derek Sheahan

May 21, 2021

THE WARRIOR | THE POWER POINT

Derek Sheahan

May 21, 2021

TOUCHING TRUE POWER

The process of shaking to release tension can be seen in the natural world also. In the animal kingdom, a gazelle will literally shake after escaping the clutches of a lions jaw, thereby expending the shock and adrenaline that was pumping around its body. By physically shaking off the tension, the human body, like the gazelle’s, is then able to calm down and return to a homeostatic balance.

Note : These exercises should be done only if they are pleasurable and you feel safe and grounded in the process. If you begin to experience physical pain adjust your position and/or modify the speed or intensity in a way that relieves the discomfort.

Stress, anxiety and trauma are common events in people’s lives. For almost all of us, we experience stress on a daily level, either at home or at work. The body constantly responds to elevated levels of stress by contracting the muscles to ‘get through’ the problem. However, we seldom recognize these contractions until we experience pain, discomfort or illness. By regularly shaking, we start to come in contact with these residual layers of tension in the body and they start to dissolve. The first step in this process is often noticing just how tense we have been in our body and this is an essential first step. This noticing indicates that there is now a part of us that is no longer tense and able to observe this tension. The more our tension dissolves, the more our attention can sink into the lower belly.

The releasing practice can activate the para-sympathetic mechanism of the body, which causes our muscles to relax. Relaxing tense muscle patterns can often reduce stress in the spine, neck, shoulders and pelvis. When tension is released anywhere in the body, the brain registers a reduction in pain signals, producing new hormones that promote healing. During the practice we work with releasing the major joints of the body to ensure there is a flow of energy through them. For example, we often keep our knees habitually “locked” during the day and by bringing attention to them during the shaking process, we can release this locking mechanism and reconnect with the energy flowing up from the earth.

Practice Instructions

Start this practice with your feet about hip-width distance apart and your feet pointed forwards.
Have your spine straight and upright and relax the rest of your body around it.
Tuck your tailbone in slightly (so that it moves closer to the wall behind you).
Drop your chin slightly to allow the back of your neck to open more.
Allow your body to shake from your pelvis, making sure the rocking movement is starting from your pelvis in a back and forward motion.
Use the shaking to wake up every cell of your body so that the natural awareness in your body can activate.
To begin with, breathe in any way that helps you to release the tension down through your body and into the earth.
Feel free to make any sounds on the exhale that allow the body to release tension. (sighing etc).
As you practice over time, breathe through your nostrils on the inhale, in deep, slow breaths and visualize that you are breathing directing into the center of the belly rather than through your nostrils.
Exhale through your mouth or through your nostrils, whatever is more comfortable.
Scrunch your toes regularly during the practice so you can somatically get in touch with the felt sense of the earth underneath you.
Scan through all the major joints of the body to make sure the energy is flowing through them fluidly. Start with the feet, then the ankles, the knees, the pelvis, the mid-back, the shoulder blades, the shoulders, the arms, the neck and the head. Bring the breath to each place as you scan, opening the tension and allowing it to dissolve downwards.
Return repeatedly to visualizing the tension from your body flowing down into the earth.
For the entire practice, treat any form of thinking as tension and allow it to flow down through your body into the earth.

GUIDED PRACTICE

Lenses That Liberate | Derek Sheahan · 3 | Sitting in the Power Point

the POWER POINT IN THE BODY

I’M DEREK SHEAHAN, A FACILITATOR OF TRANSFORMATION WITH OVER 20 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE EXPLORING WITH THOSE WHO TRULY WANT TO WAKE UP AND EMBODY THE FULLNESS OF THEIR LIFE. ARISING FROM MY MANY YEARS OF MEDITATION PRACTICE, INNER SPIRITUAL WORK AND PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDY, I DEVELOPED THE LENSES THAT LIBERATE MODEL TO SERVE AS AN INTEGRATIVE SYSTEM FOR EMBODIED AWAKENING AND HEALING.

Learn more about the "LENSES THAT LIBERATE" 3 month embodiment program

Derek Sheahan

May 21, 2021

THE WARRIOR | THE SPINE

Derek Sheahan

May 21, 2021

All Together with One Warrior Enlarged.png

RESTING IN RESILIENCE

Practice Instructions

Start this practice with your feet about hip-width distance apart and your feet pointed forwards.
Have your spine straight and upright and relax the rest of your body around it.
Tuck your tailbone in slightly (so that it moves closer to the wall behind you).
Drop your chin slightly to allow the back of your neck to open more.
Allow your body to shake from your pelvis, making sure the rocking movement is starting from your pelvis in a back and forward motion.
Use the shaking to wake up every cell of your body so that the natural awareness in your body can activate.
To begin with, breathe in any way that helps you to release the tension down through your body and into the earth.
Feel free to make any sounds on the exhale that allow the body to release tension. (sighing etc).
As you practice over time, breathe through your nostrils on the inhale, in deep, slow breaths and visualize that you are breathing directing into the center of the belly rather than through your nostrils.
Exhale through your mouth or through your nostrils, whatever is more comfortable.
Scrunch your toes regularly during the practice so you can somatically get in touch with the felt sense of the earth underneath you.
Scan through all the major joints of the body to make sure the energy is flowing through them fluidly. Start with the feet, then the ankles, the knees, the pelvis, the mid-back, the shoulder blades, the shoulders, the arms, the neck and the head. Bring the breath to each place as you scan, opening the tension and allowing it to dissolve downwards.
Return repeatedly to visualizing the tension from your body flowing down into the earth.
For the entire practice, treat any form of thinking as tension and allow it to flow down through your body into the earth.

GUIDED PRACTICE

the spine IN THE BODY

I’M DEREK SHEAHAN, A FACILITATOR OF TRANSFORMATION WITH OVER 20 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE EXPLORING WITH THOSE WHO TRULY WANT TO WAKE UP AND EMBODY THE FULLNESS OF THEIR LIFE. ARISING FROM MY MANY YEARS OF MEDITATION PRACTICE, INNER SPIRITUAL WORK AND PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDY, I DEVELOPED THE LENSES THAT LIBERATE MODEL TO SERVE AS AN INTEGRATIVE SYSTEM FOR EMBODIED AWAKENING AND HEALING.

Learn more about the "LENSES THAT LIBERATE" 3 month embodiment program

Derek Sheahan

May 21, 2021

THE SAGE | THE CAVE OF THE HEART

Derek Sheahan

May 21, 2021

ETERNAL REST

Practice Instructions

Start this practice with your feet about hip-width distance apart and your feet pointed forwards.
Have your spine straight and upright and relax the rest of your body around it.
Tuck your tailbone in slightly (so that it moves closer to the wall behind you).
Drop your chin slightly to allow the back of your neck to open more.
Allow your body to shake from your pelvis, making sure the rocking movement is starting from your pelvis in a back and forward motion.
Use the shaking to wake up every cell of your body so that the natural awareness in your body can activate.
To begin with, breathe in any way that helps you to release the tension down through your body and into the earth.
Feel free to make any sounds on the exhale that allow the body to release tension. (sighing etc).
As you practice over time, breathe through your nostrils on the inhale, in deep, slow breaths and visualize that you are breathing directing into the center of the belly rather than through your nostrils.
Exhale through your mouth or through your nostrils, whatever is more comfortable.
Scrunch your toes regularly during the practice so you can somatically get in touch with the felt sense of the earth underneath you.
Scan through all the major joints of the body to make sure the energy is flowing through them fluidly. Start with the feet, then the ankles, the knees, the pelvis, the mid-back, the shoulder blades, the shoulders, the arms, the neck and the head. Bring the breath to each place as you scan, opening the tension and allowing it to dissolve downwards.
Return repeatedly to visualizing the tension from your body flowing down into the earth.
For the entire practice, treat any form of thinking as tension and allow it to flow down through your body into the earth.

GUIDED PRACTICE

the CAVE OF THE HEART IN THE BODY

I’M DEREK SHEAHAN, A FACILITATOR OF TRANSFORMATION WITH OVER 20 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE EXPLORING WITH THOSE WHO TRULY WANT TO WAKE UP AND EMBODY THE FULLNESS OF THEIR LIFE. ARISING FROM MY MANY YEARS OF MEDITATION PRACTICE, INNER SPIRITUAL WORK AND PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDY, I DEVELOPED THE LENSES THAT LIBERATE MODEL TO SERVE AS AN INTEGRATIVE SYSTEM FOR EMBODIED AWAKENING AND HEALING.

Learn more about the "LENSES THAT LIBERATE" 3 month embodiment program

Derek Sheahan

May 21, 2021

THE SAGE | THE BLACK HOLE CENTER

Derek Sheahan

May 21, 2021

FALLING INTO THE MYSTERY

Practice Instructions

Start this practice with your feet about hip-width distance apart and your feet pointed forwards.
Have your spine straight and upright and relax the rest of your body around it.
Tuck your tailbone in slightly (so that it moves closer to the wall behind you).
Drop your chin slightly to allow the back of your neck to open more.
Allow your body to shake from your pelvis, making sure the rocking movement is starting from your pelvis in a back and forward motion.
Use the shaking to wake up every cell of your body so that the natural awareness in your body can activate.
To begin with, breathe in any way that helps you to release the tension down through your body and into the earth.
Feel free to make any sounds on the exhale that allow the body to release tension. (sighing etc).
As you practice over time, breathe through your nostrils on the inhale, in deep, slow breaths and visualize that you are breathing directing into the center of the belly rather than through your nostrils.
Exhale through your mouth or through your nostrils, whatever is more comfortable.
Scrunch your toes regularly during the practice so you can somatically get in touch with the felt sense of the earth underneath you.
Scan through all the major joints of the body to make sure the energy is flowing through them fluidly. Start with the feet, then the ankles, the knees, the pelvis, the mid-back, the shoulder blades, the shoulders, the arms, the neck and the head. Bring the breath to each place as you scan, opening the tension and allowing it to dissolve downwards.
Return repeatedly to visualizing the tension from your body flowing down into the earth.
For the entire practice, treat any form of thinking as tension and allow it to flow down through your body into the earth.

GUIDED PRACTICE

Lenses That Liberate | Derek Sheahan · 1 | The Black Hole

the black hole CENTER IN THE BODY

I’M DEREK SHEAHAN, A FACILITATOR OF TRANSFORMATION WITH OVER 20 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE EXPLORING WITH THOSE WHO TRULY WANT TO WAKE UP AND EMBODY THE FULLNESS OF THEIR LIFE. ARISING FROM MY MANY YEARS OF MEDITATION PRACTICE, INNER SPIRITUAL WORK AND PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDY, I DEVELOPED THE LENSES THAT LIBERATE MODEL TO SERVE AS AN INTEGRATIVE SYSTEM FOR EMBODIED AWAKENING AND HEALING.

Learn more about the "LENSES THAT LIBERATE" 3 month embodiment program

Derek Sheahan

May 21, 2021

THE NURTURER | THE BELONGING CENTER

Derek Sheahan

May 21, 2021

THE BELLY-BUTTON AND BELONGING

When we are able to rest in the womb like nurturance of the lower belly, it is possible to extend this practice in a way. Like coming above ground and letting it blossom... sensing our connection with others... imagining a cord going from them to us from our lower belly with any relationships that feel stable to us...

Practice Instructions

Start this practice with your feet about hip-width distance apart and your feet pointed forwards.
Have your spine straight and upright and relax the rest of your body around it.
Tuck your tailbone in slightly (so that it moves closer to the wall behind you).
Drop your chin slightly to allow the back of your neck to open more.
Allow your body to shake from your pelvis, making sure the rocking movement is starting from your pelvis in a back and forward motion.
Use the shaking to wake up every cell of your body so that the natural awareness in your body can activate.
To begin with, breathe in any way that helps you to release the tension down through your body and into the earth.
Feel free to make any sounds on the exhale that allow the body to release tension. (sighing etc).
As you practice over time, breathe through your nostrils on the inhale, in deep, slow breaths and visualize that you are breathing directing into the center of the belly rather than through your nostrils.
Exhale through your mouth or through your nostrils, whatever is more comfortable.
Scrunch your toes regularly during the practice so you can somatically get in touch with the felt sense of the earth underneath you.
Scan through all the major joints of the body to make sure the energy is flowing through them fluidly. Start with the feet, then the ankles, the knees, the pelvis, the mid-back, the shoulder blades, the shoulders, the arms, the neck and the head. Bring the breath to each place as you scan, opening the tension and allowing it to dissolve downwards.
Return repeatedly to visualizing the tension from your body flowing down into the earth.
For the entire practice, treat any form of thinking as tension and allow it to flow down through your body into the earth.

GUIDED PRACTICE

Lenses That Liberate | Derek Sheahan · The Nurturer | The Belonging Center

the BELONGING CENTER IN THE BODY

I’M DEREK SHEAHAN, A FACILITATOR OF TRANSFORMATION WITH OVER 20 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE EXPLORING WITH THOSE WHO TRULY WANT TO WAKE UP AND EMBODY THE FULLNESS OF THEIR LIFE. ARISING FROM MY MANY YEARS OF MEDITATION PRACTICE, INNER SPIRITUAL WORK AND PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDY, I DEVELOPED THE LENSES THAT LIBERATE MODEL TO SERVE AS AN INTEGRATIVE SYSTEM FOR EMBODIED AWAKENING AND HEALING.

Learn more about the "LENSES THAT LIBERATE" 3 month embodiment program

Derek Sheahan

May 21, 2021

THE NURTURER | THE WOMB CENTER

Derek Sheahan

May 21, 2021

COMING INTO FEMININE REST

Practice Instructions

Start this practice with your feet about hip-width distance apart and your feet pointed forwards.
Have your spine straight and upright and relax the rest of your body around it.
Tuck your tailbone in slightly (so that it moves closer to the wall behind you).
Drop your chin slightly to allow the back of your neck to open more.
Allow your body to shake from your pelvis, making sure the rocking movement is starting from your pelvis in a back and forward motion.
Use the shaking to wake up every cell of your body so that the natural awareness in your body can activate.
To begin with, breathe in any way that helps you to release the tension down through your body and into the earth.
Feel free to make any sounds on the exhale that allow the body to release tension. (sighing etc).
As you practice over time, breathe through your nostrils on the inhale, in deep, slow breaths and visualize that you are breathing directing into the center of the belly rather than through your nostrils.
Exhale through your mouth or through your nostrils, whatever is more comfortable.
Scrunch your toes regularly during the practice so you can somatically get in touch with the felt sense of the earth underneath you.
Scan through all the major joints of the body to make sure the energy is flowing through them fluidly. Start with the feet, then the ankles, the knees, the pelvis, the mid-back, the shoulder blades, the shoulders, the arms, the neck and the head. Bring the breath to each place as you scan, opening the tension and allowing it to dissolve downwards.
Return repeatedly to visualizing the tension from your body flowing down into the earth.
For the entire practice, treat any form of thinking as tension and allow it to flow down through your body into the earth.

GUIDED PRACTICE

Lenses That Liberate | Derek Sheahan · The Nurturer | The Womb Center

the womb CENTER IN THE BODY

I’M DEREK SHEAHAN, A FACILITATOR OF TRANSFORMATION WITH OVER 20 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE EXPLORING WITH THOSE WHO TRULY WANT TO WAKE UP AND EMBODY THE FULLNESS OF THEIR LIFE. ARISING FROM MY MANY YEARS OF MEDITATION PRACTICE, INNER SPIRITUAL WORK AND PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDY, I DEVELOPED THE LENSES THAT LIBERATE MODEL TO SERVE AS AN INTEGRATIVE SYSTEM FOR EMBODIED AWAKENING AND HEALING.

Learn more about the "LENSES THAT LIBERATE" 3 month embodiment program

Derek Sheahan

June 30, 2019

THE NURTURER | BEDTIME PRACTICE

Derek Sheahan

June 30, 2019

BEDTIME PRActice

For the bedtime practice I recommend a combination of the following Stage 2 elements:

Tapping on the acupressure point on the side of your hand
Listening to a recording of your voice saying kind things to yourself
A soft sweet playlist of music
Imagine the earth flooding you with loving energy
Imagine what it’s like to feel really good in your body right now and let the somatic sense of that arise
Dropping into the two primary somatic centers of the body for the second lens.

Here are two sample practices :

CONTACT ME NOW

See all my programs and offerings here.

Derek Sheahan

June 14, 2019

Level 4 | Recommended Books for Transformation

Derek Sheahan

June 14, 2019

Waking the Tiger ~ Peter Levine

Know your Shadow ~ Robert Augustus Masters

Self Therapy ~ Jay Earley

Facets of Unity ~ A..H. Almass

The Religion of Tomorrow ~ Ken Wilber

Derek Sheahan

March 27, 2019

THE NURTURER | 1. RELEASING

Derek Sheahan

March 27, 2019

SHAKING AND GROUNDING

The releasing practice is an essential core practice for coming to rest in our body. Many people find it incredibly valuable and useful to do a form of releasing practice before transiting to any form of sitting or lying practice. When we start a relaxation or meditation period without doing a releasing exercise first, we are often carrying a lot of residual surface tension and it can be very difficult to arrive at a place of natural rest inside ourselves.

The releasing practice is the first physical practice we do at the level of The Nurturer to help the body come to a state of rest. This practice serves two main functions. Firstly, it helps us to relieve any of the major tension from the body and to let it flow down into the earth. Secondly, it helps us to center of attention in our belly and away from our often overactive thinking mind. Through the practice, we slowly move our “center of gravity” from our thinking mind to the felt sense of our belly. Breathing in deeply through our nostrils and into our belly can greatly assist this process.

The Importance of Shaking

Practice Instructions

Start this practice with your feet about hip-width distance apart and your feet pointed forwards.
Have your spine straight and upright and relax the rest of your body around it.
Tuck your tailbone in slightly (so that it moves closer to the wall behind you).
Drop your chin slightly to allow the back of your neck to open more.
Allow your body to shake from your pelvis, making sure the rocking movement is starting from your pelvis in a back and forward motion.
Use the shaking to wake up every cell of your body so that the natural awareness in your body can activate.
To begin with, breathe in any way that helps you to release the tension down through your body and into the earth.
Feel free to make any sounds on the exhale that allow the body to release tension. (sighing etc).
As you practice over time, breathe through your nostrils on the inhale, in deep, slow breaths and visualize that you are breathing directing into the center of the belly rather than through your nostrils.
Exhale through your mouth or through your nostrils, whatever is more comfortable.
Scrunch your toes regularly during the practice so you can somatically get in touch with the felt sense of the earth underneath you.
Scan through all the major joints of the body to make sure the energy is flowing through them fluidly. Start with the feet, then the ankles, the knees, the pelvis, the mid-back, the shoulder blades, the shoulders, the arms, the neck and the head. Bring the breath to each place as you scan, opening the tension and allowing it to dissolve downwards.
Return repeatedly to visualizing the tension from your body flowing down into the earth.
For the entire practice, treat any form of thinking as tension and allow it to flow down through your body into the earth.

Centering Exercise after shaking

Once we have shaken the body and released the tension into the earth, it can be very useful to further center ourselves in the belly using a simple Tai Chi practice.

First, we come to a still position, paying attention to the points of posture already mentioned, and allow the energy of the body to settle.
We place our hands on the lower belly with the left hand under the right and both palms centered on each other.
Then we move the left arm in a sweeping motion to the side of the body and up over the head and then vertically move it down the center of the body from the crown to the lower belly (about 3-5 inches from the body). (See video)
We then alternate our hands and move the right arm in the same motion while leaving our left hand rested on the lower belly.
As we do this sweeping motion one side at a time, we visualize that we are drawing the energy of the earth upwards through that side of our body as we move our arm upwards.
We then visualize the energy coming down through the center part of our body (a field of energy known as “The Central Channel”) as we move our arm down the front of our body.
As we do this, we can start to feel a build up of energy in the lower belly and it will become easier and easier to rest our attention there.
We can also synchronize our breathing with the practice, inhaling as our arm moves upwards and slowly exhaling as our arm moves down the front of the body.

Once we have completed these motions for several minutes, we again come to rest in the standing posture with our left hand under our right hand (see diagram) . Our hands have been gathering and moving a lot of energy and we now breathe slowly, visualizing that we are drawing this energy through the center of our hands into the center of our belly. This further increases the feeling of being rooted in the belly and allows us to naturally progress to the next phase of this level where we come into a state of deep rest. This place in the lower belly is known as “The Lower Dantian” in Taoism and is the main energetic reservoir for energy in the body.

GUIDED PRACTICE

RELEASING | ENERGETIC CENTERS IN THE BODY

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO GO DEEPER INTO THIS Work, YOU CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT THE 90 DAY ONLINE EMBODIMENT COURSE I OFFER WHICH GOES INTO GREAT DEPTH ON ALL THESE LEVELS AND PRACTICES.

OVER THE LAST 18 YEARS I HAVE DONE THOUSANDS OF HOURS OF MEDITATION AND HAVE STUDIED CLOSELY WITH MANY OF THE TOP MEDITATION TEACHERS AND HEALERS THE WORLD, INCLUDING REGGIE RAY, ADYASHANTI, PETER FENNER, ECKHART TOLLE. I HAVE ALSO TRAINED IN INTEGRATIVE PSYCHOTHERAPY, GESTALT THERAPY AND A THREE YEAR PROGRAM IN SOMATIC THERAPY (HAKOMI FOUNDED BY RON KURTZ). I HAVE ALSO BEEN VERY INFLUENCED BY THE WORK OF STAN GROF AND HOLOTROPIC BREATHWORK AND USE BREATHING TECHNIQUES A LOT IN MY EXPLORATION WITH PEOPLE.

Learn more about the "LENSES THAT LIBERATE" ONLINE PROGRAMME

Derek Sheahan

February 22, 2019

THE INTEGRATED SELF | GUIDED PRACTICE

Derek Sheahan

February 22, 2019

GUIDED PRACTICE

Derek Sheahan

February 20, 2019

THE NURTURER | 2.3 RECEIVING

Derek Sheahan

February 20, 2019

Receiving Love Through the Lens of the Nurturer

One way to explore this phase is through Gary Chapman’s well-known framework of the Five Love Languages. Each love language - Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, Gifts, Quality Time, and Physical Touch—shows us a different doorway into receiving.

Words of Affirmation: Letting Love Land

Acts of Service: Allowing Care to Support You

Gifts: Receiving Without Obligation

A gift can stir feelings of obligation—“Now I owe them something.” But in the Nurturer’s way, receiving a gift is about gratitude without repayment. It is resting in worthiness, allowing generosity to touch us without defenses. To receive a gift is to practice believing that we deserve joy and surprise.

Quality Time: Letting Presence Be Enough

Physical Touch: Softening Into Embodiment

Receiving as an Act of Love

The more we practice receiving, whether words, care, gifts, time, or touch, the more freely we can radiate love back.

Want to Explore More?

The Lenses That Liberate framework offers a path into archetypal practices that reconnect us with the deep intelligence of the body, heart, and spirit.

The Nurturer is just one of many lenses that help us discover new ways of relating, both to ourselves and to others.

Derek Sheahan

February 20, 2019

THE NURTURER | 2.4 RADIATING

Derek Sheahan

February 20, 2019

The 4th phase of the Nurturer is the phase of Radiating. And in order to get in touch with the depth of this phase, it’s really essential that we’ve already received so much of that wellbeing into our bodies. Otherwise, it’s largely a mental fantasy of sending out this wellbeing to others. Now there’s nothing wrong with mentally fantasizing and wishing others well, it’s actually a very useful practice. And it’s a beginning way of working with the practice of Radiating. But to come into the deeper aspects of it, it’s very important that we have the foundation where we’ve already received a lot of wellbeing into our bodies and we’re filled up by it. So, if you’re not feeling it, I would suggest you go back and you work with the Receiving phase a little bit more until you feel filled.

And essentially the Radiating phase is our ability to transmit this sense of goodness to our environment and to other people. To be an ambassador for it in a very natural and uncontrived way. We’re simply an expression. We’ve heard so many great saints and teachers over the years speak phrases like, “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.” People who have the deep aspiration to become an ambassador of this sense of goodness, that’s the basic ground of us. And that’s really what this phase is about – recognizing our intention to actually do good in the world. Recognizing that when we actually have the intention to spread kindness and wellbeing, we’re actually in touch with the natural state. It’s really the only thing that keeps us internally in a true state of happiness. When we’re not radiating wellbeing and goodness to those around us, we’ve actually stopped the flow of it inside of ourselves. We’ve cut ourselves off from that reservoir. And the interesting thing about being a human being is that radiating this sense of wellbeing is actually essential. We can’t just keep this sense of wellbeing for ourselves. It doesn’t allow us to become the full expression of ourselves and actually in a strange way, it limits our own sense of happiness. So, until we start to learn to become a conduit to this sense of wellbeing, to let it flow through us, we’re always going to feel limited in a certain way like we’re not living up to our full potential.

Now everyone of us is a unique person. We all have our own unique way of radiating that. But what’s common to all of us here is our innate ability to actually connect with this sense of wellbeing and allow it to flow through us. So, when we’ve received enough of this energy into our bodies, and we’re deeply in touch with the felt-sense of that, we can start to feel every cell of our body starting to fill with it. We’re ready to starting moving into this Radiating phase.

And the first part of the Radiating phase is to notice any part of our body that hasn’t received that wellbeing first. Is there a way in which we can spread that sense of goodness to every cell of our body? Perhaps there’s parts of our body that feel numb, that feel disconnected, that feel tightened. Is there a way in which we can actively send some of that energy to those parts of our body? So, for example as we’ve been working with the Receiving practice, we’ve been largely bringing it up from underneath our bodies in through our perineum into our belly. And perhaps at times we’ve been working from the place over our head, opening the top of our head and letting the energy flood downwards. And also breathing it in through the pores of our body. Let’s say we’re breathing it in through the belly and we’re resting there and we really have a sense of that deep feeling of wellbeing and nourishment in the belly. Perhaps we’re able to start to spread it through the pelvis down into the feet, the legs, the toes. And then upwards all through the body, the torso, the neck, the head. And perhaps you notice certain places that don’t feel like they’re able to naturally receive that. And without forcing anything in a very gentle way, see if you can radiate that feeling of wellbeing to those parts of the body.

Again, we’re not working with that 4th level of Alchemy, where we’re actively and consciously moving towards difficult experiences inside of ourselves, but rather extending that feeling of goodness to places that maybe don’t know how to easily receive it. Almost like we’re turning up the volume knob on the sense of goodness of the body and starting to spread it throughout the body. And if we stay in this experience for a while, it may start to feel that your body is brimming with this energy. Almost like the container of your body is too small for the magnitude of this goodness that wants to flow through you. Perhaps it feels like a wellspring underneath your body through your perineum and it’s filling up your body. And at that point it becomes very natural and organic for it actually to start to flow outwards from your body. You can feel what it’s like to fill the room you’re sitting in with this sense of wellbeing. A useful visualization might be feeling your belly or your heart expand like a beach ball. It starts to get bigger and bigger from the center of your belly and your heart, whichever one of those two resonate more with you. And just letting it fill that entire space, so that this sense of wellbeing extends beyond your body and that this wellspring that’s coming up and filling you, it’s actually filling the room very naturally and effortlessly at the same time.

And from there you can let it expand. Expanding greater and greater outwards from your body, and you can explore how much you want to do that. Maybe at times you just want to keep it in the room, which is perfectly fine. Perhaps in the entire building. Or perhaps everywhere. Perhaps at times when you’re practicing, it feels really organic and right to let yourself radiate this wellbeing to the edges of the galaxies. What’s it like to be that vast and offering that sense of wellbeing to flow through you effortlessly? And how does it feel to be an ambassador of that? That your life stands for goodness. In those moments where you’re radiating that, you’re doing such a service for everyone. Because this energy is very palpable and real. When we’re in mental fantasy and only visualizing this without the deep-felt sense of it, I don’t believe it does too much good to the outside environment. But when we’re in deep contact with this subtle energy inside of us, when we’ve built it up, we’ve cultivated it, we’ve become a conduit for it, I really, truly believe it makes such a difference in our environment. We’re actually a deeply benevolent force to everyone around us.

GUIDED PRACTICE

And recognizing and exploring your longing around that - your longing to become an ambassador of the sense of wellbeing. What’s it like to do that? And as an aid to feeling that energy flowing through you, you can use visualization. Visualizing this energy touching other people. Imagine smiles appearing on their faces. Imagine their shoulders softening, they’re deeply receiving this energy that you’re radiating. And perhaps you can even visualize that they too start to radiate this energy. It’s almost like the frequency that you’re sending out, their compass starts to pick it up and then they naturally start to radiate at that frequency too. So, it’s not so much that you’re giving them something, so much as they’re starting to vibrate in the same way that you’re sending it out. So, in that way you’re not responsible for anyone, you’re just openly allowing this energy to flow through you and noticing what happens in your environment with others. One of the core ways of looking through the Lens of the Nurturer is recognizing the basic goodness in other people. Recognizing that before good or bad, everybody is basically good. That people have this intrinsic goodness inside of them. And just by you recognizing that, your ability to radiate that to people in your environment. People start to recognize that. They’ll naturally notice that the way you’re treating them and recognizing that basic quality in them, it allows them to naturally activate it inside of themselves. But just remembering again you’re doing such a service to other people in your environment. Even if it’s not immediately noticeable when you radiate this sense of wellbeing to others.

Derek Sheahan

February 20, 2019

THE NURTURER | 2.2 RESTING

Derek Sheahan

February 20, 2019

Once we’ve done this Releasing practice for some time and we feel this tension start to dissipate and travel down through our body into the earth, naturally over time we’ll notice this point where enough has happened. We’ll be ready to move into the second phase of Rest and we start the second phase of Rest still in the standing position. Over the years of practicing in different ways, I’ve come across a very simple Tai Chi practice which really helps to ground and center yourself in the body before you sit down to practice. So, we’re starting this second phase of Rest still in the standing position. So, after we’ve done the Releasing, we again return to the same standing position. Noticing our feet maybe about hip width distance apart. Our knees are bent so we’re feeling gravity and the connection with the earth. Our spine is straight. You can imagine that cord pulling up the back of your head a little bit. Your chin is slightly dropped. Your tailbone is slightly tucked under. And you are just feeling your body in this space. And then you’re bringing your hands to the lower belly. Again, lots of reasons why we bring the hands to the lower belly, but the main one is: where our attention goes, that’s where our mind goes. As we bring our hands to our belly, it brings more attention to our belly and allows our mind to more naturally rest there. You can place your hands ultimately either way, whatever works for you, but often I suggest your left hand under your right. The left side of your body and the left hand being the feminine side of your body. So, by putting the left hand directly on the center of the belly and the right hand over it, we’re connecting first with the sense of Femininity and the sense of Rest and in doing so, hopefully we’re encouraging the body to come into a state of ease and wellbeing.

So, in a similar way that we’ve been working with these points in the feet, you may notice in the very center of your hands that there’s a particular place in there that feels like the core energy point of your hands. And we’ll be working with these places in this practice and in other areas in this work also. But, just to begin with, as we’re working with this place in this practice, you can start by having your left hand – the very center of it – on what feels to you like the center of the lower belly. And then placing the center of your right hand directly over the center of the left hand. This is a way in which we can connect these two energetic points in our hands and the center of our belly in the best way possible.

Now, when you do this practice, you can have your eyes closed the same as when you were doing with the Releasing practice so that it helps you to go inward. And, even more so than the Releasing practice, it’s important here that you at least start with having your eyes closed. It’ll help you come into this space in the lower belly in a natural way and you can just take some time in this space to really connect with the felt sense of the belly. Noticing from the moment we start this Resting phase of the Nurturer, that really, the most important thing – far more important than any specific instruction here – is to allow ourselves to come into a space of Rest. And if these instructions are working for you, they’re actually helping you to come into a deeper space of Rest. So, we’re creating some structure here, a container, so that we can actually rest more deeply. So, maybe some of these practices and instructions take you a bit of time to make your own. But, as you progress, always remembering that we’re doing these things so that we can let go into a space of wellbeing and ease.

So, then with your hands on the belly, you can start by sweeping the left hand out to the side of the body in an arcing motion upwards and you can see this in the video on the website the exact movement of this. When your hand moves in this arcing motion, it comes beyond the top of your head a little bit, and then comes over to the center of the body still in an arcing motion and then moves right down the center line of the body. Perhaps 3 to 5 inches away from the body. Then it returns to the place on the lower belly where the right hand is still rested. And then we take the right hand and make the same arcing motion out to the side, sweeping upwards, and then coming down the centerline of the body and returning to the place in the lower belly. Then we go back and forth between these two hands for some time.

So, this is the very basic form of the practice and just to begin with, even if you just do this motion, without trying to incorporate any of the other instructions I mentioned today, that’s perfectly fine. And you probably will notice, even just doing that very simple part of it that you start to become more rested. You naturally start to become more centered. And that’s why I call this part of the practice the Centering Exercise. Or, sometimes I’ll refer to it as the Energetic Centering Exercise. So really, we’re centering ourselves as we do this.

I also want to include here some of the more subtle instructions for this practice which hopefully you can start to incorporate over time and maybe notice. And the first one is: As you sweep each hand out to the side, you can visualize the energy of the Earth on that particular side of your body -- so just that side of your body -- almost as if you were to draw a line down the center of your body and whatever side you’re on, you’re working with the energy on that side of your body alone. And so, as you sweep up your hand, you can visualize through the sole of your foot on that side, you’re drawing up the energy of the Earth through that sole of your foot and up through that side of your body. And as your hand moves up in that arcing motion, you can feel the energy. Or, if you can’t feel it, visualize it moving up in sync with your hand all through that side of your body coming up to the top of your head. And then as your hand moves into the centerline, it starts to move down this energy now through the top of your head all the way through the center of your body and comes to rest in the lower belly. And then we do that the same thing on the other side.

And so, what are we doing here essentially? At a more subtle level, we’re making ourselves available to the energy of the Earth. We draw it through our bodies and we draw down through the centerline of our body from the head and gather it in the center of the belly. In Daoism, this center of the lower belly is often referred to as the Lower Dantian and you can really discover for yourself that this place in the lower belly is actually like a reservoir. It’s a place that we can store energy in the body. And the more we start to bring energy into this place in the lower belly, it becomes easier and easier for our mind to rest in that space. It’s like the more it becomes filled with energy or filled with light, the more the awareness of that part of our body becomes easier to access. And it creates a natural resting space for the mind to rest in.

So, as you do this practice over time, you can start to notice that. Often, I’ll say in the guided practices to either notice or visualize this sense of light gathering in the lower belly. When you do this over time, it may become clear to you that deeper than the physical body, we’re actually bringing energy into this subtle body underneath it. And, we’re filling this body with more and more energy and as I said this creates a natural resting space for all of us to just naturally settle in that space.

It can also really help to synchronize the breath with the hand movements. As we’re moving our hand upwards, as we’re drawing it up in that arc, we can slowly inhale from the center of the belly. And then as our hand comes to the top of the head and starts to move downwards, we can slowly exhale. Usually it’s best with this practice to do the inhale and the exhale through the nostrils as this way of breathing can have a very calming and restful effect on the body. And once we’ve completed these movements on both sides for some time, it’s useful that we finish on the opposite side that we started so that the movement is balanced and integrated in the best way possible. And then, again, we bring our hands back to the lower belly. Left hand under the right. The centers of the palms aligned again. And they’re over, again, where it feels like to you the center of this space in the lower belly. And this can change over time as you practice and feel into where feels like the center for you.

Often the instruction is given that it’s 3 or 4 finger widths below the belly button. That can be a useful indicator or starting point where it feels like to you to be the center there. And then starting to feel the sensations in both of your hands. You’ll probably notice that after moving a lot of energy through your hands as we’ve been gathering this energy from the earth and washing it through our bodies, you may notice more of a tingling sensation in your hands. Or if your awareness is already more subtle, you may be aware of the energy in your hands, particularly in those points in the center of the hands as I’ve already mentioned. And let this energy build, just feel it for a few seconds as you have your hands in front of the lower belly here. And then start to feel that energy and start to breathe it through your hands into the center of the belly. So, we’re gathering all of this energy that we’ve cultivated in our hands and so we’re bringing it into the reservoir again of the center of the lower belly. Again, with the intention to bring us into an even deeper state of rest.

Then we can do this for a few minutes. Again, we can slow down the breath. Even slower now for this practice. Breathing in very, very slowly through the nostrils. And then breathing very, very slowly on the exhale again through the nostrils. Taking some time to slow right down so we can feel that energy and breathing it into the center that we can rest there. And after you do this after one or two times, you can also include the sense of breathing all of yourself into the center of the belly as you breathe that energy in there. So, perhaps you notice a part of you that’s witnessing from your head. And just taking this opportunity as you’re breathing to allow that place to come to rest as well in the center of the belly. Breathing it in there very gently. And then when you finish that for a few minutes, just let your hands stay rested on the belly and allow yourself to unhook from everything. No particular practice or way of being, just letting yourself rest in that felt sense of the belly and enjoying that deep state of rest that can come from that. And so, this is the first phase of the Resting practice that I suggest you do after releasing when you stand up and doing both of these together before you begin any form of sitting meditation.

GUIDED PRACTICES

Derek Sheahan

February 19, 2019

THE FOUNDATIONAL SELF

Derek Sheahan

February 19, 2019

STARTING WHERE WE ARE

Before we attempt to change the way we are relating to ourselves, it’s important that we recognize where we are already operating from. In our modern society, we have all been trained to exert our will, to push, to make things happen and since a young age we are trained almost exclusively in this way of being. This leads us to live from the “unhealthy masculine”, a way of being that doesn’t move with the flow of life and is disconnected from the deeper nature of our existence. In the “Lenses That Liberate” model, this means we are moving from the distorted third Level of The Warrior.

Shaky Foundations

Almost all of us have a sense that there is an easier and more grounded way to move through life yet we are often unable to access it. The image of a house can be helpful here to understand this. It is like we are on the third floor of a house (in this mode of the distorted Warrior) and have a vague sense that there is something underneath us. When we do take a look at what is underneath we discover that the second and first level of the house are shaky and unstable and ridden with mold and without the tools to change this, we shut off these areas and stay on the third floor. Therefore, our life is inherently unstable as we have no true foundation so with this model we learn to reclaim the foundation of our life.

RELEASING AND RESTING

The first thing we do is drop out of our over-active and stressed Warrior mode of being and into the Nurturer by first engaging the Releasing Practices. These practices involve relieving the body of its surface tension. Releasing practices can often go very deep and begin to remove the core layers of the tension in our body. We let this stagnant energy fall down through our body and into the earth.

At a certain point when we have released enough, there can be a settling in our body and we can start the Resting Practices. Here, we engage practices that allow us to take a break from everything that is happening in our life and to find a place of centeredness and ease inside of us. We learn to unhook from our habitual patterns of trying to fix ourselves and simply rest.

As we continue to do these releasing and resting practices over time, we will naturally start to come in contact with something deeper inside us. This deeper place, the ground of our being, is the part of us that never changes. It is the aspect of us that has remained the same since the day we were born. When we are able to touch into and abide in this ground of our being, we are able to experience a much deeper sense of rest as we have come in contact with the truest foundation of our life.

FROM THE GROUND UP

Whether we are able to touch into the Level of the Sage (the ground of our being) or we have found rest in the Nurturer practices, when our body is open and rested, we naturally move onto the third phase, the Receiving Practices. At this point, we open ourselves to deeply receive the goodness and nourishment that is available to us, initially through our connection with the earth and then through other gateways. We allow as many parts of our body and psyche to receive this goodness, to be touched by it and to allow it to bring us to a deeper rest and contentment. Over time, we learn to soften our body more and more so that we can be filled by this nourishment.

As this energy of goodness enters our experience more and more we enter the fourth phase of practice : Radiating. We focus on the well-being that is present in any part of our body and allow it to intensify and then gradually allow it to radiate to other parts of our body. As we continue to allow this stream of energy to enter us and then radiate it to our parts of our somatic experience, slowly our entire body becomes filled with a deep sense of well-being and happiness. Naturally when this has filled enough in our experience. we allow this energy to radiate beyond our body and share this goodness with other people. At this point, we can visualize other people being touched by this energy and when we radiate this energy in a deeply embodied way, we may notice it can have a beneficial effect on others around us also.

The Healthy Warrior

The more these four phases (Release, Rest, Receive, Radiate) of the Nurturer active in us, the more the Warrior aspect of us has a solid foundation to move through the world in a healthy way. We can active the “healthy masculine” inside us and live with direction, resilience and inner strength. Our inner Warrior can relax into the qualities of goodness and ground and move from an integrative place.

Together, the Sage, the Nurturer and the Warrior form the Foundational Self and create a healthy and strong container for all aspects of our life to blossom. As we move forward to other levels, we return again and again to these foundational practices, developing and integrating the qualities of ground, goodness and strength so that we can meet ourselves and all of life in an open and available way.