washing dishes: a father’s glimpses

I have been a devout user of the three-fold desciptor for years, so 50 pages into The Intuitive Body by Wendy Palmer I began to notice how trios were pervasive in her writing. Here are the mighty triumvirates that I noted as I kept reading:

• 3 questions, on page 57-58:
  • Where is strength?
  • Where is weakness?
  • What is needed?
• 3 shapes, on page 82 = triangle + circle + square
• 3 dimensions of not-knowing, on page 69 = depth + space + stillness
• 3 knowings, on pages 68-69 = clairvvoyance + clairsentinence + clairaudience
• 3 attentional states, on = dropped + open + blended
  [with corresponding 3 attentional foci = self + other + no reference point]
• 3 centers in the body, on page 99 = brain + heart + hara (belly)
• 3 aspects of being, on page 127 = my warrior + my adult + my child
• 3 factors for action when organized by aggression + defensiveness, on page 129 = domination + control + approval
• 3 factors for action when organized by spirit + instinct, on page 129 = outrageous + wild + tender
• 3 stages of integration, on page 141:
  • 1. seeing what is
  • 2. accepting has been seen
  • 3. changing the situation
• 3 fruits of practice, on page 146 = acceptance + confidence + integration
• 3 types of love, on page 149:
  • 1. spiritual love = unconditional love for all beings
  • 2. soulful love = love between people
  • 3. love withheld = when we perceive a threat to ourselves or our loved ones
• 3 keys to implement choice, on page 151:
• 3 capacities of irimi, on page 162:
  • 1. advocate for ourselves
  • 2. speak our truth
  • 3. take action in our life
• 3 shapes of irimi, on page 165 = supportive back + smooth sides + sharp leading edge
• 3 encouragements of mystery, on page 171:
  • 1. return to the source
  • 2. embrace the unknowable
  • 3. be embraced by wonder and magic of unfolding processes

I will have to return to this here is so much in the 179 pages of this book. I have a habit of looking at the publication year for a book so I can situate my life in relation to the production of this title and situate a book in the span of my creation. I have borrowed a copy from the library that is the third (?) edition, with the 3 editions having been published in 1994, 1999 and 2008.

Near the ending, there is:

With so much potential for life within us, why do we limit ourselves so? …. Taoists use the qualities of the natural elements to gain insight about how we interact with life—earth, air, fire, water, wood, and metal are primary teachers. We can explore parts of ourselves that are fiery, watery, or earthy. If we look to nature and open ourselves to her as our teacher, she offers a multitude of lessons about the attributes of the elements. By looking at how these elements interact with each other, we can learn to feel and recognize how these same qualities interact inside ourselves. Perhaps we can see how we drown our fires of inspiration with the water of our fear because we are afraid of burning too brightly, or how we fan our fires of desire with the wind of gossip or ghosts from the past. We can recognize how our water can change, making us feel murky and soggy or clear, bubbling, and fluid. We can contact the deep oceanic feeling of patience and power within ourselves.

Wendy Palmer. The Intuitive Body: discovering the wisdom of conscious embodiment and aikido. pages 130-131. Blue Snake Books. 2008.