The Four Sacred Seasons

  The Four Seasons of Wellbeing

The Four Seasons of Wellbeing—Discover, Transform, Awaken, and Integrate —refer to distinct rhythms or periods during one’s journey in life. As a metaphor for the journey, season is appropriate to ‘‘readiness’’ for reorganization just as seeds are planted or fruit ripens—all in their time. The seasons are different from developmental stages of life, although they may correspond at times to such stages. The seasons are used as part of the process of change by embracing the individual’s readiness for change in the context of the unique moment of his/her life. Thus, the seasons are not always sequential. They represent moments or periods in life. As higher baselines of reorganization emerge in the person’s life it becomes easier to live in certain seasons. After one has learned the gifts that each season presents, a new flexibility as a result of increased complexity, allows one to use each season to reorganize specific aspects of his/her life consciously.

The seasons appear to be universal in human experience as each encourages or influences unique perceptions, actions, thoughts, experiences, and energies. The seasons add timing to the self-assessment. This timing is distinct from other staged approaches to behavior change or any RET approaches. The influence of the season affects the type of intelligence one uses, the way a person goes about daily activities, and the resources available to that person. Each season represents the way a person receives and influences his/her environment and how this environment influences the person. Within each corresponding season, aspects of daily life are either encouraged or rendered difficult or impossible. The first three seasons, Discover, Transform, and Awaken, represent the stages individuals cycle through during stages of life and circumstances in life. The fourth season, Integrate, represents the ability to know and consciously choose the combination of seasons called for in various circumstances or life changes, and represents a high level of organizational integrity and communication across aspects of the individual’s life

The Four Sacred Seasons of Wellbeing —Discover, Transform, Awaken, and Integrate —refer to distinct rhythms or periods during one’s journey in life. As a metaphor for the journey, season is appropriate to ‘‘readiness’’ for reorganization just as seeds are planted or fruit ripens—all in their time. The seasons are different from developmental stages of life, although they may correspond at times to such stages. The seasons are used as part of the process of change by embracing the individual’s readiness for change in the context of the unique moment of his/her life. Thus, the seasons are not always sequential. They represent moments or periods in life. As higher baselines of reorganization emerge in the person’s life it becomes easier to live in certain seasons. After one has learned the gifts that each season presents, a new flexibility as a result of increased complexity, allows one to use each season to reorganize specific aspects of his/her life consciously.

The seasons appear to be universal in human experience as each encourages or influences unique perceptions, actions, thoughts, experiences, and energies. The seasons add timing to the self-assessment. This timing is distinct from other staged approaches to behavior change or any RET approaches. The influence of the season affects the type of intelligence one uses, the way a person goes about daily activities, and the resources available to that person. Each season represents the way a person receives and influences his/her environment and how this environment influences the person. Within each corresponding season, aspects of daily life are either encouraged or rendered difficult or impossible. The first three seasons, Discover, Transform, and Awaken, represent the stages individuals cycle through during stages of life and circumstances in life. The fourth season, Integrate, represents the ability to know and consciously choose the combination of seasons called for in various circumstances or life changes, and represents a high level of organizational integrity and communication across aspects of the individual’s life

DISCOVER through Connection

• is about one’s connection to energy, breath, movement, touch, emotion and rhythm.
• is about being able to encounter the container of the body through safety, understanding and amazement for the possible changes in internal focus, state and the experiences possible in the next moment.
• defines one’s movement and limits as well as one’s anchors to tension/stress and to peace/ease.
• time is viewed as an adversary.

Questions in Discover:

Why me?  Why not me?  What is wrong with me?  Why does this happen to me?  How have I continued to run away from pain?  Where are the places that I have not experienced connection?  How can I have more connection/peace in the place that before was disconnected?  Why does this not end?  What is the cause of this?  Who was wrong/right? Who can fix/get rid of this?  What is the best or worst ____?  Why did he/she do this to me?  What is the pattern here?  Why can’t I make the breakthrough?   Why do I keep doing this?  Why am I stuck?  Why am I so blocked?  Why can’t I solve this now?

DISCOVER LANGUAGE

it, circumstance, problem, fix it, make it go away, get rid of it, less of, break in, connect, release, you, externals, reactive

TRANSFORM through Conscious Action

• is about redefining one’s self through the structure of the body and changing one’s relationship to focused energy, breath, strength, courage, and motion
• is about defining one’s self through empowered actions
• is about dissolving the attachments to ideas, concepts, memories and stories which limit one’s future journey.
• time is a currency for measuring success, breakthroughs and achievements

Questions in Transform:

What can I do to further empower myself?  How can I express more of my courage now?  What else is going on?  What is really happening here?  How can I face this now?  What is on the other side?  What can I do to really be ready?  How can I prepare myself?  What must I do now?  How can I resolve this?  How can I conduct an inventory and get rid of that which no longer serves me?  How can I dump the old stuff/energy/patterns?

TRANSFORM LANGUAGE

me, opportunity, resolve, break through, action, more of, know, authentic, internal, responsive, sustainable

AWAKEN through Expanded Awareness

• is about developing the power of gratitude, awe, amazement, love and benevolence through the experience of an unlimited source of spacious body, breath, energy and possibility.
• about the experience of the energy of human spirit and love.
• involves gaining wisdom through a transpersonal language that this energy has within/out our body and our senses.
• about claiming a new life and formulating new actions based upon an expanded and conscious awakened perspective of our interdependence and connection.

Questions that lead to Awaken:

Where is the rhythm?  How can I hold the space?  Where is the gratitude?  How can I grow the gratitude?  What is the energy/love telling me?  Where is the connection within spirit?  How can I express the love more?  How can I feel the real energy behind the form?  What gift has been given to me?  How can I express my soul and the one love?  How do I give my gifts in joy and gratitude?  Where is the joy, love, gratitude, gift?  How can I sponsor the sharing my abundance?  How can I receive circumstances with gratitude as gifts?  Where is the gift in this?  How can we be each other’s wisdom/medicine?

AWAKEN LANGUAGE

us, relationship, blossoming open, not more of getting, more depth with what I’ve gotten, creative, grateful, serendipity, responsible, conscious, community, celebratory, diversity

INTEGRATE

The season of Integrate is a conscious selection of the marriage of more than one season.  You are in one season with the observer of another to achieve a greater depth of reorganization.

Excerpt from “Reorganizational Healing: A Paradigm for the Advancement of Wellness, Behavior Change, Holistic Practice, and Healing” Epstein et al. The Journal of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Volume 15, Number 5, 2009, pg. 481   Reprinted with permission from authors. References available in full manuscript.