Grounded connection

Embodying kindness, connection, curiosity & play in every circumstance

Grounded Connection is a state of being where inner experience harmonizes with worldly engagement, a state of presence where body, mind, heart and soul are aligned, attuned and alive. In this orientation, we see beauty in every direction we look.

To find this embodiment, that celebrates and elevates all that makes us human - at a moment in history when our very humanity is called into question - requires consciously tuning into the health of our collective nervous system.

While solitude can be a necessary and nourishing refuge to heal from hurts that rob us of presence and vitality, it’s all too easy in today’s world for beneficial solo practices such as journaling and meditation to become escapist retreats from the hard work of confronting our daily realities in all their complexity.

Conversely, when we twist ourselves into unnatural shapes to maintain access to a social network, we can’t fail to undermine our integrity in ways that actually make our world smaller. We may be surrounded with people, but we are still alone.

For these reasons, to be both grounded and connected, we must learn to balance our inner and outer worlds without favoring one over the other.

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Life is always an improvisation. The desire for control as an antidote to the overwhelming too-much-ness of this stage of human history is an understandably tempting impulse, but ultimately self-defeating.

So, while there can be no fool-proof formulas for navigating all contingencies, by paying close attention, we can recognize patterns in the ways that we move towards - or away - from states of presence, engagement and agency.

In my experience, I function as my “highest self” when I have no doubts whatsoever
that I am lovable and I feel a spontaneous joy in the act of loving each person I meet.

When I get the closest to this way of being, I enact the four postures of love - which are always more stable when I am consciously practicing anytime anywhere awareness.

When I am able to bring this orientation into the ways I relate to myself, to other people, and to the world at large - such that interconnectivity is somatically felt in each moment - I can dance with life directly in the musicality of being.

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The 4 postures of love & anytime anywhere awareness

Kindness:

The willingness to accept one’s self and others for being exactly as we are, to adjust our tempo, tone and expression to meet the reality of the present moment is the fundamental basis for all learning.

Kindness refuses to force the body beyond its natural limits. It absolves the mind of the compulsion to create personal standards based on comparisons with others. It makes space for healthy expressions of emotional energy. It recognizes that the dignity that is the gift of kindness is always received in the same moment it is given.

Connection:

Graceful action that successfully realizes its intentions is impossible without attunement to the dynamic unfolding of experience, the establishment of direct contact with internal and environmental signals and the capacity to separate these signals from irrelevant noise.

Connection to the body facilitates the conscious use of the language of breath, posture and perception to orient towards well-being. Presence of mind allows love to be chosen over fear to access wisdom. Connection to feeling is the basis for self-regulation and self-knowledge. Sharing presence with others activates the power of collective intelligence and creative collaboration.

Curiosity:

Transcending the desire for predictability to willingly open up to new experiences expands the potential for action and aliveness.

Inviting movement to be guided by curiosity allows muscles and joints to find new freedom through the exploration of brand new pathways. A curious mind facilitates social agility through experimentation with new perspectives that expand vision. Curiosity in the realm of emotion challenges the defenses that cause reactivity, making space for greater adaptability. Social curiosity facilitates collaboration that thrives on the harmonious integration of diversity.

Play:

Embodied participation that follows the compass of joy while respecting the well-being of every co-participant is the most potent form of learning.

Play invites the body to take the lead, following the spirit of spontaneity to find liberation from rigidity. A playful mind embraces intuition, insight and imagination to foster creativity. Playing with emotion loosens the limitations of personal identity. Playing well with others creates the possibility for cultural rebirth.

Anytime Anywhere Awareness:

Regular rituals of soulful self-care and inner inquiry are an essential ingredient for staying grounded and connected in an increasingly fragmented world. When the practice of presence is consciously connected to everyday life, the postures of love become keys to unlocking more ease in all circumstances and experiencing more of the beauty that life has to offer.

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Grounded Connection

Throughout 2026, I’ll be offering two or more monthly workshops to invite you into deeper intimacy with the 4 postures of love and the practice of anytime anywhere awareness. Each workshop will approach this framework multi-modally since none of the postures can be fully realized without acknowledging body, mind, heart and soul and our ‘inner’ and ‘outer’ worlds.

The 4 Postures of Love workshop will be offered every month (and will be a fresh experience every time), including this month on February 10 & 12.

Additional workshops on the schedule will explore individual postures in greater depth and/or clarify what it means to practice anytime anywhere awareness in the messy and unpredictable contexts of daily life.

Following January’s Relentless Kindness workshop, the Courageous Connection workshop takes place on February 24 & 26.

The Infinite Curiosity and Serious Play workshops will be offered in March and April.

If you live near Washington DC, you can join an upcoming Musicality of Being workshop to explore interconnectivity in the beautiful setting of Rock Creek Park.

Also, stayed tuned for the Grounded Connection digital course, a self-paced curriculum with a wealth of guided somatic movement, meditative, contemplative, relational and integrative practices - coming soon!