In the past, whenever I went for my walk, I was never aware in any way of how gorgeous I am. I would often try to fit my walk in, almost as part of some ‘have to do’ list of chores to complete; I was totally unaware of the power of my walk. It was like ticking off the day box by box, with no real respect for me and what I truly needed to support me.
I would then often find that my days lacked a sort of space just to ‘be’. I had spent so long each day trying to be someone – like the ‘student’, ‘son’, ‘flatmate’, ‘cook’ and many other masks I put on – that I had no real time to just enjoy the real me.
It seemed that my walks too were never really for me to enjoy my body moving, either. They were driven, needy, set to time, and often full of lots of distractions and off-topic thoughts, like how my day was going or what sort of things I had to do when I got to work. I very rarely enjoyed the spaciousness that they could offer me. I was so caught up in my day and having to be someone, that to just be in my walk and enjoy that, seemed all too much. Seems that the masks had become so much a part of me I had forgotten what I felt like without them on!
I was rarely with myself. A friend asked me to recall what my feet felt like during my walks. I could not remember. I was so off in being someone or something else that my feet didn’t seem to be a part of me at all. They just seemed to be things that carried me from A to B and needed some maintenance from time to time – like going for walks, etc. They were my personal, in-built transport machines.
Not long ago though, I had the most revealing and deeply supportive moments I had felt on my walks in a long time.
I felt me.
Yep, I took the masks off and was agape at who I saw: a deeply tender, handsome man.
For the first time in ages I could feel that my walk was not based around getting anywhere, doing anything or trying to be someone. I wasn’t even concerned about the time. I took the moment as a space for me to enjoy me.
I found that in this space I could feel the gentle spring in each step I took, and the delicate wisp of my presence that warmed my chest each time I breathed. I could feel the deep simplicity of my walk, my love, and me. It was a time that was not governed by a need to finish something because I could feel how I was complete as I was. There was no need to worry about life because I could feel that my still presence offered all the strength I needed.
The work of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine has inspired me to live my life in a more gentle way, focussing on each step I take.
So now when I go for my walk, I enjoy the power of my walk and how gorgeous it is to be me, taking each step.
by Joshua Campbell (21) Living in Christchurch, NZ
Bringing awareness to our walk, brings awareness to our whole life
Joshua the gold that you share with us all, was for me was at the end of the blog where you said
“There was no need to worry about life because I could feel that my still presence offered all the strength I needed.”
I thought Wow that is a truly beautiful statement because how many of us feel the strength and confidence of ourselves when we walk? I read somewhere that anxiousness is one of the top 5 stresses of this modern way of living. So if we are walking in anxiousness I wouldn’t have thought we would be feeling strong and confident, quite the opposite.
And that is where Universal Medicine plays such an important and pivotal role in our lives because through the workshops and course it is possible to turn around those feeling of anxiousness and nervous tension so that we can once again walk in the strength and beauty that we are meant to be as you have so beautifully shared.
Absoulutely Mary! walking and feeling our whole body deepens our whole-body-awareness and thus our connection to our Inner-most-heart.
Walking is such a Joy, so thank you Josh for bringing walking to our attention as much can be felt when we walk focusing on the movements of our bodies and breathe. Could it be walking, as it is now competitive and considered to be an exercise gets the wrong attention rather than feeling the blessing and Joy of the way our bodies can move in connection to our Essences, Esoteric, Inner-most-heart or Soul, which are all one in the same. And walking is an amazing exercise when done with consideration of the whole body.
Making our true being central in all we do, such as walking, is a blessing for everyone, including ourselves. How little we all know the grandness of our essence, and in that we miss the deep joy of simply being who we are.
A Joy to behold and live to the fullest expression as our expression is so much of who we are including how we walk thus walk our talk.
We can gain greater awareness as we walk. Like for example observing what happens when someone walks by. How do we respond or react? A current experiment I’m working with is walking past someone, without making a judgement about them either for or against, like, dislike, simple accepting each person in the same way, equal and as one. To walk in this way allows the body to walk with presence and flow and stops disturbances and distractions caused by holding an inner dialogue.
What a beautiful way to walk Kehinde! And how simple to receive people as our equals with no internal dialogue.
One of the first things I do now if I am feeling a little out of sorts is walk, but walking is not just for helping yourself feel better walking can be used to connect to the universe and you purpose and part in it.
“There was no need to worry about life because I could feel that my still presence offered all the strength I needed.” We don’t seem to share this much in life, instead the focus is on bettering ourselves to fit in which can lead us down so many rabbit holes.
I do love going for a walk, but reading this really struck me in how many times I do stick to a rigid time frame of how long I am out for rather than just walking without a goal or end location to focus on. Thank you for this Joshua.
I ABSOLUTELY love walking, keeping my spine straight feeling my feet on the ground connecting to the universe, walking is so underestimated.
When we walk with true purpose we light up the world.
“I took the moment as a space for me to enjoy me.” And in that space we know we are not alone but are walking with God.
Enjoying every step of the day is simple as when we get out of bed from that first touch down till the final lift-off at the end of the day when we go into a repose-full surrender to sleep deeply every step can be an imprint that returns at-least gentleness to our bodies.
To walk with all of you, and claim the true power of who you are is one of the most magnificnet things we can do for ourselves. Its like being on turbo charge, with nothing in the way to slow you down or stop you.
On my morning walks I have been feeling in to how to walk with my arms supported by my skeleton rather than my shoulders and muscles. It is bringing so much more awareness to my movements and how I am feeling in my body. Painful at times due to the many years of walking with tensed shoulder muscles, but I find myself full of amazement and awe in those moments that I manage to allow this loving support from my skeleton.
This is a timeless blog, Joshua. Short, powerfull and timeless – a beautiful sharing.
Thank you Joshua, it’s such a simple thing walking but the energy and intent behind it totally changes the experience. “I wasn’t even concerned about the time. I took the moment as a space for me to enjoy me.” Gosh, how often do we do this, just take the space to enjoy being ourselves? We seem to be such a ‘doing’ addicted society, forever moving from one thing to the other and even when we physically stop we can be running on high gear still within ourselves thinking up a storm. Making space for ourselves can be the beginning of returning to live simply being ourselves in every moment.
Yes, we rarely make space just to be. Young children still have that connection and any time I am around dogs they both remind me, and in fact encourage me, to embrace the space!
The power of our walk can be deeply healing. The quality of our walk can essentially be very beneficial to our health, improve how we feel and support our connection to our body and its greater intelligence.
A gorgeous reminder how important our daily walk is, to connect and spend time with ourselves, ‘So now when I go for my walk, I enjoy the power of my walk and how gorgeous it is to be me, taking each step.’
I’m with you on that one Josh, ‘I enjoy the power of my walk and how gorgeous it is to be me, taking each step’. I’ve recently attended the walking therapies taught by Serge Benhayon and they are truly God sent.
So often a walk is a functional thing, carrying us from A to B, for exercise, walking the dog etc. Yet each one (yes even the trip to the bathroom) is an opportunity to connect to the body, to how we are feeling, to the innate joy inside, to our Divinity, to us. Suddenly that trip to the bathroom has a whole heap more purpose!
This really shows how we can’t just live in our head day in day out and then expect us to be able to feel our body when we are walking. Even though walking is a great way to see where we are at and come back into our body by only focussing on our arms and legs moving it is not a magic switch we can turn. It is about how we live in every moment in our life that will govern the quality of how we are able to walk.
For some time now I’m exploring the way I walk more deeply. It’s amazing how much I can feel, understand and even heal about myself just by being present in my walk, in every little bit of my body. I’ve been able to observe very ingrained patterns that aligned my body to a very self-destructive movements. Being aware of this has allowed me to make the choice of moving myself in a very different quality, by aligning to a loving source of movements. What a big difference this is! I can now feel the space that is available to me, to simply expand my presence in it by honouring the treasure of who I am… and bringing that fullness in every step is being life-changing for me.
Love this reminder that walking, like anything, is something that we can use to either feel more deeply who we are, as we move, or to disconnect and move further away from that.
So true, Bryony, if we master walking with deep connection to our essence then it should be easy to do the same with everything else that we do and in all our movements.
Always a choice, and always good to be reminded of the choices we have in every minute.
Through our movements we can explore our connection to deepening, embodying and magnifying our Soulful light, who we are in essence. And when we simply just are with this, yes, it is exquisite beyond measure as we are walking in the activation of our true power.
Absolutely and when we walk with ourselves it supports us to maintain this connection in whatever activity we move onto next.
Thanks for the reminder Josh – when I surrender to being with myself whilst I am walking not only is it so enjoyable but the expansiveness that I feel in my body supports me throughout my day.
A great reminder that surrendering to being me, being with my body whilst I am walking supports me throughout my day.
I never used to pay much attention to my walk but now, I have learned that our walk is very important and it can be deeply powerful when we walk with joy and connected to our body. It changes our posture and the energy we align to when we walk with joy.
What I love about walking is exactly this: this opportunity of checking in, feeling where our body is at, how we’ve been moving and living. Have we been bringing our all in every moment, or walking in smallness and contraction? It’s a stop moment and an opportunity to reset, to reconfigure our movements, and invite more space into our bodies – through simply feeling where we’re at.
I totally love this blog Josh, it’s so gorgeous to read a mans love for his tender self.
Absolutely Kim – and inspiring to feel power in not being afraid to claim it.
Thank you for this beautiful blog Josh. It is a beautiful reminder for us to connect to ourselves, the tender, gorgeous and glorious being we are in our walk and in everything we do. To allow the world to see who we are and share the joy we can feel from within through reconnecting to our innermost and express from this gorgeous place.
Just recently I have felt my walk shift and re configure into a deeper more powerful one which has come from me not contracting and not wanting to be seen to actually embracing all that I am and sharing it will all that I walk past. The more I feel how awesome this is the more I can’t go back to the old way of walking in contraction.
This is amazing Natalie, the shift you are experiencing. I find this kind of shift is very difficult to do mentally, it has to come from a shift in how we live not just in how we walk that we can then move without contraction or holding back. It is incredible to feel and see the change when we commit to living in our power more and more.
When I used to go for walks my mind would often wander off but after Serge Benhayon pointed out some things about the power of walking connected to your body, it has changed the way I walk. I am much more light on my feet and much more purposeful in my walk.
Agreed, being present when walking is incredibly healing for the body.
‘ I was so off in being someone or something else that my feet didn’t seem to be a part of me at all.’ And you are not the only one Joshua our feet seem to be so faraway that a lot of people don’t truly care for their feet and are disconnected from that ‘far end’ of their body. When I just hold their feet in my hands (in my practice) they feel they come back to themselves and feel the love flow through their body. Our feet are so much more than ‘in-built transport machines’
Yes and how lovely to feel our feet when we walk , how they touch the ground, the relationship they have with it, with the rest of our bodies and with us. There was a period when I was massaging my feet every night before I went to bed. I put esoteric medicine cream with a few drops of bergamot and massaged my ankles first and then my feet. I was only thinking the other night how lovely this was and how I might bring this back in in to my nightly ritual which feels much more solid now. Thank you Annelies for reminding me to appreciate my feet and to honour them with some tender loving touch.
Boy, Josh, if I was honest I have been doing a very similar thing with my daily walks lately, that is, making them into more of a chore than actually allowing myself the space to enjoy feeling me without getting into my head about anything I needed to do or what happened during the day, in a way that needed some kind of outer validation of my ‘worthiness’ or how purposeful I had been that day. This feels really expansive and freeing to give oneself time to connect like you have and I look forward to giving it a go!
Awesome Michael, it is great to give it ago and I too can sometimes find myself thinking about a million things when I go for a walk and this blog inspires me to be more aware of how I move my body and the quality of my thoughts.
There is nothing like a good walk to help reconnect us back to the magnificence we already are.
Very true Sam. I don’t go for a walk everyday because I feel I have too much to do, but I realise perhaps I am avoiding this powerful way to reconnect to myself.
And this was long before Walking Therapies – amazing what you discovered for yourself and by yourself before walking became a Universe Medicine modality.
It is interesting to observe and feel our own posture of when we are walking and thinking things over in something and when we are walking in connection and just fully enjoying ourselves without our heads in a process- one has heavy steps and the other a lightness of being.
Sometimes I find myself going for a walk to complete a task that I supposely have to do because it is ‘healthy’. This always leaves me a feeling of emptiness and like it would never be enough. But this gorgeous sharing opens up to me a new way of walking from the simplicity of just feeling me and my body step by step. It feels very refreshing and new, thank you
Joshua I enjoyed very much reading what you experienced in your walking by simply feeling you. Your sharing invites me to feel more the gentleness of my body, it also brings me more awareness to my feet and a deep appreciation towards them as I could go nowhere without them. Looking forward to go for a walk with me again.
I loved reading this again Josh, I can see you walking with yourself and feeling how awesome you are with every step, and the great thing about what you have written is that every single person on that planet can so easily walk in the same way and feel the same awesomeness.
Very true Julie. What inspires me the most about this blog is its simplicity and how these awesome moments of just being us are available for all.
How often is our daily rhythm set to bring things so we feel exactly like you have shared Joshua? “They were driven, needy, set to time, and often full of lots of distractions and off-topic thoughts, like how my day was going or what sort of things I had to do when I got to work.” Walking with a divine purpose does bring so much to our day so that our true movements allow us to evolve instead of the distractions described.
“So now when I go for my walk, I enjoy the power of my walk and how gorgeous it is to be me, taking each step.” great to read thank you Josh – just before my morning walk.
When we open our body to walking in connection and opening our-self to be able to feel that we are connected with every aspect of our body is so glorious. Then by feeling our-self as we move gives a reflection that gives us so many different perspectives of our body, it is as simple as you have shared Joshua.
There is so much for us to explore of ourselves through our connection to our body, and this is a beautiful reminder of how through a seemingly simple exercise such a walking, we can begin to feel from within that there is an immense power to connect to and move with.
Walking and being open to feel exposes the momentum of every step we have taken. It brings awareness to your fore; and how simple it is through movement and consistency to change the momentum to that of appreciating the fluid flow of beauty within and all around you — “I took the moment as a space for me to enjoy me.”
At work I need to walk a lot. I now pay much more attention to how I move around my workplace and take it as an opportunity to connect with me and just give myself the space to register how I am feeling. I find that I am taking on less stuff from work and going home more energised.
I too have been walking in a completely different way with thanks to Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine, in that it is a movement that can flow and when present with each and every movement support us in our next and so the day, week, month etc. However, even at times I have felt this and it has felt beautiful. I still fluctuate between this and walking to get from A to B .. if I am honest most of the time it is to get to A to B but the beauty is I now know the magic in our movement and walk and in time know this will unfold more for me.
What I found deeply gorgeous about reading this blog today is how my body responded to how you walked Joshua in the detail of your words. Reminding me that we can only connect to how that feels as we are all the same within.
‘I took the moment as a space for me to enjoy me.’ What a beautiful reminder. I’m learning that I can enjoy my walk even if I’ve been a little off key, my walk supports me to return to me and let go of ways of moving that are at odds with my true expression. I don’t have to take things on and be good in any way but can simply enjoy being me.
What you share here is super important and profound as you describe that life is a joy when we are simply with ourselves and feeling our moves.
Absolutely agree with you Joshua. My walks are for me to feel me and this feeling will then accompany me in my day.
I hate the feeling of being out in nature, walking or driving and not remembering parts of my journey because I was in my head, not my body. I find it supports me to walk and feel my feet on the ground, as does bringing attention back to my body whenever thoughts begin to crowd in.
Beautiful blog Josh. Walking me and feeling me as i walk, there’s joy in that.
In our true walk we allow the heavens to shine through us as we strut and feel the exquisite joy we are.
Walking in connection is true medicine for our bodies but also a great blessing for all, for each step leaves an imprint of the love of who we are.
Beautiful Francisco. How wonderful walking with the purpose of leaving an imprint of love everywhere we go.
Imagine how many steps we walk in our life and then, that we could hear how many of these we were present and with our body. I suspect the end result would come as a shock. You show beautifully Joshua how us connecting is the vital piece from which all else flows. You sum it up so well right at the start – after all, do we truly feel how gorgeous we are? This is surely so different from the usual getting from a-b methodology.
Joshua, I enjoyed reading this; ‘ I wasn’t even concerned about the time. I took the moment as a space for me to enjoy me.’ this feels really lovely – simply enjoying being with ourselves with no agenda.
Walking in celebration of ourselves is incredibly powerful. Walking knowing how gorgeous I am heals… it is a great marker to build on.
What a gorgeous motto to bring walking into our everyday. Thank you for lifting the lid on the ideas that are always waiting to be used for why we walk – its good for our health, getting bit for fresh air, exercising, keeping fit but never walking to celebrate how wonderful we are.
I like this motto and am going to start using it!
I love going for walks with me, no set destination or goal but simply to be with me. Often these walks have a bounce in my step and I feel absolutely gorgeous. Very different compared to walking with my focus on getting somewhere or doing something.
We totally underestimate the power of walking in appreciation of every step our bodies make back to ourselves.
“In the past, whenever I went for my walk, I was never aware in any way of how gorgeous I am. I would often try to fit my walk in, almost as part of some ‘have to do’ list of chores to complete; I was totally unaware of the power of my walk. It was like ticking off the day box by box, with no real respect for me and what I truly needed to support me.” your first paragraph Josh is super powerful for me as in it I love the fact you claim that you are but were not aware of how gorgeous you are simply through your walk, of course we all are this, but we don’t often express it, connect to it and certainly don’t appreciate it.
I recently started a series of Connective Tissue exercises and since then have been really enjoying feeling the flow in my body when I go for a walk – it feels so gorgeous and in appreciating this it deepens my connection with nature and my mind is aligned with this activity and not off somewhere else completely different working out what I plan to do next or reviewing past actions. It is amazing to allow myself the space to be with me on my walk and truly energises me for whatever is next which is then carried out with far more purpose.
A timely reminder to simply feel my feet even as I sit in the chair. How easily we forget we have a body that sits right below our heads.
I love how you started off this article with the fact that you are gorgeous. I too have discovered the power in my walk, such a simple movement and yet so powerful in it’s affection our body, our thoughts, our actions, our relationships and the mark we leave in life. These days I love my walk as it is like going on a date with myself, a time to feel how beautiful and amazing I am. All from the baby steps of walking with my focus on my feet, my legs, my upper body and my whole body rather than walking to mental pictures and thoughts.
“I took the moment as a space for me to enjoy me.” It is so very important that we enjoy ourselves and love to be in our bodies, like we used to as children, as how could we possibly enjoy anything if we do not feel comfortable and at home in our own skin?
Great question Esther and a very good point. We often forget to walk confirming ourselves and returning the love back to our body and appreciating every part and every movement to allow ourselves to feel how delicate and gorgeous we are.
I find walking to be a very confirming and appreciative space for me to see just how absolutely amazing my body is and just by connecting to the detail of my step I can connect to the depths and wisdom of my body so effortlessly. I find walking is part of our living medicine and can heal so much in just a few confirming steps.
What a great philosophy for life! I have found that when we are doing things such as work or cooking or even brushing our teeth, there can be more ease at connecting with the purpose and enjoyment that we can have in those moments, than the moments we are between those moments which is often walking or getting from a to b. These in between moments are the ones we confirm ourselves the least and often check out in resulting in less of us being there in presence when we arrive at the next moment.
I find walking is a great way to get to know who I am, or…. on some days remind me of who I am and the power and authority my body naturally holds, it’s also a great way to alleviate self doubt because I can feel such a strength and awesomeness in my body it helps me put all doubt aside.
This is very beautiful Meg. Thank you for sharing. A walk is never ever something we should undervalue the importance of and what is so gorgeous about it is that every walk actually can build and evolve from the former and we can learn even more about how we naturally move and how gorgeous and super sexy we can be when we are in our body claiming it so.
And other days it reminds me of the fragility, and that this too can be honoured and moved in, with equal strength and gorgeousness.
Amazing Meg, this shows how powerful our walk is when we connect to what it can offer, and not just reduce it to a form of getting us from A to B but to connect to the spaciousness, wisdom and intelligence our body can connect to through our walk and through all our expressions.
Beautiful to feel the choice forever available to us, to connect to the power of who we are which can be confirmed and magnified through whatever we do. How enriching life can be when we are open to realising that the seemingly simple things in life can behold such profound revelations.
Thanks Josh – I have taken my body for walks and not felt my feet, (like you) they were a means of getting from A to B. Thank you for sharing but also a reminder to bring my awareness to feeling my feet as I walk instead of taking my head for a walk!…..a work in progress.
I’m going to revisit this blog to check in with my own progress.
“I found that in this space I could feel the gentle spring in each step I took, and the delicate wisp of my presence that warmed my chest each time I breathed. I could feel the deep simplicity of my walk, my love, and me. It was a time that was not governed by a need to finish something because I could feel how I was complete as I was. There was no need to worry about life because I could feel that my still presence offered all the strength I needed.” This feel s so lovely to read Joshua, very inspiring and light-filled. Then taking that into your every other action during the day must have been exquisite for you and the world around you. True service to humanity.
Absolutely Irene. We could be doing the simple act of walking in this loving quality with ourselves each day and although no one else may notice, they are being offered a wonderful blessing to feel something different and true.
I haven’t been for a walk for a week because of change in routine and timings and man does my body miss it. But like you I have just recently allowed myself to feel how deeply beautiful and sweet I am, I am looking forward to walking tomorrow morning in this and enjoying what unfolds.
I find walking to be incredibly powerful, especially when made with the intent of walking with ourselves. We can be walking so much in the day in other circumstances such as walking to walk etc but it can feel very different from walking just to be.
Thank you Josh for a great blog, a reminder for me to feel me and my stillness when walking.
I have noticed recently that walking has become something that I need to do, a box to tick which has taken the joy of being with me out of the picture.
This could be when we are tired after long days or long walks. Then the walk can feel more functional as the body is more tired. Super important to stay present in such moments more than ever.
“I took the moment as a space for me to enjoy me.” When I feel what you say here I begin to ponder that maybe, there are more moments for me to be me. So after feeling this in my walk I can keep layering this momentum of feeling me in every other movement in my day, hence taking me with me into my whole day. How exquisite.
What if walking was one of the best ways to enjoy who we are? Perhaps everyone would start a daily walk!
Wow, what a line to start your blog…”In the past, whenever I went for my walk, I was never aware in any way of how gorgeous I am.” This says it all for me, say no more. There is so much in this and then there’s still the blessings of the rest of your blog. Thank you Josh. Truly inspiring.
What you have offered Josh is such a lovely reminder to be ourselves in every moment; walking is such a gorgeous way to connect with ourselves and others; thank you.
When we reconnect to the beautiful being of who we are we realise that we are so much more than a physical body and a meandering mind.
It’s true Mary. It brings a deeper level to our walking than just getting from a to b.
What an absolute Joy to read this today Josh…
What you’ve shared relates to EVERYTHING. Are we, in every activity – aware of our gorgeous selves, and actually appreciating an moving in this awareness?
I would say that the great majority of us are not – and we are well reminded, that we could well be… Thank-you.
Thank you Josh for reminding me that I’ve been making excuses in the last 2 weeks for why I don’t have time to take myself for a walk – viewing it as something I have to do and trying to fit it in, rather than making it part of my routine no different to brushing my teeth or having a shower.
I like to walk in the morning and evening, I find my walk really helps set me up for the day.. there’s something about the rhythm and the movement that really ignites my body so that it’s ready for action.
This is a great reminder Josh. I have recently started to walk to work instead of catch the bus, and the focus can be very much about getting to work. Dropping the drive is so important, and enjoying my walk is so important. But there is a deeper importance which you speak about which is to deeply enjoy the feeling of my body as I move. This is a totally different focus to the usual walking that we all tend to do. It is a celebration of the quality of our body, and allowing ourselves to be totally present. Having read this blog today my walk tomorrow morning will no doubt be different.
A most beautiful reminder. Thank you, Joshua.
“I found that in this space I could feel the gentle spring in each step I took, and the delicate wisp of my presence that warmed my chest each time I breathed. I could feel the deep simplicity of my walk, my love, and me. It was a time that was not governed by a need to finish something because I could feel how I was complete as I was.”
I realise I was drawn to this blog this morning because of the wide open space depicted in the photo. This in itself has made me realise that I need another decluttering session. It feels like there is a lot around me in my home that no longer supports me in the clarity of my thinking and the feeling of freedom and space that I feel from this photo. It also reminds me that I have been choosing dense foods recently and have been sabotageing this feeling of lightness in my body that is a feeling of spaciousness from within. Your blog has brought awareness to my movements and the quality that I am choosing. thank you Joshua.
“I enjoy the power of my walk and how gorgeous it is to be me, taking each step.” Walking you back to you, a true power walk.
Beautiful Josh, walking our whole bodies is the best way to reconnect to the stillness and the magic of God around us, if there are any distractions and complications from the head they are soon dissipated and we can enjoy the simplicity of how life truly is.
Josh-Your blog is a great reminder to appreciate just walking for me. I still often get caught up in the drive of getting from A to B, or walking with the intention to get fit. When I do walk in gentleness it feels really lovely and honouring of my body.
Josh, thank you for this beautiful and simple reminder to walk with me, for me and AS ME! This is something I have been missing lots lately, and reading this is a wonderful way to be re-inspired to come back to what is most important, which is my connection with me!
We do so many things during the day, just doing them without feeling ourselves in the whole. What you describe is very tangible, a simple focus on how you feel in your body, how you can feel your feet while walking, allowing yourself to truly enhouse your body and not just live upstairs in your head.
I love this Josh. You’ve described to a tea the oscillation I go through with my walks!
Sometime time back I was having problems with my feet hurting when I walked and what I noticed is that I was walking in a hard way, usually rushing to get somewhere, but since I have been paying more attention to how I am walking, be it gentle and light the pains in my feet have reduced significantly, and many days can pass now with no pain what so ever.
A great blog Joshua and some truly inspiring comments as well. I have walked on my own now for some years (no dogs either) but there was a time where I resented sharing the cool of the morning with other walkers, but I have learnt to see them as part of me mirroring back the many different aspects of myself, now my walk is shared joyfully and lovingly with all of them.
Beautiful Joshua a great reminder of the power of our walk and all it brings if we simply are ourselves. and let everything else go and not be in our heads and to feel our body ” I could feel that my walk was not based around getting anywhere, doing anything or trying to be someone. I wasn’t even concerned about the time. I took the moment as a space for me to enjoy me.”
A few days ago on my day free I went to be beach to walk. On this day there were only a handful of people, but the sun was shining, the sky was an amazing blue and there was all this amazing space being reflected back to me…… Afterwards, I felt so much more open and spacious within and was so glad I had given myself the time and space to just ‘be’ in nature with nothing to do but enjoy!
‘I enjoy the power of my walk and how gorgeous it is to be me, taking each step’. I love this line as it resonates. I wake in the morning after an amazing sleep and before doing anything I take a few moments to feel how gorgeous I am and also to appreciate all the loving steps I am taking in my return journey to my Soul.
I was one also to see walking as a process, to merely get somewhere and never even really saw it as exercise either, I mean you had to run to exercise right? Now walking is so much more but not that it was less but more my awareness of it didn’t see it for what it already was. Walking like every other moment is a time to check in to feel my body and see what it is saying. I take it was time to read what I am feeling in my walk, am I thinking about the day, the past, the finish or I am pushing for the end or is my head up just taking in everything around me, the breeze, the sun, the feeling of my feet, all these thoughts I read and allow to settle as I bring awareness to just walking and my breath. Walking is a real exercise and you can do it anywhere, in fact we do it all the time already. It’s great to take time to walk and when the time is used as a check in that walk is with you all day every day. It’s amazing what you can take from a walk.
Our walk is so much more than to bring us from A to B. Every time we walk we can either walk in full presence with ourselves or not, it is a choice we can make with every step. To my experience when I walk in full presence with myself I do connect with a way of being in me that is so delicate, precious and tender I was not aware of having that quality in me before, so I do ask myself the question what am I avoiding when I choose to walk while wondering in my mind?
Our love is beautifully reflected in a true walk connected to the essence of our being, that which we hold so dear but so often ignore the most to keep the surface picture up of what we think we should be, while our true essence is all that’s needed.
The power of my walk is something I have been playing with for sometime now. And what incredible power I have discovered. It has the power to transform my day, it has the power to bring me back to my beauty, stillness and the great love I am. One thing I have learnt is to never underestimate the power of our walk.
Such a gorgeous blog Josh. It makes me think of how we walk so often in our days and mostly do not even notice we are walking. We are getting somewhere or we are ‘going for a good walk’ to get fit – it is mostly about the goal and not the moment. The way you describe walking though is that it is a space to be with ourselves and enjoy every step – which is gorgeous to do.
‘I could feel the deep simplicity of my walk, my love, and me.’ How beautifully descriptive Josh. The level of appreciation and lightness in your expression is both powerful and delicate at the same time. It made me STOP and appreciate my self and you too.
WE can soon tell from our posture and our gait how we are doing and what may have had an influence on us to deviate from our powerful, open and loving selves. Going for a walk is like having our own private session with the wise practitioner within and what’s more it is enjoyable and fun. The magnificence of nature supports us to feel the same quality in ourselves.
I used to try and find time for a walk, and now I don’t even think about it and there is a space in my day that is just right for a walk, it gives me space to be with myself, with no need to think about anything, just to be with me.
Its the simple movements we make that can change the way we feel
Absolutely Joe and I would also add, the whole way we then choose to live.
So true and when practiced repeatedly it changes the way we feel in all other areas of life.
Gorgeous blog to read again. A beautiful reminder that we can choose to walk in our power at any time. We move from A to B everyday but how often do we connect to our body, feel our quality and appreciate what our movements reflect? Our walk can be so powerful, healing and joyous, the more we choose to walk this way the more we inspire others to join us, to walk alongside each other expressing who we are and our natural gait.
“So now when I go for my walk, I enjoy the power of my walk and how gorgeous it is to be me, taking each step.” I can relate to this, when we walk with conscious presence we can feel the magnitude of the power.
It’s such an acknowledgement of our own power when we walk in our fullness, it’s an acceptance and appreciation of who we are in truth and walking is confirming and expanding this with each step.
“I took the moment as a space for me to enjoy me.” Walking to connect with ourselves by staying present has a very different effect on the body, rather than walking to get somewhere, staying distracted and in the head with thoughts – be they mulling over the past or fixated on the future. Choosing to stay present and with the body whilst walking feels amazing
Walking to connect deeply with our body and our essence is a supportive and a loving thing to do on a daily basis. Walking helps me to asses where I am, and then to come back and connect at a deeper level if this is needed.
” There was no need to worry about life because I could feel that my still presence offered all the strength I needed.”
Surrendering to being present with our essence, feeling our body, connecting with nature and the confirmations and messages it reveals is indeed the power and strength we are alway being supported in when we connect. Josh what a great revelation
“So now when I go for my walk, I enjoy the power of my walk and how gorgeous it is to be me, taking each step.” Josh a beautiful way to walk through life.
Coming back to this blog I have over time noticed my walk has also changed, I now have a much more intimate relationship with how I walk and how it can and does change depending on how I feel at the time. Something that stood out for me today while reading it was that exploration of our movements, this isn’t talked about much as adults. Small babies are constantly exploring their movements as very recently I have been opening up to exploring my own, be it on the bed having a wiggle and moving in ways I wouldn’t normally or in the swimming pool just playing around. I am not talking massive things here, stuff like swimming but having my toes fanned out rather than crumpled up. It’s like as adults we have learnt to move a certain way and stick to it no matter what, but exploring movement has felt far more fun and light than my old, familiar, engrained movements.
The difference between walking because you feel you have to and walking with and for yourself is undeniable. We deserve nothing less than to offer ourselves the space for the latter.
Opening up to a deeper awareness and letting go of further ideals and beliefs brings an ‘interesting change’ to my movements – I am experiencing feeling like a toddler learning to walk, temporarily a bit wobbly and clumpy as my body realigns itself once more.
“In the past, whenever I went for my walk, I was never aware in any way of how gorgeous I am.” This is a statement Joshua that l’ve never heard before… to link how we feel in ourselves with walking is a very refreshing change from the usual walking to lose weight, gain fitness or achieve a personal goal. How simple you make it and what a beautiful motivation for doing some light exercise… in fact for going about doing anything in life really.
Due to several unexpected parking restrictions at a local railway station I had to drive to another station several miles further away. Time was really short when I finally parked and it would have been very easy to ‘gallop’ to buy the ticked. Instead, a pause and re-connection to my breath, choosing to get out of the car without rush or any panic and walked to the station in a beautiful quality of being very present with my body. There was a sense of spaciousness and still 5 minutes in hand before boarding the train.
I have brought a treadmill recently as a way to fit in a walk but reading this inspired me to consider the importance of walking in nature as I find this really settles me and is a great support in connecting me back to a steadiness within.
Walking really exposes if I am ‘with myself’ or not and offers the choice to move with different awareness and quality, which then changes the configuration of my body and the breath to be harmonious again.
Yes, the ‘to do’ checklist is forever at the forefront of my mind. I have a huge tendency to go through the same motions every day ticking things off. All the while, never actually feeling satisfied with what I have completed because there is always more to do. Learning to approach ‘tasks’ differently, particularly the ones that are actually not about ‘have to’, but about things that can support me in my day is a key skill I’m slowly learning to implement. It’s actually been really difficult for me, because the drive to do things purely because my head tells me it’s good to, is very very ingrained.
Learning to move from my body and not my head would be amazing!
I love your bio Josh. Very inspiring to read someone write like that about themselves with zero arrogance.
Going for a walk is such a supportive thing to do, but only if we are with ourselves when we walk. If we do that we can solve so many dilemmas as we walk.
This is beautiful Joshua – there are times when I walk, I choose to walk backwards and the quiet presence and stillness that consumes my body is amazing to feel. Reading your blog I have realised that this amazing fullness is ‘Me’. Thank you Joshua.
Its taken some time to re-train myself, but gradually my focus on a walk has become more and more about how I am feeling, how my body is feeling. Sure I can drift into my head and start thinking about what has been or what is to come, but when I notice then I bring it back to the feel of my feet, the air in my lungs, the love in my chest.
Universal Medicine is there to inspire us all, such practical information that we can reflect on for every aspect of our lives… Always there to inspire by example.
The more I trust the fact that my body does know how to be and move without me needing to control my movements, the deeper I am able to surrender and let the true movement arise from within – an amazing and continual learning presented by my body.
I love re-visiting this blog and all its comments. What I find so empowering about walking with conscious presence is the feeling of solidness and strength in my inner foundation that is confirmed with every step. There is then ‘no room’ for any tension or emotions to have a hold, they simply melt away as there is no attention being given. The spaciousness within from ‘walking with me’ is an absolute joy to experience.
Walking when done with presence relieves so much tension and anxiety, and is an effective method in helping with connection to self
Josh – you are a spectacular man and it is my absolute honour and blessing to know you. What you are bringing to the world and the way you are as a man is a huge blessing. I have great appreciation of you. Keep walking. Keep inspiring. Thank you – from me and from all men.
Your blog is just what I needed to read today, thank you Joshua, ‘There was no need to worry about life because I could feel that my still presence offered all the strength I needed’ this is an awesome reminder for me as I often forget the strength that comes with being in still presence. Walking with this stillness and appreciating myself is something I don’t do very often. You’ve inspired me to take time out during my day to allow myself to re-connect and to appreciate life.
Thank you Joshua, recently I said to a friend I was going for a walk, she said remember to walk with your body not your mind. At first I wasn’t sure what she meant and then I started walking and I could clearly feel how different my walk was when I stay connected to me and felt my lovely self or if I wandered off into my head with everything I needed to do for the day I lost connection with my body and the space around me.
In my work place there is a health and wellbeing competition going at the moment, of what team can walk the most steps over a period of time. Many have been extremely surprised to see how many steps they actually make in a day. If someone was to ask them before this competition they would say they hardly walked or going on a walk doesn’t do much. But as you have shared Josh, every step we make is an opportunity to feel what is there to feel in our bodies… to confirm who we truly are or the opposite to confirm the roles we have been living. We make many, many steps each day, which equates to a grounding of energy that has an impact on the earth, each other and ourselves.
At the moment I am struggling to even find the time that I can walk, it just doesn’t seem to fit into my day anymore. Considering what you have shared, could it be possible that it doesn’t fit because I am trying to fit it? Maybe if I introduce more of just being in my body, embracing the beautiful me in my daily routine then the space will present itself to be able to walk? Thank you for offering me everything and a chance to be nothing at the same time, very sweet blog.
Thank you Sarah for your honesty and the sweetness of your expression with the awareness you bring.
Isn’t it interesting how relaxation and de-stressing is often taken to mean ‘zoning out’ , yet as Josh clearly describes, this does not truly support us in our lives. The importance of this blog for me is in describing the many ways we mentally or physically can choose to zone out and not actually be with or feel our bodies. Slowly changing the understanding of how a normal and natural way to destress is to ‘zone in’, will have a huge effect on everyone’s general health and wellbeing. It may also lead many to the profound changes in reclaiming our truth that Josh has discovered and which I really enjoyed reading about.
Whenever we take the time to stop, and to feel,… To take a moment, to appreciate, the connection within us is deepened, and we are able to be more of who we truly are.
Our walk is far more powerful than we have given it credit for. Such is the simplest things in life such as taking notice of how we walk, how we breathe, how we pick up objects brings with it so much awareness of how we can be in the world and how we can relate to others. The more I walk with me the more I feel who I am which is lovely and light and springy and vital on my morning walks. But when I walk and move with the ‘to do’ lists makes me feel unsteady, unstable and dizzy. When we ignore how our bodies feel, anything we then do is done in a quality that is not from who we truly are and our bodies hold who we truly are in essence and our ability to feel is the link to this essence.
“I took the moment as a space for me to enjoy me.” Beautiful Josh! Walking in the joy of oneself has got to be a blessing, physically, emotionally and mentally. It is the ultimate overall well being exercise..
An exquisite moment when walking with a friend today as we were enjoying feeling more awareness of the quality of our movement and speaking about the beautiful messages and symbols in nature that are there for us to read. Something was mentioned about her closing off in her childhood and how she felt this had impacted her life deeply.
As we turned a corner of the street, there was the most delicate and fragile deep pink rosebud in front of us, with a backdrop of a massive and beautiful tree framing it from behind. Our essence and innocence within reflected in the flower and the grandness that we are symbolised with the tree. the angle we had approached it from made it look as if the rose bud was nestling in the heart of the tree foliage.
“I found that in this space I could feel the gentle spring in each step I took, and the delicate wisp of my presence that warmed my chest each time I breathed”, what a lovely way to experience yourself in your walk Joshua, and how lovely it would be to experience all of our movements through life in this way, then every step we take would bring us closer to who we truly are.
Having attended a deep healing session with a Universal Medicine practitioner yesterday, it was interesting to find how the movement in my walk later in the day was very different. A sense of learning to walk again with a completely different rhythm in my body – it was quite funny feeling how uneven my legs felt for a good 5 minutes which then began to change as I settled back deeper into my inner foundation and became more familiar with it.
Whilst out walking today, I suddenly felt a wave of deep tenderness and appreciation arising within me for the power of ‘walking with myself’. Over the past few years it has been amazing to continue walking in this way – a far cry from how I used to be prior to attending Serge Benhayon’s presentations. I would make every excuse not to go out and walk alone, yet the base line was, I felt uncomfortable and very self-conscious about what others may be thinking about this and concocted many stories to feed this flow of thought and stay away from walking by myself.
This evening, hearing the birds singing in full, there joy and warmth felt in my chest, from the unbidden appreciation for Serge Benhayon and all he has reflected to myself and countless others over the past 8 years and the awareness of how simply walking with quality, continuously adds to the re-building of the solidness of the foundation within.
I had totally underestimated the power of walking for most part of my life and am discovering that there is so much to explore and learn through walking.
Thank you Joshua, it is beautiful to feel the spring in your step through your sharing and the lightness of being that comes with that!
“They were my personal, in-built transport machines.”
This is so funny how you relate to your feet here Joshua and at the same time rather shocking, but it is exactly the attitude I had towards my body for most part of my life until I was made aware that there is an innate wisdom in my body that I had not tapped into at all and was completely ignoring.
I can so relate to what you are sharing here Joshua, allowing the space for me to be there with me in my walk, my chores, my movement. It seems like we are always driven by something to reach, to achieve or get done, it takes a deliberate choice to come back to being and enjoying the moment, which then opens up a whole other dimension.
Love this Josh, a beautiful reminder to walk with ourselves, to enjoy our presence and in every step feel the beauty of who we are.
To walk feeling and appreciating how gorgeous and powerful we are is incredible. Going for regular walks to connect to this level of appreciation is awesome, but also we do a lot of walking every day from A to B. So, if we bring the same level of presence, stillness and connection to ourselves in our every movement this will support us hugely and others too because we are reflecting who we are and how we are feeling by our movements, therefore we emanate these qualities to the world.
I love my walks. The spaciousness, the feeling of the flow in my body and my feet on the ground. You’re right Joshua, there is true power when we walk with ourselves, fully present in every step.
When we walk with, appreciate and feel true joy in our everyday life we effectively give ourselves permission to get off the treadmill of this modern day that sets the unrelenting pace and disharmonious rhythm shadowing us all. Great blog Josh.
A great reminder of the space that is available to us when we walk – a time to just be in the body not the mind and to be in the moment, not in the future or the past.
Walking is so innate, and for the vast majority of us it is a great part of what we do every day. Yet what if we have been walking around in a way that is actually not true or factually sound? We think we learn to walk as a child and the rest of life is what follows on, building on this with much ‘greater’ knowledge. Yet what I feel you present here Joshua is that there is a beautiful loving simplicity and delicacy we have as a child that becomes forgotten and a past memory. What would our lives be like if we returned to this pleasure and simple delight every day and every night? Perhaps then its not just our walk that would be different if we lived this way.
Beautifully said Joseph. We express through our movements so it is awesome to be aware of what we are actually expressing. If our every movement expresses our delicateness, simplicity, truth and joyfulness, we would be feeling these qualities from within as we emanate them from inside outwards for all to see.
On my recent walks, deeply enjoying the quality that my body is moving with I have been even more aware of the fullness and glory of the bird song all around me. There is a deep quiet joy and lightness felt within from this beautiful gift from nature to enjoy – a confirmation of the Magic of God moments reflecting this is the quality of joy and stillness we can live in and ‘sing’ from our fullness every moment if we so choose. Awesome and humbling at the same time.
How often do we go for a walk and at the end of the walk we cannot remember what we have passed or people we have seen or the beauty of nature around us – where have we been that there is no awareness of any of these? Our body’s are amazing and the intricacy of our movements are to be celebrated and appreciated. Thanks Joshua for this timely reminder to claim and live who we are and to call in some ‘Stop’ moments every time our mind wanders off into a future that hasn’t happened yet or a past that has gone. We can choose to be present, in our body and enjoy all this brings.
I have come from someone who never walked anywhere to someone who absolutely loves walking. My morning walk is the marker of how I feel and the quality of it sets me up for the whole day.
Josh I keep feeling how important walking is, and whilst I find I can walk when there are things that need doing or a purpose, what I feel most enjoyable is when I walk simply for me, as you say ” I took the moment as a space for me to enjoy me.” It’s an area of my life that I feel to make a real commitment to.
“It seemed that my walks too were never really for me to enjoy my body moving, either” I agree Joshua I would be the same, I never even really considered how my body moved when I walked I would focus on my legs but I wouldn’t be aware of the whole of my body in relation to how I walked. It makes whole difference to the way I walk, how I put my feet down, am I walking in rhythm, am I slouching. This is not done from a critical point of view but by observing if there is anything I can change about my walk that will support my body during the day
In presence we have the power and strength to deal with any energy that comes our way which is not love. Truth about love can be found here, we all know this deep within our hearts too – http://www.unimedliving.com/unimedpedia/word-index/unimedpedia-love.html
What you talk about here Joshua can relate to anything, be it cooking, shopping, walking, work, exercising, having a discussion with a friend. In the sense of being ourselves in all we do, no matter what that is. This is where the true power in healing is.
“each day trying to be someone ” I can relate to this too, realising how I try to be what or where I think I should be instead of being myself. This is deeply harming to the body, as in effect you are saying you are no good, so constantly setting yourself up for a state of strive, drive and anxiousness, Instead of appreciating the fact of just how lovely you are, and the fact you are love without doing anything.
” of chores to complete;” I can relate to this, I was actually walking last night and I remembered your blog and made a note to come back to read it today, because of this. I love being in my body, hence I like walking to simply feel the act, feel myself, but I had turned walking into a chore, a tick off on my list, a to do, instead of simply enjoying being with me. There is a vast difference in the effects each way has in and on our body and mind.
I agree Linda the power of our walk allows us the spaciousness to feel and enjoy the beauty of being with ourselves, with every step we take. it is a beautiful feeling.
My day is filled with lots of walking, I never really use to connect to my walk, it was always on the job with my mind filled with the next thing to do. Since I started to focus on my walk, I feel more connected and have noticed how much I am more in my body and my steps feel lighter. There is more of a joy in my walk and no more of the rushing around from one thing to another. I can feel, a sense of purpose and power in my walk now.
Thank you Amita, your comment has confirmed how much opportunity there is to be present with our body when we walk.
I am thoroughly loving and enjoying the awareness of ‘how I walk’ everywhere during my day – from the front door to the kitchen, to the sink to fill up the kettle, downstairs to upstairs, from one room to another, outside moving the trash bin or out for a walk.
With each footstep there is a deeper sense of being with and in my body than ever before and re-building a strong foundation to express from in full is developing more and more.
Totally enjoyed reading your blog Joshua. As I was reading your blog I was aware that while I may tell myself I am enjoying my walk, I am actually often distracted and therefore denying myself experiencing the full extent of the beauty that is on offer – both inside of me and in nature and the outside world generally. Thank you – I am feeling inspired to ‘power walk’ – but not in the conventional way this is generally understood to mean but in a gentleness that embraces everything I have to offer the world and visa versa.
Joshua I can relate to your blog so well as I had always equated walking with exercise and getting fit. In most cases I wouldn’t take in the gorgeous sensory or notice all the people around me. Over the years this has changed as I have realised the absolute pleasure it is to walk, not at any pace to get anywhere but to just be with myself. Over time I have developed an appreciation of nature and friendships with other fellow walkers.
Of late I’ve not taken to venturing outside in the cold and wet for my daily walk. I do miss connecting to my body in this way so no more excuses, hat on, boots on. Thank you Josh for this reminder of the joys of feeling the fullness of ourselves – in the power of walking.
Thank you Josh, I really loved reading your blog, I find I have been missing some days walking lately, feeling I did not have the time, after reading your blog I am committed to enjoying myself on a daily walk.
That is beautiful Josh, seeing and feeling from this how important it is to be you, be us, and not change that in any way shape or form. For me it is now simply stripping off all those ways I have used to not be myself – so that I can come alive and be all that I am.
I have just enjoyed the most gorgeous walk at 7.30pm – the sky was clear indigo with the stars beginning to shine all over the sky with the most gorgeous full white coloured moon shining in all its splendour and glory.
How blessed to enjoy this moment walking from the stillness within – my body feeling long, strong, fluid and harmonious.
Thank you Josh, I love an early morning walk, sometimes I listen to Glorious Music with my head phones on. I absolutely love feeling the beat of the music in time with my step. Some mornings my steps seem so powerful as I connect to the all and feel the bigger purpose in everything. Some mornings when I am not so clear I can feel the heaviness of self and the feeling of it being a struggle, but every morning my walk is great as it gives me a good refection on how I have lived up till that point.
This blog highlights how doing something as simple as going for a gentle walk can connect us back to our essence, I definitely incorporate walking in to my everyday livingness
When I am walking I sometimes find my mind wanders as well. If this happens and when I become aware that this I immediately take myself to my feet and then take myself through my body to connect back to me, Thank you Josh for your sharing.
I have been experiencing this too Marion – it is easier to loose your own rhythm when walking with another. When holding steady and walking with myself whilst together with another is really beautiful.
Lovely to return and re-read this sharing. I’ve also realised that walking with another beside you is equally as revealing and sharing as walking on my own. Not walking to get ahead or too slowly and lagging miles behind but beside another yet, still feeling and connecting to my body and appreciating togetherness.
So true Marion, I love walking on my own and when it was suggested that my partner would like to come with me, I was put out! I wanted it to be about my space! and my time and refused point blank to walk together. It took awhile before I realised that I was actually shutting out love. Now I absolutely love it when we walk together!
This is so important what you share with us. And especially the last sentence: ”So now when I go for my walk, I enjoy the power of my walk and how gorgeous it is to be me, taking each step.” This hightlights for me how important it is to take each step in life in presence , being in the moment with myself. This proves us that we can always choose to connect and be present in the moment: being it our walk, talk, conversation, sleep time, in the supermarket etc. etc. Super cool, it totaly brings back our own responsibility and power of our choices.
Well said Danna. There is never a moment we cannot choice to be connected with ourselves. It is always a choice to disconnect in the first place even though it can happen almost automatically without the choice taking place, we are still choosing to disconnect. But that does not change the fact that we can always choose to re-connect once again.
Monica I love how you describe how when you walk and connect to our body and feel our presence and our feet take every step it connects us to everything around us and brings that everything including us alive. Beautiful.
I find when walking with presence I recieve so many signs along the way
Well said Joe. When I am fully present with anything that I do I feel so much more connected and open to whatever else is happening around me but at the same time far less distracted by it. You would think it would be the opposite but it is not.
Yes Joe, this is the same I find whilst driving. Sometimes when I am present I feel the journey flow and see the magic of God all around me, other times when I am feeling a bit out I seem to miss the bigger picture. It is so much more evolving to be present and connect to the grandness of life.
Walking can be such a gorgeous reflection of how we can be in life too. Allowing the spaciousness that you say to be in every moment. I find that many times the walk actually reflects the spaciousness I choose in my day
Those pesky thoughts! They can really distract and keep us looked in the issues the walk can help us to process and heal. It really is a choice of surrender
We walk so often in the distraction of focusing on going from A to B amongst an array of ‘off topic thoughts’ regarding what we are going to do or what we have done or some other tangent, that we easily forget how important it is to feel and appreciate that every step we take actually builds to where we are going.
To be walking myself with nature all around is such a beautiful gift from God to all humanity. I am learning to appreciate this more and more.
That such a simple thing as walking can have such a profound effect upon our lives, is surely a reflection of how simplicity is a deep and clear key to evolution.
I agree Chris. It is perhaps so simple that it is overlooked as to how important and powerful it truly can be
Lately I have been letting my body take me for a walk and show me how it would like to walk. For example one day I was walking somewhere and needed to move quickly as I had little time. I noticed that my steps were rapid and there was apish from my hips and a stiffness in my gait. When I asked my body to show me how to walk quickly my steps were slower but longer, my arms swung higher and there was a relaxed loping feel to my gait which was in marked contrast to how I had chosen with my head to walk quickly, and it was much more fun!
This is so cool Tim Robinson. With presence and awareness, simply surrendering to the body and letting it do what it does best, without any interference from our mind and voilà (something is being presented or shown to us … if by magic) – the Magic of God is apparent in the profound, innate wisdom of our body walking in the way that works best for itself.
I loved reading this Joshua. I have recently begun walking regularly and am deeply enjoying the opportunity this offers to develop a relationship with myself – an understanding of the effects of my choices and appreciating the real me underneath these.
The simplicity of walking – Nature provides for us a wonderful playground to just get out there and enjoy. The benefits of ‘tuning in’ and connecting to ourselves while appreciating the simplicity of walking and the healing that takes place as we do so in our movements. Awesome sharing Josh thank you.
I too have discovered in my walk the power of who I am and as you say Josh “my still presence offered all the strength I needed.”. There is nothing for me to do, the rest simply presents itself and I respond. Such great lessons, all from simply walking and feeling me!
Josh this is the second blog I read from you this morning. The way you walk and nourish yourself (first blog) with so much joy and simplicity is beautiful to feel and read about. When we are ready to remove the many masks we have protected ourselves with we allow our essence to reclaim the life that we deserve.
I love reading blogs such as yours Josh, you capture so well a moment of oneness with all.
I find walking very therapeutic, relaxing and a very easy way of connecting back to me. I have incorporated a daily walk into my livingness regime and feel so much better for it
Being present, aware of my body has deepened and enriched the quality of my life. Old habits of being distracted by thoughts, emotions occur but because I practice being with my body I can find my way back again pretty quickly. This is ground breaking for me concerning the quality of life I live and also of course for humanity. So many people live with anxiety, stress and a feeling of detachment from life and yet making the choice to step into our bodies and becoming familiar with how they feel and being consciously present changes everything.
Walking is a great form of medicine when we connect to how our body feels as we walk.
Love this reminder jane176 – A simple and very cost-effective form of great Medicine that many establishments would benefit from using with their patients – the joy of truly connecting with the body as we walk in presence with ourselves.-
It is lovely to know that the connection we can have with our bodies when we walk naturally comes with us to whatever we do next.
I often walk in my lunch break at work. It is such a beautiful time to refresh, connect and recharge my batteries for the afternoon. Even 15 minutes can feel such a gift to myself.
Lovely to come back to your blog again Joshua. I love to walk and although I used to push myself hard up mountains and on long distance walks with a rucsack on my bag I did not experience the simple joy of being in my own body feeling that connection and how it naturally knows what to do as I move. My walking experience has changed so much recently – the hard drive has gone and as a result I can enjoy simply feeling all of me as I walk.
Awesome that you have put into words something I’ve become aware of too, recently … and that is the simple and deep pleasure of being with oneself with no agenda or goal, it’s deeply relaxing.
Whoever would have thought that such a simple thing as the way we walk could actually be life changing! Serge Benhayon frequently reminds us how simple life truly is but we go into our heads and stubbornly hold onto the idea that it has to be complicated and a huge struggle. Thank you for such a simply beautiful reminder of the power of walking Josh.
I hear you Tamara. If walking in the power of our presence can be so life changing what potential is just waiting to be brought out into the light and expressed from all the rest of the areas of our lives….
Before bed last night my body was calling for a further walk. After all the rain, the waxing moon was still and bright, suspended in a cloud break in the sky as if waiting to greet me. I stood outside the front door for a few seconds just feeling the weight of my body down into my feet before the first step.
I enjoyed 10 minutes of a beautiful rhythmic walk, totally in conscious presence – my body feeling open and fluid in every step – a walk filled with deep appreciation for myself, others, life, God, The Hierarchy and Nature – felt as expansion in all of my body, not thoughts in my head.
On returning home, at the front door there was a beautiful pigeon feather waiting to greet me!
I loved reading this Joshua and your description of what it feels like to walk with you, and feeling all of you. Not so long ago I had an experience where I could feel how delicate my hips were as I walked, and there was a flow and rhythm without any effort – it made me realise how much effort I usually put into walking.
The simplicity of a walk can bring so much to us, when we loose the drive of the head and simply walk with our heart, it is a truly simple and free thing to do and its something we should be constantly aware of and connected to, thank you Josh for sharing.
Walking to support me has always been a tug of war – I know it absolutely in my body that there is a space as Joshua described possible to feel, embody more deeply and use as a marker yet on the other hand is this machine like human that has not the time or space for such indulgences when there is so much to do. A walk then becomes a box ticking exercise completely devoid of true connection and love for myself and in fact all others and the environment we all share. This blog Joshua has all at once shown me a completely different way to be with my walking of my amazing body. It’s time to walk the being not the doing.
I have recently discovered a deeper aspect of the power of my walk. It seems the connection to how joyful it feels to be me is something that is forever expanding, there is always space for more of me to live in every aspect of my life and walking is key to this unfoldment.
Josh, this is an absolute inspiration. I often use my walk to plan everything that I need to do instead of just being with me.
Joshua, the way you use words to explain and share is heavenly. Approaching your walk as a tick box, get it done task and how dissatisfying this was is an attitude I can bring to any activity – even more so than walking. Likewise as you discovered you could feel and enjoy being you while walking this too is possible in any activity and walking is a great way to become familiar with this as it can bring such a beautiful rhythm to the body.
This is gorgeous Joshua, so lovely to feel you in your expression. I can echo your words, I adore feeling me in connection with all on my walks, receiving messages from God, the expansiveness that surrounds me and is within me, knowing and confirming that all is well and I am all that I am already.
I love that something so simple such as walking can be so incredibly powerful. It is so easy to walk and be off in our heads, but to take the time to be with each step and our body as we move and feeling the strength in this presence is just gorgeous and a beautiful way to connect to how amazing we truly are.
Joshua this is one awesome blog – so simple and so relate-able! These two lines really struck me… “It was a time that was not governed by a need to finish something because I could feel how I was complete as I was. There was no need to worry about life because I could feel that my still presence offered all the strength I needed…” as I have felt that myself on either my morning walk or sometimes simply walking through the carpark at work. There is such a feeling of ease and expansiveness when you are simply with yourself when you walk, enjoying the flow of movement through your body.
Joshua, you have so beautifully described how you felt and enjoyed yourself: “I found that in this space I could feel the gentle spring in each step I took, and the delicate wisp of my presence that warmed my chest each time I breathed. I could feel the deep simplicity of my walk, my love, and me.(…)” This is a like a poem about walking and the divinity that we can find in the simplicity of our own movements, when we are aware our body while moving. I love having these moments when I walk, when time seems to melt in the beauty of the moment and I am expanding with deep joy and exquisit stillness in my own movement that unites like in a dance with the movements around me. Thank you for the inspiration you gave me to become more consistent in walking on a daily basis as it is so precious for my life.
What a transformation, ,Josh from just doing the walk to being the walk. It is so easy to be distracted by thoughts when walking and sad that we do not love our body enough to be there with it on the walk.
A gentle reminder for me! Thank you.
Josh I can feel the peace and joy of your walk in your writing. The commitment to be with our own breath and feel our body as we take each step brings so much joy and lightness of being that it becomes a very natural everyday thing to do.
This is such an important blog as it reveals so much more than walking. I love how you share the honesty of realising you were never really walking just to enjoy the feeling in your body. I can so relate – when I leave the house to go for a walk from anything other than to be with me and enjoy the time, it feels terrible.
What I have learnt from this blog is the importance of intent when doing something such as going for a walk. Sometimes my intent is to reconnect with nature, but with my head buzzing with thoughts as Joshua has described, I need to change my intent. Sometimes it is to reconnect with my breath, or with my body. Intent can make an ordinary walk invigorating. Inspired by Joshua I must try walking with the intent to appreciate myself.
I really enjoy reading this blog about the appreciation of you when you are walking Josh. I love walking and I have also become more aware of how my body is feeling in the flow of movement, and I love to enjoy the space in nature, as well as the waves, or birds, or clouds or breeze. It is so refreshing to take this time for myself and to leave thinking about other things behind.
When I walk with myself, the more I start to feel that inner connection the more I get to see and feel what is going on around me. It is beautiful to feel how as I open up in my walk so too does the world open up with me.
Is it a wonder that our heads are so heavy with all busyness and the constant thoughts passing through it, or festering/random thinking wanting to take over. How amazing is walking, connecting to this beautiful flowing movement from our body that can so gently bring us back to feeling all of ourselves, connecting to the awesomeness of us. A beautiful sharing with us Josh thank you.
Once I started dealing with the motion in my body, the stillness began to emerge. Quite a lovely experience and one that continually develops the more I walk and commit to feeling every step I take.
When I walk to rush somewhere I feel my whole system contract and the rhythm of my walk, that I love, is no longer present. So this is a timely reminder to allow the space for the walk that I love. Because feeling me walk is one of the joys of my day.
Simply feeling my feet in my shoes and the quality of them touching the surface that I am walking on is a profound moment which feels new and different every time and rushing is not a possibility to even consider anymore!.
So often we get caught in the complicated distractions of life, not realising that the most profound of experiences are often the simplest.
So true Adam – complications are total distractions to keep us away from the truth of who we are – the more simplicity I am bringing back to my life, the more profound the Magic of God moments are and there is more solidness within me with every step on my walks.
Thank you Josh, simple yet so profound too. It’s amazing how when we’re coming from our head there always needs to be a reason for any action or choice we make, yet we feel from our body, and allow our choices to come from that knowing there is no reasoning required – we’re simply in it – feeling all there is to feel.
I love this! I am finding that the simple activity of walking can be so powerful for our wellbeing when we make it about walking with ourselves and for ourselves. Very often walking gives me an opportunity to feel my body more deeply and to let go of any thoughts and feelings that are not me. I am beginning to appreciate how beneficial walking is to me and not just for the exercise but a time to be with me.
Joshua thank you for sharing your experiences with walking. I enjoy walking and I too need to remind myself to be aware of my feet and the energy I am choosing to walk in. There are some days where the magic of God is very present, little Blue Wrens and other beautiful varieties of birds and wild life. These are the days I love.
‘Seems that the masks had become so much a part of me I had forgotten what I felt like without them on!’ Wonderfully put Josh. You are quite right, we are often not even aware that we are wearing them and once they come off we discover how much joy it brings to just be you.
I love re-turning to this blog Josh as it offers us much to reflect on. What stood out for me this time was how much more there is of us and that the depth of who we are in waiting to be explored. When we choose to let go of the masks that we hide behind and we discover that who we are in essence is so much more enjoyable to live that the limitations that the masks offers us. And it is through our bodies that we can live this life in full which for me highlights the importance of self-care through loving and honoring the connection to our bodies.
I am back again to add to the comments on walking!
At a group yesterday a participant made a very unexpected comment – they had been following me down some corridors to the meeting room and felt strongly to express they were amazed they could feel the purpose and power in my walk with no tension or heaviness in my body or footsteps and their body being drawn to walk differently.
Wowza! What a great confirmation of the power of our walk, not just for ourselves but the imprint on others too.
I walked in an new place today around a nearby lake. With walking with me with a natural rhythm it was gorgeous feeling the harmony throughout my body and feeling my particles begin to resonate to this frequency – the expansion and spaciousness within my body felt amazing – so now its fully enjoying the spaciousness within and without!
Joshua, I can relate to everything what you are sharing with us. For me it was the same – first the walking was just another “to do” of the day. But a few weeks ago, I started to enjoy my walking, because it is ME walking and I enjoy myself, moving ME in my body.
I love re-reading and feeling the connection you have with yourself Josh – it is inspiring.
As I stepped outside of my door to walk yesterday, there was some heaviness and a little contraction in my chest area.
With standing still for a few moments and feeling the rhythm of the breath in my lower lungs, this began to change the heaviness and the moment arose to simply follow the way my body body wanted to move with its first step. Almost instantaneously there was a rhythm in my body that could be felt right through my legs. A deep awareness and appreciation of the huge spaciousness I was walking in and surrounded by brought a lightness and confirmation of it holding and supporting me in a way never felt before. Not even hand in hand with God, just my body walking within the vast spaciousness – the body of God – and this feels a new-normal marker.
Josh it’s so true how easily we can get caught up in the ticking boxes even with the walking. I also remember I was caught up in that too, walking as it was something I had to do, but not truly connecting to my body and how I felt. Once I started to understand the true power of walking and my connection to my walk, my entire walking experienced changed. Now when I walk if I do not feel my feet it’s a warning sign that my body is out of balance and I am caught up in my head, a great marker for me. When I am connected I can feel each step and the bounce in my feet.
What a great blog Josh thank you for sharing , this is my second visit to your words on walking and still it is so fresh and inspiring me just to walk my walk. I have noticed of late how heavy my feet and legs become through a day , it sort creeps up on me , but the truth is it collects through me not being present until my body goes enough is enough ,the beautiful thing I have found is if I go for a 5 or 10 min walk being present with my body walking the heaviness clears. Of cause the answer is to stay present all the time but it is reassuring that a simple walk is great medicine for fatigue and that heavy feeling where life starts to be a bit of a drag.
I like my walk and it does not matter how it is, because when I start to connected to my feet and to me, it shows me exactly what is going on and where I am at. Sometimes it needs a while and some steps more to feel my whole body. In this process I get aware what circumstances during the day have lead to that I disconnect from me.
You are indeed a deeply tender, handsome man Josh, a very beautiful blog thank you
It is so lovely to read and to feel how much you appreciate yourself a a gorgeous divine man.
How beautiful to walk hand in hand with God; next time I walk Josh you will be my inspiration.
‘There was no need to worry about life because I could feel that my still presence offered all the strength I needed’ Thank you Josh. Surrendering to my still presence is all I truly need. I love that this is so. It brings me into a deeper connection confirming this and knowing that I can support myself and that in that connection I am also supported.
Beautiful blog Josh. I also recently started to be more aware when I walk in the mornings. I started to really connect to my breath, my feet and my body. It really clears my mind and I just simply focus on my body and breath. When I do this I am not out of breath at the end of my walk as it is a fairly steep path towards the end. I feel so much more grounded and gentle when I walk connected to my body. I am using this time to build that connection and to go deeper every day.
This blog is a constant inspiration Joshua and re-reading it a beautiful reminder to always walk with myself and thus with God. The simplicity of this re-connection is ‘mind blowing’ – can it really be this simple questions my mind? Absolutely yes, says my body when every movement and footstep in conscious presence. WoW.. ..just ‘Walking our Way’ back to who we truly are hand in hand with God.
I love your comment Stephanie. Very beautiful and yes it is mind blowing. Such a simple way to connect to ourselves and to God, in the way we walk. I am really loving this way of walking, applying it to my morning walks every day, connecting to my body, to nature and to God. It’s a time to really appreciate nature and the vast beauty it shares. When I choose to walk connected it allows me to appreciate who I am and what I have to share with everyone.
I used to think it too audacious to walk with god, like I was not worthy. Now that I have stopped denying that I am a son of god I walk tall and it feels great. Thank you Stephanie, with mind and body we walk hand in hand with God.
Joshua, rereading your blog remembers me more deeply how powerful it is to be in conscious presence and thus connected with myself and how this magnifies in my walk.
It felt so beautiful to read your blog Joshua. I can feel how delicate, gentle and tender you are with yourself in your walks. I can feel how it carries through with what you are saying.
How much are we missing out on when we are not ‘in our bodies’, when our minds are elsewhere? Its choosing to live in flat black and white when there is a whole multidimensional technicolour world right there waiting for us to switch on and tune in.
Beautiful to read Joshua. “The work of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine has inspired me to live my life in a more gentle way, focussing on each step I take. So now when I go for my walk, I enjoy the power of my walk and how gorgeous it is to be me, taking each step.” I noticed the last couple of days now I have to walk to work, how I would choose to walk fast because I was late for work. Then I thought that even if I was late, I better could enjoy each step I took. This left me arriving not in a rush but with me and full of energy. From this I learned that every moment we have a choice to enjoy ourselves and our surrounding or to let life run us and be stressed and tensed.
Beautifully said Lieke. We always have the power in each and every moment to claim the quality we choose to be in.
Lieke – what a great realisation about being late for work, walking fast and compromising the quality of your walk in this chosen action of rushing.
Isn’t is amazing that the more we make the simple choice to walk (drive, live) with conscious presence how time somehow expands, no rush involved and just a sense of being whole within ourselves and full of energy for the rest of the day.
“From this I learned that every moment we have a choice to enjoy ourselves and our surrounding or to let life run us and be stressed and tensed”.
Such a beautiful and profound blog Joshua. Thank you for sharing your experience of walking with you. I can relate to all you have written. When I walk in connection with me time seems to become irrelevant and even the distance I walk is unimportant. The sense of space that opens up when I walk in this way is simply beautiful both in the way it feels inside and how it expands out to everything around me.
I absolutely whole-heartedly agree with you. The walking is such a powerful way to reconnect and confirm the connection with God and the stillness of just being with our bodies.
What a great blog and topic you have opened up for all to be inspired and to comment on – our walk – everyone walks but how many people truly walk with themselves? It is a very simple point but I agree there is a huge difference in how it feels in my body when I walk with me, the energy level I end up with, the way my body feels when carried in a rhythm and flow as a walk, rather than feeling disjointed and holding of tension -so I am connecting with the great physical benefits of walking in connection with my body.
When we are truly connected the physical benefits sky rocket. We can actually be harming ourselves when walking with disconnection to our bodies.
So true and it can be the tension that builds up in the body from walking in disharmony that is the most energy draining and debilitating in the long run. On the other hands walking in connection can be similar to an actual healing session.
It is amazing how much as men we resist being present with our body, which makes sense, given that for most of us, being in the body is not a pleasant place to be. This is not surprising given the way most of us treat our body, and so when we do connect to it, it feels tired, wired, stressed, tight, sore, and hard. Yet our body does not have to be this way, and it is about time as men that we started to appreciate the fact that our body is delicate, and worthy of looking after. For it is the only one we have. Walking is not just a great way to relax but a great way to learn to reconnect to the divinity of our own essence.
Simply gorgeous Adam – it is a blessing to everyone when men re-claim their delicateness and realise their body is well worth looking after – what a great role model you are for men.
it is about time as men that we started to appreciate the fact that our body is delicate, and worthy of looking after. For it is the only one we have. Walking is not just a great way to relax but a great way to learn to reconnect to the divinity of our own essence”.
Walking to meet with some friends yesterday I realised for a few seconds, I had ‘checked out’ of being fully aware of my footsteps and I was reminded very quickly by a tiny ridge in the path that seemed to leap out to specifically trip me up (ha ha!!).
As I stopped and just let myself feel this temporary disconnection with my body, there was a deep appreciation for the slight unevenness in the path to bring me back to awareness.
A little further along the way, there is an area which is very rough to walk over right by a main road – this was so simple with being very present in my body again.
I love this invitation to be with me when walking and to feel in the movement of my body how I am truly feeling. I often walk in appreciation of the sky, the trees and birds as I walk but now I can also appreciate me with every step that I take.
Wow, who would have thought how much inspiration there is in walking and writing about it! And I agree, it is amazing to feel me when I am walking and not being distracted by anything else.
Every comment I read on this inspiring blog reminds me just how important ‘walking to be with me’ is. Feeling the presence within my body, the foundation that is being continually deepened and strengthened with every movement I make in the connection with the innate stillness within.
As Serge Benhayon has said over and over during my 7 years of attending his presentations – “expression is everything” and now really having more understanding that the quality I choose to bring to my expression is in my speech, my choice of words, my thoughts and in every single daily movement – walking, sitting down, standing up.
Anytime when feeling ‘off key’ with myself – a few steps in conscious presence and there is the most amazing feeling of all the dross unravelling, dropping away and my body re-configuring anew. Wow. To appreciate this so deeply instantly brings a deeper level of awareness of the relationship within as I move effortlessly through the outer world.
Our morning walk today was pure magic. We started off along the boards walk that ran for 3K, then made our way onto the beach, walked along the sand and then paddles in the sea. The sun was shining, clear blue skys. When you looked up at the sky, the openess of everything around us was just heavenly.
As we walked we held hands,and chatted about so many things.
What a great way to start the day.
I fully agree with you Mike – it was a lovely walk to enjoy together!
Just pausing to observe the birds and surroundings throughout our walk brought a deeper awareness of the vast and infinite spaciousness surrounding everything. A sense of being just held by that which is unseen, but not unknown – this space, the vast body of God – an absolute constant in our every moment of life, whether we are aware of it or not.
Josh beautiful sharing, thank you – in your words ” I took the moment as a space for me to enjoy me” Something so simple as walking brings so much in return. To know we can through choice anytime, anywhere just go for that walk with ourselves and reconnect to something so very special.
– I’m now putting my walking shoes on.
Great article Josh. I used to walk and chew over my problems and ‘I should have done that’ or ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ I would return home more exhausted than when I set out for my walk and ready for a sit down. When I walk with me and am aware of the wonder of nature all around me I return refreshed, revitalised and with a smile on my face.
Our walk is the glue between everything we do in life and therefor super important on how we join each activity together. If I walk without actually choosing to walk and not feel my feet, feeling me, then something else is walking me towards my next activity, lessening the quality of my being and affecting the quality of the next activity. Lovely to read your blog Joshua.
So true Gill, I have noticed this too, a short walk sometimes during the day can refresh and reset the program we are allowing to run us. This is so needed sometimes during work, I often take the opportunity to walk to the toilet to refresh and to take back the control of my body when sometimes a heaviness or drivenness wants to take over.
This is a very valuable blog. You speak from my heart, and I do know this “lack of something” feeling very well from my past. This empty feeling was always making me searching for something; a book, music, fantasies, party, workshops, religion, a healer, comfort food, drinks with alcohol, art, cooking, pandering to my kids and the list could go on. Until I had realised that this emptiness could never be filled of anything other than with me. Taking time with me, moving me with me, having breakfast with each spoonful of delicious homemade food with me, breathing each breath with me, walking with me. This is a high level of life with a delicate presence in my body that delivers the quality with all I do, think and say. Thanks to Universal Medicine to present this simple and natural way of living to us.
Well said Monika – reading your’ list’ brings me a moment to appreciate just how far I have come within myself since attending presentations with Universal Medicine.
I used to have that same endless list to fill the ‘lack of something’. Walking in appreciation of myself and feeling every footstep in each movement brings a totally different feeling to my body and there is no sense of lack at all, only a feeling of fullness within and being so much more than just my physical body.
There are times I can still get caught up in that old ‘endless seeking list’ which alerts me I have got stuck in my thoughts and less aware of my body and a deeper re-connection with myself is required. It is actually so simple – stop, feel the breath and return to walking with presence and awareness – this awareness and action changes everything and the re-connection within my body is re-established. So super simple.
This was such a gift to read Josh – I realised how much I have been missing out on the gorgeousness of me! I plan on making up for lost time too. Thank you.
Thank you Joshua, a great reminder about the power of walking. And to consider… we have to walk everywhere… not just on a designated time to walk, but literally everywhere.. around our house, to and from the car, in the shopping center… Bringing presence and love to our body with every step is a powerful and underestimated healing tool. Recharge as you walk rather than drain!… quite simple if we bring presence and awareness to this everyday activity.
Although walking is someting I do all the time, in the past I often overlooked how powerful and healing it truly is. There have been times when I have been walking and I have found myselfI distracted by thoughts of what has been happening in my day, and when i bring myself back to walk with me I realise that the way I have been walking is a reflection of how I have been feeling in myself during the day – the pace with which I’m walking is reflective of my momentum during the day, I may be slightly hunched over in the shoulders in a protective way from not being as open and loving with those around me at work, there may be a heaviness in my step from taking on things from others.etc
When I return to walk with me I also feel the lightness, joy and the beautiful gentle rhythm also return.
Thank you Joshua, you have presented something so simple yet very profound especially for men as we in many ways avoid truly connecting with our bodies and when we do we find the delicateness and tender nature of our being.
Walking oneself is one of the most delightful experiences in this life. Walking leads to amazing learnings about oneself and about the world. And, there are moments of total enjoyment of the body. As you well said Josh, it an amazing activity to remind oneself and to confirm how gorgeous I am.
A beautiful, inspirational blog. I have recently started using a treadmill (as it is pretty cold in Melbourne this time of year) and I have found it more challenging to simply walk with me on it…and instead the old drive has kicked back in, so this was a timely for me to read now.
Enjoying the gentle delicate exercises that I now do everyday is so wonderfully different and so profoundly nurturing, compared to the hours of daily martial arts practise, which just left me harder and harder, and more and more numb
Your gorgeousness is so gorgeous that if I was you, I wouldn’t want to miss a step.
So beautifully expressed Marcia.. and so true too!
I am loving experimenting with my walk. It is such an opportunity to connect and feel me. I could have been caught up in something, becoming rushed or tense at my desk but when I walk it only takes a few steps to feel me again. I have been playing with walking feeling my woman’s body and feeling the loveliness of the flow and curves of my movement. I felt how gorgeous this was and for a moment I felt concerned that people will notice. But that is the point… people need to notice so they can stop bustling about thinking about a million other things and just enjoy the movement of their body.
It is amazing how when we claim the space for ourselves to feel, how much there actually is to appreciate and that there is no end to the deepening that is offered. I love this line – ‘I found that in this space I could feel the gentle spring in each step I took, and the delicate wisp of my presence that warmed my chest each time I breathed.’ – so delicious.
Josh what really stood out for me when reading your article was the depth of what you felt when you connected to your body. You described so beautifully what you felt and it made me think about how much each of us misses out on feeling by being in our thoughts and not with our bodies.
Good one Josh; for men to do something for themselves, actually just for them, without a ‘task’ or seeming functional purpose can be really difficult for some. Then when they do something for themselves, often it’s with others or not contemplative, in the consciousness and rowdiness of watching competitive sport, racing, or doing supposed ‘blokey’ things like hunting or dj’ing. I walk too, once or twice a day, for ten minutes, just to listen to and feel my feet and hands etc. Things like this, simply give space and grace to our bodies – which is wonderful to still our ever ready over active minds.
To walk with our bodies and feel is just such a pleasure thanks Josh for your reminder.
Beautifully said Monica. Being with ourselves is truly all we need!
Re reading your blog today Josh is a great reminder to come back to the appreciation of my body and who I truly am. To appreciate the next step and the next step and so on. For ever deepening my relationship with me and all that is me.
I have really been noticing my walks, especially during my working day, I can feel how I am more present with myself and this supports me with my day. I remember I use to be constantly in motion, I felt I was always in a rush around work and was more exhausted at the end of the day. My days at work are still very long, however as I am more with myself whilst I walk , I no longer feel exhausted. I now have a better understanding how important it is to walk, by staying present with myself.
This blog and all its powerful comments are great support and inspiration when feeling a little ‘out of sorts’ in the rhythm of my day. A reminder to come back to basics – just enjoying walking being with me in conscious presence and feeling every footstep simply re-configuring my body back to its natural flow and rhythm once again.
Such ‘good medicine’.
Thank you!
My morning walks are now a much loved part of my day, when I can tune in to how my body is feeling. I feel the rhythm of my pace, the movement of my feet, hips, shoulders, and feel the breeze or wind on my face, the temperature of the air. It really is a precious time to enjoy.
I can totally relate to how you previously walked Joshua- with no true connection to the body; thinking and talking from the head, only interested in getting from A to B. Only until I was taught the simple ,but very powerful lymphatic and vascular walk ,from Serge Benhayon at Universal medicine, did I feel my feet, and fully connect to my body when I walked.
Now walking for me is an opportunity to reconnect to me- feel the love and spaciousness of who I am in every step.
“So now when I go for my walk, I enjoy the power of my walk and how gorgeous it is to be me, taking each step”
Thank you Loretta, Serge Benhayon has been an inspiration for me too. The effortless grace of how he walks is deeply inspiring and deeply powerful to begin to live.
Awesome blog Josh, I can relate to everything you’ve shared. I have never really been motivated to go for a walk alone. I would only go if I was invited by a friend or if there is a reason to. We recently adopted a Siberian Husky. I didn’t choose the breed and trusted that we will get the right first dog for the family. It was mainly for our son. So, I chose to take the dog for walks in the mornings because I felt the dog needed a regular routine to settle into our family. It was a huge challenge at the beginning, I was pulled along and not enjoying the walk at all. I became frustrated and even resentful. So when I took the dog for walks with that energy of feeling out of control and frustrated I no longer enjoyed the walk. Now, I take a different approach with my dog I can train him to not pull, I use logs for him to drag instead of dragging me. I search for things to learn more about how to discipline a dog to help support us. I also appreciate how going for walks along the beach connects me with other dog owners. I love talking to them, sharing our experiences as a dog owners and I love learning from others how they interact with their dog. I am learning through walking my dog how I can truly experience walking feeling my every step, enjoying how my body move, enjoying how my dog is feeling too. I am learning how to read my dog, to be present and feel what state he is in when we are walking. Every morning I am learning to connect and to be patient, stern and to be consistent with discipline. Every morning how I feel, as in how connected I am with myself, I notice it affects how my dog is with me. Through my dog, I am also learning to say ‘no’ and correct behaviours that is not supportive for my body, the pulling and over excitement. Walking connected and with appreciation is something new I am learning.
We have a dog too Chan and I can relate to what you share here. It is beautiful to feel how connected the dog can be to nature and what is around when I can sometimes be so focussed on just the walk and not in any way what is around! Such a beautiful reminder.
Thank you Josh, I could feel you connecting to the love that we all are but have chosen via our protective mechanisms to be in our head which we have been taught is safer and more real – evidence and all that! Walking within our bodies is so connecting to ourselves and has become a truly loving and supportive part of being me these days. It’s like I am walking myself and the dog loves it too!
This is so true Bernadette. I notice while I am walking, thoughts and distractions comes into my head. I then try to refocus on how my feet and arms feel, are they tensed or relaxed, this seems to stop my thoughts for awhile and then I repeat the same process. I am practicing walking with my dog to clear my head, to connect to my body, to connect with nature and to appreciate my surroundings. Through walking in nature I am learning to connect to God and appreciate the beauty that is all around me and also within me.
Wow Josh, you have just offered us all a great reminder to be with ourselves in each moment. Thank you I really enjoyed taking a walk with you and being all of me!
I can very much relate to a daily walk being a box ticking exercise Josh not to mention the off-topic thoughts that seem to incessantly wrestle their way in. As you have so beautifully and powerfully described, walking can be such an amazing way to reconnect and feel the tender gorgeous beings that we are and then carry that into the rest of our day.
Thank you Zofia. It is truly a beautiful thing to feel the still space of just being and loving moving your body as you walk. A moment made to confirm ones gorgeousness 🙂
“the delicate wisp of my presence that warmed my chest each time I breathed” love that Josh! I’m in awe of how amazing this blog is and how much it resonates with me. So amazing, thanks.
Josh, the beauty of yourself that you discovered simply by feeling your feet as you walked, is so gorgeous to feel. Connecting to the body and feeling oneself inside it, taking up the space, gives such confidence in step, and in action.
I revisit this blog regularly and find deeper levels of truth very time I read it. Especially for men I feel it is importend to re-connect to our bodies as this helps us to connect to our feelings. As men we are told to be hard and tough, which we we can only become by disconnecting form our feelings. For me too walking in connection with myself is a powerful way of building this relation with my body and the inner feeling it contains. Thank you Joshua Campbell for sharing the beauty you cary within with all of us.
Beautifully said Stephanie. Walking can actually be truly healing — often a beneficial medicine most do not fully appreciate
Joshua. Did not realise how much I have missed being out walking. Only just getting back on track after my operation, and doing a little more day by day and for a longer time.
Having to walk at a slower pace than normal, it is amazing how much one misses the beauty that surround us in this world.
It was like a breath of fresh air, a point of connecting back to me, whilst reading your blog Josh, thank you. I shall remember to walk me when I walk not walk my head and thoughts.
I have just walked in our local park with my husband to find and feel his post operation ‘recovery walk’.
It has been beautiful to be out with the birds singing away and loads of swans gliding around the small lake whilst
he experimented with how his feet felt on the ground and how his body was feeling at the same time.
A slight change in pace and rhythm occasionally and all was well.
I love walking ‘with me’ and being guided by my body and my husband has really felt the benefit of this too.
Walking without any expectation, need, want, drive, certain speed or end result, but just walking from a joy of being with ourselves, well, that gives walking a whole new dimension.
There is so much in this blog I love it. I haven’t committed to a daily walk even though I know how it supports me. I hear and understand everything you are saying here Joshua, and I know how much it supports me and have at times felt the amazingness of just gliding along the path so light and free on my walk when I am truly connected, feeling my whole body. Walking with myself is a powerful way of bringing me to me. Why I sabotage that is something I will ponder on.
Joshua, this was the most perfect blog for me to read this morning (and probably every morning) as a reminder to me how I rush and push to get things done, as clearly I never feel like I’m enough if I’m constantly needing to do things.
The presence you speak about here is so tangibly felt, and I can already feel how my walk is going to be so different this morning – and therefore the rest of my day. Thank you for the most gorgeous inspiration and expression you have written with here – this blog is a treasure I shall no doubt return to.
Ahhh… no need to brace and prepare myself for life, just connect to my natural inner stillness and walk…… I so love the power and simplicity of your message Joshua, thank you.
This is a beautiful blog to read Joshua. I have felt myself be squeezed this week with time and tasks and tension and reading your blog has been a timely reminder to take some time for me today, to connect more deeply and let go.
I enjoyed coming back to this blog as this time around it highlighted the power in bringing attention to the quality of life’s situations. Something as simple as how we walk, speak to each other, pick up objects can reveal a lot and as I have learnt recently when we are willing to feel and be curious about quality life starts to make more sense as to why we do what we do and how we are affects what we do, say and think. Thank you Joshua.
It was amazing to feel my own body while reading your blog – how my shoulders were feeling tense and hard, how my toes had a tingling sensation, how my belly was feeling soft, how my chest was rising and sinking with my breath – then the stillness deep inside. Now, I am going to get on my feet to magnify that in my movement. Thank you for the inspiration and the reminder, Josh.
I have discovered the absolute power of walking just to be with me rather than walking and being in my head the whole time trying to figure out the answer to some problem or concern. It makes all the difference.
I sometimes take a walk after having been on my feet at work all day and though my legs are tired and sometimes feel heavy and my body a little tight I just allow myself to walk, to walk and feel my body. I then start to slowly find my rhythm and my body starts to relax and let go of the tension that I have held myself in. Yes, there is power in walking with you, thank you Joshua.
Joshua it would be lovely to go walking with you anytime. Your sharing of this is very true and wonderful to read and be reminded “…. time that was not governed by a need to finish something because I could feel how I was complete as I was. “ This is a pearl which applies to everything. Thank you
How many masks do I put on and off every day? The worker, mother, wife, student, friend, train commuter, driver…. What a lot of time wasted and baggage to carry. Why can’t I just be me in every thing that I do? Life is simple, abundant and so rewarding when I breath my own breath. Thank you Joshua for reminding me to simply enjoy being me.
Next time I walk, I bring these words with me Joshua, very powerful.
very inspiring Joshua, especially the part of the walk just being a time to be with me, and enjoy myself and the way my body moves. Too often i still have an undercurrent running that says i have to be something or walk in a certain way or my walk needs to deliver me something and it takes the fun right out of it. Your lightness and joy is what i will take with me on my next walk, thank you.
I grin like a silly cat when I read that you have discovered your still presence offered you all the strength you need. I deeply love walking too, and I know the still presence you talk about. When I deprive myself of my walks, usually because I think I am too busy, I deprive myself of the exact thing that deeply supports me to feel strong, present, still and just Me. That’s a silly thing to do!
Just made going for my morning walk go to a whole other level Joshua.
Thank you for this blog Joshua, re-reading it again I feel inspired to go deeper, to walk with just myself, no masks, no tasks, just me and see how that feels.
Ha! I love this Leigh – “…. to walk with just myself, no masks, no tasks, just me and see how that feels”.
It will be great to hear how this feels for you – with no masks and no tasks!
It is the most glorious day today – warm for the time of year (13C), all the spring flowers dancing in the gentle breeze, the odd cloud scudding across a blue sky and the birds singing and chirping away and loads of people out in the park with their children, friends and/or dogs.
It is so lovely to be walking with out all the layers of winter clothes on to be warm whilst out and feeling the warmth of the sun on my arms.
I am super aware of every movement in my body, fluid and strong whilst walking in conscious presence in a lovely rhythm, my footsteps almost caressing the ground as they walk on it.
Someone is coming up behind me with very heavy, hard and pushing steps talking to her dog. Galloping past me, to come to a sudden stop and giving the dog a lecture in a very loud voice, rather like addressing a naughty child who might dare to have a tantrum! This pattern continued for about 5 minutes.
I continued to walk gently in my rhythm past them again. A short while after being behind me again, the lady’s walk began to slow down and the dog stopped playing up………. the birds blessed everything by singing in more fullness .
Thank you Joshua – another gorgeous walk to share with you all.
Thank you for your sharing Stephanie. It is beauty-full to feel the space of your rhythm of your walk and how power-full this can be for us to support us to stay present enjoying each step we make on our journey.
“For the first time in ages I could feel that my walk was not based around getting anywhere, doing anything or trying to be someone. I wasn’t even concerned about the time. I took the moment as a space for me to enjoy me”
This is so inspiring Josh, thank you.
Beautiful Joshua. I have just started to learn to truly walk in the power of feeling my body. I used to walk without much awareness but just wanting to get from A to B fast. I wasn’t able to take this time to feel or appreciate how amazing I am and my body. Walking is something we do a lot and by staying connected to our body, walking no longer feels like a chore. Walking in connection with ourselves feels absolutely amazing and joyful.
I never realized how much we walk and the power of walking. Walking is (with standing, sitting and talking) the thing we do the most during our day. After I experienced how vitalizing and great a joy it is to feel my body when I walk and to be really present, I extended this to the smaller walks: walking to the toilet, in the supermarket in the office and boy does it make a difference if I walk with myself and allowing myself to feel the beautiful tender woman I am.
What a beautiful blog – As you expressed “I could feel the deep simplicity of my walk, my love and me”. It is so easy to go into the ‘doing’ and ticking boxes which then makes this simple tool to bring ourselves back to feeling deeply and connecting to ourselves a chore. The fact is that it’s free, available when and where we choose. Thank you Joshua – your sharing is truly inspiring.
This is such an inspiring blog. Thank you Joshua.
About eight years ago I got a dog called Roxy and started to walk on a daily basis, before this I didn’t walk anywhere. Having a dog forced me into routine which kind of blossomed into something I love doing, then through this I started to feel how my body feels where the aches and pains are how light or heavy I feel and why? Is there a repeating pattern at different times of the month, things like that. Basically a daily checkin on how I’m feeling. I haven’t really ever got to the point of realising how amazing or handsome I am but who knows even that may happen.
“I could feel the gentle spring in each step I took and the delicate wisp of my presence that warmed my chest each time I breathed.” Thank-you for your beautiful way of expressing how you felt when you walked Joshua. When I read this I could feel what you felt.
Joshua what a great joy to read about you walking and also so absolutely inspiring for me!!!!!! I cannot wait until I have finished writing this comment and then – yes – to go for a walk – wunderbar!!!!!
Thank you for this very awesome blog Josh. I was recently astounded by feeling the lovely essence of me on a walk recently and it was spectacular. Your blog gave me a chance to reflect, appreciate and take this deeper.
In around 480 BC Hippocrates said — ‘Walking is man’s best medicine.’ And here we are again with a foundational aspect of what Serge Benhayon presents being written about as an amazing foundation to someone’s life. It is no coincidence that such pivotal themes repeat throughout history, and time will reveal the depth and breadth of what Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine are presenting to humanity
Thank you Chris for sharing this ancient wisdom – ‘Walking is man’s best medicine.’
I really enjoyed reading your blog Joshua. It is so great to feel how you changed your way with walking. I can relate very much, I was always very much in my head when I was walking, thinking about what to do next, worrying about anything really and later going for a walk to be more in my body which still was very driven with an result that I wanted to achieve! Like you I am now walking in a different way, not to fix anything, just to have a moment with myself, nature, the busy city and my body. I really enjoy this way of walking, it is a moment to reflect, be playful and move my body.
Be such a joy to walk with you some day, walking together with our bodies can be a super nourishing and loving thing to do.
It would be my pleasure Joshua.
Gorgeous Josh. ‘A friend asked me to recall what my feet felt like during my walks.’ What a great question to really consider. Thank you for the awesome inspiration here and the reminder to be aware when I walk, simply to focus on each step I take so my body is the main attraction and not my head’s potential side show.
Thank you Josh for taking us with you on your walk. I am becoming aware that my daily walk can be just me my body my breath and the environment I am walking in and this gives me the connection to my joy instantly. Recently I started to give more attention how I walk when i am working, going from one place to another, there could be this same connection and sometimes there is but most of the time I am already ahead of myself, thinking about where I am going to, being on time or not, rushing etc. So that is now my focus how do I walk where ever I go.
Thank you Annelies, walking is forever a deepening
I love this Annelies – “my daily walk can be just me my body my breath and the environment. I am walking in and this gives me the connection to my joy instantly”. This quality is in my walk so often now, that when not ‘with me’ it is felt instantly as being slightly stiff or jerky in my legs and feet. The other morning I came through to eat and sat down and felt odd – purely because of unawareness from getting from the front door to the table, thinking about the food rather than walking with me!
I chose to get up and return to the door (with presence) and return back to the table – my body felt very different and the food was really enjoyed!
Beautiful Annelies and Stephanie. Walking is such a powerful thing to do. The way I walk can just change the way I feel about myself in a second.
Josh that was really beautiful to read. I could feel the spaciousness your walk had created for you. I really enjoyed reading from a man how gorgeous you know you are.
Walking – something most of us do every day, and as you write so beautifully Josh, something most of us do without even thinking, especially about what is happening to our body as we move. It’s just about getting from A to B. I love how you have discovered what walking means and feels to you, and I will definitely be taking your inspiration with me on my next walk.
Life is a little too boring if we just live like we are getting from A to B.
Great blog Joshua.
Walking for me has changed a lot the last 7 yrs. – I used to walk and not feel my legs or feet and I thought this was normal, until I had a session with a practitioner from Universal medicine. I realised I wasn’t trusting my body as being safe – so my walk was always in nervous energy, and I felt exhausted after walking.
Thankfully since addressing my deeper issues, and learning to breathe my own breath my walk is more powerful.
I can feel my whole body and I now feel energised from walking . It confirms me.
Beautiful Joshua. I have also experienced how powerful walking can be when I enjoy me moving in my body. The way you described this feeling is truly gorgeous (and a beautiful reflection of you) as this is the feeling of complete and eternal love that I have experienced when I connect to my body when walking. I certainly enjoy my morning walks because of this, but I have found also that if I feel that I have left myself, or have become racy at work, I can bring myself back simply through connecting to my walk and step by step I begin to return, and step by step I reclaim and confirm who I truly am.
Lovely blog Joshua!
I also love walking being together with me and feeling the nurturing from it coming up through my feet. Walking now can be so confirming and warming!
I agree with you Andrea. I also love experimenting with a feeling of extending up through my spine and neck to the top of my head, as if there is an invisible string supporting this to open my body, this soon brings my walk to an even more flowing and rhythmic way. – totally awesome to feel and enjoy walking with more of me in presence.
In a healing session last week I learned something significant about my walk, Joel. I recognised and felt from my body an attachment to a behaviour I have lived with all my life, and how it has led me to to continue to give my power away to others and feel unworthy. This came from talking about the intense pain I have in the muscles around my hip at the moment, making walking very painful and difficult. As I felt the energy I had been living in, my whole body started to change. The healing practitioner asked me to walk and the walk was lighter, and freer, and although the pain was still there, it felt different. Then he asked me to walk again as me, how I would have walked as a child, and all the tension dropped away. The pain was still there, but I was walking without giving it the importance I had before, and so it was less invasive. This has shown me how many of us walk from the influence of an attitude we took on for survival as we were growing up. Once that is recognised then the natural walk that is ours is there waiting for us.
Thanks Joshua. Taking the time to walk can be such an amazing part of our day.
Thank you Josh for this gentle reminder. I have such an ingrained pattern of using my walks with the dogs as a time to chew over problems and decisions to be made in my head but when I let go of all this mental chatter and just feel my feet on the springy earth and feel the breeze on my face I remember who I am.
Thank you Mary, It truly is that simple
Joshua, I was reminded today of your lovely blog here as I went for a walk on the beach with a friend of mine. As we started I noticed I was trying to catch up with my friend’s pace and as I noticed I also became aware that already I had left ‘me’ behind at the beginning of our walk. So I gently asked to slow down a bit, started to breathe a bit gentler and within moments I could feel me again walking with myself, and enjoying the sand and the waves, the coolness of the water and just sharing a walk with me and my friend without rushing, just being with ourselves and each other.
This is beautiful Karina. Very confirmed in reading your reply. There is so much power behind our connection with ourselves, our bodies and the present. When we ‘lose it’ it can feel complex but it is just as simple as you describe here. Thank you
Beautiful article Joshua, thank you. I am looking forward to my next walk and will make sure to enjoy BEING AND FEELING ME every split second of the way.
Yes, a ‘deeply tender and handsome man’ – this is true. The power of your walk revealed the power of you. Love this, thank you Joshua.
Walking with conscious presence is a really interesting experience for me. I have the feeling like I am learning to walk again, like a toddler. I feel my hips, and the places where I am stuck or stiff in my body. I feel it when I am racy, so my head goes first, then my body. I also feel the grace walking with me, when there is nothing in the way or bothering me and I can be fully in my body.
This is very beautiful Josh. A great reminder to us all to feel the completeness of each step during our walks. Thank you for writing this.
Thank you Joshua for this walking experience. I too have started to really enjoy me walking. There is as you say a spaciousness and loveliness that is super delicious to feel. It is like sitting in my body and from there perceiving everything around me.
I have had many walks in the past that were just about getting from a-b and forgetting to be present at all. I am learning to not be distracted with mind chatter or my mobile etc, instead choosing to walk to spend time with me because I am worth it. Thank you Joshua for reminding me to be even more of me when I walk!
“So now when I go for my walk, I enjoy the power of my walk and how gorgeous it is to be me, taking each step.”
Love this line
I know this feeling of going for a walk without a destination, something to do or reach. Just me with me. I have started going for walks by myself with myself a while ago. I do have to remind myself of it, but when I do take me for a walk, it is just a lovely feeling. Not needing to go from A to B. I used to call myself A Straight to the Goal person. Try to get as quickly as possible to your destination. What comes in between is a nuisance. In hindsight, that gave me so much stress, people who got into the way, especially when I would take the bike. Now I am experiencing the joy of just walking, even if I have an errand to do. Still I stay with me and enjoy it.
I can relate to everything you say here Caroline. When we are in our heads it seems like the world is about us and it is in our way. When we are with our bodies it can only be about everyone and enjoying that. We are harmonious naturally when we are with our bodies.
Yes, simply going for a walk with ourself is absolutely gorgeous Caroline. Enjoy!
Thank you Josh for the reminder to just be with my walk.
I have noticed that how I walk can quickly show me how much momentum I am in but walking can also support me to quickly come back to me – I do this by feeling my feet on the ground and each step I am taking. Josh your blog has reminded me of the depth of connection to me that walking can offer and how this can support me so well in my day.
It can be very supportive walking like this Anne.
The body really does give us the way to be and stay connected and not ‘in our heads’.
When I go off on a tangent being aware of my gentle breath and feeling myself in my body is my way back to that steadiness and connection.
I love what you have presented in your blog Josh. Thank you.
‘I could feel the deep simplicity of my walk, my love, and me.’ Thank you Josh for this tender reminder of the intimacy that is there for us to embrace with our selves.
Thanks Joshua for sharing your lovely blog. It is truly beautiful to walk in our power as a divine being in our gorgeous body.
The power of how we walk is just so important and the simplicity of how this can bring us back to who we are is amazing. Walking with myself is one way that i truly come back to myself, so i have loved hearing how you use the power of your walk for you.
Thanks Josh for a beautiful blog. I enjoy walking and I’ve noticed that on many of the walks I’m accompanied by the family dog, who is great company but also a great distraction. I’ve found that on the walks I do by myself I find it easier to stay with myself and to be aware of each step and keeping each movement as gentle and loving as possible. As a result I’m more connected to myself and to my surroundings. The walk is far more supportive than when I’m walking out of a need to get something done.
Also LOVE the picture here – 3 men taking a stroll together. Gorgeous.
Ooh, Josh, this is lovely. I have been ‘fitting walks in’ in the way you describe – your blog offers a great perspective on how different it can be. Thank you.
What a lovely reminder Joshua, to walk and be in our full presence of who we are without the need for all the roles we think we should play. And how that reflects and inspires others of a different possible way of being.
I would have to say I never really did like walking much at all, I used to think why walk when you can run you’ll get there faster maybe out of breath and ready to pass out but faster….I never realised that I was actually running from myself and had become a master of it until I ran into Serge Behayon and was inspired to relax, calm down and stop to smell the roses instead of bolting past them. I love the smell of roses these days, reminds of being a little girl in my Pa’s garden
What a powerful question your friend asked you Josh – How do you feet feel when you walk? This is a lovely reminder for me to ask myself this on my own walk each day.
I find it super amazing how a simple walk around the house, to the park or around the block can actually change the mood that I am in. It changes by the fact that I walk feeling every step that I take, I open my eyes to see all the natural beuaty around me, I feel where my shoulders sit and what parts of my body are stiff and tense. Walking is not a chore, it is a healing and is one of the most important actions that remind me, just how amazing I am.
Yes Madeline, I fully agree with you, wherever we walk – the house, the park, around the block, along a beach, when out shopping – anywhere in fact – it is super amazing how even a few simple steps in presence changes everything!
“Walking is not a chore, it is a healing and is one of the most important actions that remind me, just how amazing I am”.
So beautiful and so simple. Thank you!
Delightful Madeline! Walking can definitely be a healing if we connect to our true nature and allow our body to communicate with us.
I love this blog, it makes me smile so much 🙂
Today this really hit home to me ” I had spent so long each day trying to be someone” I felt ouch and a wow I do this too, how often am I not the real me, I’m (near) constantly ‘trying’ to be who I think I should or am – instead of simply allowing myself to be me. Then I ask do I even ‘really’ know who I am?
Gorgeous blog Josh, and such a great reminder of how much we miss out on when we just walk from A to B without connecting to ourselves and everything around us. Knowing this has brought a greater awareness to how I walk and I now enjoy walking so much more.
Joshua, this brought up how much effort I put in every day myself, even in my walks. In reading your article I was able to feel how much I want to fill out a room in order to be somebody instead of just enjoying me. Yes I can feel emptiness from my past choices, but I also can feel the delicateness in me and this is awesome. Your blog inspires me to be more me. Thank you.
Josh I could feel how handsome and deeply tender you are, beautiful blog.
Isn’t it scary when you do that A to B thing and when you get there, you can’t even remember having been in your walking body at all? Walking on auto-pilot’s like driving on auto-pilot and all the other not-being-in-our-body activities we do. I can relate to how great it feels to finally walk with my whole body and feel my feet at every step – a quiet revolution of awareness and gorgeousness…
That is the key Dianne, ‘awareness’. We can open up fully, like flower bud, when we become more aware of our feelings, our impact on others, our beauty and so much more. What if awareness was subject that we explored at school and the term became as familiar as moody, grumpy, happy etc. Imagine that!
That’s gorgeous Josh, You have inspired me to also do this for myself
Josh thank you! Clear and concise example of the benefits of moving in alignment to our body and not the head which is a master at leading us astray, only if we let it!
“For the first time in ages I could feel that my walk was not based around getting anywhere, doing anything or trying to be someone. I wasn’t even concerned about the time. I took the moment as a space for me to enjoy me”
What a joy to read Josh; you have inspired me to go for my walks with a different intent and purpose; that being to allow time and space just to be with me. Thank you Josh.
Josh, Thank you for celebrating the humble walk. I was the same as you, rushing around unaware of my walk as it carried my thinking head around! My walk is now one of my favourite parts of me. If I am having a busy day and starting to lose me, a quick walk just to the photocopier or along the corridor fills me back up with me. I have discovered the power and strength in my legs and the lovely length and fullness through my body.
Thank you Josh, I too find it beautiful when I allow myself to feel me when I move and walk. Once we start to be present when we walk we don’t want to stop feeling how amazing it feels to be with the awesome power of us.
Josh, thank you for sharing these gorgeous first steps of the very gorgeous YOU. I must admit, I have often wondered sometimes if I am just taking my head for a walk and that my feet are merely public transport to a mind that needs to keep moving. I too have recently discovered how powerful it is to ‘stop’, find the stillness in the motion and really feel the true ME – the one with all the space and all the time in the world, wondering why the other me is being so fast about everything always…
I love to walk, I walk most mornings and it is an incredible marker to feel myself when I am walking, am I off talking with myself, or constructing fictitious conversations with people I should have expressed more to, or conversations I want to have in the future. But I then stop and reset, feel my feet, feel my hands and focus on my breath, it really makes the walk very beautiful, to feel me. Thank you Joshua, I so enjoyed reading your blog.
Beautiful and simple yet so empowering.
At times it seems to be so difficult to stop the doing and trying and achieving… but only because we hold on to it so tightly. Why is that although it keeps us feeling empty? Enjoying myself, being myself is such fulfilment and all it takes is exactly that: allowing myself to simply be.
Alex this is so true. The absolute beauty felt when we allow ourselves to let go of trying and striving is so refreshing. I too find that I enjoy myself and enjoy being with me much much more. It is a very different way to live life, but one way I am choosing to make very normal.
‘To simply be’ is something that has required a lot of letting go of the doing, trying and achieving that you mention Alex.
As I loosen the hold that has been gripping so hard to what felt quite normal in this way of living before, there are changes in my body, my day and my life, bringing an ease of flow rather than misuse of my nervous system to keep constant unnecessary tension in play, which has been a major cause of exhaustion for most of my life. Attending Ancient Wisdom Teaching presentations with Serge Benhayon has, and continues to bring a deeper understanding and re-connection to the being-ness within to finally begin to feel the emptiness from which the doing, trying and achieving arose to fill it.
How beautiful it is that there is so much more to continue to re-discover within – “Enjoying myself, being myself is such fulfillment and all it takes is exactly that: allowing myself to simply be.”
Thank you Josh for this great article. The walk is a powerful tool to bring us back to ourselves. I love to feel how my body moves when I walk and especially love walking amongst trees and feeling the connection I have to nature; the senses come alive and it’s extremely joyful and playful.
Thank you for this reminder and your blog. I love walking and since i learned or became aware for the gentle walks I realized that when i walk with other persons that I changed my own rhythm to anothers rhythm. Now I’m aware of this and couldn’t have realized this without support from Universal Medicine.
Thank you Josh for reminding me of the power in our walk. I know I have been on walks and just added it as another notch on my to do list. This is a great reminder for me to walk without any pre conceived ideas, lists etc and just be simply with me.
I can feel the difference that ‘walking just for me’ and say, going the long way to work. Going to work has a set goal – to get to work in which I don’t really pay attention to me in the walk, because it’s not a walk for me its a walk to work. Thank you for the reminder that I deserve to take time out for me.
Thank Josh, this is love leigh.
Joe – spot on! – Simplicity at its best.
Well written, just shows the benefits of a simple gentle walk
Josh your blog is a beautiful reminder to take the “doing” out of our exercise which includes walking. I find that my walk can reflect where I am at. So if I am in a busyness or raciness and then choose to go for a walk without taking the time to connect first of all, I take that into my walk. What I have also found is that if I am feeling disconnected and I notice this, I can use my walk to bring me back by walking with presence and choosing to walk with a quality of playfulness and gentleness. When I’m already connected and feeling lovely, my walk confirms the amazingness that I am already in. I also find that when I am walking to be with me, I find that I’m open to the messages that nature has to offer all around me.
Thanks for sharing Josh. I feel my walks are such an important part of my day. There’s something so beautiful about being outside, the breeze, Skye, birds, the sun! I also love walking and seeing all the building and houses. It gives me a space to connect with myself and reflect on my day. I notice too that when I avoid walking or think I have no time that I am really avoiding this gorgeous time to reflect… Something for me to ponder on..
I also love to feel the spring in my step and the joy of walking with myself.
Walking is such a simple, yet powerful way to come back to a connection with the body. Whenever I feel mentally racy going for a walk and focusing on every step I take helps me to come back to my body, clear all the racy thoughts I am having and feel very settled.
Josh, your tenderness and gorgeousness is so lovely to feel. Thank you.
I love the simicity of this message Josh. Walking is about connection and bringing everything back to you so that the rest of the day is filled with a spaciousness you never knew possible. Its magical when it happens and it all starts with just feeling your body and connecting. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for sharing Josh. It really can be the simple things that are incredibly powerful. I also love walking and the time and space it gives me to re-connect with me and my body again.
Yesterday I went out at 8am to post a letter in the rain and cold. I was toasty warm inside my gear, and my walk felt light and flowing. I hadn’t intended to, but I felt so good walking that I continued and walked a round walk of three miles without effort, even up the hills. This fed into the rest of the day, it was a day of glorious living for me until bedtime when I seriously checked out and went into comfort behaviour. Waking groggy this morning I got mind driven and my body was racing. I went for my walk late and everything was wrong with my walk, so I lay down on my back in a field and looked at the sky and gentle breathed. After that I found I was walking with and for me again, and the day opened out before me. There are two things I learned here; not to rest on my laurels, but keep vigilant and present at all times and watch out for my ill choices, and never expect my daily walk to be the same twice!
Good observations Joan, its great to have a routine but you are right, it is so easy to check out and then it becomes a box ticking exercise. Everyday is different and needs our constant presence at all times.
What a difference a choice makes! Thanks for sharing this Joan – a conscious choice to be with every moment as new, not to get caught up in expectations is a constant remembering to be in presence, not box ticking. I smiled and felt such joy at this – “so I lay down on my back in a field and looked at the sky and gentle breathed”.
Joshua I love this blog, it brings me back to me, and knowing that I and we all are enough, it allows me to connect to that stillness and space that is within us all. I don’t feel like I have to rush with my day, or get all these things done, just knowing I am me, I feel content, solid and steady and know everything that needs to be done will be attended to in it’s own space and time, in my full presence and not thinking about other stuff.
Wow, Joshua, what a deeply profound and inspiring piece you have shared here – it’s no mean feat. I could truly feel YOU, a deeply tender, handsome man, in every word.
Just going for a healthy walk, give one time on reflecting where we are with ourselves in life, and do we need to make some changes.
Indeed Mike, I find walking quite meditative too. It brings clarity to the mind as the fresh and delicious air fills my lungs.
Joshua – what you shared is truly gorgeous and how timely this blog is for me. In the past week or so I too have really been deepening my relationship with the tenderness of my feet and my awareness of how I choose to walk, and am just absolutely delighted to find another layer of enjoyment in the simplicity and yumminess and me-ness that walking magnifies. I used to just plod along through life, now I, to quote Michael Benhayon, “let it run to my feet, let it flow beneath the street, oh be love.”
“let it run to my feet, let it flow beneath the street, oh be love.” THANK YOU Deborah – one to carry with me.
How wonderful it is to just walk! For years my philosophy was why walk if you can ride a bike, why ride a bike if you can drive the car. Getting a puppy eight years ago changed all that and then finding the beauty in connecting to oneself whilst walking and as part of exercising for a healthy way of living it just gets better and better. I am going to keep in mind that question about How did your feet feel? Just to keep me on my toes.
I know the feeling of making walking something you have to do- or for me, to get results. It’s easy to forget to just make walking about connection. I love the feeling though of myself when I walk, the way my legs and hips are and how my feet are touching the ground. When you remember to pay attention to yourself, walking is great fun and an awesome time to spend with yourself. Thanks Josh
Thank-you for sharing your lovely story of reconnection. I feel you have reminded me to stay present while doing something I love, so that I may experience more love and joy in the process of exercising my body.
I found your expression divine. So much tenderness and honouring! Thank you for the reflection of the beautiful tender man that you are and that you now walk everywhere.
Thank you Josh, for the reminder of that how important it is to be present when I walk, and feel the amazing man I am. It is so easy to get distracted while walking,
Simply gorgeous Josh, to walk through this discovery with you step-by-step.
Hi Joshua, thank you for this reflection on how walking has supported you. Recently we acquired a puppy and when walking her I have noticed that when I’m stuck in my head and the day’s momentum is still pushing me about, she tends to act up and pull in all directions. Conversely when I am clear of this ‘fog’ in my head and walking simply for the space it offers me to reconnect with my body and nature around me, she generally walks calmly alongside.
Greg – thank you for sharing this about walking your puppy – it really highlights how everything affects everything. What a great marker for this to be brought back to your awareness and presence from your dog!
Joshua, this is deeply beautiful. What you write is so true, the masks we wear, the roles we take on, do not allow for connection to self and the spaciousness it brings. I had never really made the connection between just being with me and the spaciousness it allows. All the thinking and the masks we wear take up so much space, like energetic clutter – it’s a wonder we don’t trip up in it all! What Serge Benhayon presents is so simple, to be connected to the self and to feel the body, but it can bring delightful realisations like you have shared here, resulting in a new way of living and being. Thank you for sharing your life with me and opening me up to such a beautiful new awareness.
Melinda this sentence has ‘stood out’ for me this morning regarding energetic clutter with the realisation that it is this energetic clutter that really impedes the connection with ourselves and our walking quality (all day quality too!)-
“All the thinking and the masks we wear take up so much space, like energetic clutter – it’s a wonder we don’t trip up in it all! “
Having read this blog, I remembered how I used to take daily walks around the little lake nearby, often going round 2 or 3 times, as well as walking on the beach at other times, feeling my body and feeling me. I have forgotten to do this in the busyness of my days. Having read this beautiful blog has reminded me, and since then I have been going again, one day beach, one day lake – and it felt just right, with no rush, consciously taking each step. Thank you Josh, great sharing.
Having just parked my in a car park today, I heard some very odd sounding footsteps coming towards me – a lady walked past in the highest heels I have ever seen, only just managing to balance, with her feet taking very small steps,in an ungainly manner in order to just stay upright in her rush to get wherever it was. It was a beautiful reminder to me to really remain present in my body and feel my expression in my walk when leaving the car park. It felt smooth and rhythmical with a joyful feeling in my body. An appreciation to the unknown lady showing me how my walk has changed with more presence with myself.
I read this amazing blog the day it came out and since that day I was so inspired that I chose once again to commit to walking everyday.
It has been 5 months now and I have remained consistent and missed the odd day due to weather.
Thank you very much Josh Campbell for sharing something so simple that has really and truly been life changing.
In the past walking everyday felt like another chore to add to my “to do list” and now it feels the most natural way of supporting my body and I no longer walk with any agenda. I just walk to be with me and touch base. Get back to me and see how I am feeling as I walk in my body.
I never thought I would ever say this but I actually Love walking with myself and it is not boring.
Thanks Bina for your comment and for inspiring me!
I thought I learnt to walk approximately 48 years ago. Thank you Josh for bringing to me how easy
and beauty-full it is to truly walk with presence.
Well said Andrew and I can say the same – thank you for your blog Josh and I also enjoy more and more my walking the more I am present to me each step of the way.
I never had any idea of how powerful my walk can be. I used to think walking was just getting me from A to B. Now I realise that everytime I walk, I get to choose what quality I am walking in. And this simple choice makes such a difference to my day.
So true Vicky – it is all about the QUALITY in our walk and how this brings more awareness of our body overall. Then we can choose to bring that quality to everything we do throughout the day – the quality of energy at the beginning of our day can feel the same during the day and to still have this quality at the close of our day is such a great way to go to bed to enjoy a deep nurturing sleep to rest the body well in preparation for the next day – the possibility of a constant building on the quality of energy in our body every day afterwards. My body feels great just writing this being present in this quality.
Isn’t this just so beautiful Joan – allowing the body to communicate with us in this way and listening to it, brings a much deeper awareness.
The simplicity of this just ‘blows me away’. It is so revealing when there is a lack of rhythm in the walk, showing me just how caught up in my mind I actually am. There is no way to fool the body, only myself if not listening to its wisdom.
So beautiful to read your blog again, Josh. I hadn’t realised that my walks have recently become something ‘to do’ and not a part of my day where ‘I could feel the deep simplicity of my walk, my love, and me.’ It is so gorgeous to feel the tender and gentle man that you found when you let go of your distractions – the tender and gentle man that was there all along. Thank you for sharing your ‘walk’ with us.
Joshua, this has been a great confirmation for me about how simple and yet powerful walks can be. I just recently started walking more regularly, but in a different way, similar to what you shared about walking for you without spending the whole walk ‘off in space’ thinking about work, projects, etc. without ever feeling your body. Just the other day I realised that I had avoided giving myself a mere 15min. to just walk with myself and not worry about anything else going on (and there was quite a lot at that time). So I went out and immediately noticed all kinds of little nuances about my body, how my left boot rubbed against my ankle bone, how my arms swung, and I felt a beautiful silkiness with the way my feet were gently placed on the ground with every step. It felt divine, and when I returned I felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders, felt less stressed, and time seemed to expand a bit. The belief that I ‘didn’t have time for a walk’ vanished and felt quite silly, and I felt energised. So your article Joshua really helped me to solidify my commitment to continuing this exercise. I never thought I could be so content doing something as simple as walking.
I agree with you Michael – yesterday as I walked, I realised there was some pre-occupation with being too busy in my mind and it was affecting the quality of my walk. Even though my mind wanted me to keep moving, I came to a complete stop and just stood for a short while to really feel my feet back on the ground and observe my breath coming back to a gentle rhythm. Then on with walking – the first few steps felt quite awkward and lop-sided and my arms felt all disconnected. As I remained focused within my body, it was wondrous to feel the change occurring with my steps becoming easier and more flowing and my arms feeling as if they too were part of my body.
as you say -“It felt divine, and when I returned I felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders, felt less stressed, and time seemed to expand a bit”.
Thank you for sharing and this being supportive to me too.
I also stop and feel, Stephanie, especially if I start walking and can feel that imbalance you mention. If it is there I know I have been living dis-harmoniously. If I immediately feel gentle and my walk flows naturally at the beginning of a walk, then I realise that is how I have been living. The stopping when things are out of kilter is very helpful and brings me back to me, and slowly the walk evens out and becomes lighter and more springy. Then I start to be aware of so much more around me, and it does not detract from the consciousness of my walking body.
Thank you Stephanie and Michael, yes it is amazing how when we stop, focus on our body and come back to breathing gently how this can change the way we feel in our body. I am always amazed at how powerful and easy this is.
What a beautiful blog Joshua thank you !
My walks are very different to what they used to be. I used to not look after my feet at all and use them as my personal transport and I would walk to escape a difficult day or a difficult situation hoping that after the walk I would feel better. Now, thanks to Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine, I walk with my body, my straight spine, my open shoulders and heart and my lovely feet (which I nurture every morning with foot cream). It is a completely different experience. I also feel that my walk has power to imprint my quality on the ground so I walk with care and love so everyone can benefit. Beautiful !
Isn’t this so gorgeous Maryline – as you take more care of your feet, your feet are able to share this care wherever you walk – “‘I also feel that my walk has power to imprint my quality on the ground so I walk with care and love so everyone can benefit.” Beautiful !
Same here Sue, it was easy filling any walk time with thoughts. It’s a completely different feeling to walk with the purpose of enjoying me rather than figuring something out.
It is lovely to re-read your blog Josh – I am loving the deeper connection with me as I walk – my spine feels longer and beautifully flowing with fluidity and grace , which extends into my legs and arms.
I feel about 12 foot tall!
I agree Joshua, it is so delightful to walk with me. No expectation of how far or how long……..
Such a simple and loving part of my day.
Same here Wendy whats been great fun is being more flexible with my walking rather than keeping to a rigid time. I am finding the enjoyment is there so I tend to walk a little longer and not be clock watching like I would when its about doing my exercise.
It’s amazing how much our walk can say about us. When we walk we walk with everything we have taken on and all the personas we use and the attitudes we have. It is wonderful to read of how you ‘took the masks off’ and found a deeply tender handsome man underneath. How refreshing it is to walk as our natural selves.
WOW I love this blog Joshua – it’s brilliant! “In the past, whenever I went for my walk, I was never aware in any way of how gorgeous I am” – even just the first sentence is revelatory – who knew that you could FEEL, not just look GORGEOUS, on your walk instead of just in front of a mirror or when someone compliments you? Love it
Great comment Jessica – I can feel your appreciation of your own gorgeousness!
Yes Stephanie me too. Jessica, that appreciation of your gorgeousness can be felt in every line within our comment. Just gorgeous …
Yes it’s a rarity for one to say I feel gorgeous and it can be frowned up – so to hear Josh make this confident statement is glorious.
When I first heard about the importance that a walk could offer – I didn’t take much notice.
its something I have to do to get me somewhere – and I knew how to walk – so whats the big deal?
My family have always said I have my fathers walk and my fathers legs. Strong and quick.
i put that mask on and that was how I walked – eager to get somewhere, in a rush, and if you were a boy, I’d make a point to try and lead if there were a group of us.
In knowing now that something so simple as a walk could be changed to actually support me, I now have a totally different way of doing this.
I walk with me, and I can actually feel my body as I walk, without the need to get somewhere.
i’ve started to bring presence to this action, and like you Josh, I can feel the importance of that and how powerful it is.
I can’t tell you the difference it has made to change how I am with this simple, everyday activity.
Yes, I agree with your comment about Serge Benhayon – ‘I am aware of his steady, gentle, consistent walk, and absolute command of himself and his expression, and the two are inextricably linked’.
When I walk this way my body feels totally different – strong and filled with grace of easy, joyful motion.
Hi again Josh, I have had a new experience with walking today, in a Universal Medicine workshop presented by Serge Benhayon. I have learned many things but what stands out for me is that walking is repose not action, and that if I allow myself to feel that and simply walk, I am in my own steady rhythm, consistent and powerful, and able to feel myself fully and express from all that I am in that moment. This way I cannot use mental energy when I come to communicate and deliver exactly what it is I want to say.
I realise now how watching Serge Benhayon walking and moving around on stage, I am aware of his steady, gentle, consistent walk, and absolute command of himself and his expression, and the two are inextricably linked. I realise how often I drive my walk to get somewhere, do something, and how that takes me right out of myself and into nervous energy. It is a great inspiration to witness someone who knows exactly who they are, and how that manifests in movement and expression.
What a great reminder. The past days have been quite busy and there was a lot of having to go from A to B. From appointment to appointment in different places. Today I took the train and decided to walk instead of taking the bus to get to my final destination. What a delight to just take the walk as a moment of me being with me, feel my feet like you describe. The wonderful realization came that when being with me, my feet, the walking, there is no need to hurry, walk faster, become anxious, even though I was ‘late’. I could deeply feel, I will arrive when I arrive, when I arrive.
This is so beautiful Josh, ‘I found that in this space I could feel the gentle spring in each step I took, and the delicate wisp of my presence that warmed my chest each time I breathed. I could feel the deep simplicity of my walk, my love, and me.’
I have become so much aware of my body as I walk now and it feels so beautiful to feel the natural flow. As I go about my day, I became more aware when I am not with myself – when I walk the body tightens up and when I sit on a chair I can feel that discomfort. So it makes so much sense to stay connected to the body when walking to keep a beautiful flow which also allows the body to be relaxed and open when sitting in the chair.
It is so lovely to just feel the natural flow in my body when I walk rather than seeing it as just a means to get from one location to another.
It is lovely isn’t it Andrew. In saying this cannot help but wonder why we feel the need to complicate our days and put ourselves into the overwhelm of getting from A to B or one location to another when it can be so simple and does not need to be that way.
So beautifully expressed Andrew! These times feel very freeing indeed, and I do find it quite spacious when I take time to talk and really connect with me.
How lovely it is to experience moments when time stand still and means little and we can just enjoy the amazing space and quality of a moment and our own presence and know that this is simply enough without any intrusion from the outside world!
Lovely read Josh. I really enjoy walking and I like the bit where you mention feet awareness.
I find visits to the Chiropodist hugely satisfying and very nurturing. The results are often as
spectacular as changing the tyres on the car, or perhaps even more so!
I live on the edge of the Alps and all my walks are either up or down.
If my feet have been well-maintained, I just glide along effortlessly!
Thank you Josh for describing the simplicity of what walking with yourself can do for you. I have recently moved to London and now only drive on weekends. When I walk to work in the morning commute, the majority of people around me appear to act like hamsters in balls …madness, as they seem to be in constant motion and yet not aware of their bodies or any one around them. I just enjoy my walk and let them all roll by.
I had an experience like that Steve, when I was recovering from my hip replacements. I had to walk slower, and I was using a stick to support me. I was staying in London where I had not been for some time and was unused to the rush hour stampede in the tube stations. I had to stay present with myself and the pace of my walk and developed a beautiful flowing rhythm. It was like the parting of the Red Sea, every single person gave me space and flowed round me. It showed me how walking in our truth and holding to that brings a presence that no-one can ignore.
I remember this Joan and I remember walking beside you. It was such a beautiful lesson in staying present and not joining the speed and the rush of other people. It helped me to drop deeper into myself and find my own natural rhythm.
I am also finding my walking is a great time for reflection and appreciation. It is so beautiful how the body feels with a daily walk, it doesn’t even have to be too long, just 10mins with me is great.
As I have been committing to a daily walk I have noticed that my posture has changed. My body feels more expanded around the upper chest and also more toned.
That is lovely Sue, one to remember – the ripple effect.
Thank you again Josh, for your simple and powerful blog. It was certainly a ‘dose of medicine’ for me as I have again become caught up in that drivenness. Reading your blog has rekindled for me that sense of beauty and preciousness that I know is within and I will approach my walk today with that same sense. It will allow me to feel the beauty of my body as it flows and supports my life in every way and deepen my consciousness and appreciation of how every little detail within, is there to work and interact in a way that will support the whole. I guess this is an amazing example of how life works when we are all working together for the common good. As our body flourishes so will the world around us.
When I went for a walk, thats what it was, and nothing more. Now when I go for a walk, I am with me in body and soul and being aware of my surroundings and the beauty of life.
Yesterday afternoon in Portugal, I experienced another level with ‘the power of my walk’. Dogs are often running around lose here – along the road I could see there was a dog which is renowned for barking at people and running after them nipping at their heals. I felt to completely change the rhythm of my walk to very slow, being deeper within my body and feel more fully into every footstep. The dog watched me approaching and then completely ignored me, having no interest in me whatsoever. There was just a feeling of complete harmony in that moment. Wow! The power of our walk. A few steps past the dog, two white feathers floated down and landed in front of me.
I also love to go for a daily walk first thing, (or any time in the day really), to be with me. I love to be with nature and feel myself a part of it. Recently these walks haven’t been quite as regular as before, so your blog is a great reminder. Thank you Josh for your inspiration.
I just came across your article ten minutes before I’m off for my morning walk with my wife and dog, thanks Josh it’s a good reminder to me that a walk is not merely a walk for exercise but a great way to set me up for the whole day.
“I enjoy the power of my walk and how gorgeous it is to be me, taking each step,”
Such an expansive statement. Thank you for your truly beautiful expression.
It feels quite delicious indeed to be present with all of me and my body and to enjoy the contact of the ground under my feet. Walking is a beautiful therapy and exercise.
Hi Josh, this morning I made a couple of discoveries when walking. Recently I hurt my back rather badly and have been very restricted in movement and careful in what I do. It is on the mend now, but still gives me a twinge now and then to remind me to be conscious how I am moving. The twinge usually happens when my thoughts have drifted away from being present in my body and my walk, usually to something that is entirely about working things out in my head. So that is the first thing that was obvious, but I also noticed that if my tread on the earth, how my feet connect with the ground, wasn’t gentle, then my back twinged. This is such a great learning that informs me that in my normal walk with no back injury I am not as gentle as I think I am!
It’s great to have this awareness Joan, it makes me ponder on how gently I’m actually walking too.
Absolutely Doug, my walk now is no longer a ‘should do’ but a lovely support to check in and feel the tenderness of each part of my body
A beautiful sharing Joshua. Such a simple activity can bring so much awareness when we get our heads out of the way! Thank you for the inspiration
Hi Joshua, Great blog. I’m inspired to walk tomorrow and feel me too! Thank you.
Hi Josh. I just read your blog again and I can feel how what you say can relate to any task I am doing. So if I choose to be me without the masks, everything is so much more simple and flows, just like the walk.
It does have the power to change our conciousness. I had never considered it like that before, but there is many a time when I come back from my walk and feel a deeper sense of clarity and ease within my self and the day ahead
I also feel a sense of responsibility as the quality in which I walk is imprinted on the place I walk. So anything less than love will not do !
Joshua, for the first time since childhood I have been enjoying my walk; how I feel when I walk anywhere and just how very differently I walk now. Reading your article inspired me: it really gave me that “I want to feel like that” And “I can do that” feeling! After slogging through life feeling so small and ineffective I am surprised at the power and beauty I feel in myself! I love it and I know it supports me to be who I am in all my other moments. Truly amazing is the power of how we choose to walk.
Since reading your article and making some changes at home I’ve found myself enjoying a daily evening walk around the country fields. What I’ve found is no matter how tired I start out, what’s gone on in the day or how on some days I don’t initially want to walk – every time without fail I enjoy the walk. I get about half way and really start to appreciate the small things and by the end I am fully revitalised. It always surprises me!
That’s lovely David, I also like to walk at the end of the day because of the way it frees up ‘re coordinates’ my body. The swing of my arms and the alternating movement in my hips and being able to let go through the movement. I also find it’s a great way to check how the day’s been by how my body feels as I walk.
Thank you Josh, I really enjoyed this piece. It is like an early morning reminder that I am enough.
When I went for a walk after work the other day, I could feel how during the day at work I had been in a rush to get things done and hadn’t allowed them to flow naturally. I find walking in nature really supportive when I have had a day like this.
Thanks Josh for your profoundly simple words about something we all do a lot every day. The quality of how we walk is therefore very important as you say. I have been changing how I walk as well and have discovered that for me it is a bit like letting my body take me for a walk rather than the other way round!
I love this Andrew “letting my body take me for a walk rather than the other way round!”.
I wonder how much of our life we live in this way, what would it be like to let go of our thoughts and let our body show the way?
To let our bodies’ do the walking rather than taking our bodies for a walk. Such a simple, playful and accessible way to approach our day; meaning that every step provides an opportunity to feel from the inside out.
I agree with you Matilda and Gyl – “letting my body take me for a walk rather than the other way round!”. There is a completely different quality than ‘walking my body’ to ‘box tick’. Today I saw a person out walking their dog on a lead – the dog was most certainly the one governing the walk as the owner was being pulled along with arms outstretched and muscles straining, seemingly unaware or perhaps overriding the discomfort being experienced. I feel an appreciation for the unknown ‘dog walker’ bringing a beautiful reminder to me of how easy it is to be unaware of my/our body and how the quality of the walk changes completely.
Thank you Josh a really beautiful article and I totally agree and find walking with me is amazing too.
Thank you Ariana
Love the saying. Goes to show in simplicity we are all the same, and in wisdom there is no separation. Thank you Shirley-Ann
Such a wonderful article to read, thank you for sharing
Thank you Anna
To walk in our own rhythm and truly appreciate the connection and joy with ourselves and the universe is a great, simple and beautiful experience. It does feel amazing to commit to this as part of my life and appreciate how I feel when I walk. It is a great support to my whole day. Thank you for sharing your experiences.
Wouldn’t miss such simplicity for the walk. Part of living a full and en-joyable life!
I regularly go on walks as a support for my body and I feel the joy when I do, however I have recently realised how when I find myself not fully aware (usually when I feel quite tired) my walk becomes more objective and disrespectful to my body.
Perhaps when the walk becomes objective, we are not truly honouring our bodies with the walk? The same experience has happened before with me, and each time I could not help but notice a feeling from within me saying this was not right to be doing at that moment. Perhaps I needed a slower, shorter walk to just bring me back. Or, maybe I had not really gone for a walk to be with me. This showed me that the rhythm of the walk is forever evolving depending on what is needed for that moment.
This is great to read Josh. I love walking in presence. When I am not and become aware of it, the feeling is so drastically different. It’s always easy to get back into it though. Only a step away.
Its actually empowering to feel the difference as even though there may be a lack of presence of one walk, it can highlight and reveal what truly might be going on in the rest of the day. Which if one is deeply honest, can actually be very healing.
Joshua – Amazing blog. Walking can open the mind so much. Enjoying all the beauty that surround us as we walk.
It is re-freshing 🙂
Josh – I feel drawn to re-read your blog on walking today. A healing giggle and laughter coming up from deep inside my body when reading how you originally felt your feet to be – ‘they were my personal, in-built transport machines”. A profound step to deeply appreciating “this space I could feel the gentle spring in each step I took, and the delicate wisp of my presence that warmed my chest each time I breathed”. Thank you Josh, every time I read this, there is always more to appreciate.
And it was only a choice.
I am enjoying my walks so much more since reading your blog. Thank you for inspiring me to deepen my relationship with myself and enjoy myself more.
Thank you Elaine
Joshua hi, recently I witnessed a very serious, potentially fatal situation. Without the relationship I now have with my body I would have left myself for panic, anxiety, adrenalin rush, shock. Though I felt shock, what was strikingly different about this situation was how calm my body felt and that each time I walked I could feel my feet drawing me back to the ground, calling me to stay here, present, with me. What remarkable offerings our bodies hold if we are open to listening.
The body and its truth never leaves us. Even when we feel challenged by life, that rhythm is always there
Josh I love that you walk to celebrate you. It’s a great reminder to really appreciate me whilst I walk. Thank you
Absolutely Karin
Too often I walk lost in thought without being truly present, this is a great reminder of why I walk in the first place and not just to get from A to B. I live in London but am fortunate to live opposite the start of Epping Forrest which is filled with nature so there is absolutely no reason to check out and not enjoy the walk and observe and be with nature.
And even in the middle of a city, nature is still there in one way or another. When I walk with me I can feel this rhythm everywhere I go
Reading what you have written here Josh feels like it’s a message about life in general. That to accept ourselves as we walk through life, without any need to get anywhere or finish anything is all that is required. You speak of the strength within and perhaps that is all that’s needed as we take one step at a time. Often we can be so focused on rushing ahead that we miss the moment and forget that to move forward it’s taking one step at a time not two or three giant leaps!
Yes, and sometimes we forget that we cannot truly move forward if we are always trying to be in the future. For the future doesn’t really unfold for us if we are missing the moments we can learn and grow from in the present. I feel, it is actually the present that prepares us with the lessons we need before we can truly embrace what the future holds for us.
There is such wisdom in your words Josh. This turns the world and the way we are used to living upside down, as the focus is usually on getting somewhere and our destination, rather than the quality of care we are dedicating to the moments in between – now that’s really living life – to dedicate ourselves to each moment as we walk through life.
Not to mention, confirming, loving, nurturing, play-full, simple, fun, and deeply supportive too!
Somewhere in the conversation there was a lovely comment about a walk being different depending on who you were with and where it was. This is me to a tee. Growing up on a farm, a walk meant having to do something and having an objective; being with family and friends in Cornwall a walk was for the joy of the walk and the sea; visiting friends around the world a walk came naturally because it was part of the visit. At all times I have always loved the beauty of nature around me and see everything – BUT I moulded myself for the occasion. Thanks Josh – time to change and be me with me in my walk.
You won’t regret it. Thank you Michael
Hi Joshua, I have always loved walking, but recently have felt more and more that I love myself and my body when I’m walking. I feel sexy, confident, and can’t help smiling. If I get distracted and day dream or go over things in my head, then I usually notice something little or simple like nature or shapes or colours around me, and quickly come back to how it feels walking along as myself.
I love looking at the shadow of my feet as they touch the ground again and again. This is really powerful for bringing me back to my rhythm again.
It was a sunny day and I was walking and chatting with a friend, THEN I saw in my shadow, the graceful movement of my hips. I had been so caught up with our conversation I had simply gone into ‘auto pilot’. When I reconnected with my body it felt just so lovely. Your article is an inspiring read Josh I love this…”I could feel the deep simplicity of my walk, my love and me”… Beautiful, thank you.
Moments like this are such lovely check in points and help support on the walk to not go off into the head-driven, need-to-get-somewhere thing.
I have a tendency to fill a lot of moments with “off topic thoughts” which I think is a brilliant way to describe letting our minds wander. This is something I am working on as I have found such practical value in being more in the moment. Your expression here Josh is superb.
Thank you Stephen
So true Stephen, being in the moment feels so empowering. I take note of my surroundings, wildlife and my body a lot more when I live this way.
I so love this blog. I feel gorgeous and even more gorgeous as I read it. Rachel wrote about an early morning walk and that made me realise that my walks are nearly always in the afternoon these days and how lovely it was when I used to go for sunrise walks. I tend to get on to the computer in the mornings and am feeling that a break around sunrise for a walk could be really gorgeous.
I have found times in the past where my walks have been set to a certain time of the day almost so I knew I could fit them in. I am learning too to still have a rhythm about it but be more flexible with how the body is feeling and when it may need a walk. Sometimes we need to appreciate the mornings too 🙂
Josh thats a great point, I tend to always do my walk at the same time however then when I have a busy morning and I miss my walk “slot” it feels like I’ve missed out. I’m starting to introduce a bit more flexibility with my walking and exercise which I’m finding means I start to have to be more present with myself rather than relying on a fixed program to adhere to – which then takes away the feeling. Sometimes the sunsets of lunchtime walks are equally as magical.
I am finding a real joy in a flexibility with my walking time. Governed by how I am feeling on the day, with no feeling of having to fit it in, my daily walk is so much part of a rhythm now whatever time it is (sometimes morning and/or afternoon) – over the past few weeks I am loving walking in the evenings as part of my wind down rhythm….. whatever the autumn/winter weather, I just tog-up appropriately with warm clothes, scarves, head gear and even waterproofs. Walking in the dark, I always wear a bright yellow reflective jacket over the top of any other clothes and this feels a very lovely part of self care and nurturing myself. Then its back home to prepare for bed and snuggle up feeling a beautiful expansion in my body. Thank you Josh for this continually inspiring blog!
Walking yesterday, being present with how I was walking, I began to ponder about pace and rhythm. I discovered that if I established a rhythm of walking from how my body was feeling, then the pace could vary. So I came to the understanding that a truly lively, springy, connected to myself walk, comes from my inner rhythm, and that doesn’t change however fast or slow I walk. This feels like a practice for creating a consistency in my daily life. Then I realised that my walking is a reflection of how I DO live my daily life, and show I can learn from the daily walk how to live daily with more presence, focus and joy.
Spot on Joan. Thats why walking with ourselves can be hard at times as we have to connect with where we have been and where we may be truly at
Hi again Josh, I keep returning to this blog and all the comments and your replies, because when I walk every day I remember it, and that reminds me to walk with, in and for myself – present with my body. It is so easy to be distracted by thoughts and things but to FEEL my body walking brings me right back inside myself and I love the flow of walking that comes from that connection and the joy of moving, and then I notice what is around me with pleasure.
This is so important to appreciate. The more we do the more we can just be and not be in our heads so much
Yes Josh appreciating brings so much joy in our lives.
This blog inspires me to bring much more my awareness now how I move and walk with me. Thanks Josh.
Josh, what a delight to read your blog and the comments that have then followed. All so inspiring and healing just reading them.
Thank you Lorraine
Great piece, Josh. It mirrors my own experience – not just of walking, but of many everyday activities, and my development from doing them because I have to/because I ‘should’, to doing them because it is an absolute joy to do so, and to allow myself to simply be whilst doing them.
So true Conor and its all a development of just ‘being’ in life not trying to be someone we think we have to be as this is no fun at all.
Hi Josh, thank you for this wonderful insight into your daily walk. So simple, so beautiful and something we can all take time to do. The rewards are clearly evident! Bringing such presence and awareness to something as simple as our walk is so nurturing and in turn creates a powerful rhythm – I’m feeling inspired to go for a walk!
Why do we under value the power of the simple things, as it clearly shows the simple things can support us the most?
Just as you say Josh I agree that when I give myself the time during my walk to really feel and be present it makes a big difference. I’m discovering that after this “date with me” (as Jane so sweetly referred to it in her comment), I feel beautiful, tender, delicate and gorgeous with my self afterwards.
What a beautiful gift to share with the world, the tenderness, delicate you. Thank you Rosanna.
Very inspiring blog thank you for sharing
Thank you Graham.
Dear Joshua, I tend to go for a 10 mins walk around my block every morning and I completely agree with you. But more recently, I have decided to apply some cream on my feet and when I do, they become so much more sensitive, more tender, it’s incredible and quite powerful too.
Your power-walking just got more power-filled! Thanks Alex
This amazing article brings a whole new meaning to ‘power walking’. The self awareness and tenderness of walking with yourself as opposed to pounding the earth in total disregard of the effect it is having on your body.
I love how you have seen this Mary – power walking- what a great notion.
That is true power, walking without disregard or drive, perhaps even the opposite to how most think ‘power’ walking to be.
Walking will never be the same again of the old A to B when more space and presence is offered to it. It becomes a marker one will always know.
An ever developing marker that sure does bring another level to the concept of what a true power walk is.
Thanks Josh – I hear you loud and clear with this one! I have been trying to fit in a daily walk for ages… but like you it became a chore and so it never took up. Recently I had an early morning meeting on Skype and was up much earlier than the rest of the country and so my boyfriend and I went for a walk together. Unlike our usual walks, where one of us gets a rant on to splurge out the contents of our head as fast as possible, we were still and really felt the figure of 8 shape our feet were naturally making on the pavement, one foot in front of the other. Somehow this generated a huge awareness to how every bone in our bodies felt as they all moved smoothly together (with the odd creaking bone here and there!). As our bodies tingled along, we felt to walk down an alley we had ignored all other times previous and it was so still and there was a deer at the end of the path – such a surreal and amazing moment!! If we had been ranting along we would have missed the turn and we would have been far to hectic for such a delicate being to come say hello… It was like the deer was showing us, our own stillness and presence, totally beautiful! For the rest of the day we felt pretty lovely! Since then, we have not gone for a walk… I for one have had a fairly challenging week thus far… perhaps I will go for a walk to feel my feet again tonight. Thanks for the inspiration!
Wow! What potential is there to make this a normal way of life, walking can then be lovely like this all the time. Then you can take this quality with you to others in your day. This is actually very, very simple to build into ones life and a lovely process to grow through too.
This blog has been so inspiring Josh. The comments just keep coming! I can feel the huge support from the shared inspiration here. Such a beautiful reminder of something so simple that can have a huge and powerful effect.
Simple things are what we often take for granted in our day but they can be the most supportive for us too.
I keep coming back to the picture with this article – that of three men walking casually along a beach. It is a beautiful beach, but it is the attitude of the men that draws me – they are walking in absolute equalness with no competition between them, and there is something about they way they are walking that reflects the tenderness in me.
It is melting to feel a mans tenderness. Far more powerful than being hard and tough.
How wonderful Josh that you can feel your gorgeous self as you walk now. It’s lovely to hear someone talk about themselves as being gorgeous. You have written about lots of things but what struck me was this sentence – ‘It seemed that my walks too were never really for me to enjoy my body moving.’ It reminded me of how often I can do things in auto pilot and not be with myself to enjoy the simplicity of daily actions like walking. I am inspired to enjoy my gorgeous self when I go for my walk today.
It will be well worth it. Thank you Debra
So true Monica. It is no coincidence at all, there are so many opportunities around us all of the time to see and feel more of who we truly are. These confirmations are blessings for us in every moment, yet too often we are too busy to notice them or see the magic of these signs. And again this goes to confirm Joshua’s blog of the simplicity of life.
Oh this is gold, thanks to all of us, that we do realise the opportunities in every day, we can walk and just spread the power of love.
Love the way you describe the autopilot nature of our relationship with walking and how you have shifted your levels of awareness and wellbeing by revolutionising your connection to yourself as you do it. Inspiring.
And very natural. Thank you Cathy
Yes, and ‘Autopilot mode’ keeps us separated from all that we are and endengers isolation, contraction, blame and resentment to be considered a ‘normal’ way of being. Choosing to bring more awareness and walking with conscious presence changes all this and harmony and joy can flow through our daily living.
Hi Josh, I simply loved this blog and can feel the deep tenderness in your words. I have found that when I make space for a morning walk it supports me through the day but often it has been a tick in the box and not a spacious walk thank you for such a lovely reminder of how it can be when I choose it!
It can never cease to amaze how creating space in our day with living with each moment is in contrast to how society generally focuses us to be. Life, not just walking for many is a list of check boxes instead of natural moments of space to enjoy.
How very true Josh, how awesome to have come to the realisations and to live those realisations not just observe them.
Exactly Judy it is in the living not the thinking.
Beautiful Josh thank you for sharing about walking which is so dear to my heart also and the beauty I feel and the foundation it plays in my daily life too.
So lovely to feel your expression, joy and tenderness.
Thank you Tricia! I can deeply appreciate what a lovely thing it is to walk like this in the tenderness I have shared with all. I never realised it was so power-full.
Yes Josh, we do not totally realise how powerful we are when we hold this quality of ourselves and walk through life with “US” in it!
I have never read anything like this before on walking it is so inspiring and I love how you express this – “I could feel the gentle spring in each step I took, and the delicate wisp of my presence ..” it is so gorgeous to read and I felt as I was reading, I was there with you on a walk. I can really relate to what you are saying about walking just to get from a to b. I still feel I do this most of the time but have had moments when I have just felt like I am walking for me. Thank you for sharing – it’s beautiful.
Lovely honesty Vicky. Thank you for sharing
Thank you Josh such an amazing blog which has inspired equally amazing comments, I loved reading the thread and feeling more deeply how nurturing and nourishing a walk with my Self really is. I know I have in the past seen walking as ticking a box and doing what I knew was supporting my health or getting from A to G but never again. I will with each step be fully appreciating what an opportunity it truly is.
The more we claim our presence the more walking like everything we do can be a natural rhythm of you and not dictated so much by the A to B push of our world today. When one is in rhythm with their bodies and themselves, walking can no longer be a box to tick but a living way one feels from their own bodies as to when or not such a walk is needed. At least this was my experience. Thank you for sharing Fiona.
I can relate to that Joshua, that it is about claiming my presence and who I truly am, a Son of God, a religious man. Walking with this presence has a purpose to it and when truly felt, this gives such a joy. The joy for me is that I am walking for the plan, the plan to reawaken the reign of love and truth on earth with every step I take.
Powerfully claimed Nico. I can feel the joy and strength and true power of your walk through every word you write. It is amazing to live something like this each and every day.
A beautiful blog Josh, I can completely relate with what you shared. I need to start making space for walking with me. I currently walk constantly in my work and for everything else but have not really made time for walking with me. When I have experienced walking with me it feels amazing and having read you blog, it’s just highlighted to me how important it is to bring walking into my daily rhythm.
One can never afford to undervalue the beauty and support of a truly nurturing moment to be with them. Thank you Amita.
All so true, Josh, I find that when I walk my body shows me I how I have been living, and the actual walking with the attention and space within it as you describe allows me to be more aware of that, and to make changes as I walk. Then I start to enjoy, and when I walk from my own joy the walk changes!
That is the true power of a simple walk. Beauty-full summary, thank you
Simple, yet honest. The power of a walk with self. You can but only feel the difference this space and time allows through your words. It is an inspirational piece to feel the beauty of this simplicity you have chosen.
Thank you Jenny. True Inspiration can only ever come through simplicity, this is what makes it inspiring.
This is gorgeous. You truly capture the power and grace that can be found in something that is generally taken as a means to get from point A to point B, or with the purpose of exercise, but rarely with appreciating the power and connection that can come from walking totally with ourselves. Beautiful!
Thank you Naren. And I notice when I take it step by step, moment by moment, there can be a real sway and gorgeous grace in my steps which others can be inspired by.
Absolutely! When I walk with full connection to myself, I can feel the grace in myself and am able to also be open to the grace in others as they walk past.
I love this Josh. I used to walk because I had to to get somewhere. Now I walk to be with me and feel the beauty of the walk. There were times when it would be deemed a chore but now it is a pleasure to spend time with me as I walk with presence.
Thank you Beverley. It is only ever a chore if you are not present with your body.
Wow, of course, Beverley. The simplicity and enormity of that shift in our approach to anything. Is it one more burdensome thing we HAVE to do or is it another beautiful opportunity to confirm our own amazing?
Especially as we remember that our walk is a healing to us for every step taking in conscious presence.
And there is no limit to the depth of the connection and thus the level of gorgeous-ness you can feel throughout your day
Love this blog and love the photo that goes with it, a picture says a 1000 words, this one is saying I am tender and I am love. Beautiful.
There is nothing like feeling that tenderness emanating from a man and that delicateness emanating from a women. You cannot deny how powerful this can be.
Thank you for sharing this blog Josh. It is amazing how light and gorgeous I can feel in my body after committing to a walk with presence. I find when I’m thinking too much or am indulging in the emotions of the day I bring no focus to what is going on in my body. What an inspiring blog.
When the day gets complicated with issues something as simple as walking in presence can feel confronting cause it’s so simple that it highlights the in-truth small-ness of an otherwise dominating complexity.
And every step we take in that claimed gorgeousness reflects it back to us magnified….perfect. Thank you again, Josh.
Beautiful Matilda – the magic of how it can be.
Nothing better than living that every-day. You will always know how gorgeous you are 🙂
Beautiful, joy-full and light-full, Josh. Super question: “how did you feel your feet?” Over the last few months, my morning ritual after my shower is to massage my feet for 5/10 mins. My feet love the extra attention and I feel more appreciation for all my feet do for me and every-where they take me! Also, since massaging my feet, I feel a new lightness in my step or in my walk, which feels wonderful. It also feels like my feet send me a message as soon as I leave my presence, because all of a sudden during my day, I feel the lightness in my feet on the ground beneath me and then can feel my legs, can feel my body, can feel my presence… and I’m back. I just can not give my feet enough attention these days!
It is gorgeous to feel a women honouring themselves in this way. True delicate tender-ness
Thanks again Josh, my walks are evolving.
Me too Jane! Completely melted, I can really feel your gorgeous tenderness as a man Josh.
What a lovely blog, Josh. Sometimes a walk for me can also be something to be ticked of my list! What a lovely reminder to walk with myself and feel my loveliness too.
Thank you Rachel
I so enjoyed being taken on your walk Josh, and feeling your tenderness, awareness and grace as you walk. I walked today in the late afternoon, just after a rain shower and I felt the cool moisture in the air and my feet so light, it felt so delicious.
Nature truly celebrates and comes alive when you walk in presence. It is fascinating, amazing and confirming all at the same time!
‘Instead of our mind, walking with our feet’, very simply and beautifully written Michelle.
Instead of our mind…walking with our feet and what follows up from that – seems and is quite natural and very enjoyable really. Beautiful writing Joshua.
Super simple too. Thank you Michelle
Yes, Michelle, I walk every day and value the opportunity to connect with myself, my body, nature and my dog. However the other day I went ‘walking with my mind’ as there was something I had not completed before I left home. What a waste – I didn’t really remember the walk, I was left feeling empty and disconnected, and came to wondering where my dog had gone! Great lesson…
Lovely blog Joshua, I’m also a big fan of the walk as my wife and I walk the dog daily before work. It’s such a great way to start the day. Reading this makes me want to up my level of tenderness towards self on tomorrows outing.
What a blessing to share that with another. True Love
Thank you Joshua for such a simple and beautiful blog. As you say it offers us such an opportunity to connect with our body and to appreciate every little move and detail that is part of our body when it is in motion. I now have a deeper sense of all that is being offered each time I take time to walk.
Super fun to do to! Thank you Susan
I feel inspired Josh by reading how you can feel you as you walk.
Thank you Shevon
Totally. Could not be simpler than that! Thank you Amina
There is much power in this which I can see you are connecting with. What magic!
I find a walk can just be as refreshing as a nap and actually is very invigorating to make space for in our day. Lovely Cheryl
I agree Joshua, often I go for a walk at lunchtime or after work.
Walking with you and your body brings confidence and awareness to what is already felt about a situation or thing going on in the day. It can be a great time to confirm and check in with what you truly are feeling about your day.
This is so true Joshua, well said.
Funnily enough I have just come back from my walk, and have a little space before I start work. So what a great blog to fall over… And remind me of the simplicity, the spaciousness, and that everything is already complete in me. Now that is an awesome way to start the day. Thanks Josh
What a lovely way to start your day. The world is blessed. Thank you for sharing Simon.
Thanks for the reminder Josh, walking can so easily become a task or have another purpose than just walking. ‘To walk just to walk, and be present in our bodies’ — how beautiful that is, then we walk our natural gait in our own power, and no-one else’s! As you feel yourself as a man when you walk this way, I feel myself as a woman, and that gives me so much more sense of my body and well being. When walking on a treadmill was once suggested to me, I rejected it at first as I felt it would be driven and harden my body, but since trying it I have found that the focus and attention I pay to my body when on the treadmill, has helped me to be more focused when I walk in nature – with the way I walk, and the space and beauty around me, all very natural, much more enjoyment and less of the distracting thoughts. Thank you for your simple and delightfully expressed blog, I can feel the joy, and that is the most inspiring thing of all.
I just feel so much joy in reading this, and the playfulness and love of being with me – thank you Josh for sharing your tenderness, exquisiteness, beauty and love. It’s a beautiful reminder and a very powerful one too, to enjoy the love and simplicity of just being us – in all we do. Now I’m off for a hot date walking with me.
Thank you Gyl, enjoy being with you.
Since reading your article I have become more aware of how I am walking. Yesterday when I went for a walk, rather than it being part of my ‘to do list’ and ‘getting it done’, I chose to feel me and my loveliness, and my walk felt lighter and more joyful. I felt to stop and look at the delicateness of the leaves on the silver birch trees and the dappled light on a stone, it felt beautiful. Thank you for the inspiration.
I have felt this too Rebecca. Since reading this article I have been connecting much deeper to me and my tender loveliness. Beautifully inspiring.
Loved feeling the beauty in this Josh, appreciated my morning walk even more with your words. Thank you.
This blog and all the comments are so inspiring. I have a long tick list today but I am now off for my walk with me, knowing the joy of me time will allow the flow on my return. Thank you Josh!
Gorgeous, thank you Jeanette.
Awesome sharing Josh, a great reminder when we connect to the Joy in Presence in all that we do – in this case your Walk and being you is such a Powerful support to be present through out your day. Love it.
Hi Josh, thank you for your inspiring words – I can feel how walking every day supports you no matter how much you have to do in the day that follows or, as mentioned in the comments above, can bring you back to you in the middle or at the end of a busy day.
Absolutely Carmel, I agree. I love to walk, to start my day and before lunch and in the evening. Especially if I’ve had a busy, hectic or intense day, walking and being in nature is a great tool to support me to come back to me and also clear the day.
Always important to mark in your day a moment you know you by. Walking can be a fun, simple, nourishing and deeply supportive one to make. Totally important in our busy world today. Thanks Carmel
Thank you Jane. I can feel myself appreciating what a beauty-fully tender man I really am when I read your comment. I am definitely extremely tender as are all of us. Something our walk, like anything we do can show us with our presence
Definitely claiming it Ariana, thank you 🙂
And not just “on a walk” but also on a walk to the printer at work, fax machine in the office and the lamb on the stove at home. All is a way of showing and reminding how tender I am and can be.
Great point Elizabeth. When I set out for my walk with the intention of feeling and connecting to my body there is purpose but when I walk going about my daily activities I can easily slip autopilot. Thank you for the reminder; to be present with myself every time I walk whether it is in the home or out in nature.
Gorgeous blog Josh, with such elegance and style you perfectly describe how it can be done. For me a reminder of how to set off into the world loving my walk is so perfectly timed as I start my day. I know now I will not be running for that train. Thank you.
Exactly Phil – same here – since reading this blog I’ve become more aware how easy it is to not be with myself when I walk. What an amazing reminder to start the day with.
In space we can claim our rhythm and our true way of walking. And gosh we are really tender when we live this!
So beautifully described Susan. Yes, I too claim my walk for me, thoughts gently ‘being blown away in the breeze’. I love it.
I loved that bit too Michelle and Susan – thoughts being “blown away in the wind”. Gorgeous.
Wow this is great Josh, thank you. This article has helped me realise that I can often try to ‘fit my walk in’ as part of some ‘have to do list’, rather than feeling me, ‘enjoy my body moving’ and feel how gorgeous I am. This article is truly inspiring.
We are all worth the space to be with us if we chose to allow it so.
We certainly are Josh. So lovely.
Thank you Josh, a beautiful expression.
Thank you Stephen
‘A deeply tender, handsome man’…well known, claimed and lived. Your reflection for all other men is true service.
And I am learning to deeply appreciating that Matilda. It brings tears to my eyes to feel how we are all tender inside and it so worth celebrating that.
Absolutely beauty-full Joshua, yes we are all so tender inside. I love your delicate expression of this tenderness.
I read this just as I am about to go for my walk. Thank-you for the ever deepening stillness you have offered through your writing, Josh. I even made space to read this by getting up an hour earlier and now feel the space in which I will walk this morning is deeply enriched by the timely reminder you have offered. The power of my walk and the connection with me and nature and all that truly is, provides the foundation for my beingness in my day.
You totally nailed it Peta.
I really loved your blog and it really resonated with me because I have two dogs, so I go on two walks a day no matter what, to exercise them. This often leads me to going on a walk when I don’t want to, not going for me and not enjoying it. But, like you, I have been feeling the possibility for more in my walks, and it’s amazing what they can be. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you Rebecca
This a lovely blog, Josh. I can really feel your tenderness in and through it. It has really made me stop and re-assess my walks. Thank you.
No problem Jonathan 🙂
Josh. You write such inspirational blogs. It really is great at times to get away and clear ones mind of negativity and get back to who we really are. It is amazing to feel how different one feels.
So gorgeous Josh. Your tenderness emerges so beautifully from your words. Thank you for the reminder of how allowing space in our day to fully connect allows us to drop the masks and appreciate and love who we truly are.
An important and worthwhile space to make space for. Thank you Anne-Marie
Thank you Josh. Wow you really hit the nail on the head here, how many of us just go from A to B with a 100 other things in our head? I can really feel the gorgeous space you created by being present with yourself. Thank you for sharing the beautiful grace that came with this discovery, this discovery of you!
Thank you Samantha. Is was inspired because this was one of the walks that I have felt does not leave me feeling tired or drained but truly invigorated. Most of my life the A to B walk style I realised was the one that also drains because we are not with our bodies when we are walking.
Thank you Josh for your beautiful sharing and reminding me that when I walk I am not walking towards an outcome but simply taking the time to be with me and to feel every step, every moment of the way.
A lovely metaphor for life too Ingrid. A simple way of bringing simplicity to the whole of your day.
This is lovely Ingrid, ‘when I walk I am not walking towards an outcome but simply taking the time to be with me and to feel every step’, a great reminder for me too.
I love the simplicity of this Ingrid – Thank you!
Hi Josh and everyone, What a great way to approach walking. I will keep this in mind when I next go for a walk.
Well worth a go Shevon 🙂
Beautiful Josh, what a treat to read, and to be able to feel the deeper connection to yourself that has developed from walking. I love walking just to walk, and not to get somewhere.
Walking to get somewhere is also not going to truly nourish one when they walk as I am finding by walking with me in connection with my body and the moment the blood really does get pumping! Thank you Janet
Josh, I really enjoyed reading this because I could feel your beauty in every word; the true gentle, playful handsomeness of you. It is so helpful to me to read of your evolution in walking/being with yourself. I feel a renewed and deepened commitment to walk with myself and allow me to unfold!
Beautiful Jo, thank you for sharing this.
Wow Josh, I love the tenderness in your bog, what you in essence and simplicity describe with ‘I felt me… …a deeply tender, handsome man’ (and that you are). It is great for men to do, to appreciate the tenderness and beauty they innately are and by living this we can bring this back to all men and women in the world.
And our walking just like anything we do can be a lovely reminder of that tenderness we all have inside us. A tenderness that once felt can not but be shared with others around. Thank you Nico
Well said Josh, walking is and can be a reminder of the tenderness we all have inside us.
Absolutely Jane, it is oozing with tenderness and yumminess and would make an amazing article in a men’s magazine.
Josh I love everything about this! What an amazing description on the power and grace and amazing fun we can have while walking. The grace and ease of just being in your body and accepting your beauty is an amazing feeling and you’ve captured the wonder awesomely.
Thank you Meg.
I love this blog Josh, the simplicity of walking is beautiful and I relate to what you have expressed. I now walk with me rather than ticking a box and it is great to take the time to appreciate what I feel as I walk and also notice if my mind tries to butt in with thoughts of the day.
Thank you for sharing Josh.
Thank you Beverley
Beverley I can completely resonate with what you share, I too have started to appreciate my walk and connect to how I feel and this has allowed me to stay present with myself. It feels really beautiful.
Josh – this blog is very gorgeous and is a beautiful and timely reminder for me to feel all of me when I walk. I love walking in the early morning when it is often very still but I am often governed by time instead of appreciating the spaciousness around me. Thank you for gently bringing this to my attention.
Time can never own us if we are letting ourselves appreciate that we are worth the space we create for ourselves in our day. Thank you Anne for your beautiful honesty
Thank you Josh, I can definitely relate. Something to take with me on my next walk – a simple marker of feeling how my feet feel when I walk – thank you.
Thank you Amelia
A very lovely and in-spiring blog Josh. I will remember on my next walk and allow myself the joy to feel me just walking – more fully so. 🙂
Beauty-full. Thank you Sarah
Thank you Josh for writing about your experiences with walking and how it can be so simple, supportive and spacious – a time with you and very powerful if you choose it this way. I can really relate to this and am someone who has always found walking a time to be with myself and especially a time to appreciate everything around, especially nature and the smallest of details to see. It is a very precious part of my day and very supportive.
Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine have really helped me to bring so much more awareness and hence presence and joy and purpose to my walk, and to my whole life and how I live and such a beauty and love to myself inside, and to everything and everyone.
Thanks Tricia. Walking is an excellent way of accepting and appreciating us and where we truly are.
Great blog Josh. There always seems to be a handy excuse of late to not go walking but I can really feel the joy of your words and it reminded me of how I felt when I was regularly walking, so thank you for inspiring me to start again.
Thank you Tim
Hi Josh, it took a while to get started again but its now been just over 2 weeks where I have consistently walked everyday. Already I feel stronger and fitter and my thoughts are clearer. I am more focussed and my commitment to all areas of my life have increased. Who would have thought just by putting one foot in front of the other and being with myself could have such a profound effect. Thank you once again for inspiring me to ‘get on with it’.
Solidarity, Tim.
Great to read this Tim!
I agree Tim
I totally agree
Wow, Josh, that’s gorgeous. I now realise how I have made my walk a tick box thing on my to do list for the day, thank you.
I realised life is definitely not a check box list of chores! For it is no fun trying to see life this way as there is always too much to do, so you feel behind! Lovely revaluation to have Natalie, thank you for sharing
Yes Joshua I totally agree. Whenever I go into box ticking I completely fail to appreciate what I’m doing – even if it is a really lovely thing to do because I’m so preoccupied with trying to complete the list within a time frame. Not much fun at all!
Thank you for sharing Josh, it is so easy to get caught up in the day and having to be someone as you said, it’s incredible how our walk can change depending on who we are with, yet that is fitting in with them, trying to be something, not our gorgeous tender selves. I love that you wrote you can now ‘feel how I was complete as I was’. It is awesome to have come to.
Thanks James
Me too Fiona, I find that I can now catch myself when I am walking, when I am not being present with myself, trying to rush etc.. and can then bring more focus to my feet and the way I am moving which brings more focus back to my body and helps me let go of what I may have taken on and/or to helps me understand why I had reacted to something. Walking is a great reference point and one I use everyday.
Josh this is great – I’ve had so many times when I’ve walked because that is the “Good” or “Right” thing to do or it will “make me better”. I’ve also struggled with exercise for a long time – and found it a “waste of time” yet this is the time when, as your article shows, I can connect with me! A few days ago on my walks I also started to feel I was walking because I enjoyed feeling me as I walked. I was shocked how before feeling the walking for me, it was purposeless, yet in the walking I was further putting on “masks”. Early days with that but a lovely article to read and reflect on as I build a new relationship with walking and exercise.
Lovely David. When we walk in the stuckness of our day we confirm that deeper in our bodies if we escape into our head to not feel it. This becomes the walk we otherwise would say as being ‘ours’.
Josh, I really love what you have written, especially about your feet being “in-built transport machines”. So true! I have developed a daily walk into my rhythm now and I love it when I am really with myself and not in my head being transported about. I have now found that I have turned by evening walk from the station into a ‘Michelle walk’ too. Previously, I used to walk home hard and rushed to be home at the end the day. Now I choose to feel what I need, don’t rush and enjoy the sky, the colours and beauty of nature and me along the way. It is a simple joy to behold.
We don’t know our true style of walk and its true gorgeousness until we re-connect with the body, any other walk is not truly our style but the momentum we have taken on in our day. Thanks Michelle.
Thank you Josh, this is so beauty-full and just what I needed to read this morning, particularly ‘There was no need to worry about life because I could feel that my still presence offered all the strength I needed.’
Now is time to appreciate the presence and strength, for its all in there 🙂
Thank-you Josh. Your blog is a beautiful reminder for us all to take time out to just be, for ourselves, without feeling we have to do something or be somewhere. I love to walk, especially in the countryside or on the beach, with that lovely connection to myself and nature and I enjoy taking that time out to appreciate ME.
So true. The difference between walking between point A and B and walking with yourself in connection to all around you is a revelation. Walking in appreciation of you can be felt in every step you take and brings a lightness to your whole body.
Lovely, thank you Sandra
Agree Sandra, a lovely reminder and said so well by Josh
Hi Josh. What a beautiful reminder to keep it simple and simply enjoy ourselves in the moment. I love walking but sometimes feel as you have felt that it is something else to tick off in my day. If I take the time to remember to enjoy myself, the experience is totally different. Thank you for creating space in your day to write about this and share it with others.
Inspired to share to allow others to create space. It was so gorgeous to feel I had to share.
Thanks Rebecca. I have found that if I take the time to remember to enjoy myself, it changes the experience of any task during my day, no matter how tedious I would have previously perceived that task to be.
How gorgeous! It is so amazing to feel you claiming your tenderness, “the delicate wisp” of your presence and how handsome you are, because that is WHO you are! Thank you Josh for your exquisite honesty and allowing us to see and feel your delicate presence. A true gift for all to enjoy and be graced by.
Thank you Rowena
Beautiful spacious blog, I loved it, thank you.
Hear Hear.
I loved writing it 🙂
Wow! This is such a great article. I love the question “how did your feet feel?” That’s brilliant. Zillions of times I too would never have been able to answer that question. And it powerfully illustrates how we use our bodies as machines, tools, purely for functionality. Forgetting the greatest tool that it is – a reflection of where we are at. Where we truly are at. For example, if I actually can’t feel my feet when I am walking….. then what is going on? What masks, blocks, burdens, issues, denial etc… am I carrying in my body? That is what is so super cool about our bodies. The absolute opposite of the machine that most of us consider it… it is in fact our greatest teacher, counsel, guidance, parent. It tells us everything. Yet we ignore it. We pound it, bash it, smash it and fill it with junk fuel. BUT, but… what your article so beautifully expresses Josh, is the other way. And how much more simple can it get than going for a walk. Gorgeous. Inspiring.
I agree with you Otto, our bodies can be so much more if we just give them the space to pipe up and start telling us what’s going on. Awesome!
Another beautiful tender man expressing the amazingness of honouring, listening to and living respectfully with his body. Thank you, Otto.
And sometimes that is too much honesty to accept which our bodies share with us all the time
We treat our body badly because our body shows us where we are really at and that can be feeling quite awful at times. Hence the need for emotions, junk food anything to numb what is there.
Beautiful comment Otto and I totally get that we can ignore all of the counsel and teachings our bodies can give us. It is almost too easy to override what we feel.
I agree Otto, great questions too. It really is about being aware and listening to our body. When we pay attention to the messages our body gives us we are then able to truly feel what is actually going on. Our body gives us the truth of our choices and it reflects everything we have chosen.
I love this Otto. Such a beautiful reflection of the steps you have taken for yourself to bring forth the amazing and tender man you truly are for all to enjoy. Thank you!
Beautiful Josh. I can feel the deeply tender, handsome man in your words as they take each step on the page. It reminded me of the joy of a child skipping on the sand enjoying the moment and just being with themselves.
Gorgeous 🙂 Thank you Mary
Thank you Josh. I have found myself that at the end of a busy day my evening walk brings me back to me. It is something I will always make space for.
Thank you Steve
It is a great way to wind down, to connect and reflect Steve. Most people use alcohol and other stimulants instead which takes then further away from connecting to themselves.
Thank you Josh. I loved this blog. I could feel the difference in your writing of the distracted walk filled with the day’s thoughts and the power of your walk when you took off your masks and felt you in your walk. I loved this sentence, “I found that in this space I could feel the gentle spring in each step I took, and the delicate wisp of my presence that warmed my chest each time I breathed. I could feel the deep simplicity of my walk, my love, and me.” I could feel the simplicity and the completeness of this and it was a great reminder of how easy it is, when we shift our awareness from our head to our heart.
Simplicity = enjoyment. Enjoyment = no more head distraction.
Love this equation – should be the first thing that children are taught at school.
Great point, walking and being fully present – lesson one of your school day.
I love this Josh – simplicity does = enjoyment, I whole heartedly agree, and a definite yes to no more distractions and crazy thoughts head nonsense.
This is a fab equation Josh. Definitely going for a walk this morning!!!!!
I love equations and this one is great!
🙂 so true
I will carry this lovely equation in my body, not my head, when I next go for my walk Joshua. Thank you.
Josh, this is a beautiful blog with the sharing of your growing awareness of your innate tenderness within. I can feel the love expressing through you as you walk and a sense of really enjoying walking with you as I read… Thank you.
A blessing to share with you Stephanie, thank you
I love the simplicity of the details in your writing, and feel inspired to be appreciative of myself after each and every walk, as every walk I take in presence helps me feel in my body what is going on and/or confirms me to me which feels amazing! Thank you, Joshua.
Everytime I walk now I feel a fresh and whole person when I go back into my day. Often my walk gives me insight into my day as I am accepting it with the space I create.
I totally agree Josh, every time I walk now I too feel fresh and whole, and my walks give me insight and spaciousness and I really treasure them and feel joyful. Walking is a very important part of my life, my daily rhythm and really supports me .
Thank you for writing about this.
Josh, this is a beautiful article. I can feel how you are claiming the spaciousness in the walks you are doing now. It is so important in our modern times of rushing and racing, loaded with pressure to have a tool what is providing the opposite: spaciousness. And as Serge Benhayon does reflect this to us in his walks, we have an inspiring role model.
Thank you Kerstin.
Josh, what you have experienced is so lovingly reflected on. I too, find it very easy to put a walk on my to do list and that is exactly how I walk with myself in ‘doing’, not in being with me and enjoying myself. When I do walk with me and enjoy myself as I am walking, it is a totally different experience. I love how you expressed ‘I could feel that my still presence offered all the strength I needed.’ Yes, that is a wonderful reminder for me. Thank you.
I’m so with you on that Nicole – I love walking and it was such a timely and refreshing reminder this morning to read this before I went out for a walk – so often I too can go into the ‘doing’ of walking, feeling it’s something I should do or I’ve got to do, and in that lose the simplicity and joy of simply being and connecting to my body. Such a joy and different experience walking this morning.
It is all about creating space. Space to enjoy and space to accept the day. Then it is no longer a chore but a moment.
Absolutely Josh – it’s amazing to feel how much more space was in my body and day.
Jane I love this too, like taking ourselves on a date each time we walk, swim etc.
Cool, i’m going to take myself on a date walk right now.
That is a great idea Gyl – taking ourselves on a date in everything we do
Beautifully put Jane.
Thank you for showing how something so simple that we do everyday is taken for granted and how it can be used to support us in our day in every way.
Love your comment Jane, and the reminder that it’s not just walking, but swimming too. I find the same with cooking…
Great comment Jane, whether its walking, cooking, cleaning, showering – its EVERYTHING we do in life gives us the opportunity to be with ourselves.
That’s a really cute way of expressing it – being present is like taking yourself on a date – loving every minute of yourself and being with yourself.
Johsua, your words are like music to my heart and body. My head doesn’t want to join in and chooses not to, regularly through my day, but when I do create space for myself as you say, isn’t it the most delicious way to be in a moment with yourself, and you feel the connection to everything around you. It feels like everything is complete and all that is left is to just be there/you. Just magic.
Simply brilliant Jane I love this. We are so worth it too.
‘Developing our own intimacy and deepening our understanding of ourselves’ – beautiful Jane, a reminder for me that my walks are an opportunity to surrender to feeling more of who I am.
Awesome Jane that’s what I feel when I go for a walk with our dog, its my walk with her, but also my walk with myself and its really joyful.
Gorgeous Joshua, I love your comment, so simple yet so very true.
I agree Nicole, going for a walk for me can feel so different by just being aware of what my intention is for walking. Checking in first if I am going because I have to, or its one of my to-do’s, or going because I want to create a space for me to reconnect.
Nicole and Josh I have been reminded of your sharing when going for my walks and it is simply Joyful to be with me and enjoy my body whilst walking but it doesn’t stop there it really follows on into everything else that I do… Being me in what I do… I’m learning to appreciate how Amazing I am when in this connection.
I agree Nicole. A great reminder from Josh of how lovely I feel when I walk with me. I get to feel the grace and pure gentleness in my walk. There is no imposing in anyones space but holding myself equally with another on any beach, path or park I walk near.
I really appreciated reading this blog on walking. I used to walk as a chore. Something I needed to do for my health. Of course, I did start to enjoy walking but I liked to walk with a friend so I had someone to talk to. I did occasionally go walking on my own but was always looking for something to do while I was walking. Looking at gardens, looking at architecture, looking at birds. It was always about something outside of me. That is until recently. I too have started walking with the intention of it being time to spend with myself in as much presence as I can muster. How do my feet feel? How does this pair of socks feel in these shoes? Which direction is the wind coming from and how is the wind entering my ears? I am really enJOYing being present enough to notice when my heart rate starts to increase, being present enough to notice the change in my breathing, being present enough to feel like I am taking myself for a walk.
And you get some lovely gentle exercise too, bonus! Thank you Gayle.
Beautifully expressed, and I can totally relate to being in the mind and not being aware of where I have been for most of my walk because of it. I too use little physical things to help me stay connected and feel my body when I walk, like feeling the way my feet touch the ground, heel first or ball first.
I know Rebecca I have many a time walked and not even known where I have been. Once I even went outside purposefully to notice my environment and my flat mate got home and said wow they have chopped all the trees down on the street – I hadn’t noticed! That was quite sometime ago, gosh 20 years, I can say that this happens much less and the ability to feel my body and my feet as I walk is a great part of why I now remember where I have been and how I have felt. It is very supportive to my life, I literally love walking now.
I absolutely love the subtle reminders you can add to walking to not only support my presence in each step, but as a bonus prize it makes walking anywhere so fun. Nothing beats feeling every step you take and breathing gently for brining a richness to my senses. Paying full attention to how each step is lovingly placed is like playing a game in supporting myself and the ground I am walking on…it’s so awesome. Great observations Rebecca and Joel.
Hi Gayle, I love your words, ‘I too have started walking with the intention of it being time to spend with myself in as much presence as I can muster.’ It feels so different from walking to get fit, or to get somewhere. Walking in the presence of ourselves feels so much more tender, and something nurturing to do each day.
Carmel I agree walking in presence of self feels so much different than walking to get fit or to get somewhere. Walking in presence really allows you to connect to how the body is feeling and allows to let go of tension in the body as you walk.
Yes Carmel, this is a great thing to practice, using walking to remove the distraction and busyness of the head from its usual dominating of the body. I find it a challenge to to avoid my wandering mind but the power in doing so is, I feel, quite a mighty way worth mastering.
I agree Stephen. Walking certainly helps me to get out of my head and back into my body. I have lived my life so much in my head and still can at times but walking every day helps me to clear the chattering in my mind especially after a disagreement has taken place.
I like this Gayle “being present enough to feel like I am taking myself for a walk.” What a great idea. When I am present and I can feel my body and my feet when walking I can really enjoy my own company it feels good to spend time with me. Some mornings walking can still feel like a bit of a chore but this is great reflection of what’s going on with me and offers me the space and support to come back and re connect to me.
I first read this blog and your comment a week or more ago now, and I love how both have stayed with me on my walks. It’s lovely to connect with you and what you have both written as I remember to connect with me and feel the wind or smell the rain, or feel my feet as I walk.
I can’t always fit a walk outside into a busy day, so when I have to go and get something, or visit a different part of my workplace, I use that space to feel how I am with myself. It feels great to walk with the feeling ‘hey this is me and it feels good’, and it feels great to feel the connection to whoever and whatever is around me as I walk.
I can so relate Gayle, I also used to walk because I felt it was a ‘good thing to do’, not really paying attention to me in the process. Now I walk much more consciously, and sometimes, when I forgot ‘me’ in the walk, all of a sudden I start to notice that I walk much faster. So that is my marker for me to slow down, reconnect and walk with me again.
Gayle I love your comment. “One could assume walking to be very straight forward, every walk is the same but there is so much more too it”. Today I felt a little off so my walk was to be with myself and come back to me, to feel the ball of my feet on the ground with each step and how open my feet and hips are too. Yesterday I walked with me again but I let my surroundings in, the blossom falling from the trees and the flowers shinning. I love the feeling the sun’s warmth and the coolness of the shade too.
Gayle I like the way you describe all the little ways we can be aware of our bodies when we walk, “how is the wind entering my ears?” I’ll have to try that one:)!
This is so true for me too Gayle, I used to walk focusing on things outside of myself and looking for distractions. It feel amazing when I walk feeling every step I take, the breeze against my skin, enjoying the way my feet lands on the ground as I walk. Appreciating the little things and connecting to my body. It really is a new way of walking for me, something I have just started doing.
I love this Gayle – from your old way of walking as a chore and being distracted by everything externally, to coming home to yourself within to truly feel the re-connection and presence with your body.
“How do my feet feel? How does this pair of socks feel in these shoes? Which direction is the wind coming from and how is the wind entering my ears? I am really enJOYing being present enough to notice when my heart rate starts to increase, being present enough to notice the change in my breathing, being present enough to feel like I am taking myself for a walk.”
Joshua, what another delightfully simple, yet powerful blog. This was such a great reminder to me today, not only in respect of appreciating how I too used to rarely be in any form of presence in my body – not only in walking, but in pretty much everything I did throughout the day, – but also to remind me that there is always a deeper level of connection I can go to in terms of staying present with my body in whatever I am doing. I would have described myself as a very heady person in the past, as in, very often ‘thinking’ in my head – what needed to be done, what I should be doing etc, pretty much anything that wasn’t connected with what I was immediately, or actually doing! What I too have learnt through the teachings of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine, and have been inspired by, is to reconnect back to my body, to feel what my body is doing in any given moment. This is definitely a work in progress for me, but I am much more aware of when I am ‘off’ in my head, and not in my body, and a great marker for me is noticing when I can’t remember actually completing something (like driving somewhere, and not remembering what I drove past or how I got to my destination, going for a walk and realising I am already ½ way around the block without realising it etc)… so this is usually my check-in point to realise I haven’t been present in my body, and then to simply and gently bring myself back to connect.. And this can be as simple as just beginning to be aware of the detail in my body… i.e. feeling my feet as I walk, noticing the breeze on my face, how my hands touch the side of my body as I walk etc. The body truly is an amazing and powerful marker, not only when we walk, but in every single thing we do… And on that note, I’m now going to take myself on a walk…
Thank you Angela. Life is definitely much much more expansive and enjoyable outside of the confines of ones head.
Love that comment Josh, love it! Head, listen carefully to what Josh says, do you get it?
Monica, I too can get caught up in my head and it’s not a good feeling, the body feels heavy and tired. When I bring my self back to my body everything feels more flowing and gentle.
Thank you Monica. I love this playful expression to bring more awareness when getting stuck in our head and ruled by the mind at times- ‘headsville’.
I am still smiling about it!
Yes Catherine, it’s a brilliant simple to follow comment, don’t be ruled by the head, anytime life seems tough bringing awareness to the body. Fantastic to hear as the default for me is to go to the head and live each moment caught in thoughts whirling around and creating tension through my whole body.
Awesome Josh. I so agree.
I love this comment Joshua – a beautiful way of expressing the freedom when not in your head. And Angela, a lovely expansion of the article – it is so easy to find oneself in the middle of something and not realise how one got there – I am discovering how much I am missing when when I do that.
Yes, Jonathan, where DO we go when we shift into auto-pilot. Wherever that comfort zone is, of not being with ourselves, it can sometimes be very alluring, and if we’re not careful we can spend years checking out and missing out on large chunks of our life and being aware of the lovliness of just being with ourselves.
Yes I agree Sandra, I get the feeling I have really missed out when I realise I am living in my head.
It is really scary when we go into auto pilot as we are checking out, not wanting to face or deal with what’s going on. Real comfort seeking, how do we allow ourselves to get there in the first place. What I find helps is constantly working on connecting to my breath and connecting to every moment, that way I don’t go into my head and I can feel my body.
So true what you are wrting Sandra – we can spend years checking out. I experienced that in my life and it is quite shocking to see – I was completely lost. But today I know there is another way – a way to connect to myself and to all other people.
Going for walks when I feel I’ve become to headdy in the auto piolet zone, is one of the way I come back to my body. Being surround by nature always supports me to accept whatever I am feeling, not matter how ulgy or absolutely gorgeous my feelings are.
never a truer word said Josh!
It’s actually quite amusing to think of how we can live confined to the head, ruled and dominated by thoughts, constructs, ideals and beliefs. Step outside of the head and into the body and a whole new world opens up for us.
I love your playfulness Vicky, it is so inspiring to me. It reminds me that staying out of my head and discovering the wonders of being in my body can be fun and I have been taking it way too seriously.
Joshua I absolutely concur with this 1000%.
We squeeze our lives into that little 7kg bobble on top of our necks, when all the while we have at least 50kg of body underneath it, waiting patiently for us to come and play.
That for me has been the joy of walking, getting reacquainted with my very patient body. And boy does it feel good.
so true josh- how awesome is it when we can feel the rhythmic flow of love pulsating through our body in stillness, instead of the controlling and negative thoughts in our head.
Lost or locked in our heads deadens and confines as you say. Much better to release ourselves from the tangles of the wayward mind whenever we can.
Great to read your comment Angela, and the awareness you have that if you “can’t remember actually completing something” then you know you are ‘off’ in your head. This feels very simple and true.
It can be a little worrying to realise that parts of my day have gone unnoticed, I have to constantly remind myself to come out of my head and re-connect to my body where truth lies and I feel more of the real me.
Gosh, yes, I’m with you on this one. Strange that the head is what is supposed to remember, yet when i am in my head, I can forget what i was doing 10 seconds ago!!
Thank you Angela for this amazing comment. Developing a connection and staying with my body, I have found the hardest thing to do. Being in my mind is so familiar and has managed to get me through life to get things done, but has often left my body in an anxious and run down state. Reading your comment I feel inspired to pay attention to how I walk indoors – in the office and at home.
I concur with you Shevon it is hard to stay with one’s body and yet so simple come to think of it. I’m becoming more aware along the day of the tenseness of my body and go for little walks to try to get out of my head and reconnect.
I love your comment Angela, you have beautifully reminded me to also do the same. to constantly check if I am connect to my body or not with everything I do. Awesome, thank you.
Love this Angela and thank you Josh. I used to think it was pretty impossible not to be in my head. My head ruled! And sometime it still does, but just as you share Angela and Josh, reconnecting back to my body through simple means, such as focussing on the tenderness of my fingertips, or feeling my chest expand as I walk, are ways I now know I can easily get out of my head and back into my body. And life is certainly a lot more fun when I’m in my body and not upstairs locked up getting all analytical and mental!
I agree Katerina – it is so much more fun and playful when connected in the body – having being stuck almost totally in my head for a good many years of my life – my body was very numbed out and movement was rather like a wooden plank in a stilted motion, often bumping into or tripping up over things, especially my own feet through this self-imposed disconnection.
I love the feeling of being re-connected in my body and being more aware of gentleness initially in the way I moved, then a deeper level of tenderness which is leading to really feeling delicateness arising from the inside now – quite mind-blowing in fact!
So confirming and inspiring to read all that you share in your comment Angela.
A big note to self ‘Remember to stop throughout the day and ‘be’ rather than ‘do’.
Gorgeous sharing Angela. I can totally relate to everything you’ve shared. I too am practicing to be more present in my body, appreciating every move I make and what I bring. Allowing myself to feel and appreciate who I am. Joshua’s blog and your comment are both awesome reminders for me. Thank you!
Connecting to my body is felt in the details around me. How my feet feel on the floor or how I hand a customer change at work. Its all in the fine detail that helps me connect to myself and the loveliness I hold.