I invite you all to try the 5 day Beginning Parts Work class. I'll go through the course too and encourage you to post your progress as you do. Complete this sentence using first-person language: “I am ____" For me today during an inquiring with a friend- I am scared.

We all have an edge where something new is trying to emerge. A developmental edge is the living boundary between how you currently make sense of yourself and the world and the next, more spacious way that is trying to emerge. It’s not a problem to fix or a skill to master. It's the place where your current capacities start to feel insufficient, and something new is quietly asking to unfold. At a developmental edge, you’ll often notice: - Mild tension, friction, or vulnerability - A sense of “I can’t quite do this the old way anymore” - Aliveness mixed with uncertainty - Patterns that no longer fully work, but haven’t released yet From a human development perspective (e.g., Robert Kegan’s work), an edge marks the shift from being identified with a way of operating to slowly being able to relate to it. What once ran you starts to become something you can hold with awareness. In Unfolding terms: A developmental edge is not crossed by effort or improvement, but by presence, contact, and allowing. When met with curiosity rather than force, the edge naturally becomes the doorway through which new capacity, clarity, and freedom emerge. Share whatever feels true if you feel called to.

A poetic attunement is a way of relating to life that’s rooted in a love of Truth, Beauty, and Goodness for their own sake. We’re always attuned in some way. How we’re attuned quietly shapes how we experience ourselves, others, and what feels possible. A poetic attunement is different because it’s attuned to attunement itself. There’s an awareness of how I’m meeting this moment and a flexibility to let that shift. Most of the world asks us to relate technologically: optimize, improve, perform. A poetic attunement softens that. It re-humanizes experience. Poetry transmits this directly: Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?— Mary Oliver Nothing to answer. Just notice what opens. Unfolding is life beginning to listen to itself. We do this through a poetic attunement. What do you feel oriented towards?

Here is our foundatational meditation practice you can begin any meditation session with. Settle in Sit comfortably and orient toward feeling present, grounded, and at ease. If settling is not present, pause and resource first. • Rest attention in the Lower Belly Center. Sense it as an “in here”, not a “down there.” Let yourself feel located in the body, not observing from the head. • Use the breath as support. As you inhale, feel the belly gently expand with the diaphragm moving downward. As you exhale, feel the belly soften as the diaphragm releases upward. Let these sensations be the object of attention. • When attention wanders, gently return it to the sensations of breathing in the lower belly, again and again, without judgment. • Notice patterns of hyperarousal (restlessness, vigilance) or hypoarousal (numbness, collapse) as Parts, without engaging them. Return to the breath. • If a Part repeatedly interrupts, briefly acknowledge it and ask it to step back until the meditation is complete. Avoid doing Parts Work during the meditation itself. • As the Lower Belly Center opens, allow awareness to naturally include the whole body sensations, felt sense, and presence without effort. Practice for 5 - 30 minutes. Once your practice ends, take note of the practice. What style of meditation did you practice? How long? Was the practice dull or sleepy? Was the practice agitated with too many thoughts? What will you do differently next time? What support do you need? Feel free to share or ask questions for the group to answer.

One key to our practice is to have a simple map to help us locate where we are in our experience. We classify four depths to determine where we are. 1️⃣ Parts – These are the familiar inner voices and patterns: the achiever, the protector, the doubter. These are structural and include thoughts, emotions, sensations, and images. This is the shallowest depth at the surface where we most likely begin our journey. 2️⃣ Process – Beneath parts is a living flow of sensations. Here we track what’s moving in real time, letting experience move through us. Think feeling heat rise up from our belly when we are angry. 3️⃣ Presence / Absence– As process settles, a quiet, grounded awareness becomes available. Qualities or lack of qualities are located here. Peace, Love, Value, Strength, Wisdom, Will, Joy, Passion, Trust, Compassion, etc. 4️⃣ Non-Dual – The deepest depth, luminous, clear, spacious, fresh. More here later. Our goal through our practice is to inhabit all four depths simultaneously. I see this as being fully human. To live life fully, deeply, and completely. Which depths are you familiar with throughout your day today?