I was privileged enough to be a part of a blessingway for a dear friend, Deep. Deep was one of my first HypnoBirhting students when I started giving classes in 2011. She has been an invaluable contributor to The Gentle Birthing Group, online and offline. She has a boundless energy and enthusiasm when it comes to birth and has truly been an asset to the birth community for the past several years. She holds a special place in my heart and I'm so glad I was able to help her organize her blessingway.
She invited people whom she hadn't seen in a long time and invited me to do some hypnosis together with a mutual friend to do some other activities. We started off with big plans to do belly painting, among other things, but in the end we had to keep it flexible because some people arrived late and some had to leave early. It actually worked out well when the event took on a life of its own.
We then sat around a circle and each shared how Deep has touched each of our lives. Some of us read her poems. This was definitely an emotional part. Deep has touched alot of us in our individual lives... so there was alot of tears :P It was eye-opening and heart-opening to listen to everyone's tributes and wishes. As some of us hadn't seen each other for years, this sharing also enabled us to reconnect. We could feel our psychological barriers come down and we were able to just be and revel in the warmth and compassionate energies we each exuded.
We then each gave a bead/ charm to Deep, which she will use to make a bracelet which she will wear during her birth to remember us by. We each tied a ribbon around a big candle too. We had a hypnosis session that helped us relax and explore our subconscious feelings (well I conducted it, so next time I'll be on the receiving end hopefully!!).
We then each wrote inspiring, motivational quotes on a card so that Deep can read them during her birth and gain strength from them. We did gratitude exercises sharing how and why we are grateful for our children and what motherhood has taught each of us. An emotional session - it reminded us, that we are all teachers for each other, but more so we are all learners - and motherhood is one of the greatest of life's lessons.