“Dear Ones, I call to you and ask for your permission, your blessings to enter your sacred space.  Please know that we come in peace and harmony.  With the intention to be present, mindful & respectful to the space of the wild ones that live here.  And we ask the same in return.  I offer you this gift as I walk softly upon the earth”.

This morning I participated in a Spirit Walk initiated & facilitated by Pat Robinson.  Three womyn and a beautiful dog…a dear furry friend of mine.
Our destination…Stump Lake loop.  And to be present to hear the teachings & messages that this beautiful space had for us.

We started our first step with an offering…what we would like to offer this sacred forest & lake and all the beings that live there.
For me, I offered a state of presence…to be connected with each light step…connecting my breath with our great mother.  To walk in silence so that I could hear.  Offerings from the other womyn were love & gratitude.  Speaking for my four legged friend I would say his was “joy” & “play”…following & being in his bliss!
Pat also invited us to connect with a symbol and to weave this into this space as we walked.
This morning was cold, -22 with wind chills.  It felt amazing!  Refreshing & alive.  And an honour to walk amidst the voice of the wind & trees as they danced, grinded, flirted and exchanged with one another.
Some of the messages I received…
A reminder of a time when we as womyn gave our blood to the earth as an offering…a healing for the earth and others.  In the spirit of reciprocity and gratitude to the divine mother who breaths through all of us…womyn, men, children, animals, plants… How it is this divine feminine energy that births creation and holds us in sacredness, inviting us to walk this journey with our hearts in balance with our minds & spirit.
A long long strand of lichen…witch’s hair…green & beautiful, hanging from a tree spoke to me of stretching tall & big…to create that space within my being.  To loosen any tight or dense energies, to make room for the new. To stretch, stretch, stretch my body out.  Expand & reach out.  To feel the flexibility & movement in my spine, my muscles, blood, lymph…my heart.
Being in a darker part of the trees and looking out through some branches to see the bright white of the snow on the lake, spoke to me of remembering that there is always light available.  Even when we stand in complete darkness, we have that life spark within.  We need to connect with this…to share our light with others.  As we walk through these challenging times, it is an absolute gift to have someone else share & shine a bit of their light on us…to inspire us and remind us of our own light & fire that burns within.

                                    (Artwork by Mallory Woods.  “Candle in the night”.)

And the best way that we can be in that light, is to be in our bliss.  To take responsibility for our own energies.  To bring balance to that dance of our light & darker, denser energies.  We can be in a moment of grief & still connect to our song.  Or ache & still make love.
To be connecting with our own medicines & gifts, whatever they are for each of us.  We need to be tending to our medicines daily & weaving them into our lives.  There seems to be so much focus on what we ‘should’ be ‘doing’ in our lifetime instead of who we are and our sense of ‘being’.  What energies call to you?  Is it your art, gardening, nature, knitting, photography, dance, yoga, to name a few.  Where do you lose all sense of time & feel content & at peace?  When do you feel that connection to joy that connects us to the divine and sense of oneness?  That beautiful light moment of sacred breath that we share with this universe.
I looked out upon this white blanket that covered the frozen lake, I was reminded of the stillness that comes with winter.  And the death.  But that in that stillness & hibernation, we always are creating and birthing our dream seeds within that we will give birth to in the coming Spring.

I was given that reminder to dance…to move my body and spirit.  To be in the ‘flow’ of my life instead of working against it.  To be ‘in trust’.  It takes a lot of courage and surrender to get out of the way & trust in spirit.  To drop our sense of control & ‘urgency”.  To speak our prayers, blessings, intentions & longing (as this is our part in the sacred dance of co~creation with our creator) & then let go.  Many of us have been so conditioned to do otherwise.  And on that journey our breath becomes tighter, more shallow, and our bodies stiffen, in a subconscious will to control.  We think this will somehow bring us closer & faster to the outcome we so wish for.  When in actual reality it does the opposite.  In this busy, hectic world, I need to stop, connect and breath.  Instead of getting caught up in the macrocosm dance of urgency & busyness.  It is in those days & moments that I spend connected with nature that teach & show me the real magic of being.  When I am humbled.  When I am in awe.
A loud creaking, moaning tree mirrored to me my pain body & stiffness.  It reminded me how there is always medicine in our pain.  This is a sacred dialogue between our physical bodies & our minds & spirits…letting us know that something is out of balance.  An invitation to create change and healing.  I was reminded in a book the other night how ‘healing’ is always available.  (Healing Myths Healing Magic by Donald Epstein).  We may not always have the finances etc. to go see that healer or practitioner that we would like to connect with, but we do always have our breath, our intention, heart, the tools we have learned along the way on our journey and our connection to the divine, who is always willing to assist in healing at ANY TIME OR PLACE.  This is a sacred & blessed gift. Thank you dear old creaking, moaning tree.
Beneath the dancing tree, there was a stone door.  I love this theme of doorways that keeps coming to me in my life.

As we peel back layers and commit to that next step on our journeys, another doorway offers itself.  How lucky we are…an invitation to explore the unknown.  And it’s okay if some fear accompanies us on this journey of trust & exploration, as long as we don’t let it stop or stagnate us.
Breathe, flexibility, movement, trust, breath.

I feel incredibly grateful & honoured to be able to have this sacred space with nature.  She is the best artist around and I feel at peace & dearly inspired whenever I am in her cathedral art studio.  She has an INCREDIBLE imagination.  And when the two of us hook up together…when I am present, mindful with my step and open hearted, ready to listen & play, what a beautiful song we create together.  What a freeing experience.  And when I feel lost, heartbroken or discouraged, how sacredly & lovingly am I held & heard.
                             

                              “Thank you for having us in your space today dear ones.
                               Thank you Pat for inviting us to play & connect with the                                                                           sacred around us, within & with each other”.

I believe that we are spiritual beings living here on this planet having a human experience.  Two things that I experience as constants are my soul guiding me through the process (if we could only trust more in this!) and change.

With change we visit many spiralling  (in & out…giving & receiving…letting go…birth…death & rebirth) and seasonal cycles. Our psyches, minds, physical bodies, hearts & emotions are challenged and gifted with many of life’s learnings & teachings. For me this is “soulwork”.

I believe that living the gifts and passions that the creator bestowed upon us is part of our soulwork. When we do this, it is phenomenal the abundance and opportunity that are presented to us…how easy things become when we are in the flow of the cosmic heart beat. When we choose to be in the arms of love, not fear.

My spiritual wonder and healing journey are what guide me on this human path to knowing a deeper connection to a higher universal heart consciousness.

Soulwork invites us to push beyond the realms of this earthly pain & suffering to find balance in shifting our perceptions. To shape shift and re-arrange our attitudes and outlook toward this world we live in. To flirt with our own sense of healing & a global awakening. To meditate and come to a place of equanimity. To observe our own pain and struggles, our own ego’s judgements and self blame so that we can better understand other people’s pain…so we can all breathe in more compassion instead of violent thought or action.

At some point or another and possibly at different times in our existence, we come to a crossroads, a turning point, a crisis, a powerful act of initiation and awakening. We visit the wisdom of the wise old crone (to some this might be Baba Yaga!) and the innocence and magic of the fool.

We have a choice: the path toward more heaviness, fogginess, doubt and/or confusion, or the path leading to a new lightness, inspiration, purpose and potential. A path that invites us to be in sync with the moment.

For example, do we want to focus on the concrete landscape we live in as depleting our vital energy? Or do we want to focus on the wild rose blossoming and releasing its essence that stimulates us to feel alive, creative and awake? The second is an invitation to connect with one of the greatest artists around…mother earth. The most sacred muse. If we honour and respect our mother, she provides us with great abundance, as does this magical, mysterious universe.

We can still make the changes we want to see happen in our worlds. But how can we do this if we are not present with our intention, not centered, balanced, guided, supported and committed to the light and paradigms of our higher selves and truths…to each other in respect and compassion? What is our intention? In making decisions in our lives, what feels lighter? What feels good? Whose paradigm are we participating in, theirs or ours?

I offer this space “soulwork” as a space to share ideas and articles. A place to respond to questions. A place to share words of healing.

My wish is for us to try on and taste the notion of how the challenges, pains and joys in our lives are sacred blessings and teachings…our spirits calling us home through the passage of “soulwork”. May we greet these teachings with breath, openness, courage, powerful intention and gratitude, in order to hear the message. May we share in a moment of curiosity & gratitude to something little or big that fell into our spiritual lap today. May we practice compassion and patience with ourselves while walking this journey on earth. May we honour our moments of weakness as great strengths when we make the decision to breathe into these spaces, observe, let go, and create change, knowing that our one little act of choice & empowerment on a bad day speaks to the greater pool of consciousness.

Many blessings, strength, & wisdom.