Visit our website www.alchemyoftheheart.net to explore more. Come visit me!! |
Look to Nature ….
Manifesting in Trust….
Greetings!
I pray this finds you full from a fruitful summer!! Mine has been a whirlwind! I’ve been thinking a great deal lately about what it is to Manifest. I have been told by many of my seemingly natural capacity for manifestation. And true; it is a realm I’ve navigated from comfortably for as far back as I can remember. My ability to manifest has recently put me in a unique position as we are in escrow on a home here in Laguna Beach that is the potential of a vision I’ve been holding for a long time. A place for community to gather and share love, food and ceremony. A place our children can immerse in the cultivation of future, sustainability and tribe. And it is pushing all of my buttons!
I was one of those children you’d expect to see on a farm. Bare, dirty feet. Ratty hair. Stained dress. Dark, inquisitive stare and a mischievous grin. The androgynous nature of my childhood in balance. I knew who I was. I was awake. And I always knew I’d be just fine. I was gonna make sure of it. And so I did. In both shadow and light, my late adolescent to now adult life has functioned at a high ratio of independence.
Clearly, independence requires manifestation as a basic survival principle. That’s a good thing, right …….? ..hmmm…
About fifteen months ago my life changed. Again. (noticing a theme here, ha!). I met Andrew and my heart cracked open. Since then, our love has had us both riding the scree of healing waters. Healing equates to Consciousness. And consciousness, whilst moving us toward ascension requires us to descend at the same time. Deepening to depth. The balance of light and shadow looks like a concurrent upward and downward energetic spiral meeting in the middle. And the higher we go into one realm we go equally deep into the other. The art of alchemy occurs in the collapsing and dissolving of both into one another. My recent manifestations are requiring me to trust that not only “I”, but “We” are worth betting on.
I’m having to let go the shadow side of my independence. I’m having to trust I don’t have to “do it all”. Every touch point of life is RIGHT NOW being alchemized in some form of change. Although having a strong man at my back has me willing to trust, this does not mean I know how. This is unchartered terrain for my heart. Thankfully, I’m learning to love and learning to let down my guard to trust. Having to trust means allowing others in. Allowing the universe in.
Manifestation occurs as that residing on the inner realm emerging to that of the outer. Essence becomes form. Simple as that. When we are not willing to see who we really are, we block our abilities to manifest clearly, instead creating chaos and confusion.
The alchemical qualities of the waters we immerse in dictate the degree we are “all clear” to create in accordance with our sovereignty. These days I’ve been immersed in love and lately I feel I am manifesting on overdrive. Relationships healed and healing. Dreams becoming my reality. And here again this diggin-in-the-dirt compulsion of mine has me right up against some deep shit. (I no longer say “the deepest” as every time I think I’ve hit the bottom I find more diggin’ room. ha ha….I love the humorous universe!)
The blessings I have been showered with in this life far surpass my traumas. Not a day goes by that I don’t bless myself, the Earth, and Father/Mother God Spirit, and my family. I trust, and yet I am aware that I am poised at the brink of a tremendous healing. The constructs that had me so fiercely independent my entire adult life (ie: “in control”) are melting like the icecaps at my feet. I am having to trust the masculine. Trust the man in my life. Trust the men in my life. Trust the boys. Trust the women. Trust. Trust anyone. Trust everyone. Trust Myself.
This may be the second time in my life I remember every feeling really afraid. An aspect of me is terrified. And yet another sits; legs dangling over a brick wall thinking “Really? You’ve been asking for all of what is being put before you. And you’re scared? Who are you?”
Gratefully I grasp the knowledge of what is being thrown into relief. In order to let in, I have to let down. I am having to walk my talk again. and again. and again. Reminding myself that it was me who said we must choose and re-choose again and again, love vs. fear. I am standing, my karma before me in a condensed rubber ball. I say again my mantra, “Yes, I am willing”.
I was visited by Joan of Arc last night. She too had to trust the men at her back. She spoke to me in length about faith. She told me it takes courage to experience ourselves as immersed in the alchemical wisdom of our Christ Consciousness and likeness. She said that those who come weepy and broken enter into the kingdom in humility and purity. That inheriting eyes to see comes from a pure heart and a pure desire for what is REAL. Initiations happen through seeing.
So thinking more of manifestation; what if we let go of illusory aspects of ourselves (our fears, and all that stops us), NOW? Can we accelerate the manifestation of wisdom???
I say yes. I say this is where the alchemy resides. It’s so simple really. In the process of loving, forgiving and trusting ourselves, we melt away the imprints of karma, lineage and trauma. We free the space for nature to populate our pure intelligence. It is beautiful and it is natural. It asks only that we be wiling to “ante up”. Put some “skin in the game”. Our courage. Our willingness. There is no margin of expectation or judgment here. Just nature.
Is it coincidence how being in nature has us simply feel good? I think of Mother Earth’s intelligence. It’s no wonder she calls us to cultivate the soil. To plant seeds and rejoice in the harvest! The bounty is the reward. We are worth it. We are worthy.
What about you? Are you a manifestor too? Are you worthy?
I say YES!
Visit my website www.alchemyoftheheart.net to explore more. Come visit me. She is speaking and has much to share!
In Love and Bounty, Carrie
One Circle….
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Expansion…..
Whew….It feels like its been a long while since I’ve been in communication with you all! You may want to settle in for this one as I feel there is a lot I have to share today!!!
The past several months have been very full….In April we journeyed with a group of twelve pure souls to Bali, shared teachings of spirit with Corporate Communications Leaders from around the globe in Las Vegas, and completed May in my favorite retreat with the “tribe” in Ojai over Memorial weekend. Between then and now, I’ve circled ’round the sun again turning 47….AND….Andrew and I have merged our families into one BIG happy family !!
Life has been intense for many…..and I am NO exception. My life is unrecognizable from what it was just one, two, or three years ago. One of the most profound “knowings” I have received is this: when we really get behind trusting spirits intelligence beyond our own, we are held in a state of Grace. One that reveals the truths of who we really are. So I ask you… “Have you let go? Are you ready to trust? Are you willing to be free?”
My thirst runs deep and when I recently said “YES” to whatever remained that wanted to change, transform, and grow in the fertile ground of my existence, I had no idea the blessings change would bring into my life.
I celebrated my 47th birthday last weekend with Peter Gabriel at the Santa Barbara Bowl. And what an amazing show it was….it showed me so much!
During the show, I had a profound realization. When I hung my shingle as “Alchemy of the Heart”, I put something in motion that I didn’t fully understand at the time. You see, we are ALWAYS exchanging our energy with spirit and all that is. When I declared myself an “Alchemist”, I didn’t realize at the time that I invited Spirit to show me the Alchemists Way…..I entered into the real classroom.
The Alchemist way is one of expansion – opening through vibration NEW FORM. I believe this is what we are being asked to learn about and what this “shift” we are experiencing is all about.
If any of you were at that show, you probably saw us. I was the woman dancing in the 4th row that was asked by security several times to sit down or leave. I was in shock. People were shouting at me with a mob-like mentality. Here I was, exchanging my devotion and respect for this Artist who is truly a Master of Energy….a modern day Alchemist. As I looked about I saw rows and rows of people sitting in such density. Uptight, Controlled, Stuffy, Rigid, Proper and seemingly AFRAID to move their bodies! It was so tangible, at one point Peter actually spoke to the “remarkable control the crowd was exhibiting”. Needless to say, I did not stop dancing. I got in that moment that somehow my dancing was creating an energy that wanted to be expanded, explored, and engaged with. I stayed clear and continued on from my seat and my feet. Peter and I shared an exchange of awareness and energy and information. An un-mistakable connection…. we were communicating telepathically and I was hearing the message underneath his words about the alchemy he was working with and the alchemical exchange in why I had to keep dancing.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the exchange of energy I experienced that night, specifically what it showed me about the collective “controlled resistance” present in the mass consciousness of that particular group, as this was only a microcosmic glimpse of the whole of humanity. I saw the literal dam that is wanting to break and the constructs of control desperately attempting to hold it in place. God forbid we actually “Let GO” and allow ourselves to expand!!
This has me contemplating the importance of ritualistic, devotional dance. Think about it, every culture at one point in time practiced ritual dance. Why do we suppose that was? I’m clear that there is great mystery and mystical “knowings” that are unlocked through this specific act of devotion. My body moved in ways it never moved before. It’s natural intelligence was showing me an ancient form of Alchemy…..most certainly why the act created such a charge around me. We must move our bodies. There is an intelligence wanting to awaken through our Bodies. An ancient wisdom of a particular flavor that I believe only awakens through the physical form. Why do so many walk around not truly “embody-ing” the physical form? Why do so many not allow space for unfamiliar and glorious gyrations of movement in the body? Why do we resist that which wants to open in us?
Ancient cultures knew of these mysteries and somewhere along the way we went into a collective slumber, wiping from us these memories. But they ARE stirring…and the whispering is getting louder. How do we attune to the listening? By raising our vibrational frequency. All matter exists in vibration and we are no different. Moving more energy through the body activates and actuates change. I believe the wisdom of all time exists in vibrational fields of frequency. And like a key in a lock, when our frequency raises we begin to match certain fields wherein knowledge resides. The only question really is “Am I a YES?”
Many of us are experiencing physical changes that I believe are part of an ascension cycle. Science is discovering significant changes at the level of DNA, particularly in children being born with an extra strand of DNA. It has been written that Jesus had 12 strands of DNA activated and that we have an additional 10 “etheric DNA strands” waiting for activation.
I believe we are being prepared to move more vibration and light frequencies through our physical form. I’m willing to propose that we are in the midst of the most significant leap in human evolution since we began to walk upright. I don’t know anyone who would deny we are experiencing some sort of “acceleration”. The Earth’s field is in fact speeding up and we exist within this field so it makes sense that our field too is accelerating. Perhaps this is how we will move from the density of this 3rd dimension to the more expansive energies waiting for us in the 4th. As I see it, this “Shift” is a process of liberation. We are shedding the shackles of hundreds of years of this collective slumber. We’re being shown openings to experience our expansion in power vs. force.
As I see it the work to do is to live fully in committed action to expand vibration and awareness. To choose not to be stopped in egoic fear or controlled resistance, but to allow those aspects to come along for the ride until they’ve been humbled into acts of service to spirit.
The most visceral experience I’ve known on my journey is the time I witnessed my ego literally bow down in service to my spirit.
We are not meant to “Kill the Ego”. In doing the work of Spirit, the ego actually learns to bow to the sovereignty of Spirit and fills with the essence of purpose vs. scarcity.
This all may sound complex, and in fact we are a complex piece of universal structure; but the truth is really very simple. We’re meant to love, feel full, laugh, play and share generously who we are. This helps us prepare our physical bodies to adapt to holding more frequency. To allow us to open to experiencing higher dimensions of existence.
If you desire to hear more clearly the impulses spirit is sending you….to feel the awakening in your soul….to know the alchemy of your heart, look to the simple acts which organically will have you experience the alchemy of a high vibration:
- Breath Deeply
- Touch and be Touched
- Dance a Dance of Devotion
- Take time out to Retreat and FEEL your Spirit
- Fill your home with Cooking, Friends and Laughter
- Go Outside and Hike in Nature
- Bring an Idea or Inspiration into FORM
- Laugh at your Ego and your Imperfections
- Romance Yourself Like a Lover
- Eat Fresh Food
- Spend Time in the Presence of High Vibrational Beings ….. ’cause it GETS ALL OVER YOU!
I’m clear that my life is about Living ….Expanding…. and Experiencing my Greatest Potential…..even if that means being a target of attack for those whom it makes uneasy. What’s interesting to me is “What is YOUR life about?”
Herein lies an invitation to share it with me or someone close to you. Have it “witnessed” in form….spoken and shared out loud!!!
As we prepare for Celebrating the Summer Solstice this month, let your spirit rejoice in the essence of its cyclical nature to expand and grow. Feel the creation that wants to move through you. Allow the exchange of energy to teach you of your unique genius in how you translate energy into form. But most of all until we share time together again, LOVE and let yourself FEEL GOOD!!!
In Love and Dedication to the Process of EXPANSION on the Planet,
Carrie Woodburn Alchemist of Movement, Energy and Form
Earth Day….
Earth Day, the ultimate Mother’s day. It is so important for us children to remember our mother and be thankful for all she does for us even when we don’t ask. Like any good Mother all she wants is for us, her children, is to reach our full potential, to find our gift and share it with the world, with our other Brothers and Sisters.
We are in the time of spring. A time when all of nature is full of new life. On the Medicine Wheel it is the time when we first come into life, when we are born. A time as humans that we begin our journey. On earth it is a time when seeds grow, flowers bloom eggs hatch… a time for renewal of all life.
Energetically we have the opportunity to apply all of this to what we are bringing forth in ourselves and in our lives. We can ask, what is asking to be born thru me? How will I allow this to happen? What is my gift, my purpose? Can I do this?
These questions show that as humans we are inquisitive, creators, doubters and believers. Somewhere in our lives we were shown to doubt our gifts. Even though our intuition shows us that we are all creators…. Gods. Someone told us we had to be perfect. What is perfection? I don’t know what that is, but I do know this. We are all just another part of nature. There is no perfection in nature. There are no two leaves the same, no two blades of grass or two sunsets the same. No tree is perfectly straight and no two animals are identical to each other. However, everywhere there is beauty.
When we strive for perfection we will become frustrated and tired. We may even give up. When you strive for beauty, you will find it. You will be content and happy. Beauty is where your gift to the world lives. Perhaps you are a speaker, painter, teacher, mother, father, sculptor or listener. How beautiful! It was never meant to be hard. Now is the time to relax into your heart, find your beauty and your gift to share. Allow the energy of spring renewal to let you see yourself with new eyes.
Peace,
Andrew
Generosity
One of the lovely un-predictable side effects of working within a construct of committed awareness is that it creates a container in the realm of the unknown that says “Here is a space open and available to be informed by the mysteries and the expressions of Spirit“. Herein resides a space available to the organic layers of energy, vibration, knowledge and understanding that are eternally wanting to be discovered and engaged with. I am so grateful for the sophistication and generosity of my own Breath, as it continually guides me deeper into the experience of undiscovered inner realms of my essence.
Our society is heavily immersed in a collective agreement of limitation and a basic fear of being fully expressed. It lives as an epidemic. The current is strong and it takes courage and commitment to eddy out of a this sort of deeply embedded structure. Where is the generosity in a structure of beliefs that support the seeing through comparative eyes and small stature? Where do we begin to impact change if not in our own ability to be generous with ourselves? Are we not meant to experience ourselves and eachother from a place of fulfillment….as the highest expression of Self? And if that is so, how then are we of service to God and to the Glory of this Life if we are withholding our own Glory? Questions perhaps worthy of further inquiry.
The societal constructs in our consumer driven world can have us spinning; and in the spin generosity can occur as something that comes at a high price called depletion, exhaustion, self-sacrifice or worse; abandonment of self for the sake of others. My life had me see deeply into a martyrdom style of generosity that carried a resonance of sacrifice, regret and resentment. Perhaps you know something of this from your own life or lineage.
Seeing this through the eyes of generosity can soften us into compassion for what we sometimes don’t even know we don’t know. Giving, assisting, charitable acts of kindness…. these are all good definitions for generosity. But can one truly be of service in the world if the foundation we serve from is one of limitation, lack, depletion or comparison? Are we generous when we keep ourselves small? Are we generous when we slip into the current of self-doubt? What if we peel it back a bit? Change our orientation to one of serving from a place of honoring the expression of our own essence. What does the act of serving from this place feel like to you?
I believe the essence of generosity is directly tied to our creative impulse. And the degree in which we are clear with our ability to be generous with ourselves, the clearer a mirror we become to reflect back the brilliance of others. The more brilliant a reflector we are, we become a demand for nothing less than sharing with and from a place of generosity of spirit.
Every time I board an airplane I am grateful for the safety reminder that tells me to “place my oxygen mask on first before assisting others”. It reminds me that taking care of myself ….honoring myself ….loving myself ….this is what allows for me to serve in a way that has my cup runneth over.
Our creative impulse is nourished when we sit upon the spring of our essence. In this we cultivate a rich and succulent ground for creation to spring forth. It is through our creation that we experience spirit’s generosity as it showers us in blessings!!!
So how does Generosity live in you? A good barometer is sometimes a simple check-in:
1. Are you feeling filled up – or depleted?
2. Are you resting in a trusting of your heart and soul – or are you leaping from judgment to fear to justification to comparison to defending to blah blah blah….?
3. Are you Generous toward yourself?
4. Are you sharing your deepest self – or withholding in the name of protection?
5. Are you of Service to yourSELF?
6. Can you feel the essence of bounty and liberation stirring in your soul – or are you in yearning?
7. Are you risking being “seen” – or are you in hiding?
8. Are you having fun and feeling playful – or experiencing frustration and sadness?
9.Can you think of 3 examples of how you express love for yourself?
Being willing to look through the eyes of Generosity at ourselves first is where the stretch lies. The version of self that you know now…that you are familiar and comfortable with…is good. Really good. There is nothing lacking in you right now. AND….through the act of Self-Generosity (Love), I can guarantee an opening to an experience of yourself that is deliciously more expansive….more creative….more playful….more bountiful and beautiful!
….take on BEING generous with you! Be Full! Take up Space! Be generous with the ones you love by sharing with them the expression of your unbridled joy!
Whatever your honored path, my desire for you is a deepening into your heart, your essence and your own expression of Generosity within!
Jump! And then Jump again! Spirit will catch you in Love….
Living in Joy
Today I find myself sitting with a query on my heart……and I wonder…..are we ready to live in a new paradigm of learning through joy instead of learning through suffering? It seems the collective has been deep in dense quagmire for a good long while, and while I’ve learned from and respect the value of going through the depth of darkness lying within our shadow aspects, I am sensing into a lovely and warm “up-draft” that has the potential to elevate us from this collective agreement of learning through trauma.
I ask myself “what does it look like to learn through joy? …..what does it require of us?” And what comes to my heart is a willingness to water the garden of pleasure. Not as in denying all else….. but as in delighting in all that is, and all that is not. Every tasks. Every emotion. Every thought. Every awareness. Everyone. All of these are our teachers.
I’m not interested in creating a false sense of optimism….we’re already faced with a high risk of being seduced into a vacant sense of optimism by a consumerized quick fix version of spirituality. Don’t get me wrong….I believe any form of spirit awakening to be of service to the almighty all, and honor that there are many paths to freedom, none requiring grandeur. I’m simply more interested in the depth of our ability to be in “right relation” with all that is. Our ability to live and breathe life as a practice of joy and fulfillment. As fully expressed.
Optimism is a powerful force…..when followed by right action. Right action allows us to experience our ability to respond to our hearts call. Right action teaches us discernment. Informs us of our intuitions wisdom. Right action leads us to transcending the constraints and restraints of old beliefs and fears. Allows us to hear spirits call and see our path more clearly. And leads us to lessons derived from joy!
How does one practice “right action”? I believe it is one of the most organic impulses we share as humans. An organic outcome that emerges when we learn to master the art of our most gracious guides….presence and delight.
The greatest responsibility we share is in “living” our spiritual expressions in our day to day approach with ourselves first. We simply cannot be in right action in the outer world if we aren’t walking that walk in the inner world first. My friend David Elliot so eloquently says “How we do anything is how we do everything”. This simple truth has become like scripture to me. A gauge to show me if the waters I’m swimming in are clear or murky.
Today, I invite you to take a look within. How does sanctity live in your wakeful responses to everyday life? Is the sacredness of life compartmentalized to “when you have time”? …or something you practice in every breath you take? Do you drink in all of life with your heart, eyes, ears and nose, or are your senses awakened only in rare moments of rapture?
We gain degrees of mastery through practice. Whatever form that practice takes, we can rest in the comfort of knowing we are building some rigor and flexibility in the depth of creation we unearth.
…..hmm….yes….can feel some potential here. One thing I know with certainty is that our process, when witnessed takes us to greater heights of awareness. As you feel called to share, I stand privileged to bear witness.
In love and dedication ~ Carrie
The work of men….
I would like to address this post to the men. I also ask that the women please read it as well since we cannot be complete men without the women in our lives.
In my life I have been privileged and honored to be around true warriors. Not just Native Americans of various tribes, but Maori, Samoan, Hawaiian, Asian and African as well. When I sit with them we talk. We share stories of old teachings on warriors and men. We talk about what it means to be a man for our loved ones, our communities. I listen as they share their teachings of the passage into manhood and the ceremonies that accompany this passage. I watch they eyes of these men as they share their experiences and how it has affected them forever. I see the peace in the eyes of elders whom are still men to be reckoned with as they settle into the years of life not trying to hold onto something that doesn’t belong to them anymore. They don’t know what mid-life crisis is. I dance with young men who are stepping up to learn the traditional ways. I think to myself, “Who would I be if I had started at that age?”
For the past ten years I have done work with and around many Men’s groups. I am often asked to run Sweat Lodges for them. I feel that it is a good thing for men to sit together and grow. What I have noticed is that there isn’t always growth. I see some patterns of men coming together with wounds. They peel the band-aid off and say, ” look at my owie”, and then the next guy says “ya? Well look at my owie”. Then they put the band-aid back on and come back the next week and say, “now look at my owie”. The next guy does the same thing and this goes on and on. A pattern of complacency occurs and the efficacy of the original intention is lost. This is not a blanket statement and I’m sure some people will get angry at what I am saying. That is not my intention however if you are getting your buttons pushed then I ask you to look at why.
I think it’s time to rip those band-aids off and take a little hair with it! Let it heal! Get a scar! Scars show that a healing has occurred and reminds you that the past was real. Almost every traditional initiation into manhood leaves scars. Without those very real markers in our lives how can we become the men we are meant to be? The old teachings require a man to be at a certain level with his word, actions, integrity, honor and compassion.
I will be 46 years old on my next birthday and am still learning. I have not lead a perfect life and there are people out there who may have issue with me. For that I apologize and welcome any dialog to clear things up. I want to walk with accountability and honor. Over the past few months my friend Dave Casper and I have been putting together a program for men that incorporates the old teachings. This program will not be an easy one. It will require that each man meet certain markers to move up thru the levels. It will challenge the physical body as well as the spirit, heart and mind. This program is to create leaders. There will be no followers. We will remember who we are meant to be and how to conduct ourselves accordingly so that our loved ones can always rely on us.
I will also be looking for a panel of strong women who would be willing to sit in front of this men’s group and field questions throughout the year. I feel that this is an important aspect for men to grasp. In the old ways part of a young mans initiation was to sit with the women for some time. When they were convinced that he learned to listen to the women in his life, they would pierce his left ear to show that he accomplished this.
I believe that in this time of great change and chaos in the world, we will be greatly served as we simplify and go back to the old ways. We need to remember our original set of instructions and walk together in a sacred manner.
If these words speak to your heart and spirit as a man I invite you to join us on May 14th. This will be a day of gathering and to introduce you to more of what this program has to offer.
In closing I want to thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter. For those who were looking at the Kayak trip, I am happy and sad to say that it is sold out however we are taking reservations for the fall trip October 13-16. We still have room on the Bali retreat April 7-17 as well as room for our Ojai retreat May 27-30. Anyone who is seriously considering coming to South Dakota to support the Sun Dance ceremony July 5-9, please let me know as there is much to inform you of in regards to preparation.
I hope and pray that you and your loved ones are all safe and healthy. The circle is strong and full of medicine.
Peace,
Andrew
Spiritual Meaning…
Okay….. I’ve tried three times to write something of importance. Truth is, I really don’t like to write. I am much better talking face to face. My other attempts contained all the usual rhetoric about holding space, lessons learned and opening up to what the universe wants for my highest good, blah blah blah…
I’ve noticed for a while that there are empty catch phrases that we use that really don’t mean a lot. Why do we use them? Probably because they sound good, (sort of) and nobody really knows what they mean and nobody wants to look foolish and ask, “What the hell does that really mean”? So we all speak a safe language that gives the illusion of spirituality and a safe umbrella for it to live under.
Sorry but I think it’s time to get real. Time to be accountable for our words and actions or lack of. Time to be specific with what we say and ask for. How else can we be supported with the clarity that we need? We are in the last four years of the Mayan calendar and this is a very crucial time. Many have said that this will be a cataclysmic time of destruction, Armageddon. According to ancient teachings and guidance from the spirit world, this is not true.
The Mayan calendar is a circle, which means when you get to the end, you just start over. If it were a straight line then there would be an end. The Mayans knew that it would take humans a long time to learn how to be. That’s why they created this calendar. It is true that there will be a celestial occurrence that will cause a powerful energy and vibration to fall upon this planet of ours. Things will happen on an earth level. Nature will be putting things in order.
A long time ago, I was told that it takes a whole year to learn something. We need to take our physical body thru all four seasons and our spiritual body thru all thirteen moons with whatever it is that we are set on learning in that time period. Since then, I always take this time to feel into what I am meant to learn in the coming year. So I ask you…… What is it that you will be learning this year? What did you learn last year?
This is a very important teaching to be aware of because as we enter in to this time, the vibration of the universe will affect us as humans and how we are as spiritual beings will directly affect how we navigate our way thru this time.
It’s like this….. those of us who continue to walk our path, continue to be spiritual warriors, will begin to vibrate at a higher rate. Those who choose not to continue the walk will vibrate at the same rate or even lessen their rate of vibration. We will see a separation occurring everywhere. In business, love, friends, even where we live. Things will be changing, put in order. Some of you may have begun to experience this already, I know I have. In the last year and a half I went from a four-bedroom house on a half acre of land to a 30 foot Airstream trailer. I went from running 3-5 lodges a week to zero. I lived in isolation in the middle of the redwood forest, sleeping when I was tired, eating when hungry and waking up when I was done sleeping. Being at one with nature and the rhythms of the earth. It was the perfect environment for me to take a good raw look at myself.
It doesn’t always feel good to look so deeply and honestly at ourselves, but it is necessary. In doing so I discovered that I was out of balance. Even though I was “strong” on my path, which is good, I was out of balance. I was shown a vision of a tall tree that had a long branch that came out from the left side, the spirit side. It also had a short branch on the right side, the physical side. I was told that I needed to develop the right side more to balance out my tree or it would fall over.
I am still working on it but I feel more in balance than I have in a long time. As I mentioned before, Sacred Ways is collaborating with Carrie Woodburn and Alchemy of the heart to share ceremony and teachings thru retreats and programs. Partnering up with Carrie is one of the beautiful ways that spirit has brought balance and love into my life and I am so grateful. I am also very excited as I look ahead at what this year has to offer. March 17-20 we will be running another Kayak trip on the beautiful Colorado River. Floating down the incredible Black Canyon, stopping to soak in the many natural hot springs and being one with nature is the cure for life’s busy pace. April 7-17 we are taking a group to Bali to experience a sacred alchemy and ritual retreat. May 27-30 will be in Ojai for an Integrative Breath work and ceremony retreat.
In the month of July I will be in South Dakota from the 5th-9th. This will be my seventh year Sun Dancing. I invite anyone who wishes to come out and support the dancers with your prayers to please do so. It is a rare life changing opportunity to attend a traditional Sun Dance. It is quite a journey so if you are interested please contact us to begin preparations.
I am also in the process of developing a program for Men that is unlike any program out there. It will be a four-year program that incorporates the traditional Men’s teachings and will require a very strong commitment level. It will challenge the Mind, Spirit and physical body. More details as it is developed…. I am proud to be a part of and to support a great new movie that will be released this spring called Discover the Gift. My dear friend and brother Demian Lichtenstein made this move that will have a great impact on the world. It is to help each of us discover our gift, our potential. Go to discoverhtegift.com and become part of the movement.
Well, I think that’s it for now… I hope to see you in this coming year. Blessings to you and all of your loved ones.
Peace,
Andrew
A New Year…
January 2011 – a new year…always a great time to reflect, complete and turn our sights to the future!!!
My life is in many ways unrecognizable from what it once was. I find myself in LOVE. Figuratively, literally, energetically and symbolically! The last six months have occurred for me like a vortex whereby anything and everything that was out of alignment began to come into order. Imagine a large opening funneling toward the eye of a needle. That which was not meant to pass through was left behind…..and that which was in right order was collected and brought through the eye to the other side. Healed. In Balance. Perfection. Glory. Love. Perhaps you too have experienced a form of “natural selection” yourself, yes?? One thing we can be sure of – anything in our lives that is out of integrity will surface now to be healed, requiring of us only honesty and a willingness to hold our heart in compassion as we move through to the other side.
The degree in which we can hold ourselves in love – free of judgment – will dictate the degree of ease and grace in which we will navigate life’s changes. I find my willingness to look with eyes wide open always facilitates a “quickening” of movement. Life flows with ease when I am willing to see all of who I am with love. I believe our true perfection can only breathe when we’ve liberated ourselves from the idea of perfection!!!! Perhaps you’re up for taking that game on this year! Read the rest of this entry »
