Month: May 2021

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The Weed Choked, Singing Labyrinth

Enjoying lunch outdoors last week in Pennsylvania, I realized I was close to the Seva Retreat Center.

Excitement bubbled through me. Ten years ago, I had the benefit of hosting a few of my Angelic Immersion Retreats at Seva. These were precious experiences and I felt a sudden longing to walk onto that property once more.  I googled Elstowe Manor (the main mansion) and Chelten House where we held our Immersions to confirm that the property had been sold to a company with plans to create a boutique hotel. 

Magnificent plans with no apparent follow through.  I wondered if the property was accessible. 

It seemed the choice to visit the grounds was already in play so I invited my lunch date to join me. Map quest enhanced the journey as we traveled through beautiful neighborhoods, a magical forest, and glimpsed the occasional house resembling a fairy tale. 

The gates were open. Prompting my heart to burst a bit.

While Elstowe Manor is magnificent, it was Chelten House, the site of our retreats, that drew me. I parked my car and stepped onto the driveway. Immediately, my breath deepened as visual images began to flood my inner vision. I felt I had returned to a sacred site. It was a homecoming of sorts.

A beautiful stillness pervaded the space. Poignant in its fullness. 

The house was locked up tight yet the grass was cut. Giving the impression that the occupants had stepped out for a bit of lunch. We wandered around the building as I shared stories of our retreats while peeking in windows and standing on open air porches. 

The wonder of those Angelic Immersions was upon me in full force.

After our exploratory window peeking tour, my partner in adventure headed home. I let myself wander through this stillness, feeling the peace of nature and the balm of the beautiful setting. I moved slowly as inner movies revealed memories of the women and men who attended the Angelic Immersion Retreats. These lovely people who contributed so much to the experience, allowing it to gain a richness far beyond my original intent.

I felt truly amazed at the enormity of the impact of four short days immersed together. 

With those who shared the intent to retreat from the everyday world in order to explore a personal connection with the Divine. The Angelic realm guided every step of these journeys. Bringing forth healing, connection, deep transformation, and a renewed sense of joy. Scenes of the transformation occurring throughout the retreat played nonstop, paired with evidence of continued evolution in these lives since the gatherings.

I realized how much I had trusted the Immersion process (and continue to do so).

How fully I let myself be led by the Divine as I facilitated the process. I was shown the seeds that were laid for my own growth and the work that evolved for me to share. Flooding me with gratitude, delight, and so much love. I witnessed the trust of these Retreaters as they entered every teaching, activity, and ceremony. And how this enabled me to become more receptive to the Divine information flowing through me. 

I saw how much I had learned from each Retreater. And how much more there is to receive.

My heart seemed to have lost its boundary and my being was filled only with love and appreciation. I went to the labyrinth to walk my gratitude and prayers for all who participate in the Immersion Retreats (past and present). This was fitting as we begin and end every Immersion with a ceremony at the labyrinth

I arrived at a weed filled, neglected labyrinth. And it was singing.

 

Welcoming me to recognize the Presence that awaits beyond every form for the partnership of walking in grace together.

I stood for some time as I processed the physical manifestation of neglect. The mind translating this with sorrow and as a representation of the neglect of Spirit. 

Here in this abandoned labyrinth. And in the thirsty souls populating our imbalanced world. 

Yet, the labyrinth was singing. I let go of my mind and entered the weeds with deep gratitude. Immediately I was shown a new practice for walking in the labyrinth. Shaking up some of my patterns and leaving me a bit freer. Walking in was for me. Walking out was for the Retreaters. It was beautiful and my time “retreating” there was complete. 

I left renewed. Grateful, inspired, and in love. 

Remembering the power of these Immersions to offer the perfect opportunity for personal transformation. Recognizing that I have so much more to receive, I look forward to our June Angelic Immersion with delight. I love the sacred space at Cranaleith Retreat Center and know the power that arises from our time together. This year holds a special sweetness as June 13th is our first live gathering in 15 months.

I invite you to spend a day immersing with the Angels, the natural beauty of Cranaleith, and the women who gather. Come home to yourself. We await your presence. 

It’s time to register for the June 13th Angelic Immersion Retreat. Purposely kept to an intimate gathering with Cranaleith COIVD safety protocols in place. Details may be found on my Retreat Page.

Peace be with you and with all.  No exceptions. 

HeartWarming

 News

Paying it forward. Acts of kindness serve you on many levels. Research shows they produce feel good chemicals, boosting mood and a positive affinity for your fellow humans. The world could use a bit more positive affinity from one member of the human family to another. In many wisdom traditions, the practice of sacred service is in play. Tithing or gifting, not as a practice of morality or to please a distant God, but as a grateful recognition that Life is abundant. Divine Nature is rich and overflowing. Longing to be shared. I just received a surprise, secret tithe. It touched me deeply. The consideration and the practice. Arising in me is a desire to pay it forward. There is more than enough. Let’s share, shall we?

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The Reemergence. Stepping into the Light.

A seemingly long time ago, a pandemic arrived in our towns. We entered quarantine a bit shell shocked but hopeful for a temporary respite. When the date for “normal” was pushed back, we engineered creative solutions to our circumstances.

Outdoor visits, neighborhood singing, zoom game night, food drives, and even old fashion letter writing.

Along the way, as the summer’s warmth faded and quiet holidays passed, the gray cold winter zapped more than our vitamin D. We became less likely to reach out to friends and our social circles shrunk.

We turned further inward. Seeking comfort in the known.

By week’s end, our brains were fried by screen time and colleagues voices in our air pods. The kids were tired and parents’ nerves were frayed. Play dates, travel, dinners out, and de-stressing at the gym became dim memories.

Eventually it became easier to shrink to the confines of our restricted lives.

Perhaps the Scottish writer, Donna Ashworth, captured the zeitgeist of these lonely winter months.

We are spent.
We have nothing left to say.
We are tired of saying “I miss you” and “I cant wait for this to end.”
So we mostly say nothing, put our heads down and get through each day.

And then the light returned. A promise of Spring. A bit of warmth.

Still, so many remain tired. Feeling tumbled about like a seashell in the surf. The grief of personal and shared losses dampens our capacity for optimism. Our social recovery has been slow. We seek to define the unknown. To package it in terminology we can stomach.

As if the “new normal” is in anyway palatable.

We share a longing for contact with our species, yet a pervading discomfort remains. Leaving us hesitant. Tentatively peeking out the proverbial front door, we wave to our neighbors but don’t yet invite them to dinner on the deck.

It’s no longer just a fear of contracting COVID or placing others at risk.

A general malaise with a side of withdrawal is lingering in our population. From mild uneasiness to full blown experiences of depression and anxiety, the withdrawal from social contact becomes self protective.

We’re tired of talking about the pandemic and its effects.

But what is left to say? As the world closed down and our lives grew smaller, our social world contracted. And even while the light returns and outdoors beckon, many are feeling less than interesting or perhaps downright antisocial. Loneliness, insecurity, or a vague sense of dis-ease has taken root within us.

We have pandemic fatigue. Some worse than others.

 

Let’s not judge ourselves or our neighbors.

Like the lingering aftermath of an illness, a grief or a shock, we are in recovery. That makes sense. We long to feel the ground solid beneath our feet, the wind in our hair, and our face warmed by the light. We seek a future that promises to be bright.

Hopeful for the reemergence that we can’t quite name. Or trust.

For now, we rest when we are tired. We whisper kind words to the hesitant one who lives within us. We seek to understand how to decrease loneliness without compromising our need for solitude. We take our time coming back to life. Back to each other.

Letting the natural world model how it’s done.

Slowly. Each blossom beckoning gently to our wounded psyche. Offering hope and the potential of healing to all those inner places affected by the layers of upheaval – personal and global. We watch the Earth around us bloom and brighten. Slowly, yet persistently. And if we look closely, while we move gently, we notice something profound is happening.

Life is softly beckoning. Revealing the process of reemergence.

We respond to this invitation. Strolling beyond closed doors and boundaried yards to seek our playmates and awaken the interest in living. We venture into the wider world, boldly or with great hesitation. It is not the way we step back in, but the intent to do so.

Turning our faces to the light. Willing to consider a future that is bright.

Peace be with you and with all.  No exceptions. 

HeartWarming

 News

Finding Awe in the Ordinary.  You know the power of nature to restore your wellbeing. And surprise you with its creative presence. Cultivating a sense of awe in the wonder around you (or viewed on screen) gives a boost to your mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health. Here’s one guy’s little video about seeking awe.  Nature is waiting for you. Get off the couch if you can. Or find a nature documentary and watch it on your biggest screen if you can’t.