The Living from your Soul Retreat (new name for 2008: Journey with Your Beloved) was originally designed as an exploration of ways to engage with your Soul’s voice – using non-linear practices that steer you away from your usual mind chatter and support you connecting with a deeper place inside yourself. We live in a culture that is on hyper speed and I believe that if we don’t slow down and take the time to connect with the depths inside us, we will lose what makes us unique, sacred beings. We’ll also miss out on our True Life. Listening to my own inner voice, I knew that I was seeking a place to hold this retreat that would offer a special environment for making this connection.
Enter Kelly Place. This special inn, located in McElmo Canyon holds many special treats…. Bordering the Canyon of the Ancients and gazing towards Sleeping Ute Mountain, in this temperate valley there are over 100 acres of hiking trails to explore the 25 on-site Anasazi ruins. While this 1000-year-old Native American culture has disappeared, their architecture remains and we can engage our imaginations in discovering the past. We can also engage in bringing to light our own hidden depths in the present.
I gathered this past weekend with 7 women in these special surroundings. We laughed, cried and shared the meaningful stories of our lives. We danced from our hearts to inspirational music and created Soul Collage cards, letting our Soul’s speak to us through visual imagery. But for me, the most powerful experience was our Journey into the traditional Kiva (underground ceremonial chamber in the earth) to hear the Voice of our own Beloved. Climbing down the wooden ladder, into the dark center of the earth can be a daunting experience. We are usually taught to deny or ignore the hidden corners of our life, yet we actually grow smaller living from this fear-driven place. It is this descent, this Journey into the Underworld, that offers us a chance to meet the dark mystery of our life and use it to find the wholeness we seek. As written in this poem of the goddess Inanna’s journey to the underworld by Starhawk, there are sacrifices to be made… vulnerability to expose:
The Descent of Inanna, by Starhawk
The Second Gate
The Second Gate is Fear
When you go down far enough
It arises
Wearing a helmet, armor
Wearing an enemy face
Carrying weapons
It blocks the gate
Fear says
Go back
And you hear what it threatens you with
If you go on
Fear says
Turn around
And you hear what it offers you
If you obey
Fear says
Something you alone can hear
And you know what it is.
Choose
To go on
You must take off your clothes
Lay down the cloak that keeps out the
Cold
And the shield that turns the spear
And the armor that turns the arrow’s
Point
Take off your breastplate and helmet
Fear doesn’t go away
But you walk toward fear
Naked
And the gate opens
Past the Second Gate you dance
Fearless in the open
Your skin one living organ
That embraces air
Our bodies sat in the dark kiva, while to the sound of the shamanic drums, our Soul’s took individual journeys accompanied by animal allies visualized earlier that day. My role was a sacred charge, to be still and hold the intention of each woman – to find more self-trust, to be healed, to learn their legacy – as they each experienced what was getting in the way. They opened themselves up risking all the things their egos threatened them with losing. And in that magical cave of Mother Earth, they found their resilience and expanded power. We gathered that evening and ritually shared each of our Journeys, deepening the meaning… singing over our bones. The stories and poems that I heard brought me an overflowing sense of joy. I was surrounded by living Goddesses, as they made themselves the heroines of their Lives.
Each one committed to an act that would bring alive her Soul’s longings in her life. She committed to stay in the conversation with her Beloved. And I knew that the Journey wasn’t over – there would be more insights as they continued to reflect on our weekend and all the Soulful practices we took part in together.
Are you living your life as the Goddess/God that you are? Are you in conversation with your Beloved? As we enter the more quiet, darker time of the year, perfect for this kind of inner work, how can I support you to step into your life this way? If you are interested in 1:1 coaching, a bi-monthly women’s group or nourishing retreats, please contact me to find out more.
