Be the Calm

Photo credit: Catherine Huang

“Make your heart be a lake with a calm, still surface and great depths of kindness”
~Lao Tzu

These are interesting and difficult times.  Between the responses to the elections, the violence against the Water Protectors at Standing Rock, and many numerous personal traumas/dramas my friends, clients, and family are facing, life can be overwhelming.  And I have heard this from many.
Fortunately, I know that when life is difficult, there is a learning opportunity near.  For me this lesson is to be calm and centered.  When we allow ourselves to get caught up in the drama, we lose sight of the bigger picture.  Suddenly, it becomes easier for us to lose our footing and we end up feeding the chaos.  However, if we can meet the challenges with calm, we allow ourselves to discover solutions that otherwise we would have missed.
Of course, it’s okay if we get swept up, we always have the option of regaining our center.  I was reminded of this lesson recently.  I came home from Standing Rock on the 19th with a little cold.  On November 20th, I watched in horror for hours with tears streaming down my face as law enforcement shot water at my brothers and sisters in below freezing temperatures and shot clouds of tear gas among other atrocities.  The next day, my cold became something else, until the point that I collapsed and was loosing consciousness.  As I was recovering, I heard one of the Protectors speaking and he reminded people to “Be like a Rock” for a rock that is grounded does not get washed away by the water, it moves the water.  He said to “Be like a Mountain”, for a Mountain does not get blown about by the air.  Here was my medicine.
I know that when I am centered and calm, I can accomplish great things.  One of my gifts from St. John’s Wort this summer was realizing how much can be done by simply aligning myself with the Plants and concentrating on my Heart.
This is a simple task and yet it is challenging to remain calm when chaos is all around.  The good news is that when you remain calm, you bring calm to the situation.  So how does one do this?  The first task is to find your center.  My suggestion is to spend time in Nature, particularly with a Tree, a large Rock, a Mountain.  Tap into their energies.  When I need to center, I connect with these.  I also ground.  I send my roots to the center of Earth and my branches to the center of the Universe.  I feel my connection to all.  I focus on my Heart, for when we are in our Heart, we are naturally calmer and operate with a wide perspective.  And of course, breathe!
I think that it is also important to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.  We have known for a long time that the paradigms are shifting.  The anger, hate, and attacks that are coming forward are the vestiges of the white-supremacist, patriarchal system which is scared to lose power.  The United States was founded on this form of power and this is the basis for our culture.  Therefore, as the paradigm is shifting, our own shadows, particularly those connected with the old paradigm are coming to light.  In the great scheme, this is good, really good; though it may feel awful.  When you are confronted with the Shadow, whether your own or another’s, I encourage compassion.
This is a great time to concentrate on personal healing, particularly releasing the old patterns and limiting beliefs, healing the Heart wounds, and preparing the physical body to receive greater amounts of energy.
The way I see it, we are being asked to Be our Highest Selves, NOW!  All the lessons, all the healings are being put to the test.  Can we meet the challenge?  Can we hold up a mirror of compassion and Love to the Shadow?  Can we remain calm and centered?  Do we dare to Be what we came here to Be?  Can we receive everyone with kindness and gentleness?  Can we Be Love?
I say YES!!
I hope you do too.  If we slip or stumble, remember we live in the Universe of Perpetual Second Chances.  This is all a learning opportunity.

Much Love and many Blessings!

Reflections from Standing Rock

My son and I have recently returned from supporting the Water Protectors at Standing Rock in North Dakota.  Many people have asked me to share our experience.  It is difficult to put into words the many feelings, observations, and experiences.  In truth, we are both still processing and I imagine will be for some time.  My immediate impression and the one that stays with me is that this is a place of Beauty and generosity.

Before I share more, I feel the need to explain that I am simply sharing my viewpoint from my very limited time there.  There is no way that I could ever speak for the Lakota/Nakota/Dakota people.  We were only at the Oceti Sakowin Camp for 6 days.  I was there to support the Medic + Healer Council and my son was building and helping the camp prepare for Winter.

When you enter camp, you are greeted by a combination of security/welcoming party.  They ask questions, wanting to be sure that you are there to help.  They also stress the absolute rule that no weapons, alcohol, or drugs are allowed in the camp (or in a person in the camp).  And then they want to help orient you to where you need to go.  They call you sister.  They say, “Welcome!  Thank you for being here.”  They say, “Welcome Home!” 

I need to back up a bit.  This was my first time in North Dakota.  The main highway (1806) to the camp from Bismarck is closed just north of the camp.  There is an alternate route, that is longer.  On our day of arrival, there were actions on this alternate route and that road was also closed.  We were re-routed by a nice officer down other “routes” which were actually dirt roads.  The landscape here is stark, very limited Trees.  At this time of year, almost everything is brown.  It is mostly flat, so you can see for miles.  And the sky is immense!  It is also very windy, dusty, and cold (though in reality the temperature was significantly higher than normal).  This area has an intense Beauty that pulls at the inner artist, yet you know there is no way this can be captured.

As you approach the camp there is a sign that asks you to “Please drive prayerfully”.  So the mindset and the realization that you are at werk with the Sacred occurs long before you reach the welcoming party.  You drive by the camp before you can enter.  From the road, you can see hundreds, probably thousands of flags and signs from around the world supporting the Water Protectors.  And you begin to take in the immenseness of this place and this moment.

As I was there to help the Medic + Healer Coucil and was only there for a short time, I was focused on doing as much as I could.  Therefore, I did not get to participate in any of the ceremonies.  However, prayer was everywhere.  I knew before I arrived that I should bring a skirt to wear in ceremony.  Once there, I learned that ceremony is every moment, so please wear the skirt at all times.  While I worked, I could often hear prayers and medicine songs over the PA speaker.

The Medic and Herbal tents were moving into beautiful, warm gers while I was there.  My first night, I helped the medics sort through their inventory.  There were huge piles which took many days to go through.  My last 2 days at camp, I was sorting through donations of herbal medicines and putting them where they lived.  This was so overwhelming and I was brought to tears often (from the generosity).  The amount of support is greater than I could ever imagine.  I have never seen so many herbs in one place.  Everything was overflowing.  A truck would pull up and more boxes would be delivered.  There were times that I wanted to say, “No more!”  And then I had to stop and remind myself what this was.  Yes, these were herbs.  More than that, they were support, they were Love, they were prayers from around the country!  Of course, the tears would start flowing again.  It is difficult to witness/receive this enormous amount of generosity and it is also very beautiful.  Every once in awhile, I would step outside to get a breath or do something and I would see truck loads of firewood being delivered or truckloads of building supplies that someone donated.  Every day there are hundreds of people arriving to show their support, most with a car load of donations.  Take a walk around camp and you see food, clothes, solar panels, you name it, all donated!  And with each donation, there is another wave of energy that helps to fuel the Protectors.  

I was reminded several times that this is a resistance camp.  That was a good reminder, because from where I stood it looked like a utopia.  People are kind to one another.  Generosity flows everywhere.  People, regardless of their training and expertise, are willing to help do anything including picking up trash and doing dishes, for in reality most of the work here is very unglamorous.  There is a recognition and understanding that we are all related and we are asked to leave our egos outside of camp.  Humility is one of the guiding rules.  (We were asked to follow the Seven Lakota Values - http://www.ocetisakowincamp.org/seven-lakota.)  And synchronicity was abundant.  I am used  to things appearing at the right time, but I have never seen anything like what I witnessed at Oceti Sakowin.  You ask for something, turn around and a stranger unknowingly hands you a donation of exactly what you wanted.  And this wasn’t just my experience.  It was a common experience.  On top of all of this, I got to witness the medics, herbalists, midwives, body workers, and mental health professionals working together and supporting one another!  This is something that for ages I knew we could do and it was happening right in front of my eyes.  I saw medics do what they could for someone and then suggest that they go next door to the herbalists.  And similar actions from everyone there.  It was understood that by sharing experiences and modalities people could get a more complete healing.  

Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t perfection.  There are thousands of people at camp from such varied backgrounds and many have serious wounds/traumas that they bring with them, including the generational trauma of the Indigenous who have been suppressed and abused for hundreds of years.  We all were/are learning how to live with one another in community, how to support each other, how to heal one another, and how to heal ourselves.  All while joining together to protect the Water and honor the Sacred.  And of course, many of the traumas are triggered and created by the abusive behavior of the Police and DAPL security.  (Note: while we were there, the actions were fairly calm.  This was before the horrible attacks on November 20th.)

Still from where I was, this is a beautiful community of Love.  And that is a scary thing to those who are “in charge”.  For you cannot control people who know their worth and who are in touch with their power.  This is why people who are armed with smudge sticks and prayers are said to be violent.  This is my first time experiencing aggression and hatred like this and it has me reeling.  Which also has me coming to terms with my “White Privilege”, for I realize that for many people in this camp this is not a new situation. 

On our way home, I tried to put my address into the GPS, though it wouldn’t recognize it.  I could not remember what my house number was.  I eventually asked my son.  I told him I thought our number was 1806.  He just looked at me because that is the road that Oceti Sakowin camp is on and I realized that our greeter was right, I did go Home.  My Heart and prayers continue to be with the Water Protectors.  I am incredibly grateful for those who stand up for the Waters and the Land.  I am grateful for the lessons I have learned and continue to learn.  I am grateful for the “law enforcement”, Energy Transfer Partners, and the others who have lead to this time where our shadows are brought into the daylight and we can begin to “come correct” and for the great opportunity to practice forgiveness.  I am grateful for the reminder that at the Heart we are beautiful people with an enormous capacity to Love. 

Mni Wiconi!

Healing with Our Ancestors

“If you look deeply into the palm of your hand you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors.  All of them are alive in this moment.  Each is present in your body.  You are a continuation of these people.”  

~Thich Nhat Hanh

This is a very special time of year.  The veils between our world and the Ancestors’ are thin.  Therefore, this is a great time for healing and receiving guidance, as well, as a fabulous time for honoring the ancestors.

Through genetics, we know the importance of our ancestors and their health on our own health.  Through epigenetics, we know that our ancestors have an even bigger effect on us.  For along with their genetic information, they also pass down their thoughts, beliefs, fears, and feelings.  Most of these live in our subconscious minds and they can have enormous effects on our lives and culture.

For instance, ancestors who lost everything in the great depression may pass along a belief of scarcity to their progeny.  This can appear in many ways.  Maybe they hoard (money, food, things), maybe they continually are broke or lose their jobs, maybe they refuse to help others, maybe they continue the story of losing everything, or maybe they are obsessed with earning as much money as they can.

To become conscious individuals, I believe it is our responsibility to take ownership of our previously subconscious beliefs and heal or shift them if necessary.  One of the greatest ways to honor your ancestors is to heal and clear the burdens and limiting beliefs they carried.  Through our healing, we are able to heal our ancestors as well as the future generations.

If you do the work of healing your ancestral lineage (or even simply research your lineage), you discover that we each have oppressors and oppressed among our ancestors.  Or as Helen Keller states, “There is no king who has not had a slave among his ancestors, and no slave who has not had a king among his.”  Therefore, I think that it is important that we do this work with an open Heart and free of judgment.

If we look at our current events, we can see the subconscious beliefs of our ancestors bubbling up.  It is time that we lay to rest the belief that we or anyone is better than another person.  This belief has been promoted through racist, sexist, homophobic, and other hateful words and actions.  And it is false, as we are all connected.

Another belief that needs to be healed is the belief that we are separate from Nature.  This is an impossibility, we are Nature.  This belief has allowed us (and our ancestors) to pollute, clear-cut, mine, drill and create other forms of destruction.  Around the world, we can see the challenge of this belief.  To me, this is most evident at Standing Rock, where protectors are gathering to say, “This is our Mother, you may not bulldoze her.  The water is our medicine, you may not pollute her.”  This is exciting and the ancestors (and Nature Spirits) are happy to see this.

These are only 2 rather large beliefs that are effecting our culture.  Most of us have other beliefs, fears, or patterns that we inherited from our ancestors.  I often encounter these in the healing sessions with my clients.  As quantum physics tells us, we create our environment and life based on what we believe.  Therefore, it is important that we align our subconscious beliefs with the life that we want to live; rather than be held captive to our limiting beliefs.  This can be done in a number of ways.  I work with Flower Essences, Plant Spirit Healing, and PSYCH-K to help with limiting beliefs and to heal the wounds of the ancestors.

Thich Nhat Hanh writes, “We know very well that we have ancestors. But our ancestors are not only human. We have animal ancestors; we have plant ancestors; and we have mineral ancestors...  Not only were they part of us in the past, but they continue to exist within us. Just look deeply into your cells. We see that we are the whole history of life.”  While this is a great time of year to work with and honor our human ancestors, we can also connect with our other ancestors, including those of the Star Beings.

Here are some ways to work with your ancestors:

• Create an altar for them
• Learn about your heritage
• Make special family recipes
• Set a place for them at your table
• Share family stories or read cultural fairy tales
• Ask them to visit you in a dream
• Say prayers for them
• Have a special candle that you light in honor of them
• Do a healing ceremony for your ancestors
• Spend time in Nature
• Cedar and Corn are two Plants that help with ancestral work

There are many more ideas.  Mostly, keep your ancestors present in your daily life.  This helps to keep their memory alive and allows you to receive guidance and support from them.  If you are adopted or did not know your ancestors, you can still work with them and honor them.  I would do journey work with them and ask them to visit my dreams.  It is amazing what you can learn in this fashion.    

And know that when you honor your ancestors, you honor yourself and vice versa, when you honor yourself, you honor your ancestors.  So follow your Heart and live the life of your dreams.  Your ancestors have given much for you to have the life that you have.  You allow their memory (and in some way, their lives) to continue. 

Evolving Beyond Toxic Masculinity

There has been much in the news lately demonstrating Toxic Masculinity: the Trump rhetoric, the Stanford rape case, the mass shooting at Pulse.  As with everything, I recommend looking at the whole picture (as much as we can) to see what energies are at play.

Around Summer Solstice last year, I participated in a Mugwort Sacred Plant Initiation.  One of the gifts that I received from Mugwort during this ceremony is that she took me to another dimension.  From this place, I could see the whole of our dimension.  I could see how our dimension fragments everything, so that we see good/bad, etc.  However, from this higher dimension there is not fragmentation; the good/bad of our dimension is all the same, they both serve the same purpose.

In our current dimension, these are atrocious acts and yet, on another plane, they are part of the Beauty.  These acts are part of the goal to bring more Light into this world, to help us evolve.

So let’s talk about Toxic Masculinity.  First of all, I want to stress that this is not male bashing.  I have witnessed females expressing toxic masculinity.  We all have masculine and feminine energies, in fact, as we are starting to witness, gender is a more fluid construct than most previously thought.  Toxic masculinity is one of the byproducts of Patriarchy.  It is the expression of the “power over” dynamic.  It is also the epitome of the illusion of separation.  Toxic masculinity occurs when someone uses a power over dynamic to hurt another (in any form) or to make themselves feel better.  

Patriarchy and particularly this dynamic has contributed to many wounds in our society.  And not just for women, I think the men are the ones most hurt by patriarchy.  We know that patriarchy is ending, it no longer serves our society, our evolution.  As any good healer will tell you, often before you completely heal from a dis-ease or trauma, there is a last hoorah - one last, giant outbreak or breakdown.  I believe that this is what we are seeing with the toxic masculinity.  People who think that they have benefitted from the “power over” model can feel things shifting and it scares them.  So like any frightened animal, they will try to make themselves bigger to appear more fierce, they may even go on the attack, but what they are really expressing is their fear and insecurity.

As best we can, when we witness or experience toxic masculinity, it is in the highest good if we can meet this with compassion.  To see beyond the false front.  While we want to meet this with compassion, it is also important to name it.  To let those who are expressing their fear in this way know that this is not acceptable and of course to model a different way.  To help them understand that they have nothing to fear.

Patriarchy is ending.  The Feminine energy is increasing.  This does not mean that we are returning to Matriarchy.  This is a balancing.  Our evolution is about Unity Consciousness.  This means that all are honored and that we evolve together.  There no longer is an us/them dynamic (there never was).  We are the same being.  When we hurt someone (or some “thing”), we are also hurt.  This is why it is important to meet those who display the toxic masculinity with compassion, for they are also hurting.  No one has ever been healed by being shamed or attacked.  We heal through Love.  We heal by being seen.

So on this longest day of the year (for the northern hemisphere), when the Light is the strongest, I invite you to align yourself with this Light.  Allow yourself to feel the shift that is occurring and to remember that these acts are part of our evolution.  I invite you to meet fear and anger with compassion and Love both in others and within yourself.

And of course, there are many Plants that are here to help us.  They are here to help us regain balance, to heal the wounds of patriarchy, to evolve, to open our Hearts, to become Beings of Love and Compassion.

This is a small list of Plants/Essences that can help do this.  Unless otherwise noted, these are Essences from Brigid’s Way, they may have a different action and description than Essences of the same Plant from another company.  (You can always work with the Plant Spirits of these Plants.  The Essences from Brigid’s Way do contain the imprint of the Plant Spirits.)

Rose: Rose is the Queen of the Heart.  She holds our Hearts so tenderly, allowing them to expand even further.  She is a balancer of the masculine and feminine energies.  She teaches us how to be strong and soft at the same time.  A new form of strength which is needed for our evolution.

Male Fern: Male Fern heals the wounds of patriarchy and religion.  He is Phoenix energy and helps us find nourishment and strength among the ruins.   Male Fern helps us connect to ancient Sacred wisdom.

Motherwort: Motherwort is a boundary setter and protector.  She is Mother Bear.  Motherwort is also a balancer, helping us to balance the masculine and the feminine, and has a particular affinity for men who are not in touch with their feminine qualities.  For women who lack courage and masculine energy, Motherwort can help.

Blackberry Lily: Blackberry Lily is an incredible Essence for anyone who has experienced sexual abuse (one of the worst displays of toxic masculinity).  This essence clears the trauma from your energy field, which immediately heals the wounds and allows you to re-member how to have a healthy sexual relationship.  (Brigid’s Way does not currently have this Essence for sale.  I use Delta Garden’s Blackberry Lily with my clients.)

Queen Maeve: Queen Maeve is both Goddess and a historical figure.  She is fierce and feminine at the same time.  This Essence connects to the Divine Feminine, both in the greater world and within.  Queen Maeve is very empowering, giving strength, fierceness, and resiliency.  This Essence strengthens the feminine force within both males and females.

Achiote: Achiote is a protection essence, the Plant of the Warriors.  Achiote helps piece back together the wounded, lending strength and sense of wholeness.  This Essence is good for recovering from abuse; increasing self-confidence, and improving body image. Achiote helps recovery from eating disorders and taps into Hidden Wild Wise One. 

Grandmother Ayahuasca: Grandmother Ayahuasca is a Master Plant.  She is a guides our evolution by helping us connect to Nature, Divine, All, the Great Oneness.  More than connect, Grandmother Ayahuasca reminds us of our Oneness and helps us to experience the Divine.  She opens our Hearts to Nature and the Divine and allows us to experience the sensuality of Life.  This is a great shamanic journey Essence.

Hila: Hila is a protective Essence, she is the guardian of the Forest.  Hila also helps to clear trauma from the energy field and brings us back together, creates wholeness.  Infuses one with deep reverence for Earth and her Beings.

Be Still Tree: Be Still Tree fills you with great Peace and Presence, softening the edges, dissolving the separation, connecting with the Flow of the Universe.  Be Still Tree clears the debris, like shedding layers, increasing one’s vibrancy, filling with Golden Light, bringing into alignment with one’s soul path, with Unity Consciousness.  Assists with both Karmic and Ancestral Healing.

Calla Lily: Calla Lily is the Essence of Mother Mary.  This Essence helps us know compassion and increase our ability for compassion.

Tulsi: Tulsi is another major evolutionary guide.  Tulsi helps to connect our Hearts with the Holy Heart, the center of all.  Tulsi also reminds us of our soul’s purpose and can guide us through soul challenges.  Tulsi brings a soft, healing energy and helps us to (en)lighten.  (You can experience the depth and beauty of Tulsi during the Tulsi Sacred Plant Initiation.)

May the Light shine Bright within you and illuminate your path ahead.  May compassion fill your Heart.  May you re-member your connection to all.  May you be Love(d).

Blessed Solstice to you!

Lessons and Gifts from Pink Lady's Slipper

Pink Lady's Slipper is a rare native Orchid which grows in the Northeast.  After a 29 year search, I recently reencountered her.  This is a sharing of some of the lessons which I have learned from her.  (I have learned more and I know that there are many more to come.)

Community:

One of Pink Lady’s Slipper’s (PLS) gifts is to help us live in community and cooperate with others.  The seeds of PLS do not have food to support them through germination.  Instead PLS has created a symbiotic relationship with a fungus.  This fungus will break open the seed and attach threads to feed the seed.  When the plant is mature enough to produce her own food, she feeds the fungus.

Pink Lady’s Slipper assists us in opening to our community, towards broadening our definition of community.  Often we have particular belief about who we want in our lives, PLS helps us to release these limitations which allows us to discover healing and gifts we were otherwise limiting.

Music of the Plants:

About a month ago, after a Music of the Plants presentation, someone asked me about connecting the device to Plants who live outside.  Since there are many roots in any area of soil, she was curious how we could be sure that we were listening to the song of a particular Plant.  While we were listening to PLS, my friend asked me a similar question.  To be honest, this is something that I have been grappling with, my method was to set an intention to connect to a particular Plant’s roots.  This question presented itself because we could clearly hear PLS responding to the shifts in energy of the Mountain.  In particular, when humans would come by, she would quiet and slow down.  The answer that I received that day is that the song we were listening to is the song of the Mountain as interpreted by Pink Lady’s Slipper.  When a Plant becomes a good singer, what she is doing is interpreting the energy of her environment.  We can think that the song from the potted Plant is more pure because there are not other roots; however, this is analogous to extracting a compound from a Plant and saying this is the healing component.  We know that the real power lies in the wholeness; the more “pure” song is that that contains all the connections.  This does not mean that the song from a potted Plant is not healing or powerful, for it definitely is.  For sure, Plants have ways of connecting beyond their roots.  It is just a reminder to keep us from getting carried away with our pseudo purity.  Purity has come to represent the absence of other substances.  We have become somewhat obsessed with sterile environments, particularly focusing on anti-bacterial soaps, etc.  However, Purity is when something is True and in alignment with the highest possibility.  This occurs when we live in balance with all life, honoring the fullness and the varied aspects of diversity.  This is where the richness and magic lives.

Stewardship:

Pink Lady’s Slipper is a reminder of our delicate balance.  She once grew in abundance in this area.   Though now she is very rare and is listed on United Plant Savers’ “At-Risk” List.  (There are areas of the country where she is thriving and supposedly in “abundance”.  Because of this, there are some people and groups who propose that she is not endangered and think that it is okay to harvest her.  I don’t live in one of these areas and this has not been my experience with her.  I also think our idea of abundance may be skewed because PLS was over harvested before we were alive.) PLS was over harvested for her medicine (and I imagine her Beauty).  She helps with nervousness and can help with epilepsy.  However, she is also a slow grower (generally takes 7 years to produce a flower) and requires specific growing conditions.  PLS is a reminder of the beauty (and healing gifts) that we can lose if we do not take care of our Home.  

Pink Lady’s Slipper and Sexuality:

When I first met PLS, he looked like a pink sac, frankly like a scrotum.  Another name for PLS is Moccasin Flower, I felt that this was more fitting for the flower felt rather masculine to me, delicate yes, and masculine.  As I went about my herbal and Flower Essence studies, I often heard PLS described as being feminine.  Her blossom was said to resemble a vulva.  I really couldn’t understand this.  Until I sat with her again.  For as the flower matures, an opening forms in the middle of the pink “sac”, which most definitely does look like a vulva.  According to the USDA: “Bees are lured into the flower pouch through the front slit, attracted by the flower’s bright color and sweet scent. Once inside, the bees find no reward, and discover that they are trapped, with only one point of escape. Inside the pouch, there are hairs that lead to a pair of exit openings, one beneath each pollen mass. The bee must pass under the stigma, so if it bears any pollen from a visit to another flower, it will be deposited before picking up a fresh load on the way out.”

This is beginning to paint a picture of the very sexual nature of Pink Lady’s Slipper.  And indeed this is a Plant of extreme sensuality and sexuality.  The Flower Essence can be used by individuals who are sexually shy or who have difficulty embracing and expressing their sexuality.

As I shared my story with my friend about first thinking that the blossom was a scrotum, we began to wonder if Pink Lady’s Slipper could help Transgender individuals.  Well, the answer from PLS is “Yes!”  

As we listened to Pink Lady’s Slipper sing, I felt such strong Kundalini energy rising.  My body began to vibrate.  It was amazing and intense and lasted many hours.  I think this healing gift is important for our culture now.  As I have said before, we need to shift and heal our mainstream view on sex.  Sex has become another way of having power over and another way of debasing women.  This is not how it is meant to be.  Sex is meant to be a way to connect with the Divine including the Divine within oneself and one’s partner.  Sex is a way in which to succumb to and become Love.  Pink Lady’s Slipper can help us to reclaim our innate Divine Sexual Being.

Pink Lady’s Slipper and the Heart: 

PLS also opened my Heart even further.  When I listen to the Music of the Plants, my Heart automatically opens or put another way, I automatically move into my Heart space.  Pink Lady’s Slipper helped me to move to a new level of open heartedness of being able to give and receive more love and of connecting deeper with all of Nature.  My Heart remains open.  I generally think of myself as an open-hearted person and I concentrate on bringing more Love into this world.  However, as I continue to learn, our Hearts can (and need to) open more.  We have been conditioned to fear including to fear Love and to fear heartbreak.  While heartbreak generally isn’t pleasant, what it is doing is helping your Heart to expand more, so that if you are willing to process your pain, you are able to experience more Love.  Heartbreak also helps us to learn the lessons that we agreed to learn in this life.  If we want to evolve and grow, we need to open our Hearts wide, we need to live in our Heart space, and we need to Love more (including loving ourselves).  Pink Lady’s Slipper can help us with this.

Right timing:

As I wrote in my earlier blog piece, "Of Plants and Magic", Pink Lady's Slipper helps us to accept right timing.  That is that sometimes we can get impatient or think that things need to occur or need to occur faster.  However, generally, everything occurs when it is needed.  If we would have certain experiences earlier, we wouldn't have been ready or they would not have been as powerful.  PLS helps us to let go of our supposed to-s and move into the flow of right timing.  Of course, this does not mean that we do not take action and are simply passive waiting for life to occur.  For more info on this particular gift, read my article here. 

Opening to Magic:

Pink Lady's Slipper helps to increase our awareness of the Magic and gifts that surround us.  We can be blind to them, often having a limited periphery vision or walking through life with a narrow focus.  To see PLS, you need to broaden this vision and be willing to go deeper into the wild - which is also deeper into yourself.  When we do this, we suddenly discover things that were always there; however, we did not see before.  This gift can be utilized in other areas of our life.  Through PLS, we can discover the jewels that have been lining our path all along.

More Possibilities:

I am continuing to work with PLS and understand her gifts.  As with any Plant, this could be a life-long pursuit and I could still have more to learn.  One of the areas that I am noticing and intrigued by is that it appears that PLS helps to open one to Possibility.  I have also noticed a huge connection to the Past.  I suspect that PLS could help us to heal old wounds, particularly those that are connected to a certain place.  Oh, there is so much.  I am happy to say that I continue to dream with her and of her.  May the magic continue!

Of Plants and Magic

“To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.”

~ Anatole France

I am rather fortunate with my work and my life, I get to experience and witness miracles, magic, and out of this world adventures.  I work (play) with the Plants in this world and others.  For the past 29 years, my relationship with Pink Lady’s Slipper has been solely in the dream world.  Fortunately, I believed, planned, and acted and my dreams came true in incredible ways.

My first (and only other) meeting with Pink Lady’s Slipper (PLS) was in 5th grade.  Ever since then, I have wanted to see this rare, native Orchid; however, I could never find him.  PLS would often visit my dreams and journeys.  I wrote stories and poems about him.  I have seen his relatives around the world and have seen many different Orchids, but this unique pink bloom was elusive.

Twenty-nine years after my first encounter, my search is complete, my dream realized!  With the help of a friend, we found several patches of PLS in Ramapo Mountain State Forest in NJ.  Seeing the first bloom, brought tears to my eyes.  Finding the Plant to sit and spend time with was life changing.

Someone asked me, "Was the wait worth it?"  The short answer: “YES!”  The real answer is that I have learned there wasn’t a wait, there was a journey.  Had I met Pink Lady’s Slipper before this day, it would not have been the same experience.  The dreams, the shamanic journeys, my life events, even the walk up the mountain all contributed to the magic.

Earlier this Spring, I received the message from Trillium that the wait is worth it.  In the case with Trillium, I have wanted to make an Essence with ki* for many years.  Every year, I would miss the opportunity; I would either find a Trillium and not have my essence equipment or I would be set to make an Essence and would miss the flowers.  In the beginning of April, I finally saw a Trillium blooming AND I had my essence supplies!  I started making the Essence; however, Trillium kept telling me to continue further on the trail and to come back for the Essence later.  I reluctantly listened, which ended up leading me to an unbelievable experience with Dutchman’s Breeches aka Faerie Laundry and the Faeries (and the making of another Essence).  Completely blissed out, I returned to Trillium only to discover that a volunteer for the Preserve took my essence bowl!  I was so sad and dumbfounded.  I decided to make another Essence, but Trillium would not agree this time.  Instead he kept pushing my attention in another direction, which lead me to find two flowering Trout Lilies.  While I was sad that I yet again, did not make a Trillium Essence, I was grateful for the amazing way that Trillium directed me and could feel our relationship strengthening.  Several weeks later, I went hiking in the same Preserve, assuming that Trillium had stopped blooming.  What a surprise when I found a later blooming variety!  And this time I did make the Essence.  It was then that I received the message about being worth the wait.  I understood.  If I had made an Essence when I first wanted to, years ago, I would have missed these other experiences.  Plus, my relationship with Trillium would not have been the same.  I needed the searching and waiting (and frustration) to prepare me to be in relationship with him and to be able to receive his medicine.  Tears of gratitude ran down my face as I bottled the Essence.  

The same is true with my experience with Pink Lady’s Slipper.  I have learned much in the past 29 years, my life is drastically different from what it was when I was in fifth grade (and what I imagined that it would be).  I needed all of these experiences, I needed the dreams, I needed the wondrous walk in the woods to prepare me to understand and incorporate the magic of PLS.  Adding to the magic, I was now able to connect her to the Music of the Plants device.  So not only could I feel her magic, I could hear ki too!

Of course, we do need to take action and make intentions.  I would not have found either Trillium or Pink Lady's Slipper had I stayed home.  There is a balance between forcing and being passive.
While spending time with the Plants, I move into a different realm. In this place, I am able to understand more, able to see solutions, able to make connections.  I find listening to the Music of the Plants during this time opens other worlds.  This was true during my encounter with PLS.  While listening to her sing, I could see how her song enlivened the other Plants in the area, particularly the other Orchids.  Her song also helped Elementals to come out of hiding. The song attracted more Animals, particularly Birds.  Her music was helping me to move beyond conceptual understanding towards experiencing and being in connection with Nature.  I was able to really witness (and experience) the threads between the species.

Working with Trillium and Pink Lady’s Slipper these last several months has helped me to let go of my timeline and to understand that sometimes when we think we are waiting or wasting time, we are actually preparing.  And here’s the best part, what we are preparing for ends up being even better than our wildest dreams.  We could not have envisioned this because our earlier selves did not have the tools or capability of thinking it possible.  It is not achieving our goal or desire that creates the magic; it is our dreaming, our growth, our preparation, our journey.

This is only a small snippet of the magic that I experienced that day (and continue to experience) with Pink Lady’s Slipper.  My friend and I had an incredible encounter.  Even before we sat with PLS, we were witnessing exquisite Beauty, interacting with Animals, and aligning with the Possibility.  We were in a place that allows magic to exist.  Yet, as we encountered other Humans, I noticed that they were not experiencing this.  They were focused on the exercise and the destination.  They were practically running past PLS without even noticing that she was there.  Which to me speaks volumes about our lives.  I wonder how often we miss the magic, we miss the gifts, we miss the Beauty.  I of course encourage you to keep your eyes and Heart open to the Beauty and Magic, they really are all around.  And Dream!  Dream awake, dream asleep.  It is through our dreams that we create our reality.



*I am transitioning to using ki and kin as pronouns for Earth Beings.  This comes from Robin Wall Kimmerer and I really appreciate her work in returning our relatives to their rightful place of Honor in our world.  Here is an excerpt from an article that Robin Wall Kimmerer wrote for Yes! Magazine, "Nature Needs a New Pronoun: To Stop the Age of Extinction, Let's Start by Ditching 'It'":

“Ki” to signify a being of the living Earth. Not “he” or “she,” but “ki.” So that when we speak of Sugar Maple, we say, “Ohthat beautiful tree, ki is giving us sap again this spring.” And we’ll need a plural pronoun, too, for those Earth beings. Let’s make that new pronoun “kin.” So we can now refer to birds and trees not as things, but as our earthly relatives. On a crisp October morning we can look up at the geese and say, “Look, kin are flying south for the winter. Come back soon.”

Language can be a tool for cultural transformation. Make no mistake: “Ki” and “kin” are revolutionary pronouns. Words have power to shape our thoughts and our actions. On behalf of the living world, let us learn the grammar of animacy. We can keep “it” to speak of bulldozers and paperclips, but every time we say “ki,” let our words reaffirm our respect and kinship with the more-than-human world. Let us speak of the beings of Earth as the “kin” they are.

Pink Lady Slipper

She wanders in woods

Discovering wonders

Gathering precious jewels

Delighting in secrets revealed

Conversing with Gnomes

Dancing with Faeries

Kissing Trees

Sleeping on mats of

Chickweed and violet

She does not know it

Yet her heart is searching

Yearning for something

As she walks

She sees an opening

There is a glimmer

radiating light

She falls to her knees

There he is

Long has she heard the stories

But they were only whispers

Now he is in front of her

She could touch him

Smell him

Oh what should she do

She wants to embrace him

But she knows that would

crush his delicate beauty

Oh and the beauty

the perfection

the awe

of the Precious

Pink Lady's Slipper

She reaches out

Touches him gently

He brightens at her touch

Stands taller

Opens, revealing his inner heart

Cradling her in his pink petals

How rare indeed

How wonderful her life was

before finding him

Now all seems meaningless

and dull

How she wishes she could

keep him forever

Take him with her

But that would destroy

him, his beauty

She must be content

to admire him

and enjoy this time

Until he returns to the otherworld

Knowing that his absence

Too is temporary

Revel in the ecstasy of 

such a discovery,

a Divine gift

Fill her senses

and her heart

with his grandeur

Allowing his essence

to flow through her

fill her

lighten the way

even when he is gone

And so she continues

Wandering through the woods

Something is different though

Her eyes are far away

She has a knowing look

And why shouldn't she?

She has tasted bliss

Seen the center of the cosmos

Learned the secret of life

And she knows he is here

Even when he is not

For love is all around

_________________

* I wrote this poem in 2014 before my encounter with the Feminine aspect of Pink Lady's Slipper.