To be a life form of such solidity, yet able to dance your branches in the wind.

To be able to give a home to so many different creatures.

Imagine how it feels to have your roots sinking into the earth, being fed by the minerals and water there.

Imagine loving the interdependence of that relationship. Loving the stones who dissolve into soil, the other plant beings who do the same. Loving your own roots and leaves because they receive what you need to thrive with such gentle elegance.

Can you imagine that much love in your life?

Can you imagine that much trust? Can you imagine that much wholeness and thriving?

Oh, dearest one.  We believe you can. Perhaps not in this heartbeat moment. Perhaps you will find it in the next…or the next…but you will find it.

This we know.

 
Two Sycamore trees

Being danced by the sea…

This past weekend I spent time in retreat by the sea. And, although the full moon was mostly hidden in silver-grey cloud blossoms, I could still feel her presence tugging at me, pulling on my closed, contracted, tired parts. Gently teasing them open. Inviting me to unfurl into ripe fullness again. With the ebb and flow rhythm of the ocean and the tug of the moon as guide, I explored my wild sacred feminine, danced by the sea and sung by the moon. Gratefully, I touched my core and explored deepening layers of wisdom and awareness.

Being sung by the moon…

On the beach late Sunday afternoon I saw hundreds of round, white quartz pebbles.  Quartz pebbles aren’t an unusual sight for the ecosystem where I was walking, but the number of them was unusual. As I walked I kept hearing “Collect the moons! Collect the moons!” So I picked up a handful of quartz pebble “moons” and carried them with me as I walked and meditated in the sand.

Usually, I don’t remove beings from their native ecosystem, their home, but these “moons” insisted on coming home with me. For now, they are visiting the grasses and trees of my home – welcome and honored guests. (Of course, when they ask to go back, I will take them.)

Free and Fiercely Feminine…

My pebble friends feel like a handful of moonbeams. Pale, smooth pieces of sacred feminine presence…droplets of moon-milk…tiny windows into the cosmic womb dropped into my hand.  When I hold them my body remembers how it felt to be danced by the sea and sung by the moonlight. Free. Fiercely Feminine. Whole. I’m grateful they chose to come home with me.

How do you nourish your sacred feminine self? What rituals, practices or simple daily rhythms help you to access freedom and wholeness?

My morning meditation hijacked this post. I’d planned to write something completely different today. Life, as they say, had other plans, though.

While unwinding through the sound and movement released by my wild wisdom, some words tumbled urgently into my mind/heart, “It’s time. We need your full focus and attention now.” They were followed by several images and a memory of something I’d heard Llewellyn Vaughn-Lee say. (I’m paraphrasing) Women are the matrix of creation. If a woman honors the sacred light of creation in herself that nourishes the whole of creation.

Long journey short…

The whole experience – movement, sound, words and all – started a cascade of insights and new connections about the sacred feminine and masculine, the earth, power, and oneness, that I’ll be sharing over the next weeks (months, perhaps). The ones that kept jumping up and down and waving at me from the crowd today?

• We are wise and compassionate enough to recover the sacred feminine without needing to make the sacred masculine an enemy.
• Needing to see someone as an “enemy” or an “other” so we can step into our authentic power is a symptom of the warped dominance behavior that is patriarchy. (I think it was the word WHOLE that inspired…)

Before we go any further…

I’m going to tiptoe waaay out on a limb, here. Honoring with all my heart the degradation women live with at the hands of patriarchy, I believe that men have been soul-wounded by it, too. And, I don’t believe that men are the only reason patriarchy continues to thrive. Patriarchy is a habit of mind so well cultivated over millennia by men and women seeking various forms of dominance, that it inhabits our unconscious now.

It’s become a nasty, self-perpetuating part of us by spawning an increasingly viscous antagonism between women and men. (Divide and conquer anyone?) It’s all too easy to slip into an “us” and “them” mindset with human qualities like domination and collaboration labeled as archetypally masculine or feminine. We are making enemies of each other trying to find our way back to our balanced, authentic selves. That’s a lose-lose paradox we can’t keep feeding.

Women and men…

We’re all card-carrying members of the walking soul-wounded. A few thousand years ago the sacred quality of Strength was perverted into its unbalanced shadow Domination, which we now call Patriarchy. Living within that warped reality has bloodied all our spirits. Feeling forced by tradition and acculturation to live a twisted version of our sacred selves can be soul-killing.

Here’s the thing. Patriarchy is ingrained in our personal identities. To question ourselves closely about the behaviors it fosters means coming up with some deeply uncomfortable answers. Well folks, I lovingly suggest we all get comfortable with being uncomfortable. We need to put our “full focus and attention” on dissolving the patriarchy paradigm without creating another soul-killing, divisive solution. Remember, it’s time to honor the sacred feminine…to recover the sacred masculine…to nourish all of creation and welcome sacred oneness.

Me being me…

I just can’t leave you here without offering something practical to “do.” (Of course if just “being” with these ideas for a bit feels more right, please do so!)

Domination (patriarchy) overtly shows up everywhere: advertising featuring trucks “conquering” natural terrain or women whose sole function is to obsess over white-enough laundry and air fresheners; organized religions functioning on systems of compliance and reward; politics and governance where rigid hierarchy and power over behaviors flourish… Start noticing it, really bringing your full attention it, not just accepting it as “normal.” How does it make you feel? Where do you see yourself participating in it, consciously or unconsciously?

It also covertly shows up in our interior thoughts — the ways we treat ourselves and others in our daily lives. Thoughts like “who does she think she is to…” or “who do I think I am to…” are insidious ways we try to dominate and diminish. Evaluating people’s weaknesses to see what kind of edge we can have when dealing with them is a collaboration killer. Assuming we have less right to contribute because we have less education or experience is a way of silencing ourselves (and others when we model that) and hoarding/denying our unique creativity. Again, start noticing instances when you are trying to dominate yourself or someone else. Just bring your attention to it. Notice how you feel, how you might unconsciously perpetuate the mindset.

Be tender with yourself…

Don’t judge! (Once more with feeling.) Resist the urge to judge yourself or anyone else! That’s just another domination artifact. Remember, patriarchy is insidious and its BFF’s are silence and denial. Break the silence. Step out of denial. Be kind while you’re doing it. And, if it makes your heart sing, consider yourself warmly hugged along the way.

Copyright © 2012 Tracie T. Nichols. All rights reserved.

There’s a certain magic that sings between women and the earth. A bone-deep intimacy borne in our marrow. The power of the land opens like a lover when women call. In turn, we blossom into the fullness of our wisdom and strength when the land calls. Among women and the earth is an ancient and sacred partnership that goes beyond any culture, any form of spirituality, any paradigm. It simply is. As immutable as the stone bones of this planet. (In case you’re wondering, men have their own magical relationship with the earth.)

Women benefit from this partnership in many ways. For some, it’s subtle…a sacred soundtrack giving rhythm to our lives. Others find creative fire, singing, creating art, gardening. Some find the courage and passion to become healers, mothers, spiritual and community leaders.

For me, it shows up in sensory conversations between my heart and the planet (who I call Gaia). These dialogs resolve themselves into poems and stories encouraging people to connect with their own wildness and rediscover their kinship with the land…

Much of the time they inspire…

Sink the taproot
of your need
deeply
into the colors…sounds…scents
of the Place (my infinite body)
where your heart lives. 

Your urgency breaks open
my settled matrix.
I stretch and sigh and 
offer up the rich 
nourishment you seek.
We both are eased.
~Gaia

Whispers of your radiant beauty caress my stone-bones,
promise of rainbow fires to come.
When you let your passion rise
in it’s own time
following the pulse of seasons and stars
Oh Beloved ones…
your warm wisdom will fill the world
with grace
and no one will get singed.
~Gaia

Sometimes they caution…

Dearest one, when you are on the brink of something new, the urge can be to hurry. I invite you to resist this urge. Birth happens in it’s own time. A seedling cannot push through the soil until it has gathered enough strength. If you do not push, the birth will happen like breathing. ~Gaia

At times they introduce us to the hearts of our more-than-human kin…

Tumbled by ancient waters, we are made clearer when our edges blur and we fit into the soft, round curves of the earth. We are made whole when our beauty is revealed by her body. ~A message from river stones

The earth benefits from these partnerships, too. In ways both subtle and practical. As more women recover their relationship with the earth, she (my gender bias) receives more love and attention, which she needs just as much as any other living being. Because we are unwilling to wound a loving partner, we make choices that stop damaging her and support flourishing, often encouraging others to do the same. She is eased as we are eased.

So, I invite you to listen for the magic singing between you and the earth. Start a conversation! If talking with a whole planet seems daunting, start smaller. Thank a tree. “Tree, I appreciate the oxygen you exhale.” Or a stream. “Stream, I’m grateful for the water you carry.” Tell your story to a stone. “I’m a mid-life woman with a heart full of life…”

Then listen for a response with every sense…with your whole body. It will come. Perhaps words will flow through you like a laughing stream. Images or sounds may drop into your awareness. You might feel something in your body, energy moving, emotions rising. You may simply know, in your bones, what the land is communicating.   Remember, the land opens when we call. We blossom when she calls. It just takes a little practice to bring it all into your daily awareness.

If you’re not a word person, you can sing your story to the wind. Dance it, feet drumming the cadence of your story into the soil.  Write it on eco-friendly paper, burn it and bury the ashes. Paint or draw your story and gently hang it from tree branches. Draw or write your story in the sand and watch the great ocean smooth it away.

How you communicate with the land doesn’t matter.  What matters is that you start the conversation.

“Lay your bones on my stones … feel your edges soften … then you remember how wild you are.”~ Gaia

Warning: Women forming sacred partnerships with the earth have been known to fall passionately in love with the land. This can lead to falling in love with life, which frequently has side-effects of joy, laughter, and all sorts of good things happening. I love hearing from women about their relationship with themselves and the earth! You can leave a comment or email tracie (at) alchemyfortheearth (dot) com.

“Dear ones, with deep love and reverence I ask you to share this with everyone you know. (I know you already know this in your bones.)

I am not a resource.

My trees are not measured in board feet but in strength of character and beauty.

My mountains are not measured in the amounts of minerals torn from their depths but in their power and majesty.

My oceans are not measured in the number of fish or the amount of salt to be harvested, but in the creativity of their watery wombs.

Dearest ones, your heart knows I am not a thing to be stewarded. I am a sovereign being with a voice to be heard.
 Please, tell everyone you know…

Where I’m going…

Trout Lily friends along the way…

As I stumbled through thanking these women, (being flummoxed makes me less than articulate) it came up in each conversation that what they liked most about my hair was that it was average, middle-aged hair. There was a gentle yearning in their voices as we spoke. The woman in the farmers market even made it a point to applaud what she saw as my courage in not changing the color of my hair. (In the spirit of full disclosure, I choose not to color my hair for two reasons. I’m not comfortable with the environmental impact of the products involved, but mostly, I’m just too impatient to show up every 6 or 8 weeks to have it cared for.)

The subtext in my conversations with these women seemed to be this: seeing my silver-grey wild woman hair surfaced their own yearning to be appreciated for who they were. This is a primal yearning I’m hearing rise more frequently. It comes up when talking with friends, clients, and even in the media. (anyone seen this article by Ashley Judd?)

Women want to be seen for who they are, regardless of what they choose to do, or not do, with their appearance. Of course, we should all do whatever we choose with our appearance. What we choose. That’s the key. Not what we feel we must do to be acceptable.

What I’m noticing is that our fierce compassion is on the rise. We’re less willing to be masked by the outdated and limiting assumptions coming at us from society. The universe is inviting us to take the conversations about the worth of women we’ve been quietly having into the public eye in a much bigger way. We’re over half the population of the world. Raised together, our voices will be heard.

Raising our fiercely compassionate voices does benefit us as women. Aligning with feminine values helps us to align with the rhythms of the earth, and with the power of Place. In the symbiosis of all living systems, the more we align with earth rhythms and Place, the stronger our voices become. Raising our fiercely compassionate voices also benefits Gaia. Her earth-heart is nourished by our increased focus on wise compassion, interconnectedness, equity and sustainability, those rhythms of nature we traditionally call feminine values. Those values also encourage people to make choices that support the thriving of ALL life.

So, how are you feeling about your fierce compassionate self? Have you noticed the woman-focused conversations springing up? How might you start, or join, a conversation focused on wise compassion, interconnectedness, equity and sustainability? Hint: Earth Day is coming up….

Your north is always there, even if you're lost.

made sense just doesn’t anymore. It seems like you’re suddenly adrift, wondering if a weird cosmic wobble caused all the planets to go retrograde, or somehow you slipped into a pointless alternate reality. (OK, those are just my bizarre scenarios, but I’ll bet you know what I mean.)

It’s happened to me (losing my north, not slipping into an alternate reality). More recently, I witnessed it happening to a friend. This woman knows herself well. She is strong, clear, and spiritually an adept. Someone who truly lives from her wise woman self. Someone who considered herself solidly grounded in her life. Yet there she was, being metaphorically tossed by the wave she thought she’d been surfing onto a desert island. Mapless. Questioning everything. Confused.

It happens to all of us

Losing our north happens to most of us at some point. What we need to remember is this; it’s not a failure. Losing our north is an invitation, an opportunity to expand our self perception and our worldview. To find a new relationship with our north.

In my experience, people tend to lose their north for a few main reasons. Catastrophic life events are one. Another, more common, is the collision of an awakening consciousness with the fear-based, power-over perspective still underpinning so much of western culture.

In other words, even strong, self-aware women sometimes judge themselves using the power-over definitions of ideas like “success,” “stability,” “beauty, and “enough.” Awakening inclusivity meets narrow-minded rigidity. Ouch! Rigidity throws its generations of cultural and familial weight around and becomes the loudest noise on your personal advisory board. Your own wise voice, trying to have a reasonable dialog, gets shouted down.

A stubborn sludgy bunch

Creek energy can move sludge

Written or spoken, words are the most common way we share ideas. With each new generation, the dominant culture sculpts language to reflect its values. These very words, with their culturally laden meanings, are the invisible web with which we weave our self perceptions.

As I mentioned above, western culture is still largely steeped in power over, everyone-for-himself values. Many of us are working at changing this, but old cultural beliefs are a stubborn sludgy bunch. During this transition, we may still be carrying them around without realizing it.

So, when we drape our awakening, tender, more-willow-than-oak selves over those dominance-infused words, we can end up crushed. Cut off from our north. Creative womb space impaled. Unexamined beliefs exposed. Mapless.

Learning from the earth’s resilience

One spring, a storm brought a large tree limb down onto a nearby young tree. Her crown was bent so far over, she was nearly touching the earth. She was cut off from her north, the upright stance that gave her leaves access to sunlight. She needed help.

My husband gently removed the tree limb and she raised her crown slightly. He lifted and cut away broken branches, mulching the earth with them. Her crown eased upward. Over the course of the year I watched her find her new north, growing more upright and moving into a different relationship with the sun. This year she’s strong and supple. Fiercely wild in her scarred beauty.

Young tree resilience

Getting back to your north

While you may not be a young tree, you can certainly think like a young tree. If you’ve lost your north, accept help. Let shattered, useless ideas become the compost that feeds your continued awakening. Don’t give up. Even if your crown is nearly touching the earth.

Remember your inherent wildness. Your fierce self. Part of your legacy may come from a dying, power-over culture. But, the other part comes from lionesses, great bears, wide rivers, and culture changing women throughout time. Own this. Use it. Let yourself find a new relationship to your north. Celebrate being fiercely wild in your scarred beauty.

Spring Rising - Northern Hemisphere - 2012