It finally rained here in Austin last week! It rained a lot. And the heat broke a little bit.
And then I noticed that all my native plants had flower buds on them! The very next day they had burst into bloom! I’ve come to look forward to my flower garden in the fall. Surprisingly, it shows itself off best at the end of September. On the Fall Equinox, it looks just like Springtime around here!
All it took was some rain!
As I prepare for a new series in Sacred Circles, A Year of Spiritual Practices from a Feminine Perspective, I couldn’t help but make the comparison to my own process of “blooming.” It is with a regular practice of tuning into myself and into the Creative Life-Giving Spirit, that I come into my fullest Self. Which is ever evolving, and growing, blooming - with the right amount of water and sunshine, just like the Texas natives.
It wasn’t always that way. There was a time when my soul was akin to being in a dark room with no water, no sun, and stale air. A time when I was completely unfamiliar with practices that could connect me with the Spirit, and with mySelf.
I have offered great compassion to that young 20's woman, who had no idea what to do with her emotions, her thoughts, her sense of disconnection. No idea how to connect with the immense spiritual support and love always surrounding her.
I didn't know about contemplative prayer or meditation. I didn't know about reading sacred texts with my heart opened. I didn't know about journaling. Even though I went to a liturgical church, I didn't feel connected to the rituals and sacrament.
I didn't know the vast source of guidance within me, and within creation, that was always coming through in my dreams, through synchronicity, through intuitive knowing, through cycles - cycles of seasons, of the moon, even the cycles of the church year.
I didn't know how to enter the imaginal realm - with the "parts" of my personality, with my inner child, with archetypal energies, with all of the forms through which God shows God's Self. I didn't know that God could show up in a Feminine body and form!
I had begun to separate from a deep connection to nature through horses and camping in the woods - a separation that wouldn't reconcile for almost 20 years.
I hadn't yet touched the Southwest and the deep and mysterious spirituality of the First Nations peoples. I didn't yet know of the magical and deep ways the Holy Spirit had moved through so many women throughout time (yes - EVEN in the Church, when the powers-that-be thought that was impossible!).
I didn't yet know of the healing power that was trapped within my own being; or of the beauty that could come forth through art - from MY hands and heart! Of the power of vibration and sound, even though I had been playing the piano most of my life.
I am convinced that it is in opening to the Spirit that dwells in our hearts, that the creative and healing power emerges! And that we open to that Divine energy through spiritual practices, such as the ones I have mentioned here.
Yes, the spiritual practices enable to us to connect with the Spiritual, God, the Source of All that Is. AND the way to that connection is through our very own hearts, through our very own pain and healing, through our very own relationship with ourselves.
Do you want to deepen, widen, and expand your own healing, your natural creativity, your sense of connection within yourSelf and to the Creative Spirit? Are you tired of being on your own in your spiritual journey? Are you in that place of not quite knowing what to do and how to do it, to take that next step along the way?
This is what Sacred Circles is all about! Please connect with me to learn more, to ask any questions, or to share your own thoughts about spiritual practices and your journey!