These are 2 of the 3Q’s, as interviewed by Rachelle Mee Chapman of Magpie Girl and Flock, her wonderful SoulSpa membership. http://flock.magpie-girl.com/
Q. You are a soulcare practitioner with spiritual gifts for healing. In a recent blog post you wrote about how you wanted to attend your community’s Pastoral Alliance, but were advised against it because that group already saw you as a witch and a danger to the community. Can you say a few words about self-definition, and how this experience has influenced the terms and ideologies you use for yourself?
I have always felt my connection to the All That Is, and felt secure in that (with the exception of a few years of submitting to the tutelage of a “spiritual teacher” during a vulnerable time in my life, which threw me off track faster than anything else has.) My concept of Self since a very, very young age (my first memory of direct experience of the Divine was at age two) was that I was kind, connected, caring, and wanted to be of service. I started doing ritual at age 3 (that I can remember), and I knew how to manipulate my energy with my mind at age 11. I felt part of a loving Divinity, even though the world seemed pretty confusing. The messages I got from other people were sometimes quite different than my experience, and I did take on some of those false identities as a child, but I am removing those labels as I grow older and wiser. I am not interested in being defined by others, but in claiming definitions for myself that feel right to me. I’m happy to say that the core self-identity has remained intact.
Transparency has always been a part of my walk in the world. I have not felt it right to hide who I am…I thought it was a good quality to have! Truth and integrity (inside matches outside) are my highest values, I think. I still cannot tell an untruth; my body won’t let me! But telling the whole truth in every situation does not always serve. I think I have been somewhat naive and unprotective of myself in that I would be very open in any situation. Being willing to expose myself in any situation, which seems like throwing myself before the bus in order to get the attention of the people on the bus. Not a very good strategy! That was partially informed by growing up with very few boundaries with alcoholic parents, and partially informed by wanting to be accepted by everyone.
This occurrence in which I was identified as a threat to religious congregations in the small village where I as living has brought me many gifts, perhaps the biggest being a maturing, or ripening process. I am seeing that it is not modeling good caretaking of myself to throw myself in front of the bus. I am seeing it is not kind to me to put myself in situations where I am not loved and appreciated for who I am. I am seeing that it isn’t always supportive to put the WHOLE truth out there because not everyone is ready to handle it. I would never deliberately lie, but I may be more discerning in the way I tell the truth about who I am. If my intention is truly to be of service in this world, then I must feel where my openings are, and go there. It was also a lesson in going where you are invited, going where the love is.
I have determined that the most accurate thing I can say to folks is that I am a human living life in a spirited way, and that I act as a guide for folks going through spiritual transformation.
Q. What do you think is your “growing edge” in your work as a spiritual advisor? What upcoming projects are you excited about?
I am coming out of a 1.5 year sabbatical, in which I went through deep metamorphosis and have emerged into an expanded reality for myself. It is very exciting to be getting to know this woman I am evolving into and yet the kernel of her has been there all along!
My growing edge seems to be about claiming my power as a woman who chooses to embody the Sacred Feminine. I believe in balance, very deeply, and I know that I have both masculine and feminine energies within. I believe those energies are at their best when they are mature and working in cooperation. However, what I have seen in my sabbatical is that the masculine energy within me and that I see reflected in the world is one that is immature, needing healing in order for the world to come into balance. I have also been shown (and experienced) that the Sacred Feminine within me is very, very strong and very, very old and that She knows what to do if I allow Her to come forward in my life.
What has been shown to me is that the Sacred Feminine within each of us is calling to come forward, and that She is what will bring the world into a place of healing that immature masculine. When the masculine becomes the Divine Masculine, the exquisite dance that occurs between He and the Sacred Feminine is breathtaking and oh, so right. This information that has been gifted to me has brought me to tears many times; it is filling a hole I did not realize I had, and revealing the truth of my divine nature.
So I am teaching what I know after many years of experience of self reflection and trial and error…the school of life has been a great teacher for me. I teach classes in Sacred Feminine spirituality, integration of shadow aspects of self, shamanic art, working with subtle energies in the body as well as working in conscious partnership with other aspects of creation. I teach what the people want to know.
My indigenous roots have informed a real feeling of connection with all Creation; I belong to this earth and I know that if the human species is to survive, we must return to the ways of balance that our indigenous ancestors modeled. I have been called a Wise Woman by my indigenous contemporaries; I’m humbled by this recognition of being a woman who has walked the hard roads and who came through alive with wisdom to offer her people.
I am privileged to teach what I have learned to other women (and men, if they ask me!) in the form of classes, teleclasses, workshops, retreats, groups, and my writing. My “Faces of Her”teleclass is coming up Feb. 18th-it is a 3 session teleclass in which I will be teaching about various faces of the Sacred Feminine, both light/solar and dark/lunar, and how working with these aspects of Her in our daily life can bring immense awareness of ourselves as powerful and carrying a legacy that is asking to be born right now on this earth. It is an overview, a light touch, for folks to determine if they want to invite the Sacred Feminine within to be part of their lives.
