Sacred Journeys - Everyday Rituals & Celebrations

with Kim Elkington

It seems to be important right now in the world that we all go deeper to hear our stories. Some stories, once revealed, will heal old wounds. Some, like an oracle, describe our journey in the cosmic story. Others are stories from the Earth herself, speaking to us as the wind moves leaves. I have an image of a beam of light shining on the Earth asking us to “release our stories.” This September, we will be offering ceremonial workshops to facilitate shifting our points of reference in order to bring stories through to consciousness. The stories already exist, either in our bodies, in our soul bodies, or in the ether.

I was sharing with friends and colleagues in a variety of disciplines about this idea of learning to listen to what is trying to come forward.  Remarkably, all of them were finding the same thing – that their work was becoming more profound as they were drawn to allowing the deeper story in each situation to reveal itself. For example, at a recent Bowen workshop, we were taught a new way of executing a session that allowed the body to reveal and release its “stories.” In a simplified sense, we experienced the power of leaving a body alone after initiating a move while it expressed itself, be it in a physical sensation or the story of an actual traumatic event, before proceeding with the next “Bowen move.”

The metaphor is that at an individual level and at a planetary level, we are being given an opportunity to clear away old beliefs (held in stories) so that we may, unwounded, create and co-create a beautiful new story for the Earth and ourselves that reveals our true authentic natures.

Imagine the forest initiating a conversation with you and you hearing, understanding, and conversing back. The first nations people used to laugh at how the Europeans got lost in the woods because they did not seem to know how to ask and then listen to the wind. We have forgotten what is actually natural for us. I think we are being summoned to know the Earth again as a living library, with each of us librarians, interpreters, and eco-tour guides.

At the first workshop (Sept 14-16), Jean Brereton and I will focus on shifting from ego-centric to eco-centric communication. To communicate with the world around us requires understanding that we exist both in a world of form and formlessness, of physical reality and dream reality. As humans of body and spirit, we can effortlessly communicate unconsciously with both these fields of existence all the time. The fun part is making it conscious. Through ceremony, alchemy, dreaming, connecting with wild places and under the stars, we will reawaken our ability to extend our sense of self out into the larger invisible reality which is our natural home. As Jean would say, “by initiating and inviting interactions with what shares this field with us, we can befriend the unknown and/or what is ‘trying’ to happen, both seen and unseen, and embrace the magic that is our true birthright.” Shamans are conscious of their fields of being, and they do this for a living. You can begin to exercise those same intuitive muscles. It is the part of you that knows the plants need watering because you can “feel” them. What is missing perhaps is an environmental opportunity in which to explore yourself expanding.

The second workshop (Sept 26–28) with Pat Tamosetis is a deep, ceremonial, and creative workshop to cultivate personal power and reveal our true essence. Each of us is caught up in wanting to uncover our true identity and place in the universe. Questions like “Why am I here?” are asking for our own personal story to be revealed. We can witness our true identity by standing in the power of our experience up to this moment, and by doing so, know ourselves as the hero or heroine of our own life myth.

When I first did this work a story came, and I have seen myself within that context ever since. That story propels me out of my circumstances to a view out in the cosmos looking down at the big picture. That view from the stars reminds me of who I am and actually grounds my actions in the physical world. When we know that each moment the drama of our lives is unfolding as an opportunity to be wise, loving, heroic, respectful, honest, humble and truthful, our actions are filled with the self-esteem that comes from authentic living. Stories allow us to be both in the physical world and in the dream. And knowing our stories gives us the guts to live our lives well, and co-create the world we want to live in. So if you feel drawn to all of this, we’d love to meet you. Have a really, really good summer.