I come this way now to write to you from a snowy pine bough valley, west of the Continental Divide in the USA—Greetings and thanks to the ancestors of this place—the Ute peoples, all of the native trees, plants, animals, the new moon, the seasons, and all of the beings who inhabit Earth.
muzings at the edge of wonder…
The new moon, Samhain, and Hollow-een reflect the midpoint of fall here in the northern hemisphere; naturally, the midpoint is accompanied by the leaves that have fallen to the ground which are now becoming part of the humus and soon to be covered in a blanket of white. Like wheat being separated from the chaff, the movement of this season seems to be accompanied by an embodied threshing—a liminal space between worlds, and a metaphorical death, letting go, emptying. The arc of the sun’s like, falling deeper across the latitudinal horizon while disappearing sooner each day is like a bridge into threshold space; inviting us to enter it completely and participate in the vulnerable harvest.
The beauty and unwavering grace of being alive in this valley is that the Earth summons us to enter and participate in its cyclical movement.
Throughout the week I have been exploring and inviting yoga practitioners who come to class to explore the question: How do you want to relate to the fall (i.e., to emptiness, letting go, disintegration?), and in this moment, what is, or might be, mentoring you?
While tuning into the edge of wonder, I ask myself, where are the places I have yet to listen? Within myself? And beyond my human presumptions?
On this new moon, I can feel the transformative fire inside of me wanting to be expressed, to clear that space for the arc of the inner light to move through the earth freely. While harvesting wood to stay warm through the winter on Saturday, I asked every felled tree if it wanted to be part of the fires. I heard, intuitively, a clear NO from several trees. Robin Wall Kimmerer speaks to this that if we are going to ask the question, we must be willing to listen to the response and honor it. My human presumptions, without asking the questions, may have quieted the subtler voice and left the choice to pragmatics; yet, I truly honor the life of the tree and recognize my participation here respecting the autonomy and dignity of the tree, and the land, is essential reciprocity.
At this time, fires are burning in California, and many other places around this planet. As a mere witness, the devastation Earth bleeding fire through her pores breaks me open to a greater desire to become empty, listen, and participate. As a human, I am sometimes programed to attribute one event/thing/person/act to another; and if I listen, what might the Earth say? What might the land be requesting? Where are the places we, as a species, have yet to listen? To the earth that is within and beyond our human presumptions? These questions enable me to enter life completely and participate. This, I refer to as, is the vulnerable soul harvest at the edge of wonder.
In essence, there is great vulnerability in the fall harvest, and with great vulnerability, there is great courage.
A Palpable Yes.
Speaking of courage and vulnerability, this past September, tbird and I were blessed with a great opportunity to guide AOPs Fall Vision Fast. We witnessed courageous souls say yes and step toward exquisite risk by going deep into the Raggeds Wilderness--empty, alone, and exposed. We witnessed this notion of “yes” as they each individual, one by one, stepped through the threshold into the liminal unknown and returned from that emptiness with a palpable vitality to live authentically awake, create meaning, and belong to their initiated life.
A week later, we were again blessed with another opportunity to guide vision fasters as assistants with the SOLB Fall Vision Fast in New Mexico. Here we witnessed a group of courageous souls, all different ages and from all places on this planet, say yes to the exquisite risk and venture out into the desert empty, alone, and exposed for four days and nights, and return with a vision, with clarity, of their individuated presence in this life.
We returned home to the exquisite Crystal valley just in time for Alchemy of Prana’s inaugural annual in-flesh board meeting. For 3 days, we gathered on the land and in our home, listening to the voices of this pulse of life. We are about a month out from the meeting and there is much stirring in field—we are excited to soon announce our upcoming and new programs, guides, and mission to the world. We are all so grateful for your support and presence in this wild journey.
Emptying. Letting go into the depth of winter’s radiance to emerge anew.
New Year Visioning Passage on the Mountain
There is an undying well, pulsing to be birthed in emptiness.
are currently 3 spots remaining for this program (perhaps one more by the time I sent this newsletter!) Join us for 5 days of emptying, intention setting, play, exploration, community, solitude, and authentic preTheresence this winter. AOP values the potency of the dark seasons and the grace that is birthed through going into the quiet solitude of the winter; we offer the invitation to attend this gathering as a gift that we can give to our community.
New Year Visioning Passage on the Mountain
Visioning invites us humans to explore the world beyond the seen and supports us in opening toward the liminal and the possible. Wild and wildness refer to the untamed aspect of our psyche/Self, and the swirling creative energies inherent within such colorful passion; thus, wild-visioning is the opening, the doorway into the inner wildness with the intent to vision it into external wildness of voice, presence, possibility, and creation.
Over the course of these four nights and five days you will be immersed into the passage of the new year atop the mountain and create a sacred space for the creative, clear, and wild aspect of your being to accompany yourself & others (human and more-than-human) into the new lunar passage. Our days together will weave the four shields of human nature, ecopsychology, and council as the foundation for navigating the psyche and setting intention coupled with meditation, nature/snowy-explorations, yin yoga, snowshoeing/ski touring, medicine walks, ceremony, and yoga nidra. This retreat-like setting provides abundant space between activities for self-generated activities such as solitude, rest, snow sports (e.g., snowshoeing, sledding, backcountry skiing/snowboarding) reading, writing, creating (e.g., meals, art, vision), yoga, etc.
Participants will come prepared to live self-sufficiently (i.e., food, snow gear) in a heated, fully furnished cabin at 11,000’. Snowmobiles will transport participants to the cabin.
to the intimate setting, we can host 7 guests for this retreat. Registration closes on December 1, 2019. If the spaces fill up, you will be added to a waiting list. We anticipate this program filling up this week. If you’re interested and have questions, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Upcoming 2020 programs… information & registration coming soon. If you are interested in a particular program and would like to bCouncil – January - April 2020—Redstone area, CO
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