Posted 2 months ago by Monique

Becoming Immense

“…one no longer thinks of the Return to the One in terms of survival of the self but, rather, the survival of the One.”

The Alchemical I Ching, William Douglas Horden

We have been living for centuries within structures which separate us from the earth, our bodies, hearts, souls, and one another. We are dancing in the flames of a troubled world where ancient wounds are continuously re-triggered amidst the on-going traumas that have become routine to everyday life.

There is no where left to hide. We feel the effects in body, psyche, spirit and soul, even if we are unaware.

Healing can no longer be approached as an individual matter, but one in which relatedness, interconnectedness to the earth, and other-than-human beings is central.

The alchemical fires are burning hot and there are ways to stabilize in the immensity of the changes happening. We can learn to become large enough to endure the chaos of change while sensing into what is trying to emerge through it all—to follow the creative spirit endlessly creating and recreating, mutating and sporulating through embodied life and listen for what is true at the heart of it all.

Through simple, consistent devotions we can develop the capacity to become immense 1. We become vessels of transformation through tending our true needs, by prioritizing time to inhabit our body fully, stilling ourselves for periods of time, disengaging from incessant mind chatter, and by engaging in a reciprocal on-going relationship with the earth and our ancestors each day.

Our lives depend on it. Continue reading “Becoming Immense” →

The Way of Innocence and the Greening of Soul

Posted 5 months ago by Monique

The Way of Innocence and the Greening of Soul

“The traveler knows nothing but the road, the guide knows nothing but the stars: The world tree stands between them, marking the center of the world.”1

Like a seed shattering to become itself, some part of us knows that in order to evolve the structures we know must give way to allow the emergence of a deeper authenticity. Our roots grow down into the dark, dreaming earth for nourishment and strength, yet we cannot stay there forever. There are risks to be taken.

The evolution of soul happens along a vertical axis between heaven and earth each informing the other. Within each of us is an axis mundi—a Tree of Life uniting and centering all realms of existence.

In Chinese Medicine trees represent the wood element, the color green, the liver and gall bladder, direction east, the season spring, the weather pattern of wind, the emotions anger and frustration which become compassion when touched by the heart. Continue reading “The Way of Innocence and the Greening of Soul” →

Peace: And The Darkness Shall Be The Light

Posted 6 months ago by Monique

Peace:
And The Darkness Shall Be The Light

I Ching Hexagram 11. T’ai/Peace

The receptive earth over the creative heaven.
This hexagram belongs to the months of February and March.

“Heaven has placed itself beneath the earth, and so their powers unite in deep harmony.
Then peace and blessing descend upon all living things.”1

I open the I Ching to these simple, yet complex words in the midst of the devastating horrors of war and genocide that continue across the body of Gaia. I wonder about the inner workings of peace as the sky continues to darken throughout the late afternoon. The wind howls and hisses through the trees, and the power goes out.

Later, I wake to the sound of branches cracking through the forest surrounding me. The neighbor’s dog barks relentlessly just before thunder shakes the house. Lightening flashes like daylight through the opacity of the blackened wee hours. Heaven opens and a torrent of rain fills the atmosphere, replaced suddenly by silence as rain turns into snowflake softly floating in its return to earth. My dreams are wild and many. I feel the year of the Wood Dragon arriving.

Trees represent the element wood and the season spring. Dragons, in Chinese culture, embody the “electrically charged, dynamic, arousing force”2 which allows change to happen. Dragons are helping spirits and messengers who move between heaven and earth. I wonder what Wood Dragon can show me about peace.

The forces of heaven and earth are not opposed to one another, but complement one another.

The world of time is formed from the creative interplay of this timeless duality. Time and timelessness live seamlessly as one reality. Humanity has forgotten that we, too, can find ways to engage with duality and paradox that are creative and complementary rather than divisive and destructive. We have forgotten that heaven and earth are also within, and how to harmonize amidst the constant changes they each bring. Continue reading “Peace: And The Darkness Shall Be The Light” →