There is a poem that writes itself in the waning of a life so exquisite, it cannot be told in words.

It recites itself in a singular gesture—in a final letting go—in a selfless act of profound compassion releasing its inner treasure for the beloveds it will not live to see.

Ripened in the heat of a life lived fully, as the colors of youth and midlife fade, the true gold of soul shines brighter than ever.

The leaves remind us of this each fall.

Video and writing by Monique Gaboury

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About the Author: Monique Gaboury is a licensed acupuncturist, in Freeland, WA, specializing in Alchemical Acupuncture. She loves sharing her passion for natural healing at her clinic and through writing her blog ‘Re-membering Wholeness, Belonging and Kinship Through Changing Times’.

Juniper Medicine Alchemical Acupuncture serving the greater Seattle area on Whidbey Island. To schedule an appointment call 360-672-1506 or EMAIL.

Entering the Tiger’s Lair

“I am the wilderness before the dawn.”

Tao Te Ching

The spirit of Autumn meets you in your hidden depths. She is the feeling tone of life’s fathomless interiority guiding you down through the roots of dying perennials, connecting diverse realms through the shadowy folds of what we cannot see.

She is the call of the wild pulling the sinews of your soul—huntress who follows the questions you don’t yet know that you have. You come to know her by instinct. As your eyes adjust to a new level of darkness, you learn to sense your way through vibration, texture, temperature variation, feeling tone, smell, and proprioception.

Thriving networks of mycelium, roots, creature pathways, and underground rivers connect and communicate across species and continents. All who have lived and died become compost, bones, seeds, and minerals commingling and becoming one another.

There is no beginning or end to the web of life below, just as above. As within, so without. We are all active participants whose presence and actions matter. Continue reading “Entering the Tiger’s Lair” →

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” →