Month: March 2017

An Invincible Love

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One of my favorite quotes is the one by Albert Camus, on invincible love. During this challenging time in our country where treason, attacks on the environment, religious persecution, racism, and lies have become the norm, I reach for things to inspire me. When grief for humanity at the hands of tyrants and despots threatens to overwhelm me, I reach for the wisdom of spiritual teachers, and writers that remind me of the ultimate truth: that good always triumphs over evil, and that living from love can make a difference.

I loved the movie ” Secondhand Lions”, with Robert Duvall and Michael Caine. There is a speech in the movie that makes me cry every time I hear it, because it’s so beautiful. ( You can see a snippet on YouTube, look for Robert Duvall’s speech in that movie). In it, he reminds us that we can choose to believe whatever we want. And, that some things are worth believing in. I choose to believe that, as Albert Camus wrote, ” That no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger- something better, pushing right back”. I believe that to be true of many people. So, we will continue to push back against fear, greed, and hatred with the ultimate antidotes, truth and love. Let there be within us an invincible calm, an invincible smile, an invincible summer, and an invincible love. Always. No matter what. Blessings, Judith

*** Quote by Albert Camus ***

 

 

Shedding And Alchemy: The Magic Of Snake Medicine

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Snake drum in my office

Snake drum in my office

One of the many powerful aspects of Snake as a teacher is its ability to shed its skin as it grows. Shedding what no longer serves us is vital for our own growth and development. Some of the things we’ve experienced that have been traumatic or painful, become limiting, binding, and restrictive if they remain attached to our emotional and energy body. Shedding and releasing them is liberating and freeing.

Snake Medicine represents the Fire Element, which is the element of purification, alchemy, and transmutation. Alchemy has been described by Taoist Master Yuen as ” the redemption of Spirit from Matter.” People with Snake as a Totem animal naturally gravitate towards an internal alchemy as a way of life, seeking to step directly into the fire of the heart to burn away all that is not a part of the authentic self. They make incredible healers, supporting others fearlessly, since they embody the alchemical principle.

The ability to shed is a part of life. Most living things shed in some way as they grow, humans included. Conscious shedding can be done using intention work, affirmations, visualization, working with stones, herbs, or essential oils. ( My favorite stones to use to connect to Snake Medicine are Fire Agate and Charoite. The herbs would be Sage, Prunella, Mugwort, and Wormwood. The essential oils would be Helichrysum and Vetiver. )

Snake has been represented in many different cultures, dating back to the Egyptians. Depictions of the ourobouros, the snake swallowing its own tail, were found in the tomb of Tutenkhamen. It represents infinity, the endless cycles of life, and regeneration. The Caduceus is another example of snakes representing healing, two snakes intertwined upon a staff. The Nagas are sacred deities in Hinduism and Buddhism, said to be able to transform from human to snake at will, seen as guardians and protectors of humanity. The Egyptian Goddess Sekhmet has the body of a woman and the head of a lioness, with a cobra at her Third Eye Chakra. She represents the power of the Sacred Fire to cleanse, purify, or destroy. In Toltec mythology, the Eagle and the Snake are seen as different aspects of each other, which is also the case in Taoism. Snake is seen as residing in the Root Chakra in Hinduism, the Kundalini, or ” Sleeping Serpent” that spiritual cultivation activates, ascending up the spine through all of the other Chakras, reaching the Crown Chakra, awakening and enlightening us.

Healers with Snake Medicine often specialize in dealing with the aftermath of abuse, physical, emotional, or sexual abuse. Bearing witness to the atrocities some people have suffered, and bringing the light of the Sacred Fire to bear on those atrocities is not for everyone. In addition, Snake Medicine people are often Empaths. They contain within themselves a natural immunity to evil, an inborn antivenom, which binds the traumatic residues to itself, neutralizing and releasing them, forcing the trauma out and returning it to the Void. This alchemical process of binding is combined with shedding, which is extremely important for Empaths. Holding on to other people’s trauma and suffering is toxic for an Empath. Shedding needs to become a part of life, natural, reflexive, and automatic.

Anyone can call upon the wisdom of snake as a teacher, especially when navigating through difficult circumstances. Snakes are supple and flexible. They can teach us many things. Snakes are patient hunters, they can teach us how to be patient, and flexible. A good affirmation for this energy might be: ” I am always, in every moment, bathed in the Sacred Fire of Divine Love, which resides within me. All energies which are not an emanation of love and compassion, and that are foreign to me, are now neutralized and removed, sent back into the nothingness from whence they came. ”

I hope this brief teaching on Snake as an ally is helpful. I send my love and gratitude to the Nagas who guide me, and to the Rattlesnake who lives within my heart. I am alive today because of you. Thank you for saving me. We are one heart. Blessings, Judith

Entitlement: The Unconscious Path

John Trudell

John Trudell

Western culture has always represented living from a kind of entitlement, and over several centuries that entitlement seems to have gotten worse, culminating in the election of 2016. We have religious entitlements, ( fundamentalist Christians trying to force their religious beliefs on the rest of us), radical political entitlements, ( fascist and racist politicians trying to challenge the Constitution), it appears that in terms of entitlement, we’ve entered uncharted territory.

Entitlement stems from a lack of respect for other living things. It is a type of unconsciousness that speaks of an unevolved soul. Walking a spiritual path necessitates a cultivation of awareness, mindfulness, and heart, a deep respect for all. Indigenous culture people have always had that respect: respect for each other, the planet, the animals, trees, water, mountains, air, plants, everything. As a clairvoyant Empath, it’s difficult for me to fathom how a group of people can walk through life so completely out of touch with nature, with magic, with other human beings, that they could deny them refuge, food, health care, civil rights, human rights. This level of unconsciousness seems to border on darkness.

It’s true that we can’t force people to evolve, to be awake, or to have compassion. What we CAN do is to use the gifts we have been given, all of the love, magic, truth, and beauty within us, to make a difference. We can refuse to be disrespected, and we can refuse to allow anyone to disrespect others in our presence. We can refuse to remain silent as entitled and unconscious people attempt to disrespect the Earth, the animals, the water we drink, the air we breathe. We can meditate, tapping into our personal magic, and send that intention of respect and protection out into the cosmos, which hears all. I will use all of my magic, all of my gifts, in service to All That Is. I am a warrioress, I am a guardian, a protector. I offer all that I am, and all that I can be, from love, to Earth Mother, and to all living things.

The dark days of genocide and slavery are almost over. The days of land theft, racism, misogyny, greed, and religious fanaticism are not. The levels of arrogant entitlement are cresting, but so is its opposite: love. Together, we can accomplish any miracle, because love always triumphs over hatred , ignorance, and fear. I stand for the Earth. I stand for the voiceless. I walk with reverence and deep respect upon Earth Mother. I will fight for her, and for all of us. Guides and Teachers are with us. Blessings, Judith

** Gratitude to Lakota poet and activist John Trudell, who is in the Spirit World now.