Spring Greetings!

As I write this I wish I could say” spring has sprung”, but here in the Northern California foothills, it is not so. I eagerly welcome the spring Equinox, that time of year all over that is celebrated in ritual as it represents rebirth in nature  ~and perhaps for us as well. By the time this newsletter reaches you, wherever you live, hopefully you will be enjoying the warmth of spring.  I see hints of it here as I walk in our area. We have forsythia in bloom and the pear and fruitless plums are showing some buds. My Camellias are going crazy and the Daffodils and Narcissus have greeted me as they usually do every Valentine’s Day.  As you may notice, I am eager for spring to arrive, yet these wintery days allow for inward journeying, dream time and my newest muse: painting!  This past winter has been a contemplative time for me, and I hope the following article will gift you with inspiration to go within and get in touch with that which we call “Soul.”

Following the Path Back to Ourselves

Have you ever wondered why certain things make your heart sing while others don’t? Perhaps these things are messengers from your inner Self, asking for your attention. Perhaps they are the muses longing for you to connect with them drawing you into a meaningful life that bring answers to questions only your soul can answer.  What would happen if, like in a waking dream, you followed these “certain” things in some way?

As long as I can remember, I have dabbled in the creative endeavors that made my heart happy. Clay classes, gardening, writing and now painting. This creative muse has always begged for my attention, and I have followed its lead whenever I could.  I believe creativity feeds the soul, and an unfed soul eventually starves.  How does one get the creative juices flowing?

This is really a second chakra question. The second chakra is about our creativity, joy de’ vivre and our lust for life. It is located between the perineum and the belly button. As are all the chakras, it is an energetic vortex found in the subtle energy body.  Yes, it does have to do with how we express our sexuality; our Aphrodite nature, (both men and women have this), but it is much more. It is about our joy-filled child being free to dance with whatever you are doing. I just completed the second chakra class in my 6 month workshop, and we finished the day with belly dancing. A wonderful young woman came and led us all in a lesson, and as a group, we got to experience the energy of the belly, the sacral chakra and a fun-filled hour of expressing ourselves through movement; the most important aspect of the sacral chakra.

If this energy isn’t available to you, consider the reasons why. Most of us were raised in environments that were either oppressive or where we were parented to suppress needs and desires.  Anodea Judith, author of Wheels of Life, says that “desire is the engine for motivation.”  In clearing chakras, the idea is to clear the energetic blocks that may be getting in the way for you to experience this joy-filled Self at the level of the Soul. Sometimes we need to work through all the levels of the chakras to clear the way for this Pathway to the back to ourselves, back to our Soul Self.  For example, if the root chakra, our foundation for Self is unable contain the structure of your beingness, then it will not be able to hold the energy of the second chakra, which is about movement, flow and freedom of spirit.

My own journey into this work, and in these pathways, have led me through dark shadowy lands~ those found in myths such as that of Persephone~ and  have been my myth and path to healing. Healing these energetic blocks has been hard work, but freeing at the deepest place of my soul.  The work to unlock the energy of the sacral chakra allows you to feel the instinctual energies of the Self, to be able to feel the freedom of the body and the emotion of joy (which is the lack of fear).  Even though I am focusing on this chakra, the chakra of fecundity and rebirth, really, all the chakras that contain energetic blocks need to be cleared in order to reconnect with your deepest nature and your Soul.

My words to you are born of understanding what it feels like to have anxiety, depression, despair or to feel lost. I know this because I have lived this journey and have come back from it, like Persephone who joins us each year in the Spring after arriving from the Underworld. While I no longer visit this underworld place, (well, perhaps occasionally), I remember it well. Like the messenger god, Mercury, who can guide one into Hades and back out again, I have found that this is my soul’s work this lifetime.

Yours soul’s passion and work may be entirely different; what matters is that you find whatever your Soul’s contract was prior to coming in and step onto that path. How you do that is not important~ but that you do it is.

May this spring bring you Blessings to your Soul.

Until next time,

Connie