Dear Friends, As one year draws to a close and another begins, reflecting on the past twelve months often gives way to insight about upcoming challenges and informs my hopes for the coming year. At the start of last year I challenged myself to an act of activism: to own my own violence as a way of coming to terms with the war rather than polarizing against violence of the world around me. I wanted to continue to experience faith and trust, even in a world that I found disappointing. This has taken me on a wild ride into shadow work; I have faced up to some of my less desirable personality traits. While discovering how I either turned violence inward or out towards others, I was led into new arenas professionally. I trust that this was somehow a result of — or was even inspired by the grappling with the violence both within me and in the world around me. I felt compelled to turn my work towards the earth in order to deepen relationships to its’ wisdom and guidance.
In the past year, SoulWorks sponsored two Earth Wisdom Retreats. They couldn’t have been more opposite in nature, yet each of them were powerful, intimate, and moving. The spring retreat in the Joshua Tree National Park desert was uplifting, expanding, and renewing, while the autumn, halloween retreat at Portola State Park was an examination of shadow that required a deepening and turning within that was aligned with the seasonal darkness. In both of these retreats I felt privileged and honored to be the guide while developing a deeper relationship to the trust and faith I’d hoped for. I found it in my relationship with the earth — and in nature, which was the true guide for us all!
As I answered my own challenges the past year has been satisfying and deeply rewarding, even while difficult and upsetting. As I re-evaluated (yet again!) my place in the world, I found myself embroiled, unexpectedly, in the tremendous upheaval and excitement of moving my home and SoulWorks’ office from the city to the country — into the Oakland Hills. Living and working in a forest-like setting has been a long-time dream of mine and one that came about suddenly through my practice of trust and faith. Though the drive is a bit further from ‘civilization’ I hope that the new space provides a a haven for the work to continue ... and that the calming drive into the canyon of eucalyptus, pine, and redwood trees offers a respite from the rushing about, and disconnection from soul, that abounds in modern life.
As I write to you now, from these pine laden hills, I sit on the cusp of the new year. Clearly, one year is over, yet stepping fully into the rhythm and hum of 2004 hasn’t fully taken root. The daily requirements of life (after the holiday hub-bub is past) are pulling strongly now that 2004 has begun, but if you are at all like me ... or like some of my clients ... the voices of the new years’ resolutions, intentions, goals and desires can be overwhelming!!
This is why I like to think of this early part of the new year as the ‘cusp;’ it is a time between worlds, like the pause between an in-breath and an out-breath. This is a powerful time and a perfect time for contemplation of what the new year asks of us. Rather than rushing headlong into it, as we are so culturally trained to do ... I suggest letting this period be a time of slow dawning and discovery of what this new year brings to you.
I like to let my soul present me with a prayer or intention that will be the guiding force for the coming year. Since winter is a time of gestation t(he [symbolic] seeds that one plants now will unfold over the course of the spring, summer and fall seasons) there is a full year for the new years prayer to actualize! What prayer do you hold for yourself or for your community? As I sit in this cusp and listen, I hear the continued call of the earth and of my desire and need for grounding, centering, and rooting. And so, SoulWorks, enters 2004 with that focus; each of the offerings this coming year being in service to that Call. In that vein, I will be offering SoulWork Support Sundays, a monthly gathering on Sunday mornings that will focus, in the spirit of worship, on deepening our connection with ourselves and Source. Also I will be offering a Women’s Earth Wisdom Retreat in the beautiful and lush central cascades of Oregon where the rivers run full and fast and where the summer days are filled with sunshine. See the calendar for more details.
Take Note: For those who find the extra drive into the Oakland Hills a bit too far, I’ll soon be moving to an office closer to ‘town’ for one day a week, so stay tuned for that info!!
I hope to sit in circle with you soon. And, as always, wherever your path takes you, I wish you well.
Love, Lily
