THE RETURN:
GIFTS, GRATITUDE, & GRACE
(FALL 2005)
Dear Friends,
Many months and many moons have passed since I have sent a SoulWorks Newsletter! I am delighted to be writing to you now, after a year-long teaching-sabbatical. In late November last year, I ended the 
groups I’d been leading, and entered a period of deep reflection. I had reached the end of something in my inner world; I knew this down to my bones, but had been unable to allow the inner death to fully take place while continuing to teach and lead. With a deep breath for courage, I stopped teaching and turned my gaze inward, intending to rejuvenate my heart, examine my relationship to leadership, and reclaim some lost aspects of my soul. It has been a precious time, and I am grateful for it. Now I am beginning to look forward and start leading again in new and renewed ways.
In the past year I have spent a great deal of time in nature, soaking up its healing power and revelling in its capacity to transform. I spent many nights sleeping on the earth, and I spent many days wandering through mountains, canyons, deserts, and islands. Call me a tree-hugger if you will… I lay on countless boulders, tree trunks, grasses, grains of sand, and sloshed around in the muckety muck of swamps and rivers! I fasted, I prayed, I played, and I listened deeply. I heard the voice of my soul.
I sought, and found, guides (both inner and outer ones!) whose leadership moved me deeply. I surrendered (OK, sometimes I resisted, but MOSTLY I surrendered!) to their guidance. I received the rejuvenation I sought and I am coming out of this dark search with a renewed connection to my path, my purpose, my vision, and my commitment to lead on the Soul Path, and to serve The Sacred Marriage.
I have apprenticed myself to leaders of all sorts, learning new ways of guiding others. I have engaged in community work and service to others in unexpected places – from fund-raising for a seniors organization to a week of ‘camp-counseloring’ with kids (resulting in serving on the Board of Directors of that very camp: Oakland’s Feather River Camp)! I have been inspired by the wealth of opportunities to grow, and have let myself be a learner instead of a teacher…sometimes gracefully, sometimes awkwardly, but in all cases with a commitment to grow into a better leader myself.
I come out of this year, having dived into the depths of my soul, having torn away layers of no longer needed ego-patterns. I emerge from the dark spaces with a new inspiration and a new hope for the awakening possible (for both individuals and society) on the wild path of nature’s bounty. I have danced with my shadow and deepened a relationship with my Self and I am filled with enthusiasm for discovering the leader I am becoming. I am grateful for life’s lessons and for the heart wrenching challenges which sent me on this remarkable journey.
As the Hero’s Journey demands, when one returns from ones inititation, having received the gifts of illumination or awakening, it becomes incumbent upon the receiver to offer those gifts back to their community. It is in the natural flow to give back what one has received. This is my mission. I want to offer back and to share with others the blessings I have received. The beauty and transformative power of nature, a renewed ability for partnership, the improved capacity for deep listening to the truth within my soul, and, for extended moments, an experience of The Sacred Marriage are blessings I have received.
I will be leading two Earth Wisdom Retreats in 2006. In spring we will go to the magical and enchanted Joshua Tree National Park for a four-day retreat where we will open to the holy oneness of all Life. Over the fall equinox, I will lead a pilgrimage to the powerful and sacred lands of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, where we will delve deeply into the mysteries of both light and dark with the intention of discovering the balance between the two. Watch for more information on these retreats in the new year, or call now for more details!
I look forward to sharing with many of you in the coming year, and offer wild blessings to you in this season of gratitude. May your holidays be filled with grace.
Much love, Lily
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