Sometimes I am Alice tumbling through the looking glass. Calling out for reprieve from confusion, and ambiguity. Bewildered by the silence of unanswered prayers, and the maddening images that swirl around me. Falling into fear because I am indignant to these new, and interesting things.
I run for my life, looking for some semblance of certainty. Spiraling deeper into my inner chaos. Cut off, and desperate for the life I knew before. The stable ground of something familiar. Then I see I have drawn a line in the sand. A desperate act of protection against the monster of change.
Pain ensues when we forget to fall curious to the experience.
We become ensnared by our clinging to the things we know and understand. Rather than befriend these peculiar faces we stand with arms crossed, in a grimace… Making judgments for the things we cannot name.
No expansion, momentum or enlightenment comes by sitting in the safe circle of what we “know”.
What happens when you slip into the wild-ride? Or when you feast with the characters of this mad-land? Do you really lose yourself in the funhouse? Or do you discover a side of life you’ve never known before? Maybe the faces in the mirror are nothing more than possibilities.
Play With the Rhythm of Possibility
None of us have it all figured out. That might be the trouble with the world. We hold tightly to our point of view. We cling to the relics of our past. We count the pain and the passion we have experienced. If you cage up the mystery… Poking and prodding until you know all her ways you end up being the caged bird trying to sing.
Fear is never becoming. Let your adrenaline move your heart, and help make the leap. Life upside down and sideways may be a little peculiar, and absolutely interesting, but it could be the thing you have spent so long trying to find. You won’t know by standing still.
Magic is born in the unknown. Magic is the essence of the odd and fabulously interesting. Spontaneous moments of surrendering to your doubts and fears are prayers of discovery. Standing on the ledge of what is and know from leaping something different will come. You will invite the wonder of unimaginable, wild, amazing things.
Open yourself wide enough to become a dancer in the pulse of the great mystery. What you’ve been doing hasn’t worked, brought you peace, or made you feel whole. So try out a new ride. Dance to a new song. Rather than think about the song… Feel the beat. Get out of your head, and into the flow. Play with the rhythm of possibility.
Seeking change from your suffering is an invocation that summons the unknown. Healing, insight and expansion is the byproduct of bravery, curiosity and empowered acts. Making radical gestures of self-expression.
Transformation is a dark, cloudy, mysterious world buzzing with possibility. Proceed irreverent, and with disrespect and you will be met with fear. But Sister-transformation is a gracious host. Move into her with childlike wonder, and learn more of her ways. Then she can hand you the treasures you seek, and the bones are working to recover.
Laying Your Ghosts To Rest
You have slipped into the Dark, and surrendered to her groove. Let her pulse through your heart, body and soul. You are losing old parts, and uncovering hidden ones. You are brave enough now for inner alchemy… Soul work!
In this dark, fertile place where transformation begins we must surrender ourselves to the experience. Which means we must move through our cycles of limiting thoughts, and crushing feelings… To get to the more inspired ones. You are detoxing from the high of resistant, fear based living.
Now is the time for honesty. Come to terms with where you are inside and out. You do not have to be frightened anymore. Don’t deny yourself your sadness, or your rage. Just move into the feeling so that it can be cycled out and returned to the Earth, and the Universe as fertilizer for new intentions.
You will travel to the Land of the West. The West is a sacred space of introspection, reflection and change. Treading into the West allows us to connect with the Spirit of Metamorphosis. She will help you communicate with your Ghosts. Parting with them, and allowing them to find new life.
What to Gather for Your Journey
Find a time when you are alone, and uninterested. Gather together a white candle, a blanket, and a black scarf.
Turn off all the lights. Allow the room to be enveloped in blackness. You are inviting in the shadows for change. Traveling to the sacred dream circle to make peace with our Ghosts.
Begin by moving your whole body. Shake, stop, dance and ring out your spin. Let all your limbs release and relax. Feel the room begin to vibrate with the energy you are raising through movement. When you are ready find a seat facing the West.
Close your eyes, cover your head with the scarf, and begin breathing deeply. Find the rhythm of your breath as you inhale and exhale intently. Your belly will rise and fall like the rushing ocean waves pulled by the Moon. The West is lulling your into her mystique… Each breath takes you deeper into a trance.
Feel whatever feelings are floating in your body, mind and spirit. Give some words to these feelings. Start with fear… And work your way up. I am afraid of… I am (angry, sad, heartbroken, anxious, etc)… Just take note of these feelings to measure the progress made on your journey.
In your minds eye summon a vision of the dark, shadowy figures in your life…your Ghost(s). Your Ghost represents parts of yourself, and your life you are afraid of. That you hate, resist or cannot find peace with. These shadows are the wounds you are carrying around, or the monsters you are reacting to.
Describe Ghost: What does it look like? What does it feel like? What does it sound like? What does it smell like? Does this Ghost remind you of anything? Does Ghost bring up any memories?
Maybe you are met with a looming blob of inky darkness that embodies your abusive relationship. Or maybe you are met by an impish figure who taunts you into believing your stuck in a dead end job with no escape. However Ghost appears to you… It is the apparition of your unwillingness to make peace with change.
Ghost appears to be mocking, taunting, and jumping at you. But something curious begins to happen. You find that as it moves about it becomes less threatening and more interesting. Ghost isn’t trying to harm you… It’s actually caught up in it’s own peculiar dance. Appearing a little comical or theatrical.
You watch closer, with more intention. You start to move with Ghost. Dancing the dance of your Shadows. The rhythm and beat starts to move through you. Until you are Ghost dancers in a trance together. Your curiosity is piqued.
All Ghost are kept alive by feeling invisible, unacknowledged and unaccepted. Give it a chance and it will speak… Let your Ghost confide in you. Let it share it’s story. Be brave, kind and welcoming.
Ask it gently: Ghost, what keeps you “undead”? Why do you haunt me? What made you this way?
As your Ghost speaks feel whatever sensations bubble up in your body, and spirit. Listen to its words… Let them roll deep into you.
How does Ghost’s story connect to your own? Are you related in some way? Recall the emotions you felt as began your journey. Have they shifted any? Do you have a new perspective?
Speak kindly to Ghost. Give it words of love and encouragement. Express to Ghost how it is okay to be angry, or sad, or whatever it feels. Show Ghost that it is never alone. That you are always listening. And mean it!
Ghost begins to fade away. Like a hazy cloud lodged in the frame of the sky, Ghost breaks into parts and then dissolves into nothing. And in the void where Ghost once stood a small light appears. The light of new beginnings that has seeded the darkness. Your intentions that have been floating in gestation. Invite the light with open arms, and know that the unknown is the fertile ground of creation, not he ominous path of destruction.
Return from your inner world when you are ready. Remove your scarf. And light the candle. You have just given up your Ghost. Ghost was nothing more than your own resistance to change. Reminding you that you can feel all the feels… And then move on to the next thing!
As the candle glows brightly before you, illuminating the darkened room, say: I have entered the Land of the West. Thank you Spirit of Metamorphosis for guiding my way. I have gently laid to Rest my Ghost. I am a seed of light planted in the rich soil of change. So shall it be.
The dream circle is your place of refuge. Be here as long as you need, and return often. Let the candle’s flame inspire you. Allow your inner wisdom to speak. Before you leave leave the circle talk with your spirit. What is your intuition whispering to you? Don’t be surprised if tomorrow looks very different from today. You have just summoned some outrageous magic!
