What is the future you carry within you that you want to give birth to? Our hope lies in the future and that future lies within your hopes and dreams, not only of a better world for yourself, but for those that come after you.
Credo Mutwa, the great African shaman, said: “(Wo)Man must make two connections. (S)He must reconnect with the earth and (s)he must reconnect with the stars.”
Reconnecting with the earth refers to the importance of reconnecting with our earthly bodies, while reconnecting with the stars reminds us to reconnect with the something bigger than ourselves.
The role of the body is to anchor us in our life experience, moment by moment, day by day, again and again. The body is there to connect us to life, to feel alive, to enjoy what this world has to offer. When the body does not function optimally, it becomes a messenger of something that is asking for your attention. All the body wants is to achieve balance, and it tries to maintain that state of balance through the body’s repair and rejuvenation systems, which include the hormonal and immune systems.
When we return to nature, we witness nature’s rhythms and cycles, which are part of the feminine principle. The seasonal display of nature, as she cycles through her various phases from winter to spring, reminds us to re-connect to the inherent wisdom contained in the natural cycles of our bodies, and thus to re-establish a personal rhythm that supports our health in the most natural way.
When we allow our body to tell its story, there is much to learn, and many opportunities to discover all the areas that are out of sync with natural rhythm and balance. One way is to start focusing on what can go right with our body, not only on what is wrong. We need to remember the innate intelligence present in the body, which invites us to reconnect to it in playful and wholesome ways. In honouring the wisdom contained in our cells and in the perfect design of our body, the way back to health can look completely differently than the overemphasis and focus on disease.
Women’s bodies should be honoured for the sacred vessels they are. No life of another is possible if it doesn’t pass through the uterus of a woman’s body. Our bodies are the containers of the future and should be revered and treated as such. There is immense beauty to the female body, but it goes much deeper than the superficial version splashed all over the media and magazines, that objectifies female bodies. Do you feel the tiredness in your bones when you see these images? Women need to remember their sovereignty and reclaim their bodies in ways that empower and heal their sense of self. That is one piece of the puzzle.
However, as Rumi reminds us: “If you look too closely at the form, you will miss the essence.” There is more to you and me than our exterior.
You were born on a specific day, at a specific place, at a specific time. If you could gaze up at the stars at that moment, you would have had a unique perspective of the sky, which is quite different from another person born at the same time, at a different place on the globe. As a new born baby, you entered this physical world from the great beyond, the great mystery that wanted you to remember that you have a unique face and a unique storyline to live.
The ancient wisdom traditions teach us a rich language of story, myth and promise splashed across the night sky, if only we remember to look up. Somehow everybody loves gazing up at the sky on a starlit evening. What is it that we seek? Is it part of a primal longing for connection to something bigger than ourselves?
Close your eyes for a moment. What is it that you see? Does this black vastness you see when you close your eyes remind you of the experience you have when you look up at the night sky? Feel yourself standing with your feet on the earth, while simultaneously being part of this greater reality where mystery beckons you to become aware that you are so much more than you can ever imagine.
One way we can think about this bridge we have to build between the earth and the stars, is to imagine a huge tree stretching up into the cosmos, while being deeply rooted in the earth below. A tree is a symbol of life and aliveness; it is complete with a root system that drinks up the nourishment from the soil and water, pushing it upwards into the trunk and the branches to allow them to expand and grow and bear fruit. What is more magnificent and majestic than a huge tree, thousands of years old, that has weathered many seasons of storms, droughts and fires, and yet still stands with a quiet resolve that comes from an ancient sense of belonging and knowing?
Each one of us can be likened to a tree. Imagine yourself as the most magnificent tree, having a strong root system, strongly anchored in the earth and the natural world, while always stretching upwards to expand and evolve, reaching up into the sky, into the greater expansion of your essence, your soul.
There is an architecture to your design that is similar to the wonders of the natural world. You are and have always been an intricate part of the magnificence of creation. Your body is a masterpiece, and you are an integral part of a greater design with immense inherent intelligence. Finding your own way to live in this mystery, in a way that affirms your belonging to both worlds, the earthly and the sublime, becomes your personal myth.
The SheArt Way weaves two stories together, the one of your body and the other of your soul, to make this myth, your new story possible. Life will be awakened in you in ways you can’t imagine to be true, when you give voice to the body and the soul, while restoring the connection between the two. By reconnecting to the bigger planetary cycles and becoming intimate with the rhythms and cycles in your body, your body, YOU, becomes the bridge between what is seen and not seen, between the earth and the heavens.
