"Roses" - Photo by Meredith Eastwood

A Rose by Many Names

Last weekend I attended a workshop in Three Rivers, Michigan, entitled, “Continuous Openings,” facilitated by Ruth Eichler and Lesley Carmack.  They co-authored “Radiant Awakening,” a book published in 2014. It is a blend of self-discovery, scholarly research, and inspired journey through the heart and soul of Sacred Feminine principles.

Jean Houston writes on the jacket of their book the following: “To read it is to awaken to the mystery of our origin, the revelation of soul-crafted living and the potential future of those who take seriously the rise of the Sacred Feminine. The book itself is a Mystery School offering training and inspiration for seekers who would prepare themselves to be making a difference in both inner and outer worlds.”

I packed up my statue of Athena, a camera with two lenses and a shamanic drum for my part in their program. Two dear friends made the drive with me. After two days of heart-fed activities, soulful interactions and rich dream narratives, I returned home with a gorgeous red rose, a journal filled with notes, and precious connections to a circle of new friends.  The following is a poetic expression that summarizes portions of my experience.

“Finding a Place in the Head for the Heart”

Vodka is to Champagne as drunkenness is to celebration…one dream title.
“In the infinite where you are, there is nowhere to send that which is disowned.”
I hear Lesley’s words and scribble them for later.
So while we hold opposites, do we toast to
The celebration of life, or to the drunkenness of power?
Or simply seek the removal of obstacles, and a state of equanimity

I drum for us

Goddess images are the many radiant mirrors for
The miraculous fractals of the cosmic jewel.
Their voices, the calls of spiraled light into eyes of clarity.
They are seen through the heart, known by the Soul.
Sacred are these mothers of rosy potential
Who “call forth a more evolved Masculine.”

 I dream for us

In the dream, I tear off shag carpet in strips,
Call the antique dealer to remove old furniture left behind.
And then clear out the room for a new creation.
A place fit for Ruth’s “Maternal Now.”
And a Secret Garden where a dozen roses bloom.
The Bodhisattvas and Goddesses by many names.
Athena, Lakshmi, Guanyin, Isis, Kali, Ixchel, Inanna.

February 10-12, 2017

 

 

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