Pink Coyote

Free SouLodge PDF: Because A VOICE is a Terrible Thing to Waste

Photo by Mike Ball.

I have been thinking about Friday's upcoming Blue Moon (simply the second full moon to appear in one calendar month) and also nursing my own Voice back to health after a weekend of burning the candle at both ends, as I am prone to doing. This is all while still marinating in the recently completed and most powerful five-week SouLodge course yet, July's Strong & Vital VOICE with Whale. Mama Whale nurtured us so gently and calmly through the very active Summer season.

I was so completely moved by the women of this particular virtual gathering under the flap. Working with Voice stirred up many emotions and was pivotal for many women who were deeply interested in what their souls had to say to them, and how to take those messages forward from within into their relationships, families, and to the world. Many of us discovered that we get a chunky lump in our throats (5th chakra) when we go to speak our vulnerable truths. So how to stay open? How to stay present to what is right there, so eager to be acknowledged? And a very important question for me, which I have been goldmining layer beneath layer of, is WHY?

Why is it important for me to speak my Truth?

Because the Truth is trapped within me which keeps me feeling small.

Why?

Because when Truth is not allowed to be heard, my vitality and radiance are undermined.

Why?

Because I'm not honoring myself and what I require to stay vital.

Why?

Because I've been conditioned/conditioned myself to adjust for others.

Why?

Because what I have to say is too much/too big/too deep/too scary/too risky (or too overwhleming and articulate, as a therapist advised me).

Why?

Because Women have been quieted/quieted themselves for too long, and now it is the accepted way. 

 Holding down the Truth about who I am and what I require to thrive causes damage and death to my soul.

It seems that sometimes soul's messages lies about 5-10 layers of Why under the surface. This is why I love working for SouLodge- my shelter, my community, my hope - as it provides us with the safe space to go deep.

In less than a month, Summer will be coming to a close. It seemed fitting, given the impact of this course, to make it available to everyone who feels called to dive into the majestic and revealing blue deep. It is a lasting work that will see us through all seasons to come, and a critical piece of the puzzle.

As part of every SouLodge session, I package the raw content from the course for participants into a PDF...

Strong & Vital VOICE with Whale is my gift to you, and you can download it here.

My message for the rare and upcoming Blue Moon is to strengthen your true Voice. I do believe that the whole world benefits from it, and becomes stronger when you do.

Love,

Pixie

photo of Pixie by Stacy de la Rosa

 

Matrilumina: 2012 Initiation

I've just returned from our week at Esalen with Matrilumina, the inaugural gathering of Beacons and Luminaries: those who shine their lights so brightly and bravely into the dark corners, glowing for the world as they walk their walks. It was all at once restorative, deeply healing, connective, eye-opening, creative, a meeting with those who are completely unafraid to give name to what they're building, and FUN.  

I hope to share more details-most definitely about the exercise led by Maya Corinne, on Capacity Expansion and Filling Your Beacon Basket. Holy WOW. My beacon basket is overflowing. I find it amusing, in the most heavenly way, that we must fill up on exactly what we give out.

We GATHER.

Brave Girl and luminous leader, Melody Ross.

River nymphs.

 

Nourishment.

Cleansing to begin.

Sitting still.

Brave Intuitive Painter, Flora Bowley, restoring.

The illustrious and radiant Sunflower Woman, Herbmother.

Jen Gray, crossing bridges.

The womb which holds us.

Surrender.

To shine.

We hope to meet you on the cliffs of Big Sur to witness your light someday...♥ ♥

Big Sur Bound: Matrilumina

I've written so many times about my deep love affair with Big Sur. I go there every year to breathe and decompress in the no-cell range canyon and cliffs that have been soothing my soul since my first solo retreat there in 2003. It's funny how you can fall in love with a place, learn it's curves and misty moments, it's hidden treasures and unbelievable secret vistas. The whole of it takes my breath away.

Last year, as I flew back from teaching in NC, I was hit with an expansive vision. It was alchemical in that it involved two other women and could only be created by all three of our energies. Having just dabbled in partnership and contracts with others, I knew it would call me out to trust in ways I never had to bring us all, three very different women with very strong personalities, together.

So we made a date in Big Sur early this year to discuss Matrilumina: an exquisite all-women gathering for Beacons in our communities: Luminaries-those who are carrying the torches for others, lighting the way with their radiance, discipline, and commitment to causes higher than themselves. We encountered at least a dozen creatures who seemed to say, "You can do it! Do it!" They said YES.

And so began our journey into the live experiences the three of us have been dreaming of. We began very quietly, knowing we would want to feel enveloped in our own sacred culture to try out what we wanted to share, and our eighteen spaces quickly filled. 

We'll all be gathering at beautiful Esalen on the cliffs of Big Sur Sunday-Friday to see what we can bring to the emerging Matrilumina community, to see what we can learn and carry forward, to touch our own torches together and see what kind of fire we can build *together*.

We've each posted entries over there for you to enjoy. We hope you'll consider joining us in the Wild West to share and expand your creative light, your vision and also receive from our hearts. 

Thank you, my sweet readership- for holding your dreams sacred, for building strong foundations, and leaving beauty in your wake. You are my inspiration.

The Kids Think It's All the Rage

Miles enjoys spinich and cilantro salad with fresh strawberry dressing.

Strawberry Salad Dressing*

8 strawberries, greens removed

2 tbs olive oil

splash apple cider vinegar

*happy children

 

Hunger Games

Breakfast: Cucumber, spinach, kale, celery, pear & coconut water.
Day 1-3: Rough. Caught myself milling around in the pantry looking for snacks because quite frankly, I didn't know what to do with myself. Ate a bag of black truffle popcorn before I could leave the health food store parking lot.
Day 3-4: Already feeling full and radiant. Did not sweat the First Friday crowd and their fancy wine and stuffed porcini steakishness.
Day 5: Cleanse officially begins. What hunger?

Maybe I worked out the kinks in the days we spent prepping for the real deal, because it's worrisome how much I'm not hungry. Not really worrisome. It's just that my body isn't experiencing any strange cravings and I'm basically in shock about it.

Spinach, microgreens, cilantro, tomatos, avocado, kalamata olives, cucumber, feta, salt and pepper. Last night I made my own tahini dressing, but didn't even need it. The garden tomatos are so flavorful and I think my tastebuds are operating on warp.

I feel really great, and yet my mind keeps wondering what I'm supposed to be doing other than feeling great. 

Tricky devil.

♥

 

Women turn to food when they are not hungry because they are hungry for something they 
can’t name: a connection to what is beyond the concerns of daily life. Something deathless, something sacred.

Geneen Roth, Women Food and God

 

 

Call Today: Walking with Money, with Maggie Hollinbeck

Rest at Harvest, by Adoph William Berguereau

Abundance is a much-discussed topic in SouLodge, as well it should be. Women operate at the poverty level in many different ways, some which might occur from imbalances in our thinking which prevents prosperity from flowing toward us. To be rich in resources is a birthright, and yet many of us do not step into the cycle of abundant flow and participate in it's movement and growth.

Why?

I do believe that a woman can become possessed by thoughts such as lacking in deserving, The starving artist mentality still prevails, while women continue not to see themselves as precious a commodity as the Earth and Trees, with immense power to heal and birth new consciousness, given the resources.

Maggie Hollinbeck is a Marriage and Family therapist, actor, coach and long-time friend. I have witnessed her birthing big projects, deep healing, and new ideas since 1999. In our SouLoge Alumni group a couple of weeks ago, it became apparent that the conversation around money is still the hottest on the table. We'll be talking about it today from the perspective of archetypes: Maiden, Mother, Crone and the missing woman between the Mother and the Crone, according to Ava Park, the Queen.

It'll be a fun and enlightening conversation with time for questions!

Walking with Money

Friday, August 3rd, 12 noon PST

Dial 1.712.432.0190

Passcode 963419

To learn more about what sparked this conversation, read Maggie's post, Which Archetype is Running Your Money Script? She's also put together a beautiful PDF with more information, and will reveal it's secret location during the call, which will be recorded for later listening.

Hope to have you on the call! 

The Things You Own End Up Owning You

I've begun to celebrate, with gusto, every seasonal holiday, including the cross-quarter ones. Today and tomorrow is when Lammas was/is typically celebrated, among the Celts, and I've shared a bit of information about it from School of the Seasons below.

The famous Fight Club quote, by Chuck Palahniuk, came to mind as I did some journalling about a cleanse I began today. Yes, why not fast or cleanse every six weeks, eh? For me, it's overkill, really, but I'm in such a transition and wanting to create eating habits that stick as I enter my Very Busiest Time of Year this month at this retreat. And because of what's stuck in my body and brain- I don't want what's hanging on from last week's cocktail hour and pesticidy Mexican food birthday party, complete with ice cream-covered buñuelos, running the show here. Did you see the bit on Junk Food Consciousness?

I don't know if it's my personality/constitution, but I have to be somewhat vigilant about care of my body and energy levels. I'm still standing at the counter and scarfing oftener than I'd rather. (I can't believe I admit this stuff.)

The words leapt into my head because what I covet at times, and women in my SouLodge community have recently reported this as well, are IDEAS. Ideas which serve so well in the beginning of a new journey. And symbols that attach themselves to those ideas, and then before you know it, a tidy little picket fence of restricteds and rigidness has formed around a time and place that once smacked of sweet freedom. A fast or cleanse creates a hell of a turnover rate. And who needs the garbage sitting over by the door stinking up the joint, anyway?

I'm building a holiday fire tonight and setting flame to what I'm over and opening the channel for expansion and heartfullness. It has become a ritual for me that I haven't yet grown tired of. I'll share some raw food and juice recipes this week, as well, which I LOVE creating and devouring. I'm not fasting from solids this time, and not practicing deprivation as my mission is to work with Laura Emily, of 10 Day Fast, to unlock a few gates and bring in some more energy. LE is having a 35% sale, so use code LAMMAS if you'd like to join us for the next two weeks.

Food for Thought, from School of the Seasons

Lammas is a festival of regrets and farewells, of harvest and preserves. Reflect on these topics alone in the privacy of your journal or share them with others around a fire. Lughnasad is one of the great Celtic fire-festivals, so if at all possible, have your feast around a bonfire. While you're sitting around the fire, you might want to tell stories. Look up the myths of any of the grain Gods and Goddesses mentioned above and try re-telling them in your own words. 

Regrets: Think of the things you meant to do this summer or this year that are not coming to fruition. You can project your regrets onto natural objects like pine cones and throw them into the fire, releasing them. Or you can write them on dried corn husks (as suggested by Nancy Brady Cunningham in Feeding the Spirit) or on a piece of paper and burn them.

Farewells: What is passing from your life? What is over? Say good-bye to it. As with regrets, you can find visual symbols and throw them into the fire, the lake or the ocean. You can also bury them in the ground, perhaps in the form of bulbs which will manifest in a new form in spring.

Harvest: What have you harvested this year? What seeds have you planted that are sprouting? Find a visual way to represent these, perhaps creating a decoration in your house or altar which represents the harvest to you. Or you could make a corn dolly or learn to weave wheat. Look for classes in your area which can teach you how to weave wheat into wall pieces, which were made by early grain farmers as a resting place for the harvest spirits.

My Green Goddess is the juice blend above, from Penni Shelton's Raw Food Cleanse, which I have tweaked a tiny bit and renamed:

The Dancing Machine

Juice 1 small bunch kale or baby spinich (I destem the kale to take some of the bite out), 4 celery stalks, 1 lemon-peeled, 1.5" piece fresh ginger, 2 granny smith apples and 1 cucumber.