Pink Coyote

Last Chance for Autumn SouLodge!

Registration closes at the end of the day, October 1st. I hope to bring some light to your darkness!

Autumn SouLodge Invitation from Pixie Campbell on Vimeo.

SO much brewing in the Halloween/Samhain pot for Autumn SouLodge. I LOVE planning these sessions, and have been turned upside down and backward as I've put myself through the content building of this course.  Holy shit, the shadows run deep! 

Working with the watery West is a cleansing pursuit, which leaves us FRESH for the holidays, in alignment with our values during the most stressful times of year, and purified of the drek so that the New Year can flourish.

I have many allies by my side and more keep flying, swimming, slithering, and trotting in. One thing I love about shamanism is that the guides come when they are needed. It reminds me of when I was about to give birth to Miles (seven years old tomorrow)-I was lying on the couch, thinking to myself, "HOW in the h.e.l.l. am I going to do this?". I took a journey (the primary tool of SouLodge) and asked, "Who will help me give birth to this baby? Who will see me through the labor...would anyone like to be my special companion?" There was a long, dark silence and no images or voices came for some time (which always feels like an unbearable eternity). One by one soft lights spotlit EVERY SINGLE ANIMAL in the kingdom. It was like Noah's ark! They surrounded me in a semi-circle and I made rapid note of what each had to offer: thick skins, deep dens, fierce growls, community pods and packs, loyal mates, fluffy nests, empathetic eyes, strength, adaptabilty, love for their cubs, silent movement...you get the idea.

Needless to say, it was a very emotional moment there on the couch, to feel so utterly surrounded by help.

The shadowlands beckon with all sorts of teachings about why we have fear, anxiety, angst, why we carry it, how we allow it to stop us, what happened and how to unwire and rewire the past, heal generations forward and back, and address the sneaky weights that nestle in between our shoulders, keeping us from flight.

I hope to see you in Autumn Lodge, sisters! It's going to be a very productive and cleansing session, to be sure.

 

********

To swim is in a certain sense to re-enter this womb-like medium. To do this meditatively is to re-awaken that primal sense of belonging from the time before one's             individuality first broke free. 

-John O'Donohue, Four Elements

Goldmining: Three Days to Register

Autumn Equinox came and kicked some of our asses, inviting us to meet our fears at the negotiating table. And Saturday's upcoming Harvest Moon is asking us to look at the powerful and mystical within ourselves, as well as around us, and take inventory.

It would seem that Persephone will not be denied her journey into Hades, no matter how rigorously we try to prepare for the Fall. Part of living into the sacred and divine feminine is to honor the Dark, as much as we bow to the Light. The work I've done this year with women in the communal context of SouLodge & Matrilumina has shown me (again) that there are layers within all of us that express on the surface as routine fear: the feeling.

Fear expresses itself as a result of natural and power center-located anxiety: that whole body sensation that something is out of alignment. And deeper still, if we dig down, we find that there is a body of angst that is made up of old conditioning: existential worries of death, guilt, shame, sublevel and mostly unconscious concerns that we will be rejected, deemed selfish, unloved, poor, lacking in worth, and perhaps that our ideas are not valuable.

Some beautiful presentations will be made by members of the SouLodge community to offer herbal medicine for what feels unbearable, wisewoman storytelling, crafting to heal, and more.

Our sanctuary for Wild Women offers a space for authentic expression and lights at the end of the tunnel. When we are ready to walk our walk, we're called to go down and examine these things. The good news is that if you are experiencing some of these things, you're not alone. Embracing the Fall can be symbolic of our courage and willingness to explore our depths, as well as our heights. Autumn SouLodge: Goldmining the Shadows with Black Panther is a call to sit in a community of women possessing fierce integrity and ego-strength, in order to take a gentle sojourn down into the mineral-rich darkness.

Registration closes Monday, October 1. Class begins on Monday, October 8th.

Visit the SouLodge courses page to register-there are only three days left!

Love and lanterns enough for all,

Pixie

Shaping Our Capacity to Trust

Talking Stick.

I'm sitting amidst a pile of receipts getting ready for our tax appointment on Friday. I filed an extension this year because I'm basically running months behind schedule on administrative work- and coming to this reality is leaving me weary. It's testing my trust in myself to take care of business on time. Which has never been my strong suit. Enter anxiety. Not just of the present moment, but a hit I've put out on mySelf as a result of disappointment.

Creativity and making meaning of my life became a priority for me when I left working for others thirteen years ago to soujourn out into the wide, scary world and make my way on my own. Trusting that I can "make" has kept me going. I was filled with fear of financial instability, the concept of living/working sustainably would not occur me until I began looking at the world as a whole from a perspective of longevity. Still, as an unschooling mama and one who is making her way on her own, I find it at times difficult to see the big picture.

As children, we cannot declare our challenges in words and concepts that our parents really understand. Even with a very understanding parent or two, anxiety builds about living in an unsafe world as we are desensitized in order to grow. For most generations, ours and behind us, desensitization was the only way to go. Growth was not so much a nurtured choice as it was a harsh reality. Today we can balance walking with our fears, failures, anxieties and general angst about living in an uncertain existence, by tweaking our view on reality. What if we could condition ourselves (and our children) for trust? Would anything else matter if we possessed a deep understanding that we are safe?

To choose a religion ("the bond between man and the gods", or "to bind back", in Latin) is to attempt to relocate our connection to the cosmos and the Big Picture. It would seem that we search for this connection from the moment we emerge from the safety of the womb.

Do you think of the world as unsafe?

What sleepy patterns emerge in childhood that we continue to reenact until we awaken to trust?

What are your current remedies for anxiety, and how do they support you for the long road? Are they sustainable?

When I observe the concepts I embrace around Earth Medicine, (which seem to be the natural tendencies of my children) to see the Earth and the creatures as mirrors for our lives and experiences, I feel comfort, safety and acceptance of All That Is. I believe it would be called "animistic thinking" by professionals of psychology- to bring in what is "out there" and to project what is in us back out. If a culture sees soul in every living thing and in matter, then it would follow that we are composed of soul. Only through the desensitization/shutting down process (as a result of traumatic events, etc) and modern thinking would we fragment that connection and have to deepen the search to circle back later in life. To read the environment from a young age, or even now, as adults, we can observe the life cycles of the Earth, the plants and the creatures to see that there is a rhythm to life that does not carry the anxiety we do. An animal that is not in a cage (and is not being too interfered with by humans) does not seem to express these qualities. A plant that is not in a too-small container behaves in a different way than it's wild counterpart.

What would happen if we built a foundation with our own thinking that supported our own life cycle?

What could shift if we focused a good portion of our energy into increasing our capacity (as well as our children's) to trust?

What would that look like for you?

Fall 'Nox: Origin, Blood & Roots

 

Descent: To dive, drop, fall or nosedive. Also: ancestors, parentage, origin, blood, roots, stock.

Autumn Equinox was met with little public fanfare for me this year, unlike past high-holidays. Instead, I opted to do what is difficult for me to do, which is to shut the hell up. My mate traveled to the PacNW Thursday to attend a gypsy jazz workshop and I've been vacationing with the little ones and enjoying the gig of full time parenting again, which is helping me draw down, and in. It's also been a week of organizing, not in my usual utlilitarian, Virgo-ish manner, but with a little more care, beauty, and reflection of my heart into my environment.

Like Persephone, Inanna, and the woodland creatures, I feel myself descending slowly into the Underworld. I'm digging my den, nesting, and also asking myself how I would like my Autumn to look and feel. From now until the end of the year is the true dark time. I was recently asked to create something for a yummy magazine to get folks through the darkest time of the year. I chose to tell the story of being one with the woods, feeling at my edge in the inky recesses of Winter during my first months in the national forest.

I'd like to know, how do you prepare?

There is a beautiful ignorance that can occur when we head down into ourselves during these months of the year-a mystery awaits on the feminine side of the Wheel that is innately of the Earth. Burrowed seeds; we don't know what will become of us. Persephone ate the pomegranate seeds that would find her returning to Hades every Autumn and Winter- away from her treasured mother, Demeter, who's grief would cause the Earth to fall into a state of non-growth, of hibernation, of death. Often grief, loss, or some form of despair causes us to emotionally mature to a state where we can accept the fallow, dark times. Embracing this aspect of the lifecycle outside in the world, and within ourselves, is what Autumn SouLodge is all about.

My intention for myself this season is to stay grounded. To take in the roots and plants that nourish me and keep me well. To fast/cleanse again. To read. And read. And read. To learn. To cozy down, and fill up.

Visiting the ancestors and descending into the Underworld is a time I very much look forward to. Dancing with the dead, feeling the blood, the bones, and the Earth rise up to meet me, I'm happy to claw at the soil for the good truffles, and be shown what to do next. Getting through the darker parts of the year is no different than going to bed at night and letting my dreams do the work.

 

 

Postcards from Fall Squam 2012

Squam Art Workshops last week was the best one ever. I am really touched by the level of integrity of the women who attend this workshop, how willing everyone is to know what they need and ask for what they want. The woods were sunny and warm, glistening with bright faces and familiar friends. What I love so much about SAW is that it represents a whole trajectory of growth for me. I got to share my story of taking my family the first year, and then little Ivy the second year (as a six month old) and how returning each year after has been one that holds many sacred memories for the value of living a creative life that includes those most treasured to me. I wept all over the mic, of course.

Elizabeth left this in our house for us to discover upon arrival.

I can't describe what it's like to wake up on these lakes.

Morning circle Thursday was filled with humor, singing, and sharing, as well as giving away.

Prayer ties grounded us in the purpose of our souls.

Post journey on the screened porch at High Pines. 

Just before closing circle on the glorious dock, we were courted by three Wood Ducks-have you ever seen these characters in action? They literally run across the water! I opted not to bring my camera and was a bit sorry for it.

Basking in creative community and nature.

In just under a month, I'll be back at Pine Island on the Outer Banks for my last Squam event of the year. 

I'm immersed in gratitude for the women. The Women! Being surrounded by women who are taking responsibility for their passion and happiness fills my heart!

Autumn SouLodge is quickly filling, as is the March retreat for Matrilumina in Esalen! I hope to see you soon-be sure to check out the Live Workshops page at the SouLodge site if you're yearning to connect in 2013.

Sacred Ceremony & Apothecary Circle Giveaway

I'm packing up the last of my supplies and essentials for Squam Art Workshops this week, and what a mighty heave-HO it's been. Oh man. This one took it outta me. My plate is full, all cups spilling over. To fill up on what I give out, I attended a sacred women's circle this weekend. I'm hoping Sarah Jane, of Pow Wow Lodge will continue to host them at her cabin north of Los Angeles and that women from this community will join her in the tipi. We sang, drummed, journeyed, feasted, and created ceremony in the woods in the pick-a-nick spot of the local Bear people in an Oak Grove in the Chumash Wilderness (which I called home for seven glorious and transformational years). We were gifted charcoal from the fire of the 13 Grandmothers. It was another reminder of why I do what I do, and why women gathering in circles larger than 8 have the power to change the world dramatically. 

The Autumn SouLodge giveaway was exhilarating last week. So very many women came from all directions to the fire. When I return from New Hampshire, I'd love to initiate a conversation here about transmutation of energies, which is what we will primarily be working with when we delve into the shadow realms on October 8th. If you aren't enrolled yet, registration closes on October 1. It's going to blow the doors off. Or the flap open, I should say.

While I'm away this week, please take a look at what my friend and SouLodge sister, Laura Emily, has created for you: A giveaway of her annual certification program, Apothecary Circle, which begins on the Winter Solstice. Leave a comment to enter, as she'll be moderating this space in my absence and randomly selecting a winner. Let her know why you'd love to take part in her healing circle.

I participated in LE's 10 Day Fast in July and it not only changed my life and relationship to my body, but it changed my chemistry. Once a sucker for a carbonated beverage, I can't deal with anything other than water or coconut water now. I had no idea her wisdom would reach that far into my body's history. She's a young wise woman and I admire her a great deal. Working with her in community held me accountable to my own personal soul-Lent and the results were fantastic. I'd never felt better, and I am excited to work with her again.

Read more about LE's journey at Good Earth Living.

Thank you, lovely Lightbringers, for all that you are, for walking your walks, and shining your healing radiance.

**********

Postscript: Here is the note from Laura Emily on the giveaway: 

Thank you everyone for entering the giveaway! I used the True Random Number Generator over at random.org to select a random winner, and this is who they selected:

Genevieve said...
I would love to return to the path that is so deeply rooted in me. Thank you so much.

Congrats Genevieve! I am emailing you the details to complete your registration with the Apothecary Circle.

xo. 
laura emily

Thank you, LE, for sharing your healing gifts and creating such a deep body connection for so many of us!

Giveaway Winners Announced

What an incredible week of declaring what you want to transmute! I'm overwhelmed with gratitude at the response to the giveaway and totally blown away by your transparency in your comments. I'm bowing deeply to your commitment to shift the shadows and bring some light to walking your walk. I can't say all of that without adding that I'm really honored to be holding the space for you to do this work in. I also want to send out an ENORMOUS thank you to the sponsors who made so many extra seats available so that this giveway could be so rich in opportunity.

The winners for the giveaway are:

Stephanie King

Erin Darcy

Amy Kaireen

Rain

Elisabeth

Jeanie Anthony

Rachael Rice

Polly Davies

Nissa Howard

Laura Dogsmom

Chasity Scholl

Be sure to fill out your forms (follow the link that was sent to you) so that you receive your welcome instructions and, later, your password on October 7th. Thank you, everyone! I hope you'll consider joining this powerful group of women for Autumn SouLodge: Deep Roots: Goldmining the Shadows with Black Panther. She has much in store for us.

I loved reading all of the comments and want to share this one with you, by Solveig Stroer, of eMateria in Germany:

"I'd love to transmute the misdirected masculine energies that have been playing such a huge part in my life and that I still experience in so many ways. Integrate these energies with the sacred feminine to give direction and purpose." 

One of the things that comes up a lot in the SouLodge community is engaging balance within so that we can heal our past relationships to the divine masculine and divine feminine, and act passionately and from a gentle empowered place. Hope to see you with Black Panther by our sides!

Autumn SouLodge Giveaway: ELEVEN Seats with Black Panther

It's that time again! One of ELEVEN* seats in Autumn SouLodge could be yours. This is going to be a particularly potent season of bringing light to the shadows as the darker seasons close in on us, drawing us inward and slowing us down a bit after Summer's rush.

During Deep Roots: Goldmining the Shadows with Black Panther we will walk with the Dark Feminine by our sides, stalking our own shadows and calling them out into the light for insight and transmutation.

*Feeling like the same issues are coming up for you again and again?

*Needing some fresh tools and community to process what's holding you back?

*Wanting to bring new energy to relationships and stories?

*Needing to feel honored and protected without burying your feelings?

*Seeking to balance the polarity of dark and light in your world?

*Looking for ways to bring ease, compassion and grace to the areas that still hang you up?

Join us and sleek Panther, along with a powerful host of weekly animal teachers during the five-week session.

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment about what energy you'd like to transmute. Tweet and Facebook share for two extra entries, and let me know that you've done it you can increase your chances! Be sure to list your email so I'll have a way to contact this Friday if you if you are one of the winners.

Blessings of a balanced walk,

Pixie 

*Incredibly generous Angels have made it possible for eight more seats to be added to this giveaway. I am speechless and beyond grateful. Bowing in all directions to them and to the abundant Universe.

Are you a part of SouLodge's Affiliate Program? If not, sign up to earn abundant flow and help grow the movement of powerful women honoring the sacred within and all around.

Wanting to give back? Consider gifting a membership to SouLodge to someone you love or a woman who is in need of sponsorship. Email me at [email protected] to find out how.

Miles & I Featured: Organic Sister Parenting e-Course

I'm having so much fun collaborating with the ever-humble and infinitely wise coach and mama, Tara Wagner, of Organic Sister. I wish I could share the recorded call we did last week with her Organic Tribe on Staying Grounded Amidst Chaos. It was really revealing about what levels of restoration so many of us are needing as we...dare I say ascend into higher forms of work that are more community and "giving" oriented. If you join her Organic Tribe for the year, you have access to every single thing she creates, (including our recorded call) which is part of her amazing generosity.

Tara is a full-on radical gypsy living the off-grid traveler's dream. She keeps the road hot in her solar-powered RV pulled by a veggie diesel and unschools her son with her beloved partner. When she asked me to contribute to her upcoming parenting e-course it was a clear YES for me. One, because we're in alignment about so many of the same issues, two, because she's a very compassionate parent who takes non-violent mothering to an inspiring level, and three, because she's super-coolio. Another reason is because I've been crafting a parenting course myself all summer, and I simply don't have time to follow through on it. After hearing Tara's lineup of contributors, I felt that her course would be the perfect answer to me pushing myself too hard, trying to express my every passion on the planet.  You will be in very good hands with Tara and her team.

She's just today launched it! Organic Parenting: The Unconventional Guide to Vibrant Mamas and Thriving Kids, is full of tools, videos (Miles and I loved contributing), practices and strategies for confident, conscious parenting. 

Jan Hunt is on board, one of my favorite authors in the early days of parenting. I still look to her book The Natural Child: Parenting From the Heart when I am overwhelmed and need a calm and steady wisewoman to guide me over the rough seas.

I'm so grateful to Tara for giving me the opportunity to share my parenting Voice. I hope you enjoy her community gathering of conscious parents and what we have to share with you.