Belonging

Today I woke up in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

I am sitting outside this beautiful cabin in the middle of the forest and in front of a huge lake. My heart feels full and so grateful to be in the presence of such majestic beauty.

I am traveling with a group of medicine women who are dedicated to serving various medicines around the world. It's been quite the adventure and learning experience. Learning about the importance of assertive communication, accountability and to stay clear about my personal vision.

People come from all over the country to be able to sit with medicine and experience God, clarity and whatever is available for them to receive. People cry, they laugh, they express the need to belong, their need for meaning in their lives, and they have so many questions that they want answers to.

We are seekers and wanderers, we carry pain. We have families, we have unresolved trauma and some of us have an interest in healing it. Being recognized and held in our stories gives us some kind of relief. 

I believe that something fundamentally important in order for us to heal, is to be reminded in some way or other, that we aren’t walking this journey alone. In all of the gatherings I’ve been to, everyone I’ve talked to has expressed the importance of being seen by someone else and the profound impact that it has in their sense of belonging.

Observing the people that kept showing up to these medicine ceremonies reminded me of the time when my friend Debbie invited me to step into the nest she had built in her backyard. She said to bring with me something I wanted to offer or heal. Imagine getting fully undressed and stepping into a human size nest and surrendering yourself for a few minutes in a fetal position.I brought with me my 7 years old self. It was the first time that I felt seen, because it was the first time I was sharing something that I kept to myself  for more than three decades.

The women that I have had the pleasure to meet so far and served with my body movement therapy, are women of great courage. They have overcome so many obstacles in their lives and  they have suffered great loss. Some of them are survivors and they see themselves as true miracles.Some of them aren't sure how they are still alive.

These women are here because they are listening to their souls calling, surrendering to what the medicine may have to offer to each one of them.

We gather in ceremonies and we come together in retreats. We join spiritual communities because we want to belong. We all feel the need to belong. Belonging is a way to be seen, and when I feel like I am seen, I heal. 

The beauty and wisdom of the medicine is here to remind us of our true belonging. That we belong to something greater than this body and this life. It is infinite and lives forever inside of us, called our TRUE SELF. If we use the medicine to remember our way back to that feeling and knowing, then we are actually honoring the wisdom of the medicine. 

If we are using the medicine to escape and avoid facing our TRUE SELF we will forever be seeking the next great thing, thinking that the answer is outside of us. 

Let's continue to gather and create community. Let’s continue to dare to be vulnerable and share what pains us. Let’s continue to show ourselves in safe spaces, because when you dare and I witness, I also heal. 

Thank you Nova Scotia for such a beautiful welcome and enriching experience.

Namaste !!