Posts Tagged With: Core Self

Book Review: The Kin of Ata Are Waiting for You

Posted on June 15, 2013 by Carla Woody

The Kin of Ata

The Kin of Ata Are Waiting for You

by Dorothy Bryant

This book is one, like Illusions by Richard Bach, which I’ve read several times over the years. Because I am different every time I read them, they never fail to point out yet another lesson and keep my attention riveted.

The main character in The Kin of Ata had led a seamy, notorious life. A set of circumstances occurred: He had a car accident, veered off a cliff and crashed. He should have been dead. Instead, he was found and taken to a place where dreams of the night held value, and ideals common to true spiritual traditions were actually lived.

The contrast between who he was and where he now found himself was bewildering and painful to him. He attempted to make himself right and others wrong. But something happened along the way. He experienced an awakening.

That’s all I will say. The beauty is in the unfolding of the story. The surprise that awaits will keep you glued until the utter end. This is a classic. Available on Amazon and elsewhere.

Categories: Book Review, Healing, Spiritual Evolution | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Spiritual Travel: Destination or Process?

Posted on May 26, 2013 by Carla Woody

Some years ago I had an inquiry from someone who was interested in the Entering the Maya Mysteries program I was sponsoring; specifically he was enticed by a destination on the itinerary. He’d done a search and I was the only one offering the opportunity. “But,” he said. “I’m not so sure about this ‘spiritual travel’ stuff.”

Curing ritual image

Curing ritual in San Juan Chamula.
Photo: Carla Woody

How to explain something so intangible? In one respect, it contains elements of tangibility: sites and interactions. Invisible to the naked eye, perhaps unanticipated by the mind, are myriad ways to be drawn into the deeper journey that define these potentially uncharted waters—without conscious realization in the moment that you’ve taken the plunge. Hence, enter aspects that: may have no words or audible sound, cannot be held in your hands, your eye can’t get a bead on, can seem ordinary but aren’t. Yet it produces something akin to a lightning strike that splits the rough outer covering and creates an opening, a probable pathway — and a tangible result. There appears a fork in the road inviting decision. It’s not the territory for a faint-hearted tourist but the traveler of a different sort.

I personally welcome those unending layers and outcomes, only bits and pieces of the larger picture solidifying long after closure of the initiation. I’ve had the great fortune, maybe even destiny, to create such organic spaces, through many years’ relationship-building and travel with special intent: being alert to those people and places who offer themselves as powerful conduits. These elements being necessary to push the energy—our energy—to catapult us beyond places that have grown familiar.

My brand of spiritual travel is physically comprised of sacred sites, ceremonies and those who keep the rituals and stories. The travelers who show up to participate equally act as catalysts. An entrainment occurs and each one gains what they need to further the collective and their own journey. And we find out what it’s like to be at play in a field of mirrors: coming face-to-face with aspects that call out for healing and simultaneously create beauty. I personally celebrate it all.

God pot lighting

Lighting the god pots during a
balché ceremony in Najá.
Photo: Carla Woody

The question arises: do you have to travel to experience such initiation? In some form, you do. We are creatures of habit who tend to cling to a mindset that is familiar, even if not particularly healthy. You must be willing to move outside the container: to be fearless, to be open, to explore. You must embody courage to create a wider life. That’s travel.

The fast track requires putting the daily life on pause and dropping yourself into an unfamiliar environment to rediscover what you forgot. When people gather with this common intent, magic happens. They give themselves permission to explore parts of themselves they’re not so in touch with. Add exposure to Native peoples who inherit a sense of the sacred as an integral aspect of life—and a landscape of possibility appears.

When that happens it leaves an indelible impression and shifts who you are in the world. I frequently face a challenge finding words to express the profound value of the intangible elements running through the lifework I’ve chosen. I currently live in a culture that values the immediate result while ignoring the process that’s all-important in creating something of deep meaning that endures. My sense is that if we’re able to finally find comfort floating in the abyss, it will produce all that’s ever needed–beyond what we could imagine. But it takes travel. I’ll leave you with this quote from A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller:

And once you live a good story, you get a taste for a kind of meaning in life; and you can’t go back to being normal; you can’t go back to the meaningless scenes stitched together by the forgettable thread of wasted time.

*********************
Author’s note: Those years ago I must have found the right words. I’m happy to report that the man concerned about the “spiritual travel” stuff has since traveled with me twice. And even more importantly, in the process, we’ve become friends.

For information on our upcoming “Entering the Maya Mysteries” programs, go here. For other spiritual travel destinations, go here. A portion of tuitions are donated to Kenosis Spirit Keepers for projects that help preserve Indigenous wisdom traditions.

To view other stories on the subject of “Journey” go to the Daily Prompt.

Categories: Energy Healing, Indigenous Wisdom, Lacandón Maya, Maya, Spiritual Evolution, Spiritual Travel | Tags: , , , , , | 5 Comments

Book Review: Exit Strategy

Posted on May 11, 2013 by Carla Woody

Exit Strategy

Exit Strategy:

Leaving this Life with Grace and Gratitude

by Kelsey Collins

I spend a lot of time in cultures where elders are valued, ancestors are alive, and death is celebrated as part of life. In my own culture, none of those things are true. Instead, they are aspects that we attempt to tuck away, out of sight. We turn away from being reminded that we, too, will one day face what we’ve been socialized to deny.

Kelsey Collins has written an important book for any of us. This book faces the areas I mention—head on. With humor and honesty, she documents the intimate journey she took with long-time friend Bee Landis. This is a celebration of zaniness in a human form called Bee, her spiritual clarity and real-ness as she makes sense of life while her own comes to a close—something we can all aspire to. What’s equally important is how Bee’s down-to-earth, blatantly frank wisdom leads the author to consider the very questions she counsels others to undertake. There’s a transparency here that’s refreshing. In an era when self-help mentors direct us to declare what we want, to dare to name it, there’s an area I’ve heard none address—until now.

How do you want to go? What’s your exit strategy?

 The book is available through Amazon. To learn more of Kelsey Collins’ work with elders and hospice go here.

Categories: Book Review, Compassionate Communication, Healthy Living, Spiritual Evolution | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

The Juxtaposition

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Carla Woody

I live in a sparsely populated area, except by rabbits, coyotes, snakes and the occasional hawk or raven. I found it by setting intent and following my sense of direction across preserved land clearly marked with a “no trespassing” sign.

What I discovered was the pristine place that I’ve come to consider my sanctuary. There are a few houses up on hills at a distance behind me. Other than that, there are just lots of good-sized junipers, rocks and some piñons surrounding me. I have a clear view of the San Francisco Peaks and Bill Williams Mountain around ninety miles to the north. The sunrise and sunset on these mountains are the first and last things that bless my day. But the stars have their say, too. Without the interference of electric lights, galaxies seem to display themselves across the night sky and regularly take my breath away.

San Francisco Peaks

San Francisco Peaks

I’ve invested words in these few sentences for you to get a sense of the setting. It’s a place conducive to contemplation, and I’ve sought to include only those things in my living space that will support it. Simple, peaceful living against a beautifully stark backdrop where I face myself every day—and move to go beyond that.

You may think by living in a remote area you can hide out. The truth is that—at least for me—it’s next to impossible to hide. Paradox continually comes to my notice, unbidden.

It was late afternoon. I had been doing “finish” work still left over from building my home. Mindless things. Thoughts drifted in periodically. But I was fairly successful staying present with my paintbrush. Several hours working with my hands brought me a sense of satisfaction at the end of the day and a desire to kick back.

I have a penchant for dramatic films but instead chose a comedy from Netflix. I sat in a particular chair specifically because I could watch the movie but also have a full view of the Peaks heading toward dusk.

I relaxed, feet on the table, sipping a glass of wine. The slapstick humor wasn’t holding my attention. My eyes kept drifting over to the scene outside. The hills were turning the honeyed golden-pink hue they often turned. The ravens were beginning to speak about the coming night.

But the movie seemed to pick up a bit and brought my notice back just as the actors entered a bar scene. The music was raucous. The posturing game was taken to extreme, creating a sense of the plastic that was supposed to be funny. Instead, the filmmakers threw me an unintended question.

My vision suddenly played a trick on me and juxtaposed two separate images, as though I was holding the bar scene in one eye and the landscape in the other…at the same time. That event itself was rather strange and fleeting, but my response to it was more interesting to me and has lasted. It was as though I was hit soundly over the head with intense contrast and told to pay heed.

The rowdy, brittle bar scene next to nature’s beauty was so bizarre that it created a “does not compute” reaction in me. Once that cleared, a question surfaced: What is real?

The bar scene wasn’t real. People weren’t presenting their real faces. There was much standing in the way.

Sage in bloom.

Sage in bloom.

What about the other scene? It’s about as real as it can get, at least for me. I don’t have to see through anything to see the hill over there. I don’t think the tree is concerned about what I think about it. There may be properties of nature I’m not always able to understand and certainly can’t predict, but I find it to be unstintingly honest.

It seems to me that if we want that level of honesty in our own lives we can dare to ask for it. So, what is real?

This moment: That’s real.

The sensation on my palm as I pet my cat’s fur: That’s real.

Little Bit

Little Bit

My breath moving in and out of my body: That’s real.

That thought I had this morning? That comes from some old event in the past and doesn’t exist now. No. That’s not real.

That worry? It hasn’t happened. No. That’s not real.

What about the words I write here? They’re real—in my reality—for what I seek to communicate.

What’s real for you?

**************

Excerpted from Navigating Your Lifepath.

See more musings on the forest for the trees on the Daily Prompt.

Categories: Healthy Living, Meditation, Spiritual Evolution | Tags: , , , | 13 Comments

Lifepath Dialogues Gathering: The Question of Spiritual Responsibility (Audio Archive)

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Carla Woody

Lifepath Dialogue Gathering

The Lifepath Dialogues Gathering was a local monthly gathering held in Prescott, Arizona. The intent was to build like-hearted community and dialogue about what truly matters. I chose monthly topics from my blog and hosted the evening with special invited guest(s) whose philosophies and work are relevant to the topic. The format involved my presentation of material to create a framework and interview of the special guests. This portion was recorded to share with the world community. Then we turn off the recorder and turn to intimate sharing.

The Lifepath Dialogues discussion will now continue in a virtual format. Periodically, I will interview folks world-wide who are involved in life-affirming practices and lifeways. The recording will be posted here. I invite your comments and questions always.

From the March Lifepath Dialogues Gathering

with special guest

Filmer Kewanyama:
The Question of Spiritual Responsibility
The complete unedited audio is about 40 minutes long. Click below to listen. I hope you enjoy.

This discussion was based on the post:
“Spiritual Responsibility? Duty? Cargo?”
By Carla Woody
Author of Calling Our Spirits Home and Standing Stark
Founder, Kenosis and Kenosis Spirit Keepers

Filmer Kewanyama Photo

Filmer Kewanyama is an award-winning Hopi artist from Shungopavi, Second Mesa, Arizona, whose work depicts the sacred Hopi way of life. He learned the ceremonies that his ancestors passed on to him. Such knowledge comes with its own set of responsibilities, complicated by modern life.

Categories: cultural interests, Hopi, Sacred Reciprocity, Spiritual Evolution | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Playing with Uncertainty

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Carla Woody

Do you remember what it was like to be a young child when everything was new? Being awestruck by all that you saw, heard and felt? Did you pick things up and examine them closely, put them in your mouth? Play—no holds barred? Sing at the top of your lungs just to hear what your voice sounded like?

Mollamarka Girl

Mollamarka Girl
©2003 Carla Woody

As the years unfold, most people become more and more comfortable with certainty—and forget to have the fresh perspective of a child. In fact, the older we are, the more afraid we are likely to be of uncertainty and even become stuck when something unforeseen happens. Paralysis occurs when we are fans of control.

But when spiritual evolution sends a calling card, if we acknowledge the invitation and accept, what we’re asking of ourselves is to let go. At that point, we find ourselves at a threshold, an urging at our back to move through it. Perhaps little may be seen in that beyond place, maybe nothing. Yet embracing the unknown is how we learn and grow.

Metaprograms and Change

 From NLP, metaprograms define how we individually sort information and guide our thought process. Metaprograms predict our behaviors. Note that metaprograms often differ depending on context—relationship, work, etc.—and are a complex mix but easily determined through language patterns. All metaprograms are useful in some context and can be shifted if the orientation is causing an issue.

I’m going to zero in on a couple of metaprograms that I find have a lot to do with how we deal with change—and good to know if we’re contemplating transition. Below is a very brief summary that discusses the outer limits of a range. Most people have some mixture of both.

Toward/Away from: People with a “toward” orientation have their eyes locked on a goal—and go for it. They have blinders on and anticipate the pleasure of having what they want. Those with an “away from” orientation are focused on what they don’t want and avoiding pain. When asked what they want…they often have no idea.

Options/Procedures: People with an “options” mind set are excited by alternatives and possibilities. They love to explore and may do so endlessly. Those with a “procedures” orientation tend to think in black and white terms and love doing things step-by-step to completion. If the procedure is interrupted, they usually grind to a halt.

The Trapeze of Spiritual Travel

It’s natural for all of us to settle into a lifestyle over time and incur aspects of life that become familiar, whether they truly serve us or not. When we choose to “Enter the Forest” beyond the threshold, it involves uncertainty—stepping outside the environment that we’re used to—where we know what to expect, at least most of the time, of ourselves and others. It’s predictable. Those who will have the most emotional difficulty when faced with upheaval will be folks with paired, outer limit “away from” and “procedures” metaprograms.  On the other side, those with paired, radical “toward” and “options” metaprograms may love the journey but have a challenge coming to a place of right fit and new-found foundation.

Danaan Parry’s parable “The Trapeze” really speaks to the balance between control and letting go in order to catch the next swing of the trapeze.

“The Trapeze” video on You Tube.

 There’s also the need to invoke early childhood qualities we may have forgotten: curiosity, appreciation, courage and finally, discernment to determine what truly tastes and feels good. That way we discover what further nurtures us.

The process can be a truly mystical one if we allow it. We will be delivered to the other side, indeed, transformed on the way. And in the midst of letting go we can play with uncertainty—as an ally. We can trust in an age-old process, one learned well by high wire artists and children.

 This is a form of spiritual travel.

***

 Drawn from Navigating Your Lifepath, the six-month mentoring program.

Categories: Healing, Healthy Living, Personal Growth, Spiritual Evolution, Spiritual Travel | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Origins

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Carla Woody

 And so we begin, as all human beings do, in space, expressed by a word, permeated by time. Time is a suggestion we swallowed to hold our world together—creating a kind of comfort, but also terror in the false knowing that what passes has a beginning, a middle and an end. We invented words as conductors for experience, but language is meaningless to the intricate nuances of existence. We collectively convinced ourselves that the ground where we stand is solid matter, when the only foundation we truly have we cannot physically touch.

At the soul level, we long to move beyond what is human-made to That which is not. We hope to know the deeper realms of a reality the everyday eye may have experienced solely through fleeting glimpses—of what it cannot determine. We seek to be promised what we may only have scented through the permeable walls from another dimension. We desire to be inspired by what has stirred our bodies in unknown places with hints of rapture. We ask for the sign when the gift has already been given.

Moray Mist Artwork

Moray Mist
©2002 Carla Woody

There is an old Taoist story of parents watching their child as she sleeps next to them. In her sleeping state, the child moans and frets. She twists in discomfort. The parents cannot help their child no matter how much she hurts. If the child would awaken, she would see that the suffering is nothing but a dream.

The mind is the charioteer of experience, while the body is the vehicle that carries out the orders of its driver. The gift we have been given is the one called possibility, whose intent offers to tie all together, creating strands of a whole life rather than a disintegrated one. The gift we have been granted is what throws light into dark places. The gift held out to us has always been present. But accepting the gift has a price—courage. It is an undying courage that allows any of us to whip the dream horse and startle awakening.

*****

Standing Stark Cover

Excerpt from Standing Stark: The Willingness to Engage.

Categories: Healing, Personal Growth, Spiritual Evolution | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lifepath Dialogues Gathering: The Spiritual Meaning of Lineage (Audio)

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Carla Woody

Lifepath Dialogue Gathering

The Lifepath Dialogues Gathering is held on the fourth Wednesdays, 6:30-8 PM, at Creekside Center in Prescott, Arizona. The intent is to build like-hearted community and dialogue about what truly matters. I choose monthly topics from my blog and host the evening with special invited guest(s) whose philosophies and work are relevant to the topic. The format involves my presentation of material to create a framework and interview of the special guests. This portion is recorded to share with the world community—wherever you are. Then we turn off the recorder and turn to intimate sharing.

The February 27 Lifepath Dialogues Gathering:

The Spiritual Meaning of Lineage

The complete unedited audio is about 40 minutes long. Click below to listen. Please be patient as it may take a few minutes to download! I hope you enjoy.

 LD02-13

This discussion was based on the post:

“Lineage: Calling on the Ancestors”
By CARLA WOODY
Author of Calling Our Spirits Home and Standing Stark
Founder, Kenosis and Kenosis Spirit Keepers

SPECIAL FEBRUARY GUEST:

TERRI HANAUER-BRAHM

Terri Hanauer-Brahm wondered why her father refused to discuss his past and why her relatives were the same way. She uncovered a family secret that sent her on an odyssey of discovery. Out of her quest came a book: “The Hanauer Family: Before, During and After the Holocaust.” She will share with us what this journey has meant to her.

 

Categories: cultural interests, Personal Growth, Spiritual Evolution, Spiritual Travel, Travel Experiences | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

A Tribute to Ted Andrews

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Carla Woody

Lakota and Ted photo

Photo credit: Dragonhawk Publishing

Probably all of us can point to some people who have passed through our lives and made a difference somehow, even if they themselves never knew it. A stray word may have been said. A direction offered. And through that interaction, we took a step; or were alerted to something otherwise unknown.

Ted Andrews served as one of those people for me. It was 1987 and I had just returned to Dayton, Ohio after living in Germany for several years. While there I had been introduced to metaphysics, my appetite whetted. But the opportunities to learn more, to participate in some circle in Dayton, were almost non-existent, or at least quite hidden. Through some diligence I found the Mountaintop Bookstore, a small enclave not too far from my home. And there I stumbled upon Ted Andrews, spiritual teacher, metaphysical author and kindly, gentle man. Back then, he offered classes in a small room of the bookstore. I took all of them and experienced something awakening beyond mere intellectual curiosity.

And I discovered that he still gave readings. When I went to his modest home it turned out that he lived only a few blocks away from me. He brought me into the front room and we sat across a small table from each other.

Intuitives often use accoutrements such as Tarot or other types of cards, palm reading, any number of things depending on culture. But for true intuitives these things are really extraneous because they themselves are the channel. Ted Andrews was one of the true ones. That day he did use an intermediary—the Tarot. But finally he looked earnestly into my eyes and took my hands into his.

“Are you a healer?” he said.

“No!” I was bewildered by the question and wasn’t even sure what he meant. With what little I did understand about that realm at the time, even the idea of his inquiry seemed preposterous—and downright scary. After all, the flavor of my life back then far from supported such an activity.

“Well, you have fire around your hands.”

“Oh, okay. I understand that. I’m an artist and I work with my hands. I paint.” I was relieved.

“No, this is something else. You also have fire energy very much attempting to enter your crown chakra. Allow it.” He said gently and then nothing more, knowing that any more at that time would have been too much.

Through 1988, a short year, long before I met Don Américo Yábar in 1994, Ted Andrew was my first spiritual teacher, someone who opened a doorway. Recently I was telling a friend the story I have recounted here and we became curious about what he is doing now. Doing a search brought me the very sad news that he passed in October 2009, still a young man.

Ted gave much to the world as a teacher, animal advocate, writer, a compassionate soul and clairvoyant. A great intellect who was able to translate complex metaphysical philosophies into everyday language. Many of you probably know his books, especially Animal Speak and Simplified Qabala Magic.

For me, he pointed the way, to something inherent but unacknowledged, a choice point awaiting. I vividly remember the moment he did it that day in his small front room. I have been able to draw on his soft encouragement over the years—and it’s given me courage. I only regret that I didn’t return soon enough to tell him so.

Categories: Healing, Personal Growth, Spiritual Evolution | Tags: , , , | 4 Comments

Book Review: Acedia and Me – A Marriage, Monks, and A Writer’s Life

Posted on December 15, 2012 by Carla Woody

acedia

If you are one of those people who is unrelentingly committed to a path, particularly one that the world may little understand, and yet you have periodically fallen into doubt, there is actually a name for this affliction – much to my relief. Doubt is not really a good word for a state that can reach a level of deep despair and sense of futility. And yet it’s not depression in the clinical sense.

Acedia was included in the “eight bad thoughts” of the desert monks but was later inexplicably dropped when translated into the Catholic Church’s “seven deadly sins.” If only over the years I would have had a word for it, not as a sin but as a thought that can assail a person who has monkish tendencies or artists, advocates and others who probe the edges of convention. Then there could have been a level of comfort and normalcy in the experiences. But instead, the term and understanding of it was dropped into time, to be hidden in little known annals or diaries of people who had the courage to express it.

Kathleen Norris has done many of us a favor by writing a book about acedia, giving many personal examples and historical references. Taken from the book, “… the monk struggling with acedia is dealing with more than bad moods, psychic fluctuations, or moral defeats. It is a question of resolve that arises in the wake of a decisive choice for which the monk has risked his life’a danger to anyone whose work requires great concentration and discipline yet is considered by many to be of little practical value…”

Along with the author’s own writings, a real plus is in the last chapter, a collection forty-odd pages long of quotes, personal experiences from such luminaries as John of the Cross, Emily Dickinson, Petrarch, Dante, Evelyn Waugh and many others. Sometimes it helps to name something and I can sense a future essay of my own percolating. Read a Q&A with the author, plus an excerpt.

You may recognize the author’s name from her other books such as The Cloister Walk and Dakota: A Spiritual Geography. Read this latest book if your path has ever taken you into an unnamed state that may be acedia—or if you anticipate it could.

Available on Amazon and elsewhere.

Categories: Book Review, Personal Growth, Spiritual Evolution | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

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