Some of you may know that my mom is a Faerie Shaman. A brief description of a Shaman is a healer. She is very in-tune with the earth and is regularly called to create the most amazing altars and send out prayers of healing for many. Recently, my mom & dad had taken a trip to Stonehenge for giggles. While at Stonehenge, she felt the land call out for healing. Lots of visitors who attend the Memorial will climb all over it and don't seem to honor or respect it's sacred purpose. In short, the earth, the land, the memorial, the river, all asked for her to do ceremony at the memorial and help bring the sacred back to it's existence.
Likewise, the world at large has had such a difficult time connecting, uniting, releasing the past and loving one another. This year has seen so much strife. There've been lots of good things, and lots of painful things. There are lots of souls breaking free from old ways of living and believing. That is good and that can be a challenging and painful process for some when the universe or God sweeps in and clears your plate and you weren't ready for such a loss, such a violent reaction or drastic change. We are learning to embrace and lean into the change. It's not always easy, but it definitely makes the journey more enjoyable. For what we resist persists. Yeah, try that idea on when you get angry about something. What if you just totally let go and stopped holding that rope and stopped playing tug of war? What if you started thinking about what you love, appreciate or enjoy? Are you ready for that? It's big stuff. It can feel like cutting your arm off to let go of complaining and struggle and anger. Don't let go until you're ready though. We all gotta choose that in our own time or we'll just get mad at the person who tells us what to do! HA HA HA! We're funny beings aren't we?
- Winter Solstice (darkest night)
- Spring Equinox (day and night are equal and the veil between the worlds is very thin)
- Summer Solstice (lightest day)
- Autumn Equinox (day and night are equal and the veil between the worlds is very thin)
As both my mom & I are expanding our spiritual practices, businesses and readings, we decided to perform our honoring ceremonies for the 4 quarter days at sacred sites around us. That combined with the call from Stonehenge a few weeks before Autumn Equinox and our dream became a reality.
Now, keep in mind, it takes 4 hours to drive to the Stonehenge Memorial from the Seattle Metro area. So, you really gotta WANT to be there. And we did. We said many prayers, sprinkled faerie dust (organic blend we make) in the same spirit that Native Americans leave tobacco or spit (to say thank you and leave as an offering), and were blown all over the heck (it was SO windy we could lean into it).
I've resisted sharing this much of my spiritual practice publicly for most of my life. I grew up in a town that has churches on every corner like Seattle has coffee shops! I lost friends in school when I attempted to speak or debate spiritual ideas. I felt alone except when with my family and the other spiritual friends we had, most of which were older than my brother and me.
I've never fit any religion. I've been to many churches, spiritual talks and the like. Most don't fit me. I am simply me, a spiritual seeker, an oracle. My entire life, I have thought differently about not just spirituality, but everything. I'm not a color inside the lines girl, yet at times I am. In school, I would come up with ideas that instinctively I knew would work, but because the other engineers or business people couldn't prove them, they dismissed me and treated me like I was stupid. Even in Engineering, I live on the edge in my thinking. I come up with wild ideas. But for many years, I've forced myself to conform, to be normal, to be industrial because that's what the world told me it would take to be successful. Hmm, that has only helped so much. If it weren't for one of my Physics Teachers at Community College, I might still be struggling with why I was so different from the other engineers. He gave me permission to think differently and trust my intuition. It's taken years for me to get back to that state of allowing. I let the world tell me that data and proof were the only methods worthy of proving that I was valid. Thanks to an awesome call with Kelly last night, I was beautifully reminded to trust my ideas and to follow through. Every time she's invited me to one of her Sew Alongs, my world of sewing opens up a bit wider, problems resolve themselves and things tumble into place. Note to self: trust your instincts and tell the inner critic and naysayers to go count the number of rocks on a gravel road.
What I do recognize is that there are certain souls, no matter what walk of life, no matter what religion, no matter what education, sexual orientation, language, skin color, etc, who I do click with. They are those of the scar clan, those who have gotten up after being hurt and have carried on to create the world they dream of. They are those of the purest of heart who are not here to convince another to their way of thinking, but simply to enjoy and appreciate their own path and the path of those they encounter. The more we follow the beat of our own drums, the happier we are and subsequently, the more we make an amazing symphony that is perfectly in time, in tune, and making Divine Music. We are each a note in a song, an instrument, or a phrase.
Today I realize that love is the common language spoken among all faiths and all religions. Everyone is supposed to follow their own path. That is a God, Great Spirit, The Universe [insert your term for The Divine here] intended. By following the religious or spiritual path we feel called toward, we are supporting the greater world and making it a better place. Likewise, by allowing everyone else to follow their own path, we are creating a unified and supportive world. Allowing feels so good. Allowing means you get to be you and I get to be me and we get to enjoy what each other brings to the table. When aligned with The Divine, there really is no wrong path. Multiple are needed to suit each and every soul.
We hit up a Starbucks on our way to the store and it was a damn good thing. I LOVE coffee and was suddenly wiped out. Even though it was 4PM, I wanted both coffee and a giant passion tea. I like to have 10 different drinks all at the same time. Always have! Drinking that cold brew at 4 in the afternoon was like taking an IV! Ha ha. I scared one of our friends with the sounds of utter relief I exclaimed over and over. See - I enjoy espresso multiple times a day. Not a ton, but enough. ;) And I just hadn't quite had my quota for the day.
I haven't been to the Pendleton Mill Store in years!! It's probably been 10-15 years. This is Pendleton's outlet store. The mill is actually behind this building you see below. One day, I'd love to take a tour of their mills.
Below is their fabric section. I learned that just 3 weeks before, there weren't any fabrics here. I'm glad we went the day we did! I found many delicious wools.