Know Your WHY.

​“Surround yourself with the dreamers and the doers, the believers and thinkers, but most of all, surround yourself with those who see the greatness within you, even when you don’t see it yourself.”
― Edmund Lee

---

I'm humming a little ditty right now.
As I write these words to you.It's a song that sprung up of its own accord, as I sat down to pen these words...
The internal jukebox settling in on a discarded classic, reminding me of WHY I write these words.  Why I am opening my mouth and hands and heart and extending them back out to you, my Gracious Tribe, once more.  

May the Circle...
Be Unbroken...
By & By
Yes By & By....

I did not grow up a card-carrying member of the BFF girlfriend club.
My rhythms made sense in solitude.  
In the company of books and fairy tales and songs hummed quietly and wistfully to myself.  In the presence of the wild-haired boy that lived down the lane - who would join in my fantastical romps and run about in the woods, or play house or dig in the dirt or smash things with me - as the Impulse called forth.  
My ME made sense in the presence of teachers and authority figures - who would give me a hefty to-do list and a stern compass to guide my days.  
I made sense to myself in the serene (but often absent) arms of my father as I would clamor toward his weary embrace at the end of a long, hard day with my Mother.  

I did not make sense in the company of other little girls.  

I did not make sense in the company of my own Mother - who had plans and visions for me - that far outstretched my meager abilities, my own seedling dreams.

It was not until some time late into my twenties that the hunger began to mount in me.  
The wish to link up with and be with and learn from and belly laugh and cry with Other Women.  
And once it started the hunger drove deep.  
It mounted itself into a silent prayer:::
Which I would repeat - calling out to whatever faceless force I did or did not believe in at the time...

"Please.... Grant me a circle with which I can Go Deep."

Years after uttering, ad nauseous, that sacred chant...
the PowersThatBe have rained down this Blessing in spades.

I find myself surrounded by Circles.
Ensconced.  Entwined.  Upheld by their Symmetry and Weight.  
Overlapping and Ever-Unfolding.

Circles for Writing.  
Yoga-ing.
Dancing.
And just Doodling, Drawing and Crafting Delight.

Circles where we drop into our Womb.
Where we talk about the Creative Process.
Or the pleasures and perils of Entrepreneurship - & crafting work that you Love.

Circles upon Circles. 
Swirling around me.

And each time I emerge from one of them...
My body ringing with a deep-thudded, "YES!"
I am reminded - called to - The Place where Magic and Goodness unfolds inside my Life.

Inside these spheres.  
Where we women come together.  
Share our hearts, our stories, our practices, our struggles, a piece of our Lives...

And together we are knit back together.  
Together we mend, un-break and Arise.  

.................................

A few days ago, I got off an hour-long phone call with my beloved dad.  
A few years back, I instigated, by way of a droll letter (a cheapskate's Christmas present, truth be told) The World's Smallest Book Club for us two.  
Every few months, a different tome.  
Every coupla' weeks, a lengthy phone conversation.
Rotate who chooses every round, with the one stipulation being that neither could lean Too Far into their respective political camp for Choices. 
(Like, ya' know, if my ConservativeRepublican Pa can give up Bill O'Reilly and Glenn Beck for this joint venture, I'll throw in my Molly Ivins or any recent editor from The Nation.)

And.. as you may or may not have heard me pine...
My Dad is the best sort of bloke.
A keen and intelligent conversationalist, with insightful points to make of his own..
But who is a gracious and attentive listener as well.
Who does not bully anyone into his line of thinking, but rather is open to the free-moving exchange of Ideas.

In a few words...
I Adore This Little Project of Ours.
I know some day this wondrous man will be gone from my Life and all I will have of him will be the pieces of these conversations...
The memories and imprints of our digital dates together...
And I want to carry every snippet of that forward...

..................

After I got off the phone this last time, savoring its sweetness, feeling his one-day (farFarAWay) absence from my World...
It occurred to me:::

This is WHY this work is coming to me right now.
I do not need to heal My Masculine side.  
I am in Love with it.
At home inside of It.
Deeply rooted and trusting of this aspect of my World.

I like strong, physical asana.
Hard work.
Getting shit done.
I have a vain, little appreciation for my own tiny Intellect.  
My ability to strategize organize and move forward in a Straight & Narrow Line.

But I need help with the Mother.
I need help to heal this wound.
To help me trust my own Feeling, Intuitive, Emotional side like I do the rational, linear piece of me.
I need to harness the Energy of Receiving.
Step away from the false (one-ended) Narrative of Constant Productivity and Growth.

I need to look upon the faces of this Gracious Force in whom and what I know I so deeply Believe:::
*Lakshmi - as she sits inside my head and heart, guiding me toward Gratitude, Generosity, and Owning my Own Great Worth.
*Durga - as she stands before me straddling a tiger, expertly wielding a sword.  Teaching me what it is to fight battles in this World from a place of deep-seeded LOVE.
*Lalita Devi - calling forth my own sensual nature, calling me to experience the whole of my senses and pleasures and appetites as Deep.  Divine.  Inspired.  Keys to a locked, holy door.

I need these faces and figures to accompany me - Circle me - as I move forward on this road.

I need the presence of you Seekers, you Wise Ones, you Fearless and Wondrous and Sage and Powerful, too.  

My WHY is my Need.
My heart.
My Prayer.

I'm calling forth this circle as an answer to my own heart's Cry.

And I'd love to have you join me there.

.................

May you be en-circled by your teachers, your beloved(s), the practices and prayers and passages you need most right now - in order to help you Do The Work you are now called to in this World.  
May you be guided back to your own Great Why - should we meet inside this circle, or another.

I wish you Joy, Strength, Camaraderie - as this New Year beckons you forth.

I want to extend a warm Invite and Greeting to all of you who have expressed interest in the Online Circle that is forming right now.  

Registration for the 10-month Course:::
The Shakti Sessions
is open for another week or so until we have our first official call and gathering on Sunday, January 29th.  

This offering is pure heart juJu - the stuff that's been calling to me from deep in my heart and guts and spirit - wanting to be offered into the World.
I've kept it accessible, doable, affordable - in an effort to let this work and this sweet community stay open and available to as many people as possible.  

I am so excited to share time and practice and wisdom and learning with you all in the months to come.  
If you haven't yet registered, or would like to know a bit more, check out the link below.  
 
Tell Me More....