Dear Soul on the Other Side of the Screen,
As I look over my computer screen, I see the fire dancing in my wood stove. When I look to the right, I see the courageously exposed branches of the trees. As my eyes travel across the living room, I notice the warm glow of the lights on the Christmas tree that Desmond and I will take down later today and the general sense of clean-up that I should do.
Dear Qoya Family,
FROM MY HEART TO YOURS
I offer this from my heart to yours. I am writing this as the new moon in Sagittarius is exact. I would have loved to have gotten to it sooner, but that was the fate of this day. I hope that if this email finds you and you choose to open amongst the many messages coming your way, there may be something here that feeds the fire that you are tending in the sacredness of your heart and your hearth.
I am sending love from Peru! Here is a photo of our group in the town of Qoya in the sacred valley. This trip has been a dream come for me. I felt the call and came to Peru for the first time 13 years ago and heard the word Qoya for the first time. Since then, the consciousness of Qoya has been something I have been doing my best to listen to, embody, and share.
Dear Qoya Community,
Whatever path you are walking right now, I invite you to pause long enough to breathe in and breathe out. Look to the left, look to the right. Look up to the sky, down to the Earth, and as you breathe in again, I invite you to close your eyes and exhale into the center of your own heart. Contemplate for a few moments how much of the day you feel yourself, residing in this center of the center.
I offer my heart to you in these tender times. I invite you to breathe deeply to offer compassion to all suffering in this time. While the intensity of immense grief can feel overwhelming, the gift is that it just might return us to the heart of our heart.
From a nervous system perspective, it is essential to find things we can lean into during times of growth and change. Just like a baby being held in their parent's arms, their parents are bigger, so the child feels held. What can we as adults lean into to be held and supported? I went outside to do my morning prayer. I put my feet on the cold earth, looking up at the full moon in the sky. I felt the solidity of the earth to hold me, and I looked up to the stars to contemplate the cosmos. I saw Jupiter so close to the full moon, Venus shining nearby, and Orion's belt above me.
Dear Friend,
It's a pleasure to imagine us in a place of shared awareness as we reflect on the potent energy of the Aries Full Moon. With a focus on embodiment and reconnecting with the Earth, how can you/me/we harness Aries's fiery and courageous spirit in a way that nourishes us and the world we share? How are we being invited to embrace our inner warriors, encouraging us to take bold and fearless steps toward our desires for ourselves and the greater good? One suggestion is to tap into this energy by noticing what brings you into a place with the most aliveness.
Dear Soul on the Other Side of this Screen,
Quick Question: Do you know what phase of the moon you were born under?
I was born right before the new moon, which is the phase the moon is in as I write this. I always feel such a deep connection to this part of the moon cycle and this part of the human cycle. A common saying to describe this energy is, "It's darkest before the dawn." These words speak to the moment of transformation where one must offer their faith and trust in the turning of the wheel of time. In astrology, this phase is called the balsamic dark moon. The way my mind works, I'm thinking to myself, "Use more balsamic vinegar in my salad dressing to honor and integrate this awareness!"
Dear Tender Heart,
I invite you slow down enough to take three deep breaths. Notice how your body responds to that invitation.
This email is an invitation to honor the Full Moon in Aquarius, Pachamama Day in Peru, and Lughnasadh in the pagan Celtic tradition or Lammas in the Christian tradition, both to celebrate the first harvest, the mid-point between summer solstice and the autumn equinox in the Northern Hemisphere.
Dear Heart-Centered Seekers (and Finders),
As I begin, I offer a deep breath to the journey we all find ourselves on. Different details, different timings, and some similar themes can sometimes be tracked alongside the cycles of the moon. As the moon comes into fullness in the astrological sign of Capricorn, the themes of what we are working towards and working for, and the resources and nourishment needed to stay on task may be emerging for you. You may find yourself asking the question: how can I most earnestly do my part of the greater work that is here to do?
I am so grateful that for a few sweet moments you and I are able to gather in this place of shared awareness. I hope that there is something here for you that reflects, resonates, and celebrates the life you are living.
I've been in a more reflective place recently approaching my birthday, celebrating it, and visioning my next journey around the sun. The thing I have been reflecting on is life itself. Life force. Cycles of life. Cycles of transformation. Cycles of death. Cycles of rebirth. How all of nature cycles, how all of life cycles. I was voice dictating something into my phone about the beauty of flowers as they wither, and my phone turned "wither" into two words: with her. My heart dropped towards my feet as I felt the energy of divine wisdom. I love how some refer to the Goddess who goes by 10,000 names, the great cosmic mother, the infinite possibility of the womb, the nourishing energy that is holding space for each and every one of us on our journey of life. With her.
If you’re like me, you receive a lot of emails every day. Thank you for opening this one. May there be something here that opens our hearts and offers inspiration to create a gesture of truth, beauty, and love in the world.
Dear Souls on the Other Side of this Screen in the Shared Solar System!
I hope this email finds you well with some intentional spaciousness to do some things that bring you into a deeper sense of embodied awareness today and this weekend. This is a wish that I have for anyone who is intuitively drawn to this practice and especially today, which is a new moon in Taurus (which governs the body) alongside many other placements in Taurus today including Sun, Moon, Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus, and the North Node.
Dear Friends Who Have Chosen to Open This Email in this Midst of SO Many Other Emails,
I honor that it's likely that your inner and outer worlds are feeling full. My intention with this email is to share some embodied integration support in the midst of these transformational times we live in.
Dear Qoya Community,
I offer you blessings from my heart to yours as all around the world, each of us look up and see the same full moon reflecting the light of the sun. At least, I think that's what's happening...
We started the Global Paqo School last weekend, and as I sit down today, I can see how perfectly aligned beginning this earth-based nature mysticism is with the cosmos. As above, so below.
I'd love to share a story with you. On my journey, I've come to find that healing is often the integration of our many life experiences. The practice is to bring loving-kindness and embodied presence to each part of ourselves, each other, and life. This is, as they say, easier said than done. Through living a lifestyle of reverence, with intentional and inspired actions of movement, communication, and ritual, we can transform our daily lives from mundane obligation to tending the altar of own sacred life force. While we go on many inner and outer journeys, we cultivate the practices that bring us back home to our most true self.
Dear Qoya Community,
I hope this email finds you well and with a strong pulse of life in your heart. As I sit down to write to you, I feel an immense amount of energy, change, pain, gratitude, and L I F E swirling through me.
One of my daily practices to navigate these times has been to connect with nature. In my studies with the Andean tradition, one of the central teachings is to develop personal relationships with the beings of nature where you live. One of these primary relationships would be your paqarina, your nature mom, who is the closest water to where you live. The invitation is to get to know her. Ask her what sort of offerings she likes. I originally brought mine flowers; however, since she is a stream that dries up when it's hot, she asked me to bring her water on the warm days. After making an offering, I listen to what she has to say. I often encourage myself to take my questions to the master teacher Mother Earth, and some days, I have the good sense to write down the essence of the wisdom. Here are some of the things I've received in the last month.
Dear Qoya Community,
I hope this email finds you rooted in the resources that support your resilience. I also hope that in times of need and desire, the movements, ritual, community, and pilgrimages of Qoya can be a source of nourishment for your soul to feel its body as home, this earth as home, and a visceral sense of belonging.
Dear Qoya Community,
Many of us who have been called to Qoya have been dancing a path of personal transformation. We have been making time to release conditioning, remember our essence, and reclaim our co-creative power to choose how we would like to live. These same skills can guide us through this present moment of collective transformation.
Dear Qoya Community,
I miss you. I miss planning events where I am able to see you and dance together in the same room, where we can warm our hands by the same fire and look up at the same stars. And, I am so grateful for those of you I see through the Zoom screen. I'm grateful for the shared awareness with each of you who are reading these words as I feel all of us warmed by the same sun, reimagining possibilities for a new world and being held and supported by the same Mother Earth.
Dear Soul on the Other Side of the Screen,
When I sat down to write this blog, I found myself struggling, trying to find the right words that would build a bridge between us, where even though we are all quarantined, we are connected. I want to honor all the different situations we are in. Some of us are struggling with security, with loved ones who are ill, with the unknown. I laid down to sleep and asked for a prayer to be guided. In the middle of the night, my son was crying, and as I woke up to care for him, I needed to change his clothes. I reached for a onesie and saw that there were whales on it. It made me think of this story that moved me deeply, so deeply that I didn’t really share it. I share it with you today in hopes that it supports all of us to reflect on our interconnection through time, in ways we may have been prepared for this time.
