Honoring the journey, bringing forth the medicine...

In the last week, I was having a phone conversation with my mentor, Daisy Marquis. In that conversation, I shared eagerly how excited I was to see that many of the things I was working on we're all steering me in the same direction- Root Chakra work. In Energy sessions I had been doing with others for the previous month, root work kept coming up. The need to root in our relationship to Mother Earth. To look to her for our sense of stability and security, amidst the swirling chaos of these times. To root, in order to birth, the gifts we are here to share.

Interestingly enough, at 4 Elements Earth Education, where I am an Instructor and Program Coordinator, we have also been working on various ways of Sheltering ourselves. Our program curriculum is based around the Sacred Order of Survival- Shelter, Water, Fire, Food. In this season, of cooling temperatures and (typically) rain, its a ripe time to practice our skills of Shelter, whether through building debris shelter, in the style of Grandfather Stalking Wolf, or considering what layers of clothing we choose to wear during the change of seasons. There are many lessons to be learned.

In addition, I have been apprenticing with the medicine of the Apple Tree, one of my beloved plant friends. Apple Tree's message has been of recognizing the importance of consistent routine to create stability in our lives, and that this stability allows us to grow as witnesses of our emotions, patterns and triggers, so we might heal and move through life differently. 

Bringing it all together, the medicine of the work I'm here to do- Energy healing, Nature Connection and Plant Medicine. All of these modalities were guiding me to the Root, my connection to Mother Earth, to the divine within myself and the stability to be found in grounding in my truth, as outside influences continued to be in flux.

For many years I had lived in "survival mode." This appeared in many ways. Sometimes I literally did not have a stable living situation, whether due to moving across country, dealing with trauma, or by personal choice. Other times, it was in how I related to others or to what was possible for me. I was always looking for the next thing somewhere else or waiting for the proverbial "other shoe to drop," recognizing the patterns of when (x) happens, (x) usually follows, which means I need to start looking for the next... fill in the blank- (job, housing situation, location, etc.). I was in a reactive place, as a result of unresolved trauma that had occurred in my life. I needed healing, I needed community, I needed to feel safe, I needed to ground. I needed to find the home that existed all along, within myself.

Until I was able to recognize this, I kept repeating the cycles, not knowing any other way. It wasn't until I finally had enough of my own shit and realized that while what happened to me wasn't my fault, healing it was my responsibility, that a shift occurred. The people who showed up in my life began to change. The situations I found myself in began to change. I met some wonderful friends who supported me as I healed. I found, or as I like to view it, remembered, ways that resonated deeply with my heart. Old ways of connecting with Mother Earth. Healing modalities that supported my process of coming home to myself. Relationships that supported my tender heart in lovingly peeling away the layers I had built up to protect myself from a harsh world.

And now, years later, as I find myself weaving these ways together to be of support to others in their journeys home, to themselves and Mother Earth, I continue to witness the deeper layers of work available to me as my commitment to myself and my relationship to nature grows. Energy work provides subtle awareness. Nature Connection provides practical tools. Plant Medicine provides the consistent support to nurture the deeper changes.

These my are ways of supporting you. These are the gifts I offer. In service and in love. 

​
Abby
One Beating Heart