The ever changing island

The curtain of fog parts and ahead of you is a conical island of ice and fire.  It is a glacier covered volcano rising majestically out of the water.  The glacier is slowly smoothing the rocks of the island as it ebbs and flows.  The volcano, not only erupts land building lava, it also melts the ice and rocks, as it travels to the sea.  The air is full of the burning, melting smell of the lava along with the salt of the seawater.

This island, one that I do not recommend you venture onto, is the Everchanging island.  It is constantly growing and changing, being born and dying, all at once.  The processes shaping it are destructive and creative at the same time.  All of the elements coexist here, sculpting and eroding.  It is a land where very little can live because it is never static.

You are like this island.  Always changing never complete.  You are creative and destructive.  What processes of change do you see acting upon yourself?  Do you see a balance between the elements, or are you always in danger of being overwhelmed by one or two?  From the safety of your ship, you can contemplate the cycles of creation and destruction in your life.  Here is not the place to focus on the ideas of good or bad.  It is often necessary to destroy the old before something new can be created.  The process is all that matters here.  Yours is unique.

The Wise One

The Wise Elder can help you solve problems in your life.  This being, who often appears as old man or woman dressed in a hooded cloak, can be found in a cave.  He or she will listen to your problems and ask you questions but will not "fix" things for you.  Patience, kindness and a wealth of experience make this guide a powerful ally in the journey of self discovery.

Start out from your home and look towards the mountains.  Where a stream and the trees meet, you will find an opening in a rock face, camouflaged by vines.  This is the doorway to the Wise Elder's home.  Sweet, welcoming smoke drifts softly out to you, beckoning you to enter. Announce yourself and enter.

Inside, the walls are covered in paintings of animals and people or seasons and celestial events.  Bottles and jars full of unknown substances sit quietly on shelves and tables.  Fire light dances and warms the space.  On the far side of the fire sits the Elder.  A hood shadows this being's face and gnarled hands hold a staff.  The Elder points to a seat near the fire, positioned to encourage conversation.  Sit here and be welcome. Explain why you are here and ask for advice.

The Wise Elder make answer directly or may tell you a story.  Listen carefully to the words you here; you can choose to ignore the advice you are given, but think carefully before you do.  The Wise Elder gives no easy answers.  Work is always required, but the advice is coming from a being who has done and seen a great deal.  If you don't understand what you've been told, ask for clarification.  Willful ignorance is of no use to anyone, especially in the Otherworld.

After you have spent the time you need with the Wise Elder, thank them for their help.  Offer them yours.  Once the transaction is complete, talk your leave and return to your spiritual home to begin thinking about and/or implementing the advice you received.

The Ruined City

As you wander through the Otherworld, the road takes you far from places you are familiar with.  It passes through forest, dark and wild.  The road here is cracked and weedy.  As you walk, you begin to notice signs of habitation.  Worn, unreadable way markers stand uselessly by the road. Fences, broken and rotting, now hold nothing back.  This is the pathway to the Ruined City.

The Ruined City is one of the infinite possibilities of your journey.  This a place of reflection, where all of the broken, worn out and unnecessary pieces of you come to rest.  Once, this place was bustling with activity, but now it is silent.  nature is taking back the land as the buildings and roads crumble to dust.  Once neat and ordered gardens have overgrown.  Broken crockery and rotting furniture, once useful objects, litter the ground.  No one used this place in a long while.

Walk around this city.  Explore the buildings and take note of what has been left behind.  These are symbols of things you have left behind in your life- old ideas, people, hopes, fears and behaviors.  Nearly everything you find in this place should stay here.  You outgrew these things, or their time has long since passed, but look closely.  Occasionally, a treasured piece of ourself gets left behind in the Ruined City.  Maybe an old idea, one that you had forgotten, has been waiting for your return.  Maybe memories or good feelings are here, yours to dust off and take back with you.

Spend as much time as you need in the Ruined City.  Remembering is a healthy step towards moving forward in life. This place can be visited periodically, as way to gauge how much you have changed.  It can also be a powerful reminder of what you don't need in your life.

Meeting your spirit guide(s)

Spirit guides are the beings who come to us and coax along our spiritual path.  They may be animals or faeries or angels or other people.  We may "see" them an d "hear" them, or they may simply point the way in loving silence.
However they come to you, they are here to help you learn the lessons prepared for you alone.

There are many ways to meet your guides.  One way is by simply wandering through your inner landscape and letting them come to you.  Obviously, this method requires very little active energy on your part, but it can take a great deal of time.

A more active approach is meditate with the specific intent of calling one of your guides to you.  Ask, with sincerity and an open heart for a guide to come to you and help you.  Please remember that you do not control the form or personality of your guide.  They are their own beings that exist without you.  They choose their form for a reason, even if you don't find it appealing, it has a purpose.

Be patient, guides often reveal themselves when you need them most.  Over a lifetime, guides may change.  Some people have more than one guide. Once you learn to recognize your guides (some of whom have been with you all along) you can ask them for help, but don't be surprised when they make you work for the answers you ask for.  They are here to guide you, not fix your life.