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.

Sailing through the curtain

As you drift away from the shoreline, a cool, thick grey fog gathers ahead of you. It obscures your surroundings, allowing you to focus on you. Now is the time to cut the cords that tie you to unhealthy parts of your life.  Let them get lost in this living fog.  This is the curtain wall.  Notice the scent and sight of the curtain.  This is veil between places, and it is alive.  If you allow it, the curtain wall can help you by allowing you to get lost in the Otherworld.  This can help you become for attuned to trusting your own instincts.  Sail your craft in any direction that feels right to you.  There is no wrong way.

This fog is a veil between one realm of the other world and the next.  Spend some time in to fog, simply drifting.  Feel for directional pulls that will lead you to the many island in this sea.  Each island is different, each holds new insights for you.  Where would you like to go?  What do you expect to see?

Feel free to visit islands as they come into view.  I have visited some, but certainly not all of these islands.  While you may feel frightened during time of this journey, remember that you are safe here, nothing will hurt you and that fear can be combated.

Enjoy your wanderings.  May you be blessed with teachers and lessons and wisdom!

The next stage of the journey- leaving land

After you have explored the lands around your spiritual home, you may be pulled to take another type of journey. This one is the soul sail.  To begin this journey, you must first find your boat.  Leave your home and travel to the seashore.  Explore the area and look for your vessel.  It may be a huge, grand craft or a tiny rowboat or anything in between.

Once you have found it, examine it.  What type of vessel is it?  What color is it? What is it made of?  Is there a name on it?  How does it feel to you?  Is there anything inside of it?  The answers to these questions are all reflections of you and your journey.  My sail began with a small silver ship with a single sail.  It was made of a silvery, otherworldly wood and was named.  My boat was a living being, yours may or may not be.

Once you are comfortable with your vessel, it will be time to begin the sail. Sailing into the West, the sea is vast, but calm.  Behind you is the shore.  In front you a thick fog bank. The boat knows the way and will take you to where you need to go.  Trust that you are safe and that you will see and learn many things.

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 God in the Grove

The god in the grove can take any form, man or beast or tree.  He may appear young or old, stern or jovial.  He is strong and wise and knowledgeable.  He is the balance to the Divine Feminine. Balance is in his nature.  Visiting him is another step along my spirit journey.  I recommend that you visit him at least once, the difficulty of this journey is very much worth the effort. His realm is not as easily marked as other places we have visited.  He requires that you work to come to him.

It is time to step off of the path and blaze a trail of your own through the trees and undergrowth. To meet the God in the Grove, you must brave a little wildness. Pick your way carefully, through the undergrowth.  Trees filter the light into rays.  The ferns and bushes reach out to you.  The animals watch you silently, waiting to find out why you are here.  Follow your instincts, they will lead you to where you need to go. Do not worry if you seem to be walking in circles. It is not that you are unwelcome here, it simply that you must work a bit to get there.  His domain is the forest and its inhabitants.  He is a careful and strong protector, if you mean harm to any of those creatures he protects, he will thwart you..

Allow your instincts to guide you to his home, a small, secluded clearing within an ancient and dense forest.  You are safe here.  He welcomes you with a smile and invites you to rest awhile. Drink and feast and dance with him. Let him teach you about the interconnection between all life forms.  Ask him for advise and assistance if you need it.

Looking into the cauldron

A huge triple footed cauldron stands over the dying embers of fire.  It is silhouetted against the night sky.  Strangely, it is alone, as though the owner will return momentarily.  From it steam rises gently and the scent beckons you to come to it.  There is no danger here, so, go ahead and approach the cauldron.

This cauldron is large enough that you could sit inside it, up to the tops of your shoulders.  Today, you will not climb inside.  Today, you are merely looking into it. It is full of shining dark liquid, and it reflects the stars above you.  This cauldron appears to be full of stars.  The scent wafting from this liquid is soft, pleasant and warm.  It welcomes you.

Look into the cauldron.  Take deep breath of that lovely scent. Feel the gentle warmth surround you. Focus your eyes on the slight movement you see, on the darkness between the stars.  Let it dominate your vision and show you what it wants you to see. The images that come to you may be individual, or they may play as a complete vision.

After a time, the images will stop coming and you will see only the night sky reflected.  This is your signal that it is time to move on.  Spend some time thinking about what you were shown.  Are theses symbols or memories.  What do they mean to you?  Do they remind you of a story you once heard or make you feel drawn to something?  If you don't have answers for these questions right now, don't fear, their meaning will become apparent at another time.

The Journey to Meet the Goddess

The Divine Feminine essence, however you address Her, is in us all. She is part of the Whole, as are we.  Meeting Her, in one of her many forms, is far easier than you may suspect.  

Begin this journey by breathing deeply for several moments. Close your eyes and envision yourself enclosed in a crystalline sphere.  This sphere is protective, strong and beautiful.  Fill the sphere with whatever cleansing energy you feel comfortable with (I like imagining bathing the elements, but white light or even water will work just as well). Once you are cleansed, you may dissolve the sphere if you wish.

It's time to begin.  Ahead of you, on flat topped mountain is a shining temple surrounded by lush gardens.  A waterfall travels down the mountain.  The scene is incredibly beautiful and peaceful.  Walk towards this mountain.  As you approach, the path to the top becomes clear.  Carved into the mountain are stone steps, gently rising to the top. Ferns and flowers brush against you as you climb.

When you reach the top, you are drawn to the gardens.  Here, among the flowers and greenery, you will find Her.  She has many forms and many names, how She appears to you now, has a purpose.  Are you in need of guidance from a mother or grandmother figure, or do you need a young muse?  Whichever aspect you draw to yourself, she is loving and can help you, but first, you must ask for it.

Spend some time with Her.  Ask for help, and listen closely to what she has to say.  Her wisdom will help you, and She loves you, as She loves all souls. 

After a time, it will be time for you to return to your everyday life, but before you go, ask her more symbol that will remind you of Her in the waking world.  This symbol can be bold, such as a particular flower or color that you suddenly notice jumping out you from a scene, or it can be subtle like the whisper of leaves in the wind or a scent.  Whatever it is, it is for you alone.  Thank Her this experience and journey back to your safe place.  

Whatever knowledge she has given you today will stay with you.  Don't worry if you can't fully recall this experience as you wake.  It will come back to you, with clarity, when you most need it.

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.