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 Island of Apples

One of my first journeys was sailing to the Island of Apples.  Here I met one of the most mysterious and interesting teachers I have met so far.  The experience, even years later, remains fresh in my mind.  It was beautiful and symbolic and uplifting.  This is one of the journeys that I am most keen to share, but it is also one that has been difficult to write about (it has literally taken months to complete this post). How do I put into word the beauty and power of this journey?

Sailing through the fog, a dark shape begins to take form.  As you draw closer, a steep island rises from the see. It is covered with trees and a steep winding pathway of stairs leads from a small dock to a temple on the summit.  As your boat lands, a figure in a bright red cloak steps forward.

This guide, the woman in red, is tall, slim and brilliant.  Her red hair and red cloak swirl around her.  Her skin glows with a subtle shifting light, making it difficult to see her properly.  She looks young and feel old at the same time.  She is a powerful being who has been part of this island for millenia.  She welcomes you and guides you up those, steep stair cut into the very rock of this island.  She may or may not have a message for you.  Respectfully ask your questions about his place, but do not be surprised if all she does is smile at them.

The apple trees on either side of this path are unlike any you have known.  They are bare, in bloom and bearing fruit all at once.  Some of the apples are the colors you are familiar with, red, greens, sot yellows, but other apples are crystalline or metallic.  It is a bizarre sight because it is not natural to us.  Time is not the same here.  That is likely the only answer you will have about why this island is able to show all of the stages of an apple tree's life at once.  Among the trees, women of all ages are tending them.  Old women bent over baskets are sorting apples.  Young girls on ladders are harvesting.  Mothers and daughters are all working here, together.  They complement and support each other.  The atmosphere is busy and joyous.  Their voices fill the air with laughter and song.

Who do you see here?  What are they doing?  Is their a task that draws your attention more than others?  Do any of these women speak to you or smile at you?  What type of apples draw you? If you'd like, you may ask your guide for an apple to take with you.

Continue up the stairway to the peak of the island.  There is a temple here.  You may enter and explore.  Like meeting the Goddess in the garden, you can talk to her here as well.  Or you may simply enjoy the peace of the temple.  Ask for guidance and blessing if you need them.  Leave an offering.  Whatever you feel is perfect.  When you are done here, wander back down the path way to your ship.  The Guide may be there to send you off or she may not be.  Thank the island for it's lessons and be on your way.