The
A Sacred Stories Magazine Spring 2022
THE OTHER GODDESSES The Baha’i Faith:
Consciousness Evolves Toward Wholeness
Poetics of Ascension: Enheduanna and Her Muse
The Heart of the Matter for Spiritually Conscious Parents
UP CLOSE A ND PE RSO N A L
with
Simran
Singh
WELCOME Welcome to The Owl! A collaborative sharing of contemporary ideas, fresh perceptions, art, beauty, Universal wisdom, and modern inspiration across traditional and nontraditional spiritual and religious teachings. We invite everyone to the table to share in the rich feast of Life and Living.
PUBLISHER
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Sacred Stories
Vik Leigh
EDITORIAL TEAM
COLUMNISTS
Ariel Patricia
Franne Demetrician
Lindsey Brooks
Mary Ellen Lucas
sacredstories.com
Laura Staley
2
The
Come On In & See What's Inside
A Sacred Stories Magazine
features
30
Up Close and Personal with Simran Singh 6 The Other Goddesses 26 Poetics of Ascension: Enheduanna and Her Muse 40 The Making of Peace 50
40
in every issue A Sacred Story 4 WisdomKeepers 30 Artist in Residence 34 The Heart of the Matter 46 Write for Good 56
46
Book Excerpt: Rewilding 62 Sacred U Courses 68
3
A Sacred Story by Laura Gray
In my early 20’s, I was bulimic. From work, I would drive home 35 minutes to scarf down some lunch to then throw it up in the comfort of my own bathroom. If I was unable to make it home, my good friend and co-worker would serve as a lookout so I could do the deed in the office restroom. Early in my career, during a business trip to Chicago, our group had dined at a white tablecloth restaurant. Fear ran through my veins as we sat and ate. I felt trapped, and the food seemed to choke me with each chew and swallow. Eventually, I excused myself from the table and proceeded to violently vomit the pre-digested filet and then returned to the table with a polite smile. I had mastered this game of dine/ dash/discard.
control. One day, a colleague commented, “Laura, you are getting so thin.” Instantly, my mind converted her words to mean, I am not thin enough if you can still see me. Soon after, I was back in therapy. Through several sessions and quiet reflection, I realized the food and weight game was collateral damage from my childhood trauma. I had been packing pounds on top of the excruciating physical and emotional pain from the sexual abuse by a family friend for many years. Since my body was the scene of the “repeated” crime, I began to fight for control, tear down the invisible yellow tape surrounding my body and ultimately find peace.
Both my boss and my mother began to express deep concern over my physical condition. It was certainly different back then when your older, male boss could call you into his office and genuinely inquire about your health and wellbeing. With the support of my mom, I received counseling and began a “healthier” relationship with food.
Putting it together made sense. The chewing, swallowing followed by an extreme sense of panic was consistent with the memory from the oral sexual abuse of gagging and not being able to breathe. The intense task of keeping the bulimia a secret mirrored the devastating and dark game of the abuse. In the same way, I successfully functioned as a child, I conquered the ability to return to many dinner tables and carry on the conversation.
After the birth of my first son at the age of 31, it was imperative to lose the pregnancy pounds and I successfully was able to zip my size 6 jeans in time for my 6-week postpartum checkup. Returning to work, I slid into old patterns. The dynamic between myself and food was very contentious. I viewed it both as means to live and as a pawn in a game I could
As a result of childhood sexual abuse, many survivors put on weight to “hide” in their bodies and not appear “attractive” to a potential perpetrator1. However, as in my case, one could go the opposite way,
4
The OWL Magazine
draining. I knew what I had weighed at my wedding 27 years ago, and once I reached that number, I decided to see how low I could go. That new number became my benchmark. In the seemingly never-ending cycle of weigh, work out, work, work out and eat a little along the way, old patterns repeated themselves as they often do until we learn the lesson.
wanting to become so thin and “disappear”, so the predator can no longer find you. After years of therapy, I decided to obtain certifications in multiple areas and began teaching fitness classes. My objective was never about a number on a scale or the size of your thighs but rather to get healthy and have fun doing it. Time moved on, my kids’ schedules became more hectic, and after 10 years, I made the decision to stop teaching fitness classes.
And so, this morning, 50 years after the abuse stopped and growing weary of the game, I woke and chose not to disrobe and place my value on a carnival contest. Rather, instead, I made a conscious decision to go within, bare myself and write a piece reflecting on and respecting my journey with weight. Although it has felt very much like a game, I have discovered there is no win nor lose, only life. No more weight-ing…
In March of last year, I was blessed to be able to donate one of my kidneys. Two months prior, I had numerous pre-op medical appointments and for the first time in a long time, stepped on a scale. The “number” was quite high, and in an instant, I became reacquainted with my past beast of burden.
only living.
With the surgery a success, I purchased a scale and weighed myself every morning. I increased my daily exercise routine and decreased my food intake. Magically, the number on the scale started to go down. I began to assert and establish a real sense of control over my body, and I liked it. Each point, regardless of the amount lower, was a victory and inevitably set the tone for my day.
Laura Gray is the Founder/Executive Director of IPride, a self-esteem empowerment program for youth that she created in 2015. A published author, her story is in the recently released Amazon bestseller Mayhem to Miracles. A living kidney donor and a fervent advocate for sexual assault victims, Laura is a proud mother of three sons and three dogs. She strives to live each day with a grateful heart and feels especially connected to herself and God when she is in nature. ipride.net.
A co-worker expressed concern over my weight loss and unknowingly triggered the “he can still see me” effect. I worked out twice a day and punished myself by eating less. So eager to hit a number, I would even remove a necklace or hair barrette before weigh-ins. Each morning I behaved like a wrestler anxious to make weight before a match. The routine became both challenging and
[1] https://www.weightwatchers.com/us/article/ connection-between-trauma-and-body-image
5
UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
with
Simran Singh 6
The OWL Magazine
Simran Singh is a globally recognized
of LIVING, BEING and KNOWING in
speaker and catalyst for love,
2022. In addition, Simran, soul artist
compassion, and humanity. Author
and mentor, is also the publisher of
of multiple award-winning books,
11:11 Magazine, host of 11:11 Talk Radio,
Simran has released her latest trilogy,
and guide for 11:11 InnerViews TV.
Ariel Patricia: Simran it’s a pleasure
AP: Simran share some of your
to speak with you. Tell us who is
experiences as you have deepened
Simran?
into your name and the lived expressions of it in your life.
Simran Singh: As Simran, I am many identities and personas.
SS: I have known there is
Truthfully, I am the ever-deepening
something to be remembered
embodiment of my given name.
since I was four years old. Through
I was born Simran Preet Randhawa.
early conditioning, I became
Upon marrying, the name Singh was
Simmi… “see me”. I wanted to be
added. In essence, Simran means
seen; especially, by me. For the
Remembrance of the Divine… Preet
longest time, I felt completely
means Love… and Randhawa means
invisible. I could not see, hear, or
Warrior Spirit. Singh means Lioness.
acknowledge myself, even if others
My life, each experience, and every
did. Simmi is my shadow self: the
encounter has been toward the
animal, monster, and inner demon.
embodiment and essential nature
She is the one who forgot. She
of these initiations of naming. I have
became deeply codependent early
come to the awareness that destiny
in life, taking care of those around
is written upon our foreheads. How
her—emotionally and physically—
we are named, or name ourselves,
f rom a very young age.
through word, thought, and deed determines the experiences and
Simmi has fears, insecurities,
expressions on the way to that
doubts and lacks inner authority.
destiny.
She is af raid of people, and 7
Up Close and Personal with Simran Singh
years taught her powerful skills, stamina, and a strong work ethic of integrity. Although reared in South Carolina, Simmi chose to have an arranged marriage, following Indian tradition. She did this to please her parents, and because she lacked trust with her own choices. She had no sense of self. Simmi was always what others wanted her to be, did what others told her to do, and became what others needed. Deeply empathic, Simmi often mistook the feelings and thoughts of others as her own. This unconscious absorption resulted in missteps, mistakes and misfortune that led to a great deal of pain and wounding. the world; yet loves them
She believed any negative
unconditionally. Simmi is an
projections placed upon her, rather
introvert; quiet and shy. She does
than holding strong to the positive
not know how to ask for help; and
ones. She did not realize how her
believes her worth rests in how
choices were unloving to self. She
hard she works, and what she can
was innocent; this is true for us all in
do for others. Simmi turned into
the forgetting. This destined karma
a workaholic, people-pleasing,
would eventually lead to Simmi/Sim/
perfectionist. She grew up in the
Simran’s dharma.
family apparel business and worked beside her parents, remaining there
By age 33, Simmi had settled into
for thirty years; until a fashion blog
body, blood, and bone; she filled this
evolved into a spiritual one. Those
underworld and the subconscious 8
The OWL Magazine
mind. Her embedded patterns and behaviors would create a tide of rhythms and cycles that would wash upon life’s shores in the perfect places, at the perfect time. At this time, Simmi began having cravings. She wanted more. More life. More experience. More expression. More beauty. More feeling. The desire for something beyond the life she had created; which appeared as dysfunction. Simmi had been reared in the Sikh faith. This early faith training anchored love and oneness as truth. However, she did not see oneness anywhere around her. Simmi began seeking. She wanted to learn and grow. She wanted to feel. She wanted to find meaning in her life. The first breaking through of her spiritual quest began at this point. Her desires for more were likened to pouring 9
Up Close and Personal with Simran Singh
love on herself; and with that…
experience, she seeded the identity
everything unlike love rose to the
and masks of Simran Singh, who
surface. A building wave began. It
emerged at age 33. Simran Singh
would crash upon the shores of her
wanted to make her place in the
consciousness, life, and heart again,
world. She wanted to make things
and again, and again… until all that
happen, build a legacy, and would
no longer served would, one day, be
push forward. This was Simran
worn away.
Singh’s masculine energy becoming more dominant. Externally, she
As Simmi reclined into the
appeared feminine, but expressed
background hum of my life
the opposite. 10
The OWL Magazine
After marrying, Simran Singh
make these numbers stop or tell me
became a workaholic. This was
what they mean!”
an unconscious way to escape the verbal abuse, emotional pain
Instantly, images flashed in her
and immense betrayal within her
mind of magazine covers, articles, a
personal life. In time, the impact
radio show, and books. Simran Singh
became so immense that Simran
did not know how to create any of
Singh stopped looking in the mirror.
these things. But, the Universe knew
She could not bear to look at herself,
she was a workaholic, and the best
believing the continuing barrage
thing to provide her at this time was
of criticisms that came her way.
a job!
Even though she worked in fashion, helping women look beautiful,
With these visions, the following
Simran Singh did not look at herself
whisper was heard, “You will heal;
for over a decade. The arranged
others will heal.”
marriage led to a deteriorating self image and deep shame. However,
Through that mystical experience,
she held a mask in public that let
Simran Singh became the seeker
few people ever realize her private
and speaker, the student and
pain.
teacher, 11:11 publisher and host. She had no idea how to do any of these
In 2007, collapsing on her prayer
things; she simply said Yes and took
room floor, Simran Singh sobbed;
the leap every time she felt called.
crying out to be given a sign,
Simran Singh never grasped that
understanding and the strength
she was touching others. She knew
to keep living. The next day, she
all creations had to serve her growth
began seeing the numbers 11:11
and healing first; only then, could
repeatedly, multiple times a day on
they serve anyone else.
store receipts, license plates, cars, Eventually, Simran Singh found
mailboxes, bulldozers, and trains.
the courage to leave the marriage After four weeks of 11:11 continually
and embark on a powerful journey
appearing, she yelled out, “Either
of self-discovery. She decided to 11
Up Close and Personal with Simran Singh
go around the country and put
her masculine energy. Her steps and
on a one-woman show, The Rebel
struggle led to a course of events
Road: Connecting the Dots of What
which uncovered the expression
Was to What IS. In an RV with her
of Sim, which would balance her
two children and two others, she
feminine energy.
traveled to 66 cities to organically express with story, song, and
Sim is my humanity. I could not
humor. This was an act of self-love
touch the depths of this for most
to see and hear herself. She shared
of my life. None of us do, although
encounters with signs, symbols, and
most people think otherwise. Sim
synchronicity; to prove to herself
was born out of the cracking open
and others, that the Universe truly
of life. After embarking upon The
guides us when surrendering
Rebel Road, Sim encountered 7
completely. She wanted to illustrate
blessings: life, challenge, conflict,
that life held this magical play.
chaos, obstacles, darkness, and death. Once again, washing herself with pure love, all that was not love rose up. An explosion occurred; and Sim had to walk through the fire… trauma, loss, war, and overpowering grief. She allowed herself to be swallowed whole by the darkness that followed, knowing it must have come to deepen her spiritual knowing. Sim died over and over again, for the next seven years.
Through Simran Singh’s sacrifice, I took leaps of faith, found courage and tenacity. She shifted my focus
Each identity fell away; wife,
from the patterns and textures of
daughter, ex-wife, sister, business
fashion to the patterns and textures
owner, 11:11 steward, teacher,
of life’s inner landscape. Now she
student, and mother. Eventually,
sits back; stepping in, only when
Sim became nothing; she became
inspired to act. She has balanced
nobody. Through an experience 12
The OWL Magazine
of disintegration, dissolving and
tender and gentle. She is deeply
absorption… Sim flowered into true
devoted to life, as holy communion
humanity. She could finally see all of
and sacred ceremony. She needs
herself, beholding a sacred beauty far
no recognition, accolades, or fame.
beyond what she thought possible.
She is whole and complete; trusting and grounded. She knows none
Now, Sim feels everything fully, and
of this could have come without
is willing to be swallowed whole by
embracing darkness to the degree
every experience. She is not afraid of
she had embraced Light. Sim led
the dark. She sees duality through
me to f reedom, inner authority, and
the lens of embodied compassionate
my sense of self. She brought the
presence and within the field of
return to innocence. Sim taught me
oneness. Sim is at peace with all that
patience and gave me embodied
life brings; the good, beautiful, and
peace. She transformed life into a
ecstatic…the bad, ugly, and tragic.
state of aliveness. Sim awakened the
Sim is patient, loving and kind,
expression of Simran Preet. 13
Up Close and Personal with Simran Singh
Simran Preet is coming into her own. She is discovering the world again; but she is not of this world. She is the bridge between being deeply human and sacredly divine. Simran Preet is bold and courageous. She is a truthteller of the uncomfortable truths to be told at this time. Simran Preet stands for remembering divine love within; sweet love, tender love, compassionate love, unconditional love, mama-bear love, fierce love, and loving advocacy. The deepening of her presence is guiding me to the sacred doorway of simran, where I dissolve into the embodied humility of holy, Divine natural expression. AP: Simran that is beautiful. Thank you for sharing such a profound understanding of the deeper soul experience our human selves can have. For others that are experiencing similar, what would you like to say to them? 14
The OWL Magazine
SS: None of us can possibly know
SS: When we first moved to the
our true dharma. The mind and
small southern town I grew up in,
ego will create a path of purpose
my parents were challenged to find
born of its childhood insecurity
a home. No one would rent to us.
and pain. But our lives hold the
A local physician bef riended my
path of true purpose. Knowing this
parents and wanted to help. Within
requires presence, commitment,
a week, he found a home for us to
and devotional presence to the
move into. Later that evening, he
experiences that deeply tug at the
returned. The owners did not want
heart and soul. If courageous enough
an Indian family renting their home.
to face the life we each are given,
He found another home. We packed
there is not only power in our pain;
and transferred the next day.
but also, dharma within our karma. However, Dr. Watson returned Whether or not following one’s
that evening. Once again, we were
authentic nature, or lost on a scenic
asked to leave because of our brown
route, the universe uses what it
skin, the sari my mother wore, and
is given… to navigate a map of
the turban on my father’s head. A
expression that supports a larger
few days later, another place was
picture. There are no mistakes,
located. The year was 1972 and my
no wrong turns, and no missed
mother was pregnant with her
opportunities to serve and be
third child. The local mill owned a
served. Life’s blessings, especially
home that was available for rent.
unorthodox ones, always lead to a
The owner agreed to our family
greater good personally, collectively,
living there. However, he had three
and globally. We may not know what
conditions for the arrangement:
we are doing, but the Universe has a plan; and it is a Divine one.
1. We could not rent. Instead, the home was to be purchased; and
AP: Yes, I believe we are all part
then, sold back to the mill when
of a grand, Divine plan. Simran,
leaving.
please share a specific childhood
2. We were never to have alcohol
experience that shaped you.
on the premises. 15
Up Close and Personal with Simran Singh
spine, and was also diagnosed with
3. We were not allowed to have ‘black people’ in the home, or on
leukemia, so she came to live with
the property.
us. I was four years old and very close to her. Biji and I stayed home
Since that was the only option, my
together while Mom and Dad went
parents moved us in that evening.
to work. Each day at lunchtime,
That experience left a visceral imprint
I would get our sandwiches and
within my body of not feeling safe,
milk from the ref rigerator. One day,
not wanted, not accepted, and not at
the f ront doorbell rang. Biji did not
home in my skin.
speak English and remained in the kitchen while I went to answer.
Soon after moving into the home, my grandmother whom I called
I partially opened the door, just
Biji, collapsed in India. She became
peeking out from behind it. I felt a
paraplegic due to a tumor on her
wave of energy, and suddenly felt 16
The OWL Magazine
very afraid. A little blond boy was on
She seemed upset, so I told her
the porch. He looked to be seven or
about the boy. Her eyes became sad.
eight years old. He was moving from
She was quiet for a moment. Sitting
side to side, as if he needed to go
next to me on the bed, she placed
to the bathroom. His face was red,
the book on my heart and layered
and he was panting; his hair matted
my hands on top of it.
and sticking to his forehead from “This is a Gideon Bible. It is a
sweating. He was holding something.
Christian Bible. It is filled with As I looked toward his hands, he
stories, pearls of wisdom, and some
yelled at me, “I don’t want you to
things that are made up. As you
burn in hell! I don’t want you to burn
get older, I want you to explore all
in hell! Take this and save yourself!”
religions and bibles. They are all filled with stories, pearls of wisdom,
He threw the object toward me and
and things that are made up. But, if
ran away. Once gone, I picked it up;
you follow the pearls of wisdom, you
a small green book with soft, swishy
will see they all say the same thing.
paper; somewhat like tissue. I could
Only believe the pearls of truth,
not read, so I did not know what it
nothing else,” she said.
said. I felt very afraid, and my body trembled. I did not know what ‘hell’ was, and I did not want to burn there. I ran to my bedroom, hiding the book under my pillow. That night, mom tucked me in. She adjusted my pillow and the book fell behind the bed. She reached back and pulled it out, looking at it carefully. Then, with a serious tone, she asked, “Where do you get this?” 17
Up Close and Personal with Simran Singh
My mom kissed me good night and
over child custody. I refused arbitration
left the room. I held the book for a
but was told I had no choice; that this
few more minutes, and then placed
was normal family court procedure. If
it back underneath my pillow. As
I did not submit to arbitration, I would
I drifted off to sleep, images of the boy,
immediately lose custody. What
his fear, and his tears stayed with me.
ensued was traumatic. The Guardian
Those were mixed with images of my
ad Litem, attorneys, and arbiters
mother, her sadness, and the bible
judged my work and spirituality. It did
on my heart. His words felt like fear;
not fit with their religious views. I was
my mother’s words felt more like love,
portrayed as harmful because my
although they held sadness. From
faith was not theirs. With no change in
that moment, my life would be aimed
circumstance and no due process, my
toward reconciling the divide between
sons were taken away from me. I was
fear and love. Unknowingly, I would
devastated. It was like being burned
also carry her feeling of sadness for a
at the stake for what I believed. What
very long time.
I did not realize was that I had just fallen victim to an illegal process that
AP: Reconciling the divide between
was hidden from the court system.
fear and love. A powerful and ongoing opportunity each of us are facing
I could not understand why I lost my
in this world. Simran, leaving your
children. I lead a clean and aligned life.
arranged marriage provided you with
I am a good mother. I had plenty of
some of the greatest challenges of
witnesses as to my character. As I wept
your life. Please share with us what
on the floor, my inner voice spoke,
happened when you embarked on
“Will you commit as devotionally to
your journey of self-discovery.
darkness as you have to Light? Find your gold.”
SS: After embarking on the 11-month RV trip with my children,
I had previously focused on inner
I encountered the blessing of
work for two decades. For me to have
challenge. Within two months of our
created this reality, life was pointing to
journey, I received legal documents
something. In that moment, I chose
forcing me into binding arbitration
to consciously go unconscious. I was 18
The OWL Magazine
willing to fully surrender to the experience, and each emotion it brought, as my new spiritual path. I let go of all identity to sit in the experience that coursed through me. Tremendous waves of grief lasted for months. I immersed within the shadows at play. I experienced softening into greater humanity. Over the following seven years, I moved through an incredible experience of transformation, transmutation, and alchemy. During that period, after a walking meditation, the ‘table of contents’ for three books streamed forth. They were a set of instructions from the soul that were manuals for humanity. I became aware of an ascending ladder of consciousness and a multidimensional grid of being. I knew my work was to stay completely present to my 19
Up Close and Personal with Simran Singh
inner world, while allowing the outer
support, and visitation, arguing
world to play out its drama. Ultimately,
arbitration violates the children's
this experience led me to write the
constitutional rights and contradicts
three books releasing this year. I am
state law and court rules. We vacate
certain they are my life’s work; the
and remand.”
reason for which I came. I am clear these have been written to support
SC Supreme Court Decision 10/2021
humanity in moving forward through
“The question presented in this
all that is coming.
case is whether South Carolina law permits issues relating to
AP: Simran I can’t imagine the deep
child custody and visitation to be
pain and confusion you experienced
submitted to binding arbitration with
losing custody of your children in that
no oversight by the family court and
way. How did the legal process unfold?
no right of review by an appellate tribunal. We believe the answer is
SS: The legal process took eight years;
clearly and unequivocally no and
four years in the lower courts and
affirm the court of appeals' excellent
two in the appellate. September 2021,
opinion.”
the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled the binding arbitration process
I was led down a road that
that had been forced upon me in
eventually uncovered a twenty-
2014 as illegal and unconstitutional.
year, illegal cottage industry that
The entire process lasted nine years.
had been existing within our state.
Although, the law no longer allows this
Unfortunately, most of the children
manipulation and misuse of binding
affected have now aged out. But
arbitration, my children and I are still
the rulings from our legal case
waiting to be reunited.
has set precedence so that this unconstitutional practice cannot
SC Appellate Court Decision 1/2019
continue in South Carolina any
“Simran P. Singh appeals various
longer.
family court orders approving agreements to arbitrate issues
This practice also occurs in other
pertaining to child custody, child
states, and other countries. Perhaps 20
The OWL Magazine
these rulings will create a shift
financial abuse, and emotional pain.
within other states so that children
I have also met women in other states
are not treated as property through
and countries who are experiencing
binding arbitration. This is a form
this same injustice. The pain of the
of child trafficking manipulated by
mother, and the wounding of children,
attorneys within our legal system. It
are deep wounds in our collective
is imperative that courts have final
spiritual psyche stemming back to
oversight regarding children’s rights,
ancient sacred stories. But, outer
and the right to due process. Systems
activism will never create true change
and structures are not inherently
if not willing to engage soulful, internal
bad. Corruption can only occur by
sacred activism. For the world to
those within a structure. The struggle
change, each individual has to take
between darkness and light begins
responsibility of their inner and outer
with the inner conflict of each
state of being.
human being. It is time for light to shine upon all corruption, misaligned
I watched many men bully, and
power, and greed.
wield masculine dominance, for greed and power. I also encountered
AP: Simran deep gratitude and
many women who turned a blind
respect for what you have endured
eye, apathetically carried out their
and the light you have shone for
role, and were part of the corruption.
mothers who will come after you. Tell
The truth is, we traumatize ourselves
us about the women and men you
and those around us. Balancing
met during your fight for justice.
masculine and feminine energies is not gender specific. We hold both,
SS: Over the last eight years, I met
mirroring the areas and degrees which
many women who experienced the
require illumination. Everyday painful
same trauma and loss of having their
human experiences, and those that
children ripped from their arms,
illustrate global tragedy, hold powerful
with no remaining rights to them.
opportunities for equilibrating
I met women who succumbed to
masculine and feminine energies.
drugs, homelessness, prostitution,
We must become more present to
and suicide due to the grief, trauma,
willingly feel what is occurring. 21
Up Close and Personal with Simran Singh
AP: Your courage and deep insights
and presence. In that way, systems,
gleaned from your journey are an
structures, and societies can shift.
inspiration. Simran, what would you
We can be conduits for releasing
like others to know?
backlogged, ancestral energies… of pain, suffering, and separation. We
SS: We each have the power to
can be channels for the alchemical
transmute and alchemize current
absorption of wounding, stemming
conditions through personal power
from expressions of trauma, hate 22
The OWL Magazine
and war. We all can serve as
and ‘holy advocacy’ looks like in a
transducers of dense energy into
new world. True oneness reflects the
light, in advocacy for self, systems,
embrace of our darkness and light,
structures, and the larger family of
holding duality and contrast with
earth. Serving the world requires a
compassionate presence.
new brand of sacred activism that encompasses living, being and
AP: Simran it’s been a pleasure. Thank
knowing all that is and ALL THAT
you for doing your part in helping us
IS. This is what ‘unconditional love’
birth a new world.
iamsimran.com FUN FACTS AP: Coffee or tea?
AP: Beach or mountains?
SS: Tea
SS: I love both.
AP: Book or movie?
AP: Globetrotter or homebody?
SS: Always books!
SS: I am both.
AP: Favorite movie?
AP: Early bird or night owl?
SS: Any and all of the children’s
OMQ: Depending on the cycle,
movies.
I move between them. 23
Let him who would move the world first move himself. — Socrates
THE OTHER GODDESSES by Dr. Joanna Kujawa
26
The OWL Magazine
Who is the other Goddess? Indeed,
Only through meeting great masters,
who is a Goddess? These two
scholars, and practitioners of various
questions and my quest for the
traditions have I begun to understand
answers have preoccupied me for over
that the original goddess tradition was
a decade now.
transmitted orally through lineages of yoginis or dakinis (wise women and
The concept of the goddess in many
practitioners of ancient teachings).
forms is celebrated around the world.
When the Brahmins (a sect of priests)
India has a long list of goddesses who
recorded the traditions, they omitted
cover nearly every area of human
this goddess-oriented tradition, which
activity: from the Goddess of Learning
also embraced her sexuality and the
(Saraswati) to the Goddess of Wealth
Divine aspect of our human sexuality.
and Good Luck (Lakshmi)–and dozens
Even worse, it was practiced by the
more. In other eastern spiritualities, the
priests for their spiritual evolution
goddess survived as a compassionate
while they used women of lower status
mother, whether as Tara (in Buddhism)
for sexual rituals.
or in China as Guanyin, whom even Jesuit missionaries compared to the western version–the Goddess of Compassion, the Virgin Mary. While studying the esoteric version of Hinduism and some aspects of Tantra, I noticed that these alternative traditions also celebrated the Goddess. Her sexuality, they considered an aspect of her Divinity, including the practice of sexual rituals as one of the ways of reaching heightened states of consciousness and entering the
I continued with my search for the
original flow of creation. I wondered
whole goddess: the one who valued
why this tradition existed on the
and honored her sexuality and who
margins of mainstream religion.
used this consciously as a means 27
The Other Goddesses
of spiritual evolution for us. The
more. In 1945 in Nag Hammadi, Egypt,
10th-century Tantric philosopher,
new sacred texts known as the Gnostic
Abhinavagupta said: 'That which
Gospels were discovered. They give a
produces the bliss should be
different picture of Mary Magdalene,
worshipped since it ravishes the heart.'
including significant mention in the
What ravishes the heart more than
Gospel of Philip, where she is called Jesus’
sexual rapture?
close companion or partner whom He often kissed, causing jealousy amongst
Soon after, I discovered that there
the other disciples. In another source,
existed in our deep past a woman-
the Pistis Sophia, Mary Magdalene asks
philosopher, Ardha-Tryambaka,
Jesus questions of an esoteric nature,
who started the Kula tradition – the
and it is clear that she has a deeper
tradition of using our sexuality for
understanding of His teachings. In the
enlightenment. The Kula tradition
Gospel of Mary Magdalene, which was
was taken over by male philosophers,
discovered in 1896 also in Egypt, the
although the remains of that tradition
disciples ask Mary Magdalene to share
are still present in the worship of the
with them the secret teachings of Jesus.
Goddess Sundari and the Goddess
These examples show Mary Magdalene
Kali in their sensual aspects. The
as the bearer of a secret tradition lost
discovery of this tradition and its female
to Christianity, as it was not shared with
originator inspired me to look at similar
Jesus’ male disciples.
possibilities in the West. Was there a lineage of goddesses who celebrated their sensuality and were the bearers of secret wisdom? Yes, the most mysterious woman in the Christian tradition: Mary Magdalene. Mary Magdalene, who has traditionally been portrayed in a penitential mode and misrepresented as a prostitute, was the closest companion of Jesus, his favorite disciple–and possibly much 28
The OWL Magazine
Yet I was still puzzled by the even
Among these ancient goddesses are
stranger assumption of Mary
Ninmah, Inanna, and Isis.
Magdalene's sexuality as somehow being shameful, inappropriate, or even
The vilification of the other goddesses
dangerous, especially considering
has left a scar on our human psyche.
her special relationship with Jesus. As
This has changed my life and my
I delved more into Gnostic sources,
view on the relationship between
I discovered other goddesses like
spirituality and sexuality. I hope it will
Sophia, who were also associated
change yours as well.
with sexuality but often identified as
Dr. Joanna Kujawa is a scholar, spiritual detective, and the author of The Other Goddess: Mary Magdalene and The Goddesses of Eros and Secret Knowledge. As an active academic for over 20 years, she uses her scholarly training to investigate topics such as: Can spirituality and sexuality be experienced as one? Who was the real Mary Magdalene? Is there a lineage of Goddesses now resurfacing in our collective experience of spirituality? joannakujawa.com
prostitutes. This prompted a deeper inquiry: why were the Goddess Sophia and Mary Magdalene–two feminine archetypes associated with wisdom, often portrayed as prostitutes? Was there perhaps some hidden reason for this? Could their sexuality be connected to the knowledge they carried, a secret knowledge that had been lost and now misunderstood, in the same way, the knowledge of the Hindu Tantric goddesses was? Was there any trace of other goddesses in the West who were known to carry secret knowledge of this kind? An exploration of the ancient goddesses of Sumer, Acadia, and Egypt showed goddesses whose stories had only partially been told. The unwanted but evolutionary elements they represented were either played down or coined as ‘sexually inappropriate.' 29
WisdomKeepers
The Baha’i Faith:
Consciousness Evolves Toward Wholeness by Dr. Robert Atkinson
30
The OWL Magazine
Prior to Charles Darwin, the concept of evolution had barely entered public discourse. Now, we recognize that everything evolves: life, culture, civilization, science, technology, the arts, and even the universe itself. What accounts for this unprecedented leap of consciousness over the past century and three-quarters? Did Darwin discover Divinity? He may be best known for a “survival of the fittest” view of evolution. However, this was promoted by his successors, the Social Darwinists. On a group level, and in social spheres, Darwin placed the natural law of cooperation above its opposite. Little acknowledged is that Darwin saw the overall flow of evolution as purposive, progressive, and leading to greater and greater harmony. Buried within Darwin’s The Descent of Man is this gem of progressive evolution: “As man advances in civilization, and small tribes are united into larger communities, the simplest reason would tell each individual that he ought to extend his social instincts and sympathies to all members of the same nation, though personally unknown to him. This point being once reached, there is only an artificial barrier to prevent his sympathies extending to the men of all nations and races.”
31
The Baha’i Faith: Consciousness Evolves Toward Wholeness
What is he expressing here, if not
stuff. He wrote, “All the organic
collective altruism, or the Golden
beings which have ever lived on
Rule writ large? In one sweeping
this earth have descended from
statement, the natural law of
some one primordial form.” This
cooperation is taken from the
foreshadowed the discovery
individual level to the global level.
almost a century later of DNA,
The next step in this evolutionary
a common language every
trajectory, though not without its
organism has in its cells.
ups and downs, would be another universal spiritual principle, a
Modern Darwinians no longer
future in which there is peace
need to guess at the story of
on earth. Coming soon after the
evolution, they consult “genetic
Revelation of Baha’u’llah, founder
scripture,” an embedded code to
of the Baha’i faith in the mid-19th
better understand the physical
century, Darwin’s groundbreaking
realm, just as spiritual seekers
work on evolution is a testament
consult religious scripture,
to the power of the periodic
revealed by the Prophets of
release of spiritual energies. It is
God, to understand the spiritual
difficult to deny that the founders
realm. Science and religion reveal
of the world’s religions—Abraham,
complementary aspects of the
Krishna, Moses, Zoroaster, Buddha,
same reality, giving us a more
Christ, Muhammad, and in our time
complete picture of the whole.
Baha’u’llah have each in their own
And both can be quite close
way transformed the spiritual life
in their expressions of Reality.
of the peoples of the world, indeed
Darwin said, “As natural selection
changed the course of human
works solely by and for the good
life over the last four thousand
of each being, all corporeal and
years, and brought about a leap
mental endowments will tend to
of consciousness with each new
progress toward perfection.”
spiritual epoch they initiated. The Baha’i writings say, “All Darwin also understood that all
beings, whether large or
life is literally made of the same
small, were created perfect 32
The OWL Magazine
and complete from the first,
Adapted from The Story of Our Time:
but their perfections appear in
From Duality to Interconnectedness
them by degrees… The seed does
to Oneness.
not at once become a tree; the
Robert Atkinson, Ph.D., author, speaker, and developmental psychologist, is a 2017 Nautilus Book Award winner for The Story of Our Time: From Duality to Interconnectedness to Oneness, and a co-editor of Our Moment of Choice: Evolutionary Visions and Hope for the Future. He is also the founder of One Planet Peace Forum, and StoryCommons, an internationally recognized authority on life story interviewing, a pioneer in the techniques of personal myth making and soul making, and a member of the Evolutionary Leaders Circle, a project of the Source of Synergy Foundation.
embryo does not at once become a man… They grow and develop gradually and attain to the limit of perfection. This is the universal divine organization and the natural system.” Today, we understand that one universal law governs all, and that reality is one unified whole. Progressive evolution and progressive revelation are parallel principles of a single reality. In 1859, Darwin’s The Origin of Species, stating that all organisms are part of “the great Tree of Life,” signaled the beginning of the greatest flood of scientific discoveries humanity has seen. Beginning in the 1850s, the Baha’i Revelation, including such teachings as “Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch…” brought religion into the modern age, while verifying the latest quantum discoveries: “This endless universe is like the human body… all its parts are connected one with another linked together in the utmost perfection.” 33
ARTIST IN RESIDENCE by Franne Demetrician
34
The OWL Magazine
The sun is coming back! Have
stirring and beginning to bud.
you noticed? Living here in the
Spring takes my breath away
northeast means that every day
with its burgeoning growth and
after the winter solstice I watch the
beauty. It’s no coincidence that
light returning to my days. The last
so many of our holy days happen
several weeks I’ve been noticing
in the springtime. It’s the time to
how the five o’clock hour is now
celebrate life and bear witness
filled with light. In fact, as of this
to the sacred art of renewal and
writing, there is still sunlight visible
rebirth.
at 7:30 p.m. Now that’s cause for Summer is, of course, a time
celebration.
for fun like Sly and the Family I enjoy the changing seasons,
Stone sang, “Hot Fun in the
despite my natural-born need for
Summertime”. August is my birth
sunshine and light. The changes
month and as a Leo summer is
that take place are a source of awe
MY season. All that sunshine and
and I look forward to each one. Yes,
warmth energizes me and fills my
winter is cold, damp, and dark. But
soul. I spend as much time as I
ahhh, the coziness, the sweaters,
can soaking it up. I love the beach
the warmth of a fire burning in
and am fortunate to live close
our little hearth, the crisp air, and
enough to go often. We spend
snow – I love snow in all its sweet
time with our f riends and family
silence and sparkle. Winter is an
enjoying barbecues and backyard
invitation to go within and I have
movie nights. Every year I notice
learned to accept that invitation
when the lightning bugs come
with grace.
out and the nighttime cacophony of summer crickets and cicadas herald the coming Fall.
And the onset of spring has arrived. In February and March, I could feel the faint flutter and
As an artist, fall is a feast for my
swell beneath my feet as Mother
eyes and my palette and I take
Earth began to awaken from her
full advantage, always at the
long winter’s nap. The trees were
ready with my camera and paint. 35
Artist in Residence
My daughter was born in the fall,
for me. The same holds true for
which makes it extra special. My
most things that result in changes
husband and I chose the fall for
in our lives. Recently the phrase
our wedding and usually travel
“lean in” is used when we are
to the mountains to celebrate
faced with conflict or challenge.
our anniversary – my camera
Rather than avoid or bypass it,
and art supplies in tow. So much
leaning in allows us to embrace it.
beauty at hand everywhere we go.
I’ve come to realize that leaning
Admittedly, as the sunlight wanes
in and allowing challenges to
I can feel a shift in my energy and
move through in a natural and
the desire to hold on to every ray.
unimpeded way will for the most
But November arrives and with it
part lead to more ease than
my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving.
resisting.
With the end of our winter holidays Which brings me back to the
the cycle begins yet again.
art of embracing the “changing One way or another, regardless
seasons”, whether that means
of climate, seasons in our lives
another cherished winter, spring,
change. I have noticed that when
summer, or fall; or embracing
I resist the changes that arise,
the aging process, or a grandson
I suffer. There was a time when
going off to college, or downsizing
I dreaded winter and the loss of
to a different home – leaning into
light. I would become depressed
these and embracing them can
and withdrawn. As I have grown
and do make for a life of gratitude
older, I’ve come to relish each day,
and joy – and the sun’s return.
each month, and each season as
Rev. Franne Demetrician is an interfaith minister. She has been a licensed holistic health practitioner since 1995 and wrote a spiritually oriented weekly blog from 2015 -2018. Franne is a working artist, photographer, writer, spiritual counselor, mentor, and teacher.
the precious gifts that they are. These last years have shown us how f ragile our days can be and how fleeting life can be. Living in a persistent state of gratitude has become a way of life 36
Trust in dreams, for in them is the hidden gate to eternity. — Khalil Gibran
Poetics of Ascension: Enheduanna and Her Muse by Seana Zelazo, LICSW
Credit: British Museum/ University Museum Expedition to Ur, Iraq, 1926 The disk of Enheduanna circa 2340-2200 BCE
40
The OWL Magazine
Despite a long patriarchal literary
moon goddess Ningal, through daily
history in which many female
service, it was to their daughter that
writers were silenced, dismissed,
she was committed in body, mind,
or otherwise denigrated, the first
and soul.
documented writer and poet was a high priestess and princess. Over
Enheduanna, like Inanna herself,
4000 years ago, Enheduanna wrote
was a social activist, spiritual warrior,
prolifically and to great acclaim. To
and transformational artist who
date, 42 temple hymns and three
used her platform to bring about
poems to the moon god Nanna
positive change. Because she
have been unearthed. Furthermore,
was a high priestess and princess,
Enheduanna’s muse and spiritual
her opinions carried weight. Her
sister, the Sumerian Goddess Inanna,
writing had a significant influence
was the subject of three long poems
on scribal schools in Sumer
by the poet. In these lyrically rich
inspiring many replications of
works of art, Enheduanna reveals
her work. Enheduanna’s poetic
her devotion to Inanna and seeks to
reclamation of Inanna enacts a
authentically represent Inanna in her
revisionist history that showcases
complexity, including her darkest
the goddesses’ many teachings.
shadow aspects. Enheduanna’s
As such, Enheduanna mirrors
work restored Inanna’s place in
Inanna’s courage as a guide to living
the cultural consciousness and her
unapologetically.
rightful position of supremacy within Enheduanna’s poetry depicts
the pantheon of Sumerian gods.
Inanna in all her identities, including The daughter of King Sargon of
as the Morning and Evening Star,
Akkad and Queen Tashlultum,
Venus—the heart of our Cosmos,
Enheduanna was appointed as the
and the Goddess of both Love
High Priestess of the moon god
and War. Inanna epitomizes
Nanna at Ur. Nanna was Inanna’s
the coexistence of polarities as
father. And while Enheduanna
harmonious multidimensionality,
adhered to her role in cultivating
emphasizing the power of balance
devotion to Nanna and his wife, the
as an alchemical tool for evolution. 41
Poetics of Ascension: Enheduanna and Her Muse
She emerges from the pages
In the excerpt from “Lady of
of Enheduanna’s work raw and
the Largest Heart,” we see
authentic. Because Inanna goes
Enheduanna’s understanding of
through the process of descent
Inanna as a teacher of ascension.
into her own death in her most
She insists, “you have realized/
well-known myth, The Descent
the Queen of Heaven and
of Inanna, and comes to master
Earth/ to the utmost/ you hold
the underworld, Inanna is the
everything / entirely in your
ultimate guide of liminality
hands.” Inanna possesses the
and transition. She represents
wisdom to integrate and unify
the ever-changing process
all aspects of self into open-
of evolution and the need to
hearted unconditional love.
accept, love, and honor the self
Inanna has actualized her role
to bring about change within
as a guide for humanity and it is
and without. Inanna stands
through unconditional love that
out as one of the first historical
we too can follow her path, the
embodiments of self-love,
poet declares. This kind of love
reminding us that always the
requires courage and the ability
process begins with self.
to transmute any resistance that emerges.
Today, Inanna re-emerges as a teacher for global and
The poem in its entirety is
planetary transition into higher
about Enheduanna’s struggle.
consciousness and a new
It is confessional in tone as the
paradigm of unity and love.
poet bravely shares her inner
Indeed, Enheduanna’s poems
process of suffering. The poet’s
for and about Inanna are
description of her heartache
fundamentally love poems in
later in the poem may be
which the poet communes with
about her descent into the
her muse and, in turn, allows
underworld—the depths of her
readers to commune with the
shadowland like the one Inanna
goddess and her heart-centered
herself explored to ascend and
teachings.
rise again. Enheduanna looks 42
The OWL Magazine
Above: Enheduanna, “Lady of the Largest Heart,” in Inanna Lady of the Largest Heart: Poems of the Sumerian High Priestess Enheduanna, edited and trans. Betty De Shong Meador (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2000), 132-33. Artist rendition: E.V. Marie @ evmarie.com
43
Poetics of Ascension: Enheduanna and Her Muse
to Inanna, seeing her as the one
Inanna’s priestesses, we are also
who decrees the fate of all, and
committing to the process of
begs her to bring an end to the
our own descent. As much as
distress she feels.
Enheduanna is an artist, Inanna performs her teachings by
In a proliferation of meaning,
enacting them herself. Inanna’s
the poet describes Inanna’s
myths and hymns demonstrate
capacity for illumination as
what our process can look like
Venus: “your torch flames/
when we commit to ascension
heaven’s four quarters/ spreads
ourselves. The intensity of
splendid light in the dark,” which
letting go of attachments that
becomes, in the following stanza,
are no longer in alignment can
the alchemical fire capable of
certainly feel like being sun-
transmuting fear in her followers,
scorched, but it is part of the
“those warrior women/…whose
process of ascension and raises
hands sear them with purifying
our vibration.
fire.” These worshippers are linked “like a single thread” in the
The “me” described in the
flame of ascension. The goddess’
excerpt are the psycho-
illumination then becomes
spiritual attributes and laws of
both the light of intuitive
civilization in ancient Sumer.
foresight and a foreshadowing
Enheduanna positions them as
of the future burning of
exclusively under the dominion
dissenters of patriarchy—the
of Inanna: “hands do not touch/
many wayshowers who were
your precious me.” She insists
burned at the stake, “your many
on Inanna’s singular capacity to
devoted/ who will be burnt/ like
lead us to higher consciousness,
sun-scorched firebricks.” Even
writing, “all the me/ pass
without the privilege of 21st-
before you.” Enheduanna also
century hindsight, Enheduanna’s
highlights that Inanna holds
lines here underscore that if
“everything entirely” in her
we follow our inner calling and
hands. She has access to what
commit ourselves as one of
is needed to make a choice 44
The OWL Magazine
aligned with the highest good.
in the common work of daily
Even though the me are under
life to infuse the world with holy
her jurisdiction, Inanna does
reverence. With their intention
not grasp them possessively,
and in connection to each other,
she observes them as they pass
they weave themselves back to
before her. She understands
the Divine.
that ascension is about freeing oneself and transcending
As you read the words of
attachment.
Enheduanna, I encourage you to step into her energy. Through the
Enheduanna describes Inanna’s
creative process of the very first
worshippers, who “like a single
known author who lived in the
thread/come forth from beyond
23rd century BCE, the spectrum
the river/ do common work.”
of Inanna’s gifts and power is
Here, we see how our connection
made known to us. May both
to Inanna links us to other
Enheduanna and Inanna inspire
spiritual warriors also seeking
you to author your own desired life
transcendence.
and ignite your creative capacity to call forth a new earth, one
These women come from beyond
based on unconditional love and
the river, symbolizing how they
unity. May it be so.
emerge from a liminal space, as though rising from the mist
Seana Zelazo, LICSW is a psychotherapist, spiritual teacher, mentor, and intuitive channel committed to helping others live unapologetically by restoring balance through the wisdom of the Sumerian Goddess Inanna. Look for her upcoming book The Return of Inanna: The Unapologetic Heroine. seanazelazo.com
of the waters of creation, the amniotic fluid—in pursuit of rebirth. The single thread is both a link to the Cosmic sisterhood, and a confirmation that the process of birth, death, and rebirth, is a continuum, a single thread of the soul’s journey. These devotees to Inanna know this truth and come together 45
The Heart of the Matter for Spiritually Conscious Parents by Mary Ellen Lucas
Anxiety which can express as
frequent physical ailments, poor
worry, unease, and uncertainty can
attention, meltdowns, or apathy.
sometimes be triggered by stressors
What can a parent, grandparent,
that are not in our control. Children
educator do to support a child who
may exhibit signs of anxiety with
is feeling anxious? 46
The OWL Magazine
As a counterbalance to anxiety,
a calm centeredness with an
I suggest we look to a tree as a
overwhelmed child.
model. Trees wisely teach us that rootedness contributes to the health
Teaching grounding to a child is as
of the individual tree and their
simple as pointing to a tree. Talk to
shared connection maintains the
them about how the root structure
integrity of the entire forest.
gives strength and helps the tree grow strongly. Then liken their own
The taproot is the main root of a tree.
bodies to a tree. Pretend with a child
It’s the center from which all other
that they have imaginary tree roots
roots grow, further stabilizing the
going out from the bottoms of their
tree. The taproot digs down deeply
feet. Have them sink those roots into
into the earth to find nutrients to
the ground, spreading them out
sustain itself and joins with other
under the earth. Practice this daily
root offshoots to work together for
together.
even more strength. Some trees don’t have taproots, yet they still
Explain how when they feel upset,
form an extensive network of roots
they are like a tree that has been
that intertwine with other root
uprooted by a storm. Then describe
systems of neighboring trees.
how grounding can help them get their body roots back down into
I recommend adults first learn
the ground. They can become once
for themselves the technique of
again strong and calm and help the
“grounding” or rootedness to help
“storm” to pass. Have a child draw a
children deal with anxiety. It is
tree standing strong and another tree
important to develop a grounding
laying down, uprooted by dark storm
habit when things are humming
clouds, to further imprint the idea.
along smoothly rather than waiting for a child to have a meltdown.
Create “cue” words to use together.
Practice often throughout the day
Using these watchwords, adults can
by planting your feet solidly on the
quickly lead the child to focus on the
ground. By grounding regularly, it
ground when bouts of anxiety creep
will then be much easier to maintain
up. Perhaps something like “become 47
The Heart of the Matter for Spiritually Conscious Parents
a tree” or “get your roots back into the
willing to ‘fix’ the problem by doing
ground” would work.
his homework. I suggested sentences encouraging him to write them
If a child can’t ground because of
down. With his feelings of heightened
heightened anxiety, the adult then
anxiety, he couldn’t focus on what
needs to share their grounded
I was saying.
taproot by extending nourishing stability. An adult linking to a child’s
My attempts to reassure him by saying,
overtaxed nervous system by
“You can do it,” and “There’s plenty of
grounding themselves re-establishes
time,” were met with an annoyed but
for the child a stable connection.
nonetheless polite response, “Just be quiet, PLEASE!!!”
I would like to share an example of this that happened while I was
Squirming in the discomfort of
driving my grandkids to school. Upon
knowing I wasn’t helping him; it was
my arrival, my ten-year-old grandson
clear I needed to shift my focus away
became upset. He thought he had
from the anxiety to get myself calmer
more time to finish his homework.
within. I breathed more slowly and
Five vocabulary words remained to be
sank further down into the seat of my
used in sentences. No problem, or so
car to get grounded. As the long line of
I thought, he could easily finish them
cars inched closer to the school’s drop
on the car ride to school. However,
off point, I was able to morph into a
my grandson’s sense of timing was
rooted-in-the-ground grandma.
thrown for a loop, creating a lot of apprehension which only seemed to
As we reached the designated
grow on the ride to school.
area, my grandson proudly and enthusiastically proclaimed, “I did it!”
Continuous tears streamed down his
With the homework complete, the
face as he worriedly lamented, “I can’t
anxiety quickly receded.
think of a sentence.” It’s humbling to admit that despite More than anything, I wanted him
the years of my own grounding
not to be upset, so much so that I was
practice, my first go-to strategy wasn’t 48
The OWL Magazine
to ground. Instead, I got ensnared in
strongly rooted person is not easily
the distress of watching my grandson
toppled. Practice becoming more
struggle. When my attention turned
grounded and centered within
towards steadying myself, an inner
your own self. Then teach a child to
stillness took over, creating a pathway
ground. Children can rely on your
of neural support extending towards
rootedness of strength until they
my grandson. Would he have been
learn how to stand on their own.
able to finish his homework without
Mary Ellen Lucas, an Interfaith / Interspiritual Minister, believes we can learn to make wiser choices that create pathways of connection and collaboration to ensure a better world for our children. Life on Little Puddle Pond is a series of children’s books she wrote with silly goose playfulness along with meaningful lessons. The books are pre-chapter books and appropriate for children four to eight years old. Available from online retailers worldwide.
a grounded presence by his side? Probably. I believe though that my calmness eased his anxiety, helping him complete his homework. Learning how to stay grounded amid life’s storms behooves us all. An African proverb states, When the roots are deep, there is no reason to fear the wind. Despite the winds of anxiety that blow periodically in and out of our lives, a
49
THE MAKING of Peace by Rachel Mann, PhD
50
The OWL Magazine
Imagine for a moment in the 20th
vibrational frequency of love
and 21st centuries there has been a
within, through, and around all of
critical mass of leaders of nations
creation. When the inner and outer
who are enlightened peacemakers.
portals of consciousness open to
Not in the conventional
our innate, visceral, and mystical
understanding of the geopolitical
remembrance of this life-creating,
but of the spiritual. In the parlance
abundant energy, we see all things
of Mahatma Gandhi, they tap into
through the eyes of the Great
the power of soul force (satyagraha)
Heart. A potent transformational,
that enables them collectively to
healing energy then arises.
confront and disarm even the most Further, this Great Heart is the
hardened autocrat.
radiant bridge between our What would be the outcomes?
physical incarnation to our soul
Would two World Wars have been
and spirit. At this level, we know
averted? Would there be no nuclear
ourselves as fundamentally
weapons? Would genocide and
indestructible and we recognize
other wars have never happened?
the greater purpose within an all
Let’s consider a radically different
arising experience. It is a natural
reality anchored in sacred activism
imprint within all human beings.
for peacemaking that taps into the
Though forgotten by some, it can
Great Heart of soul force.
be reactivated in them when in its presence.
Gandhi states that the courage and strength to face down evil
The lesson is that when we are
through nonviolent means, even
anchored into soul force while
at the risk of harm to oneself,
negotiating with others to turn
comes from God. By surrendering
back the will to warmongering, we
to God, he says, we discover Truth.
have the power to penetrate the
If we widen the language of this
deepest darkness of fear. Fear is at
monotheistic, religious lens; Gandhi
the root of all attacks on another’s
tells us that we can experience
sovereignty, whether an individual
soul force as a vital and eternal
or group. 51
The Making of Peace
Soul force also allows us to tap into
healing our families, communities,
new and creative solutions that
and the planet. This is sacred
might otherwise have been invisible.
activism for peacemaking.
Violence and war burn a tremendous amount of creative energy, as does
Imagine that a critical number of
fear. When we are afraid, we are
the world’s population have been
stressed. When we are stressed,
undertaking this work of sacred
our ability to access the unlimited
activism for peacemaking for the
potential within us and throughout
past century or more. They have
creation is truncated. Our spiritual,
been, vibrating at this higher
energetic, mental, and emotional
consciousness of soul force and
bandwidths are narrowed. We are
acting out of the Great Heart.
thus more apt to act out of old
Enlightened leaders are, as well.
conditioning and the psychological patterning arising from unhealed
Soul force, when collectively
personal and ancestral traumas.
harnessed, has an exponential
We are blind to emergent, creative
impact. And because we are all
possibilities, and more peace-
interconnected through this vast
enabling choices and actions.
matrix of consciousness and lovelight, we do not have to be in the
It is no accident that over the past
same room or even geographical
century, pandemics, war, and
location as the leaders who are
increasing authoritarianism have
working to heal and ignite the fire
intensified even as the wisdom
of peace in another leader’s heart.
of ancient spiritual lineages once
An estimate based on studies
hidden has been revealed to the
of how many people regularly
world. When great light shines into
practicing meditation is statistically
shadow, a healing crisis is triggered.
connected to a reduction in
As chaos seems to be increasing,
violence is 3.5%. This means that if
millions of people are reaching for
2.7 billion of the earth’s 7.9 billion
meditation, prayer, and ceremony to
souls were consistently engaged in
create both inner and outer peace.
practices to activate the vibrational
As we seek to heal ourselves, we are
frequency of soul force and thus, 52
The OWL Magazine
53
The Making of Peace
triggering within others an
mass violence we have seen in the
opening into the Great Heart,
past century would have happened—
there would be a tidal wave shift
or at least, they would not have
in the destiny lines of humanity.
escalated to the point they did.
With this much vibrational
Like, Gandhi, the great peacemaker,
support worldwide, the
let’s keep up the faith and the work
leaders and people involved in
of sacred activism for peacemaking
quelling the authoritarian or
so that leaders and ordinary citizens
warmongering aspirations of
alike; will awaken and activate the
some individuals or groups would
Great Heart of soul force. Let’s reach
be able to transmute their fear
that critical 3.5%. This is what will save
and activate what Gandhi referred
us and future generations.
to as their moral center. Indeed,
Rachel Mann, PhD is a sacred activist, social scientist, healer, and spiritual mentor. She provides shamanic energy healings, an intensive 1-1 Mentoring Program, and offers courses and retreats supporting passionate individuals with a vision to integrate the wisdom gained through their healing and spiritual study into creative service to others as a healer/ therapist, minister, spiritual teacher, writer, artist, and/or socially conscious and spiritually awake entrepreneur. Through consulting and programs, she also provides businesses, NGOs, and nonprofits wishing to expand and anchor into the sacred values of positive inclusion, compassion, and a renewed, spiritual ethics with consulting and programs. Find out more at rachelmannphd.com.
he believed that somewhere inside every human being, no matter how confused or even depraved, there is the seed of humanity and the spark of God within. This is what the energetic frequency of the Great Heart seeks to awaken. It is awareness of the greater self and thus activates the presence of soul force—a mystical state of unity mind. Fear abates, minds are changed, and the course of human actions shifts. Even the tiniest adjustment could have a monumental effect. The implications are profound. None of the wars, genocides, hate movements, and other forms of 54
Write for Good by Laura Staley
Do you get attached to expectations, judgments, and desires rather than remain open to what unfolds right in front of you? Does your mind get attached to your wants, expecting them to be fulfilled on your timeline, in the exact way you want them? Then inevitably, something goes awry, and you can experience anger, maybe outrage, disappointment, and feelings of being out of control. You persist in making plans, arm wrestling for your agenda and God laughs. Recently, I completed a class in which I learned to take down energetic walls I constantly place around me; to ask myself, “Is this mine?” anytime I notice I feel heavy 56
The OWL Magazine
instead of light. The primary
Responding to life
guidance in this class was to
circumstances in this manner
pay attention to what happens
allows you the freedom to
in my life. Instead of making
merge with the moment. You
demands like a person standing
can pay rapt attention to the
at a vending machine feeding
actions you are taking, your
quarters and pushing buttons for
deep breathing, the loss of
liked items to drop down into the
worry about losing control
bottom tray, I continue to learn to
which paradoxically might have
live in the flow.
you feeling more in control than you have ever been.
What if you could be in a flow
Experiencing yourself inside the
state with life?
activity, you no longer observe or evaluate. You merge with
Softening your hands rather than
the flow of experiences as your
living with clutched hands and
relationship to time shifts. You
pursed lips might allow you to
realize measurements of time
breathe into what researchers
are a construct suspended from
Nakamura and Cxikszentmihalyi
your perspective and awareness.
have discovered is a flow state. Between beta and theta, there
This state of Being seems much
is the alpha wave of flow. While
like seasoned meditators who
in this state of being, you merge
describe an ability to remain in
with a delicious challenge. You
a meditative state no matter
love an activity, the task at hand,
what they are doing. Eating
and know your developing
is a meditation. Speaking is
skills can meet the degrees of
a meditation. Laughing with
difficulty. You experience a sense
friends is a meditation. Holding
of autonomy and independence
the hand of a dying friend is
as you detach from self-
a meditation. Each moment
consciousness, otherwise
unfolds into the next as
known as your inner critic, and
conscious awareness allows life
disentangle from a result.
to happen. 57
Write for Good
58
The OWL Magazine
The mind no longer blathers like
Living life in a state of flow allows
some frenetic taskmaster. The mind
you to experience a breadth and
surrenders to the silence inside and
depth of a multi-sensory journey
a love of living shows up in service
of Being, which infuses the doing
to the actions at hand. Ideas bubble
with an enduring peacefulness,
up or download from who knows
enthusiasm for simply animating
where and who even really cares
this body, and savoring joie de
because they arrive in support of
vivre. Merging in the flow of your
the movement, an unshakeable
heart-led life choices becomes its
commitment, and likely, a
own rich fulfillment.
meaningful contribution.
The founder of Cherish Your World, Laura Staley passionately supports people thriving by guiding them to a holistic transformation of space, heart, and life. Laura is the published author of four books including Live Inspired which reveals the brave and deep work of selfdiscovery and her book of short writings and poetry Abundant Heart.
Rapt attention can be one of the greatest gifts one person gives another. What if you could be in a flow state while conversing with your colleagues, hugging beloved ones, washing dishes after supper, petting your dog, or peeling an orange? Life continues to be a mystery to be lived, not a problem to be solved. Your life is not a goal to be achieved and rewarded, nor a mistake to be punished and shamed. Experiencing your life remains the most precious gift of all. Can you gently unwrap the nuanced moments… because isn't the mundane indeed miraculous? 59
There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you. — Maya Angelou
E X C E R P T F RO M
Kristy M. Vanacore, Psy.D
purpose and passion; her inner
Part One
landscape barren, her soul bereft and estranged f rom itself.
Remembering My Roots
She hears a calling and knows
The Heroine horse stands upon
consuming and she hides in her
her pedestal after placing Best
stall, clinging to the only life that
in Show. Smiling for the cameras
she has known.
she must go; yet fear is all
with her shiny trophy on display, she examines her life. It is full of
And then one day, she wakes up
all that she set out to achieve,
and discovers the gate has been
yet it has come with a price.
left open...and the choice is all
She feels empty and devoid of
her own... 62
The OWL Magazine
Domestication
“Hi Kristy, I’m Mary.” She smiles sympathetically, brushing back my long strawberry-blonde locks.
I awake on a cold metal makeshift
“Everything’s gonna be okay,
bed, my eyes immediately blinded
honey. We’ll get you out of here
by the worn fluorescent lights
real soon.”
blaring overhead. Vague memories of the night before flood my
After a while, I hear the sound of
consciousness. I’m eight years old
Daddy’s voice down the hallway
and cannot comprehend why I am
as he emerges f rom the room
in a jail cell, surrounded by rusty
where he was being questioned
bars and musty block walls.
by a police officer. His face looks bloody and bruised. My mind
“Kristy, I’m Sergeant Brandon.”
flashes back to the prior evening; some sort of fight is all I recall.
The shadow of a man in uniform
I’m suddenly f rozen in fear.
towers over me. I’m scared and confused. He hands me a Dixie
“Come on, your father’s here to
cup of water. The name on his
get you.” Mary takes my hand
badge reminds me of the dog
and tugs on me to stand up. “Uh
on my favorite TV show, Punky
oh,” she murmurs, seeing that
Brewster. I focus my mind on the
my pants are soaked.
image of the fiery-spirited girl Punky and her doting Golden
I had urinated on myself. The
Retriever, Brandon, who were
tears come. I’m embarrassed
abandoned by their mother at the
and want to run and keep
grocery store and taken in by a
running—but I can’t. In the car,
sweet old man named Henry. Had
Daddy doesn’t say a word. He
my parent abandoned me last
just stares out the window of his
night? Where is Daddy?
old blue Oldsmobile that smells smoky f rom the time the engine
As I sip the water, a woman sits
caught fire and burned a hole
down next to me.
through the floor panels. When 63
REWILDING
that happened, he made me smile
middle between wanting to stay
by saying we could be like the
with Grammie and watch her
Flintstone’s cartoon—just put our
favorite “Golden Girls” TV show
feet through the floor and run. But
and wanting to please my Daddy.
today I can’t find humor or any I put two-and-two together as
feeling. I’m numb.
to why Daddy rushed me out The day prior started out like every
of the house. He had gotten a
typical Saturday. Daddy picked me
call from his girlf riend who was
up at four o’clock for his court-
in some sort of trouble. I didn’t
ordered weekend visitation. We
understand it then, but she was
drove to his apartment which
in some crack den doing drugs,
he shared with his mother, my
and one of the men there tried
Grammie. I cooked in the kitchen
to hurt her. She was on the verge
with Grammie. Daddy stayed in
of overdosing. As we drove to
his bedroom, watching TV and
her rescue, Daddy mumbled and
chain smoking.
banged the steering wheel. I just stared out the window, humming
“C’mon, we gotta go!” Daddy
songs in my head. Something
yelled to me just as I was setting
didn’t feel right about the
the table for dinner.
situation my parent was leading me into.
“Johnny, what are you talking about? We’re eating now,”
We arrive at the old, dank-
Grammie said. “What’s so
smelling apartment building.
important? Don’t tell me it’s that
The hallway is dingy and reeks of
girl again.”
oil paint as I try to keep up with Daddy, whose brisk, purposeful
“Let’s go! I said NOW!” I could see
walk leads us to a thickly-painted
veins bulging in Daddy’s head.
brown door with “Apartment 2H”
Grammie had tears in her eyes.
on it. Smoke is wafting through
I felt nauseous, as I had many
the gaps in the door. It smells
times before, being put in the
awful, almost medicinal. I am 64
The OWL Magazine
shaking, as I know something
The intimidating man cracks
bad is about to happen. Being
open the door again and
a man of few words, I’d gotten
Daddy pushes his entire body
good at reading my father’s facial
into it, breaking the chain and
expressions and body language.
swinging it wide open. The
In these moments, anger is
man raises his gigantic fist and
seeping out of his pores as he raps
repeatedly pummels Daddy in
on the door repeatedly.
the head, blood spewing f rom every punch. I could faintly hear
“Open the fucking door!” he
a woman moaning somewhere
screams.
inside the apartment. Daddy struggles and slumps to his
Finally, a tall, muscular, bald black
knees. I watch, absolutely
man cracks open the door until
horrified, as the hallway starts
the safety chain catches. “Who the
to spin. I scream so hard I can’t
fuck are you?”
hear my voice—only the sound of Daddy’s body thumping onto the tiled hallway floor.
“Let her out of there!” Daddy demands.
The next morning, after leaving “Get the fuck outa here.” The man
the police station, Daddy takes
slams the door.
me straight back to Grammie’s apartment. She is there to greet
My heart is racing furiously. I want
me with a hug. I could see she
to run and hide but don’t want to
had been crying. Daddy storms
leave Daddy there.
off to his bedroom and slams the door. Grammie helps me
“OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR,
remove my soiled clothes and
I SAID!” Daddy slams on the door.
draws me a warm bubble bath. She sings softly to me while
“Daddy please let’s just go,”
washing my hair. Once clean
I plead timidly, but he doesn’t
and clothed in warm flannel
acknowledge my request.
jammies, she holds me. I can’t 65
REWILDING
cry or even speak. None of it feels
Daddy again. Instead, I make up a
real.
story about going to the park on Saturday and how much fun we
Later, I hear Grammie
had. This secret is one of many from
reprimanding Daddy through the
my childhood that I lock away in a
closed bedroom door.
neatly organized cage in my heart,
“Johnny, come out and look at
and one of the countless times
your daughter. She peed herself
when I abandoned myself in order
and you didn’t even help her. That
to keep the peace. This self-betrayal
piece of shit woman has ruined
accumulated over the years, little
you!”
by little, unbeknownst to me, and oblivious to the damage it would eventually cause me.
I’m comforted that Grammie is my defender and at the same time, afraid that she might further upset Daddy.
Magical Gypsy Child
That evening, when my visitation
I was born with an untamed heart,
hours with Daddy were done,
an adorable little girl with eyes
I took it upon myself to call
as blue as the sky and always full
Mommy to ask her to come get
of wonder. I remember (not just
me since Daddy was nursing a
the stories my family told me
concussion f rom the fight.
but somehow the feeling of) the mystical little gypsy of a child,
“Why are you calling?” she asks.
always marching to the beat of her
“Where is he? Where’s Grammie?”
own drum. I saw magic everywhere. My eyes beamed with curiosity. My
“He has a bad headache. Just
unbound flaxen locks thrashed in
please come get me, Mommy.”
the wind as I ran f ree.
I beg Grammie not to tell Mommy
Yet this gypsy heart carried a
what happened because I knew
burdened soul, a heaviness of
she would never let me go with
responsibility that plagued her 66
The OWL Magazine
END OF EXCERPT
spirit. A baby who was entrusted with the responsibility of salvaging a fragile marriage between two
Dr. Kristy Vanacore is a spiritual visionary, medicine woman, and sacred storyteller who weaves ancient wisdom with modern science to empower families to thrive. A prominent trailblazer in the field of holistic psychology for two decades, Kristy has revolutionized the personal development industry by creating an innovative mentoring program for people of all ages.
people who were not destined to be. Right out of the gate, the circumstances of her life began to erode the beautiful landscape of her soul’s innocence. With each blow, a fence was erected around her fierce heart. She felt as though she was born at the wrong time or place, a foreigner in a strange land. She always felt much older than her age and even loved talking with adults and hearing the wisdom of her elders. She had a mind and heart thirsty for knowledge and understanding of the ways of the world. As she grew, people entrusted her with their stories, which she collected and preserved like precious relics from ancient, yet familiar, times past. She absorbed all of it; and whenever anxiety or apprehension consumed her as she attempted to navigate this strange land and adapt to its customs, she used each fiber of her collected stories to weave a cloak that she hoped would keep her safe in the midst of chaos. 67
Excerpt from True Light
Allow Your Highest Potential to Emerge
Where Learning is Experienced 68
The OWL Magazine
Click on Course Cards for More Info!
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM SACRED U 69
