Have you had a time in your life when you let too much in?
Said yes when you knew it was over-extending your resources?
A time you felt you were too open in your energy for too long?
Sometimes it can be good to step back, pull in, rest a while…
To reclaim your own space for you.
From there, decision making comes with much more clarity,
because you are grounded in YOU, which is the best place to be!
after a time of being too open
by shiloh sophia
after a time of being too open
consider stripping the altar
scrub the old wood down
rub it with olive oil with the tender fingers of a lover
put away all the crafted deities
put away the smudgesticks, the sweetgrass,
palo santo and the raven feather
and yes even the amethyst she gave you
maybe all the spirits hanging around
need to go knock on someone else’s heart
all the energies that beckon in synchronicity
might need to find another portal for now
maybe there has been enough processing
hash and rehash are all in a mash up
the therapy that has knitted your togetherness
has done the job it can do for now, maybe
after the altar is scrubbed and oiled
let it remain empty for one whole night
letting go of your self assigned attachment
to that little controllable corner of your world
your altar, your pop up temple on the dresser
the place where no one but you
is boss of the stuff and what goes where
the invisible hierarchy of sacred objects
after a time of being open
it is good to close up shop for a time
put a gone fishin’ or gone nappin’
or gone dancin’ or ‘muse is out’ sign up
sometimes we are just too open for too long
letting in too many things and too many systems
consuming and craving ideas not our own
too open to all the forms and energies
so you can rest from all your concoctions
all your spells, incantantions, meditations
salutations, perturbations, lamentations,
presentations and revelations
just stop being so open to every knock
every intuition and permutation and insight
it might seem almost scary at first in all that quiet,
who knows what will happen?
what happens if you adjust the aperture
navigate and negotiate a less wide doorway
adjust the flow in and out,
inviting discernment and refinement above knowing or having
maybe it is time to strip the altar
in sabbath the heart deepens her knowing
without all the trappings,
what exists in the temple?
what exists here in the space between?
when the adornment and merry making
has gone to bed and there is only silence
and the wonder which happens in darkness
if you must, because you cannot stand
the empty wood space
where you made a house for god in your home
and heart…then bring a single bowl
not a crystal bowl, or the fancy Italian one
with blue and gold, not the one made of onyx
or the one from the artist at the farmers market
none of those that draw the eye to beauty
pick the plain one, at the back of the cupboard
the one you never use because there is only one
the one with the chip in it, that one
if you must, bring the empty bowl in waiting
and if the next day, you can’t stand the emptiness
fill the bowl with water, not holy water, tap water
water from the faucet you don’t drink anymore
after three days, a single candle
from there, a little dash of salt,
a chunk of bread dipped in a cup of wine
a prayer will rise wordless upon your lips
this the prayer you have been seeking
after a time of being too open
scrub down the altar
put the crafted deities to bed
and listen to the hum of the in between
Written July 24, 2019 on my Grandmother Helen’s Birthday
Photo from 2014, Sue Hoya’s Sellars spaceship
A Letter from the Red Thread Cafe #752
Dear Ones,
This is Friday night. A time when I was taught by my mother Caron to rest, as shared from her spiritual tradition. I have been either keeping Sabbath or paying attention to it since I was about 26. Even if I can’t stop, I notice it. If I am really on it, I light a candle and pray. My awareness of it is long and rooted in the presence of the Divine.
The truth is, I do work really hard, and a lot. But I am really efficient and so I also take a lot of time for myself. We don’t work nights, we have slow mornings, and we don’t work weekends unless there is an event, which is about once a month. So resting and down time for me are essential. I am not a workaholic, but I am extremely focused. And at this point in my journey wanting to step away from so much technology and wondering how to reach all of you and do less tech. I am on the journey.
That said, it can still be too much with all that is coming into the ‘field’ around us – stuff that isn’t ours, yet we can’t avoid it. So tonight, this Friday night (in my time zone) I wanted to send over a message of rest…and perhaps an invitation to a nap. What do you think? Does a nap sound juicy? Or a good book?
I am about to enjoy an evening of rest, myself. I spent the day teaching and painting, finishing a project I have worked on for 13 moons. We are also making plum brandy at the studio and enjoying as much as we can every minute. We are also taking care of friends and family. Noting the number of tragedies in community. Keeping watch about the world…and then…painting, napping…loving…kitty time.
My best secret for really experiencing rest is revealed below…prepare to rest as you are reading…
Sending rest to your home,
Shiloh Sophia
P.S. You might have noticed the #752 at the top. I asked Jonathan how many blog posts I had done and he said he counted at least 750 from just one website. So we agreed this would be #752 :)
Upcoming Gatherings
We have some exciting gatherings in person coming up in August including Muse Infused in New Jersey and Diva X in Sonoma. In the Fall we have a Red Thread Gathering called Invocation. We have class called Tree Woman and a new Certification program called SoulScape, coming out of Australia featured in the Sonoma Campus.
TRULY RESTING – A KEY TO FEELING IT
To truly rest and experience rest, the key is simple, send the message to your body in language and then practice FEELING the feeling of rest.
ACKNOWLEDGE to yourself, it is happening now. I am doing it. This is what rest feels like. I am now at peace.
Then tune into your body and feel how it feels. Amplify the feeling.
Do this often until you begin to relax into resting. And if that doesn’t work, scrub the altar!
