This years sacred silence on retreat was a very different experience. Friday night, in total silence, I sat in the grounds of the beautiful Abbey House and wrote. I had planned to stay in touch with my shadow side and write about it, but nothing came up, the anger seemed to have melted away; my dark tale 'The Woman in the red shoes' seemed to have done it's job; I had found a new writing voice that enabled me to express my anger in a creative way. So I wrote page after page about not knowing what to write about!
Then I remembered, that I had a picture on my phone of an image that had attracted me earlier in the day. A lovely shot of a mother and daughter sitting in a meadow, held in a tender embrace. So I wrote about that!
I just sat there in the ground with the gently fading light, thoroughly enjoying the silence, the warmth, the bees buzzing and the majestic trees. This tale is very much a 'medicine' story, but also has a twist at the end. I'd always wanted to be able to write stories with a twist and had no idea how to craft them; but this one just flowed with ease once my juicy pen met the thirsty paper.
Saturday morning, the others rose at 4am in order to take a medicine walk up the Tor, meditate and write up there. I couldn't go with them as I can no longer climb the Tor sadly, so I took my own medicine walk in the grounds. Jackee had provided us with instructions as to how to do our medicine walks, and it was an amazing experience.
In total silence and solitude, I slowly and gently asked Mother Nature 'how can my writing help myself and other to heal?'
I visited the bee hives and watched the sleepy bees emerging from the hives to begin their days work, I noticed that each area of the grounds had it's own aroma, which was different at different times of day. I felt that different trees had a different energy - some were definitely a male energy; others had a distinctly female energy. I left an offering with a female oak that I'd connected with the day before, then I found the badger set, belonging to brother badger who'd shown himself to us the night before. I'd love to think that his medicine of courage resides in this special place.
This years silence was so different; it felt comfortable, safe, like a soft furry blanket wrapping itself around me and left me with a deep feeling of bliss and joy. I could easily have remained within it forever.
In that space, it felt as though I was residing in a parallel world, separate from the rest of the world with it's constant noise and business; as though I was in another dimension. And I wasn't sure that I wanted to return! To be in a space where I could reconnect with my self, my writing self was valuable and wonderful; I wrote so much. I found a number of different writing voices that I didn't know I had; an anthology of short medicine stories has begun!
And the answer to my medicine walk question? 'Your writing is medicine for the soul.'
Blessed be
Then I remembered, that I had a picture on my phone of an image that had attracted me earlier in the day. A lovely shot of a mother and daughter sitting in a meadow, held in a tender embrace. So I wrote about that!
I just sat there in the ground with the gently fading light, thoroughly enjoying the silence, the warmth, the bees buzzing and the majestic trees. This tale is very much a 'medicine' story, but also has a twist at the end. I'd always wanted to be able to write stories with a twist and had no idea how to craft them; but this one just flowed with ease once my juicy pen met the thirsty paper.
Saturday morning, the others rose at 4am in order to take a medicine walk up the Tor, meditate and write up there. I couldn't go with them as I can no longer climb the Tor sadly, so I took my own medicine walk in the grounds. Jackee had provided us with instructions as to how to do our medicine walks, and it was an amazing experience.
In total silence and solitude, I slowly and gently asked Mother Nature 'how can my writing help myself and other to heal?'
I visited the bee hives and watched the sleepy bees emerging from the hives to begin their days work, I noticed that each area of the grounds had it's own aroma, which was different at different times of day. I felt that different trees had a different energy - some were definitely a male energy; others had a distinctly female energy. I left an offering with a female oak that I'd connected with the day before, then I found the badger set, belonging to brother badger who'd shown himself to us the night before. I'd love to think that his medicine of courage resides in this special place.
This years silence was so different; it felt comfortable, safe, like a soft furry blanket wrapping itself around me and left me with a deep feeling of bliss and joy. I could easily have remained within it forever.
In that space, it felt as though I was residing in a parallel world, separate from the rest of the world with it's constant noise and business; as though I was in another dimension. And I wasn't sure that I wanted to return! To be in a space where I could reconnect with my self, my writing self was valuable and wonderful; I wrote so much. I found a number of different writing voices that I didn't know I had; an anthology of short medicine stories has begun!
And the answer to my medicine walk question? 'Your writing is medicine for the soul.'
Blessed be
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