Love-fest reminder: If you are called to communion in Santa Fe, please gather with me and evolutionary astro-queen Emily Trinkaus for Surrender to Your Revolutionary Rebirth. Join us for astrology-inspired writing, creativity, herbal ceremony and sacred sisterhood to nourish your soul as you claim the once-in-a-lifetime cosmic rebirth that’s waiting for you.
And a very happy Solstice/Father’s Day to all the hard-working, deep-loving papas out there! <3
Beloveds,
Last week I talked and wrote about closing developmental loops, trying to find our way home. And how hard our psyche and soul will work - often unconsciously - to close these loops, to bring us to completion and integration, which are the true essence of actual healing. You can think of it like your soul working to close a chapter so that it can move on. Or like advancing through levels in a video game. (Choose your own metaphor!)
But what if all the challenges, all the pain, all the hardships you experience are actually created, ahem... by you.
Ok, not exactly by the you reading this right now. And no, this is definitely not about blaming the victim.
What if a part of you offers all of these challenges simply out of love, with the intent of waking you up? Of shaking you into your true essence?
And at the level of the collective, what if all the insanity, all of the upside down-ness “out there” is simply to wake ALL OF US up?
This is one of my all-time favorite quotes by spiritual teacher A.H. Almaas. If you’ve been in my Sanctuary or worked one-to-one with me, you may remember it.
“Your conflicts, all the difficult things, the problematic situations in your life are not chance or haphazard. They are actually yours. They are specifically yours, designed specifically for you by a part of you that loves you more than anything else. The part of you that loves you more than anything else has created roadblocks to lead you to yourself. You are not going in the right direction unless there is something pricking you in the side, telling you, “Look here! This way!” That part of you loves you so much that it doesn’t want you to lose the chance. It will go to extreme measures to wake you up, it will make you suffer greatly if you don’t listen. What else can it do? That is its purpose.”
I realize this can be a bitter pill to swallow. It’s a stretch to think that all of the pain I’ve experienced is purposeful. All the pain you’ve experienced... it’s for a reason? And that reason is to wake you up?
As I contemplate, I wonder how many shades of varying truth lay within this.
Consider a child whose primary caregiver doesn’t actually attune or show them enough love to build within them their own safe harbor. The pain this child feels is certainly not to wake their child self, but instead to create the conditions later in life that lead to relationship struggles, poor health, chronic pain, or financial instability. And it is these struggles that can lead to awakening.
Awakening to what, though?
Well, to love. To the realization that everything - even the hardship - is love. Yes, even the very hardest things are love.
The most rigorous spiritual practice of my life has been to love - no matter what. To love even when I was harmed, disrespected, uncared for, maligned in some real (or perceived) way. To love myself when it was me harming me, too. And also when it was me hurting others.
As I have written about previously, the bombshell that shattered my sense of self and my life four years ago led to the intentional and painstaking reassembly of myself. I realized only later that the immense pain broke me open to a whole new depth of love. As I reassembled my broken bits into a new me, I chose to let my love shine brightly on the outside, where previously I kept it tucked away.
So, yes. Everything is love. Even the hardest things.
It’s your job to remember not only that, but that you actually ARE love also.
I share more deeply about all of this in today’s Shamanigans. Give it a listen, share with a pal, and let me know if you think all of this is just a form of spiritual bypass.
The Spirit notes in today’s episode:
Challenges, roadblocks, brick walls - all the wonderful experiences that keep you stuck
My very favorite A.H. Almaas quote on suffering and awakening and how it relates to you personally AND to the collective journey of the dark night
Could your pain actually be purposeful??? I mean, WTF?
What if what feels like chaos, that which induces fear, whatever feels burdensome at the societal level is simply here to wake all of us up?
Is this spiritual bypassing? Or humans trying to make meaning out their experience? Or is it truth? What’s your take?
If you need help remembering that you ARE love, let’s talk. My work has been described as the mirror that lets you see yourself as this love - even when you cannot see it for yourself. That’s exactly why we are not meant to do any of this alone.
>>> If these messages resonate, please share with one person in your soul fam. This is my ministry of love and it really helps if you like, subscribe and share. I appreciate you so much.
Big Love,
Anné
P.S. If you can swing, it, come to Santa Fe for a half-day women's retreat on 7/11 with my sister from another mister, renegade evolutionary astrologer Emily Trinkaus for Surrender to Your Revolutionary Rebirth. We'll help you create that nourishing space you need to actually hear the evolutionary pull of your soul.
P.P.S. love heals the wounded heeler
When this sweet pup arrived at my doorstep she was a bag of bones with stitches closing one eye. She was terrified and in shock. I can’t say why I said yes, and a full body yes at that, to her. But when the soul knows, it just knows.
I have loved each of my canine companions madly. But this one is different. They’ve all been tremendous teachers to me, but what the Tunes has taught me about the healing power of love is unparalleled.
Love heals. Full stop. As does consistency and dedication, boundaries and gentleness, play and humor. And then more love. Just heap a big ol’ spoon of love on anything and it will be repaid ten-fold. Love is, in fact, the cure we’ve all been seeking.
Thanks for being on this journey back to love with me and Tunes and all of us.
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