November 22, 2019
According to the tradition of Plant Spirit Medicine that I am schooled in—informed by the song of nature, and the ancient Chinese—in this part of the world, it is the autumnal time of year, when the natural world is transitioning into the deeper state of Winter. It is a time naturally given to us being more aware of what we value, a sense of what is sacred, and looking at the expression of authority, in all of its forms. Now, we are often accompanied by the emotion of grief, who walks hand in hand with loss. We also get to steep ourselves in the practice of letting go.
This past week I have gone deep while at the Dreamtending certification program I am immersed in at Pacifica University, in my old home of Santa Barbara. My dreams and experiences while working in the dream realm have been full of the two presences that never leave our side- life, and death. They are naturally more present during this time of year, as reflected in nature, and the poignancy of this dance has been very present for me. Life and Death have been showing their faces in so many different ways, awakening the feelings of loss and grief in me- as well as touching the deep wellspring of gratitude for the preciousness of every moment and every being I encounter on my path.
The gratitude part came in most strongly when— in the midst of this great dance— I received mysterious texts from a phone number I did not recognize. After much prodding to cryptic responses, I finally learned these texts were from my dear friend Granny Lambert- someone I’ve been with only two or three times in the last ten years, yet some how we manage to stay connected. Granny and I have an inside story to our connection, which is steeped in ways we have shown up for each other as an angel.
Granny’s mysterious texts at that moment became the voice of the divine— angelic for sure—perfectly in tune with my experience at Dreamtending. They were the perfect medicine I needed. In fact, the words she sent sliced my experience down the middle in such a way that my heart totally melted and cracked open. The hidden portal that resides in the center of the dance between grief and letting go, suddenly lit up brightly like a diamond in the following words—
Ring the bells that still can ring,
forget the perfect offering,
There is a crack, a crack in everything.
That’s how the light gets in.
—Leonhard Cohen and Emmerson.
In deep gratitude for the light that is always present, that we may find, and follow. For friends, and for how— if we choose— we can all be guided by the great and mysterious force of light, that brings exactly what we need and reveals us each as an angel.
All of us at Tulku wish you a most blessed and deeply nourishing Thanksgiving, full of light.
With Love,
Karla
Stay tuned for the sale which will follow…..