By: Raechel Morrow

True embodiment can only happen when one’s soul is able to position itself to the physical world, settle into it fully, and feel completely safe to stay. The damage from trauma becomes a part of our embodiment because our full way of being was not welcomed or safe. This loss hides our essence, or natural blueprint. Sometimes, whole aspects of our psyches are completely blocked out or repressed.

Sylvia Brinton Perera writes that we have “archaic depths that are embodied in us which are capable of taking us over and shaking us to the core”. That is what it felt like for me, this return to the sacred feminine. Wildly unknown yet deeper sensation of coming home for the first time. 

In the past, I was trying to achieve my worth based on the value I contribute to a capitalistic and masculine society. I never felt enough. My natural way of being and capacity to love the world was drowned out by the doing.  I pushed, overworked, and disconnected. Nothing outside matched the inside of me. The embodiment of my soul was missing.

It started with being with more sacredness in life. Then my relationship with my body and the energy it contained slowly became more sacred than things. I experienced the nature of reclaiming the intrinsic relationship with myself. Let me share a deep glimpse, In her book Descent to the Goddess (1981), Perera writes, “What has been valued in the West in women has too often been defined only in relation to the masculine: the good, nurturant mother and wife; the sweet, docile agreeable daughter; the gently supportive of bright achieving partner. This collective model is inadequate for life; we silence ourselves trying to compress our souls into it just as surely as our grandmothers deformed their fully breathing bodies with corsets for the sake of an ideal.”

As women, we have been cut off from parts of our innate nature or wholeness- if you are still reading, you feel this too. The trauma we internalize begins as young girls, when we realize that some parts of us are unwelcomed and often labeled “bad”. We continue to feel unseen because there are little examples present to reflect our wholeness and variety. 

Where are we to find the full mystery and potency of the feminine?

Collectively,  we are experiencing the return to the “sacred feminine”. But I question if it is enough?  Because present-day society has not understood, has feared the process which women must undergo to claim her power and wisdom, has recognized only the masculine process, women have been left little alternative but to speak ‘as men. Women have become alienated from her and have begun to expect to have the energies, emotions, and attitudes of the masculine. It is a tragic token of the lack of recognition of a separate and unique feminine process…

I am not writing about gender. Rather, the acknowledgement of the intrinsic need for a balance of the feminine and masculine. The feminine energy, is the language of the soul.  As a result, many men and women have disconnected from their soul. This imbalance has caused fatigue, depression, anxiety, and greed. The feminine nurtures from this abundance and wisdom, but instead is met with scarcity and disconnection. 

Most of us “know” that something is missing from our life – but most of us struggle to discover what exactly is missing. The “doing” strangles intuition and feeling what is deeply missing is never discovered. A deeper understanding, awareness and knowing is never experienced. Life becomes a series of attachments to external stimulus to suppress the caged energy within. 

What to do? One of the greatest challenges in the journey towards embodiment is allowing the deep sadness a woman will feel about her separation from the feminine. To allow herself the time to name what is missing and grieve this loss in whatever way is needed for her. Then to release it and reclaim.

Most women NEVER get to this point. This necessary state of sadness and despair is not normalized in our culture. She will need a loving, positive, mentor to simply witness her while she expresses outwardly what has been contained. As women, we need to be this for each other. Stop being afraid to be vulnerable and be deeply compassionate. Fight the desire to dominate.

Then your true embodiment becomes the action of reclaiming your lost treasures.

Live a life that is sacred!

You are designed to fully LIVE your life and bring about real connection in your world. A life that is sacred. The definition of sacred assumes connection and deserving veneration. Despite being deserving of, at any moment, you may have any number of responsibilities to attend to. Growing a thriving business, working full-time, raising human beings, going to school, running a not-for-profit, educating others, taking care of grandkids, serving on boards, volunteering, and much more! All so important to survival and living as a generative and responsible adult. Your efforts are your tribute to the fabric of our society that knits our culture together. Despite the immense value, holding space for sacredness everyday can feel unattainable.

Previously, sacredness was incongruous in my day-to-day life. It was more familiar to work for my worth and safety. I could not believe I was entirely worthy of pure grace and could have it daily. What I am about to share you may not believe. I know it took a lot of faith in my intuition and experiences before I could be at complete ease. 

Play, Pleasure, Connection to the Divine, Eroticism, Mystery, Untamed Energy, and Nature are sacred, and you need them in abundance every day. These sacred parts of life are not just for the lucky, privileged, intelligent, affluent individuals. They are your birthright.

The world gives you what you need. Maybe not what you want all the time, but what you need. Most times, individuals do not realize what is genuinely needed in one’s life. Therefore, grasping and choosing survival trumps all else. All around is poverty, the marginalized, underprivileged, scarcity, and alienation. What begins to shift this heaviness of, is when the human experience integrates the importance of the sacred. The sacred moves our energy out of scarcity. Leaving scarcity brings our energy to a higher vibration. A higher vibration will allow for more connection that is free of attachment. Then we can genuinely hold those sacred spaces.

You can take time for sacred body regimes. Adorn in pleasures. Pray deeply. Connect to your own inner mystic, or connect to the mystery in your life. Once you are in your own sacred sovereignty, your internal narrative moves from the “Me” to the “We.” Your value is already inside you, not to be earned for later. Not when you “become something” or do something. Now is the time for you to experience the sacred. Not “once you are healed,” not once you know the Self, not once you reach the goal, not when you have the vacation, not when you buy that next big house or cottage.

NOW IS THE POWER!

Now let’s get to the magic. These are some ideas to get you started with bringing more sacred into your everyday life. First, your “doing” needs to come from being. If your doing doesn’t emerge from a state of rest and connectedness, it will ultimately undo you. When you are connected to yourself and in a state of wholeness, your life becomes meaningful and peaceful. 

1. BEING IS AS IMPORTANT AS DOING:
Your body and mind cannot function from non-stop doing, doing, doing. There needs to be stillness every day, or there is no space for sacredness. It does not matter how busy you are-find it as if your life depended on it! Not just some days-every day.  

OFFERING:
→ Mantra: “I have all I need” or “I have enough time.”
→ Create a self-care ritual for yourself in the morning and evening. Perhaps nourishing your skin and body. It must have the quality of indulgence and self-soothing. 
→ Meditate
→ Watch the sun come up every single day.
→ Listen to the frogs sing at night.

2. CREATE A MORNING SPIRITUAL RITUAL:
Every morning includes a sacred text or reading, candles, prayer, gratitude, breathwork, and mantra. To start a sacred morning ritual, reflect on what practices set the positive tone for your day and allow you to move forward with conscious intention? What is special for you? What is spiritual to you

OFFERING: 
→ Journal
→ Commune with nature
→ Sing
→ Pray for yourself and others

3. MAKE YOUR WORK YOUR LIFE AND YOUR LIFE YOUR WORK:
As much as possible, shift from believing that your work and life are two separate entities. If you don’t, work will feel like “work.” When there is a flow between your work and your life. You remain the same person. So, if you are in “life,” you are the same person– and when you are in “work,” you are the same person. There is no division. When you are one with this reality, you no longer dread one over the other, and therefore your Universe becomes sacred. 

OFFERING:
Ask yourself: 
→”Is my whole Self showing up at work? Why or why not?”
→”Am I offering what I am meant to in the world?”

CONSIDER:
→What can you do to make the shift to begin “loving” your work more?
→If your life doesn’t create love and joy, ask yourself, “What is missing for me?
→Whose path are you on right now-yours or someone else’s?

4. SACRED PLAY EVERY DAY
How will you be like a child, be in awe, and use your imagination every day? How will you laugh today? How can you find meaning in everyday things? Connect to the mystery that is your life. 

OFFERING:
→Go play with your children and start to be more like them.
→Pay attention to your dreams.
→Make dinner on a bonfire.
→Sleep under the stars.
→Play dress up and take yourself out on a date.
→Paint or write your own story.
→Make a sacred place.

5.GET TO KNOW YOUR EGO:
Ego is your survival. It is necessary but powerful when directed by the sacred. Otherwise, it can make you grasp, dependent, and reactive. It is only when you are intimate with the workings of your ego that you will be able to catch yourself from closing down or reacting unfavorably. Only when we can pinpoint, “Ah that, is my ego talking,” will we be able to transcend it. The ego mostly shows up in the insecure ways of our “inner child.” When we are in touch with our inner child, we can stop reacting to them in unconscious ways. When we are not compassionate with our inner child, we act out, thinking we are oh-so-grown-up, but actually, we are just behaving like a child.

OFFERING:
→ Do not do this alone. Find a circle or seek a guide. 
→ Trust your intuition. 
→ Live in the present moment. Doing so is imperative. You bear life’s sacred fruits – fruits of joy, purpose and meaning away from the ego when you do. Are you living this moment with your whole present-centered awareness?

Being with what is sacred is similar to going from watching television in black and white to color.  No need to prove to yourself or to others with anything more “worthy,” because nothing is more worthy than being connected and having a receptive heart.

About the Author

Raechel Morrow, Depth & Spiritual Psychologist, Yoga Trainer, Speaker, Certified Yoga Therapist and Certified Trauma Specialist. After years of researching, learning, and working in the field of trauma treatment, she was overwhelmed with the profound understanding of the value of actively seeking what was lost from the trauma of colonization.

December 3, 2020

|Raechel Morrow

In the wake of Covid-19, we are creating low-frequency vibrations from stress, fear, and disconnection. We are not immune to the impact of this low vibration around us. Many would agree we are influenced by a cycle of creating, radiating, and consuming – and it is EXHAUSTING. Hence, our vibrational frequency is lower and chaotic.

With every crisis in history, we survived by supporting and caring for each other. This danger is more critical than any before. Covid-19 has forced us to isolate and hide parts of ourselves away.

Scientists have found that differences in vibrational characteristics correlate strongly with the different rates of infectivity and lethality of different kinds of corona viruses, taken from a global database of confirmed case numbers and case fatality rates. (By DAVID L. CHANDLER, MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY).

What are we to do? Deep inside, we know this low level of energy will not save us. We know there is a different way to heal. As it so happens, Mother Nature has a different story to tell. Mother Nature is trying to guide us naturally to slow down, take care of her resources, connect, prepare our bodies for the winter to come, and the Sankalpa (the intention from your soul). A higher source is naturally guiding us to becoming a beacon of light for those around us.

Ancient civilizations recognized this turning point toward the gradual return of the light known as the Winter Solstice, a time of reawakening and rebirth – a time of new beginnings. There is no time like now to awaken our collective consciousness and prepare for our spirit to open and receive the coming light.

There are many ways you can bring the magic of Winter Solstice into your homes and prepare for the new season of the Sankalpa. It is so important to have shared collective experiences to remember the oneness with each other. 

Start honoring this season now. Try a few of these suggestions below. I have found them to help me receive the nourishment of the season.

1). 5th annual Winter Solstice Celebration. This year will be extra special. Collectively, healing communities from the lake-shore to Grand Rapids will join us in self-reflection necessary to clear old patterns to serve our world. A time for introspection and preparation for our spirit to open and receive the coming light. Our intention is to provide space to begin this preparation through meditation, asana, breath work, and ceremony. Learn more and register!

2). Join Raechel Morrow and Kelley Rasch to prepare for the season of Sankapla: Between the Winter Solstice and reawakening and rebirth, a time of new beginnings. Our intention is to provide time to begin this preparation through kriyas , meditation, asana, and inquiry. This is preparatory work for your heart as you move into the next season. These are free weekly zoom classes through January 7th. Spaces are limited and you must register before each class.

3). Write a letter to your loved ones. Sharing why you love them so much and how they have impacted your life. Imagine how this small effort could make a enormous impact on their life.

4). Take walks under the moon at night and early morning. Ask the question: how am I naturally to be in this world? Try both! The cold, fresh air will help with inflammation and keep your lungs clear. Journal about these questions.

5). Increase your Meditation time and with candlelight. Listen and witness yourself without judgement. Just witness and let IT all be. Nothing to change. Without stillness it is impossible to move away from old patterns.

6). Create a ceremony with candles. Invite your family members or close friends either online or in a small group to light a candle and arrange them in a circle. Each candle represents what your heart is commiting to during the time of new beginnings.

7). Without a daily practice of embodiment, prayer/dedication and devotion nothing above is possible.

About the author: Raechel is the founder and Executive Director of the Body Mind Being Institute. She offers training in therapeutic yoga, yoga therapy, and trauma-informed modalities. She works with clients privately to help create emotional, mental, and physical release through yoga and other healing modalities. She is known for saying; “It all gets to be here.” By creating a safe and non-judgmental space for the client to explore their patterns, Raechel offers body-based therapy for creating change and transformation. She believes that each can find their answers and discover their deepest Self when given the opportunity to be empowered, embodied, and explore.

By Raechel Morrow

A great transformation also can exist within us. We can see all these steps as similar to the process a butterfly must undergo. At the Body Mind Being we have a firm belief that every human being has the capacity to become a better person.

This is why Grand Rapids Healing Yoga needed to dissolve. Our services to educate and empower those who seek to experience their full potential was not available to all people. When we left the Wellness Collective we stopped classes, workshops, and some trainings. I had the insight that to transcend to making the kind of impact that comes when guided from a higher source I would need to be guided from a place of connection. A complete death and resurrection needed to organically unfold.  

Once the transition from Grand Rapids Healing Yoga to the Body Mind Being was complete the next month, our world was in a pandemic. What transpired over the next few months was a profound connection with each other. A community started forming between us and a greater inquiry of what is a community? 

What I am discerning is being a part of a community can make us a part of something greater than ourselves. It can give us opportunities to connect with people, to reach our purpose, and provide safety and security. It’s important for every person to feel and know that all are welcomed within the community. A community is a familiar thread used to bring people together to advocate and support each other and belong. 

Communities are also rich in resources when brought together. The Body Mind Being Institute belongs to the community. It is a place where we can educate, and empower all who seek to experience their full potential. It is for connection, giving, and receiving. 

The Institute is a school where transformation and change are possible and supported. By opening the new space we are supporting the three pillars of truth for our students and teachers:

 1). Teacher: Knowing your own truth. You are your greatest teacher. Remembering who you are and the process of living in harmony with your mind, body, and spirit.
2). Dharma: shows up in the experiences of our lives, as a matter of choice. Which choices and practices best serve you? Through being we bring ourselves back again and again to the present moment. 
3). Sangha: Community. A heightened sense of connection, a greater appreciation of mutual interdependence, and a shared responsibility for all beings to respect and care for one another.

How one simple choice can change your life…

Albert Einstein has remarked that the single most important decision any of us will ever make in our lifetime is whether or not to believe that the universe is friendly. In the absence of proof, we have belief. And belief is a choice.

“If we decide that the universe is a friendly place, then we will use our technology, our scientific discoveries, and our natural resources to create tools and models for understanding that universe because power and safety will come through understanding its workings and its motives. Because God does not play dice with the universe” –Albert Einstein.

Each of us must choose how to see our world, and this choice will essentially determine how our life will unfold. If a person decides that the universe they live in is friendly, they will see the good much more than the bad, spend more time feeling positive emotions such as happiness, love, and gratitude. That person will beneficially serve the world. However, if someone decides their universe is unfriendly and harsh, they will feel negative emotions such as jealousy, hatred, and fear. That person will contribute to their world based on taking more for them self or preserving what they already have.

Say what? I hear your inner ego protesting. Have you followed the news recently-we? Are in a pandemic, a fight for survival? Are you posting this blog now-are you crazy?  A friendly world would not create a virus such as covid 19. 

I understand any resistance to this choice. As a person who holds space for individuals with traumatic experiences, I assure you I am all too familiar with the world’s ugliness and evil. My losses in life at one time or another have been unbearable. I think of the experience as a vigorous dance of energy. There’s this give and take. When you dance, one leads, and one follows, but both are giving and taking. Just because the universe is a friendly place doesn’t mean that bad things can’t happen.

This pandemic has forced us to confront significant change – both on individual and social levels-right? Looking at the harsh areas of human life during this pandemic can help illuminate it and allow us to lean more into wonder and possibility. The universe is not friendly to a small, egocentric self. Everything we think we are, we’re going to lose; death comes to all of us. But because we are the universe — we are of it, and it is of us, with no real separation — it is not unfriendly. I believe profoundly; my life is a miracle. For me, this notion boils down to a fundamentally supportive life system that provides for me and all other living beings to the full extent that we are willing to draw on it in ways that serve a universal greater good.

Now, I am not suggesting that we put on rose-colored glasses and say everything is right with the world. Nor I am suggesting looking the other way or bypassing darkness. The truth is that there are horrors and tragedies all around us. But this harsh reality does not mean that the universe is vindictive, punitive, or out to get us. That view, too, would be a choice. Right?

What will your choice be?

Today and every day, I am committed to living in a friendly universe, to a practice that supports me in shifting into a perspective and energy that is sacred, full of joy, light, and love. When life does get harsh or unfriendly, I seek what is sacred to balance (read a blog from last year) https://bodymindbeinginstitute.org/2020/11/06/why-cultivating-your-sacred-with-your-survival-is-not-a-choice/

Would you like to join me?

Repeat these words from Einstein and live accordingly: “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is.”

Look for extra online classes and support through 2020. Only together we will thrive.

Deep bow to you all,

Raechel