Spring Equinox: Singing the Seeds Awake
It has been a long, cold, grey winter. Sometimes, it feels as if I am wading through a thick fog, unable to see the horizon. In these moments, tending the fire takes on deeper meaning. Beyond keeping me and my family physically comfortable, entering into relationship with fire reminds me that with death there is rebirth. Fire is a transformer and the spark of life. These teachings contain the wisdom that darkness is not a permanent state and the fire of my heart is rekindled.
The seasons are shifting. I feel it in my bones, I smell it in the dirt, and I hear it in the bird and frog song. It is as if they are singing the seeds awake. Slowly, all of Nature is coming back to life. The signs are everywhere.
Today, for just a moment, there will be perfect balance between light and dark.Those of you who have spent time with me here will remember the medicine wheel. Every Spring I spend time uncovering the stones and cleaning the space. As I engage in this ritual and move through the four shields I contemplate the spiritual, physical, emotional, and mental dimensions of my being. I ask myself if I am dancing the wheel and consider which parts of myself I have been neglecting. I reflect on how to manifest each shield in a way that is authentic and in service to All My Relations. When I am done, I feel like a seed ready to burst forward from the ground with new inspiration.
Nature is a mirror that reflects back the ways that we are, or are not in balance. As Spring sings itself into being I am curious to know if you are in balance. How do you nurture balance in your life? How is Spring inspiring you?
This Spring I am offering two workshops that foster deep connection with Nature and Self. If you are interested in this type of work, please consider attending All Are Our Relations and Nature as a Mirror. Registration for these workshops is currently open.
Wild blessings and a full heart.
I have always loved nature. It's where I'm most at peace. For 10 amazing and intense years, I had the privilege of sharing my love for wild places with youth and families struggling to find their way in mainstream culture. We kayaked, hiked, spoke our truth at Council Fire, and formed uncommon bonds that to this day remain a source of inspiration. The place we did this work is called Ravenwood. It is a healing forest.
In 2010, I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a rare and incurable plasma cell cancer. I needed a stem cell transplant and a radical change of lifestyle. Along with a good medical team and a strong and loving circle of people supporting me, Ravenwood saved my life. 8 years later, I'm still here. Ravenwood is now home to my family. Although I can no longer do the physical work of a wilderness guide, it remains my calling to share the healing powers of nature. I still call myself a guide but the places I now navigate and explore are the wild terrains that live within the human soul. Nature is my co-guide.
I work with the natural world to help make sense of inner emotions and life experiences. I believe that spending time in nature fosters awareness and interconnection to the world around us, providing the space for inward reflection and the potential for transformation. How we encounter and interpret the natural world creates a personal narrative that gives meaning to experiences and emotions allowing us to develop new ways of understanding ourselves and feeling fully integrated in our lives. Through connection with the natural world, we ultimately become connected to our ‘inner’ nature. Personal distress can be alleviated by developing the mutual connection between inside and outside.
The process of change I foster involves restoring balance to the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual dimensions, reconnecting to the Earth, and adopting life-long practices that help incorporate new behaviour and thought patterns into a congruent way of life. My work as guide is to help reveal and cultivate the health and sanity which is already there rather than manipulate or modify sick people to be better adjusted. This requires a focus on healing through a process of whole-ing (recognizing the wholeness that already exists within), rather than healing or fixing a problem by eliminating it; wholeness-centered (holistic) instead of pathology-centered
I work with a range of practices including mindfulness and awareness, experiential activities, direct contact with nature, narrative therapy, environmental action, journaling, ritual, ceremony, and play.
As an aboriginal woman of Métis descent, I weave cultural teachings into my work, inspiring personal growth and a love and respect for the natural world.
Academically, I hold a Bachelor's in education, from McGill University and a Master’s of Arts in transpersonal psychology with a concentration in ecopsychology, from Naropa University. I have also completed masters level clinical counselling courses in counselling theory, family systems therapy, group therapy, and research methods, and have trained with the Vancouver School of Narrative Therapy. I am a recognized facilitator of Joanna Macy's Work That Reconnects and a Level 3 Reiki Usui Practitioner.
