The Living Wisdom of the Sacred Feminine in the Center of our Being
We begin our journey deepening our connection with our foundation—the foundation of what is holding us and our sacred relationship with being held. We are interconnected, interwoven with the seasons and cycles of all that is alive in the multiverse. We are relatives within the sacred web of life, a part of the Sacred Elements, the Pachamama, Grandmother Moon, Father Sky, and the Cosmic Canopy. We have a compacto with our ancestors, spirit, animal, and plant allies to guide us.
We remember we do not have only one body, we are made from stardust, all our bodies require sacred listening and tending, our physical, mental, emotional, energetic, luminous bodies need to be in balance with our soul and spirit. When we say the words embodied and empowered we are uniting the restoration of wholeness that we are becoming as we awaken and unify all our bodies. This is the foundation of our base from which we step upon and walk our soul path.
We ask ourselves, “Where do I stand”? “What do I stand for”? When we are clear in our true selves, we make choices from integrity and wisdom. The wisdom that we feel is in our bones, in the etchings and echoes of our ancestral threads that are known and unknown—remembering that the land, the stones, all that is alive in mama pacha (natural world) are our ancestors.
During these challenging times, when everything feels untethered and turned upside down, I often hear women saying, “I’m spinning” or “I feel spun out”. When we feel off-kilter, ungrounded, disconnected, or overwhelmed, those are the moments to breathe and practice returning to center, coming home to ourselves. The Center is not a fixed, static space. It is fluid, moving with dynamic expansion and contraction, the flux and flow of the living breathing Cosmos inside us and all around us. The ebb and flow of the ocean tides as mirrored by the reflection of the Moon’s rhythms.
To arrive and take our seat in our Center we need to be clear of our boundaries, clear of the thoughts, emotions, and energies that are coming from within and without. Unclear, undefined boundaries leave us vulnerable, unstable, we get tossed and bounced around—then it takes longer to reestablish or come back to the center.
The Sacred Feminine anchors and shores us up—a compass guiding us home, guiding us to return to our True North. There are as many ways to return and reclaim the Sacred Feminine as there are stars in the Milky Way. Our heartfelt, soulful calling will bring us home to Her hearth and our bones. When we welcome our wise, wild, holy woman in the marrow of our bones, this is a way to reclaim Her. This is the hallowed ground where our nuna (soul) resides. Here in this reunion - communion, the Sacred Feminine awakens brilliant and glowing. Her soulmate, the Great Mystery, moves with fierce compassion, awakening our integral truth. Pachamama is home and so is the Cosmos.
Clarissa Pinkola Estés reawakens our remembrance to pray over our bones, bringing back our primordial relationship with our wise, wild, holy woman when she reveals the wisdom of the bones: “We all begin as a bundle of bones lost somewhere in a desert, a dismantled skeleton that lies under the sand. It is our work to recover the parts. . .what we are to look for—the indestructible life force, the bones.” In the story of La Loba Clarissa Pinkola Estés retells, “La Loba sings over the bones she has gathered. To sing means to use the soul-voice. It means to say on the breath the truth of one’s power and one’s need, to breathe soul over the thing that is ailing or in need of restoration. . .That is singing over the bones.”
Giving rise to the voice of our soul feeds, anchors, and reawakens our Sacred Center. Our breathing, animated essence of our Sacred Center is our Power and Protection. We die and are reborn in the initiations of life with dignity and humility, reigniting the fire of our bravery, courage, strength, resilience, and fortitude - rising as the wise, wild, holy woman, and elder that we are.
Hopi-Tewa Grandmother Pershile (Perci) Ami shared with us that especially during these wildly uncertain times, our connection to ourselves is all we can control. We empower the spirit of the feminine when we embody our center. When we live in resonance and harmony with the ways of our soul beliefs and values, we can get back to center more quickly when we are disconnected. Simply being human, we live with constant uncertainty, experiencing the tipping point multiple times a day as we navigate the precarious and messiness of life.
We experience the ups and downs, twists, and turns that may unsettle us again and again. The art is to come back more quickly and become more grounded and resilient. Our focus is establishing an anchored, axis mundi, center pole, or plumb line so that we can bring ourselves back faster and each time our roots deepen so do our permeable boundaries. When we nurture and tend to our Center as part of our loving, daily practice, as the Maestra, Curandera, Medicine Woman, we shapeshift between the worlds through the simplicity of the breath rising and receding.
These times call for agility, agency, and adaptability. We develop an intimate relationship with ourselves and what we stand for—what are those truths? Be clear about your boundaries and your responsibilities, as well as your overall capacity to receive and give. When we consciously, wholeheartedly practice, we empower the Sacred Feminine within, bringing Her spirit, our spirit, and blessings into our beauty walk, humanity, and our beloved Pachamama. This is the path to practice rituals for bringing Ayni (reciprocity) Earth-Honoring ways of being in right relations with the sacred.
Below is an Energy Wisdom practice for coming back to our Center, from Grandmother Perci – she graciously passes her wisdom ways on to us. According to Grandmother Perci, she collects wisdom as it is given to her and then shares it. “I'm not the creator of it - it's how I put it together”. Grandmother said, “This is the time for the feminine energy to step up to heal the world. As females, we need to take care of our female energy. . .to know where our center is”.
Hopi Energy Centering Practice
In Hopi philosophy, there are five energy centers in the body. Each has a purpose in grounding you to your true self. Grandmother Perci speaks about them as “servants of our spirit”. She also encourages us to “show respect and gratitude for the blessings in our life”.
When you feel off-center, overwhelmed, irritated, anxious, afraid, sad, upset, unsettled, angry, super sensitive, or any host of other sensations and feelings—you feel undone, that is the moment to take this practice to heart. When you are facing a situation and are unsure or unclear of your next step—breathe and move through this practice.
The Belly
This is where spirit starts – in the gut. When a situation arises, listen to your gut. Feel your connection with your gut, you can place your hand there and ask what is my gut telling me? What is my gut feeling about this situation?
The Heart
Your heart is the center of your emotions. All emotions come from your heart. How do you feel about this? What is your heart telling you? Place your hands on your heart and listen.
The Back of the Head
The place where your memories are stored – the center of knowledge. Place your hands there and ask what do I know about this situation? What does my experience tell me?
Top of the Head – The Soft Spot
This place of enlightened awareness, openness, listening, learning, and exploring. What don’t I know and am willing to learn? Am I willing to open my mind to new perspectives?
The Throat
Now you have the power to speak your truth. After you speak is when you take action, doing so with prayer.
Once you come back to center, move your hands through the sequence from your belly, heart, back of the head, soft spot on the top of the head, and then your throat. Sit in reverence and stillness receiving what comes as a reflection of your practice.
Grandmother Perci says, “Praying is very simple. Simply speak to the universe”. Quiet the noise in your head and trust in spirit, then speak what is in your heart. The Hopi way is to pray first for rain, then for health, harmony, peace, and well-being for all life. Then we pray for ourselves.
