SHIVAYA WELLNESS

Play in the river in our skirts!It’s such a rare occurrence for me to wear one, I’m submitting photographic evidence.
With me is my friend Karen–one of the greatest healers I know.

A stunning talk from Sheryl WuDunn from the TED Global conference. She and her husband, the New York Times writer Nicholos Kristof, are two of the greatest feminists of the 21st century. They recently wrote a book called Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide.

Be warned –  her speech may infuriate and break your heart all at once.

The cause of our time is the brutality that so many people face around the world because of their gender. – Sheryl WuDunn

I asked my heart what she wanted this morning. Truly. I said, “Heart, what do you want?”

A word to the wise: only ask your heart if you’re ready for an answer. Because she will. It may take time, but she will. Again and again and again.

As I sat in my “dreaming chair” (a weathered Adirondack overlooking the mountains) and sipped green tea, I was the perfect picture of crunchy happiness in the early morning. I waited.

It didn’t take long. The usual suspects came first. Love. A girlfriend. An easy flow. A rockin’ business.

While they were nice answers, I grew suspicious. This was starting to sound all too familiar. I knew that voice –my chatty Gemini mind. But I patiently listened until she was through, went inside, put on my bathing suit and read this. Then I drove down to the river.

As soon as my feet touched water, that’s when my heart opened up. And man, did she speak.

There’s usually a defined plan before any big moves, though I’m often seen as the daring risk-taker. The free spirit. Little do they know how long I plan with many mental escape routes. Any change both exhilarates and terrifies me. (Which, of course, makes me laugh: this spoken from a woman who has moved nearly 20 times over 20 years–all over America.)

When my heart answered, it was completely different from the plans I’d laid out for the fall. Those plans were good. Adult plans. In all fairness, they had me excited. Not mind-blowingly excited, but excited enough.

Not. Not yet. Not enough. Or maybe, after.

My heart isn’t timid. She’s more like a queen tapping her foot, waiting to be heard. She doesn’t waste time on half-assed attention.

So what did my queen say?

Travel. Travel. Drive. Travel. No rent. Less rent. Visit ashrams/retreat centers for a couple of weeks and move on. Sing kirtan to my heart’s content. Be open to meeting strangers and feel the magic of that fleeting or lasting connection. Keep using my gifts in different venues. Drive. Visit. Twitter. Crash with friends for a day or two. Drink really good coffee. Go south. Be warm. Go where the wind takes me. Stay in VT. Come back to VT. Or not.

I’ve learned over the years that peace comes from greeting my internal landscape with as much enthusiasm as I have for the road. Place really doesn’t matter. Following the cycles of the heart — well, there’s the clincher. Good thing it’s fall. Seasons fitting like hair color to names.

Of course, then my mind had to butt in with its overwrought largesse of wisdom. “Well, that’s all fine and good but who’s going to take care of the cats when you’re gone? Avery is on his last leg, you know. What about Zoey? She’s not young anymore, either. What about all of your local clients? What about staying in place –finally? Staying put in one fucking place? This is why you don’t have a girlfriend. What about money? Money? Cats? Money? Cats? Money?”

My heart sat this one out, biding her time. She knew that I was paying attention. She knew that something had sparked.

This is where I may begin.

While studying a bit about Shakti, I ran across this gem:

Woman is the creator of the universe the universe is her form; woman is the foundation of the world, she is the true form of the body. In woman is the form of all things, of all that lives and moves in the world. There is no jewel rarer than woman, no condition superior to that of a woman.

-Shaktisangama Tantra

Though I’m not religious in any form (and lord knows, I can’t keep up with Hindu deities) Lakshmi is particularly close to my heart.