Transition is a good topic this month because of two reasons. First, I suspect that as this year progresses, many of you will experience the most intense time of transition you have faced, and you’ll need to know this topic well. The balance of 2016 will be the “best of times and the worst of times.” For those who do not take the past with them, it will become the best of times. For those who live in the past, it could be the worst of times.
And second, I would like to brief you on a transition in my own life, one that has been some time in the making.
Transition, unfortunately, is a process that is seldom instantaneous. Over the last 30 years, some of the transitions I have experienced have been easy; others have been difficult, and some, like this one, have taken a long time — three years to be exact.
I’ve discovered that the longer and/or more difficult the transition, the greater the impact it will have on others. It’s as if God is saying, “Justice is served if difficulty precedes victory.” Personally, I continue to work through this period of transition. Two years through the dark night of the spirit, one year to reorient and recover and I am still working to pull off the change. So for those of you who are on the tarmac waiting for the plane to take off, I have great empathy and remember that “tribulation works patience in us.” Can I get an ugh?
When a transition takes a prolonged length of time, it is so two things can come into alignment. The first is preparation and the second is timing. Preparation also has two facets: It is your preparation as well as the preparation of those you will impact and who will impact you. For either party, most of the time preparation is not educational acquisition but spiritual acquisition.
The second thing — timing — comes into play with the convergence of your preparation and God’s purpose for taking you where He is taking you, be it geographical or otherwise. The result of this convergence hallmarks the end of transition and the beginning of hope and fruitfulness. Proverbs tells us that he who rules his spirit is greater than he who takes a city. Sometimes we have to learn to rule ourselves before we can have rule where we are going.
Now, one last thing to say about transitions — in this writing, anyway. Saying yes to Creator’s direction and thereby giving over your future is not always simple. Most of the time, it means saying yes to a future that you can’t see fully yet; you may have no clue what it will end up looking like. But the key here is to recognize that what you are seeing or perceiving actually is Creator’s direction for your life. It is a still, small voice urging you toward, or sometimes just highlighting to you, a certain path. You are drawn into it.
You will know it is God’s plan by the peace you feel. Until you have that peace, you have no responsibility to say yes. Deep-seeded peace is the most important sign that the next step is Creator’s plan for you. Keep in mind that peace does not mean you know all the answers; however, it does mean you’re realizing that after the transition, all will be better.
Slowly, the activities are gearing up here at APU. We have begun our established weekly healing circle that will carry on throughout the summer months.
WEEKLY HEALING CIRCLE GATHERING - FRIDAY EVENINGS 7PM - 9PM
This circle meets every Friday evening 7PM - 9PM. Right now we are focusing our gathering on learning the positions of the medicine wheel, once we work through this the ground should be ready for us to build our own wheel to be used by those who come to this land. Also, as the weather improves this gathering will be held around the sacred fire, those who come are always encouraged to bring their objects, medicine and music instruments drums/rattles - for you never know where spirit will take us.
When we are gathering in ceremony, all of the ladies are asked to wear skirts as is tradition.
Any donations of food/snacks, etc. are always appreciated and welcomed. I will always have coffee and tea available.
OUR FIRST LODGE CEREMONY, SATURDAY, APRIL 30TH.
It is exciting to be looking forward to our first gathering in the lodge to "wake it up" after the long winter's sleep. There is room for 8 at this gathering, so if this is something that is of interest to you in attending - please let me know asap that you plan on attending so that I can make sure we have the space planned for those that want to attend. We will light the fire at 10AM and plan to enter the lodge by Noon. If you need information on protocol for the traditions that we follow in Ceremony please let me know, I will make them available to you. We will have our pot-luck feast after we finish the ceremony together, so if you plan on attending please bring a dish to share.
BEAR DRUM WORKSHOP
I am working to reschedule this workshop sometime in June/July. A few of you have mentioned that this would be a better time, so please keep an eye out for the notice when this is rescheduled.
THIS SUMMER - MOSAIC PATHWAYS!
I have begun the gathering process and will soon be prepping the land for this exciting activity that will take place over the summer. I hope to offer a workshop with instruction on the process to create one of these beautiful works of art - HERE @ APU!!! So keep an eye out for more info on this.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
As the better weather allows, more gatherings are being planned with our extended community. I will try to keep a schedule of events posted at APU and will always welcome those who wish to join me in travelling to other events that I plan on attending that are open. Some of these events include TEAS and gatherings at Noodin's place.
HAVE YOU SEEN THE JOURNEY STONES???
These stones are custom creations that are created just for you with your specific intention held throughout the process. With the stone you also get a beautiful journey message that is intended for you from spirit!
Email me for more information if you would like to have a stone created for yourself.
That is all for April, journey well my brothers and sisters and I look forward to sharing time with you in circle!
Love & Blessings!
Cindy
