I’ve returned to this book over and over again. This book was what introduced me to the Baba Yaga, the nature goddess, who lives in a hut that spins around dancing on a chicken leg. She is the dark side of The Good Mother. She does not tolerate anything inauthentic, she will gobble you up. Her intention in devouring you is not to harm you… just eat away at all the things that will harm you. She might swallow up a job, that is sucking the life out us. She might cause us to get sick, so we can go within and find the real source of life. She might leave you directionless… so you can go on the search for meaning. She is death in the service of life.
The wicked stepmother on the other hand is life in the service of death. Her motives are selfish and block creativity. It’s that voice that says, “you’re crazy? who do you think you are? You’re just going to embarrass yourself. You’re not good enough to paint, it’s a waste of time. Get to work… stop being lazy.” The stepmother is also known as the culture mother. The Baba Yaga forces us to stop blaming and accept responsibility for our own lives and live creativity—there are no guarantees as to what might come out of truly living. We don’t ever know what will come of it. But there comes a time where we all find ourselves in a place where we cannot tolerate living authentically—that place is known as the Baba Yaga’s house, where all that we have accepted is challenged. Dealing with her requires that we be in touch with our own Life-Force, our essence, our Soul.
I do not claim to understand The Great Mystery, but I Am aware of The Great Presence that animates within me and connects me to all living things. The further you go in Understanding the Self, the closer you come to seeing that the Kingdom of God is within. It’s not something you die into, but something that awakens within you. The path to Self Realization will inevitably take you into the religious dimension. Most of us cringe at the word “religious” because it was just that thing that so wounded us. Paradoxically, what wounds us is also what heals us. It takes a TRUE encounter with God to be able to turn what was poisonous into a healing medicine. So, I speak as one who has been wounded, I speak as one who has had a transforming encounter with this awesome and even terrifying Presence, and I speak as one who has been healed. You realize that while finding your own soul you are also finding the One Great Soul to which we all belong. The WellCord is that invisible umbilical cord that connects us cosmologically to each other and to the Soul of The World. When I speak of God, I am speaking of this Great Soul...that is God...that is you. God is unfolding within us, and we must trust this process. We must trust the Love that holds all things together.
I am gender-queer, a Pisces, a mystic, a seer, a psychotherapist, a professor, a stargazer, a theorist, and a pastor. I am interested in all forms of mysticism. My studies have introduced me to The Mystery Schools, such as the Eleusinian Mysteries and the Essenes; the Kabbalah; the Tarot; Astrology; Alchemy; C.G.Jung; Fairy Tales and Mythology. These are tools and symbols that stand for something other than themselves. They are signposts for all of us travelers seeking Wisdom. I am not an expert or an authority on any of these...I have only come across them in my journey. One thing I must add is that esoteric information can never replace integral knowledge. People who go into this wanting to learn magic, often do so for power and are then destroyed by it. Those who give up their power or control to follow the Mystery are paradoxically empowered. I hope to share what I have learned on this journey and in this process of unfoldment, I hope to learn, and I hope to connect.
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