inner wisdom, inner warrior
Often times, what calls to come through me as written words are threads I’ve been sitting with or talking about or thinking about or walking with. These threads are often an alchemy of little glitter sparkles or dust particles I’ve picked up throughout the week from the landscape, from books I’m reading or podcasts I’m listening to, from conversations with others or experiences in the world. I notice patterns, I notice was piques my curiosity and what shows up to build off of that curiosity.
The past few weeks have been no different. If anything, it feels like the heightened tension in the United States, globally and within me have led to heightened awarenesses and learnings. I’m especially inspired by reading Sage Warrior by Valarie Kaur. A refrain woven throughout the book is, “You are a part of me I don’t yet know.” She invites us to apply this curiosity to ourselves (our fear, our shame, our rage) as well as to others (strangers, partners, friends, family, leaders, opponents).
Hello, shame. You are a part of me I don’t yet know.
Hello, mail carrier. You are a part of me I don’t yet know.
Hello, deer wading through the tall grass along the winding mountain road. You are a part of me I don’t yet know.
Hello, anxiety. You are a part of me I don’t yet know.
This practice of considering others with curiosity, not as separate but as part of me, has radical possibilities and potential. It’s also extremely challenging. Try it! Let me know what you think!
I was also reminded last week during a somatic workshop that we fall back on what we practice.
In Sage Warrior, Kaur weaves storytelling, imagination, history and invitations into practice throughout her words. This weaving mirrors the weaving of the threads I spoke of at the beginning of this post. This weaving feels generative, creative, and in-tune with the way life flows. This weaving inspires me in my own weaving, here and throughout my days. I am a weaver of words, of threads, of possibility, of dreams. Sometimes I lose the threads and have learned to sit and allow the next to come instead of forcing, or to find movement and let them come to me that way. Sometimes I lose the threads within myself as fear and shame sweep through. This is part of the process, too. This is part of the learning.
One of Kaur’s invitations is to practice accessing a Wise Woman or Wise Warrior or Wise Part of Yourself within. She writes:
Wisdom resides deep within you. Develop a relationship with the wisest part of you. Go to the sovereign space inside you – the most beautiful and loving place you can imagine – and rest here. Begin to hum and fill your body and all parts of you. Let your hum touch the wisest and most loving part of you. Imagine that the wisest part of you has a form. What shape does it take? Perhaps a radiant light, landscape, or person. Let the image come. Take a few deep breaths. With every breath, let it grow brighter, stronger, and clearer. Say: “You are a part of me I do not yet know.” Listen for a few moments. Their voice is very quiet. They speak to you as their beloved. You might hear words or just a feeling. Whisper-speak what you hear into your cupped hands. Picture liquid gold swirling in your palms. If available to you, press the gold into your heart and let it flow through your whole nervous system. Notice what it feels like in your body to rest in wisdom.
An ocean unfurls before my eyes, horizon infinite. I am riding on a white horse and I am wearing a woven brown wide-rimmed hat and, just like the animal below me, I am magnificent. I have long hair, slightly curled in the salty air and slight breeze. I wear dark blue, purple and white in a long dress that flows out around and behind me. I wear dark brown boots. I am one with the horse. I am my Wise Warrior. Together, all of us, we are going fast. The pounding of her feet on the packed sand below, sand packed by the ins and outs of water, the daily changes, the predictable rhythm of this and that, the pounding I feel in my chest and my bones soothes me as we go fast, fast, fast. More than anything, I feel power. I feel powerful within and powerful below. I feel intimately connected to my own intuition, wisdom and power. From this place, I move towards freedom. From this place, I AM freedom. From this place, everything flows.
When I forget all this power that I am, all this flow that I am, all this freedom I embody, it’s okay. It happens daily, sometimes for week-long stretches. Just like everything else, it’s a practice to come back to this place of power and wisdom.
It is within me.
It is within you.
It is within us all.
May we remember our power, our wisdom, and our agency.
