Presence

Welcome to one of my favorite months! Yours too? Changing season, moving inward, seeing and feeling something beyond the veil, between ordinary and non-ordinary reality...

I have been enjoying teaching Death and Life: Exploring Liminal Spaces from a Shamanic Perspective and have just finished a Fairytale Weekend with Morbid Anatomy in Los Angeles. The temperature is excruciatingly hot in the height of the day, and I feel for those sleeping on the streets, trying to catch a slip of shade and relief. This is not what feels like Autumn, but indeed is.

Saturday after a day long symposium of exceptional speakers on various fairytale topics, I was high from the shared energy of those assembled in the auditorium at the Philosophical Research Society, and incredibly happy, despite the hot weather forcing events inside and cancelling my workshop. At some point after learning of the change in schedule when I landed in LA, my mind shifted to just enjoying learning and not having to "work" on Sunday. The weekend was full, the fairytale part for me culminating in participating in, rather than leading, a Death Cafe on Sunday morning. (Yes, there was cake. See attached photo.)

The entirety of the past week or so has really resonated for me in one way: A continual return to the understanding that We are One. What does the "afterlife" look like? If we were to restructure our thoughts away from the ego "me" and into a wider cosmology, what does that look like when we consider this question? What will happen to Us All if a few tamper with our collective lives, our community? And on a more personal, individual level, how can those of us in the line of service to others be present for those people, and also for each other?

I was touched to receive a text from a friend on the other side of the country who just needed to check in this weekend. She is caring for a person and family going through the death process, and reached out for wisdom. In talking with her on the phone, it was very evident to me that my friend has not only the wisdom to care properly for this person in his final hours, but that she has the wisdom to take care of herself, to touch base when feeling alone and simply needing someone to be present with and for her. I was honored to be with her in this moment.

How are you being there for others as we move into a season of introspection? And how are you being there for yourself? Another theme that arose this weekend, in my conversations and readings, was that of isolation. As a Community, many of us are accustomed to being behind a screen, interacting with others with a veil, indeed, between Us and Them. It was such a visceral pleasure to meet in person and interact with people I have known now for a couple years or more, and have important conversations together in person, and to hug and hold hands and be together more completely. Let's not lose the physical presence even while indulging in the luxury of being able to talk through a computer or on a phone.

Let your wisdom be shared, and your presence be known.

Have a beautiful month, and I hope to see you in person or behind a screen.