She smiled and nodded, knowing the long journey that had preceded this moment.
With a deep smile, I looked around at this table of courageous wise women who I loved with every corner of my heart. Humbled to be in their presence and deeply grateful, recognizing that this was what I had truly longed for so many years before.
We all got up and walked down to the road to visit Nanna Peg. She had recently had a ministroke and so I sat at her feet holding each of her fingers for a few minutes at a time – an energy healing technique that Sheila had taught me years before – but really, just an excuse for me to hold Nanna’s soft hands.
With all of us gathered around her, I asked Nanna to tell us a story from her past. She spoke of the strength of her mother who never gave up hope during the three years that her husband was captured and incarcerated in Changi Prison during World War II and the authorities thought him dead. And the day he walked through the front door. She then spoke of the moment that she discovered her younger brother had committed suicide – of the regrets and the strength of her own mother who lived on without him.
How had I not heard this before? And what else didn’t I know?
Four generations of women gathered round, hanging on to her every word. The Great Mother woven through each of us.
Tears rolling down my face, when she finished I thanked her for sharing her story.
She brought her hands to my face, looked at me and said, ‘No my darling, the lucky one is me.’
WE WERE MADE FOR THESE TIMES
‘Do not lose heart… We were made for these times.’
CLARISSA PINKOLA ESTÉS
This is a time of great awakening. The vows of silence have been lifted. We are remembering the sacredness of what it means to be a woman. We are birthing a new age.
The seers and sages of ancient ages predicted this moment of time we are living in. The year 2012 officially marked the beginning, but it has been coming for some time. And you chose to incarnate right in the middle of it. You were made for these times.
Some call it the end of patriarchy. Yogi Bhajan called it, ‘the Aquarian Age.’ The Mayans call it the ‘New Dawn.’ I call it the ‘Age of Light.’ Regardless of what name you give it, all souls are needed to rise up.
Right now we are in a transition period between the ages. In the process of allowing the old cycle to fall away and the new to rise. As with any kind of change, making the transition isn’t easy. The things that once served us are falling away. Anything inauthentic is unable to survive. Like driving in the fog and trusting the road will appear before us, we are being forced to release old identities and ways of being that no longer serve us, using our intuition as a compass. If you are reading this book, chances are you are already in the process of doing so and are here to lead the way.
I believe that there is a group of souls who have been incarnating at significant periods of history preparing for this exact time. Devoting their lives to bringing back the voice of the sacred feminine and anchoring her light all over the planet. Reminding the world of the importance of living in harmony with Mother Earth, her seasons, and that healing is possible during periods of history when it was not safe to do so.
Magdalene sisters, daughters of Isis, Essenes, Priestesses, witches, mystics, healers, seers, artists, midwives, visionaries, guardians of the Earth, and storytellers from times past. Interesting women, outspoken women, courageous women, fierce women, women who knew their power, women who trusted their wisdom. And the men who protected Her so She could do Her sacred work. Many were forced to retreat underground in times when it was not safe to share their voice, own their power, and trust their innate wisdom.
This is the dawn of a new day. Ancient
feminine wisdom once hidden and silenced,
has awakened and is now ready to rise.
Each of us is part of a divine Sisterhood who, by coming together and healing ourselves, will bring about a much-needed shift on the planet. It is time for us all to allow what is beckoning within to be given the permission and space to rise. The process might not be pretty and it quite certainly will not be linear, but it is necessary and it’s time.
As one of us awakens and rises, it makes it easier for another to follow her lead.
She is Me and We are She.
Rise Sister Rise.
SHAKTI ALWAYS RISES
‘True power arises from an inner feminine force – from Shakti.’
SALLY KEMPTON
We each have within us a power. A sacred, creative, feminine force that wants to flow free. Awake in some, dormant in others, always waiting to uncoil and rise.
A life force that is in all things in the Universe, Shakti is the primal spiritual energy located at the base of the spine. Often referred to as Kundalini Shakti and likened to a coiled snake, once activated and awakened it instinctively rises, weaving and spiraling its way up the spine, through each of the chakras to the crown of the head and beyond.
When Shakti begins to rise and move through you, it is easy to feel as though you’ve developed superpowers. On the one hand you have. On the other, you have merely allowed the sacred feminine creative force of the entire Universe to freely move through you. When your Kundalini Shakti begins to rise your mind is blown, as your remember you are connected to all of Life. You discover that this intelligent force flowing ecstatically through your sacred body is the exact same force that moves through every single living thing.
We can either surrender to the same mysterious feminine force (Shakti) that controls the spinning of the planets, the tides, and the seasons. Or we can continue to struggle and fight and rely on our own separate strength. The choice is ours.
In a hierarchal system, where a few at the top lead the masses, it is not in the interests of those in power to have so many tapped into such an infinite power. It is our power (Shakti) that patriarchy endeavored to control. The part of us that knows that we are connected to all. That we have the same sacred force within us that causes flowers to open, the tides to rise and fall. That I am, you are, we all are sacred and divine. Many ancient traditions see women as the providers of Shakti, as you’ll discover later in Herstory.
The Mayans and other ancient civilizations predicted that the world would end in some way in 2012, as their calendars don’t go beyond December 21. As you are reading this book, clearly it was not the end of the world, rather a marking of the end of the world as we knew it, and the coming of a new age. While the specific dates vary, it is believed that around the time of 2012, the Earth transitioned from the Piscean Age into the Aquarian Age. From the Dark Ages to the Age of Light. With the coming of this new age, many began to experience their Kundalini Shakti beginning to rise.
Some of the physical side effects of a Kundalini Shakti awakening are involuntary jerks or shaking, heat, visions, periods of euphoria, depression, and energy rushes. Through working with Shakti, you can begin to release ways that you have kept your power contained. You can free yourself to flow more effortlessly with all of Life.
This divine feminine force is once again taking Her place. As each of us surrenders to Her rising, we are in effect embodying the sacred power, ancient wisdom, and unconditional love that this planet has been starved of for so long.
RISE SISTER RISE
Did you experience an awakening of
sorts around the year of 2012?
Have you experienced your Kundalini Shakti awakening
or experienced any of the side effects described above?
THE HOLY GRAIL IS WITHIN YOU
In many ancient traditions, woman is seen as the provider of Shakti – of the spiritual life force that connects all of Life. In short: Unconditional love. That’s what the pure balanced feminine is made of. That is the potent power of She.
Shakti is the divine feminine creative power. An unstoppable force that is available to flow through every woman. The hangover of patriarchy has left us feeling that there is something wrong with our bodies but nothing can be further
from the truth. There is a sacred vibrational field within a woman’s womb that we have forgotten. The ancients knew it (hello Priestesses of Isis) and it is time that we reclaim it.
Your body is holy. Your sexuality is holy. You are holy. May we unshackle ourselves from seeing ourselves as anything but this.
Every woman is a Goddess, for she
has the capacity to embody the divine
feminine Shakti in full radiant force.
The flower uses Shakti to attract the bee, and women have been shamed for being like that flower. Shakti is power and in a patriarchal society where one controls many, a woman in her power doesn’t mix well. And so for many this energetic connection has been severed. Now is the time for us to heal it.
When my husband and I first connected, I was fully in my feminine. Having experienced my second Kundalini Shakti awakening, I found myself for the first time in my life ‘in love’ – not with anyone but with life itself. I was in a space of pure unconditional love.
My inner chalice was full. I was a woman one-in-herself. I didn’t long for anything outside for I was connected to the Source of all.
Having been through his own transformation, Craig was in his masculine and in deep respect of the sacred feminine. Without warning, as we came together in sacred union, the sacred Shakti intertwined between us in an ecstasy that was far more than sex. Blown away by the experience, the very next day Craig decided to name his contracting company ‘Kundalini Ltd.’
May we all release the internal dialogue that tells us our bodies are anything but holy. May we reject any external force that suggests we should be anything other than the shape and size we are. May we lovingly nurse ourselves back to adoring every ounce of our flesh. Every woman is radiant. May we fiercely reject anything that suggests otherwise.
#RISESISTERRISE MANTRA
I allow Shakti to flow freely through me. I am open to
unleashing the potency of my sexuality and embrace it
all as a holy act. May my inner chalice always be full.
RISE SISTER RISE
What have you been programmed to believe
about your body and sexuality?
RETURNING
In order to thrive in the Age of Light, we must fall back into flow with the cyclic nature of Life. To do this we must move from a ‘me’ focus to a ‘we’ focus, and remember that all of Life is part of a larger whole. We are not separate from the Earth, rather we are part of it. We are the ones that run the risk of not surviving, if we don’t heed Her calls.
It is no coincidence that you are here on the planet right now, that you too have chosen to return at this stage in history, or that this book landed in your hands. May these pages act as an activation, a transmission, an unveiling, an unleashing, a remembering of what you came here to do, and all that you came here to share. With every page that you turn, may we together release any way in which we have learned to keep our feminine power, voice, magic, wisdom, creativity, and light dimmed. May we heal any resistance to, or disconnection from, the Shakti that wants to flow through each and every part of Life. May we release any vows of silence and layers of protection. May we see our sensitivities and intuitive nature as our strengths. May we heal the separation and shadow of patriarchy that exists in the world and within ourselves. May we bow down to the flow of Life and receive all that is wanting to be created through us. May we stop persecuting each other.
Finally, may we together heal our inner worlds so that our outer one – our magnificent planet Earth – can continue to be the place we call home.
RISE SISTER RISE
Are you ready to surrender to the same force that
controls the spinning of the planets or are you still
invested in your own control and strength?
THE MYSTERY OF WOMAN
‘Women are the leaders of the Aquarian Age not because
they have finally “won” the proverbial war of the sexes, but
because they have finally recognized their own true nature
and decided to serve it – and deliver it – for the good of all.’
YOGI BHAJAN
Woman are not taught, they awaken. Every woman has a mysterious force within her. An ancient wisdom that is always whispering. A rhythmic flow that is not only connected to the life force of the planet but the entire Universe. A cyclic nature, that if all women surrendered to, the whole planet would come back into balance.
A divine power as fierce as the tides, as great as the mountains, as wild as the jungle, as mysterious as the moonlight and as bright as the sun. A holy force that has been contained and restrained for millennia, but is ready again to rise.
Many of us have experienced a loss of contact with the mysterious powers of being a woman, in our efforts to fit into a linear model. Trying to make it in a man’s world. It’s time to release the bindings that keep us restrained, to bow down to the Mother and let her rhythms beat us home. We must heal the insecurities inherited from patriarchy that keep us caged. It is time to reclaim our connection with Shakti (power), innate wisdom (intuition), and ferocious, unconditional love. When we do this, nothing will be able to stop Her from rising.
RISE SISTER RISE
What is rising in you?
WHEN ONE WOMAN HEALS
‘Every woman who heals herself helps heal all the women
who came before her and all those who will come after.’
DR. CHRISTIANE NORTHRUP
It’s easy to look at the state of the planet right now and get overwhelmed. To feel that there is nothing that we could possibly do to turn it around. But I don’t believe that is true. Every tiny effort affects the greater whole. It is never ever too late.
The tragedies of the Earth right now are due to our separation. The way we treat Her is a reflection of how we treat ourselves. The only way to heal the world around us is by first healing ourselves. The more we focus on self-healing, the more chance we have to heal this breathtakingly beautiful planet we are so blessed to call home.
To heal means to make whole. The process of healing brings us back into balance with the whole of Life. Therefore, when one woman heals she doesn’t just heal herself, rather she heals the larger whole. When one woman heals and brings herself back into harmony, she sends out ripples. To those who came before her and those who will come afterward. She can never truly know the impact, but she can be sure that her personal healing will not just be felt by her. As she is brought into harmony, the whole planet is too.
This work of self-healing isn’t easy. It requires that we unearth our shadow and sit with it. It’s uncomfortable, which is why not everyone does it. Numbing ourselves out is much easier. The fact that you are consciously working on your own personal healing is something that is both courageous and admirable. You are a leader just by doing so. Thank you for wanting to do it.
RISE SISTER RISE
What are you being called to heal?
What have you been avoiding healing?
What is the first baby step in healing this/these things now?
A NEW PARADIGM OF CHANGE
We are entering a new paradigm, going from one age to the next. Which means that the linear rules we once built our lives on (the systems and identities that once served us) are all changing. Updating. Recalibrating. We need to allow ourselves to be moved by the changes. To be fluid, not rigid, regimented, and set.
The old ways of waiting until it gets too much to withstand and then doing a complete life overhaul are over. Of building the tower as high as we can and being overwhelmed that it must fall. We must listen and allow ourselves to be transformed, little by little, as it happens.
When we surrender to the rhythm of Life, we find a new way of being where we learn to dance with uncertainty and be moved and supported by the cosmic intelligence of Shakti. Not mourning the loss of the sun, rather appreciating the glow of the moon. Not missing the stillness of night, rather celebrating the coming dawn.
Aligning your life is
a never-ending process. It is a day-by-day, moment-to-moment practice. Not a one-off overhaul. Living a life of alignment is a daily practice. Checking in, staying on course, redirecting as you travel. Noticing what feels good, free, and spacious, and what feels restrictive, stagnant, and stuck. What is falling away and what is ready to rise.
At present there is a lot of fast-moving high-vibrational energy hitting the Earth and the Earth is changing at a cellular level. As it does our physical and emotional bodies attune to this frequency – we are part of the Earth after all. Just as when glass is put under high-vibrational pressure it shatters, we too are the same. Old identities and ways of being that once served us are no longer able to survive.
Let the shattering occur, for the shattering allows
the pieces to rearrange all by themselves.
RISE SISTER RISE
What in your life feels stagnant and stuck?
THE NEVER-ENDING PROCESS OF RISING
‘She did not find the grim in falling apart. For every
time she found herself broken, she knew she was
brutally remaking herself, and collapsing to be
reborn like a rioting star; haunting the dark sky.’
R.M. DRAKE
Rising is uncomfortable. And in many cases it ain’t pretty. Fairytales and movies glorify the process. Suggesting that there is an end point to get to, a happily ever after where all of our ducks are perfectly lined up in a row. A place to arrive at once you’ve overcome a particular hurdle or series of challenges that once stood in your way. A ladder to climb. A mountain to conquer. A person to forgive. A relationship to get over. An award to strive for. And once you have finally achieved this momentous thing. Once you get commissioned as an artist. Published as an author. Find and marry your true love. Heal the ailment in your body. Conceive a child. Stop compulsively eating. Once you truly awaken. You will have finally arrived and things will then be amazing. Your real life can start. At last.
Rise Sister Rise Page 5
