Rise Sister Rise

by Rebecca Campbell

  How about you?

  What is falling away? What wants to uproot? What part of you is becoming harder to tie down? What is becoming less and less important? How is Life trying to change you? What is ready to move on? What is moving away from you? What do you find draining to hold on to? What used to be important to you but now is not so much? If you weren’t afraid of nothing coming to take its place, what would you release?

  RISE SISTER RISE

  What is falling away?

  What ways of being are no longer sustainable?

  What identities are you ready to let go of?

  How does your life need to change in order

  to accommodate letting this/these go?

  GRANDMOTHER MOON

  May we loosen our grip and open our hearts.

  May we release all that is no longer a vibrational match.

  May our hearts be open, stretched, and full.

  May our arms and minds stay open so that

  what is on its way can arrive swiftly.

  May our mouths be used as vehicles of truth, integrity, and peace.

  May our creations travel, our new projects be ignited,

  our deepest prayers be heard, and our hearts held

  by the mysterious force that simply is.

  And so it is, and so it is, and so it is.

  YOU ARE SPIRIT EARTHED

  Your purpose is to be spirit embodied. To ground your awakened consciousness in the third dimension. Earth is a sacred ecosystem that is not just our home, but also something we are very much a part of. Every time we resist our true nature, doubt our intuition, give away our power, question our worth, or contain what is rising in us, we fall out of flow with Life.

  Billions of years have come before you and billions will follow. You decided to be here right now. In this moment of significant change. In this moment of upheaval. In this moment of great potential to create significant shifts in consciousness. In this Age of Light. There is no coincidence that you are here.

  Everything we do to the Earth we do to ourselves, as a species we have disconnected from our Mother. Fallen out of her natural rhythmic cycles and flow. Mother Earth doesn’t need us in order to survive but we need Her.

  What happens in one happens to the whole.

  When one of us surrenders to our true nature it becomes easier for others to surrender to theirs.

  YOU’LL FIND YOUR TRUE NATURE IN NATURE

  ‘You will find something more in woods than books.

  Trees and stones will teach you that which

  you can never learn from masters.’

  SAINT BERNARD

  I grew up in Australia by the ocean. The cars on my street would rust quickly in the salty air. And looking back I see how the sea breeze cleansed, released and regenerated so much for me too. My feet would be in the sand pretty much every day. If not, then the rocks or grass. Nature was a huge part of my life, but I didn’t think anything of it.

  When I moved to London my whole body mourned the loss of the saltwater. I started craving it like a drug. I’d pile bucketloads of sea salt into my bath and onto my food. But it wasn’t the salt that I was missing, as much as the presence of the wild element itself. On my skin, messing up my hair, Her waves churning through my limbs. But my busy life didn’t allow the time to ponder over what it was that made my heart feel like it was ever so slowly closing up.

  When my life fell apart in 2011, I remember being on the floor of my apartment, which had just begun to flood. I had just burst into tears and the water pipes burst in unison. The water was my message that the way I was living could not go on. While I was on my knees I prayed for guidance. I knew something had to change. Tuning in to my intuition, I was led to follow what lit me up and it brought me back to nature. And indeed my own true nature.

  I discovered London parks, rose gardens, and wisdom keepers in the shape of trees. As I allowed myself to be at one with nature, I felt myself coming back to life. As I allowed myself to truly see the nature around me, I started seeing myself mirrored back. As I allowed myself to be led by nature, I reconnected back to my inner compass. As I allowed myself to notice and listen to nature, I began hearing the whispers of my soul. As I allowed myself to be held by nature, I found myself being held by all of Life.

  No matter how disconnected, confused, lost,

  broken, betrayed, or hurt you find yourself,

  you can find your true nature in nature.

  Nature is a living, breathing mirror of who we are. We see ourselves as separate from it but in fact we are part of it. Nature is teaching us how to be human every moment of every day. The rose coaxes us to open and soften our heart. The oak teaches us to drop our roots deep in order to stand tall. The sand assures us that change is inevitable and that we are always altering in form. The frangipani reminds us of the sweetness of life. The shell whispers secrets long forgotten. The butterfly proves that there is life after loss. The volcano tells us that if we hold it in, eventually we will explode. No matter who you are, you will find your true nature in nature.

  There is wisdom in the plants and trees and rocks

  and the Earth below us but we cannot unlock it if we

  don’t connect and listen. Mother Earth is constantly

  whispering, waiting for us to connect with her secrets.

  The ancients knew this. It’s time for us all to remember.

  When you connect with nature you are connecting with all of Life – the everything of every possible moment. If you make connecting to nature part of your daily practice, you will awaken your senses enough to notice the subtle changes in your life. If you focus on how it feels to be in nature – the earth beneath your feet, the scent in the air, the sun on your face, the water on your skin, the flowers opening for you in all their glory – you will be activating your feeling body. When your feeling body is activated your soul is able to be grounded in your body. It is in this place that your soul’s whispers can be heard most clearly and divine ideas can land on your lap.

  Nature is always present, it’s we who are not. When you take a moment to be truly in nature, you discover how many gifts She offers you every moment of every day.

  PRACTICE: INTUITIVE NATURE WALKING

  My favorite tool for increasing your intuition and getting into

  the flow of Life is to spend time in nature doing a practice

  I call ‘Intuitive Nature Walking.’ All you need to do is find

  a large part of nature – ideally a park, a beach, forest, or

  bushland and allow yourself to be moved by the Shakti of Life.

  Walk and be moved with no attachment to the outcome.

  If you feel yourself being led to a big tree then walk to the

  big tree. If you find yourself being led to lie on the earth, lie

  on the earth. If you feel guided to climb a rock, climb a rock.

  Notice the beauty around you. Allow nature

  to move you. Trust the process as you allow

  nature to intuitively guide you home.

  RISE SISTER RISE

  Take yourself on an Intuitive Nature Walk. Go into

  nature, set your alarm for 20 minutes and allow

  yourself to be moved by the Shakti of Life.

  WHEN WHISPERS TURN INTO SHOUTS

  Why do we feel the need to conquer nature? To own it. To bend it to our will. We see ourselves as civilized. But it is not civilized to destroy your own habitat. It’s not civilized to destroy the very things that you are dependent on to breathe, drink, and eat. It is not civilized to neglect the weak and the poor. It is not civilized to bring harm to your species. What happened to our human nature? We see ourselves as separate from nature but we are not. We see ourselves as separate from the Earth, as living on it, but our bodies are the Earth itself.

  We attempt to own this planet and every plot of land. But it has never been ours to claim. If we don’t stop soon, we’ll be another ancient land sunken and forgotten. I don’t know about you but I
’m too tired to do it all again. Let’s learn from the ancients. From their wisdom and their mistakes.

  Everything we do to the Earth, we are really doing to ourselves. When we see a tree being chopped down, let’s see a friend. When we throw our trash in the dump, let’s see it in our home. I believe we can turn this around. It is still possible for us to create heaven on Earth.

  RISE SISTER RISE

  How is Mother Earth whispering to you? How

  is She guiding you to act on Her behalf?

  WHISPERS FROM MOTHER EARTH

  Mother Earth is always whispering. Telling you secrets of times past and guiding you every moment of every day. If you’re ever stuck, go out and let Her welcome you into Her arms. She has so much to tell you and can soothe you in no time at all.

  PRACTICE: WHISPERS FROM MOTHER EARTH

  Put your phone on ‘do not disturb’, be truly present

  in the moment, and connect with Mother Earth.

  Go to your favorite park, sit under your favorite

  tree, climb your favorite mountain, walk along your

  favorite beach. Ask Mother Earth to speak to you and

  get ready to capture her whispers. You may want to

  ask her a question or you could keep it open.

  Breathe deeply and allow yourself to hear her whispers

  deep in your heart, capturing her words of wisdom on

  your phone or in a notebook. You may receive them

  one word at a time or it may be a feeling you have.

  Imagine each one being a golden thread that you’re

  pulling ever so softly. Share your whispers from Mother

  Earth by posting it to Instagram using the hash tags

  #WhispersFromMotherEarth and #RiseSisterRise

  YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SEASONS

  The earth is sentient. As it breathes in and out the whole planet does too. It has its own heartbeat, its own natural rhythm in the form of seasons. As the trees release their leaves, we are prompted to let go too.

  The way the modern world has developed has resulted in so many of us becoming disconnected from the subtle shifts in rhythm that the seasons bring, disconnecting ourselves little by little from the heartbeat of the planet and thus the flow of Life. So many of us spend our days in brightly lit offices with the temperature set all year round. Our bodies missing out on their daily dose of natural light and the balancing touch of raw earth beneath our feet.

  Don’t overlook the powerful effect seasonal awareness and the Earth’s touch has in bringing your body back to flow. Nature and its seasons are waiting at the ready to bring us back into harmony with ourselves, the Earth and the Universe at large.

  I had been living in the UK for almost 10 years when I finally understood the importance of seasons and the necessity of winter. Born in spring, I am a warm-weather woman. Each December, as the holiday lights were being switched on, you would find me dragging an oversized suitcase to the nearest airport, boycotting winter and escaping somewhere sunny.

  But by sidestepping winter, my body didn’t receive the gifts of rest and rejuvenation that the darker months bring. My inner fire wasn’t being stoked. By the time spring came along, I lacked the clarity and newfound energy that it brings. Without the abundant reserves needed to go out into the world again, my body fell into a deep exhaustion and I would have to reach for caffeine to keep me going. I would blame it on too much holiday cheer or jetlag, but eventually I realized that my inner seasons were crying out for attention.

  In a 10-year period, there was one year that I stayed and let winter work Her magic. A year earlier I had broken up with my long-term partner and he had moved back to Australia. Knowing that being in the same country wouldn’t be beneficial, I bunkered up in my Notting Hill studio apartment for a long and lonely winter. To make matters worse, all of my friends had left the city, leaving me pretty much alone for the holidays. The days were dark, the nights long and cold. I barely left home except to arm myself with a gourmet pizza from the local Italian, some dark chocolate, and a bottle of Cab Sauv. It was the worst and best period of my life.

  During these dark days and evenings, bunkered up in a blanket and thermals, I was able to fully hit my rock bottom. And it was here that I found myself. In those weeks, when it felt like the whole city had gone into hibernation, I fanned the flames of my inner light and finally committed to quitting my job, following my passion, and starting a new life for myself. Had I not let the darkness and bitter winds of my inner winter be realized, perhaps I wouldn’t have found the potent clarity that that winter gave me.

  Develop a relationship with the changing seasons around you. Notice the hope and inspiration of spring, the celebration, rising and outward connection of summer, the falling away and letting go of fall (autumn), and the replenishment, clarity, rest, surrendering, and potency of winter.

  RISE SISTER RISE

  List the seasons in your order of preference.

  Look at your least favorite season and ask

  yourself: What gifts does this season have for me

  that my body and soul are yearning for?

  HONORING YOUR INNER RHYTHM

  When you are here on a mission and you hear the call from spirit to change things, it is easy to fall into endurance mode. I have done it time and time again. Put being of service ahead of my own body’s needs. This must stop. If we are to do the work of change, we must be sustainable.

  If we are pushing or striving, we are out of flow with the natural rhythm of the planet. If we are out of flow with the Earth, we not only make it harder for ourselves but also put stress on the planet. We must stop pushing and pressuring ourselves. We are here to do a life’s work, not a season. Do not burn out now. You are needed for the long haul. It is time that we deeply honor these cycles, and stop expecting things and ourselves to be always on (in summer mode).

  If you push yourself to be always producing, your creative well will soon run dry. You cannot possibly create the potency of the work that you are here to create, if you are trying to bloom. Do not let what others are doing pressure you into more doing. You only have to keep up with the world around you if you are choosing to compete in the first place.

  There is a perfect time for everything. If the tulip surfaces in the heart of winter the bitter winds won’t give her a chance. She will lose her supple petals and be bitten by unforgiving frost. If she attempts to endure on through to the end of summer she will become parched and dry up.

  If the cherry blossom got impatient and pushed herself to bloom because the daffodils were out, we would miss that magical moment where all of a sudden, her soft subtle scent fills the balmy twilight air.

  Trust the natural flow of your inner seasons and don’t push yourself to bloom all year round. There are times for sowing, times for blossoming, and times for retreating and going into hibernation. There is plenty of room for all of us to rise in our own perfect time.

  What is another person’s summer may be your winter. But come spring, positions will be reversed. Trust your inner seasons and remember: spring returns to delight us each and every year.

  #RISESISTERRISE MANTRA

  I honor my inner seasons and deeply trust my inner

  rhythm. There is no rush. In perfect time I rise.

  RISE SISTER RISE

  Are you respecting the seasons of your life or are

  you attempting to bloom all year round?

  THE MYSTERY OF SHE

  Her heart was connected to the flowers.

  As they opened, so did She.

  Her voice was connected to the birds.

  As they sang, so did She.

  Her wisdom was connected to the trees.

  As they whispered, so did She.

  Her womb was connected to the moon.

  As it waxed and waned, so did She.

  Her attachments were connected to the tides.

  As they let go, so did She.

  Her passions were connected to the fire.
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br />   As it was stoked, so was She.

  Her eyes were connected to the entire sky.

  As it saw clearly, so did She.

  Her emotions were connected to the rivers.

  As they flowed, so did She.

  Her spirit was connected to the stars.

  As they shone, so did She.

  Her soul was connected to the entire Universe.

  As it expanded, so did She.

  YOUR MONTHLY CYCLE AS YOUR TEACHER

  ‘The womb is not a place to store fear and pain. The

  womb is a place to create and give birth to life’

  13TH RITE OF THE MUNAY-KI, THE RITE OF THE WOMB

  Some women don’t have any problems when it comes to period pain. I am not one of them. Ever since I was 14 my periods caused me agony. Most months would find me curled up in the fetal position. Debilitated by the excruciating daggers, cramps and deep aches coming from my uterus. I would wake up some mornings feeling like I was being ripped open from within. Having to call up work and make some excuse for why I couldn’t come in. There was no way I was using my womanhood as an excuse – that would be admitting weakness, or so I thought back then.

  Someone who prided herself on having a high pain threshold, I just accepted the pain (endometriosis) as a part of life that I would need to endure and suck up. Part and parcel of being a woman. Had I experienced the same pain while not having my period, I would have run myself straight to the hospital every month.