[Michael Jospe]

hello

[Michael Jospe]

Hey everyone! Let’s get this discussion rolling! It’s Late! Great work to those who have posted.

[Michael Jospe]

It sounds like next Wednesday 2-3pm MST will work for most of you wanting to connect and virtually hang out and share vision boards. I’ll try to figure out how to send out Zoom invitations to attend a video call (never done that before, but it can’t be that hard!).

Looking forward to seeing you all again and sharing!

[Michael Jospe]

Beautiful reflections on such a sweet and wild place, David! Your writing brought me right there to that sit spot with you.

It was so so good to see you all in the video call. It really feels like a tribe of courageous souls moving through the landscape of place and heart to step closer towards vision. I am grateful for kindred spirits being brought together.

For those that might be interested in sharing vision boards (or songs or medicine wheels!) would a video call next Wednesday at the same time 2-3pm MST work for you all? If not, are there any other suggestions?

[Michael Jospe]

Thank you Hannah for asking for our info!

Phone: 720-277-1566
Email: mandyvbishop@gmail.com

Address: P.O. Box 17883, Boulder CO 80308

[Michael Jospe]

Thank you for reaching out with your reflections, Angela. As you say, “my life now has a newness and a spirit within” I realize I am feeling the same! As much as I am feeling the challenge of maintaining the essence, growth and expansion of what we learned, I am finding myself in my old life but with a new spirit within. Wopila! (means heck yes, and much gratitude!!)

I went on a wander today and found that it’s true… each one of you have now ended up on my council! I am so so blessed and grateful for the vulnerability, the honesty, and the sincerity that you all showed up with. I am honored to be in this group.

For the past couple months, I’ve been working on a poem that I just couldn’t finish and just last night was able to complete. It turns out the missing links were some powerful experiences that happened for me on the mountain. It is a letter from my soul to myself, and I wanted to share with you all.

Many many blessings, and I can’t wait to see you all again!

A Letter To Self

Oh, my sweet one, come back.
Walk with me a ways.

Where have you gone, so far away?
Reaching, wanting
Vying for the attention of another.

Come, walk with me today.

Stay with me this morning
As the sun warms our skin through that old window pane.
Sink with me into the weighted embrace of time.
Let’s marry this moment and never look back.

Come, walk with me a ways.
You sweet romantic heart, I see you
As the butterflies come and threaten to lift you away.
Away from here, away from now.
But I stand here, and I call.
And I wait.
I stand here seeing you
Enchanted by your beauty.

Yours is the beauty that summons the sun from his slumber
over the icy floes of high alpine lakes.

You are that elusive fox, quietly dancing through the trees.
That fox who only shows herself in deep valleys of stillness, in forests of held anticipation.
With the exuberance of a child wondering where the story will turn next,
I’ve been tracking your steps.
I’ve seen you in dreams, following your tail through the trees in the snow.
Oh, how my heart has been longing to catch a glimpse of you,
Again.

Yours is the craft of the coyote, leaving his track
turning me round and round in a whirl of wonder
until I turn to see you standing there, just waiting for me to see.

Have you always been there?
Were you waiting for me?

Oh my love, my sweet one
Be with me.

Whisper in my ear your deepest longings,
Your tenderest dreams.

Take root in my heart.
Rest in my belly.
Sleep in my arms.
Sing in my soul.

Come, my love, walk with me a ways.
Stay with me, always.

[Michael Jospe]

Yes, thanks Hannah! I’m up for anything too. I’m not sure where is best for Keto diet folks… maybe Shine or Zeal?

[Michael Jospe]

Hello everyone! My name is Mandy and I think I am the last person to join this cohort, right under the wire. I am very excited to meet all of you in just about a week and a half at the Starhouse, and look forward to sharing and learning from and with all of you.

I live in Boulder on a farm on the east side of town and am happy to carpool up to the Starhouse if that is something others are looking for/need.

I’ve been reading through the comments on this thread trying to get caught up with the group and love the discussion around what we might “do” with this journey we are about to embark on. I know that for me, I am arriving at the doors of this program after moving through a huge rite of passage of my own, going through a journey of my own personal healing – one in which nature and wilderness, both without and within, were really the only places that truly could hold, nurture and fill me in a truly sustainable way. Out of this place I’ve been reflecting on what matters to me most in this life and here are some of the thoughts and feelings circulating around this for me.

I’ve been observing that collectively we have become so disconnected from where we come from — from our bodies, from the land, from our ancestors, from our Mother Earth and from our own sense of wildness. We are now several generations beyond when people grew up in close connection to the land; growing their own food, chopping wood to keep warm, and moving with the daylight and the seasons. The instincts gifted to all beings of this planet have gone dormant and are not being heard above the buzzing of central air, the ticking of clocks, and the roar of engines. They have been buried so deep beneath our to-do lists and our anxieties about getting somewhere important or attaining something that will help us feel as though we’ve “made it” that we have been cut off from the very ground that holds us, the plants that nourish and sustain us, and our interconnectedness with all other living things. I’m talking about the kind of wisdom that summons seeds to begin to sprout new life when spring arrives, even though they are buried deep within a dark cold humus underground. Or the kind of wisdom that brings millions of Monarch butterflies thousands of miles south to mate in a place they have never before been to produce new life. There is innate wisdom in every single one of us, but many of us have forgotten. This kind of wisdom cannot be taught, and truly can only be sought through deep listening and attuning to ourselves, sometimes for the first time in our lives. It must be found within, searched for and sought, tended to and courted with great gentleness and care.

I truly believe that one of our most fundamental instincts is to fight to protect and defend what we love in this life. Yet, as generation by generation we have grown more disconnected and detached from this earth, we have lost touch with this most critical and fundamental relationship. We have forgotten that we are made from the Earth; that all we have has been given to us by her, that she has given us life and is a source of true richness and abundance always supporting us, holding us and nourishing us. We have lost the vision to be able to see the magic happening all around us in every moment — the sacred geometry of a sunflower, the synchronized dance of the starlings, the way the antidote to many natural toxins grow right alongside the very plants they remedy. How could we be crazy about a magical world we do not see. And how can we be expected to summon the motivation, the passion and the stamina to fight for her wellbeing if we do not even really know her.

I’m inspired to do this work to help guide my brothers and sisters back home to themselves and to find their feet on the earth again. To help them discover the magic that is in every corner, every crevice, without and within. To help others find a relative in the wilderness, to find a sacred relationship where we can find that we belong, that we are seen, supported and are totally unconditionally loved. To celebrate the life we’ve been given on this earth. I want to help others come home to their bodies. To discover there is an entire vast world within. That this is wilderness too, full of mystery, beauty, and an unshakable wisdom deep within. There is an entire wilderness within the container of our own skin, and this is our wilderness to tend to, to listen to, to love and to care for. There is an entire world beneath our heads, and it is within these places that we can find a space to rest, to recover, to find safety. It is within these places that we can find permission to grow, inspiration to create, and a tremendous capacity to love. There is a relationship that happens at the threshold between the body and the earth. There is a receiving and a giving of inspiration. It is reciprocal. We can find safety in those places that will always be available for solace and comfort — the prairies, the rivers, the rocks, our breath, our bones, our heartbeat. To find safety, space, support and love in order to heal so that each person can find their way towards their higher purpose in this life. So that each person can live out love and gratitude, with the always steady prayer and hope that as we meet her and form a relationship with her, we will rise up — each in our own unique way — to defend, protect and love her. And ultimately, that as we orient more towards thriving and living out our purposes, we will find our own ways to speak, breathe, and sing beauty back into this world again, to feed something greater than ourselves. That we can be amongst the awake and truly living, creating love and beauty among each other in order to sustain this one precious life.

I know this is a long comment! I just felt called to reach out and introduce myself and where I’m coming from as I’ve missed the calls and connections thus far. I can’t wait to dive in with you all!

Mandy

[Michael Jospe]

It’s great to see all these posts up here!

[Michael Jospe]

Awesome to see you both posting up here!! I hope we can get everyone engaged on this forum and talking about awesome things!

[Michael Jospe]

I am deeply moved by your posts, everyone. Thank you for sharing so deeply! Looking forward to seeing everyone tonight.

[Michael Jospe]

Cory- Your posts reflect the transformative power in the presence of the guide. All you did was show up, listen, reflect, and sit with her. No magic tricks, no psychoanalysis, just presence. In doing so you provided her the safe container and permission to contemplate on her life. It’s really that simple, and its a huge gift! I want to encourage you to reflect on the decision points that you faced in your process with your friend. Take note of what you felt and thought, and why you chose to the collaborate with the moment (each moment) the way you did. Nicely held!

[Michael Jospe]

Cindy! I love how you’ve modified this to fit your career. Way to go! The more hands-on and experiential/experimental the better: IE stone stacking. These experiments create a dynamic experience that naturally leads to self-reflection and discovery. Always give time for nonverbal contemplation before diving into future application of the learning. Inspiring!

[Michael Jospe]

Hi Lyria – Thank you for sharing this. There is a part of your post that caught my attention:“As we were walking, Brady made a comment about the experience with the turn-off being symbolic for his career.” This actually speaks volumes about the power of the wander. You see, when someone steps into this process their inner world becomes projected on the landscape/environment. They are seeing their internal process unfold in front of them. As guides, we want to remain very curious about this and invite the client to explore symbolic representations. I will talk about this more on Monday. Great job!

[Michael Jospe]

Megan, awesome post! So cool to see that you were able to see the stages of change so quickly in your clients process. What a relief that you were able to see that it’s OK to be in contemplation. I love the exercises you talked about that will give your client an opportunity to explore more deeply the stage he is in.

C’mon everyone! I wanna see more awesome posts like Megan’s!! 🙂

Happy Holidays!!!