Sacred Smoke
Dear Ones,
In this photo, I am smoking a small feminine peace pipe made by an indigenous person in Florida. The tiny bowl is carved into a small eagle, with frayed leather tassels adorning it. It is lightweight and was an easy choice to bring to South Africa for my vision quest on Paarl Mountain, The Seed of Hope & Light. I am not a smoker. The only time I indulged was as a sixteen-year-old with a new love and a long walk along a dark road. I was pretending to smoke his Kool cigarettes; I call it pretending as I could not inhale and would take in the smoke and exhale quickly before it got to my lungs. The rebellious part of me felt cool in that moment with my crush named Carl.
I was drawn to the peace pipe only recently as I yearned for a deeper connection in ceremony as I called in the sacred. At first, I felt like an imposter, that I was not worthy to smoke a peace pipe as I was not a Pipe Carrier. Yet intuitively, I was drawn to this way of giving thanks. Little did I know a pipe was an expression of the union between the masculine and feminine, with the bowl being the yoni and the long pipe extension the lingam. I also learned that tobacco is used as an offering in ceremonies.
As I began to ponder this, I had a deeper understanding of where the abuse of tobacco might have come from. Linda Star Wolf created the Shamanic Twelve Steps, for recovery. A quote from the Preamble states “It describes walking the shaman’s path with daily awareness of our recovery on all levels, and discovering our own unique, lived expression of shamanic recovery. To recover from addiction we must be willing to open to the great mystery that we have experienced as a void. We have tried to fill the void with all manner of substances and obsessive behavior. Knowing we are not alone, we find that what we thought was a frightening plunge into the void transforms, through surrender, to a dance with the mystery. Obsession alchemically transforms into passion, and the dance with our inner higher power becomes a union with the Divine. By facing and embracing the darkness we sought to avoid, we come home to ourselves”.
We are each drawn to find meaning and connection to the mystery of life. We yearn to return to a rhythm that connects us to the sacred and the cycles of the universe, including our connection to each other in which we feel safe and valued. When this doesn’t exist in our lives, we detach and seek out things, substances, or situations to fill that void. These things we then call addictions.
As I grew in confidence, and in my own recovery, my relationship with the pipe developed. We worked through the messages of not being good enough. We began to trust each other. It became an extension of my gratitude and a way to send out the messages to the seven directions. The seven directions include the east, south, west, north, above, below, and within.
This return to listening to the mystery, called me to bring it to the Seed of Light and Hope, Paarl Rock, supporting me as I offered my hopes and dreams, my visions for a new world, an integration of the feminine and masculine energy, Shakti, and Shiva. These energies are two sides of one whole.
So, as I sat on the granite rock, the bones of Mother Earth, in the early morning sunrise, in the midst of clouds, I ceremoniously offered my prayers to Source in gratitude for this journey.
What calls you to the Mystery? What old story keeps you from connecting to your deeper knowing? Keeps you from trying something new because someone told you that you couldn’t, or you told yourself you couldn’t. As we meet the part of ourselves that yearns for a connection with the Mystery but doesn't feel worthy, we can transform it. We can return to right relationship with ourselves and nature.
I am offering my second Fem-Mas-Cue-Lin Online Class starting Monday night, February 6th, 7-9 p.m. Central Time. This class will include the teachings from my most recent experience in South Africa. We will co-create together, each bringing in the magic to expand and deepen our understanding of these two energies that are one.
Much Love and Gratitude,
Carley and John