Coming to Know the WildSoul is a Reverent Journey

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The soul is like a wild animal…tough, resilient, resourceful, savvy, and self-sufficient:  it knows how to survive in hard places. I learned about these qualities during my bouts with depression. In that deadly darkness, the faculties I had always depended on collapsed. My intellect was useless; my emotions were dead; my will was impotent; my ego was shattered. But from time to time, deep in the thickets of my inner wilderness, I could sense the presence of something that knew how to stay alive even when the rest of me wanted to die. That something was my tough and tenacious soul.

Yet despite its toughness, the soul is also shy. Just like a wild animal, it seeks safety in the dense underbrush, especially when other people are around. If we want to see a wild animal, we know that the last thing we should do is go crashing through the woods yelling for it to come out. But if we will walk quietly into the woods, sit patiently at the base of a tree, breathe with the earth, and fade into our surroundings, the wild creature we seek might put in an appearance. We may see it only briefly and only out of the corner of an eye—but the sight is a gift we will always treasure as an end in itself. ~ Parker Palmer, Hidden Wholeness

I read these words and immediately I recognize this within myself, this shy soul. 

Something within me softens. For a while now, I’ve tried to push myself to be more out there, more in the mix, more visible. I know it is coming. Yet, what also feels true is that my soul is tender and deep-feeling. And in seeing this, I found just a little more compassion for who I am and how I am in the world. As I soften, I can feel myself more whole, aligned and joyful.

So much in our culture tells us we have to be un-soul like to make our mark. I’ve come to know that this way is not my way. There is something so sweet about recognizing how our own soul feels, what allows us to glimpse it, but more importantly, the path to living life that honors it. There are many ways to be in the world, and I know we each can find the way that is true for our soul, even when the culture can seem so separate from soul.

The Wild Soul is shy, she is feral, and in being so, she doesn’t clang around making brash noise…unless she must. Then she will. She is tough and resilient. She is self-sufficient. Yet, there is this place where the soul only shows this soft side, this vulnerability when she is safe, when she trusts.

Coming to know the soul is a reverent journey. It is a blessed journey.


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Because the very nature of this journey is such, I am extremely honored to be holding the first session of the WildSoul Book Club this fall with my colleague, Lianne Raymond. Our intention is to create a place where, together, we breathe with the earth and walk quietly in the woods with patience and care, so that our souls know they can come forth to make themselves known.

Please take a moment to see if joining our WildSoul Book Club might be just the thing you are longing for, right now. We’ve kept the price, $129 for 10 weeks, affordable so that many can join. Many of us are feeling called to awaken the Feminine Soul. It is time.

Questions? Join Lianne and me for a complimentary call for the WildSoul Book Club:

Tuesday, Sept 4, 4:00 pm pacific time.

712-715-7100, 1005863#

And, yes, if you can’t make it we’ll make the recording available here.

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We’ll be reading Women Who Run With the Wolves, an epic book that celebrates its 20th birthday this Sept. 17th. It’s a book that can be read over and over, with each reading bringing forth new wisdom and perhaps a new glimpse of your soul.

We’ve interviewed a number of women about their experience reading Women Who Run With the Wolves.

Today, we’ve released our chat with Danielle LaPorte. If you listen to the interview, you’ll hear that she first read the book when she was living in Santa Fe, literally surrounded by wolves and their calls. 

Danielle shares wisdom and heart, and a real, very fresh life story of how the strength and power of her feminine soul came forth in a powerful way. I got goosebumps when I heard her tell the story in her words. You’ll find her interview, along with others, here.

We’ve also have an interview that Lianne did with Tami Simon of Sounds True, sharing the story behind how Women Who Run With the Wolves came to be.And, on the same page, we invite you to share your comments about the book. We’ll be sharing everything with Dr. Estes, the author, on September 17th.

And, if you have any questions at all that feel too personal to share, feel free to drop me a line at juliedaley (at) gmail . com

May you take some time today to sit down on the earth and listen for the soul’s footsteps, feel her breath on your skin, and feel her longing to bring you home.

 

image by bokeh burgerAttributionNo Derivative Works Some rights reserved

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WildSoul Book Club

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“The real miracle of individuation and reclamation of the Wild Woman is that we all begin the process before we are ready, before we are strong enough, before we know enough; we begin a dialogue with thoughts and feelings that both tickle and thunder within us. We respond before we know how to speak the language, before we know all the answers, and before we know exactly to whom we are speaking.” ~Clarissa Pinkola Estés

Clarissa Pinkola Estes knows the Wild Woman. Reading her words sends shivers of knowing up my spine and down my legs.

It is time for the Wild Woman in us all to wake up.

It is time for our four-footed self to find her stride, and discover the cadence of her voice spoken from the deep womb.

It is time.

The heart of my work

At the heart of my work, is the reclamation of the wild soul. There is much to reclaim – her power, her innocence, her voice, her creativity, her instincts, her desire and her playfulness. Much of the past ten years of my life have been spent to find my way back to her, and I know so many of you have been engaged in a similar exploration.

Dr. Estés’ words, above, speak directly to a decision to reclaim even though there might be voices inside of us telling us it is not yet time, for whatever reasons those voices seem to come up with.

There is no right time. There is only now, and it is time. We can’t know the language she speaks ahead of time. We must simply say yes to her and open to her call…that voice, that pull, that gnawing that’s been trying to get your attention.

There are reasons for the pack

Responding to this call of the wild, is much more tasty, touching and transformational when done in the company of other wild women.

I invite you to join The WildSoul Book Club. The Book Club weaves together the best of a women’s group, a traditional book club and a deeply fulfilling personal development course. This is the very first time we are coming together as a group and I’d love for you to be a part of it.

Our inaugural book is Clarissa Pinkola Estés’ classic, Women Who Run With the Wolves. September marks the 20th anniversary of the landmark book for women.

Lianne Raymond and I will be leading the group. Lianne is a beautiful soul. Her site speaks of living with Wild Abandon. She is a woman of wisdom and integrity, and I am truly honored to weave our work together in service to you reclaiming the wild, four-footed self within you.

Wise Women Interviews

We know that diving into a book such as this can feel daunting, especially on your own. To give you some idea how this book has impacted women, we’ve interviewed a number of women about their experience reading the book, and how reading it impacted their lives. The interviews will be shared over the next few weeks leading up to the beginning of the 10-week course. Our very first interview is with Ronna Detrick, a spiritual director and an excavator of women’s stories. In her interview, she speaks about how  Women Who Run with the Wolves opened a door in her soul and how that connects to her life work.

You’ll find Ronna’s interview, as well as the great conversations we’ve lined up, here where I offer details of our book club and how you can join.

I am so excited to offer this. Everything in my soul is saying, “Yes”, to this journey. We’ve plans to offer other books down the line that can wake women up the our power, a power to serve life, to live a full of full feeling, and a life where we know we are sacred expressions of a creative life force that longs to know itself through each of us.

Whether or not you decide to join us, and I hope you will, develop and deepen your relationship with your wild soul. Give her voice. Invite her to move. Your life will never be the same…and that is a good, good thing.

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