Justyna, are you familiar with Malidoma Somé - a west African shaman from the Dagara tribe of Burkina Faso?
Your description of hugging the tree reminds me of his story of The Green Lady in his memoir Of Water and the Spirit. Malidoma was my shaman teacher, immersed in study with him for 6 years, and he initiated me as an elder of his tribe. He tasked me with translating the wisdoms and teachings and practices he taught me to share with people who wouldn't be as likely to do the deep ritual the way he did for us...I think you might enjoy his work.
He passed a few years ago...so now he is on my ancestor shrine as one of my greatest life teachers.
Thank you for sharing this, dear Teri Leigh! I hadn’t read Malidoma Somé’s work before, but the way you describe it sounds interesting. What a gift to have studied with him and to carry his wisdom forward! Thank you for the invitation to explore his work, and for sharing a piece of your journey with him here. Could you please advise where I could find Of Water and the Spirit?
At risk of sounding as an oddity, I will say, I felt massaged by this tidal tinkering soft force... increasingly so where you recount of the moment shared between you and the butterfly.
I felt trails being walked, where no one had before, in me.
This rhythm... Multiple blinks, at different scenes, with a continuous theme... The oneness of it all. Blurry awareness of what was morning, what was a week ago, what was yesterday... Yet, it all fits together in one, pure, timeless, same, whole.
This rhythm here, is special. A series of unified blinks, without loss of intention nor depth. Spring.
I am unsure this was merely a reading experience, or, it also was a secret hug masterfully encoded in syllables, to remind me of perceptions accumulated through countless past lives.
This expedition through your inner forests is adorable.
Dear Chelton, thank you for taking the time to read so openly, and for letting the rhythm carry you places soft and vast. I really appreciate the way you described the rhythm and how it landed—especially that blurring of time and continuity. I’m grateful it reached you in that way 🙏 Wishing you endurance and peace for your inner forest expeditions :)
"endurance" is a word which has popped in my mind countless times throughout this week. thank you for amplifying the cosmic message for me. May your days be filled with stumbles onto stacking stones here and there.
This was breathtaking, Justyna. It’s been a long week for me and as I was reading this, something inside me felt like it was opened and returned to a deep, still place. This idea of wu wei really came through—like osmosis, like that tree. Thank you for inviting us be odd and ourselves out in the woods 🙏🏼🍃🩵
Dear Sarah, thank you so much for reading and sharing this! I’m so grateful to know that this piece could help open a still place inside you, especially after a heavy week 🤍
And here’s to our joyful oddness—not only in the woods! :)
this is beautiful, Justyna. and the offerings of the painted lady butterfly and feathers are lovely. <3 i found your reflection on wu wei quite timely, and it has articulated a sense of personal edges that i haven't yet had language to describe. go lightly this week in and about your own rhythms..."the impeded stream is the one that sings."
So good to hear from you! Thank you so much for coming and reading. I’m glad the reflection on wu wei resonated, and especially that it offered shape to something you hadn’t yet found words for. It means a lot to know I could support you there 🤍 I’m also grateful for your wishes of lightness. I’m trying to offer that to myself these days, flowing, as you shared, and singing :)
That really means a lot. I am often unsure whether what I’m expressing here will land clearly, so hearing that it felt like understanding is deeply encouraging. Thank you for saying that 🙏
Hi Justyna.. i thought about that.. maybe for you it feels like a firehose jet, re-directed with a specific purpose, but i can assure you its received more like soft spring rain. Fine flowers are sustained gently, but there is such a depth and consistency, a love and compassion, one can feel, that even for the driest tree or shrub will drink willingly. Maybe the growth won't show this spring, but the seeds of love are planted. No need to doubt your ability or impact.. the Universe has choosen you as a vessel, because of all you have been through and are. Your ink will flow through eternity, if you allow it, and your gift will be sustained by that one life force, that you are. Phil
That’s the part that held the most weight for me too. Thank you for naming it—and for the way you continue to guide by simply pointing to what matters 🙏
I really appreciate that, Hans. It’s a strange thing to write about something so personal. As you say, this path is made up of many conversations with others, seen and unseen. Thank you for reading it with such attentiveness and an open heart.
Please allow me to reflect only on a fraction of your writings:
...while sitting under a tree, sipping my cranberry ginger juice and a plate with pieces of blueberry chocolate and cookies (now almost finished), birdsong and classical music and your words still caressing my ears...
I am reading the part:
Staying with what visits our homes of being (..)
remaining intact through surrender, not resistance. A doorframe, rather than a door shut tight.
And I simply cannot believe my eyes, and a fraction of a second later... I can. This is again the synchronicity that the universe is showing us every now and then (I believe I expressed this with your other writings too), the glimpses that indicate we are like you say "in accord with the nature of things".
Yesterday I had a wonderful conversation with my mother where we used the door metaphor in the context of desired or undesired social contact. This morning I wrote the gist of it and shared it with her... only a few hours later I read yours ;) rather about life in a much broader spectrum, where I believe the metaphor indeed is equally applicable... only a matter of expanding to both who ~ what visits.
Closing the door often creates more resistance than peace... Everyone wants to know what is behind that closed door and it takes much effort to keep it closed.
Opening the door wide will, at times, cost you your safe home, after all, everyone can just come in and out and take whatever they want.
Opening the door, with yourself in the doorway, is an option that initially seems less attractive than closing the door... Because everyone can see you and approach you, but there is an important difference... You decide who can come in and who cannot. With friendly attention, without unnecessary resistance, you can indicate whether or not you want to continue your contact and thus maintain your safe home at all times.
To answer your questions:
The parts that I am learning to stand with rather than fix... are my high sensitivity combined with a fundamental feeling of being unsafe among other people... because the more I try to avoid stimuli or get to safety, the more I suffer.
Being the place where I can stand in when my feet are sore... for me means that I listen to what my body, including my overstimulated brain, needs... sitting under the tree all day if I have to (not that this is a punishment, but according to a big other part in me... there is so much I would rather do right now), being patient with ~ kind to and take good care for myself.
My freaky-ness that may be shame-free... that I can fall in love with everything and everyone so easily, but I often stop myself from doing it because it's weird and I often scare people away or they make fun of me.
P.S. your writings are very well complimented by Rilke's poems and visa versa, you would make a great team!!
First of all, your little snack setup sounds absolutely wonderful! Cranberry ginger juice? Never tried it! Blueberry, chocolate, and cookies?? It’s everything I could dream of, and more haha :)
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your reflections so thoughtfully.
How lovely that you also used the door metaphor in a conversation with your mother!
The way you described it reminds me so much of Rumi’s Guesthouse—the idea that everything and everyone who visits is a passing messenger, and that we don’t need to shut the door to stay safe. Our work isn’t to cling to them or shut them out, but to recognise them for what they are: visitors, passing through, not defining us (and not defining our sense of safety either).
I can also understand the struggles you speak of, especially since I'm HSP too :)
Much of my work these days also goes into nurturing and remembering a sense of unconditional safety within—a light that keeps me dry and warm even in the storm of external event. Most of the time it's hard and even painful, but slowly I can see that there is a sense of freedom is participating gently in the unfolding of life as it comes and goes, rather than fighting (even if with good intention) or trying to escape it.
You also made me smile a little with your comment about Rilke—thank you for that generous thought! It’s humbling, and honestly a little funny to imagine :) I don't know what Rilke would say of my writing, but I'm grateful that his work exists to nourish us both—and if my words can, even in a small way, offer a similar kind of sustenance, then I’m glad beyond measure!
Thank you again for being here, and for walking this path with such open heart 🤍
i love this: "Even if we do not know each other, we could be friends"
and this: "And then, from Taoist philosophy, the concept of wu wei. Often mistranslated as passivity, but in truth, it is the cultivation of accord with the nature of things. It is action that does not estrange you from yourself."
Hello dear Friend :) Thank you so much for visiting, for taking the time to read, and for sharing your reflections! It always such a joy to hear from you :) I hope you had a lot of inspiration these days for writing your excellent jokes!
Justyna, are you familiar with Malidoma Somé - a west African shaman from the Dagara tribe of Burkina Faso?
Your description of hugging the tree reminds me of his story of The Green Lady in his memoir Of Water and the Spirit. Malidoma was my shaman teacher, immersed in study with him for 6 years, and he initiated me as an elder of his tribe. He tasked me with translating the wisdoms and teachings and practices he taught me to share with people who wouldn't be as likely to do the deep ritual the way he did for us...I think you might enjoy his work.
He passed a few years ago...so now he is on my ancestor shrine as one of my greatest life teachers.
Thank you for sharing this, dear Teri Leigh! I hadn’t read Malidoma Somé’s work before, but the way you describe it sounds interesting. What a gift to have studied with him and to carry his wisdom forward! Thank you for the invitation to explore his work, and for sharing a piece of your journey with him here. Could you please advise where I could find Of Water and the Spirit?
Thank you for this piece.
At risk of sounding as an oddity, I will say, I felt massaged by this tidal tinkering soft force... increasingly so where you recount of the moment shared between you and the butterfly.
I felt trails being walked, where no one had before, in me.
This rhythm... Multiple blinks, at different scenes, with a continuous theme... The oneness of it all. Blurry awareness of what was morning, what was a week ago, what was yesterday... Yet, it all fits together in one, pure, timeless, same, whole.
This rhythm here, is special. A series of unified blinks, without loss of intention nor depth. Spring.
I am unsure this was merely a reading experience, or, it also was a secret hug masterfully encoded in syllables, to remind me of perceptions accumulated through countless past lives.
This expedition through your inner forests is adorable.
Thank you, for the heart-saturated share.
,C.
Dear Chelton, thank you for taking the time to read so openly, and for letting the rhythm carry you places soft and vast. I really appreciate the way you described the rhythm and how it landed—especially that blurring of time and continuity. I’m grateful it reached you in that way 🙏 Wishing you endurance and peace for your inner forest expeditions :)
"endurance" is a word which has popped in my mind countless times throughout this week. thank you for amplifying the cosmic message for me. May your days be filled with stumbles onto stacking stones here and there.
This was breathtaking, Justyna. It’s been a long week for me and as I was reading this, something inside me felt like it was opened and returned to a deep, still place. This idea of wu wei really came through—like osmosis, like that tree. Thank you for inviting us be odd and ourselves out in the woods 🙏🏼🍃🩵
Dear Sarah, thank you so much for reading and sharing this! I’m so grateful to know that this piece could help open a still place inside you, especially after a heavy week 🤍
And here’s to our joyful oddness—not only in the woods! :)
this is beautiful, Justyna. and the offerings of the painted lady butterfly and feathers are lovely. <3 i found your reflection on wu wei quite timely, and it has articulated a sense of personal edges that i haven't yet had language to describe. go lightly this week in and about your own rhythms..."the impeded stream is the one that sings."
So good to hear from you! Thank you so much for coming and reading. I’m glad the reflection on wu wei resonated, and especially that it offered shape to something you hadn’t yet found words for. It means a lot to know I could support you there 🤍 I’m also grateful for your wishes of lightness. I’m trying to offer that to myself these days, flowing, as you shared, and singing :)
felt understanding, expressed in words
That really means a lot. I am often unsure whether what I’m expressing here will land clearly, so hearing that it felt like understanding is deeply encouraging. Thank you for saying that 🙏
Hi Justyna.. i thought about that.. maybe for you it feels like a firehose jet, re-directed with a specific purpose, but i can assure you its received more like soft spring rain. Fine flowers are sustained gently, but there is such a depth and consistency, a love and compassion, one can feel, that even for the driest tree or shrub will drink willingly. Maybe the growth won't show this spring, but the seeds of love are planted. No need to doubt your ability or impact.. the Universe has choosen you as a vessel, because of all you have been through and are. Your ink will flow through eternity, if you allow it, and your gift will be sustained by that one life force, that you are. Phil
What a kind and beautiful things to say… thank you, so much, Philip. I really needed to hear this today
withdrawing from the performances... the work at hand...
That’s the part that held the most weight for me too. Thank you for naming it—and for the way you continue to guide by simply pointing to what matters 🙏
Thank you for the abundance you've offered here Justyna -- an inward journey shared and deepened even more through this generosity
Jenni, thank you so much 🤍
Thank you for opening your inner journey here along with all your profound conversation partners that you share.
I really appreciate that, Hans. It’s a strange thing to write about something so personal. As you say, this path is made up of many conversations with others, seen and unseen. Thank you for reading it with such attentiveness and an open heart.
Dear Justyna,
Please allow me to reflect only on a fraction of your writings:
...while sitting under a tree, sipping my cranberry ginger juice and a plate with pieces of blueberry chocolate and cookies (now almost finished), birdsong and classical music and your words still caressing my ears...
I am reading the part:
Staying with what visits our homes of being (..)
remaining intact through surrender, not resistance. A doorframe, rather than a door shut tight.
And I simply cannot believe my eyes, and a fraction of a second later... I can. This is again the synchronicity that the universe is showing us every now and then (I believe I expressed this with your other writings too), the glimpses that indicate we are like you say "in accord with the nature of things".
Yesterday I had a wonderful conversation with my mother where we used the door metaphor in the context of desired or undesired social contact. This morning I wrote the gist of it and shared it with her... only a few hours later I read yours ;) rather about life in a much broader spectrum, where I believe the metaphor indeed is equally applicable... only a matter of expanding to both who ~ what visits.
Closing the door often creates more resistance than peace... Everyone wants to know what is behind that closed door and it takes much effort to keep it closed.
Opening the door wide will, at times, cost you your safe home, after all, everyone can just come in and out and take whatever they want.
Opening the door, with yourself in the doorway, is an option that initially seems less attractive than closing the door... Because everyone can see you and approach you, but there is an important difference... You decide who can come in and who cannot. With friendly attention, without unnecessary resistance, you can indicate whether or not you want to continue your contact and thus maintain your safe home at all times.
To answer your questions:
The parts that I am learning to stand with rather than fix... are my high sensitivity combined with a fundamental feeling of being unsafe among other people... because the more I try to avoid stimuli or get to safety, the more I suffer.
Being the place where I can stand in when my feet are sore... for me means that I listen to what my body, including my overstimulated brain, needs... sitting under the tree all day if I have to (not that this is a punishment, but according to a big other part in me... there is so much I would rather do right now), being patient with ~ kind to and take good care for myself.
My freaky-ness that may be shame-free... that I can fall in love with everything and everyone so easily, but I often stop myself from doing it because it's weird and I often scare people away or they make fun of me.
P.S. your writings are very well complimented by Rilke's poems and visa versa, you would make a great team!!
Dear Mik,
First of all, your little snack setup sounds absolutely wonderful! Cranberry ginger juice? Never tried it! Blueberry, chocolate, and cookies?? It’s everything I could dream of, and more haha :)
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your reflections so thoughtfully.
How lovely that you also used the door metaphor in a conversation with your mother!
The way you described it reminds me so much of Rumi’s Guesthouse—the idea that everything and everyone who visits is a passing messenger, and that we don’t need to shut the door to stay safe. Our work isn’t to cling to them or shut them out, but to recognise them for what they are: visitors, passing through, not defining us (and not defining our sense of safety either).
I can also understand the struggles you speak of, especially since I'm HSP too :)
Much of my work these days also goes into nurturing and remembering a sense of unconditional safety within—a light that keeps me dry and warm even in the storm of external event. Most of the time it's hard and even painful, but slowly I can see that there is a sense of freedom is participating gently in the unfolding of life as it comes and goes, rather than fighting (even if with good intention) or trying to escape it.
You also made me smile a little with your comment about Rilke—thank you for that generous thought! It’s humbling, and honestly a little funny to imagine :) I don't know what Rilke would say of my writing, but I'm grateful that his work exists to nourish us both—and if my words can, even in a small way, offer a similar kind of sustenance, then I’m glad beyond measure!
Thank you again for being here, and for walking this path with such open heart 🤍
dear justyna,
i love this: "Even if we do not know each other, we could be friends"
and this: "And then, from Taoist philosophy, the concept of wu wei. Often mistranslated as passivity, but in truth, it is the cultivation of accord with the nature of things. It is action that does not estrange you from yourself."
thank you for sharing all of this, as always.
love
myq
Hello dear Friend :) Thank you so much for visiting, for taking the time to read, and for sharing your reflections! It always such a joy to hear from you :) I hope you had a lot of inspiration these days for writing your excellent jokes!
Thank you Justyna!