Seeds of Winter

The past few weeks have been so energetic and filled with so much love!
Our open house on Jan. 31st was so inspiring to have so many of you come and partake of our free services for the day. I am always amazed at the distance people travel to come to Brigid's House. Your support is so incredible! Thank you so very much!

This past weekend I presented at the Winter Soulstice Retreat in Valley City ND. It was a heartfelt, healing time for me and I know for others there too. Roxanne Rogers who is the organizer of the retreat is an incredible woman filled with so much energy and unconditional love. She sets the tone for the whole event. I met so many interesting people from Valley City, I can't wait to go back there. A two year training in core shamanism may be occuring there in the near future!

At the retreat I presented on healing with nature and basic info on shamanism. Roxanne had also asked me to be a part of their church service and I was in charge of the sermon. I wanted to share my sermon with you---Seeds of Winter.

Ancient peoples lived in harmony with the seasons and beings on this earth.
They knew and honored the cycles of life and death and rebirth.
In the fall, the falling of the leaves symbolize the letting go of what is no longer needed. When fall approaches and we begin to go inside our homes and into ourselves as well.
In winter, we go into the darkness where the Great Mystery lives. Even the animals go into hibernation, waiting.
We wait quietly, in silence, waiting for the sun to return.
The Ancient Celts revered these times of mystery. They honored the acorn which they saw as the eye of wisdom. (A part of that might have been that at a certain time of the year acorn have hallucinogenic properties and the wild boars would eat the acorns and run around wildly---the celts saw that the acorns took the boars into the otherworld!)
The Celts revered the acorn because it sits silently in the soil, in the darkness, in a state of what the Celts call "an sithe" (on shee). A place of peace.

And from this place of peace the acorn yearns to become a mighty oak tree.
It waits patiently, an sithe, for the sun to return.

And when the sun returns and warms the earth again, the seed breaks open and begins its journey to express itself as the mighty oak.

Today, I ask you to find that peaceful place within your heart where you can be "an sithe" and discover the seeds you have been yearning to awaken and break open with the love from the sun, so you may express your beauty and light in our world.

I'd like to share a quote from Donna Hennes, author:
"Let us be like the sun and shine our light out into the world, a little bit more every day until we flood the planet with the brilliance of our best intentions.
One by one, in tiny increments, candle by candle, gesture by effort, wish by prayer, concern by care, we feed the life-fires of the soul and light the infinite universe little by little from within."

May your day be filled with the blessings of light and love!
Jeanne