We're holding a few Medicine Walks this year. Our guide Rebecca Joy Card explains what a Medicine Walk is all about:
A Medicine Walk is a way of being with the land and yourself in a receptive, open and imaginal way.
It's an opportunity to leave "your familiar world to wander, opening to new insights and gifts through direct and immediate contact with the wildness of the world, and returning to share this gift for the benefit of one’s People and one’s Place." (John Davis, School of Lost Borders).
Essentially, this exercise has its roots in one of the oldest spiritual practices – of nature and human in a deep(er) conversation.
It is done consciously, in ceremony, making it different to just 'going for walk'. There is intention. There may be a question to walk with, a question that may be asked to the land, to the other-than-human-world.
What to expect? The unexpected! It is important to be open to the wonder and magic of how life wants to reveal itself to you. You may think you know how your life should be, but the natural world has its own way of mirroring back to you the 'medicine' you may really need, or another way of looking at things.
I have known people to go out with questions about how to proceed with their career when it feels stuck and uninspiring, and come back brimming with vitality, full of inspiration.
It's an opportunity to leave "your familiar world to wander, opening to new insights and gifts through direct and immediate contact with the wildness of the world, and returning to share this gift for the benefit of one’s People and one’s Place." (John Davis, School of Lost Borders).
Essentially, this exercise has its roots in one of the oldest spiritual practices – of nature and human in a deep(er) conversation.
It is done consciously, in ceremony, making it different to just 'going for walk'. There is intention. There may be a question to walk with, a question that may be asked to the land, to the other-than-human-world.
What to expect? The unexpected! It is important to be open to the wonder and magic of how life wants to reveal itself to you. You may think you know how your life should be, but the natural world has its own way of mirroring back to you the 'medicine' you may really need, or another way of looking at things.
I have known people to go out with questions about how to proceed with their career when it feels stuck and uninspiring, and come back brimming with vitality, full of inspiration.
I have known people go out with questions about their career when it feels stuck, and come back brimming with vitality, and full of inspiration.
There are those who feel they have lost their joy, their playfulness, and find their inner child, and are guided by their bodies and senses, rather than their minds and what they think they should be doing.
There are others who face their deep core wounds whilst out on the land, and through careful guidance, they may find a way of being in ceremony to support them moving through the stuck place where the wound has the better of them.
There are others who face their deep core wounds whilst out on the land, and through careful guidance, they may find a way of being in ceremony to support them moving through the stuck place where the wound has the better of them.
You may think you know how your life should be, but the natural world has its own way of mirroring back to you the 'medicine' you may really need
Whatever you are with, it is my experience that the land, the earth Herself, is the most supportive container to really be in your human-ness and to feel held.
It is important to say that sometimes you go out and, even with intention and/or a clear question, you return without feeling like you've received very much. It may be that there was a big expectation and then disappointment because the expectation wasn't met.
It may be that you feel even more perplexed than when you went out. All of this is 'normal' and all of this is relevant. Not feeling you 'got anything from it', the disappointment or the perplexity are the medicine, hard though it may be to swallow.
You see, there is something going on behind the scenes, something bigger at work that requires careful attention so that you really can begin to start living as if you are not the one running the show!
Yes, letting go of the need to control is a huge part of a medicine walk.
Medicine Walk and Council led by Rebecca Joy Card are held on several dates. Details and Bookings here.
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