Dear Courageous Embodied Soul,
If you are reading this, you are likely conscious of the transformational process you as an individual and we collectively as humanity are being forcefully initiated into. On a soul level, you acknowledge that you most likely chose or won the lottery to be here for this moment.
You are becoming a master of sensitivity to the non-dual aspect of everything truly being one. One breath. One mind. One heart. One pulse. One love. You are praying for yourself and all others as we courageously face unity's contrast through thoughts of hate, actions of violence, and emotions of fearing the other.
Maybe you've explored spiritual practice for inspiration to navigate these times and come across Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths, and the painful suffering that comes with attachment to all things that are impermanent. Maybe you've had moments in your life to receive the gifts of compassion required on your path of awakening, simultaneously being aware of your individual experience and acting as a non-changing, non-reactive observer perceiving this awareness from the outside.
You've probably done yoga, said namaste, and maybe had a true understanding of its meaning — the divine light in me bows to the same divine light that is in you, that is in All. Maybe you've heard the concept of Maya, that our 3D world is one of illusion and the recommended path is to keep going deep within your inner world.
On the other side of the spectrum, you were likely raised in a Western culture whose interests became more fascinated with the potential development of outer world. Ayn Rand wrote in the Fountainhead, "I would give the greatest sunset in the world for one sight of New York's skyline. Particularly when one can't see the details. Just the shapes. The shapes and the thought that made them. The sky over New York and the will of man made visible. What other religion do we need?"
Maybe you checked your news feed this morning, December 13th on this day of a full moon in Gemini, and saw some headlines about the will of man made visible through an oil spill in North Dakota 150 miles from Standing Rock where water protectors gather to pray for access to the healing power of clean flowing water and ironically noticed the correlation to the announcement made today of the CEO of Exxon Mobil, Rex Tillerson, being named as the next Secretary of State of the United States. If you clicked around as I did this morning, maybe you also saw lists of world news reports of bombs and wars and images of all the things you fear happening in this world.
Contrast is a Powerful Teacher. This is the medicine of this full moon in Gemini.
Resident Qoya astrologer Virginia Rosenberg says:
This Full Moon in Gemini on December 13th (7:05pm) Is tricky. There is magician, coyote medicine here altering perceptions of reality. Character dramas and plot twists. Smoke and mirrors. What is life without entertainment? Don't believe everything you see. There are many parts and fragments that comprise a whole. Inspect each piece up close, then zoom out. Dance with the many angles of self. How many masks can you wear in a day, in a lifetime? And what does each personality have to offer? Try it on. Emphasize a new pattern of thought. When we change our minds, we change our experience. When we change our minds, we influence the structure of the world. Put your options in a hat and shake it up. Allow the divine rolling of the dice to make its choice. Give it over to a higher power. Sometimes this very act of surrender is what ensures that something truly belongs to us. Everything is medicine. This includes mistakes and misadventures. As we dance through divisions, multiplications and dimensions, we befriend the kaleidoscopic nature of existence. The deeper the darkness, the more concentrated the flood of light when dawn breaks.
I recently read my notes from a lecture by Richard Tarnas, who traces the connection between cosmic cycles and archetypal patterns of human experience. In his book Cosmos and Psyche, he writes, "Astrology is like a clock. It doesn't influence the time, but its hands tell you what time it is."
What is that saying? It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...
Do you feel the dynamism of yourself waking up from any previously numbed parts of soul sleep?
Do you feel the activation of your truest passions emerging? Do you feel, more than ever, the desire transmute into a need to serve?
Do you feel the truest interface with your belief systems about the world?
Between hope and hopelessness?
Between righteousness and submission?
Between your voice and your silence?
Gemini is a master of non-dual awareness hard won through its reflection of duality.
Masculine. Feminine.
Day. Night.
Fire. Water.
Birth. Death.
Earth. Sky.
Stability. Chaos.
Self. Other.
Creation. Destruction.
Here is the prayer: As we honor our inner world AND the outer world, we do our inner work to strengthen our spirit for the outer work. We lean into the scriptures under our skin, the instructions that come only from within the whispers of the breath and bone as we dance. Most importantly, we take our place in our tribe of like-minded and like-hearted warriors of love. We are not alone. Not even close. There are so many who have come before us to plant and harvest the light of love in this world. There are so many alongside us, and there are so many more beings who are coming. All that we do and don't do at this time will create the world they inherit.
I know these are intense times, and there is no doubt that the emergence of interest in divine feminine teachings and values is because this is our medicine for these times. She whispers in moments of rest that even here you can surrender with unconditional trust to the inherent goodness of the world. She urges you not be ashamed of the places individually or collectively that are being revealed at this time to be healed and gently suggests to not rush through this transformational time, but embrace its depth.
Qoya is based on the idea that through movement, we remember.
We remember our essence is wise, wild and free.
We remember our body is a portal to the sacred, and our body is what makes this life possible.
We remember our ancestors who have been dancing and praying around the fire of transformation for time immemorial.
We remember that the archetypical narrative, the stories that we tell that create the context of our lives, can be re-written and re-imagined, and we choose to gather with those who share a vision of our world that honors reclamation.
As I write this, the lyrics of a song by Trevor Hall repeat, "You can't rush your healing. Darkness has it's teaching. Love is never leaving."
I love that.
Love is never leaving,
Rochelle
Want to know one of Rochelle's favorite rituals to celebrate the Holidays with ease and flow? Check out her guest interview for Jeannine Yoder’s Mentor Masterclass Holiday Challenge. The holidays bring about an intense awareness of our accomplishments and our desires while testing our ability to manage our time, emotions, and finances. On a soul level, we are in the energy of reflection and renewal. Sign up for over 3 weeks of daily practices to enjoy the holidays with the support of mentors.
I am deeply honored to share these upcoming retreats with you as an oasis for all parts of your being: your mind, your heart, your body, your spirit, your soul, and your love to take refuge, find strength with inspiration, and return back to the places where you are a lighthouse as you continue your journey with Qoya to experience movement with meaning, movement as medicine, movement as metaphor, and movement as prayer.
LAST THREE DAYS FOR COLLECTIVE EARLY BIRD
There are 3 more days to register for the Collective Retreat with a $250 Early Bird discount. Flights on Jet Blue right now are very affordable, especially if you fly the day before the retreat!
RETREATS
Hawaii Intuition Retreat: February 7-12
Hawaii Co-Ed Retreat: February 12 - 17
Bali Retreat: February 18 - 25
Collective Retreat: March 25 - April 1
Costa Rica Co-Ed Retreat: April 1 - 8
Guatemala Retreat: May 6 - 13 - enrollment opens soon!
TEACHER TRAININGS
Initiation Teacher Training, London, UK: January 14 - 25
Initiation Teacher Training, Auckland, New Zealand: January 28 - 29
Intensive Teacher Training, Auckland, New Zealand: February 27 - March 6