Tag: healing

Getting in sync with Mother Nature’s rhythmns and cycles…

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In ancient times, the Celtic festival of Samhain was celebrated as a mandatory holiday that lasted three full days and nights…

Samhain today in the Northern Hemisphere began last evening (October 31) and will end tonight (November 1)…

As Samhain occurs at roughly the midpoint between the Fall Equinox and the Winter Solstice, it was to mark an ending to the harvest time and the beginning of a new cycle…celebrating, honouring and connecting deeper with nature’s transition from lightness (summer) to darkness (winter)…

Today and right now, is a good moment to reflect on what we have learned during these past months,…What lessons, gifts and wisdom do we wish to take forward into winter…? What are we most grateful for?…🙏

We might also recognise beliefs that we have outgrown or any other limitations that we can now freely let go,…

Seeing ourselves not separate but “in sync” with Mother Natures rhythms and cycles, means we harness the energy and opportunities to move forward lighter, more free, and trusting our journey…

Our energy can therefore expand to encompass new experiences and ways of being and sharing more of our true self and gifts in the world…

Our ancestors and guides are always nearby and offering their support when needed! 💓
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Sharing some foraging summer moments in the forests and mountains, where I was truly being in my flow, grateful and “in sync” with the abundant healing medicine and nutrition of Wild Nature 💓🙏💓

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Copyright © 2021 Jaymie Elder

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Being held by a tree (true) being…

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Bring your grief, sadness,
loss of hope, emptiness, despair,
– whatever you are feeling –
to a wise, ancient, tree being.
A true, majestic, spirit friend.

Climb up high
in your tree beings branches,
sit or lay down low
near your tree beings trunk.

Take several long, deep, breaths…
let your heaviness and tears
be comforted by the great
loving arms of your tree beings branches.

Let your hurt
be softened
by peace
as you become one
with your tree (true) being.

Remain with your tree being,
as long as you need too.
Close your eyes,
fall asleep, dream…

Exchange your blessings and gratitude.
– whatever it was you needed –
energy, balance, peace,
unconditional love, wisdom,
courage, inner strength…
you can now move forward on your journey.

Always remember,
the potential for a true friend
– a spirit brother or sister –
exists in the heart and frequency
of all living beings!

We only need to feel,
become more receptive and patient
with an open, loving heart.

Copyright Jaymie Elder, Spring Equinox, Italy, 2021

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More reading from Rainbowtree Woman about the Soul Journey and the path of healing and transformation:
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Email Jaymie: rainbowtreewoman@yahoo.co.nz





What does it mean to be a Gardener of the Soul?

Published on by Rainbowtree Woman3 Comments

I am reflecting on the lives of two men who have inspired peace in the world through their art, love of nature/gardening, music, philosophy, activism, poetry and wisdom… John Lennon (also a Libran like myself 🙂 ) and Claude Monet.

During his international career as a Musician, Poet, Activist and influential Ambassador for World Peace, John Lennon has been quoted as saying;

“Peace is not something you wish for,
it is something you make, something you do,
something you are and something you give away”

“My role in society, or any artist’s or poet’s role,
is to try and express what we all feel.
Not to tell people how to feel.
Not as a preacher, not as a leader,
but as a reflection of us all.”

“Love is like a precious plant.
You can’t just accept it and leave it in the cupboard
or just think it’s going to get on by itself.
You’ve got to keep on watering it.
You’ve got to really look after it and nurture it.”

“I’m not really a career person; I’m a gardener, basically.”

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“Monet’s Lillie’s”, Monet’s Garden, June 2015 © Juerg Dreamturtle

Every year, some 500 000 visitors come from around the world to visit Claude Monet’s Garden in Giverny, France. Over many decades, millions of people have been touched by Monet’s peaceful and tranquil impressionist paintings. People are attracted because of the essence of calm and peace Monet was able to capture in his beautiful paintings and in his garden. For many years, I had prints of Monet’s Water Lillie’s hanging in my bedroom. When I walked into my bedroom, I remember how the paintings made me feel peaceful, balanced and at ease with my surroundings.

Not all of us have the gift of music and poetry to collectively inspire people’s minds and hearts like John – in a positive and powerful way. Not all of us have the opportunity to create a beautiful garden or the ability to paint like Monet did.

However, I believe we all have the chance in this life to work on our inner selves,…to grow in love and peace by owning and transforming our shadow self (our core wounds), healing and forgiving ourselves and others.

I refer to this work as “Soul Work” – and having been a “Gardener of the Soul” for many years now, I believe this is the true work I am here to do, be and share!

I have learned that the beautiful or impressive garden we create on the “outside”, is not as important as the garden we nurture and grow on the “inside”…

The Garden of our Soul is hidden to the eye but felt with the heart…

The Soul Garden we are nurturing, sustaining, lovingly tending too and growing every day – is the most important and true work we are here for.

As we honour our true selves and continue with our Soul Work, the universe will reflect back to us our inner transformation – we can attract more loving, authentic relationships into our lives and experience a sense of deeper peace and purpose for our journey. Although, this does not mean our healing and growing ever stops or we no longer attract challenges in our lives! However, over time, we can become more of a beacon of light to inspire others towards inner peace, truth and fulfillment for themselves.

Real, lasting peace is not something we can “take” from another or a piece of art or music to temporarily “feel better”. We each have to make the commitment to work towards peace in ourselves and this can be a challenging, demanding yet truly rewarding process over many, many lifetimes of experience and growth.

Copyright © Jaymie Elder (2017/2019)

Featured Photo for this Blog Post: “Sacred Sadness Rose” from my Grandmother’s Garden – taken on Christmas day, many years ago. The photo features in my partner, Juerg Dreamturtle’s book; “Sacred Journey – A Simple Book of Soul Wisdom, Love and Healing.”

The book, “Sacred Journey” is very much about this inner work of growing towards love and peace in ourselves, in our lives and in the world. Why not order a copy of the book “Sacred Journey”  to honour this day – International World Peace Day?

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Find out more about the book “Sacred Journey” by Juerg Dreamturtle here


Photo of Water Lillie’s from Monet’s Garden: taken by Juerg, June 2015.
Read more about Claude Monet here

Finding your own path and pace in challenging times.

Published on by Rainbowtree Woman2 Comments

‘It doesn’t matter how slow you go as long as you don’t stop.’ – Confucius

Surrounded by the 4 giants of the European Alps, these days, competitive and serious hiking is very popular in the mountainous areas we spend most of our time in.

I believe we miss so much of the magic, beauty and energy of the mountains if the path we walk becomes a competitive and serious race against time, each other and ourselves.

Equally, in life, if we are always focused on getting ahead to some “where” we think will be “better” or to accomplish a future “goal”  – we can miss the valuable and perfect teachings for where we happen to be right now…

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When I saunter through the mountains and on many of the old pathways in the Aosta Valley region, I find myself connecting with a very ancient and timeless part of my soul.

Whenever I am in nature, I practice the art of walking slowly and with reverence. I also believe in being open (heart) to listen, feel and connect with what or who is coming to me as a messenger. I love to make my own tracks, pause and rest, go at my own pace and usually I resist following designated pathways set out for serious mountain hikers.

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∼ Butterfly Messenger ∼

On a journey in the mountains I took a few days ago, a messenger came to me in the form of a small, friendly butterfly.

I could see in her wings beautiful colours of luminescent green, gold, orange, blue and brown. These colours kept changing as she gently moved from different angles to the light of the sun. She sat on my shoulder – gently and happily – for probably close to 10 minutes before she flew off into the pine forest.

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Before she flew to my shoulder, I had the feeling that I needed to pause, breathe and do a ceremony or simply give thanks before I reached Juerg, Cento and our campervan at the foot of the mountains (where my journey had begun). However, I was not quite sure what was being asked of me, until the butterfly spontaneously arrived. Before long, I realised that my interaction and connection with the butterfly messenger was my “ceremony”.

As a messenger, the teachings of butterfly
are to appreciate and see the value
in each stage of the spiritual journey
and cycles of life.

Butterfly’s life transformation shows us, we each have the possibility and capacity to be reborn by going within ourselves. Therefore, we can draw much value and learn from the cocoon of darkness, despair, doubt, confusion, tiredness and all the emotions we have been conditioned to view as “negative”.

Honouring our feelings of discomfort and disharmony in relation to where we currently are on our journey (as well as what we may see happening around us in the world), is an important part of accepting that we are forever moving through cycles of change, transformation and growth.

A natural part of growth is feeling discomfort and resistance as we move into the unknown! These are cycles of deep change and transformation, which Mother Earth is also mirroring back to us!

Rather than judge these cycles of change as something “negative” or “wrong” – can we allow what needs to occur from a deep place of trust, love and respect… like the life cycle of the butterfly shows us so beautifully?

Can we observe and learn from Mother Earth by working with the mirror she provides us, as well as primarily focusing our energy on our own inner transformational process?

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In the far distance: Monte Bianco (4,810 m) tallest mountain of the European Alps.

∼ Balance and Patience ∼

I am learning that in order to ease our transition through these current challenging times on the earth, we need two main qualities – balance and patience.

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Balance… Balance can only be found by a certain amount of detachment from the outside world and all of its noise, busyness and distractions… Slowing down to find our balance means we focus more of our attention on our inner being. This involves checking in with our authentic self – i.e paying attention to what our feelings, our center of self/solar plexus, our bodies and our heart are communicating to us. It also involves (with love and compassion) tending to the forgotten, vulnerable, shadow parts of ourselves (our inner child/children), which we may find are being triggered by the outside world and especially our relationships.

What are the unique signs of your body and emotions, which tell you – you need to slow down and reconnect with your own unique rhythm and pace?

When you know you are feeling off-balance, what is your resistance to taking the time and space you need – to come back to your center of Self?

Patience… There is nothing else like precious time spent connecting and being one with Mother Nature. Reconnecting our bodies to her natural and ancient rhythms, seasons and cycles, allows us to remember we are not separate and to be patient with ourselves and our own growth process.

I really love and savour spending time in nature with both my dog and my partner Juerg. However, grounding my energy on a solitary walk in nature and or just sitting and being alone next to a tree, with my own thoughts and feelings is essential for me to retain a sense of well-being and harmony in our shared relationship. This is the same for Juerg too.

When did you last make quality, nurturing time and space for yourself – to be alone in nature – with out any distractions?

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In these times of deep transformation on the earth,
may you pause and rest when you need too…
may you find balance and patience…
so that you continue to move forward
with grace and confidence
on your own unique life path and journey.

©  Jaymie Elder

Photos shared are from a 5-hour saunter I made recently, to the top of Monte Zerbion (2722m) with stunning views of the Aosta Valley and three of the Giants of the Alps – Monte Rosa (4,634 m), Monte Bianco (4,810 m), and Gran Paradiso (4,061 m).

I find sacred moments of nourishment, inspiration, quiet reverence and solitude here in the mountains of Italy… where in the world do you find your own precious and healing moments in nature? I would love to hear from you, in the comments below…


Photography and words © Jaymie Elder 2019

My work is supporting and mentoring men and women to embrace their authentic being and be true to the timeless calling of their heart and soul. I offer intuitive guidance and support through Soul Sessions, which take place internationally via Skype. Soul Sessions are a unique chance to feel, reflect and connect with the deeper part of your being – your heart and soul.

For more information, or to book a session
please use the “work with me” link under the menu title – or click here

More reading from Rainbowtree Woman about the soul journey
and the path of healing and transformation, – click here

Mountains are here to remind us to connect, be patient and go slow.

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One of the main reasons why Juerg and I have spent so much time in the Alpine regions of Europe over the past 4 years, is because we find that all around us is the memory and connection with the old people who lived (and still do today) sustainably with the land and in harmony with the mountains, for centuries.

Mountains are here to remind us to connect, be patient and go SLOW.

But today, the ancient mountains are mainly being used for our modern ways of living,.. which include highways, traffic, tunnels, ski fields, snow machines, helicopters, adrenelan sports like mountain-biking and river-rafting,  etc. They quietly observe our apparent need for speed, action and our constant self-imposed stress surrounding the concept of “time” …

In many ways, the modern way of life has offered more comfort and ease, and daily tasks less time-consuming. But within this, I believe that our soul needs time and space in the silence and tranquillity of nature and our heart yearns to feel connected through authentic being and living in harmony with nature.

The heart yearns for connection
and the path of the soul is slow and steady.

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Last night, the evening golden sun was glowing through the pines… I felt it was the perfect time to gather some of our favourite wild spinach – Good King Henry! 😊 (“Buon Enrico” in Italian)

Buon Enrico grows in a cow pasture below where we often park up for the night at an altitude of 1600 meters. I also knew that it was highly likely that the next day the farmer would be moving his cows into this pasture for them to also enjoy the abundance of wild herbs – now bursting with life and good health!

I made sure I had a special moment to connect with the energy of the sun as it kissed the pines goodnight. I watched as two of the resident crows flew over me – their calls brought all the other sounds around me to my awareness.

After having gathered a nice, full bag of Buon Enrico, I decided to take Cento along with me to our favourite “snail” Fontana to give it a wash. This is the Fontana, which never fails to reveal to me that magic is all around me. Here, I find the curiosity of my inner child is always waiting to see what might happen next and surprise me with wonder and delight… It just so happened a beautiful dragonfly flew right past Cento’s nose – almost as if it was teasing and playing with him 😊

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While washing the spinach at the fountain, I admired how all the wild herbs and flowers had grown back after having been cut and made into hay, about a month earlier.

I felt the peace and appreciation for a life together with Juerg and Cento, which has allowed me to live slowly and connect with true and lasting treasures in life. I felt grateful for the traditional and ancient ones of the mountains, whose energy and devotion can still be felt.

These small but meaningful moments throughout the day are where I do feel a connection with my surroundings, and I feel at one with my heart and soul being. This is what sustains me and keeps me authentic and true to the slow and steady path of my soul’s growth.

In this time of great transformation on the earth, where much is coming up from the shadows to be faced, healed, transformed and released – let us remember that we are each going through a similar, and sometimes very challenging, internal process of healing and expansion.

Let us be kind and patient with ourselves – just like the mountains and the old people have been – for centuries. Let us trust that something much greater than each one of us, is at work on the earth and also within ourselves.

Let us cherish those precious moments of our day,
which help us to ground ourselves,
rebalance and feel our connection with our heart,
all beings and the earth all around us.

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Buon Enrico is one of our favourite wild herbs growing in the Alpine regions right now. We love to use it in stir fry’s and pancakes but Italian people will often use it to make gnocchi or ravioli. Below is a video we made 2 years ago, where Juerg speaks a bit more about “Buon Enrico” – Good King Henry! 🙂

photography and text © Jaymie Elder 2019
The beautiful photo of last nights evening sun (close up through the pines)
was captured by Juerg.

My work is supporting and mentoring men and women to embrace their authentic being and be true to the timeless calling of their heart and soul. I offer intuitive guidance and support through Soul Sessions, which take place internationally via Skype. Soul Sessions are a unique chance to feel, reflect and connect with the deeper part of your being – your heart and soul.

rainbowtreewomansoulsessions

For more information, or to ask me any further questions,
use the “contact me” link under the menu title – or click here

More reading from Rainbowtree Woman about the soul journey
and the path of healing and transformation, – click here

“The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.” – Carl Jung

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“The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.” – Carl Jung …. i.e not who we “think” we should be, who others would like us to be, or who we think we should have been more, in order to receive love, approval and acceptance…

To become conscious of the wounds and various masks we adopted in childhood (and often continue to use later in our relationships) – is a lifes work and healing journey, which takes much courage and endurance.

However, I believe it is our free choice and great opportunity to consciously do our own inner healing work – rather than unconsciously re-create old family patterns or project our anger, hurt and pain out into the world and on to others.

Everything begins to transform and expand, the more we come from a place of love and acceptance for ourselves and value the uniqueness of who we are and the path we have walked in our own life (loving and challenging experiences).

For a long time, I have felt drawn to the energy and symbolism of the Lion. To me, the Lion represents the courage to be our authentic self, – to speak and act in harmony with our heart…even if it means, we stand alone in a crowd.

“Journey with my Lion – what it means to embody Lion energy” is a post I made 4 years ago, which incorporates my artwork and writing to share about some of my own vulnerabilities, strengths and awareness gained, through working closely (over a period of many months) with the energy and symbolism of the Lion and Lioness.

To read the post, click on my Lion painting and the quote by Carl Jung, below:

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All paintings and text copyright © 2019/21 Jaymie Elder

Soul work needs no approval or recognition from others – bee symbolism

Published on by Rainbowtree Woman1 Comment

“Your work is not to drag the world into a new awareness, kicking and screaming.
Your work is to simply do your work, sacredly, secretly and silently
And those with “eyes to see” and “ears to hear” will respond….”
– Unknown

Recently, I have been spending time alone in the beautiful spring nature of the European Alps. Almost as soon as we arrived, I found myself drawn to the alpine wild flowers, abundant, lively bees and colourful hives around me…

 

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So what is the message of the bee? 

Above all, bee shows us devotion towards a higher purpose and the magical interconnectedness in all of life. Bee is completely devoted to work for the common good of the hive.

This can mirror the commitment we make to our own soul work – the on-going work of healing, transforming, learning and growing towards our higher purpose – Higher Self or spiritual potential.

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“Ultimately, this devotion to our soul work
is the greatest service we offer humanity.
When we raise our vibration through healing  
and transforming our core wounds (our shadow)

– we influence the greater consciousness
of humanity and all of creation.”

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Find that hard to believe? Over many years, I have observed that my own inner work has extended out to influence those around me in subtle ways – family, animals, partnerships, friends or strangers.

Our soul journey of healing and transformation, is unique to each one of us. As we continue on this journey, we can increasingly recognise the value of our inner work. This work does not require the approval or recognition of others! Perhaps this is the most liberating part about our soul work! …No one else in this world has lived, felt, seen and shared the same experiences as each one of us…No one else walks the same path to know and feel their own divinity – their own Higher Self or spiritual essence.

How can we integrate the wisdom of the bee into our own lives
and for our own Soul Journey?

The bee is a symbol for soul wisdom. Bee collects pollen from many flowers and turns it into nourishing honey – the gold of bees. Just so, we collect experiences from the many circumstances of our life – painful, loving, challenging and beautiful…and from these experiences we can extract spiritual gold.

This spiritual gold is a result of our willingness and courage to be honest and true to ourselves,… to feel deeply into our own wounds – our own patterns, beliefs, masks, our shadow personalities, our hurt inner children – all of which long for the light of our conscious awareness, understanding, love, forgiveness and compassion.

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Are we devoted to our path of healing (soul work)?

In today’s busy world, it is so easy to distract ourselves from facing and owning how we are truly feeling.

Just like any form of addiction, we can use social media to instantly distract ourselves from our emotions and feelings. Spending hours online, we can get lost amongst endless information, music, videos, nice photographs, “what we want to see” in order to “feel better“. Or, we may take the anger, frustration or helplessness we feel and project huge amounts of energy into endless arguments with people whom we may never meet in person.

These emotions and patterns will always re-surface again and again until we are ready to look at and work with the truth in ourselves. We can try, but in the end we can not hide from the truth. Eventually, when we are ready, our soul calls to us, ….loud enough so that we must pay attention.

We grow in love by having the courage to truly face (not turn away) from our uncomfortable emotions i.e. anger, doubt, fear, sadness, jealousy, etc…. We grow in love by being fully present and honest with ourselves and others. It is simple to write about but not easy to practise in all of our relationships, especially with ourselves.

Let us begin today, in small ways…
those with “eyes to see” and “ears to hear” will respond….

Let us practise being devoted and humble like the bee. Let us start today, in small ways,…becoming more present with our emotions, feelings and allowing our heart to guide us in all our actions.

The more we are practising this in our everyday lives, the more we realise that it is our energy that draws people and experiences to us. Rather than judge the experiences as good or bad / right or wrong, we trust and know that somewhere, somehow…. it is for the highest good of our souls evolution.

With an open mind and heart, we can ask for our own inner guidance to come forward….we delve deeper for the hidden (shadow) learning, messages and wisdom about our own life and journey, which can be reflected back to us through another person, experience or encounter. This is the way of the spiritual alchemist – the humble yet extraordinary bee – collecting pollen (experience) and transforming it into honey (wisdom).

This does not mean we over-analyse situations, experiences and people with our mind. We are inviting the wise, intuitive, feminine or feeling part of our being to come forward and help us to understand, transform, heal and grow.

When we look outside for recognition, rewards or approval for our actions our focus is mis-directed. With humility and devotion like the bee, we know that no matter what the outcome, we must keep moving forward on our journey.

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You cannot force someone to comprehend a message
that they are not ready to receive.
But…. never underestimate the power of planting a seed.

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The more we are being authentically who we are, (less concerned about what others think or say about us or trying to “prove” something to others)…we are vibrating (buzzing 🙂 ) in our core essence. We are touching others with our energy, dispersing seeds of consciousness, love and truth – meanwhile, always continuing with our own soul work.

This is truly the highest we can bee. 😊

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Bee Prayer: Winged spirit of sweetness,
I call on you.
Teach me the ways of
Transformation and fertilisation,
The path from pollen to sweetness honey.
Teach me to taste the essence
Of each place I alight,
Carrying that essence with me
To continue creation’s cycle.
Teach me the ways of hope,
Reminding me that what seems impossible
May yet be achieved.
Flitting tears of the gods,
Draw me ever closer to the wisdom
Hidden within beauty.
Give me flight and sunlight,
Passion and productivity,
Cooperation with those around me
And sharpened strength to defend my home.
May I ever spiral out from my heart,
Searching for what I need,
And return there once again
To turn those lessons into nourishment.
Bee spirit, I call you.
Source: Animal Totem

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Jaymie Elder is a soul journey guide, artist, photographer and traveller offering intuitive Soul Sessions internationally via Skype. Jaymie is dedicated to supporting others to heal and grow towards their authentic self – and a life in harmony with their heart and soul being. Learn more about Jaymie and her work here.

Please share your feedback in the comments below…If you enjoyed this post, please share it, follow my blog or register to receive notifications in your email box for my future posts. Thank you!

Copyright © Jaymie Elder 2018 – If you wish to use only some of the text you read here on social media – please do so respectfully by acknowledging Jaymie as the author with links to her website/blog http://www.rainbowtreewoman.com. All photography in this post: Copyright © Jaymie Elder / Juerg Dreamturtle 2018

 

The Soul Purpose of our Journey

Published on by Rainbowtree Woman4 Comments


Do you wish to grow towards being your authentic self,…
or continue to be pressured to “achieve”
based on the values and expectations of other people and society?

In today’s world, there is much pressure to conform and achieve according to the standards of other people and society. Success is seen as being “driven”, “motivated”, “famous”, “looking good”, “getting ahead” and accumulating status, popularity or material possessions.

Let us ask ourselves these questions,… Are we being true to our heart? Are we sharing the true essence of who we are? Despite our self-doubts and vulnerabilities, do we find the courage to keep moving forward and into the unknown? Is the life we live a reflection of our own gifts, talents, and creative expression? Are we sincerely devoted to our path of healing and growing? Are we in alignment with a greater, higher power rather than our ego’s shallow needs, wants and desires?

Mainstream society does not encourage self-reflection and completely neglects the inner journey of discovering who we are, embodying our unique, creative potential and a sense of purpose for our life.

Continue reading “The Soul Purpose of our Journey” →