All rivers lead to the ocean
Ever since I was little, I was curious about the mystical and magical ways of the world. The way I proved existence was if something had a back. I don’t mean a spine but I imagined slicing each thing I saw into vertical planes and for something to be real, then it must have an opposite side that can’t be seen from the side I was looking at. I can’t see my back but I know it’s there. I can’t see the other side of the tree from where I’m standing but I know it’s there. And so I told myself, “if something can’t be seen from my perspective but I KNOW it’s there, then there must be all kinds of things that are there but can’t see. So maybe just because I can’t see something doesn’t mean it’s not there.” Some big ideas I was grappling with at the ripe age of 7.
At 13, I told my mom I was atheist, but what I really meant was agnostic. They tend to be lumped in together and assumed to mean the same thing. An atheist is someone who doesn’t believe in any kind of god or higher power. It comes from the Greek word atheos, without God. While an agnostic is someone who believes we could never really know if there is a god or supreme being. It comes from agnostos, unknown or unknowable. I still believe the Divine is unknowable. Not because I don’t think he/she/they/it is there but simply because if we knew The Divine like we know everything else then reality would cease to exist because reality is a projection from the mind of The Divine. It would cause a complete dissolution or rather absorption of this into That. But this also begs the question, what causes the projection of the Divine?! The teachings and texts of Yoga and Ayurveda have lots to say about this as do all ancient wisdom traditions. One creation story says it’s the sensation of longing, the longing for Creation to know itself that caused the proverbial dance between the Seer and the Seen. Another describes it as a hum, a vibration akin to a bird’s wings fluttering over a still body of water sending out ripples that causes energy to awaken the dormant and inert.
Perhaps it’s my Scorpio rising that’s fueled what I know will be a lifelong love affair with the mystical and magical or maybe it’s the challenge of wanting to know something that seems unknowable, but it’s in the exploration of these things that I’ve found a deep sense of wonder and surrender, even peace by learning how to be in relationship with the unknown. And good goddess, what a relief it is to know there’s something beyond me controlling it all and that I can lay down the burden of trying to keep it all together because it’s not mine to keep together in the first place.
I define the mystical and magical as the things that invoke a sense of wonder and reverence. It’s the rituals, practices, tools, and experiences that help me be in relationship with that which is incomprehensible. This often happens when I’m in Nature. Reveling in and revering the forces that cause something to be so complex, from the sharing of resources in the underground mycelial network to the vast universe with all its colors and the life forms we don’t even know about or acknowledge because we consider life to only be carbon based. The mystical and magical are also the simple experiences that cause the sensation of pure delight and satisfaction from a delicious meal or the moment you cross that threshold of orgasm. They can also be gardening, making art, moon rituals, reading oracle cards or tarot, ecstatic dance, and of course prayer, meditation, singing, chanting, and reading scripture. All of these are avenues for tapping into the all pervading energy of Life that’s pulsing within us, around us, between us. There’s almost 8 Billion people on earth today, which means there are almost 8 Billion ways to know the Divine. All rivers lead to the ocean. Or as my mom used to tell me when I had these deep conversations with her, “there’s a thousand paths to the top of a mountain. Don’t be a stumbling block for others.”
How do you define the mystical and magical?
Do you commune with the mystical and magical in your daily life? If so, what are some of your practices, rituals, or placeholders to honor That Energy?
In The Garden, you learn how to cultivate a more intimate relationship with the mystical and magical ways of being alive. We talk about things like what it means and feels like to sense your Aliveness and to embody your Wholeness and how to co-create with the unknowable forces at play. We do this through tangible, embodied practices like eating, breathing, moving, and sleeping, and also through intuitive, spiritual practices like meditating, visioning, and journaling. It’s done with loving care and attention so you can clear the blockages and allow for the free flow of energy that helps you root into your belonging. The Garden is also where you can ask the questions that you’ve rarely (if ever) had the space to ask and where you’ll be met with other warm and curious hearts willing to engage with those kinds of tender conversations, even if–and especially when–the answers are unknown. In The Garden, all of you is welcome here. And I invite you to join us in creating a more enriching environment together where diversity of thoughts, experiences, bodies, and realities is the foundation for a sustainable, more regenerative future.