"Do you want to go to a sweat?" My friend Amelia asked. I hadn't been to a sweat ceremony in many, many, years the last one being in New Mexico over ten years ago. The sweat lodge is an ancient indigenous ceremony designed to reconnect us with the primordial elements that comprise our human body. These are also the same Elements that Mother Earth is made of (fire, water, earth, air, nature, minerals).
"Meet me at 10am at this address and wear a long dress . . . oh and bring lots of water." I felt a calling to be challenged and connect to my ancestors and great spirits in the Native American ways, so I went. It was a misty, cool, Autumn morning as I drove along the coast and then inland to the little farming community of Santa Paula. I had a few other important things to do on that Saturday, so I was feeling a little bit unsure about whether or not this was what i was meant to do. I had a late start due to Fig our cat bringing in a little hummingbird to us as a gift. I managed to bring the hummingbird back to this realm with a few drops of sugar water in its beak, and holding it gently in my hands. I could feel it's life source coming back, slowly, strongly, until it gathered it's strength and flew away into the blue grey sky. So I was feeling rushed, unsure, and wondering if this was what my intuition really wanted me to do. I asked my self, listened and I heard: "just drive North". And so I did. I listened to mantras and thought about how I wanted the rest of my life to be. (I tend to do this on the drives North.) Finally after an hour of driving, I reached the road that would take me to the sweat lodge. It was Rose Road. I realized then that was a good sign and I would truly commit now. Once I arrived at the address on a dirt road in a secluded farming area, I parked the car. As I walked to the destination I looked up and the sign read: Hummingbird Ranch. Now I knew without a doubt I was meant to be there that day. The sweat ceremony was not easy. It lasted over three hours and it got very hot. We were in good hands though. I had complete trust in the medicine man leading the ceremony. That day I felt I was able to release and cleanse lots of old beliefs and patterns. For the next four days I felt the veil between this world and the other one lift. I had vivid dreams and my intuition was strong.
I have heard that the newsletters are difficult to read on i pads and i phones. I will be revamping the site soon and this is one of the points to be addressed. Thank you for your patience and continued reading! I feel so blessed to be meeting with wonderful artisans, tea ceremony fairies, discovering healthy products and more. All of these roses for you. . .
