Facebook, a Spiritual Shelter?

As I continuously take inventory in my life, and most often than not post it on Facebook, in realization Facebook has become a spiritual shelter of sorts in my life. I started thinking about spiritual and sacred spaces in my life after I spent a day for me after finishing my firearms class for work. 

"I came into the city to connect since I had a Thursday off and needed to break the monotony of work and sobriety. What I found, was the Divine guiding my feet to the steps of the Castro Country Club where I fell into a conversation of interconnectedness and relationships in the Divine; in engaging in the enlightenment among spirit travelers my desire to connect led into the timing of a woman's meeting of my sister's where the topic being connectedness and connections with others graced us. Also a phenomenal share given by a sister of the group.

I've given the reins of my life to the Divine Light a while ago in all aspects of my life and as I grow in the spiritual self and embrace the inner goddess I thus bring my faith religion into a wholeness that is built on interconnectedness; and in doing so becoming more empowered and in tune with the ethereal offerings and gifts that are continuously offered to and through me." -Facebook Post July 24, 2014

As I sat in Panda Express in the Westfield Mall in San Francisco, on the screen they were showing the picture of the Forbidden City, in Bejing and talking about gardens that served as spiritual shelters from and within the world. So I started to think what serves as my gardens and spiritual shelters in my life where I can escape, but often most times embrace life in the good and the bad withing my life. My life has been about interconnecting and connecting, learning to belong to myself first and then only when I am able to belong to others. Sobriety for me became a transformation in my life this time around and has allowed me to reconnect with in the Divine.  As a lightworker, indigo child, empath, healer and clergy I have found serenity once again in life because as the words from Disney's Frozen "Let it Go, Let it Go" poetically has become the Mantra within my life as I learned to let things go and where I hid in addiction and in the demonization of labels, Social Media such as Facebook had allowed me to share my journey and become transparent but first and foremost has become my virtual diary in the celebration of my life. So as I commuted back to Oakland I wrote the following as I found myself in reflection in the day I have had so far.

What once was my den of self loathing, resentments, ego tripping, and masquerading has become a beautiful garden of interconnectedness.  It has become a  looking glass into the garden of authenticity, no longer falling down the proverbial rabbit hole with the Cheshire cat grinning and annoyingly taunting you with it doesn't matter which way you go because you need to wake up and face reality and begin living life on life's terms. What I find in this garden of enchantment, my spiritual shelter is a garden that is self sustaining  but one also that cultivates one another in experience, strength, hope, love, friendship, family values, sex, spirituality, and more.  Its a place of connections and those connections are the flora and fauna of our circles, of our interwebs. We prune, cultivate, and weed these relationships and prosper in many ways and like the rare bloom to the common bloom we see the beauty in the season of the harvest.  In sobriety I've learned to walk a spiritual path enlightened in the Divine ethereal light, one that transcends life in commonality non dependent upon faith and religion, an universal power that interweaves energy and interconnectedness into the fabric of humanity into unlimited possibilities that guides an individual only named in personal devotion that each person individualizes. Thus in the journey of self enlightenment we rely on on the strength and weaknesses of those around us to learn and propel our desires, ambitions, and life lessons in our humanness. For me I now find religion and faith secondary  to an interconnectedness with the Divine complementing the spiritual self or for me the goddess within as I so name.

  

Facebook has become this spiritual garden, spiritual and sacred space as it has manifested not into a shrine but a celebration of life, an education of learning to belong to myself so that I can unselfishly belong to others. It's about perpetuating the gifts given to me, the redemption and restoration of a sacred life within and sharing my journey to others find their life's design, their solution that they may not only know peace, joy, and serenity I've come to know but also the unconditional love and self acceptance in their lives that continuously manifests itself in my life.  When I took religion and faith out of the equation, the entrance to this sacred garden, sacred and spiritual shelter manifested itself as I learned to surrender to a Power greater than me transforming an oasis into something tangible ad that the Power Greater than myself, the Divine is simply interconnectedness.  Interconnectedness within myself, living within my wholeness and with those that grace my life with the gift of neutrality for I often find what we have thought was the bad later becomes what we needed in the moment upon reflection. Facebook allows me to be interconnected when times in my past I wish I wasn't and in this spiritual shelter has saved my life more than once especially in my addiction.  I found community, life, encouragement, friends, a mirror into my life people to call me out on my mess and help me clean it up, I found love.

"To me love is simply this definifition, which I in Jan 2013, and is the foundation for all love, "Love is about expressing and saying I SEE you, I HEAR you, I TRUST you, I SUPPORT you, I RESPECT you, I HONOR you, I FORGIVE you, I ACCEPT you, I STAND BESIDE you, I PRESENT for you, I CONNECT with you, I CARE for you, I DEFEND you, I KEEP IT REAL for you, I CALL OUT YOUR MESS then help you CLEAN it up. I am FAMILY to you, I'm your FRIEND, I SURRENDER to you to be able to be an EQUAL YOKE for you, I am THERE for you, and I EMBRACE you as the person you are." --- Copyright Katerina du Lac 2013 Owned by Katandi Media and Entertainment all rights reserved. Permission to you as long as work is credited"

Facebook is a form of a spiritual shelter that embraces my definition of love, as I am realitively guarded who I add as a friend and connect with; 90% of the people I have had personal connections and experiences in different times of my life even if I have only met virtually. This poem was written in 1967 by Lori Morgan, my aunt, and has provided inspiration and an uplifting to all who have read this poem.  This is our prayer that this will be just as uplifting to you you as it is to every one else.  The story is that these were words that God gave her on night as she awoke hearing these words in her head.  Today you can replace God with the Divine, Spirit, Interconnectedness, Friends

Heavenly Lift
"God … Is My Wisdom
God … Is My Light
God … Is My Power, Breath, and My sight
God … Is My Courage, Inspiration, and Health
God … Is My Guidance and Only True Wealth
God … Is My Love the Dove in My Soul
God … Is My Destiny
God … Is My Goal

                       Lori Morgan 1967

[In loving Memory of a mother, Aunt, and friend to all. Permission and rights given to me before she died. I was in Highschool when she sent this to me.  Copyright 2000 on behalf of Lori Morgan all rights reserved  Katandi Media and Entertainment] 

Those who are interconnected in my life through Facebook and other realms of interconnectedness become part of my sacred labyrinth and meditation wheel for my life as each and every person and event that graces my life, even if it is mere passing through, creates the person I am every moment in my wholeness. We are all here for a reason, just because we may or may not see the connection just yet doesn't mean it is not there. Sometimes sacrifice is needed to understand your part but you will get back what is given. I reflect on the labyrinth, I wear one around my neck and I walk in spirit keeping me grounded, I for inspiration, for life, for answers, for loss of friends like Edna and Ms Margaret. I walk for anchoring the light, for gratitude, and celebrating in the Divine. I walk to supplicate intercessory for those I watch around me I see suffering often through the Posts on Facebook , or divine guidance and inspiration in promptings. I allow myself to be open in humble non co dependent light that i may be in tune to do the Universe design for life, while i learn to live on life terms.  While I am not perfect, today I am reconnected and allow myself to be available in the fabric of interconnectedness.

Text inside the labyrinth

Imagine a circle traced on the ground, and in its center a tree sprouting with a shoot grafted into its side. The tree finds its nourishment in the soil within the expanse of the circle, but uprooted from the soil it would be fruitless. So think of the soul as a tree made for love and living only by love. The circle in which this tree's root, the soul's love, must grow is true knowledge of herself, knowledge that is joined to me, who like the circle have neither beginning nor end. You can go round and round within this circle, finding neither end nor beginning, yet never leaving the circle. So the tree of charity is nurtured in humility and branches out in true discernment. To me this tree yields the fragrance of glory and praise to my name, and so it does what I created it for and comes at last to its goal, to me, everlasting life. —St. Catherine of Siena (excerpts)

Walking Blessing

That each step

may be a shedding.

That you will let yourself

become lost.

That when it looks

like you’re going backwards

you may be making progress.

That progress is not the goal anyway,

but presence

to the feel of the path on your skin,

to the way it reshapes you

in each place it makes contact,

to the way you cannot see it

until the moment you have stepped out

As a recent skydiving trip taught me life is about unity among those in whom you are privileged and blessed to have graced their lives, its about leaving no one behind, and moving through life together. We are given the gift of being present for others and the opportunity to laugh, cry, and love; we get to love ourselves and then we get to love one another. For me this is the greatest miracles in my sobriety, being present and showing up for one another and supporting each other in the good, the bad, the ugly, the stupid and the most scariest parts in our lives even when having doubts and second thoughts. Like tandem we do not do life alone, and we learn to trust one another who have walked the path before us to help us get through the toughest periods and moments in our lives; and thus we come out on the other side stronger and without regrets. Life is a journey, one that has many paths, any no two are the same but we are blessed when they interconnect.

I invite all people who genuinely want to be part of my garden to take up plot, even the bristle and briars make the rose among the thorns stand out.  Even the occasional locust is welcome, and the cockroach (I hate and fear roaches, but I respect them), but I'll be damned if I let anyone uproot my garden or desecrate my sacred space as today my life is welcoming, sober, and reconnected and interconnect within the light of the Divine and the universal flow of life. I have brushed and pushed people away in my life and allowed my mess of my addiction to hold others hostage, and where once I pushed away the gift of connection today i embrace myself life and others. Occasionally I need to do some pruning, not to disregard the humanness of another but for my garden to grow and flourish in the direction the winds may have shifted in my life. I invite my Facebook Spiritual Shelter to join me in interconnectedness and help me and other light-workers anchor the light. Blessings of Peace, Love, Serenity and the Light I leave only sacred love and comforting light in these words for you and yours.  Facebook is indeed one of my Sacred Spiritual Shelters and that works for me sharing my life, my love, my hope, and my lightwork for all to share in. 

Where do you find Spiritual Shelters in your life?

In service of the Light,

Lady Katerina 

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Facebook, A Spiritual Shelter? I invite everyone to be part of my Sacred Garden and within my various Spiritual Shelters where we can edify one another in Ethereal Light and Love.  I dedicate this to every person on my Facebook Friends list and all people who grace my life as you are my life, part of my sobriety and Design for Life