Flowing Time- January 2024
Getting Lost, Labyrinth, Upcoming Course, Meditation, Writing Update, & so much more!
Deep January gratitude to you!
As I write this newsletter, there are nearly 3,700 of you, and I am so grateful to each one of you. I hope that the words I write and the information I share resonate deeply with you, and bring light to your life in these dark days of winter.
Have you ever found yourself lost in a place and time you knew quite well? Do you remember how confusing the experience was? How did you find your way again? What did you learn?
I experienced something strange on New Year’s Eve as I walked the beautiful 11-circuit labyrinth etched into the sanctuary floor of a local church. I have walked this labyrinth many times.
I got lost on the labyrinth.
As I do every time I walk a labyrinth, I sat in meditation, asking for guidance and clarity of my intentions, before I stepped onto the path. A minute or so before midnight, I stood at the labyrinth entrance, took a deep breath, and began my walk. I wound my way into the center, purging and releasing what needed to be released from the past year.
In the center I sat listening, waiting for confirmation about the word I’d chosen for the year. Instead of one word, however, I was given four: time, soft, gentle, and simple. I was reminded, again, that I need to slow down, breathe, trust, and simplify my life and my relationship with time. These meditative moments in the center of the labyrinth are called a time of illumination.
I offered a prayer of gratitude and began to wind my way out from the center. Another of the walkers and I came to a turning point at the same time. Labyrinth etiquette suggests that, when this happens, one person steps aside so the other can pass, and you wait a minute to give the other person time to walk on a ways. I did this and then stepped back onto what I thought was the right place in my journey. As I rounded the next turn, I realized I was not where I thought I was, but was winding my way back toward the center rather than outward toward the exit.
I was lost on the labyrinth.
I had two choices. One was to simply walk across the paths toward the exit, ignoring the path. To do so would be to miss the important third aspect of a labyrinth walk, which is called union. The other choice was to go back to the center and start the outward path over, which is what I did.
Union, attained while winding out of the labyrinth on the same path on which you walked inward, is about integrating the lessons offered and feeling empowered to act on those lessons.
This year, in addition to the three traditional gifts from the labyrinths – purging, illumination, and union, I was given a fourth gift:
The gift of getting lost.
Getting lost was initially disconcerting – in all my years of walking many labyrinths, this had never happened. It was time. It was time for me to just stop, to know there is a reason for everything, to assess what actions I might, or might not, take going forward in my life, and to realize I have the ability to make choices.
I invite you to think about times in your life when being lost turned into a gift of lessons you didn’t know you needed to learn, a time of choices that you didn’t know you needed to make.
So, as I continue to explore the gifts from the labyrinth and how I act upon the words I’ve been given, I invite you to make time to cherish every moment. I’m working on it. I’ll let you know how it’s going.
Meditation Thoughts
I offer you this month my meditation entitled “Flowing Time.” I hope you enjoy it!
I’m so happy to connect with you and I’m grateful that you have taken a course with me and subscribe to this newsletter!
If you missed my last newsletter, you can read it here.
Season of Lights- Winter Solstice
UPCOMING
I am developing a new course I am sure you’ll want to join, and a new way of delivering that course to you. As you know, the technology learning curve for me is a steep one, so my guru and I are working on getting the kinks out now. The reveal is coming about this NEW course soon – I promise! Watch an upcoming edition of this newsletter for information!
Also, I’ve completed some new literary works and have sent them to an editor whose opinion I respect tremendously. I hope to get these out to you soon. I’m enrolled in a great year-long course with author Janisse Ray (https://janisseray.com/), entitled “Journey in Place.” It’s taking me on a deep dive into both the internal and external landscape in which I live. She’s got some other great courses coming up, so check out her website.
The beautiful holiday of Imbolc arrives on February 2. Imbolc reminds us that, although we cannot see it, Mother Earth is awakening. Far beneath the frozen earth, roots are stirring and life is quickening. This cross-quarter day in the Celtic calendar marks the time between the Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox. The holiday honors Brighid, the ancient goddess of holy wells, healing, poetry, fire, smithery, and early lambing.
Imbolc is a beautiful time to plan your garden, maybe start early seeds indoors. Gather friends and family around the hearth for warm soups and breads spread with honey. Read a poem or two!
Writing Update
Click on the links below to read my most recent works in Salvation South:
“Takin’ Up a Poundin’”
https://www.salvationsouth.com/takin-up-a-poundin-christmas-story-deb-bowen/
“Tidal Wave Terror”
https://www.salvationsouth.com/ground-truth-from-the-climate-reckoning-janisse-ray/
“Where I’m From: Seven Decades in Seven Scenes”
https://www.salvationsouth.com/where-im-from-seven-decades-in-seven-scenes-deb-bowen-poem/
“Mending Nets”
https://www.salvationsouth.com/mending-nets-north-carolina-barrier-island/?mc_cid=c4bb217ffc&mc_eid=fae2a9a622
“A Talisman for Poseidon”
https://www.salvationsouth.com/a-talisman-from-poseidon-hurricane-donna-1960/
Podcast
Deb’s Facebook Pages
Another way you and I can connect is through my Facebook pages. I’d be honored if you’d follow my pages. They are a great way to see up-to-the-minute news! I so hope you’ll LIKE and FOLLOW and feel free to comment and share posts!
Deb Bowen, Author
PsychicTeachers
Witches of the Shore
Just One More Thing Before You Go
“My ancestors wove the net of my life from the sea, knotting my days with twine strong as passion, weighting my weeks with lead sinkers heavy as grief, and charting my years with brightly colored glass floats as fragile as eternity.” -Mending Nets
Thank you!
Deb, I look forward to your monthly ‘share’ ….as well as your daily offerings..
You’re such a profound individual (in my opinion). You’ve often been the light I needed in that moment. Thank you for always being so humble, kind, approachable and willing to continue to share your knowledge and opinions. You’re phenomenal!!!