If you are a first time visitor to this site, wish to "put your voice into the circle, " and be listed on my blog roll, please read this post. Then make a comment by choosing a "new name" for yourself as described below. That's it! Welcome to our circle of awakened women! (If you have questions or difficulties, use the "Contact" box on the site.)
We who bear the feminine qualities of compassion, intuition, and inclusion are called to awaken to our prodigious wisdom.
~Sue Patton Thoele, The Woman's Book of Soul
When I formally open a women's gathering and begin to create a sacred circle in which all of us will feel welcome, I invite each woman to put her name into the circle. One of my favorite ways to do this comes from the Native American tradition.
I do this because, as Gary Null, writes, "Legal names are given, but Native American names are earned." Many of us on a spiritual path have grown out of our given names. We have become someone else along the way. We were born as someone's daughter, but, in time come into our own right as a woman—a unique woman with gifts, talents, and aspirations.
I have always admired the Native tradition of taking on a new name (though I have not formally done so myself). Gabriel Horn (White Deer of Autumn) writes about this:
"Indian names can be passed down, as western names often are. The distinction is that you are not stuck with one name all your life. This represents different beliefs about human potential, says White Deer of Autumn: "Crazy Horse passed on his name to his son, who took the name Worm as he got older. So, we can pass on names, too. The idea is that you’re not stuck with the name you were given at birth. In western society, it’s almost as if you can’t change; you can’t evolve; you can’t grow. From a native perspective, your name reflects who you are. White Deer of Autumn reflects what I’ve done. But as I go on in life, I may want to let go of that and take another name. I have that right. So, naming is the ability to evolve and change in your identity. I think this is healing, both physically and emotionally."
I think this is healing, too.
And so I invite you to put your thinking cap on and create a new name for yourself today. A name that reflects who you are in this moment; reflects your values, intentions, or dreams.
We'll put our names into our sacred circle and get to know each other better. All are welcome here.
I'll start.
She-Who-Lives-With Ease.
For so many years of my life, I have not been a peaceful woman. In 1994, all that changed when I became very clear about how I wanted to live my life—with grace and ease— not angst, stress, and worry. I had had enough of that to last a lifetime.
Today, my highest priority for myself is to be calm and peaceful inside. For when I am, my clarity shines through, my wisdom prevails, and my compassion moves out into the world. Not to mention I am one happy woman! And, yes, I do have my days when I am not living with ease, but now I have a healthy and helpful toolbox I can use to bring me back to that place of inner peace.
Using the form of a Native American name, who are you at this moment in time?
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Image above of "Aphrodite" by Susan Seddon Boulet. Learn more about her at www.turningpointgallery.com.
Text source: www.garynull.com
