Welcome to the year of the Fire Monkey

All I can say is here we GO....! 

After a bumpy January thanks to Mercury Retrogrades and epic planetary alignments that took us a little deep into our underworld to purge that which we are done with I am to happy to say that things are shifting and we have a chance to start again. (Thank goodness!) 

My January was a total rollercoaster.  I started at the incredible Lost Paradise festival,  moved house in Sydney (again), did my best to tie up business before Mercury went backwards, flew to India, dove head first into 2 massive retreats (always my biggest teachers), had a some huge lessons and surprises along the way and spent the last few weeks deep in my Goa cave needing rest and recalibration whilst feeling everything in technicolour.  Total surrender as I had hoped to be dancing with my shakti sisters in Arambol's array of dance classes but the body said - "NO GODDESS, you must REST!"  All I can say is this freaking year feels like wave after wave of integration! (holy sheeeeeet). 

Such is the year of the Fire Monkey that has just crossed the threshold of our lives, coinciding with a New Moon in Aquarius.

I really like this time as it feels like a second chance to start the year.  We use early January to set external goals (although you'll remember this is not so much my jam) and this start of the Lunar New Year feels like the time our inner worlds can catch up and join the party (particularly after they took a beating...errr...  or more a clearing in January).  

Back to the Fire Monkey vibes... 

As a Monkey in Chinese astrology I am excited about the prospect of having this adventurous, magical and wildly playful energy in our field.   However, when playing with monkeys one must heed this warning.  BE PREPARED FOR ANYTHING.  Monkeys are unpredictable, erratic and ready to upset the apple cart in any moment (or steal your snacks or camera if you are not careful)!  This feels so true for this year of extreme energetic shifts, increased light frequency, major DNA activation and no doubt some huge physical, geopolitical and social events.  We are asked to keep our wits about us, to be fluid and ready to roll with anything.      

Let me first tell you about the element of fire...

After several Wood years - symbolising growth, innocence and vision, we are gathering the fire to bring our dreams into fruition.  Things are effectively heating up around here! This passionate fire will help the wood fully express our vision... it's time to manifest what you have been calling in to actuality!   However, having been in a major fire in California 2014 (remember that?) I have seen the power and ferocity of the element first hand and where we use this to our advantage it is wonderful (yay), how it is also highly unpredictable and has the tendency to burn out if it does not have enough fuel.   It all depends on how we manage our fire... so please be mindful!  Nourish your creations of the past few Wood years with slow and steady tending so they don't blow up in your face ( as can happen when possessed by the Monkey spirit).

The Monkey aspect will bring surprises at every turn and it is our job to stay calm in the face of chaos... remembering that we all signed up to be here at this (exciting) time and it will be/already is beautiful on the other side!  We are moving through our highest time of earth evolution - and I feel like September will be a HUGE crescendo and we will experience many waves of awesome and challenge along the way. 

We are shedding the dense physical and remembering our magical true nature, but like any birthing process this can bring some trauma, particularly if we have a penchant for rigidity, dogma and holding on to old ways of being.  

As we ride the waves of increased frequency we must do our best to let go and allow our own physical and energetic body to assimilate the increased light and higher frequency, opening our perception to our awakening gifts and the multidimensional experience we are truly having.  Trust me when I say this is weird territory to navigate and it's only going to keep going so get used to it! We must harmonise in every moment in order to sail through without too many battle scars...

and really it is VERY EXCITING.  This is the greatest time on earth and we are all playing our part!   

I also remind you that we live in a "free will" society so it is ALWAYS your choice how you move through experiences.  You can imagine you are in a choose your own adventure story and literally write your own role in this divine play with your intention and thoughts (REALLY YOU CAN... but it does take trust and focus!)

Phew... Even just writing this I am receiving visions and downloads of what is to come.  Big things are ahead by dear so best be grounded, do good breathing and get ready.  Major transformation is coming down the line... Can you feel it? 

The Aquarius New Moon is a wake up / shake up moon highlighting change.  It asks us to step into and own our uniqueness and also remember that we are all in this time of shift as a team.  Dropping the "I" and BE-ing the WE.  Knowing that our individual gifts lend to a greater mission that is being completed on our planet.  

Interestingly this New Moon (usually the time to plant seeds of intentions) is followed by a void Moon so while it is great to have the vision of where you are going but get ready for the pause to take stock and reflect on what is happening energetically before making drastic changes. 

Do your inner work and embody your truth and all will be OK. 

I am hosting a New Moon Ceremony today with a very special guest Sofia Sundari of Mystical Femininity and I would love you to join in on our Sisters of the Moon call.  You can still invite a sister to the 12 month lunar membership for FREE (and prices have been radically reduced) so get all the info / sign up here.  Our call is at 6.30pm Sydney time tonight (Monday Feb 8)!      

Want to know how this Fire Monkey year affects your Chinese sign - READ HERE

I love you so much! Happy Lunar New Year 2016 

A no secrets look inside my retreats

Many of you have asked me what it looks and feels like to be on one of my retreats.  Or perhaps some intel on my process of how I run a retreat (for those who aspire to run your own). So I thought I would give you a little peak inside what goes down when women come together for a week of deep process, healing and awakening. 

And I’m going to use my recent Goa Goddess Retreat as an example. 

LOCATION

Firstly, I dream the location and have been reminded strongly that to do the energetic work I do I have to be mindful of the places I choose.  This process is much more than choosing the prettiest villa with the nicest pool it is about feeling the energy of the land, the connection to the ancestors (with the deepest respect) and whether it is “my place” to work there.  Once this comes through for me I find a wonderful venue with good energy, organic food (Samata Retreat where I hold my Goa retreat has it’s own organic garden - so good!), and all the things I need to host a powerful retreat - like lovely rooms, a great shala preferably with a wooden floor, respectful staff etc.  Goa is an obvious choice for me as I have been in India since I was 13 and have a strong connection to this sacred land.  Most of my retreat venues comes into my field in divine timing and I act with my gut and heart.  Don’t get me wrong though, I have chosen some spaces in the past I really wanted to host a retreat in only to find that it really isn’t my place to work.  Not sure if that makes sense but let’s just say I’ve learnt some lessons. 

THEMING

Then the dreaming of the theming comes through.  As I am called to work with women the title “Goddess Retreat” was born, however what I do with each group really depends on the energy and needs of the mix of women who show up.  Although there is always a schedule (as people really love schedules) I am forever guided by Spirit and the energy of the moment.  I have a big tool kit of physical and spiritual practices / processes I work with and am guided by the group as to how deep we dive in.  My schedule will always have the frame work of a journey… perhaps we are moving through the goddess archetypes in conjunction with the chakra system as a main back bone.  In Goa this year I did something new as my higher self was pushing me to do so and I lead the days by their individual Galactic Mayan energetic signature.  This energy became part of everything we did, our movement, our sharing, our processes.  Although it didn’t feel as smooth as a usual journey framework - WOW it certainly did feel spot on for the energetics of the present moment and I felt more and more as if I was dancing in harmony with the Universe!  We have become so disconnected from our natural rhythms this was such a beautiful was to pay full respects to the energies at play… and boy… was it spot on for all of us!! 

THE GROUP

Then calling in the perfectly aligned group.   I’m not going to bore you with marketing and sales strategies - but yes I have to do this too - but I have been employing what I feel to be “smarter marketing” techniques.  I do this with intention, visualisation and prayer to literally become like an energetic lighthouse to call in my perfect group.  This works well providing I believe in the process.  

In the lead up to my retreats I often get butterflies, hoping that everyone will be happy and that they don’t have too many expectation (as is often the case).  It’s not that I think my work is not good enough, its just that people often create a picture of what they think they will experience, or what their room mate will be like etc and when they get stuck in this story they can be faced with some adjustments - and the medicine they receive is ALWAYS the medicine the need as this is really what they are calling in.  This is why I usually think of the first 3 days as the "adjustment phase".  Where people who often only know me from online get to know me and my style in the physical, they make friends and adjust to their surroundings and ease into the practices and new environment. My Goa retreat was unusual in the sense that we never had this adjustment phase.  It was like the women all arrived and were already such close friends.  Our first dinner was like we had known each other forever and we laughed our heads off.  We also went super deep very fast and I found myself thinking - WOAH - hold on to your hats... we are about to go fully off planet … (and we did!)  I blame my highly psychic mother/ assistant for this!

CREATING THE CONTAINER 

Creating the container is paramount to a juicy retreat and this is something I put much prayer and energy into.  We can do all the practices and eat all the healthy food under the sun, but without the supportive energy behind it and the assistance of our energetic teams it feels meaningless (well not entirely… but mostly) to me.  I know I bang on about energy A LOT but this is really what I am doing when we work together.  I call in the flow of light, pure love, Chistos, Christ Consciousness, of frequency.  I call in my team and your teams and we create a unified field of transformation… and yes things get super charged.  And then we do our practices.  Really I feel like this is my purpose on this planet - to help you to do what I do as we all have the capacity to do it.  When we are working efficiently with energy and raising our frequency we can truly change the world in the most subtle way. 

And then we begin… 

OPENINGS & CLOSINGS

Openings and closings are so important to the container so I always ensure the container is created with strength, grounding and integrity.  I always create an altar and a focus for our prayer and an image of beauty to devote to each day. 

A DAY ON RETREAT

A usual day will look like this… (for me)..  

5.30am - wake up and move into my own practice, meditating, receiving a transmission of what the day should hold and allowing myself to be fluid to the new guidance.  Jumping on my mat to feel into our morning practice.  Tuning into the theming of the day whatever it may be. 

7.15am - setting up our space for morning practices, ensuring the altar is fresh, candles are lit and prayers well poured in.  

7.30am - Goddesses arrive for morning journaling, pranayam (sometimes) and meditation.   Depending on the energy of the day I will likely bring in new meditation techniques, some I have learned and some I receive via transmission from Spirit.  I just get out of the way when I start and allow the frequency to come through.  That is where the real magic happens. 

8am - Morning movement practices.  Perhaps some qi gong, sacred movement or a juicy vinyasa flow (because let’s face it - I still LOVE my dynamic flow with well crafted playlist).  Perhaps we finish with a Goddess invocation if we happen to be working with a particular goddess that day or perhaps we meet our energetic team (believe me they are all hanging with us on retreat - it’s quite the crowd).  

10am -  Brunch.  A high vibe smorgasbord of expertly combined dishes for maximum healing and energy.  Eaten mindfully, totally infusing our food with LOVE. 

11am - Workshop time - this workshop is aligned with the energy of the day.  It could be “Awakening the Goddess”, “Sacred Sexuality”, “Moon Blood Mysteries”, "Communing with Spirit" or a breath work session or sound healing with a guest practitioner I bring in to support me.  I love to do this very much as it adds a new depth to the experience of the group.  Calling in your friends and showcasing their unique gifts feels so good too. (and sometimes I switch this up and offer the workshop in the afternoon depending on the vibe of the day). 

1pm - Break time for spa treatments, integration and time to be in nature.  In Goa we get spoilt and have a whole kitchen for ourselves stocked with ayurvedic teas, ice cold fresh coconut water, nuts, fruit and snacks.  I need to get all retreat centres to do the same! 

5pm - Evening practice which is often yin yoga, sacred dance or a 5Elements Dance Journey.  I love to call in my soul singing musician friends to provide live music for my sessions.  I feel grateful to be very connected all over the world and have many talented beings to call on. 

7pm - Delicious vegan dinner followed by a treat (refined sugar free of course)… and sometimes we have kirtan or a song circle after dinner but not every night as we get too sleepy.   

8.30pm - Although the conversation often carries on we are usually in bed early, to integrate and prepare for the following day.  Big things go down on my retreats.  Emotions get stirred up and big transformation occurs so rest and solo time are really important.      

Sometimes we go on excursions for sunset beach practices and drum circles (in Goa), high priestess water blessings (Bali), temple activations and past life soul retrievals (Hampi & Mexico) and sunset pujas and soul singing (really everywhere… but I love Es Vedra in Ibiza for it’s full power nature). 

And then we close in a beautiful process that you will have to come and experience to find out more.  Joined in the hearts forever as we have been on a epic journey together.

BIRTHING

The women are birthed out into the world, with a lot to process, perhaps reborn, fresh new energy, empowerment, awakened to their shakti, their life-force… ready to shine their unique gifts in the world.

I feel so blessed to be doing this sacred work.  It kind of found me but it is the most natural things for me to do! 

If you feel called to join me, my next international retreat is happening in Bali from June 1 - 7 and I still have a few discount spaces left - so jump on it.  This will be my last international retreat for 12 months due to some rather exciting life changes.  You can probably read between the lines so I will just leave this there.    

I will also be offering a national Australian tour of The Goddess Gathering one day retreat series in March & April so look out for the invitation hitting your inboxes very soon.

AND- for those keen to know more about the inner workings of retreat facilitation I have an exciting webinar happening in March with Liesel Albrecht.  This will be more technical and logistical so look out for the invitation to this too. 

Oh one more thing - that we will also cover in the webinar... always price your retreat in the currency you are paying in.  Most retreat spaces will change in USD so, with the ever fluctuating AUD (and global economy) it is much safer to change in the currency you have to pay in so you don't get left in the lurch (I know this from experience).  

Love you… 

Put your suffering down...

Yesterday I succumbed to the strength to the Mercury in retrograde that hit our cosmos on January 5.  I had already seen so many people in my vicinity get struck by drama but, as a goddess with a strong and expanded field I often think I am immune to such astro events… 

 but this one got me good.

I was completely spanked… right in the lower chakras of security, emotions, safety and identity.   As if a huge stick had literally stirred up all the shit buried deep in the well of my existence. 

And the shit really stank. 

I found myself reverting back to how I used to live my life, holding on so tight to everything with such a strong need to be in control to feel safe and ease the worries of the scared and freaked out little girl inside.    

Admittedly I did have a few gnarly things happen that had me question who I roll with in my tribe… a few let downs, a couple of blows and some negative vibes…  but what messed it up for me was my choice of how to deal with them. 

Rather than taking a deep breath, grounding my feet on the earth, expanding myself as has become part of my constant practice, I freaked out.  I got angry… I got sad… I started thinking about stuff from my childhood and why I still carry some of the stories I evidently do.

I wanted to take revenge… but the best I could do was to block a few people from my Facebook page - TAKE THAT!! Violent and strong warrioresss behaviour I know! It felt f%cking good… very satisfying… As an advocate of compassion I don't condone revenge and inflicting pain on others but in this moment it felt sweet!  (and yes I am still listening in to my psyche about what the hell this is all about and why I suddenly went all Kali on everyone's ass!)

I had a call with some of my dear sisters in the evening (hallelujah for my Sisterhood) and I shared it all with them… even the moments when I wanted to punch people in the face!!  And we found we had all been experiencing similar emotions.  Feeling wobbly, uncertain of why we are here and if we are fully serving as best we can on this planet.  

What I came to remember yesterday as I finally came out of my fog of rage and tears was that none of this was really necessary… 

yes the journey down memory lane into an older or perhaps still hidden version of myself was enlightening,but really, I had chosen to allow myself to dive into the depths of my own suffering.

You see my dear… as I get to the point … I want to remind you that...

you ALWAYS have a choice about how to feel.

When the shit hit the fan for me I could have done my practice and rolled with it… but instead I decided to hold my body tight in stress, anger, fear and suffering… screaming and crying all over my poor husband! 

Don’t get me wrong… It felt good to feel strong emotions and even the deleting from Facebook was cathartic… but by the end of the day I was exhausted, puffy faced and I felt sick... and not very clever! 

It was only when I chose to put my suffering down and move on that the euphoria came back as the energy started to flow again and I stepped back into harmony with the sensation of flow of the earth.

So my dear…

even as we roll through a slower more stagnant Mercury moment (read more here) you have the choice of how to feel.  Perhaps it's time to practice self acceptance and make peace with all the drama in your life. 

Take it from someone who knows… the relief feels so sweet.

Love you,

SJ x