Painting © Kathe Schaaf
By Kathe Schaaf
We are in sacred time.
This remarkable time-out on our planet has created an opportunity for us to enter a liminal space together. We at Women of Spirit and Faith invite you to explore sacred time with us.
As always, we have been listening deeply to each other, to our own inner wisdom and to the whispers of Spirit. We hear many of you asking: “What is mine to do?”
Recently, a series of visions have connected to guide us in our search for answers to that important question.
The first vision appeared to me on April 2 as COVID was shutting the entire world down. One of our young leaders texted me: “What a bridge crossing”. I immediately saw a vision of a massive unfinished bridge that just ended in midair … and all of humanity was huddled at the end of that bridge.
This image reminded me of another vision I’d had in 2002, during the period of time when I was involved in the circle which birthed Gather the Women. In that vision, I was standing at the absolute edge of the world as we know it. In front of me was just a vast void. As I stood there, my arms were linked with women on either side of me, whose arms were also linked with other women. We formed a line of women stretching so far in either direction that I could see the line begin to align with the curve of the Earth. We were all taking one step into the void and then another. Solid ground would appear under our feet with each step —only because we had the courage to step into that void and only because we were supported by our sisters.
When I connected these two visions, it became clear to me that it will be the women who finish building the bridge to a new kind of world. Eckart Tolle has said: “Women are a natural bridge between the seen and the unseen.” We can manifest that new solid ground under our feet but first we need to clarify our collective vision of what that new world can be.
For decades now, we have been working on ourselves. We have been practicing our skills at manifesting personal visions for our work, our service, our families. We have created our vision boards and followed spiritual teachers and done our healing and engaged in rituals and ceremonies. It was important for us to do this work to know the “I” but our service now is on behalf of the “ALL”.
These unprecedented times are calling us into a new way of being and doing that will focus our COLLECTIVE skills and power on behalf of all life forms on earth. It is time to come together to create our COLLECTIVE VISION BOARD on behalf of humanity and all planetary life.
The third vision in the pattern was shared by my wise friend Tu Bears, an indigenous wisdom keeper and one of the present-day Conveners of Gather the Women Global Matrix. She tells this story about her vision:
“The vision came in May of 1989. I often hiked up an old mining road to sit on top of a large mesa. From that point of view, I could see Highway 40 (old Highway 66), the railroad tracks that ran parallel to the highway, and the few lights of Winslow. That evening as the Sun went down behind me, I sat with my drum and its soft heartbeat. A light breeze pushed my hair away from my face and the dream of women encircled the mesa, a few of them had drums, they all wore skirts and formed a circle around older people and children. They turned their backs to the center of the circle; some of the children and older people sat inside the circle while others stood. I could feel the power welling up in each woman when I heard the enemy marching up the mining road with weapons and army-like clothing. As they charged the circle there was spiral-like energy blooming in each woman’s belly. When the enemy got closer to an individual woman this spiral power zapped the solder and knocked them to the ground. Then the enemy would stand up, leaving their weapons on the ground and join in the circle between the women. This process lasted a long time until every enemy had become a peacekeeper.
I sat there until long after dark with my drum as a witness to something I didn’t quite understand but, I knew this would be a part of our future. Women would develop or accumulate this spiritual power in their bellies that could transform darkness into light.”
Tu Bears’ vision affirms that it is time for us to turn around and face out from our sacred circles so that we can offer our spiritual gifts to the world, so that we can use our spiritual power to restore balance to our world.
COVID has brought many challenges – and many blessings. Fewer cars on the highways and fewer airplanes in the skies have resulted in cleaner air around the world. Dolphins are swimming in the canals of Venice and the coral reefs have begun to heal themselves. But perhaps the most powerful blessings have come in the human heart. We hear from women that they feel happier with a slower pace of life, that they have time to appreciate simple pleasures like listening to bird songs, that they feel more unity and ‘oneness’ with all life on Earth. One of our women told us that she sees humanity waking from a trance. The contrast between our old world and the new one emerging is captured beautifully in the 4 minute film ‘The Great Realisation.’
How do we assure that the world doesn’t slip quietly back into the old version of normal? How do we assure that we no longer allow the huge multinational corporations to continue their Extractor Culture? For a long time now, we have been aware of big business carelessly extracting resources from the Earth, but this ‘pause’ brought on by the virus has also made visible how they are endlessly extracting energy from our human spirits.
That same Extractor Culture long ago set out to ‘extract’ the healing feminine energy from our world and to silence our spiritual wisdom. Our silence cleared the way for their domination and distortion. The Sacred Feminine has been weaving and building underground for thousands of years and has grown into a breathtakingly beautiful and complex tapestry of wisdom, power and love. The pattern is so bright and magnificent that it can only be glimpsed by those with vast spiritual maturity. Now is our time to rise up together, to speak up and reclaim our natural spiritual authority. We can be silent no longer.
Each of us has unique gifts to bring at this time. Some of us will use our spiritual gifts to hold space for the emergence of a transformed world. Others will bring the superpower of profound sensitivity and compassion that grows from that vulnerability. Many are reconnecting with their ancestral lineages to reclaim the spiritual wisdom and practices our foremothers; we seek to remember how to manifest their alchemy and magic. Some work to build the webs of authentic relationships that allow the love and juicy creativity to flow freely among us. All gifts are essential and fit perfectly into Her plan.
We join you as excited partners in this COLLECTIVE work of visioning and manifesting on a scale and in a way we have never imagined possible.
P.S. Watch our newsletter and Facebook page for ways you can join this co-creative process with your dreams, visions, offerings and gifts.