THIS IS HOW WE CAN SEE OUR STORIES - AND DISCOVER OUR TRUTH
By Lian Brook-Tyler
I was on my daily wild wander this morning and appreciating one of the first bright sunny days in weeks… so far 2023, here in my corner of England, has been predominantly grey, rainy, cold and blustery.
Whatever the weather or time of day… I’ve gone out into the wild, day after day, season after season, year after year.
And during those years I’ve been given the opportunity to project on nature… my resistance (and with some of my shamanic messages and initiations, outright fear!) and the stories I have about that… and also little by little, as I’ve been willing and able to see and own that… to discover the truth beyond the resistance and stories.
The times I’ve not had a chance to walk until the evening, which where I live in the countryside, without street lights, can mean it’s pitch black, and I’ve considered not going out because it would be tricky (I’ve plunged into deep muddy puddles, strode straight into brambles and wobbled on the precipice of a 10 feet deep ditch!) and maybe scary (even though I’m not usually scared by the dark in nature, it’s amazing how our minds can still conjure up monsters and menaces)… and then have been blessed to have been followed all the way by an owl or had my path magically illuminated by moon beam.
The time when I was extremely reluctant to devote myself to the shamanic path, despite being shown over and over by experiences in nature that it was aligned, and so I went on a wild wander and asked to be shown a sign in the form of a feather from a bird of prey if it was time… I felt drawn down a dry stream bed and then stumbled across the whole body of a recently deceased buzzard - something even I couldn’t deny the significance of. The buzzard has continued to guide my way over the years since.
And the times I’ve felt under pressure from all of the demands in my life, and the idea of going out on a walk felt like just another demand on me… and then I would choose it anyway and halfway through the wander it would dawn on me how caught up I’d been in a story of having no choice about how I’m creating my life.
Almost anything can provide us with the opportunity to see our projections and the truth beyond them… and yet, there’s a few powerful reasons to choose into an intentional, regular practice of being in the wild:
Firstly, when a practice is intentional we are more open to seeing what’s happening beneath the surface compared to more conditioned, rote practices such as brushing our teeth or washing the dishes, and we’re more likely to continue even when it’s not convenient or comfortable.
Secondly, regular practices can provide a steady, ongoing opportunity to project our patterns onto over time - given we often need to play out and look for our stories out many times before we can see them, a regular practice provides that in a way that one-off or less frequent experiences don’t.
Lastly, we will be continually projecting our stories onto all kinds of canvases in life, but most will bring their own fearful stories, ones which can be incredibly convincing to believe are causing our challenges and therefore are the place to focus - intimate partners being a prime example! I’ve lost count of the times I’ve said to students “Focus on yourself.” When they’ve been intent on analysing what their partner appears to be doing wrong and why (one of the dangers of shadow work, especially in the early stages, is it can lure us into believing we’re experts on other people’s shadow). In contrast, the wild isn’t blank but it isn’t controlled by fearful stories, therefore it’s so much easier to see our own.
If you want to begin an intentional regular wild practice - or deepen your existing one - come join us for Wild Wednesday, we’ll provide a different invitation each week to inspire, guide and support you in rewilding your soul… Come rain or shine.
Want to become more intimate with us? If YES, click any or all of the buttons below.