Why drink the disgusting medicine of humility?
Art: Ben White
by Lian Brook-Tyler
Why drink the disgusting medicine of humility?
(or how to get over yourself to grasp the unimaginable)
“Humble yourself to the sound of the water
You gotta bend down low and
Humble yourself to the sound of the water
You gotta know what it knows
And we will lift each other up
Higher and higher, we will lift each other up…”
This is a version (there are many) of the first verse of the medicine song Humble Yourself.
It’s one of my favourites of the many songs that I’ve sung with others in heart-opening, soul-expanding, ego-confronting, and immensely humbling shamanic ceremonies over the years, and it’s been on my heart and in my mind for the last week as we prepare to gather in our monthly UNIO community ceremony and begin the Mythical Quest of ‘Humble: The power of humility on our soul path.’
Humility is one of the hardest medicines for most of us to take, and perhaps for the oh so spiritual and conscious ones amongst us most of all.
Our ego (and nothing against egos, they’re essential) will buck, writhe and slink between superiority and inferiority, anything to avoid really humbling ourselves.
And yet, there’s a point (or if we’re especially resistant, many points) at which we need to humble ourselves, with the awe, reverence and honour that is our ancient soul’s birthright, to the water, the fire, a teacher, the mountain, an angel, the dying man who once swung us high, a lover, the womb-wrinkled newborn, the phoenix, or to however the divine is dropping the veil to show a glimpse of its face.
Humility is a vital aspect of devotion… And devotion is necessary to sustain us to keep journeying through the treacherous gauntlets of our soul path… Being humble strips us down and opens us up to feel the dreaded pull down onto our knees to devote to something that lies beyond our conditioned ideas of impressive, important, real, right, sensible, known, fair, safe, possible, and certain.
And in doing so, maybe we’ll catch a peek of our own breath-taking beauty.
If you’re ready to drink the heart-quenching medicine of humility, it’s not too late to join us for this month’s quest! (September ‘24)
All my love,
Lian
P.S. Here’s a link to a version of the song Humble Yourself… if you haven’t heard it before then you’re in for a soul-stirring treat.
Links for you:
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