Tag Archives: Love

Autumn Equinox Women’s Retreat

Open your heart, heal the old patterns that confine you, release them with grace as we dance with the Dark Mother under the light of the full moon. Isn’t it time to fly?

A line in the sand….

We have allowed a line to be drawn in the sand. Someone else put it there, yet we continue to give it validity. The line tells us we are separate. In fact, we are one.

When faced with a seemingly sea of ‘problems’, it can be challenging to recognize solutions. It feels easier to focus elsewhere, or maybe just give up. Sometimes, we need to step away for a broader perspective, a gentle nudge, or an opportunity to take a bold step into discovering what role we can play in “being the change”.

The StarLions of Timbavati, South Africa offer you an opening to change your life forever by introducing you to LionHearted Leadership,

 

 

Ymani Simmons is a peacemaker, spiritual mentor, writer, ceremonialist, and conservationist. She assists women and men internationally in healing their hearts, embracing loving empowerment, and remembering who they are. Through her voice of experience and wisdom, conscious awareness, and positive spirit, she provides a safe and sacred container for individuals to experience inner growth by reconnecting their deeper self and all of Nature.

After two group trips to visit the White Lions in 2015, Ymani registered and attended the White Lion Leadership Academy in 2016 and is currently a Practitioner Trainee with the 13 Laws of LionHearted Leadership.

As an advocate for securing a safe future for the White Lions and all species at risk, she has made the commitment to devote her life to conservation – helping restore Mother Earth to her rightful and authentic state.

Women’s Vision Quest, August 9 – 15, 2016

Women’s Vision Quest

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Vision Quest is a multi-cultural ceremony that has been leading people into the wilderness to ‘cry for a vision’ for thousands of years. For some, it is a response to a tap on the shoulder, a tug at the heart, an opportunity to get quiet, go deep, search for answers, and face the fears that we are ready to remove from our path.

By fasting and sitting alone in the stillness of Nature, we are given an opportunity to listen with all of our ears and open ourselves to the Wisdom within and without that speaks with a golden voice through the seen and unseen worlds.

It is not a Ceremony to be taken lightly and all women are expected to come, participate in service and support at a Women’s Quest Fire and base camp before making the commitment to climb the mountain and seek a vision.

Questing begins with a series of circle gatherings to explore the foundations of self discovery. Part of taking care of oneself is remembering how to connect deeply with nature, and with the sacred rhythms of the earth. All one needs to understand spiritually can be found in nature. In this modern-day, fast-paced living that we do, we often forget to slow down and see the sacredness all around us; to really honor the sacred space of the plant people, the stone people, the four-leggeds, the winged ones, those that crawl, and those that swim.

We are nature, and in our spiritual walk, we want to respect, honor, and learn from the beauty that surrounds us, the life that surrounds us. We have merely forgotten, and it’s time to come together in Ceremony, and remember. Vision Quest is an opportunity to peel away the layers of everyday life, and connect deeply with nature and one’s place in it.

60007_1616470898155_7177431_n2Together, we prepare. Together, we learn and grow. Together, we make the changes necessary for a new world.

Whether you are going up on the mountain, or supporting the Questers and community at base camp, it’s a time of inner growth by learning to live fully in gratitude, honoring the sacredness of all life, honoring ourselves and one another, and becoming comfortable with our own personal power. Everyone Quests. It’s a beautiful time to go deeper into learning the value of ceremony.

This is a wonderful sisterhood of women growing together in community while holding a higher vision for humanity.  There are many variations to the quest, which we have been holding annually since 2008.  If you are interested in learning more about this sacred tradition, supporting the Questers at base camp, or are being called to Quest yourself, please contact me.

Stepping into Winter…….

Ice TreesWe take a step through this darkened doorway of stillness called Winter Solstice. As we do, let us remember….

…that darkness holds the seeds of tomorrow gently in her cold hands, and cradles them as she sings her Winter song of purity.

…that without knowing the depth of darkness, one can never fully appreciate the magnificence and fullness of the light.

…that as you venture deep into your cave of dreams, wrap your heart in the loving blanket of trust that lines this womb of the Divine Feminine.

…to give our unexplored potential to the fearless creativity of the darkness.

…the endless possibilities of creation that our dreams and visions hold.

…our joy as we reflect on who and what we love, and how we might better serve them.

…the inner peace that only illumination can bring as we shine our hope, dream our future, and fully awaken a new reality that nurtures, loves, respects, and rejoices in the beauty and Sacredness of all.

May the magic of the Winter Solstice fill your heart and soul with all of the abundance that Life has to offer.

Mother’s Day, a call for Peace

IMG_1214Let us always remember that this day was not originally created by businesses to sell cards, flowers or chocolates. It was a global appeal for women to unite for peace. Let us stand together on this day and declare there IS a place in our world for Peace, Love, Respect, Understanding, Compassion, Equality, Honor, Justice, Integrity, and Community. Let us claim it for our ancestors, ourselves, our children and grandchildren, the next seven generations, and for Mother Earth and all of her children.
Let there be Peace On Earth, and let it begin with me.

 

Mother’s Day Proclamation

Arise then…women of this day!

Arise, all women who have hearts!

Whether your baptism be of water or of tears!

Say firmly:

“We will not have questions answered by irrelevant agencies,

Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage,

For caresses and applause.

Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn

All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.

We, the women of one country,

Will be too tender of those of another country

To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.”

From the bosom of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with

Our own. It says: “Disarm! Disarm!

The sword of murder is not the balance of justice.”

Blood does not wipe out dishonor,

Nor violence indicate possession.

As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil

At the summons of war,

Let women now leave all that may be left of home

For a great and earnest day of counsel.

Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.

Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means

Whereby the great human family can live in peace…

Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar,

But of God –

In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask

That a general congress of women without limit of nationality,

May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient

And the earliest period consistent with its objects,

To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,

The amicable settlement of international questions,

The great and general interests of peace. ~ Julia Ward Howe, written in 1870

Creating a Culture of Peace

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Photo by Ymani Simmons

Everything comes from the same Original Source, therefore it’s all connected in the deepest and most fundamental way. When we remember some of the basic companions of love – gratitude, respect, compassion, service, integrity, impeccability, forgiveness, and truth – and begin to use them, we immediately notice balance and harmony emanating from within. Then, we begin to see it reflected in the world around us. In order to create a culture of peace, we must walk a path of peace as individuals.

The Elders of many nations have spoken about the times we are living in. They have prophesied much that has happened thus far, and speak of a life out of balance, out of control. They highlight aspects of the patriarchal domination system – greed, separation, and violence – that keep us isolated from one another, and fearful.

They also continue to whisper a reminder of another way of living, another choice, another way of being in right relations with all members of Mother Earth’s family. These old ways  offer a tried and true way of living with honor and respect for all living beings. It is a circular path, with a circular perspective of time and life through seasons and cycles. They offer reverence for our inter-connectedness with all of Creation, and the harmony that springs from that understanding. It is a way to listen and hear that opens the heart to a universal language of love.

This physical existence has spun its web intertwining life forms and providing an opportunity to grow and ripen to our highest and fullest capabilities. We have everything we need to transform violence, injustice, devastation and ruin. We have everything we need to heal ourselves and our communities. We have everything we need to create a path of peace and live it.

We walk our spiritual path alone, so it is ours to identify. We must walk the path that speaks the language of our heart. Each path that is based in love provides a way of walking that honors the most basic and universal Teachings of peace. When each of us discards our own contribution to violence, we are able to listen and hear that innate wisdom that surfaces from within. Once we access that wisdom, we are able to embrace a deeper love of self, and a deeper understanding and compassion for ‘the other’.

We all have a role to play in this unfolding event we call life. Each individual holds an interlocking piece of this grand, global puzzle. We see the crossroads ahead and  remember, that by choosing love over fear this can be a new beginning on our collective journey of being peace.

Will you use this day to begin facing your own fears? Will you forgive yourself for the violence that continues to dwell within you? Will you make a new choice and truly hear the pain and suffering coming from those you consider ‘the enemy’? Will you greet the new day with love in your heart and say no to judgment?

Together, we can heal the wounds. Together, we can rebuild our broken system. Together, we can plant new gardens of hope and prosperity. Together, we can create a culture of peace.

Winter Prayer

WinterMay we utilize the serenity of this blessed winter season to journey deep within our own hearts.

May we search our souls for the perfected reflection of our true being.

May we release our differences into the chill of the evening air, watching the bias, prejudice and fear dissolve as effortlessly as breath.

May we each lay down our insecurities, our selfishness and our hostility.

May we discover a way to look into the eyes of those we admire least and recognize a cowering glimpse of ourselves hiding there.

May we lay down our weapons, whether they be guns or the violent words of anger and abuse.

May we feed the starving and frightened children of the world, changing their reality and future from despair into hope.

May women everywhere know safety, respect, equality and walk confidently without fear.

May the Elders be kept warm, well-fed and nurtured as we honor the vital wisdom they carry.

May the peace we long for within our own hearts be the beacon we follow into the darkness of chaos and confusion.

May that light guide us back to ourselves where the peace we seek waits patiently to be revealed.

Follow the source of the light and you’ll find that it comes from within you.

May peace, love, joy, perfect health and prosperity be your gifts.

May 2015 be the year that humanity emerges from our complacent slumber and stand united with all of Creation in the Sacred Wheel of Life.

Happy, blessed Winter Solstice!

Just Let Go

391087_10200553021141801_1148239917_nIt feels so empowering to witness magic as it manifests within and around you. That has been my experience recently because, I just let go.

I let go of all preconceived notions of who I had allowed myself to believe I needed to be, and gave myself permission to become the person I truly am.

I let go of self-doubt, feelings of lack, and old patterns of unworthiness that continued to plague me. Though they were not the formidable force they once were, I still gave them power to hold me back from stepping fully into my capabilities.

I let go of trying to balance my hopeful ideals with the negative activities of those who promote and participate in violence.

I let go of who I thought I needed to be because I was comparing myself to others who are doing what I think I want or need to be doing or being!! Acckk! What suffocating, limiting and self-imposed beliefs of the person I once was.

I let go because the ways I was trying to help in the world were twisting me up inside and creating a feeling of despair and failure. I was not being fed. I was being depleted and it felt like the life-force was being sucked out of me.

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When I took a step back and focused on the direction of my life as an activist these past few years, I realized I needed to let go of  following an agenda that other like-minded folks follow.

So, I let go of internalizing the global violence I have come to know about. It’s a painful process to witness the inhumanity of man and experience the frustration and helplessness that accompanies it. The inevitable question always surfaced – “But what can I do that makes a difference?”. There was never a viable answer that brought change to the daily lives of those oppressed.

I needed to open my heart and spirit to the creative process of redefining myself, how I relate to the world, and how I can be of most service to those voices that need to be heard and acknowledged.

I needed to begin to listen for my own rhythm.

I needed to dance to the beat of my own drum.

I needed to allow the true me to surface and shine, and then see what doors appear before me and actually begin to open.

So I did, I just let go.

I always talk about the magic in synchronicity, and now it’s time to give rise to the synchronicity that appears on my path and walk my talk.

I make a new choice to stand strong in love and gratitude.

I make a new choice to highlight and support the nurturing and loving aspects of the human spirit.

I make a new choice to remind others of what we are capable of, instead of what we are conditioned to accept as inevitable truth.

I make a choice to promote healing, and beauty, and kindness, and hope, and support, and compassion, and building community, and respect.

I make a choice to fly high, like the graceful hawk, and view life from the perspective that sees the endless possibilities of productive change, not only the twisted, fearful mess that our culture perpetuates and continues to impose on us.

I make a choice to let go of negativity, drama, and fear to make more room for life’s treasures of love, friendship, assistance, guidance, support, inner personal growth, and the healing and growth of my extended human family.

Like the leaves falling from their lofty perches and making their way to the waiting breast of the Earth Mother, I just let go and allow myself the life-changing opportunity to be embraced by the new path and new life of beauty that await the new me.