Hello everyone;
I have been busy here in Sedona so my blogs may be a little erratic and more frequent in video form to keep you posted on my adventures. I will work backwards as things are fresher in my mind this way.
If you wish to skip to the video blogs here they are; they are me being me.
Firstly I absolutely MUST give my Airbnb hostess Veena a big shout out as her apartment is truly fabulous. I am blessed beyond belief to have found this gem of a place to call home for 18 days. Right now I am writing in the comfort of my room looking over the mountains with the cool breeze of evening bringing the hot day to a pleasant close.
If you are visiting Sedona please consider Veena as your hostess. Here is the link to Sedona Casa Harmony.
Cactus flower (as Clint kindly informed me based on my description) spoke to me in dreams before I got here so excited to explore this little lady when she blooms. She holds potent healing energy medicine.
Day 2
Medicine Wheel
Traditional Medicine Wheel
Today was a truly profound day and I was honoured with performing my medicine wheel. This is a ceremony to honour my life, ask for healing help and ‘Medicine’ and give deep gratitude to my spirit ancestors, guides and animal spirits for their answering my prayers and healing, assisting, guiding and supporting me in my journey. I am not Native Indian (!! as you know), so I feel truly honoured to partake in this sacred ritual.
I don’t have words that are sufficient in meaning, eloquence, or depth to describe the beauty of my experience. Or words to convey the emotions felt as Clint guided me through what it is to conduct a traditional Medicine Wheel Ceremony. The gratitude in Clint’s heart for my being and those in our support; and my experience of joining with his spiritual beliefs and traditional ways were profound. To feel the meaning of Lakota words in prayer and thanks combined with the beating of drum resonating with my heart reminded me to walk a conscious path of gratitude… because you can never be grateful enough for all that comes to us.
I cannot provide a description of the Medicine Wheel that will do it justice. From what I understand I had my feet deep in Mother Earth; she grounded me and held me safe, and I was covered and protected by Father Sky; the cosmos and the energy of sun a vital form of energy for me (and us).
I always feel more connected when I am bathed in sun. The Medicine Wheel offered to me the opportunity to connect with ritual and bring harmony, balance and alignment into my life. Engaging in the ceremony called to my soul, affirmed who I am through my past experiences, and gave me clarity regarding my Path and Journey. I was given the opportunity to feel the Great Spirits and my own ancestors (and Celtic roots) because I called upon them to bring healing to my body and mind and connect me even more deeply to Mother Earth and Father Sky.
The Medicine Wheel is a circle; there are four quadrants and Clint showed me how to see this as a representation of my life. Quite quickly I saw how this would correlate to the segments of my life journey (past, present, and future all connected in one circle is what I saw) and so I embraced what I saw ahead and stepped into the wheel and my “journey”.
I won’t lie, it felt rather odd in my being to have a ceremony of such importance about ‘my’ life. And when called to verbally express myself I found this quite the challenge.
However I am here for me; so it felt right to ‘get over myself’ and embrace my opportunity to acknowledge the journey of my life, my steps thus far; to offer thanks and gratitude as I saw the deeper meaning from my third eye and heart space of each quadrant of my life.
It was not by chance that the third quadrant, my now was full of young shoots ready for life.
I moved around the circle in my own way many times; supported by prayer, song and chanting from my dear guide Clint. The wind whipped up some gusts at humorously apt moments and the smoking sage apparently moved with me as I transitioned the quadrants. I was so deep in my space and close to the ground that I was oblivious to both this and the Hummingbird that joined us.
Are you ready to become who you were meant to be?
There was once a time when you used to dream big.
So what happened to all those dreams?
I also had an army of ants in the circle quadrant legs moving pieces of dead and burnt wood towards the circle’s heart.
Encountering an ant you should consider that all good things come with time, and effort.
Work with diligence, with conviction, and work with others in order to forge your dreams and turn them into reality.
Despite their tiny size these little spirits are immensely strong, great strength of will and accomplishment can come even in the smallest of packages.
When animals appear it is always a nudge from spirit. Hummingbird and Ant have their own symbolic meaning and I made sure to take note. I always find these spirit symbols when they walk into my life intriguing; especially because today a main priority for me in my journey was to see my life through the lens of love and purity, to be completely present in my being and to bring to the front of my consciousness the meaning in a positive note of experiences in every quadrant of my life. And to celebrate and give thanks for this. It would seem that Hummingbird is in agreement.
As for Ant, well I am ready to shine all that I am to the world and no longer hold fear. If there is work to be done I am not shrinking from this and will work hard to be the best version of myself in all capacities to nurture, help and assist all who come my way for health, clarity, healing, and support.
Note Clint to my right preparing us for opening ceremony with the Medicine Wheel. We burn sage to cleanse, and offer tobacco in gratitude and thanks.
I recorded a message today for everyone that talks more about my Day (2) today and also yesterday (1) Follow the link here to my YouTube channel
Healing Journey with Michelle
Day 1
New hat; essential for Sedona. And if anyone knows a good method for washing the red sand out of your socks please let me know!
Journeys in Healing 
Pingback: Can you make real sacrifices for what you believe? | Journeys in Healing