Soul Care | Spiritual Health After Religion

Kings are for castles. Sitting up on the throne of power saving all of us from some perceived threat or beast.

Caste is a word I think of when I see "castle." It is another system very much like the feudal system of Kingdom life. The caste system is a social system passed down through ancestral lineage.

The journey requires you a visit to the castle without a timeline for how long you will be there. There is purpose wherever you find yourself at currently. Have you been looking for a place to find spiritual depth? So, you went to the church needing sanctuary only to find the damp darkness of concrete and metal that had created a cage based kingdom all around you. The castle has many lessons to learn the value of your worth. For it is the place of judgment and hierarchy for you to try to scale through. Castles have many people yet only a few are noble by birthright. The castle teaches you that your birthright says otherwise. Meaning, you are not noble, good, nor holy by birthright. Y'all kingdoms are feudal systems. I dunno about you but these days I am not interested in serving in a kingdom rather, my spiritual home is in the quietude of the temple. Let's talk about it. Join me at the table for a lil soul food.

Hold you tiny ember of your fire close to your chest and heart. Trust that holding your own light with tenderness is walking out your purpose. We find it along the way.

Have you or are you currently feeling like someone or something put water on your fire? Are you feeling unsure how to start your fire again? What is there is really nothing to do but see the beauty that is in the darkness. Sometimes by you lighting your own lantern helps others find their light too. Stay bright! It is your birthright. Namaste` www.alifepractice.com

How's it going? We made it past another end of the world? Amazing isn't it that we escaped the claws of death yet again. How did you overcome? Faith usually works good for me. A trust that my feet will walk where they are supposed to go, and it happened how it did. Learn from it, give yourself grace, and keep walking it out in trust. You have the light inside of you. You are made from the oldest stuff on Earth : breath, dirt, matter, space, and water. Trust. www.alifepractice.com

What would change for you if you trusted that your body is a holy dwelling place ? Strike the match to light the lantern that sets your soul aglow.

Have you ever heard of the Peshitta? It is the Holy Scripture known as a standard version of the Bible in Syriac traditional churches, as well as Orthodox Churches. And guess what ? That ancient language describes the Holy Spirit as feminine. Referred to as "she," and "Mother," we can learn that God is both the masculine and feminine aspects. The fullness of the deity in my mind would consist of both aspects of a loving being.

Hiya! Spiritual health is just as important as emotional, physical, and mental health are in any community. We can experience shame spiritually in any setting. It just so happens that when we are shamed in a religious community the effects are often detrimental. Critical thinking may be what helps you find the narrow path. When high accountability falls under the guise of control, how do you navigate your path home to the horizon? Often times, for me it is in critical thinking that I am given the understanding that sometimes the path has to be forged by me since faith is an action. Let no man come between what has been set out before you. You get to trust the Spirit in my life just like I get to trust the Spirit in yours. Cuz, I know She can handle it. Keep walking out your faith. Take deep breaths. You are gonna make it! We are gonna make it! • I forgot to mention in this soul story that I held out my hand to said police officer on the step up to the balcony, which he refused to shake. Instead he offered me the snide slide of judgment. It has been valuable to get to experience this during a vulnerable time because it became a sure mark of a waypoint for my journey. So, I keep walking forward. Namaste` .• For post abortion recovery without the dogma check out : Wild Hearted Revolution

March this year has felt like a true perpetual change over the last two years. Now I think I understand what that whole thing was about, “Take your Father’s teachings and go forward. You are about to transcend the abyss.” Uhm….

Are you getting to listen for the birds singing the Sun awake some mornings? Like a slow down to listen to the sounds around you. There is a deafening to silence that is hard to describe. Take a long walk with just the sound of creation in your ears. Let it teach you its wisdom. March is the celebration of Women's History month. A time of renewal listening to the birds that have come out to play from their hunkering down. When the winds and rains blow to wake up life from its Winter rest as a show of budding sticks and twigs. How marvelous it is that women are celebrated during a month locally that is the beginning of the return to life. Namaste`

I musta already took a leap of faith since I thought it was Feb 24th! HA!

Hi there yall! Are you taking some extra time for yourself? When you do remember some self compassion too. Winter is the perfect time to rest, which is extremely productive too. Give yourself permission to hang out all day in your pajamas. Tonight's dinner looks like comfort food for the win since I am staying in my pajamas all day too. Gonna take a soak and put on clean pajamas, so it still counts. lol Namaste`

We get up close and personal into the topic of not being seen nor heard as a woman individually and collectively. Do you ever feel unseen or unheard by those closest to you ? How do you feel about women collectively being unheard and unseen ? What if you are talking an audience that can't hear you? So, what to do about that? Well, I can't answer that for you but, I can say this is one reason why I do podcast. It helps to put it out there. I'm practicing here how to speak about such topics that are very painful. My hope is that we can have more open space to do so. So the woman who I referred to during the bit about not going to men any longer for spirituality advice nor wisdom name is Brittany Hartley. Click HERE for her amazing website or go to nononsensespirituality.com Keep shining lovely souls. Namaste` www.alifepractice.com

You know that love hate relationship? Some call it Winter. Ha! A quiet time of reflection and personal hibernation these past two years proves it is necessary to prepare for Spring's emerging cycle of life. There is a lot to digest or assimilate. Being still with myself has been challenging while worth it. Can ya hear me when I say I love Winter? I really do. Maybe it is because I kinda crush on Jack Frost a teeny bit. Hmmm. Living on our little farmstead for a full resolution around the Sun this Winter we are more settled into our living space. So, moving slow is the name of the game. My husband and I both may be slight pyromaniacs. Any excuse to make a fire and chill around it awhile is good for the soul. This Winter one focus for me spiritually is bringing the Sun on inside. My gut and solar plexus need some good medicine and rest. Our fireplace is forreal a focal point in our home. Bringing the fire or Sun inside your home during the Winter grounds me down. Learning in a tangible practical way that the slow burn is what makes it last. Even the chores around having a fire on the inside gives back to the garden with the ashes from the transformation. On the Yoga scene, bringing in the Sun as a practice feels like stoking your own fire. Do you know what I am talking about? The fire that is on the inside. Like it fuels your drives and passions, that part of the belly that feels primal. From that place your blood pumps quicker? Well, the concept of bringing in the fire is a kind of practice to stoke your inner fire or agni. Winter gives you the space to stoke a slow burn simultaneously acting as a purification process. Since purification is more like an inside thing. We have experienced a change of behavior, lifestyle, circles, you name it, while not changing much on the inside. While that is an inside job, for me it has been the hardest work to do. Making amends with my own shame, and feelings of unworthiness. Trust me when I say I haven't arrived anywhere quite yet in my process. Slowing down to the quiet trickle I am paying attention to what stokes my fire. and I hope you are too. Happy Wintering. Give yourself compassion and grace as we Winter over this season, then cover over that with a whole bunch of patience. Namaste` lovely souls. www.alifepractice.com

"Resolve" is the flavor we are serving up at Mama Rish's Kitchen prepping for the darkest night of the year, the Winter Solstice. Listen to storytelling about how our ancestors may have referred to this time of the year as the "Death of the Sun." This story goes, each year the Sun dies for three days on the Winter Solstice in what appears to be a standstill in the cosmos known as the "Southern Cross." Here in time and space the Sun hangs out on the Southern Cross for three days where it reaches it furthest point in the Southern Hemisphere. Thus, creating a very long stretch of night into darkness. According to the Gregorian Calendar this happens at precisely December 22 + 23 + 24 each year. According to ancient tale, December the 25th is said to be the day that the Sun is reborn as a turning back again from this dark stretch. What I find supercool is that the Southern Cross was a cosmological navigational tool for wayfarers for finding due South when sailing these waters. December's viewpoint looks toward the transition from Autumn to Winter as a preparation for the Spring (Vernal) Equinox. Also, I personally appreciate a calendar that coincides with the seasons according to where I currently live. Being an herbal gardener and aromatherapist flowing with the cycles of life it is understood there is a time for : planting, rooting, growing, and harvesting. AND there is a set time to be quiet during the dark nights of the year trusting that the light returns bringing hope for the journey around the Sun again. JOURNAL : What can I finish up? What can I clear out making space to look inward? What can I carry forward into the New Year along with hope as a wellness practice? Where can I be still to trust the next steps in time of uncertainty? Some more info for the wandering mystics, the English word solstice is derived from two Latin words: Sol meaning Sun, and sistere — to cause to standstill. Namaste`

Lift your face to the Sun and breathe deep girl. You got this.

Originally when recorded the podcast had another name in place of Woman for the title was the terminology used for this valuable woman when I was fundamentally taught about the Samaritan woman who meets Jesus at Jacob's Well. Her name is Photina, the whore at the Well. Fun Fact : She is the FIRST recorded account of the revelation to the culture that Jesus is the Messiah! Have you ever heard of her? She was the Samaritan woman that Jesus met at Jacob's well in Sychar, you remember those stories in church? What is so interesting for me personally is how she is referred to as a "whore" by the laypeople. You know the place and very thing that Jesus died for... the church. It seems antithetical to call this outcasted woman a whore when Jesus was compelled to share his big reveal with her first Jesus, the Face of God in this story is at Jacob's well offering living to a woman whose vessel spiritually and physically was unclean according to Jewish law. For him to accept anything from her hands would be considered super taboo and a no-no for this cultural setting and time period. The question begs, is Photina now filled with the living water upon revelation of God before her very eyes in her everyday circumstance as truth? Nowhere biblically is this woman noted for receiving compensation for sexual favors. So. lemme set this up. So the connotation in the language of Scripture in John 4 states that Jesus "had to pass," pointing to a compelling sense to go through Samaria which was extremely dangerous due to cultural differences not to mention racial tensions. The Jews (God's "chosen" people mind you), believed that she was unclean at birth being a Samaritan woman, not to mention having multiple sexual partners. What I love about Jesus is that he consistently speaks truth in spirit to the religious cultural norms and legalism. And gets this, in many stories recorded we can honestly admit that Jesus esteems women! So, lets take it all the way to the fact then that God must esteem women too! This is the underlying story right here! That we can meet ourselves at the well of revelation to drink in self compassionate grace, especially for those of us who needs some right about now. So the story goes, Jesus was hot and tired from the journey so he goes to the well in the heat of the day to rest while the crew goes in town to get food. So when Photina shows up to have the longest recorded conversation in the Holy Bible with Jesus. Not only does he speak with her longer than any other person, but it points to opening act of his ministry with this conversation. Then he takes her down to the bottom of her well to draw up respectful worthiness by revealing himself as the Messiah to her FIRST! Proof that God esteems women, epecially women that society and religious communities shun, God as the face of Jesus in this story, says that he was compelled to tell her FIRST! UPDATED NOTES FOR LIVE RECORDING BTW it is Proverbs 4:23. I transpose numbers sometimes :) I say in this episode "proverbs 4:32," when I was referring to 4:23 instead. I caught it before publishing but...you know I am human getting my words wrong sometimes. Especially when I am practicing speaking my innerstanding on a public platform. Check out the full excerpt ⁠⁠HERE⁠⁠ I refer to in part one and two that is such a useful and loving full picture of God's love for us. Being raised Southern Baptist, coming back home to that here for Photina's story has been so healing for my soul. Anyway, ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ is more information about the time of day breakdown from another source. My preference to reference for Scripture with easy flow on translations when studying is : ⁠⁠www.bible.com ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠www.blueletterbible.org⁠⁠ ⁠⁠www.etymonline.com⁠⁠ ⁠⁠www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org⁠⁠ Namaste` Mama Rish ⁠alifepractice.com⁠

Originally when recorded the podcast had another name in place of Woman for the title was the terminology used for this valuable woman when I was fundamentally taught about the Samaritan woman who meets Jesus at Jacob's Well. Her name is Photina, the whore at the Well. Fun Fact : She is the FIRST recorded account of the revelation to the culture that Jesus is the Messiah! Have you ever heard of her? She was the Samaritan woman that Jesus met at Jacob's well in Sychar, you remember those stories in church? What is so interesting for me personally is how she is referred to as a "whore" by the laypeople. You know the place and very thing that Jesus died for... the church. It seems antithetical to call this outcasted woman a whore when Jesus was compelled to share his big reveal with her first Jesus, the Face of God in this story is at Jacob's well offering living to a woman whose vessel spiritually and physically was unclean according to Jewish law. For him to accept anything from her hands would be considered super taboo and a no-no for this cultural setting and time period. The question begs, is Photina now filled with the living water upon revelation of God before her very eyes in her everyday circumstance as truth? Nowhere biblically is this woman noted for receiving compensation for sexual favors. So. lemme set this up. So the connotation in the language of Scripture in John 4 states that Jesus "had to pass," pointing to a compelling sense to go through Samaria which was extremely dangerous due to cultural differences not to mention racial tensions. The Jews (God's "chosen" people mind you), believed that she was unclean at birth being a Samaritan woman, not to mention having multiple sexual partners. What I love about Jesus is that he consistently speaks truth in spirit to the religious cultural norms and legalism. And gets this, in many stories recorded we can honestly admit that Jesus esteems women! So, lets take it all the way to the fact then that God must esteem women too! This is the underlying story right here! That we can meet ourselves at the well of revelation to drink in self compassionate grace, especially for those of us who needs some right about now. So the story goes, Jesus was hot and tired from the journey so he goes to the well in the heat of the day to rest while the crew goes in town to get food. So when Photina shows up to have the longest recorded conversation in the Holy Bible with Jesus. Not only does he speak with her longer than any other person, but it points to opening act of his ministry with this conversation. Then he takes her down to the bottom of her well to draw up respectful worthiness by revealing himself as the Messiah to her FIRST! Proof that God esteems women, epecially women that society and religious communities shun, God as the face of Jesus in this story, says that he was compelled to tell her FIRST! UPDATED NOTES FOR LIVE RECORDING BTW it is Proverbs 4:23. I transpose numbers sometimes :) I say in this episode "proverbs 4:32," when I was referring to 4:23 instead. I caught it before publishing but...you know I am human getting my words wrong sometimes. Especially when I am practicing speaking my innerstanding on a public platform. Check out the full excerpt ⁠HERE⁠ I refer to in part one and two that is such a useful and loving full picture of God's love for us. Being raised Southern Baptist, coming back home to that here for Photina's story has been so healing for my soul. Anyway, ⁠here⁠ is more information about the time of day breakdown from another source. My preference to reference for Scripture with easy flow on translations when studying is : ⁠www.bible.com ⁠ ⁠www.blueletterbible.org⁠ ⁠www.etymonline.com⁠ ⁠www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org⁠ Namaste` Mama Rish alifepractice.com

Rise & Shine! Shooting straight from the heart on this one. Leaving a religious institution feels like a death. When coupled with the literal death of the person that supported abortion recovery ministry with me in our church happened simultaneously, it was one fell swoop. However, it is the many ripple effects that have demanded my stillness to ride the waves out. My whole world was rocked! Being still and quiet is necessary during this process of healing from the experiences that I am reconciling. It was't like I didn't give it a fair shake, I was a part of the same religious community for 18 years. My heart doesn't want to hurt anyone, so being quiet to gather my thoughts, and pray in solitude has been what I have needed to do to heal. Listening has always been my spiritual practice. But also, I am here to remind you that we all get to speak about our experiences without the need to fight some unseen enemy. So being a heretic outside of institutionalized religion has already been practiced when I was inside. Let me explain. Being a "redeemed woman," (slave talk) as part of a church is heretical enough on its own leading abortion recovery. Think about it....Take a beat.....You can see clearly that women like me will never measure up to “a godly woman” standard if you just tweaked over to the left a bit and flip it upside down. There is a red letter on us too. We are shamed often. So, being real has its cost too. Many people don't nor can't handle all of what we can bring to the table at times. We all do it when there is something in between that won't harmonize. You tweaked and tuned until you have gone bonkers. So now, being still to create space for it all to make sense means you just may have to get up from the table. Praying, and trusting that God will guide my next step out in faith that the path will be well lit. Once, I took the action to trust a path of uncertainty, it looks like walking out my salvation with fear and trembling. All of us will face the last process of transformation into the vast unknown. Shine bright it is your birthright! Namaste` Connect with us at www.alifepractice.com