The recent Heart Flow retreat began with an invitation to ‘‘Wander with Wonder’ connecting with what was emerging in the natural world around us. Engaging our childlike wonder is a key to transforming heaviness into lightness from fiddleheads to wonder wands, we were creating space for new life to emerge. What might it be like to experience self discovery through play?
Message from the Fiddleheads
At one of our first meals, Gregor served up freshly picked local fiddleheads, which are tightly coiled tips of ostrich ferns called fronds, before they unfurl their foliage. One of the participants, Kate, had noticed the ferns as she wandered in the opening exercise, and became curious about what message the ferns had for us. Picking up the Nature Speak book by Ted Andrews from our communal bookshelf, Kate discovered that ferns are a sign the Faerie Folk are close by and that we were invited to keep our hearts open to them. It couldn’t have rang more true when she read the last sentence about ferns from the book “We were about to experience wonders but must remember how we believed when we were children”
Finding our Wands
Believing in the possibility of magic is valuable and we have engaged with the Faery Folk at the Edge on many occasions. Dreaming into the Faery Folk at this retreat, we received the message that they had placed special wands somewhere in the forest, for each one of us to discover. They would guide us to the wands, through our childlike wonder and our hearts. We embraced this invitation to believe and to play.
Several participants shared what a challenge it was to release the expectations of the adult mind, and allow the childlike heart and innocence to lead the way to the faery realm, where their wonder wands awaited. As I wandered, I had realized my 8 year old grandson had placed several Wonder Wands carefully at the fire circle just a few days before. When my own children were that age, they often played at their special patch of moss and ferns, very close to the fire circle where they communicated with the Faeries. However, no adults were allowed there when they were playing, as the faeries would then disappear.
Once we discovered our wands, we engaged in a divining exercise to learn about the gifts of the wand, what work it was called to do, and to reflect to us what magic we may carry connected to the wand. We then spent the rest of the day decorating, adorning and bedazzling our wands!
Self Discovery Through Play
My wand turned out to be a whale. I believe the stick came from a pine tree, reminding me of a pine tree that was struck by lightning many years ago. It carries a lot of power and the ability to connect the heavens and the earth, through the water. Using the wand, I can tap into the whale song which carries a very deep and low vibration. Just like the lowest string on a piano played vibrates the other strings of that particular note, the whale song raises the vibrations in the water, lifting transmuting suffering and pain through sound and vibration. I know all of us in the Heart Flow received our own special messages and our hearts grew lighter the more we gave ourselves permission to believe in the magical and the unseen.
What might it be like to be in Wonder?
What might it be like for you to wander with childlike wonder and discover a wonder wand that might like to work and play with you? Once you find your wand, take time to connect with the spirit of your wand asking it to reveal its strength, power and gifts to you. Is there a sound, movement, image, symbol etc. that your Wonder Wand is calling for? How might your Wonder Wand like to be adorned, decorated, bedazzled?
What gifts have been revealed through the creation of your Wonder Wand?
Our next Heart Foundation Retreat is coming up soon!
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