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| My card from Rosemary Gladstar |
Showing posts with label sacred land. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sacred land. Show all posts
Sunday, May 6, 2018
A Note from Rosemary Gladstar
Right after I published Sacred Land, I sent copies to the "sacred sisters" I profile in the book. I heard back from two of them: an email from Betsy Damon letting me know I had gotten some of my information a little wrong (she didn't, apparently, get muddy in the creek), and a lovely card from Rosemary Gladstar, which I tucked into her Family Herbal and cherish to this day. I was also in contact with Rebecca Dye, and she said she enjoyed the book. Maybe I'll do blog updates on all of them!
Sunday, October 20, 2013
A Gift from my Father: Connecting Beyond the Veil
By Clea Danaan
Just before my dad died, I attended a metaphysical fair to promote my first book, Sacred Land. The two cases of books the event planner had ordered didn't arrive on time, even though other cases of books from the same publisher had arrived with no delay. I had about three copies to sign and promote.
At the fair I met a psychic healer who really knew her stuff. She really liked my book, and I wondered out loud why my cases of books hadn't arrived. She squinted her eyes in that inner seeing kind of way, and said, "Who stands behind you on the earth plane?" I didn't know what she meant. She said, "Your dad." In the middle of five hundred people milling about, I started crying. I didn't even know why. She told me that my dad was jealous of my publishing a book, and that he had held up the delivery. Obviously this wasn't conscious or literal, but that his energy - and I assume my own unconscious and energetic reaction to it - delayed the book delivery. She did some distance healing work on me and my dad. She said, "Now things will be different with Dad."
A few days later, I spoke with him on the phone (he and I lived in different cities), and we had the most amazing conversation. He asked me about my book, which he had never done before. He was interested and excited. Before, it was like he didn't know it existed. He hadn't known I was in grad school, even though I told him, and he hadn't asked anything about the book. It made sense to me that he was envious. He had never finished his master's degree in ministerial studies, and he had attempted many times to write a book. Also in this phone conversation, he asked for my help with his health. In the past, he had shrugged off any suggestions I offered (I was a massage therapist at the time, with backgrounds in expressive arts therapies and acupuncture) about health, mostly due to his shame about his weight and smoking. I did some online research, and we set up an appointment for him to see a naturopath. His doctor had been no help, telling him he just needed to lose weight. I knew more was going on, but not what it was, and that he needed someone to help him.
My dad and I have always been two peas in a pod. We are deeply into nature, and dedicated to our spirituality. We are writers. He liked to tell stories, like the time we went to look for concretions, rock-like formations of clay found in certain rivers and creeks. He used to go hunt them with his dad, and as we hunted he shared with me stories of concretion hunting and fishing with his own departed father. We found several concretions that day, and kept them in the windowsill at home. I would pick them up and inspect them, thinking of his father and our time at the creek.
The morning of his appointment with the naturopath, he passed away. I had felt it coming, and was stunned but not surprised. The coroner said congestive heart failure.
A few days later I talked with the psychic from the metaphysical fair and told her that Dad had died. She said he would now sleep for a year, as his soul felt defeated and he needed time to just float. That made sense to me.
A year later, I received in the mail a package from my brother-in-law. It was heavy. This brother-in-law and I are not close, though friendly at family get togethers. He's never mailed me anything. We don't exchange emails. I opened the package with great curiosity. Inside was a note that he had read Sacred Land and really enjoyed it. He said he thought I'd appreciate these concretions he'd gathered, which could only be found in certain creeks and rivers. He'd been collecting them for years, and something told him I'd appreciate them.
They were, I knew, a gift not just from my brother-in-law, but also from my dad. It was his way of letting me know he was awake again, and that he supports and is proud of my book and my work. He was letting me know we are connected always, through all sorts of ways, past, present, and future.
Just before my dad died, I attended a metaphysical fair to promote my first book, Sacred Land. The two cases of books the event planner had ordered didn't arrive on time, even though other cases of books from the same publisher had arrived with no delay. I had about three copies to sign and promote.
At the fair I met a psychic healer who really knew her stuff. She really liked my book, and I wondered out loud why my cases of books hadn't arrived. She squinted her eyes in that inner seeing kind of way, and said, "Who stands behind you on the earth plane?" I didn't know what she meant. She said, "Your dad." In the middle of five hundred people milling about, I started crying. I didn't even know why. She told me that my dad was jealous of my publishing a book, and that he had held up the delivery. Obviously this wasn't conscious or literal, but that his energy - and I assume my own unconscious and energetic reaction to it - delayed the book delivery. She did some distance healing work on me and my dad. She said, "Now things will be different with Dad."
A few days later, I spoke with him on the phone (he and I lived in different cities), and we had the most amazing conversation. He asked me about my book, which he had never done before. He was interested and excited. Before, it was like he didn't know it existed. He hadn't known I was in grad school, even though I told him, and he hadn't asked anything about the book. It made sense to me that he was envious. He had never finished his master's degree in ministerial studies, and he had attempted many times to write a book. Also in this phone conversation, he asked for my help with his health. In the past, he had shrugged off any suggestions I offered (I was a massage therapist at the time, with backgrounds in expressive arts therapies and acupuncture) about health, mostly due to his shame about his weight and smoking. I did some online research, and we set up an appointment for him to see a naturopath. His doctor had been no help, telling him he just needed to lose weight. I knew more was going on, but not what it was, and that he needed someone to help him.
My dad and I have always been two peas in a pod. We are deeply into nature, and dedicated to our spirituality. We are writers. He liked to tell stories, like the time we went to look for concretions, rock-like formations of clay found in certain rivers and creeks. He used to go hunt them with his dad, and as we hunted he shared with me stories of concretion hunting and fishing with his own departed father. We found several concretions that day, and kept them in the windowsill at home. I would pick them up and inspect them, thinking of his father and our time at the creek.
The morning of his appointment with the naturopath, he passed away. I had felt it coming, and was stunned but not surprised. The coroner said congestive heart failure.
A few days later I talked with the psychic from the metaphysical fair and told her that Dad had died. She said he would now sleep for a year, as his soul felt defeated and he needed time to just float. That made sense to me.
A year later, I received in the mail a package from my brother-in-law. It was heavy. This brother-in-law and I are not close, though friendly at family get togethers. He's never mailed me anything. We don't exchange emails. I opened the package with great curiosity. Inside was a note that he had read Sacred Land and really enjoyed it. He said he thought I'd appreciate these concretions he'd gathered, which could only be found in certain creeks and rivers. He'd been collecting them for years, and something told him I'd appreciate them.
They were, I knew, a gift not just from my brother-in-law, but also from my dad. It was his way of letting me know he was awake again, and that he supports and is proud of my book and my work. He was letting me know we are connected always, through all sorts of ways, past, present, and future.
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| Concretions in a basket of crab apple suckers and flicker feathers |
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Discussion Questions for Clea Danaan's Sacred Land
Thinking of studying Sacred Land in a group? Or delving more deeply into your own intuitive organic gardening practices? Here are a few study and discussion questions to help you get started.
Discussion Questions for Sacred Land
Earth
- What messages, sensations, and images do you receive when you "tune in" to the soil? Is doing a practice like this strange to you? What fears or concerns do you have about "talking" to dirt?
- What shifts for you when you consider a garden a co-creation with nature? What ideas germinate when you enter into such a relationship with the land?
- Many people first notice nature spirits or the energy of the land through trees. What sacred experiences with trees have you had?
- What can you do to increase the local and organic food you eat? As a group or a family, take it on as a project. If you already eat mostly organic and local, how can you help others do the same?
Air
- Discuss your intentions for your home, garden, and community. How can you call on the power of air to bring these ideas into the world?
- Do you fear insects? Why? Take some time to get to know them better. What teachings have bees, dragonflies, and even mosquitoes taught you?
- What birds show up in your life regularly? Have they a message?
Fire
- Everything we see, eat, touch, and hear exists because of the sun. What happens when you meditate on this idea for a few moments?
- The fire goddess Chantico teaches us about pleasure and pain. When have you felt this keen edge? What has it taught you about life?
- What does it mean to you to reclaim your passion? How can you begin to do this?
Water
- We are emotional beings of water. As you read this chapter, what do you notice about your awareness of and relationship with water in your daily life?
- If you are working with a group, practice transmutation (p 208).
- What is your work as a sacred sister?
You will find more discussion questions at the end of Sacred Land, on page 229.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Gender and My Book Sacred Land: The Evolution of a Spiritual Gardening Book.
One review of my gardening book Sacred Land says some lovely things about the book, and then points out:
One flaw is that it is geared solely for women. Men can read it, but the language and imagery used is exclusive to women, no gods of harvest are mentioned, nor sun gods nurturing the land. Even so, men should read it for the tips – even if the meditations won’t always suit.I wanted to respond to that here, as it is a complaint that comes up every once in a while. I even got an angry email from a reader about the issue! So maybe this blog will help explain.
When I originally wrote the book, it was intended as part of a series of books called the Goddess Guides. The first was called Goddess' Guide for the Magical Bride and became my book Magical Bride. The second was about healing, and I haven't written it yet. The third became Sacred Land. If you have read both Sacred Land and Magical Bride, you will know that I profile goddesses related to pertinent topics in each book. The series was meant to be geared towards women, on normal topics we deal with every day like marriage, gardening, raising children, and health. I wanted to include goddesses and women who inspire me on each given topic.
So at first, Sacred Land was titled Goddess' Guide for the Sacred Garden. Then it changed to Sisterhood of the Sacred Garden. My publisher felt this title was too... sisterhoody. It didn't work for them. So they took the title and subtitle out of the text, and the woman-goddess focus got lost in the new title. At that point I should have edited the heck out of the book to include gods and men, but I didn't. Not because I don't love gardening gods and men, but just because I didn't. First book and all that jazz.
So dear men and others wondering about the gender imbalance in the book, fear not. I mean no disrespect. I mean it as empowering to women - and to gardeners of both genders everywhere. And now you know something about the evolution of a first book!
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