Meaning from the Messengers

I hike daily in the Pisgah National Forest. A morning walk is a wonderful way to ground myself, connect with nature and listen to the messengers.

This is learned behavior. In my younger years, I was an academic, trained as a chemist; my strength was my intellect, my ability to problem-solve. But years on a healing path slowed me and prodded - or rather, demanded - me to listen. For this, I’m grateful.

And so, my days are filled with symbols, with curiosity, and with following threads of meaning to lead me to truth and clarity. Everything holds meaning. Lately, the messengers have been speaking to me about the need to get quiet, go within, and fortify my boundaries and protections. This, I’m told will allow my heart to open while allowing me to experience strength and safety. Listening requires trust and taking needed actions without knowing where it will lead. But I’ve had enough experience to have built many legs beneath my table of belief that ensures the integrity of this path.

I keep a journal to honor the messengers and their teachings, so that I can refer back to it or sit it on my desk as a reminder of where to direct my attention.

While this is my personal practice, I also offer this service for others through Cowry Shell Divination. In these sessions, my client sits before me. Together, we call on the help of ancestors and elementals and then we place intention on the guidance they’re seeking which they’ve presented as a series of questions. I have the client spin a collection of cowry shells and other objects which hold symbolic meaning and then I read the messages that reveal themselves.