The Empowered Feminine
“Holly, do you feel like we’ve known each other before?” Her clear blue eyes met mine with deep recognition. Without words or hesitation, I accepted her spirit’s invitation to reawaken our karmic connection. As soon as she asked, I knew the answer was yes: she recognized me from another lifetime.
Laurie and I had met the previous evening, for only a few minutes, as she taught me my duties for kitchen karma yoga (service with the intention of benefitting all beings). She was on her third day as a volunteer at Tara Mandala, a beautiful temple dedicated to the sacred feminine set amongst the San Juan mountains of southwestern Colorado. I had just arrived as an atendee of a sixteen-day retreat—Rinchen Trengwa or Garland of Jewels—an elaborate drumming and singing practice created by the root teacher of my Buddhist lineage, a vastly powerful eleventh century Tibetan yogini, Machig Labdrön.
We settled into immediate ease and comfort with one another. As we were finishing our second shift—I wiping clean the stainless steel kitchen counters, she scrubbing pots and pans in a deep sink—I gauged the amount of remaining daylight. “Would you like to go for a walk when we finish?” She nodded yes.
Laurie was tall, thin, and muscular, with short hair that framed her face in golden waves. She seemed capable and wise, trustworthy and grounded. I sensed her deep connection to the earth and longing to spend time in these sacred mountains.
She led me to a winding road that she had walked the previous evenings, bordered by open meadows and tall stands of ponderosa pine. I continually scanned the landscape for black bears, which were prevalent in the area, as we walked. The setting sun cast golden light eastward, inspiring a fleeting sense of peace and awe.
The air was cool enough to create faint formations from our breath as we spoke. Our conversation went instantly to the level of the heart, each reveal bringing awareness to the depth of our connection, our lives woven with similarities. The path she had been on for the past eight months was remarkably similar to the path I had been contemplating beginning. And now this deeply familiar woman, whom I had been divinely reunited with, was sharing her wisdom and experience of this path with me.
It was clear we had come back together, at this beautiful temple in the mountains, to reconvene at the level of our souls. We were here to support each other through major transformations and transitions. The sheer gratitude of this acknowledgment filled my heart as we made our way back to the temple.
“Can I share something else with you?” We stood on a narrow path in the meadow that led to her yurt. I had shared this experience with few others. “Of course,” she replied, her energy open and receptive. I didn’t question why I was compelled to share this particular story with her; I simply went with my instinct, there was no mental reasoning involved.
“On the morning after my birthday last April,” I began, “I woke to find a dead starling on my porch, right outside my front door. It looked so beautiful and peaceful, as if it had been placed there for me. I told a healer friend of mine about it, and he felt it was a sign that I was about to experience a great rebirth. I did a small ceremony and buried it later that day.”
“Wow, I can’t believe you’re sharing this, Holly.” I could feel an opening of energy as she spoke, as if space were being created to hold something greater than us.
“When I arrived at my yurt for the first time the other evening, it was very cold. I decided to build a fire in the wood burning stove—when I opened the door to place wood inside, I found two dead birds, laying side by side. They looked so peaceful, as if someone had placed them there. They were perfectly positioned. I haven’t told anyone else about this.”
We had received a similar message from Spirit. I had trusted my instinct to share my deeply personal experience with her.
“What do you think my two birds mean, Holly?”
“Let me see…”
I paused on the narrow path, allowing my feet to deepen into the earth. The remaining light of dusk was fading into still blackness. I closed my eyes and felt into the energy of her experience. I silently asked what the meaning was, and slowly conveyed to her what I was being shown. Her story reminded me of the power of my own story—all three birds a message of death, a powerful letting go and the possibility of new creation, in endless forms: the gift of rebirth that death grants us. It was clear this message was especially necessary for both of us in that moment.
Amazingly, in a matter of hours, we covered the span of our lives—informing each other of who we were and where we were on our paths in this lifetime. We hugged goodnight and parted ways, the stars beginning to brighten the pure black sky.
I share this story with you as an example of the Empowered Feminine:
She recognizes sacred connections.
She instinctively knows when and with whom to share these connections.
She is open to Spirit.
She receives.
She is in harmony with the Earth.
She listens deeply.
She trusts.
She allows herself to be led by the Universe.
She understands the language of signs and symbols.
She witnesses grace.
This is a powerful example of women coming together. Witnessing each other fully. Sacred connection. Reverence. Love. Unwavering support. Trusting each other’s gifts and wisdom.