Sometimes I forget…

Oct 4, 2016

Sometimes I forget... | www.nalumana.com

 

Sometimes I forget…

 

…that I have a son whose age I still refer to in “months.”  Not because I’m one of those mamas who says “I have a 72-month old,” but because I actually only very recently carried and birthed a wee baby into the world.

…that by definition, then, my life is a bit misaligned.  Not because there’s anything “wrong” or “to be fixed” about it at all, but because I am in a season of my life that precludes or limits aspects of myself and my identity that I dearly miss, but I know will return.

…that I have a “brand new business” and a “brand new occupation” that was actually many, many, many years in the making…perhaps my entire life in the making.  That it’s not going anywhere, even if I don’t open my computer to check my email or post online tonight.

…to be my own best client.  To be gentle on myself as I transition to motherhood again, to take time to do the things that give me energy, to make s-p-a-c-e for myself, my creativity, and my soul.

Sometimes I forget to be kind to myself.  To respect myself.  To allow myself.  To honour myself.

 

Because even when it’s messy and hard, tiring and sad, I’ve got both feet in beautiful muck of it all, and I’m living the biggest life I can, the best I know how.

The Becoming Podcast has been on a short hiatus while I focus on writing my book, but oh what a comeback episode I have for you!

This month, I spoke to Toko-pa Turner, who many of you may know as the unofficial patron saint of many of my circles and gatherings because of the sheer number of times I’ve quoted from the wisdom of her book, Belonging.

Toko-pa is a Canadian author, teacher, and dreamworker. Blending the mystical teachings of Sufism in which she was raised with a Jungian approach to dreams, she founded The Dream School in 2001, from which thousands of students have graduated. She is the author of the award-winning book, Belonging: Remembering Ourselves Home, which explores the themes of exile and belonging through the lens of dreams, mythology, and nature. This book has resonated for readers worldwide, and has been translated into 10 different languages so far. Her work focuses on the relationship between psyche and nature, and how to follow our inner wisdom to meet with the social, psychological, and ecological challenges of our time.

Here’s some of what Toko-pa and I talk about in this episode:

> The dream that changed Toko-pa’s life, causing her to question her career and, ultimately, her identity

> How we can court our dreams to support us during times of radical transformation – and the reasons so many of us have a hard time remembering and working with what shows up in our dreamscape

> Toko-pa’s perspective on the message of Belonging after the divisiveness our society has experienced in the years since it was published

> What happened for both Toko-pa and I when we fell out of belonging from the ideologies of the “wellness world”

> How to build community when you’re under-resourced

> “The Big Lie” when it comes to belonging, and how we can reclaim a sense of belonging to the greater family of things, as Mary Oliver so famously wrote

Listen to the episode on iTunes

 

Show Notes

Toko-pa’s Website

Belonging:  Remembering Ourselves Home, Toko-pa’s book

The David Abram video about animism mentioned in the interview

Toko-pa’s self-guided program, Dream Drops

Companion, the program that accompanies Belonging

 

Also, while you’re at it, if you enjoy The Becoming Podcast, I would be so grateful if you would rate and review, and even subscribe to it on iTunes.  That goes a long way to helping more and more people find and benefit from hearing these interviews!  Thank you so much!