I awoke the other morning with the knowing that this woman’s body is an altar.
My body is an altar, as are all bodies. As is the Earth.
How might your life be different if you knew this to be true, knew it deep down in the marrow of your bones, deep in the bowl of your belly, deep in the layers of your skin?
How might you wash your face?
How might you brew your tea?
How might you be with yourself? with others? with Life?
How might your sense of Love change?
What would it take for you to know this, throughout the cells of your being?
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365 Altars
365 Altars - cloth and image by Jeanne
An altar is a place you go to reclaim your woman’s intuition. This place says to the busy, rational mind, “Quiet down—let the deeper, wiser woman within you speak!†Over time your view of yourself and your place in the world shifts. The altar becomes a sacred space because you place symbols of your true self on it. As you sit before the altar, these symbols act as mirrors reflecting your deeper self. You see yourself differently while looking in the mirror, and, in time, you find the courage to be this authentic self more frequently in the world. The peace you’ve invested in your altar now radiates back to you. ~ Denise Geddes
“There are so many things I’ve wanted to do, things I’ve longed to investigate, things I’ve wanted to at least try, I can’t help but wonder how my life might be differently now had I silenced those nay-saying Committee of Jeanne members advocating abandonment and moved forward, following the interest, the hobby, the question, the idea without regard to return on investment and such.
…
Every day – every single day – I will stop, drop, and honor my deepest sumptuous self in one way or another. Every single day, I will commit one single creative act – maybe more. I’d love to have you join me as and if and when you will.”
Waking up to the knowing of my body as an altar was born directly out of Jeanne’s creation. As I read her deepest desire to honor the sacredness in herself and to offer a way and community in which to do so, I could feel the rekindling of a deep, deep longing to honor Self in this way.
Jeanne is a woman who knows deep things. She sees things others don’t. Her deepest sumptuous self honors women in a way we must come to embody if we are to survive.
The Earth as Altar
Honoring Self is honoring the sacred, the divine, the Life that moves through all of existence.
Remembering the sacred in the body is awakening to the sacredness at the heart in every cell of Life, and when we do it within our own selves, we also do it for the Earth, a glorious being who is needing our love, our reflection, and a remembrance of the sacredness that she is.
There is no separation between your body and the Earth. We’re made of her clay. Our fluid is her fluid. Our breath is her breath. Our sacred substance is her sacred substance.
Find someway to honor your Self, your creativity, your divinity. And, share it with another.
3 Replies to “Body as Altar. Earth as Altar.”
“Honoring Self is honoring the sacred, the divine, the Life that moves through all of existence.” Yes. yes yes yes yes yes.
And the other morning when you texted me your wake-up realization, well, I still get chillbumps just thinking about that morsel of pure beauty. Years ago, as I would slater lotion on my skin, I would thank (sometimes audibly, sometimes silently) each body part. “Thank you feet for connecting me with the earth with such tenderness.” and “Thank you, legs, for carting me around as I trek and trot and skip and saunter.” You get the idea. And now along comes your crystallization “My body is an altar” and it’s whole.
You honor me, Jewels. For these words, for your friendship, for your unwavering support of my adventures, for letting me ride shotgun on your adventures, for our sisters-in-writing-and-so-much-more relationship, for being such a feminine force in the world and in my world . . . I thank you, and I love you.
You’ve inspired me to take actions to treat my body as an altar during the upcoming week. Sleep to rejuvenate my energy, water to rehydrate my tissues, and exercise to keep my muscles strong.
I have thought of this repeatedly since I read it yesterday: “There is no separation between your body and the Earth. We’re made of her clay. Our fluid is her fluid. Our breath is her breath. Our sacred substance is her sacred substance.” Thank you.
“Honoring Self is honoring the sacred, the divine, the Life that moves through all of existence.” Yes. yes yes yes yes yes.
And the other morning when you texted me your wake-up realization, well, I still get chillbumps just thinking about that morsel of pure beauty. Years ago, as I would slater lotion on my skin, I would thank (sometimes audibly, sometimes silently) each body part. “Thank you feet for connecting me with the earth with such tenderness.” and “Thank you, legs, for carting me around as I trek and trot and skip and saunter.” You get the idea. And now along comes your crystallization “My body is an altar” and it’s whole.
You honor me, Jewels. For these words, for your friendship, for your unwavering support of my adventures, for letting me ride shotgun on your adventures, for our sisters-in-writing-and-so-much-more relationship, for being such a feminine force in the world and in my world . . . I thank you, and I love you.
You’ve inspired me to take actions to treat my body as an altar during the upcoming week. Sleep to rejuvenate my energy, water to rehydrate my tissues, and exercise to keep my muscles strong.
I have thought of this repeatedly since I read it yesterday: “There is no separation between your body and the Earth. We’re made of her clay. Our fluid is her fluid. Our breath is her breath. Our sacred substance is her sacred substance.” Thank you.