Hello!
A little while ago, I mentioned that we have some changes and exciting announcements coming up at Brigid’s Way. The purpose of this newsletter is to share some of them (more to come in a bit). But before I tell you about them, I want to explain why we are offering these.
Near the beginning of the year, I started noticing that a number of clients and students who typically are very grounded and connected were really struggling. They were feeling shaken and lost.
Here’s a secret to my newsletter, the reason why so many of you send me emails saying how much you resonate with what I write: I listen and observe what is going on in the collective and my own life and then write about it. We are more connected than we realize.
When I saw my clients struggling, I asked my Guides what I could do to offer support to the collective. I wondered what is needed and what is missing. The messages that I received is that people are overwhelmed and they need to slow down, but even more importantly they need time in Nature to rejuvenate and remember they are held and supported.
While I was walking in the woods feeling into this question of support, my Guides suddenly gave me the schedule and content for an entire five day class. They have given me suggestions before, but never something this detailed and clear. They offered this as a way of support and restoration, while also providing access to skills that open the doors even wider to the magical World of Nature.
Fast forward several months and I suddenly came down with Covid for the first time. I experienced one of the most pessimistic times of my life during Covid. My brain fog was so intense that I couldn’t sense my Guides or intuition. Additionally, I was too exhausted to even walk outside and be with the Plants. I felt lost and alone. I was flooded with awful things abusive people had said to me (which must have been in my subconscious). I felt like a failure and a loser, I wondered how I wasted my life. The worst part was that I couldn’t recognize that this was temporary, simply part of the illness. Instead, it felt like all of the magic had gone out of my life and this was my permanent situation. We all can get depressed sometimes, but even my worst days never came close to what I was experiencing.
Fortunately, I have a fabulous partner and practitioners in my life who were able to support me and at least keep me somewhat buoyant. Eventually the brain fog started to lessen and I was able to walk outside. I bundled up and rocked in a hammock for over an hour in the Faerie Glen (until Rains pulled me inside). In the hammock, I watched the Birds flitting and felt their songs strengthening me. I connected with my Beloved Trees who support much of my work. I could feel the support and Love all around me. Once again I could hear my Guides. They were reminding me of who I am and why I’m here. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I released the pain of my lost moment and returned to myself, overwhelmed with gratitude.
This experience was extremely powerful to me. As I processed, I realized how blessed I am to have such a strong relationship with my Guides and have skills that help me remember my connection to all. I recognize that many people do not have this. I felt how painful that would be. And so, I again asked my Guides how I can support others and help them remember their connection to all.
The answer was again more offerings to help share the gifts that I’ve received over the years that guide me through life and support me during challenges. One of these was an interesting surprise that I want to share about because it explains the big change that is happening here.
I have been wanting to change the HEARTransformation Apprenticeship. I decided to take a hiatus from teaching this so that I can reformulate. One of my goals is to make this program more accessible. There are some components of the Apprenticeship that everyone would benefit from; however, doing the apprenticeship is a fairly big commitment. After much time with the Plants and my Guides, we have decided to shorten the 1st year to five weekends. These weekends are focused on learning techniques to support clients or work with healing in another way. To facilitate this change, there is now a prerequisite for the Apprenticeship of attending a Plant Communication weekend workshop or similar experience.
Over the years, I have had numerous requests to share more about working in co-creative partnership with Nature and more specifically, how to co-create a Sanctuary. When people first learn about co-creative partnership, it can often feel huge and overwhelming and sometimes when they start to engage or they start to create a Sanctuary things don’t go as smoothly as they expected. There is then a tendency to get discouraged or to think that something is wrong with them or they’re not good enough, but the truth is that this is simply part of the learning experience.
We are changing paradigms, which means that we will stumble and face challenges. The important part is to listen, learn, and remember that we are only one part of this partnership. My Guides have been pushing me to offer a workshop, but normally my summers are full with the HEARTransformation Apprenticeship. Pausing the Apprenticeship creates an opening, so for the first time I am offering a workshop on Co-Creating Sanctuary, which is hands on and immersive. We will experience fundamental aspects of co-creating a Sanctuary which can apply to any sized Sanctuary: a bedroom, a balcony, or a thousand acres.
Here are the workshops that we are offering to help rejuvenate, restore, reconnect with Nature, and remember (more description is available at the links):
April 28 - 30: Virtual Communicating with Plants: Engaging in Conscious Relationship
June 9 - 11: Remembering Wholeness: Personal Healing Weekend
July 28 - 30: Energy Hygiene 101
August 31 - September 4: Through the Portal: Engaging with the Seven Directions and Five Elements
September 15 - 17: Co-Creating Sanctuary
I hope you join us.
But mostly, I hope that you spend time simply being in Nature: delight at the flowers, hug some Trees, listen to the Birds singing, splash in the cool Waters, get lost in the Stars, look closely at the Insects and remember that you are Love(d).
With much Love,
Jen Frey