Rahima Warren's Blog, page 4

Walls or Oneness?

WALLS OR ONENESS?

Rahima Warren

September 26, 2013

Yesterday, I saw my walls – the wooden walls I am holding up against the world. They are at least three feet thick!

What are these walls for? I’m desperately trying to protect myself from the roughness, the pain, the heartache that living in our current reality usually brings. I’m resisting any real contact with the world, from a deep, old fear of being crushed, maimed, destroyed. I imagine that if I let go of my walls, and let them tumble down, they will fall on me, and the world will trample me.

I sensed what enormous tension I use to keep these walls up. And I have had a pretty good life. How much more enormous must the tension be, for those who have difficult and painful lives and have not had the resources to get help!  Sensing this, I understood a bit about what may drive some to violence, just to try to relieve this terrible tension.

Yet, on the other hand, I long for a sense of union, of oneness, of being at home in the world. I’ve been searching for this connection, this belongingness for decades, through many psychological and spiritual paths and practices, including therapy, women’s groups, vision quests, meditation, ceremony, chanting, spiritual studies, journaling, expressive art, and more. And I have experienced this sense of unity, harmony, peace and belonging many times, more often as I mature, but only for moments at a time.

So, I thought, I have to take my walls down, if I want to stay in the oneness, the connection, the sense of being at home in the world and one with all that is. But, my ego gibbered, I can’t. It’s too scary!

I took this conundrum to my spiritual teacher. He reminded me that we all have our walls or armor, and need some protection in this rough world. And it’s not an either/or choice. Oneness is like a frequency that is always present everywhere and permeates any “walls” I might put up. Also, he reminded me – it’s too late: the world already crashed in on me with all of the conditioning I got from parents, teachers, and society.

At Home in the World
(c) Rahima Warren

So, after all, it turns out that my walls don’t keep anything out: the world OR the Oneness!

And there’s no need to try to dismantle my walls.

That would indeed be too scary.  Just accept them, love them, and shift my awareness to the frequency of Oneness as often as I can.

What a relief! Already I can feel some of that old tension draining away. I don’t have to fight myself. I can keep my walls and have my sense of union, too.

 

 SUGGESTED CONTEMPLATIONS

What is your experience with inner walls or armor? Do you have a sense of the ways you may try to protect yourself from the world?

Do you feel at home in the world? What has helped you feel that sense of connection or union?

Have you had times when you have felt the Oneness of All That Is? What was that like?

I’d love to hear what your experiences are. Please leave a comment if you so desire.

I share about one of my major experiences of Oneness, here: http://www.soulplay.com/one-awareness

What Is Peace?

What is Peace?

Rahima Warren

September 11, 2013

On this day when we remember a terrible act of non-peace,  I heard this question, and it resonated with importance.

What is peace?

Many people want peace, pray for peace for the world, and/or for inner peace. I have gone to a 24-hour prayer vigil for peace, and a two-week pilgrimage to pray for peace. But I never asked myself this question.

Is peace just the absence of war, or of inner conflict? Is inner peace a sort of still calmness, serenity, equanimity? That is what I have always thought.

What is peace?

Contemplating this question, what came to me was a new, vibrant sense of peace, a sense of spaciousness, freedom, expansiveness and free creativity—a much more active sense of peace than my old definition. Peace is alive, fresh, vibrant—a whole new dimension of life!

I sense a world at peace, where all people have all they need

to be their full, loving, joyous selves

Goddess of Vibrant Peace

– the freshness, the joy, the unlimited creativity, people dancing, singing, designing things out of peace and love, creating art everywhere!

Can you imagine an inner world of this vibrant peace? How does it feel to you?  When I invite this in, my heart warms and expands with sweet joy. I sense that this is my – our – true nature.

But how do we get there, I hear you asking. Here is what a wise man says:

“The moment you completely accept your non-peace, your non-peace becomes transmuted into peace. Anything you accept fully will take you into peace. This is the miracle of surrender.”

-Eckhart Tolle

This is not easy, I know. I spend too much time resisting what is, fussing and striving to make things be different. But when I do relax, and accept what is, it’s so much easier on my nerves! And often, things begin to flow better. Often, this flow carries me towards this vibrant, living peace that is our inner nature

What is peace?

When you contemplate this question, what arises for you? I hope you will share your answers here. I would love to hear from you!

May peace arise within us all.

 

Inner Fierceness

Developing Inner Fierceness

Rahima Warren

The old, masculine definition of fierceness has to do with “ferocity, severity, violence, strength, power, savageness, viciousness.” These are some of the synonyms for fierceness that come up in the Thesaurus. But there is a new definition arising among some women I know, having to do with standing up for ourselves, protecting ourselves, being loyal to ourselves, to our intuitive wisdom, to what we love, to what we know is right for ourselves – no matter what others may say or think. This is so important, and I feel it must be grounded in another kind of fierceness.

This aspect of fierceness is the courage to face the inner truth, to be with whatever is arising within, and ultimately to express and share the truth we have found by doing so. With this fierce inner courage, we know who we are without illusions, and so can trust and stand up for ourselves, our truths.

Developing inner fierceness has been a big part of my inner journey. Looking back, I see three main ways that helped me develop this kind of fierceness.

DREAMWORK: I learned to listen to what characters from my dreams or inner visions have to tell me when I write dialogs with them, even when they are cussing me out, or telling me things that go against my beliefs or intentions.

For example, here is the beginning of a Dialog with the Basilisk of Inertia:

“Hello, Basilisk, I see you lurking there.  You are always undermining me, telling me that whatever I want to do will not succeed.  You seem to want to only sit still, never move, and lash out with your nasty tongue at any creative impulse, branding it unoriginal, boring, worthless.  What is your problem?  What are you doing lurking down there in the darkness?”

BASILISK: “Narrrggghhh!  Nyet! No!  I hate moving.  One move and it all changes. Never a moment’s rest.  Go, go, go.  THAT is the problem.  Nothing is ever good enough.  Always got to get more, do more, see more, learn more, grow more, create more, be more, be better, be stronger, be more spiritual.  Yauuurrrgghh!  Disgusting!  I hate it.  I hate the light that makes you see there is somewhere to go.  Here in the darkness, I can’t see anything so I can’t move.  Peaceful.  Quiet.  Aaaahhh!”

From this dialog and other inner work with the Basilisk, I learned to pace myself, and the Basilisk stopped hindering me from my creative work. (More about that process here.)

FOCUSING: Through various forms of therapy and meditation, I learned to sit and be with whatever feelings, thoughts, images or desires are arising, and inquire into them, rather than identifying with and indulging in them. For example, the Focusing approach to therapy taught me how to attend to whatever murky feelings or sensations were lurking in my core, without judging or resisting them, but instead to inquire into what message they are trying to tell me. Once I get the message, I experience a shift, a relaxation of my whole system, because I have faced and listened to my inner truth.

CREATIVE EXPRESSION: My training in sandplay therapy and expressive arts therapy taught me to allow myself to create whatever is arising, whether it is ugly and mean and horrible, or beautiful and inspiring, or mysterious and unexplainable. This is not easy. I have to allow myself to ignore or break all the “rules” in my head, such as “those two things don’t go together,” or “that subject is taboo.” From practicing expressive arts for nearly 20 years, I am learning ever more to let go of control and trust my inner being, my intuition, my right-brain self, and let her express her knowings in her own way.

Trusting my inner process, being brave enough to face whatever arises from deep within, this I call inner fierceness. It is what allowed me to write a quite fierce story – a story of both that old, savage fierceness, and of the inner fierceness to endure and heal from that old kind of fierce brutality. If I had not developed inner fierceness, I would never have been brave enough to write my fantasy trilogy, The Star-Seer’s Prophecy, or to get the first book, Dark Innocence, published.

This path of developing inner fierceness has led me always closer to my true self, and that is what brings me joy.   Here are some questions and resources for developing more inner fierceness of your own. I’d love to hear your responses to this post or to these questions.

 

Suggested Contemplations

When you think of inner fierceness, what do you feel?

What does it mean to you?

How have you developed inner fierceness?

How has doing so affected your life?

Resources

Art for Awakening: Gems from My Journey

on www.soulplay.com

by Rahima Warren

The Jungian-Senoi Dreamwork Manual, or Dreamworking

by Strephon Kaplan Williams

 Focusing

by Eugene Gendlin

The Creative Connection

by Natalie Rogers

Painting from the Wild Heart Workshops & Retreats

Chris Zydel

www.creativejuicesarts.com

Moments of Unknowing

Moments of Unknowing

by Rahima Warren

I’d been having a frustrating day. Couldn’t get centered or focused. Tried to get something done, but nothing was working. The printer wouldn’t print. Answers to emails that I thought I needed NOW were not forthcoming. I felt anxious and uneasy. I blamed the stars: Mercury was in retrograde.

Finally, I gave up and went outside onto our deck. First thing I noticed was a small, nearly colorless dragonfly perched on a purple salvia flower, absolutely still. So still that I even got a photo of it. (Can you see it? It’s perched atop the purple flower.)

Wondering what this visitor signified, I wrote a dialog with Dragonfly.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rahima: Dear Dragonfly, thanks for appearing to me today. I wonder what magic you hold, what message you convey. Will you share with me today? Who are you?

DRAGONFLY: I am delicate and strong, clear, almost invisible – but powerful in a way unknown to you, the unseen power of presence, of acceptance, of awareness. I watch. I wait, still and silent. No unnecessary movement. When it’s time, when I see my prey, I dart silently, and take what is mine. I am efficient, ancient and wise in my way, perfectly what I am.

Rahima: What is your message for me?

DRAGONFLY: Wait. Be still. Wait for the right time. Then move. Will all your restlessness and fussing be of any use? Accept this moment of unknowing. Allow the unknowingness to ripen, trusting yourself to know when it is time to move. This does not mean sleep. Be watchful, present, aware. Only then will you know when the moment is ripe.

Rahima: I do need to learn your stillness and patience.

DRAGONFLY: With all your restlessness and anxiety, you are perfectly what you are, as I am. Our world made us to be just who we are, and we each fit perfectly into our world. Accept this and know peace within.

Rahima: Thank you for sharing your wisdom with me.

 

Contemplation Questions

The times of “unknowing” are challenging for me and many people. How are they for you? Do you get restless and anxious? Charge ahead just to get something done or make something happen?  Does that usually work out OK?

Or are you able to accept the unknowingness, and wait for the moment to ripen?  What helps you do that?

Redefining Success

Redefining Success:

Reflections on my First Blog Tour

By Rahima Warren

My first and possibly last blog tour is almost over. I’ve written 27 different posts for as many blogs, each one written to suit the particular blogger’s interests or focus, while also sharing something about my experience writing my book, and/or about my book. In addition, I’ve been doing a lot of social media outreach on Twitter, FaceBook, etc. It’s been an intense experience!  It was fun to find that my energy level and creativity rose up to meet the challenge. I got very focused and met all the deadlines. And it was exhausting, too.

A couple of weeks into the tour, I had an unusual dream of pushing past a resistant barrier with all my might, and cranking up my will power to a new level of fierceness to banish that resistant force.  This dream showed me that I had fallen into the grip of the “pusher,” the part of my superego that always demands more, and insists that I keep working endlessly. Social media is perfect for the pusher. There is always more one can do: more social media networks to join; more tweets, photos and posts to write and share; more retweets and shares to do for others. It truly is endless!

I got so stressed out, I was getting heart palpitations and went to the doctor to get my heart checked. (It is fine.) With the help of my counselor, I relaxed and regained my center. I was able to continue to work but from a grounded, balanced place. That certainly made it more fun!

Another trap I started to fall into was worrying about whether this blog tour was being “successful.” Friends kept asking me about this, meaning was the blog tour increasing book sales. So far, the answer is no. On the other hand, there certainly a lot more people who have heard about me and my book. With the giveaways that are a part of the blog tour, my book is in the hands of a bunch of people who otherwise wouldn’t have known about it.

Also, Tiffany H., a book reviewer, gave my book, Dark Innocence: Book One of the Star-Seer’s Prophecy, a great review.

“I gave this book 5-stars on Goodreads, and it deserves every single one of them. While this is a fantasy book, it is also so much more. … I could not stop reading this book. Not only was the story fantastic, but you could see each little step of self-healing, discovery, acceptance, etc. It made you think about all of the stories you hear about on the news, all of the children who have horrific childhoods and how they, too, need this journey to be able to live fulfilling lives as adults later on. It’s beautiful and sad and hopeful and inspiring. Can you imagine a world where we face our fears, take responsibility, and forgive not only ourselves but one another?”

I love this review, and not just because it is a 5-star review. More importantly, the reviewer clearly understands the message of my book, and this touches my heart deeply. So, what is “success” for me in regard to this blog tour, and my book? When I feel into this, what feels like success to me is:

-          A warm, friendly feeling of appreciation

-          A sense of community

-          Gradual, organic growth, not sudden, overwhelming fame

-          A feeling of sunshine coming out from behind the clouds

-          Teary joy of readers truly understanding the message of my book

-          People experiencing healing for themselves from reading my book

(as one reader shares here.)

-          No rush, going at my own pace

-          Being glad for each little success.

Long after I wrote the entire trilogy, I received that the purpose of my books is to help transform our inner and outer culture of blame, judgment, revenge and punishment into a culture of understanding, penitence, forgiveness and healing. The story came through me with its own karma, dharma and charisma. I can only do my best to offer it to the world, and to remain unattached to any quantifiable definitions of success.

I will be contemplating if there is a way to generate a community of healing and support, inspired by my books. If you have any inspirations or ideas about this, please let me know by commenting below.

 REDEFINING SUCCESS FOR YOURSELF

What does success feel like to you? I suggest closing your eyes, relaxing and breathing for a little while. For the moment, set aside the outer definitions of success as fame or fortune. Let your heart open, and then feel into what success feels like to you. Write this down. Notice how you feel when you think of success this way vs. the ‘fame and fortune’ type of success.

I’d love for you to share what success is for you here. I’m sure we could all learn from each other, and help to redefine success in our culture.

 

 

 

My First Blog Tour

My First Blog Tour

By Rahima Warren

New Cover Art for EBooks

Perhaps you have noticed that I haven’t posted anything here for a while. I’ve been busy writing posts for a blog tour, which started May 13 and runs through June 21. It’s been fun – and a lot of work!

What’s a blog tour? Well, I’m writing guests posts for  other blogs (seventeen, so far) on various topics, ranging from Flowers As Healers, to how I ended up writing a fantasy trilogy. See Calendar below.

For the duration of the Tour, there’s a special low price for the e-Book versions of Dark Innocence – only $2.99 for Kindle, iTunes and Kobo. Plus, there are Prizes and Giveaways! Visit the Blog Tour Page for details. There are three ways to win. If you read one of the guest posts and leave a comment, you are entered to win a free eBook of Dark Innocence. On the Blog Tour Page, if you scroll down, there is a widget to enter for the Grand Prizes. Also, there is a place on the right to enter a GoodReads Giveaway of print copies. I hope you’ll join in!

I’ll be pretty busy until this tour ends, and then I’ll be on vacation for a week, so I may not post anything new here until July. In the meantime, you can read my guest posts if you like. Here’s the calendar, with the titles I’ve written so far. I have several more to write, as you can see!

>>Please visit the Blog Tour Page for links to the posts and updates. Note: Only the ones with past or current dates are posted. Others will be up on their dates as listed below.

Θ May 13 One Writer’s Journey: Author Q&A

Θ May 15 SS Book Fanatics: Why & How I Write Fantasy

Θ May 16 Author, A.F. Stewart – Tips For Evoking A Fantasy World

Θ May 17 Tracie Nichols – Flowers as Healers

Θ May 17 Musings From An Addicted Reader – Swept Away by My Protagonist!

Θ May 20 Talk 2 The Animals – Connecting with Animal Spirits Through Writing & Art

Θ May 22 Writer’s Fun Zone – Writing for An Anti-Hero

Θ May 24 All Fantasy Worlds

Θ May 28 Sassy Book Lovers – Becoming a “Strange and Special Creature”

Θ May 31 Richard Stephenson

Θ June 10 United By Books

Θ June 17 All The Fun Starts After Dark

Θ June 17 Fresh Fiction

Θ June 18 2 Read or Not 2 Read

Θ June 20 The Pen Muse

Θ June 21 Minding Spot

Honoring Mother Earth

My love of our Mother Earth has deep roots. I knew my grandmother only as an old, stern woman. But, long after she passed on, among old family papers, I found a poem she wrote about her love of “The Mountains” (see below.)

Her son, my father, took us camping every summer, as his family did when he was young. He studied the very essence of earth – her blanket of soil that nurtures all life. (He was a soils scientist and professor at a major university.)  He participated as a lecturer in one of the first classes on ecology.

Later in life, I was drawn to Native American spirituality for its deep honoring of and connection with Nature, and learned much from their teachings, prayers and ceremonies.

Today, I want to share  art and poetry that express love of our one and only home, the source of all known life, Mother Earth.

EARTH CHILD’S PSALM
By Rahima Warren

 

Mine eyes are fitted to the curves of Thy hills and valleys.

They are made to love Thy green leaves and blue skies.

Mine ears are shaped to delight in

the sounds of Thy waters flowing,

Thy creatures singing.

My cheeks are made to blush at Thy winter’s kiss.

 

Of Thy stone, my bones.

Of Thy waters, my blood.

Of Thy feast, my flesh.

Of Thy winds, my breath.

Of Thy fire, my mind.

Of Thy love, my soul.

O Mother Earth,

Most Sacred Mystery,

I am wholly Thy child.

I give Thee thanks for my life.

Healing the Earth by Rahima Warren

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Mountains
by Grace Arkley

I want the grand old mountains,

With snowy heads upreared;

I want a cozy mountain glen

With tiny camp space cleared.

I want the chirp of mountain birds,

The call of mountain quail,

The silver splash of leaping trout,

The wild rose by the trail.

I want the sunlight on the brook,

The shadow on the hill,

To watch white cloud in blue, blue sky

From canyon deep and still.

Oh, the mountains, the mountains,

I love you from my heart.

Oh God, when I go to heaven,

Let the mountains be my part.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Contemplation Questions

What do you love about our planet?

Did anyone teach you about our Earth when you were young?

Where does your heart long to be:

in the mountains? by the sea? among red rock canyons?

 

 

My Mission in Life

Facing the Darkness/Retrieving the Light:

My Mission in Life

By Rahima Warren

Hidden Treasure by Rahima Warren

Recently, someone asked me to articulate my Mission in Life, and I found myself quickly writing that my mission is: “facing inner darkness, retrieving my true Essence, and inspiring others to do the same.” Wow, I thought, that’s it! I never saw that before so clearly.

Then I remembered that, years ago, an astrologer read my natal chart. After looking it over, she said that my mission in life is to go into the darkness, find the beauty hidden there, and bring it into the light. When I look back I see that this actually has been my life’s work, which I have carried out in three ways (so far).

First, of course, I had to face my own darkness – my inner dark, scary, hurting places – and slowly retrieve my wholeness. One piece of this work was facing up to how hurt I was by my father’s immediate rejection of me when I was born – for being a girl. “Well, it’s a girl…but have a cigar anyway,” he said to his buddies. This utter rejection that I saw in his eyes made me feel worthless and was one of the roots of my fearfulness and desire to hide out in books. As a teenager, I was even afraid to make a phone call to a business for fear of being sneered at! But I have done a lot of inner work over the last 50 years. And now, here I am, working on letting the whole world know about the powerful, healing book I’ve written! (More about that below.)

Having found great help in therapy, I went back to school and became a psychotherapist. The second way I carried out my mission was in my work with my clients. We would go into the darkness to face the evil of child abuse, or other traumas, and, step-by-step, retrieve the beautiful essence of the client’s soul (as much as the person could take in.)

One client had been brow-beaten into seeing herself as a shrunken, twisted, pale shadow of her real self by extremely verbally abusive and neglectful parents. To protect her Essence, she had (metaphorically) hidden her soul in a box and put the box on a high shelf in a back storeroom of her psyche. It took a long time, but we found that hidden treasure and carefully, reverently opened that box so she could begin to absorb her true Essence.

The important point here is that we had to face the darkness, and explore all its twists and turns, before we could find that hidden treasure. If we had somehow found that box and opened it right away, my client would have been overwhelmed, probably even terrified, by her own light and beauty. I have no doubt that she would have left and never come back. To undo great harm takes time and patience, allowing the person to gain each small insight as she is ready, at her own pace.

I’ve now retired from my psychotherapy practice, and yet, again without planning to, I am still carrying out my mission in a third way. After ten years of writing, revising and editing, my fantasy novel, Dark Innocence: Book One of the Star-Seer’s Prophecy was published last year. It is a deep, rich story about the hero Kyr’s transformational journey to face the darkness and retrieve the light of his soul, and has inspired readers to deepen their own quests to retrieve their true Essence.

It is interesting to look back and realize that I was carrying out the mission that was revealed in my natal astrological chart in all these ways, without quite realizing what my mission was or what I was up to, until now. Clearly, this mission or focus was inherent in my original nature and has shaped my whole life.

Contemplation Questions

Do you know what your mission in life is? If so, how did you learn what it is? How has it shaped your life?

Have you had to face the darkness in order to retrieve your true Essence? If not, how were you able to keep or retrieve your soul’s wholeness, light and beauty?

 

A Story that Heals

A Story that Heals: An Interview with a Survivor

by Rahima Warren

“I could safely start to heal old wounds …And it all happened through the story…”

In this interview, Tetja Ann Barbee shares how reading my fantasy novel, Dark Innocence: Book One of the Star-Seer’s Prophecy, inspired her to forgive, and to deepen her own recovery process.

1. What was it like for you while reading Dark Innocence?

“In the beginning the author Rahima Warren, a licensed, experienced psychotherapist (now retired), makes it clear that there is more to Dark Innocence than just a fantasy fiction tale, and that her purpose is to provide a deep, meaningful, healing and spiritual fantasy story. “Wow, fascinating concept,” I thought, “a therapeutic story written in Tolkien style—MUST READ!”

At first I had little personal connection to the horror of the initial setting of this complex adventure, but I became so drawn to the spectacular story, that my feelings of separation turned to a longing to delve into my own psyche.  And the hero Kyr’s tumultuous journey became my own!  Through the very descriptive writing–colors, vibrations, sights, sounds—I developed a sense of deeper meaning.  I began to feel, hear, see, smell, and taste the experiences of each character vicariously, which in turn, became personally relevant.”

2. What parts of the story resonated most with you?

“The visceral presentation of sex used as a means to control, dictate, and manipulate for the purpose of subjugation is a concept I took personal note of, having survived horrible sexual acts against myself in life. However, later in the book, the sacred sexual healing scenes with Kyr and Jolanya balanced out the earlier abusive ones.

In addition, as a Feminist, I have a deep personal connection with the metaphysical concepts of God, The Goddess, Yin & Yang,….  Dark Innocence gave me a world filled with the presence and practice of Goddess knowledge, the beauty of nature and life; a way to assess my own thoughts of human interactions; and hope for the future.

Another thing that your book has really done is helped tie in many years of good therapy with my personal faiths and connections to the Universal forces of masculine and feminine (yin and yang) via a fantastic and compelling fantasy story that I could both enjoy, and use as guidance through suffering.”

3. How did reading the story affect you?

“I put the book down twice with an initial reaction to the nightmarish evil the characters were facing, but it beckoned me because the story is written so well, and I decided to continue on the notion it was going to be an enjoyable reading experience rather than a personally relevant one meant to heal.  I trudged on through the darkness seeking light in the story along with the characters, and amazing things began to happen in my mind.  A mood began to set, deeply and passionately.  When that happened, I could not put the book back down until I finished it!”

4. Did reading this story help you heal in any way? If so, how?

“By living vicariously through the characters in a safe, fun, and captivating manner, I began to relate to my own dark and deep feelings.  I found I could safely start to heal old wounds, and question things about my own beliefs.  And it all happened through the story’s presentation of terrible suffering, acceptance, and growth, as opposed to having to analyze myself.  I cried and laughed a lot, and consciously decided that if these characters can face such horrendous pain and evil, and come out to a place of lightness and beauty and love, so can I.

As a result, I have been able to forgive someone with whom I was very angry for a long time, for injuring me in a car accident. I have committed myself to deepen my recovery process. And I’m enjoying the effects of personal realizations about my own path in life and where I want to go.”

Thank you for sharing your experience so openly, Tetja.

“Rahima, I want to thank you for having such a keen sense of a person’s suffering and the hurdles one can face while dealing with it… and for helping me jump the first hurdle!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Rahima Warren, Author of Dark Innocence: Book One of the Star-Seer’s Prophecy

 

Rahima Warren is the author of Dark Innocence: Book One of the Star-Seer’s Prophecy, a deep, rich novel of the healing journey. With Master’s degrees in Clinical and Transpersonal Psychology, she was in private practice as a licensed psychotherapist for over 20 years. In 2006, Rahima retired to focus on her expressive painting, creative writing, and spiritual studies.

In her work with clients recovering from abuse, she was awed by the human capacity to heal, and to reach new levels of forgiveness, wholeness and happiness. She also learned to trust the psyche’s own process. This enabled her to allow this dark and mysterious story of the healing journey to flood forth unhindered.

Rahima is a third-generation native of California and resides with her husband in Northern California, where she periodically chases squirrels off the wild bird feeders, and deer away from her roses. Her life-long love of fantasy is her parents’ fault: they left sci-fi & fantasy magazines with fascinating cover art lying around the house, which she picked up as soon as she could read!

 

Heart Blooming

Spring Equinox 2013

Hope this turn of the seasons brings you many blessings of balance, harmony and beauty!

On a personal note, I’ve been feeling stressed lately, not sure why. Nothing new. Maybe just an accumulation over these past years of two challenging ‘jobs’ – eldercare for my elderly mother; and book publicity (not a natural thing for an introvert). So I sat and chanted and sang to my heart this morning on the Equinox, hoping to get back in balance.

Here’s the little poem that my heart gave me:

“Spring forward!” they say,

“Hurry up and bloom!”

But my heart says,

“Whoa, slow down.

Can’t rush the river along,

Can’t push the daisys to bloom

No.

Slow breathing,

Relaxing,

Allowing.

Welcoming rain and sunshine,

Slow unfurling,

Opening,

Widening

This is the way to bloom.”