The Field of Flowers

SoulCards(c) Deborah Koff-Chapin

May I speak the Truth I see.


May I fully realize the power of words whether spoken or written or thought. Their energy resonates throughout my life and the world carried upon the winds of Gaia. Sound in its whole nature is beyond our comprehension. Thoughts create the world. As I will so mote it be. Words. All cultures and spiritual paths recognize the power of words, thought, sound. And recognize the empowerment they bestow through speaking the Truth in loving-kindness. For the background of the notes, the pages upon which they are written, must be rooted in the wisdom of Gaia, of Divine Feminine, of the Infinite in Sacred contract. 


I hear my thoughts before they emerge, when I pause, and know that they are beautiful when spoken from a secure center. If they come from fear, wait, pause longer, turn them over and breathe or burn them into transformation, feeling them deeply, the emotions they seek to express, then allow them to sink into Self, into Gaia, into the Core where love and acceptance wrap around them until they emerge as butterflies. May I not reject the feelings of fear, only bring them closer, hugging them to me until the relax and can change into words based in compassion. 


I speak in compositions of love and beauty and transformation, all is possible in Her. 


She blossoms within and her petals softly soothe the rough edges of words not yet honed into gentle curves. I taste the sweetness of Her nectar, and Her scent permeates my Being. All can happen in the pause between thought and words formed or spoken. Once they manifest, how do we then transform them?


I see the field of flowers spread out before me, beckoning with their glorious colors and shapes and scents; I walk through the broad expanse of the field in humble joy as they caress my bare skin and play before my eyes and I hear their voices rise unheard upon the breeze to soar into my very cells, my heart, my soul. I know this Field of Gaia as home once more.


Current discussions of The Field, Akashic Field, always seems so stark and sterile to me, at least the way that 'modern science' describes the energy. But I see . . . 


I see a Field of Flowers . . . the pollen from billions of flowers spreads and blends and carries infinite messages across time and space. When I sit, there is no no-thing, for why should I feel that I must abandon the beauty of form, of vision, of Gaia's earthly creations that have manifested? Is She not as lovely and loving, as giving and miraculous as anything we could imagine in our wildest dreams that might be beyond form? 


She is manifest and still remains beyond our ability to see and know to Her depths. And so I see Her as She shares Herself with me. She is a Field of Flowers in mind and spirit. She is The Field, the Flowers, the Infinite. She does not care how I envision Her, only that I do and that I know She is All and that we are One. She is the bud I speak so love will grow. She is the full bloom I dream into form. She is the flowering within and without, reflected in all Her creations.

May I see Her Truth, 

speak Her Truth, 

and BE the Truth I see in Her 

as I rest in Her Field of Flowers.

Grandma's Flower Garden Quilt

Beautiful Bones

SoulCards(c) Deborah Koff-Chapin

All of Life is Death.
Yet in Death is transformation and renewal--Birth.


Imagine Death, see it lying beside me, calm, at peace, bare bones laid open and free from outer judgment, stripped of the covering that separates to show underneath we are all the same.


Beautiful structure, the base, the foundation, available to be reborn as disintegration begins, yet, for a while, a testament to the life before, a remembrance of that which housed the personality and ego. 


Look through the gleaming colors, through the shadows that linger ever so slight, and see the face of who has gone before, the Being that once was but is still here and is always.


Remembering . . . the words of a tale . . . "I'll grind your bones to make my bread" . . . words that seemed so scary but truly our bones are miraculous minerals given for our use in the manifest world to live but when we are done, they return to the earth, without the animating Vital Force, the Soul, the Spirit--without the animation of living a purpose we all return to the earth, to Gaia, to be transformed and reborn.


Once having faced Death--full frontal view--the bones and skeleton seem beautiful, fragile yet strong, solid yet filled with space! The rigidity an illusion we cling to as justification until realization comes that our bones are living tissue of change, and if that is real then, in the world of form, how much more potential is found in the rest of our bodies and lives?! We can move and shape and create!


Death is a Friend. Bones are Beautiful.


How does it feel to be laid bare?
How does it feel to be stripped of all the coverings accumulated as so-called protection?
How is this different if I shed the armor myself? 
To Die before Death?
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I was struck by some of these thoughts and images last year, recalled now by the SoulCard(c) I drew, when I was able to be personally involved in the process of cremation for my beloved animal companions. Why does society--why do we--try to distance ourselves from Death and Dying? The kind couple who started this special crematorium allow the cremains to be returned to the animal's human companion 'as is' . . . bone fragments . . . instead of requiring "processing" through a grinder to make the powder usually seen after a cremation. I found this incredibly and deeply honoring of form. To be witness to how each form returns from the fires of transformation is very moving. The bone fragments are the last residual visual representation of the once-animated being who wore flesh and walked the earth with me for a short while. To see the innermost form revealed in all its beauty is a wonder . . . physically or spiritually.

Demeter - beloved feline companion

Prayer to Oshun

SoulCards(c) Deborah Koff-Chapin

I cry into your arms, feeling overwhelmed on behalf of another one of your children . . . 
Blessed Oshun, She of the Flowing Waters, I sail upon your loving waves and feel the peaceful foundation of your divine wisdom carrying me through the challenges, calming my turbulent emotions. I pause and welcome the gifts you share so freely, accepting your healing energy and sharing it with others. I feel the emotions of loved ones, their anger or frustration, their pain and confusion, and I open so that your infinite love will flow through me and into them, sustaining and soothing. I invite them into the vessel where I rest so that they too can be supported by your love. I open to your essence that is the field of our universe, you fill me from above and below as I drift suspended within the core of your heart that is everywhere. I give back to you all that I am knowing the cycles of your glorious generosity and bounty. Oh, Goddess, hear my cries, I pray to you as I love and nourish others for all is abundant when I am in your presence. I open to your serenity and feel your waters flooding my soul, the tears pouring from my eyes into your womb to transform the suffering of loved ones into compassionate awareness. Oshun, I see you everywhere as you prepare the way for renewal. I feel you in Self and for a moment the shivers escalate within my body as we tremble together in the bliss of being One. Oh, Goddess, Source of All, the more you give, the more I want to give back to you and to all. How can I help? I see ways to ease the suffering of others, of world and animals and plants and people. When I pause in your presence, I feel the limitless love and beauty that is possible and also feel my heart aching for the suffering all around. I see my ow selfishness when it arises in perfect clarity, and I reach out to hug this frightened child that tries so hard, too hard, to be noticed and unique, and I hug this child who is soothed as you embrace us--you embrace all of us! And the love overflows, pouring down mountains in streams and rivers, the lakes fill to the brim, and the ocean swells in the infinite gentleness of acceptance. And I am once more carried in your arms, our tears merge, and together we reach out to all those in need with deep love and compassion. Dear Blessed Oshun, infinite in diversity, thank you.

Me and My Shadow

SoulCards(c) Deborah Koff-Chapin

See Shadow, how softly she stands beside me, her smile a blurry reflection of mine as we dwell in the peace of presence. 


We walk the woods together and Shadow flits in and out of presence, reflecting how I sometimes walk in the world, my Self flickering with presence here, then gone, then back again. Me and my Shadow. Even when I can't see her, I know she is still 'there' just beyond the perception of the eye, I can feel her energy keeping me company.


I remember chasing my shadow, first as a child, then as an adult, in different concepts but the same reality of chasing what I can't catch, only realizing that by coming into stillness can we be connected as One. And that which I was chasing now comes willingly into our embrace. 


Shadow keeps lots of secrets and I know them all even if we don't whisper about them beneath the bedsheets like I did with childhood friends. And she grows and shrinks with the abundance or lack that she consumes, just as my sunshine-shadow becomes large or small when there are clouds or structures blocking the light. 


Me and my Shadow, we share everything although she protects me more than I do her for she is stronger and more fluid in nature, able to come and go so much more quickly as we pass through this world together. She shows me how to die and be born again without suffering by allowing the experience to simply Be what it is. 


Shadow is funny, too, as she can become all sorts of shapes from crooked to thin and straight, how does she know these things, these transformative processes? Ah yes, because she shares my secrets and helps me manage them. 


Shadow points out the Shades of other people, directing, guiding, helping me know them through Her. Shadow sometimes reaches out to touch, to connect, before I am able to; or may hesitate, withdraw, even as I step toward someone and become temporarily engulfed in that person's shadow. It can be a little scary and cold to live in someone else's shadow because that one doesn't always protect me like my Shadow does.


Shadow, dear Shadow, always helps me find my Self again and we step into the light where I see Her and Self fully, clearly, and we continue our walk in the woods or the canyons, along stream beds, or up a mountain. And sometimes we stop to swim the ocean where we both disappear into Mother . . . One.


Me and my Shadow . . . BFF :-)


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This was my 60th card drawn in my Journey of Soul Inquiry. Because I combined the two Soul Cards(c) decks into one, there are still 60 more cards to select along the path. I am enjoying the wisdom, the insights, that come through these image portals--and I am treasuring the words that each of you reading also shares along the way. Thank you!