Courage calling
Once upon a time, in what feels like a different lifetime altogether, I met Cat. She and her family opened the door to my spiritual journey, igniting a fire that still burns bright today. I’ll never forget our first Full Moon Ceremony together, surrounded by the warm glow of summer.
Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of watching Cat’s journey unfold, witnessing her growth and evolution into the incredible woman she is today. Her grit, passion, and resilience have always been admirable, but it’s her groundedness and unwavering commitment to staying true to herself and her unique gifts that have truly inspired me. I’m constantly in awe of her ability to face challenges head-on with grace and determination, emerging stronger and more self-assured with every step forward.
Change has always been a constant in Cat’s life, but she’s taken it in stride and turned it into a powerful force for good. That’s why I’ve invited her to share her perspective on facing change with courage and grace.
I hope you enjoy her wisdom as much as I have!
Weaving death into life
In a society where Death is denied and considered taboo, we implicitly reject the energy of change. This results in us not being used to fully deal with endings or the process of letting go.
Most of the cultures are disconnected from using ritual and ceremony to mark transition periods.
These important moments can be seen as mini deaths – the death of a relationship or a marriage, the death of a job, a project, or the death of your single life.
Without the tools to honor these endings, we end up living a perpetual state of liminality, being stuck in between, not being one or the other, carrying along old parts of self into the new phases of our life, recreating old stories and not living fully.
One of the reasons I deeply admire indigenous cultures is for their ability to willingly open the door for metaphorical death, change and transformation. They are comfortable diving deep in the waters of the unknown. The Qero’s practice dying yearly, contemplating what this experience brings, what they are still attached to and what requires healing, adjusting.
I am deeply passionate about bridging these practices: conjuring change, honoring endings and practicing dying in a container of ritual and ceremony.
Oftentimes, our work in the world is born out of our personal journey so the perspective that I am sharing today comes from my exploration into death and healing… I’ve had my share of experience in both these fields: throughout my personal life, in my work with cancer patients in America and also in my journey of self-transformation.
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I grew up in a family where I was encouraged to explore the unseen – both my parents and I went through over two decades of training in shamanic studies and complementary healing modalities.
A considerable part of the teachings revolved around death – doing personal death contemplations called “death lodges’, also guiding people in the moment of transition, practicing a mixture of psychotherapy combined with death rituals and practices from the Peruvian culture.
My initiation started with my grandmother’s death – this was the laboratory for applying everything that we had studied over the years.
My mother and I prepared her, guiding her away from fear, into a sacred conscious transition.
Later on, that year, my mother was diagnosed with an aggressive type of cancer.
The journey we shared before she left was one of the most humbling experiences that life had offered me so far, bringing me even closer to the awareness that when death is accepted and integrated, great healing can take place.
After my mother’s death, life took me on an adventure over countries and continents where change became my most trusted friend and the only constant in my life. Both my personal and professional life were infused with new levels of awareness. I started finding joy in change. The more I embraced it in my life, the more I was able to recognize it in my work and guide people into states of acceptance and empowerment.
I collaborated with centers around the world and dedicated a large part of my career to bridging the importance of transition moments and educating people on coming to terms with endings in any area of life.
Our relationship with death reflects our relationship with life.
The art of recognizing and addressing the stagnant energies in our relationships, in our work, in our environment and even in our homes can become the greatest catalyst for freedom, success and creativity.
We often move through life not being fully engaged or satisfied with the circumstances that we are living.
The key to changing our condition is directly linked to our ability to recognize and face the aspects that are no longer serving, the ‘dead’ parts that we are carrying.
A powerful question that brings enormous healing is: “What needs to die so I might fully live?”
This contemplation can serve any area of life. It takes tremendous courage to be able to recognize and let go. By inviting this perspective, we start ‘practicing dying’. Giving death to what is no longer necessary.
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With time we can become comfortable in the process, and we can learn to trust. Like a tree shedding its dead leaves, gaining more life force, and blooming, we start seeing the benefits of creating space.
Each time we release, new spaces become available.
Usually, we do not know what letting go brings – there is not an immediate replacement.
But if we learn to trust the cycles of life and death and renewal, we will always find that life force comes through and the universe conspires in ways that we could have never imagined, bringing new situations full of life and potential.
We are programmed to believe that endings bring suffering. I am truly inspired by the idea of rewiring this perception and calling in the idea that endings can be done consciously with love, acceptance, and celebration, knowing that there is gold on the other side waiting.
The most successful and empowered people are those who are able to embrace change and consciously call it in.
We are here to live fully, passionately, and purposefully
When we confront our life and death with curiosity and awareness, something truly magical happens. If you choose to befriend Death, it will help you live fully and authentically, with courage and joy.
It will show you how to keep your heart and mind open, it will help you stay true to yourself and easily shift directions. You will honor your relationships and you will cherish moments.
And this is my invitation.