We are the Bridge Between the Past & the Future {Wild Woman Initiation Series: Lesson 13}

by | May 9, 2019 | WILD WOMAN, WILD WOMAN INITIATION | 4 comments

About the Wild Woman Initiation Series

The Wild Woman Project came to me in a flash, a vision & it wouldn’t let me go. So, I listened. The Wild Woman archetype has been initiating me ever since. Through various experiences, which have mostly been about untangling what is true & what is not true in my own being, I have come ever closer to the wild woman within. I am a student, servant, guardian to this project who’s mission is to to awaken women to their most authentic, undomesticated nature, so they may feel like themselves, all the time, no apologies. I am sharing the 13 most important lessons I’ve learned about the path of the Wild Woman over the next few months. May it be useful.

13

 

My heart beat seems to get stronger as I watch the curser on my mostly blank page appear and reappear in a pulsing rhythm. Somewhere between my heart and my hands, a sentence floods out: We are the bridge between the past and the future.
 
There is a full-bodied nod of recognition that courses through me. Yes, it says,right there; That’s it.
 
Some how, in all my wondering and wandering, I’ve come to trust the sound of my own truth when it emerges.
 
And today, it says: We are the bridge between the past and the future.
 
 
~~~
 
 
I started this Wild Woman Initiation Series in the summer of 2015 thinking I’d be done in a few months. My plan was to distill some of the things I had learned up to that point into digestible bits, small lessons mixed with memories of how I’d come to them.
 
Much to my surprise, within exactly 3 weeks of publishing the 1st installment of the 13, my life began to radically change. Nearly 4 years later, my outer life has been transformed: the city I live in, the man I love, the quality & sustainability of my work, my daily activities, my spiritual practices, my general lifestyle. And my inner life? Where there was desert, there are lush waterfalls. Where there was certainty, there is an openness to possibility I hope I never grow out of.
 
In retrospect, I thought, back then, that my Wild Woman Initiation was behind me. In my mind, it was something that had already happened. I can see now, that what I did on July 22, 2015 with the publishing of the first piece was this: I called it in.
 
We are the bridge between the past and the future.
 
Writing is my medicine, personal therapy, my adventure zone, and I have learned through this process, it is my most potent spell work. A well crafted sentence, infused with the fire of purpose, the waters of sincerity, and sent out on the wind can reshape the raw material of our lives on Earth.
 
What is your medicine?, the wild woman seems to ask us all as we embark on the path. How do you commune with the great mysteries?What brings you alive? In the process of one’s Wild Woman Initiation, she must, and most certainly will, find her medicine. For some it is a song that belts out and surprises them, for others it is in the small dedicated movements knitting a blanket for someone they love, for others it is their goosebump-inducing prayer to the Sky or the Earth. It is found for some in a dance that moves to and through them, for others it is in a hearty conversation with a soul friend, for others it is the sounding of an idea like trumpet. The list is endless, and your particular medicine is known only by you.
 
The channelling of the mysterious & potent formless something, into that which can be smelt, seen, touched, felt, heard, tasted – that which leaves us feeling full and nourished – this is creation from a Soul level. This is what means to follow the call of the wild Soul.
 
Please bring forth the creations of your Wild Soul, for this is what is needed now, continuously. This is how we will amplify wisdom and love over ignorance and hate. This is how we will find solutions and healings in every corner of our life on Earth.
 
This how we will unfurl the Soul of this place.
 
We are the bridge between the past and the future.
 
In the near 4 years that have passed between the beginning and the end of this series, the consciousness of the world seems to have changed quite a lot. For better and for worse, we have all been a part of the shifts that have happened.
 
What will our consciousness look like in another 4 years? We are co-creating that with every choice we make, every word we say, every thought we think, every fight we have, every orgasm that rumbles through us, every kind thing we do, every irresponsible action – it is us. In collaboration with our ancestors, we are making this world what it is now, and what it will be for our grandchildren.
 
We are the bridge between the past and the future.
 
To open your mind up to actually value the feminine aspect of consciousness is a radical kind of activism. Because when you do, you say, Yes, to possibilities and perspectives banished by a history, a culture & a collective consciousness which has held its boot on the throat of its Mother as she lay in the mud, barely breathing – and slowly regathering her strength.
 
When you open your heart to that which is wild in you and in our world, you align yourself with a force most powerful, a current of guidance which is infused with an unpredictable genius. To honor the wilderness in you is to honor that which is resilient, adaptable, co-creative, STRONG & bountiful on this Earth.
 
So then, what is it to invite the Wild Woman Initiation into your life?
 
It is to ignite the flame of the wild feminine in you. It will ask you to burn. You may see your life, as you know it, go up in flames. But if you trust Her, the fire will be an offering, and your heart will beat like a drum as you dance yourself into a new reality – one more honest, more loving, and dare I say it, MORE FUN!
 
I wouldn’t recommend this process to anyone whose heart isn’t pumping louder as she considers the possibility.
 
Your Wild Woman Initiation will not look exactly like mine, in fact, it may look entirely different. But if you do it, in sincerity, what our paths will have in common is that we made space for, tended to & followed the call of our own Wild Souls.
 
It is always, always, always, your choice.
 

Each morning and each night, with every inhale and exhale, let us remember Lesson 13:

We are the bridge between the past and the future.

 
 
 

EXPLORE THE OTHER LESSONS OF THE WILD WOMAN INITIATION SERIES

 

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4 Comments

  1. Jennifer H
    Jennifer H on May 9, 2019 at 9:47 am

    This. Thank you for these words. They speak to that deep something that connects us. I am inspired and stand strong with you in wilderness! Xoxo

    Reply
    • Chris Maddox
      Chris Maddox on May 9, 2019 at 11:34 am

      YES! Thanks so much for reading and sharing. Together in wilderness, C

      Reply
  2. Samantha Reich
    Samantha Reich on May 9, 2019 at 5:39 pm

    Thank you for this rememberance, as I begin to reflect upon the archetypes of my own soul. I return to the wilderness each night, bleeding out to the moon, offering my blood as a gift of gratitude for this wild passion that burns in my belly. Here I find a place of refuge. Thank you sister for sharing your magic! 🙏🏼

    Reply
  3. Marybeth
    Marybeth on May 9, 2019 at 9:56 pm

    The holy balm of your words is going to accompany me to my dreamlife this night, Chris.

    I can feel myself, too, as this sacred bridge. I see my past as I look in one direction–then my future unwinding as I look in the other… And, I hold this opportunity to actually co-create the bridge! To see the past events and re-interpret them with each newfound resilient sparkle of (or smear of muddy) present day wisdom. To squint with curiosity and excitement (ok and often fear) toward the future–and wonder and decide, step by step, how to fashion that path, that bridge. This bridge, it returns my soul home at the same time as it moves me toward the proverbial phoenix fire. Each step is moment to rise from the ash, to slough off what is not serving my wildish nature, my soul self. And each step is also a reminder, however sacred or scary, of my past. What I learned, what I left behind, what I ran toward or away from, what it cost me to keep moving, period. Because staying still, stagnant or stuck was not what the wild woman would do. Is not what I would do. Is not what I do do.

    I howl a prayer and dance toward the bridge’s edge, the wind holding me aloft, the earth a pillow, the fire my food, as the rain, or ocean or river cleanses my spirit and keeps me nourished for the path ahead. And whispers or roars of the lessons in my back pocket, my heart beating the rhythm of now, now, now. Now What?
    Big love from NH,
    ~Marybeth

    Reply

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