Inner Wilds
In my early 20’s, I worked the front desk of a yoga studio in an old building just off of Union Square in New York City. One Friday, after the last class of the night had begun in the back room, a rather eccentrically dressed old-New-York woman stepped off the elevator and into the lobby looking for her friend who she was supposed to have met at another location a few blocks away, about a half hour earlier. I encouraged her to call and she explained that neither she nor her friend owned a cell phone. There was a pause and I silently wondered why she had chosen to walk into this yoga studio, as she had no intention of coming to class, and it was not the meeting spot anyway, but I didn’t want to be rude, so I just kept quiet.
She broke the silence, “What is the address here? I’ll call her”, she said decisively, and walked over to a bench in the lobby, sat down and closed her eyes. After a moment or five, she peaked open one eye and said through a smirk, “This is how we used to call each other in the old days.” She closed her eyes again for another two minutes or so, all the while looking relaxed, yet focused. Then, she opened her eyes and without saying a word, stood up and began to wander through the book section of the studio.
As I began my evening task of sweeping the floor, I pondered the question, Can you really beckon someone to a specific location with your mind? These kinds of questions were exactly the sort I was interested in at that time in my life. Early in my spiritual questing, I was more than interested in the secret powers of the eccentric older ladies of the Village. Despite my open mind, I was skeptical. I continued to sweep and after a while became a little paranoid that she could hear my thoughts as I was thinking them.
Ding! The elevator opened and another rather eccentrically dressed old-New-York woman stepped off. “There you are!,” she said through a fit of laughter. The two old friends hugged and rather swiftly, stepped back on the elevator to go down. The look of shock must have been evident in my expression, because as the door closed the colorful women looked at me and back at one another and cackled loudly.
I think about that night a lot.
In the 13 years that have come and gone since then, one of the major themes of my life has been the development and honing of my Inner Guidance system. These women obviously had powers of subtle communication and were tapped into to a way of being & sensing that was…unusual. I knew enough to know that I wanted what they had.
It was not too long after, that I started to hold my very first New Moon Women’s Circle, where the topic of developing Inner Guidance & Intuition took center stage. It was magic. In circle, we danced between listening inwardly & sharing what we had heard, seen, discovered. The explorations we shared through the conduit of that circle nourished a growth spurt in my spiritual development & would eventually inspire the beginnings of The Wild Woman Project.
Nature’s Whispers
I hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep in 3 days. It was the second Wild Woman Fest – a place where spiritual guidance, inside and out, is turned up so high you can’t hide from it, at least not for long. I was trying though.
The message I was hearing from within, ritual after ritual, circle after circle, dream after dream, was one I did not want to hear. After laying awake in bed for a couple of hours on the third night, I put on my boots and went out into the Full Moon light. I had this strange and visceral sense I was being pulled by the Moon as I walked the mountain top.
You know what you have to do, I thought to myself, as walked through the woods. All the wild women dreaming in their tents and cabins were a comfort to me as I continued to sense this voice which I could swear was somehow coming from the Moon.
There was a break in the trees and I could see the Moon above so vividly, the sight actually shocked me into a heightened awareness. You must go, the Moon spoke, you know you must.
Within a few weeks, I did. I ended my relationship with my boyfriend & moved 859 miles south to the Blue Ridge Mountains. That was nearly 6 years ago.
To say my life has blossomed since that pivotal night with the Moon is a massive understatement. That message, that guidance, that whisper from the Wild, from the Moon changed the course of my life.
What if I had never gone into those woods? What if I hadn’t paid attention? What if I had believed myself crazy for talking to the Moon? I shudder to think what would have happened to me, to my precious life, my heart.
In the age of breaking news and seemingly infinite information streams, we humans must do the sometimes rigorous, yet rewarding work of maintaining and growing our ability to sense the subtle messages that come through the natural world. The water flowing through your faucet, the trees standing tall, the breeze moving over the land, the ferocity of wild fire, the space between the notes of your favorite song, the reflective light of the moon – living guidance, nature’s whispers are everywhere. Learning to hear these whispers is a fundamental to our Circle Leader Training program and our mission here at The Wild Woman Project.
The Longing in the Whispers
Because the vast majority of our ancestors lived in the hundreds of thousands of years before the advent of the printing press or the internet. Because they were intimately connected with the natural world as a means for survival. Because the animist perspective that everything is alive & the indigenous perspective that everything is related predates religion by a long shot, I suspect the instinctual ability to hear the whispers of the wilds is not far from our reach. I suspect we are hardwired for it.
So Moon by Moon, day by day, breath by breath, we can listen & sense what is more subtle in this world. The inner wilds & the outer wilds are longing for our precious attention. Both the natural world and our inner worlds are willing and ready and right there, full of life and meaning, grateful to be connected.
Let the longing in your heart reach out and touch the longing of the wild which is, surely, reaching right back.
Your Turn
In the comments below, please share:
What is one major piece of guidance you have received, either from the wild inside or from the natural world? How did this guidance impact you?
On the Horizon
Circle Leader Training
Join us online, from anywhere, for a 7-Week adventure.
“This was the best experience I’ve ever had with an online training! I felt seen, connected, and present.” ~ Gretchen Fellon, Graduate
Part part skill-building, part wildish personal-development, this course is sure to give you a deeper look into the Wild Woman Archetype, Moon Wisdom, Intuition and Inner Guidance, Circle Facilitation, and community building. With hundreds of graduates in 26 countries around the world, this course has been cultivated over 13 years to be our very best in Feminine Leadership Training.
We begin on May 6th.
Join an international, intergeneration group of weird and wonderful wild-hearted Women in our online Cave (which lives on an app)!
We meet weekly in Circles, Workshops, Practices to keep our wild spirits lit!
Upcoming Weekly Gatherings:
Waning Moon Circle with Chris Maddox
New Moon Meditation Adventure with Chris Maddox
Story Circle with Danielle Dulsky
5th Chakra Circle with Sara Goff
Join us for an hour-long New Moon Meditation Adventure on May 7th!
Online, from anywhere.
Using a dynamic meditation journey, we will tune into the New Moon, to your own Inner Guidance, synced up with wild-hearted women from around the world. This offering will include music, storytelling, meditation, journaling prompts & intention-setting.
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We look forward 4 Days & 3 Nights of rituals & ceremony, yoga, circles, experiential workshops, meditation, music & art making, dance, connecting to the natural world, laughter, discovery, divination, wandering, swimming, hiking, bonfires, howling, and dreaming!
Chris Maddox is the founder of The Wild Woman Project where she teaches women how to utilize the gifts of the Wild Woman Archetype in their everyday lives & how to lead women’s circles in their local communities. She is the organizer & facilitator of the beloved annual WILD WOMAN FEST, a women’s retreat-festival hybrid which fosters a deep connection to nature, a direct experience of the divine feminine & profound spiritual sisterhood among the women in attendance.
An ever student of the great mysteries of existence and nature itself, Chris believes women are holding innate gifts & tools that society at large needs – now more than ever. She is committed to helping women remember their special magic and to bring it forward into every corner of their lives, for the greater good of the planet.
Howls to all!!!
The guidance I have received from the beautiful moon since I was a child was awe and peacefulness. Knowing and sensing such a grand, magical world…away from television and indoors. Even just stepping outside to gaze up at the night sky has always made me happy…more connected to myself and the outdoors. We ARE all connected:)
Yes, we are. 🌕
Thanks, Tish 🙏🏽
Hi all!
I’m VERY new to all of this:) I’ve been intuitive my whole life and raised Christian. I just started observing moon cycles a few months ago. So, I don’t know that I’ve heard the moon, but I have had strong pushes before. Feeling called out into the night, HAVING to go on sunrise walks, literally feeling a steady force on my back pushing me to service and volunteering without really knowing what I was getting into.
I’m posting to jump into something I don’t really know about again. To honor my intuition, and act on my intention for this moon cycle — to be open to my intuition.
Blessings,
Kimberly
Beautiful, Kimberly 🌕
Thanks so much for sharing ♥️
I received guidance through a dream that led me to discover the wild women’s project . It what’s then when I begin to hear the whisper and feel the call that led me to seek and find what was calling me.. it was very overwhelming.
It was so funny, the smile I had while reading about the women in the Village. I have people in my life with whom I share a similar connection, and yes, we summon each other that way.
In 2012, after my late husband’s heart-attack-caused brain injury while he was still in the hospital, a new friend with whom I shared a very strong, immediate connection suggested our families move into a house together so that they could help support me in caring for my husband. On a whim, we did it. Seven of us (with children) into one big house. My friend and I had connected immediately upon meeting at a weekend workshop similar to Wild Woman Circle Leader Training. We both went home that day and told our husbands that the other’s family would be a big part of our lives, so they might as well get used to it now. Her husband died exactly 3 months to the day before mine. They were the same age (45) and both deaths were the result of heart issues. We were both instrumental to the other’s grieving and recovery. To this day we maintain that energetic bond that others see as very strange.
I learned as a teenager to trust my intuition. And to be able to tell the difference between my intuition and my trauma response. That is a KEY thing to learn. It’s an amazing thing.
Thanks for sharing your inspiring story, Cheryl. What a gift to trust your intuition and to share such deep connections with others. ♥️
I received guidance through a dream that led me to the wild women’s project.. it was then when I felt The call and whisper that led me to seek until I found what was calling me.
So glad you found your way here, Melissa!