A month from now, I will be on the banks of the Youghiogheny River in the heart of Appalachia with one of my favorite people, Conrad Hamather. Together, we will be teaching a group of brilliant souls to go beyond their human existence by rooting in Earth energy and connecting to their divinity at the Roots of Energy Medicine Retreat.
This is the first journal entry in a series this month highlighting different aspects of our weekend retreat. Conrad writes about his ritual of hydro-cleansing, bathing in the river which is incorporated into our weekend. I was taken back by the stillness created in the core of my being while reading his descriptive narrative. This stillness lives at the core of this retreat that we have created for you.
I typically surrender to each day’s long summer journey submerged deep in the Youghiogheny River; floating, listening and bathing.
I use the term bathing as a metaphor but also an action. The history of bathing is forever long, stemming back to the beginning of light. We bathed to be clean, to purify, and to become whole again. A modern chore we take for granted today, though when deep in the raw power of the source, it becomes something of a spiritual presence.
The River is an important place to hold space, to ground oneself and to reflect upon what was, what will be, but most importantly of what is happening presently, between yourself and that sanctity of the moving water. The scent of the living body of water, stripping away the day, creating the ‘new’ base of your body/soul at the setting of the sun is both mentally and physically cathartic.
A bar of soap on a rope with a stick to keep it afloat always helps seal the deal, a two-fold moment and conservation in water as well. Such as the photo I snapped last night, post cleanse, a piece of life and a peace of mind.
I can’t help but ask…
What does your ideal bathing ritual look like?
What things do you do in your life to create this sense of stillness?
so much love… xoxo, s