The Gathering Darkness

June 7, 2022June 7, 2022 / Lauri Ann Lumby / Leave a comment

A Darkness is coming.

‘Tis already here.

To some it brings calm,

to others just fear.

The great No-Thing

some fear more than Death

‘cept those who understand

the true source of breath.

When Darkness gathers

drawn into itself

takes everything with it

most ‘specially wealth.

To that which one clings

and proudly defends

No-Thing seeks out

and puts to an end.

For hands laying open

surrendering the fall,

Darkness rewards

by delivering All.

“Sounds like a riddle,”

Protesteth the vain.”

“It’s merely the Truth,”

say those who remain.

The Darkness beyond mere human sight

is the End, Source, and Bearer

of all we call life.

copyright Lauri Ann Lumby

Special Live Event

Tuesday, June 14, 2022

6:30 – 8:30 pm (cdt)

Click on the image below to learn more and register.

The Divided States of America

June 1, 2022 / Lauri Ann Lumby / Leave a comment

Rome (aka the USA) is burning! In some places literally. In most other places, the nation is experiencing an increasingly volatile burning from the inside. What was called by the founders of this nation, “The United States,” is imploding from within due to division. At this point, we may as well admit the truth – we are no longer the United States of America. The USA may more accurately be described as “The Divided States of America.”

Even with our heads in the sand, the division is obvious:

Racists vs. People of Color
Democrat vs. Republican
American Nationalists vs. everyone else
Rich vs. Poor
Evangelical Christians vs. everyone else
Anti-abortion vs. Pro-choice
Homophobic vs. everyone else
Patriarchal men vs. Women
Power driven vs. those seeking unity

The list goes on and on and on, and I don’t even know what to say about guns. Is it reasonable to argue that the second amendment protects people’s rights to own military assault weapons that are capable of committing mass murder? Should we protect people’s rights to own bombs too? Asking for a friend.

Division is the sad reality of our nation and I am convinced that nothing is going to change it. One might argue that change is always possible. In a recent post, popular pastor John Pavlovitz expounded on the dangers of Evangelical Christianity and issued a charge for us to do something about it. What does Pastor John suggest we do? I’ve learned that if there’s one thing we cannot do – it is change someone’s mind. When someone is convinced their way is right, there is nothing we can do to convince them otherwise.

I’ve have freed myself from the illusion that I might change someone’s mind. I have also let go of the hope that change is possible in this nation for the simple fact that second only to death, humanity’s greatest fear is change. In many (if not most) cases, change only happens after something is pulled from our cold, dead fingers.

This is the point. The empire as we have known it is dying. As well it should! An empire built on the illusion of freedom by a bunch of slave-owning white men, where every ounce of liberty for anyone other than white men in power has been very hard one, is not a model I’m interested in continuing. A nation built on fear, power, oppression, division, and control is by its nature unsustainable and cannot stand. As one very wise brown skinned man once said:

“Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.” (MT 12: 25)

So it is with our nation. Rome (the USA) is burning and there is nothing we can do to stop it – neither should we try. It’s time to let it burn. There’s also nothing we need to do to hasten the burn – it’s doing a really good job all on its own. Instead, we are invited to accept the death of that which we have known, surrender to its death, and do what we can to keep ourselves safe and sane in a nation that is dying by its own hand. Toward that end, I am holding a special LIVE event on Tuesday, June 14^th via ZOOM, entitled: Surviving the Collapse of an Empire. Click on the image below to learn more and to register.

Surviving the Collapse of the Empire

May 30, 2022 / Lauri Ann Lumby / Leave a comment

Special Live Event

Tuesday, June 14, 2022

6:30 – 8:30 pm CDT (US)

via ZOOM

Only $26.00! Event will be recorded for those unable to attend live.

Learn more and register HERE

The empire as we have known it is in the throes of collapse. The signs of collapse are evident and unmistakable:

Corrupt Government Systems
Institutional Collapse
Grotesque Economic Disparity
The “Worker Shortage”
Increasing Cultural Division
Mass Shootings
Domestic Terrorism
Voter Suppression
Revocation of Human Rights
Staggering Mental Health Concerns
Destruction of the Environment
Collapsing Infrastructure
Global Warming
Food Shortages
Supply Chain Issues

We cannot halt the empire’s collapse, neither should we try. A system that was built on fear, power, oppression, and control, is inherently unsustainable. It is time for that system to fall away so that a new system might be born from the ash.

In the meantime – how are we to survive an empire facing its own demise?

Please join Lauri Ann Lumby for this two-hour workshop to discover effective tools for maintaining peace, preserving your sanity, and planting the seeds of a new world while living through the death throes of the old.

Topics will include:

Navigating Grief
Managing Shock and Horror
Restoring Peace in the Face of Fear
The Challenges of Being an Empath
Cultivating Healthy Detachment
Exploring Discomfort as a Path of Transformation
Welcoming and Being a Force for Change
The Dangers of Toxic Positivity and By-Pass
Planting the Seeds of the New World

Learn more and enroll HERE

Lauri Ann Lumby

Is a visionary, prophet, changemaker and shit disturber. At a very young age, Lauri was given a vision of “the end of the world as we know it” along with the knowledge of what would be needed to support the world through this transition and the necessary tools for bringing forth the new world that is waiting to be realized on the other side of the collapse.

Lauri has over twenty-five years of experience as a change-maker, mentor, educator and guide. She has supported hundreds through her one-on-one guidance, books, workshops, retreats, over thirty online courses, and online community.

Lauri is the published author of ten books including Authentic Freedom – Claiming a Life of Contentment and Joy.

Lauri earned her master’s degree in Transpersonal Psychology from Sofia/ITP University, is a trained Spiritual Director in the Ignatian traditioned and has certificates in Adult Education and Psycho-Spiritual Development. Lauri is a Reiki Master Practitioner in both the Usui and Karuna traditions and is an ordained interfaith minister. Lauri has also studied and been trained in shamanic practices under the tutelage of Dr. Stephen Schmitz. You can reach Lauri directly by emailing lauri@lauriannlumby.com or calling (920) 230-1313.

Learn about all of Lauri’s offerings at http://www.lauriannlumby.com.

Vision of a New World

May 24, 2022 / Lauri Ann Lumby / Leave a comment

This morning while in meditation I was given a vision of the entrance into a new world. The entrance was made of two arched doorways atop of which was a stone crossbeam with the following words etched upon it:

…of the people, by the people, for all people.

Reminiscent of Abraham Lincoln’s prophetic hope for the rebirth of a nation, these words spoke to a new world that committed to undoing all the wrongs that prevented Lincoln’s vision for ever taking hold. When I read these words, I wept for a nation and a world that had failed itself. I then felt within me a renewed spark of hope – knowing that deep within the potential of humanity is the possibility of rebuilding our world anew.

This new world was built by those who had survived the time of destruction and seen the devastation that had been brought about by humanity’s greed. Instead of creating more of what had been, humanity had come together to create something new. Understanding that humanity’s survival was dependent on the wellbeing of the planet, care for the earth was now of primary concern. Gone were the days of poisoning our waters, our air, and our soil. Banished were the chemicals and processes that sought to manipulate or control nature. These were replaced by ancient practices of sustainability directed first at caring for the land and second for harnessing the inherent cooperation of nature. Technology now worked on behalf of the earth and all who lived upon her and new technologies were developed that gave more to the earth than what it took.

Weary of the division that had imprisoned them in conflict, humanity came together in support of the common good. Shifting their gaze from fierce individualism, decisions were now made in consideration of both the collective good and on how decisions might impact the most vulnerable among us. Recognizing how the lack of self-awareness, personal and collective accountability had been the cause of the old world’s destruction, the new world placed psychological development of utmost importance – with all education geared toward supporting the inherent giftedness of each individual while providing the necessary resources and training through which one might best fulfill their potential. Success was now measured more by an inner sense of fulfillment than by one’s position in society.

More than anything, what defined this new world was a deep spirit of cooperation. Each individual was valued for their unique contribution to the whole. Every resource was counted as gift. Diversity was celebrated as contributing to the betterment of the whole. Harmony was valued above conflict and collaboration above competition. In this new world, peace and compassion reigned, the magnificent beauty of nature was restored, and humanity lived in cooperation with each other, the planet, and all of creation. And life was good.

A Storm is Coming!

May 19, 2022 / Lauri Ann Lumby / Leave a comment

A storm is coming.

Actually, it’s already here, but many are still in denial of that storm. The storm that is coming, will be so obvious and so painful (to some) that people will no longer be able to remain in denial or content in avoidance.

If you have spent the past many years nurturing and cultivating your inner well-being, healing your wounds, addressing your trauma, and developing the strength of detachment along with the wisdom of witness consciousness, you will be safe from the storm. You will see it and understand it to be simply another symptom of a system in collapse and as the death throes of dying empires.

If you have preferred to remain ignorant or have been clinging to the dying system, you are in for a rude awakening. Those who have been hiding the evils they have inflicted on this world and on all of creation will be seen for who they really are and what they’ve really been doing. This will be a shocking revelation to those attached to the dying system, especially those who have benefitted from a system defined by division that gets its power through fear, power, manipulation, oppression, and control.

There is nothing we can do to prepare for this storm. There are no bunkers, stockpiles, or doomsday preparations that will keep one safe from the revelations that will turn our world upside down. Some are already aware of the deep layers of corruption that currently govern our world. Fewer are aware of the pure evil in which this corruption is rooted.

Many veils have already been pulled away and what we’ve been forced to see so far has been sickening enough. What is coming is will strike horror in the minds of those who continue to believe in a system that has already failed the majority of humanity. If you haven’t seen this, you haven’t been paying attention. Get ready to have your eyes opened. This time, you will not be able to look away.

To my sisters and brothers who have been preparing and training for this, thank you! Your resilience will be called upon, along with your wisdom. You’ve known this was coming. You’ve done the often painful inner work of readying yourself for this time. You have developed the skills and the abilities to weather systemic collapse and to support others in doing the same. Your gifts and your experience will be called upon. In a time while the rest of the world seems to be dying, you will find yourself riding the wave while thriving in a world that is finally ready to accept your gifts.

Love’s Speed!

Lauri

How Big is Your “God?”

April 6, 2022April 5, 2022 / Lauri Ann Lumby / Leave a comment

Growing up, I was taught that “God” is infinite (without limit), omnipresent (present everywhere, at all times), omniscient (all-knowing), omnipotent (all-powerful), and unconditionally loving. One teaching went to far as to define “God” simply and profoundly as love (1 Jn 4:16).

And yet, everywhere I look, even (especially) within the Church that taught me about God, I find human beings limiting “God.”

“Sure God is unconditionally loving…..unless or except when…”
“God loves you without condition, but if you disobey God, you will be condemned to eternal damnation.”
“God is infinite, except when it comes to those things “not explicitly handed down by the magisterium.”
“God is everywhere at all times, except in those who don’t believe in Christ.”
“God is all-powerful, except when it comes to “Satan” or “Lucifer.”

What!?

I am continually amazed at all the ways in which human beings limit their “God.” It seems instead of coming to know the Divine, they are creating “God” in their own image: jealous, fickle, wrathful, vengeful, judgmental, hateful, prejudice, racist, etc.

As many know, I’ve had my own run-ins with those seeking to limit God. The local self-appointed inquisition and the Church bishop and chancellor who supported them, for example, who determined that Reiki “is witchcraft and sorcery and the work of the devil.” Their work of limiting God was then furthered by the United States Council of Catholic Bishops when they issued a prohibition against Reiki.

Watch Lauri Ann Lumby on PBS on the episode, “Reiki and the Catholic Church.”

If God is all-powerful, then how can anything limit God’s ability to provide healing and comfort to those in need? Is God’s healing, comfort, or grace limited to only that which is handed down by the Catholic Church? Does God only work through those devoted to a very narrow interpretation of Catholic teaching?

I have questions!!

The Reiki thing happened years ago, and I do what Love calls me to do want anyway, but the limiting of God continues. Just the other day I ran across an article on a popular Catholic website that proclaimed the evils of the Enneagram! The Enneagram? A tool I learned through my CATHOLIC ministry training and which is taught and used by Jesuit and Franciscan spiritual directors? The Enneagram?!

The Enneagram (for those who don’t know) is a popular temperament profile used in both spiritual direction and transpersonal psychology. It is a tool that helps us to identify the lens through which we view our life experiences and the compulsions that might have arisen out of our own woundedness related to this lens. The Enneagram then provides practical tools for healing and transforming the wounds that cause said compulsions so that we might live out of our essential/original nature.

I have found the Enneagram to be a critical tool in the transformational work I do with my clients and students. And yet, according to this guy, Catholics (especially) SHOULD NOT use the Enneagram as it might lead them down the path of evil – specifically the evil of eastern practices.

Not Eastern Practices! Gasp!

So now other culture’s traditions are not only “evil,” but are more powerful than “GOD???”

If I wasn’t a woman of reason, I might find myself confused. Instead, I find the answer to this quandary quite simple…an answer that has been given to us by the very guy who called God LOVE:

He who does not love does not know God; for God is love.

(1 Jn 4:8)

Those who find themselves limiting God apparently don’t know God. I find that to be very sad.

How big is your “God?”

Processing…

Success! You're on the list.

Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Please reload the page and try again.

Who Can Endure Her Coming?

April 4, 2022 / Lauri Ann Lumby / Leave a comment

I beheld a vision of the Ancient One entombed upon her throne.

Just then a voice cried out to me from the heavens:

“Behold the Ancient One,

The Queen of Heaven,

The Mother of All.

See how She quakes and trembles

over the evils of humanity –

over all the destruction they have wrought upon this earth.

Observe how She is breaking free of her imprisonment –

readying to rise again.

She is coming on wings of fire.

But who can endure her coming?

She is like a refiner’s fire

purifying humanity of its impurities

until only the good remains.

Who can stand when She appears?

Who or what will remain?

Those who have survived the test

and who have chosen the Way of Love,

are those, who with Her guidance and support,

shall create the world anew.

Copyright Lauri Ann Lumby

*Art of Hildegard of Bingen – public domain*

Longing to Be Seen

March 15, 2022March 14, 2022 / Lauri Ann Lumby / Leave a comment

Some have suggested that one of the greatest longings of the human soul is to be seen – to be really and truly seen for who we are.

As one who has the ability to see, I have found the opposite to be true. Many (if not most) humans don’t really want to be seen because either a) they hate who they are, or b) they have something to hide. These are the folks who either run from my gaze or turn the shame of being seen back at me by making me their enemy. I become sad when people do this because while I can see deception, I also see potential. I see who people are as their most authentic selves if they would only allow themselves to be that. My purpose is only to support people in becoming their most authentic selves. Sadly, some simply don’t want this – as much as they might argue otherwise.

art by Catherine E. Case used with permission

Those who are comfortable enough with themselves such that they don’t mind being seen; or who have been chomping at the bit to be seen for who they truly are so they might be that more fully, are those who thrive in my presence. I see them and encourage them in their gifts while supporting them in identifying and healing those things that are preventing them from living those gifts more fully. When the going gets rough (which it will – all work of true transformation does) I am there simultaneously holding their feet to the fire while soothing the anxiety and terror that comes when we are allowing ourselves to break free of the chrysalis that formerly imprisoned us.

As the poet Rilke said:

My looking ripens things

and they come toward me, to meet, and be met.

(Book of Hours, I, 1)

Longing to be seen may indeed be one of our greatest desires, but few have the courage to truly be seen, and even fewer have the endurance to allow the seeing to ripen into being.

Learn more HERE

Lauri Ann Lumby

Lauri’s gifts as a mentor are centered in her ability to see. She sees your truth along with what might be hindering your ability to live that truth fully. By seeing clearly, Lauri can help guide you through the process of identifying, healing and transforming the wounds, fears, traumas and conditioning that keep you from living a life in which your purpose is fully embodied and your mission fulfilled.

Lauri provides this mentoring one-on-one and through her classes and training programs.

The Modern Priestess

March 14, 2022 / Lauri Ann Lumby / Leave a comment

Priestess is a word that has been used to apply to a wide variety of meanings, experiences, and expressions. At the Temple of the Magdalene, Priestess means something quite specific and can apply to individuals of any gender.

Being a Priestess relates not to a specific role, but to a commitment to self-development, personal fulfillment, and service.

A Priestess:

Is self-aware and working toward self-actualization.
Is accountable to their inner wounds and is working to heal them.
Is sovereign unto themselves.
Is fulfilled within themselves.
Enjoys a life of meaning and purpose for the sake of their own fulfillment while serving the betterment of the world.

A Priestess lives out their own sovereignty in a way that is based on their own unique giftedness and Soul-calling.

A Priestess might live out that calling in any number of ways, (not limited to the leader of ritual which seems to be the most popular expression of the neo-priestess) including teacher, healer, strategist, advisor, artist, writer, musician, business professional, CEO, medical professional, tradesperson, etc, etc, etc,. The ways to live out one’s own sovereignty are limitless.

The Temple of the Magdalene supports the Priestess in that journey toward sovereignty by providing training programs, classes, and one-on-one mentoring for the purpose of inner personal development and transformation. The focus of our trainings is on supporting participants in identifying, healing and transforming the inner obstacles to living out their sovereignty to its fullest.

Learn more HERE