Featured Course: Order of Melchizedek

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For my entire life I have been fascinated by magic. Naturally drawn to the mystical, I found my childhood role models in Samantha Stevens, Morticia Addams and Lily Munster. In my teens, I become overwhelmingly obsessed with anything that had to do with King Arthur and read every book on the subject that I was able, ultimately culminating in the Arthurian masterpiece, The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. To say that I loved Tolkien and Star Wars would be an understatement, and Excalibur was my friend.

This love for magic was further supported by my Catholic upbringing which brought me up close and personal to magic that “turned bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ,” that healed the sick, exorcised demons, and made a humble human into the “child of God.” Jesus magic was everywhere and the rituals which facilitated this magic spoke to something very deep within my Soul.

Fast forward into adulthood, along with formation as a Catholic lay minister, I studied Wicca, Native American spirituality, Celtic myth and magic. I set up my home altar and when I asked for guidance it came in the form of a brick which flew through the air, awakening me to my true purpose which had to do with Priesthood – but not the priesthood I had grown up with. As it turned out, neither was my call to Priesthood somehow wrapped up in any of the neo-pagan, priestess or goddess movements. Instead, it seems like it was a Priesthood that predated all of these – what I have heard recent authors call “the primordial tradition.”

In the Judeo-Christian tradition in which I was raised, this primordial tradition is given a name: The Order of Melchizedek. First mentioned in the Book of Genesis as relating to the High Priest of Salem, Jesus is also mentioned as associated with this tradition. What distinguishes the primordial tradition from the systems of magic popular today is that in the Order of Melchizedek:

  • Magic is not done for the sake of “getting what we want,” but for the sake of aligning our purpose with that of the Divine.
  • It is not we who are “doing” the magic; it is the Divine working through us.
  • The Order of Melchizedek “keeps it simple,” acknowledging that the true power of magic is not in complicated rituals, invocations, chants or spells, but is in our intention to be One with the Divine – surrendering our own will to the Divine, and emptying ourselves so that the Divine might live in and through us.
  • We acknowledge and accept what was said to be true of Jesus:

Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped,
but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form, he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross.

Phil 2: 5b8

It is for all of these reasons that in spite of more training programs on magic and ritual (including the ancient Jewish mystical system of the Kabbalah) than you can shake a stick at; I have endeavored to create a training program that presents magic in another light.

Online course

20 lessons

at your own pace

Embodied Learning

Facilitated Discussion

Learn more HERE

Mary Magdalene Raising Jesus from the Dead

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We cannot look to Mary Magdalene as an example of Divine Feminine power without giving honor to Jesus – the man who supported her in becoming self-actualized and who then ordained her to share her gifts in the world.  Jesus became self-actualized and sought to teach others how to achieve self-actualization. Moving beyond doctrine, Jesus and his teachings provide a model of psychological and spiritual development through which we are empowered to become self-actualized and through which we are able to be freed of the obstacles which prevent us from reaching our full potential as human beings.

Two thousand years ago Jesus died and rose from the dead.  Just as quickly as he rose, the patriarchy killed him again.  The patriarchy killed Jesus when they:

Changed his message –

  • From love to fear.
  • From Oneness to separation.
  • From an unconditionally loving God to one who condemns.
  • From peace and harmony to conflict and war (in his name!)
  • From a community that treats all human beings as equal, governed by collaboration and cooperation to one rooted in white, male privilege; governed by fear, power and control.
  • From welcoming all to the table to only those who believe as we want them to believe and who are “in good standing.”
  • From a movement within Judaism to a new and separate religion.

2000 years ago, Jesus died and rose from the dead.  And 2000 years ago, the patriarchy killed him.  I now want to share my part in supporting the movement of reclaiming Jesus, and Mary Magdalene with him, as authentic models for self-actualization and teachers of the means of getting there by offering you this excerpt from my novel,  Song of the Beloved – the Gospel According to Mary Magdalene: 

On the morning after the Sabbath, I awoke before dawn in the same way that I had every day after Jesus healed me and raised me from the death in which I had existed.  Upon waking, I expected to feel nothing but the numbness of the days past.  I expected to desire nothing but to roll over and return to the world of sleep.  Instead, I felt the urge to resume my ordinary routine of morning meditation in the garden.  I arose and proceeded into the garden to the bench I had shared with Jesus every morning for the past three years.  I approached the bench and lovingly ran my hand over its marble seat recalling what Jesus and I had shared in this sacred space.  The grief of this loss suddenly overtook me and I collapsed on the ground as my tears splattered over our bench. 

As I knelt beside the bench weeping with head in hands, I felt a faint shift in the air around me.  I lifted my head slightly to see if perhaps Lazarus had come out to join me. As I looked up, my heart leaped into my throat and ceased beating.  My beloved Jesus stood there before me.  I rubbed my eyes to make sure it was not some trick of the rising sun, but there he was as real as he had been all those past times in prayer and even more so, he stood before me in flesh and blood. 

I stood and reached out to embrace him, to feel his skin on my cheek, and he opened his arms to return my embrace.  We had held each other for but a moment, when Jesus gently pulled away.  He took my face in his hands, lightly kissed me on the lips and said, “Mary, I am with you always, even until the end of time and it is time for you to come into your own power, to embrace your own Christhood.  In this, I must ascend. And, you must not cling to me so that you too may rise.  You must go to my brothers in Jerusalem to let them know I have risen and you must explain to them its meaning.”  With that he kissed me again on the mouth. “Mary, be empowered in the flame of the Shekinah, God’s Holy Spirit.”  He departed from my sight as quickly and as silently as he had arrived.

I stood there in silent wonder.  Even death had no power over my beloved.  As sure as he had been here just one week ago, he stood before me again.  I felt his touch, the brush of his lips on mine, the comfort of his embrace.  Just as suddenly, he was gone.  I inhaled deeply in the hopes of comprehending this experience and the cock crowed.  I remembered Simon’s denial of Jesus and was provoked by Jesus’ words, “Go to my brothers in Jerusalem.”  I ran into the house to be greeted by Martha, Salome and Lazarus’ sleepy faces.  “I have seen the Lord.  He is risen just as he said he would.”  I ran to each of them in turn, took their hands in mine, and looked into their eyes, “It is true.  He has conquered death. He came to me in the garden.  He is risen!”  As I relayed the message to their open minds and hearts, they were able to see the truth as I had witnessed it.  As a group we embraced in celebration.  “We must go to Jerusalem!  Jesus instructed me to tell his brothers there that he has been raised from the dead.”  We immediately departed for Jerusalem where we knew the Galilean disciples stayed in hiding.

Buy Song of the Beloved HERE

Featured Course: Tarot Intensive

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22 Pathways – Tarot Intensive

online training with Lauri Ann Lumby, OM, OPM, MATS

23 lessons and attunements on the Major Arcana

at your own pace and in your own time

Discussions moderated by course creator and facilitator – Lauri Ann Lumby

22 Pathways – Tarot Intensive approaches the tarot as less of a fortune-telling device and more as a path in support of your own journey of self-actualization. Diving deep in to the ancients roots of the tarot in Jewish mysticism through the Kabbalah, 22 Pathways illuminates the human journey from awakening to full embodiment of our Divine selves. When fully engaged, you will discover a tool that you can return to again and again to gain understanding, insight and support into your life’s journey toward self-fulfillment.

In this course, you will learn and study the Hebrew Aleph-Beis (Alphabet) – the utterances through which the Great Source spoke the world into being and which later inspired the 22 cards of the major arcana. Through each lesson, you will not only gain intellectual knowledge, you will grow into embodying the creative power within each letter and its corresponding card. Through powerful spiritual practices and ritual, you will become attuned to each card/letter such that you come to understand that you ARE a vessel of Divine Creation bringing your own worlds into being.

Learn More and Enroll HERE

Topics to be covered in the course:

Aleph/The Fool:          The One, the Eternal

Beis/The Magician:              Separation of the One into the Two and the two into the many.

Gimmel/High Priestess:      Eternal kindness, the ability to unify separation and duality

Dalet/Empress:            Dimensionality and concern, “keeping our door open.”

Hei/Emperor:               The exhalation with which the Divine breathed creation into being.

Vav/Hierophant:               Physical completion, unites opposing concepts.

Zayin/Lovers:           7 – completion, unification of physical with spiritual, our purpose for being here.

Ches/Charioteer:             Transcendence, The step after completion. Union with Divine Grace. Bridge.

Tes/Strength:                Goodness.

Yod/Hermit:              Metaphysical, indivisible, humility leads to elevation to the spiritual. 10 = completion (sephirot)

Chof/Wheel:             Crowning achievement.

Lamed/Justice:        Teaching and learning is human being’s greatest purpose.

Mem/Hanged One:            The revealed and the concealed presence and action of the Divine.

Nun/Death:              Faithfulness (dedication) leads to the soul’s emergence, also represents the soul.

Samech/Temperance:      Support and protection.

Ayin/Devil:             Eye, sight and perception, seeing beyond the veil.

Peh/Tower:               The mouth, speech and silence.  Speech and expression are required to fulfill our purpose.

Tzaddi/Star:        Righteousness and humility. Subjugated our will to God’s

Kuf/Moon:               Holiness, set apart, to become holy.

Reish/Sun:           Choosing between greatness and degradation.  Discernment.

Shin/Judgment:             Divine Power, but also the temptation to corruption (pride).

Tav/The World:               Truth and perfection – what we are called to strive after.

Learn more and enroll here.

Truth Stands on Its Own

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Truth always finds its way to the light where it can be readily seen by those who have the eyes to see, bringing justice to situations where untruths otherwise prevailed.

In one case I was aware of these truths.  Although the revelations of these truths would have provided me with much vindication, I had kept silent about these truths for the sake of others who might be hurt by them.  These truths had been the cause of much pain in my own life, truths that the human part of me wanted to shout to the world as a way of “getting back” at those who had hurt me.  Instead, I chose silence, knowing and trusting that these truths would eventually find their way to the light for those who needed to know in a time that was perfect for them. 

And this is exactly what happened.  The truth came to light bringing healing and closure where neither were previously thought possible.  In addition, the way in which these truths came to light brought empowerment for those, who through their own observations had intuited these truths.  The revelation of these truths brought great validation for me in having taken the “high road” in choosing silence and trust over revenge.

It also serves as a great reminder that no matter how hard one works at disguising, denying or avoiding their truth, truth cannot be hidden for long and the deceiver will always give themselves away, if not directly then by slips of the tongue or getting caught in an outright lie.

This is the advice I offer to students and clients who are faced with similar situations of untruths – where harm has been done to them, and they want to take revenge on the “other” by telling everyone the truth.  I say, “Wait.  The truth will win out in the end.  Those that need to know will find out if and when they need to.” 

Choosing silence, trust, and a patient heart allows us to turn away from the human desire for revenge and toward forgiveness practices – those practices that free us from the resentment, hurt, sense of betrayal, anger and hatred that we might otherwise harbor against the other.  Here we are able to free ourselves of the pain of the hurt while not causing harm to another.  Choosing this path gives us freedom.

As I also advise my students and clients, “Karma is a bitch.”  While I do not believe in a punitive God, I do believe in (and the human part of me takes great comfort in) the law of cause and effect.  What you put out to the world will come back to you 100-fold.  If you (intentionally) cause harm to another, that harm will come back to you.  If you betray another, you will be betrayed.  If you are a liar, you will be deceived.  If you cheat, you will be cheated, etc. etc. etc.  There is comfort in knowing that we reap what we have sown and for those who sow deceit this is what they shall reap.  Truth, on the other hand, always wins.  Choose truth.  

Work with Lauri

Lauri Ann Lumby, MATP, has over twenty-five years of experience as a soul-tender, educator and guide. She has supported hundreds through her one-on-one guidance, books, workshops, retreats, over thirty online courses, and online community.

Learn more about Lauri’s education and qualifications HERE.

Schedule Your Session Today!

Featured Course: Shamanism Intensive

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image

This Shamanism Intensive with Lauri Ann Lumby introduces you to the traditional shamanic practice of journeywork. Journeywork acknowledges the creative imagination as a gateway to Divine communion and as a tool for obtaining Divine guidance. You will be introduced to the foundations of a “shamanic call in a culture without a culture” and will then have an opportunity to learn and practice shamanic journeys. Working in five different “worlds,” you will meet your power animal, spirit teacher and other teachers and guides in those respective worlds who will support you through their unique gifts in discerning your Divine path. In addition to providing guidance, journeywork supports our inner healing and transformation both in this life and in lives we have already lived. After this course you will equipped to facilitate your own journeys and to lead journeys for others.

Start anytime! Complete at your own pace.

Lesson One: Defining the Shamanic Call

Lesson Two: Identifying the Shamanic Call

Lesson Three: Discernment – Shamanic Call or Psychosis?

Lesson Four: The Initiation Crisis

Lesson Five: The Shamanic Call and Shadow Work

Lesson Six: The Shamanic Journey – Lower World Journeys

Lesson Seven: Upper World Journeys

Lesson Eight: Underworld Journeys

Lesson Nine: Journeys to the Heavenly Realms

Lesson Ten: Middle World Journeys

Lesson Eleven: Bringing it all together.

Required Texts:

Tedlock, B. (2005). The woman in the shaman’s body: Reclaiming the feminine in religion and

medicine. New York, NY: Bantam Books

Walsh, R. (2007). The world of shamanism: New views of an ancient tradition. Woodbury, MN:

Llewellyn Publications.

Learn more and enroll here.

A Note from Lauri Ann Lumby, course creator and facilitator:

Before embarking on this journey, I want to thank you for stepping into the question of your own shamanic call. I wrote this course for those, like me, who have received the shamanic call, but have been mostly unsupported in this call because of the culture in which we were raised. For those of us who live in the West (Western Europe, United States, Canada, even Australia and westernized parts of South America and Asia), we are so far removed from our ancestral roots and from the indigenous traditions of our own native peoples that the shamanic call isn’t even a consideration. Instead, what shamanic cultures would understand as characteristic of a shamanic call, Western culture judges as illness, at best, or at the worst – insanity. As such, those living in a Westernize culture who are experiencing an authentic shamanic call are left to their own devises, most often misunderstood, judged and even condemned for the experiences of their shamanic call (including high sensitivities, vivid dreams and nightmares, intuitive and psychic abilities, strange and frequent illnesses, depression, anxiety and even psychosis).

Some have found their way through this call by adopting practices and traditions of indigenous peoples, ie: “walking the red road” as Caucasian Americans might refer to the Native American traditions they have adopted and attempted to make their own. Others might find support through practices of the Mayans, Peruvians, Inuit or Aboriginal people. While we have much to gain by learning from other cultures, for those with Western European roots, the best we can ever do is to pretend, because these practices are not authentically our own.

The purpose of this course is to validate and authenticate your shamanic call and to give you some simple tools and support for embracing and exercising this call in your daily life. While this course is just a beginning (Shamanism 101, if you will), through this process you will have an opportunity to:

  • Understand the characteristics of a shamanic call.
  • Discern your own shamanic call.
  • Understand the spiritual crisis that often heralds the shamanic call.
  • Learn basic tools for beginning to utilize this call.
  • Find your own language, arising out of your own mythology and spiritual background for embracing your shamanic call.
  • Discover the basic tools of the shaman of ritual and journeying.

Much of what will be shared here arose out of my personal journey of discovering and embracing my own shamanic call, along with contemporary research in the field of Transpersonal Psychology which has shed light on this call, especially for those in the Westernized world.

To complete this course, you will need yourself, a notebook or journal and a box of crayons. I invite you to enter into this process with an attitude of inquiry, curiosity and wonder, for this is ultimately what the shamanic call is all about – seeing the world and our life experience through the lens of magic – for as a shaman, this is what you are! The original title of this course was “Broken Wings,” because in a culture without a culture, we most often find the hallmarks of our call looked upon with suspicion and judgment, effectively clipping our wings and making it impossible for us to fly. In this course, I want to help you to fly!

Thank you for giving yourself permission to explore this call within yourself and for taking the time to more deeply discern this call. I am happy and grateful to be a source of support for you as you move through this process and toward that end, I am available for brief email exchanges and for more intensive private consultations at my regular hourly rate. Please consult my website for details.

In Gratitude and Love,

Lauri Ann Lumby, OM, OPM, MATS

Soul School/Order of the Magdalene/Order of Melchizedek

http://www.lauriannlumby.com.

Learn more and enroll here.

Confessions of a Catholic Witch

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I have always known I was a witch.  For 364 days a year, however, I simply pretended I was not.   Only on Halloween as I donned my black robe, black pointy boots and a black did I feel completely at home.  For the remaining days of the year, I felt like a fake….sort of….for if there is one place where a witch is at home (until she is found out that is), it is in the Catholic Church.  

Nowhere else, among all of the western religions, is magic as prevalent as it is within Catholicism.  Where else can a man utter the phrase “hocus pocus” (hoc est corpus meum) and turn the simple elements of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, or through the imposition of hands release a person from “the devil’s” grip? 

The smells, the bells, the little altars everywhere, the haunting strains of Latin chant, the saints to whom I could pray to remedy any struggle or ill, and the votive candles that I lit to solidify my intentions bring my dreams to fruition – all spoke to the witch inside of me who knew the world was magic and that magic could be brought forth in the world.  Magic in its truest sense – the Divine working through us in support of the love within that is seeking its place in the world.

The Goddess knew what she was doing when I was born into a devout Catholic family – one that had been Catholic for many generations. She knew what she was doing when she planted me within the single western religion that honors the worship of both a male and a female God.  (While Jesus’ mother, Mary, is not officially recognized as a goddess by the Catholic Church, people sure treat her as if she were.  Wouldn’t one have to be a goddess to be the “Mother of God?”)  She knew what she was doing when she placed me within the only western tradition that recognizes the use of amulets (saint medals, scapulars and rosaries), magical potions (holy water and anointing oils), incense and salt for keeping evil at bay.

Being a Catholic witch has not been easy, however, which is why I have hid my truth for many years. While I was drawn to everything that speaks magic within the Catholic Church, in being a witch, I also saw through the lies, the deception, and the subtle ways in which the Church manipulated people through fear.  At a very early age, I became aware of the hypocrisy within the Church and was not afraid to call it out.  As an adult, I have maintained this practice and there is a big file in our local Catholic diocese with my name on it to prove it.  Apparently the Church is not interested in those who see through the mask of piety and the illusion of holiness.

It was ultimately this hypocrisy that caused me to leave the Church I once adored – all because I dared to study and practice Reiki.  It is apparently ok for a priest to practice laying on of hands in support of a person’s desire for healing, but Goddess-forbid a lay person, OR WORSE, a woman should do the same.  By a Church that claims it is not doing magic in turning bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, or in healing the sick through the imposition of hands, it was of witchcraft and sorcery I was accused and then condemned for doing “the work of the devil.”  Me thinkest they protesteth too much!

Because I no longer feel welcome in the local Church which has effectively burned me at the stake, I have chosen since 2008 to fast from the Eucharist.  This does not mean, however, that I ever stopped being Catholic – more importantly, a Catholic witch.  I heal the sick through the imposition of hands.  I ordain women and men into their own magic and send them forth into the world where their magic can be shared.  I baptize people into the love that they are and confirm them into being that love in the world.  I hear people’s confessions – and absolve them of their “sin” by helping them to heal the deeper inner fears that cause their addictive and non-loving behaviors.  I sit with people in the pain of grief and prepare them for their death.  I preside over weddings and funerals.  I provide spiritual nourishment through the Eucharist that is within each and every one of us when we allow ourselves to BE the Body and Blood of Christ.   

For living out my call in this way, you could call me priest, or priestess, but as it was in the most ancient traditions, and in response to the accusations against me, I prefer to be called a witch.

Lauri Ann Lumby has been called many things: mother, daughter, sister, friend, wife, lover, writer, author, poet, teacher, counselor, healer, priest, shit-disturber, heretic and witch. Lauri lives in Oshkosh, Wisconsin near her two adult children and is the owner of Soul School where she helps her students and clients turn their world from fear into love.  Learn more about Lauri at www.lauriannlumby.com.

Work with Lauri One-on-One

Featured Course: Soul School Essentials 1

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6 online lessons

Done at your own pace

Online discussion board

Created and Facilitated by Lauri Ann Lumby

To learn more and enroll click on image above.

Soul School with Lauri Ann Lumby is a one-of-a-kind education platform that provides the resources and tools to support you in becoming self-actualized.

We don’t just talk about self-actualization. We do it!

Self-actualization is known in your ability to:

  • Successfully reason, discern, and exercise your own truth.
  • Access and develop reliance on your own inner authority.
  • Identify and harness your own unique giftedness and contribution to the world.
  • Discover, nurture, and cultivate a sense of meaning and purpose in your life.
  • Name, claim, set and maintain boundaries around your personal needs.
  • Develop meaningful and satisfying relationships with others.
  • Exhibit care and concern for the betterment of the world for the benefit of the all.

Soul School Essentials 1 – Igniting the Flame is your introduction to the foundational tools utilized in all Soul School offerings. This course gives you an opportunity to tip your toe in the water by providing a glimpse of the materials covered in our more intensive programs including the Soul Tending and Eternal Flame in-depth packages.

Through Soul School Essentials 1 – Igniting the Flame, you will discover new things about yourself while being affirmed in what you may already know. You will also learn effective tools that you can apply in your everyday life for supporting the unfolding of your Soul toward the goal of enjoying the meaningful and fulfilling life of your dreams.

Soul

Soul is the uniquely creative way in which you have been gifted to find meaning and purpose in your life and the way in which you are called to find fulfillment in service to the betterment of the world. Soul is your true self – the part of you that knows your gift and your call, and is that which compels you to seek out, discover, cultivate, and nurture those gifts and their calling, thereby empowering you to share your gifts in service to the betterment of the world. -Lauri Ann Lumby

Soul School Essentials 1 Course Outline:

Lesson One: Soul’s Journey – The Map of the Soul

Lesson Two: Soul Design – Working with Jungian Archetypes

Lesson Three: Soul Purpose – Introduction to the Enneagram

Lesson Four: Soul Gifts – Discovering Your Unique Soul Gifts

Lesson Five: Soul Speak – Discernment 101

Lesson Six: Soul Success – Introduction to the Authentic Freedom Protocol for Overcoming Obstacles

Soul School Essentials 1 – Igniting the Flame includes lessons on each topic along with industry honored assessments and personality inventories.

Learn more and enroll here.

Featured Course: Soul Gifts

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13 online lessons with facilitated discussion

Done in your own time and at your own pace

To learn more and enroll click on image above.

Soul Gifts – Discovering Your Unique Gifts and How They Support Your Soul’s Calling, created by Lauri Ann Lumby supports you in knowing the truth that YOU are uniquely gifted to experience meaning and purpose in your life and to find fulfillment in the use and engagement of your gifts, first for yourself, and then, in service to the betterment of the world.

Your gifts were given to you so that you might enjoy happiness, and your gifts are meant to be shared so that the world can become a better place for all of us to enjoy. You cannot become the person you were meant to be – achieving your greatest potential – without discovering, cultivating, nurturing and then sharing your gifts; and the world cannot become what it was meant to be without the gifts you have to share. For your own sake, and for the sake of the world, I thank you for giving yourself the permission and the time to explore and discover your soul gifts!

Over the course of thirteen lessons, you will have an opportunity to first explore the calling that has set you on the path to exploring your gifts along with the importance of understanding that while your soul gifts may be grand in such gifts as leadership, music or the arts, your gifts may also reside in what you might judge as weakness, imperfection or failure. Ultimately, all that we are and everything that we have has the potential for being a gift that provides for our fulfillment while supporting us in helping the world.

Next, you will have an opportunity to explore what the ancient, sacred traditions, have identified as unique and special (spiritual) gifts. Some of these gifts we will draw from the Western Judeo-Christian tradition, others from the Vedic traditions of India, specifically in the writings of Patanjali. I have added some additional gifts that have arisen in support of our current stage of human evolution. In this discovery, you will have an opportunity to explore such concrete gifts as hospitality, craftsmanship, encouragement and leadership; in addition to the more intuitive gifts of discernment of spirits, spiritual hearing, spirit vision and clairempathy. You will also explore some very non-traditional gifts such as invisibility and time-walking.

Below is a list of the gifts that you will have an opportunity to explore and entertain:

Traditional Spiritual Gifts in the Western Judeo-Christian Tradition (charisms):

Administration, (voluntary) Celibacy, Craftsmanship, Discernment of Spirits, Encouragement, Salespersonship, Faith, Giving, Healing, Helps, Hospitality, Intercessory Prayer, Knowledge, Leadership, Mercy, Missionary, Music, Pastoring, Prophecy, Service, Teaching, Voluntary Poverty, Wisdom, Writing, Speaking in Tongues, Interpretation of Tongues

Intuitive Gifts common to the Vedic tradition and beyond:

Clairaudience, Clairempathy, Clairevoyance, Clairsentience, Telepathy

Non-Traditional Gifts:

Invisibility, Flight, Trans-dimensional vision, hearing, Time Walking, Inter-dimensional travel, Hosting, Mediumship, Manifesting, Elasticity, Time Morphing, Blending, Exorcism, Soul Retrieval

A Note on Western and Eastern Scripture: Please note that I do not approach scripture from a dogmatic or doctrinal perspective. Neither do I use it as a way to instill fear or manipulate specific actions or behaviors. Instead, I approach scripture as the ancients did – as a collection of symbolic and metaphorical stories (myth, poetry, etc.) which have the opportunity to reflect back to us aspects of ourselves. In this way, scripture becomes a vehicle through which our highest self can speak to us – providing guidance, support, inspiration, nourishment and even healing. When we pierce through the veil of other people’s interpretations and allow our Soul to speak to us personally and directly through these ancient texts, we discover the transformational power of The Word as it was originally intended – as a tool to guide and sustain us on the path of self-awareness and personal growth.

Learn more and enroll HERE

Building the New World Starts with You

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Building our new world begins with ourselves and the choices we make around how we want to live our lives and what we want our new worlds to look like.  For those who have found their way to the Soul School community, the world we build will be reflective of our individual temperaments and desires yet rooted in our unique calling to be of service to the betterment of our world.  But again, bettering our world, begins with us and with the choices we make around how we want to live our lives. 

I cannot speak for others, but for myself, the new world of which I want to be a part is quieter, simpler, gentler and kinder than the world we have been living in.  It is a world that treats our planet gently and with great honor, acknowledging that it is only in treating the earth as sacred that She might produce the fruits that we need to survive.  It is a world in which every human being is honored as holy and sacred and where diversity is not only honored but celebrated.  It is a world that supports the full development of every single human being by providing the resources we need not only to survive, but to thrive. 

Yes, these are big dreams, and I know this is possible when we begin to make these choices for ourselves.  When we as individuals live simply, gently, quietly, kindly; when we treat our world as sacred – taking only what we truly need while sharing the surplus with others; when we treat other human beings with dignity, honor and respect and when we work to insure the needs of all humans are being met to not only survive (food, clothing, shelter, safety, healthcare), but also to thrive (education, enrichment, self-development, etc.) then it can be done.  But again, it starts with US.

Over the past several years, I have been taking the steps to building my own new world, steps that I have found to be very simple:

Laying the Foundation:

            The foundation of my life has always been my relationship with the Divine.  In my NOW and into my NEW world, this foundation will continue and as I have witnessed, deepen.  I begin my morning with my spiritual practice and return to it frequently throughout the day. This simple time dedicated to myself and the Divine of my understanding is the foundation out of which the rest of my life unfolds.  Everything I need for guidance, inspiration, understanding and to find a place of comfort and safety in an insane world, I find within these moments.  Even when I’m not in a time of dedicated meditation and prayer, the fruits of my practice continue to unfold.  With this I have come to understand Paul’s invitation that we “pray without ceasing.”  When this relationship is the foundation of our lives, everything becomes a prayer.

Building the Supports:

            Cultivating well-being.  My physical and emotional health are critical to me.  With this I make healthy choices.  I choose healthy foods.  I enjoy gentle exercise (yoga and walking).  I take supplements and my prescribed medications.  I do what I need to do to keep my mind and my spirit healthy (meditation, yoga, setting healthy boundaries, honoring my need for solitude, choosing how and with whom I want to spend my time).

Ongoing learning: As part of my temperament and passion, I have been given the gift of learning.  I love to learn.  As such, I take time each day to cultivate learning.  I learn.  I study.  I explore. 

            Time for enjoyment:  “All work and no play makes Lauri a dull girl.”  I’m kind of boring anyway and I like boring, but that is not to say I don’t have enjoyment.  I take time to read for pleasure and I love a good movie or binge-worthy television series.  The more magical or mystical the better, but even a good piece of historical fiction can whet my appetite.

Don’t Forget the Aesthetics:

Our new world is meant to be enjoyable and to have beauty.  This will mean different things to different people, but to me, my world has beauty when I am nurturing, cultivating and sharing my gifts – for my own fulfillment and in service to the betterment of the world.  As such, this is about:

            Taking time to CREATE: I write.  I draw.  I publish books.  I develop and share curriculum.  I cook.  I clean.  I nurture my children.  I show kindness and am a listening ear to those I meet.  I nurture my friendships – old and new. 

            Being a Source of Support for Others: Making myself available for guidance and support for others through my books, online classes and services, local gatherings and one-on-one support through Reiki and Spiritual Counseling.

Questions for your own reflection:

What is the new world you want to create for yourself?

What steps are you taking in support of this new world?

Featured Course: Enneagram Intensive

/ Lauri Ann Lumby / Leave a comment

Twelve online lessons

at your own pace

facilitated discussion with course creator

To learn more and enroll click on image above

The Enneagram Intensive introduces you to the Enneagram as a powerful tool of self-discovery, transformation and personal growth. Integrating the Enneagram with ancient wisdom literature, mindfulness and creativity practices provides a process through which you are able to:

  • Discover your archetypal temperament along with its inherent gifts and challenges.
  • Identify the fears which trigger the non-loving aspects of your temperament.
  • Practice effective methods for managing these fears.
  • Become empowered to live more fully within the inherent gifts of your temperament.
  • Experience improved communication with others through a greater level of self-awareness.
  • Enjoy a deeper sense of meaning and fulfillment through the knowledge and use of your unique gifts.

The Enneagram Intensive is a 12 week course which uses stories from the Western spiritual traditions to illustrate the teachings of the Enneagram and includes meditation and mindfulness practices for integrating these teachings. Additionally, the Beatitudes are introduced as the barometer with which you are able to measure your progress.

There is one required book for this course: Understanding the Enneagram by Riso and Hudson.

Course Syllabus:

Week One: Original Nature

Exploring our original nature in Oneness with ourselves, each other, all of creation and Source. Includes an introduction to the course and what to expect in the weeks ahead.

Week Two: The Core Wound

Exploring the Core Spiritual Wound that is the cause of our fears, along with our compulsive behaviors. Learn how the 9 individual temperaments of the Enneagram experience the core wound, and the distinguishing fears that arise out of this woundedness.

Week Three: The Beatitudes

Learn how the Beatitudes from Matthew’s gospel fit within the Enneagram system and how they act as a barometer for how well we have healed our compulsion and moved toward the gifted aspect of our Enneatype.

Week Four: Enneagram Type 5

Understanding the Enneagram Type 5 temperament, their unique experience of the core wound, their characterizing fears and the path of healing unique to the Type 5 – the Miser/Sage.

Week Five: Enneagram Type 4

Understanding the Enneagram Type 4 temperament, their unique experience of the core wound, their characterizing fears and the path of healing unique to the Type 4 – the Martyr/Muse.

Week Six: Enneagram Type 6

Understanding the Enneagram Type 6 temperament, their unique experience of the core wound, their characterizing fears and the path of healing unique to the Type 6 – the Phobic/Loyalist.

Week Seven: Enneagram Type 8

Understanding the Enneagram Type 8 temperament, their unique experience of the core wound, their characterizing fears and the path of healing unique to the Type 8 – the Dictator/Champion.

Week Eight: Enneagram Type 2

Understanding the Enneagram Type 2 temperament, their unique experience of the core wound, their characterizing fears and the path of healing unique to the Type 2 – the Manipulator/Helper.

Week Nine: Enneagram Type 3

Understanding the Enneagram Type 3 temperament, their unique experience of the core wound, their characterizing fears and the path of healing unique to the Type 3 – the Performer/Achiever.

Week Ten: Enneagram Type 9

Understanding the Enneagram Type 9 temperament, their unique experience of the core wound, their characterizing fears and the path of healing unique to the Type 9 – the Sloth/Peacemaker.

Week Eleven: Enneagram Type 7

Understanding the Enneagram Type 7 temperament, their unique experience of the core wound, their characterizing fears and the path of healing unique to the Type 7 – the Glutton/Enthusiast.

Week Twelve: Enneagram Type 1

Understanding the Enneagram Type 1 temperament, their unique experience of the core wound, their characterizing fears and the path of healing unique to the Type 1 – the Perfectionist/Reformer.

A Note on Western and Eastern Scripture: Please note that I do not approach scripture from a dogmatic or doctrinal perspective. Neither do I use it as a way to instill fear or manipulate specific actions or behaviors. Instead, I approach scripture as the ancients did – as a collection of symbolic and metaphorical stories (myth, poetry, etc.) which have the opportunity to reflect back to us aspects of ourselves. In this way, scripture becomes a vehicle through which our highest self can speak to us – providing guidance, support, inspiration, nourishment and even healing. When we pierce through the veil of other people’s interpretations and allow our Soul to speak to us personally and directly through these ancient texts, we discover the transformational power of The Word as it was originally intended – as a tool to guide and sustain us on the path of self-awareness and personal growth.

God: A note about the “God” word. Please know that when I use this term, I am not talking about the “Old Man in the Sky God” who is to be feared. Instead, I am speaking about Universal LOVE. This Source Energy is without gender, race, creed, or any other form of separation and is only Love. It is the energy from which we were made – by whatever name, shape, form speaks to you. If the word “God” bothers you, feel free to replace it with Love.

Learn more and enroll here