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.
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:
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
One of the greatest temptations of religion is perfectionism and the vanity that accompanies its pursuit. As a recovering perfectionist (and a Type 1/perfectionist on the Enneagram) I know this temptation all too well. Religion says “if you want God to love you, you need to be perfect in the ways we outline for you.” Religion also says, “If you are not perfect, God will not love you and God’s love will be taken away.” The result of this for many is the endless pursuit of perfection. Following the Ten Commandments. Living the Beatitudes. Adhering to the laws laid out by the institution.
The driving force of this pursuit of perfection is judgment. Religion tells us of a judgmental God – like an omnipotent Santa Claus keeping the list of who is good and who is bad. God’s judgment is then handed down to the clergy whose job it is to enforce “God’s” rules. This judgment then becomes part of our own conscience, where we are now the ones judging our own behaviors while also judging the behaviors of others. This cycle of judgment pits us against God, God against us, and us against each other. Separation is the result of this judgment as everyone is pointing a finger of condemnation at themselves while pointing the same finger at others. Here nobody wins and everybody loses as we are all caught up in the cycle of judgment and self-righteousness.
GUILTY!
This gospel reflects that cycle while, at the same time, turning the tables on religion’s paradigm of judgment:
Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. “Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity — greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
LK 18: 9-14
Here Jesus’ message is obvious. God loves everyone the same and holds a special measure of compassion for those who are broken. In the reading, the Pharisee lauds his perfection. As a strict follower of The Law, he is certain of his salvation, perhaps rightly so. Some find contentment and peace in a black and white theology which lays out exactly what is needed to obtain “the kingdom.” For those who follow a similar way, the Pharisee would be seen as a good and righteous man, justified in his judgment of the tax collector. Jesus, however, turns the table. Instead of lauding the Pharisee, he elevates the tax collector – not because he was a righteous man, but because he was humble. Unlike the Pharisee who only saw his own goodness, the tax collector admitted his failings. He knew that he was broken and imperfect and that in his humanness he had done things contrary to The Law. (Tax collectors were viewed as “sinners” during the time of Jesus as they were working for Rome – the enemy, while also taking a fee for themselves (usury) for their work). Instead of judgment, Jesus invited his disciples to see the depth of God’s love through the life of the tax collector. Here is a man, doing what he needed to do to provide for his family. His job wasn’t perfect – but it was a job. Yes, the Pharisees raged against the work of the tax collectors and cast them in the role of sinners, but he was just doing what he had to do to care for his family. Because of his conditioning, he was made to feel guilty for his profession and confessed that guilt to God. Instead of standing before God lauding his greatness, he acknowledged his frailty, and the shame he felt in his frailty. He knew he was powerless to correct this “shame” and offered his brokenness up to God. And God loved him.
God loved him.
God loved him unconditionally. As Jesus described it, not only was the man loved, he was exalted! Does that mean that God loved the tax collector more? If we believe in an all-loving, unconditionally loving God, then no. It was not the Pharisee who needed comfort in his brokenness. As scripture describes it, the Pharisee did not believe he was broken. The tax collector, however, begged for God’s compassion (a better translation of the word mercy). And he got it. We don’t know how he received that compassion or what it may have felt like to him. Perhaps it was simply in the asking that the answer was received.
The same is true for each of us. There is not a single one among us who is not broken in some way. We all struggle with our fears, compulsions, unhealed wounds, self-and other judgment, gluttony, lust for power, wrath, envy, greed, sloth and pride. We are all broken. Either we acknowledge this brokenness and offer that up to God for love or, like the Pharisee we pretend our perfection and miss out on all the love God wants to give. Grace is the vehicle through which we know and experience God’s love and it seems there is a reciprocal relationship between our ability to acknowledge our brokenness and experiences of God’s Grace – not because it’s otherwise being withheld, but because we haven’t asked.
Maybe this is what Jesus meant when he said, “Ask and it will be given.”
What is your current understanding of the Book of Revelation?
Doomsday Prophecy?
Historical Reflection?
Heavenly Vision?
Big Fat Mystery?
To learn more and enroll click on the image above.
Come and explore this mysterious and often confusing book of the Bible from a different perspective while reclaiming the role of the Divine Feminine as the true heroine of this epic mythological tale.
Victory of the Holy Bride shatters over 2000 years of patriarchal dogma that cast the Book of Revelation in the role of doomsday prophecy and presents to you the tools for discovering a profoundly simple truth that is the key to inner peace and the formula through which we endure the “times of tribulation” while building a whole new world – one rooted in peace, understanding, wisdom, harmony and love.
Discover the secret of the Book of Revelation and learn how to apply that secret in your everyday life so that you might know peace.
In knowing that peace, you will have the freedom to begin creating a whole new world for yourself.
Course Outline:
Lesson One: Introduction to the Book of Revelation
Lesson Two: The Structure of Revelation
Lesson Three: Alpha and Omega
Lesson Four: The Mystical Seven and its place in Revelation
Lesson Five: The Time of Tribulation
Lesson Six: The Dragon and the Woman
Lesson Seven: The Fall of Babylon/The New Jerusalem
From the course introduction by Lauri Ann Lumby:
Victory of the Holy Bride shatters over 2000 years of patriarchal dogma that cast the Book of Revelation in the role of doomsday prophecy and presents to you the tools for discovering a profoundly simple truth that is the key to inner peace and the formula through which we can build a whole new world – one rooted in peace, understanding, wisdom, harmony and love.
The inspiration for this course came long before its birth in a tiny whispering voice that said, “There is something in the Book of Revelation…..there is something in the Book of Revelation.” This something was somehow connected with the 7 chakras and the trademarked protocol that I created (was given) that I call Authentic Freedom. For years this whispering continued all the way through the development of Authentic Freedom, Deepening Freedom, Living in Freedom and the other examples of the “secret of seven” that is hidden in the depths of the Judeo-Christian tradition and as it is communicated through scripture.
I approached the Book of Revelation many times before it yielded its secrets to me, but once they were revealed my mind was blown! Not because what I was shown was complicated or profound, but because it was so dang simple! Then I wondered, how is it that in 2000 years no one had uncovered the simple truth revealed in the Book of Revelation? Maybe someone had, but nowhere in my Catholic-Christian upbringing (including almost 12 years in Catholic school) or in seven years of ministry training had this simple truth been explained. Instead, the Book of Revelation was either spoken of as doomsday prophecy or ignored all together. It was as if the Church had no use for the Book of Revelation unless as a tool for manipulating others through fear and if there might be something more to it, they would rather not know (or would rather we didn’t know).
But here’s the secret: there is absolutely nothing to fear about the Book of Revelation! Instead, it is a message of profound hope – the simple truth of the human condition, along with the even simpler formula for enjoying the peace and freedom brought forth by this truth.
It really is that simple. But first, we must comb through the layers of symbolic language and metaphor used by its author (attributed to St. John the Divine) to veil this simple truth from those who are not yet ready, and perhaps to protect those who would know this truth from those whose power might be threatened.
For those in patriarchal power, there is much to fear in the simple truth of the Book of Revelation for when we understand and do the work of embodying the truth revealed in this book, we are no longer subject to the fearful manipulations of the outside perceived patriarchal authority. Instead, we discover our own sovereignty and the Divine power within that guides us on the path to our truth and which frees us to live that truth fully. Here we discover a whole new world of peace, contentment, empowerment and joy dwelling within us and which seeks to be known in the world through us.
I’ve enjoyed Lauri’s course as much as any I can remember. She is insightful and very well informed, but often with an original take on the material. I enjoy that she both understands Christianity, from her years as a Catholic, and Judaism, but also the priestess path. So her work is a hybrid of understandings, both historical and fresh. Her lecture delivery is clear. She has innovative activities and reflections which she invites us to do.
This course especially feels very timely, as is all Lauri’s work. I also really enjoyed interacting live, but the course is engaging on its own – so much so that I stayed up to the small hours (due to the time difference) to be able to participate.
I also love Lauri’s pricing policy, her generosity, and her values. This is a spiritual leader and teacher (though she’d probably be too modest to call herself as such) who is rooted in soul and heart work first before the ‘I’m worth it’ high charging mentality of other spiritual businesses. This is why I’m doing courses with Lauri. I heartily commend her. ER, United Kingdom
Revelations – the great mystery book of the bible. For centuries, used as a tool to strike fear in the hearts of humanity. Touted as a prophecy of things to come if humanity doesn’t get their moral act together, and told as bedtime stories to scare children into good behavior. If we don’t obey God we will suffer “His” wrath…but wait, even if we are good, kind, loving, and obedient, the end times will still come…..and it is coming soon! (It’s been coming soon for 2000 years!) With the end time comes war, pestilence, frightening beasts, and terrifying portents in the skies. But if we can endure the trauma, then we will be rewarded with the coming of the King, and the New Jerusalem will come down from heaven, heralding the reign of peace. It seems no matter what we do, the apocalypse is coming and only the few and the brave will be rewarded with an eternity in heaven. The question that hangs in the balance is “Are you one of the 144,000?”
But here’s the deal, the Book of Revelations has nothing to do with the end times. It never did. It has always been about NOW. Revelations is not a book of prophecies; neither is it a warning of God’s wrath; nor a manual for the end times. While Tim LaHaye and his buddies made millions on their Left Behind series, Revelations has forever and always been about RIGHT NOW. Revelations, plain and simple, is an allegory expressing the difference between a life with “God” and a life without. When we lose track of our connection with the Divine, we suffer torment and unspeakable horrors. When we remember this connection, we experience heaven on earth. But here’s the twist – when we suffer it isn’t because God is punishing us. It is simply the natural consequence of turning away from our true nature which is in Union with God (Love). When we are One with our true nature (God/Love), we know peace, joy, contentment, and are able to live from compassion and love.
It really is this simple. And the formula is even easier:
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
This single proclamation of the Divine, repeated over and over and over throughout the Book of Revelation, is the key to it all. When we make our union with the Divine the center of our life, we know peace. When we forget this union, we are disturbed. That’s it! End of story!
But, maintaining our attention to this union is easier said than done. We live in a world of distractions. The human condition is a distraction. There are (seem to be) a million things vying for our attention. TV. Work. Family. Friends. Money, OBLIGATIONS. Ugh! Yes, we must provide for ourselves and our families. Yes, our relationships require our attention. But really, how much of our time is simply wasted on unnecessary tasks, unfulfilling “obligations,” things that we are simply doing out of habit or because we were told we had to do this by our societal conditioning. Or maybe we are keeping ourselves busy to avoid the real task at hand which is the invitation to get right with Ourselves.
Right with Ourselves! Not right with God. God loves us for who we are….IN THIS AND EVERY MOMENT! We are the ones who are not right with ourselves. Every time we deny the yearning and calling of our Soul. Every time we ignore our inner pain. Each time we distract ourselves from our true self and its needs and wants. When we are not right with ourselves, we suffer anxiety, worry, restlessness, fear, emotional and physical pain. When we are not one with ourselves, we are not one with God. Or rather, we have forgotten our Oneness with God…..because in spite of all our efforts to separate ourselves from our Truth, God remains.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
God is all there is. All there is is God. And we are part of and an expression of the Divine Source that is within and through us all. If we are feeling unrest, it is because we forgot this singular truth. This IS the truth that will set us free – if and when we remember it.
So this is our task – to remember our Union with the Divine and in remembering this Union, coming home to ourselves. The “New Jerusalem” isn’t a castle in the clouds, and neither is it happening in some future time in a Heaven light years away. It is NOW. It is within us. WHEN we remember this Truth. So, let’s get to it, shall we?
Suggested Spiritual Practice
This is the hard part. Remembering our Union with the Divine is an every moment of every day job. It requires discipline, persistence and PRACTICE. And we will never, ever, ever, in our human experience perfect this remembering. All we can do is take it moment by moment, day by day and practice forgiveness of ourselves WHEN we forget. J We will forget and we will fail. But the task is to keep coming back, again and again and again, to this truth:
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
In the coming week, I invite you into a practice of observation. Through this practice, you are invited to observe where you are remembering this truth and feeling that sense of Union with God and your higher self and where you are not. You will notice oneness vs. separation in the following:
Oneness = peace, contentment, joy.
Separation = anxiety, worry, fear.
I also invite you take note of where your attention is placed. When is your attention on your Soul and God and when is it elsewhere? Make note of the difference you feel within yourself when you are connected to Soul/God and when you are not.
Simply take note. Then, if you feel so-called, begin the work of turning away from those experiences that cause separation and turning instead toward those that support you in feeling Union.
Victory of the Holy Bride shatters over 2000 years of patriarchal dogma that cast the Book of Revelation in the role of doomsday prophecy and presents to you the tools for discovering a profoundly simple truth that is the key to inner peace and the formula through which we endure the “times of tribulation” while building a whole new world – one rooted in peace, understanding, wisdom, harmony and love.
As the Institutional Church continues its decline, and monastic communities along with it, we are invited to Re-Vision Church, while at the same time re-visioning monasticism. What does it mean to be contemplative, in community, and in service to the betterment of the world without taking vows of chastity and poverty? What does it mean to be called to the contemplative life while living in the modern world? In this week’s lesson, we are going to explore these questions. I invite you to join in this exploration with me!
Church, as we have known it, is dying. Included in this death is the dramatic decline of women and men entering religious orders. In the Eastern Orthodox, Catholic and Episcopal traditions, these monastic orders have been the guardians of the contemplative traditions while dedicating their lives in service to the Divine and to the betterment of our world. These are the women and men who serve the needs of the poor, bring healing to the sick, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and who are continually working for social justice and the rights of the vulnerable and oppressed. These are the people who are “boots on the ground.”
In the modern age, however, the number of those who are “boots on the ground” has drastically declined. To put it simply, few are called to the vows of chastity or poverty that are required for in most monastic orders. Additionally people (in the first world anyway) are not looking toward religious life as an escape or as a means to an education. As our world becomes increasingly pluralistic (embracing the truths present within a multitude of belief systems) and institutional religion continues to decline, there are quite simply fewer to choose from as potential candidates for religious life.
This does not mean, however, that women and men are not looking for what monastic life has provided:
A life centered in contemplation, meditation and prayer.
Spiritual Formation and Empowerment.
A Community of like-minded women and men.
Meaningful and fulfilling work that is both personally enriching and which serves the betterment of the world.
How can women and men get these needs met outside of institutional religion, while embracing a multitude of beliefs?
I have shared this quandary with many of my friends, students and clients. There seems to be a deep hunger among people to connect – and to do so along a similar intention or goal. One friend for example, has carries within him the long-standing vision of building a sustainable community – one whose focus is on agricultural sustainability and permaculture – living away from the distractions of the capitalistic world and providing for their own needs while providing for others. He has seen this as a collaborative collective of like-minded people dedicated to building community, while caring for the earth with sustainable farming practices. This is a vision that he has held for the six years (lifetimes) I have known him. He has been slowly working toward this vision and only recently have the pieces fallen into place which are allowing him to fulfill this vision.
A former student has held a similar vision, but for her the vision isn’t centered on agriculture, but is instead about providing a place for women to be safe (her focus is women who have been abused and their children), where they can heal and become empowered through a sisterhood of supportive women. The focus of this community would be on ritual, healing practice, meditation and prayer. Additionally, shamanic healing practices, counseling and empowerment would be offered to help these women create a new life for themselves – either within or outside of the community.
Another example of attempts that are being made to support women and men in receiving the benefits that monastic life used to provide is the way that many Catholic retreat centers have re-visioned themselves. Many are housed within former convents or monasteries, providing a place of prayer, contemplation, formation, healing and stewardship. The FSPA (Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration) sisters, for example, have several retreat centers that share a common mission – stewardship of the earth, sustainability, contemplation and prayer, outreach to the community.
These are all examples of how women and men are finding creative answers to the deep calling within themselves that would have formerly been met within vowed religious life. The one thing that all of these examples have in common is PLACE. They all require land and buildings – a place people have to go to be a part of these communities. While these examples meet the needs of some, what about the needs of those who are not called to “place”?
I am one of those people, and I suspect if you are part of this community, you might be too. How do we live a monastic life outside the confines of place and within the rhythm of our everyday lives? Most of the women and men in this community have “day jobs” and/or a family to care for. We are called from a wide range of professions, vocational callings and life circumstances – all of which preclude living out a contemplative life defined by place. Instead, we are called to create space within our everyday life for the benefits of monasticism:
A life centered in contemplation, meditation and prayer.
Spiritual Formation and Empowerment.
A Community of like-minded women and men.
Meaningful and fulfilling work that is both personally enriching and which serves the betterment of the world – work which we may or may not get paid for.
It isn’t easy, but it can be done. In order to fulfill this calling we will likely have to defy the rules and conditioning of our patriarchal world – rules that say our value is determined by what we do, how hard we work, how many people know us, how much money we make and by association, what we own. Living a contemplative life in the modern world requires a shifting of priorities – creating space for the above mentioned items. Carving out time for meditation and prayer. Making a commitment to our spiritual formation and to the calling which comes forth from that exploration and study. Taking time to connect with those who are choosing to share in this journey. Turning away from work, relationships, activities and expectations that no longer serve our Divine calling and turning toward that which fulfills and serves the betterment of the world. All of this while ceasing from judging the paths and choices of those within our community, understanding that we are all on our own path – just trying to find our way home (to ourselves and our “God”).
I have been and continue to work on this for myself. I can attest that it is a continued unfolding and a continued deepening. Every day, it seems, I am called more and more fully into living out the contemplative life I have envisioned. This alone is a practice. In addition to my daily meditation and prayer, is the constant evaluation of the rhythm of my life and to what I am giving my energy. Each day I am observing, witnessing, tweeking – what is life giving and what is not? What is an energy drain and what gives me life? What makes me feel safe (peaceful, calm, content) and what is overstimulating, taxing, anxiety-producing? It is an ongoing practice and my hope is that in doing this for myself, I can in turn, support you in doing the same – in the way that works for you! (Not everyone is called to transmute the darkness of the world – you lucky souls! )
Join us for weekly reflections on monastic living.
Join us for our weekly spiritual service and twice monthly community sharing circle.
Suggested Spiritual Practice:
In the Christian tradition, Jesus provides the perfect example of the contemplative life.
A life rooted in contemplation and prayer.
Ongoing spiritual formation.
Engagement with a like-minded community.
Meaningful work in service to the betterment of the world.
When his disciples asked Jesus how he did this, he answered was simple, PRAYER. He instructed them as such:
Whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Divine Parent who is in secret; and your Divine Parent who sees in secret will reward you.MT 6:6
Jesus prayed (meditated) a lot! He invited his disciples to do the same. He did this because he knew:
Seek ye first the kingdom of God (within) and everything will be given unto you. MT 6:33
It is within this intimate connection with God that we find ourselves and in finding ourselves, we discover who we are, who we are called to be and how we are called to live our lives. We also find this in the quiet discernment of our heart where we know what is “of God” and what is not.
My invitation to all of this this week, is to enter into our quiet place and ask how we are individually and personally called to live out the contemplative life in our modern world? As the pieces come through for you, please feel free to share them with our community, either in the discussion section below or if you are part of the social network, please share it there.
Before diving into the purpose of evil, I must first share a story. This is a conversation I had with my daughter when she was somewhere around the ripe old age of 14:
Me: “I wish all the evil and bad in the world would just go away.”
Daughter: “But mom, if that happened, there would be no anime.”
Me: …….
Me: …….
Daughter: “You know, no heroes’ journey! What fun would that be?”
Me: …..
Me: “Sigh. You’re completely right! Out of the mouths of babes!”
This was not the first time I was bested by my wise daughter! At the young age of 14, my anime-loving daughter was able to clearly see what I could not:
We need evil in our lives! Evil has a reason and a purpose.
The purpose of evil is ultimately for our benefit.
As my daughter so cleverly pointed out, if there wasn’t evil in the world, how would we ever be challenged to grow? In referring to the classic archetype of the heroes’ journey, my wise daughter said it all:
Evil provides the resistance we need to grow.
Human beings are not unlike plants in this regard. As a germinating plant needs the resistance provided by the seed to grow and is then further strengthened by the resistance provided by the rock and soil through which it must climb to reach the sun, so do we need resistance to grow. Being confronted by evil and the other difficulties and struggles of the human condition, we are being provided with an opportunity for this growth.
Unlike a plant which has no choice but to push through (or die), facing evil also gives us the opportunity to cultivate our will and our power to choose. Struggling with the evils of the human condition supports us in honing our conscience and our consciousness. Who do we want to be and how to we want to live and act? Continually, we are given an opportunity to succumb to evil, be led by evil, or alternatively to make the choice for love. When we choose evil, we suffer the consequences of that choice and are given one opportunity after another to choose otherwise. When we choose love, our path takes on a greater sense of ease as we flow gently toward the next opportunity for our growth. Then we have another opportunity to choose.
Evil is always working for our highest good – continually providing us with opportunities to choose and to grow. Our invitation is not to run from evil, but to face it head on, welcoming its lesson, and accepting the opportunity for growth. In welcoming evil as a teacher, we are fully participating in our own heroes’ journey, and in doing so, writing our own anime adventure!
What kind of hero are you choosing to be?
Courses in support of your own heroes’ journey. Click on the images below to learn more!
The energies leading up to this full moon have been intense to say the least. Reports from the field include: headaches, vertigo, INTENSE fatigue, nausea in some, physical pain, an inability to focus or maintain attention to ANYTHING. For me this has included “death chills” (I’m not sick!).
On an individual level, for many, this is the final death moon – putting closure on our karmic missions and sealing them up for the crypt. We are done. We’ve done our inner healing and clearing. We’ve done our karmic service to the world. It is now time to put that to bed, shake the dust from our feet, and walk away. The walking away is from all that is no longer life giving. As we allow ourselves to LET GO, we are creating space for the new to come into being. It is time to be open to the new – a new that is life-giving, joyful, fulfilling, and (gasp) FUN! This is the final dying. Now it’s time to live!
Nationally we are seeing another kind of karmic death. Karma is finally being meted out, wrongs righted, and we are witnessing a return to reason. For many, this feels like a victory, a breath of fresh air, and the restoration of hope. For others, I’m feeling a strange kind of grief/shame – specifically from those who did not see and who now have no choice but to see. Along with this is an undercurrent of confusion. The big question here is “Who do we follow/listen to if those we took to be our leader turn out to be liars?” Some will seek another outside perceived authority. Others will simply repress the anxiety/confusion/shame which will then likely come out sideways. Those who are ready, will begin the difficult task of unraveling from outside perceived authority to discover and cultivate the authority within.
On a global level, we stand at a place of decision. Some literally holding the destruction of the world in their hands while others look on holding their breaths. Will someone step in to intervene? Will reason prevail? This presents a bigger question – who is “someone?” I have to wonder if the world is waiting for this someone to come forth or if humanity will realize that WE ARE THE SOMEONE WE ARE WAITING FOR!
As many have reiterated – today is not a day for doing. It is a day for being. Be quiet. Be still. Go inward. Be with the moon and whatever it is inviting you to!
The US mid-term elections are this coming Tuesday, November 8th. Many have been predicting a “Red Wave” with Republicans securing majority in both the Congress and Senate, and taking many state Governor positions. If “Red” isn’t your political stance, how might you prepare in the event of a Red Wave?
People often ask me, “How do you know this stuff?” The short answer is – a lifetime of study. The longer answer is what I have come to call “embodied learning.” Yes, I have read literally hundreds of books on the topics I teach and in the areas that I counsel. But more than just reading, I have done my best to embody the best of what scholars before me have articulated through their words, and have applied the practices of the mystics and contemplators and experienced the benefit of these practices in my own life.
Below is just a glimpse into the many books I have studied in forming the foundation of the offerings of Soul School. The benefit to my client and students is that they don’t have to read all these books. They can just show up for the classes and enjoy the distillation of all I have accumulated and gathered in a lifetime of study, integration, and practice.
Lauri Ann Lumby Reading List 2022
Books Related to Mary Magdalene:
Scholarly Works:
Begg, Ean, The Cult of the Black Virgin, Chiron Publications, 2006.
Bourgeault, Cynthia, The Meaning of Mary Magdalene – Discovering the Woman at the Heart of
Christianity, Shambhala Publications, 2010.
Haskins, Susan, Mary Magdalene – Myth and Metaphor, Harcourt Brace & Company, 1993.
King, Karen, L., The Gospel of Mary of Magdala – Jesus and the First Woman Apostle,
Polebridge Press, 2003.
Leloup, Jean-Yves, Judas and Jesus – Two Faces of a Single Revelation, Inner Traditions, 2006.
Leloup, Jean-Yves, The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, Inner Traditions, 2002.
Leloup, Jean-Yves, The Gospel of Philip, Inner Traditions, 2003.
Leloup, Jean-Yves, The Gospel of Thomas, Inner Traditions, 2005.
Leloup, Jean-Yves, The Sacred Embrace of Jesus and Mary – The Sexual Mystery at the Heart of
the Christian Tradition, Inner Traditions, 2005.
MacDermot, Violet, The Fall of Sophia – A Gnostic Text on the Redemption of Universal
Consciousness, Lindisfarne Books, 2001.
Starbird, Margaret, The Woman with the Alabaster Jar, Bear & Company, 1993.
Starbird, Margaret, The Goddess in the Gospels – Reclaiming the Sacred Feminine, Bear &
Company, 1998.
Starbird, Margaret, Mary Magdalene – Bride in Exile, Bear & Company, 2005.
Fiction or Channeled Works:
Heartsong, Claire, Anna – Grandmother of Jesus. S.E.E. Publishing, 2002.
Heartsong, Claire, Anna – the Voice of the Magdalenes, S.E.E Publishing, 2010.
Kenyon, Thomas & Sion, Judi, The Magdalen Manuscript, Tom Kenyon Orb, 2006.
McGowan, Kathleen, The Expected One, Touchstone, 2007.
McGowan, Kathleen, The Book of Love, Touchstone, 2010.
Pevehouse, Dolores, I, The Christ, Hampton Roads, 2000.
Wilson, Stuart, Essenes – Children of the Light, Ozark Mountain Publishing, 2005.
Wilson, Stuart & Prentis, Joanna, Power of the Magdalene, Ozark Mountain Publishing, 2008.
Unitive Gnosticism/Gnostic Christianity:
Douglas-Klotz, Neil, The Hidden Gospel: Decoding the Spiritual Message of the Aramaic Jesus,
Quest Books, 1999.
Douglas-Klotz, Neil, Prayers of the Cosmos, Harper One 1993.
Eisler, Riane, The Chalice and the Blade, Harper Collins, 1987.
Lauri Ann Lumby 