The Call of the Light-Bearer

Yeah, I’ve grown kinda weary of titles, slogans, and all the ways we try to describe and lay claim to our unique calling in the world. Titles like lightworker, shadow worker, soul mate, twin flame, starseed, witch, sorcerer, shaman, empath, etc. etc. etc. have all grown a bit tiresome and maybe even useless as we try to describe who we are in a world where we don’t really fit. Yes, these titles help us identify who we are and who we are not. Yes, they help us to find our place of belonging. AND they can tempt us to create separation as we fight over what these words really mean and our right (or not) to call ourselves that.

All that being said, I’ve recently found myself connecting with a “title” I haven’t seen elsewhere and one that seems, better than any of the above, to describe my purpose in the world, and role of others I know who share similar gifts.

It’s an ancient title that is often misunderstood and has therefore been twisted into something that strikes terror and fear in the hearts of the indoctrinated. It is one with only benevolent intent, but which has been made malevolent by those who have sought to rule the world by fear, power, oppression, and control, and those who benefit from a world driven by fear.

The title is:  Light-Bearer

A Light-Bearer is one who is the light. We are the light that causes the shadows of the world to creep out from under the rocks and behind the veils where they are hiding so they might come forth into the light. Coming forth into the light allows that which is hidden to be seen so that it can be dealt with. Light-Bearers support the ongoing transformation of the world simply by the power of their presence. That which is hiding in shadow cannot persist in the light of the Light-Bearer.

Sounds cool, right!?  Nope. Not really.  Light-Bearers are catalysts and shit-disturbers. We upset the status quo. We reveal what is hidden – deceptions, lies, betrayals, untruths, forces of oppression and manipulation, hypocrisy, injustice, and anything else that is not anchored in Love.  We don’t even have to do or say a single thing for this unveiling to take place.  It happens simply because we are in the room or in your presence. For those with nothing to hide, our presence is a welcome gift. For those who have something to hide, we are abhorred. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been treated like “the enemy,” for absolutely no reason other than I happen to be in the room and shit started coming up from under the floorboards – and yeah, I may have helped it along by pointing out the shit!  Hey, university who shall go unnamed, you were in trouble LONG before I showed up.  I’m not the enemy here! Hey person who I dated sorry my presence tickled the door behind which you have tried to hide your true orientation. How could you love me when all the while you were loving another?

There is really no place one can hide from the presence of a Light-Bearer. Either you welcome us, or your attachment to keeping something hidden will cause you to project your own self-hatred onto us. Now that I understand this gift, I no longer take it personally when for no apparent reason someone decides to hate me. If it’s someone with whom I had a relationship, I might experience the normal faces of grief, but I get it. We have to be ready to face what we try to keep hidden, and some will never be ready.

  • Where have you encountered Light-Bearers in your life?
  • Where might you be aware of the Light-Bearer calling within yourself?

Through Soul School Essentials 1 – Igniting the Flame, you will discover new things about yourself, your gifts, and your calling. 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 live of your dreams.

Beloved Partnership LIVE Course

Live/online course

created and facilitated by

Lauri Ann Lumby, OM, OPM, MATS

Twelve Live Sessions 

Mondays via ZOOM

January 17, 2022 – April 4, 2022

6:30 – 8:30 pm central time 

(Content portion will be recorded for later viewing  by those who are unable to attend live gathering.) 

Beloved Partnership is a term that has been alternatively associated with concepts such as soulmate or twin flame.  Beloved Partnership is neither of these.  Beloved Partnership has nothing to do with the human pursuit of external love. 

Instead, the longing for Beloved Partnership and its resulting pursuit can only be satisfied from within.

The journey of Beloved Partnership has been portrayed throughout history in legend, myth, and fairytale.  The story of Jesus and Mary Magdalene is one such tale – one that institutional religion would like to ignore, and which popular culture has turned into a romance. Whether Mary Magdalene and Jesus of Nazareth enjoyed a romantic partnership is immaterial to the Beloved Partnership that they both embodied within themselves. 

This course explores Beloved Partnership as the process of human self-realization reflected in the embodiment of the Beloved within as it was achieved through both Mary, called Magdalene, and Jesus, called Christ.   

Beloved Partnership is nothing short of the embodiment of that which some might call God.

Week One:              Lovers Meet                      

Week Two:             Courtship/Infatuation

Week Three:          Consummation

Week Four:            Marriage

Week Five:             Dark Night of the Soul

Week Six:               Abandonment

Week Seven:          Solitude

Week Eight:           Incomplete Union

Week Nine:            Self-Loathing

Week Ten:              Breakthrough

Week Eleven:        Living as the Beloved

Week Twelve:        Alchemical Fulfillment

Week Thirteen:    Holy Matrimony

Each session will include:

  • An opening meditation, song or prayer.
  • A scripture reading reflective of the week’s theme.
  • A live lesson given by Lauri Ann Lumby spiritual director of the Order of the Magdalene.
  • A spiritual practice that will be completed inside or outside of class.
  • Moderated discussion and sharing                                  

Lauri Ann Lumby, OM, OPM, MATS

is a Priestess of the Magdalene and the founder of both the Order of the Magdalene and the Temple of the Magdalene.  Lauri has been a dedicated student of the Magdalene since first experiencing her portrayal in the rock opera, Jesus Christ Superstar in 1978.  Lauri has since studied every scholarly work that has been made available on the Magdalene, and many works of fiction.  Lauri has come to believe that Mary Magdalene was indeed Jesus’ closest disciple, possibly his wife, and that it was Mary who was ordained to continue Jesus’ mission of transforming the world from fear into love.  Rejected by the patriarchy, the Magdalene influence has flourished in the mystical traditions of Christianity, though few would acknowledge this. The Magdalene has been a profound influence in Lauri’s own mission and has been the inspiration for Lauri’s writings, books, teachings and online courses all available through Authentic Freedom Academy.

Lauri Ann Lumby has her BBA in Marketing, a master’s degree in Transpersonal Psychology and has certificates in Pastoral Ministry and Spiritual Direction.  She is a Reiki Master in both the Usui and Karuna traditions and is an ordained interfaith minister.

Learn more at www.lauriannlumby.com.  

The Search for Beloved Partnership

From the introduction to my upcoming live course:  Mary Magdalene and the Path of Beloved Partnership:

I cannot say exactly when my search began, but for as long as I can remember, I have felt (what I now know to be) the longing that fuels the search for beloved partnership.  It was both a longing and a deep inner knowing of a “love” that was deep, abiding, honest, loyal, supportive, and uplifting. In hindsight, I experienced glimpses of this love during the times of silent prayer. But mostly, I was inclined to look outside of myself for that love – primarily in the search for “the one” with whom I would enjoy the fairytale “happily ever after.”

Happily Ever After eluded me, even in marriage.  As my marriage was falling apart, dreams of this elusive love resurfaced, becoming more potent and urgent.  I began having dreams of “the one” and visions of “him” while in prayer.  This “one” took on the appearance of any number of Jesus-looking men and started showing up in movies, television, advertisements, etc. Along with “hot Jesus,” a woman cloaked in red began to make her appearance. She revealed herself as Mary, called Magdalene, who I somewhat already knew through my academic studies. 

All of this was happening as I was experiencing the most profound emotional and spiritual crisis of my life.  The Universe had pulled the rug out from under my feet, and I was in the throes of clinical depression and spiritual collapse.  Through the help of a therapist and my spiritual director, I was brought back to the practices I had learned in my ministry training and began a deep, soul-eviscerating dive into the wounded areas of my Soul and began stitching myself back together.

As I was stitching, my marriage came to an end, and I began the search for the “one.”  I continued to believe in a “love out there” that would make me happy, whole, and complete. In this I turned to the romantic ideas of Jesus and Mary Magdalene as ones who have lived and modeled the external love I imagined.

The “one” I dreamed of never came.  Instead, what arose out of that search was the profound realization that the love I was seeking for “out there” could only be found within.  This is the love that Jesus described as the kingdom of God and which both he and Mary Magdalene embodied in what gnostic scripture refers to as anthropos. This is the love that I have been seeking, nurturing, and cultivating since 1999 when the foundation of my life began its collapse.

As demonstrated by both Jesus and Mary Magdalene, Beloved Partnership is Union with the Divine within.  In this Union, we come to know the Love that we are in Union with our Source.  In this we know that there is no separation between ourselves and Source.  Who and what we are, and our purpose in this life, is to be the full embodiment of the Divine who lives in and dwells through us – through our own unique giftedness and calling. 

At 57, I cannot claim to have fully realized Beloved Partnership within, but I am much closer than I ever have been.  With this I feel I have the experience and wisdom to share what I have learned of this journey while providing a map for those who have heard a similar calling. 

Mary Magdalene and the Path of Beloved Partnership LIVE/online course begins January 17, 2022