It is my distinct honor to be introducing this new blog authored by my friend and colleague, Meredith Star Raven. Her medicine name reflects her deep connection with the natural world and the beings and aspects that reveal themselves as our teachers.  She is an exceptional spiritual teacher and guide.

Meredith comes reluctantly to this task, but after years of coaxing and prodding she now emerges from the Scorpion’s hiding place to share her insights and her knowing. Her personal journey has been remarkable and in some ways miraculous. I pray she will gift us with the lessons and the challenges she has encountered as we travel with her now. I am blessed to be her friend.

John Berry Deakyne
Author, Poet, Teacher - Sedona, AZ   http://in-lite-un.blogspot.com/

MY FIRST BLOG

As I write this, I’m sitting with my laptop at my dining room table looking out at the sunset on Cathedral Rock in Sedona (I took the above photo from my deck), wondering where on earth to begin the tale of the transformation that has brought me to this magical place, and gifted me with the powerful medicine name of Star Raven. I’ve lived in Sedona for nearly a year now, and people often ask me how I like it.  The answer is that I absolutely am in awe of the privilege of living here, thrilled and humbled by the friendships I’ve made in such a short time, and unspeakably grateful for the magic and beauty my life has become.

As most of you know, until a couple of years ago, I was living in Scottsdale, working as a real estate agent, taking care of a household that consisted of a husband, a daughter and a grandson. During that time I experienced a powerful reunion with God and awakening to my own soul. Since then, the desire to make spiritual awakening, inner healing, and union with the Divine the focus of my life, instead of a sideline, has become increasingly strong. It’s as though, when I finally acknowledged my soul, and started listening to its voice, I absolutely had to follow it, no matter where it led.

Most of us, and I am a prime example, live our lives tuning out the voice of our heart and soul, listening instead to the cold voice of so called logic, prisoners of the conditioning imposed by parents, teachers, churches, social customs and the myriad fears buried in our psyches. Then we wonder why our lives don’t work, why we are so powerless to change, and why we’re so unsatisfied.

This journey I’m enjoying now is a result of undoing that conditioning, of learning to tune in to my own heart and soul. The process of undoing can be frightening at times, and, as many spiritual teachers tell us, not for the fainthearted. But it is the most utterly thrilling and deeply satisfying journey imaginable. And honestly, once your soul starts calling, it cannot be ignored.

There is absolutely nothing like the feeling of facing down a fear and moving through the illusion it really is to the freedom on the other side. I’ve been privileged to have that experience innumerable times over the last couple of years.

I’ve learned that there is a force bigger than the one that operates between our ears, that loves us unconditionally and is the motivating and orchestrating force behind this process.   It is this force, our own soul, that is calling us to awaken to our grand and glorious heritage as sons and daughters of the Divine.  We carry the “genetic code” of our divine parentage, and therefore, beneath all the negative conditioning, we are designed to live lives of creativity, peace, wisdom, love and joy. 

I’m convinced that the urgency of the call is increasing for all of us. I experience that increased urgency daily. It is my hope that as I share my journey, the wonderful AHA! moments, the bumps and bruises, and the glorious victories alike, that my experiences will be a light to others like myself who are venturing forth and awakening to their soul’s calling.

I want to thank the dear friends who have journeyed with me these last years, and who “saw” me when I all I could see was my own shortcomings, and all I could feel were my fears.  It is said that the people and circumstances in our lives are mirrors to show us our true natures.  Well, if that’s true I must be pretty terrific, because the people I am privileged to call “friends” are an amazing bunch!  Thank you dear ones. I love you and appreciate you more than I can say.