Connecting To Spirit thru Mother Ayahuasca

Gecko Dreams by Patricia Robin Woodruff

I have been reading many books on spirituality this year, and one that I came across is written by Tommy Bailey, “Ayahuasca: My Journey to Peru to Participate in an 8-Day Ayahuasca Retreat”.  I was intrigued to hear a first hand account of this Peruvian plant that reputedly has the power to connect people with the spirit world and the Collective Unconscious.  I remembered reading about this years ago.  The plant is prepared into a drink and is imbibed during an ayahuasca ceremony under the guidance of a Shaman.  I found it fascinating that many people who have participated in this have had the same sort of visions, a heart opening experience, as well as a feeling of being connected with all the Universe.  Some people feel that it is the plant world communicating and teaching us, so it is sometimes referred to as “Mother Ayahuasca.”

Synchronicity struck last month when my daughter who had been planning a trip to Peru for the past year found out her traveling companion couldn’t accompany her.  I jumped at the chance to go.  When I looked at the touring company that she was planning to go with, I saw that they had a “Spiritual Ayahuasca” option that I could sign up for, so everything seems to be lining up for me to participate in this spiritual experience.  Another fascinating step along the journey of connecting to Spirit.

• Robin Rumi

No One has a Monopoly on Love

Pink Kiss by Patricia Robin Woodruff

Before I published my book, Naked Morsels; Short Stories of Spiritual Erotica, I had several anthologies and magazines that just wanted *one* of my stories to be included. I resisted doing this, mainly because one of my ideals in putting together these stories was to show some of the facets of the brilliant gem that is love; heterosexual relationships, homosexual relationships, pansexual and bisexual polyamory. Naked Morsels was always intended to be published as an entire book of short stories.

While I am a woman and writing from that perspective, some of the stories are written with deliberately unisex names, so that anyone can put themselves in the story, regardless of their gender or orientation. Some are specifically written to appeal to the predominantly heterosexual among us, but I also wanted those people to understand that the same feelings that motivated them, also motivated the lesbian, transexual or bisexual relationships that are in some of the other stories.

I wanted the differences to dissolve and focus on the commonalities of love. That’s why the concepts of spirituality keep bubbling up throughout the book. I see Spirit as Male, Female, Both and Neither. A Deity that is large enough to enfold all different ethnicities and all of the diversity of creation. One of the stories includes the statement, “I am Shakti, as well as Shiva. I am everything male and female, light and dark, flesh and spirit. Perfectly balanced in one single moment lasting an eternity…”

That is why the dedication is “to Love and my Beloved”; to my husband of almost 30 years and to the Spirit that created all of us to love and be loved.

Robin Rumi

Love Energy

Wrapped In Morning by Patricia Robin Woodruff

Douglas Hofstadter mentions, “… that wonderful tingling of two souls that we curiously call “chemistry”, and that the French, even more curiously, describe as ‘avoir des atomes crochus’, which means having atoms that are hooked together.”

Do these phrases mean that we intuitively know that when we are deeply in love with a person there is a deep down change in our bodies at the chemical level (or deeper still, at a subatomic/energy level?)  Is it because when we are in love we vibrate to the same frequency or are “tuned in” to each other?

This is a type of connection that is more than the mere physical, it is connection on an energetic level.  This is what I wanted to tap into in my book, Naked Morsels; Short Stories of Spiritual Erotica.  I was annoyed with erotic stories that were simply “jumping from bed to bed”, I wanted my stories to capture the ineffable thrill of real connection.  Delighting in one another’s body is lovely, but there is so much more!

Author Deepak Chopra talks about the connection between sexuality and Spirit:

“…[an] invitation to open our lives and our souls to ecstasy, recognizing it for what it really is — the experience of our own divinity.”

If you think of how the Universe was created in the Big Bang, all that energy flew out, swirling and coalescing into suns and planets and that energy became solid matter and transformed eventually into us.  If all of that energy started from the Divine, then we are all limited fragments of the Divine.  When we join with another in love, we become larger than ourselves.  We feel that connection to the Divine Source… Love.

Blessings,

Robin Rumi

Ten Pivotal Books In My Spiritual Journey

If the me of 30 years ago met the me now, I’d probably think I was kind of “out there.” It is very difficult to leap right into the thick of spiritual revelation without being thought mad.  These are certain books that I have read that have gently eased me along my path of spiritual and mental discovery:

1) “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett. One of my earliest experiences with how thinking can change your body and mind.

2) “Stranger In A Strange Land” by Robert Heinlein. Again, showing a different way of thinking about things. If you can find the recently published *unedited* edition, it’s way better!

3) “Illusions: A Tale of a Reluctant Messiah” by Richard Bach. He’s best known for “Jonathan Livingston Seagull”, which had cool concepts but Illusions is orders of magnitude better and has such great quotes as, “You’re never given a dream without also being given the power to make it come true.” And “The best way to avoid responsibilities is to say I have responsibilities.” (It’s also a quick read.)

4) “The Power of Positive Thinking” by Norman Vincent Peale. He looks at it from a Christian point of view, but it works no matter what God you put in there (or don’t.)

5) “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron. Maybe my #1 most influential book, mainly because she includes a lot of exercises to help change your life.

6) “Creative Visualization” by Shakti Gawain.  I still use her visualizations almost daily.

7) “The Bromeliad Trilogy” by Terry Pratchett, which include the three books of “Truckers”, “Diggers” and “Wings”. These kids books would’ve been pivotal if I had read them as a kid. But I loved them as an adult and gave them to my nieces and nephews because they are SO funny. Telling the tale of these little gnomes who live hidden in a department store, but at the same time giving the wonderful message of, “There’s LOTS more out there! Don’t believe everything you’ve been told!”

8) any poetry of Rumi. He knows Spirit and always inspires me thru his words.

9) “Our Dreaming Mind” by Robert Van de Castle. A scientist who studied dreams and had to come to the conclusion of the Collective Unconscious and other mental connections.

10) “The Hunger for Ecstasy; Fulfilling the Soul’s Need for Passion and Intimacy” by Jalaja Bonheim, which validated my spiritual view of physical intimacy.

I hope this will encourage you to read some of these wonderful books!

My book Naked Morsels: Short Stories of Spiritual Erotica is available at:

https://www.createspace.com/4756061

– Robin Rumi

The Essence of Magic

“Star Stuff” watercolor by Patricia Robin Woodruff

A fact that constantly amazes me is that we are star stuff.  Every element heavier than helium has been forged in the heart of a star.  Those elements make up our substance.  We are an integral part of the Universe and as such, we effect the matter and energy in the Universe.

Remember Einstein’s equation of E=mc squared?  That tells us that energy equals matter and cannot be destroyed; one converts to the other.  We eat plants that have converted the energy of the sunlight into itself (or meat, which has eaten plants, which has converted sunlight.)  We are energy made solid and we have the ability to shape energy.  What is a thought, but energy?  We can turn that thought into something solid, such as art, writing, inventions, computer programs and so on.

We so often forget that we have the power to shape that energy and shape our physical world.  The placebo effect is not an error!  It shows that by the power of thought, a person can often get the same results in their body as taking a certain medicine.  When we watch a scary movie and our heart rate increases and we get chills, that is simply thoughts effecting our body in a physical way.  There is no actual danger, there are only thoughts.  This is the essence of magic!

I Am A Poem That Tells A Lie

I am sonnets full of stardust,
Within the meter of my skin;
An ode to the Source of Being,
That tells of solitude and sin.
I eat sun that looks like salad,
Yet that energy makes me think,
That I am only blood and bone,
And my poem is only ink.

~ Robin Rumi

 

Transcendent Sex in Literature

In my book of short stories, Naked Morsels, there are a few mentions of a blending, ecstatic experience where not only the lovers blend together, but they are merged with the beauty and awesomeness of the Universe/Spirit/Divine.  I have experienced this and it is so beautiful and so wonderful that I hope that by sharing the description that others may be able to reach there too.  Either you recognize what I’m talking about, or it sounds a bit crazy, so I was reassured to find others that describe this experience.

Dr. Jenny Wade had a similar sort of transcendent occurrence, which caused her to research it.  Her estimation is about 1 in 10 people have had this sort of transcendent event during lovemaking.  She wrote a book on it called, Transcendent Sex; When Lovemaking Opens the Veil.  Dr. Wade mentions an experience of a woman named Jenna, who described it as,

“Something clicked and I completely lost my sense of self,’ she says. ‘It’s hard to explain. It was as though I was transported outside my body and I lost myself, but simultaneously discovered something far bigger. I didn’t have any sense of “me” at all. Afterwards, I remember lying in Mike’s arms, tears running down my cheeks, suffused with a feeling of love for him and for everything. I don’t think I’ve ever had such an intense emotional experience, and it left me feeling incredibly centred, positive and strong.”

This is rather similar to my experience.  It caused me to look into the ancient teachings of Tantra.  I’ve read a little about this teaching from India, but I haven’t found a book that has really clicked with me on the subject.  There are a few spiritual teachers out there, who do touch on the subject, such as Osho.

“When love expresses through you it first expresses as the body. It becomes sex. If it expresses through the mind, which is higher, deeper, subtler, then it is called love. If it expresses through the spirit, it becomes prayer….
If everything goes well and sex is natural and flowing it is a beautiful experience because you can have a glimpse of the second through it. If sex goes really very deep, so that you forget yourself completely in it, you can even have a glimpse of the third through it. And if sex becomes a total orgasmic experience, there are rare moments when you can even have a glimpse of the fourth, the turiya, the beyond, through it.” – Osho

I guess that’s what inspired me to write my short stories in the first place.  In most books of erotica, I just found them to be rather devoid of emotional and spiritual connection, yet to me, that was one of the most important parts.  I’d love to hear of others who may have had a transcendent experience like this.

– Robin Rumi

 

Fires Rising; Transforming the Things That Hold You Back

What was I doing dancing and drumming all thru the night for three solid nights?  I’m not really a evening person.  My family jokes about “night fell kathud” because it’s like a great big weight just drops on me at some point in the evening.  So why would I do this?

The amazing reason is Fires Rising, an event designed by Magnus and Abbie Spinner McBride.  It is based on the idea of Alchemical Fire Rituals, where you psychologically pass thru the stages of transforming things that hold you back.  You focus on changing your “lead” into “gold”.  Chanting, moving and dancing help you go thru your conscious mind and into the subconscious mind to dredge up things that are holding you back.

Fires Rising is held at Four Quarters Interfaith Sanctuary of Earth Religions near Artemas, PA.  I pushed myself to move and dance, and when I was tired I sat and drummed.  All this creates a mental space where your conscious mind gets lulled and messages and insights from the subconscious are able to be heard.  It is also a wonderful bonding experience with kindred spirits.  Nobody takes themselves too seriously (although it is serious psychological work), there is a lot of laughter and silliness, but interwoven are moments of deep sorrow.  Moments when people open up their hearts and share their burdens and the love of the group can provide support and ideas.

Sometimes I danced and listened to the words of the songs, other times I just kept trudging around in a circle, joining in the repetitive chanting and letting my mind wander in the beat of the drums.  There were rituals interspersed throughout the night, designed by the participants to share their understanding of the emotional alchemical process.  These sometimes provided additional insight.  I watched the moon set and the fire’s sparks rising up to mingle with the sparkling stars. The first night we dress in black and our inner journey is to identify our “lead”, find the things that hold us back.  The second night we dress in white, this is the fluid stage where we seek solutions.  On the joyful third night, we dress primarily in red, with bright gold and sometimes other jewel colors and we rejoice in each other’s journeys and solutions.  As I realized while I was dancing, it holds some similarity to the Native American Sun Dance ritual, but with a lot less pain and lots more laughter.

Like the poet, Jewel Mathieson said,

“WE have come to be danced
not the nice invisible, self conscious shuffle
but the matted hair flying, voodoo mama
shaman shakin’ ancient bones dance
the strip us from our casings, return our wings
sharpen our claws & tongues dance
the shed dead cells and slip into
the luminous skin of love dance”

“Fires Rising” watercolor by Patricia Robin Woodruff

May you be transformed!

– Robin Rumi

Naked Morsels Hot off the Press

After ten years in the making, “Naked Morsels; Short Stories of Spiritual Erotica” is now published, rather co-incidentally, but happily on my husband’s birthday.  Certainly fair enough, since he provides me with enough inspiration.

For a juicy sneak preview, you can read the beginning of one of the short stories, Venus Rising, HERE.  Feel free to leave your comments.

After next week, it should be listed for $14.99 on Amazon and a eBook version available for Kindle and iPad, but right now it is available for a PRESALE PRICE of $11.99 (until Friday, June 20th) and you can only purchase it HERE.

Now you’ve got almost three weeks’ worth of steamy bedtime stories if you nibble them one at a time, or like a delicious box of Belgian chocolates, will you get tempted into consuming the whole thing?

– Robin Rumi

Sacred Moments and Time Out of Time

There are moments when the sacred seems to break through into the everyday world. Where you stand awestruck and know that you are in a sacred moment.  What indicates this to me is entering into kairos, what the Greeks defined as sacred time.  Wikipedia defines it as a moment of indeterminate time in which everything seems to happen.  When I am writing and “in the zone”, I have entered kairos.  It becomes not me writing but Spirit creating through me.

I couldn’t tell you how long giving birth lasted.  I was in kairos when my newly born son unfolded like a flower in his father’s hands. I knew that we were participating in an act of bringing a life into this world.  I was filled with awe, joy and gratitude.

When I participate in truly transcendent moments making love with my Beloved, I am in that same state of kairos.  There are no linear minutes, just this moment of true togetherness.  We are blended in our passion and joy in each other.  This is a sacred moment, as well.

Other sacred moments are when we stand transfixed at the beauty of a sunset or the grandeur of a cathedral or the awe-inspiring hush of an ancient sacred spot.  Again, the Greeks have a word for it, the aesthetic experience.  Where we sense and understand things deep in our soul.  We recognize the beauty of that place or moment.  We know we have touched Spirit.

I will be going to a spiritual retreat this weekend, which I hope to share with you next week.  May you have a Spirit filled weekend!

– Robin Rumi

Sacred Places

Sacred places

 

Some places you are told they are sacred, either lore about the spot, or it is made plain by the arching cathedral space or ornate building around it.  Other places you just know.  You can feel it in your bones or deep in your dan tien or your gut.  One such place was some sacred springs in Red Rock Canyon, Nevada.  There was nothing to mark the spot, but I could just feel it; how the air held the silence, and the peace filled me.

As I thought about it, it made sense.  The Willow Spring was a common stopping place for migrating Native Americans.  There was a small cave there for shelter and fresh water.  No surprise that nearby were some petroglyphs, handprints and symbols, their meaning now lost in time.  But whatever the meaning, it was clear to me that this was a place of gratitude for the water that made it possible to survive in the Mojave desert.

The second unnamed spring was the same way.  Surrounded by boulders and shaded from the heat of the sun, it provided a still oasis in the desert heat.  It was an answer to a prayer for me, since the day had grown unbearably hot.  I refreshed myself in the cold water.  A baptism of sorts, I felt renewed.  The desert is a place of marvels.  It is a harsh, pitiless place but beautiful right down to its bones.  So I added my gratitude to the energy of the spring and traveled on.

– Robin Rumi