Tag: way of the coyote

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Connecting with the Goddess

connecting with the goddess

Connecting with the Goddess is symbolic of our own meeting with our own concept of perfection. In Ecospirituality, “perfection” means the ability to accept our darker impulses from the Shadow without feeling obligated to act on them. By recognizing and accepting these parts of ourselves without feeling obligated to do anything about them, we create the capacity to just be with those darker impulses, without acting on them, until they pass.

When we are able to do so, we are able to integrate the Shadow and the Persona into a perfect, whole True Self. Integrating the Shadow and the Persona is another way of connecting with the Goddess because these integrative experiences are of the awe-inspiring variety that is the goal of ecospirituality.

Sometimes these experiences are described as reconnecting with the Goddess. In this case, the Goddess can also represent nature. In any case, connecting with the Goddess or reconnecting with the Goddess both mean connecting with love. The idea of “reconnecting” implies that we are connecting again to something that we somehow became disconnected with, in the first place.

How we became disconnected isn’t as important as finding out how to reconnect ourselves and to love. If there are barriers between ourselves and the things we wish to be connected to, we have the ability to remove those barriers. Ecospirituality allows connecting with the Goddess by eliminating the barriers that keep us separate from our concept of the divine, from each other, and from our true selves.

The way to have truly meaningful spiritual experiences (connecting with the Goddess) is to remove those things that keep us from connecting.

Take some time right now to think about the things that keep you from feeling connected. Make a list of these. Write down some of the things that in the past have kept you from feeling connected to others, to nature, to the divine (or your concept of “perfection”), and to your own True Self. Try to think of at least three.

Now that you’ve completed your list, look at it again. Of all the things you’ve listed, how many of those things on your list have to do with barriers within yourself? How many of them have to do with barriers from other people? How many of them have to do with barriers due to your circumstances or the environment in which you live?

What would it take to remove those barriers? Remember, you can’t change others, you can only change yourself. So focus on things that would involve activities and actions that are within your power to change about yourself. For example, you may have a person in your life who has a talent for making you angry. This anger keeps you from feeling connected to this person. Since you can’t change the other person, is there something you could change about yourself that would make dealing with this person easier and less stressful?

Brainstorm a number of solutions to removing the barriers you’ve listed above. If the answers are too difficult for now, don’t be discouraged. Set this list aside and come back to it when you feel ready.

Now that we’ve thought a bit about the barriers to connectedness we find in our own lives, how do we go about changing those barriers so that we can achieve connection to others? To nature? To our True Selves?

Think for a moment about the different faces we wear each day. If you’re interacting with people at work, do they see the same person that your family at home sees, or do you wear a different face in work situations? When you’re at school, do you interact with people in the same way that you would interact with someone on a date? If you are at church, mosque, or temple, do you act in the same way you would act if you were out for a night on the town?
If you’re like most people, you probably have different masks that you wear for different social situations.

Are there any people who prevent you from connecting with the Goddess?

Think about those people for a moment. Be totally honest with yourself. Do you think that those people act the same way in all social situations, or do they wear masks as well? Pick out one individual with whom you have difficulty feeling connected. Think of the mask they wear that seems to act as a barrier to your ability to connect with them. How much of that mask is their natural inclination, and how much of it is their response to the mask that you wear when you are with them?

This is not to say that you are responsible for the rude or reprehensible behavior of others. Each individual is responsible for his or her own behavior. The idea here is to evaluate your own responses to such behavior. Is there anything you can change that might make it easier to connect with them?

If so, try it and see if their behavior improves. If, after changing the way you respond, you still find the person difficult to connect with, or even to be around, then you’ve done all you can do to correct the situation. At that point, your part in the problem interaction is over and done with, and you will have to practice mindful awareness. If you’ve done everything you can to try to get along with a difficult person, and they’re still being difficult, then this is usually a good indication that the problem lies with the other person and not with yourself. You are not obligated to change other people’s behavior.

With this idea in mind, you can also try to see beyond the mask that the other person is wearing. Masks are often worn to hide a person’s true identity. Is the other person trying to hide something? Could it be that they wear the mask out of fear of letting someone see who they really are? What could you do to help them change their mask? What might be preventing them from connecting with the Goddess? Even if you can’t get them to put on a different face with you or with others, you may come to understand that their mask hides a deep hurt, and their mask is their way of protecting themselves from further hurt.

Going back to Jung’s ideas of the Shadow and the Persona, the Persona is the mask we wear in our day-to-day lives, possibly to hide those darker impulses in the Shadow. Think about your Persona mask. What sort of mask do you wear with the world? What sort of mask would you like to wear?

Now imagine the person you are becoming as you walk the Way of the Coyote. If your True Self were a mask, what would it look like? What sorts of masks might help you in your quest of connecting with the Goddess?

Connecting with the Goddess and the Way of the Coyote

The Way of the Coyote is a path of fluidity and instinct, guiding us to connect deeply with the natural world, our inner selves, the divine, and the people in our lives. As we follow the Coyote’s way, we learn that connection to nature is not only about appreciating beauty or preserving the wild; it’s about embracing the cycles, unpredictability, and resilience that nature teaches us. The Coyote shows us that to truly connect, we must release rigid expectations and open ourselves to the mystery of each moment. This means trusting in our instincts, allowing ourselves to be both vulnerable and wise, and meeting challenges with creativity and adaptability.

Connecting with the Goddess within this path is to discover our own ideals of love and perfection in a way that feels authentic and attainable. The Goddess is not some distant, flawless ideal but a reflection of our highest potential, embodying love, compassion, and self-acceptance. When we connect with her, we are connecting with the part of ourselves that holds these qualities, not as impossible standards but as expressions of our deepest truth. Through the Way of the Coyote, we come to understand that love and perfection are not rigid states to be achieved but flowing energies we can embody, guided by a spirit of adventure, acceptance, and reverence for all life.

This last post of 2024 on connecting with the Goddess concludes our series on the Way of the Coyote. Next week, as we begin a new year, we will start a series on how Mindfulness-Based Ecotherapy can help with a variety of issues.

Share Your Thoughts on Connecting with the Goddess!

Have you completed your quest of connecting with the Goddess? What was that experience like for you? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The Goddess

The Goddess White Buffalo Woman

Upon emerging from the Cave, the Goddess in the form of White Buffalo Woman appeared to Coyote.

“Tell me what you saw in the cavern,” White Buffalo Woman began.

Coyote described what he had seen. As he spoke, a smile spread on her face while the firelight danced in her eyes.
He told her of the fire with the mysterious backward-facing dancers. He described the masks they wore. He told her of the dream of being dismembered by the two-leggeds. He told her that when he had tried to escape, the opening was no longer there, but a new way had opened on the other side of the cave. When he had finished speaking, she stirred the fire with a sharp stick as she spoke in reply.

“The two-legged tribe is called the “People of the Ashes.” They went on a quest to find fire for themselves, and they were able to find it. But in their greed, they wanted to keep it for themselves. They forgot to return and share it with the rest of their tribe. They jealously guard the secret of their fire.

When they teach one of their tribe to make the fire, that person is sworn to secrecy on pain of death. They only teach other members of the tribe how to make the fire in secret rites and rituals, and they are not allowed to talk about it with people outside of their own tribe. That is why, when they saw you, they sought to tear you to shreds. They prize the fire, but they burn with jealousy at the thought of anyone else ever learning its secret. Because of this, their fire contains more heat than light.”

The Goddess

“They wear the masks because in their hearts they remember their other brothers and sisters that they left behind, and they secretly long to reconnect with them. The masks remind them of what they lost when they became greedy and wanted to keep the fire to themselves.

Yet the masks also blind them, so that they cannot see the way out of the cavern. It has been sealed to them forever out of their own blindness. The masks they wear to remind themselves of their four-legged brothers and sisters are the very things that keep them from finding their way back.”

“When first they saw that they could not escape the cavern, they began to dance backward, trying to re-trace their steps in order to find a way out. They forgot that the way forward does not lie in the past. By walking backward, they are merely re-living their past mistakes. They are caught in a spiral dance with no end, and they shall never escape until they are able to sacrifice their selfishness. When they are able to do so, they will cast aside their masks and the way will be open to them again.”

As she spoke, she leaned over and began to stroke the fur on Coyote’s head.

“You were sent this vision of your own death to remind you not to tread the path that they have chosen. When you entered the cave, you were full of self-doubt. You did not think that you would ever be able to complete your journey. The vision of your death has changed that about you, for once you have faced your own death, what else can stand in your way?”

Coyote puzzled over her words. She watched him struggling with these new ideas.

“Do you not yet understand?” She motioned for him to stand, “If you think you cannot complete your journey, you will be correct. But if you think you can complete your quest, then that wisdom will be the very thing that allows you to succeed.”

She guided him to a still pond nearby. Although the snow was falling all around, the pond’s surface had not yet frozen. She watched the sparkling moonlight reflecting from its surface and motioned for him to look into the water. “What do you see?” she asked.

He gazed into the glistening pool and saw a reflection of himself. His face was familiar to him and yet not familiar. In that face, he saw newfound wisdom. In his face, he saw knowledge and confidence, and he knew that her words were true. With a renewed sense of purpose, he determined to go on. He was now willing to face whatever might come.

He looked up as the Goddess White Buffalo Woman bid him farewell, and he continued on his journey.

Wisdom of the Goddess

“For she is the incarnation of the promise of perfection, the soul’s assurance that, at the conclusion of the exile in a world of organized inadequacies, the bliss that once was known will be known again…”

– Joseph Campbell, The Hero’s Journey

The Road of Trials is harsh. Even with the ability to call on our Supernatural Aid for assistance, conquering unknown lands can be taxing. It is the portion of the journey where we are leaving our old selves behind and discovering who our new selves might be. The difficult part of the Road of Trials is that while we already know from experience what doesn’t work, we may not yet know what does work. This trial-and-error process can lead to second-guessing and self-doubt on the road to spiritual enlightenment. This is why it is a perfect time for a little extra help from the supernatural in the form of the Meeting with the Goddess.

The Goddess here isn’t necessarily an actual divine entity, although she can be. Since the heroes in most of the myths Campbell studied were heterosexual males, the Meeting with the Goddess represents the ideal partner for a heterosexual male. Since we’re talking about a spiritual and metaphorical level here, the Meeting with the Goddess symbolizes the idea of completeness and perfection and not some actual physical entity.

After having our former identities stripped away in the Belly of the Whale, and after our Initiation in the Road of Trials, the Goddess appears to us in ideal form with the promise of what could be, if we persevere. The Goddess represents perfect love. It is a love that is truly unconditional; a love that applies not only to others but to self as well.

Share Your Thoughts on the Goddess!

Have you had your own metaphorical meeting with the Goddess? What wisdom does she impart? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Call of the Coyote

the first threshold Coyote call of the coyote

The Call of the Coyote is a path to ecospirituality. Last week we talked about the emerging “dark green religion.” What is ecospirituality, and what does it have to do with a dark green religion?

The original meaning of the word “spiritual” comes from the Latin spiritus, which means, “to breathe.” So originally, that which was spiritual was simply that which was breathtaking. A spiritual experience is an awe-inspiring experience. Such inspiring events can be had by people of all religions, or of none. You can be spiritual without being religious.
In my personal experience, those breathtaking moments most often occur when I have made some sort of connection. It could be a connection with nature, or with others, or with my own inner self. Such a connection opens up a channel of communication, or perhaps communion. Such a connection allows me to feel that I am a part of everything, and everything is a part of me.

In this ecospirituality workbook and the accompanying program, we will be exploring the possibility of making such connections through the eyes of Coyote.

Coyote’s motto could well be, “If I weren’t crazy, I’d go insane.”

Many Native American tribes consider Coyote to be the Trickster, the one who teaches by becoming a mirror. Coyote’s tricks and jokes reflect our own folly and stubbornness back to us until we realize what is happening and learn from it, if we are fortunate enough to realize what is going on. Coyote will continue to hold a mirror up to us until we learn to see our true selves, or until we become so angry and frustrated that we lose sight of our spiritual paths.

The Way of the Coyote teaches us that wisdom is the twin of foolishness. In an insane world, the sane man must appear insane. When following the Way of the Coyote we learn to see our own foolishness in the antics of others, and we learn from their mistakes. Likewise, when we follow coyote medicine, we show others their own foolishness by our own antics. If Coyote is your teacher, he will frustrate you, anger you, and make you furious. But if you can learn to see through the rage and frustration to the lessons beneath, Coyote can teach you much.

Coyote’s Archetypal Energy

Coyote teaches through humor and the ability to laugh at life’s absurdities and ironies. The Way of the Coyote is to strip away the masks we all wear so that we may get to the truth underneath. Coyote teaches us to cast aside all the fronts that we put on for others and for ourselves.

Coyote’s humor also teaches us that what we do to others, we ultimately do to ourselves. He teaches us that we reap what we sow, so if we use Coyote medicine on our friends and family, we shouldn’t be surprised or offended if they do the same to us.

Coyote energy is reflected in the phrase, “Simplicity is perfection.” He teaches us to learn to distinguish what we need from what we want. Coyote won’t give us everything we want, but he will lead us to everything we need.

The Call of the Coyote stirs up something primitive and passionate in our souls, and reminds us to return to the place of the beginning; that childlike sense of wonder and fascination with the beauty of the world.

Coyote is a survivor, and is able to adapt to new situations by learning to bend and flow with skill and cunning. The Way of the Coyote is to understand that all things are sacred, yet nothing is sacred. If you have any sacred cows in our life, coyote will be sure to devour them. It has been said that, “insanity is doing the same thing in the same way and expecting things to turn out differently.”

Another way to put this is that if what you’re doing isn’t working, then doing more of it isn’t going to work either. In fact, it may make things worse. So when we begin to walk the Way of the Coyote, we may find ourselves lost in the unfamiliar. Some of the things Coyote may ask us to do will seem strange, even weird. But that’s okay. If it didn’t feel weird, we’d probably already be doing it. If we stay on the path of the comfortable and the familiar, we are in danger of doing the same things in the same ways and getting the same results we’ve always gotten. If, however, we have the courage to step forth and try something different, we may find that our world will change for the better.

But setting about doing things differently can be a scary experience. We often fear the unknown, and Coyote loves to take us into the mysterious. That is the art of the Trickster. It is also the reason Coyote can often be frustrating. She asks us to leave our comfort zone.

If you have heard the Call of the Coyote, learn to look for things you may have been avoiding or refusing to acknowledge in your own life. This sometimes manifests in strange ways. Look at what you criticize the most in others, and see if you yourself have those same characteristics. For example, if you find yourself constantly judging others for their anger, could it be that you have a problem with anger yourself? If you are constantly demanding that other people be more forgiving, could there be someone in your own life that you need to beg for forgiveness? If you are constantly telling others to be more tolerant and loving, could it be that you may need to learn to be more tolerant and loving as well?

A danger to Coyote medicine is that Coyotes tend to spend all of their energy caring for others. Coyotes would do well to remember to take some time and energy for themselves as well. Another pitfall of coyote medicine is that those who don’t understand Coyote’s ways are often angered or alienated by the mirror because they don’t wish to acknowledge what it shows them about themselves. Sometimes the Way of the Coyote can be a lonely way because of this. If you have heard the Call of the Coyote, it could also mean that you need to look into your own mirror and see if there is something about yourself that you have been afraid to acknowledge. By refusing to acknowledge it, you give it power over you. But acknowledging our weaknesses and shortcomings is the first step to conquering them.

If Coyote has chosen you, look closely at ways you may have been giving energy to foolishness. This is especially true in relationships, since we often fool ourselves in relationships, and refuse to see what is plain to everyone else. As they say, “Love is blind.” Remember that Coyote’s ultimate goal is not to anger or frustrate, but to teach. In order for Coyote to teach, we have to be willing to learn. It helps to remember that sometimes the best lessons are also the most painful lessons. If Coyote is causing you pain, it is not out of malice, but out of love. It is so that you may grow on your own path.

To answer the Call of the Coyote is to be a strong protector of family, relationships, and connections. Coyotes often mate for life, and will fiercely defend mate and cubs. If Coyote is your ally, family is probably very important to you. Coyotes will often adopt cubs who have become parentless. They realize that family is not always a matter of blood, but of spirit, so for those of us who follow the Way, Coyote medicine is concerned with our spiritual families. To follow the Way of the Coyote is to realize that members of the same spiritual family rarely grow up under the same roof. It is also to realize that our family need not be restricted to our two-legged brothers and sisters, but it can include our four-legged brothers and sisters as well, and ultimately all of nature.

Sometimes Coyotes go to extremes to defend the family. In such a case the Coyote medicine has become too strong. Coyotes are fiercely loyal to their own, sometimes to the point that they may even alienate those whom they are trying to protect. In such a case, the coyote spirit is overprotective to the point of becoming overbearing. When this happens, Coyote needs to learn to let go.

The Way of the Coyote is about achieving balance. A dark green religion is also about achieving balance. All life on Mother Earth is in danger largely because of the greed of human beings. If we continue our pursuit of trinkets and baubles, always wanting more and never satisfied with what we have, we will eventually destroy everything. A life of rampant materialism is a life out of balance. Things can never fill the void inside. Only true spiritual wisdom can fill that void. The Call of the Coyote is about finding a balance between the material and the spiritual so that we cease to destroy our Earth Mother and each other. It is about learning to distinguish between our wants and our needs.

The only true necessities in life are food, clothing, shelter and love. Once those needs are met, anything else is a luxury. Material possessions are a poor substitute for love and spirit. When we learn this lesson completely, we will be embracing a dark green religion and learning to walk the Way of the Coyote. When we learn to share this knowledge with our fellow travelers along the way, we will have fulfilled our destinies as spiritual seekers. We will have achieved the ultimate in ecospirituality.

The upcoming Ecospirituality Group Program, due to be released on June 1, 2024, is a synopsis of what it means to answer the Call of the Coyote. It is a seeker’s journey of self-discovery. If you choose to purchase the upcoming Ecospirituality Group Program, it is my wish that, as with everything else in life, you take what is useful and discard the rest.