Redefining She

Wild One,
I see you
Quivering beneath that old skin
Draped in shoulds and oughts,
Wearing that false smile,
The one that says
‘Yes of course I will..’
Before you set yourself aside
And conform to that safe, known, shape
Of appropriate ‘She’
Wild One
I hear you
Growling in the night,
When your passion wakes you,
Ready to rip his skin or yours
As the truth burning fires of awareness
Blaze their intensity into your mind
Laying bare your compromises
Stripping the lies you tell yourself
Refusing to stay that safe known shape
Of appropriate ‘She’
Wild One
I feel you,
As the dawn breaks
And the false floor and tight smile
Give way to grit, grief and remembering,
That deep, fluid, undulating pulse,
That nectar heart, that moist knowing,
That sweet longing and clarity so bright
They blind you to that safe known shape
And memory,
Of appropriate ‘She’
Wild One
I need you
Ready to shed your fear and thrive,
Ready to feel incandescently alive
Uncensored majesty of womankind
Embodying the grace of the sensually sublime
Receiver of nature’s subtle melodies
Vivid, ageless, honest and free
I stand for you, and you stand for me
The redefined expression
Of appropriate ‘She’

By Clare Dubois, a dear Tree Sister

This poem was generously given permission to be shared here by Clare Dubois who is the founder of TreeSisters. TreeSisters is an organization passionate about the reforestation of the earth’s forests and female empowerment through reclaiming the feminine Self. Tree Sisters just launched their new website on the autumn Equinox, September 22nd. Please be sure and visit this amazing venture at TreeSisters

They are also hosting a powerful series of deeply inspirational speakers that will reach into  the feminine consciousness to plant seeds of change while letting go into a trust of nature’s wisdom. Join them at Feminine Awakening Series

*photo by Anne Brigman, 1918

Song of Songs

A long time ago when much of the world was still a wild place there was once a waterfall with a beautiful voice. She could sing with the stars and moon. She would sing with the trees of the forest and all the creatures that came to her shores. In all the earth there was nothing like her divine voice. One day the waterfall told herself she was tired of singing and telling stores all the time, but she couldn’t stop her voice from flowing with the waters. As time passed the waterfall’s voice grew dull as it cascaded down over the rocks. It had lost its music of laughter. It only sounded cold and angry as it slapped down into the depths below. There were no more lullabies at night because the trees no longer listened. The creatures of the forest came to her shores only to quench their thirst. They no longer stayed to visit. Even the stars hide themselves from her behind the leaves of tree spirits and veils of clouds. The waterfall began to feel a deep sadness that she had never known. She had never been so alone. She didn’t know what to do.

Until one day, a pokey little green frog jumped on a mossy stone at the foot of the waterfall. He began to croak out a song. And croaked and croaked into the night. The next morning, the waterfall called out to the frog and said, “Thank you little web-footed friend. I had forgotten what it feels like to sing out with all your might. For many years now, I have used my voice to say what others wanted to hear. But now I realize that I can only sing the song of songs when I give the gift of presence. You have been a true friend.” After that the frog and waterfall would sing many a new song with each dawning day.

© Salem Islas-Madlo 2016

*photo of waterfall by Nicolas A. Tonelli, Pennsylvanian Waterfalls

*photo of green frog found on Frogs Native to Pennsylvania

Dragonfly Songs

Time

To read 

The signals

Traveling 

On the wind.

© Salem Islas-Madlo 2016

At the edge

Of summer

And autumn

Light softens

Dragonfly song.

© Salem Islas-Madlo 2016

“When the air is hot and humid, there is a feeing of dullness and stagnation. Everyone is oppressed by lassitude. As the seasons begin changing, fresh air comes from the arctic. Clouds that have been building up begin to dispense rain, and damp air is exchanged for fresh, cool breezes. At night, the heavens are changing so quickly that lightning flashes from colliding clouds, and thunder heralds the revolving of the skies.

The same is true of human life. If the heavens cannot endure stagnation for long, how can stagnation last with us? If we find ourselves blocked and frustrated in life, we must look for the inevitable outlet. Nothing is permanent, so how can our obstacles last? We need to look for the first opportunity to set things moving again.

On the other hand, sometimes stagnation comes from our own laziness or incompetence. In this case, then it is we who must show initiative and stimulate a breakthrough in dull circumstances. As soon as we see a chance, we must act. Unless we engage ourselves and events fully, we cannot expect to act sufficiently.”

~Deng Ming-Dao

Summer Reflections

From the surface

Down into the depths

A friend to myself

Smiling, I make the universe 

Even more beautiful.

© Salem Islas-Madlo 2016

“Summertime. It was a song. It was a season. I wondered if that season would ever live inside of me.”      ~ Benjamin Alire Sáenz

“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.”  ~ John Lubbock

“The island is ours. Here, in some way, we are young forever.”
~ E. Lockhart

It Is Nothing

Enlighten your desires.

Meditate on who you are.

Quit imagining.

What you want is profoundly expensive,

and difficult to find,

yet close by.

Don’t search for it. It is nothing,

and a nothing within nothing.

~Lalla,  Naked Song

 

Reality Dreaming

“Give your soul the silence it needs to make itself heard. Because the voice of your soul is silent. It’s power can flourish only in the silences. Then your soul will fill you with life. You will be like you really are.”      

~Hainz Körmer

It’s About Perspective

The light, soft and warm

Coos of newness in essence

Continuation 

© Salem Islas-Madlo 2016

“Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we’re supposed to be and embracing who we are. “

~Brené Brown

Light Upon Light

Fire energy

Lavender flames

Trumpeting

 Inner truths

Healing fear

In the will to live

To thrive in the face

Of adversity

My heart

Pulsing

With faith

Light upon light

Joining ancestors

Brightly burning

In the midnight sky.

© Salem Islas-Madlo 2016

An Open Heart

What happens if I open my heart? Will the sky come falling down?

Darkness grows dense enfolding me deeper into its bosom. Pulling me towards the bowels of the earth. If I can just be brave enough to keep exploring it with an open heart…

“Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.” ― Brené Brown

I allow the wind of my emotions to blow through my soul…through every hidden cavern and crevice of my being. I allow all the gusts, gales and squalls to come. I allow myself to experience them fully and completely. That I might know and recognize each emotion that rises to the surface.

By allowing the storm to come, I allow myself the power to detach. To return to the harbor of my soul. I arrive home…with each breath I take…I find my grounding, and I become anchored for awhile before I have to set sail again.

“What it means to be authentic:
– to be more concerned with truth than opinions
– to be sincere and not pretend
– to be free from hypocrisy: “walk your talk”
– to know who you are and to be that person
– to not fear others seeing your vulnerabilities
– being confident to walk away from situations where you can’t be yourself
– being awake to your own feelings
– being free from others’ opinions of you
– accepting and loving yourself”
― Sue Fitzmaurice

A Flow of Wealth and Abundance

The way sunlight leans

Through oak shadows in summer

Trust in the moment

© Salem Islas-Madlo 2016

Have you ever wondered what life would be like if you allowed the fullness that you are flow into the areas that feel restricted? Plugging into your power to receive. Well, everyone of us has access to that possibility. It’s about what you believe in regards to wealth and abundance.

It’s easy to get stuck in beliefs that life will never get better, that people never change,or that history always repeats itself.  The thought, “It will always end up the same no matter what I do,” repeating like a broken record. When you hold onto beliefs like that, you might start to wonder, ‘Why try anything at all?’ A belief pattern of apathy begins becoming a life habit that is extremely hard to break through. It becomes something familiar. A safe place. A snail shell way of being…living.

Half a lifetime

Lost in thought

Unhappiness

© Salem Islas-Madlo 2016

The truth is when you focus your attention on the here and now, you give yourself permission to trust the moment. You begin to connect with your heart. You give yourself the gift of presence. You get back in touch with your true beauty. You begin to realize that there is always more available to you. Because you become one with your natural state. You begin to realize that you are enough, you have always been enough, and you will always be enough. You get in touch with your own inner sense of wealth and abundance. You can allow yourself to explore the relationship you have to lack and plenty through the acceptance of your own inner beauty. You will find the courage to let go what no longer serves you. What is no longer relevant or appropriate. You will find the power of awareness to gently and lovingly release what is ready to go in the present moment.

Give yourself the gift of faith. Faith in yourself. Faith that is more powerful than fear. Give yourself the freedom to believe. Find that space in your heart that allows you to be vulnerable to shine the light of your soul. To be your true self. Your authentic self. Cultivate a relationship with your true beauty and find your inner voice. When you allow yourself to receive the wealth and abundance of who you are then it becomes something you give back to the universe. A river of love flowing into the ocean.