Reflections on Italy 2007 Soul Quest

It has been less that two weeks since I returned from Italy. The experiences continues to blossom within me, subtly and profoundly altering my perception. I find it isn’t just my sense of the world that has changed, it is a shift at a deep core level of my being. A letting go… a surrendering to Spirit in a way that I don’t yet have words for. There is a fullness in my heart and a fullness in my being that surfaces in my life as a profound sense of peace .

I have led over two dozen Soul Quest trips since the first quest to the sacred peaks in Arizona in 1989. My spiritual adventures leading groups have taken me to New Mexico, Arizona, Florida, France, Brazil, Peru and Italy. On my own I have also been called to experience Honduras, Mexico. Sweden, England, Scotland and Germany. Some of these places have pulled me back multiple times. Each site has it’s wellspring of Spirit waiting to be taken in so it can shake loose the parts of me that are bound tight. Each place has inspired, awed and brought me to my knees with new levels of self honestly. Each place has required that I address the shadow side of myself, my radiant disowned self as well as the chaos and dark that I have pushed away. Each trip has changed me. Sometimes gently and firmly and others times forcefully insisting that I become more than I was when the trip began.

As I lead groups now, it is with more certainty, more trust than ever before. There is a radiant deep self that wants to awaken and manifest in each one of us. The question is; what does it take to assist this unfolding, this awakened transformation? The answer… desire, time, focus, and love. Is there a greater gift that we can give ourselves than the mystery of time and our own loving attention? To actually focus the great mystery of our conscious awareness’ upon ourselves. When we give ourselves this gift we can’t help but change. We grow and let go… the Self becomes larger and more expansive, more fully present then ever before.

I have brought this fullness and awareness back to my life from each trip. Every moment is richer. I have the joy of experiencing a deeper and more expansive sense of self and the world. In the morning when I sit outside and sip my coffee, I think about the beauty of this place, my home. I also remember my most recent adventure and the beauty of a Tuscan valley laid out before me in it’s warm summer glory. In my mind I can hear the shared laughter of a group of spiritual travelers delighting in each other company. To see and be seen from the level that feeds the soul. We are all changed by Spirit, beauty and each other.

May you be blessed with enough self love to take yourself on the quest of your own heart’s unfolding.

Namaste,
Victoria