SHARING VULNERABLE TRUTH
SONG OF THE WEEK: SILENT ALL THESE YEARS (Cover)
Here's to those who have been silent all these years <3 This is a cover of one of my most favorites songs by the most lovely, my absolute favorite artist, Tori Amos.
YOU NEED TO LISTEN TO THE STORY OF THOSE WHO HAVE LIVED THIS
-Tori Amos
Order a copy: Sacred Wood Nymph, A Year of Fairy Wisdom The pictures for this project were taken during a vulnerably healing photo shoot where I frolicked with the energy of Daphne the Wood Nymph as a way to release sexual trauma. I created this project with the intent of finding a way to return to feeling more safe and at home in my body.
SACRED WOOD NYMPH, A YEAR OF FAIRY WISDOM: Healing Sexual Trauma with the Energy of Daphne
How do we "capture" something in a sacred way? Rather than living out of old modes of domination and oppression of the weak within our world and within ourselves, Daphne the Wood Nymph invites us to play again and heal as we dance with our own gentleness in the beauty of the natural world to which we all innately belong. She allows us not to capture her body, but images of her tenderly free and intrinsically feminine spirit.
During this sacred play I learned that Daphne knows the way to unlock the healing wisdom of the trees. In the myth, Apollo chases Daphne to rape her, but Gaia saves her wood nymph by turning her into a Laurel tree. Laurel wreathes are crowned upon the true victors because Daphne teaches us the true power of vulnerable femininity. Daphne's energy softens our compulsion to subdue nature and our own souls so that we may learn how to return to the sacred joyful, playful, balance of masculine and feminine energies, of the yin and the yang.
This project is a celebration of my 40th year and the healing that is possible for victims of sexual abuse. (I'm sending so much love and light to my thirteen year old self: we made it so much farther than you ever imagined! Good work us!) Yoga and meditation practice has been a vital part of my healing journey. That and the work of Detoxing God, which I'll be talking about more soon! Learning how to stay present in the moment, within my body and compassionately witnessing whatever fears and joys it is feeling rather than detaching, dissociating and zoning out has taken years of practicing deep incarnational healing work that I am honored to share with others.
Many of us who were abused at a young age or dependent upon our abusers (or fed lies by the media that taught us to devalue our natural body and purchase our salvation from toxic systems of oppression) we internalized the critical voices of our abusers for our survival because we were dependent upon them and could not break away. This is a common symptom of trauma survivors. When it would overwhelm the still fragile developing ego to consciously see and name the abuse around us, the conscious knowing of abuse hides and goes inward causing dissociation and fragmentation of the self. This work is about un-fucking ourselves from that cacophonous nightmare and sorting the seeds of our thoughts as we own the ways in which we have unknowingly participated in our own self destruction. This work is about the ongoing learning to cultivate deep unconditional self love and care as we reconnect with our original wholeness. This work is about showing young girls that ageing is not scary, that our bodies are never ugly, especially not after having babies <3. This work is about liberating wisdom and beauty so that these essentially feminine energies incarnate us as embodied sacred geometrical pieces that belong to the human family throughout our entire lives.
Special thanks to my partner and probably the only photographer I could trust to take pictures like this, Grant Swenson, who has cheered me along this healing journey, and made me feel safe enough to come out of the woods (and frolic naked in them too!) <3
It is my hope and intention that this calendar will unveil the illusions about softness equating to weakness, and weakness and things feminine being of lesser value (and thus must be dominated) kind of thinking in our culture. Instead let us move into the work of creating sacred shelters for humanity to flourish in our natural environment, for children and vulnerable populations to have access to healing communities of compassion and healing centers rich in good clean earth (where other people can frolic naked too because it is so healing!!!). This calendar also includes new moon and full moon dates with times to seed your intentions for co-creation and manifestation of intentions with the lunar cycles. May this work soften our hearts and awaken our bodies to the fairy playful and fiery feminine spirit that has the power and strength to heal and transform our world as she invites us to return to the sacred balance.
Presently I have a small batch of five copies available. $10 of each purchase will be donated to RAINN, Rape Abuse & Incest, National Network.
Shed a little light in your world this week, sacred ones. Come out from under that bushel!
Namaste,
<3 Jess
-Paige
"Jessica Z’s prenatal yoga class is nothing short of wonderful! There is no pressure, and I always get a relaxing and thorough workout. She supplements with everything from visualization and singing to calming chants. I really enjoy the atmosphere created in her class. I enjoyed prenatal yoga because while my body was taking a new shape to carry the baby, my weight was shifting and as baby grew it would create different tension spots in my body. Jess’s class really helped stretch these muscles and ease my body aches. Yoga also helped lower my overall stress level and provided a space for quality time with my body and baby. Jess helps to make the class about more than just the postures. It’s a truly safe and comfortable environment and a great way to connect with other mamas! I am so grateful for her dedication and commitment to yoga and teaching"
Check out Jessica's Prenatal and other yoga classes at Mojo Fit Studios in Fargo, ND or schedule a private lesson, intuitive reading, Reiki session and more by visiting TARALOMA Earth Temple's SERVICES.