On Community, and the Quiet Power of Being Held

There is a particular kind of pull on the heart that arrives along the spiritual path. A longing for community. A longing to be known by others who understand what we are walking, even when we cannot fully explain it ourselves.

I have been sitting with this longing, and with everything I have learned about it, for many years now.

The experience of remembering and awakening is ultimately a solo journey. No one can do the work for you. The most important part of the work is done when you are alone with God, Universe, Source, in stillness and silence, with only your own I AM Presence to guide you.

And yet.

Community is present as a safe space to feel and know that you are ultimately not alone. That even though it can feel lonely at times, even though you may feel as though you are going crazy, there are others, many others, who understand. Who have experienced the same things you are experiencing. Who feel the same call to explore.

As someone who walked mostly alone through my own awakening, when I was called back into service with others, community became a central theme of my life.

My experience of spiritual community has been both beautiful and incredibly challenging.

As I moved through the expansion of community, so many around me loving and supporting one another, and the contraction, people moving on, karmic cords being healed and released, through joy and suffering that can only come from being in relationship with other souls, I began to wonder:

What do I really want from community?

What I have come to know as true is this:

My family and a very small group of deep friendships are ultimately the center of my life. My spiritual community serves to support that life.

For most of us, our families and many of our long time friendships are unable to fully grasp what we are walking, or even why we feel such a deep call to explore the depths of Self.

For some, they are surrounded by like minded and like hearted people through every aspect of their life. And that is beautiful.

For me, and for my own soul’s path, I have been called to be surrounded by mostly those who don’t fully grasp the work that I do.

I used to try to teach, change, and guide those closest to me into my way of thinking and being, until I realized that was not my job.

The beautiful souls I have chosen to incarnate into this life with, the ones closest to me, have taught me more about letting go than anyone in spiritual circles ever could have.

They have shown me that everyone is sovereign. That everyone is on their own perfect path of remembering and awakening. And whether or not they ever experience life in the same ways that I do is of zero consequence.

They are my family. They are my beloveds. And I don’t need them to be anything other than that for me.

I receive what I need from my spiritual community when I need it. Through conversations. Through intimate group experiences. Through hearing a reflection from a dear sister or brother that fills me up so I can return to my inner circle, my family, and live my life fully.

Spiritual community fills my cup.

It strengthens me in moments that support and remind:

I am not crazy. I am not alone in the material world.

There are others who feel a similar call. Who know there is more to be seen, felt, and understood beyond the realm of the visible. And in this place, we experience a power and a potential that can simply never be fully grasped through the five senses or the collective beliefs of the material world.

It is the heart of the explorer. The call of the unknown and the unimaginable. That which cannot be explained to those who don’t feel it.

This is where community meets us. This is where community holds us.

Not as a substitute, but as an anchor.

An anchor that strengthens us to hold the energy of All That Is within our families, our social circles, our work, our daily lives.

When we have a space that we know will be there for us, when we may need a little strength, a little guidance, a little remembrance reflected back through the eyes of another, we are able to show up in our lives in the most beautiful ways.

I was once surrounded by people at The Space who loved me, honored me, and unfortunately placed me on a pedestal.

That was never what I wanted.

I have always wanted one thing.

A space to be with others on the journey of remembering and awakening. A space to share what has worked for me and for so many others in breaking free from the chains of illusion. A space to lay down expectations. A space to hold, and to be held when needed.

In the years since I stepped out of my sabbatical and was called to steward The Space, I have come to see more and more clearly how each and every experience, and each and every person who has felt called to this community, has helped me to continue forth in my own empowerment and understanding of who I AM.

For that, I am eternally grateful.

I don’t need a space that fills all my time, or a community that fills my entire soul.

I simply need a space to be.

And I have found that there are many others who feel exactly that same way.

So Be It 🙏