Look &/or listen as my guest, author Susan Maycock shares the story of finding her sage bowl or it finding her.
My guest lived in Santa Fe, NM for a decade. During her time there she studied many healing traditions and while apprenticing to become a shaman she was instructed to find HER sage bowl for smudging.
While visiting the San Ildefanso Pueblo, just north of Santa Fe, she was on the look out for her bowl. As if she was being pulled to a corner of a potters shop, there she saw this bowl tucked away… almost hidden. When she saw it & touched it she instantly knew it was going to be HER bowl! It was love at first sight.
As she turned the bowl around & upside down she could see the whole universe represented. A black hole with starts forming adorned the underbelly…. it was a flawed piece of pottery… and a reminder to this day to see things differently and to embrace so-called “flaws”.
This bowl told the story of imperfection, of trauma & life from the beginning of the universe until now. This broken bowl grounds Susan. It sits so perfectly in her hand and feels so solid, and yet its whole being is about impermanence & imperfection.
When Susan gets caught up in perfectionism, she finds this bowl and holds it. She reminds herself that she fell in love with imperfection & impermanence. She is also reminded by her deep dive into Native American culture that imperfection & impermanence are embraced & celebrated. For her it is a journey she’s still on … as many of us may understand all too well.
When asked what she wants to happen to this bowl when she’s dead & gone, she wants to follow the indigenous cultures she’s connected with over the years tradition around death called the Great Giveaway. Loved ones are invited to take the Things as remembrance pieces & then pass them on when it’s their own turn to transition.
Another Thing that matters to Susan is the beautiful book After Rain that she wrote and a friend Robin Brooks designed that encourages us all to Live Upwards. Our shared experience of rain in the desert and that time after when all life is awakened is profound.
Listen as Susan reads a little piece of her healing work in the world too! Enjoy.
Find out more about this delight-filled woman, her book & her community: HERE
Susan is offering the Spirit Path Retreat Nov 2-5, 2023 in Salida, CO 81201 ( 2.5 hours southwest of Denver) HERE
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Let’s build more connections, community & legacy by sharing & listening to the stories of the Things that matter. Things don’t matter, but the stories that get attached to them often do. ______________________________________________________________________________
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