Are you part of my Spirit Family? Show me with words. Show me with a donation.
I’m taking a leap into the exploration of family of choice, what I loosely refer to as my “spirit” family. Last week I sat in a sanctuary of listeners as Michael Meade sang, told stories, beat the drum, waxed poetic, lifted the collective spirit and reminded me of the collective soul connection through the earth. With this in mind, I have been contemplating what it means to be a part of family linked by spirit, linked by soul. Biological children are not part of my fate in this lifetime. That’s a fact. With that knowledge how do I perceive future generations? How do I imagine my experience matters? How do those that witness connect with me?
This year I invited four of my spirit daughters to join me at Motherroot, a gathering to explore the vision of Mother in all forms. One daughter is half a world away and can’t make it. One daughter is on a road trip across America and reminded me about this event, but can’t make it this year. One daughter can’t commit to the weekend, but lives close by and can connect in person on another date. One said YES.
I am feeling into what I mean when I say “spirit” with reference to my daughters. I sense that I am feeling for the right term to legitimize these relationships. Is “soul” a better word? Is “friend” enough?
As I move into this exploration I invite you to add your voice to this thread with how you perceive your family relationship with me or someone(s) in your life that are not blood relations.
Questions I sit with and invite you to respond to:
What qualities does your spirit/soul family member have that differ from the blood family member? So for example, if you experience me as a sister/mother/daughter, how is that the same or different from your blood sister/mother/daughter?
There are many women in my life that fill in Mother spaces for me. This does not diminish the value of my relationship with my biological mother at all. In fact, I feel that these spirit/soul relationships have strengthened my biological family relationships. Do you have this experience? What’s it like for you?
* * *
The Soul Mother I feel farthest from and most curious about is Mother Earth. I got a very clear message that I need to put more effort into that relationship, starting right now. Feeling into my yeses I got a clear yes that I need to be part of the Summer Long Dance. It’s a three-day ceremony that feels a bit crazy to me now, and somehow when I ask myself if it’s right for me right now, I get a clear yes. The ceremony will take place at the end of June in Glastonbury, England.
“It’s an opportunity to spend some time remembering that our own personal wellbeing is connected to the wellbeing of the planet, and to dedicate our dance to all our relations, past, present and future.”
I dedicate my dance to all of my relations, past, present and future.
Feeling into the future, I call on you as my family to support my dance, this planet, and each other. The School of Movement Medicine created this dancing ceremony as a fundraiser to dedicate our dances to causes. To participate I must raise at least £300 for charity, that’s $388 at today’s exchange rate. As an organization, the School of Movement Medicine chose as it’s primary beneficiary a project that covers the areas of social justice, environmental sustainability, and spiritual fulfillment and felt that the Pachamama Alliance met all of those criteria. In researching the Pachamama Alliance I realize how much I have to learn about Mama Earth and how I can support her. Participating in this ceremony and taking on this fundraising project is a step in that direction. In solidarity with the School of Movement Medicine, I have decided to make the Pachamama Alliance the primary beneficiary of my fundraising efforts.
There are many causes that are dear to my heart, difficult to choose one or two, so I’ve decided on three. I have decided to add The Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation and the Plum Village Hungry Children Program as beneficiaries of my Summer Long Dance fundraising efforts. My spirit and soul feel deeply intertwined with the people and land impacted by war in Vietnam. I feel that the lessons of that experience must be echoed for generations. I believe that work of Thich Nhat Hanh and the Plum Village monastic community around the world is vital for spreading the message of social and environmental justice, peace, love, harmony, and compassion.
I wholeheartedly and financially support all three of these organizations and invite you to join me in circulating support in the form of money. Lynne Twist, Co-Founder of the Pachamama Alliance, and author of “The Soul of Money” states…
“The happiest and most joyful people I know are those who express themselves through channeling their resources – money, when they have it – on to their highest commitments. Theirs is a world where the experience of wealth is in sharing what they have, giving, allocating, and expressing themselves authentically with the money they put in flow.”
So, let’s let the money nourish us, and return it to the flow…..
I will need to make a declaration of funds raised when I arrive at the Long Dance ceremony. If you make a donation to these organization as a result of reading this and your connection with me, please let me know which organization and how much so that I can make a presentation of my fundraising efforts upon entrance. You can contact me privately at jencoffey@gmail.com, or leave me a comment below.
Thank you for being in my family in all of the ways that we are connected <3 <3 <3
* * *
HOW TO DONATE
You can donate to The Pachamama Alliance directly in a number of ways:
Go directly to their donation page, located here:
Please note: In the ‘Dedicate your donation’ section, you should check the box ‘this gift is in honor of’. Then in the personalized note section, type ‘School of Movement Medicine’ or ‘Summer Long Dance Fundraiser’. This is important as it will enable us to connect your donation to the Long Dance Fundraising!
Checks payable to ‘The Pachamama Alliance’ with ‘School of Movement Medicine’ in the memo can be sent to the following address:
The Pachamama Alliance
P.O. Box 29191
San Francisco, CA 94129
You can donate to the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation directly in a number of ways:
To learn more about the efforts of the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation, please click on this link:
https://www.thichnhathanhfoundation.org/
You can make a donation via the web page above or If you would prefer to make a donation over the phone, please feel free to call 760-291-1003 ext 104.
Checks payable to the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation can be sent to:
Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation, 2499 Melru Lane, Escondido, CA 92026
** A free subscription to the Mindfulness Bell magazine will be given for
monthly donations of $50 and above or one-time donations of $500 and above
You can donate to the Plum Village Hungry Children Program by clicking on this link: