Medicine Woman

As a child I would play endlessly in the woods that had a path that led right up to my home. I’d explore by the edge of the stream until sunset as I collected interesting artifacts from a time long gone by. I ached to be in nature, it’s where I felt the most alive, supported, safe and free. I would live off the land all day long finding wild berries and various edibles to sustain me. My toes and fingers would dig in the mud while listening to the sounds of the birds chirping and the water running over the stepping stones. I felt a deep connection to something larger than my finite self and at once grounding me back to my roots, my divine heritage....my ancestry.

In my own sweet paradise I would uncover different colored glass bottles of all shapes and sizes that were once filled with healing medicines....pale green, brown, clear and cobalt blue. It seemed as though the Universe rolled them in to my personal space to be sure I would discover them. I would create elaborate story lines using the elixirs and at the center I was always Native or African American. I lived off the land and stream and became both a pioneer and a healer using the sacred medicines from my archeological find to heal anyone who needed it. Sooo....mostly frogs, bunnies, mice, birds, fish and my cat. They were all willing to participate in my healings and my vision quest of imagined history...Or was it? 

I have carried this deep primal knowing for as long as I can remember that I was from a Native tribe. It was so deeply embedded in my soul that I actually had my DNA tested recently and thought for sure it would show my Native heritage. The fact that no one in my family had ever mentioned that this was part of my lineage was inconsequential, I knew that science would prove what I had always felt. When my test results returned there was not a smidge of Native American in my blood and for a moment I mourned this information. But then there it was...I had 1.6% Asian/African DNA!! I knew it!!

Your soul is the portal to your karmic past and like most energetic connections can be felt and experienced and not necessarily measured and quantified. But here it was...proof!

This past May in the Jungle of Costa Rica I was blessed to meet a beautiful soul named Sara. She was very forthcoming and within minutes of meeting me we both agreed we had an undeniable soul connection with an ancient history. She knew nothing of my stories as a child playing in the woods and yet overwhelmingly expressed that she saw me as a tribal medicine healer in another life. We spent a week together immersed in yoga philosophy, asana, meditation, vegan food and existential inquiry while amongst some of the most amazing men and women I have ever met. Here is a beautiful heartfelt poem that I received from her when I got back home...she wrote:

From my heart to yours...

~Medicine Woman~

Though most can not see
I see...

The large open chest, the welcoming arms, the dark braids that line your back, holding the story of your lineage 
I see....

The healing hands that guide, hold, comfort and cure
I see.....

The warm earthy energy that dances and flows, engages and embraces those that need it most
I see.....

The jars of ointments and creams, scents and mystical dust,  your secrets of healing, so mindfully shared
I see....

I see what most can’t, but what everyone can feel...
I see......

My healer, my guide, my medicine woman

By: Sara Kittleson @kityogaspin

Love you Sara...

Thank you for seeing me,
past, present & future