Beloved Community, Sisters on the Path,

I am feeling you so strongly in my heart these days. Those of you I have met in-person, online, and those I have met in the subtler realms only. I pray that you find moments of softness and joy, that your soul has space to breathe, so that it/she can nourish you, guide you, love you through it all.

My year began with burying my mother, who died suddenly over Christmas.
It was hard.
It was beautiful.

An even deeper journey into the landscapes of reckoning, grief, loss, and love; into the very isness of this existence, of Goddess Herself.

And, here I am, walking this earth in vast, tender gratitude. Simplicity, solitude, waking and falling asleep with the sun; the many hours of learning in the subtle realms through roots and rivers, paws and wings—and now from the exuberance of the spring time—are my daily nourishment.

The news from the world stirs me, frightens me.
I sit inside the living question: what is my seat in all of this?

And I remember the garden I have cultivated through almost 35 years of devotion. The countless hours of study and practice. The realms I have traveled, the sacred spaces I have tended and protected. The circles where women, again and again, have retrieved their ecstasy, their wisdom, their direct communion with the Divine. And how through them, this soul nectar keeps feeding our bodies, our families, our communities and our achingly beautiful world.

It is this divine nourishment that I will guard and offer.

From my mother’s funeral, heart raw and alive, I traveled to Zürich for the Shakti Dharma Path Gathering. We sat in deep listening, danced, howled and laughed in holy remembrance of our original song, exploring how it moves our bodies, shapes our words, weaves our lives.

Afterward, I sat for a month on a deserted beach in India, receiving exquisite healing on all levels, letting the salt air and the ancient waves mend what could not be mended by mind or will.

Then I traveled to the Black Forest in Germany, where we gathered for our annual Goddess Wisdom Keeper Retreat, a silent, ecstatic, soul-nourishing week among sisters who walk this ancient path. The echo of our prayers still hums in my bones.

I returned to my home in the California foothills in March. Quiet days of wandering the woods, and mentoring beloveds by phone. A highlight this month was visiting the Monterey Aquarium for my birthday, where I met an octopus! (After reading The Soul of the Octopus many years ago, I feel an inexplicable kinship with these mysterious creatures.)

At the end of March, Green Tara called us into an online retreat. In these times of so much division and fear, her medicine was a balm. I bow to all the sisters who showed up so fully. Thank you from my heart, you are medicine.

My April has been a month of Lalita Devi (JAY MA!), our Goddess for the upcoming sadhana. She stirs a thousand songs inside me. She is a paradox of irresistible force and exquisite softness. The deeper I dive into her medicine, the more grateful I am that She is the One calling us to sadhana this spring.

I am also preparing for our Summer Ashram in Greece, which is filling so beautifully. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you joining. Your presence makes this magic possible, year after year.

Lastly, we have finally finalized the planning and opened enrollment for the Eternal Mother Gathering in Boulder, in September. It has been a long time coming. Magical Colorado, with its expansive skies and devoted community, is the perfect container for this deep work.

Again, I thank you for holding your seat in this timeless circle, wherever you are. Although my podcast has been on pause this winter, and introverted me is not much on social media any longer, my connection to this sacred community is more alive than ever, you are always with me, in prayer, in gratitude, in love.

In devotion,
Chameli

:: Your will find our English events here, the German events here, all our self-study courses here, and Chameli’s podcast here