Journeying to Delphi: Finding Mind-Body-Spirit Connection

What happens when you follow your intuition across the globe to ancient sacred sites? Katherine Eady's journey to Greece transformed not only her spiritual practice but her entire relationship with her body and emotions.

Details

Despite having no ancestral connection to Greece and battling significant social anxiety, Katherine felt called to join a spiritual retreat to Delphi and other sacred sites. The experience demanded perfect love and perfect trust—surrendering to the unknown with strangers who would quickly become profound spiritual connections. At the Oracle of Trifonios, Katherine participated in a powerful fear release ceremony that began dissolving lifelong anxieties. In the ancient, unexcavated city of Gla, she experienced one of her deepest meditative states ever while chanting with her group in a liminal gateway space.

Most surprising was Katherine's realization that true spiritual connection doesn't come from escaping the body but from fully inhabiting it. Having grown up in a religious environment where only pleasant emotions were acceptable, she had spent decades suppressing her authentic feelings, resulting in physical manifestations like chronic tension and digestive issues. Through embodiment practices at the retreat, she began the challenging work of identifying and expressing the full spectrum of emotions—rage, grief, shame, and joy.

Perhaps most magical was her unexpected connection with the land spirits of Greece. In the Valley of the Muses, she could sense the wind spirits moving through the mountains before physically feeling the breeze. This reciprocal relationship between humans and the land became a powerful lesson: "We find healing in the land, but the land also can find healing in us."

Whether you're seeking spiritual transformation, emotional freedom, or simply a deeper connection with the natural world, Katherine's story reminds us that sacred journeys happen both externally and internally. What might you discover when you step into perfect trust?

References

Elyse Welles - Seeking Numina Website

Facebook - Seekers of the Sacred Wild | Facebook

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Catherine's Greek Journey
• 5:30 Overcoming Travel Anxiety and Trust
• 10:43 Profound Spiritual Sites in Greece
• 17:49 Releasing Fears at Oracle of Trifonios
• 23:00 Land Spirits and Moon Connection
• 29:12 Glamour Magic and Spiritual Protection
• 33:40 Embodiment Practices and Emotional Freedom
• 39:15 Mind-Body-Spirit Connection and Nature Healing

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:07

Welcome to the Mystical Mermaid Lounge podcast, a space where all spiritual seekers are honored and celebrated. This podcast was born from the journeys of your hosts, who have each faced her own dark night of the sun, but they've emerged with an unshakable belief in divine connection, cosmic inspiration and her true life's calling. Join us on a journey of personal growth, transformation and magical self-discovery. Your first co-host is Chloe Brown, a gifted intuitive empath and shadow work life coach. Your second co-host is Keoni Starr, an intuitive energy worker and acclaimed past life regressionist. The Mystical Mermaid Lounge podcast starts now.

Speaker 3: 1:11

Good afternoon or morning for everybody listening. Today we have Catherine Eadie back with us again.

Speaker 2: 1:21

Hello, catherine. Hello, I'm so glad to be here. Thank you for having me.

Speaker 3: 1:27

We're very excited. As most of you know, I am Chloe and I have my lovely co-host here, Hello this is Keone.

Speaker 1: 1:34

We are so happy to have Catherine Eadie with us again. Her initial story was told in episode 11, entitled Moon Magic and Healing Religious Trauma with Catherine Eadie. For anyone that has not listened to that episode, we highly encourage it. It will really contextualize this episode. And now let's listen as Catherine tells us about her trip halfway across the world to a sacred land in which she finds the connection she's been missing between her mind, body and spirit.

Speaker 3: 2:15

All right, so let's dive deep. I'm so excited to chat with you, Catherine.

Speaker 2: 2:19

Well, thank you. Most recently, my spiritual path took me all the way to Greece, to a retreat where I was able to see Delphi and some other sacred sites, and that was a really incredible experience.

Speaker 3: 2:34

That sounds so lovely. I really hope to be able to make it out there, hopefully as soon as next year. Let's start with some spiritual growth that made you not only seek this experience, but perhaps unraveled itself a little bit while you were there. Could you paint that picture for us?

Speaker 2: 2:53

Yeah, I first heard about the retreat to Delphi. I went with Elise Wells from Seeking Nuvina. I first heard about it when I was in her container last fall called the Witch Codes, and I had been experiencing so much growth and development in my spiritual path in that container and I wanted to continue that growth. But I was also really wanting to find in-person spiritual connection. I had never had an opportunity where I lived to have that face-to-face connection with someone like that. So I was really seeking community and the in-person experience. I got that out of the experience and so much more. The depth that I was able to get from that retreat really clarified and deepened my spiritual path in a way I wasn't even expecting it to. It gave me a new direction to take in my spiritual path that I wasn't necessarily expecting. But all in all it was a life-changing experience and I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity.

Speaker 3: 3:56

Yes, oh gosh, I can't wait to hear it unravel. But first I think I want to dive into the side of stories that people don't really talk about very much, like the anxiety or the stress or the panic or just the chaos, just candidly.

Speaker 2: 4:13

Well for sure I am a huge overthinker and I have really bad anxiety and social anxiety. There were a lot of nerves going into it. It was the first time that I had ever traveled internationally. It was the first time I had ever flown by myself, so there were a lot of firsts that I had to overcome from the practical side, but thankfully everything went pretty well.

Speaker 2: 4:35

I had a little bit of trouble on the trip home. My flight was delayed and I had some issues with that, but otherwise it was a fairly smooth trip. There was also the social anxiety aspect going into it, with a group of new people new Elise before I went, but not really anybody else that was there and so it was a little nerve wracking going into such a deep spiritual experience and connection with people that I had never met, and so that element of perfect love and perfect trust really came into it, with trusting that this is where I was supposed to met. And so that element of perfect love and perfect trust really came into it, with trusting that this is where I was supposed to be and these are the people that I'm supposed to be here with and just surrendering myself to the experience. It was the challenge, but I think it was really worth it.

Speaker 1: 5:19

Are you saying that you knew no one but Elise on this trip prior to getting to Greece, or did you have a meet and greet prior?

Speaker 2: 5:29

We had a group chat that we had started shortly before the trip so that we could all introduce ourselves and get to know who we were going to be there with. Very few of us had ever met in person before. There were a couple of people that had met in person, but for the most part we were all brand new to each other.

Speaker 3: 5:49

Wow, that's commendable. I thought you were talking about me, about the overthinker and anxiety, so I'm grateful to hear that was jokes, folks.

Speaker 3: 5:59

I am so grateful to hear that I am not the only one. I think a lot of our listeners can relate to that, and even with my own family, sometimes I struggle to commit to things because that might be giving up the privacy of my vehicle and the liberty to come and go as I please. So putting that in context with strangers across the globe. Your first that's so many firsts huge bravos. I can't even imagine the anxiety and stress. And you handled it so tactfully as somebody who was chatting with you all the way up until then. I never saw any of that.

Speaker 2: 6:34

Thank you. Yeah, you get used to masking a little bit when you have social anxiety, so there was definitely a big element of that, but it was also once I got there and I met everyone. It put me at ease really quickly. It was an amazing group and we've talked about this before how Elise is so amazing at building those communities and bringing the right people together, and we talked about it when we were there in Greece amongst ourselves how, in some ways, it felt like we had always known each other. It was just it was a perfect group that got to go go.

Speaker 1: 7:04

So, catherine, what was the feeling the first time that you're all by yourself? Everybody else flies out or goes to their airline and you're sitting there saying I'm all by myself in a foreign country and it's not like everyone just readily speaks English. I'm going to have to potentially use Google Translate.

Speaker 2: 7:28

Yeah, there was definitely some anxiety surrounding the travel part, because that was the only time I was alone was during the travel. Fortunately, everybody that I met in the States and in Greece were super nice and super helpful. I didn't have any negative interactions with anybody. But I was definitely trying to do all my research ahead of time and I had my checklist in my phone when I get to the airport. I need to do this, this and this, and I tried to be as prepared as possible.

Speaker 1: 7:56

Good for you. I just followed the crowds and my sister did too, which means we got split up. I went to a taxi cab and she went to the men's room, so I wouldn't recommend that. I like your checklist idea better, yeah.

Speaker 3: 8:12

Following your intuition and your path is so beautiful to continuously see with you. I hope you recognize the depth there.

Speaker 2: 8:21

That's a lot Getting uncomfortable even though that's where growth comes from can be hard. Yeah for sure. I think it was such a natural progression from the witch trades where we all met, because that was my big goal going into the witch codes was to recognize my own intuition and have the trust to be able to follow it. So being able to follow it halfway around the world was a really big step, but it felt like the next progression that I needed to be able to deepen that connection to my intuition.

Speaker 3: 8:53

Yeah, spoiler alert here. We just recently had an interview with wonderful Elise and we were speaking about containers and the depth and we might have gushed a little bit about you and your growth and watching you be able to bloom the way that you have in the most beautiful, beautiful way. It's an inspiration to all of us, no matter where on our journey, to just let go leave with love and, like you said, the perfect love, perfect trust.

Speaker 2: 9:22

I love that thank you so much. That means a lot to hear.

Speaker 3: 9:27

So could you tell us a little bit about I heard you say that it was surprising to you and not at all about what you were expecting. Could we dive in a little bit more about what you did expect to feel and experience and then maybe, if we're lucky, we could dive into what surprised you, what you learned, all of the things that you weren't expecting of the things that you weren't expecting.

Speaker 2: 9:54

Oh for sure I didn't really have many expectations. I was just going in blind a little bit, really taking that leap of faith. I have no personal connection to Greece. I don't have any Greek ancestry or anything. I didn't know anything about Greek mythology or ancient spiritual practices there or anything like that, so I had very high expectations. I knew it was going to be an incredible experience, but I just didn't know what to expect at all. So everything there was just brand new and really exciting. I'm glad that I went into it that way. I think it added to my experience.

Speaker 3: 10:27

You have really honored your intuition and trusted your team in such a beautiful way. Let's talk about some of the things you saw and visited and the places you went and some of the details of what you experienced that you felt were profound for you.

Speaker 2: 10:49

Everything that we saw was incredible. The gorgeous facility that we were staying at. It was absolutely perfect. The whole country of Greece, everything that I saw was absolutely beautiful. But we did go to a few really prominent spiritual sites where we did some ritual and some sharing circles and things like that. We were able to see the Oracle of Trifonios, which was a really incredible experience. The point of going there was to do a really big release ceremony of some of our deepest fears, and that was also one of the very first things that we did. Going into something that personal and deep with a brand new group of people really was an exercise in that perfect trust. It's amazing how the fear that I talked through and released there at the Oracle of Trefrenios has just started falling away from my life. So it was a really powerful experience. A really powerful experience. We were also able to go to the Valley of the Muses and we had a really beautiful picnic lunch there and did a guided meditation and met all of the muses and did some creative activities.

Speaker 2: 12:01

Another really incredible thing that we saw was the ancient city of Glau. It's a city I believe it's over 4,000 years old. It hasn't been excavated. It's not like an active archaeological site. So when we went, we were the only ones on that entire city and we sat in the gate, that liminal space, the entry into the city, and did a meditation and chanting and singing together and that was such a powerful experience. That was one of the deepest connections I've ever felt in meditation. That was a really incredible part of the trip.

Speaker 2: 12:38

And then, of course, delphi was the culmination of everything. Going to that site, we were able to see the museum before we went to the site itself and my understanding is that the Greek culture and the Greek government is not that big on the ancient spiritual practices. They downplay that in the museum part, but there's a lot of really good information about the history of Delphi. And after the museum we were able to walk all around the ancient site and see all of the ruins, the Temple of Apollo, walk all around the ancient site and see all of the ruins, the Temple of Apollo, and there was this gorgeous rock where the Oracle of Delphi would sit.

Speaker 2: 13:21

And it was sad because, with that spiritual side of the site being downplayed by the authorities there, the rock is almost hidden. It's like all grown up around it and everybody was just walking by it, not even realizing what it was, but Elise was able to point it out to us, and it not even realizing what it was, but Elise was able to point it out to us and let us know that's what it was. It was such a powerful energy coming from that. There were even like flowers growing directly out of the side of the rack and it was just, oh, it was absolutely beautiful. I could have stood there all day, but we had to go see the rest of the site. Everything that we did was just absolutely incredible and a once in a lifetime experience, and I'm so grateful that I got to go.

Speaker 1: 13:57

Catherine, at the place where you did the initial letting go ritual, was that known for a place where that oracle would help people let go of fears and things that had been bothering them?

Speaker 2: 14:14

Yeah, that's my understanding. Like I said, I don't know that much about the Greek mythology side of it, but my understanding is that it's been known for a long time to be a place where you do have to enter into it with that perfect trust in order to see the results from releasing your fears, but my understanding is that it is known for having that power to help you let go of anything that's holding you back.

Speaker 3: 14:40

It sounds like this was such a transformational trip, like you came back even looking different. Your energy is different. Everything is just so beautifully uplifted and you carry yourself with such a different type of grace. You've always had a beautiful grace To see you evolve and grow into that. It's only something I can aspire to. So I love that you've mentioned that, speaking of uncomfortable zones. You stood in a circle and chanted and meditated. That must have been so hard to just knowing what you just said about the government in the country you're at, all of the challenges you overcame, just to get there in itself was so commendable. And then to be able to just let your guard down in that first ceremony with your fears and then celebrate it with chanting and meditating what did that feel like to you? How did it work for you? What was that experience?

Speaker 2: 15:33

like it was so powerful.

Speaker 2: 15:37

I've grown up with music and so I was in church choirs and things like that as a kid, and it was interesting because just shortly before we went to this ancient city and did our chanting and our meditation, we all sat down and wrote down a list of a hundred things that were desires that we wanted to see in our life, and one of the things that I had written down was I wanted to sing in a group that wasn't like a church setting because I'm not part of that anymore and so then, literally within just a few hours, that first thing was being fulfilled.

Speaker 2: 16:12

That part of it was really incredible. The music is just so powerful, and being in a group of amazing spiritual practitioners like that and all of us coming there with a united intention and a united spirit and it wasn't planned, it wasn't practiced, it was just literally coming from within and that chanting and singing together was absolutely incredible and set the tone for the meditation that we did afterwards that was definitely a standout memory from the trip that I'll carry with me for a long time.

Speaker 1: 16:46

Catherine, you mentioned that each of you were to write down specific desires and you mentioned the number 100.

Speaker 2: 16:58

Was that collectively or each person, each person, each person was supposed to sit down with their journal and write down 100 things that we wanted to see manifesting in our life. It was shocking how hard it was, because I feel like there's so many things that everybody wants. It seems like it would be easy to come up with 100 things, but I got about 20 things into the list. I don't know what else I want.

Speaker 1: 17:20

You start heading to world peace. Yeah, intergalactic and communication, I know. That's why I was asking how long did it take you to come up with a hundred?

Speaker 2: 17:34

It was different for everybody. It took a while. For me, I think I actually even ended up finishing it the next day. I was able to work through maybe about 75 there in maybe the course of an hour or so, and then the last 25 or so. I slept on it and came up with the rest the next day. But yeah, I really had to start digging deep and thinking creatively to come up with the last half of the list Amazing.

Speaker 3: 17:57

That actually made me start thinking. Do you think it's possible that during that intention setting so directly yet so indirectly right, because it wasn't about the trip, it was about my life and where I want my life to go in your case, do you think in some way there was this connection that you built with these other individuals by doing that and some call it a cord, some would call it a psychic connection, some would call it a group intuition manifestation, whatever we want to label it. But as you were saying how you wrote that on your list and then, almost immediately into the trip, it became a reality. I'm over here crying and trying to hold back my tears of being an emotional Pisces and emotional Pisces. So do you think it's possible that you guys connected so deeply before you?

Speaker 2: 18:57

actually were able to meet in person. Yeah, I definitely think that's a possibility, because there was such a spirit of unity and just understanding each other in a way that's hard sometimes, with relationships that you've had for decades, to have that kind of connection. It's hard sometimes, with relationships that you've had for decades, to have that kind of connection. So for all of us to come together and day one, what's your deepest fear and how are you going to let go of that? And yeah, it was really amazing how we were all able to come together in that way. And I think, if you want to call it fate or our spirit guides all talking amongst themselves, bringing us together, whatever that looks like, I think we were all exactly where we were supposed to be.

Speaker 3: 19:34

Absolutely. I couldn't agree with you more On that note. Did you feel connected to any particular gods, goddesses, deities, in any capacity prior to the trip and then, once you were there, did you feel it?

Speaker 2: 19:49

shift. That's a really interesting part of my experience there Going into it. If anyone listened to the previous episode that I was on with you, lovely ladies, I think I mentioned in that episode that I was still somewhat kind of agnostic. I wasn't entirely sure how I feel about working with deity. A lot of that is leftover religious trauma from my experience with the Christian God. I wasn't particularly connected to any deities going in and I wouldn't even say that I found a particular connection to a deity. While I was there I had a lot of people telling me that I had really strong Aphrodite energy and, knowing so little about Greek mythology, I don't really even know necessarily what that means. But I did end up getting a little Aphrodite statuette to recall, because I got that comment so many times. Are you taking your clothes off a lot.

Speaker 1: 20:40

Have you found yourself working in public or bathing?

Speaker 2: 20:45

Not generally. Maybe it's her unconditional love and safe space.

Speaker 3: 20:50

She provides for everybody, or we could look at that side?

Speaker 2: 20:53

but coming out of the trip I didn't necessarily have a particular deity that I felt connected to, but I came home with a much more open mind when it comes to deity work. I still kind of look at deity as more archetypal more so than individual beings. I've felt a much stronger connection to the spirit world in general since I came home and I think a piece of that is being more open to the idea of deity. If a particular deity seems to be reaching out to me, I would be willing to make that connection Now, where before I don't think I would have been.

Speaker 1: 21:29

How was your relationship with the moon while you were there? I know that's very important to you. Did you find yourself feeling energized, or was the energy different? The moon is the moon, but obviously you're in a different part of the world, so it's a different perspective.

Speaker 2: 21:49

Yeah for sure. So the moon energy was very grounding for me because, like you said, it is the same moon. Even though I'm halfway around the world from where I live I can look at the moon and feel that peace that I always feel when I'm sitting under the moon. The other spirits, like the land spirits, had a very different feel to them versus where I live here in the States. So having that connection to the moon, I think, really helped keep me at peace throughout the trip and all of the anxieties that come along with it. The trip spanned across a new moon and for me personally, new moons feel very much like new beginnings and letting go of the old and bringing in the new. So it lined up perfectly with my moon scheduling. So I think that also contributed to that same energy of the power of the trip and how transformational it was.

Speaker 3: 22:42

Could you talk to those land spirits and land energies or how it was different and what you loved or maybe missed from back home?

Speaker 2: 22:52

I wasn't sure what to expect with the spiritual connection to the land there in Greece because, like I mentioned, I don't have a personal connection to it. So I wondered, going in, if it would feel like I was an outsider coming in. So I was really surprised at how easy it was to connect with the land spirits. Elise is amazing at what she does and she had been preparing the land and these specific sites that we went to for months before we went on the retreat and I think that really contributed to how easy it felt and how right on the surface it felt like the spirits were. How easy it felt and how right on the surface it felt like the spirits were In the Valley of the Muses. I even commented to Elise it literally feels like I can see the wind spirits coming down through the mountains. They were just so incredibly present. We had the conversation when we were in Greece about like the place that we belong and I didn't feel like I belonged in Greece as far as my ancestry isn't from there. I don't think that's like my ultimate spirit home. I wonder if I went somewhere that my ancestors came from maybe you know, scotland, ireland, england if I would feel that sense of belonging, but I absolutely did not feel like an outsider. I felt very welcomed by the land spirits and it really enhanced my personal connection to the land spirits where I live. It gave me a better sense of what I could feel when I'm working with the land spirits.

Speaker 2: 24:27

When we were in the Valley of the Muses, the area of Greece that we were in was very mountainous. There were mountains all around us and I was standing at the edge of the Muses. The area of Greece that we were in was very mountainous. There were mountains all around us and I was standing at the edge of this olive grove where we were having a picnic lunch and just looking out around at all of the mountains. There was just this moment and I later figured out it must have been the wind spirits coming around the mountain. A few seconds later I felt the wind hit me before, so that was really incredible.

Speaker 1: 24:52

So it was like a foretelling and then you actually felt it. Ooh, I love that. How did she prepare the land for visitors who may not necessarily have ancestry tied to Greece?

Speaker 2: 25:10

Yeah, I'm not too sure about all of the specific details of what she did. I know that she visited all of the sites that we were going to be visiting together and meditating and speaking with the land spirits. So I'm not too sure about the details beyond that. But I know there was a lot of preparation that went into it from the practical side and the spiritual side. So I'm really grateful for all of the work that she put in.

Speaker 1: 25:34

That's awesome. She gave them a pep talk. Now you are going to be nice to these people. Yeah, you know it's like what you do to your kids. Now, look, we're getting company. First you offer to take their coats and hang them up. You're not jumping on the couch while they're here. I mean it is a cool idea because we do pep talk our families, our animals. Please do not use a litter box. You got family coming over. Do this after they go. Blah, blah, blah. And I never even thought about sending out that type of vibe for welcoming, in all seriousness, for welcoming guests to the area. I just love that idea and the fact that you felt it. You felt welcomed.

Speaker 2: 26:21

Yeah, yeah, it was really beautiful.

Speaker 3: 26:24

I also think another underlying theme here that we haven't spoke a lot about yet is the ability to hold space for everybody, the ability to hear those deepest, darkest things as soon as you meet someone, because, let's be real, we're all human and we all struggle with judgments, either from ourselves or about ourselves, judgments either from ourselves or about ourselves. So that's huge. And to be able to continue to dive so deep that we're far surpassing those what I will reference as surface layer feelings and emotions, when you just dug deep, really deep, to the point where you felt those well wishes and the welcoming from all of those places, that's just beautiful and I think that, right, there is really what you know, keone and I are trying to do with the Mystical Mermaid Lounge, and you encompass it so beautifully. We're just so grateful to hear your story and to have you back with us again.

Speaker 3: 27:28

I may have heard that at some point you guys did this really fabulous thing called glamour magic. Now, before we get too deep into that, because I really want to hear all about this, I just want to say the first time I ever heard that phrase, I kind of panicked. I think I started to break a sweat. I started to think of all the judgments against for, and the whole spectrum. Tell us all about it.

Speaker 2: 27:55

Yeah for sure. So before the trip to Greece, I wasn't really aware of glamour magic in that way. I had seen YouTube videos and heard podcasts and things about people talking about glamour magic more in the sense of how you wear your makeup and how you fix your hair and things like that, and that really wasn't how glamour magic was being used. It was specifically when we were going to Delphi. I had mentioned that.

Speaker 2: 28:24

You know, the authorities and the government and the culture as a whole is really not open to the ancient Greek spiritual practices. They're really not open to witchcraft or pagan practices or anything like that. They have guards walking around just making sure all the sites are being respected and my understanding is it's spiritually related that they will kick you off the site and not let you back in. That was the main purpose of us using their glamour magic. That was the main purpose of us using the glamour magic and before we actually entered the site at Delphi, elise went around to each one of us and laid hands on us for lack of a better term and did some glamour magic, just not trying to draw any undue attention to ourselves, and it worked really well because we were able to go in and do what we went there to do and leave without having any bad interactions or having anybody say anything to us. So yeah it went really well.

Speaker 3: 29:19

Wow, that sounds like such an uplifting, less materialistic version of what I've always heard glamour magic, to be For sure.

Speaker 2: 29:36

Would you recommend, from your experience, people digging into that, doing research, maybe using it, experimenting with it? What are your thoughts on that? Yeah, I think it's definitely something that I want to explore. I have such a long list of things I want to explore more after the trick, and especially if you maybe live in an area where witchcraft or whatever spiritual practice you have is not widely accepted looking into that as an option for it, more so almost protection magic than anything else. So, yeah, I think it's definitely worth looking into.

Speaker 3: 30:06

I agree completely. I think the label is what's so scary about it. Sometimes, as we spoke earlier about, the same thing can have so many labels and some are just so triggering to others. I definitely think that's important and something I know. I recognize significantly through lots of shadow work, and I hear about it from others as well.

Speaker 2: 30:26

We also spend some of our time at the retreat center just doing the ritual and work together, and one of the most challenging things that now the two of you have had a little bit of experience with because of the container we're in together now, is the embodiment practices working through different emotions and, with my particular religious background, in Christianity it was just supposed to be happy, smiling, easy to get along with all the time.

Speaker 2: 30:55

One day we spent most of the day at the retreat center.

Speaker 2: 30:58

We did some sharing circles, just talking with each other, working through some of the things that had brought us on our trip to Greece, and then we did our embodiment practices, where we all went outside on the patio, overlooking this beautiful view of the water on one side and this adorable Greek town on the other side, and we stood in a circle and went through this practice of letting ourselves feel different emotions and how it felt in our body, and we went through rage and grief and shame and joy.

Speaker 2: 31:34

And that was probably the most challenging part of the entire retreat for me Not only having to feel those emotions but do it in a public way where other people could see me. And, yeah, it was the first time that I did it and yeah, it was the first time that I did it I felt like I wasn't fully getting there. I wasn't's something I'll have to continue working on for a long time to come, but yeah, that was a really big part of the retreat. That was such a challenge, but a rewarding challenge bringing awareness to those emotional blockages that I have experienced for so long and finding ways to work through them so that I become healthier emotionally and spiritually.

Speaker 1: 32:36

When you had spoken about your upbringing being one of essentially one emotional tone. Tone, and just small variations of that tone of piety and obedience, I would say, was your emotional tone and, as you mentioned, getting along well with others, not creating disruption. Obviously you're human, so you had feelings. What did you do with your feelings? Did you use music as your creative outlet? Are you still finding that so much has been suppressed that needs to come out from that period of time where you were stuffing them down because they weren't safe to show?

Speaker 2: 33:31

I was really just shoving everything down and ignoring it and pretending like I wasn't feeling it.

Speaker 1: 33:41

It must have made you feel so heavy burdened.

Speaker 2: 33:47

Because I shoved those emotions down so much. It has very physical manifestations for me because when you can't process your emotions and let them out in a healthy way, it's going to come out somewhere. I have things like I get sick to my stomach and I'll know that's because I'm not fully expressing an emotion. My shoulders are just tight like hard as rocks all the time because I'm holding those emotions in Even in my joints. They'll just start aching when I'm facing a stressful situation and it's because I don't know how to let those emotions out in a healthy way.

Speaker 2: 34:23

So that's a big thing that my whole spiritual journey has brought up for me is the awareness that I need to have for the emotions. Because I pushed them down for so many years, it's hard for me to even put my finger on what I'm feeling. I'll have something that I know it doesn't feel right, but am I angry about it? Am I anxious about it? What is it that I'm feeling in this situation? Being able to identify it and then next step and be able to process it in a healthy way is probably going to be a lifelong journey, because I don't have those foundational skills from when I was growing up.

Speaker 1: 35:00

I think that's amazing, because a lot of times people are attracted to a religious practice, be it a traditional religious practice or a more esoteric one, as a way to feel better. And yet what we're saying is the way to feel better is to feel.

Speaker 2: 35:26

Yeah, if you can't have any feelings except one, if you're supposed to just be happy, any feelings except one, if you're supposed to just be happy, then you're missing out on all of the other range of human emotions and it is eventually going to come out, whether that's in physical illness, physical manifestations of those feelings, or if it's anger issues and dealing with them in an unhealthy way, or whether it's an addiction that you could fall into because you don't know how to deal with these emotions. Yeah, if it's not done correctly, I think religion can cause more harm than good sometimes when it comes to the emotional side.

Speaker 1: 36:03

I am a semi-epiphany, and I say semi because all of my college, while I was studying psychology and sociology and looking at the levels of personhood of us being one organism where we shouldn't necessarily look at ourselves as these four fragmented sections, that's a monistic viewpoint. So who's to say that your joints can't feel pain as a result of your emotional state of anger? It's just that way to feel or think something without it manifesting elsewhere. Anger comes out, a pit in your stomach closing around your throat. You feel like you're going to shout, you want to hit something. There's all of these things that happen at one time. You said it'll be a lifelong journey for you. It is going to be, I think, a lifelong journey for a lot of us to really feel safe, not just feeling those emotions and the acceptance of them, but also recognizing all of the places that we feel them.

Speaker 2: 37:56

I think that's one of the most surprising things about my spiritual journey is recognizing that your physical body has so much more to do with your spiritual life than I ever realized. When I was first starting to try to learn to meditate, I thought that I was going to have to learn how to get out of my head and get out of my body so that I could get that connection to spirit. It's so much more about getting into my body and recognizing what am I feeling in my body? Why am I feeling that emotion there? Am I holding tension in my back? Why is that happening? And getting that connection, the mind-body connection, the spirit-body connection, is so challenging for me because it was forced to be separated for so long. It's just starting to come together and I know it's going to take a lot more practice, but that's been a very surprising piece of spiritual practice for me, lot more practice, but that's been a very surprising piece of spiritual practice for me.

Speaker 1: 38:55

Do you know how, on Facebook Instant Messenger, where it says share a thought or share a song? Have you ever seen that? Yeah, can I just lift about 20 of the things you just said and use them in my little bubble above my head, be kind? Thank you, I would give credit, but there's only 60 characters so I'm kind of limited, but I'll make sure everybody knows. If they say what a profound statement, I'll make sure they know it's you. Meditating in and of itself wasn't about getting out of your head. It was getting into your body. In and of itself wasn't about getting out of your head.

Speaker 3: 39:35

It was getting into your body. I love that. I think that's so important to talk about, right, I love that we went this direction because I think at least three years that I was diving into spirituality and understanding what it looked like to me. That is also how I understood it Get out of your head, get out of your body, understood it, get out of your head, get out of your body and I think I took that perhaps a little too literal, and so one of the things I think I remember you saying you were even brave enough to reach out and find meetup groups that went into nature and hiked Is that helping you connect with that emotional liberty and freedom that you, as every human, deserve, but you had never been able to truly feel it sounds like.

Speaker 2: 40:18

Yeah, definitely. The more I make that mind-body connection, the better my spiritual practice gets and the better my relationship with my body gets. I think a lot of people from all walks of life and from everywhere especially probably women can relate to feeling uncomfortable in your body at different times, and so it's like the spiritual path helps my relationship with my body and my relationship with my body helps my spiritual path. It's a lot of give and take and both pieces have to be there for me to feel that balance and the fulfillment and the progress that I feel like I need to be making emotionally and spiritually.

Speaker 3: 40:58

I admire how you take the time to really listen to yourself and come at it with a problem-solving thought process. Come at it with a problem-solving thought process Before you leave us. One of the things that Keone and I love to ask all of our guests is if you have any guidance or a mantra, something that you wanted to leave the listeners with, who may also be searching for either sacred land experience, that inner body, mental, physical totality connection you speak of. Maybe it's the moon calendar scheduling you spoke of last time? Let us into your brain a little bit. How could we be more like Catherine?

Speaker 2: 41:46

I would encourage everybody really to get out in nature and, wherever you are if it's in your own backyard or if it's a sacred pilgrimage that you're taking to another city, another state, another country seek that connection and that healing with the land spirits, wherever you are. It's very reciprocal, because we find healing in the land, but the land also, I think, can find healing in the land, but the land also, I think, can find healing in us. I think one of the takeaways that I had from my Delphi retreat was that the land can hold the wounds from all of human experience the wars, the fighting, the tension. The land holds that and feels that, like we do.

Speaker 1: 42:32

What are some healing practices that you recommend?

Speaker 2: 42:36

Singing, through hiking, through practically donating to your local, state or national park, but I think that can really help bring a lot of connection and peace and renewal for your spirit and I think it can really give you blessings that you can carry with you throughout all areas of your life.

Speaker 3: 43:00

So beautiful. Thank you, yeah, there's nothing more to say. I think that was so eloquent and beautiful. Thank you so much. Have a wonderful day, catherine. We'll be chatting soon. Thanks for diving into the depths with us today. If you enjoyed this episode, show your support at buymeacoffeecom. Forward slash mystical mermaid lounge, as every little ripple helps keep the magic flowing. Would you like some more deep, soul yearning conversations? Well then, swim on over to our sister podcast Past Lives Cafe, where Keone deep dives into those past life experiences. Also, we'd love to hear from you. Please don't forget to rate and review and drop your feedback and comments at our website, mysticalmermaideloungebuzzsproutcom. Thank you again so much, and don't forget to catch us at the next High Tide. Bye-bye.