The stories we tell ourselves matter. They matter so much that 95% of our actions are based on our subconscious stories. The quality of these stories deeply impacts the quality of our being and life. However, the sad truth is that most of us are often unconscious of the negative and untrue stories we carry within us. Many of these stories are inherited from our ancestors and come from unhealthy cultural values, personal wounds and traumas, and internalized beliefs. 

There is a sacred Sumerian myth about the Goddess and Queen of Heaven, Inanna and her descent into the underworld. In the myth, Innana embarks on a journey to meet with her grieving sister and Queen of the Underworld, Ereshkigal. The Gods warn Inanna not to go on the journey, but she feels culpable for the death of her sister’s husband and knows she must go. She makes the descent from heaven to earth and into the underworld.

Dear Friend,

Four years ago, I was in a Temazcal(sweatlodge) ceremony in Teopisca, Mexico and I had a vision about my future. I closed my eyes and saw myself walking down Highway 93 South, a beautiful B.C. mountain highway that I travelled as a child and as an adult. As I walked south down the highway, the highway behind me churned up into an impassable rumble. It was a clear sign that there was no going back to where I had come from. I kept walking and entered a pathless woods. With each step I took, I created my trail. Raven flew above, and I was given the message that the path would be created with each creative endeavor that I embarked on. 

Grow Sideways like the Tree

This is a story to remind you to grow downwards and outwards and you will naturally grow upwards!

Growing upwards as a story of success is one of the great values of the patriarchy and capitalism. We have been conditioned to feel that if we are growing and producing something then we are of value and therefore are on the right path. We have been told this story for generations and therefore have believed it. In my mind, it is not a good story, or a true story and there is an opportunity to tell ourselves a different one.