May 01, 2017
At The Edge Of The Forest
As our legends have it, there is usually a mysterious man or woman who lives just outside the community, at the edge of the forest. They have been rumored to have strange powers, and because they are always alone, they are often feared. Rarely do they have partners, nor children, but animals are quite instinctively drawn to them. You may even see an owl or a raven perched on their shoulder, or perhaps a wolf or deer standing near their walking stick.
There is a reason they live at the edge of civilization. It is quieter there and their connection to Nature is profoundly more accessible outside the distractions of civilization. Further, they may have gifts and wisdom that don’t quite fit in with the cultural paradigms that have spawned them, so they retreat from the pressures of assimilation, and beat to the rhythm of their own drums.
In her book The Highly Sensitive Person, Elaine Aron notes that 20 percent of the human population is born with a level of sensitivity that is markedly different than the average person’s. They are the gifted intuitives and empaths among us. One in five of us has these gifts! In the days of old we were the treasured healers, oracles, mediums, channels and shamans of our community. Unfortunately, in a period of dark human history that we are just now awaking from, we were shamed into hiding and denying our true nature for fear of losing our lives. Suffering through rigid educational systems and roles that overload our delicate nervous systems, our current survival options eventually break us down. We are then dismissed as weak and... well... Sensitive, continuing the cycle of shame!