A new chapter begins.

I know many are moving through significant changes right now, which inspired this short reflection outside the scope of my posting these days.

And while transformation is unfolding, it can feel messy, uncertain, and even a little frightening when we cannot yet see where it will lead.

Yet nature continually reminds us that life moves in cycles, always forward.

As the Great Horned Owl guides us through life’s transitions with wisdom and courage, the swallowtail butterfly offers hope through transformation and spiritual awakening.

Together, they remind us to trust the journey, knowing that beyond every shadow awaits renewal and the possibility of new beginnings.

After witnessing Foxglove’s earthly journey come to an end, I now find myself welcoming a new little wild cottontail who first appeared beneath the deck on our camera while we were away and then stepped into the morning light just days ago.

As she now explores the garden, I can’t help but wonder if she may be one of Foxglove’s offspring.

She feels like a gentle messenger of continuity and renewal, though her name has yet to reveal itself – note the tiny brown heart in her fur.

Around her, the forest, meadows, and garden are lush with unexpected abundance.

New plants have mysteriously appeared alongside those I intentionally planted, and while only the daisies, lavender, and delphinium have begun to bloom, countless buds are waiting their turn.

Even the irises at my parents’ home carried the same message, greeting us after five weeks away with the most abundant bloom they’ve ever seen—a quiet reminder that life continues to unfold in beautiful ways with unexpected possibility.

The threads are still weaving, the picture not yet complete, but all signs point to new life emerging.

A new chapter is indeed in motion.

Keep believing, stay curious, listen between breaths, and continue taking one step at a time.

~ Some crystal skulls have been homed faster than I can announce them here in the last few days, but if you have been waiting for a rare and magickal one, this amazing one still awaits you too: Pink Rutile Magickal Child by renowned master carver, Leandro ~

Before initiation, there is often an in-between space—a fertile void on the verge of ignition. A quiet threshold humming with who we have been and what we are being invited to become.

Much like the recent Full Blue Moon in Sagittarius offered a passageway into expansion, meaning, and authenticity, every experience becomes an adventure of possibility when met with conscious presence.

Trusting the wisdom woven through our unique journeys—regardless of how they appear—creates an alchemy that transforms ordinary moments into vibrant expressions of being.

Everything continually returns me to the power of embodiment. Not only does it anchor personal transformation, it ripples outward, enriching the lives of others in ways we may never fully see.

When we stop searching outside ourselves for saviors or validation, we begin to remember that the divine was never separate from us. Just as nature effortlessly embodies its own sacred intelligence through every season, we too carry immeasurable richness within the seed of our soul.

What a gift it would be if more spiritual teachers focused on cultivating self-empowerment rather than dependency—encouraging remembrance, embodied action, and trust in one’s own direct experience.

There is no substitute for lived experience. To nurture that unfolding in one another is to support inner power rather than power over.

Recent experiences have shaped my heart much like a divine mother shaping clay in weathered yet loving hands. I find myself leaning into greater vulnerability, deeper softness, and a more wholehearted trust in the unknown.

There is a profound spiritual activation unfolding—one that feels as though my inner world is reshaping my physical reality to accommodate what is emerging. The result has been a deep cleansing on many levels.

It feels fitting that this process culminated on the island of Madeira, one of the destinations on the five-week journey I have just returned from.

Madeira is renowned for its breathtaking landscapes, volcanic origins, ancient forests, and unique energetic presence. The island seems to invite regeneration, reflection, and spiritual growth in a way that is difficult to fully explain until experienced firsthand.

Home to a prehistoric laurel forest more than twenty million years old, Madeira carries a primal quality that immediately stirred something ancient within me.

The island became a living mirror.

At times, that mirror appeared through long subterranean water channels and tunnels that plunged us into damp darkness, requiring headlamps to navigate the unknown.

At other times, it emerged through steep ascents that demanded endurance and trust. The equally challenging descents reflected the inner landscapes being traversed—moments of humility, surrender, resilience, and quiet transformation unfolding step by step, breath by breath.

One of those trails was Madeira’s iconic PR1 Vereda do Areeiro, connecting Pico do Arieiro and Pico Ruivo high above the clouds. Known as the “Stairway to Heaven,” it felt less like a hike and more like a sacred passage of initiation—one where everything unnecessary gradually falls away so something more essential can emerge.

A threshold between who we have been and who we are becoming.

There were moments when nothing existed except breath, terrain, presence, and the next step.

No distraction.

No rushing.

Only surrender to what the path required.

And as often happens in life, the magick appeared after the initiation.

Madeira itself feels deeply spiritual. Volcanic earth, ancient forests, dramatic cliffs, shifting mists, and endless Atlantic horizons create the sense that the land is in constant conversation with something beyond the visible world.

Every climb humbled me.

Every descent softened me.

And somewhere in between, old grief began to rise—not to overwhelm, but to move. To be released.

In its place, a quieter strength began taking root.

One experience remains especially vivid.

During a hike, a woman in our group suffered severe heat stroke. She collapsed, became ill, and struggled to continue. Without hesitation, I felt exactly why I was there—to offer both physical and energetic support as she moved through the experience.

As we slowly continued our ascent, she shared that she had recently lost her son to suicide only days before the trip.

Suddenly, the deeper nature of her journey became visible.

The mountain was not merely a mountain.

It was part of a healing process already underway.

Moments like that stay with me. They remind me that alignment is not always mystical or grand. Sometimes it is simply being exactly where you are needed, without resistance, without questioning—just responding.

A similar experience unfolded later in the journey when another woman collapsed during an event in Berlin and I found myself assisting until she recovered.

While navigating my own transformation, I was repeatedly reminded of the mysterious timing through which souls meet one another.

Humanity itself is the miracle.

To feel fully alive is not about transcending our humanity but embracing it.

It is a widening of the heart.

A deeper presence.

A willingness to meet life in its fullness.

Earlier this year in Egypt, I experienced initiations that revealed extraordinary heights of spirit within the body.

In Europe, the initiations took me in the opposite direction—into greater depths. They invited faith when the climb felt grueling and revealed how spirit and body can work together to create softer, more balanced landings.

Neither journey was greater than the other.

Both were gifts.

Both were essential.

Because we rarely find what we are searching for.

We find what we are ready to see.

I don’t intend to recount every experience from the five-week journey or share every photo that inspired me to pause and capture a moment. I shared near-daily images and destination reflections on Instagram as a simple way to journal the travels while offering insights that might be collectively supportive.

This space calls me differently. Here, I prefer to share what remains after the dust settles—the deeper takeaways, the embodiment reflections, and the experiences that continue to live within me. Throughout this post, I’ll weave in some favorite images that offer not only a glimpse of the places themselves, but of how their energy moved through me and integrated into my being.

Over five weeks, we traveled through London, the Lake District, Rome, Madeira, Lisbon, Nice, and Berlin—each offering its own blend of history, beauty, challenge, and transformation.

Dave meticulously planned a full and seamless itinerary, balancing unique experiences, tours, and discoveries, while I helped shape the spaces in between.

Together, we learned how to shape future journeys so that balance is woven into the experience rather than something that must be consciously cultivated each day.

The journey held a blend of city exploration and deep immersion in nature, including our first walking tours.

One was a self-guided pilgrimage through England’s Lake District, where we spent three days hiking 10 to 12 miles a day through breathtaking landscapes while our bags awaited us at each destination.

More than a hike, it felt like a sacred remembering—of presence, of what truly matters, and of how fleeting and full of possibility this life can be. It became a meditation in motion.

And perhaps that is what happens when we fully arrive in the present moment—we become participants in the magick we’re experiencing.

One such moment arrived in the form of a Fell pony waiting quietly along the trail. Ten minutes with him felt like ten lifetimes. We were old friends remembering one another.

His grounded presence carried a quiet sense of love, strength, and guardianship, while the wind whispered reminders that we are never truly alone.

So many special moments the Lake District held for me, including a valley suspended as a realm between worlds where it was just me and this Tree of Life in a sacred exchange of spiritual awakening about eternal life, love, and rebirth. I had a very magickal experience take place here.

It reminded me of scenes from the movie, The Fountain.

Our second walking adventure took place on the island of Madeira (as mentioned)—a guided, group experience through dramatic volcanic landscapes and rugged mountain trails. Unlike the solitude of the Lake District, Madeira offered reflections through community and the dynamic exchange between inner and outer worlds.

Both demanded presence and invited transformation. One offered silence and solitude; the other offered mirrors through connection. Each became its own path of remembering.

The hiking tours were the highlights of the journey for me.

Nice felt the most nurturing as a city, while London surprised us with a week of sunshine, spring gardens, music, whimsical tea parties that delighted my faery heart, and a long-awaited visit with the Rosetta Stone.

Every place offered its own gifts, but beneath the experiences was an energetic undercurrent that resonated differently in each destination. I quickly sensed where I felt most aligned and where challenges would become invitations for growth.

With the exception of London and Nice, every destination was new to us. While cities are rarely where I feel most at home, each revealed something meaningful.

Rome felt suspended between mortality and eternity—from the Ossuary Crypt and Colosseum to ancient baths, basilicas, hidden gardens, the Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary, a five-encore world-class pianist performance, and moments of unexpected beauty woven throughout the city.

Lisbon enchanted me with its ocean views, fairytale castles, and quiet moments of wonder—like discovering a towering white Bird of Paradise while wandering through a garden.

Berlin carried a different kind of magick. Quiet time along the Spree River and wandering parks, a magickal cemetery beside remnants of the Berlin Wall, moving through echoes of the past and the future, encounters with 11 wild rabbits, the Nefertiti bust (which I hope will one day return to Egypt), and a moving symphony marking the conductor’s retirement, ending in a collective German song sung in harmony.

The only disappointment was missing the Ishtar Gate, which remains inaccessible during the Pergamon Museum’s long restoration until 2037—especially meaningful as it features in my painting Fire from the In Lak’ech series, making its nearness feel significant nonetheless.

And everywhere we traveled, Egypt found me—through artifacts, symbols, and synchronicities that appeared like a familiar thread quietly weaving itself through the entire journey.

Yet all of this only scratches the surface of what we experienced.

I’ve shared many of the journey’s energetic themes on Instagram, but what feels most important to explore here are the deeper threads that emerged beneath it all—the lessons, synchronicities, and transformations that continue to reshape something within me.

The farther I traveled, the more I returned to myself.

Somewhere across five weeks in Europe, I realized this journey was never only about movement. Each place peeled back another layer, revealing what was ready to be released. A physical cleansing mirrored the internal process—a shedding of old patterns, inherited heaviness, and limiting stories in order to see and feel more clearly. With each destination came a deeper opening into presence, possibility, and expansion.

Ending in Berlin felt especially fitting.

The city carries the energy of continual rebirth—a place where destruction and reinvention coexist, and where what was once divided has been reunited. Standing where the Berlin Wall once separated worlds, I could feel the lingering imprint of both division and reconciliation, making it a powerful reflection of the integration unfolding within and collectively.

As the journey progressed, intensity softened into balance. Contrasts began to harmonize rather than compete. Effort gave way to flow, and the rhythm of travel started mirroring an inner alignment. The heart’s capacity expanded—not as a concept, but as a lived experience.

That softening was deepened by our return to Nice, France—a place that feels like a meeting point between worlds, where city and nature exist in quiet harmony rather than competition.

The French Riviera feels written into my spirit as much as my bloodline. My mother was born in Southern France, and I feel her adventurous heart alive within me whenever I wander these coastlines and surrender to the sea.

After weeks of movement, challenge, and transformation, Nice felt like an exhale.

The sea, the light, the rhythm of walking, and the ease of slipping between stillness and exploration created a kind of nourishment I rarely associate with cities. There is an unmistakable joie de vivre here—as if life itself is meant to be savored rather than chased.

What moves me most is how naturally contrast is held.

Urban edges and natural beauty.

Structure and softness.

Inspiration and rest.

Nothing competes. Everything belongs.

And somewhere within that harmony, something in me began quietly reorganizing itself.

The Mediterranean feels like a living prayer—ancient, mystical, and endlessly deep. These waters have carried civilizations, grief, beauty, devotion, and countless stories across millennia. When I enter them, I feel something soften, as though the sea remembers what the soul forgets.

Perhaps it is no coincidence that these same waters touch the shores of Egypt—the land that has long felt like a spiritual homecoming for me.

Sometimes it feels as though the sea itself is connecting distant pieces of my heart.

After so much time integrating, balancing, and supporting others through their own experiences, the Mediterranean offered a simpler invitation:

Surrender.

Be held.

There is nothing you need to force.

And in that gentle remembering, I found clarity returning, creativity awakening, and a deeper trust in the wisdom of softness.

Because softness is not weakness.

It is strength without armor.

And an open heart will always find its way home.

Some places meet the soul in immediate resonance, while others arrive as teachers through contrast.

Part of this journey has been learning to anchor my energy in environments that don’t naturally feel aligned. Not being a city person, I often seek the quieter beauty within a place—the gardens, flowers, ocean air, art, music, and hidden moments of stillness. These become invitations to slow down, breathe, and return to presence.

I’ve also reflected on how resistance often arises when experiences challenge the identities we’ve grown attached to. We cling to what feels familiar because it confirms who we believe we are, while contrast invites expansion. Not every place is meant to become home, but many arrive to loosen what we’ve outgrown.

Travel—and life itself—will always bring contrast. The gift is allowing each experience to soften us, deepen our awareness, and widen our capacity to love.

Many of the places we visited carried echoes of humanity’s contradictions and complexities. Yet I kept returning to one simple truth: we are not bound to repeat the past simply because we inherited it.

To move consciously through the world is its own form of transformation.

Wherever I go, I try to meet what has been and transmute it through what I choose to carry now—harmony, compassion, awareness, and change.

Travel, for me, is not simply about seeing places. It is about meeting their spirit, and allowing them to meet mine.

Even in moments where the energy felt difficult, I experienced a sense of protection and grace that deepened my trust in prayer, intention, and the unseen ways we are held.

In this season of softening, I’ve been deepening into body wisdom, stillness, clarity, truth, and boundaries—opening to greater vulnerability, joy, and receptivity.

Perhaps the deepest gift of being alive is the ability to feel fully and without condition—to let the heart expand beyond limitation.

It is humbling to stand within places that have shaped centuries of human experience while remembering that the future is still being written through the frequency we embody today.

As the Ossuary Crypt reminds us through the bones of the Capuchin monks:

“What you are now, we once were; what we are now, you shall be.”

So I try to live fully and love deeply, without clinging.

This life is only a passage—a brief, sacred unfolding within something far greater than we can see.

Being away is a gift—an opportunity to explore, expand, and be shaped by the cultures and energies of each place. Yet there is always a quiet softness in returning home.

Back to the mountains, forests, and lakes that have held me through so many seasons. Back to this alpine landscape—close enough to the stars that it feels familiar to my spirit, and wild enough that every breath feels like medicine for body, heart, and soul.

I left to explore and returned to find expansion already blooming beneath my feet.

The past weeks continue to move through me, settling into place. As I wander Tahoe again, I hear a quiet whisper from the land: keep following what lights you up, expand your horizons, and set your heart free.

Before we left, we prepared the garden for spring—clearing, restoring the driplines, and witnessing crabapple blossoms, hyacinths, and daffodils come alive. We planted a new Incense Cedar before heading out, and returned to lushness, with the forest in full spring bloom.

Now, the garden feels self-sustaining. There is little to do but witness its unfolding.

Coyote was the gatekeeper of the threshold we were crossing at the start of our journey.

Bear was the gatekeeper of the threshold we were returning through anew.

And to anchor the new energy, I brought home three Delphiniums to plant in the garden—drawn to them instinctively.

Later, their symbolism revealed why: protection, an open heart, joy, lightness, and limitless possibility. Named for their dolphin-shaped buds (Delphinium comes from the Greek word delphis, meaning dolphin), their towering spires also speak to spiritual growth and rising beyond challenge.

Embodied living is alignment with the truth of who you are, and the natural flow of consciousness itself.

As I continue to integrate the past weeks, I find myself naturally slowing down—re-entering daily rhythms, catching up on things, and moving through messages and correspondence at a more spacious pace, all while easing into the transition toward summer at a more unhurried rhythm. There is a softness in this re-entry, a need for room to simply settle and land.

Even with the nurturing spaces we experienced along the way, the intensity of travel—especially through busier, more crowded cities—has left me with a deep appreciation for stillness and solitude as I re-ground.

Since returning, the remaining crystal skulls have all lovingly found their homes, each one continuing its journey in new hands. One very special piece has now spoken to be seen, held in honor of these new energies and the approaching brilliance of summer, gently woven into this unfolding season: Crystals & Crystal Skulls