My song and practice: “I Wanna Get To You” will help you connect to your key spirit guide.
St. Hildegard’s Feast Day is this week, September 17th. She continues to be an inspiration to me, and I call upon her regularly for support in finding my own courage and strength in challenging times.
I often think of the time in the 12th century when St. Hildegard, at age 42, heard a divine voice commanding her to speak and write about her experiences. She shared what it said to her,
“… speak and write what you see and hear… according to the extent that you see and hear those things in the heavens above in the marvelousness of God…
Write those things not according to yourself or by the standards of another person, but according to the will of the one knowing, the one who sees and arranges all things in the secrets of His own mysteries.”
St. Hildegard didn’t want to act on this at all. I can certainly understand!
She was frightened and anxious. She felt insecure and inadequate. I feel like this from time to time. You probably do too!
To share her visions with the world was going to be a big step. It was going against the culture and traditions of the time. Women weren’t part of the clergy in her time. Women didn’t preach, speak publicly, or write. Certainly not on controversial topics such as visions from God!
St. Hildegard had to muster her courage and hold on to her faith that it would be okay, since she was being guided by the Divine.
“…. I put my hand to writing. Once I did this, a deep and profound exposition of books came over me. I received the strength …. and under that power I continued to carry out the work to the end..” – St. Hildegard of Bingen
Sometimes we see obstacles in our path that stop us from moving forward. Really they are just illusions. Illusions that are our own fear creeping in and stopping us from taking action. But if we stay connected to the Divine, we are able to move forward on our true path in life. Then we’ll be able to bring to the world what we came here to share, even if it’s new and different. Our hearts open and we engage in manifesting our work in service to humanity.
“Humanity, take a good look at yourself. Inside, you’ve got heaven and earth, and all of creation. You’re a world – everything is hidden in you.” -St. Hildegard, Causes and Cures
On your current journey in life, does fear or anxiety rise up within you? Does it become a stumbling block to moving forward?
Fear that maybe you’re inadequate or not enough? Fear that you’ll fail or that others won’t want what you have to offer?
Does this cast a shadow that stops you from moving forward on your path?
Now’s the time to gather your courage to move beyond any fear or anxiety. To overcome your own inner dragons that may manifest particularly during this time of year.
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” Marianne Williamson
With this impulse of courage to let our own light shine, we can bring about new and powerful ways of thinking and living in our communities that will be fruitful. And others will find their strength to do the same!
I can hear St. Hildegard’s words from her Second Vision in Scivias, as she shares, “And again I hear that one speaking: …For when the land is tilled with a great deal of labor, it brings forth a lot of fruitfulness. It is similar with the human race because after the fall of humanity, many virtues rose up to help…”
My song and practice: “I Wanna Get To You” will help you connect to your key spirit guide.