Wild Woman’s Wisdom – 5 Principles To Live By
I recently had the pleasure of joining a world renowned animal communicator on what’s considered by most African wilderness guides and game wardens an experience far too dangerous to be considered a sane option.
Myself, a small crew of 6 other people, along with 2 wilderness guides and Anna the animal communicator, gathered at the end of the South African winter to trek, on foot, carrying only sleeping mats, sleeping bag, and the food we’d need for our adventure.
Before we even started on the journey, however, we had to come to an agreement that we were about to enter one of the most predator rich areas in the World… on foot. And to recognize this place is home to thousands of different creatures.
This is where the first of the Wild Wisdom Principles was shared: Spaciousness & Respect.
We were not allowed to enter the wilderness until we were clear that we were entering with the same respect and awareness we’d have entering a stranger’s home. Our Zulu guide shared that wild animals all have spaciousness agreements with each other, they know and respect each other’s space.
Initially, we entered carrying all of our own ‘inner baggage’—a dialogue that is ceaseless and mostly disconnected from our immediate surrounding and experience. This inner noise is heard by all sentient beings in the wilderness as though we were blasting hip hop on an old school boom box.
We also entered with our own unique fingerprint, our undeniable presence. Not the persona we project out into the world, but the TRUE being we are inside. In fact, one cannot hide out here. Every fear, every judgement, every everything is instantaneously transmitted out loud and clear.
This is why it’s essential to walk in silence (no talking), but to also silence our inner talk.
As each day progressed, I grew more and more still… and miraculously the life around me reflected back to me my very state of being.
Birds flew right up to me, curious and unafraid, a white rhino mother and her baby came within 20 feet of our group, giraffes, elephants, buffalo, all grew more and more relaxed and accepting of our presence in their home.
Observing how the animals danced with each other was remarkable. So many different species co-existing peacefully, all living with the honor code of spaciousness and respect.
Too bad humans haven’t figured that out yet.
As the days progressed, I noticed that I didn’t need as much sleep or food. I felt enlivened by the bush itself, as though I was finally dialed into its life-giving current.
And I loved my night watches. We’d all take turned watching by a little fire, every 10 minutes making the rounds with a flashlight and keeping time by the movement of the stars (since no one had a phone or watch).
I loved these moments alone, under the stars, listening to the deep calls of lions and the higher-pitched yips of the hyenas.
I felt at home here, even though it was potentially one of the most dangerous places I’d ever been (we just slept under the stars, no tents, no lodges, just our mats and the freshness of the night).
My main challenge, to be honest, was the complete change to my diet. By the 3rd night, I had a headache growing and normally, if allowed to go without a neck massage and/or headache medication, I’d have a full blown headache that meant a sleepless night.
But this time, instead of getting stressed about my headache, I just touched my body and said to her in full certainty: I trust you to figure this out and come back into balance.
I woke up exceptionally refreshed and headache free!
This is when I realized the 2nd wild wisdom principle: TRUST your body.
We say we trust our body, but we don’t, not really.
We get angry or annoyed when she doesn’t behave in the ways we want her to. We attempt to listen and then coerce her into getting better, but the underlying message is that we actually feel betrayed or let-down by her imbalanced state.
Yet I found the genuine TRUST in my body not only alleviated the imbalance, but it also made me healthier and stronger than before!
What a gift!
We all have an magnificent body, all she needs is to feel her immediate connection to the fabric of life and our unshakeable trust in her ability to thrive in this world.
This brings me to the 3rd wild wisdom principle: We are intimately connected with life.
That sounds a bit cheesy, but the truth of it changed me in profound ways.
For one, I can never actually be alone. Not possible. I’m literally being INFUSED by life itself in every moment of my existence.
And I’m not an island! I’m intimately linked to every sentient being on this planet, whether I like it or not, every creature FEELS and responds to me, not the personality me, but the real me. The person I am when I think no one is looking or listening.
I loved and love this intimacy, this exquisite knowing that we are in each other and how precious that is and how much respect that requires.
I had a very special moment on the trek, where I put out a gentle request, if it were pleasing to the elephant, that she/he allow us to see them.
And then, the elephant came. To our camp. And I had a moment where he looked directly at me and our eyes locked as I felt my heart sing an ancient song.
Anna, the animal communicator, said she had wondered what he had been looking at since the rest of the group had been down by the river swimming, yet his gaze was on the bank, where I was having a private moment alone.
Another wild wisdom principle that became exceptionally obvious was: Stop, Look, Respond.
This may sound pretty basic, yet for most of us, when someone oversteps into our space (disrespects our spaciousness), we almost instantaneously react.
But animals don’t react instantly.
Instead, they stop what they are doing and tune in. Then they look around for a visual confirmation to what they are sensing. And then they respond. This means that even if a lion is near the impala, the impala may not run just because it’s a lion. They will only run if they sense it’s a hungry, hunting lion.
Our true intentions are always known by those sentient beings all around us.
In fact, we had a moment where our guide and anna had whispered the IDEA of moving in a certain direction and suddenly the birds from that direction flew up and sent out a warning call that woke up the rhino we’d come across.
Because we were so still, the rhino was confused about the birds’ warning and did not move away, but remained alert.
We silently and peacefully left him to his space.
The 5th wild wisdom principle: nothing that appears in our life is haphazard.
This one I learned within the first moments of beginning our trek into the wilderness.
I felt drawn to a tree like a bee to honey. I touched its bark and thanked her for her beauty and asked permission to enter the realm of the wild.
Our guide, Peter, took note of that occurrence.
Later in our hike, I noticed him pulling leaves off another similar looking tree.
In the evening, he shared with me that the tree I went to is renowned for healing any belly issues, constipation, diarrhea, menstrual cramps, etc. and that he thought it curious since I had mentioned earlier on that I had stomach sensitivities and needed some help.
He boiled some water and we steeped the leaves and scraped some of the bark into the water. We drank this delicious tea which resulted in my belly purring with happiness.
I was amazed at the gentleness of the medicine and at the fact that my body knew exactly where to go for it, even though my cognitive mind didn’t know it at the time.
So the bush felt and feels like home and when we left, I experienced profound grief. It’s known as Code Red (Re-Entery Depression) and is common amongst the wilderness guides.
My relief was knowing that no matter where I am in the world, the pulse of wildness still thrives, even if all I can see are a few stars in the night sky or a little weed pushing its way through the concrete.
My heart sang when domesticated animals and small children also ‘saw’ me. They would smile or wag their tail in knowing that I ‘saw’ them too. The intimacy I longed for was still very much alive, if I was willing to keep my heart open.
Weeks later, with too many hours of flying and adjusting back into ‘civilization’, when I relax enough to feel through the numbness that naturally wants to creep back in, I am gifted a smile from a stranger, one that says ‘I see you & thank you for seeing me’.
If recognizing your own intimate connection with life inspires you, I recommend starting with your own body, returning home to her. My book, The Emergence of the Sensual Woman is a great place to start.
I’d love to hear from you, which of the 5 wild wisdom principles resonates with you and how you apply it to your daily life, so please leave me your insights and inspirations below in the comments section.
I love this article. Thank you! I live all these principles. Animals and people love me. Plants too. I love how you articulated this. I love that you experienced this.
Awesome Karen! I’d love to share Africa with you some day as I’m always looking for women who resonate deeply with nature and animals. 🙂
WOW! What an awesome story. I found myself crying reading it. So happy for you to have experienced it.
WOW Dawn… thank you for sharing your visceral response.
Thanks Saida, your present a world view I’d actually like to live in. When a wild creature honors me by its intentional presence, I feel as if I have just been given a holy gift. I am so amazed that this creature despite humanity’s abuses, puts that aside and seeks my presence.
Thank you Terry, beautiful insight.
Dear Saida, thank you for the insights, after a long day, where my teenage son has been so demanding (he depends on full-time care of mainly me and cannot talk, but in puberty is expressing himself sometimes so strongly) It is nourishing to read about this experience out in the wild, and I will see if your story can be an inspiration/source of any insights I can use in this wilderness at home 🙂
Beautiful Manuela!
Children and animals are much more attuned to the non-verbal connection and communication. Let me know how it goes!
Yes indeed Saida, the other day I was in my head, thinking about wether or not i wanted to go to the market, yes, no, yes, no, and my son showed he wanted to go to the front door. HE wanted to go to the market 🙂 Maybe I am much more of a disturbance in his awareness…. and I am mostly the cause if he is not his relaxed self…
Hi Saida, omg! First off, I created a new gmail account in September, and did not know that it was placing emails into “categories.” I just happened on it by accident and found all these emails from you and others in October. This experience you had is incredible. My eyes began to tear up on the 2nd principle, and continued through the remainder. Your telling the story is so beautiful, and I felt I was there with you, even visualizing it. All that you wrote about I knew in some form or another, having been an emotional release bodyworker for 20 years and on my own healing journey for just as long. The way you explained is really hitting me deeply and reminding me of these truths. I feel very profoundly affected and I’m going to print this out to re-read, perhaps as part of the Goddess Train bedtime ritual. I’m also going to share it on facebook. Thank you, and I’m so glad I found the email! Love, Kim
Oh sweet Kim! I’m touched by you being touched. Thank you for waking up to the fullness of who you are.
It was so great to read this and be reminded of times I’ve spent in Nature and felt that sense of slowing down and getting re-connected to self, others, and wildness. How fabulous to do this on the heightened level that you did, surrounded by predators and having to surrender to circumstances which you couldn’t control in ways you were accustomed to, but you could be open to adjusting and working with the resources presented … through your own open consciousness and through others’ expertise … then find that they worked perfectly. What an inspiring story of opening and trusting. Orgasmic!
Thank you for sharing the magic journey and the wonderful writing, I have shared this on my blog, hope you do not mind, all credits are yours. Love to you!!
I don’t mind Daisy! I love knowing that this experience is serving you and your readers in some way!
Dear Saida, what a story full of awareness, consciouness and sensitivity.
Thanks for sharing. Stop, look,respond, it is what I am teaching people, when they come to me for Alexander-Techniquue lessons. Inhibition, non doing and then sending directions is the same as stop, look and respond. I would love to do what you have been doing.
How beautiful Lis!
I love how essential truth shows up in different paths… all leading to the same place.
Thank you for sharing your path to inner wisdom with us Saida! These Wild Wisdom Principles resonate in me because they come from the heart and not the head, they voice the natural instinct rather than what our ‘reasonable’ mind tells us to do to feel better or to thrive. And most of all they reflect the power of our inner guidance* once we tune ourselves in rather than waiting for exterior answers. My favourite lesson is ‘STOP, look, respond’ rather than (over)react too quickly. It’s about being open (present) to the present. You are such a beautiful person and a true inspiration for me, I’m so happy you are in my life.
* I just read Shakti Gawain ‘Living in the Light’.
Thank you Phoenix Rising!
Happy to be an inspiring part of your life. 🙂
Thank you for sharing your story and all the wisdom that became conscious! Evenso I am touched by all the principles, I felt gently touched by the 3rd principle, that we are allways connected….evenso I’ve felt like being isolated many times in my life, I can see the deeper level and can even feel this. It feels relieving and giving trust. Big 🙂 and love, Marie-Louise.
How beautiful Marie-Louise… and yes, we are always connected!
Dear Saida, this is your most touching and sincere article I’ve read, even though I love to read all of them. But this one speaks simply and directly to my heart, life is that simple and in that space so magnificent and beautiful….
Thank you very much for sharing your experience, it feels like evidence and all my being recognize it, even though I can also feel the fear… It remembers me what Marianne Williamson once said “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure…”
Again thank you so much for sharing, I shed some tears while reading because of the love I could feel
What a wonderful download from the wild…so inspired to read this. Did you get a sense the animals knew how many of their brothers and sisters humans are eradicating planet-wide, and could they forgive us, could they help teach us how to stop the destruction of the anthropocene? I wish more of us could learn these deeply beautiful lessons you have so eloquently shared. Thank you.
Thank you for such an amazing story. I am a true believer that nothing in this life is haphazard and everything happens for a reason….sometimes to be revealed to us at a later time. Reading about your journey came at such a necessary time as I am trying to connect with my body in ways that will allow her to heal from fibroid tumors via unconditional love and self acceptance. Reading about your journey has given me the inspiration I need to continue on my path of allowing my body to heal itself.
Thank you,
Gia
How beautiful, Gia!
Yes! Trusting her, in her wisdom and her guidance… there may be a person, etc that she guides you to as well 🙂
Hi Saida,
Yr description of all that happened, yr expereince made me feel I was there right with you….so real…so amazing….my heart pounded as if I really did all that…..you’re trully amazing when it touches to recreate a situation.
I still feel dizzy and astonisnhed.
Thank you for sharing yr esperience with us.
Ly
Augusta
Yummmm Augusta!
It touches me to touch you in this way. I feel very blessed to be so deeply received by you.
Great material… great writing! I am envious…
Ahhh… thank you David.
What an incredible experience! The peacefulness, nights full of stars, creatures watching over you as you visited their veld
What a beautiful story! I love the 5th principle. Since recently returning from a 3-month journey to Costa Rica, I have also recognized that my intuition leads me to the plants that my body needs for healing. Deep immersion in such a rich, alive place like the jungle or the savanna left me more sensitive to synchronicities and the magic of every day. I hope more people can experience firsthand this connection to Nature and realize that humans are babies compared to the wise plants and animals on the planet! Thank you for sharing this.
Wow Melanie!
Where were you? Sounds amazing!! And yes, it’s humbling to find out where we are in the bigger scope of things 😉
All of the wisdoms resonated with me. It was a blessing to read your experience. It reminded me of my place in nature and the need to follow through on my intuitive feelings and desires. As a single mother now with an empty nest. It helped to see it reinforced that I am never alone.
Yes Antoinette! Especially as a mother, you’d know what I’m talking about.
I love this! Thank you for sharing! I am in India now (3rd trip) and feel a similar connection with in and without) to this kind of wild. Blessings and gratitude..
Saïda, Thank you for this incredible story! It has touched me deeply! I like all of the 5 wisdoms you shared. They are all very important. The one that speaks most to me is to really trust your body. The body really is very intelligent!! Thank you for this beautiful story!! xoxox
My pleasure Lydia… In what ways to you trust and honor your body?
Saida, A tender and divine post, that has resonated deeply and edified me as I walk my path, navigating through the thick and thin and everything in between of life, paying attention and being present in the moment.. feelings that come before emotions which guide me, for this life is lived in the moment. I was on a vision quest once, fasting, no food, no water and in silence and solitude for 4 days in the bush and it changed me…your experience with the animals in the wild is truly amazing and undoubtedly life changing. in gratitude for the share. :-)xx
Thank you for sharing your experience Jaya!
Did you notice, once tapped in, that you don’t need as much food or rest?
space and respect!!!
not react stop look breath
trust our body
thank you for sharing this deep experience!!
namaste
My pleasure Laura!
Saida, I spoke of both you and Anna in the same breath this week (in regards to healing and being real, and the women who inspire me the most right now!) Your experience speaks to my body, who is yearning to be heard, felt, and acknowledged in all her truth and beauty. Thank you beyond words for your strength, vulnerability, and open-heartedness to us all; it makes every fiber of my being say ‘yes, I want that and I’m willing to surrender it all…in order to experience that too!’
Thank you Sarah,
It feels beautiful to share in this way… without filters.
Happy I can be a source of inspiration.
Saida, I just have to say that I love your writing and the deep heart space that you come from and how that reactivates and regenerates it in me as I read your words. All the wisdoms shared I feel and use in my life – sometimes I forget – and sometimes when I am in fear I know I must be blaring out my inner dialogue. I am very tentative around horses and I so want to release that fear and be able to communicate with them in a gentle and loving understanding way.
One thing that some people have mentioned in the comments is their wish to be able to do what you have done – to have the profound experience for themselves. What I would like to share is that shamanic drum journeying facilitates this experience on the energetic level and every one of the 5 wisdoms you shared are applied in the shamanic journeying model. This is a huge reminder of how connected we all are and indeed life is never haphazard. Thank you!
I sense that this wisdom lives in all things… we may access it differently. For me, nature is the most direct way, no words, no traditions, no rituals… but there can be great joy in those traditions and rituals too 😉
Thank you for sharing about your breathtakingly exquisite journey!
Makes me feel optimistic about our world.
A deep bow & a gigantic smile. Love and Blessings to you.
Bowing & smiling back. 🙂
What you wrote touched my soul. Thank you for sharing this precious experience, Saida.
That touches me back!
I know what you say to be true, and I border on that understanding mostly cause I meditate a lot with myself and others and the work that I do is body meditations. I am just beginning to get strong enough to hear myself and others. I am at the stage of knowing that in truth I am in a state of being, not doing. And I can clearly close from there and then the universe explodes and dances. I will keep and treasure what you have written. By the way, I love the jade ege. Love to you saida.
Hi Marsha!
Thanks for sharing yourself. 🙂
OH Saida!
This is one of the best pieces yet!
What an amazing pleasure for me to read this – you have no idea.
I take people to the amazon jungle annually for over 7 years in a row and I know what you are talking about.
This is some fabulous strong primal-rooting-ancestral-medicine sister!
Thank you for sharing from this place inside of you – deep deep deep inside the wild woman’s bones!
So Fabulous!
With Love
Aleksandra
Purrring with you.
wow .. thank you Saida … all the principles I love and recognize them internally… and the 1st spaciousness and respect is speaking really loud for me …in regards to relationship with myself and with my husband … thank you for explaining it in such a beautiful way xo
My pleasure Robyn!
Ahhhh beautiful Saida – I loved reading about this in more depth. I really resonate with trusting your body to come back into balance. I needed to read that this morning. Love u x
Adoring you Lael!
As I was reading your story I felt the need to be connected to the world, and reminded me of the times I purposely invite the energy of Gratitude in my body. The reaction I’d had was similar to that the elephant in your story. One day a Stranger greeted me with a big smile saying with his eyes “we are here in this beautiful world.” I thought I was imagining it- I felt the warmth of his smile, but a your story explains it. All the beings feel our energy, we communicate not with words but with our depths.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful experience.
What a gorgeous experience! Yes!!
Saida,
You fully emerged me into your journey with how you wrote. I felt so connected to your emotions in your writing and am so grateful for the insight and expansion you’ve extended me by sharing this phenomenal experience not many will every get to explore. I am so humbled in your delivery of the five steps I don’t even know how to express it and I’m pretty sure what I’m saying sounds so cheesy (so sorry) I just love nature, the wilderness and life and to see it through your eyes on this way has given me so much. I feel very blessed. I see you. xoxo
Tia, you are gorgeous and not at all cheesy!
What a beautiful and inspiring story, Saida! Thank you for going on such a wondrous adventure and then returning to tell about it. I loved the image of you on watch alone at night keeping time by the movement of the stars… The principle that struck me most was remembering that we are intimately connected with all of life. Lots of love to you.
A compliment from a writer! Sweet!!
Aloha Saida,
Many many thanks and Ngiyabonga Kakhulu for your shared insight and feelings experienced on South African soil. This remainds me of all I miss and of how parts of me have become disconnected over the years, and how many moons ago, I took all that for granted, or maybe I was not consciosly aware of it all, all that I wes blessed with having been born and raised on South African soil close to the wild homeland of the Zulu people, the surging Indian Ocean and the many many animals, wildlife and flora that populate that precious country. I now find myself in France (where I have been for the past 15 years) and often go through times when I feel cut-off from myself, from my inner wilderness, from that which pulsates within and below my feet.
Thank you for this gentle, but yet profound, reminder of all I have to be grateful for, of many things which are a part of me, even though I am not reminded by their presence every day.
Thank you for wharing your 5 principles.
With Gratitude,
Julie
Julie, I feel your wildness is very much alive… and pulsing! By remembering, we each make our connection to the fabric of life stronger.
Mahalo Julie,
and your words touch me as well.
I have spirit brother in Zim(babwe) who has recently managed to slip out of Europe, so right away your blessing greeting made me sit up 🙂
I am in a similar position to yours being for the last *25* years in Ireland. (eight babies coming thru me, four of which are alive and on the earth this day) but the depth of my psyche and soul yearn for Turtle Island where i was born and the Native realm surrounding me in my infant days.
I love Saida’s reply to you, and I second it, Sister!
Tis only the outer perspective, impression, and attitude, but I wonder if inspiration to form a sisterhood (or omni-clann) of homesick spirits would be relevant.
Being a former singer songwriter, a new ‘baby’ of a song was bubbling in me with the heart concept of “Homesick for Everywhere” .. touching on the human journey of navigating this outer-driven western world, this planet of nature miracles and contradictions, and the poetry of our own longing for a true inner ‘home’ and the beauty of that wisdom power in us at every moment.
Beannachtaí
xXx
Wow! This is breath-taking Peneleapai! I love your ‘omni-clann’.
Thank you Saida
In Australia we have just declared war! on Iraq – and I am feeling very stressed that we could do such a thing – it seems so stupid and then I read your story and I know your way is the way we need to go. I am always in company even if it is the tiniest spider gazing at me – thank you
Morgan
Breathing… there are many things that are hard to make sense of, and even in the midst of that, nature is still steadfast… and we are forever part of that.
Thank you so much for sharing about your brave, incredible, beautiful experience. Even from within my home, reading of the stillness and expansion you felt, and the communion, I could feel myself and my field widening and relaxing. The chatter in my mind is so present! This was both an opportunity and a reminder to let it grow quieter, at least for a moment. Thank you again. (How my heart sang at your moment with the elephant!)
Oh yes! I love that you FELT the elephant with me! 🙂
bonjour très chère Saida,
je contente que tu vas bien… merci pour ce récit d’expérience de vie profonde dans l’intimité de la nature. je comprends bien ce que tu dis, car j’ai fait aussi un voyage à pieds dans le Sahara il y a 15 ans. j’ai fait un très grand choc existentiel et j’ai été malade 2 semaines à mon retour. c’était très difficile pour le corps et mon être profond était très dans l’éxaltation…
certainsdles 5 principes de la sagesse sauvages résonnent bien pour moi:
le premier est primordial et j’essaie de l’appliquer pour moi déjà. avec la nature, je le fais toujours. je vais souvent dans des endroits très sauvage de ma Gruyère et je demande et remercie toujours la nature. si j’ai besoin de l’aide d’une branche pour me tenir et passer un ruisseau, je demande et la branche s’assouplit pour que je puisse me tenir. si je ne demande pas, la branche reste rigide. je trouve cela tellement vivant et présent que toute la nature me parle toujours…
mon corps me dit toujours depuis tellement d’année maintenant, je crois depuis l’enfance, je sais ce qui est bon pour moi. l’éducation et la culture de l’endroit où je vis sont très mauvaises pour ma santé. je suis toujours à contre sens des autres. et pourtant, lorsque je mets mon intuition sur le compte du mental, j’ai tout de suite la preuve que c’était faut! cela devient intéressant de travailler avec la confiance du corps et l’intuition…et je sens la vie qui bouillonne en moi, et qui se propage et se lie a ce qui vit autour de moi. cette sensation de connection de plus en plus profonde et avec une grande diversité de cellules extérieures… c’est un état particulier de percevoir cette connectibilité avec la vie des cellules de tout ce est autour de soi et plus loin de soi…
le 4ème principe est plus facile avec la nature qu’avec les autres individus. je l’applique avec les animaux, les plantes, pour les humains c’est plus difficile…
le 5ème est beaucoup plus difficile à accepter, je n’ai pas encore tout compris dans cette relation…
merci Saida, je t’aime beaucoup et te remercie pour ce que tu me fais apprendre…
Purrring Rose-Marie… for your shared passion and wisdom!
The second wisdom principle resonated with me the most as I am experiencing some ear pain/infection — it seems to recur on my left side (my female side) annually. Perhaps my body is trying to tell me to pay attention to my feminine side, listen. I often take it personally and want it to get well by coercion without really listening and trusting what my body is really trying to say.
Gorgeous, Laurie!
I would love to know what develops as you deepen the trust in your own body. 🙂
Oh Saida! What an sensational adventure!! I was moved deeply by a video of Anna’s work. You had me right as you described your experience by walking into that universe exposing all that you are being in this society. I too feel something in me morn and cry when i am able to see thru the veil the beauty we call home. I am honored to relate to how you described your experience with your pain body and the gifts you embraced. Thank you for helping me understand my experience with a bobcat many years ago when he saw the fear in my eyes decided to move away from this crazy lady who announced to him with true conviction how beautiful he was! Ha! He did just that. He stopped looked and responded! Thank you Saida! You have opened a door for me to possibly do something like this. I am so inspired by your story
Blessings Beauty!! xoxo. Lu
My pleasure Lu!
Thank you. Respect for space. I practice letting creatures that I come across know that I wish them no harm and am curious. They usually hang around a little. I envy your trek!
Ummmm… I feel you Rita. The more deeply we drop in, the more intimate connection we get to have with life!
Wow Saida , what a wonderful story. I could image myself with you all the way through the whole experience. I recently have been learning how to be mindful.Being this way has helped to appreciate and be thankful for my surroundings.Being in the bush sounded like doing meditation and feeling the sense of inner peace afterwards. Thank you for sharing such wonder and delight.We forget and take for granted the wonderful things around us.
Yes! It was the most simple I’d lived in a very long time… and the happiest I’ve been too! 🙂
Omgosh Saida! What a glorious experience!!!
Saida, thank you for sharing your beautiful experience so articulately and for shaping it so that we may comprehend, appreciate and then create space for enjoying the profound connection you describe. I feel lucky to have read this and am so happy for you. Namaste.
Awesome Keylan! How do you create spaciousness in your life?
PS: I also loved that the elephant was actually looking to meet you, as you called it with your soul :)!
All of the principles do resonate with me. I felt mostly touched by the soul to soul connection and seeing of the elephant, domestic animals and kids… “I loved and love this intimacy, this exquisite knowing that we are in each other and how precious that is and how much respect that requires… I can never actually be alone. Not possible. I’m literally being INFUSED by life itself in every moment of my existence” Love, love, love how you write deep from within your soul… I am more and more believing the law of attraction and allowing… I’ve been considering practicing the soul to soul connection – no judgments, no fears, just pure love and respect to the life within! You inspired me even more… I also loved your stories on the intuitive wisdom of your body and how you contrasted our reaction to intrusion of our space with that of animals calm… I have to learn to relax more into that. It makes me wander, when animals can daily lose their life from predators and most of us are not subject to such immediate threats, why are we so edgy, is it just what we call stress and the over-worked reptilian brain?… Will explore that for myself, too. The whole story is very inspiring, you remind of me of Neytiri, the Na’vi princess, from the movie Avatar. If you haven’t seen it, you might like it :). Thanks so much for sharing!
I LOVE Neytiri, one of my fav characters 😉
What is magical is that this is available to each of us right now, in this moment… if we choose.
This is a beautiful talk about the conversation between the seen and unseen, where “nature teaches us that we are half of the conversation. Nature shows us the way… we are expected to respond… Vulnerability and sensitivity makes us porous to the otherness, to nature…”
Thank you so much for these reflections. Absolute beauty. Breathtaking.
Oh Saida, what an deepening journey you took. Thank you for capturing your thoughts so clearly and gathering me in with your story.
Each of the Wild Wisdom Principles speaks to me in different ways, but the one that stands out is “that nothing appears in our life is haphazard”.
I have encountered extremely ordinary instances that might seem too dull to reveal any truth, only to find a gem of beauty in an interaction or in something I notice that surprises me. I see how I judge a potential engagement for what it might do/teach/be for me, when, in actuality, as I conduct my daily life, wise teachers appear consciously unbidden.
What really speaks to me in Code Red. From the raw beauty of wilderness to your normal life, you were confronted with all that distracts from these principles. I experience this too. I have not been in Africa, but I spend lots of time in nature, and really, in artistic exploration where the wild nature of life is vividly present. Having to do the dishes or drive kids around seems an abasement of my prior experience….when, if I slow down a bit, breathe, again, the gems appear.
I needed this post today.
Many thanks for writing and posting.
With love,
S
Yum Suzi!
Yes. The learning is to bring those gifts into all of my moments… and to seek out quietude more often.
So beautiful and touching, Saida. Thank you for sharing… I am incredibly moved. I was having a bit of a sad day and your article prompted an emotional shift and a release. The Wild Wisdom Principle that most resonates with me is Stop, Look, Respond. One of my coaches actually does this, and is capable of incredible presence in the moment. You captured a wonderful principle that I plan to actively practice.
Oooh! Lovely! I’m smiling!!
Wow, what a stunning and magnificent opportunity you took to BE and LIVE in such a wild place. I would jump at such an opportunity! Thanks for bringing it all home to our bodies. Thanks for the reminder. This story has made a huge impact on me and I’ll carry it forward into my life. Aloha nui loa
I feel you Amrita… and am delighted that I could reach out to you and touch you, even through the internet 😉
Saida, what a profound journey. Thank you so much for sharing. I felt very stuck by how intimately we are connected with life. I sleep outside and am blessed with opportunities to feel that. Your posting has deepened my understanding, awareness and reverence even more. xoxoxoo
Sue!
I love you!! And yes, you are super blessed!!!
THANK YOU! What a beautiful experience and teaching! How lucky to have been with such guides to enhance the spiritual connection with it all.. I relate to all, i’ll make better friends with my body 🙂 and I’ll appreciate even more my communication with nature. I have a very tall palm tree in my yard, when I look at it, I can touch the sky, and the songs of the birds always lighten up my spirit helping my body feel happy.
Thanks again for sharing. 🙂
Love, Lilli
That sounds very delicious Lilli!
Thank you for your beautiful reflections on your courageous journey. I especially related to ‘nothing that appears in our life is haphazard” There is so much trust in this awareness.
I spent a bit of time in Senegal, and cherish the moments I spent there especially standing under the baobab tree, and learning from our guide, who left bits of food on the ground for ancestors and freely gave to poor people.
Yes Ani,
Funny how such natural things are not expressed more readily… yet, I see more and more of us returning to the truth of authentic, connected living.
Even as a little girl, all those principles were known to you; they just blossomed with time, and both your dad and I are so proud of the way your road of wisdom is taking you.
The connection with all living creature and organism is essential to all. To realize it is the key.
Sending our Love, your family
Maman!
Everyone, this is my amazing mom. I love her with all my heart and soul… she’s the most incredible woman you’ll get to meet. 🙂
And yes, I grew up in a very special way… 🙂