WOMEN WHO RUN WITH THE WOLVES

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Today Im here with a personal soul story.  Yesterday was like a spirit fate filled day for me.  It began a few weeks back when I first heard my friend Rain talk about the book Women Who Run With The Wolves, by Clarissa Pinkola Estes.  I was intrigued with the words she shared from the excerpts.  Then throughout the weeks, I kept hearing little snippets of this book pop up in other ways.  It became apparent, I was suppose to behold this book in my life.  It was an instinctual feeling I had.  So I ordered it, and have been patiently (okay, not so patiently) awaiting its arrival.  Each day, making my way to the post office and leaving with a tinge of disappointment that it had not yet come.  Until yesterday.

Yesterday I awoke with the urge to drop all responsibilities and just dance on the earth.  That is what I felt inside my body.  But... I have a business to run, and I had already missed the day before because of my moontime... so that was a no.  I felt this longing in my bones all day though.  When it was time to run to the post office, I had already set myself up for knowing the book wouldnt arrive... but to my surprise, there it was, waiting for me, along with these beautiful handcrocheted dancing footies by Run With The Tribe.  A little treat I decided to splurge on just for myself, just with the intention to enjoy these last days of summer with bare, yet adorned feet, to dance and to hoop with.  

When I got home, I slipped them on my feet, and instantly felt like home.  Yes, little adornments really can do that for me.  And it just so happens that yesterday was the day my hubby was going to go to town to spend the evening with his best friend.  So... I knew I was going to have my sacred space all to myself for one evening.  Not that I wasnt going to miss my hubs, but I was inwardly excited to spend this time with no other than, myself.  Some really good one on one girl time.  

Once the aloneness set in, I excitedly grabbed my book and headed to my back porch, with a big ol' glass of water, and cozied up in the cushioned chair that over looks the trees.  There was a beautiful calm in the air, the birds weren't even around.  Just stillness.  When I am alone, I like to read outloud.  So, I began.  I didnt even flip through the book to see how long each section one, or read the titles of chapters... I just began, on page one.  I had no idea what would happen next.

With just the first few words, I found myself smiling and completely immersed.  And each page I turned, it grew deeper and more tangled, and I found myself screaming inside, YES, YES!  I could feel my heart beat with the words, I could feel my blood pumping, I could feel an ancient calling in the gentle wind, I could feel myself begin to peel a few layers of my soul back without even realizing it.  And at one point, I could feel myself welping up with tears inside, tears of utter thankfulness.  All I could think about was thanking my friend for showing me the way to this book.  I have never felt this way about a book before.  Never.  I love reading, and sometimes really really enjoy what I am reading, and feel at home in many pages of many books, but not like this.  This was different.

So, after reading the long, but encapturing intro, I came back inside to eat some dinner... Then I went out and hooped and danced in the moonlight for a bit... Then I found myself stirring for some more.  I drew myself a bath, lit some candles, poured in some of my favorite bath salts, and began again.  This time, I was in my most favorite element of all.  The candle light flickered against the window, pouring shadows across the walls that were dancing, just as I was breathing.  As I read, I watched the candle wax drop, and eventually pour into my bathwater.  And I read the first chapter, the first story, La Loba.  Again, I read outloud, and let the words engulf the room.  I felt as if I was reading to my children.  It was a strange but comforting feeling.  I cannot wait to pour myself into everypage that is left, and then most likely, read it all again.

The amazing thing is that as I started mentioning this book, after hearing about it from Rain, I was amazed at how many other women had been hearing about it recently as well, and how many women that I connect with, have already read it.  The book is 20 years old now, and its amazing to see something like this resurface itself in what feels like a little frenzy, among all the women I connect with online.  So much that one girl thought of starting an online group for it.  Wow.  I recommend, if you have not already read it, to go buy it.  I found mine on amazon for about $7.  Its one of those books that is so good, that I want to just keep it all for myself... but as it was given to me, I want to give to you.  This is one I should not feel selfish with, for everyone women in the world might find a piece of herself lying within these pages.  If you have read it, leave me a comment here telling me how you felt about it... What did it evoke in you?  What time in your life did you read it?  If it was long ago, do you want to re-read it?  

I am off to go gather bones...

PEACE AND LOVE,
Laura of The Bohemian Collective 

42 comments:

  1. Sounds like a divine evening. I really want to get my hands on this book. The excerpts Rain quoted on her blog resonated so deeply with me that I need the whole thing.

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  2. I'm reading it right now, too, and I had the pleasure of taking it along with me to Big Sur last week. To read words like these in the silent woods there, or by lamplight under the visible Milky Way and shooting stars is something I'll never, ever, forget.

    I just ordered a copy for my mother-in-law last night. I think she could really take comfort/find strength in her wildish nature right now.

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    1. oh lizzie, i can only imagine the stir in your soul, reading these words at big sur. mmmmmm..... so glad you are reading it too!

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  3. I'm hoping to get it soon!

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  4. oh yes, i have had so many questions wondering around in my mind and have needed to do some soul searching. i think this is exactly the kind of book that will gently show me the way.

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    1. i cant say that it will be gentle, but it will definitely help you with your soul searching!

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  5. This is beautiful, I need to read this book now. Arizona sparked my gypsy, wolf-howling soul into action again. Thank you for sharing this!

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  6. oh darlin....this made me cry. i'm so honored to be on this journey with you. you are a truly sacred soul and i love you. so very much. <3

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    1. rain, thank you hun. thank you for bringing me along... love you.

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  7. I am reading it now as well. I also feel so strangely connected to the book, almost like an ancestor.

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    1. mmmm, yet another soul. so glad it found you too! i agree.

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  8. i commented on your blog... but thought i'd say hi here too. i love your post. i read it when i was 18 and just started art college, one of my tutors (an older lady) suggested a friend of mine read it, and as i love to read i bought it too. i remember really enjoying it but i should definitely re-read it as i think i'd get much more out of it now.

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    1. sian, thanks for commenting! im amazed at how many people i have heard read this book in college! awesome. id love to know how reading it at a later time in your life affects you!

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  9. pixie campbell introduced me to that book over 2 years ago. even still, i can't get enough of it. it taught me so many amazing lessons about what it is to be a woman, and for the first time, i felt SACRED. awesome. so glad that you're reading it. :)

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    1. awesome! definitely sounds like something pixie would suggest. i get your sacred comment to the core!

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  10. I read this book long ago & it spoke to me deeply. When I found it in a second hand bookstore a few years ago, I immediately bought it, and discovered that time and motherhood and all the quiet, sacred joys of domesticity had made the book resonate even more deeply. I read it often, dipping in at random whenever I need a tug on my consciousness or just a wash of beautiful, soulful language. I'm so glad to know younger women are finding and appreciating this book too.

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    1. i love this sarah. i can def see that this is a book i will continue to pull of my bookshelf for years to come. my nanna even wants to read it! thank you for sharing this...

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  11. I also felt drawn to this book and ordered it recently through Amazon. I have only read the introduction and first story so far, and I really love it. I am going camping the next two weekends in a row and plan on delving into it surrounded by nature. I can't wait. :)

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    1. erin, that is exactly how far i am so far. i want to read it when i have the time to sit with myself and read aloud and really take it in... not when im about to fall asleep in bed. im going to keep it for sacred times. enjoy your camping trip! i need to go camping sometime soon, its been far too long!

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  12. Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting about this book today!

    I saw your picture of it on your blog this morning (I recently found you through SMS), and even though I was on my way out the door, my heart leaped up out of my chest because I suddenly remembered... I came across this book exactly one year ago in a waiting room for an appointment (the same appointment I was headed to today) and when I found it, I took a picture of the cover and the jacket because I was astounded by how much it resonated with me. But then I forgot.

    Even though I have heard Rain and Mandy mention it since then, it wasn't until I saw your picture today that I made the connection. I was able to get it at my library immediately (though i do need my own copy) and started reading tonight. I don't have words to describe how it's been so far. But it's delicious.

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    1. angela, this is amazing! and sooooo serendipitous! so glad you are diving into it with me!

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    2. i LOVE this. isn't it amazing how sacred soulful things come our way when needed??

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  13. I have it. My husband actually gave it to me a few years ago. I love that he embraces the wild woman in me. I value Dr. Pinkola Estes storytelling... she is a wonder. She weaves words and stories in such a way that healing digs deep in and mends pieces left dangling that somehow we left loose, and I for one am a fast reader/skimmer type that looks at a book and it kind of downloads through the ethers, but I can return to this one on my dark nights... I don't really feel drawn to it to be honest, because I have done so much work in my underground layers that it feels like I want to be lighter and let those bones rest... like I carried them along for a while and now I'm making use of them and passing them along... and more so now I am drawn to uplifting books in a different sense, that don't get into it the way she does, it's like she reminds me of past pain, that I am feeling moved beyond, but in some ways I feel this haunting feeling like there is more to learn in those pages... perhaps in the one section (that I bet you will figure out since you know me well ;) but I am so grateful she wrote this gem of a book for women... It's true that we all can find ourselves somewhere in it. Truth... Enjoy.

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    1. lauren, i can completely see your viewpoint on this, and knowing you, i think you have made a wise choice. me on the otherhand, have pushed it aside for so long, that i am aching to find my bones... im so glad to know you have read it though. im sure i will know when i get to it, the parts you felt, and im sure ill relate. xo.

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  14. Just the way you describe having felt whilst reading it is enough for me to want to read it.

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    1. I have gotten the book out from my local library. It was actually out and not due for some time, so I put it on hold. But it just so happened to have been returned later that night and I picked it up the day following. Wonderful how things work sometimes. I am absolutely thrilled to read it - so is my husband.

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  15. I'm in the process of reading it now, I had been wanting to read it for a long time since the title caught my eye from the bookshelf of the herbalist I studied with. I started a month or two ago but life has been so hectic for me lately that I haven't been reading a lot. But with every paragraph it speaks to my soul and really drives home the issues I've been having lately. I'm having surgery on Tuesday and I keep looking at the book where it's hanging out--next to the bathtub :) and hoping that I will find time to read much more of it before then. I understand what Lauren is saying above as well, it is a little heavy.
    But yes, I know what you mean, for a 20 year old book it seems to be popping up everywhere for me too lately.

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    1. the bathtub is the perfect place for it :) maybe you can find time for it during your recovery as well... im completely amazed at how many this book has reached, as far as my little online circle. its divine.

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  16. I have been hunting this book for months! Twice ordered online, both times they had to refund my money because they couldn't fill the other, and have been to about 5 bookstores, all of which were out of stock and trying to order more! I gave up a few weeks ago but I'm on the hunt again after reading this... so crazy how universally the urge for this wisdom is surging.

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    1. soooo weird! i got mine on amazon, check there. you will love it christi, i just know it!

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  17. I can't wait to get my copy. I brought it up at my meeting with Jerikaye and Jennifer for our Red Tent party and Jennifer got so excited and told me that it was like her bible and that I MUST read it. I can't wait!

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    1. its just amazing how many women i have found in just a few weeks who feel the same way! yes!

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  18. i'm so glad another soul has found their way to this book. i read it some 1 years ago and it was such an emotional and spiritual support. i rarely find that with books.

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  19. I have read this book and find the book a guide... one to pull out again and again. I re-read stories as they call to me at different moments in life. It was maybe 15yrs ago when I first read this book and just a year ago when I read a story again- Red Shoes. My heart warms for you reading this book and really feeling the messages within its pages now. Savor it... :)

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  20. a shaman introduced me to this book several years ago. i've only read bits and pieces, but i really need to go back and read it all!

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  21. I love this book! It is amazing to go back and read parts of again and again. No matter what is going on, it empowers and uplifts. <3

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  22. I have had this book for years and it is quite tattered, dog-eared and like a long loved teddy bear. it is an energy source as well as a comfort zone for me. When I am feeling drained and emotional from the every day but too tired to read it, I sleep with it under my pillow. It is that gentle voice of the original love.

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  23. I first read it in 2007 when, on a road trip around Victoria (Australia), I found it in a tiny second hand shop in a small rural town. I loved it so much I couldn't put it down and I have re-read it and there are parts that just resonant with me.. Two weeks ago I lent it to my youngest sister to read and she has fallen in love with it too but gosh I miss my book and can't wait till I get it back...

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