VAGUS NERVE
When one image touches thousands
The serpentine uncoils to witness
She hisses “medicine can be bitter”
Where do our symbols and imagination originate from? Within, without or throughout? My mind is deeply visual. When I am in communion with the world of archetypal imagery I feel a sense of belonging. This time, I had seen her so clear, slithering across my back. I had seen her shape draped around my spine, like Asclepius’ staff. Until I am standing eye to eye with the vision there is always an intense building of pressure. Every act turns into an attempt to resolve the puzzle. On the 6th day I was told by a woman to visit a lake in the mountains, it was peaceful there she said, an escape from the sweltering desert heat.
Upon arrival I immediately wandered into the forest following the undulating stream that was filling a reservoir. I settled on a small clearing with bright dappled light, threw open my sarong and entered into my nakedness. Swiftly I cleaned the river of branches and rocks, lied flat onto the sandy bottom, just deep enough to submerge my breasts. Icy water streams around my neck, deep slow breaths. The emotional currents of my body become transparent and still, the air of my mind clear and shining. This was a holy moment, I recognized. My heart unlocked towards an opening — and there the serpentine crossed my path.
When we surrender to our body and care for it as our temple, while also remembering that this body belongs to the earth — we are liberated into stillness. Tending to our root and all the trauma that is stored there, awakens the serpent from her coiled position. Just as the serpent represents the forces of life and death, we stand as an intermediary between healing and sickness. Whether our experience is venomous or medicinal is a sovereign decision. Choosing to be creator rather than victim causes the serpents rising. She opens and stretches, touching all major energy centers. Her fluid presence releases the breath of compassion. Here we discover the wisdom of the inner guide.
During moments of crisis our reality needs to be shaken so drastically that the only thing remaining is a shattered mirror. Within this breaking, the body is our compass, forgiveness is our key. Even as children we knew we had been separated. We could see it in our parents, their deep sadness, grief and desperation. This realization, however painful, can thrust us into freedom. This is the time of the serpents shedding. Descending into the unknown, we rise into our strength. Feeling our body as nature’s sanctuary, we find the eros that connects us to God. Yes, we do contain our own medicine — we are the holy scripture.
— MARISA
