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An Excerpt from Rituals of the Soul by Kori Hahn

I am a dreamer, and just as John Lennon said, I know I’m not the only one. Since I was a little girl, I have always found myself passionately pulled to try new things. In high school, I dreamed of playing the guitar like Sheryl Crow. In college, I imagined traveling the world with only a simple backpack. And now, in my late thirties, my heart yearns to feel as calm and cool as the Dalai Lama always appears to be.

Many people have told me that my dreams are a way of running away from my reality, and for years I considered this a truth, but now I realize that dreams are merely a fun way our soul gives us to learn our life lessons. Your dreams are illuminating the life path your soul wants you to take.

The reason you are here in your specific human body is to feel your dreams and act on them. From the moment of your conception, your soul picked you (and the skin you wear) because you are absolutely perfect for the purpose and mission your soul wants you to experience.

There are 7.6 billion other people here on Earth. Since most of us humans are designed fairly similarly, what makes us each truly authentic are our particular fiery passions and whatever it is that makes our hearts skip a beat. We all have unique things that make us tick, that bring us excitement and inspiration. For some people this may be music or writing; for others, it might be a particular sport or perhaps creating a successful career. There is no limit to the things we are passionate about. What do you do just because you love it?

This wild part of you that craves accomplishing certain things is your soul begging you to grow. If you feel that you were not born to spend 75 percent of your life working at a job you hate or staying in a marriage that keeps you bored or angry, this is your soul asking you for change. If you are looking for a sign to finally start making the changes you want to see in your life, perhaps that looking itself is the sign you need.

Every year, the bar-tailed godwit migrates from Alaska to New Zealand on a journey that takes approximately nine days, the longest known nonstop flight of any bird on the entire planet. Just like the godwit, every animal here on Earth is meant to take grand adventures that might at first feel daunting and scary but are such an important part of our life journey. The purpose of our human life is to commit to our soul’s magnetic migrations — to listen for the guidance of our soul, our intuition, and then act on it.

In humans, this instinctive calling from within often comes to us in our dreams. Dreams offer us guidance along our personal migration route, just as the caribou, the whales, the butterflies, and many species of birds — including the godwit — have their own internal migration guidance system. Our individual journeys are as unique to us as the ridges on our thumbs.

You are born to be wild; this couldn’t be more obvious. You are here to live out the wild adventures your soul is constantly calling you toward, because these heart passions guide you to grow and evolve in specific ways along your spiritual path.

Intuition
Dreams are just one of many ways intuition speaks to us. Our dreams often appear on the quietest of nights, like a northern star in a dark desert sky. At least, this is how my intuitive messages have come to me. When I stop all the doing and becoming in order to simply listen, in these moments my dreams always demand my attention.

The renowned Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung defined intuition as “our perception via the unconscious” and went on to explain that perception using our senses — sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch — is only a starting point. In fact, we bring forth ideas, images, possibilities, and/or ways out of a blocked situation by a process that is mostly unconscious. Scientifically, intuition is viewed as knowledge in the absence of analytical reasoning or logic.

Intuition is our way of perceiving the world through the lens of our soul, not from our mind or our expectations. Intuitive messages come from a place deeper in our consciousness than the thinking mind. You cannot think your way to an intuitive decision; intuition can be felt only through excitement, curiosity, and passion — your unexplainable urges. When a spark of a wild idea or a crazy dream comes to you and fills your mind with delight for what could be, you are receiving messages from your soul.

Our intuition is a soft-spoken, subtle voice whispering from the deepest, most subconscious place within. When we first start to tune in to it, intuition sounds remarkably faint, which is probably why so many people often ignore it. The more fluent we train ourselves to be in this language of soul whisperings, the louder and clearer it becomes.


Kori Hahn is the author of Rituals of the Soul and founder of a community gathering place called the Santosha Society, which is dedicated to travel, surfing, and the soulful. She hosts numerous trips around the world for hundreds of women who study Ayurveda, yoga, meditation, and all things related to soul growth, knowledge, and fulfillment. Visit her online at www.SantoshaSociety.com.

Excerpted from the book from Rituals of the Soul. Copyright ©2021 by Kori Hahn. Printed with permission from New World Library.

For the past couple of years, there has been a spider specter that hangs over my bed while I sleep. It's about the size of a softball, and just hangs there with all of its legs folded up, the way that real spiders rest. Once I blew on it and it disappeared. I'm scared to death of spiders in real life, but for some reason, this specter doesn't scare me. Could this be a protector of some sort? I've never seen anything like this before. Thanks!

Cindy

Astrea:

The manifestation of a spider as a totem animal is very significant. Having a spider specter for a guide and protector is a very good thing!

In most old myths, spiders represent certain elements of life. If you have Native American blood, perhaps your ancestors sent the spider to you. If you don't, you could have been in a tribe that venerated spiders in a past life. The reason you don't fear this particular spider is because you know in your gut that you shouldn't.

Making something disappear with your breath is a custom as old as time. The idea probably came to you from some magical work you did in a past life. People blow away bad dreams, and in our current vernacular, people are often blown away by something that impresses them. I think you followed an ancient instinct when you took that action.

Our breath is considered an element of fire. What did you want to burn out of your life when you blew away your spider?

Spiders are good guides because they are crafty, intelligent and decisive. Do you possess these qualities? Do you need to work on them? Spiders are spinners. Is your life going the way you want, or do you need to put a different spin on things?

Remember too that spiders bite and often stun things. Do you need a swift kick in the pants to get some new project going? Do you feel trapped into doing nothing about a situation that needs to be changed?

I've found that spiders manifest to my clients when it's time for them to change something in their lives, to weave a new web or to capture something of immense importance. Job and career changes often accompany the appearance of spiders.

If you don't need to make some drastic change in your life, it may be that a person close to you needs to change or weave a new way of thinking. Spiders are great communicators. This one could be weaving a new web for your family to connect you to someone who is feeling left out or useless to the rest of you.

You probably can't communicate with your spider verbally, but you can via thought and meditation. Even if it feels silly to you, give your spider a name - it will give you a warmer feeling about it.

Be positive when you see it and try to silently communicate. It will give you messages in your dreams or in visions. It's there to help you work something out that has been pending for as long as you've been able to see it. It's a GREAT guide to have!

*****

Susyn:

The symbol of the Spider has many rich and varied interpretations. Examining some of the more prevalent beliefs about the Spider should help you interpret the messages this specter has been trying to send to you. This will enable you to benefit from the gift of its presence and understand why this special eight-legged ghost has chosen to look over and protect you.

Not only is this spider a symbol of spiritual protection, it has been sitting over your bed to encourage you to create the life you've been dreaming of. Your letter indicates that you are now ready to hear and act upon the direction it is offering.

In India, the Spider is regarded as a symbol of the perfect order of the cosmos and of one's ability to create or weave the life one wants. This spider's presence could be encouraging you to become more creative, and especially more decisive. Taking action to create the world you dream of living in can be very powerful when you have Spider energy backing you.

Picture a spider sitting in the middle of its web - a web of its own creation - and you will see that whether you feel trapped or enchanted with your life right now, you have woven that reality for yourself.

Many Eastern cultures believe that the Spider is an indicator of spiritual self-liberation. In that regard, this specter denotes that you've been in a process of spiritual growth and enlightenment for the past couple of years. As you continue on your journey of awakening, the Spider will accompany and guide you.

In Native American cultures, repeated sightings of the Spider carry the message that you should be writing, journaling, and making records of your progress. In other words, take the time to put your experiences to paper for the explicit purpose of gaining greater understanding and helping those who will follow in your footsteps.

Because the Spider's body takes the form of an 8, the symbol for infinity, this may also be part of the message your spider is sending you: Anything is possible at any time, and the time is Now. This is compounded by the fact that Native Americans also believe that four of the spider's eight legs represent the winds of change, while the remaining four legs symbolize the four directions.

This Spider is telling you that it's time for a change, and your possibilities for success are endless. Now that you have awakened spiritually and are ready to create the life of your dreams, it's time to get moving. In honor of the Spider, note your experiences along the way as a record of the amazing path you are about to embark upon.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.