into the depths

a wild woman project

What does it mean to stand there at the brink of the chasm, the very edge of our own shame, our terrifying personal stories of pain, neglect, abuse, loneliness?  We don’t go there, do we? or only very reluctantly.  We have been cast out of our land of knowing, taught to become afraid of our wild intuition, our deep connection!

Let us reacquaint ourselves then with this perceived underbelly, what is dark, murky, unknown, it has been cast for far too long as dirty, evil, something to  be tamed and held back.  What is this mystery that smacks of female depths?  It is all that is fertile, fertile within it’s cycles of rise and fall, struggle and emerge.  It unequivocally vulnerable, shivering at the edge of the lake under the full moon.  It is wildly intuitive.  It is simultaneously gentle, wide-eyed with wander and fierce and bold with protection!

Each wild wander, either through forest, into the river, down by the sea or up into arid climbs takes us step by step in to an inner tracking, and encounter with a forgotten, lost or hurt part of ourselves.

Beautiful S. here stands still for a long moment of encounter with herself and the river, deep, dark, so cold, yet welcoming, cleansing.  I love her tender entry into her own intimate process, tentative at first, and then plunging down to reemerge with a shout of joy on the other side

It seems so much is of what is unnecessary, hindering, dampening of desire and creative potential is discard by this plunge into the river of trust. And, so much is gained, an immersive thrill that invigorates the body knowing, the belonging, the should connection to a source.  Unfettered from domestic conditions of thou shalt not, wear this, wear that, hide your shame, cover up your scars or breasts woman! do not dare defend your cubs or wail with sadness or shudder with pleasure, woman!  Unfettered,  a wild woman, howling like a wolf scampers up the far side of the river into the thick Cedar at its edge.

I am honoured to be growing through my wild woman project in the presence and trust of some incredible women, who grace me with their vulnerable beauty, their undressing and casting off of outdated shrouds, for some easier than for others, each opening and vulnerable, bold and wild in their own way.  I am grateful to witness their desire to rewild their connection to their own bodies, and to the land body of our Mother, and in so doing become part of this process myself.

with a wild heart full of love,

Belinda

#rewildingphotography #awildwomanproject #wildhealing #wildwander #abeautifulbodyproject #intothedepths #wildedge