This poem, story, reflection, and blessing is from the conclusion of my book, Your Light is Rising. I’d love to share it here with you…

Resting in Her

In meditation this evening,
I laid down on the floor
and I cradled my head in my hands –
cupping my head ever so gently
as though I were holding a newborn.

Slowly,
I touched the back of my head,
sides of my head,
and forehead.

The image of my mother
holding my head as a newborn came to me.
I sensed how she must have
cradled my head in her hands
ever so gently and lovingly so many times.
I imagined how my newborn body would
have rested in her hands.
Surrendering completely.
Trusting completely.

I imagine
the Great Mother holds us like this
in every moment
inviting us to experience such tenderness
so we can rest in Her –
safely in Her arms.

Lisa McCrohan, (c) 2021

A few years ago, I had a powerful dream that shifted the inner landscape of my whole nervous system. I was going through a time of feeling alone and anxious. This dream was like honey for my soul, welcoming me back into the deeper current of sacred trust beneath the surface waters of my fears and anxieties. I’d like to share it with you.

In my dream. an angel came to me. She told me that she was my angel. She said to me, “I want to show you what happens when your life here ends.”

She went on. She said, “You see, I am with you throughout your life. When you are about to cross over to the next life, I take your hand and I place it in the hand of this new angel. This new angel is with you in death and beyond.”

She introduced me to this angel. Then she showed me how she would have my hand in hers, take the hand of the new angel, and slowly place my hand in the new angel’s hand while she slowly took her hand away. “You see, there is never even a micro-second that you are alone. There is never a moment when your hand isn’t in one of ours. You are never alone – in life or death.”

In the very first few moments when I woke up, I felt such a complete sense of peace. All worry and fear were gone. The usual tight constriction in my belly was gone. The anxiety in my chest was gone. Every muscle, organ, tissue, and synapse were relaxed. Within me, I felt a deep trust. I laid there for a moment, memorizing the landscape of my body receiving this experience.

Never alone. Not even for a micro-second. In life or death.

I felt the presence of my ancestors and their prayers caressing me. I felt the resilience of my ancestors – their hopes and devotion – fueling me, kindling my light.

I can’t remember what happened later that day; I am sure the familiar anxiety returned. But since that dream and that embodied experience of such trust and peace, when the waves of worry and anxiety come as they do in our human experience, I can sense a deeper current underneath it all steadying me, reminding me, carrying me, cradling me, whispering to me, “You are never alone.”

Now, when the surface waters of anxiety and fear rise up, I recall that dream. As I do, my body remembers the experience of true peace and trust. “You can rest, Lisa,” I hear from within me.

Rest. Remember you are held. Remember you are never alone. Remember you are loved.

Just as my newborn body trusted and rested in my mother’s arms, the Great Mother calls me – again and again – to rest and remember.

This sacred “rest and remember” kindles the light within me. It enables me to listen to the Divine within me and honor what I hear. I can feel my ancestors calling me to rise with soul courage to let my light shine, to embody the sacred wildness of their prayers, and to share my medicine with others.

The Great Mother calls to you, too: rest and remember.

Maybe there are fears, anxieties, and worries swirling within you, speaking lies to you about who you are and who you are not. Maybe there are times you have felt alone. Maybe somewhere along the way, you lost that sense of trust in the Beloved. Maybe you have become harsh, bitter, and weary.

A current of Great Love runs deeper than your fears, anxieties, and worries. It cradles you. It flows within you. Always. Hear the invitation of the Great Mother calling you back into Flow. Hear Her through the noise of daily life to rest and remember:

Rest now, child, and remember: You are never alone. Never.
Rest now, child, and remember: You are held. Always.
Rest now, child, and remember: You are loved. Completely.
Rest and remember.

Rest is a powerful medicine. When you give yourself permission to rest, you more easily remember the ancient truth within you: You have a light to shine, a wildness to embody, and a medicine to share. You sense how the Great Mother and your ancestors call you to rise with their courage in your soul, to let your magnificent light shine, to embody the wildness of their prayers for you, and to share with others the medicine only you have.

May you know – deep in your bones – that the Great Mother holds you like a precious newborn in every moment, inviting you to feel Her love and tenderness so you can rest in Her – safely in Her arms. Always.