Do You See What I See?
by Judith Ashley
May 5, 2022
One of my Core Values is we are all connected, we are all part of the sacred, the Divine. And we comprises more than we humans. We is comprised of all that is. And all that is includes my backyard.
I picked out and planted trees and bushes. I dug up ferns from the forested land of friends to add an old forest feel to a corner and under the Larch Diana. I am committed to providing habitat for birds including flowering plants that attract pollinators. One of my joys is seeing the hummingbirds sipping at the columbine, salvia, fuchsia flowers.
Stepping out onto the deck, I can just be. The wind chime’s low tones soothes. The myriad shades of green calm. And I return to my house renewed.
The original The Sacred Women’s Circle series was written over several years sitting at my computer able to look out at my yard. The heroines would pop into my day and night dreams or just pop up with something to say about their stories. They became my friends. Those hours in front of my computer lost in their stories was time out of my own life. A gift to me from me.
Seven books comprise the initial series, one for each of the main characters. And each of these women had an everyday-type challenge to overcome.
What’s an “everyday-type” challenge? Think domestic violence, divorce, single-parenting, cancer, making ends meet, etc. And beyond those difficulties, they each had a personal issue to overcome. What they shared was the fear to trust.
The question each had to face and answer in her own way was how to overcome her fear of trusting someone else but also herself?
For Lily, Elizabeth, Diana, Ashley, Hunter, Gabriella and Sophia it wasn’t always easy. They formed a sacred women’s circle. They created a shared spiritual practice based on their shared views of the world around them. We are all connected. We are threads in the fabric of The Divine.
Special gifts they’d always had were recognized, explored and used. 
Lily: The Dragon and The Great Horned Owl – Lily Hughes senses the energy of the land. She can see the spirit animal that protects that land.
Elizabeth: The Lady and The Sacred Grove – Elizabeth Elliott is energetically connected to a specific sacred grove in Ireland and The Lady or feminine spirit that protects it.
Diana: The Queen of Swords and the Knight of Pentacles – Diana Pettybone follows the messages from The Tarot.
Ashley: Dragonflies and Dreams – Ashley Kenner calls upon her power animals, the dragon and damselflies.
Hunter: The Drum and The Dance – Hunter Compton is soothed by the beat of her drum and the rhythm dancing in her body.
Gabriella: Chaos to Symmetry – Gabriella Moncrief explores Sacred Geometry and the Fibonacci Code to find symmetry in her life.
Sophia: Every Ending Has a Beginning – Sophia Stewart’s need to nurture, to see life and lives grow and prosper is filled by a bountiful garden and her avocation as a high school teacher.
As the years pass, the energetic threads within The Circle grow stronger. Trust in themselves, each other and their gifts blossomed.
I learned so much about my own trust issues as well as the natural world around me as I wrote these stories.
There is a slogan “Just Do It” and it seems so simple, so easy. Just do it and it will be done. And, without trust, the “just do it” part is difficult. Once we break trust with ourselves—I call it living out of integrity with ourselves—a rebuilding process must take place.
Trust doesn’t just happen. There are underpinnings to trust. I believe, and so do my characters, that honesty is the foundation of trust. Being honest with myself about myself is the first step. And if I’ve broken trust with myself, a dose of forgiveness is needed before I can really move forward.
When I step outside and breathe in the energy of my yard, I find peace and connection to The Divine.
When I stand under the light of Grandmother Moon and feel it cleanse me, I find peace and connection to The Divine.
In those moments I am one with all that surrounds me now and forever more. I fold my hands in prayer, bow my head and whisper “Blessed Be.”
Judith Ashley has been a part of sacred women’s circles for over twenty years and knows first-hand how important spirituality is when dealing with life’s challenges. She writes both fiction and nonfiction that reflect her spiritual beliefs and her teaching practice. The stories that make up The Sacred Women’s Circle series flooded through her in daydreams, lucid dreams, and conversations so real at times she wondered about her sanity. It was a compelling experience! An experience that was a catalyst to starting her journey to tell these stories and see them published. You can learn more about Judith from her website.
