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When the glowing orange sun rose up over the horizon, a hint of magic filled the air. A chattering flock of ravens surfed wildly on the winds. Blue-black feathers shimmered as ravens landed on tree br…
When the glowing ora…
When the glowing orange sun rose up over the horizon, a hint of magic filled the air. A chattering flock of ravens surfed wildly on the winds. Blue-black feathers shimmered as ravens landed on tree branches, creating avalanches of snow. With wide-open wings, they soared to the ground to hold council in the frozen field beside my house. I wondered what the ravens were up to besides calling me out to play. Bundled up head to toe in warm woolies, I headed outside. The vibrant green forest was frosted with sparkling white snow and embraced by the brilliant blue sky. My spirited dog, Jasmine, rompe…
JoAnne Dodgson
December 18, 2024 
‘Even if one person fell in love with life again, a river of change would begin to flow. Even if just one person chose to live in heart-centered ways, a powerful momentum would be set in motion for …
‘Even if one perso…
‘Even if one person fell in love with life again, a river of change would begin to flow. Even if just one person chose to live in heart-centered ways, a powerful momentum would be set in motion for creating a heart-centered world. ~ from Spirit of Chocolate: A Woman’s Journey to the Rainforest in Search of Her Dreams I love the Solstice season, the wisdoms and unknowns living inside the dance of changing cycles. Rich possibilities thrive in transitional spaces between what exists, what’s dying away, and who and what is becoming. Whoever you are ~ sea urchin, pine tree, polar bear, lun…
JoAnne Dodgson
December 1, 2024 
When I heard Jasmine’s urgent barking, I headed back out to the mesas. I could sense from the trail of her voice that she was on the move. Was she chasing coyotes again? Jasmine and Coyotes had many…
When I heard Jasmine…
When I heard Jasmine’s urgent barking, I headed back out to the mesas. I could sense from the trail of her voice that she was on the move. Was she chasing coyotes again? Jasmine and Coyotes had many close-up encounters through our years living on the mesas ~ spectacular, breath-taking, can’t-believe-this-is-happening-right-before-my-eyes encounters. So when I saw Jasmine bounding toward me, leading the way with a pack of wild dogs behind her, it took me a breath or two to translate what was happening. I felt awed by the beauty while my mind patched together the story. Jasmine was running f…
JoAnne Dodgson
November 12, 2024 In my first Soul Retrieval ceremony, about twenty-five years ago, I was taken deep in the ocean waters to swim with a pod of dolphins. In this wild and free adventure, we explored vast underwater real…
In my first Soul Ret…
In my first Soul Retrieval ceremony, about twenty-five years ago, I was taken deep in the ocean waters to swim with a pod of dolphins. In this wild and free adventure, we explored vast underwater realms. We soared above the waves, soaking in the warmth of the sun and breathing fresh salty air. Somewhere along the way, a school of golden fish was poured into my heart. In the wonder of this healing ceremony, I was immersed in a world filled with pure loving connections. I was shown how it feels to receive a generous giving, untangled from the lies about not being worthy enough. A whole collectio…
JoAnne Dodgson
October 23, 2024 
I’ve been clearing a patch of land by my house where there’s a burly overgrowth of dried Tumbleweeds. My harvesting wardrobe includes thick leather gloves and toeless socks pulled over my arms to …
I’ve been clearing…
I’ve been clearing a patch of land by my house where there’s a burly overgrowth of dried Tumbleweeds. My harvesting wardrobe includes thick leather gloves and toeless socks pulled over my arms to prevent painful encounters with the prickly thorns. I’ve been wondering about these still-rooted Tumbleweeds. Why haven’t they tumbled the way Tumbleweeds do? What’s holding them in place when their natural inclination, in this season in their lives and on our earth, is to uproot and move across the land? Do they really like it here or have they just gotten stuck? Clearing away the dried Tum…
JoAnne Dodgson
October 1, 2024 
We live in a universe, on a planet, and in bodies that are intricate weavings of cycles within cycles within cycles. Wherever we are on our earth, we are moving toward Equinox. This shift in the earth…
We live in a univers…
We live in a universe, on a planet, and in bodies that are intricate weavings of cycles within cycles within cycles. Wherever we are on our earth, we are moving toward Equinox. This shift in the earth’s seasons has been honored for centuries in diverse human cultures and in ceremonial ways. In each 365-day cycle of our earth’s spiral dance around our sun, two Equinoxes and two Solstices occur. These seasonal shifts set an essential foundation in place, a vital rhythm for life on earth. Equinox and Solstice are threshold places, transitions between one season and the next. They offer us lan…
JoAnne Dodgson
September 1, 2024 
Dandelions color the landscapes with vibrant green leaves and bursts of gold blossoms. They are one of the first flowering plants to root in the earth and reach toward the sun, celebrating the awakeni…
Dandelions color the…
Dandelions color the landscapes with vibrant green leaves and bursts of gold blossoms. They are one of the first flowering plants to root in the earth and reach toward the sun, celebrating the awakening of spring. Dandelions beckon the pollinators out of their wintery retreats.Dandelions offer nourishment to many, including humans. Blossoms, leaves, and stems are edible and can brewed into medicinal teas. Dandelion roots are a traditional remedy for detox and cleansing, to release what doesn’t belong in order to flourish and grow. As Dandelions complete their life cycles, the brilliant gol…
JoAnne Dodgson
August 1, 2024 
Grandmother Corn is an Ancient Onewho shares the medicine ofplentyenoughnesslush nourishmentabundance Everyone’s included in the bountiful sharingnobody’s left out of the beauty and richnesswalls …
Grandmother Corn is …
Grandmother Corn is an Ancient Onewho shares the medicine ofplentyenoughnesslush nourishmentabundance Everyone’s included in the bountiful sharingnobody’s left out of the beauty and richnesswalls don’t separate the haves from have-notsthere is nothing you have to do to deserve the gifts In her languagewords do not existto evaluate who’s worthyof love, generosity, and respect In her ancestral knowingsthere is no translationfor never-enoughness In her eyesthe web of lifeis not chopped apartinto deserving/undeservingsuperior/inferiorbeautiful/unbeautifulspecial/unspecialgood/badbetter tha…
JoAnne Dodgson
July 1, 2024 Solstice is a particular alignment between our earth and sun, a cosmic happening that shapes unique seasonal shifts in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. For centuries, humans have been honoring S…
Solstice is a partic…
Solstice is a particular alignment between our earth and sun, a cosmic happening that shapes unique seasonal shifts in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. For centuries, humans have been honoring Solstice in remarkable ways in diverse cultures and lands. In a recent ceremonial gathering, the spirits shared a vivid teaching about the Solstice that is currently unfolding. While moving into summer and winter seasons, we are also moving through thresholds of a much more expansive cycle of change. A new era for humanity and our earth is being birthed, leaving behind the imbalances and re-creatin…
JoAnne Dodgson
June 19, 2024 I’m moving home. It’s a big leap ~ from here to there, bridging endings with beginnings, and reorienting my inner landscape in relationship with the physical world. My quests for home, to find my …
I’m moving home. I…
I’m moving home. It’s a big leap ~ from here to there, bridging endings with beginnings, and reorienting my inner landscape in relationship with the physical world. My quests for home, to find my people, to live my passions and purposes, have led to many shifts through the years. There have been grand adventures, great challenges, and a whole bunch of twists and turns and circling back around in the spiraling path of my life. I’ve had to move through some Grief to keep moving with these current changes. Curiosity fills me now about why this particular place is calling me home – and way…
JoAnne Dodgson
May 30, 2024 
A flowing river of Elk leapt over a barbed wire fence. Awed by the sight, I pulled my car to the side of the road and rolled down my window to listen and watch. The herd was made up of at least one hu…
A flowing river of E…
A flowing river of Elk leapt over a barbed wire fence. Awed by the sight, I pulled my car to the side of the road and rolled down my window to listen and watch. The herd was made up of at least one hundred elk, a multi-generational group, still adorned with thick furry winter coats. A couple other vehicles pulled over and parked. Motors were turned off. As if entering a sanctuary, we instinctively quieted. We were stopped in our tracks by the beauty of wild elk finding their way through snowy mountain lands. Once over the fence, one by one, the elk climbed up a hill and regrouped in a meadow. …
JoAnne Dodgson
April 21, 2024 Elders say the wheel of life is turning in the direction of regeneration, a birthing time to rebuild our world with love, harmony, and balance. The out of balance ways are coming undone and falling ap…
Elders say the wheel…
Elders say the wheel of life is turning in the direction of regeneration, a birthing time to rebuild our world with love, harmony, and balance. The out of balance ways are coming undone and falling apart. We are standing in a threshold between worlds. How can we move with these currents of change to re-vision, re-member, and reset balance in our world? In a recent ceremony, spirits are showing that we’ve barely touched our toes in the waters of healing. We have limited ideas about what healing and transformation are, how these processes happen, who is involved, and what the outcomes should b…
JoAnne Dodgson
April 1, 2024 In the threshold between our earth’s seasons, we gather the gifts of what is and has been while moving with the momentum of change. Each step we take, every choice we make, each thought we think and…
In the threshold bet…
In the threshold between our earth’s seasons, we gather the gifts of what is and has been while moving with the momentum of change. Each step we take, every choice we make, each thought we think and word that we speak, shapes what’s coming alive in our inner landscapes and the outer world. When wintertime settles into the red rock mesas of northern New Mexico, the blue skies grow still after geese and sandhill cranes fly by boisterously celebrating their migrations south. I rarely cross paths with coyotes and rabbits, though their tracks may be found in the snow, mud, and sandy soil. Th…
JoAnne Dodgson
March 1, 2024 Today I saw a butterfly her blue speckled wings glistened in the sunlight the magic of her metamorphosis danced around in the winds She flew over the sagebrush and landed on red sandy soil resting aw…
Today I saw a butter…
Today I saw a butterfly her blue speckled wings glistened in the sunlight the magic of her metamorphosis danced around in the winds She flew over the sagebrush and landed on red sandy soil resting awhile opening and closing her wings a silent rhythmic drumbeat sending wave after wave of the knowledge she holds about naturally transforming I’m following the path of Butterfly together we can join the dance of the butterflies in the passionate pursuit of becoming fully who we are here to be We too can create space for transformation sheltering dissolving dismantling what has been shaping new …
JoAnne Dodgson
January 1, 2024 
What are the gifts in this shifting of the seasons during this Solstice season? Receive guidance and healing from the spirits in Throwing the Bones Ceremony. JoAnne Dodgson, www.joannedodgson.com
What are the gifts i…
What are the gifts in this shifting of the seasons during this Solstice season? Receive guidance and healing from the spirits in Throwing the Bones Ceremony. JoAnne Dodgson, www.joannedodgson.com
JoAnne Dodgson
December 19, 2023 Solstice, Equinox, and New Moon are my cherished holidays. I’m drawn toward these transitional passages, awed by their essential part in creation, curious about the purposes and effects of such vast…
Solstice, Equinox, a…
Solstice, Equinox, and New Moon are my cherished holidays. I’m drawn toward these transitional passages, awed by their essential part in creation, curious about the purposes and effects of such vast and ancient natural cycles. The shifting of seasons, the turning of the times, opens space for transformations to come alive. I love the wonder of opening into new cycles, finding my way in the mystery and unknowns, honoring the dying away of what has been, exploring and seeding and holding potentials for the birthings of what can be. A sense of belonging, the knowingness of home, the spaciousnes…
JoAnne Dodgson
December 19, 2023 
I’m heading west on a roadtrip to visit an Elephant Sanctuary. For years, I’ve told friends I might leave everything behind and go to Africa and live with the elephants! Though I haven’t made th…
I’m heading west o…
I’m heading west on a roadtrip to visit an Elephant Sanctuary. For years, I’ve told friends I might leave everything behind and go to Africa and live with the elephants! Though I haven’t made that leap, elephants have taken up residence in my heart. I’m thrilled to have a chance to get a glimpse of these majestic animals, even if from afar. The elephants, tigers and bears living in the sanctuary have been freed from circuses and zoos. The public is only allowed to visit a handful of days each year, and just a small group of people each time. There is no direct contact with the animals…
JoAnne Dodgson
November 24, 2023 
We are in between Equinox and Solstice, a passage between seasons, a transitional space that bridges what has been with what is coming into being. There are diverse cultural traditions that mark th…
We are in between…
We are in between Equinox and Solstice, a passage between seasons, a transitional space that bridges what has been with what is coming into being. There are diverse cultural traditions that mark this transitional time with ceremonies and celebrations, recognizing the power and beauty that live in the in-betweens. In-betweens are sacred spaces filled with mystery and wonder, with questions and quests. You may feel you’re in the currents of a flowing river. What direction are you heading? Pulled off balance by turbulent waters? Floating in gentle eddying pools? In-betweens are inherent in t…
JoAnne Dodgson
November 1, 2023 
