161. Three takeaways from my water priestess retreat
I'm BACK from my big six week trip to Europe!
One of the highlights was a 7 day Mermaids of the Magdalene Water Priestess Retreat in the south of France.
In this episode I share -
Three key takeaways from the retreat which will change the way you see your voice
The water ritual that put all eyes and voices on me and exposed the importance of taking space.
The sensual embodiment practice every woman should experience.
How you can start speaking your truth.
Transcript
Hello hello I am back from my big six week trip to Europe.
It was amazing, the highlights were the ANZAC day dawn service in Villers-Bretonneux in the north of France – it was incredibly moving. Especially the pilgrimage up to the site. It was dark, it was drizzling, it was freezing and the street lights lit a path all the way up the hill. Such a memorable morning and I know it meant so much to Patrick who served in the army for 15 years.
Another highlight was running my first international event, the Speak Up for your Business Workshop in London. Everyone in the room experienced a big shift in a way only in-person events can. Which reminds me Speaker Training is on the Gold Coast this Friday, Saturday, Sunday – the 23rd to the 25th of June. It’s only a couple of days away, it’s the last training for the year – so get in touch with ASAP to see if it’s not too late to join.
It was also a highlight to speak at the Mind Body Spirit Festival in London. And it was great to show how important it is to be adapatable. Like I thought I was going to have slides, but turned out there was no screen and there was this loud drumming next door throughout the talk. And this is one of so many reasons why it helps to be confident in your voice and speaking ability because it provides a cushion for things that don’t go to plan. So think about what your speaking confidence depth is like. If you are skating on the surface, just getting through your presentations, shaking your way speaking – then you don’t have any redundancy for anything going “wrong.” If this is you, you have to join Soul Speakers, so this is my community where you’ll learn the skills and have the support to develop depth in your speaking confidence.
Aw so it was 42 days, lots of countries – we did France, Belgium, England, Spain and Portugal – where my Portuguese was actually better than I expected. I did an exchange year to Brazil after high school so my Portuguese was really fluent at one point, so I was really proud when we jumped into the Uber in Porto and the drivers phone rang. It was his last client, who was French, asking if he left his phone in the car. The driver was trying to communicate, yes I have it I’ll bring it to where I dropped you in 5 minutes – that’s a kind of tricky phrase in another language, but I understood the driver’s Portuguese enough to say in English to the French guy what the situations was and he was reunited with the phone, so language skills helped there.
In today’s episode I want to focus on the 7 day Mermaids of the Magdalene Water Priestess Retreat I experienced in the south of France. It was led by a beautiful woman named Dakota, there were about 15 women and we stayed in an old castle doing romantic day trips almost every day. It was really magical and nourishing. The women were so wholesome, our conversation was deep, and it for me it was like sidestepping out of reality to recharge and renew and learn.
At our welcome circle we all had to introduce ourselves and pour a little bit of water we’d collected from a special place to add to a big bowl in the centre. It was pretty amazing, there was water from springs in the UK, lakes in the US, waterways in Israel and mine was from a waterfall at Springbrook on the Gold Coast. I’d carried it all the way over in a little bottle which once held women’s libido vitamins – pretty hilarious. I had them from a goodie bag at an event, and sadly the pills went into the bin. I mean who doesn’t want a bit more libido but if I had of downed the entire bottle who knows what would’ve happened to Patrick. Anyway, so how amazing, there was this bowl full of sacred water from all over the world. Surrounded by flowers and candles it was just gorgeous.
So from the 7 days there are three big takeaways I want to share with you today. Please take them onboard.
And the first is that -
YOUR VOICE IS A HEALING GIFT
Almost everywhere we went as a group we sang. We sang to the water, we sang to the land, we sang in churches our voices were an offering. And gosh it was powerful.
One evening we went deep into a cave system. Now caving is probably my worst nightmare, it wasn’t the tight spaced kind of caving, but there was a section where we needed to duck right down low and almost crawl through a passage way, and then it opened into a space called The Cathedral and you could see why. The ceiling of the cave was way up high it was a big open room. Our guide explained the people who took shelter here many hundreds of years ago. People who escaped persecution. The energy was crazy in this place. So gathered in a circle, held hands and began to sing. And it resonated, and it echoed and it echoed and the vibrations cascaded through my body and it was so powerful I felt tears welling up.
The human voice is an incredible gift, and it’s a healing offering not just to others, not just to our ancestors and the lands in which we speak or sing, it’s a healing gift for ourselves.
You may not find yourself in a circle of women, and one beautiful man- our guide, singing deep in a cave system.
You don’t need that to appreciate your voice as a gift.
Every time you post a video, or record a podcast or speak to a loved one you have the chance to offer a sound healing. When your words are loaded with intention, Your breath hits your vocal cords creating vibrations which resonate that intention in you and beyond you.
So take your voice seriously. Use it, appreciate it, invest in it.
So take a deep breath now and a long sigh out. Put your hand on your heart, take a breath in and a hum out, feel those vibrations, activate that heart chakra, feel the compassion for the voice you have and the message you want to share.
And if you’re listening to this thinking, wow I have not been valuing my voice anywhere near this deep, then join Soul Speakers so you can nurture this beautiful gift you have.
My second big takeaway from the retreat is -
THERE IS MAGIC IN RECEIVING
As women we often give give give and don’t allow ourselves to receive, yet receiving is the very essence of the feminine and there is magic that releases when we allow ourselves to receive.
During the retreat there were several times where all the attention was on you.
One of these times was a baptism ceremony in a beautiful river, where it’s believed Mary Magdalene performed baptisms. I stood in the middle of circle of our sisters and Dakota held two shells full of water. First I declared what I wanted to let go of, and the water was poured on my feet. Then I said what I wanted to bring in and water from the other shell was poured on my feet. Then all the other women chanted my name over and over as I walked into the water and dived under and up three times. It’s one thing to have everyone looking at you, it’s another to have everyone’s energy and intention and voice on you. At first I was like I better get this over quick because everyone needs a turn. Have you ever felt like that? I won’t speak too long because I don’t want to dominate, or I’ll let other people go. Relaxing into receiving is so liberating.
Another day the focus and attention on us as individuals went even deeper.
We were part of a sensorium where I was lying on pillows with one women massaging my head and face and feeding me chocolate and wine out of seashells, one woman massaging my belly and chest pouring rose petals over my body and another massaging my feet and legs. Now I wasn’t sure if I was going to tell you about this. I understand it might sound sexual, it wasn’t it was sensual. You might think oh I wouldn’t like three women touching my body. That’s ok, but the question I ask is why not?
Of course you need a sacred, safe setting and people you trust. That feeling of surrendering and feeling safe and loved and honoured and receiving was like supercharging my feminine magic energy.
And that was actually one of the main reasons I booked the retreat, because I’ve been on a journey of leaning more into my feminine. Allowing myself to receive more in my relationship, in my business because always being in the providing and the protecting masculine energy is exhausting. Please send me a DM if you’d like an episode on this.
And so that sensorium, relaxing my body, enjoying the attention, feeling the sensation, the care, the celebration of me felt like almost a graduation point for me embracing my feminine energy and receiving.
And if you are always giving giving giving to your business, your partner, your family I’d really encourage you to receive. Just give it a try. Because there is magic in receiving.
OK so your voice is a healing gift, there is magic in receiving and number three -
And THERE IS MEDICINE IN YOUR STORY
Throughout the retreat we all shared our stories. Different women from different countries of different ages, all with different experiences, yet the same feelings.
We see ourselves in other people’s stories. We feel less alone and more connected. We started the week as strangers and ended closer than some people I’ve known for years.
At our closing circle a beautiful sister said that which is hidden must be expressed, and that speaks to the heart of speaking your truth and sharing your story.
The more we bring to the light the stories and experiences within us, we help bring other people bring theirs to light. And we help ourselves understand and heal from our past experiences.
In today’s episode you’ve heard a few stories from me. Unless you were on the retreat with me, you’ve likely not had the same experience, yet your own experiences would have come to mind, perhaps experiences or things that you otherwise wouldn’t think of. Maybe you’ve seen them in a different way.
This is the power of our story. It’s one of the main reasons I have this podcast, and why I’m so focused on helping people speak their stories. Heal through their voice.
Last week’s coaching call in Soul Speakers was all about influencing with storytelling – the replays are all there when you sign up, and the first part of it, is actually telling your story to someone – even if that’s yourself in the shower to begin with.
So many people have said, who’d be interested in my story? Or I just want to put all that behind me? Just consider there is medicine in your story.
Just recording this episode I feel so much gratitude and a little bit of sadness that my time at the retreat is over, however there is so many more experiences to come, actually if you’re listening to this before June 22nd, Patrick and I are doing the nude solstice swim, where we get naked and run into the freezing cold water in Tasmania to mark the winter solstice. Then we fly back and drive to the Gold Coast for Speaker Training to start the next day. I’m sure I’m going to have a story about that to share.
Ok beautiful people. If you have any questions about my retreat or my trip please reach out on Instagram @sallyprosservoice. Remember – Your voice is a healing gift, there is magic in receiving and there is medicine in your story.