Dragonfly Integration

I caught the struggle out of the corner of my eye. I couldn’t figure it out at first, but upon closer examination I realized that a dragonfly nymph had crawled out of the water up onto a rock and was in the process of bursting open to reveal the new creature that had been incubating inside. I watched for at least an hour. The effort was almost unbearable to track. The shell slowly cracked open by degrees as the tiny body heaved and contorted. Eventually one damp, crumpled wing flopped out followed by another herculean effort and the second flop. There was an eternity of stillness and then, as if slowly blowing up a balloon breath by breath, the wings began to rhythmically undulate and inflate. I was so aware of the precarious vulnerability in this metamorphosis - a sodden new life form trying to dry out and inflate and take on a new skeleton of mobility and defense. I felt a little Godlike and protective as I hovered and hoped to protect this holy moment from becoming someone’s dinner.

Why am I talking about a dragonfly transformation? Because I think it applies to my vision for Casa De Nueva Vida. I’ve watched a growing body of commentary about the need for intention integration for people who are experiencing plant and animal medicine journeys. These substances - Ayahuasca, Bufo, Kambo, Rape, Cacao, Psilocybin … are known for their varying impactful degrees of deep emotional and spiritual work, purging and visions. These experiences push behind the conscious, everyday quotidian habits of people’s lives to access deep subconscious connections and new awareness. The dramatic insights and shifts have deep impact on the somnambulant ease of their (our) repetitive and thoughtless lives. You can’t go back. People emerge as a different version of themselves and in that raw, confused and sensitive state after ceremony they often get up the next morning, get on a plane, and go back to their lives at the exact juncture that they most need protected time on a rock to dry out, unfurl their new wings and become resilient again as a new version of themselves. They need rest, reflection, community, time in nature and support to take the new iteration of themselves back into their world. 

That is the vision that I have for Casa De Nueva Vida: a holy, holding and healing place for integration before rejoining the world. 

I am making connections now with people who are stirred by this vision - whether they are practitioners, retreat destination coordinators, or simply individuals that have felt this need personally.

Who do you know that I need to know? Send them my way. And bless every dragonfly you see! Their transformation was hard work!!