Welcome to Everything Speaks if You Listen with Jen CobbleWorks where we befriend our humanity and the Sacred through story, soul questions, and every day life.
In this week's episode, I share about a conversation with a friend where we wondered whether we can trust our wants. Are they just appetites we need to regard with caution? Are they the beginning of something glorious? Are they selfish? What if we were told our wants were sinful or futile and pointless? How do we embody our wants and desires and enter into relationship with them before passing judgment on whether they're trustworthy? (Especially if we have past experiences that have "proven" that our wants only lead to trouble.)
Weirdly, I'm getting some breathing space and insight around these questions from a scene in the movie, Talledega Nights. I'm not saying it's a bastion of wisdom, but I honestly hear some living wisdom when the movie asks whether it's true that if "you're not first, you're last".
Since Imbolc is approaching (the time we mark that we're about 75% of the way through winter), we have another (more beautiful?) invitation from the earth and Celtic Spirituality to notice the earth thawing and seeds rumbling within. It feels like we are right on time to be asking if we can trust these rumblings.
I mention an online gathering where we will be doing an Imbolc Examen. You can sign up for the newsletter here to learn more about it or email me directly at jen@jencobbleworks.com
I'm Jen Cobble Willhoite, a contemplative storyteller, spiritual tool designer, and life-long soul seeker. My path is formed and framed by questions more than answers. I'm more comfortable wondering and wandering about things spiritual than I am in ideology, religion, or dogma.
My soul language and connection with Spirit is primarily grounded in Celtic Spirituality, science, nature, seasonal cycles, myth, folklore, and stories of all kinds. I do have roots in progressive Christianity that I sometimes speak from. My tap root, though, is ordinary life. I believe enlightenment is rhythmic, unfolding, and found in our everyday experiences and selves. I also offer tools and courses on my modern interpretation of the examen: a daily ritual of looking back, looking within, and looking ahead to cultivate a rapport with your inner wisdom and the Sacred as you understand it.
Every week, I share an episode from my own spiritual explorations, offering invitations for you to explore these themes on your own. Thanks for journeying with me!