Chapter 7 from the book “How to Become a Golf Goddess” on Mother Earth and Gaia. This Chapter is the part of my journey with my Native Elder Mentor, Dave Courchene Jr. Continued from the last blog titled..The Man who changed me life and my prayers..this was through my connection back to Nature and the Sacredness of Mother Earth…..I joyfully share this chapter over the next few blogs..with both women and curious men!!
Goddess Gaia representing the Front Nine
Hole 7 – Mother Earth
Gaia is a Greek goddess known as earth or mother earth.
The Greek common noun for “land” is GE or GA
Gaia Symbols- Earth, Grounding, Foundation, Our Bodies, Connection to golf – Beauty of the golf courses, the different grass and shapes of the fairways and greens. Feel the Earth beneath our feet, feel the earth when replacing divots
The Sacred Earth ”The goddess is the earth itself, the personification of Nature. She gives birth to all her children, feeds and nourishes them And takes them back to her body when they die. Through the generosity of the earth mother the land is fertile and food is Plentiful.”
Gaia-“She is the gentle caretaker of planet earth. Scientists have proven that the earth is a living, pulsating breathing organism. Earth as a living entity, earth has its own rhythm and its own divine magic within it.We all have the ability to communicate with non-human entities and the earth is the oldest and the wisest.” This ability already exists for each of us. Especially as women, we are closer to the earth and it only needs be discovered and used. When you play golf you are playing the game upon the Mother Earth and it is important to connect back to the land and learn from her as much as we can. The lessons from the earth can give us directions to playing the game of life. Let’s think of the golf courses as feminine, because they are, they are the Earth. This is a magical planet we live upon and we can experience magical golf games if we approach the golf course with an open heart to learn from Gaia.
“If you pay no attention to the cycles and seasons of life and the energies they call into play, you will be constantly surprised, and not always happily, with what “Lady Luck” brings you.” – Carol Bridges
We in the west are conditioned to go after the direct line to the next step to success. However, this is not the lesson we learn from our Mother. And as my own mother always said to me: “Life is one-step forward two steps backward.” When we start believing in the signs from spirit it gives us courage to face the backward steps. As we ground our intention that we are playing upon our home, our ultimate mother, golf games can take on a more respectful and loving approach making our golf sacred play. I am happy to mention that golfers are raising the awareness throughout the world today for preserving the land and our home. One company, Audubon International, is supporting golf courses to be eco-friendly. There are now 50 golf courses in Canada that are eco-friendly supporting a natural environment for waterfowl by cutting back on watering and the use of pesticides and herbicides. To learn more go to about becoming a green golfer go to www.audoboninternational.org
“I am only one, but still I am one, I cannot do everything, but still I can do something, I will not refuse to do the something, I can do.” - Helen Keller
When you begin to feel a connection with the earth and all the kingdoms within it, you will recognize you are never alone. This planet, our ultimate home, is really a friendly place. We’ve just lost touch with this truth or perhaps we were never taught to think this way. We only have to look to the animals to see that the earth does provide for them with everything they need. The same is true for us and we only have to wake up to this fact that everything we have and even our bodies our made from the earth and her elements.
Since I moved to British Columbia and taken time out to write, I have been more in tune with nature. One little bird that sings, I believe it is a finch. It keeps teaching me to be right here. Its song is one of chirping a bit and then it ends with a long two whistles that sound like the words “Right Here”. This is such a great message, the few little chirps is a reminder to me that my head can go off chattering and then I must bring it back to Right Here. A common message from many spiritual teachings is to be in the now, the present moment. That is always your point of power since the past and the future are out of our control and it is hard to enjoy being in nature if our head is bent on thoughts like, doing chores, the shopping, paying bills, or any number of things we can choose to worry about throughout the day. Give yourself permission for a time-out when you are out in nature. Look, listen and learn from Nature – she has many secrets to reveal.
First Steps in trusting my intuition
I have always loved being in nature and I was reintroduced to the magical connection of Mother Earth from a Native Elder many years ago. I resonated immediately with his teachings that centered around having a great love and respect for Gaia and also for women and children. I was first introduced to this Elder and the Native Ceremonies in 1995 while I was also taking my Yoga Teacher Training. I just had a physic reading a few months before meeting him and I was told that I was a native in my past life and it would help me quicker along my path in this life time if I was to study the Native Traditions. Now I was open to this because I was learning about reincarnation through the yoga path. Someone in my yoga class brought in a flyer about a three-day weekend to learn from a Native Man who would lead us in the sweat lodge and sunrise ceremony. I did not know the people running the event and it was a good two hours from my home. The woman who brought in the flyer could not go and I was scared to go by myself, but my intuition kept pushing me to go. I gathered up all my courage and went away for the weekend, all on my own. This was a big step for me back then, leaving my former husband at home with the kids and not even taking a friend with me. I came away from that weekend realizing I had just taken the first big step in trusting my intuition and it became the beginning of living a better life for me. I discovered a whole new way of perceiving life around me. Most of what I experienced could not be explained intellectually it was more of a feeling of coming home.
Over the next few blogs I will be adding the rest of this Chapter from the Goddess and Golf book and Introduce you more to Dave Courchene Jr, his work, his mission and charity and his first Nations teachings from the sunrise ceremony I did in 1995.
To all my Relations,
Margarit Brigham ~ Blue Thunderbird Woman
