Yesterday, the women of Unbinding the Soul took their first deep dive into the Seven Powers described in the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, beginning with the first Power, Darkness. When Mary describes the soul's journey through the Powers, I believe she's giving us something extraordinary: a map for recognizing the distorted beliefs and perceptions that prevent us from seeing ourselves and the world clearly. So much of what we believe to be true about ourselves was formed long before we had the awareness or ability to question it. And many of those beliefs are still running quietly in the background of our lives, influencing how we react, what we fear, and what we believe we deserve. Yesterday, we explored that Darkness by descending into the experiences of our inner child, into those early moments when we began forming beliefs about safety, love, belonging, and our own worth. We worked with the Root Chakra, experienced a beautiful grounding Soul Voice Activation, and then used the Feminine Freedom Method to explore something I find absolutely fascinating: how the body can respond emotionally before the conscious mind even recognizes what's happening. Think about that for a moment. Have you ever had an emotional reaction to something that seemed completely out of proportion to what actually happened? Maybe someone didn't respond to your message, and suddenly you felt rejected. Or someone criticized you, and you immediately felt like a little girl who could never do anything right. Where did that feeling come from? Sometimes, when we begin with the sensation in the body and gently explore what it reminds us of, we discover an association with an earlier experience. An old emotional pattern may have been repeating itself for decades, shaping our present reality while we're completely unaware of its influence. The experience may be long over, but the expectation we formed around it can remain. And until we recognize that pattern, how can we begin to change it? This is what I find so powerful about Mary's teachings. The soul encounters the Powers that have claimed authority over her, and through recognition, she begins to free herself from their influence. In The Magdalene Method, we're exploring how that ancient wisdom can help us understand the beliefs, fears, and protective behaviors that have shaped our own lives.

"...human awareness isn’t something the skull manufactures, it’s something the skull-and-heart together tune into." Check out the article here: https://substack.com/@melissavandyke/note/c-386121096?r=ew8mw&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action

I was able to catch up on the replay for week one earlier this evening. I am very comfortable with channeled material since I have been a student of A Course in Miracles since the late eighties/early 90s. I often say it is an inside job and I do believe that going within is where we find all of the answers. I love Anna’s statement with respect to our daily life being our temple and mystery school. I believe that it is in our daily life in this earth school that we do the work, our practicum if you will. I do believe we choose our parents/life before incarnation, based on needed experiences. I am reminded that ACIM states that every experience, every relationship is a lesson in forgiveness and unconditional love. I relate this to the right use of energy, always trying to come from a place of love. With respect to the heart of the one, I believe we are spiritual beings, having a human experience and that we are one in all, and all in one, meaning that we are one in spirit. In answering the question as to what has prepared me or brought me to this place, I would say that my entire life journey has prepared me and brought me to this place. I am grateful to be here. I am complete.🙌🏻

𝘈 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘦, 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦. Most of the missions we visited were cared for by Indigenous families who had tended these sacred places their whole lives. You could feel their love for the land, and how excited they were to tell the stories of their people and the waters. The Santa Barbara Mission was different. More tourist-ready. The woman at the front was tall, blonde and polished, like she'd just come from a corporate lunch with dirty martinis and pinkies out. She knew where everything was. But you could tell she had no real connection to the land, or to the people who belong to it So when Carrie asked her where we could find the statue of Mary Magdalene, she didn't hesitate. "There isn't one." She said it kindly. Firmly. Like someone who had answered that question before and was sure of the answer. Carrie didn't buy it. She leaned over the counter and lowered her voice, so the woman wouldn't be embarrassed. "She's definitely here. I've seen her. I can feel her. She is here."🌹 The woman held her ground and gave the same answer. Carrie just smiled. "Okay. When I find her, I'll come back with pictures." So we went looking. And there she was. *See Photo Mary Magdalene, kneeling at the feet of the risen Jesus, a jar beside her, her face turned up toward him. Life-size. Carved in stone. In a chapel this woman had probably walked past a thousand times. We took a photo and brought it back to her. "Oh, that one," she said. "That's one of the Fates. That's not Magdalene." But Carrie was ready for that. She had also photographed the plaque set into the floor, which says plainly that the statue is Magdalene, with a passage from the Gospel of John. I've thought about that moment every day since. Because she wasn't lying. She truly didn't see it. Nobody had ever told her to look. And why would she think it was Magdalene? Most of us never stopped to ask why this woman was at the heart of Jesus' story. Even when the writers painted her as a repentant sinner, she was still right there with him. At his anointing. At his crucifixion. At his resurrection. She was there for all of it, like the beloved companion she was.

What a wonderful way to begin our Sundays together! Thank you to everyone who joined us for our very first reading of the Gospel of Mary Magdalene this morning. I've been wanting to do this for such a long time, and I'm thrilled that we're finally opening this extraordinary text together. Each Sunday at 9 AM ET, we'll work our way through the surviving Gospel of Mary, one passage at a time, using Jean-Yves Leloup's translation and commentary. We'll read the passage, explore its historical and spiritual meaning, and then spend some time in meditation and contemplation, allowing the teachings to become something we can actually experience in our own lives. This morning, we began with the first surviving passage, manuscript page 7, lines 1–10, and explored the interconnectedness of all creation, the impermanence of the material world, and the beautiful idea that everything eventually returns to its Source. One of my favorite insights from Leloup is that returning to our Source doesn't mean going backward to our beginning. We're continually evolving, and perhaps part of that journey is becoming more conscious of who we are beneath all the conditioning, identities, and expectations we've accumulated throughout our lives. 🎥 Missed the gathering? Watch the replay! 👉REPLAY LINK: https://youtu.be/iB3q6tb6Sxc I've also created a dedicated section in our Classroom called Sundays with Mary's Gospel, where you'll find all the recordings organized in order, so you can begin at the beginning or revisit a teaching whenever you'd like. And because I know these teachings can bring up some fascinating questions, there's also a dedicated Q&A space where you can leave your questions, share your interpretations, or tell us what came up for you during meditation. I'll be checking in periodically to answer questions and continue the conversation. I want this to become a place where we can explore the Gospel together, because I certainly don't claim to have all the answers, and I believe there's so much we can learn from one another.