The most adventurous journey to embark on; is the journey to yourself,
the most exciting thing to discover; is who you really are,
the most treasured pieces that you can find; are all the pieces of you,
the most special portrait you can recognize; is the portrait of your soul.
– Unknown
If we only think of ourselves and each other in terms of our dense, physical human bodies and mind, life can be incredibly limiting and somewhat shallow and meaningless.
Mainstream society conditions us to be overly focused on external appearances and short term, superficial goals – looking pretty, material wealth, achieving ego and physical results… all of which means absolutely nothing to the soul.
Get to know the soul being you are…the ancient being inside of you, which is eternal, compassionate, authentic, strong, resilient, patient and wise. The soul knows what it means to be authentic and it has nothing to do with outside appearances.
Soul work will always challenge us to go deeper – to remove our false masks, limiting self-beliefs and above all, be honest and true to ourselves and others.
We cannot really get to know our soul unless we are also prepared to crack open our protective shell and allow the light of truth to illuminate our shadow.
For any readers new to the concept of our “shadow” – it basically means our past wounds or, the lost, vulnerable and broken parts of ourselves longing for love, compassion, forgiveness and conscious awareness. “Everyone carries a shadow,” Carl Jung wrote, “and the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious life the blacker and denser it is.”
The Journey of the Soul is about having the courage and endurance to continuously face these wounds, heal and embrace the depth of our being – every moment… so that we may continue to grow towards self-awareness, authenticity, compassion and soul wisdom. I have come to learn that authenticity means to be in touch with my own vulnerability and that this is strength, honesty and being true to my heart and soul.
The featured image for this post is a photograph I took of an ancient Holm Oak Tree in the Madonie National Park, Sicily. Every time I am in this Park, I connect with a different tree. Many of the Holm Oaks are between 500 to 800 years old. This tree with its huge crack in the center of the trunk was obviously struck by lightning – perhaps hundreds of years ago!
What struck me 🙂 was that although the inner trunk was blackened by the fire and completely hollow,… the tree was still incredibly strong, healthy, huge, majestic and wise.
To climb inside the tree and listen to its wisdom was a magical experience. For me, this majestic being is a celebration and reflection of the Journey of the Soul.
All photographs and text Copyright © Jaymie Elder 2017
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Jaymie Elder is a soul journey guide, artist, photographer and traveller offering intuitive guidance/Soul Sessions internationally via Skype. Jaymie is dedicated to supporting others to heal and grow towards their authentic self – and a life in harmony with their heart and soul being. Learn more about Jaymie and her work here.
Rainbowtree Woman 
Yes. Although maybe those people just aren’t ready to – or at a stage where they can – face those parts of themselves. I certainly wasn’t, but now I’m starting to regain some semblance of balance I can see the gifts of this deep process.
Beautiful photos of the Holm Oak, too. Thanks for sharing.
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Reblogged this on Rainbowtree Woman and commented:
The featured image for this post is a photograph I took of an ancient Holm Oak Tree in the Madonie National Park, Sicily. Every time I am in this Park, I connect with a different tree. Many of the Holm Oaks are between 500 to 800 years old. This tree with its huge crack in the centre of the trunk was obviously struck by lightning – perhaps hundreds of years ago? For me, this majestic being is a celebration and reflection of the Journey of the Soul.
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