Last night I sat in meditation, tears running down my face, and I asked for help. ...

... I called in Jesus, a powerful guide to me over the last few years. He brought messages of understanding and instructions for how to proceed. What followed was the beautiful feminine presence of Mary Magdalene. She added her own bits of information, then was gone.

This morning I had a bodywork session that felt like a medicine ceremony. Deep sadness and discomfort washed over me as new layers of my childhood trauma surfaced. I felt despair that it was back. Would I ever be free of this shadow?

It was then that Mary Magdalene reappeared. She assured me there was a reason for this all and I would be ok. But that’s not how I felt. I felt hopeless, a stranger in my own body.

The session ended with me in tears.

Driving home through the incredible Blue Ridge Parkway, I noticed an elderly woman sitting in the trunk of her Prius, watching the trees. Something told me I needed to meet her. I made a U-turn and drove back to honor my intuition.

I pulled over in the little turnoff, only room for our two cars. She seemed so peaceful that I chose not to say anything, but instead got out and sat on a nearby rock, with my journal and pen. We sat silently for a long while, until she finally came over to me and said, “seems like we are both doing the same thing”.

“Listening”, I responded with a smile.

We had a brief, 10-minute conversation in which she told me about the farmers market, the upcoming full moon, and how to deal with a bear if I saw one. I told her how I’ve always been a city boy and I was learning to connect to nature at a deeper level. That’s when she said I was exactly where I needed to be and I was right to have followed my intuition to come to Asheville. This place was good for me.

The energy of this white-haired woman was so peaceful that my inner turmoil became calm. I felt my nervous system relax.

As she turned to walk away, I asked for her name.

“Mary”, she said.

I smiled. Of course it was.

I wrote this poem as I sat there alone. When she returned, I gave it to her, folded. She said she would read it at just the right time.

I hope it was just what she needed too.