The forces in our lives are constantly colliding—sometimes in ways that work out well and sometimes in ways that don’t. This interview series is an exploration of what it can look like to work with the collisions, rather than against them. By digging into how humans and nature and culture interact – from our relationships with other humans, to those with our non-humans neighbors, to our relationship with ourselves to our relationship with the landbase –we can uncover how to best step fully into our role in the story of the world. Every few weeks, I’ll be bringing in other voices to this virtual space to explore a collision of their choice and share it with us.
The very first interview in this series is with my dear friend Lindsey Ruder, whom I first met when she was working on a biodynamic farm in Wisconsin. I’m pretty sure we first chatted near the pig pen at the farm during a community gathering around solstice time. We connected over plants, a love of yoga and the natural world, and ended up leading several wellbeing retreats together before she moved out of the area. The great thing about soul sisters is that you stay connected, no matter your physical location.
Meet Lindsey, Daughter of Earth Mother and Joan. She identifies as an Embodied Woman, Sister, Daughter and Being of Light. From a young age, she’s been drawn to the ways of the natural world, and mystified by the dance we humans do—with ourselves, with one another, and with our planet.
As a certified coach of integrative health/nutrition, transformation guide & facilitator of sacred women’s circles, she feels humbly called to be a vehicle of remembrance, resource and reclamation. As Lindsey says, “The Feminine Rising is NOW!”
Heidi: What are some forces that are colliding in your life right now (or have in the not too distant past)?
Lindsey: Mmmm, that’s a juicy question, my friend. The past year has been begging me for more solitude. Never have I ever felt so complete and so fulfilled, simply by enjoying my own presence and environment. This pursuit of solitude has felt like a mostly organic unfolding—with a sprinkling of inspiration and encouragement from my mentors and spiritual guides along the way.
The result of spending so much quality time with myself, is that I’ve come to know myself on much deeper levels–an intimacy previously foreign to me. This causes the most wonderful growth & transformation…AND can also collide with my old and/or expired ways of being and self-identifying. Since much of this old way resides in my mind, I find this ‘collision’ between the ever-busy mind and my own deeper ways of knowing and being to be increasingly common these days.
Heidi: How are you navigating the conditions this collision is creating? How does the dissonance created impact your choices?
Lindsey: Depends on the day! I’d liken the feel of this collision with the familiar conundrum of any crossroads junction. In this case, one path is known—conditions are familiar and there is a resulting ease and obviousness to this choice. The second path, however, is not so familiar. It holds all the promise of any land of milk-and-honey, but yet is completely exotic and mysterious to me. I am struggling to maintain my illusion of “control” with the second path.
Each time I take a step toward the unknown, I gain a new perspective—one that affirms that this path offers everything I need for this moment. And yet, I pause, shaken by the fact that I can’t see where it leads, let alone how it will feel along the way! Suddenly, the allure of that first path grows louder as its predictive nature tantalizes a mind that only wishes to keep me safe. So, I suppose the ways in which the collision is affecting my choices vary with the degree of courage and trust (faith) I’m experiencing in the moment!
Heidi: What has this collision taught you about yourself? The world?
I feel clear that the planetary healing and transformation required in our lifetime will not take place through the means of our current strategies and systems. My clarity rests simply on the essence of educator Jessie Potter’s quote from the early eighties (often mistakenly thought to belong to Henry Ford): “If you always do what you’ve always done, you always get what you’ve always gotten.”
Current systems–of stewardship, education, medicine, connection and governance - are outdated and/or expired, and have been tipping the scales toward imbalance, disharmony and disease for our planet and all its inhabitants for all too long now. In expressing my own frustrations around this in recent years, I am startled at how often I’ve been met with a response that echoes something along these lines: “yup, it’s definitely broken, but I guess this is just how it is…”
This patterned response has come to exemplify that point of collision I’m highlighting - the crossroads between old and new ways of existing. In order to restore balance and harmony, we rely on the revival of both lost and undiscovered ways of knowing and being. We must break the molds of competition and scarcity and nourish these wound sites with the balm of connectedness and deep intuition. We must collectively agree not to settle for broken systems anymore…and get to dismantling oppressive power structures, amplifying marginalized voices and creating–so much creating!
My experience suggests that the path of healing and progress feels a bit more like the latter of the two paths described above–with that oh-so distinct flavor of the great Unknown. And as with all great mysteries, some degree of Courage and Trust will be required, in order for us to persist and thrive along the way.
Heidi: As we wrap up today, I’d love to hear about a collision you explore in your current work.
One of the collisions that lights me up the most these days is that between the masculine and feminine energies that make up all of creation. This collision inevitably parallels this larger theme I’ve been discussing here between old and new paradigms, because of the inarguable relationship between toxic expressions of masculinity/femininity and our diminishing quality of life here on Earth. For example, one expression of sacred masculinity is the energy of caretaking–how beautiful, right?! But when that caretaking energy tips into the realm of control, or even exploitation, it creates imbalance and inevitably affects the homeostasis, or harmony, of the whole system.
My latest passion project has been the creation of the Deer Creek Sister Circle—A bi-monthly in-person gathering that takes place on the land I currently occupy in the beautiful Hill Country of central Texas. This sweet assembly of women gathers under the Full and New Moons to intentionally co-create the new paradigm mentioned above – one that restores balance between the strengths and the magical qualities of both the Masculine and Feminine. We know this balance creates more harmony in all of our relationships, and these invocations, intentions, rituals, celebrations and prayers are absolutely our highest offerings to our communities and the collective.
Heidi: Lindsey, what a pleasure to hear from you today. Thank you for sharing your wisdom! What else would you like to share about your current projects before we close?
This Spring, I officially launched my private coaching business, Red Tent Coaching, for both in-person and virtual services. This name draws inspiration from both the physical concept of the Red Tent—the space women gather to share, rest and be nourished by connection—as well as the movement to remember and reclaim our sacred Sisterhood, taking place around the globe. I am humbled by the power of this movement, and simultaneously honored to be a pebble in the pond of the Rising Feminine.
Have a collision you’d like to explore in this space? Send me an email at heidi@heidibarr.com.