Vision © 2014 Coralie Raynaud http://coralieraynaud0989.wix.com/cora

When I created this blog, Breathing in the Moon: In Search of Enlightenment, I didn’t even know the meaning of the word enlightenment. But no matter. I began my quest with passion, an open mind and a heart in need of mending.

Surrounded by friends with amazing abilities to call on helpful spirits in other realms to unravel sticky situations and to heal the sick by moving energy, I had questions. Not so much about these extraordinary feats, for I accepted them as easily as I accepted our most mundane capabilities. Instead, being a writer, I wanted to know the meaning of words I kept bumping into: Ascension. Lightworkers. Vibrations. 3-D. 5-D. But even more, I wanted access to the magic.

So I began reading everything I could get my hands on about mysticism, self-healing, dream interpretation, crystals, animal totems and plant consciousness, and I attended workshops on reincarnation, core shamanism, dowsing, and flower therapy healing. The Universe even stepped in and left a box of books outside my door: seven Carlos Castaneda books, Edgar Cayce’s Individual Reference File, Whitley Strieber’s Communion (ETs), and a little book on the magic of incense, oils, and brews.

Along the way, I became obsessed with a painting of the Priestess of Delphi and traveled alone to Greece to visit the Temple of Apollo and to meet up with the Pythia. When I returned, I felt odd, like I’d left parts of myself behind. I told a friend about my malaise, and she blithely replied, “Oh. You need a soul retrieval.” I had no idea what this meant either. But my friend suggested a shamanistic practitioner who I promptly hired to locate and retrieve my missing soul parts.

After my soul retrieval, my soul parts wouldn’t leave me alone. They appeared in my dreams and in visions throughout the day. Communication with these newly-returned aspects of self is part of the integration process and it’s a good thing up to a point. But mine were so insistent that it became clear that if I was ever to find peace, I would have to tell their story. Four years later, I had a novel: a mystical coming-of-age story about the reunion of a 12-year-old girl and her seven missing soul parts.

Was I suddenly enlightened with the return of my soul parts? Well, no, not exactly. But my malaise disappeared and I experienced an opening, an expansion. And for the first time in this life, I felt unmitigated joy. My heart was on the mend.

Now five years later, I’m still searching. But instead of looking for something outside myself, I’ve come to understand that all we need to know lies within each and every one of us. We just need to remember that we’re spirits currently residing in human form, and as aspects of the Creator of this magnificent mulitverse, our own creative abilities are limitless.

I’ve shared many of my experiences here, but I haven’t been ready to reveal everything until now. So stay tuned. And If you’d like to share your stories, please leave comments here, on Facebook, or contact me at <charlene@breathinginthemoon.com>.