Radical Inclusion - Inviting the Fleas to my Retreat
Photo by DJ Johnson on Unsplash | Cleveland Ohio, US
Radical: from the Latin word radix, meaning “root”; that which is at the base or beginning; basic, fundamental.
Inclusion: An acceptance of what is innate, authentic. To my mind, an integral part of the whole and indivisible from it.
There it was – a full-blown late-summer invasion. Nope, not those cute-but-pesky orange beetles … this was FLEAS! Dealing with a flea infestation in the weeks leading up to my annual Autumn retreat and cleanse (a practice I’ve come to view as sacrosanct and essential to my wellbeing) wasn’t my idea of helpful preparation for this time of going within more deeply and offering deep care for this body/mind/spirit!
Or, so I thought.
In our human/feline/canine-inhabited household, we and our animals have experienced significant undesirable reactions to conventional pesticides over the years. Thus, we aimed to address this flea visitation with minimal toxicity, if we could. This entails (on a daily basis) vacuuming floor surfaces and furnishings, washing-out the vacuum after each use, covering all furnishings, laundering all bedding and coverings, attentively flea-combing both cat and dog multiple times each day and night, using diatom flour and essential oil products on floors, furniture, and animals, etc., etc.
Eight weeks of these daily and nightly rituals resulted in fewer and fewer fleas, but we were not flea-free. Sleep-deprived and discouraged, I was ready to nuke the f@*#ers! ‘This should be done by now, right?’ My frustration and despair were palpable. I wanted revenge. My warrior was donning her armor.
When you reach a point in a situation and you are ready to just pop your cork - ?
Perhaps you have had your own experience that made you feel similarly. When you reach a point in a situation and you are ready to just pop your cork - ? ‘This shouldn’t take so long.’ ‘It shouldn’t be this way!’ ‘Let’s just be done with this.’ ‘I don’t have time for this!’ ‘I can’t have X if Y is happening, so let’s just dispatch with it all NOW!’
In overwhelm and desperation, I weighed the considerations of chemical intervention (which provides instant relief alongside toxicity) versus staying the course of treatments requiring more time and greater effort, without ill-effects. ‘Just give me (my animals, the situation) some magic pill!’, I mused.
Of greatest concern is the health of our elder cat who’s already been in the balance between here and the hereafter. When, after seeking consultation, it became clear to me that the option of using chemicals for instant relief was simply not feasible for his wellbeing, I felt despair and outrage.
All of this is background ~ setting the stage for what happened next.
… my way to peace is through the radical inclusion of what-is … including the fleas.
Throughout these weeks, I’d sensed there was a message in the fleas arriving when they did. I kept wondering if I was missing something. I asked within for guidance and clarity. Gradually, I became aware of the answer I sought: the realization emerged that my way to peace is through the radical inclusion of what-is … including the fleas.
Realizing this, I went into the Records and engaged my Akashic Guides in a conversation. Their responses to my situation may be helpful to you, as you meet your own challenges.
As we navigate our current social, political, environmental climates – along with whatever is on each of our personal ‘plates’ – there is wisdom in finding peace in the midst of what feels overwhelming.
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Cheryl: So, Akashic Guides, this has been an interesting process with the flea infestation, moving from wanting to nuke them for threatening the sacred space of my cleanse time to having the term “radical inclusion” rise-up within me, and finding peace about the matter.
It feels like a setup (in a good way) for the deep personal work of the retreat, but I am feeling it has broader implications for us all, not just for me personally. How am I to understand this?
Akashic Guides: You have turned a corner with this awareness. You came in to this life as a warrior, and – as uncomfortable as that is for you as a woman (in your culture) – it suited you well. It served to preserve your incarnation. Now you're entering a deeper understanding of what it means to be a spiritual warrior. Can you stand in the flames and not be consumed? We know that you can. We are saying this to you personally, but there are many on the earth plane shifting and working this energy within themselves. Each one is needed to traverse this time.
The things that you've identified yourself with – and by – are falling away.
The things that you've identified yourself with – and by – are falling away. Do not hesitate to be done with them. You are coming to understand yourself as something far beyond your incarnation. You – collectively – are coming to understand that there is nothing to fear, there is nothing to defend against, there is nothing to fight, there is only to stand and to be true to what you know to be True.
Cheryl: What does this have to do with the fleas?
Guides: It has everything to do with it. Radical inclusion means you include all of it – but it does not mean that you pamper it, or that you work from it, or that you let it lead the way. This is a matter of discernment. What serves you? What serves you now?
There are many things that have been a part of your life, many experiences you have had, many identities you have taken on, roles you have played. All these have been useful to you. They helped to form who you are. But these are not the things that will guide or inform you as you move forward.
… they became an integral part of your home life because you were unconscious of them in so many ways.
This is a piece of the radical inclusion that you felt so deeply in regards to the shift around the fleas. They are an integral part of nature, yet they became an integral part of your home life because you were unconscious of them in so many ways. You were in denial of their existence, you were not recognizing their possibility, you were naming them something other than what they are. And here they are - unwelcome visitors.
But your lack of awareness was an open invitation for them to take up residence and truly establish themselves in a way that makes it now much, much harder to disinvite their participation in your life. It was a good way to get your attention, was it not?
Cheryl: Yes, I can see that we were not conscious, we were not aware, we were in denial. Sigh. (Laughter) I see all of that. I also see that we are outnumbered! (More laughter)
In addition to moving through the uncomfortable emotions of anger, rage, the desire to have revenge, hopelessness, and despair, I do recognize that we are resolving this in a way that works for all of us – even the fleas. We are actively directing them (energetically) to move on, and making this environment inhospitable to them. All these things are producing desired results, gradually. That is the way of balance; the way of nature.
In short, I believed that something sacred to me was threatened.
But here is where I really got hooked: I feared I would need to maintain this level of rigorous cleaning and diligent animal care throughout what I consider my ‘sacred retreat time’. The aims and gifts of this Cleanse include relaxation, meditation, nourishment providing ease of digestion, gentle detoxification, and deep rest. I believed these could not co-exist. In short, I believed that something sacred to me was threatened.
Guides: Yes, but what you're coming to understand is that the peace and the soothing and the nurturance that you so look forward to during this time is not dependent upon the externals. If your focus is external, then indeed you will not feel peace. If you focus on the externals, that will be your focus. If everything has to be ‘just so’, you will not find peace there … or anywhere.
If everything has to be ‘just so’, you will not find peace there … or anywhere.
Cheryl: Yes. I'm beginning to understand this. In a certain way, I feel as if the flea infestation has been a setup, a preparation for the deeper inner work of this time.
Guides: Oh yes, and you will be tried – not because you're being punished – but tried, as in tested. How else can you know that your muscle is strong if you do not put it to the test?
Cheryl: Yes, but I feel like there's enough testing. I mean, really. Really?
Guides: The storms are increasing, my child. You know this, you feel this – everything that is happening tells you that this is true. Storms on every level. If you are to keep your balance then you must go within and you must focus upon where there is no disturbance. That place will never be in the external world.
You have the luxury to give yourself this extended time to focus. There is deep personal work for you to do; there is a clearing out. There are places where you need to dig into a deeper level of forgiveness, both of yourself and of others, there is a deeper level of acceptance with what-is.
Here we are not just speaking of the drama that is playing out on the world stage – we're speaking of who you are personally, and, who all of you understand yourselves to be as humanity.
So, when each of you does your personal work, understand that you do it for others as well.
So, when each of you does your personal work, understand that you do it for others as well. Understand that by doing your personal work, you cannot help but contribute to the wellbeing of others, you cannot help but to ease their process as well.
Be mindful of this when you – all of you – enter into the deeper work and dedicate it to the freedom of all.
Cheryl: But I don't even know how I got here.
Guides: You know enough – you do not need to know everything – not even how you got here – only that you are here. You have a level of peace with what-is. That does not mean that you intend to live with the fleas through the winter. Or even through your cleanse. But do you not see how you are no longer overwhelmed by it all?
Arguing with reality is not a good strategy for change – for the betterment of your situation.
You'll make discernments about pacing or what interventions to use when. In fact, those decisions will be easier now and they will be clearer to you. Why will they be clearer? Because you are not in resistance to what-is, and so your path forward to a better solution is much clearer. Arguing with reality is not a good strategy for change – for the betterment of your situation.
You will never find your footing firm by trying to be where you are not. You must be where you are, to accept where you are, in order to find your footing to move in a direction that pleases you better. This is why “spiritual bypass” – avoiding one's human emotions – has never worked to bring you to peace.
The perfection of your time has everything to do with your attitude and your focus.
Receive the fleas as your brothers and sisters, set boundaries, invite them elsewhere, do your strategies to disinvite them with diligence. And understand that you will have a perfect time during your cleanse and retreat with or without their presence. The perfection of your time has everything to do with your attitude and your focus. What is your intent? Focus there and allow everything else to fall away. Your ability – the ability of each of you – to relax, to have peace within, rests in your hands, not in the hands of another.
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The loving presence of our Akashic Guides is ever-accessible. If you’re inspired to connect with the loving presence within your Akashic Records, I’m pleased to sit with you. Please contact me if you would like to connect.
