I am so delighted to announce that I will be a speaker at the awesome Burning Woman Festival alongside loads of brilliant guests ✨ I will be talking about my book ‘Letters from the Wound’, reading from it, sharing with you some of the concepts, life philosophies, spiritual insights, experiences that are behind it, as well as leading a guided meditation with voice and drum to help us come back home and reconnect to our inner flame and fire. It is the weekend of the 4 & 5th of July. My session is on Saturday at 4pm (British time). Do check out the programme with the link below. I am an affiliate so if you book and do it from this particular link, I get some pennies. Cheers. (there is a suggested price but you can also give what you can afford) So looking forward to sharing this experience with you ??☀️???❤️More details in a later post. https://www.burningwoman.co.uk/?ref=18
Here is a little taster of the various sessions…
And the description of my offering:
Come and journey back to source, back to you, back to your inner flame and creative fire with Natacha Dauphin, author of
Letters from the Wound.
Do you remember becoming aware of having abandoned yourself? Or perhaps you hadn’t realised that this was happening until now?
Natacha became aware of this, which changed everything, enabling her to step into a fuller and truer version of herself.
This abandoning can happen slowly, subtly and over time or fiercely and suddenly. Either way, it causes us to disconnect; from ourselves, our gifts and the world around us.
In this talk/workshop, you will be reminded that it is OK to feel ALL that you are feeling. You will be encouraged to acknowledge and thank your wound for her gifts and you will be given tools to stop feeding her and start living from a place of presence and gratitude for the wondrous gift that is your life.
Whether you experienced or are experiencing grief, betrayal, depression, anxiety, shame, loss of self-worth and motivation, you have the right to start feeling magic, inspiration and intuition flow through you again. You are deserving and worthy of being you, of embracing your time here on Earth and of sharing your gifts.
The workshop will address these themes, give you concepts and exercises to dive deeper after the session and help you pivot back to your authentic self. You will be supported by readings from Natacha’s newly published book ‘Letters from the Wound’ and a LIVE exploratory guided sound meditation with voice and medicine drum.
Do come and join me and the rest of the wonderful guests.
As the energies are reaching some very intense peaks at the moment, many hearts are hurting, minds are confused, spirits are low and bodies tired. There is so much to say and yet no words seem to grasp the essence and mysteries of what is really going on around the world and even in the universe.
We have been in lockdown for quite a while now. This is giving us the opportunity to tune in, redefine, reassess, reprioritise. It is also bringing forward a lot of questions and uncertainties regarding how we can transition into a safe space for all and also, how we can move towards a healthier and more harmonious way of being and living.
There is no going back. And yet how do we reenter the world with more integrity, respect and humility than we had before? How can we move with more grace, courage and an open heart?
Each person needs to find their own way of standing up for their beliefs, for justice, for a fairer world.
Racist behaviour is not OK. And… shaming others for the way they respond to these events is not OK either. There is a need for personal responsibility that is undeniable but going into division over this is the exact opposite of the medicine we need at the moment.
Blaming has never healed anything, just as responding to violence by more violence is a lost cause.
If we could all stand strong in our integrity, with fierce values, then we may find harmonious ways of rebuilding the beautiful rainbow we were created to make up together. This will not happen by pointing fingers and believing that our way of fighting, dealing with, standing up for, is better than someone else’s. We must speak up, fully embody the warrior we are meant to be and let others find their way, their fight, their battlefield.
Someone else’s battlefield may look very different from yours. This does not mean that they are not fighting the same demons for the same values as you are.
Make a wish for Mother Earth and all living beings…
Fear is growing, without an inch of doubt. We, as a human species, are facing one of the biggest challenges of all times: to either give in to fear or to rise with love. This may seem airy fairy. Yet, I know with my whole heart that the choice we make in this regard is of crucial importance.
Do we want to live in fear or do we want to live in love?
How do we proceed when there are so many strong contradictions, conflicting opinions and distorted bits of information out there?
By going inward first.
By learning to be quiet enough to hear our heart’s whispers and soul’s guidance.
Tuning back in, just like an old radio that needs fine adjustments to be heard clearly.
We are all heavily bombarded with information and stimuli of all types. Our minds are saturated. They need decluttering and spring cleans on a regular basis in order to function. YOU are the only one who can do this for yourself. Yes, you can get help, but you must take responsibility and be disciplined about this.
Practise and commit.
Show up for yourself first. This will allow you to show up for others and the world with no hidden agenda or bypassing.
I strongly believe that the biggest disease of our time is:
–DISCONNECTION–
disconnection from self,
disconnection from the earth,
disconnection from spirit and,
disconnection from our fellow beings.
Disconnection is without doubt the root of most harmful decisions
and
destructivebehaviours.
We can all start by reconnecting with and to ourselves.
This is the foundation.
What do we need to unlearn in order to remember the connection we’ve been carrying within ourselves from way before birth? How do we need to listen to find the door to our own wisdom?
Isn’t it ironic that we are in a situation in which we are of having to social distance. No cozy meetings, no touch, no hugs, nothing… when the need to build connection is the greatest it’s ever been.
We must, more than ever, start honouring the life within and around us, work and commit to being present in this moment.
Again, this may seem cliché; but NOW, is the only time that really exists, it is the only time in which you can take action, step into who you truly are and what you have come here for.
Pay attention.
Stay awake.
Use your senses.
Find joy in small things.
There is always an invitation to enter the realm of magic with gratitude and reverence for life .
Your soul does not call you yesterday or tomorrow.
It only connects and converses with you in THIS very moment.
You are alive in this very moment, not yesterday nor tomorrow.
What truly matters to you?
Start being ruthlessly honest with yourself.
What makes you feel alive?
Do the inner work.
Be gentle and bold.
Be mindful and focused.
There is no time to lose.
I made a little video of me reading an extract from my book ‘Letters from the Wound’ for an online Literature Festival during lockdown, with some original footage from various places I have been and love. I hope it will help you come back home ? (click on video to watch)
PS: All photos in this post were taken in York. (no filter)
PS 2: You can find my book on Amazon worldwide. Links in my little shop section. If for some reason you would prefer to get one directly for me, just send me a message.
PS 3: If you have resonated with this and are not a subscriber, please do feel free to join the tribe. There is a little subscribe button on this page.
I am super excited and honoured to be part of the June issue of this wonderful magazine. It is coming out tomorrow, June 5th 2020 on the Full Moon and Eclipse. Here are the first couple pages of my article.
You can subscribe to the magazine for $4 per month. Each issue is filled with so much yumminess, incredible women, stories and photography. Here is the website if you would like to check it out:http://www.fiercefemininerising.com/
These are such intense times, in so many ways. Please let’s try and be kind to one another. May we put effort into not judging how others are sailing their boat at the moment. Everyone is doing their best. Most of us are relearning how to breathe and live with deeper wisdom, compassion and integrity, in our own way, in our own time.
It may not always look like it.
But it is happening.
This morning, I wrote a post on social media:
“The waves are huuuge at the moment and we all have our unique way of navigating them. There is no right or wrong way, and even less of a perfect way to be feeling, doing, thinking. What we do need is to connect to our heart and let it lead the way. More than ever I feel I have no answers. What I do know with certainty is this: each one of us carries within himself/herself a wound AND a new seed.”
This quote is an extract from my book ‘Letters from the Wound’.
The light will always pierce through one way or another and the ant, dedicated and patient builder is there to remind us that endurance is a strength and does pay off. (see photo)
I do hope that despite the strange times we are living in, this post finds you and your loved ones safe and well.
I am not sure how things will evolve but what I do know is that we are all trying to do our best and however you are feeling, it is OK.
Please be kind to yourself and do not judge the way you are dealing with this crisis.
Just know that this too will pass and that in the end, we do have the power to make the world we are living in a better and more harmonious place.
Dream your vision and your version of a world with more equality, respect and love into being – each day.
Put the intention out there.
Trust and have faith.
Take inspired action when possible.
Just over a month ago I was fortunate enough to be a guest on the Arts Show hosted by Miles Salter on JORVIK RADIO. It was probably one of the last in-person events either of us attended!
We talked about my book ‘Letters from the Wound’ of course, but also about healing, creativity, music, life and my belief that we always have a choice whether to get caught in victim mentality or to rise to a fuller and truer version of ourselves.
This does not mean that we must negate the challenges and difficult feelings. On the contrary, this means that we must feel, grieve, cry, howl; whatever we need to do in order to process, digest, transmute, alchemise and integrate ….
This journey will enable us to dive deeper into unconditional acceptance of self and therefore of what is, without giving in to what does not resonate or feel right.
From that place of compassion for our life and being, we can have the courage and buoyancy to rise back up from the chaos and muddy waters with more ease and grace.
Here is a link if you would like to have a listen. Ignore the first minute of outdated news!!! My interview lasts about 30 minutes, it is cut up into different sections throughout the 1 hour programme:
The last super moon of 2020 has been truly magical this month; so bright and strong, reminding us that life carries on, that there is more to our reality than we usually pay attention to and that all things are cyclical and constantly evolving. May we let go of what no longer serves us and make room for what we would like to attract, create and manifest in our lives.
We are blessed beyond measure to share this life on such a beautiful planet with all living beings and to be a part of such an extraordinary universe with all its mysteries and miracles.
For this, I am deeply grateful.
I am currently working on what I call my ‘Sound Diaries’. More to come about this when more has been revealed to me !!!
“Perhaps, I can collect the seeds, once the flower has wilted…”
‘Letters from the Wound’, Natacha Dauphin
As we are mostly cooped up inside, the world outside is bursting with colour, vibrancy and fragrance. Mother Nature is doing her thing in the most ordinary and yet in the most extraordinary ways. I will never cease to be in complete awe of her talents, wisdom, courage and generosity.
For many, this lockdown and virus provide a newly acquired lens through which to look at oneself and one’s life. It is an opportunity to reevaluate what really matters, to experience how things can be different if we do not get caught in the hamster wheel, if we become more aware, and brave enough to live the life we want to live and are deserving of living.
In quietness and spaciousness there is room for expansion, recalibration and of course rebirth. Despite the difficulties, inconveniences and genuine losses a lot of us are experiencing, I do believe that if we can rise to see all this from a higher perspective and wider lens, we will observe and trust that there is a bigger shift and gift orchestrated by life itself taking place.
We could not have carried on much longer sleepwalking the way we were as a human race.
My wish is for this time to plant the seeds inside each one of us to rekindle our hearts and awaken the infinite callings of our souls.
My prayer is that we can, at last, grasp the true meaning of connection – to self, to the other, to Mother Earth, to the universe and take inspired action from a place of love, respect, honouring and celebration.
When my book ‘Letters from the Wound’ came out at the end of February, I could not foresee what was about to manifest on this planet and yet the entire book is an invitation to retune, to reestablish a connection to all that is.’Letters from the Wound’ is about coming back to what really matters and the importance of not abandoning oneself. It reminds us that we are “Divine beings having a human experience”, as a very wise person once said.
The Earth is sacred and we definitely do not own her. She is allowing us to be here. Let’s not forget and let’s start walking with more care, humility, gratitude and integrity.
We all have an active part to play. We all have our own medicine to sprinkle around with love.
It takes courage to show up in all that we are. Yet, there is no time left to pretend, there is no time left to play small.
You can be bold and gentle at the same time.
What will you do today to honour life and all that you are?
With much love, Natacha ?
PS: I took this picture by the river Ouse in York a couple of days ago.
‘Letters from the Wound’ has been out in the world for 2 weeks now!
I finally got my author’s copies and was able to send the books off to my lovely crowdfunding campaign supporters today. I so enjoyed signing them, wrapping them and filling them with lots of love and good wishes as they got put into the big post office bag!
In the meantime I seem to have done a podcast with the lovely Graeme Smith from York Calling. We talked about singing therapy, life, the importance of claiming your power back and not abandoning yourself, my future French album and of course my book!
Here is a link to an article Graeme wrote and another of the podcast itself. My bit starts around 5 mins 10 in.
If you could like a copy of the book, head to ‘My little shop’ and you will find the Amazon links. If you are boycotting amazon, get in touch and you can get a copy through me !
Wonderful Angel in the woods near Mother Shipton's cave, Knaresborough
Wonderful Angel in the woods near Mother Shipton’s cave, Knaresborough.
It has been such a long time since I sat down to write here. I have thought of it many times and it never felt quite right. What was there really to share?…
The past few months have been full on and empty at the same time. This particular and odd combination asked for solitude, a notebook and pen rather than a computer screen and keyboard ready to share instantly.
The last time you read something from me here was when I shared my crowdfunding campaign with you. I am now delighted to say that after a bit of a tortuous road my first book ‘Letters from the Wound’ is about to come out. You will be able to buy it from amazon anywhere in the world and I even created a little shop section here which hopefully I can set up with links to buy the book and perhaps in time, other treats I have been planning out. ;o)
Last summer was rough. Looking after my mom who had several falls and desperately wanted to die, dealing with all the practical matters as well as the emotional ones and then of course accompanying her to the other side end of September left me completely exhausted and drained.
So I listened.
I listened deeply to what I needed and wanted – perhaps like I had never listened before.
And I listened – more; deeply; longer; again – until I could finally hear.
Space.
Time.
Rest.
Letting go of heaviness, weight, burdens, pressure.
Allowing the layers to peel off and fall, organically, in their own time, without forcing anything, without resisting, without fighting
Is
What
I
Needed.
And I listened.
And I felt.
I surrendered to all there was to feel and be felt, without judgement, shame, fear or drama. I embraced it all and was given the gift of grace and courage to walk my path in true authenticity, gratitude and love for myself and for life itself.
And now, as my book is ready to spread it’s wings far and wide, I too am ready to fly back into the world of conscious sharing, connecting and creating together.
Well this has been quite a summer so far and I haven’t managed to write here as regularly as I had anticipated.
It seems important, however late this is, to say that I have been running a funding campaign to publish my 3 books of poems, affirmations, incantations, prayers, inspirations or whatever you may call them! Well actually, life had other plans for me and although I did put a lot of time, effort and energy into my campaign initially, I had to surrender to some extent, and let it run itself.
I am so deeply grateful and touched by people’s support, love and generosity. Isn’t it amazing how as human beings, we can and will help other people’s dreams and visions come true…
In these challenging times, when the Earth is crying, when politics show little integrity and personal circumstances are not the easiest, it is important to remember that as human beings we are capable of beautiful things.
Here is the link to my campaign if you would like to contribute, choose a gift or just have a look. You will find more about the journey of the 3 books, the perks I am offering and – you will meet Georgia in the video. https://igg.me/at/NatachaBookFunding/x/22004064#/
“I sit with you sweet fear I sit with all you hold dear The labels, the threats appear To support and fund your life here
But I won’t stand in fear my dear
Those days are gone
Let’s make it clear
Sit with me sweet fear Have a glass and disappear There’s no one to save here No one to trap inside your sphere….”
Today, I saw my first butterfly. It was beautiful and despite one of its wings being damaged, it gracefully flew away after a few minutes blessing me with its presence.
The transition between winter and spring seems to have been playing ping pong but one thing is for sure, the days are getting longer, the daffodils are dancing in the wind and the cherry blossoms are displaying their breathtaking elegance.
The song and video above are a little reminder to not try and escape fear; for when we do that, we give it the power we so long to have over it. Instead, this is an invitation to befriend it, to thank it for its concern and wish to protect us, to reassure it that we are fine, to wave it goodbye and to step into the arena of our life-whatever that means for each one of us.
Stepping out of our comfort zone is one of the best ways to show life that we trust it, it is one of the most worthwhile contracts we can sign with our soul and the most terrifying but exciting way we can encourage our heart to grow. Just like snow drops pierce their way through the snow, we can show up for ourselves, for our dreams, visions and life at any given moment. Start NOW.
The new moon is approaching, ready to bless your new intentions, projects, wishes and commitments.
Vidéo créée, chanson écrite, composée et interpétée par Natacha Dauphin en hommage à Patrick Bagarry qui nous a tragiquement quittés il y a un an. Il y a des personnes comme ça qui touchent des milliers de vies sans s’en rendre compte, qui amènent du soleil sans s’en rendre compte. Patrick était une de ces personnes. Et malgré le fait que je n’habite plus à Aups, j’ai grandi avec la présence de Patrick partout dans le village. Pour tous ceux qui ont eu la chance de croiser son chemin, il est parti bien trop tôt. Par cette chanson je lui envoie tout mon amour, ainsi qu’à sa famille. On a tous différentes façons de gérer le deuil et toutes les émotions qui s’y rattachent. Moi j’écris des chansons….
“Je pars Dans le silence Je pars Sans révérence Je pars Vers l’innocence Je pars Si la vie m’entend Je voudrais lui dire Prend soin de mes enfants Prend soin de mes parents Tous vos hurlements Qui me viennent Portés par le vent Qui m’entraine Maintenant c’est votre peine que je ressens Elle est dans vos coeurs Dans vos veines Cette douleur Comme un anathème Je veux la prendre Et jamais vous la rendre Et vos larmes Belles, fragiles, vulnérables Vos seules armes Face à un monde cruel Un vide hostile L’impensable J’aurais voulu être plus J’aurais voulu ne pas être Celui qui fait naître Tant de larmes Tous vos hurlements Qui me viennent Portés par le vent Qui m’entraine Maintenant c’est votre peine que je ressens Elle est dans vos coeurs Dans vos veines Cette douleur Comme un anathème Je veux la prendre Et jamais vous la rendre Que comme mes cendres Elle se disperse Qu’au lieu d’attendre Elle disparaisse Et ne laisse qu’une trace d’amour”
