Here’s to the Holy Fool!
Happy April Fools’ Day!
In celebration of this auspicious day (and this is no joke), my friend Heather Gray and I are offering an early bird special for our Let Your Heart Sing: Virtual Vision Retreat coming up on Friday, April 13 (another auspicious day, which we will discuss at the retreat!)
http://www.soulfilledlife.com/vision-retreat/
The Let Your Heart Sing: Virtual Vision Retreat is an opportunity to carve out a bit of precious time and space to listen to your heart and soul, dipping into clarity, peace and joy! “Virtual Vision Retreat” means that you can join us from anywhere, as long as you have a phone—and if you can’t be present during the scheduled time, we’ll record it all for you!
More details about the retreat below…for now let’s talk for just a minute about the “Holy Fool”…
If you look online for the history of April Fool’s Day, you’ll
discover that in the 16th century with the adoption
of the Gregorian calendar, the celebration of the
New Year was changed from April 1 to January 1.
But many rural people refused to accept the new
date and continued to celebrate in April. They were
labeled “fools” by those who were more in the
swing with the changes.
If you look beneath that historical explanation of
“fool” however, you’ll find a deeper, esoteric
meaning.
The fool or jester in a court was the truth teller…
the only one who could poke fun at or question
royalty. Because the fool was seen as crazy
or a little “off” in the head, he got away with saying
what everyone else knew to be true.
Court Jesters, or Fools were living out an ancient
archetype of the Fool or Wisdom seeker; The Fool
goes where others fear to tread.
When you step out in faith like the Fool, others may declare you insane. And the end result (or what I call “the form”) is never guaranteed.
The Fool by Will Worthington
What is certain though, is that you can’t be The Magician unless you’re first willing to be The Fool.
You can’t wield spiritual power without stepping, as the Fool steps, into the Void. The Void is the space between the worlds. It’s the place where creation begins. It’s where magic arises. It’s the emptiness where nothing happens, and nothing is left undone.
The Void is void of reason.
And the call of The Void is a call the Fool must answer.
So if someone calls you a Fool, take it as a compliment. Let it be a reminder that you’re walking a Sacred Path, even if it looks as if the road ahead is actually a drop off the cliff face.
Chinese Philosopher Lao Tsu said this about the Fool:
When the wise man learns the Way,
He tries to live by it.
When the average man learns the Way,
He lives by only part of it.
When the Fool learns the Way,
He laughs at it.
Yet if the Fool did not laugh at it,
It would not be the Way.
Indeed, if you are seeking the Way,
Listen for the laughter of fools.
In our uber-busy society, it may seem Foolish to make a space to hear the whispers of your Soul. And you never know what your Soul may ask of you—it might demand something wild, something crazy—something utterly magical and life-altering.
If you want to know what possibilities your Essential Self is holding open for you, you have to slow down and listen. You need a safe, sacred place to look at ideas and longings that otherwise get lost in routines and habits.
If you would like to walk the Path of the Holy Fool by making space for that “Still Small Voice” of your Heart, your Soul, your connection with your Truth…
Then Heather and I would love to hang out with you at the Let Your Heart Sing: Virtual Vision Retreat on April 13th! We’re offering two special bonuses and also a discount price when you register before April 6th. http://www.soulfilledlife.com/vision-retreat/
Wishing you the peace and joy that comes
from walking the Way of the Holy Fool….
kimberly schneider
The Manifestation Maven
http://www.KimberlySchneider.com
http://Facebook.com/KimberlyVSchneider
April 1st, 2012 at 8:05 am
Good morning Kimberly. In the land of Fools, I may well be the Queen!
I’m so taken by the Fool’s Journey – the seeker constantly striving to reach new levels of enlightenment, reminding others that to attain knowledge, we must stay true to our hearts and follow our own paths to wherever it may lead.
To keep an open mind, be willing to take risks and change perspectives to those that lie closer to the heart. The honouring of Purity, Innovation and Creativity – willing to try the unexpected and to gain knowledge from the experience.
We can certainly all benefit from being a little Fool-ish.
Your Vision Retreat (and Heather’s) sounds beautiful. This is actually the only way I know how to work with Vision Boards — I call them Message Boards and see the time spent as clearing space for my Soul to emerge and guide me to images and words that define my focus for the next little while and open perspective to what’s waiting for me, if I allow myself to receive it.
So grateful for our connection …
April 1st, 2012 at 8:10 am
Sally I tip my hat to the Queen of Fools! No wonder I’ve always felt a connection to you…
I love this approach to Vision Boards–Heather introduced me to it and it sounds as if you work with them the same way. It is all about setting the mind aside so the heart and soul can speak…I really like it because instead of consciously finding images that support what you’ve decided you want, you let your soul speak to you through the images that you choose without judgment as to why. It is very consistent with the way I teach people to vision through the Manifestation Matrix Meditation.
I am grateful for YOU Sally! Thank you for posting today, my sister Fool…