the secret life of names ::

Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you

where there were only walls.

 — Joseph Campbell

found. #secretmessage

Change is in the air. It's prickly :: alive, almost so much it hurts. These raw days leave trails of tears but winds have turned; the whirlwind spins a fury so holy that it heals, and the full moon sings.

Things hurt more when you're awake. But it's a worthy ache; it means life is vibrant and that I am present like I've never been before, at least not fully. Owning these moments that I live in, aware, awake, and completely committed to now, is a whole new kind of life.

Because this life is so intense awake, I've engaged the process of re-evaluating every aspect of it: beliefs, choices, thoughts and words, even my everyday and how I spend my energy. But most poignantly, perhaps, who I am. Why I exist and what my life needs to be, wants to be.

Through this process, I've learned the significance of naming. Of words and labels, of thoughts and intention. I love how Native American names tell stories, and prophesy. For fun, I sent this link to a friend and asked, What name would you pick for you? For me, Kachina ~ Hopi for spirit, sacred dancer ~ describes both now-me and the me I want to be. What would you pick for you? This little whimsical exercise can reveal sacred inner soul-secrets. What do you want? What are you all about? Where does your heart go when you dream?

Rain is the name I use now, but it wasn't always so. It started as a pseudonym but became very life-giving, and most of my friends use it. I am not the same person I was ten years ago, two years ago, or even last July. Changing a name, legally or not, is significant to the psyche. It creates space. It means we no longer identify with many aspects of the older versions of us, that we have turned a page, created movement, and hopefully healed or grown in some way.

But even if we don't change our given name, we have the power to choose what names mean or don't mean to us. We all call ourselves something, especially in moments of intensity, passion, or frustration. Fat. Lazy. Dumb. Stupid. Inconsiderate. How would you describe yourself to someone you've never met? Energetically speaking, words or thoughts created from intensity carry more power. Hurtful names carry the same effect as a curse.

::
Tonight is the full moon.

It is a time of release and renewal. Change and turning. Are there old names that don't fit you anymore? Labels, painful memories, words you call yourself out of habit? What if you replaced them with something life-bringing? Something fitting for your future as you follow your bliss? Something appropriate for what you want your truth to be?

For me, the name Rain evokes tenderness and mercy. I've lived without the gentle relief of mercy before, when things were dry and brittle and oh so hard. I survived life's wilderness and desert. Rain is synonymous with lusciousness, with softness and a verdant nature. Flowers bloom after rain. Rain is the water of life. Rain comforts, sustains, and nourishes. Rain isn't content with mere survival. She rejoices in her full life. She absolutely and abundantly thrives.

Soul prompt for warrioresses:

What is your real name? The name your heart whispers to you when you dream? What does it mean to you?