When The Teacher Is Ready The Student Appears

Sometimes the best lessons in life show up in the most unexpected ways. That is how my "emerging butterfly," who goes by the name of Sharon, flew my way.

Sharon is a legally blind, autistic twenty-four year old woman who joins me in dance and celebration on Sunday mornings. When Sharon first showed up in my Kijo class, many of us where baffled by what to do with her. She would yell for her father, stand and stare blankly at certain students, clap and shout out and even occasionally refuse to do anything.

Secretly, haven't we all at one time wanted to just express our truth in irreverent ways, at just the wrong time, in the most inappropriate of places? Sharon has become my teacher on the path of crazy wisdom. She has shown me ever so humbly how her special brand of Coyote magic can bring a community together with unconditional love and acceptance.

I still remember the day Leon (Sharon's father) dropped her off at the East Bay Dance Center. "If you want to dance with her, that's fine or if you want to take care of her, well that's up to you. Either way, Sharon is fine." And, with that he left to head out on his one hour run.

My philosophy and general attitude on life is to just let it happen. I never feel the need to intervene with the natural flow of things. And I never take things personally. I strive to allow all beings, even my own children, to own their own battles, hurts, ups and downs. Now, I was being put to the test as this leader/teacher who refused to co-dependent anyone. Sharon would be no exception.

I did my best to avoid and deny that anything Sharon was doing was unusual. If Sharon got loud, I would crank up the music. If she laughed, I would chuckle. If she just did nothing, I would keep going and wonder if maybe she would join in. But mostly, in my heart of hearts, I was secretly hoping that Sharon would just kept doing what she was doing in the moment and that others would see this free butterfly and join her in flight.

This was my teaching, my lesson. A beautiful young woman who had no cares or worries as to what others thought of her dance or her shouting. Stop, Go, Dance, Shout, Stare, Clap - all with utter authenticity. To witness this honest and expressive being is truly a blessing. Just as Leon did very little explaining the day he dropped her off three years ago, I too did not need to defend or explain much. No expectations, no outcomes, no pretence, just Sharon and me, pure and raw, mirroring each other and growing and expanding our wings together.

As a teacher, I am blessed to have this opportunity of witnessing Sharon emerging from her cocoon. As a student, every Sunday I wait for my teacher to arrive, never knowing what she will do; but I do know, she'll be pure, truthful, unpredictable and totally beautiful.

Kijo invites you to discover you

I never imagined such a sacred moment would arrive for me; a perfect storm, so deep and powerful, pregnant with such purpose, that would challenge me at every level of my life, every ounce of my comfort, security and safety.

As I sat on the mountain ridge in Machu Picchu, upon the entrance of the Sun Gate, where the birth of the seasons, equinoxes and solstices, were celebrated by the Inca’s, I had the great honor of being blessed by an elusive condor in flight.

I intuitively sensed this magnificent bird summoning me to my feet, so I rose without hesitation. I sensed that this ancient god of the sky was asking me to open my heart, to hear his personal message meant for me. Upon this sacred site, where the gates between worlds are easily opened, and the voices of these earth temples can be heard if we only listen, I quieted my inner voices, and I invited this sky avatar to speak to my heart. Without denial or suppression, this mighty bird had a clear, direct and personal message for me.

It was there at the door of the Sun, in the surroundings of the ancient ones, with the blessings of the gods and goddesses of this sacred space, that Kijo (kee jo) was born. In an instance of recognition, from the depths of my truest self, I pledged my devotion to all my relations, my ancestors, mother earth and all of creation. I “namasted” and bowed to this emerging goddess named Kijo and then suddenly, I felt myself merging into the energy of Snake, the Vision Serpent in Mayan mythology, who guards the doorway to the spirit world, mystical and mysterious. She is the one that slithers, shimmies, belly to the earth, shedding old unneeded skin; the ancient and enduring goddess of personal transformation.

I never remembered being so alive in such a perfect moment in time, where beauty and sacredness collide. I felt deeply satisfied and full of immense gratitude for my life, my family and my story of how I came to be… perfectly, who I am. Standing at the Sun Gate, I felt a profound shift inside my heart where I now understood and trusted the meaning of purpose and the truth of my existence. I sobbed.

Kijo invites you to discover you. May the rattle of the ancient ones, stir your heart’s longing. May your personal condor’s flight, inspire you to soar. May your own personal earth spirits invite you to recognize the magic of your own existence. May you recognize your truest self and shed all self restrictions and judgements. Allow the medicine of movement to take you into the sacred temples of your soul. Join me and dance into the mystery.

My Experience

(My english is not perfect, but it express what my experience has been)
Love you

Living across the street made it easy and meant to be. A calling that is hard to deny. Source brought it to my door step. And in this time in my life, it needed to be that close for me.

Just married and just moved to what is for me a big city. and I had left a lot behind.

Through the adjustment, not only material but emotional, Kijo helped me to reconnect with myself and keep me going towards the light. A light house showing me direction. Kijo is not doing what I can do for myself. It is being present for me if I am willing. I transformed, cried, laughed, found myself again in the time in my life where it would be easy to be distracted and being brought down.

Through the dance, I feel. I hear the messages I need to hear through Shelly channeling. I feel it. I know it to be true. I see it at all levels. a liberation, a letting go to reconnect with what is Truth.

I became stronger. really a "natural" life saver for me.

It has been bringing me along and beyond my calling. It is physical, emotional, spiritual, magical.

Connecting me, with earth and my community, my tribe. I feel myself arriving.

By just showing up, I have grown.

Zabeth.