The call to separate from daily life and heed the ‘call to the temple’ just before you bleed looks different for each of us: a dazed feeling, a sudden urge to be alone, a nesting instinct that has us making a nourishing stew.
It’s a deep invitation from the temple of You, if you claim it.
Are you actually allowed to do this?! We say yes, and we’re devoting this week’s article to exploring how to do it.
(A note for you if you suffer from menstrual pain, or find the void before the bleed to be a tough place to navigate… we get that this whole ‘call to the temple’ thing may feel uninviting or unlikley. I, Alexandra, want you to know that I have been there and had my own journey with menstrual pain which ultimately called me home to my power.. I share about this journey, and offer support for menstrual challenges in chapter eight of Wild Power).
Practice: Discover Your Call to Separate
To access this divine territory, your task is to say ‘no’ to others and ‘yes’ to yourself, pull away from the world and slow right down.
The call to separate happens before you start bleeding and alerts you when it is time to act. It can happen quite subtly (although not always!), so if you’re busy, you may miss the invitation. When you feel your call to separate, even if you can just catch yourself for a second and pause, you may begin to feel the world of love and bliss opening up within you.
Here are some explorations to guide you:
One: Get curious about what your call to the temple looks and feels like.
Two: Explore the small adjustments you can make to your schedule to accommodate the gear changes within the second half of your cycle—slowing down in the premenstruum will help you to catch the call when it comes.
Three: Dream into what it would be like to say 'no' to the world and follow your call to the temple when it comes.
Four: Set an intention for your next bleed to notice and follow your call as best you can.
Your ally: Sanctuary
Unlocking the full gifts of inner winter requires some protected space from the world. Cultivating the quality of sanctuary can be an ally to support you.
What do we mean by sanctuary? A place of safety that has a sacred quality to it. A place in which you feel protected so that you may deeply drop into the exquisite vulnerability that is at the heart of menstruation.
This may be a physical space, but if not available in your outer environment, it could also look like an inner sense of sanctuary—a way of being with and holding yourself that is protective and honouring. Some like to create an altar or to change their altar for the time of bleeding.
It can also mean seeking out a place in nature that is special to you. Creating some stillness and silence will automatically aid you in sanctuary, as well as keeping away from technology as much as you can.
For your next bleed, we invite you to take sanctuary in the inner temple that is menstruation, give yourself an inner or outer refuge to go to so that you may deeply drop into a quiet holding.
Would you like support to hear your ‘call to the temple’?
If you’d like to explore how to listen for your call to the temple, and how you can receive more inner winter (menstrual or menopausal) medicine in your life, we invite you to join our most comprehensive menstrual cycle awareness course yet, Cycle Power —you can start anytime, and you can find out more here >>
