Jamie has long been an inspiration partner and lantern-holder for her fellow transformation leaders, change catalysts, and creative nonconformists who are living, inspiring, and (intentionally or not) leading the way in these chaotic times.
When she's not tending and stirring the Sophia's Children cauldron, she's following research trails, and serving as the Director of a Repro-Justice-oriented women's health center in her community, co-creating a safe, in-person compassionate care environment in a world that increasingly seems to lack that.
Jamie is a long-time servant of the Muse, a writer and author, an intrepid walker and feline-tender, and is passionate about the healing power and relevance of reclaiming ancestral-wisdom and healing (or at least understanding) ancestral (and other types of) trauma. She has great appreciation for dark chocolate and cooking other nourishing, delicious meals -- often plant-based -- to nourish her partner and her peeps, and otherwise doing the same day to day things we all do.
Thanks for visiting! Wishing you well. Learn More: http://sophias-children.com
Hi Jamie, I’m browsing through these posts in order to track down the one I commented on a few weeks ago … (well, more like ‘sent my SOS to you’ on :-o). I lost track of it, but remembered it was a post from 2013. In the process my heart, spirit and soul have been ringing like church bells as one post after the next deeply resonates in me, striking chords I didn’t even know I had!
Now, about this Feline Wisdom! Is there really such a thing as “the Feline Tribe”? Or is that just a clever way of saying “Peeps who love cats?”
I ask because, if there is such a thing as a Feline Tribe — that is MY TRIBE! Do you know, ever since I was little, I wished I could be a cat? I tend to “bond” with cats in a way no one else seems to. Recently, I had a cat named Shadow, who was my very best friend. He never left my side. it took me a few years before I realized that Shadow understood exactly what I was saying! And I learned the ways he was trying to communicate with me. It’s a long story, but suffice it to say, he was one amazing cat.
Sadly, he died about a year ago, at the young age of 7, from hyperthyroidism that we weren’t able to treat. (He couldn’t stomach the medicine, so our only other route was surgery. This would have required Shadow to be in a hospital for 4 days and undergo a brutal recovery period. Knowing Shadow the way I did, I knew he’d be terrified; i felt like it would have been selfish of me to put him through such trauma. Other cats might handle it just fine… but not my Shadow). Of course, I find myself second-guessing that decision every so often.
Anyway, when Shadow died last March I was surprised at depth of my grief. It was crushing. In all seriousness, and as pitiful as this sounds, I never experienced real grief before losing Shadow. In my lifetime I’ve known many people who’ve passed on — including my dad, my two grandmothers, one grandfather, two aunts, a good friend from high school, and more. But In all those cases, I never came close to grieving. In fact, I don’t even know if I cried. (Oddly, when my dad died, I felt a sense of relief. … and then guilt and shame for feeling relieved. …)..
But when Shadow died, I felt like the world just crumbled under my feet. I sobbed and sobbed, for weeks, even months. It felt surreal to be without Shadow! … which seems strange since I’d only known him for 7 years. Shadow loved me unconditionally; I believe that’s the first time I’ve ever known such pure, unadulterated love.
Oh dear, I just wrote another comment longer than your post :-(. I guess I got carried away … But wanted to tell you these things in case there’s more to my soul-bond with Shadow than meets the eye.
Hey there, Mo. So sorry to hear about Shadow – they are the most amazing soul companions, friends, and allies. And yes, Feline Tribe … that’s just a phrase that came to me, so I can’t say whether it exists somewhere otherwise (I’m sure it does, since it all comes from the collective memory spheres!). But it made sense for me as well, and it seems like something that would have been the case in some ancient time!
June 29, 2015 at 6:39 am
Hi Jamie, I’m browsing through these posts in order to track down the one I commented on a few weeks ago … (well, more like ‘sent my SOS to you’ on :-o). I lost track of it, but remembered it was a post from 2013. In the process my heart, spirit and soul have been ringing like church bells as one post after the next deeply resonates in me, striking chords I didn’t even know I had!
Now, about this Feline Wisdom! Is there really such a thing as “the Feline Tribe”? Or is that just a clever way of saying “Peeps who love cats?”
I ask because, if there is such a thing as a Feline Tribe — that is MY TRIBE! Do you know, ever since I was little, I wished I could be a cat? I tend to “bond” with cats in a way no one else seems to. Recently, I had a cat named Shadow, who was my very best friend. He never left my side. it took me a few years before I realized that Shadow understood exactly what I was saying! And I learned the ways he was trying to communicate with me. It’s a long story, but suffice it to say, he was one amazing cat.
Sadly, he died about a year ago, at the young age of 7, from hyperthyroidism that we weren’t able to treat. (He couldn’t stomach the medicine, so our only other route was surgery. This would have required Shadow to be in a hospital for 4 days and undergo a brutal recovery period. Knowing Shadow the way I did, I knew he’d be terrified; i felt like it would have been selfish of me to put him through such trauma. Other cats might handle it just fine… but not my Shadow). Of course, I find myself second-guessing that decision every so often.
Anyway, when Shadow died last March I was surprised at depth of my grief. It was crushing. In all seriousness, and as pitiful as this sounds, I never experienced real grief before losing Shadow. In my lifetime I’ve known many people who’ve passed on — including my dad, my two grandmothers, one grandfather, two aunts, a good friend from high school, and more. But In all those cases, I never came close to grieving. In fact, I don’t even know if I cried. (Oddly, when my dad died, I felt a sense of relief. … and then guilt and shame for feeling relieved. …)..
But when Shadow died, I felt like the world just crumbled under my feet. I sobbed and sobbed, for weeks, even months. It felt surreal to be without Shadow! … which seems strange since I’d only known him for 7 years. Shadow loved me unconditionally; I believe that’s the first time I’ve ever known such pure, unadulterated love.
Oh dear, I just wrote another comment longer than your post :-(. I guess I got carried away … But wanted to tell you these things in case there’s more to my soul-bond with Shadow than meets the eye.
July 6, 2015 at 3:00 pm
Hey there, Mo. So sorry to hear about Shadow – they are the most amazing soul companions, friends, and allies. And yes, Feline Tribe … that’s just a phrase that came to me, so I can’t say whether it exists somewhere otherwise (I’m sure it does, since it all comes from the collective memory spheres!). But it made sense for me as well, and it seems like something that would have been the case in some ancient time!
I’m glad you enjoyed the Feline Tribe post. 🙂
Blessings,
Jamie