Hello! I feel compelled to share this concept with you guys, it’s so beautiful. I’m getting very excited to tell you about it, yet there is another part of me that is saying, “it’s too much, it’s too much!” OK, I hear you part, it sounds like you’re feeling intimidated, wanna take a few breaths? This part comes back with, “or we can skip all of this and have some hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps?” OK part, although that does sound very nice, we must focus on the task given to us by the Galactic Empire of the Light Force— WE MUST SHARE THE GOODNESS OF THE POUSTINIA!

YES!!!

What is the Poustinia? And why does it sound like… hah yes, it does sound the the miracle that is the portal of creation, but that’s not relevant right meow;) I have transcribed the definition of the Poustinia (below) from where I discovered it, “The Woman Awake” by Regina Sara Ryan. I hope the Poustinia touches your heart as much as it did mine.

The word poustinia is Russian for desert, and spiritual seekers from the past would enter the poustinia to find “God” and pray for humanity, but it’s more than a geographical location, it means the lonely place that souls sometimes have to enter to find the “God/Force/Source/Light/Capital (S) Self” who dwells within them. The meaning of Poustinia was expanded and re-defined by Catherine Doherty, a pioneer of social justice, renowned national speaker, and badass-spiritual-goddess woman. “I LOVE YOU CATHERINE!” — excited outburst from a part within me.

“The poustinia is a place that exists within each and every one of us. A place where the heart is instructed in a new way of seeing and being. As spiritual seekers, our journey is to progress from the external, to the internal love-making of the heart. To build an interior castle, a temple, a love chamber, a laboratory where all of life’s experiences are transformed into energy for the service of humanity; such mansions are designed and then built with conscious intention, coupled with a fierce commitment to their upkeep and beautification rendered over a lifetime.”

“To more formally experience the poustinia would mean taking an occasional day, or more, to leave behind normal activities and to allow silence and solitude to bring rest and sanity to a tired and distracted soul.” Catherine would typically go to a cabin in the woods, where she would fast and pray in solitude. My poustinia is in my bathroom, (it’s quiet and peaceful in there), and I’ve been sitting in silence every morning, to feel the presence of the Creator Force, and to listen…and when I come out, I understand that what I received is not just for me, it’s for everyone. The idea was made clear by Catherine, “what is given in poustinia is for the world”.

The poustinia is meant to be a place where you can retreat to, to nourish and strengthen yourself, and just like a bird’s nest, the poustinia of your heart is built straw by straw. “ The persistent bird plucks one weed, flies a distance, carefully places it, and sets wing again to find the next straw.”

It’s definitely a challenge to find time, let alone a place for silence and solitude, but like I mentioned, I found mine in my closet. Even if you don’t have a physical place to retreat to, the desert of the heart travels with you wherever you go, and the construction of your poustinia can occur at any time, right now, I’m just reminding oneself that I’m presence of the Light Force of the Creator, and it’s instantly shifting my mood, even calming me down. Not to say that it’s easy, because it’s not, it takes a strong commitment to upkeep your heart castle, the beautification rendered over a lifetime — one straw at a time!

I think it’s important to reiterate Ryan’s point on expectations — “relax, she advised. First of all, the entry into the poustinia is no big deal. Be simple, she said. Be honest about what happens. Don’t be expecting great mystical revelations or instant enlightenment.” The Poustinia brings you into contact first and foremost with solitude. Secondly, it brings you into contact with “God”/The Light Force of the Creator.” Even if you don’t feel anything at all, the fact remains that you have come to have a date with God, a very special rendezvous.”

“The Poustinia Movement created by Doherty is another means of establishing a few more tiny sanctuaries of peace in a troubled world.” I’m grateful to be a contributor in this small way, and I’d like to thank Annalise Oatman (spiritually oriented, trauma-informed therapist for creative womxn) for having this book faded in the background on her website, she doesn’t know me, but I believe she’s receiving the good vibrations right now.

*In my next article, I’ll go deeper into Doherty’s description of prayer within the poustinia:)