How far would you be willing to go to live out your sacred purpose? On the latest episode I discuss this and much more with Cynthia Jurs, author of Summoned by the Earth: Becoming a Holy Vessel for Healing Our World.

Cynthia became a dharma teacher (Dharmacharya) in the Order of Interbeing of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh in 1994 and in 2018, was made an honorary lama in the Vajrayana tradition of Tibetan Buddhism in recognition of her dedication in carrying out the Earth Treasure Vase practice - planting specially blessed vessels in locations around the world to facilitate peace and healing.

On this episode we discuss:

• Cynthia's remarkable spiritual journey, including time spend in Afghanistan and Pakistan, living at Plum Village with Thich Nhat Hanh, and her travels and experiences in placing Earth Treasure Vases around the world
• How an encounter with a holy man in a cave in a remote corner of Nepal inspired her to undertake the Earth Treasure Vase practice
• Cynthia's deepening understanding of the Sacred Feminine over the years, including her encounters with the Buddhist Goddess Tara and her relationship with Gaia
• How the Earth Treasure Vases demonstrate how each of us can know ourselves as living vessels for peace and healing

Here are a few notes related to this episode:

• Cynthia's book is Summoned by the Earth: Becoming a Holy Vessel for Healing Our World
• You can learn more about Cynthia and her work at her website, www.gaiamandala.net.
• Cynthia mentioned studying with Muktananda, a yoga guru and founder of Siddha Yoga
• She also studied for many years with the Zen Buddhist teacher and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh
• Cynthia also referenced the work of environmental activist and Buddhist scholar Joanna Macy
• https://www.herowomenrising.org/ is a grassroots peace activist movement in the Congo

And here are a few more details about this show and my work:

• If you’d like to know whose ancestral tribal lands you currently reside on, you can look up your address here: https://native-land.ca/
• You can also visit the Coalition of Natives and Allies for more helpful educational resources about Indigenous rights and history.
• Please – if you love this podcast and/or have read my book, please consider leaving me a review, and thank you for supporting my work!
• You can listen to this and other episodes wherever you access your audio podcasts
• For more Sacred Feminine goodness and to stay up to date on all episodes, please follow me on Instagram: @hometoher.
• To dive into conversation about the Sacred Feminine, join the Facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/hometoher
• To go deeper in your Sacred Feminine explorations, check out the course offerings via Home to Her Academy: www.hometoheracademy.com
• And to read about the Sacred Feminine, check out my award-winning book Home to Her: Walking the Transformative Path of the Sacred Feminine (Womancraft Publishing), available wherever you buy your books!. If you've read it, your reviews on Goodreads and Amazon are greatly appreciated!

Mentioned in this episode:

We Are Sovereign: A 9-Month Transformational Leadership Program for Women

We Are Sovereign is a 9 month transformational leadership program designed specifically for women who are ready to claim full authority and power over their own lives. The program includes a deep dive with: • Powerful Sacred Feminine figures, drawn from history and mythology, who will serve as our sovereignty guides along the way • Transformational practices rooted in creativity, play, energy work, ritual, ceremony and even magic • Embodiment practices, including dance, yoga, and other intuitive movement exercises to tap into the wisdom of the body • The Enneagram as a tool for understanding the human psyche and our individual personality types • Yogic philosophy, creative writing and journaling exercises, and much more • The power of the group field that we cultivate to dive deep and be witnessed fully for who we are, allowing the property of emergence to support our becoming The journey kicks off with an opening retreat on the beautiful Big Island of Hawaii, September 12-15, 2024. From there, we’ll gather twice a month over the next 9 months via Zoom, and we’ll wrap up in June 2025 with a closing retreat at Hestia Magic Retreat Center, located in the shadow of majestic Mount Shasta, California. To learn more, apply, and/or book a discovery call, visit: https://www.hometoheracademy.com/course/we-are-sovereign

Hello, and welcome to Home to Her,

the podcast that's dedicated to

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reclaiming the lost and stolen

wisdom of the sacred feminine.

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I'm your host, Liz Kelley, and on

each episode, we explore her stories

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Liz Childs Kelly: Hey everybody,

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your feedback, your suggestions.

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I really do love hearing from you and

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So let's get on with the show.

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So here's a question for you.

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How far would you be willing to go

to live out your sacred purpose?

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This is a big question, right?

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I actually think about this all the time.

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And I, I have been so inspired

to have so many people on this

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show over the years who are doing

this in a whole variety of ways.

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And my guest today is someone

that I feel like has really taken

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this to a whole different level.

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And I'm, I don't even know how much

we're going to be able to cover in

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this conversation, but I know it's

going to, it's going to be perfect.

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And I think her, her story and her

life's journey has been really,

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really inspiring and spectacular.

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So let me let me go ahead

and introduce her to you now.

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Cynthia Jurs is the author of the new

book, Summoned by the Earth, Becoming

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a Holy Vessel for Healing Our World.

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She became a Dharma teacher in the order

of interbeing of Zen Master Thich Nhat

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Hanh in 1994, and in 2018 was made an

honorary Lama in the Vajrayana tradition

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of Tibetan Buddhism, in recognition of

her dedication in carrying out the earth

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treasure vase practice, which, not to

worry, we are going to discuss that today.

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Inspired by 30 years of pilgrimage into

diverse communities and ecosystems,

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today, Cynthia is forging a new path

of Dharma in service to Gaia, a path

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that deeply rooted in the feminine

honoring indigenous cultures and

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devoted to collective awakening.

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Cynthia leads meditations, retreats,

courses, and pilgrimages to support

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the emergence of a global community of

engaged and embodied sacred activists.

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She's joining us today from her

home in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

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Cynthia, thank you so much.

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It is really an honor to

have you here with me.

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Cynthia Jurs: Thank you

so much for inviting me.

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I'm really moved just hearing, you know,

the little I have from you and with

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you, it's really moving to connect.

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Liz Childs Kelly: Thank you.

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Well, I know I, I, I, yeah, I feel,

I have a feeling this conversation

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is going to go really fast.

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But where I usually like to start

with guests is I love to hear about

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people's spiritual backgrounds.

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And I always say part of it is I'm just

curious, but I'm often interested because

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we are talking about the sacred feminine.

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I'm always curious as to whether or

not that was a part of that spiritual

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upbringing and if there was anything you

had to leave behind to access that or not.

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So yeah, I would love to start

there if that's okay with you.

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Okay.

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Cynthia Jurs: Absolutely.

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Yeah.

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Well, let's see.

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I, I grew up in a family that

didn't have much of an interest in

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anything spiritual or religious.

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My father and his family were

Christian scientists, but my his

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mother, my grandmother and his,

one of his brothers died very young

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because, They wouldn't receive medical

treatment and that kind of soured him.

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And so he walked away from the

church and my mom was also from

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a kind of atheist family really.

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I mean, I think her, her ancestors

would have been considered

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Christian, but her immediate

parents were really kind of atheist.

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But my mother had a really strong

connection to nature, and she

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instilled that in me as a child,

and we spent a lot of time outside.

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And I absorbed a lot of my love for

Mother Earth through my own mother.

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So but I was hungry for a

spiritual life as a child.

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And my parents said, you can

go to any church you want.

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You know, you feel free, you know,

explore, do whatever you want.

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But, you know, you kind of

have to find your own way.

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And so then when I was in my twenties,

I started to hone in on things.

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I was very drawn to healing arts and

studied body work and things like

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that, different formats and traditions.

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And then I followed a, a, a Hindu

teacher named Muktananda for a while.

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But it was when I kind of found my way

into the Buddhist world that things

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started to make a lot of sense for

me because it was very much oriented

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towards, you know, not, not requiring

one to believe in an external god, but

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really finding our own buddha nature

Which we all have which is accessed

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most directly in the teachings through

the practice of meditation and You know

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there we can kind of come home to our

true self, as Thich Nhat Hanh would

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say, Thich Nhat Hanh became my teacher

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of his invitation around two things.

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One is engaged Buddhism,

as he describes it.

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So, you know, it's one thing to

meditate and, you know, breathe and

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practice and whatever it is, but it's

another thing to engage our practice

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to be of benefit to other beings.

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And that really spoke to me.

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My family background was very

engaged in local political

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situations and callings that way.

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So I kind of came up with that.

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with that.

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And the other thing Thich Nhat Hanh always

stressed is the notion of interbeing.

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So this connection between all

things and all beings, interbeing.

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And It, it just, his language and his

approach is so simple, and it really

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opened up a lot for me to meet him, and

you know, I became a, a teacher in his

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lineage after practicing with him for

maybe 10 or 15 years, and, and and then

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I found also the Tibetans and I love,

I love many of their teachings as well

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and and went very deeply into that.

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But I also was, was struggling a

bit inside of the Buddhist world

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because it's very patriarchal

and it's very hierarchical.

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I mean, many of the religious

and spiritual traditions are.

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And I I was also struggling with

that as a woman and as someone who is

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looking to the earth as the embodiment

of, of so much beauty and wisdom

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in all the living systems of Gaia.

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So I've had to kind of make my own way

now and I don't know if that answers

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your initial question, but let me know

where you'd like to go from there.

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Liz Childs Kelly: Well,

it definitely does.

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And I'm wanting to go back and just say,

or ask you, because really, you know,

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if you read your book and you read some

of your background to, to start in a

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household where you really didn't have

much spiritual guidance at all, to,

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to end up living at Plum Village with

Thich Nhat Hanh, I mean, that's, that's,

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that's fairly extraordinary, you know?

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So I'm wondering, you know, there's a.

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I, I want, I'm wanting to ask you

about the spark or the hunger or

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the thing that, that, that set

you on that, that path, right?

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Because I think there are many of us who

maybe perhaps many people who are like,

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well, I want, I want something spiritual,

but I feel it seems like you really were

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called in a very deep and profound way.

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Hmm.

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Cynthia Jurs: It's true.

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I, I couldn't escape it.

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And.

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I think I was sort of possessed, you know,

like I, and plus the times, you know, the

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times that I, I have lived starting in

the 60s, you know, kind of coming of age

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in the 60s, and then breaking out of the

dominant culture paradigm, you know, and

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then finding I, I didn't go to college.

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I went to I traveled and I traveled

the world and I, I ended up, I write

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about this in my book, but I ended

up at one point becoming a cook

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for expeditions by Land Rover into

Afghanistan and Pakistan and Iran.

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This was before everything blew

up in, in that part of the world.

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And, you know, just had some

amazing experiences going very,

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very far away from the culture

and community that I grew up in.

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And that was my, my big

calling early on was just to.

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to go as far and wide as I possibly could.

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And and I was able to do that.

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It was a blessing, you know,

to be exposed to so much.

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And then you know, I was, I was

deeply hungry for some meaning to

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my life that was bigger than me.

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I kept searching and wondering and, you

know, trying to find my way and healing

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was a big part of it, as I mentioned, but

meeting Thich Nhat Hanh was, was seminal.

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You know, and I've been kind of

circling around, circling around.

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But when I met him so much

started to make sense.

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So I began to organize retreats for him.

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He asked me to do that.

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And it was right when he was just starting

to come out and become well known.

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So I had the great good fortune

of being close to him at a time

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when you could get close to him.

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And you know, he married my husband

and me and you know, put a little

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bell in my hands and said, okay,

start a sangha and things like that.

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So, but I was, as I say, I was

also curious, very curious about

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the, the Tibetan tradition.

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And at one point I, I went

into retreat on my own.

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It was the first time actually that

I, I kind of extricated myself from

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my life and went up into the into

the woods and did a personal retreat.

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And during that time, I had an

experience of what I later learned

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was the 21 manifestations of Tara, the

feminine deity that is so venerated

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in the Tibetan Buddhist culture.

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And I was meditating outside on a

rock and I, and, and she just started

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arising into the space in front of me,

like fully grown, You know, all the

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details and sitting on a lotus and,

you know, looking at me and I didn't

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at that time have a lot of experience

within the culture of Tibetan Buddhism.

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So kind of blew my mind.

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And it was happening day and night.

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Meditation, dreams you know, I

couldn't, I couldn't get away from it.

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And that really, really got my attention.

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And, and you know, you'll, you'll

recognize and be interested in the fact

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that this was this beautiful feminine

deity embodiment of the sacred feminine.

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And so, you know, I, it

led me onto the path.

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It, it, I went to Asia.

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I met one of my first Vajrayana

teachers in Bhutan who said, Oh yeah,

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yeah, that was, that was Tara, right?

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Here, here she is, you

know, in all her forms.

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And I just had to say, yeah,

that, that's what I saw.

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And I hadn't, I didn't

have that going already.

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So you know, I began to practice and

began to listen and follow different

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teachers and receive a lot of teachings

and go into retreat and all of that.

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But then in 1990, I, had the

opportunity to go and meet an old

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wise man in a cave who was a llama

living in a remote part of Nepal.

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And I was, immediately knew

that I had to go and meet him,

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but I didn't really know why.

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And it wasn't until I was walking up the

path of those high mountains, you know,

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kind of struggling to keep up that I

realized I had been given this incredible

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opportunity to ask a question of the

proverbial old wise man in the cave, and

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then I thought well, what's my question?

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I had I really didn't know, you

know, I was just putting one foot in

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front of the other literally and but

but then the question came and My

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question was what can we do to bring

healing and protection to the earth?

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And That's still my question, really.

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It's the guiding question of my life.

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And we were already feeling the

signs and omens, you know, back

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then in 1990 when that happened.

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But now, of course, it's even more

powerful what, what the, the, the

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messages that Gaia is sending to us to

wake up and to get involved in turning

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things around, you know, bringing

healing and protection to the earth.

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So that's a good part of the beginning.

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Liz Childs Kelly: Yes, and I want to,

and of course, I want to talk about, you

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know, where that conversation took you

and, and all the ways that's unfolded but

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I do, I want to go back for listeners and

just ask you if you don't mind to tell

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listeners a little bit about Tara, if

they're not familiar with who Tara is is

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she's a beautiful deity and I she hasn't

come up that much on this podcast so huh.

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Cynthia Jurs: Well, okay.

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So in the in the tibetan buddhist

tradition, there are many deities that

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are that are venerated and appreciated

and worked with in meditation and They

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all embody aspects of our own Buddha

nature, you know, we're, as I say, we

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all have that capacity to be awakened, to

be liberated, to be enlightened or free.

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And so the, the teachings

offer us different ways we can

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access that within ourselves.

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And the practices in Tibetan Buddhism,

usually involve visualizing a deity

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that is an embodiment of something

that we want to make part of ourselves,

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you know, and we begin to realize

that actually we're not separate.

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And this is a sort of a skillful

method of the tradition to invite

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us to, into a whole visualization.

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In this case, Tara is an embodiment of

of the feminine, the awakened feminine.

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And she comes in different forms.

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She, they say there's 21 forms

of Tara, and she is known very

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especially for coming when called.

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So when we invoke her, she's

supposed to you know, show up.

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And I can testify to that

because she's shown up for me

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many times over many years.

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And the, the form that is most

often understood or, or worked with,

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with Tara is a called a green Tara.

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And in the Tibetan tradition, there's

different colors you may have seen of the

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deities, like sometimes white, sometimes

red, sometimes green or blue or yellow.

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And each one of those represents a

different quality energy that is has

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several aspects, it's sort of the

elemental energies of you know, the fire,

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the, the air, the earth element, the,

the space element, the water element,

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or the the wisdom of those, elemental

energies or the, the, the so called

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kind of poison or reactive emotions

that are also associated with them.

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It's a whole teaching I could

get into, but I don't want to

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take all of our time on that.

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I do, I do speak to it a bit in my book.

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So green Tara is connected to

the the element of, of air.

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And she's very swift.

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She's all about action.

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And she's pictured always with

one foot coming off the Lotus.

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So she's not just sitting there.

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She's actually ready to jump into action.

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And so when you call on her, she responds.

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And She's very helpful that way.

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She's supposed to remove a

lot of obstacles and you know,

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just be a real ally in helping

us do what we are here to do.

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She's all about engagement,

you know, really.

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And the reactive emotion connected

with the color green has to do with

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competition and jealousy and envy and

those kinds of energies, which You know,

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many, many women and men, all of us,

whoever we are, you know, we get caught

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in that trying to get ourselves ahead.

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You know, trying to accomplish

what it is that we're here to do.

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Her wisdom is all accomplishing wisdom.

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And so we sometimes have to struggle with

issues that come up in relationship to

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other people or other situations that

are, you know, getting in our way or.

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Putting us down or, you

know, these kinds of things.

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So there's lots of richness

in this exploration.

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But anyway, green Tara, the Taras,

they, they're often pictured very

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beautiful often naked or partially naked.

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You know, just expressing the

beauty of the divine feminine.

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And again, in all, all her glory.

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You know, so to identify with an

embodiment of that as who we also

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are, you know, is a way of empowering

ourselves to embrace you know,

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something a lot bigger than what we may

normally have thought of as who we are.

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Liz Childs Kelly: One of the things

that I love about Tara and it shows

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up with Mary, the Virgin Mary as well.

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And, and I believe with Durga as well,

is that idea that if you call in her,

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she's going to come and help you, but

you got to ask, you got to ask for it.

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Like there's a, there's a

co creative aspect to it.

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Yes.

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Cynthia Jurs: One way of, of asking is by

making an offering, to, you know, call on

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her, but to, you know, like when someone

comes to dinner, a guest, you want to

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give them a beautiful plate of food, you

know, you want to please them, you want

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to make them feel happy and sort of like

that with, with these so called deities,

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these energies that are all around us

just waiting, you know, to be invited.

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Liz Childs Kelly: And isn't there also

a story connected to Tara about her

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demonstrating that you can in fact achieve

enlightenment in the body of a woman?

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That's right, that's

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Cynthia Jurs: right.

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Thank you.

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Yeah, she, so the story goes that

she was a noble woman in, you know,

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times past and that all the, she was

very interested in the spiritual life

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and service and everybody said, well,

you should pray to be reborn as a man

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because then you can be enlightened.

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And she said, I'm sorry, but I'm, I

don't want to do it in the body of a man.

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I want to do it in the body of a woman.

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And so she said she vowed to

always take birth as a, as

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a woman, in the female form.

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And sure enough, you know,

she, she showed the way.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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Yes.

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Beautiful.

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Liz Childs Kelly: Well, and I, I'd love

to go back to, so you, you, you got

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the opportunity to ask this question to

the holy man in the cave and yeah, what

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did, what did, what did he tell you?

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Cynthia Jurs: Well, he told me that

anyone can make a difference, you know,

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in the whole area where they live.

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If they're connected to their deepest

prayer, I mean, or intention is

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another way of talking about prayer.

339

And and he looked at me and he said,

but you, you need to get these earth

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treasure vases and you need to put them

in the ground and they will do the work

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of bringing healing and protection to the

whole area around where they're planted.

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And I was kind of skeptical, to say the

least, because at the time I was very

343

concerned, still am, about the fallout

from radioactive waste coming off of the

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Los Alamos National Laboratory, which is

where the atomic bombs were first made.

345

And the nuclear industry is still

going on here in New Mexico.

346

And I was learning a lot from a woman

you may have heard of named Joanna

347

Macy, who has been one of my teachers.

348

And She spoke at that time a lot about

her notion of nuclear guardianship and

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the need to protect the web of life

from these horrific substances that

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really change the whole fabric of life

on earth affecting, you know, our DNA.

351

And so.

352

I didn't really understand how a little

clay pot, which is what these are,

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filled with prayers and offerings that

are symbolic of healing and protection

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could actually affect the kinds of

change that are needed in the world.

355

But I also, realized that I had a lot

of respect for this particular tradition

356

and that the change that we're needing is

going to come in a lot of different ways.

357

We have to, we have to basically

do all of it because it's so vast.

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And this is what was coming to me.

359

So I asked where I could get

some, and I was directed to a

360

monastery to have them made.

361

And one thing led to another

and I received 30, initially 30

362

of these earth treasure vases.

363

And they, they were concerned about

customs and security because they had

364

to travel around the world to get to me.

365

Once they're filled, which normally

the, the llamas would, would make the

366

pots and then fill them with these

offerings and then, Bless them and

367

consecrate them and then seal them.

368

And then, then they would be taken out

to places where healing is called for.

369

But because they had to travel

so far, they, they blessed them.

370

They mixed a certain very

potent substances into the clay.

371

And then they consecrated the pots

and then gave them to, to me and to

372

our community to fill in our own way.

373

And they said, just put them in the

ground, they'll do the work, you know?

374

And again, my rational mind was

sort of I don't know what the word

375

is in this moment, but, you know,

doubtful, like how, how could that be?

376

And, and yet, you know,

okay, so let's try this.

377

And it took me about five years before

I started working with them because I was

378

really overwhelmed with the assignment.

379

But I also felt like the signs were

starting to happen of forest fires

380

and droughts and all the other

things that we could name coming

381

more and more quickly, you know?

382

And so, okay, well, we have

these little, little treasure

383

vases and let's see what happens.

384

So we started to work with them and

dedicate them to going into different

385

places and this global healing

mandala of locations was born and we

386

started up above Los Alamos National

Lab and buried the first one there.

387

And then we went to the four directions

to the north, south, east, and west around

388

that place and put them in the source of

the Rio Grande River, the mouth of the

389

Rio Grande River, and on top of the two

highest mountains to the east and west.

390

And that began.

391

to seed this global intention

for healing and protection.

392

And then they started

going out around the world.

393

And at a certain point I received

40 more that were actually made at

394

the same time as the original ones.

395

And the practice has taken me all

around the world to incredible

396

locations and communities.

397

I mean, because everywhere, you

turn, there's an issue that needs

398

healing or protection or renewal.

399

And these are the times we're living

in, you know, but then at a certain

400

point we made another, uh, generation

of these ourselves at the guy with

401

the guidance of a native American.

402

Potter here in New Mexico, who taught

us how to make these little clay pots

403

and carried the, the practice forward.

404

So it's gone on for about 30 years, and

the book is very much about a lot of

405

those journeys, and what's happened.

406

Liz Childs Kelly: Yes.

407

So fascinating.

408

And I was thinking, as you were

saying, like with your skepticism, how

409

I was just reflecting on how popular

culture like we're simultaneously

410

very skeptical of magic or, or, you

know, things that fall in the realm

411

outside of rational, logical data.

412

I'm going to do X and X

produces Y or whatever.

413

And yet our stories in our movies

and everything is just full

414

of examples of the same thing.

415

And it's like, I wonder

sometimes if it's this buried.

416

Knowing, you know, forgotten,

forgotten in air quotes, right?

417

Because we didn't really forget, but

we're, we're trying to reclaim a knowing

418

that yes, in fact, we are co creating

energetically with all kinds of forces

419

that we cannot possibly fully know.

420

And so therefore have no

idea how this might play out.

421

But I, I think that one of the things

that is maybe challenging, and I'm

422

curious what you would say about this too.

423

Like I've got, I've got school kids and

You know, they think of magic is like

424

Harry Potter, like they think of it

as very dramatic, kind of like you see

425

this very visible thing immediately.

426

And yet I feel like what, what

you're talking about and what you're

427

describing, there also has to be

a faith that it is larger than us.

428

Right.

429

And so we may well not see how it's going

to play out in our lifetimes or, or know.

430

And that's, that isn't

really the point, right.

431

For us to know for sure.

432

It's to participate in the process.

433

Cynthia Jurs: Yeah, and participate

in something so much larger than

434

ourselves and get over ourselves, you

know, like, I mean, I'll tell you when

435

I thought I knew what was best for

these treasure vases or for the world,

436

all kinds of things would go wrong.

437

But when I got out of the way and

allowed something larger to operate

438

that I was in service to, then

suddenly things would start to

439

fall into place and that is magic.

440

You know, that is miraculous because so

much of the time we make it so much harder

441

for ourselves than, than it needs to be.

442

And when we stop doing that and

thinking we have all the answers, then

443

something else can start to operate.

444

You know, maybe it's the divine feminine,

maybe it's Gaia herself, maybe it's great

445

spirit, whatever you want to call it,

you know the miraculous web of life, you

446

know, that we suddenly align ourselves

with that then can go where it needs

447

to go, you know, I think indigenous

peoples have always understood this,

448

you know, and the way in which nature

operates that we have tried to control

449

and, and are making such a mess of.

450

So, you know, I think

451

the way Harry Potter operates in this

case is through the synchronicities and

452

the, the, the connections that start to

appear where, you know, I, all I did was

453

form an intention that, okay, so I would

like to take one of these treasure vases

454

or somebody calls and says, this needs to

happen, you know, to some, some location.

455

And then all of a sudden

all this starts happening.

456

Like I could never have predicted.

457

Yeah.

458

And the same with once, once they

get planted, once they, once they

459

get filled with all these, these

incredible prayers and intentions

460

and heartfelt, you know, tears and

whatever it is that we love and care

461

about so much that is connected to the.

462

place where this little clay pot is

bound to go, it becomes this receptacle

463

for all that we, you know, care the

most about in terms of life on earth

464

and how to protect and enhance and

support that, you know, that then it,

465

it becomes like a living being and,

and, and then things start happening.

466

Liz Childs Kelly: Yeah.

467

Yes.

468

Well, and I, I wonder if you could

speak to, I'm sure this is how

469

many of these have you placed now?

470

What, how many total have you done?

471

Do you know?

472

Cynthia Jurs: I've, I always lose track.

473

I'm not very good about numbers and I, I

just, it's so big, you know, I think we

474

have, we have a total of about, I think

it's 93 or 94 and there's probably of

475

that 25 or so that are still in process.

476

So maybe more, maybe 30 ish still

being worked with, but most of

477

them are either planted already or

are in the hands of people who are

478

stewarding them because I've done.

479

I've done many, many, many.

480

I did a good majority

of them to begin with.

481

And then I realized it was time to

involve others and invite others

482

to take up the practice too.

483

So my job now is to support a

lot of other people doing that.

484

And it's been amazing.

485

I mean, we might make another

generation to come in the future.

486

We'll see how this goes, but right

now we want to really support those

487

who are working to get them in

the ground because they're really

488

supposed to be in the ground.

489

That's where they do their work.

490

Liz Childs Kelly: Yeah.

491

Well, and I'm curious if there's I'm sure

you've got, and well, and you have many

492

of them in your book, but if there's any

in particular stories that sort of come

493

forward for you of, of actually, you know,

placing one of these, like anything that

494

you might want to share with listeners.

495

Yeah.

496

Cynthia Jurs: There's been

so many amazing stories.

497

I, I often don't even know where to begin

because there's been so many of them and

498

each place is so different, you know.

499

I mean, since you're interested in,

in, in the feminine, I would say that

500

like one of the very powerful places

that I went with this practice is

501

the Democratic Republic of Congo.

502

And that's, In some ways, it's

considered the rape capital of the

503

world, you know, and rape is really

being used as a weapon to control

504

communities and people and women.

505

And I wanted to address that as one

of the core wounds that is in need

506

of healing all around the world.

507

And I met incredible women.

508

There who are standing up to tell a

new story, you know, and we also took

509

the treasure vase into the forest.

510

Congo has the second largest rainforest

in the world outside of Brazil.

511

And so it's a very, very important

place to maintain the the balance of.

512

you know, the living systems on earth

by protecting those rainforests.

513

And Congo is being exploited

terribly by a lot of things.

514

One being the, the mining of minerals.

515

It's a very rich, rich land

and a very beautiful land.

516

And it is not the heart of darkness.

517

It is a beautiful place

in the heart of Africa.

518

And so we, I ended up making relations

with one woman in particular.

519

Her name is Neema Namadamu and she

became my sister and has now started an

520

organization called Hero Women Rising.

521

And Her work is, is integrating, you

know, all of these things from empowering

522

women to stand up to becoming voices of

the future and, and telling their stories

523

and healing and also planting trees to

protect the, the land and the forest.

524

So there's tremendous amount

that came from taking one of

525

the treasure vases to Congo.

526

I mean, she is a living treasure.

527

And what she's done as a result of all

of this and what her people have done is,

528

is transforming the country, basically,

you know I went to Australia and when

529

I was getting ready to go to Australia,

I thought, I wasn't really like, okay,

530

you know, I guess we have to go to

Australia because it's a whole continent.

531

And after all, we have to

spread this around the world.

532

And, you know, and then I got an

invitation to meet the custodial elder

533

of Uluru, which is Ayers Rock in, in

the center of the Australian desert.

534

And he was here in my hometown

here and, and came and visited and

535

gave an incredible blessing to this

practice and invited us to come.

536

And we did.

537

And I, you know, We went from Uluru up

to the Northern Territory of Australia,

538

where we were introduced to an elder

woman named auntie Margaret Catherine.

539

And she's a Jawun elder who is

actually no longer alive but

540

She just took us under her wing.

541

She adopted me as her daughter and

she gave all of us in this earth

542

treasure vase pilgrimage group, what

are called skin names in her culture.

543

She's aboriginal woman to

make us relations, make us

544

family, you know, connect us.

545

And then she told us where to go.

546

She showed us, you know, the way,

and she just opened up the world.

547

And I don't know how familiar you

are with Aboriginal culture, but they

548

talk a lot about the song lines that

are the tracks, the dreaming tracks

549

in the land of the different tribal

groups across the whole country.

550

These, these peoples going back 50,

000 years, you know, some of maybe

551

the oldest people on the planet.

552

And so amazing the, the culture that I

discovered there and was so grateful to

553

be you know, adopted by and, and then

just her cackle, you know, and her, her

554

incredible connection to this practice.

555

And she told us, you know, this treasure

vase is going to enter the dream time.

556

It's part of the story now.

557

And and then because she made us all

family, it was like, instead of it

558

being sort of this project that was

being carried out around the world,

559

it became not only a community,

but a we were all like related.

560

We were all connected.

561

And that still has continued to this day.

562

So You know, there's stories of

working with ex combatants and

563

former child soldiers in Liberia.

564

That's another where real tangible

things came from burying a treasure vase.

565

And then there's more subtle experiences

of things that have happened in places

566

like The Great Pyramids and, and

Avebury where the Standing Stones are

567

in England and, you know, here in New

Mexico where I shared about the cave

568

and, or the Los Alamos National Lab.

569

I don't know what's going to happen

there, but we've met, we've connected with

570

one Native American woman in particular

who taught us how to make the vases

571

and, you know, she sees that there's.

572

Little openings, you know, and she's

taught us how to feed the spirit of

573

what we want to see in the world, you

know, to focus on not getting pulled

574

down by all the horrible things that

are happening, but, but contributing

575

our awareness and our energy in our,

our lives to feeding that spirit of

576

what we want to see in the world.

577

And that's really what it's all about.

578

And, and then, you know, realizing

that while we can be working with

579

these little clay pots, basically

what they're teaching us is how to be

580

the vessel ourselves, because we're

each, these holy vessels filled with

581

incredible offerings for our families

and our communities and the land that

582

we love and you know what we care about.

583

So It keeps going in all kinds of ways and

there's many more stories I could share,

584

but maybe that's a little, a little taste.

585

Liz Childs Kelly: Yeah.

586

As you were saying that last part, I

was thinking of a quote by the, anyone's

587

familiar with the hugging saint Amma

from India, who one of my favorite quotes

588

from her is don't be discouraged by your

Inability to dispel darkness from the

589

world, light your candle and step forward.

590

And I, I love that so much because it

takes the responsibility and really I

591

say responsibility, what I mean is ego.

592

You know, it takes the, it is

up to me to save the world.

593

It takes that off of the table and just

turns it into, but this is what I have

594

to contribute and this is what I will

contribute and that's all I have to do.

595

And I get to trust that others, you

know, are lighting their candles

596

and making their contributions.

597

And then, you know, just even

from hearing you talk, it

598

sounds like you get to see that.

599

reflected back to you by the

process of saying yes to this

600

sacred purpose, you get to see it.

601

Definitely,

602

Cynthia Jurs: definitely.

603

And I watch people who take up

this practice, how their lives are

604

transformed and how they get in touch

with the healing that is needed in

605

their lives too, and how it's connected

to what's called for in the world.

606

And, you know, we just have to take

the first step and then the world

607

opens up, even if it's just in our

own backyard, you know, So Yeah.

608

Yeah.

609

Liz Childs Kelly: Well, and I'm curious

from you how you mentioned Tara and I, I

610

would love to hear you talk more about who

or what this sacred feminine is to you.

611

And you're welcome to use any other

language, divine feminine or goddess

612

or whatever, whatever you want.

613

But, and how perhaps that understanding

of her, the feminine aspect of God has

614

been shaped by this journey that you've

been on with the earth's treasure vases.

615

Cynthia Jurs: Thank you.

616

Yeah, it's really a big part of it,

actually, because you know, I was

617

very hungry for, for that connection.

618

And I wasn't finding it exactly inside

of these lineages that I was, you know,

619

practicing in, which I, you know, I love

the teachings and I, you know, I'm so

620

grateful for my teachers, but there was

like, ah, you know, so Tara came the

621

closest to sort of answering that need.

622

But at a certain point after having

traveled around so much with these

623

treasure vases all over, which was

very challenging, actually, you

624

know, to go into these places like

Congo and Liberia and everything.

625

I was asking for a direct

relationship with Mother Earth,

626

with Gaia, with the Sacred Feminine.

627

And, you know, it was like one

thing to sort of imagine her.

628

And it was another to, you

know, have my ground be her.

629

And, you know, I didn't quite know how to

get there, and I wasn't getting much help

630

from my teachers, you know, but I would

practice, I would do my practices, and I

631

would go off and have these experiences,

and anyway, one day I was I was invoking

632

Tara, but what happened was that instead

of the mantra that's associated with Tara,

633

I started to hear a different mantra.

634

And it was a mantra to Gaia that

came, that just came, you know,

635

and I wasn't like setting out

to, you know, sort of say, okay,

636

well, now I want this to happen.

637

You know, it wasn't like that.

638

It was just, it was, you know, maybe

it was a little bit of a miracle or

639

something, but anyway, I heard this

mantra and I, I immediately started

640

reciting it and I started having an

experience of the visualization that

641

I was doing of Tara evolving and

transforming into an embodiment of Gaia.

642

And so I began to work with, with this and

I was afraid to bring it out because of

643

how I might be criticized by the lineage

masters for, you know, being just another

644

one of these people who's sort of doing

their own thing, who's trying to, I don't

645

know, be somebody, you know, whatever

taking the teachings and turning it into

646

my own thing, which really was not at all

what was happening because I was listening

647

so deeply to the suffering of the world

through the treasure vases that I, Came

648

to, you know, really feel as if the times

that we're living in is calling us to

649

respond to her, you know and that the

way in which the spiritual experience is

650

being passed on in in a lot of ways is

is Not really working very well anymore.

651

You know, it's just kind of part of

the same old story and And So this

652

was all kind of swirling around.

653

And finally you know, the, the llamas

that I did talk to said, you know, well,

654

you just need to practice this for a long

time yourself before you start sharing it

655

because it has to really sink in and so I

did that, but I didn't do it for as long

656

as they thought I should probably, but

I worked with it very deeply on my own.

657

And, and then I I went back to Nepal

658

cave where I had met the old Lama.

659

And it was at that time that

I was also made a Lama myself.

660

And I was conflicted by that

because I I knew that my teacher

661

was Gaia, not the gurus, you

know, that it was really shifting.

662

The ground was really shifting.

663

And I, but I love the culture and I love

the, you know, I love so much of it.

664

So I was, I was struggling.

665

And where the Lama used to live when I met

him, you know, 30 years ago, 35 years ago,

666

his daughter was there and she was now 80.

667

I, when I met her, she was 50.

668

And I, I, She'd been there since

she was 30, and she was now 80.

669

I mean, like, this is a woman

who, you know, if she were a man,

670

people would be flocking to her.

671

But if she, since she's a woman

living in a remote part of Nepal,

672

nobody hardly even knows about her.

673

And, and so, I had that experience and

going back to see her and but coming

674

down the mountain the same mountain

that I had found my question, my

675

guiding question, coming down that same

mountain on that, that next trip back,

676

I fell and I fell over the edge of the

trail and I thought I left my body.

677

I mean, I thought it was dead because

it was a you know Very steep all the

678

way down thousands of feet to the bottom

And there's nothing stopping me and I

679

tumbled and but then all of a sudden

I came to a stop and I didn't know How

680

that happened how I was, you know spared

And I had to come to terms with that

681

and it took a while, but because I was

not that badly injured, I was a little

682

injured, but I, I was able to with the

help of a Sherpa porter who was up above

683

on the trail that I yelled for help.

684

I was afraid I was going to fall.

685

Anyway, it's a whole story, but

and that too is in the book.

686

But so I had some help

getting up after that.

687

And it was it was it was a very intense

and powerful experience because it

688

really was a near death experience.

689

But I realized in reflecting on it

that yes I had fallen off the path.

690

Literally, and that it was the earth

who caught me, because I could feel

691

her on the back of me going, you know,

like this, just grabbing onto me going,

692

no, it's not time for you to go yet.

693

You're with me.

694

And so after that, I realized

I had to own this calling to

695

bring the sublime mother Gaia

696

into the world and to share her mantra

and to invite others to make that

697

connection and to really stand up for

what this whole journey has been for

698

me in relationship to the earth and the

times and the need for us to listen to

699

her voice, you know, and to respond in our

own way, however we can as holy vessels.

700

Liz Childs Kelly: Yeah, I'm

so glad you spoke to that.

701

And it seems to me that there's, and

this is a theme that I think has come up

702

this year on other episodes of the show

of and maybe it's probably because it's

703

a theme in my life is that dance of the

rootedness of deep spiritual teachings

704

that have been passed down through a

lineage by people who are devoted and

705

devoted to carrying that wisdom forward

generation after generation and the value

706

of that Which I really can't overstate.

707

And yet the, the reality that the feminine

is so vastly underrepresented in so many

708

of them and how deeply, and I mean, that's

like deeply painful that can be for women.

709

And I think it's painful for men

too, whether or not they know it.

710

But just how deeply painful that

can be to feel drawn and connected

711

to teachings and to not see

yourself in them, and I've, I've.

712

I've seen kind of, and I've done

it in my own path, like the kind of

713

the reactive will like screw all of

this if I'm not in it, you are not

714

a representation of God to me, you

cannot be because I, I belong here too.

715

And it's, you know, it's been, of

course, years like we evolve right but

716

it to me, I think the more interesting

question to me now is in this is the

717

feminine as well to me is the yes and.

718

Like, how do we hold the both?

719

How do we hold the wisdom of the teachings

and the dedication of those teachers and

720

the love and all that was poured into

that over time and the reality that,

721

that we need this feminine perspective

that just, you know, Perhaps hasn't been

722

there, and it makes me even wonder if

it's the infusion of the feminine and

723

kind of in the way that you're describing,

724

I know you didn't say it's an infusion,

but I'm imagining it that way.

725

Helps those traditions evolve and

survive and be relevant because Goddess

726

knows we need some kind of spiritual

grounding for what we're headed for.

727

You know, like I don't think that

it's wise to throw everything out.

728

I don't know how you feel

about that, but Yeah, no, I'm,

729

Cynthia Jurs: I'm, I'm right with you.

730

And you know, that's actually

one of the teachings of the,

731

of the holy vessel, right?

732

Because if you're a vessel, the, the a a

vessel needs to be able to hold it all.

733

And, and we don't want to contribute

to more polarity in the world.

734

We got enough of that.

735

So we're not wanting to say, you

know, be reactive in that way.

736

I mean, of course, there's like,

okay, everybody, time's up.

737

This isn't, this isn't serving anymore.

738

But we want to do that in a way we want

to make the change and, and transform

739

in such a way that we come together.

740

We hold each other.

741

We have love as our guiding

force, not hatred, you know?

742

And, and so, how do we do that?

743

How do we do that?

744

And that's, that's our

assignment in these times.

745

You know, and I can really relate to

what you're saying because when I was

746

writing the book, I I was very interested

in this whole notion of, of summoned

747

by the earth, which if you're familiar

with the story of the Buddha, when

748

the Buddha was in the process of, of

becoming enlightened, he was sitting

749

under a tree and he had been, you know,

pretty much he hit bottom, let's say.

750

And he was then recovering from

starvation and all of these ascetic

751

practices that he had been doing.

752

And he took food from a young girl who fed

him and kind of brought him back to life.

753

And then he had this, this awakening.

754

And in the process of his awakening,

he was being challenged, you know,

755

in his psyche by all the forces that

wanted to stop him and put him down.

756

And in that moment, he summoned the

earth, he touched the earth to summon

757

the earth to witness his his experiences

awakening, which I find so such an

758

incredible gesture, you know that

that he would have summoned the earth.

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So I was curious about that because my

own experience, not that I'm enlightened

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at all, but I feel, you know, I had

been summoned and also at a certain

761

point along the way, it was actually

in Australia when we were completing a

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certain phase of this whole practice of

this mandala with the treasure vases.

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I did summon the earth and I, I

asked the earth, you know, to come

764

and to, like celebrate the moment,

you know, like I had, I realized I

765

had done this thing, on behalf of

her and that it was this offering.

766

It was just an offering, you know,

and it was just such a moment

767

and it, it's also in the book.

768

But when I was writing about it, I

wrote this whole story about the Buddha,

769

this experience I just told you, and

something about it was just sort of

770

like, eh, okay, well, whatever, you

know, and then all of a sudden, out

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of the blue, I found myself rewriting

it as if the Buddha were a woman.

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And it had never occurred to me to even

think about the Buddha being a woman,

773

because the Buddha was the Buddha.

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It was a man, historically.

775

And yet there I was, reframing it

just enough so that it was a woman's

776

story instead of a man's story.

777

And I realized that I had needed

that so deeply to have a , to not

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have to make that adjustment, you

know, around what I'm identifying as

779

the great teacher showing the way.

780

And instead to see that it's part

of me, you know, as a woman, that

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I could have that experience.

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And I, I got some pushback from

some of the men who read, read

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the book and, you know, commented

like that wasn't okay with them.

784

They didn't like it and, and

wanted me to change it because

785

the Buddha was not a woman.

786

The Buddha was a man.

787

Well, I said, well, I'm not

saying the Buddha was a woman.

788

I'm saying, let's just imagine for a

second what it might be like if the

789

Buddha were a woman, you know, just

for the sake of the conversation.

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Anyway, it changed the

ground for me a lot.

791

And I hope for others who will read it.

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Liz Childs Kelly: Yeah.

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Oh, that's such a beautiful story.

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I was just thinking about like, wow,

what if we did that with other stories?

795

Like, what if Jesus were a woman?

796

Hmm.

797

Quite fun to consider.

798

Oh my gosh.

799

I feel like I could ask you lots and

lots more questions, but I, I think

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this might be a good place to stop.

801

'cause I think we're gonna run outta time.

802

Mm-Hmm.

803

. Oh, Cynthia, thank you so much.

804

I just feel like that that whole and

just even just wrapping it all up

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for us by explaining the title of

your book, Summoned by the Earth,

806

and drawing the Buddha into that.

807

I'm going to be with that.

808

I'm going to be with that for a while.

809

So thank you so much for your

time and for your gifts and what

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you've been offering the world.

811

Such a pleasure to be with you.

812

Cynthia Jurs: You're so welcome.

813

It's wonderful to talk with you and

to connect with your listeners through

814

our conversation and just Yeah, hope

for all the ripples to go out where

815

they need to go and be received in

the ways that will be of benefit.

816

Liz Childs Kelly: Yeah, may it be so.

817

And Cynthia's book is Summoned

by the Earth, Becoming a Holy

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Vessel for Healing Our World.

819

And your website to learn more

about you I had it written

820

down and it's Gaiamandala.net.

821

net.

822

GayaMandala.

823

net.

824

Not to worry if you didn't catch that,

I will put that in the show notes.

825

And thanks to all of you

for listening as always.

826

I'm so grateful that you're along on

this sacred feminine journey with me.

827

And if you liked the show,

you could do a few things.

828

You can give it a favorable review.

829

You can subscribe.

830

You can tell all your friends about it.

831

And until next time, take very

good care of yourselves and

832

I'll be with you again soon.

833

Home to Her is hosted by me, Liz Kelly.

834

You can visit me online at hometoher.

835

com, where you can find show

notes and other episodes.

836

You can read articles about the

Sacred Feminine, and you'll also

837

find a link to join the Home to

Her Facebook group for lots more

838

discussion and exploration of Her.

839

You can also follow me on Instagram,

at home to her, to keep up to

840

date with the latest episodes.

841

Thanks so much for joining us

and we'll see you back here soon.