A temple is an intentional space where you get to practice your yes and no, meet joy and bliss and ecstasy, and soften the shame that has held you separate from yourself, others, and the living world.

It began with a crack I couldn’t explain; subtle at first, then splitting me wide. I didn’t know it then, but I was in the early stages of a shamanic initiation. It came through dreams, physical symptoms, and a trembling sense that something ancient was stirring in my bones. Trauma cracked me open. Illness hollowed me out. I had waves of ecstasy so intense I searched online if it could be the symptom of a brain tumour.