Birthing Rite
by Tigris Powers

The contractions were already close together, just three minutes apart, and lasting for one minute each. A half hour to 45 minutes remained until our doula would arrive at the house. During this time, my mother’s mind began to engage in the physical plane, and her anxiety began to rise. I could see that she was struggling to fight her ego. Then something sparked her memory and she decided to call upon the Goddess to assist her.

I felt them come rushing in immediately. The most beautiful light surrounded us. It looked like a cave with warm candlelight inside; golden light blanketed us for the remainder of the labor and delivery. The Goddesses encircled us as midwives inside of this cave. What my mother didn’t consciously realize at the time is that regardless of where she was physically giving birth to me, spiritually, we were in the most sacred of places. This birthing cave was over a thousand years old, ageless and infinite. This is where I was born. This is what I could see. My mother’s energetic and spiritual preparation created this sacred space through which I entered the world.

The above passage was channeled through me from my daughter, shortly after her birth, while she rested in the magical space between the worlds. Our children are wise beyond the ways of our intellectual minds. If we allow it, they will guide us through an extraordinary birth. There seems to be a growing school of thought, or trend, that there is an equation for the “right” way to have a natural birth.

The equation could be as follows…{home + birthing tub + mid-wife = perfect birth}. I’m sure you’ve read about it in one or another magazine. It’s only natural for a woman, seeking to birth her baby naturally, to feel that this is a legitimate formula to follow. And wouldn’t it be nice if we could just plug ourselves into such an equation and know that the outcome would always be the same: a natural, commendable birth.

The truth is, however, that the experience of childbirth is as individual as our babies’ tiny thumbprint. If we allow it, the experience of childbirth will draw us into the darkest depths of ourselves and show us that there is only one way out, and that way is through the light of our becoming. We won’t get there by focusing on the physical or emotional aspects of our labor. In fact, the word labor is defined as physical or mental exertion.

If only we could rise above this definition, this exhaustion, and realize that we ourselves are born anew by following the tiny footprints of our baby, as she walks the bridge from spirit into matter.

The sacred space of birth is created in the spiritual plane, not the physical plane. This is what my daughter taught me. I discovered after the beautiful birth of my daughter, my second child, that there is, in fact, a formula to follow for birth.

The formula is this… {Mother + Baby + The Goddess = Bliss}. This formula requires that we engage the physical, the energetic and the spiritual aspects of birthing. In this way, childbirth becomes a healing, if we choose to allow, accept, trust and receive it. It is our choice. It is our rite.

©Tigris Powers, 2008