I Didn't Choose Mystic Life, It Chose Me! (Also titled: Inheriting Mysticism from Other-mothers)

Monday - Group Meditation and affirmationsTuesday - Chat - "Sounds like your sacral chakra might be out of balance. Let's see if there are any exercises we can do to help with that"Wednesday - Too-good-to-be-true coworkers lovingly refer to me as "The Apothecary" - known for having an assortment of herbal teas at the ready to ease things like stomach discomfort, lack of focus, headaches, and so on. Thursday - Text from friend: "Thanks for letting me know about the sage! It seems like things are looking up"Friday - *Research on contemplative practices rooted in my cultural heritageMany of my friends refer to me as "mystical". I grew up in a pretty theologically conservative (yet, sometimes subversive) place for most of my childhood. In that space, we were discouraged from that which we could not easily understand through literal readings of Biblical text.Yet... at the same time...My other-mothers, who are now my ancestors, taught me to have a life filled with mysticism.My godmother, Lynette, was one of the joys in my world. She became my mother's best friend when they were both in the fourth grade. She was a consistent force of love in my life. She passed when I was 12 years old. For years, after my dear Mother woke up early, kissed my forehead, and set off on her long commute to work, I spent the remaining hours before school at my godmom's house. She made sure I was washed, dressed, fed, and that my hair was neatly arranged before I went out.She lit a candle for me everyday, so that I would have something delicious to smell, first thing in the morning. She regularly brewed me cups of Lemon Zinger and Raspberry tea, and introduced me to new blends when she could. I learned mindfulness from her as we sat at her dining room table, slowly sipping, sometimes listening to music - mostly, just being present.My godmother believed that what the earth offered us was good. My mother, a medical professional, taught me about biology, different types of medicines, and their effects on the body. Simultaneously, my godmother, a children's occupational therapist, took me to orchards to pick fruit and taught me their properties. She explained the usages of tea and the benefits of the probiotics in yogurt. She made things from scratch and believed in the healing of laughter.My grandmother was serious about God. She grew up in the Baptist church, in the lineage of the Reverend Lewis Rice, who helped to form  African Zion Baptist Church,  with "a group of free Black families" in 1852. She would often tell the story of how she was "born again" in her 40's - converted towards a charismatic, nondenominational, Evangelical display of belief in God. When I wasn't home, I accompanied her almost everywhere - to her home town of Charleston, West Virginia, in the summer, through her everyday errands, and to countless tent services and churches during their Revivals and Healings.My grandmother believed in God and in spirits -in benevolent angels and vicious demons. She believed in the power of anointing with oil and the symbolic protection of a Cross drawn on the foreheads of her grandchildren. She believed that healing could happen through prayer and "laying on of hands". She took me to places where I might encounter healing energy. She hid me in her car, armed with snacks and a coloring book, during services that intimated that an evil spirit might be nearby. She would stand watch and pray.Afterward, she told me that when I'd encounter an evil spirit, I would know it by my "gut" and by the Spirit. She gave me rides through our city, casually making conversation about where she believed the warlocks and haints might be. She taught me to be vigilant against that which would steal my joy and peace.When I got older, when I learned more, when I started using "big girl" words like hermeneutics and epistemological, I found a great deal of her expression of belief to be a bit odd and a bit "problematic". I craved and loved the intellectual rigor and on visits home, I would share what I'd learned with my Gramma. She would smile deeply and genuinely, saying:"Jadey-Mae, sometimes I don't know what you're talking, but you sure are talkin' it good". For a long time, I distanced myself from this type of faith and mysticism... for so many reasons. It took me a while to see the deep spirituality in what my Grandmother and Godmother were offering me - even if we didn't verbalize these things in the same way.As I grew older, I began making my own tea blends to assist with some of my ailments (ginger/licorice root/cinnamon & clove for stomach upset, chamomile and lavender for sleep), and I thought of my Godmother. I learned about chakras and practice of reiki - energy healing - by the hovering or laying on of hands and I thought about my Grandmother. I recalled the way she would whisper prayers and rub our backs, lingering on those places where she felt a bit  of tension. She was the first person to verbalize the importance of regarding our bodies with loving and healing touch.I learned about mindful meditation, and then, circled back to the shared moments at the dining room table with my Godmom. I made decisions and reflected on my Gramma's lesson that I'd know what would serve me well "from my gut's response" to a person, place, thing, energy, spirit. I began buying essential oils for varied reasons (eucalyptus for cold / flu season, lavender for calm) and mapped it with my Gramma's Christocentric understanding of "The Oil". What I gained from Gramma's impartation is that not all energies are good ones, and that I must be vigilant against that which would harm me. What I gained from Lynette's impartation is that slowing down, meditating, stretching, brewing, were all gifts that could center me throughout my life.In the year 2016, I opened up a chat with my good friend and asked, "Gurl, people swear I'm mystical. They might be right". Her response told me that I was probably the only one still working through this fact (lol)! I responded offhandedly, "I didn't choose the mystic life - the mystic life chose me" and then I realized what I said was true.I talked about these experiences with Ebony Janice of the Free People Project on her vlog. You can view that here!Featured Image Credit: Createherstock.com