Shunya Gates
Name: Jennifer Laurin
Sun Sign: Taurus
Favorite plant friends and why? Redwoods anchor my spirit in powerful ways. Rose and many other plants from the flower kingdom soften my heart and illuminate my feminine energy. Helichrysum is such a blessing and caretaker for me, it restores wellness to my muscles and connective tissues so masterfully!
What do you want to be when you grow up/ in your next life/ for halloween? Oh my...one that feels the richness of life and love in every moment; is immersed in connection and shares that with immense generosity of spirit!
What Goddess do you most connect with? Lakshmi. For me, she represents abundant wellness and a ever-present link to the universe stream of richness and magic.
Tell us about some human women who inspire you? Odetta Holmes' voice penetrates my soul. Her work is rooted in goodness and her expression inspires me to elevate and share my Voice. Michelle Obama inspires the full woman in me; she is eloquent, graceful, bold and allows herself to be felt by others. She is highly intelligent and human. My dear sister, Alison; speaking with her is a channel to my higher self. She offers such compassion and pure vision of what is needed to move through things so that we may rest once again in harmony.
What has been your experience of community and sisterhood? Do you find these things to be important for a womans happiness, and if so why? For me sisterhood has been a cornerstone of my wellness and an important anchor in my life. In the last 11 years, it has been key to a liberated self. I do feel community and sisterhood are key elements of a woman's happiness. Both allow us ways to feel connected in these human forms. Both bring inspiration and allow us to witness and feel different models for living and being. Both provide a space to worship together and celebrate together that brings a joy and depth that is uniquely available when we gather. Both give us a medium to not go at it all alone...and that means we can drop in deeper, allow for vulnerability, and just Be when we most need to be. My Sisters provide a mirror into parts of myself and my experience that is so incredibly elevating and honoring.
So you recently opened Shunya Gates Temple. What does this mean to you to be a temple steward, and how do you see this role differing from other paths of service? It is in deep celebration that I opened Shunya Gates Temple. The Mahamudra Tantra lineage has brought such great softness, allowance, and joy to my experience of this life and of Self. To be a temple steward for me to is stand as an invitation for others to come home to themselves. It is to stand as a medium of Grace and remembrance. It is to offer love in such a way that those who come experience more spaciousness, joy and freedom within themselves. This path of service is one that supports others in a greater becoming of there own selves. My highest service is to help others find the openings that will most support them and step into a richer relationship with life and Self.
What are some of your personal practices and self care rituals that support you in being able to offer sustainably and keep things from getting too heavy? I create time daily to close my eyes and connect internally. This is such a fundamental part of my wellness. I also work daily with the elements - fire and water are dear friends for clearing and softening when it is needed, which is often. I also go out in nature as a ritual and wellness practice; I really listen and witness while I'm there...I listen and feel the wind, I feel the soil, I listen to the movement of plants and animals and I look curiously at what is offered in the environment around me. I also move my energy through activating my sensual and sexual energy often. This is through a myriad of ways that I'd love to share with you! And I dance; dance to release, to feel and to allow more movement!
You have created a powerful tool for working with our own sexual energy in a very refined and intentional way when you created the Divya Wand. Can you tell us where you got the idea to put diamonds in your vagina, because we think it’s just genius! Yes! The Divya Wand weaves magic into form. I was gifted a few herkimer diamonds by my Teacher with really no instruction of what to do with them. As I sat with them the first time, I initially intended to mix them with my moon blood and plant them in the garden. And then the inspiration came to place them inside my yoni. The moment I did, I felt a stream of illumination flow through me that shifted my relationship to sexual energy and magic in a hugely inspiring way. From that moment, I was set in motion to create a wand that allowed these master stones to be invited into the vagina with ease and sensuality.