About

About Willow

Willow Brook is an earth loving educator, spiritual seeker, artist, and friend. Born and raised in Colorado with a background in art education, yoga teaching, and spiritual guidance, Willow is a never-ending student and an enthusiastic lover of life. As a white person devoted to un-learning toxic whiteness, Willow’s work is rooted in the understanding that spirituality and justice are inseparable. This was a theme during her time as a resident at the Lama Foundation where she applied social justice framework to group process and conflict transformation. Willow's training in the Universal Sufi lineage of Pir-O-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan is at the heart of her life. Her practice is based on the framework of deep listening and honoring the inherent spirit of guidance within each being.

Read Willow's Substack

About Soul Invocation Series

The Soul Invocation series was born from a meditation with my soul where I knocked on her door and without spoken words she answered my questions like, “What messages do you have for me? What might I fear in you that is actually profound?”

From this encounter with the embodiment of my soul, I created an invocation, feeding myself the messages I was hungry for and invoking a state of everyday remembrance.

Upon sharing the images, I recognized that this invocation also spoke to others in their healing embodiment journey! May the series serve as medicine, as they have for me. May the pieces be reminders of our inherent divinity and wholeness even when we feel broken.

The images continue to flow through me, so stay tuned for more!

This meditation was offered to be by a dear friend Assana Rae, I highly recommend her work:

Assana Rae

About the pieces

Each watercolor has its own origin story. Read about the context here.

I WELCOME ALL PARTS OF MYSELF BACK TO MY BODY

This image was born when I noticed my tendency to dim my light in the presence of others who I feared judgement from, neglect essential parts of myself in relationship that weren’t celebrated by the other, and a general sense of losing sight of my essence in the turbulent storm that life can often feel like.
In this image I call back all the magical mystical parts of my being back into my physical form to come to life and be of service in the world!!!

I AM EMBRACED IN A CALM COZY CONTAINER OF UNSHAKABLE SELF LOVE, JOY, AND PLAY

An ode to the power in gently spinning a cocoon for myself where I have permission to be my fullest self. Not a cocoon to keep anything out or to prevent myself from feeling the profound pain of the world, but to keep all mystical parts of myself close to my tender heart and remember their value. Within this warm hug, I love myself... with ease, without force.
This container is full of joy!!! I play and skip and giggle like little Willow and remember the delight of being human! Sore smiling muscles and deep belly laughs are celebrated!
In this cocoon I am calm. I take refuge in my essence, the beingness that is everything but that I can recognize in this form.
Warmly swaddled in my own maternal love, I am connected to myself.
Most of all this container is unshakable. The turbulence of the world will always be. Within the container of my body and heart, I am embraced in love, joy, and playfulness in the midst of whatever challenges persist!

I AM SUPPORTED FROM ABOVE AND BELOW

To center, I call on my loved ones. I invoke my deceased mother whose body has returned to the earth. I feel her love in all directions. I hear her whispering in my ear her fierce loving words of encouragement and celebration.
Spirit surrounds me, permeates me, IS me.
I take refuge in the unwavering support of the earth. Her steady sustenance is my body.
I feel close to my well ancestors, my chosen ancestors, myself, and spirit.

I AM PROUD OF MY BOUNDARIES

Healthy boundaries feel so essential to thriving inner life. This image is powerful and assertive, a stance useful in protecting my physical form from unwanted harassment and harm. I know what I desire and don’t desire, I am not ashamed of it, and I can take action accordingly.
Boundaries also take a more emotional form... knowing how much I can reasonably say yes to and when I need to say no and take time to rejuvenate and restore myself. Boundaries are like canals for the energy of love to flow. Rather than harsh walls of isolation, boundaries can be a form of love I show myself and others by caring for my needs. By caring for myself I am able to care for others and the world. When I know and honor my resource I can show up more fully to each moment. The practice of healthy boundaries feels life long.

I AM GROUNDED AND AT EASE IN MYSELF

Need I say more? This calming posture is one I use often. It is so easy for me to get caught in motion of excitement and enthusiasm. When I feel the momentum pulling me, I can pause. breathe. put my hands on my heart and belly and remember where I am. I am in my body on planet earth. I feel my breath. I feel my heart beat. I feel the earth. I feel grounded and connected to her. I feel the ease of breath. I am present.
Being grounded and at ease in myself also comes from being my fullest most authentic self. If I am trying to be anything I’m not, the ease doesn’t flow. When I am in touch with the mystical truth of my soul, I am organically grounded and at ease in myself.

Ahhhhh such relief in this image! I have the sticker on my teaching journal to help remind me to ground and center in ease as I offer myself to the world. These words are some of the most essential medicine for me.

I AM STANDING TALL IN MY INHERENT POWER

For those who may not know, I’m 6’3” on my tall days. As a woman, this height has been and continues to be a potent practice in embracing my exceptionally tall physical form and giving myself permission to take up space.

Standing in my power does not mean power over anyone or anything. It means standing with dignity. Standing with strength and confidence. Growing through my crown and holding my chin high, I embody my fullest self. I harness the inherent strength and power inherent in my being and every being!
People may be intimidated by a strong tall empowered woman, and fuck it...

PLAYING SMALL SERVES NO ONE. ;)

What does it mean for you to stand tall in your inherent dignity and power?

I TRUST MYSELF

Just over a year ago I wrote to myself about having the most beautiful experience with trusting myself and my choices.

I look back at the decisions I made in the past and I trust Willow 6 months ago, a year ago, 5 years ago, even 20 years ago. She made the best decisions she could for herself. When I’m making choices now, I think of myself in 6 months, a year, a lifetime into the future. I know she will trust me too. I trust myself!

Trusting myself is also trusting my body. It’s feeling the body’s deep wisdom and ability to hold me. It’s listening to and obeying my body’s needs but not believing my mind’s illusion of fear that my body is fragile and could fall apart at any moment. I trust this body, this temple, this incredibly wise vessel that knows how to live. This body knows how to thrive. It continues to bend toward healing and equanimity.

Trust is a big theme for me. It has been challenging to trust the reliability of others. I’ve found myself in the territory of hyper self reliance a lot of my life. So, once I truly trust myself, how might I expand that trust to others and to the wild unfolding of spirit...

💙💙💙
What does it feel like to trust yourself? What does that mean for you?

I SURRENDER TO MY LIFES PURPOSE

Following a felt sense of trust in myself and spirit, I allow myself to surrender. Floating on my back in water is one of the most magical ways I feel supported in the mystery.

This sense of surrendering my my life’s purpose came when I started allowing the nudges and opportunities coming my way to move into interfaith ministry work in the world. I was questioning who I was to do such a thing, until I just... allowed. I listened to the knocks on the door and let in the opportunities that I don’t feel I sought out but appeared before me. I chose to accept and follow what felt like spirits subtle direction.

What is life’s purpose really? Maybe none of us really know. Different possibilities consistently move through my consciousness. What I sense is that there are ways each of us can be of service in this tender, chaotic, end beautiful world. Our own way of being, skills, and passions can guide us toward these ways to be of use. Do we listen? Do we accept? Do we surrender?

What does this stir up in you?

I EFFORTLESSLY FIND PLACES OF QUIET SOLITUDE AND REFLECTION

So often I find myself in the hustle and bustle of life and long to slow down for deep silence.
In the meditation the helped birth this series, I had a conversation with the embodiment of my soul. She communicated to me the importance of cultivating boundaries to create solitude, quiet, and space for myself to reflect.

In the presence of others, my own inner voice is quieter. When I spend a day, an hour, even a minute in my own presence I can hear the wise woman within. I can hear my breath. I can hear the trees blowing in the wind and the birds chirping and the sound of my heart beating in my chest. This quiet offers such clarity and peace.

Sometimes it feels like an incredible feat to pull myself away from the excitement of life that can feel like stress. For this reason, I practice the space for reflection to be effortless. Moments appear throughout the day as I walk from one place to another where I pause in my tracks to drink in the sunshine and gaze at the clouds. Quiet is always available I just get to notice it, choose it, and drink it in.

What’s your relationship to quiet solitude and reflection?

I AM ATTRACTING PEOPLE WHO ARE READY FOR ME

One of my sneakiest fears is that I will intimidate or scare other people away if I fully inhibit myself in strong feminine ways. There is fear of not being liked or approved of. Well that’s not useful!

Through the meditation with my soul, I came to realize that it’s fabulous if I scare away some people because that means.... I’m attracting people who are READY FOR ME! I’m attracting those people I need on my journey.

It’s as simple as that! Well it doesn’t usually feel simple but the more I work with this one the more it feels integrated into my body and soul.

What does it mean for you to attract people who are ready for you?

I AM FREE FROM OTHER PEOPLES EXPECTATIONS OF ME

Other people’s expectations of me and even what I assume others expect of me can have a very strong inhibiting hold on my mind!

Society’s spoken and unspoken expectations of me as a woman are LOUD. I’m expected to be palatable, small, obedient. What would it feel like to release myself from these constrictions? To let inherent feminine wild magic flow from every pore of my being?

This image came through regarding money and the expectations I have felt from myself and others to share in certain ways. Generosity is one of my favorite things about life. Sharing is essential to thriving life! And when I give I want every bit to come from a genuine and clean desire to be fearlessly generous, rather than feel someone else’s expectation pressuring me into giving something that does not feel healthy or sustainable.

How would it feel to be liberated from other peoples expectations of me? To be free from the harmful narratives of being woman in this world and pressures to be a prescribed way? Just imagining it I see myself jubilant skipping barefoot through a field of flowers, dancing under the open sky with a boundless heart! Free as a bird flying though the vast sky of possibility! By releasing others’ expectations I am able to share with abundance and love. I am able to be completely myself and the offer the gifts of healing this world needs but doesn’t always seem to want.

What expectations of others do you carry? How would it feel to free yourself from them? I’d love to hear.

USE ME MOVE ME
Lead me, guide me, show me...

This is my call to spirit to move through me so that I may be of healing use in this world. May my actions be in service to thriving life on beautiful planet earth. My limited human mind can only logically phantom so much when it comes to direction. As I bow my head down to feel the heartbeat of Mother Earth, I listen for guidance. Spirit, use me... this human being...for healing. Move me toward action that may be of benefit to all living beings. I’m listening.

This image came during a meditation with a beloved friend @erotic.earth.embodiment as we were doing healing work to root into soul, body, earth, and sexuality.

In meditation I saw an image of myself bowing down to dip my face into the over flowing sacred spring waters on Lama mountain. Spirit speaks through water, sunshine, birds, wind, rain, all of life. She is wise and I am listening for divine guidance.

How do you listen for guidance? What loving motivation moves you toward healing?

Beloved Earth,
Help me remember I am you
And you are me

Please help me to remember how to move, serve, and live at a sustainable speed within sustainable rhythms.

Help me to remember and honor the natural cycles of my body. Help me to remember when to reap and when to sew. When to hibernate and when to emerge. Help me remember that I am you and you are me. Help me remember.

I EFFORTLESSLY RADIATE LOVE

Many years ago a teacher gave me a name, suriya☀️ the Sanskrit name of the sun and reminded me that the sun doesn’t try. The sun isn’t exerting effort to make sure people feel her warmth or worrying who will get a sun burn. The sun is consistently radiating. It is the nature of the sun to spread light.

How do I relax into the inherent luminosity of my being? Not because I’m anything special but because I am a living body containing spirit and soul, just like all of us. A spark is kindled within my being. I am still letting myself relax into effortless being. Allowing the light of soul to spread, knowing that my human tendencies to monitor and make sure I’m doing well enough don’t really help with radiance. Yes, I am consistently in loving reflection about how to be the most compassionate and considerate human being I can. Sometimes that feels like it takes effort.

And yet I continue to make space for the fluid outpouring of love that is always longing to move through me. All I need to do is let it flow and relax in the effortless being.

THE WHOLE UNIVERSE IS WITHIN ME

This image came during a time of being completely in love. Do you know that feeling of being so painted by love that you can’t help but color the world with that bliss? When my heart is leaping with joy and a consistent sense of what a gift it is to be incarnated, I am in touch with the infinitely vast experience that is being human. From the muddy bloody depths of life, death, and grief to the intoxicating nectar of bliss... it all lives in the human heart.

When I learned about this beautiful Hadith (saying of the prophet Muhammadﷺ) it brought this painting to mind. This image is attempting to depict the awe that lives within these human bodies!

What do you see?

‎ما وسعني أرضي ولا سمائي، ووسعني قلب عبدي المؤمن…
“The heavens and earth could not contain me, but the heart of a sincere believer can contain me”

I left this image untitled and wordless to speak for itself. What do you see? What do the colors and posture bring to life for you?

This image arose in my awareness as I was working to invite sweetness into my everyday life. It came from a process of healing the tendency I developed in early life to rush and stress my way through even daily tasks. In a meditation I asked what it would feel like to root out that conditioning of rushing, obligation, and my value being in productivity.

The image came to mind of clearing the central channel of my body, deep to the root. A pure sweet atmosphere danced into the space that was created from that clearing. It was delicious like honey, warm like pastel pink and refreshing like baby blue rushing through this human body.

This is my true nature. Sweetness. Space. Ease. This image is my best attempt to depict that process of natural being singing and spreading that sweetness effortlessly through the world.