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Beautiful. I strongly suspect there exists an inner portal in every one of us that opens up whenever we least expect it. The ancient egyptians and other civilizations called it the Third Eye. During the pandemic I wrote a 360 page novel about someone who sees a threshold in his dreams. One day, accidentaĺly, he goes across it and ends up hundreds of years before his time.

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I would not be surprised if that was true, D.C. There is so much we do not know about the energies, vortexes, geometry, connections and portals of life and our world. We are taught to disregard a lot of what we feel and sense. It can be heretical just to say, "what if?" Your novel sounds fascinating, sounds like you explored the, "what if!"

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I certainly did!😉

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As someone who currently feels like I am on the threshold of something Julie, this truly resonates! The hugely comforting idea that it's a completely natural process that occurs all the time in nature and all around us. It's simply normal to be 'here' and then 'there'. There need be no concept of time or space, just moving along a timeline, which we can then move backwards on as well. Forwards and back. It's made me breathe more easy. Thank you. xx

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Louise, I am so grateful this supported you! I too sense you "on the threshold of something." No need to make it into anything, other than the natural process it is, as you beautifully stated. Sending you much love and abundant blessings. Knowing all that is needed is right where you are! Big hug! ♥️

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I LOVE this, Julie! I used to do a practice of consciously walking through doorways, paying attention to my body moving from one space into another and how meaningful that can be when we do it with intention. Now I want to revive that practice, so thank you! Thresholds also make me think of the words entrance...en-trance; and ecotone (a word I learned only a couple years ago, but I love it). Thank you for always teaching me new ways to integrate liminality into my container of presence! ❤️❤️❤️

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Thanks Jenna! YES - powerful to consciously walk through doorways...feeling the entering, feeling the between-ness, this middle place, feeling the exiting. I too after writing this post wanted the same thing, to walk through doorways. And thanks for bringing the word ecotone to my vocabulary! It's perfect! Like the estuary that I saw that same day. Sea water and fresh water meeting and mixing, creating its own environment. We saw egrets, herons, seals there! So beautiful. ❤️

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Oh Julie, how I appreciate this post so much.

The thresholds of life...and to be AWARE of them says YES I am willing to go there, where-ever there is.

I find going through thresholds and gateways and choosing to walk into those liminal spaces something so profound. It makes life REAL and PURPOSEFUL.

I feel very alive when I cross a threshold, when I acknowledge one, when I sense one. I feel that I am truly living life with PURPOSE and with CLARITY.

If I go through a day and am unaware of any thresholds, I feel that my day is boring somehow and that I have missed out on something great. Thank you for the reminder to come back to my breath!

From another Liminal Walker!

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Thanks Sam! I broke out into a huge smile when I read, "I am willing to go there, where-ever there is." YES, YES, YES, That is what makes it soooo liminal. And I completely agree, my life feels more present and purposeful when I am aware of and attend to these precious and sacred moments and places. They truly make the movements and living of life become transparent, evident and alive!

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Sep 8Liked by Julie Schmidt

I really enjoy this discussion of thresholds - the ideas were really grounded for me when I came upon the photos you took of the thresholds from your hike. I feel this movement between quite a bit, especially paying close attention to the energy flows surrounding the cross quarter days and the elemental changes within the seasons. The picture of the thresholds between the dark of the shade and the sunlight really brought the concept of thresholds much more into my body. Thank you Julie!

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Thanks Emma, Yes seeing thresholds in the physical really brings it home! And I love celebrating with ritual the full and new moons, the equinoxes, solstices and cross days between them. The endings and beginnings. Honoring these times magnifies these liminal spaces, as palpable thresholds. Allowing our moments to be seen as fresh and new!

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Sep 7Liked by Julie Schmidt

Julie- I love the concept of beach as threshold. That picture you shared really drives the point home. Thanks for sharing this. Hope you’re well this week? Cheers, -Thalia

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Thanks Thalia, When I was first introduced and started contemplating liminality and thresholds, it was the beach. The shoreline where the ocean touches the land, water and earth meeting. This is when it really became palpable for me. Also being by the ocean as the fog was rolling in. Witnessing where the fog reached out like finger tips, touching the land, next to ground that had not been caressed yet. Again water, air and earth mixing and meeting. Seeing it in the physical became the doorway to see thresholds in nonphysical ways too.

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Sep 6Liked by Julie Schmidt

This reminds me of a conversation I had with a group of friends regarding threshold guardians — obstacles preventing one from crossing a threshold. Thank you for sharing this thought-provoking piece.❤️

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Thanks Maria! And that sounds like a fascinating conversation...threshold guardians. I just started listening to Josh's podcast from the Emerald, called Guardians and Protectors. Fascinating! I sense many threshold guardians shield spaces as a way of protecting the magic and mystery there. Doors opening only for initiates. ❤️

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Sep 6Liked by Julie Schmidt

Love your insights. I’m in the threshold of aging & it’s a heightened time of letting go of the old & attempting to embrace & accept what is now. The body & mental changes that occur with growing older💓

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Thanks Beverly! Yes the threshold of aging... I am there with you too. The challenges of it and the absolute beauty of it! Deepening in a way that only aging can bring. ❤️

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