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VEILED
By Cornelia Powell | May 7, 2008
Waterfalls are a delight of nature that I enjoy finding wherever I travel. There are many around the Cullasaja Gorge region near Highlands, North Carolina, in an area close to where I’ve recently moved. A small waterfall named Bridal Veil Falls caught my attention recently — a rather sheer, narrow spray that drops right at the highway’s edge — gracefully revealing the reason for its namesake.
Seeing the familiar name reminded me how much the mystery and beauty of bridal veils captures our imagination. In a past issue (Autumn/Winter 2007) of my online magazine, Weddings of Grace, I tell a bit of bridal veil history and folklore, sharing the background about styles we know in the European-American tradition. Brides through the ages borrowed from royal court attire, or the current fashion, or new technology — “tradition” meant very little if the style didn’t look good!
From ancient Eastern cultures, where wearing veils were a tradition of daily life, modern brides inherit the spiritual sense of being veiled as capturing a meditative, privileged space for a private reverie.
If you’re a bride-to-be and take this heritage to heart, wearing a gossamer veil over your face is not only beautiful, but it is also a way to create your rite-of-passage as more reflective and tender. The veiled quiet space can be a reminder to take some deep breaths, supporting your journey of self-discovery with calm and grace.
The bridal veil makes a beautiful metaphor for cocooning and emerging, “representing the mystery of womanhood” as I shared with brides in my former shop! Reminiscent of some waterfalls where you can walk behind them into a cave-like space — a safe haven behind the falls — then come back out into the light on the other side.
One of my pleasures in working with brides is to reveal ways that deepen their wedding experience: how to stay centered and settled within, and open their hearts to connect with their “outside” world.
In regular life, how do you create your own cozy, meditative, cocoon-like space for a daily ritual of quietness and relaxation? Even when I can’t “escape” for some alone time, I take a couple of deep breaths in the middle of wherever I am, find my “center,” and then it feels as though I’ve been draped with a “veil” of peacefulness. Try it when entering a noisy, crowded room or when you have the “jitters” for whatever reason; after a few deep breaths, imagine you’ve entered a veiled space of soothing ease. Ahhhhh. Notice the difference a little “cocooning” makes!
Love. Listen. Let go.
… with love from Cornelia
Topics: For Brides, Women's Notes |
May 7th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
I have found my self looking forward to your notes, but this one has really spoken to me. I have learn to find my space behind my imaginary veil, it has helped me to handle a lot of different circumstance. for instance when you would like to be alone in the room for just a few seconds…..take a few deep breaths and everything is better….Thanks