273 ~ Nature's Quiet Spaces for Healing and Reflection

Hello Magical Human & welcome back to Madison Mindset the Podcast 🧚🏼

episode overview:

• Exploring the symbolic significance of caves in spiritual journeys 
• Sharing my personal experiences
• Understanding how nature guides us
• Ancestral perspectives on caves and rituals 
• Experiencing the profound silence and stillness within caves 
• Encouraging the creation of personal cave-like spaces 
• Highlighting lessons from caves  
• Understanding the meaning behind the quote: "The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek" ~ Joseph Campbell

Join me for this episode where we take a deep dive into the spiritual significance of caves. What are they teaching us? How to they assist you in finding that inner stillness and peace? 

You'll want to tune into this one 🌱🌲🪨

It is safe to go inward..

Love,

Madison M xx

Chapters

• 0:08 Exploring the Symbolism of Caves
• 16:22 Discovering the Inner Peace of Caves

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:08

Hello Magical Human and welcome back to Madison Mindset, the podcast.

Speaker 1: 0:13

In this episode, we're going to be talking about caves Nothing caves or facts or any of that stuff. So if you're a complete cave nerd which I absolutely am you're not going to find cave facts here. We're looking at caves from the spiritual sense. So, yeah, this episode is going to be all about caves and the symbolism of caves. And don't worry, if you cannot enter caves in your area, you don't have caves around you or whatever it is. You've never been in a cave, it doesn't matter. We're going to be talking about this or whatever it is. If you've never been in a cave, it doesn't matter. We're going to be talking about this, yes, on the physical sense, but mostly on the emotional sense and spiritual energy sense of what they have to offer us and to teach us. So, yeah, bring your journal and let's dive into what Mother Nature is here to teach us with caves. Let's begin.

Speaker 1: 1:09

Hello Magical Human and welcome to Madison Mindset podcast. My name is Madison. I'm a yoga teacher, a mindset and spirituality coach and a complete earth fairy. I see a world that is peaceful and easy to live in, humans that are awakened and enlightened towards who they are and what life truly is and why we are here. I understand life can be really hard. I've had a huge journey with anxiety myself. I understand what it's like to feel overwhelmed, overworked, stressed and frustrated within this earth. It is this journey that led me to begin my own growth journey journey, and is only through those struggles that I was able to birth this podcast, so that you can have the tools and techniques and knowledge to help you step forward and be a being of light, a magical earthly being who's grounded, who takes on challenges with love and embraces the lessons that each day brings you. Are that being. I am here to walk you there. You will find many different kinds of episodes through this podcast. All are created in the moment and with love for you. Find the one you need for this moment and enjoy. Take a moment for yourself, sit down with your journal and tune in. Welcome. Let's begin.

Speaker 1: 3:19

Let you know that this episode is inspired by my trip across Australia with my amazing partner in the van. So people often ask me you know, because we drove from Orange, which is near Sydney, if you're not familiar with Australia, and we drove straight across to Perth, which is the other side, the west of Australia. So all the way across, it was amazing massive trip. We did about 9,000 Ks in total. Not sure what that is in miles, but it was a long way. It was a very long way and, yeah, we did it in three weeks. So it was pretty.

Speaker 1: 4:01

It was pretty crazy's pretty crazy and something that you know people will be like oh, how was your trip, how was it? You know, did you see any amazing beaches? And my answer is usually yes, saw some great beaches. But, to give you, we swam twice and we went into like five caves yeah, a lot of caves, a lot of reading. Um, we watched like three documentaries all about caves. We are, yeah, we're very similar in that regard, which is great. But I think you know people are like oh, why don't you want to sit on the? You know, sit in the sun on the beach and swim and stuff like that.

Speaker 1: 4:53

I've always been drawn more to the land than the ocean. I love the ocean. It's beautiful. Love to see it, love to go for a little walk on it or an early, early morning yoga practice or meditation practice or watch the sun set over the beach. Love that middle of the day. You won't catch me there. It's too hot, dangerous, especially in Australia. Not doing it, um, just doesn't feel like the right place to be. So yeah, for me it's just not, it's not a thing.

Speaker 1: 5:20

But I strongly believe that we are attracted to places in nature that we need, you know, and to me, the ocean, and particularly the beach, and this is probably the man-made side effect. But even when beaches are empty, even if you find a secluded beach, unless it's dawn or dusk, I find it's quite an active energy. I find it's quite an active energy. You know it's very bright, it's very sunny, it's very hot. You know you can't escape the heat and, yeah, it's kind of, it's pretty full-on. It's pretty energy draining and I don't need that. You know I've I've got enough overactive energy within myself. I'm drawn to places that are quiet, that are slightly cooler, colder, calmer, and that just feels amazing. You know, my partner and I have been doing cold dips in this random freezing cold pool in in kind of in a cave, is in like a slot of a cave in New South Wales. You know, just in the middle of this beautiful mountain, and it's been so nice just to trek down there, jump in. The water is freezing, it's like an ice bath and just feels so good, you know.

Speaker 1: 6:36

And yeah, and then being in caves, you know, once I went into one I was like I have to be in all of them. I just loved it. I just wanted to be in there. And the guides that were like walking people through the caves. I was no joke, job envious. I was like, oh my gosh, I want to be a cave guide new career cave guide, for sure. Imagine walking through these caves every day. This would be amazing.

Speaker 1: 7:02

Yeah, it's just, and there is that fear. You know, I definitely have a little bit of claustrophobia, but for me it's only, you know, when I'm being touched by something. So being wrapped in bed sheets too much that gets me being in a cave is fine. And the air change we did go into one cave where it was so far underground that the air started to like, where it was so far underground that the air started to like it didn't feel like there was enough air to breathe and that was pretty spooky and, have to say, very much anxiety provoking. But it was a good opportunity and my partner helped me. He's bless him. He's so, so, so good, yeah, at helping me with anxiety. And you know it's a blessing to have a partner who can do that for you. Yeah, it was a great opportunity to practice. You know. Deep breaths, everything's fine, affirmations, you know you're going to be okay, I am safe, I can breathe, I am good, you know. So it was a good opportunity.

Speaker 1: 7:59

But beyond that, the feeling of being in a cave is just beautiful. And you know, after watching the documentaries I watched three, three or four documentaries, a lot of them very archaeology based, and you know where ancient humans were burying their loved ones in caves, you know. So, looking back over time, what you know what are caves used for? And this is probably as scientific as I'm going to get right now. So cave nerds, let's go. Yeah.

Speaker 1: 8:38

So caves, obviously a place of shelter, you know they have been used in burials and they've often especially with Indigenous Australians. I don't know about other cultures, but from what I've watched in documentaries, it's all very similar. They definitely symbolize an ending of a life or a passageway to somewhere. So very much like a full circle. You know birth and death cycle much like a full circle. You know birth and death cycle, yeah, it's, it's really, really cool. And I know, in in this area as well. There is a beautiful place where you can go and see these amazing aboriginal handprints and it's really cool. So I think I've spoken about this before, but, and again, this is um Wiradjuri culture I believe, that I am aware of, but I'm sure it crosses over to others as well. But I just want to be very clear that I don't know about everybody. This is just an understanding that I have gained in this area.

Speaker 1: 9:37

So for rituals and things, you basically have two different types of handprints. For the native aboriginal people, the first one is where you dip your whole hand in the paint and then you put it on a rock right, so your physical hand is on the rock. When this is done, it symbolizes almost ownership, like I was here. It's a very physical thing, it's a. It's a very like marking of territory and symbolizing the physical, your body, this land, you know. But there's another way to make handprints, and this way is to put the paint, which is just rock and water, right in your mouth and put your hand on the rock and then spit it like spray the paint all over your hand and when you remove the hand, what you get is an outline of the hand. So the handprint isn't there, but everything outside the handprint is. You may have seen this before, probably. I would say Now, this handprint place that I have visited many times is the second one. Okay, paint on the outside of the hand. Now what this means. When this is done, it usually represents the spiritual, the unseen, the non-physical. Okay, so this is.

Speaker 1: 11:01

We're looking at rituals you know of, of self-growth, of change, of becoming of age, of uniting with spirits and becoming. You know, it's really beautiful, they're very spiritual ceremonies. So these are often placed on rock walls and within caves even more commonly. So you know, it's really cool to have a look at this and go okay, this is interesting. You know you're in different areas, you know, and what Indigenous tribes used these different areas for becomes very obvious when you can see the handprints. You know you're like, oh, this is a physical thing, this is a place of shelter, of safety, of ownership of land, claiming you know, whereas if it's the spray on the hand, it's like, oh, this was a place, probably, of worship or spiritual work or prayer. So it's, it's amazing to think about.

Speaker 1: 11:59

And when you're in these areas of deep forests and you're in caves or even like along a rock face and there's a waterfall, you know, and water flowing through and everything is naturally cooler in these areas, you know. You'll know like we made the trek across Australia in the peak of summer, it was hot, the big desert across Australia, the Nullarbor, it was like 47 degrees. In the evening, like when we were crossing and I looked was like 6 pm it was 47 degrees, so it was getting up there, right. It's when you go into these caves, it doesn't matter what degrees it is on the outside. You go down into these caves and it's cool and it's calm and it's quiet. It's like a completely different world.

Speaker 1: 12:55

And something I found that was interesting about all these caves is they took millions of years to form in the way that they have and they've only been discovered. You know, most of them did not have like a grand opening at the front like you might be picturing. It was like a hole in the ground. Someone dug into it accidentally and then dropped down into this ditch and went oh wow, there's like the crystals and stuff in here. You know that was pretty much how they were found, just by accident. So there's probably so many more of these magical, magical capsules of peace and quiet and cool energy. You know this feminine energy. It's yet to be found.

Speaker 1: 13:36

You know, and you know if you touch any of these things, like you don't touch anything in caves because you literally destroy millions of years of development. You know, and they're quite serious about that when it's guided. But if you end up in any cave, whether it's guided or not, like try not to touch the stalagmites, the stalactites or anything like that, because all the crystals, because you the stalactites or anything like that, all the crystals, because the oils from your hands literally destroy it. I think these, I've been thinking about it, like I've been looking back over pictures and I will be putting up some beautiful pictures that I took inside some of these caves on Instagram, so you can definitely head over and check that out. That's at Madison Mindset, the podcast, yeah.

Speaker 1: 14:15

And I've been thinking like why did I enjoy that so much? You know, and I think it's because it's the opposite of my entire life. You know the busyness, the running, the trying, the doing. You know the, the talking, the loud, the dings and bings and the signal and the wi-fi and the bluetooth. You know there was no wi-fi or anything underground, of course not.

Speaker 1: 14:39

You know no one's phone's going off, there's nothing, and for some reason, when everyone enters a cave, it's completely silent. No one talks. It's amazing, and they did this really cool thing on one of the tours where you get to experience what they called cave silence. So they'd turn off all the lights and everyone would be completely quiet and everyone put their phones away and you could literally experience what it's like in those caves when there's no humans, no lights, no footsteps, and it's a silence and a darkness I can't even explain to you. But it's not a scary silence or darkness, it is peace. It's like a loving exhale, it's like, oh, thank God, there's definitely an element of oh, I can rest now.

Speaker 1: 15:35

You know, and you know I've done a lot of work with learning about. You know different things in nature representing certain things and something that's come up a lot. You know the cave archetype even. You know talking about cave. When that comes up often, what we're talking about is rest, shelter, go inward, recover, listen to the inside, go internal, stop moving, stop trying so hard and really focus on the inner world, the internal world, step away from the noise. You know is often what comes up with caves, which is why I wanted to share it with you because I think caves are a magnificent creation from nature and when I was in there it felt very balanced.

Speaker 1: 16:22

You know it did have a feminine energy feel to it. You know it was dark, it was mysterious, it was calm, it was peaceful, it was magical in a sense. You know, when you look at um, you know what kind of things reside in caves in movies and books. Right, it's like dragons and gnomes and treasure, and you never really their passageways, you never really know what's going to be in there. You know it definitely had like a magical, like this is another world element and they were just stunning like the stuff in there. You're like I cannot believe. Well, I've been running around, you know, chasing my tail for the maybe hundred years I get on this earth.

Speaker 1: 17:06

This cave has been down here, growing so slowly. It's only just gotten to the point it's at now in a million years. Everything is so slow. It's very feminine, you know, very trusting, very creation based, but it also has a masculine feel to it. You know the rock and the security of the area. You know you feel like you can't be found. You're completely safe inside this capsule, this rock, heavy, sturdy, stable capsule. You know it feels very much like you're being held by this masculine dome of strength and then on the inside you're just swimming in this feminine magic and it really does feel that way. You know and I'm not saying you know, like I have a cave close by, which is amazing and I'm definitely going to make a point to visit more often because it just has magic attached to it.

Speaker 1: 18:09

But you don't need to visit a cave necessarily. Experience with you know retreating into nature and you know going into the areas that feel most like they're pulling you towards them. You know what part of nature do you need? You know and go and find that. You know whether it's a rock pool or a waterfall or or the ocean. You know I find that with the ocean, I prefer to be in the middle of the ocean, where you look 360 degrees and it's just all water. That's better for me than the beach. But maybe it's forests or rivers, trickling streams, whatever, but rocks in general. Go and touch a rock, lean on a rock, sit on a rock and just feel the strength that comes from that, like there is nothing like it. And in terms of the spiritual sense, you know, caves and rocks are seen of places of ritual as well, their safety and security, not only physically, but of course physically. Not only that, but emotionally and mentally as well.

Speaker 1: 19:16

Retreat it's okay to stop doing so much. Stop doing and go inward. It's okay to take a break. It's okay to retreat into the cave. It's okay to not be found for a while. You know, get off social media for a bit, do nothing, do less. This is something I've learned as well Over my years.

Speaker 1: 19:45

I can't tell you how many self-care, self-growth books I've read, and only recently I realized, you know, you can read as many books as you want, but it's all just knowledge until you do something with it. You know. I'd rather you read one book and really implement the teachings so you can experience what the books are talking about for yourself. You know. If you've never been in a cave, you know. If you've been in a cave, you might know what I'm talking about. But if you've never been in a cave, or if you've never been in intentionally, go and see what I'm talking about. Find your nearest cave. If you're in Australia, I've got a thousand recommendations for you. If you're not in Australia, I don't know anything about your caves, but I'm definitely coming one day to experience them so we can all go in there together.

Speaker 1: 20:33

But what you'll experience, you know, know, if you go in intentionally, turn everything off and begin the walk in, notice how beautiful it is when you start walking in the cave. Turn around and look where you've come, the outside world looks peaceful, it's just a light. You don't see much else, it's just a light. And then when you start to walk further down, deeper into the cave, you'll notice the temperature just starts to drop and drop and drop and you'll notice your breath gets slower and sometimes the air gets, I want to say, thinner, or it might be thicker, I don't know. It just feels a little bit harder to breathe, not massively, but it feels different from the surface. You'll notice everything gets quiet, even if you enter with 100 people, everything just gets quiet. Everyone gets quiet. It's instinctive. And once you get in there the temperature is dropped dramatically. There's no signal, everyone's quiet. There's just the present moment and your breath and the magic that is inside those caves.

Speaker 1: 21:41

You know, like I went into caves where they had done like sound healing and opera singing, singing in. I've been into caves where they found literally like ancient, extinct fauna. And you know, I've been into caves where, literally, things that grow in there can't live outside. I've never left the cave. I've been into caves that are millions of years old and I've taken that long to get to where they are and it's just a moment in time that you were able to look at it, and each one feels like it has its own lesson, its own teaching for you. But I can tell you right now it is worth every moment. You'll feel how calm you get, how still you become, how easy things are. There's nothing to do. You can't read a book, it's dark. You literally can't do anything. The only thing you can do is meditate and just observe the moment, and it has so much benefit just to be there.

Speaker 1: 22:45

I really think that if everyone spent 10 minutes in a cave every morning before they went to work, wow, it would probably be a different world. There's something in there that I'm trying to describe to you, but when you have the sensation of what it feels like to be in a cave, you'll understand. But even if you can't get into a cave, you know, create a cave in your life. I believe that your bedroom should be a cave to a degree, and I don't mean it needs to be dark and gloomy, but I do mean it should be comforting and quiet and silent. You know, no tvs, no screens, no work, everything's planned where it is. It's very calming, very comforting. It has the same sensation of being in a cave. It's very supportive, very healing.

Speaker 1: 23:38

I recommend this work so much. It's encouraged me to meditate more than what I already do. It's encouraged me to go inward. It's encouraged me to go slower and to focus on my breath and to be a little bit more intentional, a little bit more silent, a little less busy. And so far this year it has served me deeply and it's lessons I haven't, I've heard of before but I've never really been able to implement.

Speaker 1: 24:07

Until you get into this space of nature that has held ancestors beyond ancestors of yours and mine, and ceremonies and burials, and it's sheltered many creatures, many humans, past and present, and will in the future as well, long after you're gone, your life is a blink of an eye for a cave. There is something about that cave, you know. When you look it up and you know, you find out that caves, you know, represent that passageway, the completion of life. You know the birth and death process. You can picture the womb as a cave, you know, and it just it doesn't make it all the fear around life, all the stress, all the worry. It puts it into perspective immediately. It is the best teacher I've ever known for teaching true peace, to be okay with darkness, to be okay with stillness and nothingness. It is a phenomenal experience and I would recommend it to everybody.

Speaker 1: 25:26

There is a quote that maybe you've heard. I wanted to read it to you the cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek. The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek. This is by Joseph Campbell. You may have heard this, quite a popular quote. This quote to me, I first took it as oh, the thing you're afraid to do is holding the money or the success or the fame or the you know the wins that you want. But now I'm looking at it and I'm seeing it as the stillness you fear to enter, the nothingness you fear to enter, the disconnection you fear to enter. The loneliness, the cold, the calm, the silence, the peace you fear to enter. Why do you fear to enter it? Because you've got to keep up with the Joneses, keep up with online, create something, do something, be something, become something. Who has time for stillness and nothingness and peace. Right. We fear to enter that internal stillness, to pull away from the madness of life, and it's that very place that holds the treasure.

Speaker 1: 26:58

Treasure is not just money, gold and jewels. Treasure is peace. Treasure is ease, joy, fulfillment, love. All of those things are found on the inside, in the stillness and the silence and the peace that's found on the inside. It's found in caves, and the only way to get there is to go internal, to enter the so-called cave, to disconnect yourself from people, from life, to reconnect with the present moment, those who truly matter, not the likes that you get on Instagram or Facebook who cares about that the people that really matter, the life that really matters. It's in that place that you find the treasure, and you can do this with or without a cave. But what I'm telling you and what I'm sharing with you is that if you want a glimpse of that, go for a trip and find a cave, walk in there, be peaceful. If you take someone with you, that's fine, but tell them to be quiet, don't talk. For the whole experience of being in the cave and see what you find. You will probably walk out with way more than you thought you'd ever find in a cave, priceless treasure Peace, love, joy. I encourage you to spend time not only looking to enter caves and getting that experience, but also to create your own opportunity to retreat regularly to the inside.

Speaker 1: 29:00

Get your TV out of your bedroom. In fact, throw it in the bin altogether would be better. Delete social media apps for a bit. Sign out, sit in stillness, do one thing at a time. Prioritize your meditation practice. If you're not sure how to do that, send me an email, send me a DM on Instagram. I'm happy to help. Show up for yourself. You would be surprised as to what you might find when you stop moving, stop searching and sit still. Thank you for being here, magical human. I hope you enjoyed the ride of this episode and the journey. If you enjoyed the episode, please share it with someone that you love. Please leave a rating or a review on the platform that you listen to this podcast through. I always appreciate the sharing and the love. No-transcript.