Tag Archives: Autumn Equinox

With Squirrel Energy, We Playfully Get Down To Business Without Going Too Nuts

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I remember playing basketball and doing my job with a student this week, when he called out to me, “Ari look, a squirrel”.  Here in the Northern hemisphere, the seasonal transition into Fall is rapidly approaching us and we are venturing back to school, work and getting organized, while saying good-bye to summer.  Meditation on squirrel reminds us that our business can be our pleasure, if only we allow for it.  In a sense, this week’s blog was falling out in the doing, while leaving its passing behind.  And the doing becomes less robotic when we are truly present with what is and our busy doings become awakened and more about being.  Summer is waning and on this Equinox, light and dark will be in balance, if only briefly.  At this junction on Nature’s cycle, the Autumn Equinox is somewhat akin to the Spring Equinox, when masculine and feminine energies are also equal.  Right now, we are looking forward to the masculine-light waning and the dark night of feminine energies rising until their peak on the Winter Solstice on December 21, 2012, the first day of Winter.  Isn’t it synchronistic that squirrel medicine carries a 12 week cycle and the end of the Mayan Calendar is approximately that distance into the future?  Yes, we are living in exciting times on our planet today, but not without the labor pains associated with giving birth to a New Earth.  Squirrels are especially powerful medicine at this moment and when watching them being squirrely, we are reminded of their spirited teaches on being prepared, but hopefully without going too nuts in the process.  Does anyone else out there get a chuckle from watching our squirrel brothers and sisters bursting with nervous energy, scurrying around, while stashing their acorns and sometimes forgetting where they buried their treasures? 

I remember when “911” happened like it was yesterday.  In fact, I knew something like this event was coming–in the sense that I could feel it.  At the time, I was working at a group home for children in State custody that had been severely abused and neglected by their birth families and they were already at school.  A couple of my co-workers came in and asked if I knew what had happened and directed me to the TV in the living room.  Although I was only in my mid-twenties at the time, I had not lived a sheltered life and I understood what was going on in our world geopolitically.  I realized that many folks on the planet, including a growing number of  folks here in America, lived without a sense of security and experienced terrorism in their day-to-day lives.  Sadly, but understandably, terrorism seeks to disrupt the status quo and uses violence as a means to justify the end.  This crazy idea is similar to the fundamentalist belief in the maximum economic profit business model that wealthy nations use to exploit poor nations on our planet today.  But violence, although illegitimate and foolish, predictably begets more violence.  We reap what we sow.  Stockpiling weapons of mass destruction, which the United States continues to hoard more than any other nation, is asking for more of the same.  However, if we want to eliminate this clinically insane nightmare, then we need to start balancing cooperation with competition and clean up the resources that we share by co-creating win-win solutions, rather than adopting a quick fix, band-aid approach.  Isn’t it obvious that the old ways do not work any more?  As humans, we have historically been at our best when we are at our worst.  But the times, they are a changin’ and we need to get out on the forefront and proactively get in alignment with Nature to facilitate our transition into a New Age and Paradigm.  Can’t you hear the arrival of John Lennon’s energy saying, give peace a chance . . . that’s all we’re asking, is give it a chance . . . it’s never been done.

In welcoming squirrel’s spirited streams of energy, we remember how to balance letting go of our stockpiles that no longer serve us and tap into our reservoirs for a future rainy day.  Our spirited Nervous Woodland Creature friends are offering us powerful energies to release dysfunctional relationship patterns, fixed thought processes, programmed beliefs and objects that once brought security, but are no longer serving us–without going too nuts in the process!  This is somewhat akin to a toddler giving up his pacifier and learning to soothe himself, rather than relying on the object of his affection.  In our modern world of 10, 000 things, it might mean giving up some old clothes and giving them away to someone who really needs them more.  Systemically, perhaps this looks like giving up our addiction to foreign oil and replacing it with free energy for the entire planet by tapping into the Earth’s natural energy centers, as true wizard Nikola Tesla once envisioned.  Maybe that is too far-fetched for some, but burning less fossil fuels and finding more organic ways to cultivate energy that is cleaner for all of us is possible.  Bringing in the energy of squirrel is merely one source that is pollution free, particularly if worked in the positive.  For those at the top of the food chain, it might mean giving up tax breaks and sharing a bit more with the overwhelming majority–picturing buying us time and saving us money.  It might mean looking another sentient being in the eyes, perceiving the mirror and realizing that we are all cut from the same cloth.  In tapping into squirrel consciousness, we co-create a safe place for an untroubled heart and mind, where wisdom and caring are gathered and stored and anxious fears about the future magically disappear. 

Stay True,

Ari

If I Should Fall Behind, Please Leave Me Alone . . .

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Autumn is my favorite time of year, although Mother Nature’s indecision right now makes it difficult to know when to put on or peel off, pun intended . . . “how do you like them apples?”. “A time when darkness overtakes light, and nights grow longer than days. It marks the second station of the year. It is the time of calling, ripening of the harvest, a prelude to a wakening at Samhain. If it is warm at the autumnal equinox, the season should be fine. The goddesses Carpo and Carman are deities of autumn and poetry, respectively.” What’s more, Fall is a time of energetic alignment, somewhat akin to spring equinox, though in this case, beginning to rest, rather than awakening. At this time, We balance Our Selves as We prepare for rest and inner work. Turning Our clocks “yinward”, so to speak.

I remember an anthropology class I took way back in college that included a required text-book entitled, Other Fields, Other Grasshoppers. I remember leaping right into the open view that book espoused for warding off Our tendency to become ‘ethnocentric’ in one’s fieldwork with diverse cultures. Moreover, Carl Jung always struck me as in alignment with this kind of energy as a psychologist and a therapist and inspired me to follow suit by laying my cards out on the table. I’ve heard it said that one should “write about what you know.”  In the spirit of that, I’ll focus on what’s going on with the weather (dialectically pronounced weathah) around the way in the neck of the woods I sit. However, I would also like to acknowledge that I’m not reporting on merely what I see through my physical eyes, as I practice letting go of identification with my humanity, while awakening from my own slumbering ‘inner space’. In fact, as We officially transition from Summer to Autumn here in Our Northern Hemisphere on Mothership Earth, I’m inspired to Fall back and trust that the dying leaves will catch me in a gentle and loving Gaia safety net. Ah, the ‘Web of Life’, as Chief Seattle once spoke of in His wisdom. Wilting flowers, falling leaves, watching children playfully running and jumping through piles of leaves, temperatures waxing and waning (perhaps conjuring up sneezing), as Light and Dark are equally One, albeit diverse expressions of that Oneness, in the Great Cosmic Wheel.  I hardly think Steve Perry could hit a note as High as D Sharp in a Harmonic Convergence of acoustical journeying. Paradoxically, I heed Chuck D spittin’ a Public Enemy number one message to the Military-Industrial Complex, “don’t treat my highs too high or my lows too low” . . . Doesn’t Mr. Miyagi’s martial arts wisdom strike a chord when he says to ‘Danielson’, “balance is about all of life.”?

On this Autumn Equinox, I am reinvigorated into Bee Leaving the forecast may be dimming, though when I keep my ear to the ground, I can still hear Summer whispering to stay light on the feet and drink in the nectar of life. Although the subsequent funeral procession that accompanies Fall might be the death of me, I am also fairly certain the changing tides won’t be the last time I commit suicide–from the Shamanic death of the old self perspective. I wonder if Kafka’s main character in The Metamorphosis would have come out of his shell if had he embraced a Groundhog totem in learning a ‘death without dying experience’ and realized We are not as alone as We might feel from time to time? In every moment of breath, there is death and re-birth–a trumpet sounding its call sure, but a new star shining brighter on this New Morning. Maybe it’s just a little more colorful during this time of year, especially in Northern New England that showcases my favorite time of year that welcomes “leaf peepers” trotting from around the Globe. In fact, I look forward to the Fall, Halloween, All Soul’s Day and All Saints Day–especially given the “thinning of the veils” and watching them lift so that it’s a more open time to commune with Our human family members whom have passed on. It is a great time to honor Our ancestors and thank them for their sacrifices in clearing space for Our evolutionary impulse toward “walking in a Heaven that We can finally see.” And that Heaven on Earth happens when We are present with Our Selves right Tao, as We gently let pass any devilish fixed ideas and egoic attachments to future projections.

In the remembering and forgetting, I try to remind myself to focus on the positive aspects of life, to see the ‘silver lining’ and remember the Sun and Moon are merely hiding when We can’t see them dancing with One another. Moreover, I know the ‘Voice of the Trauma’ quite intimately and realize how easily seductive it is to pay attention to the doom and gloom scenarios that accompanies the unfolding human drama. However, I agree with the ancient wisdom that says, “know Thyself” and also Master Yoda’s understanding in self-awareness when He said to Luke, “you will know, when you are calm”. When We give Inner Peace a chance, We co-create Heaven on Earth, one step, one moment, one individual at a time. When We take this step toward Our True Self, We step in alignment with Nature, with the Universe and We know Oneness.  When I observe the Nervous Woodland Creatures going Straight Outta Woodland, this time of year, I think they can dig on what I’m saying–especially since they seem quite present being so nuts. Perhaps Red Squirrel is really just saying, “G’Day Mate”, merely cloaked in His sentinel bravado? I know I am my own Boss when I sing to myself, “Tomorrow Never Knows.”

Finally, in recent meditations on Turkey medicine, I remember to give thanks for the shared blessings and harvest Turkey brings to Us–especially during Autumn. What would happen if our “senators and congressmen please heed the call” of Turkey to offset “rampant consumerism” and realize that “there’s enough and we can all win.” So, maybe 28 billion is slashed for yet another weapon of mass destruction, followed by yielding on blowing it up to see if it’ll produce a mushroom cloud. Now, maybe I’m just being a fun-gi, but I don’t think it’s too much of a sacrifice for the Military-Industrial Complex to cut some of that spending and reinvest that savings into healthcare and education and more importantly, a more balanced systemically oriented budget that values Universal capital. What would happen if the pyramid on the Almighty Dollar looked more like an equilateral triangle than the sinking ship that it looks like right now? I see Turkey’s medicine as somewhat akin to “birds of a feather, flock together” as We transition into a New Age and Paradigm. Now that’s a Sunny harvest I can digest . . . especially when Full from a Moonshadow.

I Hopi You Are Well,

Ari

Am I Sharing Here Or Just Being A Turkey?

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On this Autumn Equinox, I am in a deep place of gratitude as I remember walking with a student out on the trails recently. After detecting a subtle movement down yonder, We quieted our chatter and crouched out of their field of vision and watched a flock of Turkeys reminding Us to honor the shared blessings and harvest atmosphere of the crisp Autumn air.  Once the Turkey caught wind of our scent (including gobble sounds emanated from student) and fled the scene, I was so grateful to see that one left a beautiful feather just for me.  The last time one left an offering like that, was probably about a year ago somewhere else along that path. And I just let go of that feather circa “Am I Going Nuts, Or Have I Just Forgotten Where I Buried My Acorns” blog entry. “Ho, Brother Turkey! So freely you give of everything you are, so others may truly live. Give away Eagle . . . Deep and abiding recognition of the sacrifices of both self and others.”

Additionally, I wonder if Lao Tzu would concur that Turkey medicine might be a remedy to “the boasting of thieves after a looting”? Would He feather Our modern world’s ripple by calling on Turkey to quiet Our obsession with “rampant consumerism”, by tickling Us into channeling Our Chi in a more egalitarian way? Admittedly, Turkey medicine might be a threat to national security, given that it might be a hard sell to the gravy train Military Industrial Complex, Medical Model Establishment, an Economic Hit Man and/or a Big Pharma Executive, given that it’s free and generally has positive side effects associated with Inner Peace. I remember dreaming a new dream that looks like a free for service economy–vis-a-vis a philosophically free market based on bartering that honors Unity Consciousness and the Diversity within an organically more equitable global village, where resources are shared.  In the spirit of what’s good for the goose is good for the gander, “there’s enough and we can all win.” Further, I enjoy Native American stories that share that Turkey was a co-creator of the world by teaching Us how to raise corn and protect Us from the ‘Evil Dewar’s’. In the spirit of that, I wonder if Indian Shamans sought Turkey’s council regarding the original intention of the first Thanksgiving Harvest? Now I don’t know about that for sure, but I hear Turkey drives Squirrel nuts when Turkey steals Squirrel’s acorn stash. If We were talking baseball and Squirrel was pitching, that’d be a foul ball.

Finally, Turkey’s energy connects Us to Our Third Eye in that Our “collective consciousness” is waking up and flowering as We become the change We want to see in Our world. Our waking up is tied to Our Mother waking up and of course how We treat Her. At the end of the day, I say Thank You to Our Mother and send her lots of heartfelt loving energy. Further, Turkey alludes to strength in numbers, which hints at Our growing Critical Mass . . . a rising tide sea of consciousness that will tip the iceberg and lettuce effectively transition into a New Age and Paradigm, a la “birds of a feather, flock together.” Now as I look for a carrot in this New World, I am inspired to perceive humanity from the standpoint of a ‘cultural salad bowl’, chock full of mixed greens.

I Hopi You are well,

Ari

Trotting With Fox

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After waxing on a bit of a lather during a waning run recently, I noticed a Fox not noticing me as She crossed the road with a fresh kill in Her mouth.  Some kind of rodent, maybe it was a Mouse or a Rat, but admittedly I couldn’t quite zone in enough to attend to the detail or shrewd enough to say for sure. Whatever Nervous Woodland Creature (NWC) it was, perhaps it was down with ‘investing in loss’, less wily  than Fox, let go of a fight and accepted the ‘death of the old self’ without going Straight Outta Woodland. As it were, I remained camouflaged until Fox became aware of me at the border area to the wetlands and scurried away to secure its catch.  I wonder if Ralph Ellison was inspired by his Fox totem when he wrote Invisible Man?

I remember when I was in the woods a while back for a spell, just coming out of my meditation, as I observed Fox trotting merely a stone’s toss from me without flickering an eye as it passed me by. Given Her keen sense of smell and heightened capacity for discrimination and discernment (and my doubly large energy field), Fox’s Sacred Feminine energy is teaching me well in learning Merlin’s skills of concealment, as I learn to fade into the background and adjust my aura to the social environment accordingly (without giving up my power or taking someone else’s). And then a Blue Jay did a ‘fly by’ and rang like a ‘bell of mindfulness’ that I’d rather be a True Wizard than a master illusionist. Moreover, a Grasshopper’s quantum leap reminded me to venture out and take some risks in order to evolve and broadly jump forward.  In blazing my own trail, especially as We approach Fall, I am encouraged to release my fears of leaving others behind and fall back, while springing forward–for there is always freewill and what works for others probably won’t work for me and vice versa.  And then a Praying Mantis encouraged me to listen to my Inner Voice and remember Star Wars Jedi Qwi Gong Jin and spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle’s combined wisdom to quiet my mind, heed stillness, continue to cultivate my internal martial arts practice vis-a-vis remembering to breathe in ‘Righteous Chi’ . . . a walking meditation that is nothing to sneeze at during these changing seasons.

Finally, while recently watching “bush TV” in my backyard garden, I glanced up from the fire and gazed at the glowing Moon illuminating the golden Black Eyed Susan reflecting back my way. I could smell my fragrant flowering consciousness blooming in my own inner garden, even as Summer’s petals paradoxically wilt away.  In the Spirit of nocturnal power, Fox reinforces to Us that We can become the change we want to see by cutting back to Inner Peace, walking with joy in Our steps and following Our bliss.  As We rapidly approach and soon pass the transient Autumn Equinox and Light and Dark become equal as One . . . dare We enjoy the waning Light, welcome the forthcoming Dark and turn Our focus “Yinward”.  When We open Ourselves up to trotting in step with Fox’s tracks, We open up to allowing Ourselves to tap into Our creative energy and act from a heartfelt Inner Space. My encounter with Fox reminds me to be an open conduit for the Universe to flow through my human form in a way that represents Oneness, Diversity in Unity and sheds light on the shadowy veils that try to keep Us in Plato’s Cave. Now, isn’t that Foxy Aquarian footing out of this world?  Excuse me, while I kiss the sky . . .

I Hopi You are well,

Ari