Holy Cow, we have made it through the Autumn Eclipse Season! Of course, the aftershocks will linger for some time; which is somewhat akin to the way Mercury in Retrograde takes time for the fog to lift, and we can reflect back with more clarity.
Eclipses have the potential to shake up your consciousness, invite spiritual awakenings, and loosen up the grip of the ego. Recently, I heard a spiritual teacher share a story of how she forgot how to drive a car after having a spiritual awakening. It isn’t that the ego doesn’t serve. Rather, after such an awakening, a new way of shifting gears can be discovered after a healing, if you’ll pardon pun.
Use the energies now to cleanse and purify any old emotions and memories that you are still holding.
What needs to be released in your soul at this time?
What has shifted within you?
How have you grown?
What have you released that no longer serves your personal empowerment and sovereignty?
Today, September 22nd, marks the Autumn Equinox because we officially say goodbye to summer and hello to fall, in the Northern Hemisphere at least. The leaves are changing, days are getting shorter, and the temperatures are dropping.
Or if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, you’re saying peace out to winter and good day mate to Spring because it’s the Vernal Equinox.
Regardless of wherever you are on the Planet, the energies of Light and Dark, Masculine and Feminine and Yin and Yang will be in equal alignment with each other.
A New Balance of creation is in the air and will show up in our footsteps, if we are paying mindful attention.
Whether you call it a Dimension of Spaciousness, the Kingdom of Heaven or the Light of Consciousness; the energy of these words describe a real attainable experience that exists within you, and is everywhere.
But we all know that the Empire are protecting old ways of manipulation that wants us to think otherwise. The clinging and grasping of the Old Guard continues to try to control us so that we behave as sheeple by convincing you that you are not worthy. Think of it as a commercial that wants you to buy into an idea that you are separate from everyone and everything; God included.
The truth is that we are awakening into a New Age and Paradigm where Diversity within Unity will become the new normal. All that means is that we will know our Oneness with each other, while at the same time discovering our individual uniqueness. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
Our interconnection with all sentient beings will become a self evident truth. Remember that Love and Truth are the Pillars that hold up the Universe. It has to be felt in the heart and without forgetting in the head.
During the season of Libra on September 22 through October 21st, we are always inspired us to balance what we give to our relationship with our self with what we give to our relationships with others.
A Full Harvest Moon will occur on October 6, 2025. This Full Moon gets its name because it is the closest to the Fall Equinox, and usually takes place in September. It is symbolic of the peak harvest of crops in many places. And it will be the first of three consecutive supermoons, which is like a Full Moon on steroids.
As Libra season ends on the New Moon on October 21, a doorway into deep healing in our relationships; including blood or extended family is possible, if only we are open to seeing beneath the surface of our long held patterns.
For example, most couples have known the experience of developing deeply ingrained and dysfunctional patterns in their current or past relationships. Whether or not you are still in the couple relationship, you can still heal and change these dysfunctional patterns within yourself, and the relationship can change. Or you can change the way you experience the relationship within yourself at least.
As this writer shared with you in the last blog post, he is on a Leave of Absence after serving as a social worker in the same school community for the last 20 years. Recently, he followed the wise guidance of a soul psychotherapist, and did an identity ceremony to honor, release and let go of who he was, his accomplishments, and also let go of what no longer serves him as he moves forward.
During the process, I thought about the good fortune it has been to have meaningful work. While trauma- informed practice in schools isn’t easy by any standard, it was important for me to honor the big changes that occurred, look upon them as all blessings, and choose what parts of them no longer serve me, and what I want to bring with me into my next chapter. It’s not a coincidence that we’re in the Chinese Year of the Snake, which symbolizes the shedding of the old skin, and transformation.
For those of you hip to the Chakras, my Solar Plexus Chakra was prompting me to do this identity ceremony, and has been giving me the clear message that it was the right thing to do.
Furthermore, as I look back upon the Mount Shasta retreat that I wrote about in the last blog post, I think about the arriving Massive Changes coming down the pike, as we move further into a New Earth Aquarian Age, and deepen our alignment with Unity Consciousness.
Check out the short video clip (approximately 2 minutes below) to see what we experienced as a group together on our retreat.
According to Gene Ang, our facilitator at the Mount Shasta retreat:
“We had a series of sightings over five consecutive nights where in the night sky you can see what looks like a star powerup to a tremendous amount and then power down. The series looks like 6-8 of these power ups occurring one after the other with about a 30 second to a minute pause between each power up. You can see a version recorded by Dr. Steven Greer . . . In the video, you will see Dr. Greer point out an object in the night sky with his laser which gets intensely bright and then powers down. What we saw this past August was the same thing but the object would power up and power down 6-8 times in a row before disappearing. The group saw this same pattern in some version on five consecutive nights . . . When I took my initial trainings with Steven Greer regarding extraterrestrial contact in 2009, he said that when a group in a circle outside sees these power ups, there is a tremendous amount of light and information that is sent into the group that assists in transforming their consciousness. Even healings can occur.”
During the various debriefing sessions and sub-grouping conversations, I repeatedly shared that it felt like we were being winked at during the powerups. Moreover, I drew the analogy of when we were kids and someone would signal to the highway trucker to pull his horn, and they would.
Finally, most adult children can remember magical experiences at some point during their childhood. Even if it was the sense of adventure and promise that a new day might offer; whether a specific encounter with an animal, a field trip at school or an unscripted experience on a summer day during unstructured play, or dreams or visions that resonated and felt so real they were hard to shake. Perhaps it was an experience that your known paradigm couldn’t explain. Not everybody remembers or even had these experiences necessarily. Today, people are far more plugged into their devices, and are more likely to miss these opportunities. But there is a growing body of people who are intensionally experiencing them more than ever by slowing down their pace, stopping to smell the roses, and being mindful of the sacredness of the living moment.
May all Beings be free and awaken to the vibrational shift into the dimension of Inner Peace,
A Full Flower Moon will happen on Thursday, May 23rd. Hummingbirds accentuate this point because they embody effective cross pollination of spreading the seeds of love and flowering of consciousness.
Of course this moon goes by many names, such as Mulberry Moon by the Creek and Choctaw or Moon of Green Leaves by the Lakota or Field Maker Moon by Abenaki.
Other ancestral names given by the Celtics and Old English are Hare or Grass Moon. And for those who hear the peepers singing, it’s easy to understand where the name Frog Moon sprung from, if you’ll pardon the seasonal apropos pun.
Speaking of frogs, remember the beautiful Lotus Flower grows out of the Lily Pad in the gnarly swampy bog areas. This is the true roots and meaning behind Flower Power because the Lotus Flower represents the Flowering of Consciousness and awakening our Human Potential.
Meditation on Flower Power reveals for us to pass on buying into the commercial that sells that the 60s were all about sex, drugs and rock and roll. Yes, those ingredients were real parts of that era. But underneath those appetizers was a main course meal that fed expanding consciousness; including the questioning of conventional societal programing, working on Civil Rights and leveling the playing field.
When we truly acknowledge an authentic awakening taking root in our souls, we recognize that we are living on Indigenous lands, and have all been affected by Colonization. In this state of awareness, we will evoke a living memory of our ancestral roots. May we breathe in a sense of clarity, renewal, healing, and rejuvenation into our souls during this season.
Let’s not forget that White Privilege and White Supremacy are real collective traumas that affect everyone, regardless of how we identify. The reality is that we humans have been mixing it up together in a garden variety of ways; including having cross cultural relationships and intersectional experiences with one another. Variability in the species is a good thing. Nobody wins at the hands of oppression.
Beneath the headlines is the deeper truth that we are living in an age where we are letting go and releasing all of that.
But Regardless of who’s on top, the horizontal evolution of power awakens the reality that power is shared in a way that is equitable. From this perspective, there are no real losers because there is enough, and we can all win. Most of us don’t want to be billionaires. But most of us want be free and have equal access to resources; including a safe place to live, learn and thrive as a human family. That’s not easy to do within the Fog of War and the dying old matrix.
Given the current and historical oppression that humankind has experienced on the Planet; including the genocide and enslavement of various groups of people, including Semitic, BIPOC & LGBTQ+ folks- it can be challenging to perceive the infinite possibilities awaiting humanity to co-create a more fair and just society.
Meditate on We The People consciousness; as well as the truth that everyone are Chosen People created in the image of Creator. This mantra will bear fruit to transcendence and transformation with humanity, our Planet and beyond. We are all One and Diverse expressions of Great Spirit. Our formless energetic selves are akin to the Color of Water.
It’s unbelievable what the upper echelon got away with during Gilded Age. How embarrassing is it to actually believe and promote a return to this way of life? Talk about Gangster. Time to keep those old guard crime rhymes off the shelf.
Underneath this parody of a fairy tale should be embarrassing to read to our grandchildren is the idea that a minority of souls in positions of power should control the narrative, galvanize and exploit everyone else in the form of a rigid ends justify the means belief in a maximum economic profit mindset.
Like the yin and the yang, the Universe is full of light and dark energies. It’s not about either/or; rather its about these energies flowing in synergy and balancing each other out. The Earth doesn’t complain when the Sun is hiding behind the clouds. Nor does the Moon resent the Sun for giving his energy to other moons, planets or energies. Yet the sun still shines and the moon still rises. The moon doesn’t tantrum at the sun for heating her waters, nor does the earth complain when the moon rises her tides and floods her shorelines. Nature has leveling impulses that humanity should get in alignment with. Like Eldridge Cleaver once said, “if you’re not part of the solution, then you’re part of the problem.”
During this Gemini time of year, we shift from our lower chakras to our upper chakras. Lower chakras are more for grounding and naturally appear to align with the energies of the Ram or Bull, while the Twins spark the cerebral forces found in the upper chakras.
Keep in mind that our throat chakra is the realm of communication. Knowing when to speak and when to listen are key dynamics in effective communication. This includes conversations on the inside of ourselves; as well as the conversations we have with others.
Just as an example, coworkers and I often talk about how we have learned the art of hitting the pause button from sending an email by resting on the draft overnight. And then when the next day comes, the seemingly urgent email might not even need to be sent. Or if it does, a new tone has been discovered and implemented before the message is sent. I like to look at this skill as a form of journaling, letting go and processing.
Remember that birds of a feather, flock together when socializing in co-creative ways with like minded folks that reflects the power of the community. This time of year is great for getting out and about and socializing with folks.
Energetically, this is a good time to meditate on walking one foot in spirit, one foot in ground as a way to balance our experience of spiritual beings having human experiences. It is a balancing act to walk in the center of the circle without getting too swayed in either direction.
Our souls live in our bodies till the body expires and then they break out and find a new home.
We are probably at our best when our soul and humanity work together. But this can be challenging because of the tendency is to feed one over the other, depending on the person and their own unique experience or the cultural narrative they were born into.
People who are more materialistic are probably are more preoccupied with their humanity, while folks who are more free-spirited are probably aware to their soul’s promptings; although this is not always the case necessarily.
Energy is energy . . . It’s what we do with it that counts.
Regardless of our orientation, the key dynamic for all of us is to harmonize with our environment.
Reflect on stories you might cling or grasp to from your past that you continue to say to yourself. What might a new version of that story with a more awakened or positive outlook look like in the Mirror of the Mind?
Another Sacred Geometrical Arcturian Positive Self Talk Mantra asserts that, “the energy of Transition radiates trust and prepares you for new times. Every challenge dissolves old ideas and simultaneously creates new possibilities.”
A Strawberry Full Moon yields a fruitful harvest for this sweet crop. Light peaks on the Summer Solstice. Summertime begins and our spirits want to flock together like birds of a feather. Float with Butterfly to lighten up your soul to the energy of joy while following your bliss. External outer-directed energies are in full swing now.
When you are faced with the challenge of changing the latitudes of your attitudes . . . Remember to float with the joy of Butterfly lighten-up the color of your soul. Where are you at right now in your growth? Are you a caterpillar inching along? Or are you a grub in hibernation — just waiting for something new to break out of yourself? Or are you ready to spread your new wings and fly into new places?
Artwork by Barbara Merlotti
A Strawberry Full Moon rises on Thursday, June 24, 2021, just after the Summer Solstice on Father’s Day on June 20th. Many of you already know that yang symbolizes masculine energy or sunlight. In the Northern hemisphere, these male energies reach their peak. And then after that, the light will slowly wane till yang and yin are in energetic equal alignment again on the Autumn equinox on September 22nd. In the Southern hemisphere, it is the opposite. On equinoxes, masculine and feminine energies flow together in egalitarian balance.
When the light rises, as amplified by the eclipses and Full Moons, spirited energies are more intense. There is nothing to get dramatic, abusive or hung up about. Old patterns and issues rise to the surface for us to revisit and examine so that we can release old toxins and shed old skins that hold us back so that we can transform, and manifest new ways of being. I am watching this play out in my own life, as I know many of you are seeing it play out in yours, the planet, and beyond.
Be kind to your mind by remembering that there is always some dark in the light, as well as some light in the dark. There is no perfect sign, color or utopian symbol. Energy is energy . . . It’s what we do with it that counts. As such, we might as well do whatever we can to stay in alignment with the forces of Nature and the universal pillars of Love and Truth. Remember that happiness as a way of life is not without the bitter taste of pain. The key dynamic is our approach to “digesting bitter.”
How many of you have been listening in on the popular chattering monkey minds of the adult world regarding the sense of entitlement of youth culture today? For example, even some younger millennial teachers I know talk about how kids today are different, while sometimes citing justifications for their positional judgements. Of course, there is truth in these observations because the one constant is change, and that we are kneeling at the bosom of a flowering New Earth. At the same time, the old world is wilting away and dying. But if we give deeper and higher contemplation toward the quote below by an old school hall of fame teacher, it would seem like he was speaking to the everyday gripes about today’s youth right Tao, and yet from back Zen:
“The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.”
― Socrates
Meditate on the ancient Chinese Taoist yin and yang symbol below:
Furthermore, when I think of the dying old world, with its savoir complex and forceful dog eat dog ways, I think about the Taoist meaning of “investing in loss”, by the late Chinese Tai Chi master, “Professor” Cheng Man-Ching, who brought Tai Chi to America from his native land, against the strict rules of his racial ancestral group. Can you imagine the culture shock he experienced when his new American students came to learn from him, who were predominantly white, hippie types with long hair and counterculture leanings? But the East and West came together in the spirit of co-regulation to learn about investing in loss as a way to neutralize a superior force through the practice of non-contention:
Now when I say, “Learn to invest in loss,” who is willing to do this? To invest in loss is to permit others to use force to attack while you don’t use even the slightest force to defend yourself. On the contrary, you lead an opponent’s force away so that it is useless. The hero’s journey starts with self-reinforcement, passes through acceptance and internal quietude, to arrive at listening, learning and perhaps, ultimately, transcendence. This is the common path of spirituality and martial arts. To win, one must first be sincerely willing to lose more than just their footing.
Sometimes, the Professor reportedly expounded on how women generally were more naturally gifted at the internal martial arts, push hands included. Because, as women, they tended to be more in touch with yin energy, which is the feminine. The internal martial arts emphasizes a gentle and soft approach to cultivating the power of Qi (energy) gradually, like water slowly gaining momentum. The dying patriarchy represents the sun setting on the old world, which is clearing space for the moon rising in the New Earth, where we are witnessing the return of the Sacred Feminine. The New Aquarian Age is about we consciousness, where the individual finds their way too, but not without a supporting balance between authentic personal growth and group identity.
During our everyday routine, we can step into the variety of roles that we play in life’s game with awareness and compassion, and then let go when our part is done. Learning how to be human is developing a relationship with our “non-self.” In this space, we are allowing ourselves to relax into a present moment awareness that reaches beyond the roles we play and identify with. In this relaxed state, may we notice a window opening up to freedom, joy and equanimity. If we can let go of a sense of expectation, clinging and grasping, perhaps we can see the river of emotions for what they are, and become more likely to go with the flow of life during its unfolding process.
Meditate on the images and accompanying healing mantras below via Gene Ang
InterGalactic Red Frequency-used to activate, warm, and strengthen.
InterGalactic Orange Frequency-used to cleanse, clear, and release.
InterGalactic Yellow Frequency-used to mend and heal broken bones, ligaments, and tendons. Also useful for mental processing.
InterGalactic Green Frequency-overall universal cleansing frequency.
InterGalactic Blue Frequency-cooling and soothing to inflammatory processes.
InterGalactic Indigo Frequency-unique spiritual vibration frequency
InterGalactic Violet Frequency-high vibration frequency used to raise the vibration of any healing process.
Notice how the colors in the above images correspond to the Chakras, as well as the colors of the rainbow, coupled with their accompanying meditations that we have discussed in earlier blog entries.
Specifically, from a Civil Rights calendar perspective, June is LGBTQ + Pride month. Another way to play with our sexual identity and sensual expression is to be mindful of the above rainbow of intergalactic colors and how they manifest in everyday wellness as a way of life. As you can see, each color represents a different vibrational frequency in spiritual healing. Entertaining a walking meditation of the applicability of these colors is another strategy for spiritual awakening in your daily life. This is an inside out approach to act out your sensuality in the form of a walking mindful meditation without necessarily doing anything outwardly different. We make a big deal about taking action in the West. Of course this is a good time of year for manifestation, and sometimes taking external action steps are a necessary part of personal growth and systemic change. But what we are focusing on here is an inside out approach by getting to know yourself on a deeper level as a formless, energetic being that wants to express itself through your outer form.
Finally, think about how gender fluidity connects to the above yin and yang symbol. Given that humans are part of Nature, we are reflections of that mirror. You can’t have Mother Earth without Father Sky. From this perspective, every man has a woman inside of him, just as every woman has a man inside of her. Moreover, every white person has a BIPOC inside of themselves, just as every LGBTQ has a straight person living within them. You might not believe in reincarnation, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t have a past life living within you that matters nonetheless. We are all connected and yet we are all unique. Diversity within Unity. Yes we should honor our differences and respect how we identify with them. Labels are an acknowledgment for what was once hidden within a jar. But the more open and transparent we become about our differences, the more we can let them go and just be with each other on a truly level playing field. It may sound out of this world, but given that we all have stardust in our DNA, we all have alien technology living within our humanity, if you’ll pardon the cosmological pun.
Take care of yourselves everyone,
Ari
Specifically, listen to how the ‘tuning up the organs’ meditation by Qigong Master Lee Holden below, harmonizes with the color frequencies above:
“This moving away from comfort and security, this stepping out into unknown, uncharted, and shaky – that’s called ‘liberation’.” Pema Chodron
What I love about the above quote by this wise, Western woman meditation teacher is that it captures the timeless, universal application of spiritual awakening, and follows a path of conscious evolutionary living. How timely this quote is in the here and now in this reform school known as Earth. We are now officially in the early stages of the New Age and Paradigm of Aquarius. Regardless of your orientation, it’s impossible now not to feel it on some level. Some more than others are really embracing it. Many are clinging to the old world, the old ways, and wishing “things would just go back to normal.” But what does normal really mean? The truth is, there’s no going back, as living life in the rearview mirror prevents you from living in the present moment. Life is transient and change is inevitable. Nature reveals the changing tides through the reflections of the seasons.
Consider how art imitates reality. Do you remember the classic old cartoon, Looney Tunes? As violent as this TV show was, it was easier for a parent to explain to their child that a cartoon character that was blown to smithereens, and then magically came back to life wasn’t real because it was just a cartoon. As such, it was easier for a child to make this connection. Besides, unlike today, the repeated exposure to shows like these was limited, even if an adult wasn’t around to set the limit or offer any supervisory guidance. But TV, movies and video games are so realistic nowadays, not to mention readily accessible at the convenience of your fingertips. Given the pandemic of “fake news” out there, you all know how challenging it is to discern between fact and fiction. It’s a sign of the times that we all need to do the work to find our own pillars of truth (with love). Are you going to pay purposeful attention to your fears and negative self talk or are you going to be mindful of truth that is in alignment with love?
For assistance in making the quantum leap from old thought forms into new ones, consider meditating on the image and mantra below:
Image and mantra courtesy of Acurda
“Where biology has tuned its antenna, silica crystals, little dendrites, neural pathways and have been restructured in a way that the exact same seed creativity can now be expressed as light, compassion and love. By doing this you are not only changing all the structuring crystals in your pineal gland (Third Eye) and DNA but those of the collective consciousness of this planet. These high multidimensional thoughts create new crystals in the body, the biomineralization of a new human with simultaneously creating biomineralization harmonics to the planet reality.”
Accordingly, Sacred Geometrical Arcturian Positive Self Talk asserts that “The energy of contact allows you to feel that all doors to your inner source will open when you surrender and, like water, go with the flow. Let your strength lead you, and you will find your own way.”
For example, building an everyday positive self talk strategy is a good concrete replacement for negative self talk, like worry. When your worry is targeted toward someone you’re concerned about or even for the general plight of the planet, humanity or endangered species, simply call on these guides or allies in the spirit realm for help. Part of surrender, a leap of faith, and trust is to have an attitude of acceptance of physical and non-physical realities, and intuitively know they are interacting with one another.
Specifically, Arcturians, Archangels and Nature Spirits can all be seen as helping guides/spirits or allies in consciousness. From a shamanic perspective, this is a somewhat conservative, traditional, and foundational approach to spiritual evolutionary wellbeing because it’s been a time tested tradition for over 100,000 years and runnin’. Of course in conventional Establishment terms, this would be considered far out. But if you are open to it, all you have to do is be receptive to the benign, healing energies of the myriad of teachers in the spirit realm that are ready to assist you as needed. If you think of an invisible umbilical cord attached to your crown chakra that is connected to Father Sky, Heaven or the Cosmos, this can be an effective walking meditation to add to your multidimensional tool belt. Refer to the Chakra chart by scrolling further down in this blog entry for a pictorial context.
But what does it mean to be a multidimensional being? It just means that we recognize that there is a physical reality, as well as non-physical realities. The most simple way I can understand this is to picture a triangle consisting of a mind-body-spirit with a circle, or another triangle in the center that represents our soul. It appears to be a fact of life that the body eventually dies, and the mind eventually does too. But there is a growing body of metaphysical and scientific evidence that asserts that our spirits and souls live on. While we are living in this form, our soul can travel. For most of us, this experience happens when we are dreaming. For many, this understanding doesn’t happen until you are dying and getting ready to leave this Earth and return to Source. But it can also happen during various forms of visualization/meditation practices.
Image by Sherry Mosley
Here on the ground, and as a social worker in Public Schools, I get into more conversations with students (and adults) that are inspired to develop their spirituality, and are bringing up their queried stories to my attention on their own volition for further exploration. Indeed the veils between the physical realm and spirit realm are thinning more now than they have been historically. It can be challenging to discern what is spirit or what is physical, just like it is harder to differentiate between fantasy and reality these days, given the advancement in technology, and fluidity of personal boundaries in our connections with each other.
For example, one student I work with told me that she connects with her brother who lives in a faraway state through “astral projection”, and then asked me if I knew what that was. I reassured her that I did, and that some people are oriented in such a way that their soul can travel, but that all people can develop this skill through various forms of mediation. Of course we all do this when we dream. Another student told me that she has experiences where she sees and hears a beloved cat that died recently. Her animal dreams consist of a vibrant “animal heaven” state of consciousness with clouds, mountaintops, trees and rainbows. In dreams like these, the animal friends related that they had crossed over, and communicated that they are alive and well in an alternate reality where their spirits were living harmoniously. When students bring these issues up, we always process the mixed feelings that coexist, in the sense that there is enjoyment in reconnecting with a loved one that is physically gone, but that spiritual connections can be a bit spooky, uncomfortable or difficult to sort through. Part of our human experience includes sitting with the tension of opposites that naturally include entanglements with our attachments.
More importantly, people like me tend to find it helpful to have these experiences normalized. Moreover, folks typically feel empowered to learn about the common language that operationalizes their spiritual experiences, like clairsentience and clairaudience, or psychic abilities that perceive spirit. Part of developing good social skills is to know your audience, and recognize who is safe to share this information with, and who isn’t. Working on boundaries is part of learning how to be human, which of course is a life cycle process. It’s nice that kids can feel safe to talk with a trusted adult about such things. When we all get what we need from the ground up, we’re more likely to give that back from the top down. This is how we heal the illusion of polarity consciousness that we see playing out on the fields of life.
Additionally, many people that work in mental health are expanding their own perceptions of reality through their own personal growth. As helpers, it is dangerous to people when we don’t. While it’s easy to stay in our own boxes and hide behind their judgments, that leaves us susceptible to our own projections onto others, which can be damaging to relationships. Humans have been good at projecting our own experiences with reality onto others, while at the same time assuming that our projections are absolute gospel. While they might be true on some level, clinging to these prejudices are problematic because they block making fluid connections with each other, which is especially harmful when a helping professional does that. It is critical to “meet people where they are at.” Because we all have our humanity, that can be challenging for both support staff and teachers working in schools these days. But that is exactly what we are being asked to do. Meeting someone where they are at does not meant that we condone their unwanted behavior, like work avoidance, learned helplessness, victimhood, or not working to their full potential. It just means that you have empathy for what the person you are concerned about is capable of in this moment in time. And while your student or child might be being manipulative, they probably aren’t doing it on purpose or trying to ruin your day. But if they are, learning how to manipulate the environment is part of adolescent development. How many of us adults are still working out our own dharmic karma in this area?
Specifically, it’s like a kid who tries to come out to their caregiver that they identify as LGBTQ, and the adult responds in a way that is shaming, dismissive or generally non-supportive. Regardless of the age, if this is how the person sees themselves, it is hard to go wrong with a position of empathy and curiosity. For example, the parent could say, “wow, I can see this took a lot of courage for you to share this information with me. How do you feel about that?” Sadly but understandably, many adults struggle, hide behind their judgments, and then might proceed to project their own beliefs onto the child. While some parents wax on about a pro-LGBTQ identity, others do the opposite by citing religious convictions, and perhaps sending their child to a “conversion therapy”, which is thankfully illegal in Maine. The point is, try to be present with your child and keep a healthy conversation alive. Do you value raising a good whole person or a sexual identity that conforms to your expectations based on your own conditioning? Do you value allowing your child to be who they are or who you want them to be? Mixed messages, while a fact of life, are challenging to discern and navigate through.
Check out this short youth empowerment/Civil Rights oriented film about celebrating a Pride event in small town Nova Scotia:
Inspired by May being “Mental Health Month”, I remember a really good psychiatrist coworker who once pointed out in a mental health training that people affected by schizophrenia see things that “normal” people don’t. But it only becomes a problem when it drives the person crazy in a way that is characterized as “ego dystonic.” There’s an old saying that you have to get sick of being sick before you can heal and know liberation. Mother told me about experiences with depression that were so severe she encountered psychotic episodes. I believe Mother suicided to avoid going down that dark rabbit hole again, instead of confronting her inner demons that haunted her. Had she built up more resilience, I feel that she could have stayed alive longer without torturing herself. Mother is now part of my ‘spiritual light team’, and I can access her spirit whenever I ask for Her support.
Given the above nuance, what is really often going on here is that the concerned adult doesn’t like the mirror being held up in their face, and that can be a tough cracker to look at. That’s what happened in the early 60s, when many people were having spiritual awakenings, like Harvard Psychology Professors Timothy Leary and Ram Dass, before he was Ram Dass. To their credit, academics like them were trying to go beyond rat psychology, and understand consciousness. In this process of discovery, they humbly realized that they were out of the woods in their understanding about the nature of reality. Many people took LCD and other psychoactive drugs to expand their minds, and were thought to have lost their minds (of course plenty did). But they were having spiritual awakenings by opening up their ‘doors of perception’. People started waking up to portals into a multidimensional reality beyond a conventional worldview. Like author Joseph Campbell accurately understood, the difference between the mystic and the psychological crackup is that the mystic swims in the waters the crackup drowns in. It’s all about context, and how expansive your worldview is with the ability to pull back and stay grounded in this reality.
“Photo sensitive Transmissions from the New Earth” by Acurda
Furthermore, the mindful moment referenced above is an empowering strategy to feel connected in the present moment, and a simple way to co-create Heaven on Earth one step and one breath at a time. All you are really doing, or being rather, is keeping your power rather than giving it away to some external force. You have superpowers, but without the need to be identified with a superhero or savior complex. We are living in an age where we need to let go of our need to swoop in to rescue and save others. Everyone has equal access to their ‘spiritual light team’ if they so choose. That being said, it does take both the intention, and a commitment to it. The more you play around with your daily practice, the more your daily practice plays around with you. Funny the way that can turn into another form of mindfulness in your everyday doings. All you have to do is look at these beings as teachers in the spirit realm, by seeing them as silent mentors that we can link up with, like “in a zoom conversation.” And if you are feeling unsure, all you have to do is ask, “are you my teacher.” It’s your call who you let in, and you will know by how you feel.
The easiest way to open the doors to this perceptual experience is through your “third eye”, as indicated on the Chakra chart below. As you can see, this Chakra is typically associated with a dark blue or indigo color. This is the realm of intuition, forethought, and visualization. There are many ways to develop this Chakra. One simple strategy is to rub this area with your fingers side to side or in a circular motion. Or you can mindfully eat (ideally healthy) foods of this color, while chewing on how you are feeding your energy, if you’ll pardon the pun. For example, next time you eat a banana, think about nourishing your solar plexus chakra and grounding your self esteem. Also, you can also relax your gaze by slightly blurring your vision without crossing your eyes, as a way to play with your perception. These can be fun, yet practical ways to integrate what I like to call a walking meditation in your everyday doings. Besides, it’s harder to react to someone else’s facial expressions when you relax your gaze in this way.
Daily Chakra Meditation Audio Resource:
Finally, when we talk about Diversity within Unity, the Unity piece involves acknowledging our universal connection to one another, which allows us to feel less alone in the world. Nobody likes feeling lonely, not even hermits. Besides, as romantic as being a hermit might sound, they typically struggle with their own insecurities like the rest of us, and probably just have a harder time learning how to be human than your average bear. The Diversity piece honors our different expressions in form, as well as the unique blueprint of our souls. A shy person should not be seen as lesser than a social butterfly or vice versa. Besides, we all have both of these personality characteristics within our being. Some of the most family oriented, conscientious, kind and caring people I know aren’t necessarily the warm and fuzzy types, and can even come across as curt and rude towards others. We all have our unique blueprints and personality characteristics. Just imagine how boring our world would be if we were all nanotechnological, programmed cyborgs going around in a singular, monochromatic lockstep with each other, like in the film The Stepford Wives.
Classroom Mothership Earth 