Tag Archives: Darkness

Feathering Our Mystical Ripple with the Mindful Eyes of Turkey’s Energetic Vibrations

Posted on by under Consciousness, Uncategorized

Artwork Created by Aunt Barbara Merlotti

A Full Blue Moon is happening on the Samhain, aka Halloween.

Our ancestors payed special attention to this time of year because they perceived that the veils are thinner between the spirit/material realms.

All Souls Day, on November 2nd, further reflects ancestral celebrations that honor those that have left their bodies, but live on with us in spirit.

It is tragic to see how many friendships, and family relationships have died due to opposing political views that are culturally dividing friends, and family members.

Is this an invitation to heal whatever polarity that might be living within you to reconcile those diametrical oppositions, and make friends with those differences on the inside?

Could this lead the way into a dimension of digging up, and then reexamining any buried relationships?

In my civil rights work with students, and as a social worker in public schools, it is always challenging to find ways to discuss our diversity in ways that are done respectfully.

But it is a good communicative skill that we need to breathe more life into our planet today.

It is an interesting synchronicity that Mercury goes back direct on Tuesday, November 3rd, the same day as the official Election Day.

When Mercury is in Retrograde, life can feel like living in the Twilight Zone, where non-localized/non-linear realities are more real, and logical/rational thought/machines systems tend to break down, and become more disrupted.

If you are more of a left-brained thinker, who finds security in the creature comforts of concrete thought forms, then you might need to work harder at letting go, and surrendering to these energetic shifts right now.

Tis the season to get in touch with your feminine side, turn inward, and go into deeper meditations/dreaming.

It’s hard not to see the Presidential Election process being without more ugliness, and controversy.

It could take a while before the results are conclusive.

But then again, if enough of us get out to vote, any cheating or attempts at rigging or buying the election are trumped by we the people.

Those statistics fall apart when enough of us stop our silence, and exercise our right to vote.

Regardless of outcome, try not to predicate your relationship with happiness or suffering with which side wins the election, or dominates the Supreme Court.

What really matters is that we focus on finding inner peace on the inside, and become the change that we want to see in the world.

Giving up your power to the circumstances of life, as much of an armageddon as it appears to you, is a sure fire recipe for more inner misery, and turmoil.

Like Einstein said, insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results.

There is a great awakening, and freedom in the surrendering to the heart space of Love, and head space of Truth.

A New Moon on November 15th awakens new beginnings, while a Full Beaver Moon on November 30th reminds us to set traps before a long wintry freeze.

Beavers are doers, and know how to get things done.

They also know how to build multiple exit strategies when it is time to leave the security of their old comfort zones.

Are you building new neuronal pathways inside yourself so that you can expand beyond your familar dams of consciousness?

Rituals can be a form of wellness.

But rigid aderance to them can dim the soul, and cramp the brain.

November is historically the gloomiest month of the year in Maine, as the days are getting shorter till the dark climaxes on the Winter Solstice on December 21st.

We will be at the tailend of 2020 by then.

Take a look back at how much the old world has changed over the past years, and this year especially.

Will there be a peaceful transition into a New Aquarian Age with a new administration?

Regardless of what side wins, it is time to let go of an old age that rewards/punishes winners/losers.

It is time to say goodbye to the dying ways of us/them segregations.

Instead of you’re this, you’re that, we are the fountain that springs from Source.

We are an interconnected diversity within unity.

November is a good reminder that everyday can be a true thanksgiving with an attitude of gratitude, and yield a peaceful harvest within.

It is within our DNA, and spiritual powers to ward off negative chi that wants to suck off of our energy fields.

Meditation on Turkey can satiate your spiritual appetite by fortifying your energy field with a hearty meal of energetic protection.

Gently allow Turkey’s shared blessings to feather away an unwanted ripple effect of dark energies that want to feed off of the amazingly powerful life force that lives within you.

Give this form of self care to yourself.

Till we tweet again peeps,

Ari

November Rain & A Full Beaver Moon

Posted on by under Consciousness, Native American, Shamanism, Uncategorized

November has arrived, and days are becoming darker
in the Northern hemisphere.

We are moving closer to the Winter Solstice,
our darkest day of the year.

But following that, we begin coaxing back the light.

When the shades of Mercury in Retrograde are drawn,
it can fog the left brain, and leave you feeling cloudy.

Here in Maine, November is traditionally the gloomiest month of the year.

Given the thinning veils between spirit and material realms,
and the end of daylight savings time, there are many natural feelings
associated with the dark energies around death, dying, and darkness in general.

Of course, we have been taught to fear the dark in our modern world.

In fact, religions have demonized the dark –
even at times enslaved, and burned people at the stake out of fear.

Just look at how we glorify our attachments to our bodies,
and fear the extinction of them.

But our souls, like the yin and the yang have both sunlight and dark nights.
Every soul has masculine and feminine energies living within it.

You do not have to be seduced by your fears or your dark side.
If you are, then you will become consumed by them,
and attract more of the same.

The opposite is true if you focus on the positive,
and look for the silver lining.

The key dynamic to embrace your oneness with everything,
and celebrate the diversity that makes you unique.

How do you see yourself right now?

Do you see yourselves as separate from others?

Are you becoming the change you want to see in the world?

In my experience, Winter has been a hard time for me,
as the date of January 25, marks the tragic date of my mom’s
death by suicide many moons ago – 25 years to be exact.

Sadly, it is getting harder for people to live on the planet,
and more people are ending their lives.

I feel their pain, and I get their plight, as most empaths do.

The trick is not to cut yourself off from the gift to feel, nor
take the pains of others personally, and also to know discernment with
relation to boundaries.

But according to the Chinese Lunar New Year,
January 25 signals the Year of the Rat.

The social science geek in me appreciates the connection between Rat, and
rat psychology – a derivative of behaviorism, a form of the
science of psychology.

We have been conditioned to buy into a material world that
peddles a dangerous game of rewards and punishments.

Many people that don’t fit into that paradigm,
feel left out, lost and alone.

But the spiritual power of Rat invites meditation onto another possibility.

Do you remember the story about when the Buddha welcomed
the arrival of all the animals to his teachings,
and the first one of 12 to show up was the rat?

At the precipice of a New Age and Paradigm,
the time is now to redefine our idea of success.

We need to become more shrewd in our doings, and awaken strategies to
more effectively tame our nervous woodland creature energy.

Mindfulness is a way out of our suffering that allows us to breathe
in the power of now as it awakens in the present moment.

Meditation trains us to leave the depression of the
past alone, and calm the anxiety of the future.

It is not a cure, but it is a skill that can be developed,
and improve with practice.

The Beaver Full Moon rises in the skies on November 12.

Given their industry, and creative exit strategies,
the energies of Beaver can help you spring the traps in your consciousness.

Remember that consciousness is behind everything,
even the most advanced human brains,
and other intelligences at play.

So you might as well forget about outwitting Nature, or getting caught up
in the manipulations of the egoic mind’s behavioral traps.

The Universe is not out to get you, nor is it an enemy that needs to
be beaten up, subjugated or killed.

At the end of the day, we all need to build new neurons, neighborhoods,
and make friends with our own inner space.

When we do that, alternative energy is cultivated in a way
that is based on the Universal pillars of Love and Truth.

Till we tweet again,

Ari

Climbing Down the Mountain, into the Lion’s Den of our Souls

Posted on by under Native American, Shamanism, Uncategorized

The Winter Solstice arrives on December 21st,
signaling the darkest day of the year in the Northern hemisphere

A Full Cold Moon follows in its wake on the day after that.

Spirits can run high and naturally crouch low this time of year . . .

Might as well allow these tension of opposites
flow in your being without getting too swayed in either direction.

Another astrological eclipse season is coming shortly after
the birth of the Gregorian New Year in early January.

The Chinese New Year of the Pig rolls in on February 5, 2019

More winds of change are in the air

Do you see the parallels between President Hoover
and the stock market crash of 1929 and today’s plummeting capital?

Consider these changing tides a newer redistribution
of wealth and financial appreciation for the many!

What about the parallels between President Nixon,
Watergate and President Trump and “Russiangate?”

Underneath these time traveling synchronicities is
a growing remember when tune to “power to the people”

The darkness of feminine energies is rising,
as is further movement into a new Aquarian Age Consciousness.

As always, picture peaceful, calming thoughts,
and be gentle on yourself.

At the same time, do what you can to make the world a better place.
But remember to do so with love in your heart.

If you find yourself being seduced by hate,
be mindful to exhale this dead energy,
and let it go to so that it can transform into the light of the Universe.

In this dark time of year, think about the resurrection of the light

He rises everyday day till Spring arrives on the Vernal Equinox in March,
and then the sunlight grows stronger every day after that
until He peaks on the Summer Solstice in June

Till we tweet again peeps,

Ari

A New Moon, Election, and Vision to see Transformation Ahead

Posted on by under Native American, Shamanism, Uncategorized

I remember hearing an amazing story recently,
about a hawk swooping out of the sky,
and then unexpectedly offering a freshly killed snake,
as a surprise gift along the path of a startled traveler . . .

Given that Hawk symbolizes the power of observation,
we are invited to see what messages are being sent to us from Spirit . . .

What does Snake have to say to you about the power
of fire that burns within our soul?

Election Day swoops in tomorrow,
along with a New Moon on Wednesday . . .

The winds of change are swirling around in the air!

Hawk has connections with New Moons,
and Mercury . . .

And at the tail end of next week, we will be revisited by
Mercury in Retrograde again.

Many people experience spacing out more at that time, or feel like
they are walking in a Twilight Zone kind of reality.

But Mercury in Retrograde is also a good time to look at things
in a different light, venture deeper into the dark,
and give rise to a new moon shine through a wider angle lens.

Of course New Moons are always associated
with new beginnings . . .

Our ancestors believed that the wall between the
spirit and material realms relaxed at this time of year,
making it easier for our different worlds to intersect.

If you magnify that with the energies streaming in right now,
it might be tempting to get sucked into your fears,
and find yourself coming from places of hate . . .

But try to trust in the Universe, and its vibration of
Love and Truth to light our way together, as we
move further into a new connections.

It is a good time to meditate on letting go of old ways, old boxes,
shedding the conditioning of our old skins,
so that we can awaken to new,
more porous ways of being at this time.

Snake reflects metamorphosis . . .
Yesterdays shadows want to transform into the light of healing

Perhaps you venture down into a snake hole in your consciousness,
and see how you can come up with new eyes to look at
your past fears in a fresh way . . .

Emotions are waxing now, and will be further amplified
by a Full Beaver Moon on November 23rd.

Beavers are epic builders, and like to get their work done
before swamps freeze for the Winter . . .

I think about how many of our Founding Fathers were Freemasons,
and that their animal totems empowered them to create in a new industry,
while building a New World back then.

Perhaps this could be an invitation into the realm of Temperance
regarding anger about their ignorance of their injustices at that time,
in spite of the Divine expression that manifested as the Constitution.

But consider that people didn’t even know that
dinosaurs existed on this planet
at the time when this sacred document was written.

What is looked upon as conventional science today,
can easily become yesterday’s dinosaur!

The will of the people are speaking up.
We might as well hear the messages that are being spoken!

Today, we are waking up again to new perspectives,
frontiers, and ways of being together.

Till we tweet again peeps,

Ari

Letting go of old selves, masks, and ways of of being

Posted on by under Native American, Shamanism, Uncategorized

A Full Hunter Moon arrives on October 24th,
and then comes the traditional Samhain on Halloween

These events, along with this time of year,
and the energy of Bat awakens
a symbolic metaphorical death of the old self.

Do you see the veils thinning between
the spirit realm and our material world?

The line between realms is less concrete right now –
Giving us a clearer remembering that
even in death, there is also rebirth.

Our past lives are meant to awaken our soul’s evolution,
and help us expand beyond what we were.
Bat guides us through the dark night of the
soul so that we can hear the
spiritual callback of metamorphosis,
and who we are becoming.

Our ancestors celebrated the Samhain —
the approximate halfway point between the
Autumn Equinox and Winter Solstice.

When ancient Romans bobbed for apples,
they believed that the first person to successfully retrieve an apple,
would be the first to marry in the new year.

One way to look at letting go of old selves, masks,
and ways of being would be to
divorce yourself from the ways that no longer
serve you in your consciousness.

Look beyond your habituated mind . . .

What is underneath your robotic doings of
your everyday routine?

Is there something new that
your soul would like to express?

In much the same way as Rome wasn’t built-in a day,
A New Earth doesn’t happen overnight either.
As we head further into waning light, and darker days,
we have an opportunity to turn yin-ward,
and plant the seeds into our souls that we
want to see come out into the sunlight in spring.

A new marriage happens between masculine and feminine
energies around the Vernal Equinox in March.

But before that, we will start to coax back
the light after the darkest
day of the year on the Winter Solstice.

Remember the mantra that energy is energy . . .
It’s what you do with it that counts.
It is perfectly natural to feel more tired,
experience darker emotions, need more rest,
journal more, have more active lucid dreams at night,
and be revisited by the ghosts of yesteryear,
and maybe even past regrets.

But don’t get stuck in beating yourself up about it.
Remember to be gentle on yourself.
Being hard on yourself might feed your ego,
but it only hurts your soul.

Is there a spirit of a new way of being with yourself
that wants to come alive in your consciousness?

When we make a conscious choice to come down into our souls,
and dig into the hidden nooks and crannies, then
it is possible to look upon whatever it is that you see
with a heartfelt, gentle gaze of compassion.
It is possible to learn to love
all aspects of yourself, even if it seems daunting.

Some people think you have to kill your ego, or even bury a lifetime
to release your demons. But that isn’t really the case.

The ghosts of the habituated mind
can illuminate a new way of living with awareness

Look in the mirror of your mind,
call on the spirits of the season,
and use the energies of this time of year
to let go of your old selves, masks, and past ways of being that you
want to release, and send them out into the Universe.

Till we tweet again peeps,

Ari

Moving Through Transitions

Posted on by under Consciousness, Native American, Shamanism, Uncategorized

The spirited seasonal Harvest is in, and the Moon is Full today.
Last Saturday, we were blessed by the annual Autumn Equinox . . .

When I think of movements like Me Too,
I think about the Tao bringing in feminine waters to
levy a patriarchical world order that has blinded our
planet with too much sunlight.

Movement through Nature’s portal reflects
balance between masculine and feminine energies

These energies are flowing through us, on the inner/outer realms
of our individual and collective consciousness.

Our friends in the Southern Hemisphere will see the light rising
until it peaks on their Summer Solstice in December.
It is their Vernal Equinox there.

Here in the Northern Hemisphere,
we embark on the voyage into waning light and darker nights,
till the Winter Solstice brings us the darkest day of the year.

And then we will coax back the light

At this time of year, I like to meditate on balance,
and spiritual alignment with the spirit of the season . . .

I envision a Nature’s greeting card that celebrates
the male and female of every soul living in harmony
with the totality of our humanity!

Whether you identify as LGBTQ, or otherwise . . .

It is a natural window of opportunity to fall in love with
the sensuality of Mother Earth, and all
Her forms of Diversity in Unity . . .

Black Lives Matter, just as all Life matters in Spirit!

Perhaps it is challenging for you to have empathy in your heart for
the truth that Agent Orange matters too.

Yeah, he has a hard time not being enveloped by his narcissism.

But that’s just how a con artist cons himself into
getting tangled up in the bluesy behavioral trap of his own facade!

That’s why you see him reacting defensively
to the systemic reflection of his own misogynist ways.

The clown shows us the circus.

Even if the manufactured creation of the haves and have-nots
is a glaringly obvious power imbalance . . .

We see that people are losing their minds because the better devil
they know is being exposed by the light of consciousness.

Don’t buy into the fear that says
you should choose the lesser of two evils!

The only way to relax hate is through the power of Love . . .

You can’t hide in the dark as easily as you once could.

Your position of power and privilege
does not guarantee that you are untouchable,
like a “made guy” in the organized criminal underground of the mafia.

Do you really want to live in the reptilian ghettos of the mind,
being obsessed with order and control,
and always looking over your shoulder,
wondering if you’re going to get whacked by the end days?

The truth is that pain is a sobering fact of life.

But resisting that truth is more painful than
surrendering to the freedom to choose
to build our resilience toward tolerance, acceptance,
and even embrace the bitters that spring up in our daily steps.

Till we tweet together again peeps,

Ari

Revisiting Our Cardinal Virtues

Posted on by under Native American, Shamanism, Uncategorized

Do you hear Cardinal whistling a prequel
to the intensities of Summery breezes blowing in the wind?

When I think about suicide, and reflections of some of Anthony’s Bourdain’s
comments about his own arrested development, tasting desperate, privilege,
and the tension of opposites he felt about his
personal wrestling with the interplay between order and chaos . . .

I can understand how he would have had enough of
the pain and suffering in this world, and felt like it was time to check out

Truth is, it can be hard to suck it up, get up,
and keep moving forward in the natural school of Hard Knox . . .

The trick is to learn how to make friends with your inner angels and demons,
and integrate your past selves with the new beginnings of your rebirth . . .

Can you hear Cardinal’s virtuous voice singing
songs about the winds of change blowing in?

Her chorus echoes a callback about empowering us to transition
into the vibration of an innate feminine power!

Perhaps you see yourself as a generalized, intense masculine charged,
get things done, taskmaster doer!

That’s OK, so long as you don’t get identified with that role
Otherwise, you can bet your bottom dollar on a slippery slope ahead . . .

Connect with your heart, let her light your way with your head held high,
with a wide angled gaze in your field of vision . . .

It can be challenging to tune into Nature’s mixed messages that blow in
different directions around our Planet

On one perch, Cardinal reminds us to nurture our own life force –
But too much fire from the sun’s rays can burn you at the stake

Might as well remember to wax on our creative energies
and wash our feminine selves with the watery tides of our intuitive faculties

Time to come out of hiding behind the shadows,
and let your inner light shine like the sun

Meditation on Cardinal’s energy awakens
exploration of traditional, old school values . . .

These re-discoveries are divergent planetary systems of thought
from unconventional beliefs that are worth remembering

Masculine yang gains ground,
while Summer Solstice reveals peak sunlight later this month,

Follow the moonlight toward the Monty of a Full Strawberry Moon
when it bears its fruit at the tail end of the June . . .

See you next time along the trails,

Ari

Spiritual Swimming with Otter in the Week Ahead

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Otter can facilitate a sweet sense of surrender,
and relax control issues between tension of energetic opposites . . .

A Full Worm Moon arrives on Thursday
Daylight Savings Time is coming soon down the pike

Spring Equinox is also arriving in the coming Pisces tides of March

Masculine and Feminine energies will dance together in equanimity . . .
Shouldn’t that be a good role model enacted by humanity?

Freeing our minds from our likes and dislikes helps heal our
natural human tendency to move away from what we
don’t want versus moving toward what we want more of

Just empathize for a moment that the gaining popularity of
the GLBTQ modern label is nothing new from the perspective of our
collective consciousness, sentient being history!

It’s just outside the box from a cookie cutter, Americancentric perspective

Consider meeting both opposite sides of the same coin with
an aware/soft mind, let it be, and let it go . . .

Cultivating sound mental health is a process of letting go of our
preferred/non-preferred experiences, yet responding to awareness instead of
reacting to our reality-based judgements

If only we meet our challenges with an aware opportunity of a soft mind,
a puncture-proof spirit of letting go, and be open to whatever
it is we are experiencing with love, and compassionate kindness . . .

But seasons don’t come and go in concrete steps in Nature
Her feminine power isn’t always cut and dry like that

The universal Law of Impermanence merely reflects Nature’s Way
that the only constant is change

An old meditative mantra of let it be and this too shall pass is good medicine
to remember always, but especially during energetic seasonal transitions

Otter, like Dolphins know how to be playful,
even when minding their daily business affairs

Our pleasures, aches, pains and injuries
will die just like we will someday . . .

May we all do the best that we can

Otters reflect relaxation as a balanced approach to work and play
Are you able to whistle while you work?

We suffer because we tend to forget living in harmony with the
changing seasons of life, which often results in fights . . .

But Otter reminds us it’s about how we flow with the fluid sensational waters of life

The gravitational pull of our world is heavy and serious enough . . .
But don’t let that take away your right to experience enjoyment

Goliath is a metaphor in our old testament consciousness that is
even more proliferated and pronounced in our world today

Just look at the NRA as part of the big business strangulation
of our sovereignty by the miserly ways of the Powers that Be

Mental illness is about doing the same thing over and over,
and expecting different results

But genuflection to the better devil you know mind-set is comforting,
even if toxic and against your own self-interest . . .

At the end of the day, nobody really benefits from a maximum economic
profit off of sickness, and death,
albeit under the guise of protection and security . . .

Is American ready to become an embodiment of showing a moral responsibility
to provide equal pay/livable wages, universal health care, and
a built-in emphasises on vacation/leisure/free choice time
to create your own self-determined experiences?

Or is that perspective only reserved for those that work hard within the
entitled, privileged inner circles of the minority of the opulent?

Till the next trailhead,

Ari

With Ladybug, The Only Constant Is Change

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When I see a Ladybug,
it’s hard for me to not think of the embodiment of metamorphosis

Ladybug has life lessons for us to meditate on
walking with balanced footsteps

Transformation into an authentic spiritual path
knows the power of our earthbound connection

Spirits run atop the mountain when light is at its peak
It’s easy to feel inebriated when soaking up the sun

But doing your dharma isn’t always about being a social butterfly,
having your ducks in a row, having a good time, or pleasing others . . .

In darker days, deeper feelings take refuge within
the fiery embers of the soul’s dream lodge

Darker days and colder weather can have an adverse affect
on learning how to be a human

Have you had a hard day’s night or a tough week?

We remember past loved ones, old relationships and old connections
Perhaps there are regretful memories or maybe even nostalgia . . .

But are you able to hold hands with the who you used to be
and make friends with the who you are now?

Or are they totally separate, disconnected and compartmentalized entities?

I like to view such phenomena as an interplay between
personal identity interacting with group consciousness.

There are times when the mythical spiritual quest works its magic
on the inside – moving in mysterious ways, not without uncertainty

But the awakening wintry slumber is fluid, and flows toward its source!

Nature wants to nurture organic co-mingling opportunities . . .

A place where novel, creative free thinking are real possibilities,
where heaven and earth tango together

Till we meet again along the trails,

Ari

Roosting into a New Year

Posted on by under Native American, Shamanism, Uncategorized

Last year was the Chinese Year of the Rooster . . .

In that reflection, we are reminded of the truth that if you are focusing
on the real tragedies of last year, then you will accurately see
the glass as half full, if not already empty on the inside and out!

But here’s an optimistic thought . . .

What happens when you look through a lens of Love?

Even if you can entertain the possibility that Rooster
also brought us the Sun, then you can see that consciousness
sheds its light on our planetary darkness

By allowing ourselves to see through the lens of Love,
we are able to call out the light illuminating the shadows

Keep in mind, we are in a Yin time of year
Dark emotions come up, and many souls have left our Home

But water is powerful feminine energy that breathes in
opportunities for creativity and meditative spirituality

Might as well say yes to that, unless you prefer to persist what you resist
That is a choice too, if you so choose!

When we traverse the dark night of our soul
We can come out of the ashes into a New Self

Disguised within every ending, new beginnings are awakening

In a month from last Tuesday’s waning New Moon
We will be tracking the Year of the Dog

Spring Equinox may not arrive till about a
month after that in later March . . .

But energetically, with an astrological spring eclipse season happening now,
a Full Snow Moon at the end of January, and the Imbolc signaling the halfway point
between Winter and Spring on February first . . .

From that perspective, Spring is already in the air!

Will the Groundhog see his shadow on
the resurrection of Groundhog Day?

See you up the trails,

Ari