Back in my Preschool social work practice days, I remember sometimes singing with the students during circle time.
One way I started to get out of my comfort zone, and work with stage fright aka performance anxiety at that time of my life was to play my guitar and sing to them. Like when I first sang aloud with the animals, the littles made me feel more welcomed and relaxed.
Given that we were a special purposed program to help students overcome their developmental delays, I came up with a replacement chorus to the classic old tune, Oh My Darlin’ Clementine.
The message was a simple way to use humor to normalize experiences with anxiety, and went as follows:
“Anxiety, anxiety, anxiety is the root…whether rationalizing or in denial of…Anxiety…The point is moot.”
Over the years, that little jingle has served as a positive self talk mantra, as well as the clip below.
Keep in mind that therapists are human too. And the good ones have a sense of humor, and don’t take themselves too seriously. You can say the same about folks on the spiritual path or any of us for that matter:
Furthermore along the trails this spring, amphibians like salamanders, wood frogs and peepers make the trek toward vernal pools for their breeding season on what’s called Big Night.
Their great migration and safe passage requires overcoming dangerous obstacles like human trafficking patterns, such as driving cars on roads, etc.
Of course humans do many disgusting things, and have shady tendencies that reflect in the 3D realm.
But we can move beyond the victim and perpetrator behavioral trap by being mindful of our shadow work.
We can do this by working with our karmic issues by letting go of, and releasing our old soul wounds.
And then in that process, we are becoming more deeply in touch with our better angels.
Have you felt tempted by fate recently?
Are you noticing any old energetic patterns of yourself rising back to the surface?
Loving Kindness is one way to embody this transformation when sitting in meditation; as well as in our everyday footsteps.
Besides, Life is springing up everywhere as singing peepers and wood frogs signal to us that spring is arriving with glee, rhythm and blues:
A New Moon in Pisces today reflects deeper sensitivity and perceptiveness in the social environment, as does engaging in creative or spiritual forms of imaginative Pisces energy.
Moreover, the Vernal Equinox or the first official day of spring will take place on Friday, March 20th. This date also marks the beginning of Aries season, as well as baseball season aka America’s Pastime at the tail end of March.
Mercury also goes back direct on the first day of spring. No worries, mate… things tend to clear up about 10 days or so when the fog lifts.
In many ways, it’s like a new year because Aries is the first sign of the Western Zodiac.
This writer doesn’t think its a coincidence that the fire element is the ‘I Am’ consciousness of Aries the Ram’s primary driver.
Like any of our gifts, we have to temper them, and not throw caution to the wind, so to speak.
A Full Pink Moon will happen on April 1st…aka April Fools Day.
Synchronistically, The Fool card in the Tarot deck is symbolic of new beginnings, limitless potential, and the courage to step into the unknown.
Indeed, it takes a leap of faith to step into the mythical quest…one step, one foot, one breath at a time.
Spring energies reflect another positive self talk mantra; as in, out with the old, in with the new.
Tis the season for setting new intensions, seeing things from new perspectives, and planting new seeds to spring forth.
Moving our bodies is a good way to cleanse and release every cell.
Remembering to take a deep breath to support new life, and then breathe out all the dead air of old ways is good Sacred Medicine; as is holding the highest vision of yourself.
Light and dark energies are in alignment again on the Spring Equinox.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the sunlight will rise till its climax with peak light on the Summer Solstice on June 21st.
At the same time, the darkness will rise till it reaches its zenith on the Winter Solstice in the Southern Hemishere.
The Winter Solstice is a powerful time for letting go, while the Summer Solstice is a powerful time for manifestation.
Gratitude is always a powerful attitude to walk with in our footsteps, as is an openness to the present moment as it is.
May all Beings be free from suffering, and experience an awakening to Inner Peace, Diversity within Unity, and Cosmic Consciousness.
April starts out as an Aries time of year, the first sign of the Western Zodiac. Energetically speaking, there is a feeling of a new year in the air. Yesterday’s New Moon reflects that. Moreover, “New moons, which occur every 29.531 days, are about release, dissolution and beginning anew. As the first sign of the zodiac, Aries is about breaking ground, blazing trails, taking risks and venturing into often uncharted territory.” Or as soul psychotherapist Deborah El’Elia puts it, Aries “is a fiery energy that can help us know what it is that we really want to create in our lives, as well as tap into the I Am Presence!”
Here in the Northern Hemisphere, Spring is springing, and a Full Pink Moon arrives on Monday, April 26th in most places around the planet. Many of our ancestors called this moon pink based on the vegatative spreading of the “moss pink” wildflower in North America. There are other descriptive names as well, including the Breaking Ice Moon by the Algonquin, which reflects the “increased mobility of the early spring season.”
Frogs are waking up again, and are really making their presence known, especially the peepers and wood frogs. It’s not a coincidence that this month’s Full Moon is also named after Frog by some tribes. There is something cleansing and purifying about the mystical vibrations of Frog medicine. The stories about how their ribbet calls on April showers to bring May flowers makes sense energetically for a good spring cleaning for the soul. This is good medicine, and we really need that after a long Winter, as things have gotten pretty cold and dark there. If you think of the swampy bog areas where frogs thrive, we can visualize them hanging around lily pads. Amazingly, lotus flowers grow out of them, seemingly out of nowhere, and in spite of gnarly areas that aren’t typically perceived as beauty parlors. But what more primordial potential does a lotus flower spring from, if you’ll pardon the pun? As humans, are we not like that? Sometimes, if you want to calm your racing thoughts that are driving you crazy, try visualizing a frog, really getting in touch with its character, and assertively say to yourself, “stop!” Can you see why the Lotus Flower is such an inspirational mantra in Buddhist Psychology?
Additionally, April’s Full Moon will also be the first of two consecutive “Super Moons” in 2021. A supermoon appears slightly larger than other Full/New Moons because it occurs at the same time as its orbit is closest to the Earth. But if you want to see any Full Moon really look super, then watch any of them when they are rising or setting. May’s supermoon will also be a total lunar eclipse.
When I reflect on Aquarius, the Vernal Equinox, Easter, and the Aries New Moon, I think about the resurrection of light, Christ Consciousness, and a New Year ahead. Remember that Aries is the first sign on the Western Zodiac. Moreover, the resurrection of this Christ Consciousness to our Planet appears to be a mystical connection to the prophecies of Indiginious People that posited that humanity was seeded by visitors from other worlds and dimensions, and would someday return. In much the way as it says in the Genesis section of the Bible, “Let us create man (humankind) in our image.” Have they ever really left? Keep in mind that Christ was an embodiment of this divine consciousness, and believed that we are all capable of this mystical vibration.
According to petemedium, from ‘A Land Down Under’, “With (US President) Biden comes Aquarius in its conception. From this month of April, we will start to see the gradual growing and establishing of, not just another liberal Presidency, but the first Presidency in this New Age.” As with any Karma, this administration has inherited what has been handed to it. Don’t expect the Establishment and the Billionaire Class to loosen its grip without resistance.
“Let the old be released now, the old ways and beliefs that keep us stuck. If you cannot believe in a new and better world, you are part of the problem. ‘They’ have won you over with their programming. They have convinced you that you are worthless if you do not get with the program. Who is ‘They’? It is the paradigm that keeps those who are entitled, entitled. They are not the enemy to be hated.”
Keep in mind that while the sunlight of yang is rising in the Northern Hemisphere, the dark nights of yin are rising in the Southern Hemisphere. Either way, the equal equinox dances of light and dark are becoming more dramatic with their oscillations again, as they break away from the Vernal and Autumnal Equinoxes on opposite sides of the planet. But wherever you are on the planet, the winds of the astrological Eclipse Season are blowing in, and “will unleash more exciting energies with eclipses on May 26 and June 10”, as spiritual guide, and professional astrologer Leo Knighton Tallerico reminds us.
From a multidimensional perspective, the spiritual awakening we are going through on the planet now is a transitional process from an old paradigm into a New Age. This quantum leap reflects “the doors of perception” being cleansed so that humanity has the eyes to “see things as they truly are.” The veils appear to be thinning more than usual because we are developing the spiritual eyes and ears to see and hear. The wisdom of the Tao teaches us that when we change the way we look at the world, the world literally changes the way that it looks. In that light, “people are waking up all over the country and planet! Old stories that lead to Dead Ends are ending. New stories are being opened, stories that show how Nature and the Universe are joined and are moving us forward in Evolution.”
Furthermore, when contemplating the sacred geometrical Arcturian wisdom of remembrance, consider the following positive self-talk mantra: “the energy of remembrance helps you reach your inner knowing, which is where your real strength is. We often think we are not capable of doing something or think we are not ready to do something. Realize that all strength is already inside you and that you only need to remember.”
If we are being present with the awareness of remembrance, it is clear to see that we are living in a time when we don’t need a middle man guru to tell us how to accelerate our youth in this reform school known as earth. Also, the spirit of Weasel inspires a lesson plan that amplifies the importance of receiving silent messages that come from the soul, which is akin to a higher vibrational mind to mind, or telepathic communication. Of course, we all know the background noise of anxiety driven thoughts, aka the Chattering Monkey Mind. Nothing against monkey’s, as they are our distant cousins. But as we learn to tame the “downstairs” part of our brains, the inner voice of our “upstairs” brain area, or prefrontal cortex can become more alive. We know this reality by learning how to tune into it, and discern the quiet wise mind from the distracting background noise of the reptilian brain, where the amygdala tends to get hijacked. Mindful attention to the energy of Weasel can help you with self regulation, and assist you from smoking out the smokescreen of everyday life. Meditation on Weasel can help you get in touch with your silent observer, which can help you relax your identification with your thoughts, and emotions. Once you are the observer, you realize you are not your thoughts or emotions, and that is a very freeing experience.
What’s more, while listening to a podcast recently, these lyrics resonated about why we humans forget to give each other unconditional love: “We miss small moments that are grand ones” because being human on the planet today is like “being on a hamster wheel.” The trick is that we need to get in touch with our inner child, and remember what it was like to be a soul before we became more adult like in our personality development. From that place, we are more equipped to come from a clean place of love.
Looking back at the internalized oppression that I felt growing up with a parent who struggled with depression, and addiction, I can identify with what it’s like for someone who identifies as LGBTQ or BIPOC, who perhaps feels like they can’t breathe. From this position of empathy, I can understand how my experiencial feeling has a connection to a heavy feeling of suffocation.
However, because of the way I physically looked to others, I could blend in more easily than people in minority positions that are physically differently observable. From this perspective, I was more overtly readily accepted by the dominant, popular, and mainstream culture that we were all born into. Even if I could taste the fringes, I had the privilege of growing up with Middle Class values in an American Dream that probably seemed a bit more attainable to me, even if by a bit of long shot. But not everybody does or even knows what those values or that dream is. And whether you do or do not buy into these values or dreams, they can be hard on our hearts. This can be especially true for sensitive people, and regardless of whether or not you achieve them as goals or not.
Furthermore, a hardened heart is probably more alarming, when you think about the invited karmic “lifetime to lifetime” dharma you are working out. Perhaps you have been wise to the ways of the world, learned how to play the game, and know how to win at it. But at the end of the day, it can be a sad story, and lonely old road if all you have to show for it is fool’s gold. You can’t take those possessions with you after you die.
More importantly, remember that most of who you are today is a formless, energetic being or a soul that lives in your body that is also made up of a mind and a spirit. Contemplate when you were a soul before you incarnated into a mortal and were born on this planet. Why would you have agreed to come here, and chosen the form that you have? From a place of victim consciousness, you might say that you had no choice, that it was luck of the draw. But if you are willing to shift your mindset, and take responsibility for the cards that you were dealt, that can be very empowering. Just use your imagination to entertain this possibility and see what happens. In my experience, it relaxes a sense of victimhood, and entitlement. This mindful practice can be quite empowering and liberating. It is an honor and a privilege to see that you have chosen to come here as a spiritual being to have a human experience, whatever that experience might look like. If you are in a position of privilege, you might as well do something with your privilege to help others who do not share your position. Acknowledging your privilege, and holding a position of non-judgmental curiosity, compassion, and empathy toward someone else’s plight is the least you could do. You don’t need to make yourself feel superior or carry a wound that suffers from guilt. Both sets of baggage will just drag you down.
Finally, manifesting abundance transcends how much money you bank, or equity you build. If you read between the lines of the book The Secret, you’ll see that truth. Remember that energy is energy. It’s what you do with it that counts. Abundance isn’t really about what materials or success you accumulate, what you do or get people to do for you. Rather, on a deeper, and more meaningful level, abundance is about how you make other people feel that moves them, and inspires them to awaken their own greatness. It might come from the repeated exposure to the yinful reception of silent blessings, as well as peaceful, benign thoughts directed outward toward others, like yang does. In that light, abundance is manifested in the power of love that shines through your Being. And like the energy that Master Jedi Yoda radiates, you just do that with the invisible, yet priceless gift of your presence, and without any expectation of outcome.
A Full Pink Moon blossoms in our skies this week . . .
The intensities of the light are rising
There is evidence of new growth sprouting up along the trails . . .
Masculine energies are in full swing now, as yin fades into waning darkness –
In the Northern Hemisphere at least
As we trek further into Spring,
many folks experience frogs in their throats at this time of year
Perhaps you are unexpectedly grieving the ghosts of Winter, past relationships
or even a death of a close relative that has left this Earth
Are you experiencing heightened anxieties about the recent
human-made atrocities that have occurred in our history
and are happening right now around the planet?
Let Frog enter into your awareness to stop doing that
and replace the chatter with heartfelt visions of Love and Light
Death is just another transition really,
although part of being human is to have attachments . . .
Given part of spiritual growth is to let go of our attachments . . .
Lightening-up to our formless selves is not always easy to relax into
And it is our formless selves as souls that are created in the image of God
In our diverse expressions, we are one intricate web of life
What we do to one strand, affects the cosmic whole
When a fellow human being dies of suicide, is taken by cancer,
or a nation of people are bombed from within and also far away . . .
We are all impacted and affected by these disastrous
tragedies of human shortcomings
Let Frog breathe spiritual power into your being,
and reinforce the power of self-respect for your personal boundaries
This time of year reminds us of the transience of life . . .
The blessing of becoming mortal, is not without the curse of physical decay
But as inconvenient truth as allergic reactions to
the winds of change might be . . .
Another way to look at rain, is to look forward to the release of old,
stuck energies that are cleansed by April showers
It can be hard not to get submerged in the swamp . . .
Do what you can to rise up and make the energetic leap onto higher lily pads
Our world is ripe with the fruits of purification
Even if they come in the form and feeling of labor pains
A transformation in consciousness is occurring
Even though the awakening process isn’t happening as gracefully as it could
But somewhere over the rainbow, Frog’s sings in an unconventional voice
that spring’s forth a thunderous washout that brightens the spirits with
a colorful bouquet of fluorescent leaves and May flowers
Frog Medicine is a powerful Spring cleaning of sorts
Time to clear away dust bunnies that have accumulated over last Winter
Frog calls on a parade of rain to cleanse the filth and muck
that has attached itself to dirty watery windows of our souls
Now is the time to let go of stale, stuck energies
that want to uproot your soul’s impetus to evolve and grow
Base! Root Chakra –
How low can you go?
Just let your energy flow –
Down through the soles of your feet
and into the ground your roots will grow
We need to honor our tears
to authentically experience our own silent fluidity
Meditation on Frog is akin to Feng Shui –
Or an internal martial artist chi washing away
any person, place or thing that is causing you emotional negativity
What needs to be released from your psyche?
Picture a Frog to help you cultivate your personal boundaries
Visualize transformative travels through powerful conductors of water and sound
Your creative powers want to spring into action!
Amphibians are connections to magical elemental forces of water and land
Their energetic footprint is an inspiration to sing forth the rains
to cleanse the blues of muddy waters with soulful purification
Use their medicine to awaken to Lunar energies of abundance and fertility
Do you need to transform your way of hopping through life?
Metamorphosis is in the air as May flowers are right around the corner
Are the stresses of everyday life leaving you feeling depleted?
Pay attention to your breathing patterns
Does this world got you all charged up?
Fine-tune your internal strings
by unplugging for a spell and
just be with what resonates
Stop!
Relax by taking deep breaths to quench your thirsty mind-body-spirit vessel!
Use your voice to call forth the Climate Change
your life needs to amplify your soul development
I remember playing football with my child out in the backyard recently. We were having great fun when I was asked me to channel the my Howard Cosell energy. Although kids today are too young to know who he was, my child likes when I broadcast his spirit. Somewhere during our game, we noticed a frog hopping along in our field of vision. Our amphibian friend signaled to us that it was time to transition, clean up and head inside for a change in climate. After working up a sweat, isn’t it nice to cool down and wash away the grime and dirt? Meditation on Frog is good medicine for purification, detoxifying and general mind-body-spirit cleansing while traveling here on Classroom Mothership Earth.
For those of us that like to fly high and run with the wind, we need to remember where we are on the map of consciousness, keep a sense direction and also keep our feet on the ground, while here on Earth. Before a boundary is pushed or dissolved, we need to learn where the edges and boarders areas are and show respect for them. It is harder to be a kid and a parent today. All children need safe, clear and firm limits set so that they are equipped to learn how to effectively navigate through life and eventually know how to self-govern themselves in developmentally appropriate ways, as maturation kicks in accordingly. Nudging too much or being too permissive does not teach us moderation as a way of life. Balance is key, which is why those of us in care-taking positions that like to nurture must remember self-care and water our own internal gardens, so that burnout, compassion fatigue and resentments do not build exponentially. Many folks struggle with balancing freedom and responsiblity, particularly in the USA, because we do not launch our children well. It is harder to set the big limits when we don’t set the small ones. Given that mind-body indulgences have been pushed on us in our ego-gratification dominated cultural story, we have forgotten spirit as a key ingredient to our holistic program development, if you will.
On the global weather front, we are bullied into buying into a mantra that tells us to forget that we are spiritual beings having human experiences. Somewhere in Middle America, 165 workers are slated to lose their jobs because Mitt Romney and his friends at Bain Capital are planning on outsourcing these jobs somewhere else for cheap labor. In suburban Dallas, Texas, $60 million was recently spent to build a state of the art High School football stadium in suburban Dallas, Texas. As much as I love football, the cock in me roosts, “foul ball!” What are we too chicken to level the playing field to subsidize equal access for all players? In fact, I heard a police officer chime in class the other day that we should put prisoners to work. Not a bad idea, but it might bring us closer to justifying hidden slavery, than moving toward true freedom. Moreover, why not invest an ounce of prevention and a pound of cure by co-creating a system that infuses spiritual values that supports employee empowerment, safe working conditions and paying livable wages, if not envisioning a free for service economy? Do our friends in Congress really need to be earmarking billions and billions of dollars toward weapons of mass destruction and garrisons around the planet to control the flow of oil? Is it not a mixed message when we are regularly informed that we do not have enough money for the homeland security programs of education and healthcare for our children, but continue to invest liberally in violence and oppression?
Former President Calvin Coolidge once said, “the business of America is business.” In the spirit of that, many of us learned in kindergarten that it is good business to practice to sharing and cooperating with peers. Or was that Sunday school? As more of us get into alignment with the natural feeling that spirit wants to authentically express itself, without being held back, we awaken to the demand that our deeper souls are welcome here on Earth. When this cadence is heard, we will see the mainstream celebration of diverse expressions of Great Spirit, while practicing the politics of oneness on our planet and Universe throughout.
Classroom Mothership Earth 