Thinning Veils, Rising Spirits, A Full Beaver Moon, Resting In Non-Striving, Letting Go Of The Need And Impulse To Struggle & Dropping Into The Felt Sense Of Peace And Love In Your Body

We gotta make a change…
It’s time for us as a people to start makin’ some changes.
Let’s change the way we eat, let’s change the way we live
and let’s change the way we treat each other.
You see the old way wasn’t working so it’s on us to do
what we gotta do, to survive.
Tupac Shakur

A New Moon on October 21 marks the end of Libra season, and the beginning of Scorpio. Their seasonal energies are dominant through late November, right after the next New Moon and approximately a week before Thanksgiving.

I really appreciate the willpower associated with Scorpio. It’s a good trait to be mindful of when you need to tap into your personal will that makes its home in the solar plexus chakra.

The Samhain will happen on October 31st into The Day of the Dead and All Saints Day on November 1st, and then All Souls Day on November 2nd.

Many indigenous cultures and ancestors of ours honored the ‘Thinning of the Veils’ at this time; reflecting the blurred boundary between the spirit and material realms.

A growing body of people are reawakening to, and getting in alignment with Nature and Celestial cycles and power seasons.

That’s why Halloween features wearing masks, tricks or treats. Modern festivities and holidays are inspired by older traditions that predate colonization and rampant consumerism.

Just as an example, Chinese culture still follows the lunar calendar. Speaking of the Chinese Lunar calendar, we will be transitioning from the Year of the Snake to the Year of the Fire Horse on February 17th. Giddy up, and get ready to blaze new trails ahead. More transformation is in the air and on its way.

But before that, a New Moon in Scorpio on November 20, we are invited to delve deeply into our feelings. Desirous meaningful emotional exchanges are amplified now, even if it is not easy and you are called to make a myriad of perhaps unwanted changes in your life.

We don’t typically like challenging relationships because they can be unsettling and get us out of our comfort zones. And yet without them, we do not grow.

During these darkening days, it’s time to turn our clocks more ‘yin-ward’ as we move closer to the Winter Solstice on December 21st, the darkest day of the year. Keep in mind there is mystery and magic in everyday life. Darkness symbolizes creation. Humans are creative beings that need to cultivate creativity for life to have meaning that transcends robotic doings.

A Full Beaver Moon on November 5th reflects energies that reveal feeling safe being contingent on the need for stability. That’s tough to satisfy now, especially because change is part of life, and there are big changes happening and coming our way. The ego clings, grasps and resists what is in this world of 10,000 things…especially the material things.

This isn’t new to the human condition, but it is far more in our face with the rise of technology, fake news, etc. in the reform school called Earth. Isn’t ii poetic to notice those wearing The Emperor’s New Clothes (the ones rigging the system) throwing that term around by targeting those who have far less power than the Billionaire Class? Who payin’ you?

Part of the arriving New Aquarian Golden Earth Age is the death of an old world and old ways of being. Like any death, there is a grieving and letting go process.

Take movements like No Kings, Me Too, Black Lives Matter, Occupy Wall Street and Civil Rights as examples.

These songs of freedom and protests to the status quo reflect the will of the peoples spirit to build a more equitable, fair and just society.

We all lose (even the perceived winners) in the current paradigm. The playing field is leveling as we speak, even if it is hard for you to find the eyes to see that.

Check out the poetic song below that I reimagined many moons ago that was inspired by the legendary folk singer Woody Guthrie . . .

Accepting ourselves for who we are does make it easier for us to find peace and tranquility in the outside world. Be mindful that the old guard (including the Establishment and ‘Trumpamania’) wants you to believe otherwise.

Consider beavers for a moment. Even when humans try to squelch their development, they can often rebuild their dams faster than they are destroyed. Beavers have an intelligence about them that understands the process of maintaining their dams and constant water levels.

Accumulating points in life’s game is less about material success. Rather its about showing up and being of service to others without being a sacrificial lamb to yourself. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Remember the Golden Rule. We are all interconnected, part of the Earth and the Universes energy.

It is a real possibility to let go of the struggle through resting in a deep sense of awareness in restful stillness,; whatever side of the fence you are on or whatever belief system might look like.

But it is highly unlikely that you will know this experience without being present and meditating consistently. You don’t have to get sucked into the drama or the struggle. It’s hard to go wrong with a heart-centered loving kindness perceptual reality.

Demonizing and hate are easy. Beaming loving kindness to everyone and everything reveals the power of love.

There is an order to the Universe. Of course there is also an interplay between order and chaos, like the fluidity of the yin and yang. Have faith and trust in the process. Don’t get sucked into the fear mongering. We don’t have to draw our swords or go to war with one another. Lighten up folks.

Rest in non-striving. Rest the need and impulse to struggle. Drop into the felt sense of peace and love in your body.

May all beings experience a letting go of the struggling and suffering; while at the same time, an awakening to inner peace as a way of free and clean living.

Ari

Letting Go of Attachments, the Sweet Sound of Surrender & Giving Inner Peace a Chance . . .

The Full Beaver Moon will happen on November 15th, 2024.

Beavers reflect the origins of this full moon because the first snow historically falls in the northern US and Canada at this time. Most of the trees and shrubs have shed their leaves, morning frost appears, and beavers are beginning to build their dams before the ground freezes. And November is historically the gloomiest month in Maine.

Beavers enter and exit their lodges through hidden underwater channels. They spend most of their time in their homes during the Winter, and keep their living quarters well stocked with Winter supplies during the colder months.

How many extraterrestrials, high ranking secret government officials or undercover journalists are enamoured by the elaborate and perceptibly invisible native beaver engineering projects that are invisible to the naked eye?

Ponder that Beaver is the animal spirit guide of the Freemasons, and that their energy medicine captures the design of political area of Washington, D.C.

Water also symbolizes the connection to the elemental forces of creation.

Beavers foreshadow the arrival of the winter months. Keep in mind that Winter reflects the death cycle in Nature.

Their energies beg the question: are we ready for Winter yet?

Ready or not, it will be be the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere on December 21st. This marks the darkest time of year.

And then after that, we will coax back the light as our days will get a little brighter every day till light and dark are equal again on the Spring Equinox in later March.

What seeds will grow inside of our inner lodges during the colder and darker months?

If it feels like the ground is shaking underneath your footing, and things are being flipped upside down in your world . . . Try to look at these shakeups as part of your spiritual growth; as well as giving yourself consideration about what is awakening inside of you.

Speaking of any upside down energies showing up in your lives . . . Remember that people in the Southern Hemisphere are moving away from their Spring Equinox. Their days are getting longer, till the light peaks on their Summer Solstice in later December. Even in darkness, there is light.

What spiritual lessons and gifts want to be dug up, unearthed and show up in your life?

It can be hard to examine the magnified shadowy side of humanity when it comes out into the sunlight. Remember that the purpose is to wake people up vis a vis the process of energetic cleansing and purification. This is a form of soulful mulching, composting and transformation.

Regardless of how intentional our commitment to our spiritual development might look like, we humans will always have attachments while we are in this form aka the 3D realm.

For example, after a long election season; The Donald was crowned President of the United States again.

By and large, the American Public, and many from the General Public around the world continue to show their support for Trump’s Cult of Personality.

And while many assert a radical opposition to another silver spoon candidate . . . We clearly have an attachment to a convicted felon who has won the American Presidency again.

Do you remember the good old days- when conservative republicans asserted that an American President should be a statesman- over an electable candidate that can win at all costs, if you’ll pardon the Billionaire Class pun?

Liberals and progressives have parroted this mindset as well. And they too, have shunned their coworkers who have deviated from voting from their perception of Coke or Pepsi being the lesser of 2 evils.

Is Coke or Pepsi Democrat or Republican?

This is how the American Public and General Public on a global scale continues to be hoodwinked and vote against their own interests. Know your history!

Think about it . . . If you identify as a white woman that talks tough on affirmative action or replaces Black Lives Matter with an asserted All Lives Matter correction . . . Do you realize that white woman have benefited the most from affirmative action policies (as in how women now edge men out in college enrollment?).

Being pro-black doesn’t mean you’re anti-white. White privilege isn’t something you have to hide behind or deny. There’s nothing wrong with privilege. Just don’t be a con artist conning yourself that you don’t benefit from a leg up in race or class.

But as always, a deeper spiritual transformation is happening on the consciousness of our planet and universe throughout. And in case you hadn’t heard it through the airwaves . . . the ringing in our ears is getting louder.

Power is often perceived as a tool or a means to achieve ends, whether in personal relationships, societal roles, or spiritual quests.

The pursuit of power frequently stems from an unconscious sense of disempowerment. Individuals may seek power as a way to compensate for feelings of vulnerability or inadequacy.

Like the changing seasons, the best thing we can do is to go with the flow, and remember that change always offers us the opportunity to keep trying, and make the necessary improvements.

In much the same way as shedding dead skin; letting go of the ancestral baggage that has been passed down to us, gives birth to new vantage points.

On November 19th, Pluto will moves solidly into Aquarius for the next 20 years. Like Beaver’s penchant for industry and multiple exit strategies; we will have the power of love to illuminate the shadows of what has stayed hidden in the darkness.

Release the old paradigms that no longer serve. Awaken to new ways of being that will create a New Golden Aquarian Age in alignment with Unity Consciousness.

The Empire’s pushback toward the inevitable changes coming down the pike reflects the patriarchy’s last stand. The chimes of freedom flashes a system that is naturally leveling itself and expelling dead air one breath, one step, and one moment at a time.

Take care of yourselves everyone,

Ari

Thank You For Giving & Receiving

Last week’s Scorpio New Moon took place on November 13th.

As New Moons do, our souls awaken to an amplified time of introspection and reflection.

Because our Qi is drawn inwards,

we are naturally aligned to feel more in tune with our inner world.

New Moons are always a good point in the month to

check in with yourself to see how you are feeling.

Looking back on the last Eclipse season . . .

May we be invited to reflect on how Eclipses are catalysts for a highly transformative time.

Were the first few weeks of November a revealing self portrait

of navigating change and upheaval?

Does your life look differently than it did a month or even a week ago?

Have you observed any power plays coming up in your relationships?

How might they guide you in a way to support your personal growth?

As always, try to be patient and gentle with yourself in the process.

Give yourself time and space to digest all that has unfolded.

Keep in mind the old saying,

you are what you eat applies to the energy we consume in our thoughts.

Mindfulness is about watching our thoughts like clouds, like many of us did when we were kids.

Lots to see in cloud formations.

Everyday living gives us so many moments of being visited by our feelings.

Just be curious about them and try to carry a position of curiosity and empathy.

Our feelings, like anything else for that matter,

are better off not to being seduced by fear or demonized.

Truly, fear is part of all of our lives.

Anxiety is a fact of life that sometimes ignites into panic.

It can cripple us if we let it.

Or we can let it direct the course of our lives if we allow it, or name it, own it,

and then use it as fuel to direct our own chariots.

The Beaver Full Moon will occur on Monday, November 27th.

In the Northern Americas, most trees and shrubs have shed their leaves.

Frost gathers on blades of grass and beavers begin to build their dams before the ground freezes.

Nature is foreshadowing the dirge of Winter and the dark tunnel we are moving into.

Modern society makes it normal to resist this yin-ward train by marketing being up all the time;

emphasizing artificial light, and consumerism on steroids,

like Black Friday and overeating at Thanksgiving.

As a popularly celebrated holiday, Thanksgiving is not without controversy.

Through the lens of Love and Truth, we can acknowledge the mixed and conflictual feelings

and systemic trauma that arrives from Colonization and Occupation.

Indigenous cultures around the Planet are well versed in this reality.

Even the so called White People are descendants

from old traditional ways that are often long forgotten.

Just as an example, the early Christian church wove pagan rituals into the tapestry of its teachings.

We are all Chosen People.

There is no country club that will give you exclusive access or buy you a Stairway To Heaven.

The Kingdom is within and all around you for everyone.

Think about the dimensional shift as movement into

a more horizontal structure than a vertical one.

There’s nothing wrong with an everyday Thanksgiving, or an attitude of gratitude in life.

Spiritually, turkeys symbolize shared blessings, and reflects connections to the Third Eye chakra.

Meditation on the energy of Turkey will help you relax and ward off negative chi,

or even evil spirits if those semantics resonate accordingly.

A vibrational shift into a new dimension happens when we

give thanksgiving to the Universe for the abundance it provides and wants us to tap into.

Till we tweet again,

Ari

Remembering Beaver, Everyday November Gratitude, Reawakening Colorful New Moon Reflections In Sagittarius & Leaving Behind Seasonal Old Selves

Photo by Kristen Bouse

Our indigenous ancestors in the Americas saw the late Samhain as a New Year . . .

On November 23, a New Moon in Sag invites intentions for planting seeds of positive self talk.

New Moons are always times of new beginnings and new emotional cycles.

Remember, living a meditative life is not without a key dynamic of everyday Thanksgiving.

November’s Full Moon month has connections to the Energy Medicine of Beaver.

This month is as good a time as any to remember gratitude.

Meditation on Beaver captures connections to the Freemasons,

who were instrumental in the development of both Colonized America,

as well as a powerful totem to Indigenous people beforehand.

Beavers symbolize the ability to traverse both terrestrial,

watery worlds, craft secret tunnels and the awakening of perceptual doors.

The aftershocks of a powerful eclipse season are still pulsating through our energy centers . . .

as are the results from another political election season on November 8th,

which was also the date of the Beaver Full Moon.

At the forefront of contemporary American culture,

we have our attachments to, and preoccupations with winning and losing;

The trick of making politics like sports is the headliner du jour.

But a callback from a Wise Guy worth echoing asserts . . .

“The game we have all bought into is ending.

Monopoly is a game the Future will not understand anymore.

Love not money will save our hearts and souls.

And without our hearts and souls, we cease to exist in any way that truly matters.”

Pre-colonization was a time before humans worshiped the Almighty Dollar.

Instead of a maximum economic profit, a real free market is based on

reciprocity and bartering for mutual exchange.

What would happen if all the capital from Super Pacs, earmarks to lobbyists

and dark Secret Government programs

was instead redistributed into the Constitutional Preamble’s General Welfare?

Power to the We The People!

A New Moon in Sag features an archer that shoots their arrow toward a target through

mutable hybrid eyes of a gypsy, student and philosopher.

Their medicine teaches us to step out of our comfort zones

and experience novel meaning through an expansion of Truth.

Life is a fluid process of impermanence;

an adventurous quest that wins when open to divergent thinking.

The Yin and Yang illuminate dark spots within bright lights;

revealing the totality of life being greater than the sum of its parts.

Surrender the securities of safety in order to take a leap of faith.

But it is also wise to remember that hitting the pause button

can put the brakes on foreboding tragedy.

May we let go of painful parts of our past

so that we can visualize the future selves that we want to see ourselves becoming.

Sag’s Optimistic Thought looks like a mismatch against the realities of everyone’s life.

Humanity has rampant suffering in economic, emotional, physical, and spiritual ways.

It’s hard not to get seduced into our frustrations

and fears inside us and in the environment around us.

May the Sagittarius New Moon offer you A New Hope and bring in a galaxy of abundance

as you reimagine your next next chapter, if you’ll pardon the pun.

Take care of yourselves everyone,

Ari

Eclipse Season, A New Moon, Thinning Veils & A Portal Into Infinity

Photo by Kristen Bouse

The energies of the Eclipse Season are happening and a new Election will happen on November 8.

As we have discussed in the blog before, the number 8 symbolizes the sign of Infinity, which is where the realm of possibilities reside.

In much the same way as the spiritual awakening of Inner Peace, Infinity is a vibrational shift and a dimension beyond the old world paradigm that we’ve all been conditioned to.

On October 25 beforehand, a solar eclipse will happen. This is also a New Moon in Scorpio. As we have discussed, solar eclipses invite creations of new beginnings and bright new opportunities, as New Moons always reflect.

It’s as if Scorpio’s energy takes a bite out of the present moment regardless of how much it stings. Their mantra reminds me of when our old football coaches would tell us to “play every down like it’s your last.”

Moreover, a lunar eclipse arrives on November 8, which is also a Full Beaver Moon. Lunar eclipses are more emotional and they bring on final endings, like the climax of emotional tides of Full Moons.

In the Universe’s energetic medicinal deck of cards, Eclipses are like powerful fanned out wild cards that inspire us to pay attention to areas in our life that need to change. They uproot us, surprise us, and light a fire under our asses.

During the intensity of Eclipses, our lives are rapidly shaken up so that we can transform into our new selves. The one constant of Eclipses is that they are change agents for rebirth. A death of the old self is taking place.

On some level, we’ve all been victimized by the internalized oppression of the Empire.

Shamans called our entanglement with the current matrix a collective nightmare, which is also akin to the world order that George Orwell’s book 1984 warned us about.

But remember that it doesn’t mean that we have to be victims.

Of course there is no Utopia or Dystopia because we are talking about an evolving living revolutionary reality that is based on an inside out approach.

Because there is nothing more devilish than fixed ideas and mental rigidity.

In the Aquarian Age, the key dynamic is for each one of us to discover our unique soul purpose and find ways to express that effectively within group consciousness.

May a living portal open up into the Tao centered politics of a New Aquarian Age, in the here and now of this Election season.

Even in darkness, there is light. In fact, our ancestors honored the darkest day of the year or Winter Solstice because it signals the time when we begin to coax back the light.

We talk a lot about our transition into a New Age and Paradigm in this blog.

Be reminded of one key element we want to bring with us from the old world is the Love and Light of Christ Consciousness and Buddha’s Compassion.

When these members of my spiritual light team were living as humans on this planet, they embodied these inner states of consciousness that many on the planet did not understand. Like back Zen, many folks right Tao are in the dark about this vibrational experience, if you’ll pardon the pun.

That’s OK, all you have to do is use your imagination by picturing your inner nobility in your heart and head. Focus on getting in touch with that feeling- maybe even by putting your hand on your heart if you that works for you.

Try not to fight or push away any unpleasant thoughts or otherwise. Just stay with them and be as gentle on yourself as possible with loving kindness. Realize that any thoughts you direct toward others are really directed at yourself. That’s why the person that you have held a grudge against or carried an attitude about ends up hurting you more than the person you are targeting.

Meditation on Beaver captures connections to the Freemasons, who were instrumental in the development of both Colonized America, as well as a powerful totem to Indigenous people beforehand.

Beavers symbolize the ability to traverse both terrestrial, watery worlds, craft secret tunnels and the awakening of perceptual doors.

The layout of the political center of Washington, D.C. reflects Beaver’s spiritual engineering guidance. Their capacity for building multiple exit strategies and navigating multiple dimensions hints at the multidimensionality of our experiences.

What other dimensional vibrations are we co-creating in this New Aquarian Age?

It is an interesting synchronicity that the New Moon in Scorpio, Full Beaver Moon and Eclipse Season intersects with the Samhain, All Soul’s Day, All Saint’s Day and The Day of The Dead at the end of October and beginning of November.

Of course the modern tradition of Halloween captures some of the spirit of our ancestors, who recognized that the veils between the physical and spirit realm appear thinner during this time.

The ritual of wearing masks is a spiritual portal into alternate realities in consciousness and transformation.

The thinning of the veils can play tricks on us. But it can be a real treat to reconnect with the spirits of our ancestors who have left this Earth.

As always, try not to get spooked by your fears because negative energies tend to feed off of that. Our fears can be seductive and not without their attachments.

Use the power of our ancestral energies to empower you to stay as close to Love as possible.

Pay attention to the signs and synchronicities to light your way and stay connected to Nature and in alignment with the Universe. May their Truth set you free.

Take care of yourselves everyone,

Ari

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

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

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