Tag Archives: Full Moon

A Roaring New Moon, First Harvest, Mercury In Retrograde & Full Sturgeon Moon Marks A Peak Seasonal Catch

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Tis the Leo season right now till August 21st. As always, the Lion reflects play, fun, and remembering our inner child’s dreams. It is also an opportune time to reconnect with the deepest part of ourselves. Lion knows how to play and have fun, and access our inner child’s dreams. May its medicine bring action and movement; as well as release any stagnant mindsets and situations. 

Also, this week brings us the mid-point between the Summer Solstice and the Autumn Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere aka the First Harvest of the agricultural year. It is a time to celebrate and honor the fruits of our labor, growth of the seeds of Spring, and sunlight of summer.

A New Moon on the 4th breathes in new beginnings, just as all new moons do. Dive deep within and embrace meditation as an anchor. Wait patiently for the answers you seek.

Mercury in Retrograde will happen on August 5th through 28th. I like to think of Mercury’s energy as in alignment with the Throat Chakra; the realm of communication. How are we communicating with our inner, and outer worlds and effectively bridging any apparent communication gaps?

Meditators and spiritual travelers understand that we all suffer. It’s just a cold hard fact of life. But we can use the energetics of this time period to sit with our wounds, and find ways to release our judgments and even make friends with them.

What have you learned from your wounds? What wisdom might they have for you?

Looking back, what subconscious thoughts have you felt programmed by? Tap into your psychic mind and peer into the unseen world.

A Full Sturgeon Moon occurs on August 19th, and will certainly stir up murky waters in your life. May the prehistoric energies of this old school freshwater fish steer you into a deeper sense of clarity in the treasure of your personal authority.

In spite of pain, may our wounds lead us into transformative portals of strength, confidence and courage revealing points of potential. They may never leave, but finding acceptance is possible.

Take care of yourselves everyone,

Ari

A Doubly Colorful & Fragrant Full Flower Moon

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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?

Take care of yourselves everyone,

Ari

May Broadcasts A Double Feature Showing Of A New Moon Shine & A Full Flower Moon

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Looking back into the rearview mirror, it appears that the spirited change agents of the past Eclipse Season, Mercury in Retrograde and other energies were contributing factors toward transformation, shakeups and changes in consciousness within our inner and outer worlds.

As the fogs lifts, hawks are friendly reminders that our vision improves with clearer skies ahead.

Do you feel more confident about signing contracts, making long-term plans, and creating commitments now that Mercury’s back in direct?

Are you thinking more rationally and logically nowadays?

Today is a New Moon in Taurus. Plant the seeds of new intentions so that new beginnings will manifest.

Energetically, this is the season of Taurus the Bull from April 19th-May 20th. The Bull is an assertive reminder that you are worthy and you don’t need anything outside of yourself to claim your worthiness. That is a powerfully grounding mantra to live by in the material world of 10,000 things.

After an intense Eclipse Season, it is time to slow down, stabilize and ground our bodies. Some concrete grounding strategies are getting out in Nature, feel your bare feet on the ground and give yourself some indulgences with creature comforts.

Remember that self-care is about what makes you feel good and supports your overall wellness. Find ways to enjoy the natural materials of the living organism aka Mother Earth. Just as an example, I have been enjoying playing flag football and rucking (hiking with a weighted vest) because for me, they are grounding forces to awaken material enjoyment and spiritual fulfillment in my life.

May the energy of Bull remind us to slow down our pace, stop and smell the roses, splash some cool water on our faces, and welcome abundance to support what we truly value. In general, it’s a good time to come out of shade and into the light to feel the sun on our faces, so long as you don’t get scorched.

Later on in May and into most of June, Gemini’s energy will be magnified in the air. My daughter’s a Gemini and she reminds me that when their energetic time of year springs up, its a double reminder to focus on communication and reflect on our authentic thoughts and feelings about what’s going on in our heads and hearts. The twins are good reminders that as humans, we are part creature and part divine; spiritual beings having human experiences. May we become creative and social beings during our experiences in relationships.

May deeper clarity unfold along the journey into the windows of our souls and the flowering of our consciousness during this time.

Can we move through the scar tissue of our judgements into a sphere of awareness of forgiveness and acceptance?

Positive Self Talk is always good medicine, but its power is even more amplified at this time.

In our travels, are we feeling moved toward various forms of communication like storytelling, writing and teaching or coaching? We all have a voice to find and we need to broadcast them effectively from the inside out. When arriving from a dimension of inner peace, its energetic vibration of our voices will be magnified significantly.

Every experience is a lesson that can sharpen our minds, deepen our intuition, and increase our wisdom.

Why do you think your soul chose to incarnate, become mortal and choose what to learn from during this lifetime’s experience?

Photo by Steven Paton on Pexels.com

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.

Don’t buy 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 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.

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.

Take care of yourselves everyone,

Ari

Stepping Into A Full Pink Moon Through The Energetic Footprints Of Bull . . .

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How we see ourselves and how we identify is age old question for humanity . . .

Spiritually, we are formless beings inhabiting a body that is having a human experience. Truly, this experience is shaped by many things. Moreover, kindly keep in mind that we are sovereign beings and have a far greater say in the life we choose to live than we often realize.

Our bodies are vehicles that our souls travel in during our walkabout on Mother Earth. As souls, we incarnated here to become mortal so that we can learn new ways of being and grow personally and spiritually.

Energetically, this is the season of Taurus the Bull from April 19th-May 20th. The Bull is an assertive reminder that you are worthy and you don’t need anything outside of yourself to claim your worthiness. That is a powerfully grounding mantra to live by in the material world of 10,000 things.

In a way, tapping into the energy of Taurus is countercultural, in the sense that it contradicts the party line of consumerism. Consumerism programs us to buy into the idea that who we become is based on what products we identify with and buy. Like my aunt who likes to rant says, “you can sell it . . . but I don’t have to buy it.”

Of course our belief systems of who we are can also be ascribed to the herd mentality of group consciousness, like the divided times we are living in. You all know this already; the peddling of the divisive viewpoints such as, us and them, dog eat dog and winners and losers.

Remember that the Hidden Hand can only stay hidden if it goes unexamined. Focus on your own hidden self and keep in mind that whatever is lurking in the shadows is really trying to show us our fears and repressed emotions. These shadows are also feelings of shame we might be carrying around ourselves and our lives. But they don’t need to spook, seduce or possess us.

Some ways we can allow the light to illuminate the shadows is to ponder the following questions for self-reflection. You can write out a question at night before you go to sleep, tuck it under your pillow and then see what comes up for you when you wake up and journal about it. May what comes to the surface be a beacon of light in the shadowy fog:

1.) What brings me a feeling of safety and comfort?

2.) What are 3 things I can do to feel more organized?

3.) What are 4 steps I can take to nurture my dreams and goals?

4.) I value…

5.) I am worthy to receive…

Speaking of lifting fog and clearer skies ahead, Mercury will continue in Retrograde till April 24th. Mercury in Retrograde is akin to the old Twilight Zone TV series and a time where our minds may play tricks on us; particularly where left brain activity and machines don’t compute or calculate as accurately.

Perceptual shifts are happening, which is why making big decisions or signing contracts when Mercury is in Retrograde is ill advised.

More importantly, this is a great time to look back at our past selves so that we can shape shift into our future selves, and become the change we want to see in our inner and outer worlds. Even after the 24th, when Mercury goes back direct, it can take up to 10 days for the fog to feel like it has completed lifted.

But the day before that, a Full Pink Moon on the 23rd will rise, and cross pollinate in our spirits; hopefully as gently and gracefully as possible. This moon gets its name from the spreading of moss pink or pink phlox across the fruited plains of the Northern Americas.

Of course this moon goes by many names. After the dirge of Winter, rebirth and new growth are what’s up. May there be a celebration of life singing in the chambers of our collective souls.

For exapmple, in the Jewish tradition, this moon is also known as the Passover Moon because it is symbolic of ancestral freedom from Egypt. Early colonists from the northern Americas called it the Planter’s Moon for obvious reasons, as well as the Sugar Maker Moon, given the season of collecting sap and making maple sugar and syrup. Neo-Pagan traditions named this moon the Awakening Moon because spirits are awakening after a long Winter slumber.

When an awakening takes root in our souls and we recognize that we are living on Indigenous lands. 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.

Finally, when our beloved souls leave this Earth and transition into their next stage with Spirit, they become our ancestors. Recently, my spiritual counselor left his human form and let go of his body. Unexpected deaths are always a harder taste of bitter to digest. For me, this magnified other significant losses in my life that I am grieving and feeling really sad about. When our loved ones leave us it’s hard not to feel abandoned, rejected, ghosted and more lonely. We miss their presence in our lives; especially their human form. We are connected to them and they are part of us and we are part of them. But when they leave us behind, it can awaken the experience of a new and deeper connective experience that illuminates the soul with Love and Truth. When I remember Leo, I feel his presence in my life, working his magic from the spirit realm, just as he did while he lived on this Earth. Except now his energy is releasing from form and manifesting its power in new ways that are beyond our human comprehension. We will miss you Leo Knighton Tallarico. Looking forward to new connective experiences in the Mirror of the Mind meditations.

https://onenesstalkradio.com/shows/perspectives-from-the-sky

Take care of yourselves everyone,

Ari

Rising Up To A Full Snow Moon And Surfing The Flowing Tidings Of Pisces

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Pisces time of year reflects endings and beginnings. The fish bring in tidings of change, and the mystical intersection of shorelines and seasonal transitions between the death of winter and the rebirth of spring.

For example, the Fish are at the tail end of the Zodiac and they swim in between Winter and Spring. Like the oceans receiving the rest of the waterways, all the other signs flow into Pisces.

A Full Snow Moon on February 24th reveals the waning peak wintry conditions mixed with the promise of new growth, longer days and warmer weather as we spring ahead.

This will be the last Full Moon of the Zodiac before the Spring Eclipse Season in later March and early April. The winds of change will be blowing into our individual and collective souls during this time. Shakeups in consciousness are in the airwaves.

Seasons reflect the spiritual Law of Transience; everything changes and is ephemeral. The stirrings of spring are happening both below and above the ground. Can you hear the forrest coming alive?

Time to let go of the old self and whatever old narratives that have defined your life and make the transition into the new chapter or new book. There is a feeling of starting over, which can be both exciting and mysterious. What magical new adventures are awaiting?

Keep in mind that it is natural to grieve the death of the old self and say goodbye to old relationships. But it is best not to indulge in those feelings or be a suckerfish to your grieving process. Might as well say yes to the new growth that wants to manifest into new frontiers.

We made it through the tunnel! Use these energies to light your way into new pathways.

Like the yin and the yang, the two fish will come full circle and return to a new endpoint. In the death of endings, there is rebirth in beginnings. The Spring Equinox is symbolic of balance between masculine and feminine energies, as they are in equal alignment with one another at this junction.

And then around the Spring Equinox, fiery Aries carries the torch into new beginnings. Energetically, this is like a new year. It’s no coincidence that baseball season starts around this time; America’s pastime. While the Fish go with the flow and swim around in circular fashion, the Ram is I Am consciousness and wants to knock it out of the park, if you’ll pardon the baseball pun.

The Spring Equinox shows light and dark energies are equal, like the shorelines do. Water and Land are diverse expressions of elemental forces. They mark the flowing mystery of life because they are in between land and sea. May we walk with them in an ancestral footprint of one foot in spirit and one foot in ground.

Remember when the fiery energies of spring are arriving, gently allow the cool waters of Pisces to vaporize them with an ocean spray of fresh air.

Take care of yourself everyone,

Ari

A New Moon, New Year & Tracking Ahead Into A New Age and Paradigm . . .

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The Capricorn New Moon on January 11, 2024 kicks off the first new moon of the new year. 2024 will be a significant energetic catalyst for powerful transformation. If we add this year’s numbers up, we get 8.

As we remember past writings, we know that the number 8 is the sign of Infinity. Infinity is where the realm of infinite possibilities, dreams, visions and solutions live.

Just imagine the new possibilities of a new chapter that are awaiting our future selves.

In the Mirror of the Mind, may we envision the Universe’s energy amplifying the intentions we set for the year ahead.

It’s hard to go wrong with committing to an intent to be happy by placing personal happiness at the top of the list.

Energetically, this new moon will embody highly transformative energy that can facilitate the release of leftover energies from last year. Letting go will support us in clearing space to receive the new energies of 2024.

May this new moon and new year bring us good fortune toward the positive systemic change we so desire! Winter’s slumber is a good time to rest and get ready for Spring’s rebirthing energies.

Movement further into the New Golden Age and Paradigm of Aquarius is guiding us toward awakening our better angels and becoming better stewards of our planet and with each other.

The energy of Aquarius inspires humanity to awaken our unique diverse expressions of spirit, coupled with knowing our oneness in 2024 and beyond.

On a cosmic level, may the Full Wolf Moon on January 25 bring levity to our souls and be a harbinger of inspiration and creative energy.

Prioritize playing and a sense of adventure in the year ahead. Like the wise old saying goes, follow your bliss and everything else will follow.

Meditation on the archetypal Wise Wolf as a spirit guide awakens a positive self talk mantra that becomes the moon and harmonizes with its environment.

Use the power of this Full Moon to release what is no longer joyful in your life and stay away from doing anything that weighs you down or feels heavy.

Also, it will be the year of the dragon on February 10th, 2024.

Dragon symbolizes power, change and spirituality and can awaken self-love and empowerment by tapping into your inner royalty and power.

Dragon represents masculine soul energy or yang.

Consider Dragon’s connection to the mythical Phoenix, which symbolizes the sacred power of the feminine or yin. The Yin and the Yang, masculine and feminine are at their natural best when flowing in balance with one another.

Take care of yourselves everyone,

Ari

A Full Buck Moon Digs Into The Earth and Kindles the Fiery Flames of Super, Dragon-Like Lairs of New Adventures

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A Full Buck Moon will happen on Monday, July 3, 2023.

Meditation on the energy of Deer reveals gentle allurement into new adventures.

This moon will be the first of three consecutive Supermoons during the rest of the year.

And then the second arrives on August 1st, third on August 31st, and fourth on September 29th.

Supermoons are like regular moons on steroids.

This Full Moon goes by many names, including the Salmon Moon by Native Alaskans, Time Of Much Ripening by Mohawk, Blueberry Moon by Ojibwe, Squash Are Ripe by Algonquin and Hay Moon in Anglo Saxon culture.

Modern society forgets that pre-colonized Europe has Indigenous roots too.

Just like it forgets that early Christianity mixed paganism and shamanism into its teachings.

Christ Consciousness, which is an internal state of consciousness, is in alignment with these teachings.

Autumn Eclipse season will happen in October with a solar eclipse in the middle of the month and a lunar eclipse at the tail end of the month.

Eclipses are catalysts and always shake things up in our world and consciousness.

Also there will be two New (Super) Moons on January 21st and February 20th.

New moons are always associated with new beginnings.

A New Moon in Cancer will happen on July 17th.

Feeling safe is a good place to cultivate internally, especially right now.
In spite of emotional fluctuations, it is wise to learn to let go of the past.

Forgiveness will help avoid depression from thinking too much about things.

Having an attitude, chip on your shoulder or holding grudges are all self defeating.

Our perceptions of the world can be very subjective.

Giving yourself space to create distance without being bitter is a healthy form of self care.

A regal emotionally abundant manifestation will create a real sense of belonging in the world.

Do this with a healthy sense of detachment.

Remember the Q-TIP mantra by quit taking it personally.

Keep in mind that it’s still the year of the Rabbit according to Chinese astrology and will be until February 10th, 2024. And then, it will be the Year of the Dragon.

Dragon symbolizes power, change and spirituality and can awaken self-love and empowerment by tapping into your inner royalty and power.

Dragon represents masculine soul power or yang.

Consider Dragon’s connection to the Phoenix, which symbolizes the sacred power of the feminine or yin. The Yin and the Yang, masculine and feminine are at their natural best when flowing in balance with one another.

Give up the indoctrination that says that the light should defeat the dark or vice versa.

Can you imagine what it would be like to not have a nighttime to sleep at, or women living on the planet? Conversely, can you image no sunlight to walk around in or men around?

Equanimity of all energies are needed to sustain our well being.

Rabbit energy reinforces the calling out of our fears and a good reminder that what we resists persists. Its energy reflects fertility, the feminine powers of the moon, fertility and new life.

Do you need to start over in your life in a new chapter or even book?

May Rabbit inspire us to plan for a field of possibilities and make the necessary leaps and hops in that we need to make down the rabbit hole journey of life.

If you are paying attention, the outer changes in the world are resonating within your own soul. This magnifies the recognition that you can’t go back to the past, nor know with conviction what will happen in the future.

Also, the energy of Lizard is good medicine to tap into at this time. Use its energies to amplify your powers of perception, if you so choose to do so. It can awaken your dreams- even if you don’t dream at night, or remember your dreams rather, you can dream in the day.

However, if you become aware of your dreams, then you are lucid dreaming. If you have a lizard in your life that you connect with, study its qualities to learn more about yourself. Their energies can also help us trust your intuitive and psychic faculties.

Mediation on Lizard can reinforce the power to trust your own intuition over anyone else’s. Lizard is a powerful spirit guide to help us harmonize with our environment, through conscious dreaming to manifest what we want in our waking lives.

Envision a conversation between Rabbit and Lizard to examine any fears about what future possibilities might want to manifest. Remember to surrender and trust that the Universe will bring us to the shoreline, even if you have no idea of how that will happen.

Be mindful of control issues because this will be especially challenging but doable nonetheless, if only people oriented in this way choose to believe in and access their internal power.

It is good to have a game plan in the jigsaw puzzle of life.

But like John Lennon said, “life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” We can’t always control what happens to us but we can control how we respond to what happens.

Do this by letting go of the grasping and clinging to the status quo. Might as well get in alignment with the changes coming our way.

And there will be massive changes coming that will make the 60s and technological advances appear microscopic.

These seismic shifts are all connected to the New Earth Golden Aquarian Age that is unveiling before our eyes.

Yes, the world is on fire. But remember that out of the ashes, the Phoenix Rises!

Take care of yourselves everyone,

Ari

A Bell Of Mindfulness, New Moon In Virgo, Full Harvest Moon And An Autumn Equinox In The September Of Our Years

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Photo by Kristen Bouse

Have you ever heard the expression Bell of Mindfulness? Although this writer didn’t invent the expression, he recognizes it in his common language with regularity.

Many moons ago, my first inspiration of this meditative expression arrived when reading, At Hell’s Gate: A Soldier’s Journey From War to Peace, by an American Zen Buddhist Monk and Vietnam veteran named Claude Anshin Thomas.

Whatever your trauma, if you are a survivor and have put in the work, you know the journey from suffering to inner peace.

But when you work with that, it isn’t without its moments of struggling.

And if you are doing the work, you already know these journeys are not always linear and sometimes intersect and coexist with each other seemingly simultaneously.

Of course there is a tension of opposites, like when we were kids playing on the teeter totter.

Heaven and hell are inner states of consciousness that reflect back to us in the outer world.

Shamans called the current state of affairs a collective nightmare that we see playing out on the fiery Planet today.

Prophesies of a Golden Age are a co-creative New Dream. Remember that out of the ashes, the Phoenix Rises!

Truly, we all have what Taoists call the Chattering Monkey Mind, and this anxious mind can dominate our lives if we let it.

For example, chasing, clinging or indulging in darker thoughts (or any thoughts) are part of being human. It’s how we approach them that really matters.

Do we respond with mindful consultation with our Higher Self or do we react to the provocations of our lower self?

Do we resist and fight our shadowy thoughts or do we gently let them pass till an awakening of clearer thoughts emerge? We all have emotions and feelings that tend to accompany our thoughts. It is wise to take personal inventory of them through the light of loving compassion.

A New Moon in Virgo will happen on August 27, 2022. Feeling safe is connected to order, clarity and emotions right now. Perhaps there is a need to organize everything chaotic and disorganized.

Working Virgo energies in the positive tempers the self-critic with self-acceptance and finds self-expression of its soul purpose through service. In this way, you are more likely to take care of others if you are taking care of yourself. The inner critic is leveled by an internal state of acceptance. The situations are what they are. We might as well say yes to them on the inside, instead of meeting them with resistance (what we resists, persists!). From there, we can take corrective action if necessary.

Inner peace is a practical replacement for going to war with yourself (or others). It’s easier to replace with inner peace than it is to extinguish going to war. More inner peace replaces the likelihood of going to war.

Virgo stands on mutable ground to teach us that it is healthy to give consideration to being more tolerant and accepting about life’s imperfections. It is better to trust life and let it run its own way. Not everything must be according to our expectations or controlled. The Japanese spiritual tradition of Wabi Sabi reflects this way of being. Beauty exists in taking risks and making mistakes. It’s very Growth Mindset.

In many ways, we live in a Virgo world. It’s easy to get caught up in the do’s and don’t and should and should nots and consumed by fixing problems and perfectionism in the material realm. Chaos is especially hard on Virgo. But there is order in chaos and disorder is part of balance. Movement into the New Aquarian Age awakens possibilities that might be hidden or unseen to the predictable mindset or preoccupation with the headlines.

Energetically, Autumn is a good time of year to practice letting go. Tis a good mantra to Fall back on, if you’ll pardon the pun.

September’s Full Harvest Moon will peak on September 10, 2022. This Full Moon always happens closest to the Autumn Equinox on Thursday, September 22nd.

In Ojibwe, the Full Moon during this time of year is called the Falling Leaves Moon. Watch the leaves falling and observe their process of changing colors. Seasons change no matter what we are doing or not doing.

Furthermore, feminine and masculine energies are equal around the Fall Equinox. Meditation on balance of the yin and yang is in perfect equitable alignment with Nature at this time. Give this special consideration when you see people struggling with their identity issues, like sexuality and gender identifications. Appreciate the confusing times we are living in with open hearts and minds. In much the same way as race, disabilities, religion and ancestry, these are key Civil Rights issues to be mindful of in the here and now.

Reflections on the Harvest Moon, invites looking back at when our ancestors farmed the land before artificial light existed.

Back then, their work day depended on the natural cycles of the sun and the moon. They were more active and slept less during warmer weather and brighter days. Conversely, they were less active and slept more during shorter days, colder temperatures and darker nights.

This is the only Full Moon that rises at nearly the same time for multiple days, giving farmers several evenings of extra moonlight to finish their harvests before the arrival of fall frosts. Abundance is in the sky and on the ground. The harvest is in and yields its bounty.

Today, it is wise to pay attention and return to these natural rhythms and cycles. There is a time to do and a time to rest. Meaningful work is good for the soul. So is play.

Take care of yourselves everyone,

Ari

Back To School: An Intersection Of Old And New

Posted on by under Spirituality, Uncategorized
Photo by Valiphotos on Pexels.com

As I sit here writing this post, this writer took a moment to hit the pause button to reflect on a meaningful, mundane transaction on today’s to do list. Specifically, I shuttled our teenager off to their final early morning summer cross training workout.

It’s not cool to call things like that day camp or playdates anymore (all too tempting). And you don’t call it practice, it’s now called training.

To wit: it’s hard not to hear George Carlin’s spirited questionable assertion, was it ever cool to call getting together with peers or friends playdates?

A vocational internship, community service hours, college tours, soccer season and the beginning of a new school year are all happening and on our household’s horizon. With a kid in school and dad who works in them, that’s what’s up. It’s a process many parents and caregivers have experienced before.

As parents, we’re trying to be mindful of our approach, because like any responsibility, it’s easy to fall prey to the doing, become robotic, and lose sight of the sacred moments along the way. That can happen in all aspects of life, if you’re not careful.

Speaking of transitions, the one constant is change along the trails of life. Are you noticing the subtle hints of Autumn are in the early August air?

These sense experiences mix alchemically with the microscopic, minority radiance of vibrant hues of leaves turning, whilst offering an early prequel to a backdrop to Nature’s theater. May we bear witness to everything old beginning anew again.

It won’t be long till the Equinoxes are here in later September, where light and dark are equal again, and peak foliage colors the tree lines again, if only for a brief moment in time. Ah, the yin and the yang at play!

Looking ahead, our days will get shorter until the darkest day of the year on the Winter Solstice in December. However, if you live in the Southern Hemisphere, Spring is springing, and it will be the Vernal Equinox at that time. Those days will get longer until sunlight peaks on their Summer Solstice.

For the rest of us in the living moment, a Full Moon is waxing and will fully reveal itself in the second week of August. Historically, Full Moons go by different names. One of the traditional names, as indicated by many of our ancestors, is the Full Sturgeon Moon.

These mighty freshwater fish still thrive in the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain regions in the Middle of the Americas. Like turtles, sturgeons have been around at least as long as when dinosaurs roamed Mother Earth.

In much the same way as everyone else, these fish are at risk in today’s changing tides. And yet, these living fossils are still around. Moreover, sturgeons reflect the power of survivors, and as such, are symbolic of resiliency. Like the murky waters these fish stir up, we need to swim through them with resiliency in our tackle box, if you’ll pardon the pun.

But what is this resiliency we speak of? After nearly two decades of social work practice in Public Schools, it is a dream come true to see that we are paying more attention to building resiliency in school community settings.

It’s no secret that we humans come into this Earthbound experience with our own unique, prewired blueprints. While our core temperaments don’t change, our personalities are an evolving process over our life cycle.

Resiliency is something that we are equipped with, and have an aptitude for- some more than others. But we can all build resiliency, which has a positive ripple effect on each other.

Systemically, one way we can all develop our capacity for resiliency is to create and follow a self care routine. I’m a big fan of the Keep It Simple Sweetheart (KISS) model.

Like any healthy self-care routine, building resiliency starts with yourself and invites an intention and commitment to a daily routine of mindful attention.

For example, teaching more meditation, mindfulness and social emotional learning (SEL) as part of the school curriculum supports resiliency and facilitates the challenging process of learning how to be human.

Strategies like focusing on peaceful, calming thoughts, positive self talk, mindful belly breathing, relaxing our judgments and learning to be gentle on ourselves are healthy ways to build an internal state of resiliency and harmonize with our environment. Of course drinking mostly water, emphasizing consumption of plants and being more meat minimalist doesn’t hurt.

Remember that saying yes to self care means that you are saying yes to your own mental health and well being. The rising tide of Inner Peace awakening increases as the more of us become living role models of these behavioral changes. Further, the more we make waves in this dimensional shift, we will collectively see ourselves becoming the change we want to see in the world.

Here is a practical self care/SEL demonstration below in the form of the The Mirror of the Mind meditation. Regular practice of this powerful strategy will support sound mental health and well being in your daily life:

Take care of yourselves everyone,

Ari

A New Moon In Aries, The Energies Of Frog & A Full Pink Moon

Posted on by under Consciousness, Spirituality, Uncategorized

Aries is the first sign on the Zodiac. From a Western Astrological perspective, Aries reflects the energies of both the new beginnings of a new year, as well as a New Moon on April 1, 2022. Feelings of uncertainty make it tempting to run the hurry up offense by trying to solve problems faster than is natural. Do not rush as if there was a deadline. It is wise for the Ram to try to slow down their steps so that they can decide what they want to do and proceed at their own chosen speed. In the heat of the moment, remember the cool, wintry transitional shoreline tides of Pisces to take a deep breath, relax and go with the flow. May this be a gentle letting go of the heavy blanket of Winter, including any judgements you have been carrying in your backpack. The mystical, soulful travels of other dimensions are as important as the practicality of knowing how to live on this Earth. We all go through ages and stages in our life cycles. As humans, we all get insecure and suffer. We have neglected and even discounted our spirits. Vanity and glorifying youth culture can become a barrier to embracing our cosmetic imperfections. No, we can’t turn back the clock. With meditation, the aging process can be slowed down and even reversed. But meditation isn’t a cure nor is it a cosmetic approach. Developing a regular meditation practice is an inside-out approach to nurture our spirits (as well as our bodies and minds) that can have a meaningful and sustainable impact on our everyday lives. As we change the way we look at ourselves in the mirror of the mind, the way we look in the mirror changes.

Aries the Ram brings the element of fire and is a life force to be reckoned with because they can be fiercely deliberate in their approach. Aries is the part of our personality that embodies the power of our will, which is masculine or yang. Keep in mind that all women have masculine energy in them, while all men have feminine energy in them. So as the yin and yang, these energies flow within all of us and have a natural desire to be expressed. The Billy Joel classic song, My Life, captures the self determination of Aries to do whatever it wants. An intentional selection of crisis reflects the mountains we choose to climb. This writer remembers tapping into his inner ram during some radical hiking adventures, where being present with secure footing and listening to the elements could literally mean the difference between avoiding serious injury, or even life or death on any given moment. There were times that he lost his way, ran out of water and had to pull from resources that he didn’t even know were there. But the spirit of Aries is an intense and direct warrior and they will be sure to bring fire to their target. It won’t be a question of how to avoid stress because Aries attract stress like a magnet. The question is what form will it take. It’s as if the Aries positive self talk mantra asserts: pick your battles, as its signpost. Energy is energy. It’s what we do with it that counts and our approach that matters. We do not need to draw our swords or go to war with each other. Nobody likes feeling like they’ve been thrown under the bus or ambushed in relationship with each other. Remember that anger is the bodyguard of our fears, which explains why most, if not all emotional reactions come from a place of anxiety. Like the yin and yang, order and chaos are always at play with each other.

Check out this Civil Rights oriented video that captures the intersection between the powerful energies of Aries and feminine youth poetry in motion:

A Full Pink Moon, which gets its name from vegetation known as moss pink, arrives on April 16. The Cree Indigenous People called this Full Moon the Frog Moon. It is also known as the Paschal Full Moon because it is the first Full Moon of Spring. Easter is always celebrated on the Sunday after the first Full Moon of Spring, following the Spring Equinox, which was on March 20. This year, Easter falls on Sunday, April 17th. Like humans, flora and fauna; traditions have been mixing since creation. The light rises till its climax on the Summer Solstice on June 21, 2022. After that, the sunlight will slowly start waning until light and dark energies are equal again on the Autumn Equinox in September.

Artwork by Barbara Merlotti

When Frog sings in the torrential downpours of rain falling onto your Being . . .

No need to let it dampen your spirits!

Soak up the cleansing shower of Heavenly tears

by letting yourself bathe in a colorful

rainbow that shines on your golden soul.

What does Frog have to say to you about cleaning up

your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors?

Is there something you need to release or let go of?

How are you weathering the spirits of your daily routine?

A Full Pink Moon reflects an early arrival of spring vegetation in our outer world.

Let Frog guide you into an internal spring cleaning.

Clean, purify, detox and release any dirty, stagnant energies

that muddy the waters your soul wants to set free.

The winds of change are in the air!

Here we are hopping further along into Spring . . .

Frog showers us with purifying songs of April rains!

We branch out of a wintery coffin after a soulful energetic spring cleaning.

Rainbows reflect colorful flowers blossoming with clean care;

A Full Pink Moon signals an early arrival spring of flowers spreading outside –

Abundance and fertility are in the air!

Time to clear away the internal clutter . . .

Are you remembering to take deep, cleansing breaths to stay grounded?

Might as well transform the way we hop through life.

Call on the positive vibrations to reverberate in your soul’s acoustics.

Metamorphosis abounds as May flowers whisper in the winds of change.

Frog awakens magical elemental forces of water and land;

What needs to be released from your mind-body-spirit?

Picture a Frog to help you develop a deeper respect for boundaries.

Visualize transformative travels through powerful conductors of water and sound;

Your creative powers want to spring forth!

Now is the time to let go of stale, stuck energies

that want to uproot your soul’s impetus to evolve and grow!

Commentary:

Showers in April are a good reminder that it is time a good Spring clean-up. Time for cleansing, purification, detoxification and release. Nature reflects our inner world for us to examine. The beauty of a rainbow could not exist without the storm that preceded it. It’s when we feel lost and alone that a rainbow appears that brightens our spirits. Otherwise, we would not be able to differentiate a dark sky from a clear day. From a spiritual perspective, we are living in a time of transition, where there is the death of an old world and rebirth of a New Earth. We are literally taking our first quantum leap onto the lily pad of the Aquarian Age. In this process, we need to let go of divisive us and them, stale, boxed in thinking, old ways of being sacrificial lambs, dog eat dog, you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours, male dominating female, fear of feminine power and unbalance of power by subjugating Black Indigenous People of Color and Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer people. The awakening New Age of Aquarius is a time where we can find our way in our own uniqueness by aligning who we are as individuals that mixes with group consciousness. Diversity within Unity. We are moving into a time period where the ego does not dominate the playing field anymore. It is about us becoming what is in tune with our Higher Selves or our Better Angels, as President Lincoln said. We can be aligned in our heads and our hearts with each other and come from a place of authentic soulful recognition. Yes, we have our prewired and learned fears, negative self talk and voices of trauma. But we don’t have to be seduced or submerged by them. Sitting with the Lotus flower out in Nature will help show you the way by becoming the change you want to see in the world. Observe this transformative process unfolding within yourself.

Take care of yourselves everyone,

Ari