Tough Trails, and Happy Feet

Hi Folks,

I am going to shift my traditional weekly footwork with this week’s unexpected switchback.

Our hiking trio reached our collective zenith by reaching the summit of our goal of climbing 48, 4000 footers in New Hamphire’s ancient White Mountains recently. We ended our accomplishment by visiting the Bonds. There’s not a bad view in the Whites, but the views of this side of the mountains was truly epic. My hats of to the Croo at Galehead Hut – you guys rock!

What can I say, our journey was a peak experience, coupled with amazing vistas, and unpredictable weather patterns. You really have to do some leg work to earn your steps, so to speak.

But with lots of moving parts of family responsibilities, and life cycle doings over almost the last decade, I wanted to share our achievement with you.

Also, as one of your earthling peers, I highly recommend you get out in Nature, and enjoy the ride.

Till the next trail mark,

Ari

A Pelican State of Being

Pelican flies into our daily meditations
Offering deeper glimpses into our soul power

Their energy inspires us to release judgments to the Universe

Picture sending them out into far out black hole vortexes
Where they are transmuted into healing rays of light

Perhaps you have judgments about grieving the death of Winter
Given that you have been anxiously awaiting the arrival Spring
Are you feeling depressed about these changes –
Or not allowing organic feelings mulch as they may?

But season’s change and so do we
Nature shows us that everything is transitory, fleeting and ephemeral

Sometimes, what seems like a curse is merely a hidden blessing
in a brilliant disguise

Holding on to our judgments, like emotions
leads to blockages in our bodies – like stagnant water

Clearing stuck energy sows seeds of Love
Blazing new pathways that want to grow into our spirits, minds . . .
eventually taking root in our bodies

So it is important to listen to our bodies
Because it leads us through the theatrical chatter of our minds

To the realm of spirit . . .
Where there is so much help available to us, if only we ask

Remember that Love is patient and kind
But if you don’t believe that
then so it shall be done unto you

Our pain is real
But suffering is a choice

May your pain lead you toward a letting go and a surrendering
to the will of the Universe

Secure your footing in your own personal authority
The time is now to take back our projections

Returning to an intrinsic heart-space of Love
Here we enter into a light-hearted portal of inner peace
Soothing yourself without bringing in the Calvary

Pelicans reveal balancing competition and cooperation when catching fish
Leaving behind a fixed idea that competition must equal maximum economic profit
or that cooperation means socialism, communism
or any other dirty fixed ideas that have locked us up in toxicity and stagnation

Meditation on forgiveness
is really about understanding that you win on the inside
when you choose to forgive
There is levitation in the release of judgements

You can let your judgements go
and your spiritual power will grow

Consider examining your own judgments . . .
Are you willing to scuba dive beneath
the surface of your anger and emotional negativity?
And whatever stories you attach to those vibrations?

Our old world is falling through the cracks
Its crevices are splitting with judgments that some
people are oriented in ways that are superior or inferior to others

Is the top socioeconomic 1% entitled to greater welfare than the rest of us?
Do we value masculinity more than femininity?
Or the opposite side of the same coin?
Should we be protecting dirty policies that trash our planet?

This is not to say that we should not celebrate pride in our diversity
But a New Age needs a strong foundation of Oneness and Unity
Where we can breathe in fresh air of planetary equanimity

See you further on up the trails,

Ari

Galloping into New Frontiers with Horse

Traveling with Horse this week
Saddling up with power in freedom

Do you need to take more risks and embrace freedom?

With attached price tag of responsibility
Merely the capacity to respond to any given situation

Is your independence being restrained?

Galloping past the dark horse of Winter Solstice this week
into blazing novel frontiers on New Moon

Is it time to embark on a physical or mental journey?

Horse whisperings gradually coax back the light

What seeds do we want to plant, water and give birth to
Come spring then blossoming into summer?

Until we know Nature’s energetic balance of
masculine and feminine at Spring Equinox
Tis the season to remember to balance work and play
Not forgetting the importance of rest and down time

May we heed the spirit of the holidays
without getting lost in the mania of consumerism

Are you doing your part to assist civilization within your own environment?

We temper our sexuality and emotional darker edges

Are you adequately expressing your sexuality?

Please consider lightening up with humor and empathy

With meditation, we enter into a judgment free zone
Where we remember our old selves
by walking in the footsteps of our past lives

Are you honoring what this civilization has given you?

Picture fading old trails of multinational corporations
Greedily protecting good old boy maximum economic profits . . .
Growing into New Earth friendly businesses of sustainable harmonic living
in political alignment with Nature

Instead of getting sucked into the excitement of a potential opportunity
Consider sitting with that feeling and watch the impulse to act pass by for a spell

Are you feeling unsure or indecisive about which direction to take your life?

We have discussed the interplay between order and chaos
Is sacrificing our freedom worth the security of a police state?

When we practice letting-go of our attachments
We get in touch with our deeper soul light
that radiates outward for others to experience

See you further on up the trails,

Ari

Climbing the Mountain with Lion

King of the Mountain Lion represents the gentle roar of leadership
Leaving behind power without force in its tracks
Sometimes, being a leader means silently relishing in the growth of others

Climbing the final leg of the trail
Head on with graceful powerful balance of mind-body-spirit
Brings powerful intention into our physical world

Darkness ascends on the Winter Solstice meeting its zenith
Also coming soon we become a New Moon beacon of light
Resurrecting Christ Consciousness in our souls symbolizing new beginnings

Responsibility is a panic-free zone
Awakening to the ability to respond to any given situation

Do you remember the power of our tribal African shamanic brothers and sisters?
Fly away and meditate on the elemental forces of water and darkness for a spell . . .

How many times have we feared our own primal, dark and feminine nature?

The power of the internal martial arts is cultivated gradually
A cumulative effect of simmering softness of Yin energy

Particularly in America . . .
The heat of race relations is rising to the surface again
As is class consciousness and a desire for protective security
Stoking our embers and trigger points

Have you bought into learned helplessness
Or do you see an opportunity for transformative healing?

Yes, in terrorist fashion this land was squatted from our indigenous people
and then free labor was unjustly imported from the Motherland
And still today, a greedy minority balks at playing fair ball

We have discussed in this blog that the
dominant majority prefers to go unexamined
Picture the leaders of the Empire
coming clean and welcoming the rest of us to the bargaining table
in the spirit of trust and authenticity

But getting stuck in our own hate will consume us
so that we feed off this energy like the Walking Dead
Cannibalistic as that might sound
We are what we eat – spiritually speaking

We need to release our hate and set ourselves free of the bondage of slavery
Economic strangulation and unequal access to resources is a form of genocide

Our subconscious minds are lulled into repetitive negative thoughts
But we have the power replace our cognitive distortions
with simple positive affirmations
Believe in and feel them walking into our Being

We are mindful and diligent in our daily footsteps
Helping our Planetary and Universal consciousness internalize
a positive New Earth worldview
Becoming the change we want to see in the world

See you further on up the trails,

Ari

Shared Constellations With Bear

Bear Medicine represents introspection
Shy unless provoked – gentle giants are they

Meditation on Bear reminds us of the wisdom that
Truth is sweet like honey
Setting us free

Do you need to venture deep within yourself and
draw on your instinctive powers or other natural resources?

Our inner lights are fading yin-ward into the shades of waning Full Moon
Standing in the space of knowing is a marketing free zone
When we enter the center of a circle, there is nobody to convince or sway

Are your judgments off-center?

Do you remember when the stock exchange crashed
and the wealthiest Americans began paying around a 90% tax rate?

Meditation on the Taoist idea of investing in loss reveals
A Bear market knows the time is now to let our
Bullish and expansive material emphasis go into hibernation
We venture closer to the dark night of Winter Solstice

Now is the time to let our greed and arrogance rest in peace

There is a natural impetus to come back down to earth right now
in our relationships with one another, her creatures and our planet.

A more sustainable and equitable way to live wants to express itself

The more the empire tightens its controlling grip
the more unwanted disorder falls through its cracks
and the more painful this process will be

We set our souls free from feeling trapped in our physical bodies
By knowing we are all created in the image of Creator

We bear witness to the death of the illusion of the material reality
Entanglement with form relaxes by
letting go of our sense of expectation and outcome

Do you need to withdraw from the ways of the world for a spell?
Or do you need to come out of your cave and be more social?

We become pregnant with ideas during dimming lights
Dreaming of planted seeds growing in the underground basement of our souls

Spring Equinox on horizon signifies
a rebirth with arrival of budding Spring Eclipse Season
Cubs want to come out and play

All we need is patience to think before we speak
Being open-heartedly inquisitive in our politics of living
Cultivates plasticity of the mind
Revolutionary zeal without the hate
Loving ourselves is loving our planet

Are you using your helping abilities properly?

Prayer is an active, yang-masculine way of stating our intention for
manifesting and expanding – like sending a message out to the Universe.
Meditation is a receptive, yin-feminine state for
contracting and welcoming messages from our
subconscious and unconscious faculties.

We are all an embodiment of masculine and feminine energies
designed for walking with one foot in spirit and one foot in ground

Edgy dark magicians are only able to pull the wool over
us as long as we buy into the hellish nightmare that we are separate from God

But Christ was an embodiment that shed light on a way and truth
reflecting the Kingdom of Heaven as an intrinsic state of Being
Happiness will not come about by the objects of our affection

Do you believe in your capacity to quiet your mind and
receive solution-focused messages from that stillness?
Can you hear your inner voice speaking to you through the sound of silence?

Our treatment of bears mirrors how serious we are about
the preservation of our environment and natural resources
Reminding us of the possibility that bears, humans
and all God’s creatures can live together in harmony

After this latest American election cycle – beyond the cheers and jeers
of preferred or unwanted outcome
Are you seeing the good deep within all situations?

See you further on up the trails,

Ari

The Point is . . . Porcupine is a Good Reminder that Harmony is a Real Possibility

Imagine a fantastic imaginative conversation between Porcupine and Bear . . .

We are exploring a world where all men and women live in fraternal sorority.

 

And then we see through a lens of faith and trust that

We are in soulful alignment with Great Spirit’s Divine Plan.

 

Isn’t this akin to Otter’s medicinal story that we are all friends –

Whilst the idea of enemies is non-existent?

 

Don’t you know life is wicked good when there is no threat of fear present?

 

Everyday is an adventurous discovery . . .

 

When pricked by our modern adult-centric old world

of fear, greed and suffering . . .

No shame is found in bowing out gracefully –

from overindulgence in intensities of intellectualism and seriousness.

 

Curiosity stimulates our minds and resurrects our souls . . .

Sometimes being present with someone is all we need to do.

In a desire to help, perhaps doing nothing is helping

when our doings might be enabling.

 

Even a grumpy old bear is inspired by Porcupine’s way

of enjoying playfully childlike games.

 

Transformation into a New Age and Paradigm realizes the depth of embodying

Mountaintops of love o’er rocks of fear.

 

The present moment is what it is . . .

Might as well be resourceful and welcome what we need.

 

When we close our eyes in meditation . . .

We self-reflect into the realm of Spirit and see our own inner tapestry.

A most sweetly sacred and blessed communion with Creator.

 

See you further on down the trails,

Ari

 

Spring Equinox Blessing: A Masculine and Feminine Sacred Union

seasons run
shifting tides come undone
moon descends
illuminating water blankets
changing seasons
fleeting feelings transcend

nature’s embodiment of
balanced masculine and feminine
relational equanimity
in transient spring equinox harmony

smiling gold glistening sun-god
permeating our radiant souls
healing our wounds
and expanding our flowing sea of consciousness
whistling though wind chime seashells
beyond the abyss of fear

illuminating our shadowy soul’s
natural rose petal love-light

in our eternal moment of now
drilling into our unrefined well of clean energetic truth
smiling with you
we leap with faith
plunging through and through
together we do

singing a passionate wedding chorus of rekindled seasonal vows
in spite of death, divorce and dirge of waning yin

letting go of winter . . .
waking up to spring . . .

Buds rise up and return to outward yang expansive life again

Into The Deep

We are Building a foundation of intimacy
by speaking frankly in the language of love unconditionally

Pisces is water under the bridge between
Winter and Spring transition
Permission to grieve yin’s dirge
While awakening to new beginnings
Darkness fades as light rises in intensity . . .

Sister chaos flows into brother order
Leveling the playing field
Holding peaceful prayers and meditations
for graceful transitional equanimity

A sense of freedom arises in
the sweet surrender to the illusion of control

Let your soul power shine on
by coming out of the closet of psychologically defended modesty

When feeling uncomfortably bugged . . .
Try heeding the ear-worm – Love is all you need
Might that unearth a private and victorious conversational metamorphosis within?

Noticing judgments without judging them
and then letting them go without clinging on to fixed ideas

Sitting with what is empowers us to focus on self

Is it the other person that should change
or could you adjust your own internal dialogue?

When abuses arrive – empower yourself by taking refuge

Imagine if we all dive into a killing with kindness mantra?
With recognition and appreciation of divergent perspectives
Energetically clearing space for welcoming like-minded birds of a feather

Whistleblowers are akin to canaries in coal mines . . .
Please heed their call!
Their messages manifest sustainable Life!
Born out of the Dreamtime . . .

A balanced Life diet of resting, eating well and physically exercising
moves emotions around –
Nourishing harmony in our daily walking meditative footsteps
With a minimally processed Carbon Footprint

Got boredom?
Remember to hold an eagle-eye vision of the valley ahead
Setting goals, while paradoxically letting go of outcome
Cleansing inner pollution by holding a clean vision for Mother Earth
The Golden Age is an unfolding process of possibilities . . .

Venturing out in Nature affords a doorstep into a portal of
open-hearted receptive listening . . .
Stoking the embers of sensuous and magical feelings by honoring our
mysterious and primal orientation

See you further down the trails,

Ari

Leave it to Beaver

Beaver represents productiveness and the construction of dreams. With Beaver, we are reminded of the power of community as captured by the old African proverb “it takes a village.” As industrious as they are, beavers help us remember that the dams of life are built “one twig at a time”. Building a dream of home and family is one of the more popular dreams, thus the expression “American Dream”. But manifesting this dream takes action and it is a process. Beavers reflect to us the experience of residing in a close-knit family network and mating with a partner for life. Manifesting our dreams is a co-creative group process that breathes life into a harmonic convergence of the highest fraternal order. In this sorority, everyone contributes by harnessing everyone’s strengths. Although we are a diverse group of sentient beings, we are all Universal children of Great Spirit. We all share a primal knowing in our spirits to freely express our souls to compete and cooperate for mutual aid. Beavers work and play together, reflecting to us the possibility of mixing business and pleasure. While one beaver gnaws, another keeps watch. Have you ever felt a chord struck in your soul from a beaver’s playful thump on a river bend?

Legend tells us that Beaver was a totem for the mystical order of Freemasons. As such, beavers reveal effective navigation of land and water worlds with secret tunnels and alternative escape routes within their home environment. “If we eliminate our alternatives, we dam the flow of experience into our lives.” How many industrious workers in landscape architecture, design and masonry have Beaver totems? Perhaps it’s pie in the sky to entertain the possibility of humans living like beavers in harmony with our environment. As intelligent as we are, if a Beaver can do it, then why can’t we? Beaver politics feature selective tree-cutting, providing us a glimpse into eco-sensitive development and farming in that they allow for growing brush that feeds deer and moose. Moreover, residual dams wash out and leave organically rich soil for human farming. Accessing the Beaver within will help us stay in alignment with Nature in an organic way that moves more gracefully with Climate Change. If only our World’s movers and shakers would emulate this awareness and bring more Beaver energy into our global geo-politics. When we are in alignment with Nature, we don’t need to kill with polluting pesticides and insecticides. Business can thrive, but businesses of chemical dust are allowed to rust in peace and maybe become compost for a New Age. Given that we are living in a consumer-driven world, labeling our foods simply empowers consumers to make more conscious choices. Many folks will make healthier choices when it is convenient and self-evident. Awareness is key. In that light, there is a Full “Buck” Moon on Monday, July 22.

Good works are good for the goose and good for the gander, as Beavers know. Even construction engineers are inundated by Beaver’s productivity. Have you ever wondered how many dentists would like to sink their teeth into Beaver’s knowledge of proper dental hygiene? Just imagine what those razor-sharp teeth could do to a predator. But beavers don’t abuse their power when standing their ground. Humanity could stand to learn from Beaver in this area. Violence is big business in our modern world, especially in America with the escalation of dangerous weapons on the street. When will we wake up to the awareness that more folks packing heat increases the likelihood of violence and tragedy? Shooting from the hip first and asking questions second is a receipt for disaster. I know many are hurting about the outcome of the Trayvon Martin court decision and of course his grieving family by his life cut short. We have much Karma to clear when it comes to issues of class and race. We also see the accumulation of negative Karma with respect to George Zimmerman. What kind of life does he now have to live? Even if he had been convicted, would a Higher spiritual form of justice been served?

Have you been neglecting your most basic dreams? Are your dreams in need of some repair work? Are you or others around you becoming too lost in their dreams-always dreaming and never acting on those dreams? Is your home in need of repair? Meditation on Beaver helps us take action in bringing our dreams into the material realm by tapping into their traits of accomplishment, practicality and creativity.

See you further on down the trails,

Ari

Magically awakening Dragonfly’s light behind the shadowy projector screen

While buzzing with Bee during last week’s encounter, we remembered to drink in Life’s sweetness and get organized in our inner and outer worlds with industry. This week, we take flight with Dragonfly in our travels. Mythical legend tells us that Dragon was once a wise and masterful illusionist. However, Dragon was tricked by Coyote to prove his power by turning himself into a Dragonfly. In getting caught up in his own facade and falling for Coyote’s prank, Dragon lost his power. Alas, with great power comes great responsibility.

If only our global community would embrace this powerful wisdom by integrating Dragonfly’s free-spirited teachings into our daily Life. Less emphasis on military might and more investment in co-facilitating the democratic process will probably decrease the desire for military coups and give peace more than a chance. With Dragonfly as our spirited guides, we lighten-up our internal navigation systems. Consuming the energy of Dragonfly helps us add color to our world of form, but without blowing things out of proportion or being too over the top with our magical theatrics. Dragonflies perform aerial feats akin to UFO’s that leave us feeling dazzled. Why not take flight and hover with Dragonfly when your spirits need a lift?

When incorporating transparency and “fairness, honesty and integrity” in our day-to-day operations, would we not see decreases in gun violence, a more active civic involvement in voting, more equitable immigration laws, a clearer and cleaner energy policy toward effectively adapting to Climate change? How much NSA wiretapping and other surveillance policies would we need if Leadership were following the rules that they set for us to follow? Surely building equal access to health care, including the Chiropractic Care Available to All Veterans Act, would perhaps reduce deficit headaches and backbreaking workman’s compensation claims to employers. Isn’t sowing the seeds of love, rather than the proliferation of pesticides in our soil, a breath of fresh air? Rather than rolling back the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, doesn’t it make sense to water those seeds with love as well? When humanity purifies our collective intention, “we will hold these truths to be self-evident”–without bugging ourselves or being too bugged by bugs, super-sized or otherwise.

“Dragonfly . . . Breaks illusions, Brings visions of power, No need to prove it, Now is the hour! Know it, Believe it, Great Spirit intercedes, feeding you, blessing you, filling your needs.” Dragonfly medicine reminds humanity to stay cool by learning to effectively swim in the deep waters of emotional life, play outside and spend time by fresh water. Change, transformation, mythical connections to Nature Spirits, weaving through illusions and creative imagination are all aspects of Dragonfly’s teachings. Shedding light into this realm allows us to perceive through shadow realms. We live in a colorful world and we are all rainbow children. Culturally, we are a salad bowl. Mindful consumption and mystical digestion is good food for our souls to marinate on.

See you further on down the trails,

Ari