Tag Archives: Meditation

Porcupine Medicine

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I remember hearing stories of some Native American tribes using porcupine needles for acupuncture.  While most of us think about acupuncture, yoga and other meditations as arriving to us as gifts from the East, a closer look points us to these same treasures being available right here in the Americas.  Perhaps the Fountain of Youth, in much the same way as the Holy Grail was the relentless pursuit for what is already available to all of us, if only we allow for it.  While hiking in the woods yesterday, I exchanged pleasantries with a nice couple along the path.  Moments thereafter, I heard a rustling in the leaves and noticed a young porcupine schlepping along as only our prickly rodent friends can.  I called out to my hiking friends and we all enjoyed watching porcupine with a renewed sense of wonder and childhood curiosity and innocence.  Had I been too distracted by taking in the radiant falling leaves or been too invested in fantastic imaginative realms, I would have missed the opportunity to indulge in the encounter with porcupine and share it with a larger participatory audience in the theater of life.

Did anyone out there see the recent presidential debate between the typically cool President Obama and mild-mannered challenger Mitt Romney?  I only made it through about a third of the event, when I started fighting off demons.  Was it just me, or did Obama’s energy radiate flat Chi?  I tried to imagine how I would have felt, or my wife for that matter, if our anniversary was celebrated by a big money corporate event, like a professional sports playoff game.  In our developmentally delayed culture in the USA, we thrive on winners and losers and spend relentlessly on winning a desired outcome.  In professional football, bounties are offered as incentive to exploit an edge and it’s the same way in with respect to the top dawgs in politics.  For example, in the ego-centered debate, our two-headed, one-party system is censored by a Corporate mob that will cut to a commercial if real issues are discussed in a truthful light.  If votes really didn’t count, then big money would not try to block certain populations from voting.  What are they afraid of?  Here in America, we have been so indoctrinated by Corporate propaganda to believe that democracy, capitalism and a free market are the same thing.  I still believe in a free for service economy that looks more like a philosophical free market based on bartering.  However, a more immediate and pragmatic solution is to infuse spiritual values into capitalism, where cooperation and competition are balanced and a round-table approach where circles are valued, rather than the dying linear, top-down and hierarchical approach that mirrors what we see on the tele.  By focusing on our inner spiritual development, seeing the silver lining and making only positive interpretations will take us to the Promised Land so within, as without.  Rather than worrying about whether right-winger Mitt Romney wins the election or not, focus on porcupines medicine to release our judgments, perceive beyond the veil of separation and experience Unity with Creator and All That Is.

Many of us on the spiritual path become too serious and forget the innocence and humility of what the energy of porcupine has to offer us, by remembering playfulness and curiosity as a way of life.  Many adults get too bogged down in trying to be too intellectual or trapped in the vicious cycle of greed and fear.  However, Great Spirit has a Divine Plan and we all have the freedom to get into alignment with that.  There is a much bigger picture going on than political victories.  If we have faith in Divine Intervention and we become the change we want to see in the world, by letting go of outcome, then we know that the Kingdom of Heaven is everywhere, provided we stay awake with an open heart.  Porcupine helps our energy flow in a healthy direction toward healing, rather than becoming stuck in victim consciousness with whatever shame and guilt we might feel.  These negative energies of our lower chakras are meant to serve and inform us about ourselves.  Once we understand and accept their messages, typically vis-a-vis bodily signals, then we are equipped to release their dysfunctional stories and co-create something new.  Porcupine is merely one point that works to stimulate energetic alignment in climbing onward in our journey together–especially as we leave behind a dying world and move closer to fine in a whole New World.

Stay True,

Ari

With Rat, We Find Success and Press Onward, While Leaving Behind Familiar Woodpiles

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I remember the energy of rat entering my consciousness this week and thought it poignant to reflect on our Nervous Woodland Creature friend for this week’s journal entry.  At school, we are reading the book The Rats of Nihm to our students, while they sit captivated by how shrewd the countryside rats are, with relation to their lab rat counterparts. However, it isn’t that country rats are superior to city rats or white lab rats, as elitist intellectuals might secretly suspect from positions of judgment.  Rats have been popular among social scientists, as they have shown an ability to form cognitive maps and reason.  In fact, if a rat learns where to go to get a tasty morsel of cheese as a reward and when the cheese is removed, the rat will learn a new pathway to the Promised Land.  We humans, on the other hand, tend to keep going back to the once Fertile Crescent, even when it is no longer serving us.  Rats are adaptable, restless, shrewd and are oriented toward success.  But getting attached to any energy, in the spirit of human ego, is somewhat akin to a rat developing an attachment to the comforts of familiar woodpiles.  Further, egotism seeks to strengthen its identity through the relentless pursuit of happiness, rather than knowing inner joy as a way of life.  Sometimes living authentically takes staring fear square in the face, stepping outside of familiar woodpiles and taking it to the edge for growth to occur.  And then blue jay flies in and reminds us that we have the right to become master illusionists, skilled politicians or pretenders to the throne.  But we also know that blue jay will show us how to become true wizards, real magicians, if only we allow for it.  Perhaps meditation on rat will help us succeed in becoming that.

Here in Maine and the nation throughout, we are restless as rats in our drive to level the playing field with gay marriage and voter registration being hot ballot-box items.  Some folks, particularly the dimensionally challenged dinosaurs of the old world want to hold folks back by scaling down human rights by blocking the expansion of certain rights to our human family.  I get a chuckle, in the black comedy sense, when so-called Christians pontificate about protecting the sanctity of marriage and right wingers cite protecting the sanctity of the voting process by finding clever ways to keep the riff raft out, so to speak.  And I get that some heterosexuals that sit on top of the majority have a sense of entitlement about their privileged status.  But what about when you are on the receiving end of deliverance?  What are these folks afraid of?  Was Jesus a bigot?  My understanding of Christ’s fundamental teaching was modeling Love as a way of life and His inspiring us to spread it liberally and unconditionally.  Moreover, the devilish fixed idea of hating the sin and loving the sinner is inconsistent with His message, though I can empathize with the compartmentalized indoctrination of the masses, particularly here in America.  Remember that Hitler sang Christmas carols to children as jews, gypsies, homosexuals and other fringe groups were incinerated.  Remember that Hitler commented that he wanted to come back to America, given our far greater harness on propaganda than Nazi Germany.  Forget not that America’s very own IBM literally made a killing through an exclusive business arrangement with the Nazis, by selling them the technological profiling precision that allowed for strategic genocide.  Prior to that, it was the sound economics of slavery, stealing land that was not for sale and cannot be owned.  How do we own what gives us life?  Do you realize that biological and germ warfare  nearly wiped out First Nation folks?  If “We The People” are going to heal our Nation, Planet and Universe throughout, then we need to clear our Karma.  All Karma means is the Higher Spiritual Law of Cause and Effect, which can be transcended.  When we step into the realm of Infinity, we know the realm of Intention and infinite possibilities.  Perhaps Dick Cheney has had a change of heart since he has had a change of heart and will see that elements of the 2005 Energy Bill that allows for underground pollution hurts all of us.  Where did you get those high cheek bones, Dick?  Maybe Mitt Romney will authentically see himself as one of the biggest welfare recipients around and realize his dependency on the liberal welfare state by his active participation in the Morman-LDS church, which takes in more government welfare dollars than non-Mormons in Utah.  Remember the Preamble to the US Constitutions speaks of promoting the “general welfare”, or a safety net that everyone should benefit from.  The only difference is that Mitt and his followers want the net to catch the welfare for his family, religion and the opulent minority, but not for the rascal multitude.  In his view, the overwhelming majority needs to be contained or else our natural leveling impulses are a threat to Country Club living.

Rats, now the cat is out of the bag and the rat is tempted to scurry back to familiar woodpiles.  But with rat consciousness, we are equipped to use our collective intellect and transcend the comforts of old securities in consciousness by releasing old, dysfunctional energies and patterns of behavior.  With the arrival of Autumn, an election coming up and the end of the Mayan calendar coming down the pike on the Winter Solstice in December 21, 2012, we are officially in transition.  Yes, there is forceful opposition to co-creating a more egalitarian New Earth, we have the spirited Universal winds at our backs that cannot be stopped.  Nature reminds us that change is inevitable.  True, we have two republicans running for President.  Barak Obama, being the moderate and Mitt Romney being the right-winger.  Both are candidates of Wall Street and carry allegiance to a dying world, but one offers a slightly more paved causeway to a New Age and Paradigm.  Regardless of who wins, please remember to focus on your own inner spiritual growth and evolve in that light.  Just be, let go and enjoy the ride!  And remember to step up to peace by standing your ground when bullies try to prevent you from getting out to vote!

Stay True,

Ari

Falling Back, Bees Are Leaving Us Behind

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I remember taking in a sweet breath of life recently and couldn’t help but notice a bee entangled in a spider web.  Some moments later, I felt tangled up in blue as I observed the spider drinking in life by draining the bee’s righteous Chi.  Perhaps some folks would judge the spider as a killer and sentence him to a death sentence as well.  But Nature has Her own way and in this case and as I look back, this experience past was the death of all of us.  In fact, Autumn has arrived here in the Northern Hemisphere and the leaves greenery are waning, while the vibrant colors are waxing.  Masculine summer’s light is also waning, as we are naturally slowing down and welcoming the darkness of night rising.  Light and dark are in equal alignment with one another, reminding us that balancing our energies is natural, if not normal.  We all have masculine and feminine energies waxing and waning within our Beings, always in flux, whether realized or not.  Nothing against cosmetic surgery and performance enhancement drugs, but I wonder how costly these enterprises would be if human beings were supported and encouraged to naturally find comfort in our own skins?  Would it be so challenging to find that deep place of self-esteem that says to thyself, I’m OK.  Although watching a bee get whacked was unsettling in the sense that the bee was part of me, at the same time, I thanked the bee for bringing balance to the Force by offering itself to spider and sharing its consciousness with the rest of us.  Perhaps we won’t see any bees for a while, but we are still capable of ingesting their medicine by meditating on the sweetness of life.  Maybe burning a candle made of beeswax will rekindle their power and facilitate the cross-pollination process in raising the consciousness of the planet as we approach the Winter Solstice in December, the darkest day of the year.  What will happen at this significant time on Nature’s cycle? 

Does anyone in the participatory audience remember when Beatles founding father John Lennon sang the anthem Give Peace A Chance?  Well, as I reflect on the Autumn Equinox and Peace on Earth, let it begin with me.  And if you are reading, let it begin with you.  My soulful wife once gave me a card that reminded me that peace does not come from being in an environment of comfortable bliss surrounding me like a security blanket.  Rather, peace is found in the depths of a calm heart, even when chaos abounds.  For the record, I know some of you appreciate and enjoy the way this blog playfully weaves the spirited animal energy into the material realm, while conjuring up positive vibes that feel good.  If that is the case, then perhaps it conjures up empathy for the drug addict that tries to stay high all the time in the ether because hitting the ground is too painful and suffering, though inevitable, is avoided at all costs.  But a key dynamic in the spiritual path is that meditation shows us inconvenient truths about ourselves in that quiet space.  We have the potential to get to know ourselves on a deeper level and make friends with that.  However, I also recognize and appreciate that some readers, like the drug addict, do not like the smack down that they feel when this blog explores the harsh realities that are happening on our planet today.  While I appreciate this position, the mystic swims in the waters the addict drowns in.  This blog will continue to explore healing the polarity consciousness that currently divides us on Mother Earth and co-facilitate the transition into a New Age and Paradigm, where we celebrate the good times of Diversity within Unity.  Instead of God Bless America, we say God Bless The Planet and Universe throughout.  When I gaze on the lyrics of Genesis, it’s almost as if I can hear Peter Gabriel singing let us create humankind in our image.  Now I realize that everything should be taken with a grain of salt.  Moreover, a conservative interpretation of these lyrics, for those who like to take things literally, could be that we were genetically engineered by advanced beings from another planet.  Perhaps a more liberal perspective might view God as a transcendent Collective Energy that allows for the evolution of His-Her co-creation that illuminates as we wake up from our slumber, here on Mothership Earth.  Yes, there is a concrete sense of security in a dogmatic fixed idea of believing in a white man sitting up on a hierarchical throne with a gavel deciding who is permitted to join the Country Club and whom will be punished in a slow roast.  But Heaven and Hell are subjective inner states of consciousness that are reflected in our outer reality.  All we really have is right now, this precious moment that is always eternal.

As humans, when we get stuck in our fixed ideas and box ourselves in the ghettos of the mind with intellectual concepts and emotional reactions thereof, we tend to experience security in our consciousness that tastes like comfort food.  However, as we move onward in our collective assent, we expand and open up to the increasing spirited energies that are streaming in our planet right Tao.  Some folks will react to these energies unconsciously and that is their right.  Yes, there are more natural disasters, wars, poverty, famines and disconnection among the human factor with relation to Nature, though paradoxically more technologically connected.  But there is security in knowing that there is predictability in unpredictability.  If one way doesn’t work, another way will.  Together, we climb onward in surface and depth, one breath, one moment, one step at a time. 

Stay True,

Ari

Praying with Mantis and Gentle Meditations with Deer

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I remember an encounter I had recently, when I observed a teacher carrying a jar with a praying mantis to share with her students in their classroom.  I love when teachers use the natural world to tap into their students organic curiosity about the world around them and connect that to what they are learning in school.  Although resources in public education are limited, I just love witnessing some evidence of positive momentum in nurturing a sense of community and harmony in our schools.  In an urban Chicago school, a powerful mantra is built into their culture that says, “it’s OK to walk away.”  When meditating on praying mantis medicine, we hear the ring tone of stillness speaking to us.  I wonder how many internal martial arts and meditation students consume the energy of this curious insect?  When we allow ourselves to venture deeply into our souls through dreaming, positive thinking, being present and remembering to just breathe consciously, we allow ourselves to elevate our consciousness and move into to realms and open up to new possibilities.  This happens when we choose to see the silver lining and make only positive interpretations.  Easier said than done.  But deer can help us tap into a sense of wonder and curiosity, while gently luring us into new adventures.  Moreover, when chewing on deer’s spirited power, we become less jerky and more aware of our bodies informing us and listening to our gut, the seat of our instinctual selves.  Can’t you hear the earworm of Master Jedi Obi Wan Kenobi saying, you must feel the Force (Chi) around you?  There is an energy, a Kingdom of Heaven that is there for all of us to see, if only we take a moment to notice. 

Did anyone out there catch the wind blowing smoke of the Democratic National Convention recently?  In our business run society, does anyone notice that the political party that fronts itself a party that welcomes everyone, is bribed by the same largesses that it’s so-called villain on the other side of the aisle?  But the truth is that there are no enemies.  We are all part of the web of life, though we are diverse strands in the living web.  What we do to that web, we do to ourselves.  Is Coke or Pepsi Democrat or Republican?  If we are to move beyond political rhetoric and our attachments to our beliefs, then we will actualize a new vision of our nation, our Mother and the Universe throughout.  In this sphere, we will co-create a New World of Unity Consciousness and celebrate the good times of our diversity.  Until we disarm our internal weapons of mass destruction and let go of our attachments to feeling inferior and/or superior to another person, tribe, community, country, etc., we will remain caught up in the collective nightmare we have woven for ourselves.  Isn’t it obvious that the corporate media thrives off the blame game drama that unfolds in front of our eyes on the tele, while distracting us from the truth with their smokescreen?  What would happen if we took the profit out of campaigns and politicians had access to free air time–would they be as tempted lie, be fake and on the take?  I can’t think a more delicious feast that advocates for everyone in a new American Dream that offers a safety net for all Earth’s citizens.  One of the key points from the book entitled, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People talks about co-creating win-win solutions by finding a third and different way.  The dinosaurs in charge do not really want to scale back their old ways that are no longer working.  The Country Club on Capitol Hill that includes both Democrats and Republicans is a club that seeks to protect the opulent minority against the overwhelming majority.  Yes, the master illusionism cleverly use the dark side of social science to pull the wool over their audience.  But if you listen carefully to the eloquent speeches of moderate Republican, candidates of Wall Street like Bill Clinton and President Obama, you will clearly hear in their position a band-aid approach to maintain the status quo of our current global economy and tweaking of the current system.  All these guys are offering us are some cheap umbrellas for protection and shelter from the storm, if you will.  Regardless of which candidate wins, we all lose until we do something different that getting too swayed from the Middle Way and over-indulging in the dog and pony shows.  Indeed, membership has its privileges and many of the top dawgs simply don’t want to share those privileges with the rest of us.  

Here in the USA, most of our tax dollars go toward the Pentagon and fuel the military-industrial complex.  In our commercial driven culture, much of our economy is fueled by marketing.  What would happen if those resources were leveled and more equally spent on delivering quality education to nurture all our children’s creativity in the classroom of life?  I remember an old saying that goes something like, “fair is that everyone gets what they need, not what they want.”  Isn’t equal access to resources a fair shake?  Now I have heard some folks, particularly the educated business class, frown at leveling movements like Occupy Wall Street and criticize the sense of entitlement of youth culture, the poor and oppressed and those of us that fall through the cracks.  However, here in America, we like to point fingers and criticize without realizing that a mirror is being held up for us to see reflections of ourselves.  Is humanity evolving into our Higher Selves when we adopt devolution as a personal mantra to justify our economic success?  Instead of God Bless America, we adopt in our hearts God Bless humanity and all sentient beings.  Each one of us walks in the center of the Universe, while none of us are special, Chosen or saved.  We are all cut from the same cloth.  When we pray with Mantis and meditate on deer, we gently allow ourselves to remember stillness speaking to us and welcome new adventures.  This is merely one way to effectively transition into a New Age and Paradigm.

Stay True,

Ari

Spider, Creativity and Infinity in We

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I noticed some spiders recently and subsequently became entangled with a web of heartfelt thoughts about their significance in our lives at this junction on Nature’s cycle.  Spider represents Infinity, the realm of creation where infinite possibilities abound and Quantum realities arrive.  By simply visualizing and meditating on a figure 8, we welcome a practical strategy to weave the energy of creativity into our journey.  When co-creating life with spider in a balanced way, all directions are included.  When we get into touch with spider medicine, we get to know ourselves on a deeper level.  During this process, weaving magic into our lives becomes possible.  In the spirit of that, I like to dream big, where we all live in a free for service economy that celebrates Diversity in Unity, with equal access to resources that are safely cultivated and shared in a system that promotes authenticity and respect.  I wonder if Vanna White was pregnant with a spider totem, while spinning blocks on the classic TV show, Wheel of Fortune?

Speaking of spinning, churning and dream weaving nightmares, here in the Northern hemisphere we have a full moon arriving in late August, the fall equinox in late September, a presidential selection in the USA and the death of an age-old calendar in December, 2012.  A change in climate is in the air on the consciousness of the planet today.  While ongoing presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche reminds us that President Obama is a fascist and modern-day Nero, it is also true that he is, like Bill Clinton, a moderate Republican and business candidate of Wall Street.  Putting Obama aside for a moment, the alternative rebel is a conservative business man who hides his taxes and hoards his riches in foreign off shore accounts.  Romney reminds us that like any good propagandist, you really have to have it deeply in your bones.  True, once the lies are parroted across the airwaves as if they are fact, then the herd mentality doesn’t skip a beat when hypnotically buying into the propaganda.  Apparently, Mr. Romney doesn’t think we humans are as deserving as his pampered ballet horse when it comes to health care and creature comforts.  For his running mate, our rebellious alternative candidate picked a Nazi like figure who fronts as a charming, down to earth fellow who tells it like it is–someone you might want to have a beer with.  But most folks have more in common with Obama’s politics than with the political platform of Romney, our friends in congress and the opulent minority.  Are folks aware that a vote for Mitt Romney is an unconscious vote against their own interests and a step away from the democratic (small d) process?  But ain’t that America, a land where we indulge in our arrogance, hubris and fixed ideas and intellectual concepts?  A real fair and balanced media would simply report that a Obama administration wants the USA to be a little less miserly in Her social democratic programs than She already is, paling in comparison to many other modern Western nations.  Obama merely wants a little less welfare to be exclusively funded into private mega corporations, wants the haves of society to pay their fair share and expand human factor programs like Medicare, Medicaid and affordable healthcare for all citizens.  For the record, don’t we all want less unwanted births?  In fact, having access to free health care actually reduces unwanted births and abortions.  Even many conservatives in Canada want to keep their health care.

In our modern Western world, particularly in the USA, many of us have become programmed robotic consumers that are toyed with like puppets by master illusionist like Carl Rove and company.  However, I dream of a free thinking population that values a win-win equilateral triangle, where our human family is in alignment with mind-body-spirit.  A practical solution to remedy this farce is to dream a new dream and let go of the cannibalistic nightmare that we consume today.  Daily meditation reminds us to become a watcher of ourselves, while carefully noticing our thoughts and feelings as they arrive in our consciousness.  By simply becoming aware of our breath, we return to the now and become more divinely human and present, while less robotic and scripted.  Try doing this right now and especially during the upcoming political pep rallies and see what happens.  Are you swayed by the boasting of thieves after a looting?  Just imagine what we could do with all the money that is wasted on the grandstanding that goes on during this election year.  Now folks, I get that a true free market economy is a bit of a pipe dream for folks.  In the spirit of that, is taxation with representation conservative enough for you?  And remember the classic Cat Stevens song, “where do the children play?” 

Stay True,

Ari

Cardinal Virtues

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I remember visiting the river recently, watching cardinals flocking together and featuring quite an aerial show.  Cardinals are beautiful birds and their cycle of power is year-round.  When flying with the energy of cardinal, we see that everything we do in our lives is important and we renew our life force or chi, if you will.  I like to think of cardinal as program development for the self.  Given their rhythm of 12, cardinal foreshadows our consciousness to gaze onward, as the end of the Mayan calendar approaches us on the Winter Solstice, December 21, 2012.  A myriad of theories postulate why this date is significant to humanity and our home, Classroom Mothership Earth.  One thing is for certain–getting stuck in the mud with fear will not be helpful.  In fact, what we resist will persist.  So, what can we do about it to stay in the flow?  We humans must be prepared for ceremony, prayer, meditation and working proactively with the spirited energies that are visiting us now and will continue to intensify as this date approaches.  None of us know where we are going, not really.  However, staying open to the flow is good medicine and even modern science confirms the power of human beings gathering in ceremony, prayer, meditation and focusing on making positive interpretations about what we see in real-time.  Personally, I am looking forward to hosting another annual fire ritual with my mates from the Clubhouse around the Winter Solstice.

True, so much tyranny exists in our dying old world and that is not fair and balanced.  I once heard a wise psychologist define that fair is that everyone does not get what they want, but they get what they need.  Also, I remember an astute psychiatrist once define pathology as merely deeply ingrained behavioral patterns.  In the spirit of that, systemic change is needed on our planet today and our consciousness must evolve if we are to survive.  There is too much hate that divides us.  Yes, we are diverse expressions of Creator, but we also share in Unity as One.  When Chick-fil-A finances anti-gay groups that try to convert folks in therapy groups from gay to straight and advocate for the criminalization of homosexual behavior, this does not celebrate one human family.  But when the creators of the Muppets flew the coup of their financial backing of Chick-fil-A, that is a step toward Unity Consciousness.  However, when the NRA and our friends in Congress repealed laws that took Federal Assault Weapons off the streets back in 2004, their decision to do that played a role in helping make it more convenient for the terror that took place recently in an Aurora movie theater massacre.  As a citizen in the USA, what a complicated mixed-message it is to send that we could be punished for how we might be  naturally oriented, but we are normally allowed to buy military style weapons to use out on the street.  Alas, my heart-mind particularly remembers learning in my CPR training that 95% of accidents can be prevented.

While the political will would certainly help tip the Critical Mass to come about, every individual has the freedom to choose how he responds to what comes his way.  That being said, it would be a much more gentle world if the choice was to play in a clean park without having to worry about bullying gang activity, stray bullets and/or residual land mines.  What will happen in this year’s presidential selection?  Lyndon LaRouche has called president Obama a modern-day Nero and a fascist.  Putting Obama aside for a moment, the alternative candidate is a businessman who hides his tax returns and hoards money in offshore investments like the Cayman Islands, a Swiss bank and huge deductions for his ballet horse.  When enough of us calm the voice of the ego and instead heed the inner voice, we will hear the answer blowing in the wind.  Meditating on cardinal can help us become whistleblowers in life by adding color to it.  When we allow spirit to flow through our hearts and minds, we organically facilitate taking flight into a positive, peaceful transition into a New Earth.  

Stay True,

Ari

Flying with Catbird

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I remember being among old friends recently, while having a whale of a good time on Nantucket.  We enjoyed a nautical reunion of sorts, with my first mate and other kindred spirits.  I know the times they are a changin’ here on Mothership Earth and was reminded of this truism when I caught wind of a captain’s tale of a decreased great white shark population as we sailed around the way.  However, what really sunk my teeth into his story and wet my palate was when our captain speculated that the predators might return before too long in greater numbers, given the current migration of seals returning to the island.  Whether spending time on the ocean, the shoreline and/or land, being out in nature reminds us that we humans have much to remember about Her organic leveling impulses and living in harmony with one another and our environment.  I wonder if John Kerry and his homies beached along the coastal McMansions ponder such nuances? 

Back at the homestead, a catbird poignantly revealed itself and feathered my ripple during its power time of spring and early summer.  When paying attention to the signs and synchronicity in the theater of life, we realize our spirited encounters with animal friends are conduits helping us bring in awareness from the Dreamtime into our grounding material realm.  When we walk in a balanced harmony with one foot in spirit and one foot in ground, we increase our co-creative human potential to effectively hold a positive vision for humanity.  As I look back on my novel encounter with old friends, I remember to heed catbird’s lessons in expanding our connections with one another by celebrating Diversity in Unity and deepen our capacity for effective communication when flocking with like-minded birds of a feather.  Moreover, catbird medicine also pours a short but soulful and sweet beverage to drink in that adds spirit to our social environment.  For example, if you are taking a yoga, tai chi, qigong and/or some other meditation class once or twice a week, consider bringing in more of that energy into your personal daily routine and own sacred space.  Perhaps you might consider indulging in nature and organically find like-minded friends that share your taste for divine encounters.

I find my spirited encounter with catbird a call to this birds wisdom to read one another more effectively.  And the meditation 101 mantra really is about focusing on thyself first.  Not in an egotistical way, but in a way that effectively expresses oneself authentically and respectfully.  Given that the most important marriage and relationship for anyone is with our own self, then it makes sense to get to know our True Selves on a deeper level.  When swimming with local sharks, I can hear the Jimmy Buffett energy in me singing fins to the left, fins to the right.  And then it magically arrives in my sea of consciousness how to chum it up and digest my time with the cats in my walkabout.  How about you?

Stay True,

Ari  

 

Kissed by a Dolphin

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Has anyone out there ever been kissed by a Dolphin?  Although I have not been blessed with a physical smooch, I have repeatedly experienced sacred encounters while swimming along side porpoises in the Gulf of Mexico.  One time, I swear I received an unexpected surprise that felt like a telepathic, heartfelt kiss by a porpoise swimming only feet away from me!  Ah, “Dolphin . . . Breath of the Divine, Manna of the Universe, in Oneness We entwine.”  Perhaps it has been awhile since a Dolphin encounter as provocative as the former for yours truly, but I am inspired by Lao Tzu’s energy in me to get out after it as I heed his lyrics, “Nature is the best physician.”  In this “world of 10, 000 things” and bling, bling, why not tap into Dolphin medicine’s free-flowing Spring.  In my internal martial arts studies, I remember noticing that in the process of getting “it”, “it always comes back to the breath”.  And it Sounds True that if We want to really live, then We must remember to breathe!  Why not become aware of Your own breathing, as it transmutes an unconscious experience with Life to a conscious One.  “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.”–Alice Walker

Further, if We allow Dolphin’s energy to swim into the waters of Our Consciousness, We say yes to Dolphin’s year-round teachings to discover hidden caverns and underwater cities within the depths of Our souls that exist in the Dreamtime.  Has anyone out there seen the Australian film, ‘The Last Wave’?  I think the film is a flowing stream of consciousness reminding Us to remember how to dream–something We have largely forgotten in Our modern, Western world.  Even though I am still dreaming of a free for service economy, I can hear ‘Men at Work’ singing an old Aboriginal folk spiritual . . . “Do you come from a Land Down Under?  Where women glow and men plunder.  Can’t you hear, can’t you hear the thunder?  You better run, you better take cover.” Many of Us have gotten lost in a sea of conceptual, mental concepts and the robotic doings of Our daily responsibilities and distractions.  But Dolphin is here to remind Us to draw a bridge between Our material realm and the Dreamtime, by putting Us “on notice to be mindful of Your body rhythms and patterns of energy being fed to You from the Creator.”  I choose to drink in from a hopeful Spring that asserts that there is so much help available to Us from the Spirit realm, if only We clearly ask for It and allow for It, come what May.  I think the Boss energy in me is right when he sings, “it takes a leap of faith”, when We make the conscious choice to surrender to the Will of the Universe.  Easier said than done!  Do You need to pay more attention to learn something new, to your intellectual development, communicate more effectively to others and/or enjoy Life more by becoming more playful?  Dolphin energy can help You in this area. 

If We swim with Dolphin in the oceans of Life, We invoke Its medicine of knowing Our primordial history and remembering the power of breath and sound.  I know the experience of being highly sensitive to the vibrations of others, as I feel them reverberating within my soul very organically and naturally.  However, even those of Us whom are oblivious Our deeper Selves and/or less aware of the energies of others, We all stand to benefit from learning how to incorporate conscious breathing and sound into Our daily transactions.  How many panic attacks could be derailed by simply taking in a deep breath through the nose and slowly exhaling through somewhat closed, pursed lips and repeating this process three times?  Picture calming, relaxing thoughts, perhaps a waterfall and say positive self-talk statements, such as “I am relaxed”.  After this brief walking meditation, see how you feel and repeat as necessary.  However, if You begin to feel dizzy, please sit down and rest for a spell.  After all, Water symbolizes creation, passion, sexuality, new dimensions, forces and is the Element of all Life.  Remembering how to breathe consciously empowers Us to heal Our Selves in mind-body-spirit within the unchartered waters of Your True Self.  In the spirit of that, I strongly encourage You to meditate on Dolphin and consciously connect the dots of your thoughts, feelings and behaviors.  Consider getting outside for some fresh air, play, explore and remember to breathe!  Sea beyond Your small pod, toward Our greater Global community.  And please be mindful of the hungry energies of the Full Moon on March 8th and the waning digestion process thereafter.

I Hopi You are well,

Ari

Trotting With Fox

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After waxing on a bit of a lather during a waning run recently, I noticed a Fox not noticing me as She crossed the road with a fresh kill in Her mouth.  Some kind of rodent, maybe it was a Mouse or a Rat, but admittedly I couldn’t quite zone in enough to attend to the detail or shrewd enough to say for sure. Whatever Nervous Woodland Creature (NWC) it was, perhaps it was down with ‘investing in loss’, less wily  than Fox, let go of a fight and accepted the ‘death of the old self’ without going Straight Outta Woodland. As it were, I remained camouflaged until Fox became aware of me at the border area to the wetlands and scurried away to secure its catch.  I wonder if Ralph Ellison was inspired by his Fox totem when he wrote Invisible Man?

I remember when I was in the woods a while back for a spell, just coming out of my meditation, as I observed Fox trotting merely a stone’s toss from me without flickering an eye as it passed me by. Given Her keen sense of smell and heightened capacity for discrimination and discernment (and my doubly large energy field), Fox’s Sacred Feminine energy is teaching me well in learning Merlin’s skills of concealment, as I learn to fade into the background and adjust my aura to the social environment accordingly (without giving up my power or taking someone else’s). And then a Blue Jay did a ‘fly by’ and rang like a ‘bell of mindfulness’ that I’d rather be a True Wizard than a master illusionist. Moreover, a Grasshopper’s quantum leap reminded me to venture out and take some risks in order to evolve and broadly jump forward.  In blazing my own trail, especially as We approach Fall, I am encouraged to release my fears of leaving others behind and fall back, while springing forward–for there is always freewill and what works for others probably won’t work for me and vice versa.  And then a Praying Mantis encouraged me to listen to my Inner Voice and remember Star Wars Jedi Qwi Gong Jin and spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle’s combined wisdom to quiet my mind, heed stillness, continue to cultivate my internal martial arts practice vis-a-vis remembering to breathe in ‘Righteous Chi’ . . . a walking meditation that is nothing to sneeze at during these changing seasons.

Finally, while recently watching “bush TV” in my backyard garden, I glanced up from the fire and gazed at the glowing Moon illuminating the golden Black Eyed Susan reflecting back my way. I could smell my fragrant flowering consciousness blooming in my own inner garden, even as Summer’s petals paradoxically wilt away.  In the Spirit of nocturnal power, Fox reinforces to Us that We can become the change we want to see by cutting back to Inner Peace, walking with joy in Our steps and following Our bliss.  As We rapidly approach and soon pass the transient Autumn Equinox and Light and Dark become equal as One . . . dare We enjoy the waning Light, welcome the forthcoming Dark and turn Our focus “Yinward”.  When We open Ourselves up to trotting in step with Fox’s tracks, We open up to allowing Ourselves to tap into Our creative energy and act from a heartfelt Inner Space. My encounter with Fox reminds me to be an open conduit for the Universe to flow through my human form in a way that represents Oneness, Diversity in Unity and sheds light on the shadowy veils that try to keep Us in Plato’s Cave. Now, isn’t that Foxy Aquarian footing out of this world?  Excuse me, while I kiss the sky . . .

I Hopi You are well,

Ari

Barefoot In The Woods

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While flying solo in the woods recently, I considered whether or not I’d bring my Aboriginal didgeridoo (bought in USA made in Indonesia) to blow in the wind. However, I shifted gears and opted for a standard low tech experience and ‘invested in loss’ by passing on carrying a big stick.  After finding a favorite hiding spot, I settled into a somewhat ‘Lotus’ meditation position and enjoyed significant encounters with Turtle and brother Frog and Frog (remember T.V. classic Newhart and characters Larry, Darryl and Darryl?).  Although Turtle was alive and well, I couldn’t detect any movement in the hour or so I watched Her–even with my Grandmother’s trusted field glasses.  In the spirit of the Art of Persuasion, I invite folks to bow to the wisdom of Turtle and Her knowledge of patience and longevity and Frog’s beat boxing of forthcoming changes in weather patterns.  Wood You Bee Leave that I heard many Ma’ Chuckin’ Nervous Woodland Creature (NWC) peeping their version of The Boss, “when I’m out in the trails, tweet, tweet, tweet . . . I stick where I want to stick.”

Coincidentally, my shared encounters with Frog and Turtle represent linkages to the Moon and Tides and portals into the Faerie Realm.  With my trusted faggot of Tibetan incense sticks to burn, I put a little Fairy Creme on my face to set the mood.  As I listened to Frog and Turtle, I heard the lyrics, “I miss the rains down in Africa . . . can’t you hear, can’t you hear the thunder, you better run, you better take cover . . .  rock me mama like the wind and the rain . . . (and) here comes the story of the hurricane.”  And while I may no longer be physically residing in Australia or Africa, I am protected by Mother’s shell, inspired to create life anew, welcoming the tears and rains as cleansing rituals to clear space for the shifting tides and changing seasons–hopefully without getting too washed out in the process, given tumultuous weather patterns (come on Irene) and a splitting Comet Elenin.  By calling on Frog, we invoke its medicine to breathe in new life, live joyfully and harmoniously . . . cleansing ourselves of “any person, place, or thing that does not contribute to your new state of serenity and replenishment.” Soaking in a bathtub with a little sea salt and perhaps a few drops of lavender has a relaxing, cleansing and detoxifying effect.  Got a frog in your throat?  Please consider gargling with warm sea salt water to open up the capillaries. Spraying liquid from your mouth into a fire in the spirit of manifestation and/or letting go and more importantly gratitude has a powerful Shamanic cleansing effect as well, a la ‘out with the old, in with the new’.

Finally, please consider Turtle’s patient and kind reminders for Us to stay slow and low in the tempo of life.  Given how nuts things can get in the transition from Summer to Fall, Turtle inspires Us to allow the river to flow to Us, rather than trying to levy its waters.  By staying grounded and honoring Our Mother, We co-creatively build the New Earth together. In this process, “Turtle medicine can teach new perceptions about time and our relationship with it.”  I’ve also seen that it stimulates clairvoyance and heard it amplifies clairaudience, as well as improving Our capacity to smell the scents of Life in more discriminate ways.  It’s as if Turtle and Frog are beckoning Us to stop and smell the roses–even if it means hoppily standing in the rain once in a while.  And while noticing the flowers in your garden, please remember to soak in the magical Full Moon on Monday into your sea of consciousness.  I’m glowing already merely envisioning it in my Third Eye!

I Hopi You are well,

Ari