Overcoming Old Ghosts, Mindful Moments & Awakening To The Spirit Of Inner Peace

Check out my latest published writing in Edge of Humanity Magazine at the link below.

Also, underneath the link to the article, you will find contextual references to the allusions that are included in the article:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adverse_childhood_experiences

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resident_Alien_(TV_series)

https://theapeiron.co.uk/the-dark-night-of-the-soul-understanding-amidst-the-absence-of-meaning-3494cb193bc2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._Scott_Peck

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

Photo by Kristen Bouse

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

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

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

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

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

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

Meditation on Beaver captures connections to the Freemasons,

who were instrumental in the development of both Colonized America,

as well as a powerful totem to Indigenous people beforehand.

Beavers symbolize the ability to traverse both terrestrial,

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

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

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

which was also the date of the Beaver Full Moon.

At the forefront of contemporary American culture,

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

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

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

“The game we have all bought into is ending.

Monopoly is a game the Future will not understand anymore.

Love not money will save our hearts and souls.

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

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

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

reciprocity and bartering for mutual exchange.

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

and dark Secret Government programs

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

Power to the We The People!

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

mutable hybrid eyes of a gypsy, student and philosopher.

Their medicine teaches us to step out of our comfort zones

and experience novel meaning through an expansion of Truth.

Life is a fluid process of impermanence;

an adventurous quest that wins when open to divergent thinking.

The Yin and Yang illuminate dark spots within bright lights;

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

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

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

can put the brakes on foreboding tragedy.

May we let go of painful parts of our past

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

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

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

It’s hard not to get seduced into our frustrations

and fears inside us and in the environment around us.

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

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

Take care of yourselves everyone,

Ari

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

Photo by Kristen Bouse

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Take care of yourselves everyone,

Ari

Remembering Grandmother’s Spirit

Check out my newly written, non-fiction short story that was recently published in the Edge of Humanity Magazine. Please feel free to click on the link below to see this inspirational writing that captures the the spirit of the “thinning of the veils” season. This writing was inspired by real events that took place in my life many moons ago and honors my Grandma’s presence in my life today. And while you’re at it, give our friends at Edge of Humanity Magazine a buzz by supporting the great work they are doing there:

Letting Go Of Old Ghosts, A Full Hunter Moon, Eclipse Season And Gratitude For Spirits In The Material World

Photo by Kristen Bouse

Mercury In Retrograde ends on October 2, 2022. Reflecting back, our souls experienced a myriad of opportunities to review, re-process and re-program during this Twilight Zone rewind time.

During Mercury Retrograde, this writer was revisited by old bodily wounds that afforded him with a renewed opportunity for resistant free zones of being present, letting go and the gift of awareness. It’s less painful that way and we suffer less when we are in this space.

In much the same way as people and left brain faculties, it isn’t uncommon for machines to break down and amplify emotional intensity in the humans that rely on them.

For example, we had a particularly stressful day at the school that I work at recently. One of our coworkers just about blew her cork during an intersection between a student’s dysregulated behavioral episode that was amplified by a copy machine’s oppositional behavior.

But as we have discussed in this blog before, co-regulation is an empathic experience where humans can harmonize with their environments and support each other in relaxing.

Thankfully, my coworker friend used her words and stood in her personal authority by speaking her truth and letting go of it. Tempting as it was during that crazy train episode, I refrained from cracking any puns. Sometimes, silence is a higher form of honesty. Remember that inner peace is always a choice even amidst chaos. It is a dimensional shift.

Paradoxically, as the fog lifts after Mercury in Retrograde, our days will get darker as our clocks are turning back yin-ward. Peak radiant foliage brings leaf peepers throughout New England in early October, while November is typically the gloomiest month in Maine.

But it won’t be the darkest day of the year till the Winter Solstice in December, at least in the Northern hemisphere.

Furthermore, the Hunter’s Moon will reach peak illumination on Sunday, October 9. In Ojibwe, this moon is called the Freezing Moon, reflecting colder temperatures. This Hunter’s Moon always comes after the Harvest Moon, which is always closest to the Autumn Equinox.

Our ancestors understood this moon cycle signaled the time to go hunting in preparation for a long season of cold winter storage. Moreover, our animal friends understood that it is time to fatten up before winter.

Farmers cleaned out their fields under the brighter moonlight of the Harvest Moon. This gave our ancestors effective night vision to see the deer and other animals that came out to root through the remaining scraps. Also, it was easier to see foxes and wolves coming out to prey on them.

When I meditate alone in the woods, I reflect on Lao Tzu’s observation that “nature is the best physician.” There is magic in co-regulating with Mother Earth and we all win when we make this part of our sacred rituals.

Looking ahead, an October-November 2022 eclipse season will feature a partial solar eclipse on October 25, which is also a New Moon in Scorpio. Solar eclipses invite creations of new beginnings and bright new opportunities, as New Moons also reflect.

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

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

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

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

Of course the modern tradition of Halloween captures some of the spirit of our ancestors, who recognized that the veils between the physical and spirit realm appear thinner during this time. The ritual of wearing masks is a spiritual portal into alternate realities in consciousness and transformation.

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

Meditation on Bat can empower your ability to hear spirit, if you wish to do so.

Try not to get spooked by your fears because negative energies tend to feed off of that.

Election Day is also on November 8th. The figure 8 is the sign of Infinity. It may seem like the Tao centered politics of a New Aquarian Age and Paradigm is far off in the future.

But a simple shift in mindset reveals that the New World is already happening. The old world is fading away into the backdrop and falling away, like the leaves on the trees.

May the forthcoming Eclipse Season become an infinite Election of new politics in our collective lives, if you’ll pardon the pun.

Take care of yourselves everyone,

Ari

Hawk Gives Us A Bird’s Eye View Into The Mystical Shorelines Ahead

Photo by Kristen Bouse

Mercury in Retrograde, which has spiritual connections to Hawk, begins on September 9th and ends on October 1, 2022. Meditation on the energies of Hawk reveal spirit vision and guardianship.

Pay patient purposeful attention to the signs that will clearly reveal opportunities for you to see. Remember that we live in an energetic and sacred Universe. Hawk is a good reminder of the magic in it if our hearts and minds are open to it.

In a way, Mercury in Retrograde is like receiving messages from the gods of yesteryear. Relax and let go of left brain attachments and soar into the realm of right brain, intuitive faculties. Logic and rationalism are important forms of cognition.

But they are not the only way of thinking. Sometimes, it is best to let them rest and surrender to the irrational and creative forms of non-linear and non-localized thinking at this time.

It is a good time to get in touch with extraordinary states of consciousness.

For example, during meditation, our brain waves change form. Like with humor, changes in brainwaves gets us to look at things in a different light.

As always, be kind to your mind- machines too because they don’t always operate as seamlessly as they’re supposed to, especially when Mercury’s in retrograde. The Twilight Zone experience does not appear to discriminate.

Ever noticed how when your internal wires are crossed, machines also seems to short circuit and appear disassembled? Sometimes, I give Reiki to a machine that isn’t working properly and sometimes it will work. Other times, it doesn’t and I remember that it’s OK to walk away.

Distractions are everywhere, inside and out, in this world of 10,000 things. Mercury in retrograde is somewhat akin to AD/HD experiences, where we are can’t tell if we are going nuts or just forgot where we buried our acorns, like the squirrels in Nature.

Stay focused and keep your eye out for the signs to point you in the right direction. If anything, it’s a good time to sit with what is and not make any big decisions if you can help it.

Our old selves have very different lenses than our future selves. If hindsight vision is 20/20, then we can stand to allow this rewind time to inform us about the changes that we need to make.

Take flight, pause and reflect on this old episode retrograde rewind time period by reexamining what you see in the rearview mirror. It is likely that you will be revisited by past relationships in the form of dreams, visions and even in person encounters.

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

As we discussed in the last blog entry, 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. Might as well go with the flow of changes and embrace them as gracefully as possible.

Just after the official transition into Fall, a Libra New Moon awakens on September 25, 2022. New Moons are always symbolic of new beginnings and also a cycle of power for the energies of Hawk.

May the energies of the Libra New Moon ignite your soul’s expansion beyond the securities of your comfort zone and be open to exploration for all of life’s offerings. Spiritual wisdom reminds us to have an open heart and align with the Universe. 

If only we can calm down and harmonize with our environment. This requires balancing tension of opposites, like the intersections between joy and pain, sunshine and rain. How do we make friends with that?

Libra symbolizes peacemaking. It wouldn’t be a stretch for a Libra working their soul energy in the positive to be an effective social worker, educator and civil rights advisor with children. This is an example of the love they embody.

Awakening to your soul purpose is in alignment with Hawk.

Till We Tweet Again,

Ari

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

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

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

Mirror Of The Mind Meditation

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silva_Method

Welcome to my demonstration of The Mirror Of The Mind meditation. I really love this meditation and enjoy teaching this form to others, many of whom say that it really resonates- both kids, adolescents and adults alike.

Remember that the three key ingredients to the efficacy of this meditation are:

Desire: You have to want to do it.

Belief: You have to believe in the meditation.

Expectation: You have to expect that it will work.

The more you do this meditation, as in everyday, the more you will see yourself becoming the change you want to see in the world- in the mirror of the mind.

Remember to focus on the second part of the meditation during your practice, as in see yourself in the way you want your new self to be. Focus on who you are becoming.

Picture looking at yourself in your mirror of your mind with a luminous golden/white light around the mirror with you representing the change in yourself you want to see. This is what some people call the new human or homo luminous.

Don’t get hung up on how visual you are. Just use your imagination and get in touch with the feeling of it. Not everyone is good at creative visualization. But we can all get better at it.

When you are done with this meditation, send the image in the mirror of the mind into the Universe and let go of it. I like to imagine blowing a bunch of pink bubbles with the image enveloped in them, like when I was a kid blowing bubbles. It’s always good to say thank you and have gratitude.

The first part of the meditation (old self/dark edge/black hole envelope), you can revisit periodically- if you feel the need to release any aspects of your old self that you want to let go of or are struggling with. The Autumn Equinox, Winter Solstice or Imbolc (Groundhog Day) might be good times for your consideration to do this form of the Mirror of the Mind because they represent death of the old self times energetically. Some of our ancestors taught to do this form only once. But some of us find it helpful to revisit occasionally.

A Lion’s Truth, New Moon In Leo & Full Sturgeon Moon Down The Pike

Photo by Kristen Bouse

A New Moon in Leo awakens new beginnings on July 28, 2022.

Lion’s spirit symbolizes:

Trusting our intuitive faculties, strength of will, patience and creative imagination.

Meditation on the Solar Plexus Chakra can be a helpful strategy here.

Picture the Sun living within the center point of your sternum.

Lion energy reminds us that real power cannot be forced.

Instead of striving to make things happen,

we are allowing for the arriving of what is in an organic unfolding.

Leo prefers the limelight and focusing on sunshine and rainbows.

But they have a tendency to be spitfires and bring their heat while playing with form.

When examining the Mirror of The Mind in meditation, it is wise to give contemplation to

what we want to bring down from the dreamtime into our material realm.

Doing this requires differentiating fantasy from reality.

Saying yes to life and making amigos with our egos,

are key dynamics to personality development.

An inside out approach recognizes that Life is a matrix of

performing art where the actor and spectator

intersect with one another within an immediate feedback loop.

Be mindful of Pride being Lion’s shadow side:

We all know pride can be seductive!

Wisdom reminds us to face our shadows head on,

otherwise we fall prey to their dark edges

and become shrouded by them.

Mantra: Self Love & Self Expression . . .

I know a Leo who rolls around in dew covered grass underneath a summery Full Moonshine,

as an energetic cleansing strategy to ground & connect with Mother Earth.

Practicing T’ai Chi or another form of moving meditation allows for

exploration of experiencing the power of water gradually.

We are mostly water . . .

The tide of a Full Sturgeon Supermoon rolls in on August 11, 2022.

Like turtles, sturgeons have been around so long they are often referred to as living fossils.

They have an ancient wisdom and survival instinct about them that should be mediated on.

Sturgeon awakens resiliency when facing adversity and overcoming traumatic soul wounds.

Humanity’s evolution needs to develop resiliency in our quest

for reimagining our human story so that we can change our collective narrative.

We can learn to co-regulate and co-exist with one another

so that we can mutually harmonize with our environment.

In the meantime, do whatever you can to

stay in alignment with the Universal Pillars of Love and Truth!

Take care of yourselves everyone,

Ari