Tag Archives: Native American

Multidimensional Mental Health, Wellness and Everyday Happiness as a Way of Life

Posted on by under Consciousness, Podcast, Spirituality, Uncategorized

Artwork by Barbara Merlotti

“This moving away from comfort and security, this stepping out into unknown, uncharted, and shaky – that’s called ‘liberation’.” Pema Chodron

What I love about the above quote by this wise, Western woman meditation teacher is that it captures the timeless, universal application of spiritual awakening, and follows a path of conscious evolutionary living. How timely this quote is in the here and now in this reform school known as Earth. We are now officially in the early stages of the New Age and Paradigm of Aquarius. Regardless of your orientation, it’s impossible now not to feel it on some level. Some more than others are really embracing it. Many are clinging to the old world, the old ways, and wishing “things would just go back to normal.” But what does normal really mean? The truth is, there’s no going back, as living life in the rearview mirror prevents you from living in the present moment. Life is transient and change is inevitable. Nature reveals the changing tides through the reflections of the seasons.

Consider how art imitates reality. Do you remember the classic old cartoon, Looney Tunes? As violent as this TV show was, it was easier for a parent to explain to their child that a cartoon character that was blown to smithereens, and then magically came back to life wasn’t real because it was just a cartoon. As such, it was easier for a child to make this connection. Besides, unlike today, the repeated exposure to shows like these was limited, even if an adult wasn’t around to set the limit or offer any supervisory guidance. But TV, movies and video games are so realistic nowadays, not to mention readily accessible at the convenience of your fingertips. Given the pandemic of “fake news” out there, you all know how challenging it is to discern between fact and fiction.  It’s a sign of the times that we all need to do the work to find our own pillars of truth (with love). Are you going to pay purposeful attention to your fears and negative self talk or are you going to be mindful of truth that is in alignment with love?

For assistance in making the quantum leap from old thought forms into new ones, consider meditating on the image and mantra below:

Image and mantra courtesy of Acurda

“Where biology has tuned its antenna, silica crystals, little dendrites, neural pathways and have been restructured in a way that the exact same seed creativity can now be expressed as light, compassion and love. By doing this you are not only changing all the structuring crystals in your pineal gland (Third Eye) and DNA but those of the collective consciousness of this planet. These high multidimensional thoughts create new crystals in the body, the biomineralization of a new human with simultaneously creating biomineralization harmonics to the planet reality.”

Accordingly, Sacred Geometrical Arcturian Positive Self Talk asserts that “The energy of contact allows you to feel that all doors to your inner source will open when you surrender and, like water, go with the flow. Let your strength lead you, and you will find your own way.”

For example, building an everyday positive self talk strategy is a good concrete replacement for negative self talk, like worry. When your worry is targeted toward someone you’re concerned about or even for the general plight of the planet, humanity or endangered species, simply call on these guides or allies in the spirit realm for help. Part of surrender, a leap of faith, and trust is to have an attitude of acceptance of physical and non-physical realities, and intuitively know they are interacting with one another.

Specifically, Arcturians, Archangels and Nature Spirits can all be seen as helping guides/spirits or allies in consciousness. From a shamanic perspective, this is a somewhat conservative, traditional, and foundational approach to spiritual evolutionary wellbeing because it’s been a time tested tradition for over 100,000 years and runnin’. Of course in conventional Establishment terms, this would be considered far out. But if you are open to it, all you have to do is be receptive to the benign, healing energies of the myriad of teachers in the spirit realm that are ready to assist you as needed. If you think of an invisible umbilical cord attached to your crown chakra that is connected to Father Sky, Heaven or the Cosmos, this can be an effective walking meditation to add to your multidimensional tool belt. Refer to the Chakra chart by scrolling further down in this blog entry for a pictorial context.

But what does it mean to be a multidimensional being? It just means that we recognize that there is a physical reality, as well as non-physical realities. The most simple way I can understand this is to picture a triangle consisting of a mind-body-spirit with a circle, or another triangle in the center that represents our soul. It appears to be a fact of life that the body eventually dies, and the mind eventually does too. But there is a growing body of metaphysical and scientific evidence that asserts that our spirits and souls live on. While we are living in this form, our soul can travel. For most of us, this experience happens when we are dreaming. For many, this understanding doesn’t happen until you are dying and getting ready to leave this Earth and return to Source. But it can also happen during various forms of visualization/meditation practices.

Image by Sherry Mosley

Here on the ground, and as a social worker in Public Schools, I get into more conversations with students (and adults) that are inspired to develop their spirituality, and are bringing up their queried stories to my attention on their own volition for further exploration. Indeed the veils between the physical realm and spirit realm are thinning more now than they have been historically. It can be challenging to discern what is spirit or what is physical, just like it is harder to differentiate between fantasy and reality these days, given the advancement in technology, and fluidity of personal boundaries in our connections with each other.

For example, one student I work with told me that she connects with her brother who lives in a faraway state through “astral projection”, and then asked me if I knew what that was. I reassured her that I did, and that some people are oriented in such a way that their soul can travel, but that all people can develop this skill through various forms of mediation. Of course we all do this when we dream. Another student told me that she has experiences where she sees and hears a beloved cat that died recently. Her animal dreams consist of a vibrant “animal heaven” state of consciousness with clouds, mountaintops, trees and rainbows. In dreams like these, the animal friends related that they had crossed over, and communicated that they are alive and well in an alternate reality where their spirits were living harmoniously. When students bring these issues up, we always process the mixed feelings that coexist, in the sense that there is enjoyment in reconnecting with a loved one that is physically gone, but that spiritual connections can be a bit spooky, uncomfortable or difficult to sort through. Part of our human experience includes sitting with the tension of opposites that naturally include entanglements with our attachments.

More importantly, people like me tend to find it helpful to have these experiences normalized. Moreover, folks typically feel empowered to learn about the common language that operationalizes their spiritual experiences, like clairsentience and clairaudience, or psychic abilities that perceive spirit. Part of developing good social skills is to know your audience, and recognize who is safe to share this information with, and who isn’t. Working on boundaries is part of learning how to be human, which of course is a life cycle process. It’s nice that kids can feel safe to talk with a trusted adult about such things. When we all get what we need from the ground up, we’re more likely to give that back from the top down. This is how we heal the illusion of polarity consciousness that we see playing out on the fields of life.

Additionally, many people that work in mental health are expanding their own perceptions of reality through their own personal growth. As helpers, it is dangerous to people when we don’t. While it’s easy to stay in our own boxes and hide behind their judgments, that leaves us susceptible to our own projections onto others, which can be damaging to relationships. Humans have been good at projecting our own experiences with reality onto others, while at the same time assuming that our projections are absolute gospel. While they might be true on some level, clinging to these prejudices are problematic because they block making fluid connections with each other, which is especially harmful when a helping professional does that. It is critical to “meet people where they are at.” Because we all have our humanity, that can be challenging for both support staff and teachers working in schools these days. But that is exactly what we are being asked to do. Meeting someone where they are at does not meant that we condone their unwanted behavior, like work avoidance, learned helplessness, victimhood, or not working to their full potential. It just means that you have empathy for what the person you are concerned about is capable of in this moment in time. And while your student or child might be being manipulative, they probably aren’t doing it on purpose or trying to ruin your day. But if they are, learning how to manipulate the environment is part of adolescent development. How many of us adults are still working out our own dharmic karma in this area?

Specifically, it’s like a kid who tries to come out to their caregiver that they identify as LGBTQ, and the adult responds in a way that is shaming, dismissive or generally non-supportive. Regardless of the age, if this is how the person sees themselves, it is hard to go wrong with a position of empathy and curiosity. For example, the parent could say, “wow, I can see this took a lot of courage for you to share this information with me. How do you feel about that?” Sadly but understandably, many adults struggle, hide behind their judgments, and then might proceed to project their own beliefs onto the child. While some parents wax on about a pro-LGBTQ identity, others do the opposite by citing religious convictions, and perhaps sending their child to a “conversion therapy”, which is thankfully illegal in Maine. The point is, try to be present with your child and keep a healthy conversation alive. Do you value raising a good whole person or a sexual identity that conforms to your expectations based on your own conditioning? Do you value allowing your child to be who they are or who you want them to be? Mixed messages, while a fact of life, are challenging to discern and navigate through.

Check out this short youth empowerment/Civil Rights oriented film about celebrating a Pride event in small town Nova Scotia:

Inspired by May being “Mental Health Month”, I remember a really good psychiatrist coworker who once pointed out in a mental health training that people affected by schizophrenia see things that “normal” people don’t. But it only becomes a problem when it drives the person crazy in a way that is characterized as “ego dystonic.” There’s an old saying that you have to get sick of being sick before you can heal and know liberation. Mother told me about experiences with depression that were so severe she encountered psychotic episodes. I believe Mother suicided to avoid going down that dark rabbit hole again, instead of confronting her inner demons that haunted her. Had she built up more resilience, I feel that she could have stayed alive longer without torturing herself. Mother is now part of my ‘spiritual light team’, and I can access her spirit whenever I ask for Her support.

Given the above nuance, what is really often going on here is that the concerned adult doesn’t like the mirror being held up in their face, and that can be a tough cracker to look at. That’s what happened in the early 60s, when many people were having spiritual awakenings, like Harvard Psychology Professors Timothy Leary and Ram Dass, before he was Ram Dass. To their credit, academics like them were trying to go beyond rat psychology, and understand consciousness. In this process of discovery, they humbly realized that they were out of the woods in their understanding about the nature of reality. Many people took LCD and other psychoactive drugs to expand their minds, and were thought to have lost their minds (of course plenty did). But they were having spiritual awakenings by opening up their ‘doors of perception’. People started waking up to portals into a multidimensional reality beyond a conventional worldview. Like author Joseph Campbell accurately understood, the difference between the mystic and the psychological crackup is that the mystic swims in the waters the crackup drowns in. It’s all about context, and how expansive your worldview is with the ability to pull back and stay grounded in this reality.

“Photo sensitive Transmissions from the New Earth” by Acurda

Furthermore, the mindful moment referenced above is an empowering strategy to feel connected in the present moment, and a simple way to co-create Heaven on Earth one step and one breath at a time. All you are really doing, or being rather, is keeping your power rather than giving it away to some external force. You have superpowers, but without the need to be identified with a superhero or savior complex. We are living in an age where we need to let go of our need to swoop in to rescue and save others. Everyone has equal access to their ‘spiritual light team’ if they so choose. That being said, it does take both the intention, and a commitment to it. The more you play around with your daily practice, the more your daily practice plays around with you. Funny the way that can turn into another form of mindfulness in your everyday doings. All you have to do is look at these beings as teachers in the spirit realm, by seeing them as silent mentors that we can link up with, like “in a zoom conversation.” And if you are feeling unsure, all you have to do is ask, “are you my teacher.” It’s your call who you let in, and you will know by how you feel.

The easiest way to open the doors to this perceptual experience is through your “third eye”, as indicated on the Chakra chart below. As you can see, this Chakra is typically associated with a dark blue or indigo color. This is the realm of intuition, forethought, and visualization. There are many ways to develop this Chakra. One simple strategy is to rub this area with your fingers side to side or in a circular motion. Or you can mindfully eat (ideally healthy) foods of this color, while chewing on how you are feeding your energy, if you’ll pardon the pun. For example, next time you eat a banana, think about nourishing your solar plexus chakra and grounding your self esteem. Also, you can also relax your gaze by slightly blurring your vision without crossing your eyes, as a way to play with your perception. These can be fun, yet practical ways to integrate what I like to call a walking meditation in your everyday doings. Besides, it’s harder to react to someone else’s facial expressions when you relax your gaze in this way.

Daily Chakra Meditation Audio Resource:

Finally, when we talk about Diversity within Unity, the Unity piece involves acknowledging our universal connection to one another, which allows us to feel less alone in the world. Nobody likes feeling lonely, not even hermits. Besides, as romantic as being a hermit might sound, they typically struggle with their own insecurities like the rest of us, and probably just have a harder time learning how to be human than your average bear. The Diversity piece honors our different expressions in form, as well as the unique blueprint of our souls. A shy person should not be seen as lesser than a social butterfly or vice versa. Besides, we all have both of these personality characteristics within our being. Some of the most family oriented, conscientious, kind and caring people I know aren’t necessarily the warm and fuzzy types, and can even come across as curt and rude towards others. We all have our unique blueprints and personality characteristics. Just imagine how boring our world would be if we were all nanotechnological, programmed cyborgs going  around in a singular, monochromatic lockstep with each other, like in the film The Stepford Wives.

Take care of yourselves everyone,

Ari

Transformation Within During The Process Of Letting Go Without Revisited – Classroom Mothership Earth

A Podcast Version Of An Article Written By The Author.
  1. Transformation Within During The Process Of Letting Go Without Revisited
  2. Overcoming Old Ghosts, Mindful Moments & Awakening To The Spirit Of Inner Peace
  3. Remembering Grandmother's Spirit
  4. Mirror Of The Mind Meditation
  5. A Gemini New Moon, Full Strawberry Supermoon & The Energetic Butterfly Effect

Swimming With The Grace Of Swan, and A Full Flower Moon.

Posted on by under Podcast, Spirituality

May the animal spirited grace of Swan inspire you to paddle with the current instead of fighting against the rapids of everyday life. Notice the flow of grand moments, and the intersection between the extraordinary in the ordinary, as well as the perfection within the imperfection. If only we can gently allow ourselves to let it go instead of trying to grasp onto it, whatever it is.

Sometimes, all you can do is sprawl out and surrender to the will of the Universe, and trust that its winds will guide you to where you need to go. We all know the curse of this pandemic, particularly on humanity’s plight. But the blessing is also the gift of surrender among our human kinfolk.

A Full Flower aka Sagittarius Moon arrives on May 26th 2021. Not coincidentally, it gets its name from an abundance of flowers that spring forth across North America. When I think of Sag, meditations of fiery energy, mixed with new philosophical ways of intuitive knowing resonates in my soul. Also, this Full Moon is the second consecutive supermoon, and biggest and brightest moon of the year. It is also a Total Lunar Eclipse, meaning that it is fully obscured by Earth’s shadow, giving the Moon a reddish hue, which is where the term blood moon comes from.

Moreover, please consider the following Sacred Geometrical Arcturian Wisdom, via the Third Wave Positive Self Talk Mantra: “The energy of the Third Wave makes you aware of your choice to be here on Earth. Accept who you are on this Earth, and your strength will increase.”

Artwork by Aunt Barbara Merlotti

I remember when Grandmother talked about being called “white trash”, during her formative years in St. Louis, growing up in abject poverty during The Depression. In fact, she never saw a dentist until she was 18 years old, when she walked in off the street with bleeding gums, and the kind folks at the dental office followed their “hippocratic oath” and did the right thing. In this day and age, it’s mind boggling that our current healthcare system, in the wealthiest nation of the world, can still be viewed by the Establishment as a privilege rather than an entitlement. In the American political scene, we can at least directly trace this old world attitude to the England’s Elizabethan Poor Law of the 1600s. If you would like to delve further, check out this link: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_for_the_Relief_of_the_Poor_1601

During her childhood and premarital adolescence, Grandmother was a member of what sociologist and Harvard professor William Julius Wilson many years later referred to as “the underclass”, in his book The Truly Disadvantaged: The Inner City, the Underclass, and Public Policy. When I read his book in college, I learned also by experience that he accurately noted that this underclass was a growing epidemic in our world, as well as in the US. Grandmother being spoken to in a derogatory way was the kind of racial epithet that is analogous to prejoriative language to characterize someone who is LGBTQ or BIPOC. Negative self-talk is typically not regarded as helpful, but it is less so when it is spoken aloud, with an underlying edge especially. What is with the attitude about the poor and oppressed, that they are deserving of their suffering, should be controlled, and punished accordingly? 

The old world, and the status quo of its power structures are being dismantled, white privilege and white supremacy notwithstanding. In fact, a growing number of white people, including white men are part of this shift in equanimity in consciousness that is of mutual aid to the goose and the gander. We are living in a time when there is too much information, and it does seem to be harder to discover the truth. It is as if we are being asked by the Universe to discover the truth on our own individual basis, which is part of honoring our diversity. The unity piece comes in where we can know a collective truth. To do this, it requires that we are open to relaxing our attachments to the mental boxes that we have bought into.  

Race and class in America are nothing new. But even in this day and age, we still experience cultural denial that we have institutional structures in place that are barriers to personal freedom and liberty. For example, some of our “friends in Congress” are trapped in a “fake news” denial that we have a system in place that is rooted in class consciousness. Dr. King and others fully recognized that we have both intentional and unintentional consequences of discriminatory oppression of certain populations – both vis a vis legal laws and unwritten rules that are perceived as “that’s just the way it is”. It was never easy to move up the socioeconomic ladder. But Grandmother admitted to me that her movement into the Middle Class during the 50s was made easier for her to assimilate into because of the complexion of her skin tone, and white anglo Saxon protestant lineage, in spite of the culture of poverty that she was born into, and converting to Catholicism. If anyone could have chosen to stay in denial about her racial privilege as a coat of armor to hide behind, it would have been Grandmother. But she never forgot about where she came from, did what she could to help others like her get a leg up, and be a good role model for overcoming obstacles. Besides, demonizing the oppressor, whatever he or she looks like, is not the solution. Overthrowing the government or powers that be will only replace the same tyranny and corruption that you seek to dismantle. This is a cold hard fact of life that must be understood. The looting and rioting, militarization of the police, the education to prison pipeline, and bloated military that protects the stock exchange under the guise of puppet dictatorships of dirty energy is a recipe for a widening gap between the haves and have nots.

For example, I remember the cultural context of African American culture in America, during the time period called the Great Migration, when black folks sought personal freedom by risking their lives to escape from the oppressive Jim Crow South. Part of staying alive, and reinventing themselves into a new chapter in life, many secrets were kept to hide from the collective trauma of their shared experiences. A historical debate sprung up about where to focus on the advancement of black people. In the Booker T. Washington camp, blue collar jobs were seen as a way out of poverty and socioeconomic empowerment. Basically, the belief was that black people could get a leg up if they had access to blue collar jobs in the trade industry, production, manual labor, etc. Sadly, but understandably, the decimation of the manufacturing base and labor movement have reinforced the truth of this point to appreciate. Proponents of Dubois bought into the idea of the “talented tenth”, which posited that the focus for black progress would come from the upper echelon of African American society via assimilation into the college educated, white collar world. For those of you that recall the 70s TV show The Jeffersons or the 80s The Cosby Show, you can see comedic caricatures of these nuances play out in sitcom format. Today, the rise of the black middle class reinforces both perspectives, as both camps are true, on some level. The real division was in a segregated either/or mindset that mirrors how divided our country is today. So even in black culture, as in other BIPOC cultures, there are hierarchical structures in place of who is perceived as entitled to privilege, and who is not.

Check out this brief video on “Being 12: What Are You?”

https://drive.google.com/file/d/10Ax4cbZAzVG_BGJQh_MY2fwmwYinVqqL/view

In fact, people that identify as BIPOC and LGBTQ and know their history understand the experience of “passing.” For example, you might see yourself as black, but you could pass as white. Or if you are gay, you could pass as being straight by pretending to be, or a trans person could front as being “cisgender” or in gender alignment with the sex they were ascribed at birth. But at some point in the game, waking up to who you are, and being allowed to express yourself in your true colors is suffocating if you cannot pass as yourself. Meditation on this perspective can help build empathy for another who might walk in different shoes than you do. On the other side of the coin, there is peer pressure to identify as LGBTQ, even if you are not because it is becoming the hip or chic thing to do. In early adolescence particularly, this can be a form of attention seeking, and over reliance on peers for identity development.

Psychologically, Albert Bandura was a behaviorist and father of the social learning theory, as the primary medium of personality development in children. In short, role modeling, or monkey see, monkey do is how we humans learn. Abraham Maslow, on the other hand was known for his pyramid called Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, with basic survival needs at the bottom and self-actualization at the top, and some other areas of personal growth in the middle. If you don’t have equal access to basic resources, or feel safe or a sense of community connection or belonging, then it’s hard to move into the area of self actualization. It can be done, but you have to work a lot harder. A more fair and just society is created when incentives are in place for “these truths to be self evident.” Of course a child that is raised in a loving home where they feel wanted and loved reinforces this natural belief to a soul that its inner light can awaken and shine through its form. We are all born into this world with a unique blueprint that is designed to love. Yes, we have different temperaments, and our personalities evolve during our life cycle. What matters is how we work with our core temperaments, and evolving personality characteristics. You can be born with an anxious-avoidant temperament, an insecure attachment with your primary caregiver, and without an athletic bone in your body. But you can still learn to relax, feel safe inside yourself, and take up athletic exercise for your own wellbeing. Who cares if you’re bursting with nervous woodland creature energy like a squirrel or never become a famous Olympian. Squirrels learn by imitating, like we humans do, and you can always go to your inner Olympian for building your athletic confidence.

An old friend sent me the article below that reinforces the figure above:

https://www.studyfinds.org/children-green-spaces-adhd-risk/

Additionally, many of you know that Ghandi, who gave up his privilege, stood up to the British Empire, and India’s Caste System at the time. Also, Siddhartha Gautama aka the Buddha, left his father’s empire that was set up to protect him from suffering, and then he subsequently gave up his privilege to awaken his inner light and know his Higher Self. There are risks inherent in living a life with purposeful attention that is in alignment with the living moment. To trade that for fame, fortune, and complacent personal contentment is a choice wrought with victimhood. That’s why the oppressor suffers just as much, if not more than the oppressed. It’s a heavy cross to carry when you defend the status quo of an oppressive regime. At the end of the day, it’s a lose-lose situation, even though the illusion shows winners and losers, and justification for that paradigm.

Furthermore, in the film The Trotsky, the main character plays the role of  a High School Student who believes he is the reincarnation of Leon Trotsky, the late Russian revolutionary. In the film, this Canadian youth inspires his school peers in a way that moves beyond their boredom and apathy into the self evident truth that “school doesn’t have to suck”, and that student empowerment is a real possibility. In a nutshell, the students in the film move from being “sheeple” to empowered youth, in a prosocial power through legitimate means. You know, the only kind of power that is sustainable, vis a vis an externally inspired prompting but internally directed fruition.

Interestingly, some cultures have a common language and shared stories about reincarnation. Basically, the idea is that our souls are real and are recycled as part of its evolutionary process. While this process can be accelerated in a single lifetime, because of the way the established paradigm is right now, the precedent has been set up to take many lifetimes for a soul’s personal growth and transformation to take place. But the flowering of consciousness taking root on the planet right now is flipping the script on all that. Perhaps you lived as a member of a different gender or race in another lifetime. This could leave you feeling more empathic to the plight of the people who remind you of your old self, or it could paradoxically leave you feeling entitled today. Past Lives Matter. Do you have memories of your soul having experiences in another form(s)?

More importantly, a spiritual perspective that aligns with the human potential movement, and a generalist social work perspective understands that basic needs or equal access to concrete resources supports other areas of psychological growth and self-actualization. If human beings are encouraged to harness our strengths, recognize our blind spots, explore what we are passionate about, and what builds their resiliency, then before long they want to be an ally to support others in having this quality of life. Is this social engineering? Yeah, but only in a more mindful, meditative, positive self talk kind of light. Just imagine the possibilities without Berlin Walls, Glass Ceilings, Ethnic Cleansing, Weapons of Mass Destruction or fixed ideas that inhibit connections between new neuronal pathways. When we rework our DNA with “plasticity of the mind”, we open up to new ways of doing things, a relaxation of attachments to conventional boxes in cognition, and emotional reactions to our engrained repetitions. In this space, we observe a calming down of thought forms manifesting as verbal and physical escalations and behavioral traps respectively.

What is more, brain science reveals a false dichotomy” about trying to differentiate between the brain/body, in much the same way as we try to do between mental health and health. You can see this misunderstanding happen in the compartmentalized culture here in the US. The reason that meditation is good medicine is that it literally rewires the brain toward equilibrium so that we can respond to our emotions effectively. Daily practice is a general workout that exercises our social skills because the rehearsal pays off. Self awareness is knowing our triggers ahead of time. When we lean into our pain, and then shift our focus toward peaceful, calming thoughts and mindful breathing, we are putting the spotlight on our emotional centers in a positive way. Can you become more connected, in a way where you could tune into sensing a feeling a sense of ease or unease? For example, might you ask yourself some reflective questions like, am I needing to rest, take care of myself in a way that I haven’t, or am I congruent with my values at this moment? Personally, I like to think of the children’s story The Little Engine That Could for an inspirational friendly reminder. It helps me stay on track and not run out of steam, if you’ll pardon the pun.

Many of my students (and coworkers) have good “bullshit detectors.” As such, they know the difference between those that fake self confidence (we’ve all done it) versus those who have developed a “realistic self confidence.” And given that we humans have the ability for pretending, we can all learn to “fake it till we make it.” Along the way, we can see ourselves standing in our own personal authority by growing roots in the living moment.

But beyond a sense of entitlement, is a value attached to taking ownership for awakening our personal and collective power. This can happen through currency or any energetic exchange, like bartering. Reciprocity isn’t about the old egoic state of “I’ll scratch your back, you scratch mine” mentality. Rather, it is an evolutionary step into and coming from our Higher Selves that embodies win-win situations.

Be kind to your mind when recognizing that there have been abusive matriarchies in place in human history, where men were subjugated. Where do you think the fear of feminine, yin energy or woman’s power came from? Whether realized or not, men have been programmed, as we all have, to have a fear of feminine power, albeit the connection to this fear is often unrecognized and can play out in silly “facebook wars”, cyberbullying experiences, and in person interactions. Of course this also can occur in trans-racial and cross-cultural communication too. So it stands to reason that if suddenly, magically overnight the LGBTQ and BIPOC identified groups were to be in the majority and in control of the hierarchical power structure, we would not be living in a utopian shangri la. Keep in mind that was Hugh Heffner’s vision of the Playboy Mansion. You can see how sustainable that vision worked out, if you can appreciate the sarcasm. 

Finally, in our Civil Rights Teamwork, our students often freely initiate conversations organically. Because we established guidelines early on, they rarely need to be redirected to follow “the rules” of maintaining communication that embodies dignity and respect. For example, in a recent meeting, they initiated a healthy conversation about their respective astrological signs. During that conversation, we had an animated discussion about how you can take 10 people from the same race, ethnicity, ancestry or cultural background, who all might look similar on the surface, but could all have different astrological signs, meaning diverse orientations intrinsically. Like personality characteristics that are unique to the individual, a person’s astrological sign reflects their uniqueness and diversity, on a deeper level. Yet we all share the common tapestry of our humanity. Diversity in Unity. Remember that we are all mostly water in form. But on a deeper level, we are formless, yet luminous, energetic beings. Recognition of this does not discount our diverse expressions of form. If anything, we should honor those differences, as well as highlight our unity.

Take care of yourselves everyone,

Ari

Please feel free to check out my new podcast version of my blog:

Transformation Within During The Process Of Letting Go Without Revisited – Classroom Mothership Earth

A Podcast Version Of An Article Written By The Author.
  1. Transformation Within During The Process Of Letting Go Without Revisited
  2. Overcoming Old Ghosts, Mindful Moments & Awakening To The Spirit Of Inner Peace
  3. Remembering Grandmother's Spirit
  4. Mirror Of The Mind Meditation
  5. A Gemini New Moon, Full Strawberry Supermoon & The Energetic Butterfly Effect

Aries, Breaking The Ice, Frog Hopping Off Of The Lotus Flower And A Full Pink Moon

Posted on by under Consciousness, Podcast, Spirituality, Uncategorized

Images Created by Aunt Barbara Merlotti

April starts out as an Aries time of year, the first sign of the Western Zodiac. Energetically speaking, there is a feeling of a new year in the air. Yesterday’s New Moon reflects that. Moreover, “New moons, which occur every 29.531 days, are about release, dissolution and beginning anew. As the first sign of the zodiac, Aries is about breaking ground, blazing trails, taking risks and venturing into often uncharted territory.” Or as soul psychotherapist Deborah El’Elia puts it, Aries “is a fiery energy that can help us know what it is that we really want to create in our lives, as well as tap into the I Am Presence!”

Here in the Northern Hemisphere, Spring is springing, and a Full Pink Moon arrives on Monday, April 26th in most places around the planet. Many of our ancestors called this moon pink based on the vegatative spreading of the “moss pink” wildflower in North America. There are other descriptive names as well, including the Breaking Ice Moon by the Algonquin, which reflects the “increased mobility of the early spring season.” 

Frogs are waking up again, and are really making their presence known, especially the peepers and wood frogs. It’s not a coincidence that this month’s Full Moon is also named after Frog by some tribes. There is something cleansing and purifying about the mystical vibrations of Frog medicine. The stories about how their ribbet calls on April showers to bring May flowers makes sense energetically for a good spring cleaning for the soul. This is good medicine, and we really need that after a long Winter, as things have gotten pretty cold and dark there. If you think of the swampy bog areas where frogs thrive, we can visualize them hanging around lily pads. Amazingly, lotus flowers grow out of them, seemingly out of nowhere, and in spite of gnarly areas that aren’t typically perceived as beauty parlors. But what more primordial potential does a lotus flower spring from, if you’ll pardon the pun? As humans, are we not like that? Sometimes, if you want to calm your racing thoughts that are driving you crazy, try visualizing a frog, really getting in touch with its character, and assertively say to yourself, “stop!” Can you see why the Lotus Flower is such an inspirational mantra in Buddhist Psychology?

Additionally, April’s Full Moon will also be the first of two consecutive “Super Moons” in 2021. A supermoon appears slightly larger than other Full/New Moons because it occurs at the same time as its orbit is closest to the Earth. But if you want to see any Full Moon really look super, then watch any of them when they are rising or setting. May’s supermoon will also be a total lunar eclipse. 

When I reflect on Aquarius, the Vernal Equinox, Easter, and the Aries New Moon, I think about the resurrection of light, Christ Consciousness, and a New Year ahead. Remember that Aries is the first sign on the Western Zodiac. Moreover, the resurrection of this Christ Consciousness to our Planet appears to be a mystical connection to the prophecies of Indiginious People that posited that humanity was seeded by visitors from other worlds and dimensions, and would someday return. In much the way as it says in the Genesis section of the Bible, “Let us create man (humankind) in our image.” Have they ever really left? Keep in mind that Christ was an embodiment of this divine consciousness, and believed that we are all capable of this mystical vibration.

According to petemedium, from ‘A Land Down Under’, “With (US President) Biden comes Aquarius in its conception. From this month of April, we will start to see the gradual growing and establishing of, not just another liberal Presidency, but the first Presidency in this New Age.” As with any Karma, this administration has inherited what has been handed to it. Don’t expect the Establishment and the Billionaire Class to loosen its grip without resistance.

“Let the old be released now, the old ways and beliefs that keep us stuck. If you cannot believe in a new and better world, you are part of the problem. ‘They’ have won you over with their programming. They have convinced you that you are worthless if you do not get with the program. Who is ‘They’? It is the paradigm that keeps those who are entitled, entitled. They are not the enemy to be hated.”

Keep in mind that while the sunlight of yang is rising in the Northern Hemisphere, the dark nights of yin are rising in the Southern Hemisphere. Either way, the equal equinox dances of light and dark are becoming more dramatic with their oscillations again, as they break away from the Vernal and Autumnal Equinoxes on opposite sides of the planet. But wherever you are on the planet, the winds of the astrological Eclipse Season are blowing in, and “will unleash more exciting energies with eclipses on May 26 and June 10”, as spiritual guide, and professional astrologer Leo Knighton Tallerico reminds us.

From a multidimensional perspective, the spiritual awakening we are going through on the planet now is a transitional process from an old paradigm into a New Age. This quantum leap reflects “the doors of perception” being cleansed so that humanity has the eyes to “see things as they truly are.” The veils appear to be thinning more than usual because we are developing the spiritual eyes and ears to see and hear. The wisdom of the Tao teaches us that when we change the way we look at the world, the world literally changes the way that it looks. In that light, “people are waking up all over the country and planet! Old stories that lead to Dead Ends are ending. New stories are being opened, stories that show how Nature and the Universe are joined and are moving us forward in Evolution.”

Furthermore, when contemplating the sacred geometrical Arcturian wisdom of remembrance, consider the following positive self-talk mantra: “the energy of remembrance helps you reach your inner knowing, which is where your real strength is. We often think we are not capable of doing something or think we are not ready to do something. Realize that all strength is already inside you and that you only need to remember.”

If we are being present with the awareness of remembrance, it is clear to see that we are living in a time when we don’t need a middle man guru to tell us how to accelerate our youth in this reform school known as earth. Also, the spirit of Weasel inspires a lesson plan that amplifies the importance of receiving silent messages that come from the soul, which is akin to a higher vibrational mind to mind, or telepathic communication. Of course, we all know the background noise of anxiety driven thoughts, aka the Chattering Monkey Mind. Nothing against monkey’s, as they are our distant cousins. But as we learn to tame the “downstairs” part of our brains, the inner voice of our “upstairs” brain area, or prefrontal cortex can become more alive. We know this reality by learning how to tune into it, and discern the quiet wise mind from the distracting background noise of the reptilian brain, where the amygdala tends to get hijacked. Mindful attention to the energy of Weasel can help you with self regulation, and assist you from smoking out the smokescreen of everyday life. Meditation on Weasel can help you get in touch with your silent observer, which can help you relax your identification with your thoughts, and emotions. Once you are the observer, you realize you are not your thoughts or emotions, and that is a very freeing experience.

What’s more, while listening to a podcast recently, these lyrics resonated about why we humans forget to give each other unconditional love: “We miss small moments that are grand ones” because being human on the planet today is like “being on a hamster wheel.” The trick is that we need to get in touch with our inner child, and remember what it was like to be a soul before we became more adult like in our personality development. From that place, we are more equipped to come from a clean place of love.

Looking back at the internalized oppression that I felt growing up with a parent who struggled with depression, and addiction, I can identify with what it’s like for someone who identifies as LGBTQ or BIPOC, who perhaps feels like they can’t breathe. From this position of empathy, I can understand how my experiencial feeling has a connection to a heavy feeling of suffocation. 

However, because of the way I physically looked to others, I could blend in more easily than people in minority positions that are physically differently observable. From this perspective, I was more overtly readily accepted by the dominant, popular, and mainstream culture that we were all born into. Even if I could taste the fringes, I had the privilege of growing up with Middle Class values in an American Dream that probably seemed a bit more attainable to me, even if by a bit of long shot. But not everybody does or even knows what those values or that dream is. And whether you do or do not buy into these values or dreams, they can be hard on our hearts. This can be especially true for sensitive people, and regardless of whether or not you achieve them as goals or not. 

Furthermore, a hardened heart is probably more alarming, when you think about the invited karmic “lifetime to lifetime” dharma you are working out. Perhaps you have been wise to the ways of the world, learned how to play the game, and know how to win at it. But at the end of the day, it can be a sad story, and lonely old road if all you have to show for it is fool’s gold. You can’t take those possessions with you after you die.

More importantly, remember that most of who you are today is a formless, energetic being or a soul that lives in your body that is also made up of a mind and a spirit. Contemplate when you were a soul before you incarnated into a mortal and were born on this planet. Why would you have agreed to come here, and chosen the form that you have? From a place of victim consciousness, you might say that you had no choice, that it was luck of the draw. But if you are willing to shift your mindset, and take responsibility for the cards that you were dealt, that can be very empowering. Just use your imagination to entertain this possibility and see what happens. In my experience, it relaxes a sense of victimhood, and entitlement. This mindful practice can be quite empowering and liberating. It is an honor and a privilege to see that you have chosen to come here as a spiritual being to have a human experience, whatever that experience might look like. If you are in a position of privilege, you might as well do something with your privilege to help others who do not share your position. Acknowledging your privilege, and holding a position of non-judgmental curiosity, compassion, and empathy toward someone else’s plight is the least you could do. You don’t need to make yourself feel superior or carry a wound that suffers from guilt. Both sets of baggage will just drag you down.

Finally, manifesting abundance transcends how much money you bank, or equity you build. If you read between the lines of the book The Secret, you’ll see that truth. Remember that energy is energy. It’s what you do with it that counts. Abundance isn’t really about what materials or success you accumulate, what you do or get people to do for you. Rather, on a deeper, and more meaningful level, abundance is about how you make other people feel that moves them, and inspires them to awaken their own greatness. It might come from the repeated exposure to the yinful reception of silent blessings, as well as peaceful, benign thoughts directed outward toward others, like yang does. In that light, abundance is manifested in the power of love that shines through your Being. And like the energy that Master Jedi Yoda radiates, you just do that with the invisible, yet priceless gift of your presence, and without any expectation of outcome.

May the Frog be with you,

Ari

The Spring Equinox, Big Night & A Full Worm Moon

Posted on by under Consciousness, Spirituality, Uncategorized

Artwork Created by Aunt Barbara Merlotti

Here on the ground, the arriving Spring Equinox on March 20th means that more robins are around, singing melodious songs about the early bird getting the worm. A Full Worm Moon, also called the Sugar Moon by the Ojibwe, takes place on March 28th. The Ojibwe name was inspired by the time of year when the sap of sugar maples starts to flow. Of course there are other names for this Full Moon as well. Moreover, in Northern New England on Big Night, the salamanders, wood frogs, and peepers are driven to make their sensuous journey to find vernal pools to procreate, and embody being good role models for sustainable living on our Planet. We can do our part by respecting their natural intelligence, and way of life. How do they manage to muddle along, in spite of overcoming incredible obstacles, such as scary predators, and paved roads full of human traffic? How do they do this without any guidebooks, lesson plans, compasses or maps to show them the way? Talk about taking back the night.

Remember in last month’s blog that we discussed coregulation, which in part just means the process of learning to harmonize with each other, and our environment. We become more equipped to do this when we are true to our core, and centered in our souls. Awakening to our soul’s purpose, and discovering our human potential is merely seeing that “the Earth is like a reform school.” Moreover, the transition we are going through is that we are getting back to our connection to each other, and our connection to our Mother Earth. What better way to honor Women’s History Month in March? In a nutshell, nurturing this connection means that we are taking care of our home, school, and community. Of course we can do this best when we are meditating and connecting with Nature consistently. But without women or Mother Earth, none of us would be here.

Additionally, in this dreamy Piceas time of year, meditation on Whale is a powerful spirit guide to tap into the heartbeat of the planet, and deepen our understanding of our empathic connections to one another. Keep in mind that whales carry the memories of our planetary consciousness. Of course we come from different pods, and have our diverse expressions. But in our multidimensional depth, we can all dive into the fluid and elusive nature of alternate realities, and who we really are. From this standpoint, it becomes easier to appreciate the wonder and beauty of the world. “Day turns into night, and back into day, the moon waxes and wanes, the seasons go through their dramatic and subtle changes. When a flower blooms and starts to fade, we accept the poignancy of that change. Even if the decay of the flower makes us sad, we can appreciate it as part of the movement of life. Imagine what it would be like if things existed in a fixed way. Wouldn’t life get boring pretty fast?”

Cosmically, sacred geometrical Arcturian wisdom reflects that the vibration of integration asserts that “the energy of integration helps you apply new truths in your daily life. The energy makes you aware that you are responsible for your own actions.” Moreover, the dimensional shift we are discussing here mirrors our movement into a New Age and Paradigm, aka an Aquarian Age or a New Earth. You already all know that the empowered freedom we like to highlight, is followed by the attached earmark of responsibility. But you don’t have to look at responsibility as a virus feeding off of its host of freedom. Same thing with taxes. If you’re making enough money to complain about how much you’re paying in taxes, then you might want to examine what’s underneath your disgruntlement. But try to remember to be gentle on yourself about it, and not too taxing in your self reflection, if you’ll kindly pardon the pun. Besides, alternative energy starts with you, just as it starts with me. Do you see?

Perceptually, marinate on the increasing phenomena of ETs or multidimensional beings as analogous to when our ancestors started to experience the arrival of Europeans in “Longer Boats.” For example, it wasn’t until a trusted Shaman or Wise Elder was able to integrate the reality of these crafts into their perception that they could report back their findings to the tribe. And then medicine people could share their visions so that the clans people could begin to see the reality of their new vision. Aborigines initially thought white people were ghosts from the Dreamtime, which to be dead serious, is both true and not true.

In much the same way as back Zen, the experiences right Tao are not all good or bad. Try to see these experiences as part of our collective, universal evolution. In that light, it is important to see the silver lining, and focus on making positive interpretations. This New Age of Diversity in Unity means that all voices matter, and that we should honor our differences. We all have different talents, and strengths. But that doesn’t mean that we have to go to war with each other or fight to make certain talents or strengths more or less valuable to the greater whole. That’s why cults and fascism are easy and seductive paths to the dark side, if we don’t do our own shadow work. Shining the spotlight on “power to the people” features the Divine Light of our better angels. The democratic process can get messy at times. But in the long run, a longitudinal and patient pace is preferable to the quick fix, and short term profits. It’s hard to go wrong with a diversified portfolio that supports the greening of the planet. BIPOC, LGBTQ, Super Pac supporters, and people who identify as “young conservatives” can all agree to disagree perhaps on their apparant divergent heritage or political differences without arguing or fighting with each other or taking their points of contention personally.

Furthermore, give consideration that the reported close encounters with ETs or multidimensional beings is a vibrational shift of them “slowing their vibration down” in a way or framework that makes sense to our brain consciousness.  Reflect back to February 25th’s blog entry about coregulation. A simple shift in perspective allows for a co regulatory opportunity that we can meet together in collective consciousness, from a place of curiosity and empathy. These entities meet us where we are at, and we can meet them where they are at. When we step into our fears with courage, we can use the power of our visualization to build up “multidimensional immunity.” We can also see ourselves as protected by a “vibrational vaccine,” as a way to empower ourselves during this pandemic, and the Climate Change that we are weathering on the planet right now. Or you could just literally shake out any trauma or fears that you experience, like many animals do naturally. It is amazing what a powerful release this simple strategy can have on your mind-body-spirit. That’s why martial arts, dancing, movement, exercise, yoga, taichi, and qigong can be effective wellness practices for good mental health. Of course there is no replacement for good therapy for personal/spiritual growth. I mean, you get your oil changed for your car, right? Just sayin’.

Finally, we hear a lot about the Growth Mindset in education these days. Similarly, we have heard good and plenty about the decay that mental rigidity and fixed ideas do to our well being. Growth Mindset involves developing inner resilience as an opportunity for learning and growth. A Growth Mindset framework allows for a developmental, life cycle approach to learning. Rather than striving for perfection, it is understood that imperfections are just examples of mastery in brilliant disguises that just haven’t happened yet. Sometimes, growing up is one step up, and two steps back. But paradoxically, see those masteries as already happening, and on their way. This requires an agreement of letting go of control, being open to trust, as well as having an open, passive attitude about learning something new. Given my strong, oppositional streak, and built in anger, this has been a challenging life cycle issue for me to relax on, lean into, and embrace. Systemically, being vulnerable, fostering inclusivity and belonging are part of the cultural paradigm shift that needs to take root in the matrix that we are mixing it up in together. It comes from a synergistic bottom up, and top down fluidity, where we are all working together, in the spirit of common language, and win-win politics.

Take care of yourselves everyone,

Ari

The Rat Bows to the Chinese New Year of the Ox

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Artwork Created by Aunt Barbara Merlotti

Have you ever heard the meme singing like black crows to the following lyrical everyday magical tune: it is easier to fool someone than it is to convince them that they have been fooled? This conversational nuance sprung up in communication with coworker teacher friends recently. Following that, I reflected on the spiritual therapy of Coyote energy, regarding its trickster elemental, and the medicinal alchemy of balancing wisdom and folly that we have referenced in past blog entries. How will our Grandchildren look at the Good Old Boy network of greedy governmental narcissism, the elitist entitlement of the Trump presidency, and subsequent mob’s violent stormtrooping of The Capitol in Washington, D.C.? It’s hard not to be reminded of Obi Wan Kenobi’s Jedi wit, “who’s more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows him?” The next several years will not be easy. But I do believe that we will rise out of these ashes like a Phoenix, by bringing more balance to the Force.

Personally, the above dynamic is particularly challenging when in the company of others, as I have a strong, single minded streak, and have relied heavily on my gut instincts in life. While being single minded, and self deterministic can be a sound survival skill, and good strategy for living at times, it can also be a curse. Being overly single minded, and self deterministic can come across as entitled, and too selfish to other people. When reflecting on the reality of this perspective, I am reminded of working with the New Age of Aquarius in a balanced way. Like the Wolf Government, the politics of Aquarius dances with balancing individualism with collective group consciousness. How do we balance the needs of nurturing our individual souls with the needs of the collective souls? It’s not an exact science or fixed destination, but more of an unfolding process.

Additionally, there is the street credibility of giving respect to others when respect is shown to you. In much the same way as we see in the old world classic series Game of Thrones, respect is earned, and based on a strict adherence to rituals, rules, and edicts. But a deeper quality of respect does exist, if we only allow for it. When journeying into this dimension, we are invited to dig a little deeper to access this truth, which arrives intuitively from the Dreamtime. For example, a fellow spiritual traveler echoed this awareness by asserting, “the Wabanaki notion of respect is unconditional. It lives inside of me, and the more I become aware of that, then I naturally respect others.” Thankfully, we have spiritual teachers that have lived on this planet before, as well as those that are living on the planet today that are good role models for us. We can emulate them so that we can awaken these truths within so that they become self evident. The more of us that are awakening to this dimension of respect, the more it is becoming a shared experience. Check out this short video that further captures the sentiment at Indian Island Penobscot Nation: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pB1Y-s4UoNilF-zq0ETXzFv1tez2WEQs/view

Contextually, when watching the current events of your own life, are you finding yourself untangling from a complex web of your old self, past experiences, awakening to new beginnings, budding energies stirring within, and itching to spring forth out into the sunlight? That would make sense, as Mercury is in retrograde right now till February 20th. Keep in mind that Thursday is a New Moon, and Friday, February 12th is the Chinese-Lunar New Year of the Ox. Spring is on its way, and happening right now, energetically speaking. As we have discussed in earlier blogs, Ox symbolizes humility, hard work, and emotional regulation. What is more, their energies are good reminders that it is important that everyone be allowed to contribute in group work. Sometimes, it is good to stay in your lane, and trust that others will do their part. This process also invites us to be mindful of letting go, and surrendering to the will of the Universe. I can hear an old football friend’s wit, “There is no ‘I’ in the team, but there is a ‘me’“.

More importantly, Chinese Astrology tells a story about when the Buddha summoned all the animals to establish an orderly sequence to the Chinese Zodiac. Moreover, “in the race, the Ox would have taken the honor taking first place had it not been for the clever and cunning Rat, who rode the back of the Ox and jumped forward at the finish line to steal away the top award.” Given that rats are very shrewd, coupled with an apparant zeal for competition, their connection to the term rat race seems apropos. I hardly think it’s a coincidence, given that behaviorist psychology gained social science credence from the results yielded by studying laboratory rats in scientific experiments. The capitalist/socialist system that we live in today mirrors that science.

Furthermore, when exploring the inner realm of meditative spaciousness, consider contemplating the Sacred Geometric Arcturian wisdom regarding balance: “The energy of balance helps you recognize yourself. If you are true to your feelings, if you recognize your own truth, nothing will be able to disturb your balance.” Reportedly, some of these Arcturian inspired, and recommended assertive I-messages are to say, “I release all thought programs that no longer serve me” and “clear out (toxic habituated) thought programs.” These are examples of how we can shift the spotlight of our purposeful attention from negative self talk to positive self talk. We can do this by embracing the Chattering Monkey Mind, rather than trying to push it away or throw it in the trash. Moreover, meditation on the spirit of Bear reinforces the power of respecting your own personal authority, and the boundaries of self in relationship with others. Set your intention to the Dream Lodge, and ask for safe travels in your sleep/dream cycle. This is not always easy during our waking hours, but it is a good way to let go before a good night’s rest.

Finally, when examining balance in our daily lives, it is always important to live with intention, and try to follow those footsteps with commitment. That is the trick to play with during our daily walking meditation along the trails of life. When we are walking in the center of the circle, we need to be mindful of not getting too swayed to the right or the left. Have we ever lived in such divided times? Indeed, these are the days to remember, where we are being called to heal the illusion of Polarity Consciousness. All that means is that our Higher Selves are bringing in higher energies to illuminate the shadows of our lower selves in the underground tunnels of our subconscious minds. In this awakening New Age and Paradigm, we are transitioning into an era of Diversity in Unity. We are all created equal, but are also uniquely diverse expressions of Spirit. And yet we are all part of Oneness. The Rainbow of Children under the Sun and the Moon that we all are. The Middle School Civil Rights Students I work with get that concept. Or like Mr. Miyagi captured in the classic film The Karate Kid so simply, “different, but same.”

Take care of yourselves everyone,

Ari

Howling in the Dark Night on a Full Wolf Moon

Posted on by under Consciousness, Spirituality, Uncategorized

Images Created by Aunt Barbara Merlotti

Mountain Lion descends down the mountaintop this December.

Good thing for cats because they see effectively in the dark.

That’s true, even on the blackest of nights, on the Winter Solstice on December 21, and a Full Cold Moon on December 29.

This is the last Full Moon of 2020.

On the Winter Solstice, we start coaxing back the light, as it rises during our assent toward the Full Wolf Moon on January 28, 2021.

A long time ago, our ancentors heard wolves howling in the night louder than usual at this time of year, so they heeded their callback, and echoed their spirited wisdom.

A few days after that, it will be the Imbolc, aka the popular Groundhog Day in the USA.

Groundhogs remind us to meditate on death without dying, and the spiritual awakening that takes place when we look toward the light at the end of the tunnel.

The Imbolc marks an X on the hidden half way treasure point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox.

And then the Chinese-Lunar New Year of the Ox begins on February 12.

Meditation on oxen, awakens group consciousness in the new Aquarian age, where we find new ways to work together, smarter over harder.

When I think about wolves, groundhogs, and oxen, I think about the dying old world tunneling and plowing itself further underground.

Black is the color of the heart of darkness, symbolic of the great void of priomordial creation.

It is through this venture into the darkness, that our souls travel through a magical mystery tour of unknowing that is really shaking up our collective consciousness right now.

The heart of Black Lives Matter is that enough is enough.

Reconcilliation is the rap of our heads and hearts.

How do we integrate our primal selves with our divine nature in judgement free zones?

Our egoic lower selves are good at directing judgements on ourselves or projecting them onto others, like when you carry an attitude about someone or something else.

Perhaps an old friend did something to cross your brow, that event or experience was taken personally, and now you’re holding a grudge.

This is part of a soul’s suffering, and draining energetically.

But it is healthier to relax those judgements, take back our projections, and view each other from the pearch of our Higher Self.

Call on Archangel Michael to slash away any attached strings that are pulling your soul from where it needs to go now to be free.

Some old tribal stories posited that humans are decendants of wolves.

And many of our anscestors believed we come from the Sky people.

These beings have also been called gods and goddesses, alien as that might sound.

Whatever the case, wolves are our friends, and copilots here on mothership earth.

Our days are getting lighter again, and light and dark energies will be in equal alignment on the Vernal Equinox on March 20.

I always meditate more clearly on gender equality, and general equinimity on the equinoxes.

The yin and the yang are in a perfect homeostasis with each other at this time.

If LGBTQ egalitarian rights aren’t front and center, they should be right now.

They reflect Nature’s coregulatory intercourse between masculine and feminine energies during these intersections.

It’s not a coincidence that the Earth’s crystalline grids are rising now, and that our multidimensional/planetary consciousness is going through a major shift.

Can you dig on the mulching, and unearthing composting process that is necessary for cross-pollination of a New Earth springing up, so that the fruits of our labor can sew the seeds of love across the planet?

We all have our individual strengths that want to come out into the sunlight, and support the power of group solidarity.

Someone else’s challenges can be supported by another person’s strength.

Boundaries are becoming less rigid and more fluid in this New Age.

People need to find new ways to communicate and work together.

It is more important than ever to honor our diverse expressions of Great Spirit.

But we need to remember our oneness, because in our uniqueness, we are all connected.

We are all both individual, and collective embodiments of Diversity within Unity.

Wolves are here to remind us that the new world we are cocreating is not about an either/or socialist/capitalist order.

Besides, try not to be jarred by labels. They’re just attachments that try to stick to you like glue.

If there is no jar, then there is no glue.

There are many tricksters out there. Don’t be fooled by them.

Coyote, a hybrid of Wolf, can help you balance your wisdom and folly by seeing through the trickery.

Wolf government is not a rigid paradigm, dictatorship or a fixed idea.

Rather it is a complex hybrid of democratic hierarchy, where the alpha and omega communicate with one another so that pathways are created to harmonize with the environment.

There is wise guidance in the eco-balanced consciousness of Wolf political action that is in alignment with universal/natural law.

Picture a Divine Government that embodies a level playing field where each one of us personifies the Golden Rule, and visualizes this in action seven generations ahead.

Till we tweet again peeps,

Ari

Hearing The Voices of Spirit Without Going Too Batty Or Forgetting To Heed The Echoes of Grounding Callbacks

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Images Created by Aunt Barbara Merlotti

October begins and ends with a Full Moon this year.

An arriving Full Harvest Moon on Thursday, October 1st, is followed by a Blue Moon at the end of the month on the Samhain, aka Halloween.

The harvest is in, the hunters are out, and bats are flying about.

The Samhain marks the approximate mid-point between the Autumn Equinox, and Winter Solstice.

Dark energies are making their ascension toward their peak on the Winter Solstice, the darkest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.

After that, we can look forward to coaxing back the light, as our days slowly start getting longer again.

Our anscestors noticed the thinning of the veils around the Samhain, where the curtain between the physical/spirit realms pulls back, while blurring the fine between the coexisting material/spiritual realms.

What masks are you wearing these days?

Are there ghostly attachments of your old self wanting to be released?

Are there any hidden selves within you that want to awaken from the dreamtime?

For better and for worse, 2020 will be a year to remember when the old ways changed, and a new normal could not be denied.

If anything, the Virus has helped the general public to wake up to the plight of black people, indiginious people, and people of color.

But we can transform our spiritual DNA/lineage/geneology, and become change agents in humanity by celebrating our diversity within unity.

We are becoming the better angels of our Galactic Heritage.

Along the Thunderoad of a burned out American Dream, meditate on the ground that you are standing on is more than likely sacred tribal land, of indiginious people that belong to the land, not the other way around.

We are the Universe!

Here on planet earth, the spotlight has shined on the tenuous relationship between the police, and the communities they serve.

We need to focus on building trusting relationships with each other, especially between authority figures, people of privilege, those that are oppressed, and underserved.

The Me Too movement, along with Justice Ginsberg’s recent death is ringing a bell of mindfulness of a dying patriarchy, and echoing the call for racial, gender equality, and women’s rights.

Women’s suffrage in modern America is a 100 years and runnin’!

If there is any time to walk with one foot in spirit, and one foot in ground, the time is now because things are getting more intense on the planet, and will continue to do so.

Being in this space helps keep us from getting seduced from veering too far off from the middle of the road.

A New Moon in the middle of the month takes place on the 16th.

New Moons always reflect new beginnings.

Peak foliage will be waning by then, as darker days are rising in the still of the nights.

Bats reflect the power of seeing in the dark, through echolocation, an acute form hearing that is like seeing through sound vibrations.

In this way, their spiritual superpowers reflect clairaudience, or the powers of hearing spirit.

Where did that ancestral voice come from?

What spirits are calling out to you?

These are experiences that we tend to have more around this time of year.

Halloween is associated with costumes and masks.

Wearing masks in particular can help us awaken parts of our selves, and also letting go of the typecast of past attachments.

When you play with masks as spiritual practice, you can venture into portals of your old selves.

This can be a powerful ceremonial form of releasing the old ghosts that are no longer serving you.

Wearing masks unconsciously can create problems, shadow building, and feed false selves.

Think about the old children’s story about the Emperor’s New Clothes.

All his followers played into the emperor’s charade.

But everyone knows that the naked truth is that the emperor is exposed in his birthday suit for everyone to see.

Doesn’t this old story sound familiar today, in much the same way as President Trump’s eminence front as a successful businessman, coupled with his recently reported tax delinquency?

But then again, seeing his true colors, and his full monty for what it is, should not really be a suprise to anyone.

Predictibly, the Trumpites will probably continue to follow the party line.

When you find the courage to question the status quo, including your own worldview, what you once clung to as truths start to disappear, and collapse onto themselves.

It’s a put on folks.

Maximum economic profit, rampant greed, and economic strangulation is suffocating the air we breathe.

Some people lose their minds, go bizerk or even kill themselves or others when the the devil they know takes off its mask, and reveals its brilliant disguise.

We can predict that if Trump does get reelected, then the left wing movements will get louder, as the cultural divide will get wider, more chaotic, further backlash into a police state, and a drive toward more criminalization to establish order.

If Biden wins, which I think he will, there will be more intense backlash from the right wing, more bible thumping, louder calls for more religious fundamentalism, and zeolotry. MAGA will be up in arms.

Can you hear the callback to the old Woodie Guthrie tune, “this land is your land, this land is my land?”

The reality is, that here in America, we are all standing on indiginious land that existed before the arrival of Columbus.

The people already living here were sovereign, had their own cultural identity before their land was taken from them, and then were relocated against their will.

Violence, terrorism, and genocide were real experience for First Nation peoples.

The same thing happened to the indigineous people of Africa, who were taken from their land against their will, and then forced to work on command as free labor that made this country the weathy superpower that it is today.

Also, there were white slaves, who were once looked upon as standing on equal subserviant footing as the rest of the societal underclass.

And then the minority of the opulent saw that this could be exploited, by convincing the poor white man that he was a little better than blacks, browns, and indians.

We all know what the Natzis thought about Jews, and the LGTBQ crowd.

The Hidden Hand has been manipulating depressed whites to identify with the power and control of the upper classed white men, who held positions of power, many of whom abused that power.

This is basic psychology, in its darker, more manipulative, and egocentric forms.

Power to the people, and unity consciousness of we the people is more in alignment with the New Aquarian Earth Age that is awakening on the planet today.

But then again, it’s just an old school respect for the Golden Rule.

Till we tweet again peeps,

Ari

Squirreling Away Our Acorns for Leaner Times Ahead

Posted on by under Consciousness, Uncategorized

Images Created by Aunt Barbara Merlotti

A Full Corn Moon reveals its harvest in the skies on September 2nd, 2020, followed by a New Moon in its wake on Thursday, September 17th, and the Autumn Equinox on Tuesday, September 22nd.

Daylight is waning in the Northern hemisphere these days, as is brighter hints of fall in the air, and as seen on the leaves.

Can you hear the acorns dropping from the trees, and popping onto the ground?

Do you appreciate the beautiful rainbow spectrum of foilage on the trees, and the colorful shades of hues that decorate our human family?

Light and dark will be equal again on the Autumn Equinox, and then the dark will rise till its climax on the Winter Solstice, the darkest day of the year after the election and eclipse season are over at the tail end of December.

What new suprises are awaiting us between Tao and Zen?

When I think about squirrels, I am inspired about what they do with their nervous energy. I like the way the channel their chi in ways that find balance between work and play.

Squirrels have an intelligence about them that just knows what to do right now so that they have enough supplies gathered for food security for leaner times ahead.

They seem to know how to have fun in spite of how busy they are right now.

If only we humans can remember that during this season of transition, in our back to school, back to business mentality in schools, and other workplaces.

And even thought they often forget where they bury their acorns, they trust their sense of smell to guide them to dig into the earth to shed light on the mystery of their forgotten fruit.

How they don’t lose their minds, and go nuts in the process is beyond my human comprehension.

Seems to me that our world could stand to learn from our fellow spirited woodland creature friends.

Squirrels show us that they have their own rainbow of diversity. Red squirrels are smaller, but more brazen, vocal, and animated in their approach. Gray squirrles aren’t particularly quiet either, they don’t like strange squirrels, and they aren’t afraid to speak up on that.

But there is an old world respect of the rules that they play by that we humans can stand to adopt, nurture in our own doings, and coregulation with one another.

Black Lives Matter and Me Too are merely accentuating the power of that sentiment, just like a black panther captures the magic and mystery of the primal forces that awaken within the depths of the unknown.

It is a tragic and sad day when another black person dies at the hand of an unfair and unjust playing field that leaves all lives strangulated whether realized or not. It is a suffocating feeling, people are tired, and have had enough. The looting and rioting are chaotic manifestations from that anger.

Preschoolers notice differences but do not judge those differences as better or worse. We are taught to do that, and you begin to see prejudicial thought forms developing by Kindergarten.

Move beyond your judgments and see historical context for what it is. We have all been deceived to buy into a segregated system of us and them.

You may have had the good fortune to have been taught that you can grow up, overcome any obstacle, and be whoever or whatever you want. Perhaps the shade of your skin was not really a factor in that belief because you were raised by well intentioned parents to be colorblind.

But the reality is, that for black people, indiginious people, and people of color, particularly in America, that has not been their experience, from the eyes of the dominant majority or mainstream cultural norms.

Yeah, we’ve made progress, but we are still carrying the luggage passed down to us from our ancestors. The cycle of poverty and mental health issues are also part of that baggage that needs to be released and let go of.

The soul power of these movements represent shifts toward equanimity within our human family, and reflect the universal pillars of Love and Truth.

Especially now at the tailend of one age, while coming out of the birth canal into a new one.

The Virus has been a catalyst to challenge our modern day human paradigm in ways that reveal how isolated and disconnected we can feel from one another, and the world around us.

But then again, that is something we have needed to come to reconcile inside of ourselves.

Because the truth is, led by the power of love in our hearts, is the wisdom to know that we are never really alone.

The feeling of separation is part of our suffering. The way out of this suffering is to find the courage to step into our fears, and trust that we are all connected in unity, regardless of our diversity.

Empathy, sensitivity, and an appreciation for our different ways of seeing the world are good for us to work on, and play with in our consciousnessness.

That doesn’t happen if you aren’t willing to self-reflect about your judgments or take inventory of your thoughts and emotions.

It doesn’t happen if you don’t dig beneath the surface of your anger, or look beyond someone’s behavior to see the whole person that might have been hidden from your initial, cursory glance.

An American election is coming that faces a divided nation.

A radical political action that I take is to see the inner nobility of someone that I am struggling with inside of myself.

And then, I focus on gratitude for the presense of whomever I am targeting as the focus of inner nobility of that person.

President Trump is a good example for many of us on the planet to focus on our suffering that way.

As challenging as it might be for you, see his inner nobility, and focus on gratitude for his presense in your life.

This is easier to do with someone you like, and you know cares about you.

There are a lot of seductive conspiracy theories out there that are part of the fake news that flood the corporate media.

I heard a real humdinger recently, the one about The Donald being a light worker in disguise.

As ridiculous as that sounds, the point of namaste is to see the light in another person that also resides in you.

You don’t just do that with people you like or agree with politically.

The real challenge is to love everybody.

Like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

We should heed his wisdom, and bring back the spirit of his teachings in our everyday affairs.

Till we tweet again peeps,

Ari

May This Full Flower Moon Awaken the Fragrance of our Collective Air

Posted on by under Consciousness, Uncategorized

Some of our ancestors called this Full Moon a Full Flower Moon
because many spring flowers are blooming around this time.

A New Moon arrives on May 22nd.

For various reasons, this Full Moon on May 7th is also being called a Supermoon –
the third consecutive one of its kind in 2020.

This threepeat makes for an appetizing prequel to this
Summer’s polyenergetic Astrological Eclipse Season.

They will be arriving on the Summer Solstice in later June.

Energies intensify more than usual around these times.

But this Full Moon is also called the Wesak Full Moon.

This is symbolic of the Buddha’s Light of Compassion that shines brightly
on the consciousness of our planet at this time.

It’s always good to have a compassionate approach.
But especially good medicine when spirits spring out, and up.

Do whatever you can to ground yourself, so that
your feet stay anchored into the Earth.

In the Northern Hemisphere of the Americas,
many of us remember learning the mantra:

April showers bring May flowers

Today, it’s especially hard to be a student or work at a school
when school isn’t in session.

Many people are out of work, or being told to stay home.
But how do I make a living? What do I do with myself?

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, we are experiencing great adversity –
humans especially, know calamity on the planet right now.

But there are positive signs regarding the environmental impact
of staying home, and consuming less fossil fuels on our ecosystems.

I’m hearing students, and coworkers say that they miss being at school.
This is coming from people that you don’t typically hear express those sentiments.

And I’ve heard stories about areas in the Himalaya’s
that you couldn’t see a month ago.

Reportedly, skies are clearing to show their beautiful vistas
to the world again in that location.

As if we needed any proof that fossil fuels
don’t adversely affect humans, and all Earthlings!

They certainly aren’t good for the multidimensional Universe either.

What you can do with this adversity right now,
is allow yourself to awaken to the present moment,
and sit with what is.

You can become mindful of the energy of your thoughts,
and the emotions that connect to those thoughts.

You can become mindful of your breath, replace your fears,
and quiet your chattering monkey mind with peaceful, calming thoughts.

Do this one step, one breath, and one moment at a time.

On the horizontal level, you can play with the forms, including your own.

Get plenty of rest, practice self-care, follow a routine,
nurture your creativity by writing, making art, music
take photojournalistic pictures, drink plenty of water, and eat healthy foods.

On a vertical level, unplug from the gadgets,
travel inside your body into your formless dimension,
and notice what awakens within you in the quiet darkness.

What comes up for you in this empty space?

Can you come down into your soul into this unknowing,
and unmanifested area of you that might want to become conscious?

This is a place beyond ingrained thinking, and robotic habits.
It is a space beyond linear, clock time, and schedules.

Yet paradoxically, you can access this space within the
mundane tasks of your daily routine.

This is where the magic wakes up by allowing your
consciousness to see the light of day.

This is the place where the
darkness of night walks out in the sunlight.

It is a commingling partnership with our masculine, and feminine beingness –
inside of ourselves, and outward bound with each other.

Till we tweet again peeps,

Ari