Tag Archives: Personal Growth

Thinning Veils, Rising Spirits, A Full Beaver Moon, Resting In Non-Striving, Letting Go Of The Need And Impulse To Struggle & Dropping Into The Felt Sense Of Peace And Love In Your Body

Posted on by under Consciousness, Spirituality, Uncategorized

We gotta make a change…
It’s time for us as a people to start makin’ some changes.
Let’s change the way we eat, let’s change the way we live
and let’s change the way we treat each other.
You see the old way wasn’t working so it’s on us to do
what we gotta do, to survive. —Tupac Shakur

A New Moon on October 21 marks the end of Libra season, and the beginning of Scorpio. Their seasonal energies are dominant through late November, right after the next New Moon and approximately a week before Thanksgiving.

I really appreciate the willpower associated with Scorpio. It’s a good trait to be mindful of when you need to tap into your personal will that makes its home in the solar plexus chakra.

The Samhain will happen on October 31st into The Day of the Dead and All Saints Day on November 1st, and then All Souls Day on November 2nd.

Many indigenous cultures and ancestors of ours honored the ‘Thinning of the Veils’ at this time; reflecting the blurred boundary between the spirit and material realms.

A growing body of people are reawakening to, and getting in alignment with Nature and Celestial cycles and power seasons.

That’s why Halloween features wearing masks, tricks or treats. Modern festivities and holidays are inspired by older traditions that predate colonization and rampant consumerism.

Just as an example, Chinese culture still follows the lunar calendar. Speaking of the Chinese Lunar calendar, we will be transitioning from the Year of the Snake to the Year of the Fire Horse on February 17th. Giddy up, and get ready to blaze new trails ahead. More transformation is in the air and on its way.

But before that, a New Moon in Scorpio on November 20, we are invited to delve deeply into our feelings. Desirous meaningful emotional exchanges are amplified now, even if it is not easy and you are called to make a myriad of perhaps unwanted changes in your life.

We don’t typically like challenging relationships because they can be unsettling and get us out of our comfort zones. And yet without them, we do not grow.

During these darkening days, it’s time to turn our clocks more ‘yin-ward’ as we move closer to the Winter Solstice on December 21st, the darkest day of the year. Keep in mind there is mystery and magic in everyday life. Darkness symbolizes creation. Humans are creative beings that need to cultivate creativity for life to have meaning that transcends robotic doings.

A Full Beaver Moon on November 5th reflects energies that reveal feeling safe being contingent on the need for stability. That’s tough to satisfy now, especially because change is part of life, and there are big changes happening and coming our way. The ego clings, grasps and resists what is in this world of 10,000 things…especially the material things.

This isn’t new to the human condition, but it is far more in our face with the rise of technology, fake news, etc. in the reform school called Earth. Isn’t ii poetic to notice those wearing The Emperor’s New Clothes (the ones rigging the system) throwing that term around by targeting those who have far less power than the Billionaire Class? Who payin’ you?

Part of the arriving New Aquarian Golden Earth Age is the death of an old world and old ways of being. Like any death, there is a grieving and letting go process.

Take movements like No Kings, Me Too, Black Lives Matter, Occupy Wall Street and Civil Rights as examples.

These songs of freedom and protests to the status quo reflect the will of the peoples spirit to build a more equitable, fair and just society.

We all lose (even the perceived winners) in the current paradigm. The playing field is leveling as we speak, even if it is hard for you to find the eyes to see that.

Check out the poetic song below that I reimagined many moons ago that was inspired by the legendary folk singer Woody Guthrie . . .

This Land Is Your Land Revisited

Accepting ourselves for who we are does make it easier for us to find peace and tranquility in the outside world. Be mindful that the old guard (including the Establishment and ‘Trumpamania’) wants you to believe otherwise.

Consider beavers for a moment. Even when humans try to squelch their development, they can often rebuild their dams faster than they are destroyed. Beavers have an intelligence about them that understands the process of maintaining their dams and constant water levels.

Accumulating points in life’s game is less about material success. Rather its about showing up and being of service to others without being a sacrificial lamb to yourself. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Remember the Golden Rule. We are all interconnected, part of the Earth and the Universes energy.

It is a real possibility to let go of the struggle through resting in a deep sense of awareness in restful stillness,; whatever side of the fence you are on or whatever belief system might look like.

But it is highly unlikely that you will know this experience without being present and meditating consistently. You don’t have to get sucked into the drama or the struggle. It’s hard to go wrong with a heart-centered loving kindness perceptual reality.

Demonizing and hate are easy. Beaming loving kindness to everyone and everything reveals the power of love.

There is an order to the Universe. Of course there is also an interplay between order and chaos, like the fluidity of the yin and yang. Have faith and trust in the process. Don’t get sucked into the fear mongering. We don’t have to draw our swords or go to war with one another. Lighten up folks.

Rest in non-striving. Rest the need and impulse to struggle. Drop into the felt sense of peace and love in your body.

May all beings experience a letting go of the struggling and suffering; while at the same time, an awakening to inner peace as a way of free and clean living.

Ari

Keeping The Flame During A Fiery Late July Leo Season & Swimming Into A Full Sturgeon Moon In August.

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A New Moon in Leo will arrive on July 24, 2025.

About a week before the New Moon, Mercury will be in Retrograde on July 18 and stay there till August 11; just after the Full Sturgeon Moon on August 9th.

Transformation is in the air. Be mindful of a rising tide of emotions that may surface in your waking reality for self-examination.

Are you experiencing power struggles? Are you feeling displaced or taken advantage of?

Leo’s fiery energies inspire us to frolic, play and enjoy drinking in summery energies.

Humanity can look upon this time as a friendly reminder that we are social creatures by nature.

May we access our social butterfly at this time, and build confidence in social situations so that we can effectively step into the limelight.

Tap into the fire element to access your intuitive spiritual wise warrior now to face any old ghosts or wounds.

And then transform them into spirit guides that support you along your way. Doing so is far more worth your time than getting your fix of the daily news to ‘keep informed’.

Our ancestors named this Moon after the Sturgeon because they were a primary food source to Indigenous people and colonists, and peak seasonal catch at this time.

If it seems like something fishy is going on during this Nature cycle, Mercury in Retrograde can feel like an old Twilight Zone episode; where communication can break down. Moreover, logic and reason of left brain systems of thought lose their power.

At the same time, we are invited to move into creative, right brain realms, like meditating, journaling, singing, playing music, and movement.

It’s also a good time to rewind and review where we have been, and explore the direction we want to move toward that awaits on the horizon.

Further, Mercury in Retrograde gives us the opportunity to let go, surrender and go with the flow.

Try to let rigid thoughts relax into the ebb and flow of the tides. Shorelines are magical places to meditate on for that.

Sturgeon’s have a prehistoric intelligence, and are good at swimming through murky waters. This reflects their survival instinct and resilience.

Humanity can stand to build our collective resiliency. Just imagine the infinite win-win possibilities!

Nowadays, mental health is paying more attention to learning how to swim in mental waterways that access happiness as a way of life.

Inner peace is a real deep dive; a dimension where following your bliss and discovering what awakens joy within your being are key dynamics.

I like breathing in the energy of new beginnings around New Moons. This one is a good reminder to accept feedback for the sake of personal growth.

Back in my late teens and early 20s, I remember when my thespian friends encouraged me to get into acting. Given my tendency to be less open to stepping outside of my comfort zone at that time in that way, I dismissed their recommendation; in spite of a natural gift for entertaining fantasy, pretending and playing cat and mouse in the theater of life.

But then again, that’s just part of being human. And learning how to be human is a process, and works best when we’re patient and kind to our minds and our selves.

Looking back in the rearview mirror, I wasn’t foreign to the spotlight following me around or having an audience. In my experience, I felt safe with impressing others, and receiving praise and admiration from them. Truly, a disease to please was a good frenemy, and security in my consciousness for years to come.

And yet, when I would become conscious of stepping into the limelight, it was easy for me to clam up, get taken over by stage fright, and then feel at a loss. Given my hard times with criticisms, it’s taken me a long time to learn how to be vulnerable by leaning into them and embrace criticisms as agents of change.

During my tenure on the planet, I have noticed how challenging it can be to not get defensive with folks; especially the ones whose criticisms pour liberally from their mouths, like an unsolicitedly peddled powder keg.

However, a gentle and open gaze at criticisms can open up pathways for internal shifts to take place so that we can move forward.

As I look back on an old friend’s High School yearbook quote, it does make sense to rather be hated for who you are than loved for who you are not.

A compassionate gaze reveals that hate is a strong term and an unsustainable way to live. But the idea of being true to yourself allows for more abundant inner peace. Besides, giving up your power to acquiesce to the desires of others is a recipe for digesting bitter.

May this Full Sturgeon Moon light up your sea of consciousness. People talk about the dog days of August. But it is our approach to the internal and external weather patterns, and changing seasons that matter.

Fish Philosophy speaks of the critical ideas that we all have the power to choose our attitudes, and make someone’s else’s day through kindness, etc. Of course there are many ways to do this. But probably not getting into a heated debate with someone else about whose beliefs Trump another’s, if you’ll pardon the political pun. Besides, you wouldn’t really be listening to the other person anyway; rather, you’d be reacting to the voice in the head.

Take care of yourselves everyone,

Ari

Soul Liberation!

Posted on by under Spirituality, Uncategorized

When gently gazing at my disease to please in the mirror . . .

I compassionately see your own need to be needed reflecting back at me.

Are they really any different?

Such attachments invite seductive medications, like band aids or other life support systems.

But when we find the courage to go beyond drinking the Kool Aid or ingesting anesthesia;

We have the opportunity to take back our projections.

There is an awakening into a mystical quest through the Dark Night of the Soul . . .

A rebirth flickers like a light at the end of a tunnel.

These inner dimensions are worth examining!

Old relationships have been built on the bonds of attachment.

When they burn in a funeral pyre, they are called by the fire to transform.

Alchemy is sparked on the inside.

A ripple effect is felt by others, whether realized or not.

This is cosmic karma at play . . .

When a minority healthy perspective lives in a room full of insanity,

it is easy to be seen as an outcast.

Because from the position of normative madness,

wellness can feel like the odd man out, or woman if you are one.

Except that from a clearer perspective,

you see from a new reality that is now as obvious as it once was hidden.

Another entanglement with form has been released . . .

A dismantling of an ego-identification is not without feelings of loss.

And then there is grieving in the death of the old self with that.

Spirits are lifted and freed from their entrapment of excess baggage.

There is a relaxation from feeling suffocated or feeling tugged on by suffering.

A full bellied breath of fresh air is empowering;

Now that’s soul liberation!

Here is an inspirational old folk song that I recorded recently: