Tag Archives: Psychology

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

Releasing Old Stories, and Reworking New Scripts

Posted on by under Consciousness, Native American, Shamanism, Uncategorized

A New Moon arrives on January 24.
And then after that, the Chinese New Year of the Rat on the 25th.

The duality of an old world dying, and a new one
birthing is laborious, and painful to watch at times.

This transition into a new age and paradigm
goes by different names, just like the moons.

Does that early leaf falling in late summer,
bring you into your fears about the waning light,
and cooler temperatures?

Like all transitions, many people are
questioning where they have been,
and where they are going in their lives.

Some say they don’t want to live on the planet anymore.

There are many forms that people play with to do
that in their consciousness by way of escapism, fantasies,
hitching a ride to another galaxy in a spaceship, running from
our feelings, or retreating into a personal bubble.

One of the ways people give up is through death by suicide.

Killing yourself is certainly one of the 10,000 ways into
the valley of death.

But there are more purposeful ways to expand our souls,
and liberate them, rather than by ending your body’s experience here.

Besides, it’s a really traumatic experience, and terribly confusing.

That’s why I try to be mindful of killing with kindness, and
remember to meditate on Groundhog to die without dying.

It makes sense to me that our ancestors celebrated the Imbolc,
because it marked the mid-point between the Winter Solstice, and Vernal Equinox.

The popular American holiday of Groundhog Day reflects
this symbolism because energetically Spring is starting already.

It’s good medicine to celebrate the light rising at the end of the tunnel,
and the wisdom to see light, and dark balancing each other out again.

As dark of a topic as suicide is,
it does not discriminate.

It doesn’t care if you are rich or poor, what your race,
ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation is, what political
party you belong to, or if you are an introvert or extrovert.

Suicide is something most people contemplate.
But most people don’t do it.

And one of the reasons people don’t end their lives is that people think about
the impact it will have on the survivors, and the holy hell it leaves behind.

One of the complexities of suicide is that people
who try to end their lives, or do end their lives
are sick of the pain, don’t want to deal with it anymore,
and wish their pain would go away.

As a survivor of a completed suicide,
it has been a long journey in working through my own healing process.

It hasn’t been easy to look forward to this month in a new way.

Anniversaries can bring all those feelings,
and old stories right back to the surface –
regardless of how deeply submerged or buried they were.

I can still remember getting the call that my mom
had left this Earth 25 years ago, like it was yesterday.

As you can imagine, that wasn’t an easy call to take,
even though I had tried to prepare myself for it from her previous
attempts, and knowledge of how extreme her shifts
between internal order and chaos could be.

I feel thankful to my family, friends, and fraternity brothers
who were there to cushion the blow, and help me see that
a safety net was there when I needed it.

There have been many ebbs and flows along the way,
regarding how I have handled this tragedy, or not handled it.

Like Sting, I have worn the royal crown of the King of Pain,
and traveled through Dark Knight of the Soul.

For a long time, I’ve been good at hiding that side of myself.
Wearing masks can do that.

But it can also show you who you really are before you are
ready to show your dark and shadow sides to others.

The old survival of the fittest paradigm is
part of a dying process, just as are old stories.

On some level, we have believed that “it’s just the way it is.”

People have been put into boxes, and believed in those boxes.

If you didn’t identify with one version of yourself,
or what someone told you about yourself.

Perhaps you’ve rebelled by becoming the opposite side of the same coin.

The grip of those old stories can be hard to let go of.

We humans have believed in them,
and developed attachments to those stories.

Like with all new moons,
this new moon coming is associated with new beginnings.

And so it is with the lunar energy of a new year.

Rats are shrewd creatures, and can symbolize prosperity,
according to Chinese astrology.

What shrewdness, and prosperity do you want to bring to the table,
and manifest on our Planet in the year ahead?

In social science, rats are associated with behaviorism,
and applied behavioral analysis.

Like humans, rats are intelligent creatures.

Sometimes, behaviorism gets a bad rap about
wanting to manipulate, and control people.

But any knowledge that gets in the wrong hands
embodies that kind of stupidity.

I recently saw an old you-tube interview with B.F. Skinner.
And it was illuminating to see him talk about how he
saw his psychology as a way for individuals to empower themselves.

And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that country rats have been
identified as smarter than city rats.

We all do better in smaller, more intimate circles where we feel
part of a community, and organically connected to Nature.

If you can see the maze for what it is, you can then
see yourself rewiring new cognitive maps.

These are the days of creating amazing portals into new ways of being.

Till we tweet again peeps,

Ari

November Rain & A Full Beaver Moon

Posted on by under Consciousness, Native American, Shamanism, Uncategorized

November has arrived, and days are becoming darker
in the Northern hemisphere.

We are moving closer to the Winter Solstice,
our darkest day of the year.

But following that, we begin coaxing back the light.

When the shades of Mercury in Retrograde are drawn,
it can fog the left brain, and leave you feeling cloudy.

Here in Maine, November is traditionally the gloomiest month of the year.

Given the thinning veils between spirit and material realms,
and the end of daylight savings time, there are many natural feelings
associated with the dark energies around death, dying, and darkness in general.

Of course, we have been taught to fear the dark in our modern world.

In fact, religions have demonized the dark –
even at times enslaved, and burned people at the stake out of fear.

Just look at how we glorify our attachments to our bodies,
and fear the extinction of them.

But our souls, like the yin and the yang have both sunlight and dark nights.
Every soul has masculine and feminine energies living within it.

You do not have to be seduced by your fears or your dark side.
If you are, then you will become consumed by them,
and attract more of the same.

The opposite is true if you focus on the positive,
and look for the silver lining.

The key dynamic to embrace your oneness with everything,
and celebrate the diversity that makes you unique.

How do you see yourself right now?

Do you see yourselves as separate from others?

Are you becoming the change you want to see in the world?

In my experience, Winter has been a hard time for me,
as the date of January 25, marks the tragic date of my mom’s
death by suicide many moons ago – 25 years to be exact.

Sadly, it is getting harder for people to live on the planet,
and more people are ending their lives.

I feel their pain, and I get their plight, as most empaths do.

The trick is not to cut yourself off from the gift to feel, nor
take the pains of others personally, and also to know discernment with
relation to boundaries.

But according to the Chinese Lunar New Year,
January 25 signals the Year of the Rat.

The social science geek in me appreciates the connection between Rat, and
rat psychology – a derivative of behaviorism, a form of the
science of psychology.

We have been conditioned to buy into a material world that
peddles a dangerous game of rewards and punishments.

Many people that don’t fit into that paradigm,
feel left out, lost and alone.

But the spiritual power of Rat invites meditation onto another possibility.

Do you remember the story about when the Buddha welcomed
the arrival of all the animals to his teachings,
and the first one of 12 to show up was the rat?

At the precipice of a New Age and Paradigm,
the time is now to redefine our idea of success.

We need to become more shrewd in our doings, and awaken strategies to
more effectively tame our nervous woodland creature energy.

Mindfulness is a way out of our suffering that allows us to breathe
in the power of now as it awakens in the present moment.

Meditation trains us to leave the depression of the
past alone, and calm the anxiety of the future.

It is not a cure, but it is a skill that can be developed,
and improve with practice.

The Beaver Full Moon rises in the skies on November 12.

Given their industry, and creative exit strategies,
the energies of Beaver can help you spring the traps in your consciousness.

Remember that consciousness is behind everything,
even the most advanced human brains,
and other intelligences at play.

So you might as well forget about outwitting Nature, or getting caught up
in the manipulations of the egoic mind’s behavioral traps.

The Universe is not out to get you, nor is it an enemy that needs to
be beaten up, subjugated or killed.

At the end of the day, we all need to build new neurons, neighborhoods,
and make friends with our own inner space.

When we do that, alternative energy is cultivated in a way
that is based on the Universal pillars of Love and Truth.

Till we tweet again,

Ari

Forming Intelligent Cognitive Maps with Rat

Posted on by under Consciousness, Energy Medicine, Native American, Original Prose, Shamanism, Uncategorized

Chinese astrological legend posits that Rat was the first
to arrive among the 12 animals that heeded Buddha’s call

Are you aroused by a sweet and spirited
fragrance fueling your olfactory senses?

May has blossomed from a most powerful
Flower Full-Bellied Wesak Moon
Sowing the seeds of Love over us last Sunday
Shining the Light of compassion onto our World

Let it Be that the
Love of Mother Mary and Christ Consciousness
Shine sunlight onto shadowy planetary dark edges

On this Sunday, what better a day to honor
the Sacred Feminine Energy on Mother’s Day!
Thank you Mother Earth for giving us a home to live on
May we rekindle our commitment to live in harmony with You again

The Empire has studied rats and applied Its scientific observations
on the psychology of humanity
The shroud of the Dark Side of social science has used this knowledge to
manipulate and control the masses to keep us in hibernation

But if you look behind Imperial smokescreens and propagated patriotism –
Your spiritual gait will not be deflated and your footing will remain secure

Humanity is on the cusp of an eye-opening
evolutionary impulse to wake-up from a hypnotic trance and
Re-member our spiritual Nature

The Old Guard is afraid to let go of Its grip

A New Hope of Divine marital vows is lightening-up –
Keeping the flame lit with peaceful internal cohabitation

Masculine and Feminine energies live in domestic partnership
Dancing together in an egalitarian Tango

On the surface, many folks sound the alarm and hit the panic button
when they notice a rat or some other pest
nervously exploring their environment

Are you not handling the pests in your life properly?
What mirror are they holding up for you to self-examine?

Beyond a cursory glance or an attachment to a rigid perspective . . .
Might we observe a window into a deeper perceptual reality –
waiting to be explored?

It is easier to stop at the judgment and hold a fixed idea or position . . .

“Good fences make good neighbors”
Get that varmint off my property line!
Asserts the programmed “voice in the head”

But are you shrewd enough to sniff out the challenge and opportunity to
aggressively dig a little deeper to spring the traps
of your protective scar tissue and psychic defenses?

Success, restlessness and shrewdness are the ways of Rat Medicine
As are sociability and adaptability part of their daily vitality

Rat guides us into industry and cooperative efforts in community
Just waiting to flower across the fruited plain of humanity

“Become the change you want to see in the world”

See you further on up the trails,

Ari

Even on the Surface, Conscious Breathing has Great Depth

Posted on by under Consciousness, Energy Medicine, Native American, Original Prose, Shamanism, Uncategorized

Dolphin guides our spirits in this material world
into remembering when Grandmother Moon
once wove patterns of the tides into our daily Earth-walk

Dolphins are speaking to us to help us remember
primal communication through sensing vibration and sound

Do you need to pay more attention to your intellectual development,
or communication issues regarding the psychology
of self in relationship?

Whether looking at conflict in world events
Or personal relationships –
Sometimes silence or even pausing to take a deep breath,
and think before we speak gives peace a chance

Water symbolizes creation, passion and sexuality
Feminine power gains sustainable momentum
when tapped into gradually, gently and softly

Picture the dominant Masculine Military-Industrial Empire
Breathing in the fresh air of these self-evident Truths
and then exhaling its complexities that blow things out of proportion

Before going scuba diving . . .
Remember to adjust breathing patterns accordingly
Blowing out tension by relaxing into deep belly breathing

We use our sonar (empathy) to tune into our natural bio-rhythms

Surf the energetic waves with a playful, light-hearted sense of detachment
But not without holding secure footing onto our boards

Dolphins lesson plans awaken our
curiosity, intellect and intuitive faculties

Let us bow equally to our oneness and diverse expressions
Without our breath, there would be no rebirth

Do you need to expand your awareness beyond your own family or pod
to see yourself as part of our greater Global community?

Emotional cleansing clears away stagnant water that needs to flow
Our Dreamtime reveals connections to old wounds that want to release and heal

Do you need to enjoy life and become more playful –
In spite of undesirable cosmetic imperfections?

Grieving our heartaches and sorrows is a sign to address pain we have stuffed
Otherwise, the pain builds and suffering continues

May we take back our outward projections

What does our awareness of our traumatic experiences
have to teach us about ourselves?

Adjust our breathing patterns to swim in life’s mutable waters
Altered states and New Dimensions are accessed when inner sounds
reverberate in outer manifestations

Becoming the change you want to see in the world is a good mantra to live by

A Full Worm Moon later on this week hints at softening ground
with reappearing earthworm casts
Robins sings songs of spring arriving
As maple sap begins to flow
Tapping of annual maple tree rituals are beginning

Masculine and feminine energies will flow together
in waves of synchronized oceanic swimming
On Spring Equinox in later March . . .
I hardly think a showcase of collective Olympic gold medals could touch that.

See you further on up the trails,

Ari

Climbing the Mountain with Lion

Posted on by under Consciousness, Energy Medicine, Native American, Original Prose, Shamanism, Uncategorized

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

See you further on up the trails,

Ari

Venturing Down the Rabbit Hole

Posted on by under Consciousness, Energy Medicine, Native American, Original Prose, Shamanism, Uncategorized

Small in stature
Rabbits paradoxically represent
A tribal quest in fertility and new life

Remember there is prolific power in numbers

Ready for stillness in freeze frames
Even when on the hop

A forthcoming New Moon remembers our lunar connection
In alignment with tide’s ebb and flow

Are you about to enter into a 28 day cycle?

Gentleness, versatility, quickness and creativity
Rabbits are rooted in defensive footing and gifted at avoiding conflict
Natural tai chi masters of the internal martial arts are they

Are you being gentle, compassionate and modest in your dealings with others?

While hopping down the bunny trail
We open our hearts to multidimensional visions
of previously unseen possibilities
Snatching up carrots of fleeting opportunities

Dawn and dusk veils thins during these times
We can all dig on the realm of the Faery
Unearthing messages to stay grounded even when scampering out and about

What we resist will persist
Knows the psychology of a self-fulfilling prophecy

Pain is part of life
Might as well say yes to it and face your fears head on
Rather than be a fear caller of it through avoided projections
Otherwise, we just create more suffering

This too shall pass

Having a back door exit strategy when feeling boxed in with anxiety
Is good medicine for a sense of safety and security

Stop worrying or trying to control potential futures
that have not yet come about

Do you need to slow down?

Be careful what you wish for
Well-hidden fears might accompany wishful thinking in cleverly disguised secrets

Appetite comes with eating
Bad apples can only sour our core if we consume their negative energy
Are you planting seeds of goodness
While branching out in the proverbial Tree of Life?

Feeling jealous is merely an informer that the
grass is always greener (or also browner)
depending on our field of vision

See you further on up the trails,

Ari

With Gulls, We See Beyond Red Herrings

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Sea gulls, or more properly herrings, symbolically represent powers of perception and the subtleties of communication. Hailing primarily from shoreline communities, these creatures understand what it takes to navigate the mystical union of land and sea. While communicative nuances such as empathy, telepathy and other psychical abilities are flying below the radar, even conservative psychology recognizes that humankind predominantly communicates on this level, whether realized or not. Meditation on Herring is good medicine for us to heed their wisdom so that we communicate more effectively with one another. Given our modern technological advances, such energetic patterns are being measured with rigorous scientific data and machinery. While some folks in the healing arts community rely on technology to listen to energetic signals within a client’s body, others prefer using their intuitive faculties as practitioners. Of course, striking a balance is key. Using technology is a tool, but developing ourselves as spiritual Beings is a primary ingredient to a healthy Life diet. Waking up to a multidimensional awareness is not always easy, particularly for those of us who are dimensionally challenged. Awareness leads us toward integrating our emotional bodies, by releasing blockages, with our intellect. Living authentically means that we nourish our souls, while navigating the elements. Consuming a walking meditation way of living is a key ingredient to effectively digesting our soul food.

Waking up recognizes the experience that we have much drama and toxicity on our dying old world. We hear stories about UFO’s and USO’s on air, land and sea. What is going on beneath the surface of our material reality? Whether confidently dismissed or believed as real, we must understand that on some level, there is a reality to the perception that there is more going on here than meets the eye. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, we know the oppressive, Establishment Majority prefers to remain unexamined and hidden. Although concentrating wealth further toward the top of the pyramid is a developmentally delayed perspective, arrogance and greed are powerfully blinding dark emotions that carry a vampire like venom to their bite. We all experience this, but thankfully a growing number of us are allowing maturation to kick in and gather fair and balanced information about what this news has to inform us. Even our more provocatively bullying friends in Congress must be seen as mirrors for our sociopathic, predator like ways that insidiously feed on mass carnage. Humanity all shares predator and prey qualities within our Being–we are all living embodiments of the yin and the yang, masculine and feminine and light and dark flowing within ourselves. Our freewill allows us to live in denial and get stuck in victim consciousness by maintaining blaming and judgmental attitudes. But by continuing to live in this nightmare, even our Nervous Woodland Creature friends would assert that we would be swimming in a familiar old river in Egypt, ma’ chucka. It is only when we are unconscious, spiritually speaking, that we act out in the cannibalistic manner that our Global Leaders are modeling to us from the top down. What is so terrifying about leveling the playing field? Sure we have color TV, but how much better off are folks of color and the overwhelming majority of us in real-time? The privileged few have more now than ever and are relying more heavily on military might to protect that way of life. If corporations are people too, then why can’t they be held accountable for their crimes? Those of us that understand good discipline recognize that natural and logical consequences are powerful teachers, rather than ineffective punishment that foment more terrorism and violence. We have so much Karma to clear. Many of us in the healing profession understand that our system is sick and in dire need of systemic treatment. When the California Coastal Commission asserted no thank you to the Navy’s plan to proceed with their underwater sonar blasts and bombing, Great Spirit and our oceanic cetacean friends were pleased with that vote. Human beings are inherently good and when cultivated with love, sometimes tough love, we learn to effectively integrate our shadow sides into living in harmony with all sentient beings and machines alike. With Mercury in retrograde, it’s a good time to make amends with past relationships and remember patience with respect to the communication signals we are sending and receiving.

Remembering to consume Herring’s spiritual therapy is a sound way to ingest a hearty and medicinal energetic diet. Why not wash our spirited food down with a Divine cup of Sacred Feminine water element? Their spirited teachings help us develop our communication abilities with one another. Welcoming the energy of gulls into our consciousness helps us tune into the harmonic convergence of the Planetary and Universal sound of Great Spirit. Given the spirited energies coming down the pike, it is especially important to stick in alignment with Nature’s shifting tides, while heeding the Universal heartbeat. And it is a sound that resonates in our collective souls.

See you further on down the trails,

Ari

Riding Nature’s Thermals with Turkey Vulture

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Do you remember heeding the cadence that calls for us pass on judging a book by its cover?  If we look beyond a cursory first glance, Turkey Vulture personifies this metaphor.  Have you ever got a rise while watching these birds effortlessly riding thermals by using Earth’s energy centers with minimal effort? Their message to us is that when we effectively integrate spirit into our Being, we can transcend matter.  Rather than focusing on our limitations, we levitate our consciousness toward perceiving infinite possibilities.  Instead of looking for forecasts that call for doom and gloom, we make a conscious choice to see the silver lining and make only positive interpretations.  On the spiritual path, we become the change we want to see in the world by doing the inner work necessary to actualize those changes we want to see.  We cannot co-create sustainable energetic changes in ourselves and our world, unless we choose to do the inner work.  Otherwise, the changes in climate are merely external and cosmetic.  Winter is a powerful time to stoke the embers within, as is meditation on Turkey Vulture waking us up to that.  Turkey Vulture helps guide spirit into our Being with its medicine of purification, death and rebirth and new vision.  Collectively, we need all the help we can get with that right now. 

On the surface, many storms are brewing and Climate Change is the new normal.  We are giving birth to a New Earth, but not without the accompanying labor pains. Some folks describe this transition as moving from a Pisces age to an Aquarian age.  It’s kind of like when your old self dies.  During the dying process, a new identity is emerging as a rebirth.  It takes time before the dust settles.  Rome wasn’t built, nor destroyed in a day.  Last week, we watched a US campaign to end the occupation by holding Israel accountable to US and International law.  Wal-Marts in Ohio and Texas continued breaking their company promise to keep assault rifles off its shelves.  Whether its BPA’s in foods or PED’s in humans, capitalist doctrine, based on primarily maximum economic profit tries to convince us that we should augment ourselves.  But there is a deep place of self-esteem that reminds us that we are OK just the way we are.  In sports news, linebacker Manti Te’o admitted to having a fantastic relationship that appears to have been a figment of his imagination.  Haven’t we all done that?  While fantasy and alternate realities are real on some level, we have to learn how to stay grounded in this reality.  Meditation is a healthy strategy for us to become the change we want to see in the world, but it can also become a skillful avoidance tactic.  At the end of the day, we all have to act.  Martin Luther Kind, Jr. didn’t just sit around and dream.  He took it to the edge and realized that his dream was bigger than his physical life.  MLK wasn’t just spinning dreams of who we might be.  He lived it.  Going to jail and risking his life to do the right thing was horribly uncomfortable, while staying on the pulpit and receiving liberal doses of applause was ego-gratifying for sure. 

We are living in hard times.  There is much pain and suffering on our Planet.  But what an opportunity for us to wake up.  If you find yourself having a sense of entitlement that you should have a better life, then take the action steps to change yourself on the inside first.  There is a sense of Armageddon here.  But you do not have to get stuck in that place, nor do you have to overindulge in it.  With Turkey Vulture as a spirited guide, we use whatever natural resources are available to us to nourish ourselves and continue onward’.  If only our friends in Congress, World leaders and everyone else on the Planet would make this internal shift.  It is going to take hard work to shift our consciousness and tip the scale.  Believe it is possible and take action.  Even if it is gut wrenching to watch a predator eat an innocent prey, take a closer look and examine why Great Spirit revealed this moment for you to notice.  What message(s) does the predator and prey have for you to apply to your life?  Pay attention to your feelings and dreams and take notes.  It requires taking inventory on yourself, rather than getting preoccupied with the distractions and giving away your power to those distractions.  This is not about being ego-centered.  This is about getting to know yourself on a deeper level and therefore enriching your understanding of others.

See you further on down the trails,

Ari

Getting Back on the Horse, while riding Freely, Powerfully and Responsibly toward the Winter Solstice

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We humans have been paying attention to Nature’s cycles, like our time-tested traditional celebrations with Solstices and Equinoxes for at least 45,000 years.  When time traveling in our spirit-mind-body vessels, we watch our ancient Sumerian ancestors saddle up with horse’s power and venture outward.  Moreover, Western astrology reveals the sign Sagittarius as a man-horse hybrid (centaur), while Chinese astrology showcases the horse as one of its 12 signs.  In shamanism, ingesting horse medicine allows a shaman to fly through the air and reach Heaven.  On December 21 2012, we mark the end of the Mayan Calendar, signaling the death of an old world and a birth of a new one.  Will we observe a major global event that we all bear witness to or will we remain in the dark?  Is it the end of the world as we know it?  Will extraterrestrials come out of the closet to humanity?  I don’t know about that, but I believe we are in a process of a radical transformation in our consciousness, our Planet and the Universe throughout.  It is hard to deny that more energies are streaming in–particularly for those of us sensitive to them.  We are consciousness, rather than what consciousness identifies with.  When we wake up to that, we become the change we want to see in the world around us. Historically, horse has been seen as symbolic of burial rites and birth, which synchronizes with the death energy of Winter.  Somewhat akin to tracking animals, we might not actually see physical evidence of heavenly activity here on the ground. However, when staying alert, we awaken to perceptual shifts that allow us to see and hear our spirited friends speak to us.  In our modern world, particularly in the West, perhaps this means that we kill less, give inner peace a chance and stop fueling wars that are destined to lose.  What we resist, persists.  When co-creating a New Earth, individual and collective egos wane and spiritual powers wax on.  In this Love and Light, we invest in loss–less inner pollution and more renewable clean energy radiating from within our Heart centers.  Horses represent freedom and power and remind us that we always have choices.

I remember when a past teacher from the old school once confidently asserted that we live in a causal and deterministic Universe.  Further, he argued that freewill wasn’t scientifically plausible, master illusionist that he was.  On the surface that might be true, particularly when identifying with victim consciousness. Responsibility is the price tag of freedom–sobering but empowering.  Moreover, it isn’t always easy to see the reality of our choices and accept the consequences that follow the choices that we make–especially when we are unconscious of them, spiritually speaking.  When horse gallops into our energy field, we ingest powerful medicine to get back in the saddle and blaze beyond the surface area of cause and effect (karma) and leap into the realm of infinity, where intention, abundance and possibility await. While there is science to this phenomena, we probably won’t find it in Establishment science as reported on the corporate media.   How long will it take for the movers and shakers of our Planet to giddy up with horse’s energy by modeling a balanced medicine shield to facilitate the movement toward power to the people?  Is bullying workers by threatening to cut their hours to pay for healthcare fair and balanced news?  Isn’t blaming an abused person for making poor choices in relationships an example of the same criticized victim behavior?  Isn’t a parent who enables their child’s behavior partly responsible?  Don’t we all bear some level of responsibility for school shootings, given the culture we are part of?  Demonizing is part of devolution and victim consciousness.  However, hitching a ride with horse helps us evolve our collective awareness by trotting  into a new frontier of egalitarian freedom and responsibility.  We are taking back our ego-centered projections and authentically looking within our own inner state of consciousness in a respectful way.  Spiritually speaking, when we eat like a horse, the ego shrinks as personal power grows.  We hear a lot about Christ this time of year.  Who was He?  When we understand our Divine Nature, we understand that Great Spirit gave birth to Christ as an incarnation-embodiment of Christ Consciousness, the Divine Marriage between God/Goddess and masculine and feminine (yin-yang) energies that flow inside all of us.  When standing in our I Am Presence (consciousness), we know this experience of Love and Light.  Christ arrived to show us that the Kingdom of Heaven is within all of us and inspiring us to Love one another.

Developmentally, humanity is struggling right now.  We can all stand to develop the social skill of empathy by remembering the experience of walking in someone else’s moccasins, slippers, boots, etc.  We all win when we remember the spirit of compassion, caring, teaching, loving and sharing our gifts, talents and abilities with one another.  But many of us don’t know how to effectively emote, govern our own behavior and have difficulty accessing and acquiring a sound repertoire of social skills.  At any given moment, many of us still position ourselves as inferior or superior toward our fellow brothers and sisters, while clinging to a belief that we are separate and disconnected from one another.  There are enemies to kill and wars to fight and win.  This is how we  justify the subtle and provocative violence we commit against one another.  When we feel right inside and wronged by someone else, we tend to act out by attacking another person.  We have different preferences in this regard.  Some of us prefer cutting someone up by way of a sarcastic comment that is cleverly cloaked behind an angry edge, while others bully by physically threatening or assaulting another human being.   Some folks make a killing by hiding behind desks, while voting for more weapons of mass destruction and rationally arguing this insanity as doing the right thing.  However, when we humans remember that we are all beautiful black stallions, while saddling up with inner peace and sending Love to one another, we help blaze heavenly trails on Earth for all to share.

Stay True,

Ari