Surrendering to the Sweetness of What Is – Bitter as it might taste

Might we look at our experiences of yesteryear as past lives? Aren’t we humans supposed to evolve – in that we venture into and move through common developmental stages in Life? Yet our growth does not always feel graceful and is often not without pain. Yes we are shaped by our past. But we need not be defined by it. Have any of your past selves been good at reacting to what is? It can be such a challenge to sit with the present moment and deal with unwanted and uncomfortable feelings, such as guilt and shame. Do you try to bypass these feelings by exiting with aggression or denial? Tempting as avoidance is, taking an authentic look at our souls with a reflective lens and sitting with that is empowering. Getting out in Nature helps rekindle the fire within. When I noticed the rabbit tracks in the snow the other day, I wondered how far the rabbit hole do I want to go? I can’t help but remember our ancestral connection to the lunar cycle and the ebbs and flows of the tides. Can you feel the crocuses wanting to wake up and show us that Spring is just around the corner to the light of day? A Full Moon on March 16th symbolizes completion and celebration. Are we building a global community in the spirit of honoring one another’s gifts by sharing resources? These politics of living help us move into a New Age and Paradigm more gracefully. In our husbandry, we experience labor pains. It’s how we move with our Mother’s labor pains that matters most.

During this Pisces time of year, we are leaving behind Winter and welcoming Spring. It is a good time of year to let go of the ghosts of yesterday. Our relationships with others give us opportunities to get to know ourselves, in rank and beauty, on a deeper level. Like seasons, relationships come and go. But their energy remains with us until we learn the lessons we need to learn. In that, we experience both literal and figurative deaths, divorces and separations. Sometimes it’s like two planets come together in orbit for a while and then change their trajectory and drift apart. We have relationships with everything – habits, food, drink, substances, our developmental stages in life, a psychological trait, a significant other, the stock exchange, class, a pet, books, etc. When a relationship shows us something we do not want to see, it is easier to have the wool pulled over us and get caught up in the illusion of separation.  But we are not separate.  Even that homeless person on the street, in a mental institution or on death row is part of our being. And they are worthy of a silent blessing. When we remember to have compassion for the triggers and defenses of others, we help them lower their guard to have meaningful exchanges. Seek first to understand, then be understood. Water is a powerful elemental force that builds its momentum gradually. It has a cleansing effect on our consciousness. This is a good time of year to meditate on water. In that process, try to go with the flow rather than swim upstream.

See you further on down the trails,

Ari

Venturing Down Old Roads With New Neurons

After overindulging in food, drink and enjoying the fuel injected Detroit Lions atypically route another team on national television, my wife and I ventured to a reunion. En route down Thunder Road, a dynamic mix of 90s background music conjured up nostalgia from that era, juxtaposed with Billy Joel’s Scenes from an Italian Restaurant danced on in my mind.

When we got to town, we made a pit stop to eat at a local pizzeria that features authentic pizza. In the spirit of life being like one big surprise birthday party, we recognized old friends for an unscripted encounter. It wasn’t Mystic Pizza, but we enjoyed a heavenly slice of conversational exchange on life’s happenings and where are they now. This is a good time of year to come down into our souls and revisit our past connections, if only in other areas of consciousness like our dreams, visions and imaginations. Of course, being present is easy to avoid these days with the emphasis on virtual social media, 24 hour shopping, playing with gadgets and other distractions. While reconnecting in a physical way can be especially anxiety provoking, underneath that rock is an opportunity to breathe new air into old relationships and connections. While I can appreciate bowing out gracefully from old relationships that appear stale and toxic, it was also a great energetic opportunity to re-work and transform. My heart is pleasantly full from that.

In much the same way as the good n’ plenty of our citizenry, High School years were an interesting experience. In the dancing and mingling, we celebrated diversity in unity during our cross-constellation exchanges. Right Tao, isn’t everything old new again? Bearing witness to a theatrical cast of characters – it was music to my ears to see that girls just want to have fun . . . but be careful because the floor is slippery when wet! I was in my element – trying my best to be mindful of organic opportunities to connect with peeps from back in the day. In my estimation, we consumed a co-creative venue to see old friends and breathe in fresh air. For yours truly, talking football with some old teammates was poetry in motion and a welcome nightcap. In the spirit of that, an old teammate gave me a bear hug that would have left any star NFL thoroughbred inundated.

Looking back, I walked away from the experience with the wisdom that you know you love your soul mate in their rank and beauty when you can laugh again at idiosyncrasies that once drove you nuts. In true Hollywood fashion, the romantic ideal of finding your soul mate reads like a Utopian fairy tale with a happy ending. But the reality of taking a road trip together and sharing balanced conversation without the aid of technological audio to fill in the airwaves is music to my ears. When we can authentically gaze upon our partner with the viewpoint that we are mirrors for an other’s soul development, we bear witness to As Good as it Gets.

In learning to live on Earth in this way, I am thankful for the infinite spirited blessings of this season. Tis the season to meditate on gratitude and letting go as we embark toward the darkest night of the forthcoming Winter Solstice. And while it is natural to over-indulge during this time, it is also a good time to clean out.

Be Well,

Ari

Dancin’ Again

Dancin’ Again

I know a time . . .
I make’s no sense at all.
May weather this flood . . .
Season through reason and fall.

Fire with fire, n’ head to head . . .
Boilin’ and fumin’, our faces are red.

And here we are . . .
Dancin’ again.

You am I and I are you . . .
One up, one down, one is two.
Assumin’ n’ askin’, through n’ through
Sleepin’ n’ weepin’, n’ smilin’ wit chu.

And here we are . . .
Dancin’ again.

Fire with fire, n’ head to head . . .
Boilin’ and fumin’, our faces are red.

And here we are . . .
Dancin’ again.

Light equals dark
Dark equals light
Yang diming to night
Yin fading from light

And here we are . . .
Dancin’ again

Blue Like Heron

I remember when I was catching up with folks at our 10 year High School reunion and peer poignantly chimed in, “at some point I realized nobody else was gonna do it for me”, as we reflected on growing up and becoming adults.  Today, as our twenty year gathering rapidly approaches, these profoundly true lyrics revisited my consciousness after recently encountering a great blue heron.  Given the rising tide of Occupy movements, perhaps we might call on blue heron to Occupy Our Selves, while dabbling as spiritual beings having human experiences here on Classroom Mothership Earth.  At this juncture on Nature’s clock, is anyone else out there powerfully inspired by heron medicine that invokes within us aggressive self-determination, self-reliance and learning to stand firmly rooted in the Earth on your own two legs?  Are you in awe of these magnificent creatures that tend to view themselves as king of the marsh?  While co-creating Heaven on Earth in a New Age and Paradigm, herons are a good reminder that we cannot soar in the Heavens if we do not paradoxically also learn how to stay grounded.  Moreover, during the waxing on of this eclipse season, it might be tempting to for spirits to soar out of control and forget about balance.

On the global weather front, the reptilian ways of the dinosaurs keep scaling back the leveling impulses of the masses by their “rule by few” mantra, while still pledging their allegiance to the bottom line and almighty dollar.  Regardless of where you are on the political spectrum, do you see that by nurturing a global economy that supports livable wages for all of Earth’s caretakers is a win-win for both the top dawgs chillin’ atop the pyramid and the overwhelming majority of us breaking our backs to keep the Boat afloat?  Are you able to picture a waterfall, tame the Nervous Woodland Creature energy and stay calm in the pocket like Tom Brady during peak intensity at the Summer Solstice on June 20, 2012 in the Northern Hemisphere and its waning aftershocks thereafter?  In my clinical experience, I have learned that like physics, all systems resist change–human beings being no exception.  In fact, we humans are quite good at keeping ourselves in boxes by protecting the status quo that is liberally marketed to us by systemic illusionism.  But with heron consciousness, like Climate Change, there is security in knowing that there is predictability within unpredictability, order in chaos if you will.  If one way is not working, as humans, we are pre-wired with the hardware to reflect and figure out another way.  With the energy of blue heron, change is literally on the way.

During this eclipse season, keep your eye out for solutions that might be invisible and undocumented to the naked eye.  It is wise to pay attention to relationships that revisit your consciousness, while remembering to maintain perspective.  Watch what your relationships have to say to you, remembering to hit the pause button before being trigger happy in the excitement that accompanies its flowering, and perhaps before wilting and becoming the death of you.  Nature reminds us of Life’s fleeting transience.  As we swim away from victim consciousness, blue heron has the potential to help us stay true to our selves, while wading here on Earth.  Further, while taking flight in the Heavens into the realm of Infinity, heron helps us see where solutions abound, if only we allow for it.

Stay True,

Ari