Out on the Ponds with Loon

A waning Full Moon and Western New year passed us by last week
Later on next month we come into a Chinese-Lunar New Year
Streaming in undercurrent tides of Spring energetics

From dusk til dawn . . .
Loon guides us further into the oceanic depths of the Dreamtime
Calling out to us to reawaken hidden selves

Do your underwater dreams want to come up for air?

A cold winter blanket makes for warm self-reflection

Old hopes, wishes and dreams are wanting to express themselves right now
Submerged within the depths of our sea of consciousness

Are you allowing your imagination and dream life to work for you?

Venture across the outer waters of your soul’s terrain
Into mysterious dark places wanting to see the light of day

Do you need to get our of your box and
become more comfortable in different environments?

Silent lucidity changes the trajectory of our dreams
Shifting our gears into unexplored trails of our unfolding life maps

Are you having a hard time distinguishing fantasy from reality?

Cultivating a sacred space breathes stability into
our free-spirited fluctuations in feelings and imaginative possibilities

Home is where the Heart is
But not without minding your head

Do you ever feel like your life is a re-run of a reality show gone mad?

Take a step-back and become a spiritual watcher
noticing how our thoughts and feelings connect
the dots of our repetitive behavioral patterns

Are we allowing ourselves to grieve those close to us that have passed on recently?
Feeling the funeral procession and ring tone of feelings that
reverberate in ghostly acoustics

Facing our own mortality can be terrifying . . .
Begging questions regarding what happens to us when we die?

In the death of Winter, unexpected losses leave behind
dark and stormy mixed emotions
When faced authentically, they add to the complexities of living

And celebrate their time alive we will
While tuned in to a spirited living drumbeat in your soul today

Listening to our bodies reveals balancing work, play, rest and diet

Without meditation as a critical part of our daily routine
It will become harder to sit with what is now
and moving onward along the trails ahead
Distractions to following our soul path will become more challenging

A slow and low tempo heeds
Universal promptings that are designed to return our energy to ourselves

See you further on up the trails,

Ari

Exploring New Pathways by Walking with Wolf

Right Tao, A Wesak Full Moon will rise on Wednesday, May 14. Back zen, Buddha’s arrival into our Earth plane helped signal a dawn of a new age at that time. Today, that old world is now fading into darkness, along with it hierarchical imperial ways. But we can’t get to the light without navigating the dark and letting go of indoctrinated systemic programming. A new light of consciousness is streaming in our planet right now and continues its acceleration and ascension process. May Buddha’s compassionate heart-centered light illuminate the shadows of our collective souls. May we allow the energies of this Full Moon leaving us feeling a spring in our step, as yang continues to lift our spirits with an impetus of outward expansion.

May the force be with you with Wolf as your master teacher –
keen senses recognizing what lies beneath the conscious surface . . .
Inspirational well-versed novel ideas, loyalty, family and strong individuality.

Wolf government is an embodiment of neither
pure dictatorship or exclusive democracy.
Bringing a sense of balance into our world.
Humanity, like Wolf are social creatures with both
competitive and cooperative drives for mutual aid.

Bringing in our unique ideas from Dreamtime.
Becoming the Moon integrates psychic energy –
Holding unconscious knowledge and wisdom.

Wolf nudges us to come out of our den –
Sharing everywhere teachings with everyday people.

Spirit lives and wants to rise like sun and shine like moon.
Without forgetting our need for Solitude . . .

When tracking Wolf, we remember a distant Dog Star Sirius constellation –
Connection to our African roots of Dogon tribe –
Digging deep, into dark continental forces . . .
Kinship with lineage from far, far away.

See you further on down the trails,

Ari

Reigniting our Personal Power when Following in Panther’s Footsteps

How do we get to the light without traversing the dark?
When pouncing into Spring light, we are re-working a cultural story
that preaches fear of darkness . . .

Black like Panther illuminates the dark side of the moon
and a shadowy memory of Winter’s TAPS.
A Full Moon wanes with promise of a New Moon shine o’er a watery bend.

Sitting with a metaphysically inner-world theatrical movie trailer . . .
Lights, Camera, Vision!
Clairaudient audio-clips from alternate realities amplifies
a deafening sound of silence . . . What?

Flexing our soulful mind-body-spirit muscles at will –
quantum leaps out of old boxed in mind-sets . . .
We leap into new frontiers as first and fastest responders.

Skin on skin heightened perceptual touch opens up
psychometric portals in consciousness.
Awakening feminine powers of passionate sensuality – isn’t that the cat’s meow?

Dionysus inspires us to embark through the heart of the dark night of the soul . . .
Releasing fears when remembering that
“jealousy, envy, criticism, and judgment are refuges”
to the energy of insecurity . . .

Awakening to a mythical heroic quest through resurrection.

Somewhat akin to when Apollo re-appears in Rocky’s life to help him reclaim
“the eye of the Tiger.”
With Panther’s help – we can always get it back.

See you further on down the trails,
Ari

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

A Plea to our Planetary movers and shakers . . .

A good old boy fraternal order cleverly breathes coal into the souls of its new initiates. As such, a chaotic choir sings a nightmarish karmic hypnotic trance-like opera of reward and punishment. In this refrain, it is hard not to get boxed into tick y-tacky packages of winners and losers, heroes and villains and angels and demons.

The old ways of maximum incentive for greed blinded by arrogance is way past crossing the line. Effectively playing the fox and the lion game of when to be assertive and when to be ingratiating has taken us to the edge of a cliff. Disillusionment abounds. Mister, there is a darkness on the edge of town.

We have a system that foments talk show pundits that profit off of the ignorance of their audience. Let us take for example the same talk show host that both criticizes Obamacare that he then parrots advertisements for accessing Obamacare in commercials that handsomely pay his salary. Without skipping a beat, this charlatan manipulation pulls the wool over the public at large – particularly the educated business class to unconsciously buy into polarizing arguments of us and them. Stop the insanity.

But with an infusion of spirituality into our humanity – we understand our survival is not a game. There are no enemies. We are One. The time is now for the paradigm to change. Powerful energies are moving in this Spring. Can you feel them budding?

It is easy to take a swing at the present moment . . . rat a tat tat . . . Russian toy soldier’s in the Ukraine . . . Now that’s gangsta.

Now is the time to shake-up and move on up into a co-creative system that is designed to nurture our natural luminosity. We can live in harmony with our Mother and all her sentient beings!

Imagine a conversation between Spider, Porcupine and Turkey . . .

Spider embodies a figure 8 shape that symbolizes our infinite and creative nature. We are empowered to clear Cosmic Karma by consciously weaving our dreams into our waking experience with reality. The more willing we are to choose to see the silver lining and make positive interpretations, the more potential we have to heal ourselves and our planet. What good is gold if our consciousness is weighed down by heavy metal?

Porcupine stimulates our chi by making the point that faith and trust in Great Spirit reveals that a Divine Plan that is unfolding in our lives. Through the wonder of childlike innocence, we are discovering Life’s mystery through portals of fantasy and imagination. Can you see these chimes of freedom flashing?

Turkey chimes in by leveling the playing field by reinforcing the wisdom that in the giving, there is receiving – illustrating a message board of shared blessings. Give it back . . . Take it back. It is time to ward off the evil spirits of pessimistic cynicism.

We have a need to feed our souls with an essential spiritual, physical and intellectual diet. Are you exhausted? How is your energy level? Manic, elevated, unhappy or low? Can you sit with loneliness? Are you afraid to get to know yourself on a deeper level? Why is that?

An internal Fountain of Youth springs eternal inside of each of us. However, it is useless if we do not tap into it.

Movement into a more equitable society requires a more buoyant, equilateral triangle. The movers and shakers are in positions of power to embody leadership by investing in equal access to resources. Their collective intention has been in the extreme opposite. Enough is enough!

An empire that is only interested in sustaining itself is not sustainable. Therefore, a vested interest in all of us winning, awakens an impetus to co-create Heaven on Earth instead of depleting Her resources to extinction.

Congratulations guys . . . maturation is kicking in.

See you further down the trails,

Ari

Into The Deep

We are Building a foundation of intimacy
by speaking frankly in the language of love unconditionally

Pisces is water under the bridge between
Winter and Spring transition
Permission to grieve yin’s dirge
While awakening to new beginnings
Darkness fades as light rises in intensity . . .

Sister chaos flows into brother order
Leveling the playing field
Holding peaceful prayers and meditations
for graceful transitional equanimity

A sense of freedom arises in
the sweet surrender to the illusion of control

Let your soul power shine on
by coming out of the closet of psychologically defended modesty

When feeling uncomfortably bugged . . .
Try heeding the ear-worm – Love is all you need
Might that unearth a private and victorious conversational metamorphosis within?

Noticing judgments without judging them
and then letting them go without clinging on to fixed ideas

Sitting with what is empowers us to focus on self

Is it the other person that should change
or could you adjust your own internal dialogue?

When abuses arrive – empower yourself by taking refuge

Imagine if we all dive into a killing with kindness mantra?
With recognition and appreciation of divergent perspectives
Energetically clearing space for welcoming like-minded birds of a feather

Whistleblowers are akin to canaries in coal mines . . .
Please heed their call!
Their messages manifest sustainable Life!
Born out of the Dreamtime . . .

A balanced Life diet of resting, eating well and physically exercising
moves emotions around –
Nourishing harmony in our daily walking meditative footsteps
With a minimally processed Carbon Footprint

Got boredom?
Remember to hold an eagle-eye vision of the valley ahead
Setting goals, while paradoxically letting go of outcome
Cleansing inner pollution by holding a clean vision for Mother Earth
The Golden Age is an unfolding process of possibilities . . .

Venturing out in Nature affords a doorstep into a portal of
open-hearted receptive listening . . .
Stoking the embers of sensuous and magical feelings by honoring our
mysterious and primal orientation

See you further down the trails,

Ari

The Ressurection of Groundhog and Feeling Seeds Underground Waking Us Up

Groundhog reveals chiaroscuro
Shadowy death without dying in winter’s Dreamtime
Digging into Quantum shadowy unknown Twilight Zones
Closer to springtime

Surfing tidal waves of possibility
O’er a rainbow of spontaneity
Down yonder golden halo light of day

Yet with Mercury in Retrograde
We can dig on confronting our self-imposed limits
By accessing sensible, realistic pragmatism
While effectively reworking busyness in our business

Be careful of unintended consequences before diving into commitments
Self defense against burnout, compassion fatigue and spreading yourself thin

Money is energy and part of abundance
With positive or negative values attached to its manifestation
Like overfishing leads to swimming upstream
Does a forthcoming economic tailspin
Plunge us into a more equitable and sustainable unfolding Golden Age?

Imagine justice on Earth without a fight
If corporations are people too, then shouldn’t this process be more organic?

Remembering compassion toward others is empowering toward thyself
Designating a sacred space facilitates believing in yourself – Faith and Trust
“I can breathe here. I can relax here. I know I am safe here.”

Think before you speak while
Having a non-confrontational conversation with present moment

In stillness of winter
Can’t you hear the seeds underground thinking about waking up?
Waxing light ignites pregnant energies
Stoking the flames of rebirth
“It is in the still darkness of the void that the light is born.”

But birth is not without labor pains . . .
(Monsanto Genetic Engineering to repel Agent Orange?)
C’Mon Man!
Feeling restless, irritable and depressed?

Thank You goddess Brighid for wishing us mystically well
How do you like them apples?

Intuitive heart-minds assert that we are a healthy weight when listening
to our bodily signs singing songs about our buoyancy and agility

This Friday I’m in Love with a Full Moon
Won’t you join me in its becoming?

See you further on down the trails,

Ari

Embracing the Darkness of Night with Panther as our Guide

Barely a cat’s pounce from a New Moon yesterday, we are reminded of how Fridays and New Moons carry “such promise”. Panthers are big cats and their energies reflect an authentic expression of our souls. Spring, New moons and Eclipse Seasons are a time to let go and release old toxicities and breathe in new air and cleaner intentions. It is a time to manifest, get in alignment with Nature and welcome the spirited energies streaming in right now. It is a time to allow the shadowy attachments to doom and gloom gently pass with care, while at the same time allowing the light to illuminate those dark caverns and flower into the light of day. Meditation on Panther aids us in acquiring and accessing the skills to flex our physical, mental, spiritual and psychic muscles and silently pursue our goals. While it is true our World needs more openness and transparency, sometimes being too public about our goals undermines their power and decreases the likelihood for manifestation. Use the rising intensity of this time in Nature’s cycle as mage wind at your back to welcome your goals into fruition. Nature spirits abound right now, so getting outdoors and heeding their wisdom, even in the backyard is good medicine. Boarder and edge areas at dawn and dusk are especially active times to perceive their energies. Consuming Panther medicine invokes clairaudience, sensitivity to touch and sensuality. Given they are members of the Cat family, their energy reminds us of the mystery and magic of everyday life and knowing how to effectively navigate the dark. While there is a reality to a darkness on the edge of town, we also hold into our Being the light of consciousness. In every breath we take, we are mindful of the twilight of night and the breaking dawn of day.

In the paper today, there are tales of our war and wasteful ways. But in this crowded house, there is room to clear and expand. The intensity is rising, giving us a sobering reminder to radically shift gears into the present moment. What would happen if we, in our politics of living, curbed our appetite for destruction and shifted instead to the key of inner peace and unity as a way of life? We have much Karma to clear, particularly in America. In our spring cleaning, we need to dust away our weapons of mass destruction in peaceful and non-violent ways. The “tinder-boxes” of the Middle East and North Korea are brush fires waiting to happen and some are licking their chops at igniting that possibility. But we all have our part to do by clearing our inner pollution by visualizing and holding the feeling inside of our Being that an alternative scenario is preferred and real. Perhaps we are an endangered species. However, we have amazing powers, adaptability and survival instincts at our disposal. Our family system is quite capable of moving mountains together as one. Honoring our Mother on Mother’s Day and celebrate the sacred garden that nourishes our capacity to play with form while we are incarnated here facilitates this process. May we look forward to being fed by the next Full Moon on the 25th of this month. Soon we see the peak of light on the Summer Solstice later on in June.

In our daily ascension onward, may we allow Panther to help us dig our claws into our Mother Earth by reclaiming our forgotten power during our slumber. Waking up to our divinity makes us purr on the inside and radiate that outward for the whole Planet and Universe to receive. True, you can clean your room when you are angry. But you might want to compost the anger into an organic mulch first, otherwise you are likely to pollute the same room that you just cleaned! Panther wakes up our Kundalini ( a.k.a. Libido, Life Force, Chi) so that we transmute our pain and suffering into healing. Connecting with and tuning into the positive mystical vibrations amplifies and resonates our collective souls. Staying in alignment with this energetic pattern will help us wake up our right brains and move further into the intuitive realm of our consciousness. In this space, we envision and co-create realities not otherwise imagined as possible. As the power of the old grid fades, new crystalline grids are rising. There is a primal free energy from the Chakras of our Planet and Universe throughout that we can tap into that flows like an eternal spring. Do not be afraid of the dark. Meditaton on Panther will help you light your way.

See you further on down the trails,

Ari

Eye of the Tiger

Pouncing down the trails head, we look forward to a New Moon this week on May 10th and a Full Moon leaping down the month on May 25th. Also, we celebrated the Beltane last week, otherwise known as May Day. This ancient sacred tradition “honors and celebrates the sacred marriage of masculine and feminine, yin and yang” and the “inner union with the Beloved.” It marks the mid-point between the Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice and fertilizes harmony between our spiritual and material growth or walking in alignment with “one foot in spirit, one foot in ground.” Tiger synchronizes with the New and Full Moon cycles as its energetic power time. Consuming Tiger’s spirited medicine helps us develop our passion, power, devotion and sensuality. Meditation on Tiger will wake up your sensitivity to touch. Tiger’s are skilled swimmers, so their energy reflects connection to the elemental forces of water. They are colorful and unpredictable, reflecting the world we live in and the changing times we are swimming in on Mother Earth today. In Chinese Astrology, their sign is seen as adventurous, powerful and passionate and symbolize the dark night of the New Moon and the sunlight of the Full Moon. Given that “traditions are time-tested proof that things work”, meditation on Tiger, in conjunction with a fire ritual facilitates burning away Winter, while shifting our gears full-throttle by igniting Spring.

Something is changing in the sea of consciousness on our Planet today. Although it is a process, it is becoming more difficult for folks to ignore. The garden variety of band-aids used to quell the symptoms that are roaring out to us are less effective in covering up the spirited energies streaming in now. Whether the arrival of symptomatic reactions manifests as distorted visions, racing thoughts, chronic headaches, lethargy, terrorism, mania in the global Stock Exchange–the intensity is rising and the times, they are a changin’. The perception of polarity, duality or “us and them” needs to be released from and healed in our consciousness. Living authentically and respectfully in a global village requires us to sit with the tension of opposites that exists within our individual and collective souls. Every man has a woman inside of his Being, just as every woman has a man within hers. When meditation is embraced as a popular way to consume a spiritual diet, we will see the proliferation of this understanding reflecting in our outer world for everyone to notice as obvious. Right now, you really have to take a close look for the evidence and hold that focus, given the reality of the dark and stormy weather patterns. The smoke and mirrors of our World are an illusion that carry a reality to that perception. In the realm of Infinity, the possibilities of blazing New Trail into a New Frontier are there for us to clear, if only we allow for it. But it is a process that we all have to step-up to on a case by case basis. The Golden Age is not a fixed ideal, where we find ourselves living in after a long, strange trip. Rather, when we change the way we look at the world, the world we look at changes. In this way, we become the change we want to see in the world. We are co-creating novel neuronal pathways inside our brains, signaling our conscious evolutionary next step in our program development.

We all have a basic need to feel safe and secure. However, looking to our outer world to provide that meal for us to eat is frequently met with a receipt for poor digestion. At the end of the day, we all need to access and acquire our internal power for a sense of safety and security. Our spirited animal friends are here to help reflect that back to humanity. True, it is a jungle out there. But have you ever watched animals frolic and play, even among predators and prey? They are good reminders for that. We are shifting from a divisive, compartmentalized view of the World that looks either matriarchal or patriarchical in our shared history, toward Unity Consciousness. In the words of Mr. Miyagi from the film The Karate Kid, we are “different, but same.”

See you further on down the trails,

Ari

With Frog, April Showers Bring May Flowers

Frogs help us remember how to evoke changing weather patterns by singing harmonically with Mother Nature. Perhaps these vocalizations are more raw and less polished than the popular voice. And yet, their melody is powerful and music to the clairaudient ear that resonates deeply within our souls. In the beginning, there was sound. In that vibration, our spirited songs of freedom were born. This reverberation asserts that we are all diverse expressions of Great Spirit. It is true that we are a rainbow of different orientations, but we are all cut from the same cloth. There is no us and them. We are one human family. If corporations are people too, then we wake up to the awareness that we all benefit from a spring cleaning in our souls. Developing tolerance for our diversity is a “step-up” for many folks. A step further is to integrate acceptance of what is into our Being. Frog helps us purify and detoxify blockages in our souls, so that we are equipped to move more gracefully with the changing tides during our experience with Climate Change. As more of us become hip to this vibe, we witness a proliferation of this Oneness reflecting in our material realm. In this process, we help clear the way for spirit to weave its way into our world. Ingesting Frog medicine is good food for the soul and amplifies our power by becoming clearer channels, serving as conduits for radiating cleaner energy. This internal purification and detoxification facilitates the internal experience of inner peace, which decreases pollution so within as without.

While we are one human family, we see that we have been raised with much dysfunction and toxicity. We have been programmed by our societies and parents to follow certain rules and rituals, often unconsciously and without review. In Maine, there’s an old saying, “that’s just the way we’ve always done it.” But part of our healing, especially in Spring, is “out with the old, in with the new.” We can learn from Frog and shamanic network of animal friends how to get back into alignment with Nature. Do you remember the scene in Rocky 3 when Apollo tells Rocky that he has lost the “eye of the Tiger”, but that he is going to help him get it back? Given where we are at in human history, the timing of the spiritual wisdom, “if not now, when” is critically important. When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. The corollary is also true. In much the same way as the Buddha, even children raised in ideal situations have an underlying yearning to wake up to the emotional sensitivity that there is more to life that creature comforts and pampered privilege. Through our dirty waters of suffering, Frog breathes in a renewed sense of harmony into our lives and rekindles the notion that there is great peace and joy in taking time for yourself. With its connection to the water element and the lunar cycle, we look back to the waning Wesak Full Moon and are inspired by clearing out our muddy waters and drinking in crystal clear fresh water. Whether you are an atheist, agnostic or a devout believer, Frog is here to remind us to do whatever we can to get closer to Great Spirit. Some ways we can bring in this energy into our lives are going for a walk in the woods, taking in a deep and cleansing deep breath, asserting “stop”, unplugging from technology, staying away from the news for a while, taking a long, relaxing bath, going for a swim or just getting near the water for a spell. We all need to give ourselves a break from information and choice overload. In our modern world, tapping into Frog’s energy might even make you a bit of a rebel. How do you like to weave Frog’s cleansing energy into your life?

Frog is the rainmaker and is a true weather person that is capable of weather control. Its medicine encourages us to wash away the dirt in our lives. As such, meditation on Frog reflects metamorphosis and creativity into our waking lives. Given their amphibian nature, consuming Frog’s spirited energy links us to water and land and helps us stay grounded and emotionally sensitive with respect to the boundaries of self and relationships. Meditation on Frog can assist us in vocalizing our truths powerfully and respectfully. Given that Spring and Summer are its power times, we need to use its energy effectively so that we do not blow things out of proportion. Frog is good spirited soul food to consume while digesting Climate Change.

See you further on down the trails,

Ari