Whenever suffering occurs in your life, whether coming down with the flu or not getting the job you wanted, you seek to know it fully rather than resent or deny it. Instead of distracting yourself, with fantasies, or worries, you focus your attention calmly upon the felt sense of what is happening. As you perform this task, you become acutely conscious of your reactive “arising’s” and the potency of their force. They too, are to be included within that, same wide, still embrace. You do not free yourself from narcissistic or self-disgusted longings by suppressing them, but by accepting them as the arising of habitual inclinations, which may be psychologically, culturally, religiously, or instinctively conditioned.
–Stephen Batchelor
When contemplating darkness and disguise in the throes of this wintry dirge, I think about the sacred energy medicine of Racoon. These sentient beings embody the self-defense mastery of the internal martial arts. When we play around with opening and closing our eyes in the 3D realm, we are playing with form by putting on a mask, and accessing a primordial creative power within. For those Star Wars geeks out there, the clip below reinforces the felt sense experience of letting go of our conscious minds by seeing without seeing:
Stepping into new dimensions and accessing deeper realms are real possibilities with Racoon consciousness. This spirit guide is a friendly reminder to do a deep dive into the popularly unpopular fear of the unknown. Rather than avoidance, we become inviting of spiritual awakenings into new ways of looking at ourselves. But if we choose to ignore such soul promptings; perhaps the reality based, felt sense experience might otherwise remain hidden or unavailable to our naked eye’d view our previously unexamined selves.
Racoon’s transformational vibrational frequencies align with traits that can support growth in fine motor skills, such as dexterity; as well as a sensory diet, like self-stimulation forms like self-massage, and bodily compression. They certainly can also inspire cleaner eating approaches, like washing our food, and emphasizing a plant based diet. Or maybe you like to pluck away on a musical instrument. Close your eyes, picture a racoon and see what happens organically.
From a heartwarming and mindbending felt sense of spaciousness, the internal martial arts help us cool down from the inside out. This differs from the so called external martial arts; which have traditionally emphasized relaxed on the outside, intense on the inside. But like astronomers and astrologers, social workers, psychologists and many therapists and other energy workers; you can be both and we need all of them.
Speaking of the internal martial arts, check out William C.C Chen’s demonstration below. He used to come to the place that I took classes many moons ago. The ‘Studio’ was heavily influenced by his teachings. And sometimes he would come visit, and do special weekend workshops. I remember meeting him once. He certainly filled the room with his form, which was a real shared felt sense experience by many of my old teachers and peers in that community:
May all Beings be free of suffering, and experiences Inner Peace as a way of Life,
“You can’t feel good when you’re feeling bad about feeling bad.”
-Rhonda Byrne
Looking back in the rearview mirror, I remember working with a spiritual counselor for many years, who reminded me that people get stuck in life, and can have a really hard time getting unstuck. His empathy statement still sounds true because, the truth is, we all get stuck.
Upon reflection, my old spiritual counselor’s wise guidance invited a personal awakening of an awareness that a big part of my own getting stuck at that time was that I was getting stuck on other people’s stuckness . . . and taking it personally. It can be hard to not to become moved by other people’s stuff. Although experience teaches that it is freeing to stay centered, and observe those entanglements soften and relax. Ah, letting go of victim consciousness is a process, like peeling away the layers of an onion.
Awakening to our true nature as spiritual beings having human experiences happens when we are surrendering to the will of the Universe by getting in alignment with it. Ancient meditative movement practices like Tai Chi supports this process by integrating the right and left hemispheres of our brains, and facilitating emotional regulation of our neurological systems by re-patterning them.
In addition to Bruce Lee’s beautiful introduction, the video below also features Professor Cheng Man Ching, who brought Tai Chi to the West, and some of his students who reflect back on their experiences with him. Both of these men had very strong rebellious streaks because they brought secrets of their people to the West. Sharing their knowledge with outsiders was strictly forbidden, and against the orders of their masters.
But they both knew that the West needed to be clued in to the mysteries of the martial arts. Although Professor’s students deeply respected him as a master, some have also said that he wasn’t an enlightened being, and that he had an ego. His playful soul and competitive spirit is probably what made him so approachable to his students. Not long before he died, he said that he was approximately 70% Confucius and 30% Lao Tzu. He also emphasized that he was interested in learning how to be human, and that it takes a long time to do that:
Reflecting back on my own experiences with getting stuck, and what to do about it reminds me of my last semester of college, many moons ago. At that time, I took an extra class as an independent study with one of my psychology professors so that I could graduate on time. Part of my stuckness back then was procrastination. It’s not that Grandmother’s Stop Procrastination tapes with subliminal message hidden underneath ocean waves didn’t work. It’s just that building ‘Righteous Chi’ works gradually, like the power of water. Once enough momentum is present, there is no stopping it.
Back to my last semester in college . . . I took a heavy course load to fulfill my academic requirements for graduation. My psychology professor was also a part time psychotherapist, who worked with a colleague who was also a therapist with his own full time practice. These two progressive men were both concerned about when their clients would get stuck during their therapeutic process, particularly between sessions. Part of their stuckness as psychotherapists was when their clients would get stuck. As therapists, they felt a degree of responsibility and helplessness about that.
Given that, both clinical psychologists were very interested in exploring a newly emerging therapeutic idea at the time called bibliotherapy. Basically, bibliotherapy is a medium to utilize reading, and other multimedia forms (movies, videos, podcasts, quotes, articles, etc.) to reinforce the power of the therapeutic process for change to occur. The independent study explored a deep dive into how bibliotherapy might be utilized as a medium to help clients get unstuck; especially during the interval between sessions or when they were outside of a therapy session. The three of us met weekly to discuss and unpack bibliotherapeutic experiences. I read a bunch of literature on the emerging subject, and wrote a paper based on my research, our clinically oriented weekly conversations, and reflections about what I learned from the experience.
Many years later, I collaborated with librarians, who were aware of the growing body of research on bibliotherapy’s efficacy. Plenty of counselors out there will assign “homework assignments” to their clients. In many cases this involves utilizing bibliotherapy as a medium to water the seeds of change so that they can take root.
Flash forward to today, experiences with getting stuck in therapy appears to be akin to how meditators talk about applying what we learn during sitting meditation to when we’re off the cushion, and going about the business of living our lives. A big part of why we get stuck has to do with our habituated mind, and cravings that block us from experiencing the present moment. Truly, this is a relatable experience to anyone who is taking an honest look at themselves, or in many cases feeling triggered by looking at others.
Finally, check out the video below by highly respected veteran spiritual teacher and nun, Pema Chodron, that further amplifies the sentiment. She has been a leading catalyst in bringing Buddhist principles to the West:
Mercury went back direct on November 29. It’s often a time that feels like the old Twilight Zone TV show to many people. Be kind to your mind during this transition, especially because it usually takes approximately 10 days before the mental fog clears up.
Are you listening to your dreams, decoding their symbols, and noticing the heightened synchronicities revealing themselves all around you?
A Full Cold Supermoon arrives on December 4th. Remember Supermoons are like Full Moons on steroids. This Full Moon will amplify universal energies at this time.
Paradoxically, these energies can soften our hearts and minds. When energies are amplified, it’s especially important to be gentle and soft on ourselves and each other.
When we are faced with the need for changes and spontaneity, we can find a sense of safety in thinking about our feelings and sharing them with other people. People are meant to come down into their souls more during the holidays, and particularly in December.
Try not to get sucked into running the hurry up offense during societal consumerist mania. A cool head can be an asset. But but a cold heart can cut you off from the spirit and magic of the season; as well as become a Grinch who steals this from others. Harmony of the head and the heart is a balanced way to be present at this time.
Like water, taichi is a friendly reminder that there is power in softening our edges. Because, like water, cultivating this energy builds gradually. Eventually, a slow drip gains momentum and cultivates power.
Surrender deeply to the river of life and allow it to flow with grace and ease through your body and soul.
And then a New Moon in Sagittarius on December 19 welcomes new beginnings to satiate the hunger of expansive souls. A positive outlook on life and belief that things will get better; even when confronted by challenges, is part of an effective transformation process.
After the New Moon, the Winter Solstice on December 21 will mark the darkest day of the year in the Northern hemisphere. This is the time when our ancestors coaxed back the light; which gently allows for shifts in our consciousness into a new dawn of awakening. Even in darkness, there is light.
The Winter Solstice is a good time for us to get in touch with and express our gratitude for what we have experienced over the past year. Tis the season to let go of anything that we are struggling with, have little or no control over or any resistances to what is persisting in our lives. The clinging and grasping is part of what we resist that persists. Let it all go. A ceremonial fire ritual, especially in a community of people is a powerful way to capture the sentiment.
I remember when a community of men stood around the fire and got real for over a decade around the Winter Solstice. It was a powerful time. Men often hurt in ways that we are not even aware. This can manifest in a garden variety of ways, like the way men often use humor as a way to approach, and then retreat. It’s hard not lose ourselves in work to do and bills to pay. In the old patriarchy, avoiding intimacy is just something you do. But thankfully, the times they are a changin’. By redefining masculinity, we see that being in touch with our feminine sides; such as listening and being sensitive are powerful ways to be men. Besides, it makes us better role models.
Let go of the shores and trust that you will be guided and taken to where you most need to be.
The New Year of the Fire Horse on February 17th will reflect many more big changes coming down the pike. In Shamanism, the energy of Horse symbolizes personal freedom. Consider perceiving the fire element as a blazing saddle that will facilitate the development of a further sense of personal freedom in our lives as we build new frontiers together.
Energetically, one of harbingers of big changes coming our way is the arriving mysterious interstellar comet that scientists are calling 3I/Atlas. It appears that there are mixed reviews about 3I/Atlas’ constitution. It seems that there is agreement among many that 3I/Atlas it is ancient; as in billions of years old, in linear time at least. And apparently, there is a high level of consciousness embodied within it. But as Indigenous people have long known; there is consciousness in everything.
Be mindful that with a deeper and higher sense of personal freedom, which is an Aquarian personality trait; comes the freedom to choose and responsibility to act on how we navigate these big changes we are facing.
As we have discussed in this blog, comets have historically been seen as harbingers of change. I don’t think its a coincidence that this ancient comet has associations with the Sun, and is moving through our neck of the woods into the Year of the Fire Horse. Our Solar Plexus Chakra is our inner sun or our personal will. And the Sun gives us sustenance.
We have been programmed to shy away from mystery, and fear the dark and unknown. But it really is the question that drives us. It’s hard to go wrong with a position of curiosity and empathy.
Allow your imagination to be free to see and feel beyond the veils of ‘normal’ reality into the unseen realms and mysteries of the soul.
Regardless of what exactly 3I/Atlas is, it already appears to be shifting our collective consciousness. There is no doubt in my mind that it has a role to play in awakening a more transcendental, expansive and open hearted and minded perception of the world we live in.
Ponder its universal energies as being a much needed upgrade to elevate our consciousness . . . So that we are equipped to effectively evolve into new ways of being spiritual beings having human experiences.
Of course there is always freewill and choice. If you look at this comet from the viewpoint of the lizard brain, then it will probably look ominous and perhaps seen as a threat.
Given past behavior, we can predict with a high level of confidence that the military-industrial complex looks at it that way, and the talking heads on the media will probably parrot the party line they are ordered to repeat. A real free press doesn’t do that, nor does a more free thinking, fair and just society foment that kind of deception.
Pun alert: Because of the aforementioned tendency, this writer wouldn’t be surprised if an elaborate Wizard of Oz like Wicked elaborate hoax is already being manufactured as we speak. Of course, their intent is to try to control the narrative by keeping people distracted, afraid and enslaved in devilishly repetitive and fixed ideas. The battle to control the public mind is nothing new.
Isn’t it insane to want to keep people asleep, when we are meant to awaken to our Better Angels?
But then again, you all know the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing, and expect different results.
Remember that every moment is a new moment, including another moment to be liberated from being driven to distraction.
That’s why is so important to be mindful of the living moment and the power to remember to breathe and focus on positive self talk. The living moment is always there for us to live and breathe in.
As we look back over the last year, December a powerful time where we can slow down and reflect on forgiveness and acceptance, and focus more on giving, peace, and joy.
Slow down, see the playing field, and welcome a gentle and soft approach with the energies at play right now. Allowing for openness and receptivity, and thinking about what you can do for others is the gift that keeps on giving.
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
Classroom Mothership Earth 