Tag Archives: Turtle Medicine

A New Moon In Aquarius, Full Snow Moon & Turtling Along In February

Posted on by under Consciousness, Spirituality, Uncategorized

A New Moon in Aquarius on February 1, 2022 aligns with the same date as the Chinese New Year of the Tiger. It is also the Imbolc/Groundhog Day on February 2nd. Our ancestors honored the Imbolc because it is the approximate midpoint between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. At this time, we are reminded that, in spite of the colder temperatures outside, daylight is gaining, and Spring is on its way. This is a complicated time with emotions, as there is a strong need for emotional freedom now. We are in the early stages of the Age of Aquarius, and this transition into a New Age and Paradigm is not without the experience of labor pains. Can’t you feel the contractions on the Planet right now? Life is always with its tension of opposites, or duality. As we have discussed, the Chinese symbol of the Yin and Yang reflects this. Meditation on the energy of Duality helps you feel at peace with your own inner duality. It helps you live in balance, in oneness and harmony, so that you may continue your path in a cosmic consciousness. It helps you discover life through enjoyment and play.

Truly, the energy of Aquarius has an assertive need for being an individual with a fiercely independent streak. But Aquarius also begs the question of how do I be my authentic self, and at the same time, fit in to group consciousness? As such, among groups, it can be easier to understand your feelings and free yourself from negative emotions such as fear, anger and jealousy. Linking up to the right groups can support us in accessing our inner genius, to think in new ways, even divergent from what we have been taught by family/societal conditioning. Getting in touch with inner freedom can be liberating for a soul in a way that transcends rules and defiance of them. Diversity in Unity is the Aquarian mantra. Gone are the days of the Lone Wolf.

Also, a Full Snow Moon arrives on February 16th. The Ojibwe called this moon the Bear Moon, while the Algonquin called it the Groundhog Moon. Winter is a good time for human forms of hibernation and nurturing our inner cubs before they are ready to come out into the sunlight for the spring thaw and begin manifestation on the Spring Equinox.

Artwork by Barbara Merlotti

When Turtle swims into your stream of thoughts

Remember to picture Mother Earth

loving you with patience and kindness

The river does not need to be pushed

Slow down and take it one step, one breath, and one

moment at a time

How does slowing down help you stop and smell the roses?

What happens to the river’s rapids, when we go with

the flow instead of pushing the river?

Do you need to curl up in your shell and hide, or do you need to come out

into the sunlight and be with people?

Our ancestors celebrated the Full Snow Moon as the peak snowfall accumulation.

Beneath Winter’s dirge,

stirrings of Spring are beginning to think about coming out of Plato’s Cave.

Picture a Turtle protected by an invincible shell,

securely anchored deeply into Mother Earth.

Turtle’s spirit is an ancient reminder of our soulful connection to our living planet.

Our ancestors celebrated the Imbolc,

the mid-point between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox.

Also, this February brings the Chinese-Lunar year of the Tiger.

Now more than ever, meditation on Tiger can inspire a deep freedom for

cultivating our passions, power, devotion and sensuality.

Running a hurried up offense is a popular way to live on Earth today . . .

Might as well wise up to Turtle’s wisdom to remember

Do you need to escape from the worries of the world for a spell?

Mother Earth’s ancient wisdom to slow down our tempo and anchor in Her ground

Or do you need to come out of your of your shell and be more social?

Meditate on Turtle for a deeper understanding of 

patience and planetary connection

A Chinese-Lunar New Year reminds us that Spring is arriving energetically 

In spite of probable peaks in snowfall accumulation . . .

Do you feel the seeds underground starting to think about waking up?

Time to bury your ideas in the ground and let the sunlight do its business . . .

So that they may organically blossom in the Spring

Turtle’s age-old shell symbolizes soulful protection –

In these hard times . . .

May we weather Climate Change with mindful wisdom

Commentary:

Turtles are older than dinosaurs and carry an ancient wisdom on their backs. If there are any spirit guides to help us open up to the idea of Karma, Turtle is a good role model. Karma can easily be understood as the law of cause and effect. If you are paying attention to the big picture, you start noticing how cause and effect impacts your life and then have ability to transcend it. Have you ever noticed that the more you hurry or try to expedite a process, the more your hurried pace slows you down in the long run? Through patience and compassion, we become equipped to harmonize with our conflicts. T’ai Chi is often practiced in slow motion. The idea behind this slow and meditative internal martial art is that if you practice it at a slow pace, you will be fast if and when the situation calls for fast action. When we slow down, observe the moments as they come without judgment and learn to be with what is. May we cultivate energy gradually and powerfully like water.

In my orientation, I came into this realm strongly aligned with the energy of Rabbit. I remember Grandmother taking me to see story hour at the local library in my Preschool years. I had a hard time understanding the story of the tortoise and the hare. But that makes sense to me now, especially because I was raised in a culture that did not teach us about opposites. We were taught that it’s either this, or that . . . just say no, just do it. Living in America was a sea full of mixed messages that mirrors growing up as a child in a psychotic household. Meditating on Turtle helps relax any pressures of the cultural river we might feel we are pushing against. Just knowing that these creatures are older than dinosaurs helps me appreciate a long range perspective. Rome wasn’t built in a day. All we really have is right now. Might as well take it in. If you need to, go within your shell to take refuge from the worries of the world, or you can come out of your shell and congregate with others. Knowing when to turn inward, and when to socialize is about knowing balance within yourself. Some people are naturally more monkish and hermit like, while others are more pod oriented, and thrive on others to feed them. Nature just reflects to us where we are at and what we need to work with. Let Turtle guide you in wise council.

Like many, I have been in a place of wishing the weather was different from what it was. After I was a child, back when enjoyed being outside regardless of climate, I started to internalize an adult-centric perspective about certain weather being preferable to others, namely complaints about the cold, dark and stormy, and the like. For many people, it doesn’t really matter – it’s too hot, bright, buggy, windy, the laundry list is endless. But for those of you who live in a northern climate, and really hate winter – knowing the half way point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox happens this month may help you appreciate that the sunlight is rising, and warmer temperatures are on their way. I remember being up in the Andean mountain range in South America, and the little Indigenous children were trying to sell us rotten berries for a buck or two. It was a sobering reflection for me to see such a pristine, natural habitat, and yet such abject poverty. Privileged first world people were traveling here to appreciate the natural riches of this land, and yet the Indigenous people who lived in this natural treasure were fighting for survival.

I remember some of my old football coaches telling us that we should play every down like it’s our last. It was a good metaphor for life. Like the Hopi say, we are in the 11th hour, and we are the one’s we have been waiting for. The time is now. We are at a point in our current experience that we have the power to make ourselves go extinct or awaken to a massive shift in our collective consciousness. The reality is that an old world is dying, while the trumpet of a new world sounds its call. Out of the ashes, a phoenix rises. May we become beacons of light in a world of darkness. Mindfulness isn’t a cure. It is a way of paying attention to the present moment, and noticing what it is, without getting sucked in to labels or judgment. 

Take care of yourselves everyone,

Ari

Inner Peace, Coregulation, Turtles, And A Full Snow Moon.

Posted on by under Consciousness, Spirituality, Uncategorized
Images Created by Aunt Barbara Merlotti

A Full Snow Moon arrives on February 27th, and welcomes back ancestral traditions of honoring this Moon for representing peak snowfall accumulation. If rocks are part of your spiritual path, it’s a good time to let them rest and recharge underneath this Full Moon so that you can recalibrate them in your sacred meditation space. We all need to rest, especially with the cultural war raging on, coupled with the slow melt of the pandemic. It isn’t just the school community I work in that is hitting the wall during these hard times. And the lingering shadows of Old Man Winter are nothing to sneeze at either, if you’ll pardon the puns. But visions of Vernal Equinox, and Big Night, when the salamanders make their romantic midnight run to get it on, dance sensuously in our hearts and heads. How do tiny salamanders make it to far reaching vernal pools against all odds? Indeed, they have great forces of Nature, and lurking predators to contend with. Maintaining perspective is a key dynamic to happiness as a way of life. Patience in communication with each other is critical to that. Building bridges of understanding in our connections with one another will support positive development in human relationships.

Switching horses for a moment, when I think of turtles, I think of survivors. Turtles have been around longer than humans, and have even left dinosaurs in the dust. If you’re anything like the rest of the planet and me, then you could probably stand to meditate on the virtue of patience. Whenever I feel like I’m pushing the river or running the hurry up offense unnecessarily, I try to remember to keep my wits about me by visualizing a turtle to help ground me to the Earth. If only I can catch the wave of a mindful moment to swim with the current by allowing what is to happen, rather than striving to make it happen. Easier said than done. In my younger days, the spirit of Rabbit dominated my energy field over Turtle, as I was almost always on the hop. Who would I be without the charge of my hypervigalant nervous woodland creature energy? Suffering from young man’s disease means that you see faster as better, and competative worrying as a strength. But as my years of living on the planet advance, I feel more connected to Turtle’s spiritual therapy these days.

Furthermore, it is wise to realize that happiness doesn’t mean that we are above or below the tones of pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral feelings. If you are paying purposeful attention to your feelings, then you’ll notice that most of them don’t last more than 15 to 30 seconds. Indeed, they are like a river. So, what’s with all the sensational headliners? Is this suffering really an outrage or will this too so shall pass? Not to project my anthropomorphism onto Turtle, but I do believe their spirits will just watch without any judgment or clinging to any primary feelings or secondary emotions that might arise in its wake. Pretty sure Turtle wouldn’t get seduced into a partisan Congressional quagmired debate. No dark earmarks, bloated military industrial complex budget, Qanon or Trumpamania either. Perhaps more likely, we might entertain a peaceful, and non-violent act of civil disobedience. But melting the ice I don’t think so. This doesn’t mean turtles aren’t fierce or that they’re wimpy. They’ll let you know when they’re angry, and are good teachers on knowing when to retreat into your shadowy shell or let your head out into the sun for some vitamin d. 

More importantly, revolutionary spirit is in the air as we move in a New Aquarian Age. But what old ways still have meaning in this New Earth we are transitioning in together? Cocreating Heaven on Earth means that we are getting in touch with the better angels of our Higher Selves to support our universal connection to one another during our shared coexistence on Mother Earth. Diversity in Unity means that we are all connected. Like may attract like, but remember that even opposites attract because the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. All voices matter so that we can honor our differences, and also be true to our oneness. Clearly, there are old patterns and wounds that we still need to release and heal before we can really move forward. Part of that healing is to hear that the attraction to Trump is “a belief that government should not run our lives, and limit our freedoms.” And while I can appreciate the sentiment, he is part of the problem, not the solution. BIPOC and LGBTQ + are not a threat to humanity, but rather weave an integral part of our collective inner tapestry.

For example, take a look at Bernie Sanders as an embodiment of revolutionary spirit, and of working Turtle energy in the positive. Now that’s an elderly white man of privilege that will give you the shirt off his back. All people like him are saying is that capitalism, socialism, and the democratic process can all coexist equally.  “The spiritual war that we have in our world right now wants us to cling to these fearful stories, take sides, and blame someone for our pain. We have to remember our togetherness and really what unites us which is our spirit. Our spirit is made of all of the same Divine Light.” Letting go of the Military-Industrial Complex’s concentration of power in our lives is breaking down, and we can see that through the eyes of disorder in our world. There is no one size fits all T-shirt folks. Don’t be tricked into believing that fixed ideas and attachments to them are not the real natural disasters and war drums that divide and conquer us. There is enough, and we can all win. It is unconstitutional not to level the playing field by promoting the general welfare of the public. But isn’t that obvious?

Looking back, we have discussed the growing body of evidence that supports the existence of the UFOs, extraterrestrials, multidimensional beings, etc. But keep in mind, there are many historical reports of these phenomena that existed prior to the Roswell incident back in July, 1947. For example, Leonardo Da Vinci was reportedly visited by “light beings”, and  Michelangelo, Christopher Columbus, and Nostradomus reportedly saw some sort of UFO or otherwise unexplained apparent aerial phenomena that shifted their consciousness back then. Also, there are many culturally accepted stories by Indiginous people about “sky people” that trace lineage connections to humankind. Here in America, “multiple states” reported sightings in the 1800s. In his book Passport to the Cosmos: Human Transformation and Alien Encounters (1999), the late Dr. John E. Mack, who was a Harvard psychiatrist, and department chair, came out for his support of his clients that claimed to have been abducted by aliens. Dr. Mack believed that his clients had experienced something real that was traumatic, perhaps that their souls had really been abducted. However, it was unclear whether this experience was physical or more multidimensional in nature. A trauma informed lens would appreciate the meaningful reality of what they went through that had lead to transformational experiences in their consciousness. What is it that we need to revisit in our consciousness? What more do we have to learn about the truth of this phenomena as the Pentagon continues to relax its guarded secrecy, and disclose the information that it has been hiding from us?

Additionally, during this “dreamy” Pisces time of year, it is a time to “let go, surrender . . . (and) connect to our oneness, own spiritual path, mystical side of life, (and) reorder the sacredness of life.” It is within the elemental forces now to examine an old part of yourself that needs to die so that you can be reborn. During this process, we are invited to face our fears, and explore what is hiding in the shadows of our unconscious so that we can “bring love to it.” Meditation on Venus’ rising tide evokes passages through a death/rebirth cycle of inner transformation that reflects an out with the old, in with the new perspective that mirrors springtime. Many moons ago, I remember an old friend saying that she “got depressed” around springtime. This makes sense because it is natural to grieve the loss associated with the death of the old self. You might not even like Winter, but even so it can be hard to say goodbye to yesterday. Remember that we are part of Nature, not separate from Her, nor Her seasons. But the sun of Father Sky still rises to lighten our spirits, and the Moon still shines on and moves the tides. As humans, we are mostly water, which is a conductor of sound frequency, which Whale is deeply aligned with. “We are assisting mother Gaia (Earth) in giving birth. She has been waiting for us, patiently. Her water has broken and we are gathered ’round to assist her in any and every way possible. She doesn’t ask that we prepare in any way. She simply asks us to show up and assist her to remain calm and trust that all will go well in her delivery process. The cataclysmic occurrences on the planet as of recent have simply been Gaia’s very intense labor contractions. She needs us now, more than ever.”

Finally, according to the sacred geometrical Arcturian wisdom, “The energy of frequency helps you remain within your own energy. Quite often we conform ourselves to others, thus raising or lowering ourselves to a frequency that isn’t ours. By proclaiming your truth with love, you will start processes that may influence others. More unity will be visible!” Moreover, inner peace is about a vibrational-dimensional shift that takes place from the inside out. That being said, a trauma-informed/mental health oriented term that is gaining popularity in schools today is called coregulation. When you get down to the nuts and bolts of it, anyway you shapeshift, coregulation is when we are able to influence each other in ways that supports empathic heartfelt connections with each other.

In conclusion, you’ve all heard the old saying, misery loves company. That’s why sympathy cards and gossip generate so much attraction. But generally speaking, neither does much by way of co regulation or helping anybody. There isn’t anything wrong with holding a sympathetic perspective toward someone or indulging in a little news gossip once in a while. There can be an element of catharsis to commiserating with a fellow coworker, peer, friend or family member from time to time. But just know that it doesn’t serve anyone’s well being when it becomes habitual, and ingrained in your everyday life. If anything, this pandemic has taken away the IV drip from the gossip and sympathy addicts. What have been their replacement strategies? While that remains a mystery, a 6th greader I know took my advice and has gone on a news fast, and has reported a significant decrease in his anxiety and paranoid thoughts. Also, I know many people who have started meditating, wearing items of power like crystal necklaces or other spiritual trinkets, playing around with smudging themselves or giving themselves energy baths with essential oils, or playing with chimes, singing bowls or utilizing meditation/mindfulness apps on their phones. These are all gadgets that help you make a dimensional-vibrational shift into inner peace, or become more adept at empathic coregulation. You can always become an agent of change by starting with yourself. Or you could just march to the beat of your own hum.

Take care of yourselves everyone,

Ari

Slowing Down Our Pace with a Spiritually Protective Turtle’s Shell

Posted on by under Native American, Shamanism, Uncategorized

Turtles have been living on this planet longer than dinosaurs
Humans have been living on Earth less than that

And yet many of us are living like dinosaurs, caught up in a karmic loop
of the reptilian mind – obsessed with order and control issues

A perpetual state of fear is the psychological reality for many
the glass is seen as half empty, which creates anxieties about the fear of loss

But Turtle’s shells reflect safety, security and protection

It’s always good to slow down and return to the mindfulness of our breath

With a Solar Eclipse New Moon, and Lunar New Year arriving this week
Stirrings of Spring energies are waking up underground

Can you feel their movement into new beginnings and foreshadowing
of above ground changes in the air, like a fading stock exchange
and military-industrial complex?

We are all children of God, even Donald Trump
The time is now to purge and release our ideas of separation

Us and Them kind of thinking is devolution
Demonizing our demons will not bring us to the Light

Why are there movements to impeach Donald Trump,
hold power abusers accountable, create a more equitable economic system,
nurture minority/woman’s rights, and
provide safety nets like universal health care?

Will Trump quit before he gets impeached, then live out the rest of his life
pontificating about being persecuted, and ensconced in seeing himself as a victim?

Why is there such push back to justify going to war against perceived enemies,
under the guise of national security?

It is because oppression needs to have a privileged few on top,
and an overwhelming majority on the bottom to feed the machine

But we are all in this together . . .

Human beings are complex creatures, and our relationships
are greater than the sum of our parts

Look upon one another as mirrors to help us reflect the light of love and truth

Remember that it takes less energy to love than to hate

It has been said that Dog is “man’s best friend” . . .

In this Chinese New Year of the Dog, meditation on Dog can inspire
a deep compassion for our human shortcomings,
and loyalty to our one human family

See you further up the trails,

Ari

Turtle Guides Us Through the Land and Seas of Time

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

We are now in a Pisces time of year,
where our souls want to surf the mutable waters of changing tides

Time to venture deeper and higher into spiritual authenticity . . .

A New Moon and round two of February eclipses are arriving
Death of Winter, past lives, and an old age is becoming more real

Turtle is here to remind us to take shelter from the storm
Paradoxically, letting go of control awakens new beginnings in relationship

Now is the time to nurture and honor relationship with Higher Self
Love is patient and kind . . .

Turtles have been around longer than dinosaurs
They are survivors, with ancient wisdom

Turtle guides us into a Higher vibration of Love
In this dimension, we understand love is about letting go of what we fear of losing

Love is not about trying to control, change or fix someone else
Love is beyond an intellectual concept that resides in the ego’s illusion

Love is beyond tit for tat, manipulation or using your snake oil to
enchant someone else to bend their will to your bidding

A majority of people out there either think they love or hate Donald Trump
But those base emotions just feed his ego, and energize his narcissism

Not to mention drain your own energy field and gives away your power
That isn’t going to help us co-create a New World

President Trump is a metaphor . . .

His presence here is a sign of the times – a key dynamic to
becoming the change we want to see in the world

At the end of the day, any con artist with the King Midas touch is conning himself
by believing that everything he touches will turn to gold

A Phoenix doesn’t rise until it has burned in the ashes first
This is symbolic of where we are at on the clock of Father Time

Empathy in action realizes that President Trump is part of us, like a grain
of salt or star-dust in the cosmos – none better nor worse than another

Spring is arriving, and pretty soon light and dark will be in alignment again
on Spring Equinox in later March . . .

Energies are intensifying, and it becomes a time ripe for action
as we move further into the masculine energies of yang’s light

Remember, we are all One, albeit diverse expressions of Great Spirit

See you further on up the trails,

Ari

A Self Protective Shell with Turtle Provides Safe Haven as a Spirit Guide

Posted on by under Native American, Shamanism, Uncategorized

Now more than ever may we become quiet enough to heed Turtle’s wisdom
Remember that stillness speaks through the sound of silence

These are the days of diving into the depth of our inner seas
Because we are all globally swimming in perceived divisive waters of polarity

But underground forces know there is oneness and unity

Turtle is a good reminder to be patient, gentle and kind to yourself
during this process of evolutionary growth that is not without its growing pains

Light and Dark energies will be on equal ground on Spring Equinox
Tis the season to heal polarity in the collective waters of consciousness

In this Chinese Year of the Monkey . . .

Might as well use the rising intensities to invigorate your committment
to relax your own chattering monkey mind

A hurry up offense is a popular way to live on Earth today . . .

Batter up, strike out and who’s on first?
The thoughts and emotional reactions to those thoughts can be incessant

The stories and monkey mind chatter can come on fast and furious
like a perfect storm even

Envisioning a light-hearted, playful and even childlike sense of humor of Self
enhances the ability to see the interplay
between wisdom and folly as comedic theater

Are you hating that person with political beliefs divergent from yours?
It’s just a reflection of leaving behind old shores,
while moving into new lands of thought

Please consider heeding the experiential wisdom of Ram Das
to just learn to love everybody and everything

The wind and the rain have a way of washing things out
Cleaning up with consistent exercise and eating energetically grounding foods
moves things around with the good stink of healthy fertilizer for those in our wake

Mother Earth’s ancient wisdom is to stay low like the depths of the ocean

Is it time to retreat into a protective bubble and shield yourself
from the worries of the world of 10,000 things?

Or do you need to come out of your shell and socialize more frequently?

The tides of climate change are shifting and gaining momentum . . .

Like the transition from Winter to Spring

The weather underground is budding with new growth
As your buried ideas surface from their dark Winter’s slumber

They are waking up and wanting to spring into action
In the sunlight of Spring Eclipse season

Keep your wits by recognizing that order and chaos are dancing together
Just as light and dark forces moving with one another

We are here to sit with tension of opposites
and make friends with the conflict of duality

Do what ever you can to slow down and observe the moments as they spring up
Try to do this without judgment and learn to be with what is

Meditation on Turtle will help you cultivate energy gradually like the power of water

A Full Worm Moon arrives on Hump Day after Spring Equinox
Symbolic of a new season and the early bird getting the worm

See you further on up the trails,

Ari

Remembering Past Family Members

Posted on by under Consciousness, Uncategorized

Humanity is grieving the loss of Nelson Mandela – one of our great fraternity brothers on the forefront of our movement into a flowering New Age. It is hard to say good-bye to our loved ones that have passed on. In the letting-go, I am grateful for his energy and look forward to his spirit breaking out and shedding even more light on our Planet and Universe. Sadly, society is frequently put in the position of taking away freedom from those who cannot handle it. But for some free thinking individuals like brother Mandela, he was unjustly crucified for decades for breaking the rules by doing the right thing as a freedom fighter. I particularly appreciate his understanding that regardless of what was taken from him, he refused to allow his soulful attitude to be stolen. Regardless of how small his jail cell, he knew he was in charge of his attitude about the cards he was dealt. Part of being human is to indulge in a little self-pity once in a while. However, too much self-possession sneaks us into the portal of a Martyr. Did he not have the patience of Turtle while he walked this Earth? But like any enlightened Being or good role model, our task is to emulate the experience of inner peace rather than being seduced into the dogma of putting our guru onto a pedestal. Part of being human is learning to honor our imperfections. Otherwise, unwelcome disappointments will overwhelm our souls like a flash flood.

In much the same way as Gandhi, Nelson Mandela lead the cavalry by stampeding the institutional segregation system known around the globe as Apartheid. Isn’t it interesting that phonetically, Apartheid is pronounced as “apart hate”. Around Kindergarten, we learn to make judgments about our differences from one another as inferior or superior – My skin tone is different from that other kid, so that must mean that I am either better or worse and perhaps justified in hating him or her for that, goes the indoctrinated and typically unconscious belief system. It is a learned behavior. Our old world has not let go of this kind of programming just yet – although there is a burning desire to do so. Can you feel the Earth’s anger at that? Mandela’s death synchronizes with our dying old world of the perceived polarity of separation of “us” and “them”, heroes and villains, friends and enemies. Awareness reveals the yin and yang are always dancing with one another. Within our Being, we have the opportunity to look upon this sensuous feminine and masculine tango as energetic soul mates showing one another a mirror that reflects back parts of our greater whole – diverse expressions within our Unity. Where the sunlight dominates, the dark night is merely kneeling beneath her bounty. While poly amorous encounters might provide short-term extroverted happy endings – flirting with more introverted lovemaking probably leads to clearer forecasts and less dark and stormy weather down yonder.

While taking communion with the Full Moon and Winter Solstice coming up, we look forward to the light increasing thereafter. The reptilian-brain position of viewing ourselves as separate and disconnected from one another embodies a developmentally delayed way of looking at our world. While this dirge is a real position, it is not the position. Those of us that stay in that place have become comfortably numb with this familiar funeral parlor. You could even say it feels safe, even though it is a traumatic place to live. Our future plight as a human family, global and Universally Eco-sensitive community rests on learning to emulate the likes of Nelson Mandela and others that walk in “the Way, the Light and the Truth”. We all need to bring in more inner peace into our world. We all need a sense of security and belonging. At the end of the day, inner peace will only come from within – even though it abounds without.

Wishing You Infinite Inner Peace,

Ari

Turtle Meditation

Posted on by under Meditation, Shamanism
Here is one possible Shamanic journey that I would like to share with you.  In a watered down sense, the journey process is about shifting our consciousness–merely a perceptual shift, potentially leading us into a transformational experience with reality.  We journey to become more conscious and awake during our travels in our material realm, giving us more power and freedom in our lives.  Journeying and meditation aid us in becoming the change we want to see in the world.  For example, during a journey meditation this week, I encountered a huge whale while swimming as a sea turtle in the ocean.  Although the sight of the whale was overwhelming, I allowed myself to hold a position of curiosity and empathy, while simultaneously realizing that the whale meant me no harm.  Remembering to be conscious of our breathing helps us calm our anxieties and remain in the present moment as it unfolds, but intentionally without projecting spin onto whatever front comes our way.
  • Light incense/candle
  • Start by drumming or rattling to a consistent beat in your sacred space.
  • Picture a turtle in your imagination.
  • Feel and perceive turtle energy in your consciousness.
  • Ask turtle for guidance, let go and then follow turtle wherever it takes you during your journey.  Be sure to thank turtle for its gift to you.
  • Before returning to this reality, it is important to change your beat to a call back for an effective transition.  For example, after 10-20 minutes of drumming, I open my eyes and then hit the drum 8 times for 3 repetitions, then 3 times for 3 repetitions and then 7 times for 3 repetitions to signal the end of my journey.  But your call back can be in the form of a word, a thought or a mantra that works for you.
  • Record what arrives to you from your journey.