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,
A Full Flower Moon will happen on Thursday, May 23rd. Hummingbirds accentuate this point because they embody effective cross pollination of spreading the seeds of love and flowering of consciousness.
Of course this moon goes by many names, such as Mulberry Moon by the Creek and Choctaw or Moon of Green Leaves by the Lakota or Field Maker Moon by Abenaki.
Other ancestral names given by the Celtics and Old English are Hare or Grass Moon. And for those who hear the peepers singing, it’s easy to understand where the name Frog Moon sprung from, if you’ll pardon the seasonal apropos pun.
Speaking of frogs, remember the beautiful Lotus Flower grows out of the Lily Pad in the gnarly swampy bog areas. This is the true roots and meaning behind Flower Power because the Lotus Flower represents the Flowering of Consciousness and awakening our Human Potential.
Meditation on Flower Power reveals for us to pass on buying into the commercial that sells that the 60s were all about sex, drugs and rock and roll. Yes, those ingredients were real parts of that era. But underneath those appetizers was a main course meal that fed expanding consciousness; including the questioning of conventional societal programing, working on Civil Rights and leveling the playing field.
When we truly acknowledge an authentic awakening taking root in our souls, we recognize that we are living on Indigenous lands, and have all been affected by Colonization. In this state of awareness, we will evoke a living memory of our ancestral roots. May we breathe in a sense of clarity, renewal, healing, and rejuvenation into our souls during this season.
Let’s not forget that White Privilege and White Supremacy are real collective traumas that affect everyone, regardless of how we identify. The reality is that we humans have been mixing it up together in a garden variety of ways; including having cross cultural relationships and intersectional experiences with one another. Variability in the species is a good thing. Nobody wins at the hands of oppression.
Beneath the headlines is the deeper truth that we are living in an age where we are letting go and releasing all of that.
But Regardless of who’s on top, the horizontal evolution of power awakens the reality that power is shared in a way that is equitable. From this perspective, there are no real losers because there is enough, and we can all win. Most of us don’t want to be billionaires. But most of us want be free and have equal access to resources; including a safe place to live, learn and thrive as a human family. That’s not easy to do within the Fog of War and the dying old matrix.
Given the current and historical oppression that humankind has experienced on the Planet; including the genocide and enslavement of various groups of people, including Semitic, BIPOC & LGBTQ+ folks- it can be challenging to perceive the infinite possibilities awaiting humanity to co-create a more fair and just society.
Meditate on We The People consciousness; as well as the truth that everyone are Chosen People created in the image of Creator. This mantra will bear fruit to transcendence and transformation with humanity, our Planet and beyond. We are all One and Diverse expressions of Great Spirit. Our formless energetic selves are akin to the Color of Water.
It’s unbelievable what the upper echelon got away with during Gilded Age. How embarrassing is it to actually believe and promote a return to this way of life? Talk about Gangster. Time to keep those old guard crime rhymes off the shelf.
Underneath this parody of a fairy tale should be embarrassing to read to our grandchildren is the idea that a minority of souls in positions of power should control the narrative, galvanize and exploit everyone else in the form of a rigid ends justify the means belief in a maximum economic profit mindset.
Like the yin and the yang, the Universe is full of light and dark energies. It’s not about either/or; rather its about these energies flowing in synergy and balancing each other out. The Earth doesn’t complain when the Sun is hiding behind the clouds. Nor does the Moon resent the Sun for giving his energy to other moons, planets or energies. Yet the sun still shines and the moon still rises. The moon doesn’t tantrum at the sun for heating her waters, nor does the earth complain when the moon rises her tides and floods her shorelines. Nature has leveling impulses that humanity should get in alignment with. Like Eldridge Cleaver once said, “if you’re not part of the solution, then you’re part of the problem.”
During this Gemini time of year, we shift from our lower chakras to our upper chakras. Lower chakras are more for grounding and naturally appear to align with the energies of the Ram or Bull, while the Twins spark the cerebral forces found in the upper chakras.
Keep in mind that our throat chakra is the realm of communication. Knowing when to speak and when to listen are key dynamics in effective communication. This includes conversations on the inside of ourselves; as well as the conversations we have with others.
Just as an example, coworkers and I often talk about how we have learned the art of hitting the pause button from sending an email by resting on the draft overnight. And then when the next day comes, the seemingly urgent email might not even need to be sent. Or if it does, a new tone has been discovered and implemented before the message is sent. I like to look at this skill as a form of journaling, letting go and processing.
Remember that birds of a feather, flock together when socializing in co-creative ways with like minded folks that reflects the power of the community. This time of year is great for getting out and about and socializing with folks.
Energetically, this is a good time to meditate on walking one foot in spirit, one foot in ground as a way to balance our experience of spiritual beings having human experiences. It is a balancing act to walk in the center of the circle without getting too swayed in either direction.
Our souls live in our bodies till the body expires and then they break out and find a new home.
We are probably at our best when our soul and humanity work together. But this can be challenging because of the tendency is to feed one over the other, depending on the person and their own unique experience or the cultural narrative they were born into.
People who are more materialistic are probably are more preoccupied with their humanity, while folks who are more free-spirited are probably aware to their soul’s promptings; although this is not always the case necessarily.
Energy is energy . . . It’s what we do with it that counts.
Regardless of our orientation, the key dynamic for all of us is to harmonize with our environment.
Reflect on stories you might cling or grasp to from your past that you continue to say to yourself. What might a new version of that story with a more awakened or positive outlook look like in the Mirror of the Mind?
Pisces time of year reflects endings and beginnings. The fish bring in tidings of change, and the mystical intersection of shorelines and seasonal transitions between the death of winter and the rebirth of spring.
For example, the Fish are at the tail end of the Zodiac and they swim in between Winter and Spring. Like the oceans receiving the rest of the waterways, all the other signs flow into Pisces.
A Full Snow Moon on February 24th reveals the waning peak wintry conditions mixed with the promise of new growth, longer days and warmer weather as we spring ahead.
This will be the last Full Moon of the Zodiac before the Spring Eclipse Season in later March and early April. The winds of change will be blowing into our individual and collective souls during this time. Shakeups in consciousness are in the airwaves.
Seasons reflect the spiritual Law of Transience; everything changes and is ephemeral. The stirrings of spring are happening both below and above the ground. Can you hear the forrest coming alive?
Time to let go of the old self and whatever old narratives that have defined your life and make the transition into the new chapter or new book. There is a feeling of starting over, which can be both exciting and mysterious. What magical new adventures are awaiting?
Keep in mind that it is natural to grieve the death of the old self and say goodbye to old relationships. But it is best not to indulge in those feelings or be a suckerfish to your grieving process. Might as well say yes to the new growth that wants to manifest into new frontiers.
We made it through the tunnel! Use these energies to light your way into new pathways.
Like the yin and the yang, the two fish will come full circle and return to a new endpoint. In the death of endings, there is rebirth in beginnings. The Spring Equinox is symbolic of balance between masculine and feminine energies, as they are in equal alignment with one another at this junction.
And then around the Spring Equinox, fiery Aries carries the torch into new beginnings. Energetically, this is like a new year. It’s no coincidence that baseball season starts around this time; America’s pastime. While the Fish go with the flow and swim around in circular fashion, the Ram is I Am consciousness and wants to knock it out of the park, if you’ll pardon the baseball pun.
The Spring Equinox shows light and dark energies are equal, like the shorelines do. Water and Land are diverse expressions of elemental forces. They mark the flowing mystery of life because they are in between land and sea. May we walk with them in an ancestral footprint of one foot in spirit and one foot in ground.
Remember when the fiery energies of spring are arriving, gently allow the cool waters of Pisces to vaporize them with an ocean spray of fresh air.
Last Friday, February 2nd was the Imbolc, the approximate halfway point between the Winter Solstice and Vernal Equinox, or the first day of Spring on March 19th.
Days are getting longer everyday. Before long, light and dark energies will be equal on the first day of Spring. Like the yin and yang, masculine and feminine energies will be in equal alignment with Nature’s rhythym.
In modern American lore, the Imbolc is popularly know as Groundhog Day. Everyone wonders if the groundhog will see his shadow or not.
On a deeper level, Groundhog spiritually symbolizes death without dying, from an energetic perspective. Meditation on death without dying can encourage us to live our lives to the fullest- or play ever down like our last, as my old football coaches used to say.
Winter is the death cycle in Nature, when we go deeper into the Dreamtime. Groundhogs hibernate during the Winter. They remind us that even in the dirge, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Our tunneling through the darkness represents a safe passage into a new realm of being.
Energetically, the stirrings of Spring are happening as the seeds underground are starting to think about waking up. A simple shift in mindset might help give us a lift from any Winter blues we might be feeling now.
A New Moon in Aquarius on February 9th tunnels further into the Chinese New Year of the Wood Dragon on February 10th. Remember that Aquarius is rebellious and is in alignment with finding their own way as unique individuals, yet finding ways to be true to their selves but also fit into a group. This is captures the program design of Diversity Within Unity, the mantra of a New Age and Paradigm.
In Chinese astrology, the Wood element represents vitality and creativity. Dragon makes connection to success, intelligence and honor in Chinese culture. This alchemy makes people born in the Year of the Wood Dragon full of energy and drive. They dream of changing the world and spring forth innovative ideas and manifesting their ideas.
Also, I had an encounter with a ladybug recently. Winter is an unusual time to see them, but I took my encounter as a bright spot that warmer weather is on its way.
Ladybugs are symbolic of metamorphosis, as beetles also symbolize. Recognizing that change is an inevitable part of life, may we awaken to the reality that we will encounter death and rebirth during the season of authentic living. When one door closes, another door opens.
These spirit guides can awaken the idea of reincarnation. However, even if we believe in other lifetimes; it is wise to remember that our current lifetime should be our primary focus in the here and now.
May we allow our current life cycle to afford us the vantage point to see that our old selves are akin to past lives. And then we can look at our new self as once a future self that now is. Perhaps meditation on this perspective might open up your consciousness and relax rigid thought forms.
Remember what we resist persists. Might as well say yes to the changes in seasons that our mythical life quest reveals.
The Capricorn New Moon on January 11, 2024 kicks off the first new moon of the new year. 2024 will be a significant energetic catalyst for powerful transformation. If we add this year’s numbers up, we get 8.
As we remember past writings, we know that the number 8 is the sign of Infinity. Infinity is where the realm of infinite possibilities, dreams, visions and solutions live.
Just imagine the new possibilities of a new chapter that are awaiting our future selves.
In the Mirror of the Mind, may we envision the Universe’s energy amplifying the intentions we set for the year ahead.
It’s hard to go wrong with committing to an intent to be happy by placing personal happiness at the top of the list.
Energetically, this new moon will embody highly transformative energy that can facilitate the release of leftover energies from last year. Letting go will support us in clearing space to receive the new energies of 2024.
May this new moon and new year bring us good fortune toward the positive systemic change we so desire! Winter’s slumber is a good time to rest and get ready for Spring’s rebirthing energies.
Movement further into the New Golden Age and Paradigm of Aquarius is guiding us toward awakening our better angels and becoming better stewards of our planet and with each other.
The energy of Aquarius inspires humanity to awaken our unique diverse expressions of spirit, coupled with knowing our oneness in 2024 and beyond.
On a cosmic level, may the Full Wolf Moon on January 25 bring levity to our souls and be a harbinger of inspiration and creative energy.
Prioritize playing and a sense of adventure in the year ahead. Like the wise old saying goes, follow your bliss and everything else will follow.
Meditation on the archetypal Wise Wolf as a spirit guide awakens a positive self talk mantra that becomes the moon and harmonizes with its environment.
Use the power of this Full Moon to release what is no longer joyful in your life and stay away from doing anything that weighs you down or feels heavy.
Also, it will be the year of the dragon on February 10th, 2024.
Dragon symbolizes power, change and spirituality and can awaken self-love and empowerment by tapping into your inner royalty and power.
Dragon represents masculine soul energy or yang.
Consider Dragon’s connection to the mythical Phoenix, which symbolizes the sacred power of the feminine or yin. The Yin and the Yang, masculine and feminine are at their natural best when flowing in balance with one another.
According to Chinese astrology, it will be the year of the dragon on February 10th, 2024.
Dragon symbolizes power, change and spirituality and can awaken self-love and empowerment bytapping into your inner royalty and power.
Dragon represents masculine soul energy or yang.
Consider Dragon’s connection to the mythical Phoenix, which symbolizes the sacred power of the feminine or yin. The Yin and the Yang, masculine and feminine are at their natural best when flowing in balance with one another.
A Full Wolf Moon on January 25, 2024 symbolizes feeding our wise minds. We have our rational minds and our emotional minds.
May our wise minds balance out the rational & emotional. Lead with the heart and mind our heads.
It is a good sign of mental health when the right and left hemispheres of our brains are communicating effectively with one another.
In alignment with that, Wolf energy is a spiritual pathfinder that will leave you novel tracks in consciousness into a New Chapter.
What new trails do you want to howl into your life as you blaze into the New Year ahead?
Wolf government is an interesting interplay between hierarchy and horizontal balance of power. It would behoove us to examine how a healthy interplay between a social democratic approach might harmonize with our politics of living.
A more fair and just society will highlight equal access to quality healthcare, which emphasizes sound mental health and wellness. But more importantly; people have the self evident incentives to choose sound mental health and wellness as a way of life.
Imagine systemic support for self care practices, such as yoga, massage, chiropractic, acupuncture, and tai chi & qigong being strongly encouraged into everyday well being and mental health practice. The power of the individual to self-soothe, community co-regulation and finding peaceful and non-violent ways to co-exist for mutual aid is a key dynamic for an effective systemic transition into a New Age and Paradigm.
Dewdrops are the perfect metaphor for the transience in life.
Or as the echoes of the late musician Jimmy Buffet reverberate; changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes . . . nothing remains quite the same. As beautiful dewdrops are when we see them- the sun will shine, the temperature will rise and then they will dry up.
But there is a space between the intersection between joy and pain. If we can make friends with their transience, then we will relax the grasping and clinging of and our attachments to all moments; pleasant, unpleasant or neutral.
Between Tao and Zen, death is just another transition, even if a mystery for certain. In the mirror of the mind meditations, time spent with the ancestors is so much longer than the time spent here on this earth. Jimmy Buffet’s recent death reminds us that his lyrics live on in our heads and hearts.
On a deeper level, the energies of Parrot awakens the healing of bright color magic and the power of the sun. Buffet’s famous lyrics, searching for my lost shaker of salt is a synchronicity to the Pueblo connection of Parrot and its association with the gathering of salt.
It can be helpful to have a longitudinal mindset in life. If we pay attention to the signs and synchronicities of the Universe to light our way, then we realize there are no coincidences.
A Virgo New Moon on September 14, 2023 can draw us inward and travel back to the past, getting us to examine things to ensure we fully understand where we have been before we move forward.
We may feel that life or certain situations are at an impasse. It may be hard to move on or hard to know how to shift a dynamic.
But Mercury will go back on the 15th, so clearing skies ahead will be happening now.
While the changing energies will reveal themselves slowly, we may find it a welcomed relief to be stuck or stagnant for a moment. We may wish to enjoy the view a little longer or really soak our feet in wherever we have landed. By taking this time, we may feel more adjusted, better prepared, and more accepting of our situation and where we will move to.
This New Moon is the last before the Equinox and the Autumn Eclipse Season. This New Moon will set the foundation for the changes that are destined to come.
Returning to the grounding energies of Virgo are a good reminder that we are sovereign beings, free to be, free to express, and free to access a wealth of knowledge contained within.
On a more practical level, we can also channel the energies of the Virgo New Moon to plan, create a schedule, and get organized in our lives. We can use its energy to take a methodical and practical approach to all that we need to get done.
While we will still very much feel the stagnancy from all the retrograde activity, this New Moon acts as a turning point, lighting a path to help release us from the old.
Trust that the fog will lift and the veils will thin; in much the same way as they powerfully do during the end of October and early November, energetically speaking.
A Full Harvest Moon September 29, 2023 will be the fourth & final Supermoon. Our ancestors gave this name to the moon closest to the Autumn Equinox because it marks a time to reap what was sewn in the spring. Time to celebrate the bounty of summer while preparing for the long, cold dirge of Winter.
A historical, cross-cultural synopsis of this Full Moon reveals the powerful link between this Full Moon and the importance of an abundant harvest it yields around the world.
Eclipse Season will feature a New Moon Solar Eclipse on October 14 and a Full Moon Lunar eclipse on October 28. Remember that eclipses are catalysts for change and shaking up the status quo in our inner and outer world. New and Full Moons during eclipses are like regular New and Full Moons on steroids.
Connecting with Nature is good medicine for staying in alignment with the Universe’s orientation of Love and Truth. They go together and we need both. Perhaps you get out in your garden or listen to the waning sounds of crickets. I always forget how much I will miss their singing till Summer wanes and Fall approaches.
A Full Sturgeon Moon will surface down the pike on August 1st. Given August traditionally being their peak seasonal catch, these fish inspired many of our ancestors to give this moon its name. This prehistoric fish’s survival power symbolizes resiliency. We all need to build resiliency, especially in this day and age because we are leaving an old world behind and a new earth is being born.
Of course, this Full Moon goes by many names. Depending on where humans inhabited the Planet, their names noted traditional observations from our ancestors. This will be the second consecutive supermoon. Supermoons are like regular full moons on steroids.
Today, we humans can stand to meditate on Sturgeon’s strong survival instinct and adaptability. They know how to stir up murky underwater floors and swim through them. Perhaps Dylan channeled Sturgeon when he captured the lyrics, “better learn how to swim or you’ll sink like a stone, fore the times they are a changin’.”
Also, animal spirit guides like caterpillars and beetles are good reminders about the tension of shedding our old skins to clear space for a renewed sense of self. We are living in a time of great metamorphosis. These creatures dig through the earth and are an integral part of the Web of Life.
All systems resist change, humans being no exception to this scientific principle. Normally, we don’t want to change, but the nature of the circumstances are requiring us to do this on the inside and out. One way or another, the soul of humanity is evolving. We might as well become more conscious of it.
During summertime, the buzzing around of bees cross pollinating are reflective of industry and a friendly reminder that hard work pays off. Given their associations with reincarnation, their longitudinal wisdom inspires us to hone in on their spirited guidance about organizing our inner and outer worlds. Doing this helps clear space for our own program development as evolving souls.
But it is wise to remember that life is sweet like honey. In the New Golden Aquarian Age of Diversity Within Unity, we need to balance our own unique soul expressions with group consciousness. The trick is to not get ensconced into our own individual worlds or the hive mentality. Too far in either direction disrupts the equitable fluidity of the yin and yang. Moving forward into a new world ahead means co-creating more equity in a more fair and just society where everyone can thrive.
Furthermore, consider looking at bees as psychic readers. Their energies are harbingers of busier times ahead. Specifically, their energies foreshadow that it will be even more important to build self care boundaries when heading back to school and back to business. It’s hard to say goodbye to yesterday, but bee consciousness can help us fly into new zones, with particular sensitivity to our expressions in creativity and sexuality. How do you want to move into the next season of your life?
Porcupine energy resurrects a sense of innocence, faith and trust toward life’s explorative path. They don’t draw their quills unless fear is present. Otherwise, they reflect an open and passive attitude toward discovery, as well as a playful, light-hearted approach in the process of being in the moment. Meditation on their skill at climbing trees is good energy medicine. Trees are like antennas on earth that connect to the cosmos. May we awaken our spirited connection to Father Sky and Mother Earth.
During this time, use the energies of Sturgeon, Beetles, Bee, Caterpillar, and Porcupine to reinforce alignment with resiliency, industry, letting go of who we were and awakening to who we are becoming. Stay open and receptive to the signs and synchronicities that will light your way. May we shift away from our fears and lean into a renewed sense of faith and trust.
Classroom Mothership Earth 