Tag Archives: Winter Solstice

Gentle Guidance with Loving Deer

Posted on by under Consciousness, Energy Medicine, Native American, Original Prose, Shamanism

A Full Cold Moon rests deeply within our bones
Sitting along the horizon more than other Full Moons today
Highlighting shorter days and longer nights

What are you thankful for and what do you need to release and let go of?

May Deer’s energetic medicinal teachings of grace, loveliness and sensitivity
Gently guide us through open fields of ceremonial tribal rituals

Do you need more beauty in your life?

Take in a deep breath of cold wind
and then exhale a warm and caring summer breeze

Remember when Buddha first taught in a deer park?

Tis the season for Divine communion and venturing out into new adventures
Blend in like Deer by never following the same trail twice
Good medicine for plasticity of the mind
May your sacred space lead you to new frontiers every time you meditate

Do you need to develop self-discipline, consistency and concentration?

We are embarking toward peaking darkness
Climaxing on forthcoming Winter Solstice

Come on down into our souls ladies and gentlemen
while listening to attached emotions of those in your orbit
Inspiration to develop keen hearing and discernment
through heightened sense of smell

Are you paying attention to your inner thoughts and perceptions?

Meditation on an anything is possible mantra is an optimistic thought
Great Spirit is calling us from the top of Sacred Mountain
Use our power of being soft and gentle like water to inundate
even the archetypal monster of fear that wants to block us from
our Divine crystalline souls

Today’s monster of fear includes systemically connected
climate catastrophe, rural poverty,
starvation and food and water wars among other looming disasters
But so are the solutions to weather these demons
in sustainable ways that are in alignment with Nature

Are you or others trying to force things?

Make love not war with the devilish fashion of negative thinking
Strike a chord of unconditional love rather than
getting strung-out on attachments that aren’t music to our ears

Are you being too critical and uncaring of yourself?

Remember to stick to the facts
When speaking your truth
But please be careful not careless with your whispers
Sometimes, silence is a more powerful form of intimate communication

Do you need to cultivate more empathy, gentleness or compassion for others?

Movers and shakers must compassionately enact the political will to
tip the scale in the right direction toward
a more effective transition into a New Age and Paradigm
This process awakens when elected officials serve the overwhelming majority by
promoting the “general welfare” of our global tribe

Nobody is inferior or superior to another
We are all cut from the same cloth
Merely different shades and statures on an unfolding tapestry

Our Mother is getting hotter and it is time to cool it now yo

At the end of the day . . .
Regardless of classification
We are all The Color of Water

See you further on up the trails,

Ari

Shared Blessings with Turkey

Posted on by under Consciousness, Energy Medicine, Native American, Original Prose, Shamanism, Uncategorized

Earth Eagle serves up inspiration to give back
to our Mother during these
shared blessings of harvest season

Turkey’s death sustains our lives
Digesting gratitude for their sacrifices
is good food for deeply thankful thought

A dying old world programs us to buy into
a mantra that pushes us to acquire and get ahead
But when we try to use force to ends by justifying means
We are saying that we don’t trust the Universe to give us what we need

Meditation on Turkey reminds us to walk with secured footing
Reflecting our own adaptable nature
by roosting in different locations in the dirge of night
Let us be mindful of what dreams might come into our material realm

Building a New Earth with Turkey
Gives birth to win-win co-creative possibilities

Why not wake up expecting synchronicity?

Seasons change gradually
Transitions feel more gentle when weathered
like a slowly dripping spigot

Are you appreciating the subtleties of larger changes to come?

A resurrection of the Golden Rule
Awakens a place where the Higher Self meets Collective Consciousness
We gather in a theatrical convergence of egalitarian harmony
Birds of a feather flocking together

Do you see that what is good for the goose is good for the gander?

Yes squirrels get angry about turkeys stealing their Winter stockpiles
But we can dig on the symbolism of nuts and acorns
In mining our souls to burn clean energy
We unearth hidden wisdom and seeds of growth

Visions from our Third Eyes welcomes
abundant arrivals of feminine energies
She has strength in Her numbers
It takes a formidable systemic empire to hold us back
But that need not make us public enemy number one

Remember that we are all One
Cut from the same cloth
Though diverse expressions

Steer clear from fear-based peddlers of divisive images of hatred
to the out of tune choir of Ebola, ISIS, War on Terror
and Police free indictments chimes in with
arrested development of self-preservation
Ferguson is a magnifying mirror of an American horror show

Occupy Critical Mass

How smart are you at being lulled into a hypnotic trance
by mediums of advanced technologic distractions?

May we gracefully allow Turkey’s spirit guide us in
warding off negative energies
that feed off our souls
So that we are light on our feet

See you further on up the trails,

Ari

Lightening Up Our Senses with the Good Stink of Skunk

Posted on by under Consciousness, Energy Medicine, Native American, Original Prose, Shamanism, Uncategorized

Sniffing out when to give, expect and demand respect
is an assertive skill sprayed by a tribe called Skunk
Especially when feeling threatened or annoyed

Black hue hints at their nocturnal nature
White stripes symbolizes our flowing chi

Reminding humanity of our heritage
Luminous beings of light are we
Capable of powering cities of lights

Burning clean energy starts with you

Passing New Moon
Ignites an intuitive impetus for heavenly action
But not without respecting earthy feelings of others

We venture further into the dark
Wax on yin climaxing on the Winter Solstice after a long December

Our spirits should be puncture proof
There is nothing to fear when standing in our own personal authority
Our roots grow strong into the ground below

Do you need to fortify your defenses to protect yourself?

Taking refuge is part of the way of the peaceful warrior
Aromatherapy awakens our sensuous experiences with Mother Earth
The time is now to open your heart to receive Her love

Do you need some help to strengthen your self-esteem
So that you can’t be easily intimidated or controlled by others?

We sniff out when to attract and when to repel others
Carrying an air of nonchalance neutralizes
the leaking energetic stink of victim and perpetrator toxicity

Are you paying attention to your body language?

Making amigos with our egos empowers us to increase our holistic sensuality
without leaving behind a foul stench in our wake

Do you need to gain more attention without being arrogant or irritating?

Like-minded relationships are on their way
Taking inventory of our inner space reveals
What kind of energies we are attracting

Many feel powerless and alone
But this grand Universe was created just for you to learn

There is no separation in what is
Although we see diversity in perspectives

Cultivating healthy fluidity in boundaries becomes organic
with clean internal mulching

Acceptance and surrender to what is
Is a dimensional shift toward Higher Ground from indifference or condoning
From the negative dramas that exist in our midst

See you further on up the trails,

Ari

Shared Constellations With Bear

Posted on by under Consciousness, Energy Medicine, Native American, Original Prose, Shamanism, Uncategorized

Bear Medicine represents introspection
Shy unless provoked – gentle giants are they

Meditation on Bear reminds us of the wisdom that
Truth is sweet like honey
Setting us free

Do you need to venture deep within yourself and
draw on your instinctive powers or other natural resources?

Our inner lights are fading yin-ward into the shades of waning Full Moon
Standing in the space of knowing is a marketing free zone
When we enter the center of a circle, there is nobody to convince or sway

Are your judgments off-center?

Do you remember when the stock exchange crashed
and the wealthiest Americans began paying around a 90% tax rate?

Meditation on the Taoist idea of investing in loss reveals
A Bear market knows the time is now to let our
Bullish and expansive material emphasis go into hibernation
We venture closer to the dark night of Winter Solstice

Now is the time to let our greed and arrogance rest in peace

There is a natural impetus to come back down to earth right now
in our relationships with one another, her creatures and our planet.

A more sustainable and equitable way to live wants to express itself

The more the empire tightens its controlling grip
the more unwanted disorder falls through its cracks
and the more painful this process will be

We set our souls free from feeling trapped in our physical bodies
By knowing we are all created in the image of Creator

We bear witness to the death of the illusion of the material reality
Entanglement with form relaxes by
letting go of our sense of expectation and outcome

Do you need to withdraw from the ways of the world for a spell?
Or do you need to come out of your cave and be more social?

We become pregnant with ideas during dimming lights
Dreaming of planted seeds growing in the underground basement of our souls

Spring Equinox on horizon signifies
a rebirth with arrival of budding Spring Eclipse Season
Cubs want to come out and play

All we need is patience to think before we speak
Being open-heartedly inquisitive in our politics of living
Cultivates plasticity of the mind
Revolutionary zeal without the hate
Loving ourselves is loving our planet

Are you using your helping abilities properly?

Prayer is an active, yang-masculine way of stating our intention for
manifesting and expanding – like sending a message out to the Universe.
Meditation is a receptive, yin-feminine state for
contracting and welcoming messages from our
subconscious and unconscious faculties.

We are all an embodiment of masculine and feminine energies
designed for walking with one foot in spirit and one foot in ground

Edgy dark magicians are only able to pull the wool over
us as long as we buy into the hellish nightmare that we are separate from God

But Christ was an embodiment that shed light on a way and truth
reflecting the Kingdom of Heaven as an intrinsic state of Being
Happiness will not come about by the objects of our affection

Do you believe in your capacity to quiet your mind and
receive solution-focused messages from that stillness?
Can you hear your inner voice speaking to you through the sound of silence?

Our treatment of bears mirrors how serious we are about
the preservation of our environment and natural resources
Reminding us of the possibility that bears, humans
and all God’s creatures can live together in harmony

After this latest American election cycle – beyond the cheers and jeers
of preferred or unwanted outcome
Are you seeing the good deep within all situations?

See you further on up the trails,

Ari

Listening to the Magical Tunes of Black Crows

Posted on by under Consciousness, Energy Medicine, Native American, Original Prose, Shamanism, Uncategorized

Crows sit all along the watchtower in large flocks of communal roosts
A symbolically predictive omen for changing weather patterns

Further movement into a New Earth previews trailers of clearer forecasts
Revealing that we are all One

Connecting the loose threads of our multidimensional heartstrings
Striking a chord that we are all in this together

Meditation on the Law of Impermanence
Reminds us that everything is transitory and ephemeral

Is it a time for you to begin a new course of study?

Fireside storytelling awakens the flames of shared human experiences
Breathing in Samhain marks mid-point between Autumn air and Winter Solstice
A good time to honor our ancestors and exhale Karmic wounds of yesterday

Is a message on its way for you to receive?

Reflecting Nature’s intentional expression for letting-go
And feeling thankful for our vulnerability

Should you be more alert and wary?

Spiritual laws transcend physical laws
By bending the ways of our material world

Watching our shadow-side teachings remind us to attend to the nuts and bolts
Cultivating structure, consistency and predictability in our daily walk facilitates
Coming down into our souls from our high perches of observation

Try not to sweat the small stuff of nervous woodland creature energies

Creation is born out of the feminine womb of life
Master magicians see illusionary veils cloaking other realms
Mystical vibrations of co-creativity are woven into everyday life

Are you noticing everyday opportunities to make magic in your daily routine?

When sitting still in the driver’s seat
We keep our eyes on the horizon and in rearview mirror
Watching the wheels balancing in the eternal now

Picture a tree soaking in sun
Rooted deeply into our Earth’s dark soil
Together we stand in alignment with the elements

Shapeshifting ourselves into transformative inner peace
Shining intrinsic Divine Light onto our darker edges

Leave it to Full Beaver Moon this week to cue us to “set traps”
Before our internal swamps become frozen
Turning our clocks back yinward
In preparation for the cold by blanketing our souls with “warm winter furs”

Remembering when our soul power breathes effectively through our human voice
We are honoring every moment as a past teacher,
the living present as our creation
and the future as our inspiration

See you further on up the trails,

Ari

Welcoming 2014 and Soul Purpose

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

The passion and fires burning within the Earth are also burning within humanity.  And you can bet your bottom dollar that there will be more intense energies igniting more opportunities to transform and heal – or die like the old ways no longer serving us.  The “out with the old, in with the new” earworm will amp up in 2014. Traditionally, it is natural for this to occur now as we move away from the Winter Solstice, as yin contracts and yang expands toward the Spring Equinox in March. But during our movement into a new age and paradigm, many of us are becoming more sensitive and attuned to the exponential intensity of these shifts and vibrational energies streaming in.

My sense is that it will become more difficult to ignore your soul purpose, as it will become more challenging to turn a blind eye to developing the “walking meditation” of watching the world turn with an “observation without judgment” lens. There can be a sense of losing control when we untangle our attachments, so as not to get too invested in what we identify with. But beyond that, a deeper place of inner peace is waiting for us to explore. Even if you feel that you are “wise to the ways of the world” and take ownership in a comfortable lifestyle in the material world – you also know the risky business of investing all your stock in possessions without diversification.

How do we get to know our soul potential?  How do we enact an “observation without judgment” view of our inner landscape and the world around us? Through trust, we open up our inner light to “walk in the sun” and share with others, rather than “hide her away from the rest of the world.”  Social media is one way to do this, as there is a reality to virtual connections.  But getting out in the natural environment and making face to face contact is best medicine. While our intimate relationship with our own Self is most important, we gaze deeper into the mirror through our relationships with others.  “Relationships are for a reason: for growth and learning, for nurturance and support, for love and romance, for sex and passion, for experience, for karmic debt or clearance, for business reasons, for security.”

When we look beneath the surface of our introverted and extroverted reactions to what is going on with curiosity and empathy, we begin to understand the experience of “walking in someone elses’ shoes.” We all say that we want to be seen and heard, but is that really the case? Are you afraid of your own power? Is there an underlying fear of feeling rejected or abandoned for allowing yourself to blossom into a flower or turn into a butterfly? It is a good time of year to re-work the dark and let go of external securities so that we learn to feel safe with the arrival of uncertain unknowns. There is a sense of security in “expecting the unexpected” by viewing life as “one big surprise birthday party.” The old guard of secrecy and concealment is fading into a distant memory. Do you need to resurrect old memories to re-work, transform and clear space for new co-creative experiences? Or do you want to remain ensconced in Groundhog Day, without realizing that you are unconsciously replaying old mental tapes and clinging to fixed ideas?

We are here on Earth for a reason. Waking up to our soul purpose is a key ingredient to that. It is a painful challenge to get stuck in the sphere of excuses, reasons rules and routine. At the end of the day, a way out of the suffering is to learn to live with the pain and understand the information that your pain has to shed light on finding your soul’s purpose. To avoid by exiting through anger or denial will cause more pain and suffering. But taking an authentic look at our anger and then channeling this energy in positive and constructive ways will open up new vortexes for transformation and healing.

Sending You Much Inner Peace in 2014,

Ari

Spirited Seasonal Blessings

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

Today, we get into alignment with the Winter Solstice – the darkest day of the year. Tomorrow, we gain a little bit of light every day. In the darkness, we have an opportunity to receive the information from our lower Chakras, or a “land down under”, so to speak. Although frequently unwanted and uncomfortable to look at, we are equipped with these Chakras to help us shed light on and live in harmonic relationship with the Earth, our sexuality, base emotions, personal will and self-esteem. It is easily conveniently inconvenient to resist this information, change the channel and exit or avoid with denial or aggression. However, we have the opportunity to dig a little deeper by taking an authentic glimpse into our bodily portals of consciousness. As such, we might allow ourselves to see what information Spirit has to reveal to us in our unfolding story. In this process, we may develop acceptance and even make friends with what is. One way to do this is be part of a fire ritual in community and share what you are grateful for and what you would like to let-go of this year.

When I notice those unwanted internal news broadcasts, I remember the old Beavis and Butt-Head episodes. Do you remember watching those two character idiots watching MTV videos together – making comments like, “this sucks” and “change it”? Don’t those characters merely embody theatrical resistance to the inner space of our lower Chakras? After all, life really is like “a box of chocolates” because “you never really know what you’re gonna get.” And remembering a sense of humor is good medicine. We cannot always control, script and choreograph our life-like a reality show. Sometimes, the “best in show” is simply remembering the full-bellied laughter of the Buddha when the funeral parade comes knocking on our door. Our modern world is chock full of distractions that give us easy permission to change the channel, rather than being present on Channel Now. Being present doesn’t mean getting sucked into old dramas, mental tapes or the “voice in the head”- like feeding off an endless IV drip of sympathy. Rather, it does mean being in the moment with what is and breathing in and breathing out the living present, one step, one breath and one moment at a time. If “every thought is a judgment”, then just return to your breath and see what happens.

Many souls choose to leave the material realm this time of year. This is part of why this time of year is such a mixed bag for folks. We feel conflicted about getting into the spirit of the season, the emphasis on consumerism and pressure to buy gifts for each other that we hope will be well-received. We feel pressure to be “up”, instead of “coming down into our souls”. But we need to remember that this junction is really about gratitude and letting-go. Christ’s Light embodied the Sun that is a beacon of light that serves as shelter from the storm. His consciousness was meant to inspire us that the Kingdom of Heaven is an internal experience. When humanity evolves into this place with regularity, we see its unfolding reflected in our outer world. In this way, we become the change we want to see in the world.

Do you remember the character Holden Caufield in the classic book The Catcher in the Rye? Holden Caufield is the epitome of our dying Pisces age and represents the letting-go of our savior complex. The character can’t let-go of trying to catch lost souls jumping off the edge of the cliff, where he waits to save them from their doom. This lose-lose scenario leaves him feeling lonely so that he looks to fill his empty cup with alcohol to medicate his spirits. But we don’t need to carry the heavy burden of trying to save anybody. However, we can become an embodiment of inner peace. When we do this, our souls light up. When we don’t, our souls dim. Those of you who know material bounty and perhaps the “white picket fence”, have probably realized by now that “living the dream” of the leafy suburban lifestyle does not feed your soul alone. Meditation is a healthy spiritual diet that will nourish you soul and help you feel pleasantly full.

Sending much inner peace your way,

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

Standing On The Doorstep of Infinity

Posted on by under Original Poetry, Uncategorized

We stand at the doorstep of Infinity . . .
Massive change is coming our way

A Full-Moon on Sunday . . .
Trailed by a Comet in its waning wake

Giddy-Up toward the darkest hour on the Winter Solstice . . .
Coaxing back the Light in the dark of the Night

Releasing egoic entanglements with form . . .
Spirited energies realigning who we are

Rising tides of oceanic waves flooding our sea of consciousness . . .
Slumbering sheeple waking up from napping while under the influence of conditioning

I’m sitting at the dock of the bay in my meditation space . . .
Theta state in my green lantern heart space

Feeling waters of empathy bubbling up wells of Love . . .
Illuminating my soul

O darkness of yin . . .
Light a moonshadow o’er my inner landscape

I’m checking out energetic pulsations of neurotransmitters traveling through my bodily pathways . . .
Portals to consciousness are they

Universal Spirits In A Material World

Posted on by under Original Poetry, Uncategorized

The weather underground is akin to the air up there
A Full Moon and Comet are coming soon to a theatre near you

What do we do?
Well it’s up to you . . .

Surfing the energetic waves rolling into the bay of emotional tides . . .
Do you bear witness to a fading Twilight Zone curtain?
(With or without the applications of technology)

An Empire burns while the Cosmic Chakra Wheel in the Sky turns . . .

Peace in the Middle East
Peace in the Americas
Peace in Africa, China, Tibet and Planet throughout

We are the Dali Llama
We are Malcolm X
We are Universal spirits in a material world

Healing our polarity consciousness
Integrating our Yin-Yang soulful feminine Moon and masculine Sun
Tunneling inward into the dark toward the Winter Solstice

And from the ashes a Phoenix Rises –
Clearing dust settles with meditation as shelter from the storm