Tag Archives: Winter Solstice

With Rat, We Find Success and Press Onward, While Leaving Behind Familiar Woodpiles

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I remember the energy of rat entering my consciousness this week and thought it poignant to reflect on our Nervous Woodland Creature friend for this week’s journal entry.  At school, we are reading the book The Rats of Nihm to our students, while they sit captivated by how shrewd the countryside rats are, with relation to their lab rat counterparts. However, it isn’t that country rats are superior to city rats or white lab rats, as elitist intellectuals might secretly suspect from positions of judgment.  Rats have been popular among social scientists, as they have shown an ability to form cognitive maps and reason.  In fact, if a rat learns where to go to get a tasty morsel of cheese as a reward and when the cheese is removed, the rat will learn a new pathway to the Promised Land.  We humans, on the other hand, tend to keep going back to the once Fertile Crescent, even when it is no longer serving us.  Rats are adaptable, restless, shrewd and are oriented toward success.  But getting attached to any energy, in the spirit of human ego, is somewhat akin to a rat developing an attachment to the comforts of familiar woodpiles.  Further, egotism seeks to strengthen its identity through the relentless pursuit of happiness, rather than knowing inner joy as a way of life.  Sometimes living authentically takes staring fear square in the face, stepping outside of familiar woodpiles and taking it to the edge for growth to occur.  And then blue jay flies in and reminds us that we have the right to become master illusionists, skilled politicians or pretenders to the throne.  But we also know that blue jay will show us how to become true wizards, real magicians, if only we allow for it.  Perhaps meditation on rat will help us succeed in becoming that.

Here in Maine and the nation throughout, we are restless as rats in our drive to level the playing field with gay marriage and voter registration being hot ballot-box items.  Some folks, particularly the dimensionally challenged dinosaurs of the old world want to hold folks back by scaling down human rights by blocking the expansion of certain rights to our human family.  I get a chuckle, in the black comedy sense, when so-called Christians pontificate about protecting the sanctity of marriage and right wingers cite protecting the sanctity of the voting process by finding clever ways to keep the riff raft out, so to speak.  And I get that some heterosexuals that sit on top of the majority have a sense of entitlement about their privileged status.  But what about when you are on the receiving end of deliverance?  What are these folks afraid of?  Was Jesus a bigot?  My understanding of Christ’s fundamental teaching was modeling Love as a way of life and His inspiring us to spread it liberally and unconditionally.  Moreover, the devilish fixed idea of hating the sin and loving the sinner is inconsistent with His message, though I can empathize with the compartmentalized indoctrination of the masses, particularly here in America.  Remember that Hitler sang Christmas carols to children as jews, gypsies, homosexuals and other fringe groups were incinerated.  Remember that Hitler commented that he wanted to come back to America, given our far greater harness on propaganda than Nazi Germany.  Forget not that America’s very own IBM literally made a killing through an exclusive business arrangement with the Nazis, by selling them the technological profiling precision that allowed for strategic genocide.  Prior to that, it was the sound economics of slavery, stealing land that was not for sale and cannot be owned.  How do we own what gives us life?  Do you realize that biological and germ warfare  nearly wiped out First Nation folks?  If “We The People” are going to heal our Nation, Planet and Universe throughout, then we need to clear our Karma.  All Karma means is the Higher Spiritual Law of Cause and Effect, which can be transcended.  When we step into the realm of Infinity, we know the realm of Intention and infinite possibilities.  Perhaps Dick Cheney has had a change of heart since he has had a change of heart and will see that elements of the 2005 Energy Bill that allows for underground pollution hurts all of us.  Where did you get those high cheek bones, Dick?  Maybe Mitt Romney will authentically see himself as one of the biggest welfare recipients around and realize his dependency on the liberal welfare state by his active participation in the Morman-LDS church, which takes in more government welfare dollars than non-Mormons in Utah.  Remember the Preamble to the US Constitutions speaks of promoting the “general welfare”, or a safety net that everyone should benefit from.  The only difference is that Mitt and his followers want the net to catch the welfare for his family, religion and the opulent minority, but not for the rascal multitude.  In his view, the overwhelming majority needs to be contained or else our natural leveling impulses are a threat to Country Club living.

Rats, now the cat is out of the bag and the rat is tempted to scurry back to familiar woodpiles.  But with rat consciousness, we are equipped to use our collective intellect and transcend the comforts of old securities in consciousness by releasing old, dysfunctional energies and patterns of behavior.  With the arrival of Autumn, an election coming up and the end of the Mayan calendar coming down the pike on the Winter Solstice in December 21, 2012, we are officially in transition.  Yes, there is forceful opposition to co-creating a more egalitarian New Earth, we have the spirited Universal winds at our backs that cannot be stopped.  Nature reminds us that change is inevitable.  True, we have two republicans running for President.  Barak Obama, being the moderate and Mitt Romney being the right-winger.  Both are candidates of Wall Street and carry allegiance to a dying world, but one offers a slightly more paved causeway to a New Age and Paradigm.  Regardless of who wins, please remember to focus on your own inner spiritual growth and evolve in that light.  Just be, let go and enjoy the ride!  And remember to step up to peace by standing your ground when bullies try to prevent you from getting out to vote!

Stay True,

Ari

With Squirrel Energy, We Playfully Get Down To Business Without Going Too Nuts

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I remember playing basketball and doing my job with a student this week, when he called out to me, “Ari look, a squirrel”.  Here in the Northern hemisphere, the seasonal transition into Fall is rapidly approaching us and we are venturing back to school, work and getting organized, while saying good-bye to summer.  Meditation on squirrel reminds us that our business can be our pleasure, if only we allow for it.  In a sense, this week’s blog was falling out in the doing, while leaving its passing behind.  And the doing becomes less robotic when we are truly present with what is and our busy doings become awakened and more about being.  Summer is waning and on this Equinox, light and dark will be in balance, if only briefly.  At this junction on Nature’s cycle, the Autumn Equinox is somewhat akin to the Spring Equinox, when masculine and feminine energies are also equal.  Right now, we are looking forward to the masculine-light waning and the dark night of feminine energies rising until their peak on the Winter Solstice on December 21, 2012, the first day of Winter.  Isn’t it synchronistic that squirrel medicine carries a 12 week cycle and the end of the Mayan Calendar is approximately that distance into the future?  Yes, we are living in exciting times on our planet today, but not without the labor pains associated with giving birth to a New Earth.  Squirrels are especially powerful medicine at this moment and when watching them being squirrely, we are reminded of their spirited teaches on being prepared, but hopefully without going too nuts in the process.  Does anyone else out there get a chuckle from watching our squirrel brothers and sisters bursting with nervous energy, scurrying around, while stashing their acorns and sometimes forgetting where they buried their treasures? 

I remember when “911” happened like it was yesterday.  In fact, I knew something like this event was coming–in the sense that I could feel it.  At the time, I was working at a group home for children in State custody that had been severely abused and neglected by their birth families and they were already at school.  A couple of my co-workers came in and asked if I knew what had happened and directed me to the TV in the living room.  Although I was only in my mid-twenties at the time, I had not lived a sheltered life and I understood what was going on in our world geopolitically.  I realized that many folks on the planet, including a growing number of  folks here in America, lived without a sense of security and experienced terrorism in their day-to-day lives.  Sadly, but understandably, terrorism seeks to disrupt the status quo and uses violence as a means to justify the end.  This crazy idea is similar to the fundamentalist belief in the maximum economic profit business model that wealthy nations use to exploit poor nations on our planet today.  But violence, although illegitimate and foolish, predictably begets more violence.  We reap what we sow.  Stockpiling weapons of mass destruction, which the United States continues to hoard more than any other nation, is asking for more of the same.  However, if we want to eliminate this clinically insane nightmare, then we need to start balancing cooperation with competition and clean up the resources that we share by co-creating win-win solutions, rather than adopting a quick fix, band-aid approach.  Isn’t it obvious that the old ways do not work any more?  As humans, we have historically been at our best when we are at our worst.  But the times, they are a changin’ and we need to get out on the forefront and proactively get in alignment with Nature to facilitate our transition into a New Age and Paradigm.  Can’t you hear the arrival of John Lennon’s energy saying, give peace a chance . . . that’s all we’re asking, is give it a chance . . . it’s never been done.

In welcoming squirrel’s spirited streams of energy, we remember how to balance letting go of our stockpiles that no longer serve us and tap into our reservoirs for a future rainy day.  Our spirited Nervous Woodland Creature friends are offering us powerful energies to release dysfunctional relationship patterns, fixed thought processes, programmed beliefs and objects that once brought security, but are no longer serving us–without going too nuts in the process!  This is somewhat akin to a toddler giving up his pacifier and learning to soothe himself, rather than relying on the object of his affection.  In our modern world of 10, 000 things, it might mean giving up some old clothes and giving them away to someone who really needs them more.  Systemically, perhaps this looks like giving up our addiction to foreign oil and replacing it with free energy for the entire planet by tapping into the Earth’s natural energy centers, as true wizard Nikola Tesla once envisioned.  Maybe that is too far-fetched for some, but burning less fossil fuels and finding more organic ways to cultivate energy that is cleaner for all of us is possible.  Bringing in the energy of squirrel is merely one source that is pollution free, particularly if worked in the positive.  For those at the top of the food chain, it might mean giving up tax breaks and sharing a bit more with the overwhelming majority–picturing buying us time and saving us money.  It might mean looking another sentient being in the eyes, perceiving the mirror and realizing that we are all cut from the same cloth.  In tapping into squirrel consciousness, we co-create a safe place for an untroubled heart and mind, where wisdom and caring are gathered and stored and anxious fears about the future magically disappear. 

Stay True,

Ari

Counting Crows

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I remember talking with a fellow pack member recently, whom was howling about a significant Crow encounter. Some moments thereafter, I glanced out our window with my child and our cat as we noticed a Crow gazing at us, while hearing the lyrics, “When I think of Heaven, deliver me in the belly of a black winged bird.” Although Crow might offer Us an empathic glimpse into the realm of ruling in hell rather than serving in Heaven, We are also remedied by its medicine show of seeing through the veils of this “world of 10, 000 things” into the everyday magic and creation of Life.

Crows are intelligent and wary creatures, whom always have a sentinel posted in a high perch atop the treeline. In meditating on Crow medicine, We may acquire and access their traits of sound communication skills, wariness, intelligence and magical knowledge. Moreover, Native American myths speak of Crow being seen as a teacher. In the spirit of that, Michelle Paver’s Wolf Brother saga includes two Ravens that play a significant role in guiding the two adolescent shaman apprentices in their quest to help return balance to Nature so that the clans may live harmoniously once again in alignment with Divine Will. We humans have strayed from the Original Blueprint in Our consciousness, given the devilish programing by the powers that were, in their desire to manipulate and control Us. However, a massive awakening is happening and the ‘Flowering of Consciousness’ is cross pollinating across the fruited plains and beyond.

In traditions of the ancients, Crows were seen as guardians of magical secrets that signaled Us to stay alert, begin a new study and/or welcome an arrival of an important message. In the darkness of the passing Winter Solstice, the Black Crow symbolizes the Womb of Life and Creation, raw and full of unmanifested potential. In becoming the Watcher of Our Selves, We become the change we want to see in the world. Further, Crows have been known to predict Climate Change and also effectively adapt to the changes in weather patterns, both internal and external. “Crow . . . are you cawing, so I may know, the secrets of balance, within my Soul? Or are you sending your sacred “caw” just to remind me, of Universal Laws?”

I Hopi You are well,

Ari

Purring With Cat On The Winter Solstice

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I remember when 2012 seemed so far out back in 1984. At that time, many folks had cut their Hair, stopped singing the ‘Age of Aquarius’ and STAR WARS gained popularity in the realms of fiction and non-fiction. However, in this ‘world of 10, 000 things’, the powers that were are still fomenting lustful desires of infiltration  and resisting movements that carry leveling impulses to challenge the status quo. However, in dreaming a New Dream, Our sea of consciousness is oscillating toward equilibrium. Here in the Northern Hemisphere, We turn yinward, being Our own Boss when caroling a chorus of Darkness On The Edge Of Town. Tis the season for Us to let go and express Our gratitude during Our darkest day of the year on Wednesday, December 21st, the Winter Solstice. Our ancestors knew the power of the energies of this time of year and remind Us to get in touch with it Now.

Although it is tempting to sing “Manic Monday” this week before the tail end of the Holiday Blitzkrieg, I’ll think of my cat purring on my neck like a warm winter welcome. Is it a synchronicity that I write about Cat this week as we enjoy the magic and mystery of the dark? Like Cat, We might sleep with one eye open, while ever ready to pounce into the New Year as We welcome the Light of Days. I remember a comic strip that showed a Grandmother figure feeding her dog and cat in separate captions. From the dog’s perspective, he had a think bubble that said something like, “she feeds me, takes care of my every need . . . she must be a god.” Juxtaposed below that, was the cat’s perspective that varied slightly in that she said something like, “she feeds me, takes care of my every need . . . I must be a god.” Isn’t that the difference between cats and dogs? Cats remind Us to access and acquire Our independence, curiosity, intelligence and playful sides–as well as seeing effectively in the dark. Cats are naturally gifted martial artists and meditation gurus and they guide Us toward an understanding of the mystery and magic available in everyday Life. When my cat gives me good energy at the end of the day, I remember, “These are the days we have waited for . . . This time in history is the time that every experience, each relationship, within every lifetime has prepared us for. Without doubt, without hesitation, the events occurring right now, within these days, are the reason that we have come to this world. We are living and witnessing a rare event by any standards, the birth of a New World. The events in our lives are the labor that is enabling this birth.”–Greg Braden, Awaken

Finally, I remember the spirit of this season is about giving and receiving and being Our Higher S(elves). It is a time to be thankful for Our time here, to let go and let God. I know We become comfortable with Our securities, but it is good medicine to gently let these securities pass in Our consciousness. The old world is dying, while a New World is birthing. I know We feel the labor pains, but in this waning year of the Rabbit, lettuce be reminded of a carrot of Light at the end of the tunnel as We venture out of Plato’s Cave. As I gaze upon Our global village, I remember an old saying that, “good fences make good neighbors”. I say We Venture out to flock among like minded birds, reinvent the wheel and let those old fences rust in peace and/or burn them in a ceremonial fire ritual.

I Hopi You are well,

Ari