A monarch butterfly gracefully flies above blooming wildflowers.
Energetically, butterfly supports carrying a playful, light-hearted sense of detachment during our everyday doings.
Isn’t it mind boggling to watch their apparent labor of love by constantly flitting about and sewing the seeds of love?
And yet, Butterfly consciousness holds up a mirror to awaken a real felt sense perceptible experience of levity embodying joy and light.
I watched a butterfly do this the other day…flying around tirelessly, landing on flowers, taking off and not appearing to have a concern in the world about the seemingly endless amount of work to be done or the uncertainty of what might come next on the endless honey-do list.
As I watched in awe, I experienced a shift as my own vibe lightened up.
Seeing them doing their thing invites Socratic self-reflective questions about where we might be landing on the map of consciousness at this moment in time.
Are you in the egg stage of an idea (beginning), the larva stage (manifestation), the cocoon stage (program development) and/or the final stage (transformation)?
Butterfly breathes in an air of creativity to get the juices flowing.
During times of more sunlight and warmer temperatures, movement out in Nature floats to the natural rhythm of Butterly magic.
May this experience give pause to an allowing for gentle growth that is sweet like the fragrant scent of flowers.
May All Beings Awaken To Planetary And Universal Peace,
Sunset casts a golden glow on gentle ocean waves at the shore
Pip: Classroom Mothership Earth — where the spirit guides show up before the alarm clock does, and honestly, same energy.
Mara: Today we’re covering work by Ari Joshua Bouse, and the territory is emotional navigation — how a spirit animal from the natural world becomes a practical tool for staying grounded when the larger world is burning.
Pip: Let’s start with Duck.
Staying Afloat with Duck as an Emotional Guide
Mara: The question this post is sitting with is a real one: how do we regulate our emotional lives when the noise outside keeps getting louder — eclipse seasons, political fires, the general churn of a world in transition?
Pip: The post sets up Duck not as a metaphor but as an active guide, and the framing is direct: “When we allow Duck’s Chi to paddle into our souls, we are given emotional comfort and protection. We are in our element with water and given assistance while floating in the astral and emotional realms.”
Mara: So the upshot is that Duck’s energy is practical, not decorative. It offers a specific set of tools — balance, adaptability, the ability to let things roll off your back when pressure builds.
Pip: And the pressure in this post is not abstract. There is a pointed aside about the military-industrial complex that could benefit from some Duck-based curriculum. Which, fair.
Mara: The post doesn’t stay in the personal for long. It moves outward — to the way media keeps us locked in ego-centered debate, to the way capitalism and socialism get framed as opposites when they may be two faces of the same structure. The argument is that the same emotional suppression happening inside individuals is mirrored in how societies organize themselves.
Pip: Right — the anxious mind that sleepwalks through its own life and the political system running on distraction are described as the same pattern at different scales.
Mara: The post puts it plainly: “When we are identified with our minds, an endless sea of mental concepts and incessant accompanying emotional reactions are typically dominated by unrealized anxiety. And this hypnotic trance has a tendency to propagate a sleep walk through life.”
Pip: That is a real diagnosis, and Duck is offered as a genuine antidote — not a luxury, not a retreat. The post closes by naming what Duck actually delivers: balance, emotional comfort, adaptability, and a return to safe ground when things get heated.
Mara: And it costs nothing. The post is explicit that Duck is a free guide — no bill at the end of the consultation.
Pip: So the invitation is to treat the natural world as a working resource for emotional life, not just scenery.
Mara: And to notice that the inner work and the outer work are the same project.
A glowing lion constellation roaring amidst a starry cosmic background
Pip: August arrives with grain harvests, eclipses, and a moon named after a very large fish — which honestly sounds like the universe decided to pack a lot into one calendar page.
Mara: This episode draws on Ari Joshua Bouse’s recent posts for Classroom Mothership Earth, covering the seasonal and astrological energies of August — Lammas, eclipse season, Leo’s New Moon, and the Full Sturgeon Moon in Pisces. Let’s start with the whole sweep of what August is actually asking of us.
Lammas, Eclipse Season, and the Moons of August
Pip: August opens with Lammas, a harvest midpoint honored by ancestors in the Northern Hemisphere, and then barely pauses before stacking two eclipses, a New Moon in Leo, and a Full Moon in Pisces into the same calendar month. The question the post is really sitting with is: how do you move through that much cosmic pressure without white-knuckling it?
Mara: The post opens with a Gandhi epigraph that sets the whole tone — “If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. We need not wait to see what others do.”
Pip: That framing matters because the post isn’t treating eclipses as things that happen to you. It’s treating them as invitations — specifically, chances to release what it calls the heavy luggage passed down by ancestors, so you can become the change you want to see.
Mara: The post describes eclipse seasons as “major cosmic reset periods that trigger rapid personal growth and sudden life changes,” and it’s careful to add that there’s nothing superstitious about that framing. The language is more about being guided than being controlled.
Pip: And then the Leo New Moon on August 12th arrives via a Total Solar Eclipse. The post calls new moons during eclipses “new moons on steroids” — amplifying new beginnings, identity shifts, sudden breakthroughs.
Mara: Leo’s energy, the post notes, thrives on visibility and praise, but the more interesting moment is when the spotlight finds you and you still feel at a loss. The post is honest that feedback, not just admiration, is what actually fuels creativity and confidence.
Mara: Then August closes with a Partial Lunar Eclipse in Pisces on the 28th, illuminating the Full Sturgeon Moon. Sturgeons can live over a century, grow to twenty feet, and weigh nearly a ton — the post uses that resilience directly as a meditation on surviving challenging times, including what it calls the deeper waters of Climate Change.
Pip: The closing instruction is genuinely disarming: let go of the oars.
Mara: The thread running through all of this is that the season’s intensity — harvest, eclipse, release — is an invitation rather than a threat.
Pip: Let go of the oars, trust the sturgeon, and we’ll see what the next tide brings.
A Full Sturgeon Moon rises above a mist-covered ocean at night
“If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change… We need not wait to see what others do.”
–Ghandi
August kicks off on the 1st with the Lammas, which our ancestors honored as a marker for the first grain harvest in the Northern Hemisphere. The Lammas celebrates the approximate mid-point of summer between the Summer Solstice and Fall Equinox, and gratitude for the bounty of food the earth provides.
In the Southern Hemisphere, it will be the Imbolc, or the approximate mid-point between the Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. At this time, it’s as if the seeds underground are starting to think about waking up in their neck of the woods.
Wherever you are on the Planet, astrological eclipse seasons are major cosmic reset periods that trigger rapid personal growth and sudden life changes, which represent karmic past and spiritual identity.
Nothing to be superstitious about. Sometimes, especially during eclipses, it might feel like we are tempted by fate. During times like these, it can feel like we are being guided rather than in control of our destiny.
And yet, we can transform the heavy luggage that has been passed down to us by our ancestors by letting it go and giving it back . . . So that we can become the change we want to see in the world.
In much the same way as letting go of any dark edges of old selves, we can release and envelop old stories in the Mirror of the Mind meditations.
We can consciously work with the energies of eclipses that have the power to permanently close doors that no longer serve our spiritual evolution. Picture them sealed up in a black hole where they can transform into the light.
Eclipse season is a friendly universal reminder to nudge us back on the path of deeper and higher soul purposes. Their energies inspires us to let go of stagnant habits, emotional baggage, and limiting beliefs.
Furthermore, a Total Solar Eclipse on August 12th kicks off the final leg of 2026 seasonal eclipses by way of a New Moon in Leo. The energies of this New Moon are fuel injected by the Solar Eclipse. New Moons are always associated with new beginnings.
Keep in mind that new moons during eclipses are like new moons on steroids.
Moreover, these energies amplify radical new beginnings, light a spark of external changes, sudden breakthroughs, and unexpected shifts in identity. Talk about a Thunder Road, if you’ll pardon the Boss pun.
Leo’s energy loves the spotlight and thrives on feeling safe in moments that allows Leo to impress and receive praise and admiration from others. That’s a natural state for them.
But what about when the red carpet is rolled out, the spotlight shines brightly on your soul, and you are still feeling at a loss?
Like Leo, this writer can relate to having a hard time with criticisms.
If we can accept feedback however, we can use it for visibility, creativity, confidence, and self-expression. Deep meditation can be a good ally during this process.
And then on August 28th, a Partial Lunar Eclipse in Pisces shines on a Full Sturgeon Moon. These energies trigger internal emotional releases, exposing hidden truths and serves as a catalyst to break toxic patterns or relationships.
Keep in mind that Full Moons during Lunar Eclipses are like Full Moons on steroids.
Like a sturgeon’s spiritual significance, we can awaken the power of resiliency by trusting the flow of life, and surrender to the changing tides of universal oceanic waves.
Setting aside time for non-linear, non-localized and non-productivity is truly important, especially during intense energies. Some folks like to take a forrest bath, so to speak. Getting out in Nature, connecting with the animals and nature spirits is good energy medicine.
If you’re into rocks, it’s always a good idea to recharge them outside under the Full Moon cycle which lasts a few days before and after the actual Full Moon.
Do whatever you can to rest so that you can effectively integrate the energies of this last eclipse season of the year.
Remember that the aftershocks of the Eclipse season can be felt for quite some time.
Try not to push the river. Rather, let go of the oars and let the flow of the Universe guide you to wherever you need to go.
Pisces energy associated wiht this full moon breathes in sensitivity and perceptiveness of surroundings. The Fish love to go with the flow. Yet paradoxically, engaging in creative and spiritual forms, awakens imaginative waters. This lunar eclipse releases illusion, boundaries, and emotional truth.
Remember that Sturgeons are tough fish that can live over a century, grow up to 20 feet, and tip the scales by weighing nearly a ton. They are the largest freshwater fish, and have especially thrived in the American Great Lakes.
Their peak catch is traditionally in early August, which is in alignment with the harvest of plentiful seasonal crops that are on their way. As such, their energies reflect abundance that want to yield to your bounty.
Because of their natural ability to survive and thrive, meditation on the energy of sturgeon can help you build resilience in challenging times; particularly in preparation for darker days ahead, and also while diving into the deeper waters of Climate Change.
May all Beings be free from suffering, awaken to God Consciousness, Cosmic Consciousness, Unity Consciousness, Diversity Within Unity, Inner Peace and the Universal Pillars of Love and Truth.
A brown bear stands alert in a lush, mist-filled forest clearing.
Pip: Classroom Mothership Earth — where the bear is a philosopher, the moon is a market analyst, and somehow it all holds together.
Mara: Today we’re looking at a piece from Ari Joshua Bouse that moves through Bear Medicine, seasonal cycles, inner stillness, and what it means to come back down to earth — in every sense of that phrase.
Pip: Let’s start with the bear.
Shared Constellations With Bear
Mara: This segment lives at the intersection of the natural world and the inner one — Bear as a lens for examining where we are in the cycle of expansion, contraction, and return.
Pip: The post sets up Bear Medicine as a guide for introspection, and then lands this: “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.”
Mara: So the upshot is that stillness isn’t passive — it’s a place beyond persuasion, beyond the noise of markets and elections and outcomes. That’s the ground the whole piece is standing on.
Pip: And then it gets economic. The post asks whether we remember when the wealthiest Americans paid around a 90% tax rate — right after the stock exchange crashed. Bear market as literal bear market.
Mara: The Taoist framing ties it together. “Investing in loss” means letting the bullish, expansive emphasis go into hibernation — not as defeat, but as a natural rhythm. Winter Solstice isn’t failure; it’s the season for it.
Pip: There’s a real tension the post holds without resolving: do you withdraw, or come out of the cave? It asks both, directly.
Mara: And it distinguishes prayer from meditation along those same lines — prayer as yang, outward, intention-setting; meditation as yin, receptive, listening. “Walking with one foot in spirit and one foot in ground,” as it puts it.
Pip: The political moment is there too — post-election, beyond cheers and jeers — asking whether you can see the good inside all situations. Revolutionary zeal, the post says, but without the hate.
Mara: It closes on bears themselves: our treatment of them mirrors how seriously we take the environment. The animal and the archetype stay linked throughout.
Pip: Patience, plasticity, planted seeds. The cubs want to come out and play — but not yet.
Mara: The thread running through all of it is that contraction is productive — hibernation isn’t absence, it’s preparation.
Pip: Go quiet enough and something starts growing. We’ll see what comes out of the cave next time.
Sunlight beams illuminate neat rows of young plants in a rural field at sunrise.
Pip: Classroom Mothership Earth — where the astrological, the political, and the deeply personal all share one frequency, and somehow it holds together.
Mara: Today we’re working through a piece by Ari Joshua Bouse that moves across a lot of terrain — political transition, the Aquarian Age, disclosure, and the spiritual calendar between winter and spring. Let’s start with that overarching question of where we actually are right now.
We Are Only One Song Away From Spring
Pip: The frame here is a moment of overlap — a political transition happening inside a much larger cosmic one, and the question of how those two timescales interact when you’re trying to stay grounded.
Mara: The post anchors that overlap in the seasonal calendar, and near the end it lands on Groundhog Day specifically: “Meditation on the in between times, mystical, mysterious energies, inner planes, echoing silence, void, and heartbeat” are offered as the right callbacks for this moment.
Pip: So the upshot is that Groundhog Day isn’t a punchline here — it’s the midpoint between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox, and the post treats that threshold as genuinely instructive about how change actually moves.
Mara: Right, and that’s the structural argument running through the whole piece. The political relief of a new administration fades fast — the post is direct about that — because the chattering monkey mind starts up again quickly. The deeper shift is astrological: a move from the Pisces Age to the Aquarian Age, measured in millennia, not election cycles.
Pip: Which is a useful corrective to anyone who thought January 20th was the finish line.
Mara: The post makes a careful point there about the people on different sides of that political moment. It says that most Trump voters “are not Nazis, Klan members or racists” but have been shaped by a divisive mindset that pushes everyone toward an us-versus-them frame — and that neither progressive nor conservative values hold a monopoly on the way forward.
Pip: And then it pivots — genuinely pivots — into UFO disclosure, which lands as less of a detour than you’d expect, because the argument is that ET concern for Earth is tied to humanity’s development of nuclear weapons. The stakes are planetary either way.
Mara: The post treats disclosure as a process, not an event. And it closes with something practical: I-messages, feeling statements, the right to say “I feel offended by that comment” and stand there without having to defend it. Personal authority as the ground-level version of the same sovereignty the post argues for cosmically.
Pip: Spring is underground. It’s firing, just not visible yet — which is maybe the whole thesis in one image.
Mara: The thread through all of this is the in-between — politically, seasonally, cosmically. The darkness isn’t the destination; it’s the passage.
Pip: You can’t get to the light if you won’t go through the dark. We’ll be back with more from Classroom Mothership Earth.
Back in High School, one of my favorite classes was an elective called Humanities. The course was created by a great teacher who brought his theatrical personality, and philosophical spirituality to the classroom. In short, he embodied his humanity, if you’ll pardon the pun.
Our class ran like a group, which ended up being a precursor to some of my social work classes later on in graduate school. Seating arrangements could look like a traditional classroom with rows, or perhaps more avant guard small groupings of desks or resemble a horseshoe configuration. These seating arrangements and rearrangements are pretty typical and more commonplace in today’s classroom environment to help keep the energy flowing to facilitate the learning process.
In my case, going down multidimensional mind trips and wormholes wasn’t a new experience for yours truly. But in this class, the expanding group consciousness was unfolding in our classroom. In my experience, it was easier to come in and out of realms; somewhat akin to a UFO hovering in and out of dimensional bleeding between realities.
As always for yours truly, the classroom and school environment was anything but boring to a guy like me. To my teacher’s chagrin, it wasn’t typically the lesson plan that captivated my attention. Humanities class was a different story. We explored differentiation between Plato’s Republic and Pericles’ Democracy, our teacher’s own ‘Theory of Good’, and read Herman Hesse’s classic book entitled Siddhartha, among other curricula.
Looking back zen, Plato’s Allegory Of The Cave really struck a chord in me that has remained like a light flickering in a shadowy cave, if you’ll pardon the pun. This class really exposed some of the chinks in my armor that were key dynamics to my protective survival instincts at that time.
Furthermore, the metaphor of humanity being asleep and trapped in own own darkness lit a fire in my neurons and energy field. Death and rebirth were beginning to take root in my psyche, as they had done earlier in my formative years. I’d never heard of higher level thinking, metacognition or superconsciousness as common language experiences yet. But that didn’t stop me or others from having them. I remember when our teacher chalked up a simple diagram of his take on Plato’s Allegory of the Cave on the old school blackboard. As I reflect right tao, this visual resembles the ancient cave art we see from our ancestors. What can I say, the novel learning experiences still resonate.
How do you express your gratitude? That’s a good question to reflect on . . .
I try to carry an attitude of gratitude in my backpack along the trails during the walk of life. It’s always a key ingredient for feeling pleasantly full when consuming energy medicine, if you’ll pardon the pun.
Paying mindful attention to our breath is the most important way I know how to remember gratitude in every moment. When I forget, I remember to focus on my breath, and give thanks for the breath of life in the present moment that it is given and received. There’s a lot of moments in everyday life to capitalize on this opportunity.
Also, I will typically say a little thanksgiving or thank you to conclude my daily meditation practice to honor the support available, and offered to us from the spirit realm. It’s like hanging up to signal the end of the conference call with the Universe.
One concrete strategy to bring spiritual power into the material realm is to walk with one foot in spirit, one foot in ground, like our Indigenous ancestors would say. Moreover, those tuned into this blog know that I am a big fan of cultivating a walking meditation in life. Yes, it’s good to sit on the cushion. But the application of what comes up on the cushion needs to be enacted in the moments in our routine when we are not sitting in the ritual of quiet meditation.
During our more focused spiritually oriented conversations, an uncle turned me on to a simple walking meditation strategy. In that conversation, he taught me an abbreviated children’s version of how to play with an effective walking meditation to awaken gratitude, and be present in our everyday moments. This form comes from Thich Nhat Hanh’s spiritual teachings from his own experiences (as well as the experiences of others) with silent walking meditation. This technique a great way to invite spirit into the act of ‘counting steps’, like many folks do today as a way to stay in shape. Based on feedback from many adults and kids alike, this strategy reportedly really resonates with them.
All you do is say ‘yes’ when you take your first step and then ‘thank you’ on your second step. The idea is that by saying ‘yes’ on our first step- we are saying yes to what the present moment has to offer by being open to the experience without conditions or judgments.
Everybody experiences judgments and resistance. But with the ‘yes’ footstep, we are willing to move beyond them so that we don’t get sucked into the past or future mental projections. And then by saying ‘thank you’ on the next footstep, we are giving thanks to what is; regardless of whether the experience is pleasant, unpleasant or neutral.
The present moment is what it is. So we might as well say yes to it and then say thank you for the paradoxical blessing or curse of the present moment with gratitude in our hearts and heads. Easier said than done. But it is a skill we can develop and also makes for a nice positive self talk mantra.
Of course, when I look outside and see turkeys doing their thing in Nature; meditation on their energy reminds me of the shared blessings of everyday life. And for that, I am deeply grateful.
Thank you,
Ari
A Special Thank You To Artwork by Barbara Merlotti
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?
Classroom Mothership Earth 