Archive
Are You Expecting? –Richard’s Commentary
The possibilities are endless! And this is exactly what I was hoping for. So, yes, I’m expecting some wonderful possibility to emerge this Spring! What about you?
This past Saturday I passed my Level 1 Qigong evaluation and am now certified to teach Jeff Primack’s base level of his Qi Revolution. Jeff’s goal is to expand the number of teachers of Qigong in the US; he is a true believer in this ancient form of exercise. And it has been pretty clearly documented as a superior approach to health and longevity. Here’s just one citation:
“In the early 1980′s, scientists in China began to study the medical benefits claimed for qigong. Since then, research on hundreds of medical applications of qigong have been reported in the Chinese literature. Of special interest … are clinical reports of the medical benefits of qigong that claim to retard or reverse some diseases associated with aging.”
–Kenneth Sancier Ph. D.
And here is an excellent definition of Qigong by Dr. Kathleen Hall:
“Qigong is an ancient Chinese practice that creates health by balancing the chi, or vital energy, in your body. Qigong is about discovering one’s true balance.
“Kaiser Permanente, the largest health maintenance organization (HMO) in the country, offers Qigong to their patients. They report they began Qigong with their chronic pain patients and had such great results they are now providing these classes for all health care plan members.”
With teachers and practitioners like Jeff Primack beginning to spread the word I think we will soon be seeing Qigong everywhere.
I’ve been practicing two forms of Qigong for about a year now. And I can honestly say I feel great, I have lost weight, I am sleeping well, and I feel much less stressful about life than I did a year ago.
And now the challenge begins. I am motivated to get started and only need to set up a class, gather some interested students and get going, right? Well, maybe it’s not that simple; but I do have a plan and “I am expecting” to step out in confidence and begin to bring this ancient longevity technology to as many people as I can reach.
This is part of my Spring break-out. Do you have a plan? It’s a great time of the year to review, revise and refresh your activities and assess your direction. Do an internal check on your health; 
Rosemary and I suggest doing a scan of all of your bodies, the physical, of course, and your emotional, mental and spiritual bodies as well. Remember this diagram we published a few months ago?
Do you feel blockage anywhere? In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) “When your chi is blocked or stagnant you get sluggish, slow and can experience illness.” (Dr. Hall) And since Qi is vital energy it can block more than just the physical body. Qigong can release these blocks to relieve the sluggish “hang-over” from winter and provide just the spring-tonic needed to revitalize and nourish.
I have found that Qigong supports all four levels of the body. The movement and breath work are physically beneficial, the meditative aspects of Qigong support both the emotional and mental bodies, and throughout the practice there is a flow and connection to the divine that is deeply spiritual and truly inspiring.
This spring, try something new. Look for Qigong in your area. Give it a go; I think you’ll appreciate it!
And all the best with that!
PS: In honor of the Equinox next week Rosemary is offering a Spring Cleaning Special – a big discount on your Scientific Hand Analysis Session — $100 off! This is the time to learn about your Soul Purpose and the gifts you’ve been given to manifest that Purpose in your life. If you’re ready to leap forward and take advantage of those expectations then send Rosemary an email and she’ll give you the discount code for your Scientific Hand Analysis Session. Get your Spring Cleaning done by clearing away the questions you have about ‘Why am I here?’ and ‘What are my next steps?’! rosemary@TheScientificMystic.com
Need more information on Scientific Hand Analysis? Find it here!
New Moon in Pisces; New I Ching Gua
The Moon emerged from conjunction with the Sun at 3:51 pm EDT on Monday. I like to do an I Ching reading on the New Moon to see what energies might have influence over the coming month (or Moonth as it was once known). The Gua I cast using the traditional yarrow stalk method contained three changing lines! Maybe this is appropriate since we are approaching spring here in the Northern Hemisphere and with the Sun moving toward Aries there is always new beginnings, growth, change. Here is the first Gua:
This is Jie/Relief.
The second, third and forth lines were all moving; to avoid confusion I selected the middle line to read as the changing line. It was a yin, six which then changes to a yang line to create the approached Gua:
This is Heng/Long Lasting.
So, what does any of this mean? First, from the last New Moon my Yi moved from “Hindrance” to “Watching” – see my February 11 post. In mid-February I did feel stuck; we were in the mid-winter doldrums so this made some sense to me. Then I could “watch” for opportunities to come along to make changes, to break free of the stuck-ness!
Along came Qi Revolution with Jeff Primack on February 16 and I went; I definitely felt the change, the break out!
Now for this month I get some “relief.” But with that changing line at the third position I need to be attentive to the work; there is no time to let down now. This is directly related to my Qigong practice. As the I Ching says, I need to remain “steadfast and upright” in this practice for it to be effective; otherwise I could lose it.
Then “long lasting” comes into play. This is a propitious Gua. Sincerity, purity and unselfishness are demanded (more about my practice).
The form of this Gua is Thunder (the top trigram) over Wind (the lower trigram). This is a very natural occurrence, and therefore is auspicious. It can represent marriage or partnership with “firm” over “gentle.” And it is favorable to have somewhere to go.
Some warnings also go with this Gua: “never over-react and hold to the central path”; good advice for any partnership! This is an excellent Gua with great news as we approach the Spring Equinox. It is time to move forward with plans; the elements and Heaven and Earth are in alignment. It’s time to move ahead with all possible good intention and energy.
Here’s what Confucius wrote as the main theme of this Gua:
Sun and moon rely on the Tao of Heaven;
Thus can their shining be long lasting.
The four seasons change and transform;
Thus can their production of beings long endure.
The holy sage remains long lasting in his way of life;
Then all things under Heaven are transformed to completion.
Contemplate the Tao of Long Lasting,
To see the nature of Heaven and Earth and of all beings.
[from The Complete I Ching by Taoist Master Alfred Huang]
This divining of the energies for the next four weeks fits very well with my plans and intentions. I hope you can find some relevance in this reading for you and where you are headed!
The 5-Elements of the Tao
I love the way the Universe works. When I can take a breath, step back and observe, I am in awe that everything works! From the micro to the macro, from above to below, there is such beauty and bliss. And I am particularly inspired by the synchronicity of it all!
I just finished my Svaroopa Yoga class with a good and long-time friend, Dharma. As always it was gentle, he is so calm and peaceful, the asanas were relatively “easy”, and I came away stretched and balanced. And I believe it felt good and easy because I’ve been practicing Qigong pretty seriously all week. Overall I feel stronger and my balance has improved! Tomorrow I am back in my long-term Qigong class where we learn about “spontaneous healing” and practice 5-Element Qigong. And to top off the week I am on my way to Baltimore on Saturday for more Level 1 Qigong Form training with Jeff Primack, founder of the Qi Revolution!
And the beauty, the synchronicity continues! I have been developing a workshop after some excellent coaching with another friend, Ken Ellis. I have been questioning for years what to present to a group of men to help us all through development of “emotional maturity”. I have been motivated by many of my teachers from Robert Bly to Martín Prechtel to Robert Moore, to name a few. An idea began to form through my 5-Element Qigong practice. Ken urged me on and drew out of me a fascinating outline for a workshop. And there my concept languished since last summer.
Very recently the true beauty of the Universe unfolded another lotus petal and synchronicity struck again. This blog, Men and The Goddess, attracted the attention of a fellow blogger, Ellis Nelson. Of course, I checked out her blog: EllisNelson.com, and there it was, her review of a book that fits my scheme beautifully: Power of the Five Elements by Charles A. Moss, MD. I read a few additional reviews, ordered it immediately and have been pouring through it since it arrived. It is a perfect fit, a companion piece to exactly what I have in mind for my workshop.
I will write my own review of Dr. Moss’ book when I’ve finished reading it thoroughly. In short this work is not only confirming my own thinking about the 5 elements, it is expanding on the material I have already gathered. Beyond helping with my workshop development, it is helping me, directly impacting on how I perceive the world and how the world perceives me! Not only has this book confirmed my element, it has pegged me in every way; it has identified my strengths and weakness, my blessings and my faults, my motivations, outlook and fears. It has had quite an impact on me.
For me this confirms the ancient wisdom embodied in the Tao. As I work with material like Dr. Moss presents, practice 5-element qigong, work with the I Ching, continue my reading of Taoist literature it all comes together to form a beautiful whole. This is becoming a true Way for me. The signs are unmistakable!
And the Way flows on and the Universe unfolds a petal at a time. My qigong practice intensifies as I begin training for certification to become a qigong teacher. All of the 5 Elements are coming together to show me the Way of all the individuals in my life. And the workshop I am developing for presentation this summer is flowering into reality.
We have entered the month of March. Here in the Northern Hemisphere signs of spring are popping up everywhere. It’s a beautiful Universe and we are all alive at an amazing time!
Blessings!
Qi Revolution
This is what I experienced this past week; four days emersion in an energy bubble, a total “qi-field” created by Jeff Primack and 300 of my fellow qigong practitioners! And I have to tell you it was transformative! 32 hours of qi is something everyone has to experience. I believe this is why Jeff is calling this event a revolution; it truly does revolutionize one’s thinking about life, health, food, energy, the “field of all possibilities”, Source, Light, Love…the list goes on and on.
As some of you know I’ve been practicing qigong for about a year now. I have been working primarily with a brilliant acupuncturist and qigong instructor who trained with Jeff Primack and other masters. I have learned a “Five-Element” form that is truly life changing because it addresses all of the vital organs associated with the five elements in the Chinese system of health; these are wood, fire, earth, metal and water. The five elements form a complete philosophy of life, health, mental and emotional well-being and longevity. And now I am adding at least the first level of Jeff’s form to take my practice into another dimension of the qi-field.
What is qi? I think of it as “life force.” It’s vitality, the feeling of energy, like an electric current that flows through everything. It seems to make the air around us and that we breathe into us alive with power. There are different names for this energetic field in many languages; this is Prana in Sanskrit, Mana in Hawaiian spirituality as examples. And through specialized practices we can begin to sense this vital force that animates the entire Universe. In this sense it is the creative force that manifests the All.
Qigong is a masterful way to get in tune with this force. It is a way to sense it externally to our bodies and a way to build it up and focus it within our bodies. Qigong is a combination of movement and coordinated breath work. Movement is subtle, slow, meditative and focused. It is an excellent way to cultivate “no-mind” – to quiet the chattering “monkey-mind.” Breathing is regulated, deepened, another focus for the quiet mind; it oxygenates the entire body with a renewed sense of aliveness. Coordinating the movements with the focused breathing leaves no room for other thoughts; worries are left behind, endless loops of future plans and past review are pushed away; there is only room for now, the moment of the next move and the next breath!
Beyond Level 1 practice there are two additional levels, two other forms to work toward. Then there is Jeff’s approach to healthy food: “The Ultimate High-Phytochemical Food Healing System.” We also practiced a Strength Building form of Qigong, a tough routine for me to get through; I’ll have to build up to this practice!
And to give us breaks Jeff interspersed practice with several informative and always entertaining keynote talks on all the fascinating subjects I love to explore, from “near death experience” to life elsewhere in the Universe to the destiny of the human race!
Watching Jeff in action is a study in itself. He is virtually bursting with qi. He practices everything he teaches. Even when he has a senior student lead a Level 1 practice he is right there on stage going through the practice with us. This is one teacher who clearly practices what he preaches!
Jeff Primack takes the Qi Revolution on the road each year. His first stop this past weekend was Baltimore. If you are in this area and missed him, try to catch his event next year; you won’t be disappointed. And check out his website: qigong.com for a future event near you. I’ll be seeing him again soon in Baltimore for Level 1 Qigong Training. I can hardly wait to be back in that powerful field of qi!
Here’s to your Qi-Health!
Old Moon-New Moon
Are you feeling heavy these past few days? It feels to me as if I’m walking through a cloud with weights all over my body. No, I’m not really ill, although I do have some mild aches and pains here and there. I’ve been up, out and about taking care of others in the family who are also feeling this weight. What’s going on?
Is this the mid-winter doldrums? The post-holiday blues? The weather is actually reasonably nice here in Maryland as I write this Thursday afternoon; the Sun has been out and the temperature reached into the 50s! And yet there’s this drag to the day.
Oh, right! The Moon is very old, dying as I write and nearly conjunct the Sun. To give you exact numbers, I am writing at 4:41 pm EST. The Moon is 8 degrees Capricorn and closing fast on the Sun at 20 degrees 49 minutes Capricorn. If you could see the Moon now it would be 1% visible, but it is so close to the Sun we can’t really see it with a naked eye (expect just before dawn on the Eastern horizon).
And as you read this (assuming you read it the moment I post it) the Moon is just now brand-new. It conjuncts the Sun exactly at 2:45:17 pm EST. And then it begins to move away from conjunction with the Sun and is born anew. Yay! We should begin to feel the lightness return. And as you look to the clear western sky at Sunset in about 3 days you’ll see the baby crescent peaking over the horizon. From there, of course, it will grow to full over the next two weeks.
I have been aware of the Moon for as long as I can remember. As a kid riding in the back of my parents’ car at night I would follow the Moon as the Moon seemed to follow us. I loved the play of peak-a-boo with the Moon as we drove. And in deep clear Wisconsin winters I would watch the phases in the brilliantly lit country sky of my youth.
And now I am acutely aware of the Moon and her phases each month (moonth). And if I forget about her, especially around this time and full Moon time, she is the first to remind me with her tug on the waters of my body. Yes, we feel the Moon just as the oceans feel her pull; we are, after all, more than half water (the human body is about 60 to 70% water!). As the tides ebb and flow with the Moon’s courses and phases so too do our bodies.
As with everything awareness is the first step in sensing, working with and balancing our inner tidal actions. Beyond tuning in to the Moon and her activities here are some things I do to work with her energy:
• For the “dying” Moon as she wanes to darkness, as we just experienced, I offer up things to her. I release emotions, I let go of limiting beliefs, I even give her little gifts, offerings to be shared with birds or other creatures. The key words are “release that which no longer serves.” And this makes room for something new to come into my life.
• Just as the Moon is new, as it is today, I cast an I Ching gua to determine what the energies coming in with the new Moon will feel like and what my preparation for and use of the energies might be.
• During the waxing phases of the Moon, from now for the next two weeks, I work with the Moon’s energies pulling in newness: fresh ideas, new beliefs, and I work with my commitments and resolutions. It’s a wonderful energetic time. “Welcome in the New.”
• And then the downward slide of the waning Moon begins again. Energies are still high and I use them, but I also begin looking toward another weak Moon and consider what I may need to purge for this next cycle.
These are my approaches. There are many ways to work with the Moon. The key is to think about this major body in our sky and how it influences the planet and us as creatures under her smile.
How does the Moon affect you? Happy New Moon!
Another Tool for Inner Guidance
Michael Harner has given an amazing gift to the world; building on the earlier work of Mircea Eliade, he brought The Way of the Shaman alive for many of us. And I know there are critics of the popularization of this ancient spiritual technology; there will always be critics who are both skeptical and perhaps a little jealous of those who would gain notoriety and fortune by bringing to life a skill or knowledge that might otherwise be lost or set on a shelf as a quaint research subject. And there is some ground for questioning whether the generalization of a culturally specific spiritual technology is appropriate. All I can say to the critics is I have my own personal experiences as both evidence and guidance that these practices can be effective.
For my part I was first exposed to the Harner methods in the late 70s when I did my first journey to connect with a power animal. This was a transformative experience, although I may not have realized it at the time; I have been working with a Shamanic approach to gaining inner guidance since that early beginning. I have journeyed with many teachers learning their techniques and polishing my own, from drumming to rattling, from leading journeys to doing healing work. It is a powerful tool in my toolkit for gaining Inner Guidance.
Typically when I journey I use a frame drum which I beat myself. I do this in a darkened room with only a candle burning for a bit of light. I drum and journey on the wave of the drum, usually traveling to the Lower World to first seek guidance from my power animals. Sometimes I go to them with a specific question or concern. I also travel seeking general guidance on my current situation, circumstances, issues and offering prayers. After meeting up with my power animals and getting their sense of the situation and their guidance, I bless them, thank them and go off exploring other parts of this world. I am also sometimes directed to the Middle and Upper Worlds – more on this another time.
I know this Shaman approach to gaining Inner Guidance works for me because it has proved to be effective in my life. Perhaps most importantly I don’t rely on this one form of seeking but, as you may realize from reading earlier posts on “tools”, I use several approaches to gain insight into my Unconscious Mind, my Higher Self. I know all of these practices I employ work because they almost always cross-check in a non-ambiguous way.
Here’s a quick example of what I mean: on a recent journey to the Lower World I encountered a Snake. This Snake was telling me several contradictory stories; highly dualistic messages. I followed the snake on a return path and encountered a Bear who grabbed the snake and bit it into two parts; she separated the truth from the lie, the light from the dark! That same evening I cast a Gua for I Ching guidance. The accomplished Gua was Shi He (#21), sometimes translated as “biting through.” And a few days later I drew the Tarot card, VIII, which Crowley names Adjustment. The I Ching correspondence to this card is Shi He! The correlations are both fun and insightful. Do you think I should pay attention to this notion of “Biting Through”?
Tools for gaining Inner Guidance are numerous and flexible. They can be as simple as breathing deeply with lowered, unfocused eyes and as complex as consulting the I Ching or traveling to the Lower World on the vibration of a drum. The point is to do it, find methods and tools that work for you. And I recommend at least two approaches to cross-reference the answers. You’ll be amazed at how often the same answer comes through no matter the channel!
Men and Emotional Health
The recent videos by Rosemary and our commentaries have been about health and balance. Balance is achieved by bringing all four of our bodies, Spiritual, Mental, Emotional and Physical into both a healthy state and into balance across them.
Examining Emotional Health and Balance I have presented how Taoist Chinese sages work with emotions by transforming them into virtues. I have previously addressed Anger and its counterpart virtue, Creativity (Resourcefulness). And I have looked at Anxiety and how it might be transformed into Connection and Joy. Today I address two additional emotions: Fear and Worry.
Working with Fear is to transform it to Wisdom. Fear is probably the most primitive, instinctual emotion, therefore most deeply seated. It is an emotion of the ego and the ego’s job is survival. Fear triggers the fight or flight response, the reptilian brain component designed to keep us alive. Through inner work it is important to transform Fear into Wisdom and Empowerment. We move from the primitive, instinctual response to an Enlightened response. Frank Herbert, author of the Dune science fiction series, wrote that “fear is the mind-killer.” Exactly! When faced with survival it is easy for the mind to shut down and move into automatic response mode.
The trick here is to catch our reaction to an event or an object which triggers fear, to pause and breathe into the fear, and then to examine if this thing or occurrence is truly something to fear. These days we rarely encounter saber-toothed tigers to which the flight/fear response is appropriate!
There is a Korean Koan practice that helps me in these potentially fearsome situations. The practice is very simple: pause and ask “What is this?” Go inside to find an answer. And then ask the question again, this time of the first answer that comes to mind. Continue the practice until the questioning comes to a satisfying conclusion. This is a way to transform Fear to Wisdom.
Worry is often a wasted expenditure of emotional energy. I prefer to transform it to Centeredness. Next to Anger, Worry may be the next biggest emotion Western Men have to deal with. While Anxiety is about our place in society, Worry is more about our place in the Cosmos. Who are we; why are we here; what is life all about anyway; and is there any purpose to any of this, to my life? And these questions extend to health, security, and general lack of well-being. To counter Worry it is good to go into our stories for insight into this emotion. How has Worry affected us, influenced our decisions, guided our choices? How does Worry feel on the inside? What color does it have?
Worry transforms to Centeredness and Ecology. When we sink into our own Inner Space, our Wisdom, we become grounded and wholly present. We connect here with the All, the Universe. And from this deep place of wisdom we begin to understand our connectedness to everything and everyone; this is different from the transformation of Anxiety to Connection which is more about our human connections. This is broader and deeper. And the result is a deep appreciation of everything, all of creation, including ourselves! Within this context there is no room for Worry. We are part of something so much bigger. And we begin to see where we fit in the overall Ecology of the Cosmos. We see ourselves at the microcosmic level fitting neatly into the overall picture of the Macrocosm. There is great peace here and the beginning of balance.
Wisdom and Centeredness. These seem so much more appropriate responses than Fear and Worry! Try them on. Pause and ask: “What is this?” Breathe and move inside; find your Center. Everything in the Universe radiates outward from that Center. You are a key piece in that Universe!
PS: for my next post I will examine one more emotion that men need to pay particular attention to: Grief. Stay tuned!
A Review of “The Unlikely Peace at Cuchumaquic” by Martín Prechtel
I recently finished reading Martín Prechtel’s latest book having preordered it and received it on its publication date. My long anticipation of the work and excitement to devour it in wholly massive gulps was only tempered by its importance and my savoring each bite as I moved through the elegant prose poem word by precious word treating each one as a seed for growth and understanding. This is a giant of a book unlike anything else out there. This work is itself an instruction manual for humanity to find an “unlikely peace” in this post-modern, post-everything chaotic world we are waking up to.
In the interest of full disclosure I first met Martín in 2002 at the Minnesota Men’s Conference. I had at that point read his first book, Secrets of the Talking Jaguar, published in 1998. I have since read everything he has written multiple times and will continue to read his books for the rest of my life. Each is built of many layers of information, knowledge and wisdom. And I am currently a participant in his school, Bolad’s Kitchen, in his third group known as the New Sprouts.
That said, The Unlikely Peace at Cuchumaquic is Martín’s most important work yet. It offers me many additional readings as I absorb each layer of the stories and the wisdom much like an archeologist peeling back the compost heap levels of ancient communities to reveal the underlying meaning and cultures that instruct us in ways to build a new community and a new culture in order to keep the seeds alive! These seeds are our seeds if we can find them. In fact these seeds are us. And they are vital to the very survival of humanity.
At first blush the part of the subtitle: The Parallel Lives of People as Plants, sounded a bit strange to me, and intriguing. Martín explains his meaning here very clearly, again in the extraordinarily multivalent way he has of bringing together complex thoughts and concepts into juxtaposition to deepen the understanding of his meaning. Read the book to discover for yourself how true this exploration of people as plants is!
As I read this book I found myself chuckling at the humor in the stories and anecdotes from his time in Guatemala. More often the tears would come as I went through both grief and inspiration as the words sank slowly into my psyche, almost at once plunging me into the depths of despair and rising to the heights of confidence and optimism as I with Martín consider the human condition and our future.
If you have had the privilege of meeting Martín you will hear him, see him and sense his very presence as you read his words. It is so good to have him close, just here on my shelf! And if you have not yet met him this is a wonderful opportunity to begin your journey toward an “unlikely peace” with yourself and your fellow humans! You will meet Martín on this journey.
The Unlikely Peace at Cuchumaquic ended much too soon for me. The work is totally satisfying and certainly complete meeting all the promises of the delicious title and the enticing Part and Chapter titles. I just wasn’t ready to let Martín go; I wanted to keep his voice in my head. So, I went back to his earlier book: The Toe Bone and the Tooth (now published as Stealing Benefacio’s Roses) to again savor that sumptuous feast and retain his voice echoing through my whole body down to the very core, that seed within!
If you have any sense that the indigenous cultures of humanity have something to teach us, if you are interested at all in how we can resuscitate a culture from the mess we are now in, if you have ever prayed for peace, if you love stories, if you are intrigued by the title, if you find yourself wondering where the human family is going, then read this book. It is important. It is powerful. It will make you cry – and laugh. And you will love yourself just a little bit more for having read it!
Balance – Part 2
We have come half a cycle since my last post on “Balance.” The Sun is once again approaching the half-way point in His journey through the heavens, moving back toward the North. He will reach the mid-point of this journey on Tuesday, March 20 at 1:14 am Eastern Daylight Time. And it is at this point that He enters the Astrological House of Aries.
Have you felt the heat? Here in the Northern Hemisphere we are moving rapidly into Spring. Do you feel the energy of the climbing Sun as He moves higher and higher in the sky each day? As I write it is only a few hours now until He approaches His balance point with Mother Earth as They lock up in the dance of this balance creating the equal parts of night and day for our world, for our bodies.
It’s a good time to check in with our physical bodies and to check their balance. Are we a little wobbly, still recovering from the storms of Winter? Are we a little low on energy still restocking an impoverished larder here at Winter’s end? Are we still standing in the shadow of Winter’s weak Sunlight? It is time to move toward balance, replenishment and the Light as we track with the Farther who revitalizes the Mother and all of us, Her children.
Personally I have begun a new practice of Qigong this Spring, learning the Wuji informal style from a creative and capable teacher. She is going well beyond teaching the forms, explaining why Qigong is so powerful, how it works, offering anecdotes of healing and bringing this ancient Chinese form into a modern context. I like this balance of the Old and the New, the physical movement with the exercise of the brain and spirit. And I feel like I’m doing a Spring cleaning of all of me, pushing out the old stagnant chi and filling me with freshness!
Stand tall and firmly planted seeking the grounding and centeredness of the Mother who supports you so generously. Build your strength and energy through a new practice you bring in with the coming energy of Spring. Seek the Light of the bright burning Father who shines for us all feeding us and the Mother with all of His power and Love. This is the balance we all seek. And we can feel it strongly at this time of year as we face the Sun, away from our shadow, and soak up the healing rejuvenative Light and Love He offers us.
The brand-new leaves of the trees
Form a lovely soft green halo of Light
Bathing the still visible dark branches
Of these stately trees in a wash of
Liquid Sunlight misting all around.
Celebrate the New Season. Celebrate you!
Goddess Guidance Oracle Cards: Athena and The Teacher
Time is continuing to play tricks acting like Coyote with me. My Friday, when I like to draw oracle cards for the weekend, dissolved into activities and dinner with friends. Today has been similar, the morning dissolving into procrastination and dabbling with the iPad. Then I finally took some action and drew two cards.
I drew Athena from the Dr. Doreen Virtue Goddess Guidance Oracle Cards. Her tag line is Inner Wisdom, and her short advice is: “You know what to do. Trust your inner wisdom, and take appropriate action without delay.” Right! In other words, stop procrastinating and get on with your day! I get that. She goes on to say that this “inner wisdom” is right there; “to access this wisdom, you must quiet your mind. Surrender all worries and other concerns to the loving and almighty power of the universe. Close your eyes, and note the thoughts and feelings that come streaming into your consciousness. If you like you can ask me to give you a signal that you’ve heard your inner wisdom correctly.” The first meaning of the card that Dr. Virtue offers is “Stop procrastinating.” OK, I get the message!
So, instead of writing this blog I moved on to my to-do list which had garden work at the top . I needed to get the pond back in action which meant getting filter material for the pump and the normal spring cleanup stuff plus some new plants – a lily for Rosemary! It felt good to get on with the day and get that task completed. Our water-fall is flowing and falling again and the new plants seem happy.
And this is one of the many reasons I draw these cards; they get me going because they reinforce what I already know. I knew I was procrastinating; I knew what I needed and wanted to do; and I knew it had to be done today. The card gave me that little extra boost to get on with it! Thanks, Athena, Greek Goddess, daughter of Zeus. Although Athena is a warrior goddess, she does battle with wits instead of weapons.” She is a diplomat; we need more like her in our world!
The Grandmother Card I drew from the Megan Garcia deck is The Teacher of the Clan Elders. She say: “We have learned from the records of those who have walked before us, and we continue to preserve the understanding. We pass to the next generation the teachings of our ancestors. We see in our her-story/his-story the truths we need to continue as Humans. We challenge, communicate, and guide others on a path of discovery of themselves.”
And just as Athena advises, Grandmother says we need to walk the path of self-discovery. It is all inside for us to know, to learn and to reveal. Yes, I procrastinated this morning avoiding the simple tasks put on a list to get done. That was a small thing. I also procrastinate reaching for that inner wisdom; and when I do reach for it I hold it inside, or I write it in my journal, locking it away again. And I avoid the role of “teacher.” A true teacher elicits the inner wisdom of others. It is our combined inner wisdom which will save us, will show us the “truths we need to continue as Humans.”
So, as I conclude this post, I realize I am still procrastinating. I am avoiding my “writing chair” and my meditation cushion. I will devote more time to these “spaces” over this long weekend.
How will you go about seeking and sharing your Inner Wisdom?
Men and The Goddess 