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ROSEMARY’S EXPLORATION: Thanksgiving Transformation
A little something different from Rosmary for this week. A poem for you!
BUTTERFLY
A butterfly flits back and forth
Then back and forth again
Before my face
And perches gracefully on the grass at my feet.
It says, “I am the symbol of change. Accept me.”
“That’s funny,” I think.
I had just been thinking about what the future would bring.
Another butterfly, smaller than the first,
Flits by my face and settles on the grass at my feet.
“After each change comes the next one,” she says.
“Nothing is static. Nothing stays the same. The only constant is change.”
“OK, I get it,” I think.
A squirrel joins us, posing on the fence post to look at me and says, “Prepare.”
Now I’m wondering if all of Nature is conspiring to get a message to me.
Have I wondered overlong about the future and forgotten to be fully present in this moment now?
Am I somehow blocking the changes to come by not preparing today for whatever tomorrow brings because I refuse to focus on today?
Am I lost in concern for a moment that hasn’t happened yet while missing the gift of the moment at hand?
I start to walk back into the house
And the third butterfly appears, identical in markings to the other two but tinier than they.
She says to me,
“It is not mere change that we represent.
It is TRANSFORMATION.
Right now, right here, IN YOU.
Be blessed and IN-JOY.”
I get the message.
©Rosemary Bredeson
September 19, 2007
FRIDAY’S POEM FROM RHYTHMS AND CYCLES: Butterfly Maiden
Today I am reprising a poem from late spring 2013. On Monday the reason will become more clear with a new poem. My thought today, post Thanksgiving here in the US – and “Black Friday” when Rosemary and I stay home to turn our attention to our vision for next year – and as we head rapidly now to Winter Solstice is to dream of spring, and corn planting.
Butterfly Maiden
The corn is planted;
The spring rains have come.
The holy ground is rich;
The loam warms the seed.
Soon there will be a splitting;
Soon the full moon will shine.
Soon the earth will feed that seed;
Soon the sprout will reach for sun.
Moon watches through the night;
Moon wanes through a fortnight.
Moon withers toward rising sun;
Moon winks out as the sprout sees dawn.
Butterfly Maiden sheds her cocoon;
Butterfly Maiden warms in the sun.
Butterfly Maiden grins at the grinning moon;
Butterfly Maiden guards growing corn.
©2013 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
MONDAY’S POEM: Echoes 1
My newest grandson, Tristan Wallace Bredeson, is here for a visit from California. He is just over three months old now, and beginning to show a delightful personality. He has been just about the most perfect baby I can imagine; he only fusses a little when he is hungry or needs a change! We are having a delightful time with him!
A new generation of Bredesons leads me to the poem today. I wrote it two years ago, but it seems to apply even more as the next generation, the next echo sounds forth. And with my son and grandson with me now, I do catch myself using expressions and words from my past, my parents. Are we learning lessons and moving on to new ones or are we just echoing within the chamber of time? Maybe the answer to this question is “yes”!
Echoes 1
Dad’s voice moved from
My ear to my throat
At breakfast. I heard
Him clearly: A non-sensical
Expression of his.
Mom’s voice jumped out of
My mouth with no thought
Or control behind it. It
Was clear, critical; some
Rule was broken.
Where is my voice? Has it
Been silenced by the tides
Of Time; lost in the returning
Ripples from the
Wall of Beyond?
Is the Wall of Time moving?
Is the sphere expanding?
The already learned lessons
Echo from the cold surface
Teaching, preaching.
Will we ever learn?
©2014 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
Start with ‘We Are All One’ – Richard’s Commentary
It is healing to reread Rosemary’s “exploration” which was written before the midterm elections held Tuesday. Election Day is now behind us here in the US. Come January we will have a new Congress at the Federal level and a new shift in the political landscape across the country from State governorships to Statehouse composition.
Tuesday evening, as election results started coming in, I grew more and more concerned with this shift. Yes, I am a liberal, a progressive, a socialist…I am not afraid of these labels because they paint me with a color I am pleased to wear. So, you can understand why I grew concerned. The voters, if not the country, want change. This I do understand. My concern is with the direction of the changes. I woke up Wednesday morning feeling wounded; in need of healing.
Then I reread: Start with ‘We Are All One’; and I thought: What if we “Start with we are all one”?
There’s nothing like an election to bring out the worst in people, to polarize people, to divide and confuse, exaggerate and obfuscate to get people not only voting, but often voting against their own best interests. And then I read:
What do you believe? Let’s start with the folks around you, your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, the community, your country. Are they all ‘others’ to you? How about people who live on the other side of the world? The other side of the political spectrum? The other skin colors? The other religions?
And I ask myself about those on “the other side of the political spectrum” and begin to wonder. They are people doing the best they can with the information and resources they have. I may wish for them to have more information, more resources, but that is an empty wish. No matter the result from Tuesday’s election and no matter the polarity dividing people into political camps we are all in this together. And even that sounds socialist but we are here, all Earthlings, breathing the same air and held by the same gravity. And so the healing begins.
The more we focus on ‘otherness’ the less we understand about who we really are as individuals. Yes, we have separate physical bodies, but we are all one. We are all one big organism called ‘humanity’ on Earth.
The dividing lines begin to fade. There is shift and change, ebb and flow, a breeze from a different direction. As with everything in life it is temporary, impermanent. And maybe with this shift some things will get done. We can hope for a new level of cooperation, some consensus building over the next couple of years. Can we even hope for some compromise?
I don’t have to like the election results. I don’t have to pretend the direction the country may be turning is good or correct. But I do have to accept the change and find hope in movement. And I need to remember to:
Start with We Are All One. Everything really is connected, so connected, in fact, that it is One. We can share. Just as we learned in kindergarten, it is okay to take turns, to share, to participate together so that everyone is taken care of.
It’s the conservatives’ turn. Let’s heal from the bruising election and hope there can be some positive movement of the One Human Organism!
ROSEMARY’S INSPIRATION: Choose to Celebrate!
Rosemary’s “Two-Minute” Video for this Week: Choose to Celebrate!
New Moon in Scorpio I Ching
This New Moon yesterday evening (here on the East Coast at 5:56 pm) was a powerful one and brought with it a solar eclipse. We had western clouds obscuring it here but here’s a picture of the eclipse from Griffith Observatory:
And the New Moon signals me to bring out the yarrow stalks and sit with them to cast a I Ching Gua (hexagram of yin and yang lines) to “read” the energies brought in with this New Moon in the Astrological sign of Scorpio.
Here is the resulting Gua:
I am please to report that this is an auspicious sign for the coming month (moonth) and it is a steady one, i.e. there are no changing lines in the cast so we can expect “steady increasing” through the month.
My main reference for the I Ching is The Complete I Ching by Taoist Master Alfred Huang. His book is deep, thorough and clear. My favorite segment of the text for this Gua, Yi, is the last verse of Confucius’ Commentary on King Wen’s Decision:
Increase means with gentleness and mildness.
It proceeds daily without limits.
Heaven bestows and Earth accepts.
Thereby things increase without restriction.
The Tao of increasing always proceeds in harmony with the time.
The picture here is Wind over Thunder. The gentleness comes from above, from the Wind trigram. And the power, the “daily without limits” comes from below, Thunder. The image of “Heaven bestows and Earth accepts” suggests this receiving of gifts without restraint – gifts from Heaven!
This interpretation comes from a transformation of another Gua formed by the Heaven trigram (three solid, Yang lines) above and the Earth trigram (thee open, Yin lines) below. By moving the fourth line in this hexagram (which is Pi-Hindrance) to the bottom we get our new hexagram, Increasing. The gift flows down from Heaven offering increase to the Earth!
We are in a period of change, rapid for some. Rosemary and I have been writing about this all week; the theme has been “change, transformation, transition.” Today’s I Ching divination supports this with good news! The transition phase we are in is bringing increase, steady increase that is both gentle and mild. Let’s enjoy this period of positive growth!
This Gua does come with a warning in the form of that top Yang line; the Yao text says: “No increase, but a strike. Not keeping the heart steady: misfortune.” The top line is at the extreme end of the Gua and is Yang. From here it is likely to shift unless close attention is given – “keeping the heart steady”! If we are consistent in our approach, remain aware of our purpose and proceed accordingly, steady increase is our reward!
PS: The Astrology supports the I Ching! My friend, Gloria Hesseloff offers a New Moon newsletter each month and I am always tickeled (not surprised) with the mutual support between what the Yarrow Stalks tell me and the Astrology tells Gloria. Here’s a snippet from her MAGNETIC MOON NEWSLETTER month:
This month take the Pluto/Scorpio Path of Self-Empowerment. This is a vital part of this Great Shift. Be part of the movement where folks like us, seeking higher consciousness, are practicing right use of power for the higher good. Be especially diligent about what you are thinking and feeling. What are you broadcasting to the Field and what are you praying for through your thoughts and feelings?
Be aware that we are also experiencing a Solar Eclipse which is offering us the opportunity to jumpstart our consciousness, asks us the question, “Are you ready to move to a higher octave?”
Thanks, Gloria!
Change, Transformation and Transition – Richard’s Commentary
The shifts are here. The transformation we have been waiting for, wondering about, anticipating with both excitement and maybe some fear, is here! I have heard from several sources now that proclaim the big shifts predicted by the Mayan calendar are happening. Rosemary’s mystic message and her channeled message from The Divine Feminine this past Wednesday evening both speak to this Era of Change we have entered.
Do you feel it? Are you reacting to this sense of change we are experiencing? It may be a good time to take some proactive steps toward living more consciously! Here’s an example of what I am doing:
I have had a number of signs show up in my life that suggest that I need to rise before dawn and greet the Sun every morning. As a kid helping my Dad on the farm I was usually up before the Sun. But I am not a morning person. When I have a choice I prefer to sleep in! One of my most esteemed teachers, Martín Prechtel, strongly suggested we make a practice of greeting the Sun each morning. When I was attending Bolad’s Kitchen I was faithful to his suggestion, but my commitment to this important practice was easily released when away from Northern New Mexico. More recently I read a novel about the Cherokee and the Trail of Tears. The Cherokee greeted “Mother Sun” every morning.
I have begun this practice again. For the past several days I have risen before the Sun to great Him/Her. And this has been wonderful. It not only feels right, but I sense a deepening shift in me that is more than enough reward for (what use to be) my reluctance to rise early!
This may seem a small thing to do. But it is a shift I am making consciously. And it is a response to a call to make this shift. As Rosemary writes:
Conscious Living means being aware of your Self, your Purpose and taking charge of the changes you make in your life. Awareness is key to moving consciously through any change, small or gigantic. Observing yourself in the midst of a sea of change can be a way to weather the change while feeling peace inside.
Are you responding to the shifts? Have you sensed any energy changes and made adjustments? Rosemary goes on to say:
It is not just you as an individual going through changes that is the energy of this experience of the 21stCentury. We are all, whether conscious or not, experiencing the great shift that is the transformation of Planet Earth. Nothing is staying the same. Hold onto your hat!
These are exciting times. Some people may go into fear around the signs of change; they may become uncomfortable during the transition as we move through the changes into the transformation. But we have help to support us through these times.
The message from The Divine Feminine from October 15 gave us much to think about and offered incredible support. They said fear is a signal to us that we are transforming. In those moments we are called to bring in more light. Move into the light. We are the light! This is just one more sign to me to rise before dawn to greet Father/Mother Sun. Rosemary concludes her message:
The entire Planet Earth is transitioning now into the New Earth. Each human being is evolving into the New Human. You can resist or transform.
And:
This transition is glorious. Each of us is emerging as a beautiful butterfly. Celebrate!
Adjust to the shifts; and be glad!
PS: The Divine Feminine offered incredible guidance for our evolution and support for our change, transformation and transition! On October 15 they offered amazing help as we begin to become aware of our Cosmic Bodies and expand into our Cosmic Auras! The recording can be purchased for immediate downloading and support from Rosemary’s website: TheScientificMystic.com
ROSEMARY’S EXPLORATION: Change, Transformation and Transition
My email inbox is full of invitations to ‘change,’ ‘transform,’ ‘uplevel,’ etc. I’ll bet yours is, too. Are you ready to change?
The only constant in life IS change, but sometimes we slide into change or it is thrust upon us by circumstances outside of us. Has this been happening to you?
Conscious Living means being aware of your Self, your Purpose and taking charge of the changes you make in your life. Awareness is key to moving consciously through any change, small or gigantic. Observing yourself in the midst of a sea of change can be a way to weather the change while feeling peace inside.
It is not just you as an individual going through changes that is the energy of this experience of the 21stCentury. We are all, whether conscious or not, experiencing the great shift that is the transformation of Planet Earth. Nothing is staying the same. Hold onto your hat!
At the time of these great shifts we have an opportunity to allow the change to be transformative. We can move ourselves, our understanding, our spiritual selves into a higher level of functioning on the Planet. We are really RESPONSIBLE to the Planet and her inhabitants to experience this kind of transformation.
When circumstances invite you to change, do you make a graceful transition to the next level? Or do you resist, fighting the change until it becomes inevitable and then you just give up? How well do you accept change?
Sometimes it is easy to change when we are the instigators of the change and we see the destination toward which we are moving. We can be positively elegant when we change in this manner.
At other times, we fight, we resist, we try to ignore, we might even try to go backward as we argue against a change. Energetically, these tactics make that which we are resisting more powerful over us. The transition to the new level becomes difficult, tedious, sometimes even painful.
As the Borg say (for all you Trekkies out there), ‘Resistance is futile.’
When we are in the transition stage of change in our lives, we can experience the most energy of the transformation that is taking place. Think of yourself as a caterpillar shifting into the butterfly. It might be a process that is frightening, uncomfortable, even unwanted. But what a beautiful result there is after the transformation!
The entire Planet Earth is transitioning now into the New Earth. Each human being is evolving into the New Human. You can resist or transform.
This evolutionary process requires a lot of changes in our daily lives. We are being called to become more conscious of who we are, our authentic selves. We are being invited into the transformative process to partner with others who are willing to move forward into the state of being a New Human.
Life can become simpler for us if we shift out of old ways of being, of operating in the world. Relationships become more intimate when we drop the pretense, the masks we used to wear. We create conscious businesses. We make conscious choices. We listen with our hearts. We collaborate and support.
This transition is glorious. Each of us is emerging as a beautiful butterfly. Celebrate!
PS: The recording of The Oracle Speaks channeled message from last week is now available. The Divine Feminine offered incredible guidance for our evolution and support for our change, transformation and transition! They offered amazing help as we begin to become aware of our Cosmic Bodies and expand into our Cosmic Auras! The recording can be purchased from Rosemary’s website: TheScientificMystic.com
ROSEMARY’S INSPIRATION: Change, Transformation and Transition
Rosemary’s “Two-Minute” Video for this Week: Change, Transformation and Transition
PS: The recording of The Oracle Speaks channeled message from last week is now available. The Divine Feminine offered incredible guidance for our evolution and support for our change, transformation and transition! They offered amazing help as we begin to become aware of our Cosmic Bodies and expand into our Cosmic Auras! The recording can be purchased from Rosemary’s website: TheScientificMystic.com
Are You the Director or the Actor in the Play that is Your Life? – Richard’s Commentary
This is such a wonderful question Rosemary asks. It’s one of those questions that makes you go “hmmm”! It stops me and makes me think. And, it’s another one of those questions that take me inside, to examine, to evaluate, and maybe, just maybe to shift!
Here’s the key to Rosemary’s Exploration:
What did you used to believe about yourself, life, the world around you that might be holding you back today? Is it your unconscious mind that is the Director while you and your conscious mind are merely the Actors on the stage?
It’s those old beliefs, those old programs that run on automatic when our attention strays, when “unforeseen situations arise,” or when we simply get caught off guard in a moment of weakness.
Here’s a simple example that is trite but true, a cliché of our times: driving in traffic I still find myself getting upset by unconscious drivers who are in some way impeding my progress! Then I realize I am being unconscious myself in my angry reactions. I take a breath, go briefly inside to remember my impatience is getting in my own way, release frustration and then move along more smoothly – until the next inattentive driver annoys me!
This is a life-long habit. I probably learned it from my father, even though in rural Wisconsin he did not face the driving difficulties we have here in the East! I know I am being the Actor in my little stage play about driving in traffic and my unconscious mind is the Director in this play. It is a hard habit to break and I get plenty of opportunities to practice!
I find my breath work, as part of my Qigong and Yoga practices help me overcome, or at least recover from habits of a lifetime. As long as I remember to breathe intentionally I can short-circuit the old programming and my conscious mind can recover control and direct my life.
Here’s how that works: one of my practices is to employ the Hamsa mantra as taught by Swami Muktananda (ref: I Am That The Science of HAMSA from the Vignana Bhairava). This is probably the simplest yet most profound mantra in the Yogic tradition. “Ham” means “I am” and Sa means “that.” It may also be seen and pronounced or read as So’ham “that I am” depending on personal preference and breath flow.
Ham is the sound of the breath as you inhale. Sa or So is the sound of the breath as you exhale. My natural breath includes a more lengthy pause after exhaling so I use Hamsa as my breath mantra; in other words it seems more natural for me to inhale before I exhale. Practice both ways; if it seems more natural for you to exhale first then So’ham may be the better way for you to use this key mantra.
For that matter you can even use English here inhaling on the “I Am” and exhaling on the “That.” The real key is to become aware of the breath and then become intentional about breathing through the recovery from habitual action and reaction you are working to reprogram. As Rosemary writes:
You can’t just decide to do things differently and have your unconscious mind let go of those old beliefs. They are programs that are running all the time. They are beliefs that trump conscious decisions many times.
The work is to go inside and uncover the programs and reprogram your mind.
Breath work is an excellent tool to aid you in the reprogramming effort.
Men and The Goddess 