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THANKSGIVING TRANSFORMATION: Richard’s Commentary
The title of Rosemary’s post of her poem, Butterfly, holds deep meaning in itself. Thanksgiving and Transformation aren’t words that go easily together, but if we give the pair a bit of thought there is more there.
We are now moving well into the last month of 2014. All the turkey trimmings are gone or put away. Is your sense of “thanksgiving” also put away with the November decorations, thrown out with the bones of the bird? Or do you practice gratitude all year long?
Rosemary’s second butterfly in her poem says: “Nothing is static. Nothing stays the same. The only constant is change.” Can we be grateful for every change? Can we look at every change as part of a greater transformation as explained by the third and smallest butterfly? This is the challenge the poem presents. It is the every day, small changes, moment to moment, that generate the transformations of our lives. And gratitude every day, moment to moment for those small changes leads to “thanksgiving transformation.”
Can you hear the vibration that rings between these two words? There is an echo between them, they are “light shadows” – we are thankful and we transform; we transform and we are thankful – every day and in every way. Thanksgiving Transformation is a state of being – continuous gratitude for the continuous state of change we experience. Thanksgiving Transformation is Life!
There is another pairing of words the squirrel of the poem brings to us: Presence and Preparation. These set up another vibration, the echo between being present in the moment, experiencing it fully, and being prepared for the next moment, that moment of change. It’s almost asking that we exist in two states at once; the dynamic about being prepared for tomorrow’s change while being fully present today is the challenge.
And this dynamic, this vibration is present in every breath, every heartbeat. As we inhale we breathe in appreciation, gratitude, thanksgiving for everything, especially the change of our body chemistry with the intake of fresh air. As we exhale we prepare for the next breath, exhausting the stale, used up air and the byproducts of our metabolism.
From the smallest change in our body chemistry, moment to tiny moment, to the great transforming changes in our lives, day-to-day, year-to-year, we are blessed. At the microcosmic level every moment is a miracle. And at cosmic scales, the beauty of the remnants of a supernova, as just one example, pictured here, are mind-boggling! I am in constant thanksgiving for all of it and all the blessings. I may not always be prepared for the coming changes, transformations, but I can truly give thanks for them!
Thanksgiving Transformation. You can’t have one without the other!
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.
ROSEMARY’S EXPLORATION: Choose to Celebrate!
You are always at a point of choice about how you will respond to a given situation. The way it works is: an event happens, you have a knee-jerk reaction, and you respond. When you are living a conscious life, you pause after that knee-jerk reaction and CHOOSE how you will respond.
Life happens. Stuff happens to and around and in us. We have natural tendencies to react in a certain way. Your first response might be anger. It might be fear. It might be to blame someone else. It might be to assume that it is your fault. There are lots of ways that you can react to a stimulus.
But you CHOOSE the way you will respond to that stimulus. If you allow your unconscious mind to make the choice, it will choose to operate under the same strategies from which your knee-jerk reaction arose.
However, if you give yourself a chance to pause, you will have many more options for choosing a response.
There are a lot of fear-mongers who would invite you to feel fear. There are a lot of situations in the world that, when focused on, will generate fear. There are, though, a lot MORE situations that invite us to celebrate.
But do we focus on celebrating or on fear?
The chances are very slim that you will ever contract the Eboli virus. And, yet, many people are hysterically afraid of this disease which is, admittedly, not a fun thing to have. It is, however, very difficult to contract this disease. But you are certainly hearing a lot about it, often with an undertone of fear.
Now think about all the things that are going RIGHT with your body, right now, in this moment, as you read these words. You have molecules and atoms and cells and tissues and organs that are all functioning without your conscious mind having to direct the show. Air is going in and out of your lungs without your conscious effort, unless you choose to focus on your breathing.
The last meal you ate is digesting itself without your focus. You can reach for a drink of water without having to consciously fire off every muscle involved in the action. Your eyes and brain are working together to make sense of the images you read on this page.
In other words, there are a whole lot of reasons for you to celebrate your body!
Are you feeling fearful at the moment about something that hasn’t happened yet?
Allow that fear to invite you into celebration of something that IS HAPPENING in this present moment. Get into gratitude for things that are working the way you want them to work. Think about the volunteers around the globe who are selflessly serving others right now.
Think about the Sun rising every single morning without your assistance. The things that you worry about are possibilities that haven’t materialized yet. Even if you have a fear based on something that has already happened, is that fear leading to the resources to make the optimal choice of response or is it constricting your vision so much that you can’t see any other possibilities?
Celebrate! You are reading this. Fear reminds you that you have forgotten to celebrate what’s good, what’s going well. Choose to focus on celebrating and let the fear take a back seat. There’s always something to celebrate, even if it’s just that next breath that you take!
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
MONDAY’S POEM: Anger
Life is so interesting! Last week I finished a summer series of Qigong classes with the theme: “Transforming Emotions to Virtues.” I followed the Five-Element scheme so deeply rooted in Chinese approaches to life and health. And my first class several weeks ago was on the Wood Element and transforming Anger to Creativity through Forgiveness.
Today, as I searched through my archives and journals for a “Monday Poem” I came across this one I wrote in February 2010. This was a few years before I began my intense practice of Qigong and study of the Five Elements! But even then I knew how to transform Anger. And yes, my predominant element is Wood!
Anger
It’s easy:
Just fear the mistakes,
Fear failure.
How does that feel?
Anger is a defense.
Anger trumps pity.
It is better than loathing.
It can feel good.
Anger can be productive.
It can motivate.
It can compensate,
And cover insecurity.
Mostly it destroys.
Shiva rises and
Clears the path
Through the waste of failure.
Anger operates at
An instinctual level.
Grow and forgive.
Breathe and live!
©2014 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
Men and The Goddess 