seasons

Winter solstice

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Dear ones, those of us rooted in the north now notice the low sun dipping ever more to the south, day by day inching toward the horizon. Perhaps you at the so called top of the world are already plunged into darkness.

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Grandmother Cottonwood low winter sunlight

Once again we have faith and we know as the ancient ones knew that our sun, the life giving sun, will soon be reborn and with its resurgence will come spring – new life – and summer once again when all growing things rejoice in life itself!

For now, during the darker time, the short days, gather in, rest, sit snug by the fire. Go inward and make plans. Cease your endless striving for a time. Under the frozen ground life is whispering, renewing itself.  It will return in its own true time.

Now at the solstice it is time to rest, renew and rejoice in the cycles of life and death, light and dark, rest and action. You too are attuned to these primal rhythms.

You are light. You are dark. You are sunshine and shadow. Embrace the whole of you, the whole of all of life.

Rest and dream

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Will you rest and dream with me this winter?

Rest for a little while. Let go of all you normally hold tight to, letting go of control for a time. Allow your beautiful selves the luxury and freedom of nothing to worry about, nothing to push for, nothing to do, nothing to think. Simply be with no agenda for a time.

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Winter nest

 

Dream with me. Remember the earth memories deep in our cells from the ancestors- the primeval forests, vast herds of grazing animals, clear flowing waters, wide stretches of unbroken prairie, lakes filled with fish of all descriptions, towering forests standing thousands of years, our roots gripping the cool rich earth, reaching toward the sun, anchoring us to this place.

Within all creatures reside the deep primal memories of nature in balance, of peace and harmony.

You belong!

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Dear ones, do not put yourself down for getting nothing done today!

You breathed the cool autumn air, took delight in the crimson and golden fall color so beautiful right now. You allowed yourself to be, with no agenda, no worries, no second thoughts.

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Red and gold maple leaves

You felt your heart beating and the blood moving through your body, the air flow in and out of your lungs as they expand and contract. You felt cool water flow into your throat and filter through you.

Did you heard a flock of crows calling to each other as they flew from tree to tree? Did you open your eyes to the bright deep sky, the wispy clouds moving lazily with the wind, dissolving and re-forming?  Did you enjoy watching the scarlet and amber leaves raining down in the breeze?

You took part in this great web of life today, no matter what you checked off on your to-do list.  Simply by being here in a physical body, you have chosen to cast your lot in and belong to the great throng of life here on this earth.

Do not fool yourself, there is no test for admittance here. There is nothing you need to prove! You belong here.

The great release

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Once again we come to the time of letting go, the great release as the leaves we’ve held onto for so long this year are finally relieved of duty. For a brief time they blaze with breathtaking color. Let your eyes take in and enjoy our gorgeous color! Soon enough they become the soil at our feet they as they wither and brown and decay. Next year’s plant food.

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Red Virginia Creeper leaves

Now through the bare bones of our winter branches we have a chance to see feel and know the underlying structure beneath the summer show. We see what is rooted, what endures from year to year, through the cold months as well as the warm, not just the shimmering temporary summer show.

You too have an underlying structure. You are a web of invisible energy, permeating the physical body. This is the structure on which your life and body are built. Your energy endures from lifetime to lifetime without end.

When you keep your subtle energy flowing, healthy, and vibrant your life pulses with health and glows with vitality.

Did you live fully?

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Did you live fully this summer?

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Red maple leaf

Did you wade in the stream, skip stones, feel the sun on your face, listen to the birdsong, the droning insects, sit at the base of a friendly tree and allow yourself to be? Did you laugh with your friends? Did you lay in the shade and watch the clouds float above? Did you make your own fun?

Did you do what your heart desired? Did you do what satisfied your soul and made you happy? Did you give yourself permission to enjoy life?

Did you follow your intuition, your best inner nudges and hunches? Did you do the uplifting thing when you had a choice?

Did you choose the actions that created harmony within yourself and with others? Did you allow the full power of the light within you to shine?

Now it is time to gather in the harvest, pick fruit from the trees, and tell stories by the fire.  It is time to let go of the old and gather energy for the new growth already stirring within you.

Non-permanence

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Nothing in this universe is permanent but our indestructible spirits.

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Purple poppies

All is in constant flow and flux. What you call a stone is made of minute energy particles coalesced into matter, yet on a deeper level, permeable. On an even deeper level, nothingness.

Somehow, we are in a place where we perceive matter in solid form. Yet the pattern of non-permanence is shown to us in our cycles of life death life. All living things come into being, then must decay and pass away.

All landscapes erode, all cloud formations dissipate, all musical tones die away to the ear, bedrock becomes sand, and yet all deaths give rise to the new.

The upstart cottonwood sprout will surge ahead and surpass me some day as I enter my season of decline. Our parents will pass on, our beloved shade trees will succumb to age, our favorite pets will cease to exist on the physical plane.

Yet, the fabric of existence endures, as new rock is formed deep in the earth, as new clouds form on the horizon, as our children mature, bear children and become parents. This fabric is woven strong of spirit.

Hot weather and harmony

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Do you say “I hate this weather!”? Do you curse everything outside your refrigerated homes? If so, you are rejecting the magnificent earth that is your dwelling place and creating disharmony.

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A change in the weather

Do you become quiet and study her cycles of heat, cool, rain and dry? It is vital that humans pay attention to the minute changes  and learn to live in harmony with our earth.

Rejection is not harmony. Fighting against is not harmony. Fearing is not harmony. Creating an enemy is not harmony.

Dissonant vibrations are created by skewed thinking, then move from person to person, then move into your larger world. These vibrations are unhealthy and hurt all they touch. They create unsettled unpleasant feelings that tear at the web of all that is.

You do not feel good in the presence of this dissonance, yet you continue to create it.

Is it so familiar to you that the harmony of acceptance, kindness, compassion, and well being feel strange and threatening to you? I tell you that as an infant, you too were alive with the harmonies, chords, and tones of love. You were in harmony with others, co-creating an amazing composition of exquisite complexity! You did not complain about the weather!

The more you push against and create disharmony with others, with the earth, with the weather, the more you weaken the fabric of the web of life that sustains us all.

Cease your pushing. Accept what is. Breathe. Hum a lovely tune that makes you feel good!

Summer storm

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Thunder in the air – rolling waves of sound felt by all living things.

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Summer clouds rolling in

Those with eyes and those without sense lightning arc across the sizzling sky. Even the tiniest vibrations of sound and light energy reach my roots as they ripple through the earth, cleansing all in their path.

The deafening sound, flashes of light, rain, and wind of a summer storm roll through clearing the air, washing the land, every leaf on my crown, every blade of grass in the woods and meadow. I quicken to the vibration of thunder, the fiery lighting that seeks the earth, often through my cottonwood kin.

Bring it on! It is the power of our amazing earth’s atmosphere, visible and audible and palpable. I thrill to the storms that sweep across this valley and set my crown shimmering and dancing to the vibrations of thunder and the rising wind.

I feel in my roots and crown the stillness before the storm, the sudden crashes of lightning. The jagged daggers arcing through the air, charging it with healing power and clearing all nonsense, all fog, all dust, all that is ready to be released.

Can you sense when a storm is brewing? Can you feel it in your body? You have experienced this powerful unfolding drama in every lifetime you’ve ever lived. The ancient thrill of thunder from before time began – the memory lies deep within your cells.

The storm obliterates the excess, leaving us fresh, clear, and sparkling, ready for what is to come. Bringing clarity.

Cottonwood seeds

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2016-05-30 10.05.47 (640x480) (640x480)Spam or the fluff of life?

Dear ones, all of my kind bless the earth with our confetti of cotton, our gentle shower of seeds, our annual pouring forth of faith in what is yet to come. You may think the deep drifts of tiny cotton puffs along the sidewalks and streets are overkill, too much- spam if you will. (Have you seen what the silver maples did last month? Later the oaks will pelt you soundly with bushels of acorns that fall like hailstones.) But I digress.

Life is sacred and must be honored. My seeds, perhaps millions of them are each a chance at fresh new life. They are sown on the wind with trust in the process of life! Most will end up fertilizing your yard or garden, or will be washed into the creek, but some will find the right place. All factors will line up: the moon phase, the soil type, sunlight, rainfall, slope of the land, shelter from drying winds…

The lucky winners will feel the stirrings deep within, then send down tiny roots and reach sunward with bright little seed leaves. The luckiest among this select group will grow tall, avoid the mover’s blade, the hungry grazing animal, the drought or devastating flood, the gardener intent on weeding alien seedlings that appear in her flower bed, the crushing earth mover, the wayward boot or bike tire…

Several of my offspring are sure to put down roots, to grow and flourish and eventually tower gracefully above the other trees and provide a home for the diverse creatures of the creek fringe. They will take their place in the timeless cycle of life on this our beautiful green earth.

Do not curse my fluff, for it is the fluff of life!

Falling seeds

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‘Tis the season for the seeds of silver maple to whirl in great masses to the earth. Each seed contains the promise of countless groves. It has been so since time began.

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Silver maple helicopter seeds

The seed swells, and tiny roots begin reaching down into the soil, pulled by the magnetic core of the earth, reaching, finding sustenance. The new shiny leaves and slender stem bend toward the sun, unrolling, soaking in life giving light. Reaching for life, stretching both down and up, rooting and reaching. Each seed a promise, the imprint of a million generations.

You plant seeds as well. Your words and actions are seeds. Your caring or turning away are seeds, your belief in the power of good or the existence of evil are seeds, your judgment or acceptance are seeds, your love or indifference are seeds and surely many of the them will grow.

What legacy do you wish to sow? Do you want the seedlings of doubt and despair growing in the hearts and minds of your family, or the legacy of love and joy and fun?

Plant your garden with each thought, word, and action. What will you sow?