Priestess in Blue Jeans

Straddling Eras, Dimensions & Invitations

We're in the midst of changing eras, can you tell from what's going on in the 'outer world'? And for those conscious of and sensitive to the energetic realm, it feels like ever-shifting dimensions that can have us feeling clear and energized one minute, and foggy and listless the next.

There is a lot going on within and around us, so it's a good time to prioritize self-care, taking it a bit slower when the energy's waning and going with the inspiration when it's there.

Most of us have been conditioned to push through the times of waning energy, favoring action and 'doing' despite feeling the pull to slow down and go inward. Yet these ebbs and flows, inbreaths and outbreaths are natural -- and crucial -- for the creative cycle, accessing and then acting on intuition and higher guidance, and overall wellbeing, especially so during intense changing-times.

Over the last month I've noticed these cycles even more than usual, with periods of high-voltage energy and a flurry of intuitive information and insight and/or deep feeling, followed by a day or two when my mind is foggier, more dreamy, and my energy slows down and draws inward.

I used to ignore the slow-downs, good workaholic Athena-woman that I was (more on our Athena archetype coming soon in a new, upcoming Feminine Mojo series!). After a series of initiation cycles, I'd recognize them, but feel guilty about honoring the ebbs and going inward.

More recently I sense that the slower, more inward days are allowing an integration of the energy and insights that have come through, and/or setting  up the next flurry. I'm slowly learning to trust the wisdom of those cycles.

Feeling that Overwhelm?

A lot of people are feeling a bit overwhelmed right now, too, both in terms of the intense energies coming through in a variety of waves, and with what's going on in the world (and for many of us, in our personal lives as well).

Watching the Theater of Greed & Hubris as it unfolds in the Gulf of Mexico, or Wall Street, or elsewhere, and the heart-wrenching effects on defenseless creatures and critters who rely on our stewardship or suffer the lack of it, and the effects on the folks on Main Street, well, it's natural to feel overwhelmed. 

The Gulf, Wall Street, Washinton, D.C., B.P, and elsewhere...it's a colossal failure of imagination, empathy, heartfulness, and leadership, and we're all caught up in it. And the medicines for the insanity include just those things: imagination, empathy, heartfulness, and leadership.

Despite having had the lie of separation practically baked into our cells, we are not separate from what's around us. As our ancestors knew intimately, we're very much connected. So who in their right mind wouldn't feel a bit overwhelmed, really? It can seem like we're getting hit from all sides, and in a way, we are. It's a big 'wake-up call' time.

Coming Full Circle to Another Rung on the Spiral of Life

And that brings us back around to changing paradigms and shifting dimensions. Whether you look to ancient prophecies, current Indigenous elders, leading-edge scientists and spiritual teachers, or your own inner guidance, the message is the same: there is a huge change underway in how we perceive life and how we live; there is a major shift in consciousness underway.

It affects everyone; no one is left out, and it can help to have context and practices that help to stay centered amidst all the shifting. I listened in to a talk from Gregg Braden yesterday, called the Science of Miracles, and among many things that resonated with me was his statement that it's as if we're being called to a greater level of our mastery, and we've had training wheels on that have now been removed.

The challenges we see and face are wake-up calls and invitations to say 'yes' to the call and the invitation, and to embrace with devotion that path of greater mastery, centered in heartfulness, anchored in love. Earth, the critters and creatures, our neighbors on Main Street, our loved ones, and we ourselves depend on that 'yes'.

It's an awesome responsibility, isn't it? There are days when I feel that acutely. Yet it's also a creative adventure; there's something within us that responds, that yearns for it, even. 

We're invited to say 'yes' to the invitation to become 'artists of consciousness', as the visual-philosopher, artist, and actor, Leigh McCloskey calls it, or 'co-creative, evolutionary humans', as the visionary wise-woman Barbara Marx-Hubbard says. Did you get your invitation? It's been on the news, in your dreams, and tugging at your heart; and it's a bit time-sensitive. But you're probably already feeling that; not to worry.

There is no single Hero, or Heroine, on this one; we all get to pitch in, in our own unique way, in our own corner of the world, through our own practice and way of being, from right where we are. Together.

Blessings on the Way, and May Visions of a Healed, Pristine Gulf of Mexico fill our dreams and our waking hours!

Jamie

** Photo Credits: Sunset at Big Sur from PD Photo, shared through Creative Commons. Photo of the oil-soaked bird from the Gulf of Mexico is from Nature's Crusaders blog. Photo of the sea turtle in previously clean Gulf waters from U.S. NOAA. Earth photo from U.S. NASA.

Kudos to the folks at Nature's Crusaders blog for thoughtful, and heartful, coverage of the Gulf of Mexico oil-gusher reality.

Eating Your Lawn (Yes, Really)

If you have a lawn or wild area around your home, chances are excellent that you have a number of edible plants growing naturally -- beyond what you might intentionally plant in an herb or veggie garden. 

When I was a kid, I often wandered around in search of the tiny grapes, huckleberries, raspberries, blackberries, wild chives (onion grass), and rhubarb that grew just about everywhere. And I and my little buddies would snip the buds off of the honeysuckle vines and drink in the sweet droplets of nectar. I marveled at (but didn't eat) the lovely little Lady Slipper orchids that grew wild in the hills near the house.

It was as if, as kids (particularly little Nature-Wild-Child kids!), we had an instinctive and intuitive understanding of this. And in some cultures, it's still commonplace. For example, when I lived in San Francisco, I'd often see older Chinese ladies picking various edible plants at the wild-edges of the City parks.

Many naturally growing 'weeds' were once valued for their use as nutritious foods, teas, and herbal medicines. Now, we're likely to douse them with chemicals -- God/dess forbid there's a dandelion on the lawn! -- and look at these valuable growing-grounds as 'undeveloped land'. Thankfully, there is a renaissance underway to reclaim that knowledge, particularly as the harmful effects of chemicals, pollution, and excess development become more and more evident.

So, it's not a moment to soon to gather up those dandelion leaves to add to a salad or the next batch of sauteed greens. And that's just a start. There are other edibles available, too, scattered amongst inedible plants. 

In some communities, there are 'weed' experts that host 'weed walks' to help educate you about the edible plants growing in your area.

You'll also find a wealth of information on the web, and a good start is a recent Care2 article called "Get Off Your Grass and Create an Edible Lawn." The article also includes some stunning statistics - I don't imagine many of us give much thought to the costs of maintaining the 'perfect lawn'.

Another big benefit of cultivating and harvesting edible 'weeds' (sans pesticides) is that it reconnects us to the Earth, which is a great stress-reducer.

Listen in to my audio SophiaLogue with 'green witch', aka herbalist, Robin Rose Bennett for more inspiration on 'going green' in this particular way.

Do you have favorite edible 'weeds'? Post a comment and share the wealth.

Blessings,

Jamie

* Photo - Admit One (the edible-Dandelion link above)

Focus on What's Green & Growing

 For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, Spring is arriving. All around us, Nature is in its rebirth. We see migrating birds returning and looking for nesting spots; the daffodils, crocuses, and hyacinth are showing their blooms; the grass is greening again, and the trees and shrubs are beginning to show tender new leaves. After the Winter, when growth happens below the surface, Life emerges for a new cycle of seasons.

For many, Springtime is happening within as well. In the many conversations I'm having for the SophiaLogues and the body of work on the emerging Feminine and my in-process book project, green is a consistent theme.

Just as I received guidance to call the book and body of work 'The New Greening', or have been drawn to green forest-pools to seek Wisdom in meditation or visualization, many others are seeing or dreaming of green streams, green pools, blades of green grass amidst decayed matter and mud, or even a great bird with long, beautiful green tail-feathers.

In these dreams and visions, a common message is 'focus on what's green and growing'. Like Orpheus, re-emerging from the Underworld with Eurydice, we're guided not to look back...to be mindful of that we're focusing the greater share of our attention and energy on what's before us, on the emerging vision.

Focus on what's green and growing, on those places where what has been barren is beginning to become fertile again, beginning to bloom. In Springtime, we get a little help from Nature.

We can also go within, and invite guidance on what's green and growing. Given that this message is arising in and for so many people, there is  larger call to greening going on -- the greening of our hearts, and of our perception.

Green Blessings,

Jamie

Snowy Day Alchemy

There is a certain alchemy that a fresh snow brings. Snow, like the thick fog that would roll into San Francisco, tends to bring a stillness with it, inside and out. If we follow the energy, that is.

The novelist, J.B. Priestley, wrote of snow, "...it is a magical event.  You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found?"

And so it is here where I am today, with nearly a foot of fresh snow already gathered, and more falling, with high winds and blizzard conditions expected as afternoon turns to evening.

Like Winter herself, snowy weather beckons us to slow down, draw inward, rest a bit to gather inspiration and energy for the next burst of activity. If we follow that inclination, our natural rhythm in response to cold, snowy, darker days, we'll stay inside, and seek out what's warm, nourishing, and cozy -- perfect 'yin' activities in a 'yin' season.

Much got canceled and rescheduled today, either in anticipation of the expected blizzard conditions or as a response to gathering snow and expected winds. Activity and busyness gave way to a quieter pace, for the moment anyway. As always, Nature is our teacher, helping us to slow down when we're not inclined to do the wise thing by choice.

Because we're an extroverted, activity-addicted culture, we have learned to devalue the more gentle, introspective, restful ways of 'yin', even though these 'yin' ways are the very source of inspiration, wellbeing, wellness, healing, vision, and Divine guidance.

So a good snowfall is most welcomed as a gentle guide, and perfectly timed as we follow Imbolc-Candlemas with the dark of the moon and then the upcoming new moon. The opportunity and invitation is to quiet down, go inward, seek insight and inspiration, and bring that renewal, insight, and inspiration into new moon intentions that become inspired-action.

Tomorrow, when the sun rises to set the snow-crystals sparkling, I'll head outside and make a snow angel. Until then, I'm luxuriating in the stillness, happy to be inside, having made a pot of soup and mugs of hot cocoa, and content to watch the snowflakes falling.

And if you're in an area where the gentle Snow Guide hasn't visited? You'll have to tap into the magic, make pretend, and move with the rhythm of the moon.

Blessings on the Way,

Jamie