action & reflection

The full moon embodies self-expression and action. When the moon and sun are in opposition, Helios is so far away from Luna that the full face of our nightly companion is lit up. Perhaps distance does make the heart grow fonder.

We have traveled far, and now is the time to rest, and look back on our accomplishments, or at what we have left behind, as the case may be. Our emotions and our physical body are heightened during this phase of the Moon.

Listen to the needs of body and mind - opposing energy of the Sun (ego, self) and the Moon (inner-self, subconscious) can cause tension - explosions of emotions. Create rituals that reflect and manifest this.

"equinox" comes from the Latin for "equal" & "night"

ecstatic oneness within

Starting another Shift Network course with Sandra Ingerman - Shamanic Journeys Into Nature - continues to deepen my own learning and teaching experience. 

Winter Morning in Yellowstone National Park (U.S.), Tom Murphy

Disconnected from our own true nature, we learn how to turn off external distraction and disturbance, turning inward and centering our being to get back in tune with our natural flow and the cycles of nature and the earth. 

Shift Network announcement

Our first week we learned how much the land nurtures and protects us.

• our connection to the web of life and our true place in nature
• changes to make and be in greater harmony with nature
• a ceremony to bond with the land where we live on
• a shamanic journey to learn what it means to be a nature being
• Honorable Closure, a ritual to dissolve unhealthy energetic ties

I offer you this healing music and video to leave you with the sense of expansiveness this work brings. 

Native American ancestral chants

advent season

Many of us are looking forward to the end of this challenging year of horror. Even with the virus still raging out of control we find ourselves more hopeful with the advent of the holidays. 

This time last year few of us were aware or alerted to the news of COVID-19. None of us ever foresaw how far and deep the devastation would affect us all around the world. Yet as our world crumbled around us many resorted to more inspired ways of being.

homey Advent candles

Much as we love the holidays, Christmas tends to lose its magic and charm as we grow older. Participating in Advent may bring back that awe and wonder our younger selves enjoyed so well. 

The rituals and traditions associated with Advent are both ancient and fluid. Churches have observed Advent for centuries, but each congregation and individual may participate in different ways.

Many light candles each Sunday, telling a different part of the Christmas story leading up to Christ’s birth.

Isaiah 9:2

Advent is a gift. A time to behold the wonders of this expectant time of year. Embracing the themes of hope, joy and preparation we feel God more tangibly in his message of love and salvation and the birth of Christ.

Advent invites us to slow down and enjoy the hope and miracle that each day of life brings us. Instead of overeating, traveling, stockpiling — we fill our deepest interior with a holy presence.

We reset our internal watch to God’s time. We listen to the divine within instead of the constant barrage of buy, buy, buy.

Hope springs eternal in us

Honoring this time reminds us of the lessons in waiting, the joy in anticipation, the pricelessness of hope.