mothers day 2022

LOVE our Mother - #wonderwanderwomen celebrate motherhood, maternity, maternal bonds and the influence of mothers.

On Mother's Day we honor the mother of all mothers - Earth Mother, Goddess Gaia, Mother of God. 

In a changed and challenged world with our human footprint too heavily trodding upon a diminished world - we watch in awe and wonder as Mother Nature blazes in glory no matter what. 

brazos de mi madre - Porfirio Jimenez, 2014

Happy Mothers Day to all our nurturers and matriarchs throughout the ages. Women of substance all - each a powerful radiant queen reigning over her kingdom. 

Easter origins

What means the term Easter itself? It is not a Christian name. It bears its Chaldean origin on its very forehead. Easter is nothing else than Astarte, one of the titles of Beltis, the queen of heaven, whose name, as pronounced by the people of Ninevah, was evidently identical with that now in common use in this country. This name as found by Layard on the Assyrian monuments, is Ishtar. ~ Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons

Venus, Mars & Cupid, Piero di Cosimo

The concept of Ēostre or Ostara has had a strong influence on European culture since the 19th century - as reconstructed by Jacob Grimm and Adolf Holtzmann - from many fanciful legends and associations growing up around the figure of the goddess in popular speculations of these early folklorists.

A holiday named for the goddess is part of the neopagan Wiccan Wheel of the Year (Ostara, 21 March). In some forms of Germanic neopaganism, Ēostre is venerated as well and has been popularized again in current practice.

christ consciousness

Jesus was chosen and volunteered to carry out a multi-faceted mission, in tandem with Mother Mary. Both were perfect examples of utter obedience to God or the GodSelf.

They knew the Christ within, and they lived by what they received from it. When a person is doing that or even trying to, they are opening to the Christ Consciousness.

In Edgar Cayce's perspective [reading 849-11], Jesus is the Elder brother for all of humankind, deeply committed to assisting all souls in reawakening to the awareness of their oneness with God. This Jesus is not interested in religious conversion, denominationalism, or even mighty personal accomplishments.

He is simply interested in how we treat one another. With this in mind, even in the midst of our diversity as a human family, we share a common spiritual heritage. We are all Children of the same God. We are all part of the one spiritual Source. We are all destined to return to our Creator, our Mother/Father, our God/Source.

pre Holy Week celebration

As Fulton Sheen put it in his The Life of Christ, Jesus Christ was the only person whose birth and death were preannounced. He was the one person brought into the world to die. It is in the Garden of Gethsemane, the dark pivot point between the hosannas of Palm Sunday and the sorrows of Good Friday, that Christ in agony accepts that difficult fate - the will of the Father, “Thy will be done.” 

Holy Week reminds Christians and non-Christians to pay attention to the world of Jesus’ “Way of the Cross.” It began in triumph on Palm Sunday, followed quickly by hideous injustice, and concluded in glory - the resurrection. That victorious ending confirms there is hope for all, even now. 

Christ Consciousness is the state of awareness of our true nature, our higher self. It is our birthright as children of God.  Christ Consciousness is our living expression as children of Spirit - revealing and sharing our own divine life plans to manifest upon the earth plane to build heaven on earth. 

Living in the reality of our Christed Self is being fully alive and invested in who we truly are. As manifest inspiration for others to seek this for themselves - we can collectively move our planet forward into the divine plan for planetary transformation and glory. 

William Penn quote

The highest state of intellectual development and emotional maturity is sometimes termed the Christed state because it represents the sacredness and purity of the individual who has achieved it - human made divine.

Jesus achieved this in his human life and was given this term as part of his name, Jesus the Christ - in recognition attaining this spiritual status. 

This path is open to anyone regardless of their religious tradition or belief - if and when we are open to become a living vessel of love, truth, and goodness on the planet - actively striving to attain it.

A blessed week to us all.

divine spark

The Spring Equinox heralds the beginning of the new year, as the Sun moves above the equator once again, bringing more light and warmth here in the northern hemisphere.

March is when passion and energy bring focus to our new plans for the year.

As more sunshine warms us all up, sap once again flows with life - stimulating growth in nature. So too our Mars nature answers within - we are purified and release the past.

With the uprush of male energy, we turn outward to express and manifest. Let this Mars energy be more playful and creative - make love [not war], have fun, rejoice, be uplifted.

Shake off dormant drudge and sludge of the winter months as light and new life return.

Collage by Nat Girsberger

The Aries New Moon arrives as we leave behind the month of March and head into April. To work with the magic of this New Moon, no matter where in the world we are - this night of March 31st and April 1st these energies are at their peak.

earth hour 2022

A worldwide movement organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the Earth Hour annual event encourages individuals, communities, and businesses to turn off all non-essential electric lights on March 27 for one hour, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. local time, to symbolize their commitment to the planet.

©Earth Hour Macedonia 2020

Earth Hour isn't just a symbolic movement - it's a catalyst for real change. Tracking major milestones and wins over the years though we believe it is too little and not enough.

It all began on Saturday, 31 March 2007. The world’s first Earth Hour in Sydney, Australia, saw more than 2.2 million people turn off their lights for one hour to show a climate-sceptic government that people were concerned about climate change. 

Last year, while still facing COVID-19 restrictions in many countries, people in a record-breaking 192 countries and territories united digitally to speak up for nature louder than ever. The first-ever Earth Hour Virtual Spotlight highlighted the connection between nature loss, climate change and the rise of pandemics.

The need for humans to do more for the earth and living things and the little that we have managed to achieve towards critical goals may feel for most like the difference between the Trump presidency and the Biden administration. 

The latter is so much better than our past four years of mayhem at the mercy of a flailing temperamental incompetent - that we may actually be lulled into believing we are improving - even if only in picayune increments, the relief is still great and real. 

Unfortunately, neither are not enough. Earth Hour may allow us to sleep better at night, deluding ourselves that we did our bit. But much like tracking our carbon footprint or recycling, they hardly chip into solving the real problem we face. 

Yes, we celebrate the effort and awareness of growing participants - kudos to many more. We still need to do so much more to turn the tide. Time for minimal and passive participation is long over. 

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"

Mahashivratri | a night of awakening

Mahashivratri is an opportunity and a possibility to bring yourself to that experience of the vast emptiness within every human being, which is the source of all creation. Shiva is also known as the destroyer. He is known as the most compassionate. Shiva is also known to be the greatest of the givers. Shiva is the primal Atman (Self) of the universe.

Lord Shiva statue at Murudeshwar

There are many both benevolent and fearsome depictions of Shiva. In benevolent aspects, he is depicted as an omniscient Yogi who lives an ascetic life on Mount Kailash as well as a householder with wife Parvati and his two children, Ganesha and Kartikeya. In his fierce aspects, he is often depicted slaying demons. Shiva is also known as Adiyogi Shiva, regarded as the patron god of yoga, meditation and arts.

classic Shiva mantra

Mahashivratri is a special night for receiving too. It is our wish and blessing that you must not pass this night without knowing at least a moment of the vastness of this emptiness that we call as Shiva. Let this night not just be a night of wakefulness, let this night be a night of awakening.

#Sadhguru #MahaShivRatri #MahaShivRatri2022

22.02.2022

Happy Twosday! February 22, 2022, i.e., 2-22-2022, is a mathematical rarity - special as well as rare.

The date boasts of being both a palindrome and an ambigram. A palindrome is a word, phrase, or sequence that reads the same backwards as forwards. An ambigram is a word that reads the same right-side-up and upside-down.

The number 2 is a portal into other realms — it is a divine number with varied meanings and portents. Angelic, biblical, spiritual, symbolic — what power does its energy hold and reveal?

self care

“And every day, the world will drag you by the hand, yelling, 'This is important! And this is important! And this is important! You need to worry about this! And this! And this!' And each day, it’s up to you to yank your hand back, put it on your heart and say, 'No. This is what’s important.'" ~ Iain Thomas #NoteToSelf

heart throb detail by David Michael Bowers

Setting boundaries is an essential step in mental health maintenance and gaining the safety, space, and respect we need. Creating our personal rules or defining limitations we prefer. Setting boundaries guide other people towards how to behave towards one another. 

We avoid harming our self-esteem when we start setting boundaries. By drawing the line, we can protect ourselves from being taken advantage of by others and ensure others meet our needs. 

Why should we be setting boundaries and how do we set them for other people - to ensure others respect our space, body, and being?

borderlands of dreams

The hypnagogic state of consciousness is the experience of the transitional state from wakefulness to 

sleep during the onset of sleep. Its opposite state - hypnopompic, is the transitional state from sleep into wakefulness. These are the borderlands of dreams - thresholds of consciousness with extreme potential and possibility.

Mental phenomena that may occur in this phase include hypnagogic hallucinations, lucid thought, lucid dreaming, and sleep paralysis. The latter two phenomena are themselves separate sleep conditions that are sometimes experienced during the hypnagogic state.

In this transitional time between the sleep self and awake self lies a precious void of self-regeneration. Threads between wakefulness and dreamtime weave into the tapestry of cognition and consciousness. 

Moth Moon © K.A.K. Lecky 2018 @arctic.selkie

Waking up, in that moment,⁠
coming from the dream world, ⁠
the real world, ⁠
to this one, ⁠
before rolling over, ⁠
before feet touch the floor,⁠
the feel of other places⁠
still swimming around me,⁠
I am in between time. ⁠
⁠
Sometimes lost, ⁠
sometimes found,⁠
leaping from one world⁠
to another,⁠
carrying in my rucksack⁠
more secrets⁠
in the hidden pouch inside,⁠
waiting⁠
for just the right moment to⁠
empty them onto the page. ⁠
⁠
~ excerpt © Elise Stuart 2018⁠