Mindful Spring: Engaging the Senses for Happiness
As spring emerges, it brings a beautiful contrast to the lingering darkness of winter. Even though there may be chaos and disruption in the world, spring reminds us hope comes with change. The days grow warmer and longer, inviting us to step outside and engage with the vibrant world around us. This season of growth reminds us to cultivate mindfulness in our daily lives.
Fall and Challenges
Fall is here in the Northern hemisphere and the bright colors, cooler days, and abundant harvest bring joy to our hearts and spirits. In the Southern hemisphere spring is approaching with warmer days and buds emerging from their winter sleep. Sink into the beauty around you as the seasons change
Many of us feel the distress of the chaos still taking place in the world. From the devastation of the hurricanes in the US, the divisiveness of the political campaigns, and the escalating conflict in the Middle East, sometimes it can feel as if turmoil is the norm. It is difficult to focus on the beauty around us, the love and support in our lives, and the strength and resilience we each hold within while such pain exists in the world.
Embrace the Change of Spring and Transform
Spring continues to flow in the Northern hemisphere while the Southern moves into autumn. With every change of season, Mother Nature shifts her energy, and our bodies respond.
Every season gradually changes from one to the next. So too, do we experience physical, emotional, and mental change as the seasons shift.
Emerging from Winter Blues into Spring Sunshine
‘Winter blues’ is a common expression because of the depression sometimes associated with reduced light known as Seasonal Affect Disorder (SAD). The lower level of natural sunlight can cause the reduction in serotonin levels, a neurotransmitter that regulates mood; changes in melatonin, a hormone associated with both mood and sleep; and disruptions in the body’s circadian rhythms which regulate sleep-wake cycles.
Other losses often occur in winter. The holidays create stress sometimes causing couples to decide to part at the end of the year. Job cuts frequently are made at year’s end because businesses look to improve their bottom line. Grief is part of these losses too. These changes disrupt the status quo and force us to adapt to a new reality.
However, grief and pain pass too. Spring is the time to embrace the renewal and hope this season brings. With each new day, we have the opportunity to savor the moments of emergence and look forward to a brighter tomorrow.
Trust
The true basis for trust lies in the Divine (Creator, Source, Spirit, God, All That Is). Often, we were told or shown the world is dangerous, insecure, and hostile. Western culture adopted the 19th-century Darwinian notion of survival of the fittest based on the theory that everything in nature is in competition for resources and only the strongest and most adaptable prevail.
The Darwinian approach led to the idea that humans are inherently bad. “Human beings, we’re taught, are by nature selfish and governed primarily by self-interest. From Machiavelli to Hobbes, Freud to Pinker, the roots of this belief have sunk deep into Western thought.” Humankind: A Hopeful History, by Rutger Bregman and Erica Moore (2020). This theory is challenged by archeological, anthropological, and social science. Humankind proves that we are hardwired for kindness, geared toward cooperation rather than competition, and more inclined to trust rather than distrust one another. This instinct has a firm evolutionary basis going back to the beginning of Homo sapiens according to Bregman. This recent development is further supported in Nurturing Our Humanity, by Riane Eisler and Douglas P. Fry (2019) where their research discovered that partnership-based societies thrive and are less damaging than the domination model in which we now live. If we believe we can trust in the inherent nature of humans to be trustworthy and supportive, we can relax and look for the good surrounding us.
Spring into Action
Easter, Earth Day, and the Equinox have passed. Spring has arrived in the Northern Hemisphere and Autumn is on its way in the Southern. The change of seasons indicates the next chapter in the year’s movement around the sun. In other eras, the new year began with the...
The Energy of Transformation
You haven’t heard from me for a while. This has been a busy late winter/early spring. I moved into my new home and am settling into a new city and community. I am loving my new place and Gigi is adapting well too. In January, I contracted Covid for the second time....
When Holiday Plans Go Awry
Have you ever noticed that with the carefullest of preparation and attention, things don’t go quite as planned? The dinner isn’t done on time, guests fail to appear (for the best of reasons, of course), the presents don’t arrive in the mail, the weather turns bad, or the children get sick. Isn’t this a continuation of what has happened this year? You probably are familiar with the Yiddish proverb, “Make plans. God Laughs.”
If you have been having a challenging season, you are not alone. Most of the people I know have been having difficulties completing projects, scheduling events, getting over illnesses, or in general been stymied in having things flowing easily.
Calling in Your Ancestors
October is the month we honor our ancestors.
Our ancestors still exist and care about us after they have crossed over to the other side. With my work over the last 20+ years, I know our ancestors love us and want us to be happy, healthy, and abundant. Ancestors delight in connecting to their descendants and passing on the wisdom of their extended lives on earth and the perspective they have gained from the other side. The only block to getting love and support from all your ancestors is the belief that they aren’t available to you.
Harvesting Radical Change
August’s Full Moon is the Harvest Moon. The end of summer is in sight with the ripening of the spring planting. What are you harvesting as summer ends?
This is the time of radical change in the world. The past two years saw a withdrawal from everyday life with the shutdowns and isolation of the Covid pandemic. Although not totally over and with the spread of the monkey flu, life began to return to normal. Now the world is once again in flux with economic shifts, the conflict in Ukraine, continuing global warming, and looming energy shortages.
Now the transformation is illuminating and creating new outcomes. …
