Winter Solstice 2017 “I AM Symposium”

Hi!

Welcome back to The Hoot.

First up, I’m excited to announce that I was once again invited by my good friend, Renee Baribeau, to participate in another I AM Symposium – this year’s “Winter Solstice Gathering 2017.”

Join me, along with 24 other wisdom-keepers, at a virtual fire where we will share a plethora of unique ideas on life, creativity, passion, intuition, ceremony, spirituality, Nature, and other perspectives and strategies that will not only take us through the darkness of the shortest days of the year but will lead us into 2018 with the “wind at our backs.”

Speaking of winds…

I’m beyond excited to announce the imminent publication, by Hay House, Inc., of Renee’s groundbreaking new book, Winds of Spirit. (Available for pre-order now.) 

Renee has extensively researched humanity’s relationship with the “breath of life,” and has compiled a comprehensive pantheon of Wind-Spirits from all over the world, providing us with long-forgotten historical and mythological references and background. These Beings are boldly stepping forward to be of service to all of us in navigating our lives, and Renee has proved to be a faithful and relentlessly disciplined scribe for their messages.

My message, as usual, is the value of cultivating our ability to truly LISTEN – to ourselves, to each other, to Mother Nature, to unseen guidance, to our SOULS.  My particular talk will be airing on Saturday, December 23rd at 1:00 p.m. EST. Register here and you’ll receive a link in your mailbox every morning.

Indeed, as Spirit always seems to challenge me to “walk my talk,” (and listen to my guidance) I’ve now added an Events page to my website where you can find a description of my Listening Retreats and a schedule of retreat weekends I’m offering in 2018.

If none of these are a good fit for you, check back in January (and periodically after that!) to see if I’ve added more weekends, probably at other venues.

The reason I’m now advertising my Listening Retreats on my website is because I’m getting the message from so many sources that learning and actively practicing what I call Sacred Listening has the potential to be a tremendously healing tool for ourselves, our families and friends, and our world.

I know, it sounds easy. Too easy, in fact, for it to actually make a difference in anyone’s life, much less “the world.” But I’ve seen and felt first-hand how rare it is for any of us to have the experience of Sacred Listening touch our lives.

So, once again, I invite you to join us “by the fire” for 16 days of the completely free Winter Solstice Gathering 2017 I AM Symposium, beginning this Thursday, December 21st, 2017 to LISTEN to nuggets of wisdom, tidbits of joy, snippets of insight, and seeds of inspiration from cool people who have lots to share.

Again, my particular talk will be airing on Saturday, December 23rd at 1:00 p.m. EST.

Most of the interviews are 30 minutes long, and most days feature the release of two speakers’ presentations, which you can listen to at any time during the day they’re released, as well as for two days thereafter. Give yourself the gift of an hour a day during this busy, yet begging-for-introspection time of year.

You’re worth it. And so are the messages you’ll hear!

“Welcome, Sun!” – Point of Reflection # 9 – The Sirian Starseed Tarot

Happy Winter Solstice! Welcome to a New Era!

Today is the beginning of another 5,125 year cycle in the Mayan Calendar, as well as the beginning of another 26,000 year cycle.

On a more personal level, today marks the day of the "sun standing still" (solstice), signifying the moment in our annual solar cycle when the days stop becoming shorter, stop giving way to more and more darkness, and we simply "rest." Tomorrow, our days will resume their never-ending, cyclic journey, this time moving toward the light, allowing for more and more warmth and energy to be available to us, nourishing and coaxing the seeds of our dreams and intentions to sprout and become manifest.

The deck I chose to use for today’s Point of Reflection is The Sirian Starseed Tarot by Patricia Cori. This is a new deck, only published in 2012. I’ve not worked with it much, but it felt right to use today.

Starseed

And the card I chose to begin this new season?

Chariot

VII – The Chariot

Some excerpts from the interpretation provided by the author:

"…Who is this charioteer, and what is he racing toward?…

Many are we who have come into body at this time as true spirit warriors, and the road can be treacherous. Darkness and light pull at the reins of our being as we race ahead, learning that it is our focused mind and intention that harness the forces driving us forward.

Lord Kirshna holds the reins, representing the proper use of the focused mind to train and master the sense. It reminds (us) that when we connect to our higher mind, with clarity of intent and purpose, we move forward in the light of Divine Guidance. Our personal Krishna harnesses the forces that pull at the reins of our lives, darkness and light, and moves the chariot forward, always seeking resolution to the polarity of opposing forces – our own darkness and light, our demons, and our divinity.

The chariot is the body vehicle, through which mind, sirit, and form are manifest. The horses represent the sensate tools and our own physical power that we utilize inour journey through life. The reins in the hands of Lord Krishna are the depiction of right mind, which direct the senses to move us forward. He reminds us that we are not alone in this mission of life and that we do always have Diving Guidance in our race toward our goals.

Words associated with The Chariot are focused intent, determination, goal orientation, achievement, ambition, victory. To the querent it says:

"Go forward now and harness your desire with the higher consciousness you always can access."…" (emphasis added)
 © 2012 by Patricia Cori. Tarot card art © 2012 by Patricia Cori and Alysa Bartha.

Safe Travels and "Joyous Solstice!"

I couldn’t have asked for a more appropriate image to mark this "ending," which is, of course, a new beginning on the journey to our "becoming." We all need a chariot to take us where we’re going.

My hope is that in joining me on this quest you’ve discovered some new and different means of accessing your own inner guidance and wisdom. I also hope you’ve allowed yourself to rediscover the joy of play and the sense of renewal and rejuvenation that comes when we give ourselves just a little bit of time (and more importantly, internal permission) to "indulge" in self-reflection.

Thank you, too, for allowing me to share with you the magic of that which lies just beyond…

“T minus 9” – Point of Reflection #1: Medicine Cards

 

Medicine Cards

The first point of self-reflection I’m offering for your consideration focuses on the use of Medicine Cards by Jamie Sams and David Carson (affiliate link).

These cards are a staple in my life. As I’ve written many times over the years, in a variety of venues, it is an extremely rare day that goes by that Karl and I don’t “pick a card” on our day as we sit and have coffee together each morning.

I sat quietly this evening, centered myself, and asked Spirit for guidance for myself and whomever chooses to embark upon this journey with me: “The 9 Days of (Winter) Solstice.” Planting my feet firmly on the floor in front of me, I asked what card would be the perfect start for us in this time of Connection, Celebration, Reflection, and Contemplation.

The card I chose? Grouse.

Grouse

To me, the choice is a lovely one. I urge you to read the full text of Grouse provided above, and consider what Spirit is telling each one of us.

Could it be that we are precisely at the beginning of a nine day Vision Quest (without, luckily for us, the requirement of fasting)? The symbol of the spiral, which is associated with Grouse Medicine, is a metaphor for the very human endeavor of going within in order to gain personal power and enlightenment.

If that is not an “invitation to the dance,” an encouragement for all of us to make a commitment to ourselves to engage in at least half an hour of internal reflection per day over the next nine days, I don’t know what is.

Read the card. Allow it to speak to you. Let it form a basis for some reflection tonight – and tomorrow – (until I post the next Point of Reflection!). Perhaps this is a message giving you a strategy (movement) for connecting to what’s important. Maybe taking a walk outside and really paying attention to nature would help your process. Use your imagination. Listen.

The Nine Days of Solstice – Points of Self-Reflection

You’d have to live under a rock not to have at least some awareness of the significance, real or imagined, of Winter Solstice 2012. Among other things, December 21, 2012, marks the end of the Mayan “Long Count” Calendar, and as the Mayan Calendar is based upon complex astronomical calculations, it signifies an alignment of planets, our sun, and other heavenly bodies with the actual center of our galaxy, referred to as the Grand Galactic Alignment.

The “end” of the Mayan Calendar is not the only “big event” scheduled for 12/21/12, which is probably why so much attention is being paid to this date. Almost every indigenous culture that has passed down prophecies through the millenia are expecting something major to occur at this moment in time. December 21, 2012 is also the culmination of a major Hopi prophecy, as well as the next anticipated “Pachakuti” of the Q’ero people, the descendants of indigenous Peruvians who pre-date the Incas.

Although I have studied a number of indigenous shamanic traditions, the lineage of the Q’ero is the one with which I am most intimately familiar. I am far from an expert in Q’ero prophecy or tradition and do not claim to be one. However, I resonate with the traditions of the Q’ero, and I am honored to be initiated into the lineage of mesa-carriers, which enables me to work in service with Spirit through the auspices of the techniques and ceremonies taught to me by Q’ero wisdom-keepers, known as “Paqos.” Essentially, their teachings are that we are evolving – within our generation – to becoming a new expression of human, one that resonates to a higher vibration.

The Q’ero Suggestion for These Times

With so many indigenous cultures considering this to be a time of great import, my thought is: Why not remain aware and be open to the possibilities? Why not engage in a little preparation? To that end, I’d like to share a message one such Paqo, Dennis Alejo, has brought from the elder Paqos who continue to reside in the highest reaches of the Andes, the altoplano, of Peru. Essentially, they’ve stated that 12/12/12 (yes, yesterday), was to be regarded as a very special day, one that marked the beginning of the end of our preparations for “the new time to come” on 12/21/12. It was a day to return to ourselves, get quiet, go deep within, and connect to the beauty of the Universe. It also was (and continues to be) a time to release our fears from the past, those we carry around with us from one day, one month, one year to the next, as well as our fears for the future.

The Paqos encourage us to make wise use of the next nine days to make important final preparations for the arrival of whatever energies are coming our way on December 21, 2012. They specifically entreat us to focus upon and engage in the following:

– Connect with our own unique gifts, those abilities, “big” or “small,” that we bring to our families, communities, friends, customers, and clients, that make us precious;

– Celebrate all that we have to give of ourselves, and recognize these gifts as our purpose for being here on Earth at this time;

– Reflect on who we are (to ourselves, to others), and accept whatever Life is presenting to us, including the changes necessitated by these times;

– Contemplate the “bigger” questions that we often flirt with but usually avoid:

– Why am I here?
– What are my goals (or put another way, what would I regret not pursuing or accomplishing the most if my time here on Earth was complete)?
– What, if anything, do I need to change – right now – to be more in alignment with my heart’s desire?
– What can I do to strengthen my connection to Source and most effectively be my greatest self?

My Invitation to YOU

The purpose of this post is to invite you to engage in this self-reflection with me. Let’s do it together. Sometimes it’s hard to know where to start, or even have a frame of reference within which to begin.

So I thought I’d bring together a collection of various “divination” or “guidance tools” for us to use each day. I’ve used all of these tools at one time or another, some of them ending up being more my favorites than others. By introducing you to a different tool each day, maybe you will resonate with one or more and decide to use them on a more consistent basis…on December 22nd – when we face a whole “new” world – together!

You in? If so, watch for the first Point of Reflection, which I will post shortly. Yes, we’re playing a little bit of catch-up, with only this evening to reflect upon the first Point. I figure it takes the pressure off of all of us to be perfect.

Look for my next post, and above all, don’t be taken in by all the doomsday baloney!