peace

Ides of March – ND #96

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Et tu, Brute? – Photo: L. Weikel

Ides of March

We’re starting a new week. I wonder what’s in store for us, collectively, as the week begins with the Ides of March? (Well, technically the Ides are on Tuesday, but close enough.) And then, only three days later, the moon reaches her fullness – bringing who knows what to completion and conclusion? And then, one day after that, the Spring Equinox.

That’s the thing about time – it just keeps on keeping on. Sometimes it feels like it’s whizzing by and other times it feels like we’re in an inescapable slog through quicksand. It’s even deceptive in the sense that it may feel like we’re living in an interminable, static loop and then suddenly, we look around and realize everything has changed.

It feels like the coming week could be one of those. One that feels like nothing is changing and yet when we reach its end, we’ll look back and realize everything has.

A Guide for the Week

Given that this week holds the potential for a lot of upheaval and change, I thought I’d choose a card for us to have as a guide to what’s in store as the week unfolds. No matter what happens, perhaps this card – and its foundation – can help us make sense of the chaos.

The deck I decided to pull from is The Naked Heart Tarot* by Jillian C. Wilde.

Two of Swords – Naked Heart Tarot* – (c) Jillian C. Wilde

Main Card: Two of Swords ~ “Inner Struggle”

“Two swords are tied up with an anchor, suggesting that in order to move forward, you need to make a decision that may be weighing heavily upon you.

The Message:  The Two of Swords represents a time when you are battling with a decision on how to best move forward. You feel so anchored by the weight of a choice or point of view that it slowly pulls you down, and keeps you stuck. You may feel roped to an internal struggle between your head and your heart, not knowing which has your best interest in mind. Your heart may already know what to do, but you are feeling unable to let your guard down and commit without having all the information needed to make a comfortable decision. Sometimes, a choice just needs to be made, and it takes a leap of faith. No matter how hard or painful the choice is, you must make it. Once it is made, you must anchor yourself to the choice. It is the only way to move forward with peace and a new beginning. Ultimately you can make no wrong decision. Under the guidance of the Universe, you will always be nudged back to where you belong.”

Ten of Swords – Naked Heart Tarot* – (c) Jillian C. Wilde

Foundation Card (Underneath): Ten of Swords ~ “Resolve and Release”

“The rat lies on its side as ten swords are driven down from above piercing its spirit, hinting that the end is near.

The Message: The Ten of Swords represents a time of completion when a much-needed ending to a conversation, idea or discussion is necessary. You’ve already been through every detail, argument, theory, and solution there is to offer, and now you are starting to cycle through them again. Rat energy reminds you that it is time to purge old ways and victim mentality, release the clutter and the story attached to the situation, so you can allow room for new beginnings. Going back through it and over it all will not bring you any closer to resolution. It is time to get to the heart of the wound, and cut out the drama, and bring things to completion. Time to release and let it go. Agree to disagree or just bury it in the past, so at this stage, you can more forward. You may feel a sense of resistance or sadness as you go through the process, but it is also an opportunity to reflect upon valuable insights. All is not lost, it is a chance to drop the weight of the mental baggage that has cut so deeply into you, give it to the Universe and let it go. The worst is over.”

My Take

These cards almost certainly have application in one form or another to our own individual lives and circumstances, since we’re each a microcosm of the macrocosm (living out those adages “as above, so below” and “as within so without”). But the broader implication, the prospect of even weightier decisions becoming necessary regarding global circumstances, is obvious.

It seems to me that the longer we postpone making the choices we fear (but which inevitably must be made), the anchor only becomes heavier.

The hope I see in these cards (and there is some) is the prospect for peace in the top card – and the realization that the worst is over in the foundation card. But for the worst to be over, the difficult choice must be made.

Let’s hold in our hearts a vision that the ‘powers that be’ make the highest and best choice for all of us, individually, nationally, and culturally, for humanity, the Earth, and all Her children. We just might be at that place in our evolution.

*affiliate link

(T+96)

A Stunning Sight – ND #94

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Peace Eagle (Turkey Vulture) Greeting the Morning Sun – Photo: L. Weikel

A Stunning Sight

Looking out both my bedroom and office windows this morning, this was the vision that greeted me. It was a stunning sight.

While I’m feeling a bit of foreboding over what may unfold in Ukraine over the weekend, I have to admit that the appearance of this magnificent bird, wings upraised in the morning sun, felt like a symbol of hope.

Vultures are associated with life and death, those liminal states that mark our passages between one reality and another. They’re also experts on cleaning up the environment: these raptors perform the unenviable job of eating the dead. They clear out the remains of those no longer living, thereby making room for the new to be born.

On a Cusp

It feels like the world as we know it is approaching a cusp, a choice point between what’s gone before and what may or may not be our future. I know with absolute assurance that I’m not the only one feeling the weighty nature of this point in time.

I happen to love vultures and was even taught many years ago by a Metis teacher of ours to call them Peace Eagles instead of vultures. We raised our boys to call vultures Peace Eagles. And yet it wasn’t until this very moment as I sit here writing this post that I’m fully comprehending the message of PEACE I received this morning.

Cleanse and Imagine

I’ll gratefully accept that message. But if I’m honest with myself, deep down in my heart I know there will be treachery and brutality in the near term before any such peace comes to pass.

Ah, but there’s also a reason why the feathers of vulture – and its big brother, Condor – are often used to cleanse the energy fields of people and places, especially before ceremony. Those feathers scoop out and sweep away heavy energies that no longer (or never) served the highest good. They also are said to aid in the release of the souls of the dead and disconnect us from attachments to malignant energies.

Perhaps when we think about Ukraine we can imagine a massive Peace Eagle soaring high above the insanity and cruelty, flapping its powerful wings to disperse the toxicity being inflicted upon it into the ethers.

It’s a thought. It’s a strategy to distract our imaginations away from the horrors of war toward creatively envisioning a future of peace, calm, and freedom instead.

Sacred Tool: Feather of a Peace Eagle – Photo: L. Weikel

(T+94)

Catch My Breath – Day 682

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Tohickon – Near and Far – Photo: L. Weikel

Catch My Breath

I had to stop at my sanctuary today. As so many of you know, Tohickon Creek is one of my primary sources of healing and solace. I feel love within its flow. My heart knows peace when I allow my eyes to drink in her yielding ripples. So in spite of the myriad obligations on my ‘to do’ list today, I physically took myself to this font of life in order to catch my breath.

The daily onslaught never ceases. We’re bombarded with outrageous conduct and insane accusations about institutions that we know are safe, reliable, and trustworthy. We’re gaslit and fear-stoked relentlessly in a cynical attempt to delegitimize our trust in the foundations of our society so that – finally admitted to out loud today – he can simply ‘remain’ in power.

Tohickon – ripples – Photo: L. Weikel

Here It Is

In case you missed it, if you want to know what the Trump Republican game plan actually is this election season, you must read this article. Everyone needs to read this article because we must hunker down now and prepare a game plan. Proceeding as if this is anything close to a normal year and a normal election cycle is utterly insane and irresponsible.

Everything is at stake.

Meanwhile, Breonna Taylor is treated as if she never existed or, perhaps more accurately, her life didn’t matter. At all. As I saw one person put it, the grand jury in Louisville valued the drywall of her neighbors more than Breonna’s very life.

But as I mentioned in my post the other day, it is essential that we take care of ourselves and prepare. If the way I felt today – and the way I think I saw so many of the people I love and care about (I’m looking at all of you, in one way or another) feeling today – is any indication, we must redouble our efforts to feed our souls.

Now is the time for us to do whatever it is that brings us peace. And no, I don’t mean numbing ourselves, tempting as that may be. Because that stresses our bodies. Numbing ourselves ultimately breaks down our immune systems – and let’s face it, we need to be beefing those babies up. Why? Because WINTER IS COMING – in every sense of that phrase.

Until you can get yourself to your version of my Tohickon, I share these photos with you. Drink them in. Let them nourish and sustain your soul.

We need to stay alert, pay attention, but most importantly, take care of ourselves and each other.

Tohickon – Peaceful Reflection – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-429)

Evening Stroll – Day 602

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Fawns and Moms – Photo: L. Weikel

Evening Stroll

It sure was hot today. While I spent the majority of the day sitting outside on our porch writing on my laptop, I nevertheless found the heat oppressive. And I have to admit, as the day wore on and the heat seemed only to bake itself in, I despaired of managing even an evening stroll.

At one point, Karl came outside, either awed or disgusted by the fact that I was (in his opinion) torturing myself by working on the porch, to give me an update on the projected hourly temperatures for the rest of the day and evening. Upon the completion of his recitation, I just looked at him. “Your point?” I asked when he didn’t seem to get the intent behind my baleful stare.

“Guess we’re not going to walk again today,” he stated. “I don’t know how you can even stand sitting out here. It’s barely going to cool down at all – unless we wait to walk around midnight.”

I snorted at that. While I might be game for a midnight walk, we both knew he’d be fast asleep long before that witching hour.

It’s All Relative

A few hours later, I was putting two containers of freshly made potato salad and a big bowl of watermelon salad into the refrigerator, the vast majority of my meal preparation for the week completed. While it was admittedly hot work, Karl’s earlier provision of a weather advisory had tipped me off that the next several days look pretty uniformly oppressive.

I wanted both salads to chill in the refrigerator a while, so I lobbied for at least a quick stop sign for Sheila’s constitutional. (Karl will do almost anything for his little girl.) The sun was setting and even though the temperature hadn’t dropped dramatically, it did feel like a walk might be bearable now that the sun was no longer boring down on us.

A quick trip to the stop sign with Sheila not only yielded results for her, but also confirmed for us that it’s all relative: the setting of the sun actually made an evening stroll enticing, despite the fact that the actual air temperature was only about ten degrees lower than it was all afternoon.

So we managed to get a two mile walk-around under our belts (after taking Sheila back to the house). Wow, did we need it; the weather the prior two days had been either too oppressive or too wet to walk. A third day of no walking would’ve been ugly.

A Lovely Calm

Not only did we see two does and two fawns romping in a field, we were also treated to an evening without crackles and booms. Instead, we heard crickets and a catbird chattering its song, a breeze (albeit a warm one) shushing leaves high in the treetops.

I can’t say I’m not still waiting for that other shoe to drop. But for an hour or so this evening, peace and calm were the order of the day. May it extend into the week for all of us.

(T-509)

Peace – Day 582

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Peace – Mystic Art Medicine Cards by Cher Lyn

Peace

This evening, I got out the set of oracle cards I wrote about some time ago, Mystic Art Medicine Oracle Cards, by Cher Lyn. I asked for a message or a concept that we would benefit from contemplating and reflecting upon this week, as we approach the solstice and solar eclipse. The card that presented itself for us is Peace.

We all have our ideas of what “Peace” means. The obviousness of how beneficial it could be for all of us to be holding this concept in our minds this week is inescapable. But I want to share with you the uncanny words that the author wrote to accompany this card. Her words are, in my opinion, even more essential to contemplate than the image.

Peace – “Mother Mary”

(…)

In the aftermath of a war zone, its devastating effect brings to mind one question: What could have been so important to cause such violence and bloodshed? Everyone’s soul wants Peace, everyone wants love; so what’s the problem? The minds of our civilized culture are programmed with dysfunctional information. Beginning at birth you undergo cultural programming, indoctrination and subtle brainwashing. Your mind has been the domain of your parents, teachers, and preachers; you’ve given rights over to psychics, authors, and television politicians to mention a few. In other words, you’ve allowed others to think for you, without thinking.

Be cognizant, protesting for Peace while unleashing force will most likely create more anger, more war. Everyone around you has emotional wounds. You can’t fix anyone else. Your responsibility and power is within to change ‘you’ and only you. Transform that which is in you. Release attempts to solve, as judge and jury, the anger of the world. The only functioning place to truly propagate Peace is within your conscious mind and open heart.

(…)

The beloved Mother Mary is here, full of compassion and understanding. Whatever it is you are seeking, for all that you need ask the Mother. Allow inner Peace and receive.”

Worthy Goal

Given everything we are witnessing at the moment, I was moved by not only the serenity of the image but especially the uncanny applicability of Cher Lyn’s words at this specific time in our lives – and the life of our nation.

No matter what else we do this week, it feels wise and worthy to contemplate our own inner transformation – to allow inner Peace and receive.

(T-529)

Global Meditation – Day 508

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Photo: L. Weikel

Global Meditation

The other day I mentioned the Biodiversity Project I participate in every 1st day of the month. It’s a simple activity that uses only 10 drops of something called Essence of Perelandra and calls upon Nature to use those drops and the power of intention to come into a state of balance vis-à-vis climate change.

I want everyone to know that I do not gain a single thing by suggesting you join me in this endeavor. I don’t receive any recognition or remuneration from Perelandra. (They don’t even know I am promoting them and their products.) The only reason I encourage you to check out their website, the gardens, their operation as a whole, and how it got started is because I find it fascinating, supportive of my own health, deeply ecologically sound, and respectful of Mother Earth and Nature.

I suggested you take the five minutes to engage in the Biodiversity Project because it is something tangible that we can all do to make a difference.

Saturday, April 4th, 2020

Which leads me to another activity that you can choose to embrace: a global meditation this Saturday, April 4th. The aim of the organizers is to have 1 million people sitting quietly and focusing their attention on and “anchor in the energies of Peace, Harmony, Abundance, Freedom, Healing, and the most positive Ascension Timeline imaginable.”

Lofty, but certainly admirable, energies to be welcoming into our collective imagination and consciousness.

The organizers are requesting that we engage in this group meditation at exactly the same time around the globe, specifically, 10:45 p.m. EST for 20 minutes. As I’m typing this, it occurs to me that they almost certainly mean DST, and simply didn’t realize that by April 4th Daylight Savings Time would’ve kicked in.

There are specific instructions which you can find here. My intention, however, will be simply to focus on those qualities I listed above manifesting here on Earth for the highest good of Mother Earth and all her children, including us (humanity).

I want to be clear: I do not necessarily ascribe to some of the concepts put forth by the organizers of this event. Indeed, some of what is written seems a bit ‘out there’ and conspiratorial for my taste. As always, I suggest you use your discernment.

But the idea of getting as many people as possible to quiet their minds and focus their intentions on raising their consciousness, calling forth those qualities of Peace, Harmony, Abundance, Freedom, and Healing, feels useful, hopeful, and potentially quite powerful. Hence, I don’t think we should ‘throw the baby out with the bathwater.’

I remember when Karl and I participated in the “Harmonic Convergence,” a similar world-wide consciousness raising gathering back in 1987. The celestial event that prompted that global effort took place during the daytime here in Pennsylvania and I remember we sat outside in the sun on the towpath beside the Delaware River.

At 10:45 p.m. this Saturday evening, when Pluto and Jupiter ‘conjunct,’ I will be tucked inside my home, giving Mother Earth and all of us who live upon her 20 minutes of my own peace of mind, focus, love, and attention.

I’ll give it a chance – who knows what the power of potentially a million others with the same intention can do to effect change? It’s worth a try.

(T-603)