signs

Tomorrow’s Equinox – Day 1045

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They’ll Always Lead the Way – Photo: L.Weikel

Tomorrow’s Equinox

Well, when I mentioned last week that I suspected yesterday’s full moon and tomorrow’s equinox would be some powerful aspects to contend with, I guess I wasn’t messing around. And those are only the more obvious transits happening this week.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I am emotionally cooked. In spite of my hopes and exhaustion, I didn’t sleep well last night. I tossed, turned, and was acutely aware of the absence of Spartacus in/on my bed. That boy slept in the small of my back for 13 years. So stringing the words together tonight is like walking through quicksand. I keep sinking into pockets of random thoughts and then jerk awake, finding I’ve been stuck on the same sentence for twenty minutes.

I did want to mention that tomorrow (Wednesday 22 September 2021) is going to be a powerful day on a number of fronts. The most obvious is the fall equinox, which will occur at 3:21 p.m. EDT. This marks the balance between light and dark and heralds the gradual shortening of our days (in the Northern Hemisphere) and the time of harvesting (on a variety of levels). Once again, this is a powerful time to begin taking action on making the changes in our lives that are in alignment and support of our dreams. Here is a perspective you might find interesting.

Spart’s Rainbow & Heart – Photo: L. Weikel

A Chaotic Day

Besides today being the aftermath of yesterday (how’s that for profundity?!), I also had set up an appointment last week for Precious to be seen by our vet. She’s been a hot mess for a long, long time and I finally made up my mind to have her examined and tested.

This is a bigger deal than you might at first think. She’s paranoid as all get out and of course she hid under the bed in my son’s old bedroom, howling (and yes, I do mean howling) in distress that Karl and I were trying to pick her up. (She bolted upstairs as soon as I looked at her about 45 minutes before her appointment. Damn cat is too psychic for her own good.)

We managed to double team her and not only put her in a pillowcase, which is my preferred method of transporting our cats to the vet, but for good measure also put her (while still in the pillowcase) into the cat carrier.

Long story short, she acted like her hair was on fire or as though we were plotting to slowly butcher her. Once I got to the vet’s office, she actually needed to be sedated (gassed) in her carrier so the doctor (who was still feeling anguish over Spartacus) could examine her.

While we are still waiting for the blood tests to come back tomorrow (to see if she has anything else going on in her old age), it turns out she has an autoimmune disorder, eosinophilic syndrome. She received a long-acting shot of steroids that could make her feel better than she has in a very long time indeed. I hope so, because her extreme anxiety wore me out, especially after yesterday.

Spart’s Feather – Photo: L. Weikel

Walking Hurt Today

It was excruciating taking a walk today. For all the joy being out in nature brings me, it was hard to appreciate anything in the realization over and over today that Spartacus and I would never walk together again.

Surprisingly, I did witness some magic, even though I was pretty sure my perspective was too sad to do so. A rainbow dog appeared in the sky and the cloud formation beside it reminded me of a broken heart. Not in a sad way, though. It felt more like an acknowledgment from Karl and Spartacus (and Sheila) that they feel my sadness and know how much I miss them.

Further along on my walk, I found this feather.

It’s a little bit of magic that I wasn’t expecting. In my need for sleep and desire to wake up and find this was all a bad dream, I’ll gratefully accept these gifts from Spirit.

(T-66)

Major Impetus – Day 1000

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Prize for Reaching 1,000 – Photo: L. Weikel

Major Impetus

Is something magical going to descend from above and cover me like a blanket of feathers* after I hit the ‘publish’ button tonight? Will my attitude toward my 1111 Devotion – or my writing in general – undergo a transformation once I hit the 1,000 club? I ask these questions because a major impetus behind my decision to embark upon this Act of Power was a blog post I read by Seth Godin.

As the title of that particular post implies (“The first 1,000 are the most difficult”), Seth maintains that reaching the milestone of writing 1,000 blog posts can make a huge difference in how a person perceives themselves. Understandably, this shift in perception can also significantly impact how a person approaches their concept of themselves as a writer.

My Attitude

I will admit that hitting the 1,000 mark is a bit of a stunner. It’s amusing to me that 995 posts ago, I wrote an explanation how finding Seth’s post about ‘the first 1,000’ felt like a message to me. I’d asked how I could honor Karl’s life, and in particular his creativity, and this showed up in my face. The weird thing was, I hadn’t even read it when it first arrived in my email a week or two earlier. I only saw it that morning because I accidentally clicked on it in my email.

Suffice it to say, it seemed at the time that I was getting a major nudge to wake up and pay attention to what was (and wasn’t) ‘working’ in my life. And if I found my attitude or circumstances wanting, then I needed to change my story.

Celebrating 1,000

In reflecting upon the impetus behind choosing to write 1111 consecutive posts as my ‘devotional’ Act of Power, I looked up the entry in which I described how I arrived at that number. (I remembered the part about the power of 1,000.) What I forgot, though, was the appearance of the other Seth Godin post: the one that spoke of the power of changing your story.

I feel yet another change in my story approaching again. Perhaps I will plant that seed in some way tomorrow, both in honor of attaining the dramatic 1,000 mark and also to take advantage of the powerful new moon in Leo. This 8th day of August 2021 promises to be a powerful day of manifestation.

It might behoove us all to contemplate our stories. Do we wish to change them? Now might be a great time to begin.

A Prize From Above

Finally, as Spartacus and I walked this evening on the freshly macadamed road along our usual path, something beautiful caught my attention.

The way in which this feather was standing at attention in the midst of tall grasses, its shaft gently nestled amidst the new pavement was curious. I don’t know how I caught sight of it. But there it was.

I’ll take it as one of my beloved signs. I’ll trust that perhaps the time is coming to change my story yet again.

What a ‘Random’ Gift – Photo: L. Weikel

*I just realized: I DID receive a feather! Ha!

(T-111)

Evidence – Day 889

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Evidence – Photo: L. Weikel

Evidence

I remember the night after we received the call about Karl’s death. Twenty four hours after we received the news, we were attending a cross-country track team banquet. We kept our loss quiet, the three of us pretty much navigating the festivities on auto-pilot. (Our middle son was making his way home from another state where he was working his first job.) Oddly that night remained in my memory – not because of the cross-country banquet – but because of the evidence we received of a truth much bigger than ourselves that night.

I distinctly remember walking out of the church basement where the meal had been served and feeling the overwhelming beauty of the sunset practically pound me on the chest. The reds, oranges, purples, and blues all seemed to wrap themselves around me in a literal embrace of love and knowing. I felt my son’s arms around me. He was there. He was more palpably close to us in that moment than he’d been a week earlier, when he was still in his body.

The photo I took of that powerful sunset was the background on my iPhone for years from that day forward. Evidence that Karl’s essence did not die with his body.

Tonight

I’m recalling that night tonight because another family I know is encountering a similar life-altering reality – an adult son lost in a car accident.

I don’t know the details, whether he died last night or this morning, but I know that tonight was the first full day of him being ripped from the fabric of their lives. I’d been thinking about his family all day, remembering the shock of trying to wrap my head around the fact that I would never see my eldest son alive again. It doesn’t compute. It takes a while. And it makes you feel nauseated every time you try.

As we walked this afternoon and crested our favorite hill for weather and astral observations, we could clearly see rain cascading from the clouds in the distance. It felt like a metaphor – my holding space for them from afar as the rain pelted down in their lives.

Photo: L. Weikel

But about an hour later, another moment arrived. A sign, a message, a small but potentially powerful indicator that, while the pain is exquisite and they may feel they’re drowning in their loss, his spirit shines on.

It’s in times like these, of sudden shock and great loss, that we owe it to those we’ve lost to take solace in their best efforts to send us signs of their continued existence – and undying love.

Yes, we yearn for signs when tragedy strikes. But who are we to deny those who’ve departed our respect for their best efforts to reach out, make contact, and comfort us?

(T-222)

Coalescence of Messaging – Day 883

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Spartacus Sending Mind-Meld Vibes – Photo: L. Weikel

A Coalescence of Messaging

I’m experiencing a coalescence of messaging lately. At least that’s what it feels like. Two Pileated Woodpeckers and then two days later two Ospreys. Neither of these birds can be considered ‘frequent’ sightings, in spite of how much time I spend outside walking or how often I frequent the Tohickon Creek or the Delaware River.

The trick, as always, is to do my best to be open to what that message may be, which is not as easy as it might sound.

It’s one thing to be able to see patterns and read signs and omens for other people. I’ve been intuiting such messages probably all my life. In fact, for the longest time I thought these clues to life that surround people were so obvious that I wouldn’t point them out. It never occurred to me that they weren’t being ‘picked up’ by the intended recipients. Indeed, I didn’t want to insult people’s intelligence. It felt disrespectful to point out everything that seemed readily apparent to me.

Sometimes a part of me would want to say, “Well, duh! Do you need to be clonked on the head with a 2×4? It’s so obvious!” Usually, though, I would over-correct and deliberately choose to not point out what was blaring like a neon light in my mind. If it was obvious to me, surely it was obvious to them. I only saw the connections based upon information I gleaned from listening to them (be they clients, friends, or family). I was simply connecting the dots.

Forty Years

If I really think about it, it probably took me at least forty years to fully grasp that people don’t see what I see. Or they don’t connect stuff that happens all around us – particularly after asking a pointed question or expressing a yearning for guidance or a message – that to me is obviously a direct response to their plea.

As I say, I think I’ve always had an odd way of looking at and interpreting information that comes to us via a variety of traditional sensory and extra-sensory means. But it wasn’t until I started engaging in the energetic work I was taught in the Andean shamanic tradition, including listening to and giving credence to the information I receive via shamanic journeying, that I realized that a significant part of what I offer is precisely what I thought was the most mundane and pedestrian aspect of my work.

Do For Yourself

I’ve spent a lot of my writing time this evening trying to convey something I’ve struggled with for decades. I’ve probably taken so much time trying to explain my perspective because it matters to me how I express this. I’m not in any way disparaging those who look at a very obvious (again, to me) message from their higher self or Spirit (or whomever you want to attribute the message) and don’t get it.

In fact, I often wonder if it’s just a blind spot we all have. Are messages easier to See when they’re not being directed toward us?

I don’t know. I do know, however, that as obvious as so many messages, signs, and symbols are to me as they pertain to other people, I have a really tough time reading them for myself. Perhaps it’s because I do my best to remain detached on behalf of others. I don’t want to be invested in hearing any particular answer or message for another person, so I just see what I see and hear what I hear.

But for myself? That’s tough. It’s not as easy as you might think.

(T-228)

Natural Hieroglyphics – Day 857

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Natural Hieroglyphics – Photo: L. Weikel

Natural Hieroglyphics

Our walk late this afternoon yielded a remarkable observation that just begged to be photographed and shared. A branch of a tree had fallen on one of the back roads we travel when we go on our longer ‘walkabout.’ It obviously had been cut with a chainsaw and tossed on the berm to decay. While this is a relatively common occurrence, the mystery evoked by the natural hieroglyphics lurking under its bark was a welcome addition to our day.

Yes, of course. We know the markings are the result of insects living beneath the bark. But it doesn’t take a deep dive into the ocean of whimsy to see the designs created by these creatures resemble early efforts by humans to convey thoughts, ideas, and perhaps emotions as well.

I guess the markings probably resemble more the musings of our most ancient ancestors (those I referenced in my recent post about a Cloud Horse) – not necessarily the further evolved ideas of the ancient Egyptians. Nevertheless, one could definitely ‘read’ meaning into this discovery.

Signs and Symbols – Photo: L. Weikel

Intuition or Baloney?

I’m not positing that we drew any conclusions from our discovery today, beyond the fact that the natural world creates works of beauty filled with symbols recognized by humans for millennia.

And even though we didn’t ‘read’ anything into the figures and faces, spirals and meandering paths we could see as plain as day etched into this chunk of wood, I’m not reluctant to say we could have. We didn’t see messages or interpret signs because we hadn’t asked a question. We weren’t seeking answers to anything in particular.

Or maybe we were – and maybe we received exactly what we needed. Maybe we were yearning for a flash of creativity from Mother Earth or the creatures with whom we share our environment. Perhaps we needed to see some freeform artwork that would send our own creative juices into a state of demanding expression instead of always being happy to step aside for more practical and logical endeavors.

Photo: L. Weikel

Permission

When we give ourselves permission to imagine we unleash a whirlwind of potential.

Maybe that’s why, as a culture, we tend to instill in ourselves and our children (because it was instilled in us) a disdain for embracing our intuition. Actually, beyond disdain, it actually feels like a fear of embracing our ability to tap into the Unseen. There’s an incredible amount of power inherent in imagination, creativity, and making intuitive connections to signs, symbols, and patterns in our lives.

What happens when we give ourselves license to truly engage our imaginations? To read the patterns engraved in wood by insects that may have died months or years ago? Could it be possible that there is a web of connection between all beings we encounter – between us and everything else in our world?

Is it be possible that we can access insight and guidance from beings we arrogantly deem lack sentience?

It makes me wonder if the message brought by our natural hieroglyphics was to provoke a musing on precisely these questions.

In Context – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-254)

Finding the Light – Day 484

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Sunset tree – Photo: L. Weikel

Finding the Light

Wow. What a way to start the week. If you pay attention to the news during the day, finding the light in any of what we were hearing was a tough task.

But the weather helped. The blue skies and bright sunshine were not insignificant, as I guarantee things would’ve felt exponentially worse had it been raining.

It looks like we’re in for a blanket of cloud cover tucking us in tomorrow, but at least without precipitation until a shower toward the end of the day. That’s a lot better than what I saw being forecast yesterday.

While I’m sure the skies being overcast will dampen our spirits somewhat, at least we’ll still be able to get outside for a little bit of one-to-one connection with Mother Nature without getting soaked.

Now More Than Ever

It seems to me that, now more than ever, we need to make a point to get outside and be in nature as much as possible. I’m not suggesting that vast swaths of anyone’s day be spent walking or hiking or riding a bike; it’s not even physical exercise that I’m advocating most. (Although I guarantee no matter what you’re thinking or doing or facing in your life, taking a 15 minute walk will improve your outlook).

No, I’m simply suggesting that at some point in your day, if you can even just walk outside and stand with your face pointed toward the sun (even if it’s behind a bank of clouds), close your eyes, plant your feet, listen for any type of a sign from nature, and take three long, slow, very deep breaths, you will feel better.

Sign From Nature?

What I mean by that is try to see or hear some indication that you’re sharing this planet with something other than just other humans. Identify one natural noise: a bird chirping, a squirrel chittering, the wind rustling leaves or tinkling wind chimes; a dog barking, a bee buzzing, peepers peeping, or crows cawing.

Depending upon where you are when you make your nature connection, you may not be able to hear anything ‘natural’ right off the bat. So you may have to look around, use your eyes or other senses, and find your connection that way.

It feels important that we remember to do this right now. We must remember, we’re part of something much bigger than just being human. We remember that by finding the light of Mother Nature.

Rising full moon – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-627)

A Peculiar Attitude Toward Books – Day 185

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Photo: L. Weikel

A Peculiar Attitude Toward Books          

I’ve only got a few minutes to jot down some thoughts. I was drawing a total blank as to what to write about this evening, because most of my day was spent in a session.

I started flicking through recent photos I’ve taken with my iPhone hoping to snag some inspiration from them.

Lo and behold, I came upon the photo of the notice we discovered in one of the other bookstores in Asheville (not linked in yesterday’s post).

I took the photo because the attitude just felt astonishingly unwelcoming and, well, snooty.

This was photo was taken in a bookstore. This bookstore featured an abundance of chairs and tables, even tables with empty champagne flutes (which I assume get filled on occasion, although we certainly didn’t wait to find out if and when). On many levels, this purveyor of pages seemed to be the quintessentially chill, abundantly decadent version of a Barnes & Noble or long-demised Borders.

And then we saw the sign photographed above. All over the place. I honestly wonder if the vibe of this place could have been less reader-friendly.

I’m guessing that, in spite of their signs, this establishment is not primarily in the business of selling books. Or maybe I just misunderstand their target audience.

Perhaps they serve people who traffic in rare, out of print, or one-of-a-kind tomes that never get read and prefer champagne to a rich cup of coffee and a book with which they can curl up and get lost in another world for a while…

I know when I’ve found where I’m wanted and welcomed. It wasn’t this place.

(T-926)