The Magic of Spring
April 2002 - Vitality
I'm lucky to be with my god-daughter, Dagmar ,today, sharing this most magical of events, the visible arrival of spring. Today our cold world was given heat, our monochrome vistas turned into colour and the silence was filled with sound. We were thinking of what our favorite signs of spring might be, and quickly produced a long list. Then we decided to narrow it down to the most magical.
We both agreed the warm breeze registers first, especially this year when spring arrived like an equatorial summer. The air was so thick with moist warmth, it felt l as if we closed our eyes and leaned gently into the breeze it would hold us up. We were not the only ones with our eyes closed enjoying the warm breeze. The cats and dogs and turtles and snakes and birds and Lucy, the horse, all seemed to be smiling, 'blissed 'out, stupified, and surrendering to the relaxing soothing caresses of the warm tropical breeze.
The little kitten ,Typhoo, for whom this was the first spring of his life, captured the feeling. One minute he was staggering sleepily from the enormous stimulation of the sights, sounds and smells of the world waking up. A moment later he was racing around again at full tilt, following the sound of mice , seeing his first insects, while every few minutes his head cocked up listening to the unfamiliar song of a new bird. The red-winged blackbirds are always the first to arrive to call up the insects, but this year they were followed within days by just about everyone. The pond was like an airport runway with non-stop flights arriving for the summer: ducks, Great Blue Herons . Terns circled to land while vultures surveyed the scene from thermals just above.
Besides the magic of the warm breeze and all it's passengers, we most loved watching the green arrive. You could pull up a rocking chair and watch the green get turned up right before your eyes. Lucy (the horse) told us the new green grass was her favorite part of spring. Steven had a wonderful grassy spring tale to share with us. He had looked out the window and seen three deer , very close to the house, eating the first green shoots in the courtyard. As he watched he realized there was a porcupine beside them sharing in the same bounty. Thinking it would be fun to go outside and introduce himself to the porcupine, he was met outside the door by two raccoons (the one that had been hurt last fall and her partner) who continued to hang out and enjoy the morning, despite his presence. Smiling he looked up and saw a muskrat, who was also sharing the green grass of the courtyard and exercising supreme patience, while Typhoo played at batting his ears, as kittens will. The story of this unusual gathering reminded us we are all family as we bask in the rapture of springs' magical embrace.
Since having the opportunity to be in the country for a few years now when spring arrives, there is no question for me that my favorite moment is that first evening when the spring peepers begin peeping. When that chorus of hundreds of frogs begin to sing at the top of their reptilian lungs, reaching from pond to pond and then up to the stars with a deafening pitch, I know winter's quiet is at an end. Soren, age five, came in to visit this morning at dawn, cheerful, wearing his rubber boots,witha net in hand, heading to the pond. I am unsure what the frog monks are chanting but there is no doubt that they are working a magic spell upon the land (especially with small boys).
The greatest magic of spring may be its invisible and silent gifts. The gift of the flowers, for example is not just their exquisite colours, their perfect structure, their heady perfume, but their triumphant will to be born. They represent both newness and renewal. They burst forth with trust in the beauty of life , participants in the joy of creation. In spring the invisible is made visible,and together we are swept away in celebration of the divine.
The Circle Game
May 2002 - Vitality
This Spring I am feeling a strong need to get down to some deep personal spring cleaning, trying to discover if my true path is hidden under all the distractions cluttering my landscape. Besides, this is what people do in their forties:get to some core issues and get clear about what they really need and want. One of my first treats to myself was to begin working with a wonderful therapist. Within half an hour of our first session we were moving deftly through my unconscious stripping away safety nets and comfortable definitions to uncover the deep dark tangles hindering my next transformation into into a fabulous future self. One of the key issues in our first session was about belonging and deservability. We spoke about what belonging felt and looked like for me. Does it require place, beliefs, things, or certain people? Is it expressed for me externally or is it an inner feeling? She suggested that as a wanderer, having moved often throughout my life, meant I was pretty good with the stress of change, but perhaps carried a deeper loneliness related to a fluid sense of belonging, rather than that solid belonging that comes from generational family trees growing in the same town, same farm, or same neighbourhood for years and years.
Later that day I arrived early for yoga and discussed these issues with the instructor as we set up the room. I've loved this yoga class over the last three years. Once a week many of my favourite people up here have gathered in a church basement and created a vital service, a community ritual. We sit in a circle of beings and celebrate life, our bodies, and each other through yoga and meditation. Our yoga class began with our instructor dedicating the class to me and the full moon. I got to choose my favourite mudra, balance pose etc. As she honoured me in this fashion she was providing me with a place of belonging, where my decisions affected others while experiencing their unconditional support.
We never sing western songs in class but found ourselves singing the Circle Game by Joni Mitchell, as we gently rotated our hip joints in tiny circles. Later we practised the Tree pose, where we stand with our hands above our head in prayer position while our right foot rests on our left leg between our knee or upper thigh. This time we did it in pairs, so that we were holding each others hands above our heads and supporting each other. Suddenly we were singing the Bill Withers Motown hit, Lean On Me... with words like 'friend' and 'together'.... It was hilarious, spontaneous and remarkably good! That felt more than coincidental that Bill Withers greatest hits and two Joni Mitchell tapes are what I carry around with me in the car. As very little about this class was following our traditional format it seems clear that a teaching was taking place.
Following our practice we lie down for deeper relaxation, usually accompanied by a tape to drown out the sounds of the evening choir practice getting started overhead, often just as we reach our deepest journeys. However there was no tape recorder and our instructor said, "In honour of Kim I would like to sing a song, in which you may join in or not, depending on what is right for you." The song had a very simple chant-like melody and the words were, " I am being loving to myself, I am respecting myself. I am a child of the Universe, and am reborn with each new day." Slowly our voices joined with hers, growing in sound and confidence, then softer and softer until we were whispering the affirmations. We closed by chanting 'OM', not in a single tone but repeatedly until we felt finished, a few minutes later.
It was incredible how deeply that experience reached me. The others in that room had known and loved each other for close to 25 years, and by focusing on me in such a nurturing and personalised way, it was a reminder that I had become part of the community, a valued member of the local tribe. The singing and general lightness was so clearly a reflection of who I was, and how I was perceived within the community, and my place within it.
When Spirit knows you are sincerely seeking answers, we get answers. Part of the answers for me is that we belong in the energy of our rituals, our circles; and we forever belong in the hearts of those we touch.
Drink in the Stars
Summer 2002 - Vitality
It is so much fun knowing the summer is stretched out ahead of us. Now our weekends often involve outsmarting or surrendering to initiatory traffic jams, for the rich rewards of collapsing into the loving arms of nature. Imagine transforming yourself and nature all in one brief but profound weekend. Intrigued? It is possible. Here is my summer strategy.
Whether we live in the city listening to the honks of soccer fans or in the country listening to the honks of mallards ducks, it is incredibly easy to find yourself distracted by details that prevent taking the time to deeply connect to the magic of each moment. The first task is to gather all the yellow stickies attached to the computer, fridge or our mirrors, and release them to the garbage. Replace them with a single note with the words "breathe stars, bless water". The exercises we can do anywhere, but it will likely be far more powerful to plan a trip to water somewhere remoter, along with a tent, and possibly a few like-minded friends. Remember not to camp with a radio or tape player. No matter how beautiful the music you intend to play, it will drown out the natural harmonics that exist in the wind, mosquito mantras and bird songs that will initiate us into the deeper spirit of 'place'.
Here are three stories or images I am carrying with me that will influence how I "breathe stars and bless water". I would like to share them as a reminder of who we are, how divine the universe is, and where we are in our history. The first story is that on this coming July 3rd "The moon is in the 7th house and Jupiter aligns with Mars, then Peace will guide the planets and Love will steer the stars. This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius (everybody) Aquarius!" I thought it happened in 1968 when Hair opened on Broadway, but it is actually this summer that our heavens are blessed with the unfolding of this world renaissance of spiritual and personal renewal and love. This brings us to 'breathing in the stars'. Our ancestors would gaze upon the stars and breathe in their light deeply, to receive their heavenly blessings and wisdom. Cybele and other ancient goddesses would drink in heavenly 'chi' posed with their left-hand palm up and right hand palm on solar plexus breathing in the alignments of the heavens. Toning or humming the first note that comes into your head during this process can help facilitate a deeper connection. You might bring an astrology book that focuses on the planets and then tune into Venus, for example, knowing it is the planet that can clear the way for creative self-expression. Each star and planet have powerful personalities, which you may choose to discover on your own without a book, by breathing in one light at a time.
In honour of Aquarius, the Water Bearer, let me share a tremendously important body of work by a Japanese researcher and author of "The Message from Water", Masaru Emoto. He provides factual evidence in the form of photographs of water droplets, that words, thoughts and vibrations (music, feelings) affect the molecular structure of water. Mr Emoto freezes water droplets and photographs them under a dark field microscope to show their unique and beautiful crystalline structures (like shots of snowflakes). The difference is that he has recorded the difference between water around the world under remarkable conditions. For example, the photos of polluted water resemble an oil spill. However when that same droplet is prayed to over 24 hours, it is transformed into a radiant white snowflake. Likewise words were taped onto classes with both positive and negative expressions and the crystalline structure became more complex, sharp and beautiful with words such as 'love' or 'compassion' typed on the paper, versus the crystalline structure breaking down to bubbling lava with expressions such as " You make me sick. I will kill you". It is a treat to see the photos of Antarctic water or water from Lourdes or the orange three-dimensional structures formed by Tibetan chants into distilled water. We are water. Our planet is water; our cells are cups of water. Our environment is a reflection of ourselves and vise versa. The good news is we can heal our environment with our hearts and minds. Starting this summer.
So here is my ultimate plan. Drink in the stars and bless the water where I am camping and then swim naked in this beautiful water that reflects myself as a star, as the stars in turn reflect me, and merge right into another way of knowing. Then maybe on Monday I'll clear up the problem in the Middle East. Have a beautiful summer.