Give thanks for the everyday gifts you are given, for the first glimpse of the rising sun, for the song of the birds, for the baby’s cry, for the earth beneath your feet and for the scent of autumn leaves in the air. Staying grounded in nature is one of the best healing medicines there is. Just walking barefoot in the grass or crunching over some fallen leaves will bring you back to your senses, literally and figuratively. Letting the sun fall upon your shoulders, feeling its warmth is a sure way to reconnect with the loving hand of Mother Nature and all her bounty. No matter where you live, if you look up at any time of day or night you can connect with nature in the heavens above, no matter what lies at your feet. Give thanks for the opportunity to witness and experience the glories of the natural world all around you.
Without air there would be no life. Without water there would be no life. Nature provides these most important life-giving necessities and yet are they fully appreciated? Or are they taken for granted? Tune into nature and experience all that she gives without needing anything in return, except respect. Provide her that and things would not be so dire. Spend a little time respectfully in her company and with gratitude and respect breathe her air and drink her water. She will appreciate it.
Mother Nature is putting the human species in down time, needing a break from the intensity of its greed, hunger, and exuberance, offering a time of toning down, transitioning to a time of less, for the good of all. Spend time now learning patience, contentment with what is, and how Mother Nature keeps things in balance, and do the same. Study the creatures of the Earth and the transitory nature of the predatory world you live in, how balance is necessary, how reckoning happens every day, and how beauty abounds as well. Notice how exuberance is in balance with all else as well. Study how Mother Nature provides, supports, and makes space for all creatures, giving and taking to maintain good balance, equality, purity, and honesty, how all are of equal importance, with equal opportunity to enjoy the bounty. Get in alignment with the changing times and with what Mother Nature is asking of you. Things are changing for everyone, but Mother Nature’s changes are in alignment with evolutionary transformation, as usual, keeping in step with nature’s ever-changing time, life continuing according to plan.
As the current of collective thought-stream challenges the mental stability of the Commander-in-chief, I find myself questioning the greater significance of such a mythological character at the helm of our government at this moment of our evolution. I begin by suggesting that, regardless of political or ideological persuasion, we view the current predicament as a reflection or symbolic mirror of the relationship between the human spirit and its physical host, all matter of creation.
Spirit is the character that functions on the mental plane, the architect and creator of reality as it defines it. In the flow of everyday life, spirit is the mind, the internal dialogue, and the ego that direct the course of daily decision making.
Matter, in this definition, spans all of nature, including the human animal. In human terms, matter is the physical body with all its instinctual needs and wisdom. The wisdom of the body is expressed through the archetypes, our inherited knowledge of the properties of matter and the innate formulas of how to respond to life on earth.
Thus, the human being is actually a microcosm of this greater spirit/matter relationship as it contains both spirit and matter in one being. Spirit and matter are the yin and yang of this world, each critical building blocks of our existence. The balance and relationship between these two partners determines the state of overall health in our world.
Just as I was writing the above explanation a synchronistic event occurred that intimately expresses the relationship between spirit and matter, mind and body. My daughter (who for psychoanalytic discretion in agreeing to let me share this suggests I identify her as “Beyonce”) called in a frantic state, near panic. “I feel like I’m going to pass out!” she said.
We immediately guided her to calm breathing, shifting her away from the dark forecast issuing forth from her mind that sought to define her physical symptoms as lethal. As she stabilized we reviewed recent dietary decisions which, quite frankly, were remarkably healthy.
We went on to review the pace of recent events as she and her partner have been overwhelmed by customer demand for their recently launched business. In fact, it suddenly dawned on her that what had directly precipitated her acute sensation of “passing out” was a new customer call for service. She and her partner had determined the night before that they were simply too overwhelmed; they needed to say no to new business for awhile.
The customer’s call had stirred the dilemma: “Can I say no to new business?” The call had also stirred the archetypal wisdom of her body to deliver its answer to the request in no uncertain terms. As we reflected, we determined that her body—the matter part of her being—was giving its answer to the customer’s request directly, saying loudly and clearly: “I’m shutting down! Over and out!”
And yet, how many of us would really listen to such sage wisdom from body central? How many of us would secretly be rationalizing from the mental plane: “This is great, more business, more money, great success!” How long would it take to arrive at some dietary glitch to explain away the dizziness and persist with the current plan to meet all demand in the service of financial reward!
“Beyonce’s” dilemma reflects the dominance of spirit over matter that plagues the macrocosm of our world as reflected in the psychology of our Commander-in-chief. His psychology is marked by a supreme alienation of spirit from nature. The guiding principal, beyond its narcissistic wrappings, is the spirit of financial success at all costs, regardless of its impact on the physical body or Mother Nature, the physical body of the earth itself. And Mother Nature, as is increasingly evident, is responding with her feedback to this spirit imperative.
Fortunately, “Beyonce” took heed of the imbalance in her mind/body relationship and intends to change the course of business to bring greater harmony to her mind/body partnership. Unfortunately for our Commander-in-chief, he appears all the more driven to deepen his spirit intent: “More, more, more!!!”
Though “Beyonce” may be restored to fit-to-serve shape, she will likely be challenged again and again to go to the heart and ask the question: “What is the truly right decision?” The spirit at the helm of the mental plane at present is so focused on self and survival that it blots out the needs of the body, the needs of others, and the needs of Mother Earth, our ultimate home base for survival while in human form.
The mental status of our Commander-in-chief poses a grave riddle to all of us: “Who is responsible for the imbalance that has thrown our world into peril?” The silver lining to the true answer to this question is self-empowerment. We all have the power to elect the best Commander-in-chief within ourselves and in so doing change the world.
Mother Earth and Mother Nature, body and spirit, two parts of a whole, have their ways of communicating. They have their moods, their temperaments, their means by which to speak their wisdom. Listen carefully to what they say and take action to persevere and flourish even in the worst of times. For though Mother Earth shifts and changes she cares for all of her creatures and in consort with Mother Nature, her eternal spirit, she seeks new evolution within and without. It is time now for great change and advancement, she says. Know this and abide in her beauty and her fury, under her fine sun by day and her calm moon by night. Bask in her growth and her destruction, knowing that she has things under control. Be her earthly companions and treat her well. Be her spirit companions as well and find her spirit in you and she will support you all of your days. Matter and spirit, body and soul, are everywhere and in everything, within and without, even in your eternal Mothers.
