 There's seems no better a time to honor the Earth than in the season of Spring!
Spring shines her light on new life. Ideas are born, plans are made, another cycle is complete. The Native American tradition bows to each of the directions: life's cycles and the circle of life without beginning and end. A beautiful guide for living. Join me in a circle as we place our feet on the Earth and our hands in Namaste. As we face the north, visualize the color red. The north brings cold winter winds, yet these winds are cleansing. They cause leaves to drop and the Earth to rest beneath a blanket of snow. If you can face these winds (like the buffalo), you have patience, strength and endurance. North represents the trials we must endure and the cleansing we must undergo. Face the east and visualize the color yellow. East is the direction from which the sun comes and symbolizes Spring. The light dawns in the morning and spreads over the Earth. This is the beginning of a new day. After a long winter, a renewed sense of life emerges, symbolizing new life and growth. It is also the beginning of understanding because light helps us to see things the way they are. At a deeper level, the east symbolizes wisdom. Often we pray in the morning, facing the dawn asking for wisdom and understanding. Face south and surround yourself with the color white. Because the southern sky is when the sun is at its highest, this direction symbolizes warmth, growth and ease. The sun's rays are powerful in drawing life from the Earth. Warm, pleasant winds arrive from the south. As we face the west, visualize the color black. To the west, the sun sets, and the day ends. The west is the source of water, rain, lakes, rivers and oceans. It's the source of replenishment that has no end. The west symbolizes letting go, an ending before a new beginning. As we enjoy the light of Spring, imagine the seeds you wish to plant and nourish. Write them down, say them aloud to yourself. Then plant these seeds in your heart...in a gesture of renewal, self-compassion and love.  "The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where Love resides." ~ Audrey Hepburn
It is through the heart that we see the beauty in life, the mystery and the glory of discovery...through the untouchable, immeasurable and often unseen. That special moment when your heart skips a beat. You didn't see it coming, but your heart did. What does it mean to follow your heart, to look within and discover what is true? To find what gives your life meaning and purpose. If I were to ask, "How do you make decisions, from your head or your heart?" how would you answer? Don't overthink it. From a young age, we were not encouraged to trust our inner knowing, yet when it hurt deep inside, we began to close off parts of our hearts in order to feel safe. But in closing off our hearts, we close off love. So often, to protect ourselves from the vulnerability of feeling our feelings, the mind attempts to control the heart. But the thing is, the heart is not ruled by mental logic. The heart was not born to be controlled. Because the mind speaks the language of thought and the heart speaks the language of emotion, the mind often struggles to make sense of the heart. The heart must be honored, trusted and expressed in order to build a lasting, deep relationship with oneself. How often do you listen to your heart, trust your heart, and in doing so, honor your authentic self? How often do you have a sense about something or someone? It's as though you have the answer but don't know where it came from. Together let us gently place both hands over the heart, connecting to the heart center, the center of the wisdom body. And as you inhale, just notice how the body, the chest rises into the hands. As you exhale, feel how the hands soften and melt into the body. Let the arms be symbolic of the extension of the heart. It is only when we allow ourselves to be vulnerable that we are able to feel the full expression of the heart. For a few moments here, notice if you can feel your own heart energy circle and cycle back into you, in a gesture of renewal, of restorative replenishment, self-compassion and self-love. You are safe and can ask your heart anything. Listen to the heart. It knows... |
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