Tag Archives: Seasons

The Cycle of Seasons

A Balanced Life, Spring, , , , , , , ,

Some things in life are certain… the sun rising and setting and moving through moon cycles and the seasons.

Spring is the season of infinite potential. Here there is great excitement as the earth awakes from its winter slumber and we start to plant the seeds that will grow and produce all manner of things later. It is a time of action and energy and we can envision what will become of those seeds.

Summer continues to be a period of growth with not much time to rest, although if it is hot we might be tempted to have an afternoon siesta, yet this will result in little reward. Looking after trees and other plants in this time can be challenging. Too much protection, for example over watering, can result in the plant not growing as well as expected. Similarly some environments are not conducive to growth and it is best to change position is order for the roots to seek out new and more fertile soil, much the same as change will allow us to develop new neural pathways.

Autumn is a time to look for the fruits of our labours, to harvest what we have sown earlier. Trees lose their leaves and it is interesting to reflect that a tree will never grow the same leaves each year. The shedding of the leaves is a great metaphor for letting go of the old to allow the new to come in. This is the season of the empty nest, when the parental duties are fulfilled and the chicks fly off to make their own lives.

Winter brings about a period of introspection. A deciduous tree may look as if it is dead whereas it is just in a resting state. It may seem that this season goes on for longer than the others due in part to the bleak, cold landscape, but internally and deep within the soil changes are taking place. Occasionally the frost is so severe that the tree may experience some damage or even die. Those that survive bring in traces of the old world, a sense of history and the memories and resources within them to the next season. And so the cycle continues…..

Personal Power

balance, Energy, extraordinary life, , , , ,

change from a bud to blossomIt’s curious how the mind works… we can overthink a situation or a problem and tie ourselves up in emotional knots, getting stressed or overwrought …. yet when we finally allow ourselves to feel the rhythm of life and go with the flow of nature’s wisdom, we can blossom.

Perhaps it would be wise to take note of the wisdom of nature and connect with the subconscious mind and begin to acknowledge our innermost dreams. A flower doesn’t evade its life purpose or procrastinate when the time comes to blossom.  It doesn’t seek approval from outside itself…. it takes time to form a bud and then opens up and flowers.  Occasionally there are adverse conditions which may cause it to be vulnerable, but this is a strength…..

Be the gentle gardener of your soul and connect to the universal energy that surrounds us, acknowledge your journey thus far, recognise your self worth, knowledge and open to amazing opportunities as  you blossom……..

Enchantment

balance, gratitude, intention, labyrinth, , , , , , ,

On a  recent visit to the retreat, I was enchanted with the spectre of a double rainbow over the labyrinth.  It was at the end of a hot and humid day and just as the sun was getting ready to slip over the horizon, the clouds parted and there was a most amazing light dancing on the tree tops. A shower in the distance provided the catalyst for a most amazing rainbow.

Did I manage to capture the image? Sadly no…. one of the rare occasions when I had neither camera or smartphone with me.

Earlier in the day, I had shrugged off the lethargy and done a New Moon meditation and vision book page. The next step was to take the vision book into the labyrinth and meditate further on what had come to me.

As I came out of the labyrinth, I was reminded of the benefit of journalling the experiences, many abridged versions appear here in this blog. I remembered a comment from a reader some time ago who suggested that I include video. With that in mind, I walked slowly back to the centre recording the journey, which I would share, except that it seems that the iphone video is not compatible with this platform. The act of mindfulness in walking slowly and holding the camera steadily made for a different experience. The focus was not on myself, but how could I best film the pathway so that viewers would not feel dizzy or sick and that they could really get a “feel” for the rustic nature of this labyrinth.

It cannot be compared to the  pictures of the labyrinths in North America and Europe that are either beautifully paved or have lush green turf….  This is country Victoria coming into summer.. the weeds and the grass have turned to straw brown, the soil is drying and cracking and the patches of gravel are rust red and need to be stepped on carefully.  The mounded soil of the rings allows some long grass and other small hardy plants to grow, but there is no sign of life in the outer ring where the garlic was planted, except for 2 sage plants and a lavender plant that has just flowered. As each step is taken, there is a crunching sound… the dried up plants…. the opposite to the Northern Hemisphere which had record snowfalls on that same weekend.

So whilst the intent has been to share the New Moon experience with you, I can only do so with words and not pictures…. perhaps some enchanted things are not to share……

Postscript….. If you would like to do a virtual walk of the labyrinth, click HERE

 

Busy as a Bee

Abundance, balance, calm, extraordinary life, gratitude, labyrinth, projects, Purpose, Spring, Spring Equinox, , , , , , , , ,

Busy beeSpring has arrived, even though most of the wattles have finished flowering and various seeds are sprouting.

I had just about given up on this one…. when I took a closer look at a different shade of green in the centre of the labyrinth.  The outer ring is punctuated by garlic shoots spearing up through the heavy clods of clay – although one or two have been pruned by some hungry creature….. hmmm!! Me-thinks there might be a  pre-seasoned rabbit or two?

The labyrinth construction started on Good Friday this year and we took some time off to enjoy the Rushworth Easter Parade on  the Saturday.  The dogs accompanied us and didn’t enjoy the experience as they were unused to crowds, so I sat out with one of them in a grassy area at the top of town.

Nearby are Oak trees that must have been planted in the Gold Rush days of the 19th century.  They stand guard over the memories of better days for the little town. It is said that it takes around 120 years for an Oak tree to mature and produce a good crop of acorns – these have tolerated drought, heat, cold, frost…. and the ground around them was blanketed with them.

I pocketed a few and took the time to plant 5 in and around the labyrinth. No sign of any growth for many months, except for a variety of plants classed as weeds. A month or so before Easter, I had also gathered some acorns from an Oak tree that was overhanging the fence at my son’s first house out of home. He and his young family were moving out and I thought it would be nice to have some trees as a memento of where they first brought the baby home. Acorns duly potted up, 2 sprouted almost straight away. Not having any use for the pots and thinking I would use the soil for compost later, I left them where they were. To my surprise, just a few weeks ago, I counted another 10 Oak tree seedlings emerging….

Now if only the sage seeds would start doing something!!!! I’m waiting on the Grass Tree seeds to germinate as well. They grow wild in the forest just a couple of kilometers down the track, and many have been vandalized. I bought the seeds, but now I know what they look like, may stop and have a look for some next time I’m down that way.

A single Jacaranda seed, saved from a school excursion my daughter went on years ago, has been potted up and I’ve noticed that the city neighbors Jacaranda trees have some seed pods on them…. time to ask if I can harvest them! Some of the towns to the east of Rushworth have Jacarandas planted in the main streets and look spectacular in flower. I can envision a stand of them along the driveway, perhaps interspersed with the glorious yellow of Kowhai trees competing with the wattles for colour. I still have some Kowhai seeds saved from the house where the children were first raised.

The Oak trees will be planted out closer to where ever the planned retreat building goes, to partly act as shade and being deciduous, as a fire break – but also to offset my carbon footprint. I also see it as building an inheritance for whoever is custodian of the land long after I have gone.

labyrinth12Half a dozen Pomegranate trees are thriving in pots and another 10 or so continue to live in crowded conditions in a corner of the city garden. These are now about 4 or 5 years old and as I thin them out they are growing much stronger and taller.  Having read of the health benefits of pomegranate, i’m sure that I will have a veritable forest of them shortly! As the trunks are rather “leggy”, I’m thinking of using them as a screen in front of the labyrinth.

A pot bound Avocado  that is about 8 years old is destined to make the road trip once I have a couple more seeds sprouting.

mowed area3Visitors are arriving in early October for “A Back to Basics” camping weekend. In preparation an area has been mowed – partly to remove the unwanted Biddy Bush – but mostly to discourage snakes which are likely to be starting to stir after their winter hibernation.  That’s it in the foreground…. 12 months regrowth. It doesn’t have much of a smell to it, but it must contain some volatile oils, because you can pull it up out of the ground (only after a good rain) and put it on the fire – green and wet – and it burns like crazy.

mowing2Driving the tractor is a great time to meditate – you have to be mindful not to mow rocks and to keep fairly straight lines – although I had fun going in circles mowing around the labyrinth.

Another bonus is that a lot of the capeweed flowers were lopped off, and although they might look pretty and the bees seem to love them, I would rather not have them there. It seems that the only natural solution to get rid of them is to mow  before the flowers set seed and mulch, oversow with other grasses and top dress the lot with dolomite.  All the other advice is to spray with roundup or similar…..I don’t really want to become a Monsanto customer. From what I can ascertain, capeweed grows in over tilled soil and where there is little topsoil enriched with humus. It is also a hazard to horses, causing a magnesium deficiency – not that I have any stock at all – except the itinerant kangaroos, who seemed somewhat unhappy that their feed had been mowed and a couple of displaced hares who seem to have moved into next door’s thicket of Biddy Bush.

In between all of this, my city business is also starting to grow with the arrival of Spring. I’m coaching, seeing hypnotherapy clients and this past week has been full of networking activities and late nights. All about that in another post……..

On the road to Mastery…

Homeopathy, Hypnotherapy, Meditation, Philosophy, Polarity Therapy, Reiki, , , , , , , ,

People come and go into your life for different reasons and seasons ….(as the well known poem at the bottom of the page goes…..)

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAJust recently, I have re-connected with a couple of people not seen for many years and whilst there has been the occasional email or social media contact, it really isn’t the same as chatting easily over a cup of tea or coffee.

One meeting triggered an examination of my personal journey over the last few years. A reflection, perhaps triggered by the review and planning process of the New Year.

The questions were asked……

“Are you still doing your Energy work? 

Your website and book don’t say that you are.”

Immediately I replied with a “Yes”, but in that moment realized that although I have a daily Meditation and Reiki practice  – often sending absent Reiki to friends and colleagues, I have let much of the spiritual work in maintaining Mastery slide. An audit of what studies I have done showed a common theme….. starting many years ago with weekly Yoga sessions, then Meditation.

Life was on hold for a while as I juggled young children and going to work as a teacher, but in the first school …. a most unlikely place, I thought, I had  a Lifetime person step into my life when she introduced me to Reiki. She could see I was stressed, put her hands on my shoulders sending Reiki…… It felt as if my blood had turned to lemonade…. I went all “fizzy” with the energy. Weeks later, I found a Reiki Master and was attuned to the energy…. the start of an amazing journey.  Level 1, followed by Level 2 and I resisted becoming a Master for another 9 years!!

Birthday morning 2013Other energy therapies beckoned in that space……. EMF (Electro Magnetic Frequency) Balancing, Homeopathy, Polarity Therapy, Touch for Health, Pranic Healing….Spiritual studies…..

I find it curious how the path of life often weaves a different pattern to what we might envisage for ourselves. Yet all these studies and people who taught them  have contributed to my mastery…. they have been there for a reason or a season or a lifetime.

Whilst reflecting on what Mastery means, I came upon a list of some 44 attributes that a person seeking Mastery might have.  A little daunting… but a good challenge for the coming weeks, months and years ahead….

Interestingly,  at the top of the list was Balance….defined as:

  • a state of remaining upright and steady; equilibrium
  • an appropriate proportionality between different elements

Two more that I would like to share with you are Courage:

  • strength in the face of uncertainty
  • the ability to do something that may be fearful

and Flexibility:

  • capable of bending without breaking
  • ready and able to change; to adapt to different circumstances

I printed out the list, ready to refer to it and have decided to randomly pick an attribute  to work on each week and write in my journal about the journey.
Later this week I will revisit a teacher of one of the Energy therapies I studied a while back and will perhaps refresh the knowledge in this new year….

Reason, Season, or Lifetime

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.
When you figure out which one it is,
you will know what to do for each person.

When someone is in your life for a REASON,
it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.
They have come to assist you through a difficulty;
to provide you with guidance and support;
to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually.
They may seem like a godsend, and they are.
They are there for the reason you need them to be.                                                                                                                                                          Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time,
this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.
Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done.
The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON,
because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.
They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it. It is real. But only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons;
things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person,
and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.
It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

— Unknown

Autumn Equinox

Life balance, Philosophy, , , , , , , , , ,

observationA day late for the actual Equinox which according to the Bureau of Meteorology in Melbourne was at 11.02am on the 20th – the 21st is the Wicca festival of Mabon.

Celtic tradition also celebrated this marking of the change from Summer to Autumn.

Harvest festivals meant that people could celebrate the abundance of fruits and vegetables and great feasts were held, business concluded as people began to prepare for the winter months and a period of reflection.

It also marks the passage of womanhood from the fecundity of motherhood as she passes into the crone or Wise Woman.

It’s a time to reflect on the balance between light and dark as the equinox brings us a period of almost equal length of night and day.

A time too to reflect on the change of season and although Australia marks the change of season by the calendar – Australian Autumn starts on the 1st March – we have experienced six consecutive days of temperatures in the high 30C”  (which crisped the leaves nicely) and then marked by high winds and a terrific thunderstorm today. All serving to remind us that warmer days are now being left behind and colder weather lies ahead.

So how to celebrate or mark the Equinox?

Bring some balance to your life.

  • Show gratitude for any abundance you are experiencing and become aware of the high energy of this time….. the waxing moon as we head to the Full Moon and Easter will affect many people energetically.
  • Draw up a “Gratitude List” – putting it down on paper will help to bring a new perspective to your situation.
  • If you are blessed with abundance, share some of that with others less fortunate. Perhaps donate some non perishables to your local charity or do some fundraising for a worthy cause.
  • Reconnect with nature – walk in the local park and enjoy Nature’s technicolour show of Autumn leaves. Visit your local orchardist and pick some new season apples – you will be amazed at how different they taste to shop ones which often have been in cold storage for more than a year.
  • Gather some friends together and have your own “feast” – savour the taste of the harvest fruit and vegetables and feast on timeless stories….

 

 

Purpose

Life balance, Philosophy, , ,

Everything has a purpose.  A tree has a purpose and that is to eventually bear fruit.  The tree renews its blossom, leaves and fruit each year and like the tree, whatever endeavor we embark upon, whether it is a relationship or business, then we too should be aware of the process of renewal.

The renewal process is cyclic and we can compare it to the seasons.

In Spring we anticipate the infinite potential of new situations.

In a relationship, this can last from 3 months up to a year.

It is a period of rapid growth, exciting new ideas and dreaming. The energy and enthusiasm rise like eager sap to flow to all parts of the plant. Seeds are planted with the heady expectation of a fruitful harvest and early blossom is eagerly anticipated.

The days slip by into Summer and as the temperature rises or even becomes quite hot, there is a shift in tempo. It is still a period of growth, but not the rapid growth of Spring, and there is a sense of being comfortable as one is entangled in the routines of steady work. There is work to be done; if starting a business or even moving to the next stage in a relationship, systems need to be put in place to sustain us in later seasons.  There is steady toil, every so often a reliance on another, much like the climbing plants need support or entrainment as they reach for the sunlight. This season or time in a relationship may take up to 3 years to pass and it is crucial to tend to the crops here, as if they are not watered, they will wither and die.

Eventually, Autumn eases in.The days shorten imperceptibly and the mornings become crisper and cooler.  New relationships will see the birth of children and older relationships which are moving through a new cycle will see the children leave.

There is the withering of leaves and now and then a relationship will also wither as couples no longer have anything to tend and grow together.

But for many this is a time of bountiful harvest and the fruits of earlier labours become clear. It is a time of gathering together and preparing for the following season.

And finally, the season turns to Winter where thoughts turn inward and a period of rest and hibernation begins. In some cases death.                           Generally it is a time for reflection and can be used as a hiatus from a busy life. There may be significant challenges experienced in this period and one can stay in it for a long period of time. It can also be one of the most exciting times of your life. For women it often is marked by the stages of fertility. The biological clock is ticking near midnight or the woman has entered into menopause, there may be a lack of intimacy and the relationship finally withers in the frosty wasteland of an untilled life. For either partner it can also signal the mid life crisis, where the poignant question is asked, “Is that all there is?”

And so the cycle is complete and ready to start again. The quality of relationships and business that you build during these cycles are dependent on the quality time and materials that are put in at each age and stage.