Spider Medicine: Definitely

Our grandmother spider is at it again! She is huge and beautiful and definitely calling for our attention. We watch her every night. Had to look up the official medicine. Here it is:

Spider Medicine -- a totem of the feminine

1) Grandmother Spider was the woman who, out of her dreams, created the earth and the people who reside here (energy and the power of creativity). She is known as a great teacher, storyteller, as well as a protector and keeper of knowledge.

In her web she brought the alphabet to us (a form of communication and learning), as well as the ancient language of geometric shapes. In her web, she weaves the connections of past, present, and future (time) together. The web is spun in spirals, and she generally sits in the middle of it, gathering patience for things to come. As she waits there, she reminds us that we are all the center of our own world, but keeping in mind that we have a strong interaction with the rest of the universe. The web also represents the medicine wheel and the wheel of life. The web is constantly changing by what the universe brings to it, as mother spider begins her web anew each day.

The spider knows to follow the most direct route. Each spider has eight legs, which also form the number eight (8). When you see the number written, you will notice that it forms the infinity symbol, which encompasses all of time (past, present, and future). I believe that if you break down what infinity really is, it's just unconditional love and the energy of it. The eight legs are also representative of the four winds of change and the four directions. The body of the spider has two oval or round parts, also forming the number eight, and can represent the flow from one circle of life to another; death and rebirth; change. As the spider grows, it sheds its outer layer just as we let go of the things in life that we no longer need and which no longer serve us.

Contrary to popular belief, spiders are agile, gentle, strong, and extremely delicate creatures and are always a good sign when they show up in your life. They are also helpful in that they eat those little pesky buggers that like to dine on us!

Remember that each time we work on and heal ourselves, we are helping to heal everything and everyone else since we are all connected through the web. Live in love, light, and happiness! from www.spiderwomantherapies.com

2) shorter version - Spider Medicine represents creativity. Its 8 legs represent the 4 winds of change and the 4 directions on the medicine wheel. Its body is in the shape of an 8, which represents infinite possibilities. "Spider people" must look beyond the web of illusion of the physical world and look beyond the horizon to other dimensions.
It means, "wake up girl and get creative. You've got a lot to say. Think, create, think, create." Needless to say, spider medicine was telling me to get back to my office and start weaving new patterns for my life. from www.drstandly.com


I feel so blessed to be in the presence of her great medicine. and I love her!

Spider medicine?

Every evening this week my hubby and I have been watching a rather bulbous spider come out and spin a wonderous web across our back deck. She is so fascinating and it is amazing to watch. She shoots herself (and her web) across from the wall of the house to the posts and the chairs, and you can see her miticulous little "hands" working so fast and hard, like a master knitter, and with such precision.. each and every night. In the morning, the web is gone. No doubt (as my hubby describes it) blown away by the insects and wriggling from the night before. Then, just at dusk, she appears again on our porch, another mituculous spinning for another day's (or nite's) meal. - She does resemble Charlotte actually, and we are waiting to see "smart dog" written in her art! in the meantime, I am so inspired to honor my own daily routines. Of working, cleaning and preparing our meals. We may have to do them every day. But she is a glowing example of dedication to the daily chores that simply need to get done. On the other hand, I think her medicine is also that of a dream weaver. And of weaving a new dream. I'll have to look it up! and it has been fascinating to watch. namaste miraculous spider.


PT. II - Spider Medicine: Definitely

Our grandmother spider is at it again. She is huge and beautiful and definitely calling for our attention. We watch her every night. Had to look up the official medicine. Here it is:

Spider Medicine -- a feminine totem
1) Grandmother Spider was the woman who, out of her dreams, created the earth and the people who reside here (energy and the power of creativity). She is known as a great teacher, storyteller, as well as a protector and keeper of knowledge.

In her web she brought the alphabet to us (a form of communication and learning), as well as the ancient language of geometric shapes. In her web, she weaves the connections of past, present, and future (time) together. The web is spun in spirals, and she generally sits in the middle of it, gathering patience for things to come. As she waits there, she reminds us that we are all the center of our own world, but keeping in mind that we have a strong interaction with the rest of the universe. The web also represents the medicine wheel and the wheel of life. The web is constantly changing by what the universe brings to it, as mother spider begins her web anew each day.

The spider knows to follow the most direct route. Each spider has eight legs, which also form the number eight (8). When you see the number written, you will notice that it forms the infinity symbol, which encompasses all of time (past, present, and future). I believe that if you break down what infinity really is, it's just unconditional love and the energy of it. The eight legs are also representative of the four winds of change and the four directions. The body of the spider has two oval or round parts, also forming the number eight, and can represent the flow from one circle of life to another; death and rebirth; change. As the spider grows, it sheds its outer layer just as we let go of the things in life that we no longer need and which no longer serve us.

Contrary to popular belief, spiders are agile, gentle, strong, and extremely delicate creatures and are always a good sign when they show up in your life. They are also helpful in that they eat those little pesky buggers that like to dine on us!

Remember that each time we work on and heal ourselves, we are helping to heal everything and everyone else since we are all connected through the web. Live in love, light, and happiness! from www.spiderwomantherapies.com

2) shorter version - Spider Medicine represents creativity. Its 8 legs represent the 4 winds of change and the 4 directions on the medicine wheel. Its body is in the shape of an 8, which represents infinite possibilities. "Spider people" must look beyond the web of illusion of the physical world and look beyond the horizon to other dimensions.
It means, "wake up girl and get creative. You've got a lot to say. Think, create, think, create." Needless to say, spider medicine was telling me to get back to my office and start weaving new patterns for my life. from www.drstandly.com

I feel so blessed to be in the presence of her great medicine. and I can't wait to see what magical web she weaves tonite!

Polarity Balancing: Embracing our anger

In order to heal and release something, we must first meet it as a friend.

It is 2011 and many of us are feeling a real pull to finish healing or wrapping up certain issues we may have been processing for quite some time now. Myself, I have been working on harmonizing my inner polarities and have come to some real peace with the issues of anger. And you know what is helping me to strengthen and shift the most? It is this: honoring and listening to my anger.

Anger is not something to run away from. Even the Dalai Lama will tell you "of course I still get angry! if people never get angry I think something is wrong in their head!" lol (and he was! laughing out loud)

I believe that anger is a friend. A God given messenger that alterts us when something is wrong, not good for us, and needs changing. Indeed, it is anger that has fueled, not ego-driven madd anger, but grounded healthy anger, with consciousness, that has fueled some of our greatest human historical feats to date (ie: ghandi freeing India, MLK's civil rights transformation, women being granted the right to vote, etc etc.) So anger is there as energy, as a messenger to guide us to the next right steps. If we work with it as a friend, and non-violently. yes? and then, it too shall pass.

And as I continue to release and clean out my own inner polarity issues, a sign of the times it seems these days, I close with this:

the time is now for some great healings to occur. don't be afraid to feel what you are feeling. and don't swallow it down! it is time for releasing it. (for good!) express your feelings in a safe and appropriate place, ... and then let them go! and set yourself free. It's time!


let your authenticity be your guide.

2011: Liberation from the dream of the planet

it's 2011 and many of us are being asked to bring our polarities into balance. as the shift is happening, and swiftly, it surely can be a wobbly time! just look at what the house and senate have been forced to do! compromise? I look at where compromise is needed in my own life as well. And the wells to this one run deep. Cleaning up my own inner polar clashes at this time, bringing harmony in through the duality, and though I can't say it necessarily feels "good," it is good, and on another level it is truly exciting. Liberation! It is time to be Free. namaste and lots of love to those on the deeper healing path at this momentous time.

Creating Space: letting go of stuff

After making a big move to Maryland recently, I am reflecting and enjoying the fact that I have let go of sooo many things!

I wanted and intended my new home to be what I call zen: clear, uncluttered, and only filled with things that fill and feed my current life and happiness. This meant letting go of old clothing that I no longer like or wear, old kitchen items like plates and things I rarely used, and even many of my old once-treasured spiritual and healing books. My current bookcase holds 9, sometimes 10 books, books that I am currently reading or refer to and simply one or two of my powercharged (or cooking!)favorites. This feels good and right for me. It is also easier to keep clean and I am enjoying my new practice of respecting my space by not only keeping but enjoying keeping my living space tidy and clear, and I am... enjoying it that is!

I am also loving being here in Maryland very much. It is beautiful, multi-cultural, rich in warmth and spirit, and gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. It is so green with trees everywhere, and with the coast waters nearby and a wonderful kind of humidity and nurture, it feels similar to a rainforest (to me). And my body is loving that too.

This was a very welcomed surprise for me. And I am truly embracing it. We, my hubby and I both that is, are also enjoying many new and/or reunited friendships and already a sense of community that we were missing very much. I feel so blessed.

The creating of my new space has also come at the right time for me, a time for expanding both my inner and outer spaces again, and of deepening my inner study and its meaning to me.

Here are a few first pics from Maryland, on a cloudy day. Wishing you peace and wellbeing, and the freedom of releasing some (inner or outer) clutter today!

namaste

 

2011: Endings, Rebirths and New Beginnings

I have been noticing endings, rebirth and new beginnings in so many places lately that I thought I would write a bit about it. We are seeing themes everywhere of endings and new beginnings, one of the most obvious public reflections of this perhaps is the ending of the Oprah Winfrey Show and the beginning of her new and larger network OWN. Not a coincidence that it is all happening just at the cusp of 2012, one great cycle ending and another about to unfold. This is but one example. These movements and this energy of changes, endings and rebirths, can be seen at this momentous time just about everywhere.

For me, my hubby and I are moving from Colorado back to the East coast, the place of both our roots. It is full circle certainly for me who ventured away from New York City at age 31 back in the 1990s following my spiritual promptings that led me to the beautiful high desert of New Mexico. I lived there for 11 wonderful and transformative years, years in which I explored and lived so many dreams, came into my own in more than one area of my life, met and married my beloved husband, met a great Shaman who has influenced every day of my life since, played and created and healed and traveled through so many spaces, both wonderful and terribly hard, and had even built my first home there. Most importantly it also became the land of my greatest healing and my greatest awakening and education so far. It will always be my 'the home to my soul' on the planet. Though it was clearly time to leave the womb when I left. I felt that as soon as I landed there 15 years ago, and indeed, for the 2 years prior to that when I heard the Universe calling to my soul in a tall concrete building somewhere in NYC. - It was whispering "New Mexico, New Mexico."

That was many years ago now, but the journey I had there and indeed here in the West is about to come to closure. And I am truly reminiscing, celebrating, and releasing it all. It is time to again move forward.

So now after 4 1/2 more years in the West, this time in Colorado, it is finally,(and I do mean finally! we have had to wait on so many out-of-our-control things), it is finally time to make this next big move. And at the cusp of this change in cycles, it is truly a momentous time.

And so farewell to the old and hello to the new. Thank you chapter for all you have been. I now have another great chapter to live and unfold.

namaste

and peace, love and so many blessings to everyone experiencing these big inner and outer life shifts and long-time coming changes today. They may still be coming with a few labor pains as they have been for me, or maybe even alot of them, but it's all good, and it's all God.

namaste and happy blessed rebirth
see you from Maryland!!

This Is It: The Art of Living in the Present

"When my mind departed on a journey to the past or the future, I would catch myself and say, "This is it." This moment is my life, completely."



An excerpt for staying in the present: When I was 20, I found a community in Northern California where I became a serious student of Zen Buddhism. Beyond the seated meditation practice, Zen emphasized mindfulness in everyday life: paying full attention when walking, eating, making the bed or working in the garden. At first, staying focused was difficult—my mind still wandered—but as I continuously brought my focus back to what I was doing, the mental fog began to slowly lift.

After a few years, I was appointed the community's cook, and the job came with a spiritual manual called Instructions to the Chief Cook. Poetic and inspirational, this ancient Zen text stressed that preparing food was not just a mundane activity, but a form of active meditation. Cutting vegetables, washing rice and boiling water, when done with full attention, was seen as the activity of the Buddha. These teachings became my daily road map to staying aware.

There was also a famous Zen poem that I would return to. It said that Nirvana, or enlightenment, was right here and now—that this body was the Buddha's body and this place was the pure land. From this poem, I created my own catchphrase that would come into my head many times a day—an inner anchor to bring me back to the present moment. I would say to myself, "This is it." These three words nailed the entire view of meditation. This is it.

So, when my mind departed on a journey to the past or the future, I would catch myself and say, "This is it." This moment is my life, completely.

When I would catch myself daydreaming or operating on automatic pilot, I would say to myself, "This is it," and it would bring me right back to the present. And whenever I would get worried, depressed or want things to be different than they were, I would ease my mind by saying, "This is it."

This phrase may not sound like profound prayer, a powerful mantra or positive affirmation, but it was my touchstone, and it worked. Those three words stopped my habitual seeking mind, the mind that always wants something different, better, bigger or newer, the mind that is always yearning for special experiences, easier times or a different life, the mind that wants someone or something to rescue us. Whenever I found myself ruminating on how things should be different, I would say, "This is it," and perhaps only for a moment, came home to a more present experience of reality.

This. This very ordinary moment is it. We don't need to seek the extraordinary because when we allow ourselves to be fully at home in the ordinary, it becomes extraordinary and full of wonder.

When we think this is not it, not good enough, not the right time, not the right place, not the right person—when we think happiness is in the future, after we lose 20 pounds, after we find the right lover, after we get a better job—then we are in constant hoping, waiting, scheming and seeking, living our lives in a time warp, disconnected from here and now.

This is it reminds us that we can find the magic, the spiritual and the sublime in the ordinary, in this next breath, in this chair, in this body. This is not just another philosophy orsomething else to believe. Instead, it is something to experience, and I invite you to try it out. Make it an experiment. Try it anywhere and anytime.

This is it. This is the only life that you are living. This moment, as you read these words—your life is completely unfolding. This body is the Buddha. This land is the pure land. Nirvana is here and now.

Josh Baran
former Zen priest and communications consultant