The Autumnal Equinox, and Returning to Life!

“Holy Mother in Whom we live, move, and have our being, Holy Father Who lives, moves and has being in every atom, every cell, and every soul, Help me to walk and work in Beauty and in Strength, Help me to exercise both Power and Compassion, Help me to remember Honor and Humility, Help me to do it all, guided by Mirth as well as Reverence, That I may be worthy of Thy Perfect Love and Perfect Trust, And that of Those around me. Blessed Be, So Mote It Be.”

Dear Friends, My thoughts, this Autumnal Equinox, are more on internal changes to my own life, rather than the larger changes in the world around me.  Although living in the subtropical wonderland that is Florida, for me at least, means that the changes in my own life are being mirrored in the world around me. I look at my journey the last few months and am reminded of something Mick Jagger said, “It’s all right to let yourself go, as long as you can get yourself back.”  I am on a road of returning to myself.  I am journaling regularly, and exercising.  I have been finding my old sense of humor and the urge and inspiration to write, here and elsewhere is returning to my heart and head once more.  I am engaging in various of my spiritual practices regularly. Grounding and Centering, Prayer, working with my Chakra’s and doing the Cleansing Life Force exercise; never-mind slowly starting back down the road to physical exercise. The irony of the Autumnal Equinox in Florida is that the End of Summer is actually when many of us in Florida start to stir once more from our climate controlled cars, houses, and work-places, and begin to go outside once more!   Escapes to the beach or the pool, become more extensive forays to parks and for some gardening.  The sweaty sweltering heat of Summer fades and the generally temperate warmth of Winter lures us into a greater connection with the world around us. Admittedly, with the occasional cold snap, or really cold night…I was so surprised to see houses with fire-places down here but every once in a while…. Now some of those observations are, I will freely admit, from the point of view of an all too sedentary former Alaskan with a work schedule that jumps and skips around like a sugared up small child! I am working on that, and on myself, and on my path REGULARLY once more.  So for this Holy Tide I share not only my daily prayer above, but also a song whose lyrics encapsulate some of my mood and attitude upon this turning of The Wheel. Blessed Be Your Journey, Pax http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YxaaGgTQYM

Standing at a cross-roads on my journey.

Dear Friends,

I am standing at a cross-roads once more.

As I posted on Facebook, “There are times where doing what is the right thing is the single most painful and difficult of options.

Sometimes, life beats you down.  6 or 7 years ago  I found myself in a place where my spiritual practices became the only source of stability in my life.  I was not willing to face the changes that I needed to make, I was not ready for them, or perhaps just not yet at the right cross-roads in my journey?  I fled into dozens of different retreats…online gaming, burying myself in tv shows…running away behaviors…letting go of projects and relationships and activities that nourished my spirit, my faith.  I let go of my practices and have struggled to pick them up once more.

Sometimes love, no matter how much love there is between two people, is not enough.

The moon, the stars and planets, the dance of the seasons, the inspiration of the Holy Powers…all of these come down to timing.  Timing is important in our everyday as well as our religious and spiritual work.  Sometimes, the time just is not right.

Then too, sometimes we are not ready to do what we need too, we set up all kinds of conditions or hedges against what we SHOULD be doing…either out of fear or exhaustion, out of kilter with our highest self and True Will…

it takes two people to make a relationship work and two people for a relationship to break down.  At the same time I look and tell myself I did everything I could; I find myself wanting.  My actions, my words, my choices…my excuses, my fears and insecurities. 

All the things I saw that were bad are now being drowned by recollections of the good, the joy, the love, the simple moments of kindness and care.

So now I stand in the cross-roads once more.  Taking some time in what folklore tells us is a place of power.  Trying to just be comfortable with the storm of memories and emotions playing around and through me. 

Blessed be your journey,

Pax