Badger on Teaching

 

One of the other interesting animals that popped in for my meditation was Badger.  Badger had lots to say about teaching.

• Everyone has a responsibility to teach the young.  This is not a job to be delegated to one or two beings.
• Those that are delegated to teach should not choose the path.  Instead, those around them should observe that they are good teachers and support them in the role of teaching.
• Teachers should be well paid because they are teaching the future.
• Teachers should teach what is the common understanding and the common courtesies of the community.  
• Truth is limited by the interpretation.  It is better to let students discover the truth on their own.
• Mother Earth and Nature will help in the teaching of the truth.  Trust this resource.
• When one teaches, they should be in a place of ONENESS with the Universe and with Mother Earth.

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To learn more wisdom from Badger, see the previous posts noted below:

https://www.lightstationwisdom.com/2023/12/when-badger-appears-to-you.html

https://www.lightstationwisdom.com/2024/06/badger-away.html

Blessings,

Judy

Crow Talks About Life

When people talk about meditation and how peaceful and quiet it is, I think of some of my meditations where animals pop in, and while I may be peaceful, the time is not quiet.  For example, Crow came in to the meditation last night.  Crow caws constantly.  Even as he talks, he caws.  It is his nature.  And, Crow is loud.  He does, however, have some interesting things to say about life, about humans, and about other animals.  Check out his ideas.

• Life is not worth living unless you do it with gusto!  Be loud, try everything, and share what you know.  This is my motto for life. 
• If you set yourself up to be robbed by leaving valuables sitting out in the open world, then someone is going to take them.  Shiny stuff is very attractive. 
• A meal is a meal!  It does not matter if it is moving or not.  Take what is offered and be grateful.  A meal you do not have to get yourself is the best one. 
• Higher up in the tree is better.  You see more.  You see more opportunities.

I was just getting into the conversation when Crow had to fly off.  Somebody was really upset about some of the shiny things that Crow had taken today.

Blessings,

Judy

Siberian Tiger on Sharing

 

The wonderful thing about meditating is that it opens your mind to a wide variety of ideas, and takes you to different dimensions so that you can understand all that there is about being connected.  Sometimes, however, a meditation will take me to surprising places.

Today’s meditation dropped me in the snow somewhere on a mountain side close to two Siberian Tigers.  I was a bit startled.  So were they!  After snarling and growling, they finally stopped and shook their heads.  I could see that an explanation was needed.  So, I told them that by mistake, (yes, I know there are no mistakes), I seemed to have overshot my happy meditation retreat, and landed in their hunting territory.  Benji, the larger tiger, basically said, “No way!”  And, I replied, “Yes, way.”  

To help the situation along, I asked them if they had anything that they wanted to share with me since Tigers are known to be such excellent teachers.  The Tigers reflected for several minutes, and said that they would like to share about sharing.  Here are their comments:

• Although it is easy to be on your own, and it is easy to live a solitary life, everything becomes easier with a companion to share the road.  Hunting is easier, although one needs to do it more frequently, and rest time is more secure because there is two or more, of us.
• When you are on your own, sometimes you miss things around you because of being focused.  When you share the road, the other being usually helps you to see more; to be more alert about the environment.  This is a very practical thing.
• When you can share the work of hunting, or peeling off the meat from a hunt, your body takes less of a beating.  It is good to share the work.
• Sharing a meal is a good way to remind yourself that you must be grateful for the food in your life – what you call “abundance”.
• When you are hurt, another Tiger can help you with your healing by licking the wound, protecting you, and bringing you food.
• It is tough to learn to share, and worth the effort.
• It is in the nature of most animals to share to keep the species alive.  
• Creator is causing changes in all of us to make sharing easier, I think.
• All of the ancestors were good at sharing and hunted in packs.  The food did not go as far, but it was more frequent.

The Tigers said that they must return to their hunt.  I popped back to my meditation cushion, and realized that I felt quite cold.  I felt that I had a very interesting journey.

Blessings,

Judy

For those that have an affinity for tigers, here is the link to a previous post:

https://www.lightstationwisdom.com/2024/09/tiger-explains-how-to-blend.html

Valentine’s Day 2025

Check out the amazing ways to celebrate Valentine's Day, even if you are single, or, by yourself for Valentine's Day.  This wondeful posting was on www.Gogratitude.org. 

#1: Hug a Tree
Appreciate Nature. Go hiking. Surround yourself in
the great outdoors. Soak up the beautiful energies
of Mother Earth. She has a heartbeat. Tune into it.
Express your Love and Gratitude for all the blessings
the Earth bestows you.
Then listen. Who knows? She may have a message for you.

#2: Sit Under the Stars and Appreciate the Cosmos
We live in a vast Universe. Contemplating the Infinite
need not make us feel small.
With love in our hearts, we remember our Connection
to All-That-Is. And recognize we are THAT too, the
realization of which fills our soul with the WONDER of
the Mystery.

#3: Express Appreciation to Your Beloveds
Expand the traditional sense of Valentine's Day Love
to include all your Beloveds. Your kindred. Your soul-
mates. Your friends. Your family. Your children. Your
parents. Your animal companions.
Make it a point to consider what you most appreciate
from those closest to you. Then make sure to express it.
Face to face. Or call them up. Or email them. Or text them.
Or write them a note.

#4: Hug Your Self
Love your Self. Appreciate your Self. Feel deep compassion
for your Self. This is probably the most important thing any
of us could do on Valentine's day and every other day.
For it is only as we Love, accept and honor ourselves -
ego shadows and all - that we can truly love and uplift others. 

I love this.  I love that we need to do self care, and that we can show our appreciation to ourselves.  It is time!

Blessings,

Judy

Positive Affirmations For Your Life

Picture taken by Judy Hirst at Elbow Falls in summer 2024.

Saturday

February-1-2025

I have great inner strength. 

 

I am living my most blissful life.

 

I enjoy immersing myself in nature. 

 

I am feeling fresh and rejuvenated.

 

I am in a state of profound contentment. 

 

I spend my time doing what I love.

 

Joy is flowing into my life. 

 

I invite a greater sense of balance into my life.

From the site - https://www.dailymotivation.site/affirmations/?utm_source=dailymotivationsite.beehiiv.com&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=feb-1-2025-what-is-stonewalling-6-signs-8-causes-tips-to-promote-open-communication&_bhlid=dec498738272080a847521b61bfe5730f383d887

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I sometimes get behind in reading my email.  I get daily updates from the site - Daily Motivation - and I love the positive words that the site shares with us.

The affirmations above were sent out on February 1, 2025 but I did not read them until today.  My bad.  I am sharing them with you so that you can pick the affirmations that speak to you and so that you can add them to your life, if you want.

Each day, I look to find an affirmation that speaks to me and that helps me make sense of something going on in my life in a positive way.

Enjoy the journey!

Blessings,

Judy

Winter Solstice - The Longest Night is December 21 2024

 The shortest day and the longest night – the time that our Ancestors called “mid-winter” is that time that tells us that Nature is still working.  If the day remained short, and the night was long, then the rotation of the planet changed.

Our Ancestors had elaborate rituals to ensure that the planet kept turning, or, as they thought, that the Sun kept revolving around the Earth.

The diagram below shows the angle of the Sun in the north.  Now, with all of the availability of science, we no longer look to the sky to see what will happen.  We have dropped doing the rituals and doing the work to keep the Sun going.  

Winter Solstice

Sat, Dec 21, 2024, 2:19 a.m.

Mountain Time

This post should give you several days to prepare for Solstice and to invite friends over for a meal, if that appeals to you.

Enjoy the Solstice.

Blessings, 

Judy

Blue Jay On Balance

In the balance between all living things, Blue Jay has wisdom to share with mankind.  Blue Jay will lie low to see where food is and then see what she might like.  She then will go and pick up a pine cone, fly it to the stash of food, and leave it as she picks up the sunflower seeds that she is really after.  In her mind, a seed for a seed.  The quantity, size, or effort involved, do not weigh into the equation of “this for that”.

Blue Jay says that if humans were more thoughtful about ensuring that something was left for something that was taken, then the karma for humans would be quite reduced.  Since man does not understand balance, and seems to find joy in taking something for nothing, the consequences come in a larger size and last longer.  These might be forest fires where trees have been taken by a company where no exchange was made.  Or, it might be flooding where fishing without replenishment takes place.

The idea that we need to balance with Nature, when we walk out in Nature, or take from Nature, was a common theme in the lives of our Ancestors.  The last four centuries of people in the western world moved away from this.  It is time to bring the balance back.

Blessings, 

Judy

When We Visit Nature

 

If we go out into the natural world and just talk about the same things we talk about all the time, we may as well have stayed at home. When we visit nature we should put down everyday small talk, subjective mental activity, judging and discrimination, and just open up and observe nature. 

Starting from the time of the Buddha, it was almost always the custom for those who had left home life to spend some time practicing in the mountains. Generally the hut they lived in was made so that it could be put up and dismantled very quickly, so that the person could move on to another place. The purpose was to live a life that would not foster a group mentality, but rather cultivate a holistic attitude where one would feel at one with all lives and the universe.  — Master Sheng Yen, "As Spacious as Nature"

Blessings,

Judy

Staying In Balance

Sometimes, I get what I call “odd” messages when I am in meditation.  By odd, I mean that the information is not framed in my common images or understanding of things.  When the frame of reference is not common, I have to do a bit of research.  The theme of the information was balance.  I found this short lesson from Osho and had an “Ah ha” moment.

The Art of Staying in Balance

The most difficult thing, the almost impossible thing for the mind, is to remain in the middle, to remain balanced. And to move from one thing to its opposite is the easiest. To move from one polarity to another is the nature of the mind. 

It is difficult for the mind to come to the right diet, difficult for the mind to stay in the middle. It is just like a clock's pendulum. The pendulum goes to the right, then it moves to the left, then again to the right, and again to the left; the clock's working depends on this movement.

If the pendulum stays in the middle, the clock stops. And when the pendulum moves to the right, you think it is only going to the right, but at the same time it is gathering momentum to go to the left. The more it moves to the right, the more energy it gathers to move to the left, and vice versa.  - Osho

Many blessings,

Judy

Elementals and Embracing Nature

One of the pictures that has been coming up in my meditations, is the image of Nature being cared for by the Elemental energies – for grass, plants, and trees; and for soil, and for water, and for environment.  Each Elemental is a specialist, and does what is needed to keep things moving forward.  This process involves creating and letting die where the change is needed. 

Some of the Elementals are frustrated because humans think that they know more than the Nature Guardians, the the humans interfere in what should be the natural progression of a species.  One of the Elementals talked about the modification of plants – GMO – and how that upsets the blueprint for the plant.

Another Elemental talked about the human need to “preserve” a plant or tree that was scheduled, by blueprint, to die off, to make way for its next adaptation.  

In life, we learn that we must let things go to get new things.  We learn that cycles are natural and that fighting them by trying to preserve what is, becomes an exercise in self defeat.  We learn not to be too attached to anything.

My response to the Elementals was that each person needs to go through a learning and growth stage.  If the people that want to do the preserving are in that stage, then, it is part of what they need to understand, and we need to let the learning unfold.

Many blessings,

Judy

Angels Talk About the Time to be in Service

                                                           Picture from unknown source

 Dearest Beloveds… this is the time to be in service!  It is the time to help yourself, your family, and all the people that you know, to move beyond that place of fear.  Fear takes you back to the place of density.  Density takes you into a place of judgement, placing blame, resentment, and control.

When you are in service, that is, doing something kind for others with or without their knowledge, then life is good.  You are in a vibration that does not see or feel the fear.  Instead, you see the stories and how the stories were all created by another human.  The stories do not exist, otherwise.

If you are feeling that you are getting that “down” feeling, we suggest walking in Nature, and watching how Nature carries on, even with all the stories and fear that are around it.  Nature ignores.  Nature can do this because it is part of the Oneness.  To be part of this feeling or experience, simply go into meditation and let go of all you know.  The Oneness is a calmness where you have infinite wisdom available to you. 

If it feels right, try asking for help to walk apart from the fear.  And, you can ask for help to feel forgiveness for your self, for others, and to feel compassion for those who do not have the guidance to be without fear, and the needs of food, clothing, shelter, safety, and security.  

Your Earth Ancestors, long ago, were in that place of fear and need.  They found by working with Nature, and being fully in tune with it, they could satisfy all those needs and be at one with everything.  They saw themselves as caretakers.  We ask you to see your self as a caretaker for what is around you.  How can you do things to be more in harmony with all?

We, the Archangels of Understanding, wish you love.

***********************

Blessings,

Judy

I Will Follow The Sun

This writing is from several years ago and comes from my journal.  As I read it, I once again felt the emotions from that day.

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 I was away at a funeral for my Uncle.  My Aunt and Uncle were a constant in my life from when I was born.  As their children were born, they too, became a constant in our family.  

While I was sitting in the service, I was thinking how different life is now that my Uncle is gone.  My Dad predeceased my Uncle by three years.  They were good friends, and did several things a week together.  After Dad died, my Uncle became more important because he was the Elder of our family.

My Uncle’s interment happened late in the day, around the time he would go to do chores when he was still farming.  He always wanted to get the chores done before the Sun set, and he started chores just after sunrise.  Lunch was always at noon, when the sun was high.  We actually could set our watches by what my Uncle was doing.

I realized as we were sitting through the last prayer in the service, that my Uncle was very much in touch with Nature.  I thought about all the changes that he had seen – he was 92 – and how he kept in stride with what was going on with agriculture, even though he did not have to “mind the farm” for many years because his sons and grandsons now are the caretakers of the land.  

I thought about all the times he pulled all of the kids on the toboggan behind the old truck so we could fly down the ditch through the snow.  I thought about him hiding Easter eggs in their yard for all of us to find, and their old black retriever finding most of the candy and eating it before we got out there.  I thought about all the Christmases and Easters and birthdays and Sundays that we spent at one another’s houses, having wonderful meals and telling stories, and being family.  I remember how he always checked the weather, and then compared it to the Farmer’s Almanac.  I think this is a good song for him.

I’ll Follow The Sun

One day you'll look to see I've gone
For tomorrow may rain,
so I'll follow the sun
Some day you'll know I was the one
But tomorrow may rain,
so I'll follow the sun
And now the time has come
and, my love, I must go
And though I lose a friend
In the end you will know, oh
One day you'll find that I have gone
But tomorrow may rain,
so I'll follow the sun
But tomorrow may rain,
so I'll follow the sun
And now the time has come
and, my love, I must go
And though I lose a friend
In the end you will know, oh
One day you'll find that I have gone
But tomorrow may rain,
so I'll follow the sun.

-Written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon

Blessings,

Judy

Wolf Insights

Wolf drops by from time to time to share some insights.  Although regarded as a predator, and therefore something to be fearful around, Wolf is quite gentle when she is treated with respect.  That is her first insight.

The natural order of all things is to separate into levels of dominance or seniority or skills.  Humans do not follow this natural order.  Often the weakest, the least skilled, and the thoughtless become leaders or seconds.  They are careless with Nature and with life.  Trust them not.

Keep the pack small.  When the pack is small, you are more mobile and can follow the food more easily.  Larger packs are more work and are more likely to give the leader trouble.  A kill does not feed as many and there is more greed. 

Train the young.  The youngest and weakest wolf is trained in the way to fend for itself or for another if that is what is called for.  I see your young and know that most cannot fend for themselves and certainly will not care for another.  This erodes the power of the pack and the species.

Hunt the sure thing.  It is not in our Nature to go after the biggest and the strongest.  The chase simply will wear us out!  We are caretakers and help keep the herd animals strong.  We take the weakest and let the herd keep its strong to lead and to breed.

Blessings,

Judy

Black Fawn - Another Spirit Animal

 One of my friends sent me this gorgeous set of pictures of a Black Fawn and its Deer family.  It is interesting, I think, that Mother Nature, The Universe, or what ever you wish to call the Power that keeps balance, does balance off the white fawns that are being born with one that is black.

I love the way the black fawn blends into the shadows in the second picture. The shadows remind me of a conversation I was having with one of my friends – that we all need to find and recognize the darkness in ourselves; that the shadow side of ourselves is a gift that allows us to recognize actions that are not for the highest good, and therefore, gives us the freedom of choice to choose to act in a different manner than perhaps our reflexes would have prompted us to act.

 May you have the good fortune of meeting a white fawn or a black fawn, or a white deer or black deer.

To find out more about deer, check these posts:

Deer Finds You https://www.lightstationwisdom.com/2023/01/spirit-animal-deer-finds-you.html

Wood Caribou  https://www.lightstationwisdom.com/2023/10/wood-caribou.html

Streaming Life   https://www.lightstationwisdom.com/2023/01/streamlining-life.html

Elk    https://www.lightstationwisdom.com/2023/05/elk-spirit-animal.html

White Elk Speaks     https://www.lightstationwisdom.com/2023/03/white-elk-speaks-spirit-animal.html

Many blessings,

Judy

Connecting with Meerkat

 Meerkat picture from www.irishviews.com

Is the third time the charm?  I am about to find out as I try again to connect with Meerkat to receive her message.

Meerkat pops up beside me and snuggles in.  She seems to be more comfortable with me than vice versa.  I find her quite comforting.  She sighs, and then begins to speak.

“We are so much like you humans and yet you know very little about us.  I find that rather disturbing.  We have many of your traits – politics, breeding practices, pup and elder care, and survival tactics.  We originally came up from the depths of the Earth.  We are some of the life forms that went underground when there were difficulties in the air and ground, difficulties that have re-emerged.  We have learned to burrow underground and to build safe nests deep enough to avoid having to be poisoned by the air. 

As the food above us died, we moved downward in search of food that we could eat.  We found that others had also moved downward.  We became hunter and prey.  We learned the value of cooperation.  We learned to be respectful of our resources and therefore to adjust our numbers to the food that could support us.  

We watch you now and wonder why you fight against the obvious laws of nature.  We wonder why you are destroying that which gives you life.  There is nothing that you can produce with all of your machines that is as wonderful as what She Who Feeds Us All can provide.  

We have black masks because our eyes are still sensitive to the light.  We find the blackness dulls the glare of the Sun. It seems however, that humans find our mask fearful.  We are part of the issue of fear or darkness that humans have to deal with.  We are therefore, part of your path – just as you are part of our path.  The easiest strategy to cope with fear is to meet it head on, much as we do.  We wish you well.

Blessings,

Judy

Forge Ahead

As I asked for guidance for my blog today, I heard “Forge ahead!”.  And then I saw a series of visions around keeping one’s faith through the times ahead where chaos will be rampant, and where people will try to get you to do things against your nature.

The message was that we must “forge” ourselves through all the heat that we will be taking, into a person of steel will and mission.  We must be able to stand firm in our beliefs, in the knowledge that we are all connected in Oneness and that hurting one person to benefit another is actually hurting all of us.  We will be shaped by all of the fire that we will be under, however, if our Soul can hang on to the vision of what we can be, we will all be filled with a steely resolve that will let us continue to be in service to The Light.

Many blessings,

Judy

April 1 2024 - Walk In Nature

April Fool's day – a day for playing jokes.  This blog is not about joking.  It is about waking up and realizing that we need Nature in our lives.  It is about remembering that we come from Nature – from the Earth.  Our blood flows red with iron richness and lots of mineral and gases that are part of the Earth's structure.

We need to be out in Nature to restore our calm and to remind ourselves that we must care for the plants, animals, birds, etc. because they are our cousins.  They carry the same ingredients in their bodies. 

It is sad that we want to destroy the parks and rivers and lakes to "develop" them.  And, yes, in some places, wild lands are being reclaimed so that new life can flourish in those spots.

Today, decide to be out in Nature for one hour a week.  Then slowly increase the time.  

Many blessings,

Judy

March 1 2024 Signals Spring

A sleeping world emerges to new possibilities

Weakening winter's icy grip 
And birdsong and bleating lamb
Announce to all the promise
That in due season
Creation bursts into life.
And whilst leaves that fell in winter
Lie upon the ground
Soon to feed the earth
In nature's wondrous cycle
Of death and rebirth
Within the tree is a stirring of new growth
-Author unknown

Yes, the onset of March  and the promise of Spring.  Longer days, warmer sun, and the thoughts of birthing and planting.   This is what occupied the minds of our Ancestors.   Every spring equinox, they honored the Sun for returning after its '’sleep”.  How will you bring in Spring this year? 

Blessings, 

Judy

February 1 2024 - Signalling The Change of Seasons

After a long span of winter with cold temperatures and lots of snow, all of us in the North look to February to signal a change in the weather.  The first really warm rays of sun hit us and we feel better for the sun on our face.

February is a time of Peacefulness when we know that the worst of the weather is most often behind us and we start looking at our seed catalogues for ideas for the garden and for the flower beds.

It is a time where it is easy to close your eyes and sink into peaceful meditation as you contemplate the beauty of Nature.  An easy mantra to use is:

            Nature surrounds me and protects me.

            Nature heals me.

            Nature supports me to be me!

Blessings.

Judy

Truth From A Buddhist View

                                               Picture of wild lily by J Hirst in July 2023

When we had our Winter Solstice gathering, one of the things that we did was pull a card with one word on it.  That word is the thing that we will work on over 2024.  The card that I pulled was “Truth”.  Interesting to me is that stuff that I do every day is supporting that.  

In my study of all things Buddhism, I came across a little book called “The Little Book of Zen Haiku, Koans, Sayings” from Barnes and Noble, and edited by Manuela Dunn Mascetti.  Now, Koans are stories that are meant to be puzzling to help the student gain enlightenment after meditating on the story – sometimes for great lengths of time. 

The Koan that I am sitting with is called “Tipping Over A Vase”.  

Hyakujo wished to send a monk to open a new monastery.  He told hi disciples that whoever answered a question most ably would be appointed.  Placing a water vase on the ground, he asked, “Who can say what this is without calling its name?”

The Chief monk said, “No one can call it a wooden shoe.”

Isan, the cooking monk, tipped over the vase with his foot and went out.  

Hyakujo smiled and said, “The chief monk loses.” And, Isan became the master of the new monastery.

The point of the Koan is to show that truth, as symbolized by the water vase, can only be shown. The cooking monk makes this demonstration very effectively.  

One of the leadership tools that I used to teach in my Organizational Behaviour Class was “How to Refute Rumour”.  The only way was to ignore it, not comment on it, and show the employees what the truth was.  

Truth is healing! It gives us a spiritual peace.  We feel balanced and at one with all things… Nature is our friend.  Sadly, we as a civilization seem to have moved far from Truth.  Perhaps we have reached the furthest swing of the pendulum and we are now ready to start kicking over vases, politicians, corrupt CEO’s and Boards, to get at the Truth.

May you find Truth in all you do!

Many Blessings,

Judy