Two Kinds of Rocks

This picture along the Kootenay River reminds me of the stories about rocks.  There are two kinds of rocks that grow in the Earth.  One rock represents goodness, kindness, steadfastness, and strength.  These rock are guardians or sentinels.  A good example is the ring of rocks at Stonehenge.  Another example are the mountains of the Rocky Mountains.

 

Then there are the rocks that are grown from anger.  These rocks are pushed up through the Earth because people have expressed a heart felt wish of extreme anger.  The rocks lose their ability to hold strength and push up as broken and feel “off”.  These rocks can mark a place of Sorrows.

This day, be mindful of what your heart holds and what you create in the world.

Blessings,

Judy

Beauty of The Earth

Along highway 93, one can pull off the road, and spend some time beside a stream or river, or small lake, and contemplate the peace.

With the peace, the beauty of the Earth shines out like a gift on one’s birthday.  Sunlight, warmth, and many elementals work with you to bring down the state of tension in your body.

Use this picture as a focal point for your meditation and see where it takes you.   Send me comments to tell me about your journey.

Blessings,

Judy

Kodiak Bear In My Meditation

         

I sat in meditation and breathed slowly sinking into a place of a running river, flowing over and around rocks.  Forest bordered the river about fifty feet from the sides of the river.  I then became conscious of movement to the right of me.  There was a very, very large brownish red bear.  I was startled even though I knew I had nothing to fear.  

I welcomed the bear.  He replied that he was a Kodiak Bear.  He had some sharing to provide to the world.

• Do not be afraid to let your unique abilities shine through at this time.  Each of us has a different way of dealing with a situation.  The time for you to act is now. 
• Find your mate, and stick with them.  Each of you is drawn to the other so that you both may grow.  It is the way of things.  
• Use your language and your body stance to defend your position.  It will earn you respect.  Fighting does not earn any  respect, and instead, demeans who you are. 
• Define what you are able to do, what you are good at, and what you are great at.  Pursue the greatness in you.  It emerges at the most appropriate time.  

I thanked Kodiak, and he drifted away.

Blessings,

Judy

Pelican Offers Advice

As we walked along the path by the river, we were surprised to see a lonely looking Pelican floating along the water, occasionally sticking its head below the water and then pulling it up again. 

My friend recently lost her husband to a long battle with cancer.  She was enjoying the walk and we were having a lively conversation.  Suddenly, the Pelican squawked, and stared right at her.  It began a lively combination of swimming, and sticking its head under water, and shaking water off, and then starting the combination all over.   We were surprised yet again, by this unusual behaviour.

Elizabeth asked me what I thought the bird was doing.  My reply was that the Pelican was giving her a message about life.  Here is my interpretation of the message.

• Pick up the pace of what you are doing.  It is okay to be gentle for a while, however, you do need to get on with things.
• When you feel an emotion, dive into it, and find out where it takes you.  Remember that an emotion is symptomatic of something else going on.
• Hiding from the world view by burying your head will not change things.  Meet things head on.
• When you have explored something, shake it off, and move on to the next thing.
• Moving with the water’s flow is easier than swimming upstream. 

Blessings,

Judy

Lightning strikes a Tree

“Lightning is good.  When Lightning strikes a tree, people say that tree has been blessed and they go to gather that wood for special purposes.”  -  Apache Tradition

Last week, lightning hit a tree on Poplar Island, an island in the Bow River, and part of Fish Creek Park.  The tree burned for a long time, for it was a large tree, and had lived a long time.

I began to think about the tree.  One of my thoughts was that the Elementals had decided that this tree was special, and that it should not suffer the fate of being chewed down by beavers, and then becoming part of the next beaver dam.  

Instead, the Elementals decided that this tree would be transformed from tree to charcoal.  It then becomes a wonderful instrument of cleaning and healing for all the animals that ingest it.  As it washes into the river, it becomes a natural filter.

It seems to me that this is how humans may transform – with one flash of great light they become less than they were before and then so much more.

I wish you a flash of inspiration!

Blessings,

Judy

A Dream About Aquarium Fish

This post is from a dream that I wrote up in my journal back many years ago.  I find the old dreams interesting and I look for repeating archetypes and themes in my dreams.  

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This picture comes from commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Home_aquarium.jpg  (My aquarium does not look nearly this good, nor is it this big!)

The other night, in my dreams, a big aquarium popped up, out of no where, and both my fish swam to the side of the tank and looked at me.  They then made everything go dark, and little by little, cleared the blackness so that the tank, and the water, and the scene were filled with clear light.

When I woke up, I knew that the fish wanted me to clean the tank. As I carried out the task, I thought how interesting it was that I was spending an hour cleaning out the tank, and the castle and rocks and filter.  It was very much like sifting through my emotional body, and pulling out the gunk that was sitting in there. 

Fish have been a symbol of spirituality and abundance going back to the time of cave drawings.  Fish, like us, come in a variety of colours with a huge range of dispositions.  The most beautiful are sometimes the most deadly.  Scientists agree that all life originated in the oceans/seas/rivers.  Therefore, water on our planet is like a big womb.  And, yes, we all require it to live.  We need to breath air, and assimilate the oxygen in the water.  Fish, then, are symbolic of the fruits of the womb, of motherhood.  They inspire creativity and bring good luck, as the Chinese believe.  

Water is always transforming – it evaporates, becomes mist, may fall as rain, and then returns to the Earth to rise up again as water.  Fish, then, represent change.  If they are coming into your life, perhaps they are saying, like they did to me, “It is time to clean up your act and get your house in order for the new things that are coming.”

Blessings,

Judy

Welcome June 2024

Picture of Fairy Tree in the meadow in Fish Creek Park – from Caro and used with permission.

 

As we move into the month of June, two things always jump to my mind. One – this is the sacred time of weddings, and two – this is the time of the power of Summer Solstice. What makes June sacred is that the Goddess, Juno (Roman) also called Hera (Greek) is the sacred patron of maidens and women. It is she who blesses unions and blesses the conception of children. In fact Juno blesses all creative acts and her power is strongest in mid summer. She is profoundly feminine, and powerful. Legend has it that Juno causes the wealthy to share their wealth with poorer folks, or for good causes. All the rivers, streams, lakes and oceans are her domain in summer because of the life that is created from the water.

Summer Solstice is a time of gathering of family and tribe. It is a time to celebrate the feminine – the ability to endure and to create. It is a time of healing when we cleanse to make ourselves stronger; when we ask for blessings to prevent tragedy and to protect us and our projects and crops for another year. This is a time of abundance for the first of the harvest – lettuce, green onions, peas, beans, and herbs are now ready.

The full moon in June is called “The Mead Moon” for this is the best time for making dandelion wine and honey wine.   June’s emotions are about loyalty and bonding.  Our Ancestors also knew that June, with its unpredictable weather, is about enduring and continuing.  Healers often pick herbs at this time because the strong summer sun and moon are good vibrations for the harvesting of herbs for cleansing, strengthening, and for protection.

May your June be sunny and happy!

Blessings,

Judy

Contemplating the Wild

                                               Picture of stream running in spring at the park

When you look at pictures of parks, forests, and wild rivers and streams, it seems that these wonderful places are getting quite beat up by the numbers of people using them, especially places close to highly populated areas like cities.  

When I say “beat up”, I am talking about the garbage left behind, the beaten down grass and bushes where people are walking even though the big sign says, “Area under conservation.  Please do not leave the path.”  It seems that many people have no respect for the wild - the grasses, trees, animals, birds, etc.  

It seems to me that people have forgotten how to walk softly on the Earth. People leave large footprints including garbage, trampled spots, and angry animals.  

Walk softly upon the earth.

May its beauty forever surround you,

its wonders forever astound you.

May its wisdom delight you,

its music invite you

to dance and to play and to sing.

May you love and be loved by all that you meet;

may you know and practice compassion.

Rejoice in the earth and in all of creation.

Rejoice in life.

a parting blessing - alfred v. fedak - 2008

Written in memory of a departed friend. 

Choral anthem published by Selah Publishing Company, Pittsburgh, PA.

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

Mountain Goat Speaks - Spirit Animal

Picture is from an email and an unknown source.

One of the last times we drove up into the mountains this summer, we saw Mountain Goats roaming in the lower pastures along the mountain range.  The road that we use closes October 15.  In the past, the mountain goats have looked relaxed and pay little attention to what is around them.  This time, however, the mountain goats were on high alert and seemed anxious.  Even the youngest goats were not capering like they normally do.  The following came to me in a meditation.

Mountain Goat Beings

We, the Mountain Goat beings are so happy that we live on the mountains.  We look at the destruction of the waters and oceans (the Gulf of Mexico, the tar sands, and the pollution of the rivers) and say, “Animals have never done this much damage to anything!” Man, so far, has left the mountains alone.  The mountains are the wisdom keepers of the Earth.  All information passes from one side of the globe to the other through the vibrations carried through the Earth, from one mountain to another.  

The Mountain Goat herd lives on all the highest mountains, and we carry wisdom up and down the mountain.  We anchor the light so that it can reach the valleys more easily.  At one point in our history, the peoples that lived in the valleys and up the foothills, regarded us as spirits that brought news and brought them foretelling of the weather.  We were treated with respect by man.  Now, our lives are in danger from what you call “big game hunters”.  We do not see their hunting as much of a game.  They use high vision heat tracking seeing things to find us, and they corner us.  They do not even eat us. These hunters are our worst predator and generate fear for our kind’s future.

Blessings,

Judy

Affirmation to Turn Thinking Around

 

Elbow River Boat Launch Turn Out in Elbow Falls Recreation Area July 2023 - J Hirst

All is well. Everything is working out for my highest good. Out of this situation only good will come. I am safe. - Louise Hay 

We all have days where we feel that everything is going wrong.  It is on these days that we can create more problems for ourselves simply by reinforcing our very bad mood.  The challenge always is - how do we change this feeling of doom and gloom around?

There are several different ways to change your mood.  Method one is to think of happy things and to think about funny situations that have occurred in your life.  You can think about a place that it happened or you can think about the person or people that it happened with.  I usually think about a person that I have had an adventure with that resulted in some funny stories.

Method two is to take a few minutes to meditate and go to your happy place and meditate yourself calm knowing that nothing is permanent, and all will change.

Method three is to use Louise Hay’s affirmation or mantra, and repeat it to yourself until you feel your body shift.  The first part - All is well - tells you that nothing is forever and that whatever is happening to you is a blip on life.  Every thing is working out for my highest good - tells you that although you cannot see it, the outcome from this situation will surprise you and the results will be very helpful to you.  The last part - I am safe - has the most significance because when we move into an unhappy thinking place, we tend to feel not safe.  So we become defensive to anyone who approaches us, and that often makes a bad situation worse.  We need to remember that we are safe.  

Many blessings,

Judy

Cedar Waxwing

  

  Cedar Waxwing – picture from www.phase.com

As the leaves float off the trees, flocks of birds hit our yard to pull berries and seeds off the trees.  The last of these flocks this year are the Cedar Waxwings.

Over the past two weeks, when my dog and I walk in the woods, one or two cedar waxwings fly along with us and sing a song of trills and whistles.  Since they are trying very hard to get my attention, I spent some time finding out about the bird.

First, the birds are migratory, and arrive in Calgary in the early spring, any time in March.  They come in flocks of hundreds, and several flocks visit our back yard, and sit on our mountain ash, eating berries.  Cedar Waxwing’s diet is pretty much always fruit and berries (it loves the sweetness of life) except at breeding time, when it will eat insects as well.  In fact, the berries that it eats may affect the coloring of the feathers, making the light red/orange a much more vibrant red, and changing the yellow color to a more orangey-red hue.  

Second, while their favorite habitat is woodland with access to lots of berries, the Waxwing loves to be near open, running water, such as a stream, creek, or river.  Waxwing needs lots of water to help process its sugar rich diet.  

Third, Waxwings mate in early summer, coming together as a pair only for the season.  They make their vows as a couple by passing flower petals or some food back and forth.  They may have two nests through the summer as the eggs hatch within two weeks, and the young leave the nest after eighteen days.  Both parents feed the young.

Waxwing teaches lessons around going beyond the physical demands of the body (food and shelter needs found in the base chakra) and speaks to the joy of belonging, for they belong in flocks and pairs (which is what the second and third chakras, orange and yellow in color are about), and Waxwing sings of the sweetness of life.  Its love of running water is about letting all emotions run off your body.  Feel them to the utmost and then let them go.  It is stuck emotions that cause pain and illness, for many people.  Waxwing’s mask is a reminder that sometimes all that other see is the mask that they perceive.  And, for many of us, our truth is hidden, even from ourselves.  

Wishing you days of light and laughter.

Many blessings,

Judy