Healing And Changing

This poster says:

When you can tell your story and it doesn’t make you cry, you know you have healed. -from NotSalmon.com

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March is a time of big change for us because we go into Spring after a challenging winter..    As Mother Earth changes, it is a time for us to look at change.  Maybe, this is the time for you to practice some self healing.

The world is shifting at an ever changing pace.  The fears that are surfacing and then come to pass, are fears:

• about loosing one's identity, 
• about poverty including lack of food and/or money, 
• about people having power over you
• about lack of control
• about loosing what one has
• about pain and illness
• about doing the wrong thing
• about dying

Many of these fears may be overcome by spending some time learning how to do some quick, self healing.

Note that the self healing that will be discussed over the next month does not replace medical doctor's advice, and these blogs should not be taken as medical advice.

What these blogs are intended to do is to provide some coping mechanisms for the turmoil and pains that one might feel in their daily life.

Blessings,

Judy

Mother Earth Speaks - Companion Planting

It is spring time!  Finally! I was looking through past journal entries about Mother Nature and Mother Earth to see what wisdom each of them sent me in the past.  In a meditation, I channeled the following information about getting ready for the garden and wisdom on companion planting as guided by Mother Earth.

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Dear Ones!  I come to speak to you about planting for some of you are getting ready to plant in green houses or even out doors.  You can give your herbs and garden plants a new kick start by planting different herbs with different plants.

For example, if you plant Basil with Tomatoes, you will repel insects that plague tomatoes.  This is a Mother Nature natural remedy for pests!  This works with potted plants as well as ground planted veggies.  

If you plant chives around apple trees, it will prevent scab on the apples.  Since chives have a lovely purple flower, it also brings the bees around to the apple tree.

Nasturtium plants repel aphids when planted with beans and tomatoes.  Nasturtium flowers can be used in salads and sandwiches.  Nasturtiums also make an excellent companion plant to not just broccoli or apple trees, but also to corn, sweet corn, Zea maize,  and cabbages.  

Harvesting your Herbs

As soon as there are enough leaves on the herb plant, that picking a few will not impair the plant's survival. This also means that the herb is ready to be harvested. Always harvest your herbs in the morning hours. It is usually in the morning that the herb plant's oils are at their highest concentration. When harvesting herb make use of a sharp knife, pruning scissors, or shears. Do rinse the herbs gently in cool water immediately after harvesting. Allow the herbs to air dry, or pat the herbs lightly with a paper towel. Use them immediately, alternatively, store in the refrigerator for later use.

Blessings,

Judy

Happy Easter Sunday- March 31 2024 - And Rabbit

Easter always makes me think of bunnies.. and spring…and it makes me happy.  In our area in Calgary, we only see Rabbit from time to time because we also have Bobcat.

Thinking about bunnies and rabbits makes me think about the “magic” of Rabbit.  No, I don’t think of Easter eggs.  I do think of how powerful Rabbit is in the spiritual world.

When Rabbit hops in and out of your daily life, and leaps about in your dreams, then you know that something “big” is happening!

Rabbit has often been a symbol of fertility, abundance, and beginnings.  Now, Rabbit is showing up all over the place in urban areas, and being seen by people that would not normally notice her.  They talk about Rabbit nibbling on their grass in the back alleys, about Rabbit and her friends jumping around and not seemingly that afraid of cats and dogs.  Mostly, they talk about how excited they feel to see Rabbit.  

Rabbit, like her mythological counterpart, The Easter Bunny, is bringing that sense of joy and wonderment.  She makes people feel excited and helps them back off the “fear” factor that many feel right now.  She is helping us grow at a soul level by “leaps and bounds”.

Happy Easter!

Judy

Let’s Talk About Spring Equinox 2024

Picture of Spring Equinox at Stonehenge is from The Telegraph (www.telegraph.co.uk)

Spring Equinox in Alberta is Tue, Mar 19, 2024, 9:06 p.m. Mountain Time

So, what is the spring equinox? According to the website - the statesman.com, the equinox marks the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, but to be more specific, it's the day the sun's rays shine onto the equator while the Earth sits with its axis tilted neither toward nor away from the sun. This causes 12 hours of sunlight almost everywhere on Earth.

My husband and I plan each year to have a celebration of the Spring Equinox because it is the beginning of spring which leads to summer.  It is an amazing time of new energy arriving on the Earth.

Our celebration usually happens a couple of days ahead of The Equinox so that our group can plan how they want to absorb the energies of the day.   We have a group meditation focusing on “something” around the Equinox, several short meditations on relevant needs such as a particular healing or seeing that is required, and we have a sharing circle at the end.  We open and close with creating sacred space and then closing sacred space.  We clean up the space we have been using and then everyone proceeds to the dining room for a sumptuous pot luck dinner.

Some years our celebration varies.  If it is a lovely day, instead of being in the house by the fireplace, we will be in the back yard around the fire pit.

However you decide to spend Spring Equinox, enjoy the celebration of the renewal of life.

Many blessings,

Judy

Eat Green To Reconnect With The Earth

For those of us that are still in snow covered areas, where Spring is taking a while to move forward, our vitamins and minerals are depleting.  Perhaps people who are living in weather troubled areas of flooding and drought are also experiencing this problem.

The Angels have been saying that we need to reconnect with the Earth, and to do that, we need to replenish the vitamins and minerals that have been leeching out of our bodies with over use of processed or fast food options.  

We have abundance in our lives, and we can choose to take the food that is nourishing.  Our Ancestors knew to dry green things to eat through the winter and into Spring.  The green food wants to be in service to help all beings.  With the inclusion of greens into our bodies, we help the greens become so much more.  Eventually, we all return to the Earth to begin again.  

Great Spirit has created natural processes to nurture us.  The Oceans assist the greens by creating different climates, and by providing moisture in the form of rain or snow.  The rain and snow carry light which is absorbed into the food.  We are grow with oxygen in our food, and the light in the oxygen.

Choose the greens grown close to home, if possible, to re-affirm your connection with the place that you are now living.  Celebrate the greens while you eat.  You will feel magnificent!

Blessings,

Judy

The Rabbits’ Mating Dance

It seems that spring is coming early this year.  This morning on our walk, my dog and I had a special gift given to us.  We saw about a dozen rabbits gather in an open field to start their mating dance.  They could jump so high!

A gathering of rabbits in this fashion is a gift that heralds abundance and creativity.  This is a gift from the goddess, Eostre, (other names Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eostur, Eastra, Eastur) who is said to be a goddess of the Teutonic era.  Eostre is said to come to Earth in the spring to provide support for the seeding, mating and birthing time.  Any ventures started during this time will be very successful, and the project, business, or trip, will connect you with people that will help you define what your life mission is for the next five to ten years.

The Rabbits have a blessing for you, that all barriers that block you will be diminished by the heights that you are able to soar, above anything you have dreamed of.

Many blessings,

Judy

About Grasshopper

Spirit Animal - Grasshopper

Grasshopper picture from email

 

John Keats - On The Grasshopper And Cricket

The poetry of earth is never dead:
When all the birds are faint with the hot sun,
And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run
From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead;
That is the Grasshopper's—he takes the lead
In summer luxury,—he has never done
With his delights; for when tired out with fun
He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.
The poetry of earth is ceasing never:
On a lone winter evening, when the frost
Has wrought a silence, from the stove there shrills
The Cricket's song, in warmth increasing ever,
And seems to one in drowsiness half lost, 

The Grasshopper's among some grassy hills.

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Most of know Grasshopper by its cheery sound through the spring and summer, and into the fall.  Grasshopper sings some of the most ancient songs on Earth, and sings the same songs that our Ancestors heard.  In fact, the song of Grasshopper is about the wandering that one needs to do to find a mate, to find food, and to find a place to die.  The song would change when the weather changed, so our Ancestors knew that rain or drought was near.  The sound of the grasshopper is like a meditation in the summertime.  It fills the air with a melody that relaxes and soothes.  Grasshopper reminds us to connect with our Ancestors through song and music.  We can learn their wisdom from the memories stored deep in our cells.


Grasshopper has the ability to leap great distances, and she is able to leap quite high in the air.  Therefore, she has the gift of travel; of bi-location; of astral travel.  She is associated with the mysteries of translocation and teleportation. She tells us to trust your knowledge and to leap through time to the place where you need to get your answer.  She tells us to astral travel or remote view the place that you need to travel to next, to survey the lay of the land.  This ability also allows us to connect to the heavens in a new way.


Enjoy the gift of grasshopper!

Many blessings,

Judy

Wood Caribou

Picture from www.deer.rr.ualberta.ca Years ago, my husband and I spent a week in Jasper, and hiked the mountains and explored springs, falls, and natural wonders. One of the natural wonders that was a surprise is Wood Caribou. I had no idea that caribou existed as far south as Jasper National Park. Every where we went, we saw signs up advising of Caribou crossing, and notices to stay away from them because they were quite aggressive with humans. We thought that seemed fair since humans are the predator that has caused the most damage to the Wood Caribou. In spring, Caribou climbs to the high alpine meadow of the Rockies. Since hiking trails now lead to some of these meadows, we expected to see herds of them. However, they were invisible. Perhaps this is part of their message to us. Knowing that the males are significantly larger than females, and that both of them will each weigh 450 and 250 pounds respectively, it is hard to believe they could hide so easily. Most Caribou are predominantly brown to olive, with whitish under parts, buttocks and legs. There is some geographic variation. Some populations in Greenland and northeastern Canada have nearly white coats. Both sexes are antlered.  Caribou offers many messages. - every year, take two big trips. A change of scenery allows you to appreciate what you have. - learn how to use your environment to your advantage to feel safe and to enjoy the abundance of it. - do not be afraid of adventure. Being a risk taker keeps us interested in life and helps us stay alert for predators (those who would use us to their own advantage). - enjoy the wilderness and protect it. Everything came from it, and most life depends on it (logging, gas, oil, coal and mining in general). Many blessings, Judy

Our Spring Equinox Gathering

 

The other day a Reader asked me what I do for Spring Equinox.  What a great question!

This year for Spring Equinox, we had a gathering of fourteen people, all friends that have been coming to our gatherings for years.  Since we did not have any gatherings through COVID, the day was so fun for our tribe to get together. 

After everyone exchanged hellos and hugs, and got tea or water, I hustled the group into the family room where we had a roaring fire going in the fireplace.  First item is to get everyone smudged and cleansed for the ceremony that we have.  Each person either brings a drum or rattle or takes one of our instruments.  As we wait for the smudging to finish, we begin drumming and rattling, clearing the energy in the room.

After the smudging, I open sacred space in the tradition of the Shaman of the Andes.  We open the four directions and above and below.  Then I give a brief overview of what we will cover during the session and advise who our Spirit Guide will be for the session.  In this session, it was Quan Yin. 

We do a quick around the circle introducing ourselves and why we are glad to be present today. Next, I sent around a jar filled with words. Each person drew out a word for this is the trait or issue that they will work on for the next three months.  For example, some of the words were - Forgiveness, Compassion, Leadership, etc.

 My husband then handed out crystals and provided a beautiful meditation on breathing into who we are. I led a meditation with Quan Yin as our guide that took us around the world.

We ended with a sharing circle where each person talked about what was on their mind.  Some talked about their meditation experience.  Some talked about what was going on for them at work or in encounters with different people.  Each experience was blessed.

The last part of the ceremony is that I closed sacred space.  Folks return the crystals and instruments and move to the dining room for refreshments and visiting.

The whole ceremony took place in one hour and ten minutes.  Remember, when we are in sacred space, time moves differently.

The energy in the house is incredibly fresh and gentle after a gathering.  Folks talk about feeling peace and calmness, and being happy.

A gathering does not need to be large.  We have done gatherings with four of us.  If you are feeling the urge to gather with like minded people, go for it!  The experience is always unique.  Each person grows with the experience.

Many blessings,

Judy

Spring Equinox March 20 2023

Nature and the calendar are not always in agreement.  Today, the calendar tells us that it is the Spring Equinox.  In the northern hemisphere, it tells us that the days will now be long and warm.  Most of the snow and cold are behind us. 

It tells us that the early flowers and herbs will be poking out their green shoots.  On the west coast, the spring bulbs will be growing and out in bloom.  

Nature announces spring by giving the birds a new, happier note to sing in the morning.  The robins arrive.  The rabbits do their athletic, complex mating dance.  All beings that hibernate come out of their dens.  

The world feels alive and vibrant. The world is healing, peaceful. Life feels tranquil.

Today, give thanks that we the seasons change and that the world keeps on spinning.  Give thanks for your family and friends and live this day fully.

Many blessings,

Judy