Remembrance Day November 11 2024

This poster says:

For those who leave never to return.

For those who return but are never the same.

We remember.

Prairie Chicken In Snow - Spirit Animal

Yesterday, when I went out to my vehicle, there were three prairie chickens in the middle of the cove, pecking away at seeds.  They scurried away when I walked too close to them.  Then, today, when the I took my dog walking in the park, at the exit, there was a small flock of six prairie chickens.  This time, they flew away instead of scurrying, I think, because of my dog.

It is apparent to me, that Prairie Chicken has a message for me because it is appearing two days in a row, and the number of critters is multiplied by two.  This really illustrates how message totem animals work.  

“A Message Animal Totem usually is bringing you a self growth, spiritual message, or a cautionary warning. It is often a wake up call or slap in the face. It will usually be a very unusual experience making it very powerful at that time and very impartial. A Message Totem is a brief period of time, a day, a week, and occasionally as much as a couple of months but can be immediate for just a few hours.”

Now, it is up to me to figure out what the message is because the animals did not stay around to give the message to me directly.  Prairie Chickens, and many chickens and quail, and even grouse, are about community, about feeding or nourishment, and about protection – especially fleeing at the first sign of danger.  This means that chicken is also about being ultra aware of one’s surroundings.

The message that resonated for me as I meditated on Prairie Chicken and the chickens’ actions is:

• When the unknown approaches and it feels threatening, simply flee and then observe it from a distance.  Warriors are careful.
• Finding the best place to eat and creating the best food will keep your group very strong.  Nourishment is part of spirituality for the body must be kept healthy.
• Feeding people is a small sacrifice that shows that you are in service.

 Blessings,

Judy

Buddha Talks - Recognize the Ego Mind

I was looking at some of the speeches from different politicians in different parts of the world.  It made me think of this lesson from Buddha.

When we look for the mind, we can't find any shape, or color, or form. This mind that we identify as the self, which we could call ego-mind, controls everything we do. Yet it can't actually be found—which is somewhat spooky, as if a ghost were managing our home. The house seems to be empty, but all the housework has been done. The bed has been made, our shoes have been polished, the tea has been poured, and the breakfast has been cooked. The funny thing is that we never question this. We just assume that someone or something is there. But all this time, our life has been managed by a ghost, and it's time to put a stop to it. On one hand, ego-mind has served us—but it hasn't served us well.  – Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, "Searching for Self"

Blessings,

Judy 

Be A Happiness Engineer

The message from Creator and the Angels today, is about creating happiness for yourself.  Think of all the great monuments in the world, and that they were built by architects, engineers, and willing builders.  

Each day, you can be the architect of your day, and plan happiness.  Each day, you can be the engineer that makes happiness happen by looking at all the things that are in your life – the abundance, the home, the family, the friends, and even the dog, and seeing that everything, not just ONE thing, does contribute to happiness.  All of the components are the willing builders that work with you to build happiness, if you allow them to be part of your life.  This means that you do not control them, but, you can suggest to them all the things that build happiness.

Blessings,

Judy

Spirit Talks About Rhythm

 

Now is the time to celebrate.  Feel your heartbeat and the rhythm of life.  In movement and flow, everything has cycles and rhythms.  Feel and know your part of this rhythm through to the core of your being.  Get in touch with your inner self.

Do no let disharmony interrupt your rhythm and flow, bud dance your dance and sing your song with joy, and others will be infected with the delight of it.

– Treasures from Tikashi

As we move through the changes of time and space, find a place in your heart that is filled with joy.  Let this be one of your sanctuaries.  When you feel down or out, go to this place, to your reserve of joy, and let all things flow.

Blessings,

Judy

November 1 2024

November waltzes in on the heels of All Hallows‘ Eve or Halloween.  In Celtic and Nordic tradition, this was a time to celebrate the end of the harvest and to put some seeds and grain out at the shrine for those members of the family that have died. 

Picture of an ancestors’ shrine from www.pathofeire.org  

 

 

This leads to November 1 which is the traditional time of “Feast of the Dead”.  Although we tend to attribute this festival to the Mexican people, many other countries and belief systems honour their dead at this time.  

I love the tradition of the Huron people, in days gone by.  Whenever a large village shifted location, about every 10-15 years, the Huron celebrated a “Feast of the Dead”.  Since the ancestors could not be moved conveniently with the tribe, a special ceremony was held to offer the ancestors a final resting place and to give the ancestors peace. The bodies were removed from their temporary cave graves and buried in a deep pit lined with furs such as beaver and mink. The ceremony showed the reverence and gratitude that all Huron have for their dead. This grand ceremony was the final release of the souls, and the responsibility that the ancestors had to the tribe.  Those souls now released could walk the path up to the sky, to hunt with the Gods, and live a life of abundance.  

I also love the description that Marcelina at www.mysticalmind.comwrites of the preparing of the cemetery for “The Feast Of The Dead”. She writes:

The day before the feast, the younger people would have to tidy up the cemetery. The wooden crosses had to be straightened upright, faded, painted headstones had to be touched up, and the weeds needed to be pulled out. Dried leaves and twigs were placed in a pile to make into a bonfire. The whole surroundings must be swept with a broom to clear the spirits’ path who would be attending the feast. Some of the younger women had to plant flowers and herbs, and others needed to set up the altar on the round, flat rock in the cemetery which had been dedicated for this event. Pictures of the departed, fruits, flowers and candles were carefully placed around the altar while a big cross of Jesus Christ stood at the center.

Westerners, in the past, have a tendency to ignore their ancestors. That behaviour seems to be changing, and more people, even if they do not set up a shrine, are saying prayers for their ancestors.  And that, I think, is a good thing!

Blessings,

Judy

A Spell From Shakespeare!

When we think of Halloween, we think of spooks, ghosts, monsters, and witches.  We think of skeletons, and candy, and being scared, and that bad things might happen.  Witch costumes are abundant on Halloween.  Here is how Shakespeare showed witches in his play, Macbeth.

The Witches’ Spell

Act IV, Scene 1 from Macbeth (1606) by William Shakespeare

A dark Cave. In the middle, a Caldron boiling. Thunder.
Enter the three Witches.

1 WITCH. Thrice the brinded cat hath mew’d.
2 WITCH. Thrice and once, the hedge-pig whin’d.
3 WITCH. Harpier cries:—’tis time! ’tis time!
1 WITCH. Round about the caldron go;
In the poison’d entrails throw.—
Toad, that under cold stone,
Days and nights has thirty-one;
Swelter’d venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i’ the charmed pot!
ALL. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
2 WITCH. Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting,
Lizard’s leg, and owlet’s wing,—
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
ALL. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
3 WITCH. Scale of dragon; tooth of wolf;
Witches’ mummy; maw and gulf
Of the ravin’d salt-sea shark;
Root of hemlock digg’d i the dark;
Liver of blaspheming Jew;
Gall of goat, and slips of yew
Sliver’d in the moon’s eclipse;
Nose of Turk, and Tartar’s lips;
Finger of birth-strangled babe
Ditch-deliver’d by a drab,—
Make the gruel thick and slab:
Add thereto a tiger’s chaudron,
For the ingrediants of our caldron.
ALL. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
2 WITCH. Cool it with a baboon’s blood,
Then the charm is firm and good.

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Blessings,

Judy