Tag: autumn

A Place of Graceful Flowering

Some days I feel so blessed to experience little pieces of wild heaven. Like a moment beneath the linden trees when the wind washes through them and their yellowed leaves flutter in frenzy. Or like the tranquil silence between each leaf dropping to the earth, falling so slowly and gracefully like pretty pieces of soul-touched confetti.

I sat beneath the trees and breathed this heaven in – the stillness, the peace and the soothing whispers in the wind. I breathed in the wildness of quiet trees whose voices land softly on open hearts when they dance in the autumn gusts, and I remembered that the mysterious force that weaves together sacred scenes like this is the very essence that weaves together breath and blood and soul in me, in us all.

I’m amazed sometimes how small moments like this, just sitting with the earth, can be gifts that remind me how to contact the mysterious sacredness within and guide my heart out of tension into a place of graceful flowering.

autumn kiss

New Worlds and Seed Pod Dreams

What if seeds were dreams? What if they were little gifts born from the hearts of seed pods, like ideas patiently moulded into masterful creations?  

I’ve long know the value of seeds, but I hadn’t given much thought to the pods carrying them until recently. When I gathered a collection of seed pods for my autumnal sacred space, I attuned to their deeply grounding energy in search of wild words to guide me through this season. I was pleasantly surprised by the wealth of wisdom impressed in their tiny brown bodies.

seed pods 1

Story makers, writers, artists and seed pods are very much alike, because all are creators. Seed pods begin empty. They begin open and receptive to an idea and they allow that idea to settle within them, slowly taking form. The pod understands that for a seed to be birthed, it needs a vacant incubator. So, the pod becomes a space of stillness where the creative energy of its heart-inspired idea or dream is transformed into a miraculous creation – a seed.

IMG_20160320_143342

The innate wisdom in seed pods knows not to rush the process because patience and stillness are integral to forming new worlds. What seed pods do so effortlessly doesn’t come as naturally for some of us. We don’t always know when to do or work, when to rest or when to allow things the space to unfold at their own pace. The masculine values ingrained in our society encourages us to constantly drive ourselves to breaking point. It’s taken me a long time to find the right kind of balance in my own creative process. When I’m not writing, I still have moments where I feel so unproductive and push myself to work harder or faster. But the reality is that sometimes what my words need in order to take form and come to life is for me to be a silent incubator of wild stories and to allow my ideas the stillness or space required for their evolution. Life Coach/Author, Martha Beck, pinpointed this concept quite aptly when she wrote:

 “During the times we think we’re being “unproductive”, the seeds of new worlds are germinating within us, and they need peace to grow.”

These insights really struck a chord with me. So, I’m letting them sink in. It’s good to have such grounding touchstones anchored somewhere in my consciousness because they become wise guidance for me to draw on when I lose my way.

Sometimes empty seed pod seem so bereft when their seeds have long deserted them to pursue a journey of their own. They reminded me that whether seed pod or person, it isn’t always easy to release dreams that you’ve carried deep inside of you, stories crafted from your own blood and tears. It takes courage to open up and launch these seeds that are so much a part of you into a wild and unknown world. We feel vulnerable. Yet, at the end of the day, our gifts, inner treasures and creations are meant to be shared. Like the seed pods, we have to trust and flow with the process. Each seed has a path and will of its own and when its time has come, the pod has to open up and let go. We have to make peace with our vulnerability and summons our inner strength to launch our creations into the world, and when we do, we are not left feeling bereft because the gift that we share are not lost, but offered. They offerings from a sacred place, from the profound creative force of our souls. So offering something so precious to the world leaves us feeling proud, fulfilled and free.

The seven wild words that I received when I meditated with the seed pods were:

 Release, Trust, Stillness, Incubate, Gifts, Open Up, Share

Following my seasonal practice, I’ve strung them together to create a new mantra to meditate on during this period:

“I allow myself the stillness that I need to incubate wild gifts in my heart. I trust enough to open up and release my gifts into the world because they are meant to be shared.”

Nature never ceases to amaze me. Her wisdom is boundless, her lessons never ending and I’ve discovered so much in a handful of seed pods. This autumn, as I work with my wild word mantra, I am open to the new worlds that the Earth’s vibration may light within me.

Equinox blessings to you. May the shifting seasons light new worlds inside of you too. 

seed pods 2

What are Your Vibe Triggers? And How Can You Make More Space for Them

My morning is a dreamland of silver raindrops dripping from the glossy green trees. In the midst of the Sunday morning stillness I am comforted by its soothing sounds…drip, drip, drip…

There’s been an extra air of magic about all weekend. Perhaps it’s the residue of the energy set in motion by Friday’s equinox, eclipse and new moon. On the equinox, I spent some time outdoors with my husband.

Walking, exploring and breathing…

We gathered acorns, pieces of mossy bark and the little bits of Nature from the floor, all to make an autumn inspired altar next to my writing desk. Its taking shape slowly, I still want to add some candles. But in the meantime, I’m enjoying the uplifting energy that it brings to my work space.

Creating this altar reminded me that the natural world is my biggest ‘vibe trigger’, for Nature brings me back to my heart-space, to my truth and immediately shifts my energy to a more positive, high vibrational space. So having plants, feathers and little pieces of her magic near me triggers a deeper connection to the Earth, together with a flow of vibrant higher energy.

What are your vibe triggers?

By ‘vibe triggers’ I mean things that bring you back to the essence of your inner wilderness?

What takes you out of the entrapments of negativity and puts you in a space where you emanate good vibes?

The word trigger often has negative connotations. It’s commonly associated with ‘strange vibes’ people or places give us, or things that set us off, things that put us in a bad mood, revive unhealthy old patterns or open old wounds. But over a year ago, while creating lunar inspired altars for each moon phase (as part of a course that I participated in), I began to see just how the little sacred spaces that I created activated soothing or inspiring vibes that triggered something positive in me and around me each time I saw them or meditated near them.

In Wild Essence, I describe vibe triggers as “points of focus that help to keep stimulating the wild energies…little reminders or things that you surround yourself with to activate your essential self.” (or positive energy in general) Depending on what your needs are they can be entry points into a space of deeper being or simply things that activate positive emotions, feelings and good moods.

When I think of vibe triggers, so many things come to mind:

Connecting with Nature. Mantras. Creating sacred spaces. Nourishing meals. Meditation altars. Filling my home with candles and vases of beautiful flowers. Walking by the water in the moonlight. Watching sunrises and sunsets. Falling asleep to the sound of rain falling. Writing soulful words. Reading inspiring passages, poems and prose.

What do they look like for you?

Whatever they are, I hope that you find ways to explore them and make space to accommodate their inspiring vibration in your daily life wherever possible, as often as possible.

image