What happens when we mask?

 

What happens when we mask?

 When we mask, we are are covering our face so that other people will not know who we are. What energies does that set in motion? When we go to parties wearing costumes and masks, we assume a different identity for a while. Changing our identity in this way is fun. When we have a great costume and mask, people have fun trying to figure out who we are and we can have some mischievous fun with them. Remember that laughter is as good a way to connect with people as love. Barriers dissipate when we are laughing with others. This holds true for business meetings as well as social events. There is also a sense of freedom that comes from being invisible. While we are masked, fore that event, we can pretend we are some famous celebrity, popular icon or superhero. For a brief while, we can pretend we have another life. How does it feel to be able to do that for a while? How does it feel when you return to your normal appearance? Does masking give you new ideas or inspire you in some way? Does your life suddenly feel larger? Then we have another application for masking. When we mask for a civic ritual or spiritual ritual, it is another way of communicating with spirit. Wearing a costume or mask identifies us in another way with spirit. Think about dressing up for a parade. For that event, we are wanting to be seen as part of a larger group with a purpose or identity. Spiritually, this falls into the same category as wearing certain clothes to attend a ritual or ceremony. We present ourselves with a physical sign that we are here for a specific purpose. As part of a Day of the Dead or Samhain (pronounced as sowen, the old Celtic name for Halloween), we take on the persona of guides for those who have recently departed for the next realm. The spiritual reason for these holidays is to send our family members or friends off on a pleasant journey into their next life. The most common imagery reported by those who have had near death experiences is that the family and friends who preceded them are waiting there to welcome them to this next step in our evolution. We are blessing this flow of events and holding space for it to happen. As a kid, Halloween was always one of my favorite holidays. In my eyes, at that time, how could anything better happen than to dress in costumes and then walk around the neighborhood ringing doorbells and getting shopping bags full of free candy? As an adult, Halloween has taken on a whole new meaning for me as a time to pause and reflect on our journey so far. The fact that it is no longer good for me to eat bags of candy is one pleasure that is now in the past. Then there is the reality that many people I have known, loved, worked with, and learned from have made this transition and every year, more names are added to that list, some expected, and some totally surprising. Masking has ancient roots in our human traditions that encompasses both the joy and the spiritual evolution in our lives and the masks themselves become both toys and tools for us. Wear them well. I always love hearing from you, so if you feel like sending me a note, calling or coming to see me, please do! Have a wonderful day!

Where is the light leading us?

 

Where is the light leading us?

Sometimes a small gleam of light catches our eye, and that draws us toward it. When we pursue it, it may seem like it is dark and the light was just a blip, a flash, a glimmer. It can be elusive, just like when we are googling a subject and we get bits of what we are seeking before we find a whole vein of pertinent facts. When the cloud cover is heavy in the sky, we can see the moon glowing behind it, and until there is movement, all we see is a light spot behind the clouds where it peeks through a bit until the clouds move. Where is the light leading us? Every fall, the trees show us how beautiful it is to let go of what we no longer need. They say farewell with a flourish of colors and then reveal the sturdy frame of the tree which will be what supports next year's growth. We are like trees when we let go of old habits and grow new ones, as one season flows into the next. Trees do not choose whether or not these changes will come, because as long as it is alive, this is its life pattern. However, people can always choose their next growth pattern. It is always about priorities. How many times have we said we want to learn a new skill or technique, but keep choosing other things ahead of that? Every time we choose we are showing our priorities. How many times has that back burner had that same pot or pan sitting on it, waiting to be fired up? Free will and our choices serve our focus. When we align our choices in service to our focus, goal or vision, spirit will give us signs to affirm that we are on our best path. With the arrival of the Fall Equinox, each day becomes a bit darker now, and the light becomes quieter, making it a beautiful time to go within, within our place where it is warm, within ourself where we can explore our spirit. Our spirit is seen as our aura, which some people feel rather than see. When we tend our spirit, it nurtures our body and mind at the same time. What do you need to know or do to stimulate new growth in this coming season? What quick fixes are needed? What longer term changes need loving attention over time? I always love hearing from you, so if you feel like sending me a note, calling or coming to see me, please do! Have a wonderful day!

Night Vision

 

Night Vision

You know how little you see when you go outside at night, without yard lights on? At first, every thing just looks dark, but then if you just stand still for a moment, your vision adjusts and you can see although less clearly than in full sunlight. Shapes emerge out of the dark. And what did you have to do for the night vision to come into effect? Nothing. All you have to do is pause for a moment. Let the energy of your night vision shift. It is magical how shapes emerge from the dark. Our vision adjusts in just a few moments. We stay present and our eyes focus and our ability to see returns differently. Notice how our dreams are like that too. At first we see the surface movements in the dream, the characters, the story, the feeling. Then we recognize other waves of energy. Why do these people or places feel familiar? What energy changes when the characters, events or settings of the dreams change? What do we notice in the patterns? If we asked our spirit guides for a look ahead, did our dreams show us an answer yet? Just keep looking. They will answer us, sometimes it takes longer than we would like or the results might look different than what we expected. Notice how your dreams can shift into night vision mode, same as your eyesight does. Notes you made of last week's dreams may be seen in a different light this week because of things that have happened since then or continuations of the dreams may have altered our initial impressions. Dreams come to us while we sleep because our spirit never sleeps, and so it is wandering the universe gathering information and ideas for us. It is up to us to jot down whatever we can and then later on try to decipher it. Patterns will reveal themselves quickly. We move more into night, the darkest portion of the year now, once we reach the equinox when we have one day of equal parts day and night before the nights get progressively longer. We will be using our night vision more, in a deeper way. In so many ways, the darkest part of the year is the richest. Many traditions, holidays, the inward reflection at family gatherings, taking time to steep our thoughts in good books, videos, art and music. Time when students are deep in their studies and so are many adults who want to make some kind of positive change in their life. We might shift our focus and need to realign our energies. While we are currently in a time of harvest and expressing gratitude for that, we will also explore ideas about what we want to plant in the next crop. Just as farmers pay attention to the balance in their soil, we may need to re-balance the energies in our home life, relative to our work. When we use our night vision to see into the dark, we look through the dark to find the light. As our eyes adjust to the night vision, the dark evolves into shapes, and we can see the relations between the objects. More light will bring more details, and by simply having the patience to focus, things come into our field of vision in a way we can understand. Darkness which blocks out everything eventually gives way to light. The photo shows the Owl from Steven Farmer's Power Animal Oracle Cards and the Owl from Colette Baron-Reid's Spirit Animal Oracle, two handy little tools you might choose to use. These decks are fun to use with kids too. I always love hearing from you, so if you feel like sending me a note, calling or coming to see me, please do! Have a wonderful day!