November brings complex energetics to the table

Hello my friends. Can you believe it is already November 2017?? To me it seems the year has flown by. Energies are high right now, as influenced by the Full Moon and the intensity of the changing season. Let's start by looking at what this Full Moon brings:

In November we have an Otter Full Moon (or Beaver, depending on your source), which is a somewhat complex energetic because it taps both an awakening of consciousness and a sense of being grounded. Generally speaking, these may be two opposing impulses, but at this time, they come in harmony to create a powerful energetic that supports us in releasing what no longer serves to make space for what does. 

You may feel especially emotional during this Moon cycle (I know I do!) as new levels of clarity come to you. You may also notice a broadening of your perceptual field and a stirring of your spirit that actually leaves you feeling more, rather than less, connected and grounded. 

Combine that with the ending of the Harvest season. This month our energy begins to turn inward as Winter approaches. If you have not yet taken stock of your personal "harvest" this year - what you grew in your life and what is ready for releasing - now is the time to do so. Your personal harvest begins in the Spring with what you plant into your life; then moves into Summer in which you tend to those dreams; then becomes your harvest in Autumn. 

Sometimes what we find excites and pleases us; sometimes it does not. No matter what you find in your personal harvest, give thanks for it. Growth comes through both gains and losses. And as the Otter Moon suggests, we have to release what does not serve us to make room for what does, just as a tree releases its spent leaves during Autumn, making way for fresh growth in the Spring.

Consider allowing this Thanksgiving to hold something different for you: an opportunity to celebrate the whole of your harvest - that which is to be released and that which is growing - in your life. By keeping your connections to the things in your life current and clear, you free up the space and energy needed to keep you feeling vibrant and inspired, ready to move forward. 

Til next time, Namaste'

Come Present

Hello Friends!
It has been a while; life is full and I was delayed in connecting with you. Today I feel compelled to blog about coming present with what is.

We find ourselves midway through October 2017 and quickly approaching Samhain (pronounced "sow-in") - the celebration behind All Hallows' Eve and modern-day Halloween. Samhain was originally celebrated to honor the spirits of the dead, for it was believed they visited the Earth on October 31st and provided insights into the future. Sacred hearth fires were burnt all night as a gesture and request for protection through the approaching darkness of the cold, harsh Winter months.

Photo by Olivia Henry on Unsplash

 

Samhain comes at an auspicious time of year when the season shifts from long, warm Summer days to long, cool Autumn nights. The color of the leaves on the trees signals the change most prominantly. Traditionally this meant the energy and activity of the season was shifting too: crop growing was done and harvesting began.

Photo by Evgeni Evgeniev on Unsplash

Though our context may be different, these same shifts apply to us today, if more to our internal world than our external one. Our body wisdom responds to the energetic shifts inherent in the change of seasons. And if we pay close attention, we may feel a shift in what we long to do that mirrors this change.

While Summer is typically filled with a lot of external busyness and play, Autumn beckons us to start slowing down and bring more presence to what is...to take stock of what we've created in our lives, trash what didn't work, harvest what did, and be grateful for it all.

Today we can use the symbology of Samhain this way:

• honor and release what no longer serves your life (the crops that did not grow or no longer serve your life; your "dead")
• claim what does (the crops that grew to enhance your life; your "harvest")
• be grateful for what is (all the gifts born of your year and your life so far, both tangible and intangible)  

 

Photo by Simon Maage on Unsplash

 

You might want to write down the things you are releasing and ceremonially burn the paper; you might also want to make note of the gifts of your harvest and ceremonially bury the paper. By honoring the ancient Samhain tradition in this way, you can clear your energetic field, gain perspective, and better prepare for what approaches next.

This placement of your attention is a powerful tool to keep you present with what is, in a way that leads to the next aligned step toward right action in your life, rather than getting caught up in messy distractions and distorted reactions that don't serve. I define right actions as those based in love, and distorted actions as those based in fear. For what it's worth, now is a great time to be curious, to stretch beyond your comfort zone, and to choose love above fear.

Photo by Jez Timms on Unsplash

Each and every one of us is called to stop being shy, and to step into right, aligned action for ourselves and for the greater reality of which we are a part. For what better purpose is there to life than serving the world in a way that leads to positive changes for you and for all the beings you share this Planet home with? I can't think of any...

Until next time, fare thee well my friends,
Dr. Ceci Zuniga

Solar Eclipse: More Sacred Opportunity Than Spectacle

This may or may not be news to you, but there is so much hype about the upcoming Solar Eclipse of August 21, 2017, that I feel compelled to share about it on a deeper level, for your consideration.

It came to my attention that the upcoming Total Eclipse of the Sun is not a “spectacle,” as it is being treated in typical Western fashion, but a sacred and powerful event. For instance, certain Native tribes share that this Eclipse is an intimate and rare encounter between the Sun, Moon, and Earth, a connection to be respected rather than “stared at.” They add, in fact, that it is "rude" to stare at it. The word that comes to mind for me is “disrespectful.” 

From a Shamanic perspective, the Total Eclipse of the Sun is a powerful and significant event, providing an opportunity for heightened awareness and positive change. Out of the light from which we are born, into the shadow of this ego-oriented reality, and back to the light of our true nature we die - a Solar Eclipse symbolizes the sacred journey of our lives.

  
Here are some other reasons why the Solar Eclipse is not only a significant opportunity, but a sacred event:

From an energetic standpoint, the Total Eclipse of the Sun signifies change, or a disruption of the norm. For instance, it is not "normal" for the Sun's light to be blocked, or to glimpse twinkling stars during the daytime, or for the Planet Earth to be cast into full shadow. The symbology of these things is intriguing.

The Total Eclipse of the Sun flips the reality of what is on its head. It is a turning over of the status quo. It rocks the energetic boat of our lives, offering a significant opportunity to reboot outdated, hurtful patterning.

This Eclipse invites us to explore the multitude of changes within ourselves, our lives, and our world that feel like a “disruption of past norms.” How do we respond to them in a way that maintains our integrity and fosters harmony or even evolution? This is the challenge; it matters not whether we feel aligned with the changes or disruptions we face. And there are many right now.

How we choose to address the changes is significant: it is the point of our personal power in terms of what we manifest in this reality. Through our choices, we can either make substantive healing and peace possible, or we can feed the wounding and chaos - within ourselves, our lives, and our world.

Just as the Earth will be cast into shadow, we, too are thrown into the shadow of our beings, our lives, and of what we have created in the world, even if only through our ignorance, apathy, or by our default membership in the Human Race. We are all responsible, since we are all energetically inseparable. 

This event invites us to look deeply inward to search out the shadow aspects of our being that we generally deny - those parts of ourselves we reject; those parts we are ashamed of and choose to keep under cover; those parts of ourselves that in some way contribute to our personal and global suffering. By bringing them into the light (of our awareness), we claim the opportunity for change, allowing us to make a different choice - to release and move beyond them to something greater for ourselves and our world, rather than continuing to hide them in the shadows of denial, fear, apathy, ignorance, or rejection.

Something powerful this way comes…

Stuck in a Rut or Rolling like a Stone

Do you find yourself stuck in the same old ruts?

It's easy to do, because most of us have just enough energy to keep doing what we are doing but not enough to change anything. Yet we hope and wish for things to change. This pattern matches Albert Einstein's brilliant definition of insanity: "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

Why do we do it? I know many people who want their lives to change but cannot make it happen. Why not, especially when it is something they strongly desire? 

Perhaps it is because change takes energy. And if the majority of your energy is sapped up by or depleted from what you've been doing for some time now, you don't have enough "extra" to make the changes you desperately want. 

So how do you get the energy you need to make the changes you want? The simple answer is to change what you are devoted to.  

Consider this: it takes at least 51% of your energy to make a change. That is because you must have more of your energy - even just one percent more - invested in changing than you do in staying the same. If you have 50% of your energy invested in changing and 50% of it invested in staying the same, guess what happens? Nothing!

You must find a way to invest more than half of your energy into changing to make it happen.

 
There are many ways to do this. A good place to start is to fire up your commitment. Make a commitment to the change you want, but not just any old commitment. I'm talking about a solid gold, nothing can stop me, I want this more than anything, double-dog dare you commitment to it. Feel your commitment to the depth of your bones. Devote yourself to its success. If it is important enough to you, you will. 

If you don't feel it that strongly, you might not want it that badly. Then, I suggest you set that one aside for later, and devote yourself and your energy to making the changes you really want and are ready for now.

Next, pay attention. By this, I mean seeing the story of your life from a higher, more neutral and compassionate perspective. Pay attention to how you spend your time and therefore your energy; your energy flows where your attention goes. Paying attention to your life in this way is called "awareness" or "self-awareness."  

Awareness helps you see where you are spending your energy so you can decide if it still serves you to do so. Uncover what you are feeding with your time and energy. Take stock. Which things in your life inspire and nourish you and which ones tire and deplete you?

Third, begin to shift how you spend your time and energy. This can be a challenging step because it may mean letting go of people, places or things that feel comfortable to you. But just because they feel comfortable to you does not mean they are supportive for you. They might be, yet this is the time to take a radically honest look at them and decide once and for all what to keep feeding and what to stop feeding with your attention and energy.

Sometimes you must let go of something good to make space for something great.

Not all of what you decide is "out" has to stay gone forever, but it may serve you best to let them go temporarily as you move through your changes. Later, you will know if it supports you to bring them back in. But in order to free yourself from the old ruts you've been stuck in, you must devote most of your time and energy (i.e., attention) to the new things you want to have in your life.

Remember, at least 51% of your time and energy must be devoted to making the changes you want in order to have a chance at success. That means 49% or less of your time and energy is going into maintaining the same old things that keep you stuck in a rut.

You must change what you are doing for things to change.

 
Focusing your time and energy on things that support you is not selfish, as many people fear. Quite the contrary; it is self-aware. There is a big difference between selfish and self-aware. 

Selfish is when you are primarily focused on your personal welfare despite any negative outcomes for anyone or anything else; and you only care about yourself.  

Self-aware, on the other hand, is when you are primarily focused on yourself in relation to all else, knowing that your choices impact other people and things; and you care enough to make the most compassionate choices possible for all concerned. BIG difference. 
  
Forth, once you see clearly what you want to keep in and what you want to let out of your life, and you refocus your time and energy to change them, it takes strong devotion to be successful in the long term. The relationships you feed will thrive in your life. By relationships, I mean to people, places and things. Devoting yourself (i.e., your attention, time and energy) to what truly nourishes and supports you in the long term will move you closer and closer to the life you really want.

Your level of devotion to this journey is what will get you through it with success. For lasting change to happen in your life, you must focus on long-term rather than short-term outcomes. Immediate or short-term gratification does not create lasting change, but long-term vision, intention and devotion does. What do you devote your time and energy to?

For lasting change to happen, you must devote at least 51% of yourself - your attention, time and energy - to the things that sustain it.     

Do this and before you know it, you will find yourself feeling lighter, happier and more fulfilled in life...out of your old ruts and rolling like a stone.