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Blessed Spring Equinox Fellow Human Beings,
Oh what tempestuous times we are living in! Here we are standing together, stunned and desperately seeking understanding, as we try to penetrate the mystery around this global upheaval.
At the end of January, I returned from my first trip to Mother India. And to say the least, it turned my world upside down. A perfect snapshot of planet earth in 2020 - the ancient and the modern, purity and industry all woven together in plain sight. The Hindus say we are in the age of Kali - the age of destruction (and rebirth). Never before had I witnessed demise and divinity intermingled in such an apparent way: the ancient holy cow on the street corner surrounded by a sea of plastic and chewing on trash, holy shrines on every street block in a city where it’s too dangerous to breathe the air, insane traffic that flows as if there were an invisible conductor, Hindu chants and Muslim prayers bellowing through the streets and water ways at all hours of the day - a place of grace and beauty in a world gone wrong. These are the times we are living in.
I went to India to study dhrupad music, the oldest vocal style associated with Hindustani classical music. I sang for 3 weeks while taking in a world and culture that was utterly foreighn to me. And it changed me. So it is true, what “they” say - if you want to change your life, go to Mother India - it will give you what you need but not what you expect. I received a subtle yet profoundly necessary shift. The day I flew home from India they announced the virus. Upon my return home, I wept for three days as I decompressed from my experience. One week later I woke up with a new layer of skin, a new perspective on my challenges and a clarity and gratitude that I had been praying for, for many moons. India was the medicine I needed for this new era. Now here we are.
This Spring of 2020 we have been forced to go within; an opportunity for us to find a deeper connection with the sacred and the invisible world - the non-material. Our ancestors went through tumultuous times of war, famine and disease, they have much to share with us. Let’s remember them and connect with them.
There is little I can say at this time that has not been said. But I can share with you what practices have helped me most during this difficult time and what may help you as well.
-First thing in the morning, ideally at sunrise, go outside of the house to commune with nature. Watch the natural world’s rhythms and ways. Sit under a tree and listen to the birds.
-Do Yoga or stretch. Move and wake up the body as much as possible.
-Light some sage, palo santo, copal or incense.
-Make an offering of gratitude to Mother Earth of lavender, tobacco or cornmeal
- Mediate and say prayers. “Thank you for all the blessings…. and the lessons.”
-Be careful and selective with food choices and focus on anti-inflammatory and immune boosting ingredients. Keep sugar, alcohol, and processed foods, etc. to a minimum.
-Try to take a short or long walk EVERY day; even if it’s rainy or cold.
-Throughout the day, anoint yourself with a carefully chosen oil, light a little incense, or a candle.
- Keep the news, FB etc. and screen time to an absolute minimum.
-Sing, sing, sing, pray, pray pray
-Find a subject that inspires and instills faith and read actual paper books
-Feel and express love for family, friends, neighbors and animals - help where we can.
-Watch comforting movies - DVD’s instead of streaming in order to not overload the internet.
-Create a prayer network with friends to pray for the healing of this world. Prayer is proven to make big shifts.
-Get plenty of sleep and rest
These are some of my most helpful remedies. I encourage you to create a personal metaphysical apothecary to help carry you through this time
Above all, we need to do all we can to shift the collective consciousness! From fear to hope, from hate to love, and from anxiety to remedy. A positive and hopeful attitude will increase harmony, and further well being within ourselves and with those we love.
Here’s my plan for tonight’s Spring Equinox Ceremony. This can be done anytime in the coming days.
1. Make a fire (instead you can light a candle)
2. Create a sacred circle with sage, candles and flowers and call upon the seven directions
3. Speak aloud everything I am grateful for that transpired this past season: all the experiences, lessons learned and awakenings for healing.
4. Ask the departure of Winter to help me release some of my shortcomings and clear the negative energies of the past.
5. Sing to Sister Spring and give her offerings of cornmeal and flowers.
6. Anoint my seven chakras with sacred oils.
7. Visualize my intentions for the new season as seeds ready for planting and toss them into the Spring wind.
8. Pray for the winds of change to help us move to the next level and to Great Spirit “to grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, courage to change the things we can; and wisdom to know the difference” (to borrow from some great wisdom that helps our brothers and sisters in recovery)
Kate found a litter of wild cottontail bunnies in her goat barn. This little guy named "Mouse" is the only one that survived. She is currently feeding him and hopes to release him back into the wild once he's strong and able. Rabbits are a symbol of fertility, new life, and Spring. They remind us of our ability to have rapid growth in the physical as well as the spiritual world. Rabbits are strongly associated with the Goddesses Ostara and Freya and the sacred Isle of Avalon.
Yes there is fear.
Yes there is isolation.
Yes there is panic buying.
Yes there is sickness.
Yes there is even death.
And,---
They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise
You can hear the birds again.
They say that after just a few weeks of quiet
The sky is no longer thick with fumes
But blue and grey and clear.
They say that in the streets of Assisi
People are singing to each other
across the empty squares,
keeping their windows open
so that those who are alone
may hear the sounds of family around them.
They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland
Is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound.
Today a young woman I know
is busy spreading fliers with her number
through the neighborhood
So that the elders may have someone to call on.
Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples
are preparing to welcome
and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary
All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting
All over the world people are looking at their neighbours in a new way
All over the world people are waking up to a new reality
To how big we really are.
To how little control we really have.
To what really matters.
To Love.
So we pray and we remember that
Yes there is fear.
But there does not have to be hate.
Yes there is isolation.
But there does not have to be loneliness.
Yes there is panic buying.
But there does not have to be meanness.
Yes there is sickness.
But there does not have to be disease of the soul
Yes there is even death.
But there can always be a rebirth of love.
Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.
Today, breathe.
Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic
The birds are singing again
The sky is clearing,
Spring is coming,
And we are always encompassed by Love.
Open the windows of your soul
And though you may not be able
to touch across the empty square,
Sing
Fr. Richard Hendrick, OFM March 13th 2020
Blessings for your Spring Equinox!
Kate
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