This week we decided to hold off on our Monday Musings, in order to wish everyone a Happy Summer Solstice. Today marks the official arrival of the season of growth, passion and fire energy, although in our parts it remains unseasonably cool and wet. It also marks National Aboriginal Day, and International Yoga Day, lots of reasons to pause for reflection.
For us, summer is a time to truly experience our senses in full force, and that means being outside. It has been challenging with the conditions, and the seemingly never-ending onslaught of mosquitoes this year! Nonetheless, we did celebrate an early Solstice with a group of students at the beginning of June, briefly managing to get outdoors between raindrops to put our offerings into a fire. We promised to start a larger fire to ensure a better burn of the ‘releasing requests,’ which were placed in our fire pit that day, on the arrival of Solstice itself. So that is exactly what Dino is doing now, out in our yard, enjoying the day, as I write this note to you, our followers and online community.
We have spent the last few days very much aware of the gifts of Mother Earth. Have you noticed how green it is this year? It’s quite a contrast from last summer.
On the weekend, with family visiting for Father’s Day, we helped our young niece and nephew to save a baby toad from our jumpy Maltese; to return a caterpillar onto a willow branch so it would not bet squashed under their running feet up and down our dock; and shortly after their departure for home, I personally had the privilege of watching a painted turtle lay eggs in our yard.
This particular miracle struck me as a sign of something important, something intuitive; so after spending some time searching the meaning of this, I thanked the Divine Mother for the grounding energy she provided in this moment. There was actually quite a lot for me to absorb in my short bit of research on turtles, turtle eggs, and their underlying symbolic meaning. And what is most important about this is simply that after five days of guests and playing hostess, a moment of reflection and the insight provided was something I uniquely needed to hear.
The Divine Mother is constantly speaking to us. Even if the summer is not providing ‘the usual expectations’ that our memory yearns for; ‘She’ is here … alive, aware, growing, speaking, calling, shouting to be heard, waiting to be appreciated.
Earth signs and symbols awaiting our understanding are available each and every minute of the day. Now please don’t get me wrong. I sometimes have students ask about the meaning of something when it turns out that there is no meaning at all. We must always balance the left brain with the right. Do not give up the importance of logic for intuition. It is a delicate balance. And it is up to each of us to quiet the mind long enough to truly discern what signs and symbols are most important and most meaningful to us individually in any given moment. For me, it truly was the painted turtle that caught my attention in more than just a ‘passing glance’ kind of way.
So today, as we honour Summer; we honour the Divine Mother, and we honor the discerning and intuitive voice within each one of us. We hope that you can take a moment to do the same – notice all you see, hear, smell, taste and touch, as you luxuriate in the gifts of the Earth; as you luxuriate in the arrival of Summer. Offer gratitude for it all. And take a moment longer to quiet the mind, and see what unique message from the ‘Mother’ is waiting for you.
Many Blessings,
Cheryl and Dino
Here and Now Health Services
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