Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Summer, Serenity, and the Beauty of Inanimate Objects

“Joy in looking and comprehending is nature's most beautiful gift.”  ~ Albert Einstein
Hello Beloveds,

With the recent Summer Solstice and New Moon Eclipse in Cancer, we have entered the time when the solar life force is the strongest in the Northern Hemisphere. With so much intensity on the planet, it’s critically important to notice what helps you feel in alignment. If you’re feeling out of sync, off-kilter, confused or garbled, it might be a sign that you are not living in a way that is congruent with your soul, your authentic self.

When we live in accordance with our True Nature, we feel good. We feel good even when we feel “bad.” There is a residing peace and contentment, daresay happiness or even joy, underneath even the so-called “negative” emotions. When we are seated in our self, we experience grief, anger, sorrow, loss, even frustration, with an ease that permeates all. There is a knowing, a holding, a basic trust that we are exactly where we need to be.

Think about it. Think about times when you’ve felt the blood-boiling of rage, or the bone-core-barrenness of deep grief, and you’ve just flat out felt good about it. This is because it is TRUE. It is real, it is here, and it is the authentic You.

When you’re living out of alignment with True Nature, even that which is supposed to feel good has an edginess to it. This is a sign you’re coming from ego, from separation from Source. You’re living from an idea that this is what is supposed to be happening, this what you are supposed to be doing. But it’s an idea. It’s not reality.

Reality is always easeful. It is always here. It is the place of rest, no matter what is unfolding.

The Beauty of Inanimate Objects

In summer, as in all seasons, we are urged to listen to the land. Listen to the wind, the trees, the flowers, the clouds. Listen to the rivers, the lakes, the sky. Listen, and you shall know exactly what is needed and called for in each and every moment.


These days, I’m reminded of the beauty of inanimate objects, not just of those found in nature, but also things human-crafted, human-made. I love that in most other languages besides English, we have feminine, masculine, neutral articles (e.g. German, der/die/das; French, le/la; Spanish, el/la, etc.) to indicate the gender of an object. We refer to objects as “she” or “he” and the whole object comes alive even more. “Der Zug,” or “the train” in German gives us the impression of a mighty creature huffing and puffing up the hill as we say, “there he goes! Watch him climb!” “Die Blume,” or “the flower” becomes She. “Look how beautiful She is!” as we gaze at the perfect rose.

Even the most unlikely candidates become alive through hints in language. This is a great pointer to the fact that All is Consciousness. Recognizing the Consciousness and beauty inherent in inanimate objects, we find aliveness, alertness, consciousness and story even in a hayfield. Above and below are photographs I took last week of two pastures and their recently collected haystacks and hayrolls. We can have an entire conversation with a hayfield when we really look. I am enamored with their beauty.

Aliveness is everywhere…

The other morning, my Beloved and I were driving across the valley and we had to slow to a stop as the most beautiful pronghorn antelope was standing right before our vehicle. Gorgeous markings shone vividly on her face, as die Antilope stared directly at us. She was looking for an opening to the prairie but was blocked by the cattle fence. Luckily, no cars were coming behind us, so we were able to sit and wait for her to find an opening in the fence. After a moment, she dove into a small opening in the barbed wire and pranced quickly across the cowfields, off into the sunset plains. Free again!

The Consciousness present in this animal was clear as a bell, as we looked directly into each other’s eyes.
We instinctively and collectively know there is intelligence present as we anthropomorphize animals and inanimate objects in Pixar, Disney, graphic novels, fairy tales. A teapot transforms into a friendly trickster, a pelican embodies the wise old man, a sea turtle a surf bum.

Non-humans are smart, flawed, perfectly imperfect, and just as conscious as we humans. Any animal lover will know that True Love is there and a connection is made, eye-to-eye, when one truly looks. This goes for trees, rivers, lakes and streams as well. Who’s to say that the Love is not reciprocated? Perhaps we experiment with extending this idea to every apparent separate object, every inextricable part of the whole.

Consciousness is everywhere. May joy and aliveness fill you as summer reveals its splendor and gifts!

With love,

Erin
Erin Reese, M.S. is a contemporary intuitive, spiritual counselor, author and guide. A modern mystic with over thirty years of experience, Erin Reese offers incisive, practical intuitive readings to her clients worldwide. She is a spiritual counselor, guide and mentor to those seeking an alternative to traditional psychotherapy or business coaching. Erin also offers non-dual meetings and retreats on embodied liberation and freedom from suffering.




  

Saturday, July 22, 2017

💙 New Moon in Leo: The Summer of Self-Love 💙

Summer breeze makes me feel fine
Blowing through the jasmine in my mind.
~ Seals and Crofts, 1972

Tomorrow we have a New Moon in Leo, fixed fire sign celebrating the playful, heart-ruled Lion of self-expression and creativity. It’s high summer – a perfect time to don your play clothes and strut your stuff. That might entail a mini-skirt and heels, or hiking boots and khakis, baseball cap turned to the side. You might sport a bikini and sarong, a seersucker suit or a bridesmaid ball gown. It makes no difference – the only requirement is that you feel great and let your hair down. That you shine, and let yourself have a GOOD TIME.

That is what summer and Leo-land is all about. And this summer, we have not one but TWO New Moons in the life-loving sign of the Lion. It is as if the universe is imploring us – no, make that commanding us – to have ourselves some serious fun over the next month!

So, what if you are feeling ho-hum, maybe a bit bummed? Down about life circumstances, playing the victim, playing small? Not enough time, money? Feeling too out of shape for your bathing suit? Too tired to go out and play? Stop. Talk to the hand. Your astrologer-spiritual counselor needs a word with you…

There is something inside each of us aching to be expressed, to be shared with the whole wide world. It is your destiny to offer this gift of YOU. Don’t be shy – we love to see that part of you. That special love light, even if it's shadowy, intense, or dark - even better. You're nuanced.

I hope by now you’ve dropped all those outdated pretenses of false modesty. You’re just great. You’re fabulous darling. You’re perfection, exactly as you are – even with your wobbly bits and laugh lines and your flaws. They make you, YOU. You are a work of art. Can you feel it?

Lunch at Stinson Beach, July 2017
You know when you meet someone who absolutely does not fit the definition of beautiful or handsome, but they are just downright COOL? They have charisma? They might be a handyman, a soccer mom, a street urchin or a bank teller. They just exude a certain swagger that says, I know who I am and I’m rockin’ it. I may be driving a truck, I might be walkin’ a dog, I might be taking your blood pressure at a clinic. I might be someplace you least expect a super-cool person to be hangin’ out. But here I am! I am ALIVE. I am HERE. I am PRESENT. And that is, quite simply, my GIFT.

Get Off On Your Self

That gift is what attracts. It attracts love, money, laughter and JOY. Self-love and self-acceptance beget health and happiness, enjoyment and pleasure. My question for you is, do you get off on yourself? (Yes, I said that.) Do you make yourself high? Do you think you’re just the bomb? I hope so. And if you don’t, then find that quirk, that thing you do, that way you be, that is just groovy. Can you dig it? Cuz the more you enjoy yourself, the more fun you’re going to have in this wild ‘n woolly life. And during this New Moon in Leo, there’s no better time to get off on yourself.




Erin’s Quickie Kombucha aka Summer Spritzer Drink


Here’s a great drink if you love kombucha and other fermented drinks but don’t want to consume all that sugar, spend all that money, or grow a big mushroom culture in your fridge….
  • 1-2 oz. unfiltered apple cider vinegar (Bragg’s is the best!)
  • ½ dropper stevia (to taste)
  • 12-16 oz. sparkling water (with or without flavor; I like lemon)
  • Ice
Great for digestion, helps sleep, keeps the body alkalized, regulates blood sugar, and tastes great!

Stay cool, you sexy thing!

In-joy.
With love,
Erin

Erin Reese, Master of Science in Counseling is an author, spiritual teacher, and modern psychic reader based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She works with clients all over the world.


For readings and spiritual counseling by Skype, phone or email, contact her directly at erin@erinreese.com.

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Wishing you a blessed midsummer!



Happy Summer Solstice!

This is the ancient Celtic celebration also known as midsummer, or Litha. On this day we glorify the Sun and honor the role of fire and its part in Nature, healing, & spirit.


The solstice marks the astronomical beginning of summer, and the astrological beginning of the Sun’s passage through the cardinal water sign of Cancer.

A few simple rituals may help you to welcome this time:


Fire ritual - Burn (literally or symbolically) that which you no longer need in your life. Ritualistically release that which is causing you pain or suffering (habits, thoughts, outdated situations)


Getting organized – it’s a great time to set an intention for what you want or need over the next six months. Take stock, write down your prayers – that which you need the Universe (the Goddess, God, Higher Power, Existence) to help you with.


Meditate – in Nature, ideally!


Sun salutations – honor the Sun with this simple yoga series of Surya Namaskar
 Remember, this can be simple!


 

Even if you are not metaphysically or ritualistically inclined, honoring the seasons gives us a deeper connection to Mother Nature, to our internal wisdom and external world, and to the rhythms of life.


Wishing you and yours a healing and beautiful midsummer!


With love,

Erin


p.s. Don’t forget: The Summer Solstice Client Reading Special is in effect now through June 30. 

Contact me soon to make your sliding scale booking for an intuitive consulting or spiritual counseling session.

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Erin Reese, Master of Science in Counseling is an author, spiritual teacher, and modern psychic reader based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She works with clients all over the world.


For readings and spiritual counseling by Skype, phone or email, contact her directly at erin@erinreese.com.