Summer time: a time to enjoy the gifts of the season, to interact and play, and a time to tend to the garden - verbatim and figuratively speaking.

Whether you are a gardener or not, have you considered the garden of your soul? That metaphor relates to our self-care and the loving awareness that helps us to distinguish weeds from things we want to grow. We plant seeds with every thought, every action, even every non-action. Some seeds germinate quickly, others take more time to root and unfold. Seeds of negativity, such as resentment, living in the past, envy and doubt develop into 'weeds' that are often hard to eliminate. The most persistent weeds are the ones with deep roots and survival strategies. They grow underground, in the depths of our unconscious/subconscious mind. Awareness is the tool that exposes these pernicious weeds and stops them from propagating in the garden of our soul.

What are you planting today?

How does Great Spirit speak to us?

Sometimes we want God to communicate with us in grandiose ways. Maybe we want a clear message, written in flames on the wall and signed by God. In my experience, it rarely happens that way. Source, Spirit, whatever you want to call it, speaks to us in quiet, unexpected ways.

Today we had a meditation gathering in honor of Divine Mother. A beautiful meditation came through that touched everyone's heart.

Much later I went into the kitchen to clean up. I found a paper towel that had absorbed water in such a way that it created a perfect heart shape. Does Divine Mother speak to us through paper towels? I don't know. Maybe it's just a coincidence.

What are the 'weeds' in your life? Its's a matter of perspective.

Today I happily pulled weeds in my garden. The rain of the last few days have softened the soil and made it so much easier to pull weeds out with their roots.

Gardening has always been a meditatiive activity for me. Therapy for the soul, I call it. My work allows me to interact in meaningful ways with others, and sometimes I just need quiet space to restore my soul.

The Earth wobbles, the Solar System wobbles, and so do we!

Did you know that the Earth's whirling through space actually create cycles in the cosmic realm, moving us through the different ages?  This cycle causes the Precession of the Equinoxes. Hence we talk about the "Age of Pisces", or more recently, the "Age of Aquarius". There are cycles within cycles, rhythms within greater harmonics. The entire Solar System wobbles in a dance of celestial bodies who catch and swing each other. Earth - Moon - Sun - Galaxy: dancers that invisibly "clasp hands" on their cosmic journey through space. Why would we humans be excluded from that dance? It isn't always fun though to feel like we are being tossed around in space, subject to forces unknown.

Live in the Now, back when, or out there?

“For us believing physicists, the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion” –Albert Einstein

Is Einstein saying that our idea of linear time that segments our experience into past, present and future, is only an illusion? How does that view agree with the popular idea of ‘being in the now” as a goal of enlightenment?
Maybe what we understand as the present moment refers to our ability to attend to internal and external experiences at the same time. We would be here now, and at the same time access the eternal wisdom of our souls, accumulated over millennia. And we would have a vision of the future self. The choices we make today, every moment, along with the karmic journey of soul co-create the one we shall become.
At this level, enlightenment is no longer limited to the present moment: awareness would allow for recollection of one’s past, complete presence in the now moment, and a vision of the future all at the same time. This idea may sound illusory, but it is my personal experience that it can happen and is very real, depending on your definition of reality.

Kabocha squash soup

Since we are body-mind-spirit beings, I thought I'd share a favorite food recipe with you. It's perfect for the season, and in fact, I made it today for a vegetarian Thanksgiving feast.

So here we are, with approximate quantities (I never measure when cooking)

1 kabocha squash, medium size (~ 2 pds)

1.5 inch piece of fresh ginger

2-3 garlic cloves, chopped

handful of golden raisins or currants

handful of pine nuts

Wash and cut squash in quarters (that's the hardest part! May have to microwave for a few seconds to soften the skin). Scoop out sees, but do NOT peel the squash! The green peel adds most of the flavor, and it blends easily once cooked.