Lessons @ MindSay

1. BALANCING DARKNESS WITH LIGHT

The Wheel of the Year now turns towards the  Autumn Equinox this Monday,  this is when the day and  the night are of equal length. This signals the need for us to learn to  balance light and darkness within us. Far too often, we fear the dark because many religions define the Dark as evil and non beneficial something to dread and to stay away from and so we have learned to love and cleave only to the light . Many of the Earth and Pagan religions have learned that darkness is a vital and necessary aspect to life, for without it there would not be any light to judge it by, our challenge is  to befriend our inner darkness: I am learning  to acknowledge how darkness is becoming less of an feared enemy  and more of a place , of peace, and of silent nurturing, where time becomes more slow and steady , a time where gestation is  needed so that my soul's growth may occur. It is in the darkness of night that we are rejuvenated and where healing takes place in our bodies and in our dream times. Not only  do I welcome the  light as a vital  part of my life, but I am also beginning to have a greater understanding of how much I need to befriend the darkness within and how vital this aspect is in our lives. Our Solar year is divided between the Light half  to the Dark half of the year. We will do ourselves a favor if we  learn from their guidance in how to live well in these times of Light and Shadows.

I have spent most of my life seeking the light, information, the answers to all my questions, and sometimes I have succeeded, but there are many unanswered questions that remain hidden in the darkness that await the best and most opportune time in my life's journey to reveal their secrets to me, I know it will be when the time is ripe, and ready , when I have reached that point in time where it will be understood, and acted upon. And it is here that I have been given the opportunity to learn the lessons of Patience!

Sometimes there is no remedy for our situation so we must begin from a point of absolute darkness.Try as we might no answers seem to be offered it is at these times that the turning off  of a television , the radio and the computer and  the extinguishing the light of a candle have certain similarities; they are both abrupt and transition making, and can leave us in a different world. In darkness, we are always on our own, and faced with only ourselves, this is what many people try to avoid,with all the noise that they surround themselves with, but  being alone with themselves, from whom they can not hide , it is here where you can finally meet yourself. It is here where we will gain the courage to face our fears and shed our demons,  so that we can  move  on in  the process of our soul crafting.

2. LETTING GO

As I  watch leaves  begin to turn their brilliant color and  as some begin to fall to the ground ,I am reminded that nature's cycles are a mirror and a reflection  in our lives. Autumn is a time for letting go and releasing  the past, old hurts, failed goals, lost hopes, old beliefs that no longer fit where you have grown, it is a time of forgiveness to yourself and to others, for it is only in the blessings of forgiveness that true growth begins, it is a time to release the things that have been a burden to your soul.  Most all the religious traditions pay tribute to such acts of relinquishment. Autumn is the right time to practice getting out of the way and letting the Great Spirit take charge of our lives.

This is a time to learn the power of generosity and the grace of giving, which has great power to give to the crafting of our soul ,great leaps of transformational  growth, because it is characterized by the inner quality of letting go or relinquishing. Being able to let go, to give up, to renounce, to give generously — these capacities spring from the same source within us and what I have learned is that the Source ,from which we come ,is Love . When we practice generosity and giving, we  become open to all of the  liberating qualities of love simultaneously which will  carry us to a profound knowing of freedom.  Autumn then becomes the perfect season to give generously of  our time ,  our love, and talents to others which is really all that we  really have.

3. ACKNOWLEDGING IMPERMANENCE

Autumn's lesson and it's blessings is that it  reminds us of the impermanence of everything. We have experienced the Wheel of the Life at it's beginning at the Winter Solstice where we are taught that  through the dead of winter  is a reflection of what is happening  within our lives as well, that life is always about growth even when the way looks dismal and cold, and when we think we can not go on, when times get so hard to go through then all of a sudden a flower of hope breaks through the bleakness  of the barrenness in our souls, to offer us hope in our journey and then with another turn of the Wheel of life we experience The New Birth of Spring, when the seeds that have lain so long in dormancy now begin to sprout and bust through the not yet warm soil, when we see the small fragile violet  or daffodil blooming through the melting snow, it is here we realize that there is hope, there is something happening, that we are beginning to see life come back into our world, and then The wheel turns yet again and  the rapid growth and  flowerings and profusions of The Summer Solstice, where life is full and things look bright. This is a time to manifest our hopes and dreams and busy our selves with living life fully in the heat of passion that is necessary to keep the energy in what we want to flourish in our lives growing. Now as we approach yet again the turning of the Wheel of life ,Autumn arrives and the leaves turn once again as a final grand finale with their wonderful display of richness and color before they fall to the ground and expose the  bare branches  which remind us  of the lesson that is truly Autumn ,which is   the fleeting nature of all things.

We must not let this opportunity escape us, we must learn to  contemplate and cherish Autumn's changes, if we do we will grow more appreciative of all the beauties and gifts that are in our lives and  that surround us:

"The poet Wallace Stevens once wrote, 'Death is the mother of beauty.' How true are those words, Death is a powerful teacher that reminds us that we truly are just Dust in the wind, and that we are only here such a short time, we must not let the opportunity pass us by  of applying the lessons of the Wheel of the Year in our lives, for Mother Nature is teaching us daily that life is precious , life is short and we can not afford to harbor in our lives the seeds of despair and heartache we must let them drop to the ground as the leaves do each Fall. We must not hold on to grudges, and hurts and disappointments we must let them go, we must hold on to the seeds of love and grace, hope and faith and most of all forgiveness, and be able to plant them where they are needed in the lives of those around us . This is a time we must cherish our loved ones, we must enjoy the life we have, we must greet each new morning as a new beginning every day, and we must greet  the sunset harboring no ill will towards anyone. It is said in the Good Book not to let the sun go down being angry, for it will fester in our lives and truly bring the darkness into our very souls. We must make it our aim to greet the morning sun not harboring hatred or anger , for if we do not, we will miss the opportunity of the new beginnings that the rising sun offers to us each and every day that we are gifted to see it shine.

Yes the Wheel of the Year keeps on turning, and the lessons they give us must be treasured and given away to others . For the seasons reflect a truth , that nothing remains the same, that change  is the law, and growth is the power of life, Autumn brings home to our consciousness death and the challenge to live every day to its fullest.

"I have read that certain spiritual masters in Tibet used to set their teacups upside down before they went to bed each night as a reminder that all life was impermanent. And then, when they awoke each morning, they turned their teacups right side up again with the happy thought, 'I'm still here!' This simple gesture is a powerful reminder to celebrate every moment of the day." This is a wonderfully simple ritual that we can do each day to remind us of this truth.

Blessed be you in this season we call  The Autumn Equinox ,may it give you the blessings of retrospection, and the understanding of the lessons of impermanence  and death,may it  offer you the brilliant colors of hope, love, and forgiveness in your lives  that you may need , and may you be blessed to be able to  see the Grace and the Gift that the  Divine Spirit has given all of us, which is the  opportunity that we call life, may you live it well. Blessed be!

Why do I take the spiritual route in this physical world? Because without the spiritual component in all that is done under Grandfather Sun, nothing makes sense, there is no purpose for the things that happen to us. Without the spiritual component , then why go through them, why have all the trauma, and heartache that passes our way if there is not more to it than what we experience? Why go through the love losses? Why go through the pain of sickness and disease? Why go through working day in and day out ? For what purpose do we go through these hardships if there is nothing in it? If we live this life for no other reason than just to experience it, we are missing the point. If we go through life just to have the pleasure and get all we can out of it, then die, what purpose is that? Surely there is more to these things than to just live , go through what we do and then die, and then nothing? I personally can not , and will not miss the opportunity to understand the underlying purpose in all that happens under Grandfather Sun's watchful eye, I will not miss the opportunity to be and do more than just live. In all my spiritual wonderings through the jungle that is out there on this subject, I have found that if I would go back to the basics, go back to what is truly TRUE, that I just might get a handle on this thing we call the SPIRITUAL JOURNEY. What I personally have discovered is that there truly is a CREATOR, who is composed of SPIRIT, and is truly here for us. That this CREATOR WHO IS SPIRIT is neither male or female, but some how I know that this Creator is also both!What a paradox! How did I come to this conclusion? The only way that I found out ,was  to go back to the basics and that is NATURE. Nature tells the truth about our Creator,the Great Spirit, and gives us the teachings and the lessons we need to know in order for us to grow into who our CREATOR intends for us. I have tried so called Holy Books, and I do not dismiss them, there is much we can learn in them,but I also know that this world is full of evil and ill intention by those who would seem to want to take the place as our leaders and spokespeople for our Creator. Try as one might there is no end to the foolishness of man's theology, and so called truths. These Truths abound, and even more so on the Internet, my my there are many many suspposed truth sayer's out there, and how can they all be right?.....so back to NATURE she will never let you down. The Elders in the sky , Grand mother Moon and Grand father Sun were placed in the sky as our teachers and guides to tell us of their Creator, the Great Spirit, they are tireless in their teachings, never missing the deadline of the times of the day and the course of the weeks and months, they never fail in their God given duty to lead us in our journey to our Creator's intentions for us. The SEASONS are but one way our Creator guides us into the lessons we much each learn in our lives. May we be alert to Nature's lessons, and not miss the opportunity to make our lives more than just living, but may we make  our lives full of  purpose and intent, and  by doing so  our lives will become more meaningful. May Grandfather Sun shine in your lives with blessings, and may Grandmother Moon give you the reflection of our Creator , so  that you will always know your are never alone even in the darkest night.

Here is a wonderful article about the seasons and what they can mean to us if we choose to see the underlying current that flows through all that we experience in this gift we call life.

BLESSED BE

by Rabbi Boruch Leff

As the trees shed their leaves, I search for a kabbalistic understanding: Why did God create a world where I need to do all this raking?

There are names and images that many of us grew up with that are, well, fading away ... or so it seems.  Names like Davy Crocket, Daniel Boone, Paul Bunyon, Hiawatha & Pocahontus ... names and stories that reflected not just historical information, but also something of our character.  Have we "outgrown" these images that once seemed almost larger than life?  Become too sophistocated?  Or just distracted by Halo and Grande Theft Auto? Or are they just ... passé?  Should our kids know these names?  Do YOU know them?  ;)

Must we rely on Disney animations to make these historical images ... important?