Playing Opossum with the Intention of Diversion and use of Appearances

I remember watching an opossum from my kitchen window recently.  At first glance, I thought I was watching an engorged squirrel that was performance-enhanced by a cocktail of drugs, like the folks you see on the TV in the professional sports arena.  However, after my perception cleansed, I stood mesmerized by my opossum friend’s climbing strategy, as he traversed the branches high atop the backyard tree.  If one way didn’t work, he simply found another route and patiently changed his trajectory by traveling along another, more effective path.  Although it was not long before I knew that I would dig a little deeper into this Classroom Mothership Earth lesson, I remembered to breathe, stay present and gently allow the communion with my climbing friend to unfold organically.  Although I was eager to meditate on the spiritual significance of this spirited encounter, I needed to remember one of Oprah Winfrey’s favorite mantra’s, “be here, be now”.  As I stood in the place that I was, I know that while Oprah loves her shows, I wore my bare feet.

On the global weather front, our human race stands on what I like the call the confrontational crossroads fence yet again.  And like a virtual blogging friend also poignantly chimed in, “when confronted with a spiritual or dogmatic crossroads, a man first holds fast to his beliefs. He then thinks and challenges the new thought. He finds any reason to not accept it, while simultaneously knowing that he could easily be wrong. He then moves into the sphere of crossroads and is confronted by the face of truth. He can only accept truth and change, or deny truth and remain stagnant in growth.”  Moreover, I remember my old self using the powerful and yet primitive psychological coping strategy of denial to win an argument with my peers.  When the conversational topic became too threatening to my worldview, like Rush Limbaugh, I simply ended the conversation by arrogantly asserting, “I’m right, you’re wrong and that’s all there is to it.”  Today, here in the USA and the planet throughout, humanity has become dramatically polarized.  We have fought wars based on drawing rigid lines in the sand, we have suppressed and repressed the masses of folks that perceive and desire the “chimes of freedom flashing”.  While it is true that we have been like “sheeple” that have gone along with the herd and we have allowed the wool to have been pulled over us by the corporate illusionist behind the curtain–the time is now to end “separate, but equal”.  We are all One and if we are to move beyond ego (intellectual concepts, beliefs, dogma, rhetoric, etc.), then we need to recognize the demonic shackles of the ego when they are drawn within our own being.  For example, does it really make sense that our homosexual brothers and sisters–whether oriented and/or choosing that lifestyle, should be discriminated against and not allowed the same legal and spiritual rights as the majority of us that define ourselves as heterosexual?  Is it not obvious that this is the same line that was drawn for women and folks of color?  It is time to let go of the “great deceiver” that orders us to “obey thy master”, “shut up and shop” and judge one another as superior and/or inferior.  The truth is, there are no enemies out there, rather, the Kingdom of Heaven is within and it is equally available for all of us, if only we allow for it.  It’s about a state of consciousness, sweetheart! 

Moving onward, we are birthing into a New Age and Paradigm, but not without the labor pains that accompany the delivery of the Promised Land that many of us envision.  As we co-create Heaven on Earth and step into the realm of Infinity, we need to remember that this is a slow process (although paradoxically rapidly accelerating).  Moreover, this colorful process of co-creation happens one step, one moment and one breath at a time.  Perhaps this week, you might start by picturing an opossum and asking yourself the following reflective questions:  are you acting or about to act in an inappropriate manner?  Do you need to strengthen your appearance?  Are others putting up false appearances in front of you?  Do you need to divert attention away from some activity?  Are others trying to divert your attention?  Is it time to go into your own bag of tricks and pull out some new strategy?  Opossum medicine can help you balance magic, parlor tricks and real-life Wizardry in your life right now.  And please remember to stay light on the feet and keep your footing, while cutting back to inner peace on the playing field of Life.

Stay True,

Ari

Blue Like Heron

I remember when I was catching up with folks at our 10 year High School reunion and peer poignantly chimed in, “at some point I realized nobody else was gonna do it for me”, as we reflected on growing up and becoming adults.  Today, as our twenty year gathering rapidly approaches, these profoundly true lyrics revisited my consciousness after recently encountering a great blue heron.  Given the rising tide of Occupy movements, perhaps we might call on blue heron to Occupy Our Selves, while dabbling as spiritual beings having human experiences here on Classroom Mothership Earth.  At this juncture on Nature’s clock, is anyone else out there powerfully inspired by heron medicine that invokes within us aggressive self-determination, self-reliance and learning to stand firmly rooted in the Earth on your own two legs?  Are you in awe of these magnificent creatures that tend to view themselves as king of the marsh?  While co-creating Heaven on Earth in a New Age and Paradigm, herons are a good reminder that we cannot soar in the Heavens if we do not paradoxically also learn how to stay grounded.  Moreover, during the waxing on of this eclipse season, it might be tempting to for spirits to soar out of control and forget about balance.

On the global weather front, the reptilian ways of the dinosaurs keep scaling back the leveling impulses of the masses by their “rule by few” mantra, while still pledging their allegiance to the bottom line and almighty dollar.  Regardless of where you are on the political spectrum, do you see that by nurturing a global economy that supports livable wages for all of Earth’s caretakers is a win-win for both the top dawgs chillin’ atop the pyramid and the overwhelming majority of us breaking our backs to keep the Boat afloat?  Are you able to picture a waterfall, tame the Nervous Woodland Creature energy and stay calm in the pocket like Tom Brady during peak intensity at the Summer Solstice on June 20, 2012 in the Northern Hemisphere and its waning aftershocks thereafter?  In my clinical experience, I have learned that like physics, all systems resist change–human beings being no exception.  In fact, we humans are quite good at keeping ourselves in boxes by protecting the status quo that is liberally marketed to us by systemic illusionism.  But with heron consciousness, like Climate Change, there is security in knowing that there is predictability within unpredictability, order in chaos if you will.  If one way is not working, as humans, we are pre-wired with the hardware to reflect and figure out another way.  With the energy of blue heron, change is literally on the way.

During this eclipse season, keep your eye out for solutions that might be invisible and undocumented to the naked eye.  It is wise to pay attention to relationships that revisit your consciousness, while remembering to maintain perspective.  Watch what your relationships have to say to you, remembering to hit the pause button before being trigger happy in the excitement that accompanies its flowering, and perhaps before wilting and becoming the death of you.  Nature reminds us of Life’s fleeting transience.  As we swim away from victim consciousness, blue heron has the potential to help us stay true to our selves, while wading here on Earth.  Further, while taking flight in the Heavens into the realm of Infinity, heron helps us see where solutions abound, if only we allow for it.

Stay True,

Ari

If It Quacks Like A Duck

I remember hearing about stories from the porch when Great Grandfather and other relatives drank home-made vino, played cards, sang “these songs of freedom” and laughed a lot, despite their poverty and otherwise very depressing circumstances.  In the backdrop of the USA, it was the era known as “The Great Depression”.  Although they lived in St. Louis, the word out on the street here in Maine is that most folks were poor back then as many still are today, so who knew the difference?  Although the “times they are a changin’”, the top dawgs are still sitting atop the pyramid and our “friends in Congress” are even more out of touch on channel Tao than they were back Zen.  President Gas officially came out of the closet this week saying that he officially supports marriage for all human beings, regardless of how they are oriented.  But the burning question that I still have for the fossils that fuel the American political scene and beyond is this:  is Coke or Pepsi democrat or republican?  What would happen if the powers that were and the masses of us tapped into the free healthcare of duck medicine?  I wonder what would happen if we all meditated on duck’s spirited energy of balance, emotional comfort, adaptability and sense of adventure?  Would our one human family co-create a more equitable and sustainable planet, where birds of a feather flock together and we feather one another’s ripple in Unity Consciousness, even while celebrating the good times of our diversity? 

As we swim on the surface of Classroom Mothership Earth, the dinosaurs refuse to scale back the liberal excesses of the corporate mafia that bribe the government.  The protection of the current status quo-business as usual-bottom line-ends justifying the means mentality is toxic and poisonous to our public and private interests.  This developmentally delayed perspective is especially revealed vis-a-vis corporate propaganda and its tentacles that keeps us programmed in reptilian boxes that make it difficult to see beyond the illusion that bullies us into thinking that we are separate and disconnected.  In much the same way as a paternalistic slave master, our own governor here in Maine reminds us of the old saying that “appetite comes with eating.”  Yes, it is a win-win when “able-bodied” folks “get of the couch and get a job”.  But, excuse me mister governor, but “who payin’ you?”  When our own Constitution systemically fails to honor promoting the “general welfare” of our citizenry, then “able-bodied” folks with anxiety, depression and a myriad of other unaddressed and often undiagnosed mental health and health needs are making self-defeating choices as small businesses sail away on your clock.  In a truly intellectually free thinking society, even every third grader understands that when you slash programs that provide a safety net and encourage what social scientists call resiliency to the masses, then predictably we see and digest the bitter reality of homelessness, emergency room costs, arrests, hospitalizations and incarcerations wax just like the waning Full Moon.  On a global scale, Wal-Mart keeps slashing wages as rebellion erupted this past week somewhere in Asia and I am being bloody serious when I report that the proliferation of genetically engineered foods and Wi-Fi are feeding off our energy fields like a bunch of invisible vampires.  The dying gods of the old world are terrified to unplug from their liberally militaristic ways because they have become attached to the pacifier of the military-industrial complex.  What would happen if the real blood sucking welfare vampires were being targeted and questioned?  But we know that the dominant forces and the hidden hand in society likes to remain unexamined.  Now, if I am looking at all this through the spirited lens of duck consciousness, that would be a foul ball!

When we dive into the deeper waters of life, we are able to perceive into the realm of Infinity, where Intention awaits, infinite possibilities abound and solutions are revealed.  When we fly over an aerial view of the iceberg, we see that what lies beneath the mere tip is a much larger mountain.  If only the folks who cry “social Darwinism” and assert “that’s just the way it is” would open up to the wisdom that it is less about Nature versus Nurture and more about Nature and Nurture always co-creating and interacting with One another 100% of the time, in any given moment.  In much the same way as duck, when we effectively learn to navigate land, air and water, we become equipped to dive into our emotional nature.  Further, when we nurture our emotional selves, we learn to soar into the heavens.  In this way, we co-create Heaven on Earth, one step, one moment, one breath at a time.  And just as Rome was not built-in a day, building A New Earth is a process, not without its labor pains.  Will we allow for duck to assist us in staying afloat on Mothership Earth and alleviate creating suffering for Our Selves?

Stay True,

Ari

Bee Real (even if you are not sitting on a Hill in Cyprus)

Here on Mothership Earth, we are welcoming Buddha’s Light on the forthcoming powerful Wesak Full Moon.  In our neck of the woods in Northern New England, the peak of His Light arrives around midnight on May 5.  However, for many of you tuning in from many other parts of the world, the energies of the Wesak will radiantly illuminate on May 6th.  In some circles, folks prayerfully wish us well by coming from the intention of  “Love and Light”.  When I hear these words, I immediately picture Buddha and Christ co-creating Light and Love in our world and showing us our Divine nature in our human form.  Today, in this “world of 10, 000 things”, I can feel their energy with us right Tao as we awaken our consciousness on our planet one step, one breath, one moment at a time.   Yes, there is global tyranny on the surface of our classroom.  While some are fighting for basic survival, others sit in pomp like the “boasting of thieves after a looting” and some are getting lost in the robotic doings of life, by just trying to provide a better life for their children.  Regardless of what your situation looks like on the surface, nature offers us glimpses into her spirited realm that we may invoke within our individual consciousness and awaken to the Light Buddha revealed to us through his human incarnation and Infinite Spirit. 

Has anyone out there ever drank in and felt buzzed by watching bees flitting about in their industry and flight, while cross-pollinating the flowering of our Garden?  Are you producing enough, enjoying the fruits of your labor and/or so busy you never have time to do what you want?  Are you pregnant with an idea, fertile with your creativity and/or need to examine your own sexuality or attitudes toward sex in general?  When folks meditate on bee consciousness, does anyone else out there feel inspired to transcend life’s roadblocks and transform into something greater to accomplish the seemingly impossible Quest?  Perhaps this looks like merely getting out of bed in the morning, staying away from certain substances and/or staying alive.  For others, it might be remembering to breathe deeply and slowly when feeling anxious, overwhelmed and/or stressed.  Yet for some, it might mean opening up to birthing the idea of a more equitable global economy, where resources are shared and we all win, rather than protecting “the minority of the opulent against the overwhelming majority.”   I wonder if others out there have relevant experiences in this area and I would welcome hearing your stories of how bees have inspired you. 

Given that bees taste with their legs, they provide us with a friendly reminder to stay rooted while traveling on the ground in our human vessel, hopefully without getting stung.  Readers, have you ever pictured a tree that serves both as an antennae to the Heavens, but also grown strong roots channeled deep into the Earth?  This is one way to step into the realm of Infinity, rather than getting stuck in the quicksand of insanity.  Moreover, as we buzz along here on Mothership Earth, perhaps we might heed the wisdom of Ted Andrews that arrives via the lyrics, “the elixir of life is as sweet as honey, and the bee is a symbol that promises us that the opportunity to drink it is ours if but we pursue our dreams.” 

Stay True,

Ari

Leveling the playing field

Here on Mothership Earth, we are in the exciting process of exfoliation by shedding our scales of a dying old world, or Piceas Age and birthing into a New Aquarian Age, or a New Earth.  Like frogs and other amphibians, we need to learn to swim and hop between worlds and realms to effectively live on Earth as spiritual beings having human experiences.  If we are to survive as a species, we must allow the dinosaur aspect of ourselves and our attachments to the old guard to gently pass with care and welcome a fresh, new egalitarian world where we celebrate our Diversity within Unity.  As we elevate our vibration and consciousness, we see from the perspective of eagle in all directions and zone in on the focus that what is good for the goose is good for the gander.  My brothers at the Clubhouse reminded me recently, perhaps telepathically while making frog noises and other amplifications, that Climate Change is happening and winds are blowing in a New Breath of Life–one step, one breath, one moment at a time.

For example, one way we co-create a New Age and Paradigm, is by working in circles, through a round table approach, where all voices are valued and heard.  True, this might seem radical to the ego-centered, hierarchical pyramid we have inherited from our ancestors at this point.  And the shift from punishment and reward, to discipline by way of learning that our actions have consequences by making natural and logical connections that we are all seeking mutual aid and affect one another.  Moreover, our fossils are teaching us that the dinosaurs of yesteryear, with their linear thinking and “ends justifying the means” fascist approaches to profiling us into boxes–are also reminding us to imagine the possibilities to co-create something different.  As we evolve into our luminosity, one way to build our New Earth together is by engaging with one another in circles.  When we perceive the Flower of Life and follow the figure 8 sign of Infinity, we experience circles as a way of life.  Perhaps I am just being a fun-gi, but can you imagine the world leaders sitting around together competing against one another by seeing who can blow the biggest bubble gum bubbles, rather than who can blow up the biggest mushroom cloud?  How many of you parents out there know the low-cost entertainment of chewing gum and blowing bubbles with your kids, as they sit mesmerized by watching you do it?  Perhaps some folks that are militaristic in being against the ingredients of bubble gum might protest, but that simple activity can become a healthy energetic balancing act of cooperation and competition.  Besides, we teach our daughter to throw away her gum when she has finished chewing it, rather than end bound up in the belly of the beast.

When we open up our heart-space to co-creative thinking and to the pillars of Truth and Love, then our invisible energetic exchanges become self-evident to us.  True, the Doubting Thomas energies are still alive and kicking, but we shed light on the shadowy thinking by illuminating previously hidden forces with sciences that are “proving” these sub-atomic phenomena are very real.  As we enter into the era of energy medicine, some folks will learn about the power of visualization and meditation through external equipment that will show them what their energy fields, Chakras, Meridians, Acupuncture points, etc., really look like.  But some of you already know that this inner space exists and cut back to inner peace without any expensive, fancy equipment.  After all, it just might buy you time and save you money.

Stay True,

Ari

Cleansing with Frog

I remember driving to play with the boys in the band the other evening and feeling particularly spirited while listening to the peepers singing in a wetlands choir, if you will.  Although I clearly heard their messages about cleaning and purification, the lyrics arrived more telepathically and clairaudiently than in words of human language.  In fact, just the other day I hopped into a friend in the community and we traded awareness that now is the time to get back into balance and purify the soul.  One way to feed our souls and nourish our mind-body-spirit connection is to fuel our human vessel by awakening the fruitarian, vegan and/or vegetarian within by eating foods that follow that suit.  Even if only for a day or three, what an experiential opportunity to detoxify and purify.  In the spirit of co-creative exchanges while building a New Earth together, I wonder how you will feel after such an action plan?   

Part of walking with one foot in spirit and one foot in ground is to wash the dirty laundry and reduce, reuse and recycle.  For example, I visited our recycling center today to release dead weight and then ventured to the redemption center to return bottles.  Following that, I felt more free and less bottled up inside.  Does anyone else out there feel more alive when they release judgements of self and others?  I enjoyed my co-creative connection with Mother Earth after venturing out in nature and invoking frog’s energy to call the rains to quench Her thirst and inundate our planet to cool it now.  Does anyone else feel the presence of God when they gently allow negative thinking and emotional patterns to pass with care?  The waters in our life is asking us to flow.  When we become stagnant, our water element becomes polluted and we radiate that outward onto the world around us.  Don’t we have enough of that outside of our control?  I Am inspired to know the Unity Consciousness that I am One with everything and yet a diverse expression of that Oneness.  Do you hear what I hear?  Do you see what I see?  Can’t you hear the thunder?

If you find yourself feeling tired, overloaded, hurried, frustrated, guilty, itchy, nervous, at a loss, empty or weakened, perhaps you might benefit from meditating on frog’s medicine.  Who knows, maybe taking a relaxed, peaceful deep breath, while picturing the rains cleansing your Being and then exhaling your inner demons to see the light of day will lighten you up?  And why not get near water, unplug and listen to the sound of silence?  If you have access to a tub, taking a long bath is a nice way to relax and stay afloat as we swim through these changing tides.  If only the fundraising genius of the Amphibian and his “friends in Congress” would reduce their appetite for destruction, invest less in guns and awaken their frog totems and work its energy in the positive?  Could President Alfred E. Newman and his homies inside the Beltway facilitate a transformation of our global economy into a more equitable structure than the one we currently maintain?  Was it John Lennon or Ferris Beuler who imagined us stopping and smelling the roses, rather than getting stuck in the business of making plans?  Do you dream about our human consciousness flowering into something beautiful? 

Stay True,

Ari

When flying high in Heaven, please remember to keep your talons firmly rooted in the Earth

While driving home from school the other day, a bald eagle feathered my ripple as I noticed him effortlessly riding the thermals, then swooping down and gracefully landing on the ground adjacent to my car.  While I was inebriated by the spirited experience and I felt pleasantly full in the moment I ate it, the digestion process was soon the death of me, as I kept my foot on the pedal and my eyes on the road.  Moreover, I counted my blessings of eagle’s powerfully passionate reminders that we are pre-wired to hear the voice of spirit, albeit programmed to hear the voice of ego.  This is not always easy to discern, especially in our modern world, where it is so convenient to merely change the channel if we don’t like what we see and/or hear.  Yes, I understand how our Founding Fathers were inundated by eagle’s sacred nature, even if this powerfully Divine animal totem’s spiritual significance is often misunderstood.  For example, within the current nightmare we collectively share, we are told that we should worship a bigoted, ego-centered mantra that tells us that the better the devil we know old guard should be feared like a metallic atomic bomber that might blow us all up if we do not conform to the illusion of “separate but equal”.  But who has most bombs (the good guys) and who has illegally sold them in backdoor deals that are glossed over with double-talk by our well paid talking heads in TVland (the good guys)?

Speaking of TVland, was anyone paying attention to Eddie Haskell’s recent decision to bow out of the presidential race to dethrone president Obama?  I realize the truth that you cannot be a good propagandist unless it is deeply in your bones.  But “fast” Eddie, I’ve got a bit of a bone to pick with you.  I remember when I went to college out in Western Pennsylvania many years ago.  Back then, you had “all the right moves” and your effective campaigns were fueled by negative ads, spinning tough guy conservative politics and christiancentric religiosity–and you just would not leave the Beaver alone back then either.  Have you and your “friends in Congress” not yet seen the Warren Beatty film, “Bullworth”?  “Yo, the people got their problems, the have and the have-nots, but those that make me listen pay for 30 second spots.”  Why is it that you and your big governmental “friends in Congress” are so eager to force our taxpayer dollars to liberally support your own salary, pension, universal healthcare and other bennies, even after your term has long run its course, but deny the rest of us equal access to concrete services?  If you are really a Christian, who would Jesus bomb and why not level the playing field for the rest of us that belong to the overwhelming majority?  Are we not too part of His flock?  Are you saying that you and your homies inside the Beltway prefer behaving like a bunch of communists, in violation of pretty much every conceivable free-market principle, at the expense of being bribed by the excesses of socialist, oligarchical mega-corporations?  Further, are you saying that those of us who do not belong to the exclusive country club should be incinerated if we do not agree to “shut up and shop?”  Who payin’ you?

But I didn’t write this blog entry to change the “world of 10, 000 things” in one fell swoop and divide my phat cat brothers and sisters that are acting like top dawgs while sitting atop the 1 % of the pyramid, from the 99 % of us.  If only the “minority of the opulent” awakens to the awareness that by co-creating an equilateral triangle, you guys will probably still be on top, but we will all float more buoyantly on the waters of Life.  See Eddie, it’s somewhat akin to your relationship with your old friends Mr. and Mrs. Cleaver–you never really pulled the wool over them either.  Rather, Ward and June showed you respect because they were respectful, even though they realized what a gifted method actor you were, when in reality you were merely putting up a front.  And while the Beave didn’t like getting bullied by you, Wally must have seen glimpses of your True Self because he still considered you a friend.  And like Mr. and Mrs. Cleaver, I am hoping you and your peers in powerful positions of power will mature in a way that developmentally realizes that we are all connected, a la what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.  I am hopeful that you will join us in transforming the current developmentally delayed paradigm that says the fittest dawgs and phattest cats get to party like it’s 1999, but the rest of us should be resorting to cannibalism.  Perhaps there was a time for that kind of all you can eat buffet, but that time is dying and now is the time to cook up something new, puns intended.  But don’t take my word for it, perhaps the energy of Hannibal Lectur would be more convincing and you would prefer to chew on his wisdom that says, “we covet what we see, Clarice.”

Stay True,

Ari