Embracing the Full Harvest

 

~*~

A friend of mine sent me a note a few years ago, that you will see down below this post, in regards to Thanksgiving and it feels more important than ever to honor the past, as we reclaim ourselves in the present, in order to build a brighter future.  

As Nature prepares for the darkening time of Winter, the creative forces of the Divine Feminine within each of us, become their most potent, actively completing the cycle of growth by settling into the processing and internal transformations than come in contemplative rest. As the light from the Sun fades each day, the light in our own Hearts grows brighter. Turning inward, Winter can become a time for contemplation and creation. We can step into this natural flow of the seasons, both to understand our collective creative energy and how to work with it, and to embrace our own inner, dark depths; and in the silence of Nature hibernating, letting that silence seep inwards, allowing us to process the experiences of the previous year, and of our larger history.

Celebrating the harvest is acknowledging that we reap what we sow, all parts of it. It means understanding the value of what we've seeded, grown, blossomed, and lost; in the world, and in ourselves. This means we must acknowledge All parts of the harvest, including the rot, loss, unexpected setbacks, and be equally as grateful for the lessons those losses taught us, as we are for the the Joy of plenty. Taking the time to learn from the cycles of life is an acceptance of our full experience. Celebrating what we've created and what didn't take root will guide what we choose to create and what seeds we choose to plant for ourselves, in the next cycle. We must acknowledge All the hands that had a role in bringing our harvest to bear fruit.

Just as we experience this process in our external lives, we must also acknowledge all parts of ourselves. Like all farmers, we can use the Winter to learn what we might try differently in the next season of Self, for cultivating a more harmonious and balanced Life and becoming and expressing ourselves and our Truths more deeply. These seasonal cycles, holy days, and our everyday personal life rhythms all align in the same flows of Nature. We can acknowledge and go with that flow by releasing our resistance to it and welcoming all aspects of the process in balance, and with Gratitude and Love. 

This acceptance of our wholeness, of the losses and the gains, the good and the bad, the dark and the light; opens us to transcending those dualities into the fullness of the Space that is holding the full spectrum of all polarities. In every realm from the inner to the vast circles of life, the recognition that all parts of the process are part of whole, allows the Truth of our lives and of Love to flow with Ease and Grace, to and from every Heart, and all of Nature.

Wherever you find yourself this week, regardless of the activities with which you engage, I encourage you to take some moments in silence, sit and reflect on your own journey and the collective journey of Life. Sit in a quiet place or go out and take a walk and breath in deeply. With each one of those breaths, realize you are taking in air that has been part of our atmosphere for countless ages. When you breath in, you are taking in the breath that once flowed through ancient beings, this breath connects us to the life of all of Nature that came before and to each other and our shared moments of the Past and Present.

When you breath in, hold the breath in for few moments in silence. That breath mixes in you and you share yourself back, with every breath out. Sharing and communing with all Life. Your breath will flow into the world, absorbed by plants, another person, dissipating and dissolving into the ocean of atmosphere, this is the same as the flow of ourselves into the ocean of consciousness. Through this practice you can experience that flow and then, let your self just go with the flow. Go from being only a part in a whole, to knowing yourself as the infinite totality of all Life. Just as there is no separation of us from Nature, there is no separation of us from each other, of our moment from the past or future. Looking outward to Nature or Inward to Self, simply Look to Be the fullness of who we are, the wholeness of ourselves, the completeness of the process

So, here's to our greater acceptance of the totality of life experiences and our willingness to greet life,  and ourselves with compassion and love.

Aum Namo Narayana

🙏❤🔥🕉🔥❤🙏

Here are the remarks from a friend...

"Happy Thanksgiving.

Many cultures enjoy harvest season celebrations, our Korean fam call it Chuseok (추석), and it is a time when the weather isn't too harsh yet, the food is plentiful, and people have traditionally had the time to feel like things are blessed. 

That of course doesn't preclude our knowledge of the tragedies committed in the forming of this country. There is no joy in this knowledge that the early settlers began at this time to start what ended in the death of 10s of millions of people - in genocide. We recognize this is a national day of mourning for many - it is a remembrance and a reminder of spiritual connection as well. We cannot ignore the negative, or skip the positive, today is both.

We are lucky enough to live in a multi-cultural world, where we can be friends with, or simply know, people of completely different backgrounds, beliefs, and cultural histories. With that comes the responsibility to at least acknowledge these different viewpoints when we can - so that we grow together not apart.

This is one holiday where we don't have to buy anything, we don't have to have the same religious beliefs, all we have to do is be with those we care about and offer what we have to those in need. This is harvest season, and like most of our modern life it is filled with contradictions, instead of blindly ignoring either side of today's meaning - we are thankful for the knowledge of this complicated and blessed day."

~*~

Be the Light

Be the Love

Be Yourself