"The Autumn Equinox is here and
so the tides of
the Earth
change once more."
On the equinox, day & night are in balance. Where there is darkness, on this day we shall find equal lightness. I always feel the equinox energy powerfully. It is a time for me to explore balance in my own life, to consider the duality of most things in life.
Grief & Joy
Suffering & Ease
Good & Bad
Feminine & Masculine
Internal & External
Control & Surrender
Holding On & Letting Go
Abundance & Lack
Effort & Rest
Expanding & Contracting
Dreams & Reality
Hope & Despair
Doubt & Faith
Love & Hate
Friend & Enemy
Pleasure & Pain
Life & Death
I am experiencing all of these "dueling" emotions recently wishing for some of the intensity in my life to subside. It is when I get quiet & find some time alone, that I understand however that there are rich lessons in the juxtaposition of these experiences. On the equinox, we are invited to explore these opposites & how they work together to create a more meaningful human existence. While I want the sorrow to end, without it I simply could not appreciate the joy that is present around me. I spent many years turning away for the dark, running towards the light. It created tremendous suffering. In the space of accepting that hard things will always happen, I opened myself up to a more authentic me. In facing the tough times, I grew a deeper appreciation for both kinds of experiences which lessened the suffering & expanded ease in my life.
I am not sure I love the concept of balance, for me I like to think about harmony. To aim for things to be in balance might be a fruitless, exhausting effort. Instead it is about living in harmony with the opposites. Making a conscious choice to accept the difficult times, to exert effort in reasonable ways to improve what I can & then to release to the universe that which I cannot control. Nature teaches us so much about harmony through her cycles of birth, death & rebirth. It is a rhythm that never stops, a continuous flow that is harmonious. So on the equinox, I always make an offering to Pachamama of a mandala created from what I find laying around. The mandala represents not just the balance we see in nature but the circles within the mandala honor the never ending flow of life, death & new life.
This mandala is one I made for an equinox gathering over the weekend. So special to share this time together. We called upon the balancing energy of the equinox to explore areas of of our life that feel harmonious & areas that don't. The energy of the shifting season is the perfect time to release the old & cast out a prayer for what your heart desires most. You can easily do this with a simple fire ceremony today. Get outside, walk barefoot, hug a tree, create a mandala, write in your journal, watch the sunset, make a pot of soup using fall foods, just find a simple way to honor this shift today & harness this powerful energy. Happy Autumn Equinox....
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