Autumn

Autumn began September 22 and evoked some changes in me as it always does.  These changes come from Spirit through nature as I am so deeply connected to it.  The above photo is of Mount Shasta with the autumn trees.  Nature-Speak by Ted Andrews has such a beautiful description of what occurs within nature, and within me, that I quote the following:

The autumn forces become active, in a manner that triggers opportunities for transition.  Its energies create a time to determine new values and make new decisions.  It is the harvesting time for what has previously passed; a time for purifying the mind and to begin the process of transmuting that which needs transmuted. …Every day of the fall is the time of holy preparation.  Archangel Michael is associated with the autumn season. 

During this time of the year, the energies can assist us in the following ways:

            ♥In purifying and transmuting the lower.

            ♥In overcoming obstacles and sewing new seeds        

            ♥In opening the inner temples of awareness.

            ♥In cleansing and purifying the heart chakra, the seat of much karma.

            ♥In more easily turning our attention from the outer to the inner worlds, thus aligning with spirits of Nature and the angelic kingdom.

            ♥In determining what still needs to be transmuted for the greatest growth in the coming year.

            ♥In developing harmony between the laws of love and karma.

            ♥In initiating a time of weighing, measuring, determining values, and decisions for the physical and spiritual life of the individual. 

            ♥In manifesting opportunities to reap the rewards of past sowing, and to sow seeds for the future.

In Ted Andrews’ book Animal-Wise, he provides the meaning of environments which gives me the opportunity to gain even greater insight into their role within my life, so I quote the following:

♥Deserts:  hidden life; adaptation; ability to use resources available; hardiness and struggles; purification.

            ♥Forests:  primal feminine; growth free of controls and constrictions; the unconscious mind; magnifying of creative forces.

            ♥Gardens:  Nature in miniature and controlled; abilities to create and nurture life; the opening of doors  to Nature.

            ♥Lakes and Ponds:  opening to the spirit world; an oasis; nourishment of body, mind and spirit.  Help us tap new waters within ourselves.  Enable us to bring forth the magic within the waters of our own being.

            ♥Marshland:  emotional stages of life; bringing fresh air into the emotional life; decomposition and new growth.

            ♥Meadows:  abundance and fertility; balance of life; place of silent and soft growth; nourishment.

            ♥Mountains:  power and loftiness of spirit; discovering our own spiritual powers; outward expressing and assertiveness; overcoming obstacles for spiritual attainment; communion with spirits 

            ♥Oceans:  the subconscious mind and the primal feminine; the womb, mother, and woman; new tides and depths of possibilities.    

            ♥Plains:  openness and freedom; journeys to new homes and possibilities; sensitivity and exposure to new winds and to subtle changes.

            ♥Rivers:  creation and the flow of time; gatherings for quenching thirst (spiritual or physical); process of evolution at play; past and future at play. 

            ♥Valleys:  fertility and new life; a neutral zone for developing our creativity; mythical home of priest and priestess.

In looking at the moves in my life, I went from the plains to the mountains, to the desert by the ocean, to the mountains with forests, lakes, meadows, rivers, and valleys, to the coastal mountains with the forests and ocean close, again to the desert, then back to the mountains with forests, lakes, meadows, rivers, and valleys.  In each place I have had a garden around my house or as many pots with ferns and flowers as the porch would hold.  As I write this, I feel such love from these places enfold me that it brings tears to my eyes at the tenderness with which I am held.  They are so grateful that I recognize them and embrace the sacred gifts they so generously give.  Spirit is reflected to me and all in so many reverent and magical ways through Nature.

With autumn, activities that I have been doing for the last three years are changing.  For a while, I am stopping everything, just to allow myself to become still and see what Spirit brings for me.  It is holy and sacred to me to just be with Spirit each moment to listen without the busyness of doing.  I enter the inner temples to purify, transmute, and open in a deeper, clearer way.  I emerge with a wholeness that is soft, simple, and genuine.

Autumn is the time I feel the strong call to go to Mount Shasta as I immerse myself with all of nature there communing with Spirit.  A peace embraces every part of my Beingness like the end of day in the valleys.  This peace renews me in ways that nothing else does as I traverse the meadows, marshlands, lakes, rivers, forests, and mountains of that area.  I am infused with the love of Spirit that is like first morning rays of the sun peeking over the mountain.  At day’s end, the cool breezes flow through the darkening forests to bless and caress me with their gentle touch, their fragrant smells, and the sounds of all moving into stillness for the night.  Just as it becomes dark, I like to walk into the edge of the forest just to be in the silence as it opens up a space that becomes so still when I am there.  It welcomes and invites me to bask in its presence.  It is a magical time together with the forest and all therein.

Like the leaves falling off the trees, I lay down the cares of life and say a prayer of gratitude to Spirit for the many gifts to me, known and unknown.  Like the trees, this is a time to rejoice in all that I created in the past and trust that the seeds planted during autumn  will flourish in the future.  I watch a leaf float by me from the Headwaters of the Sacramento River and wonder where it will go.  Spirit will take it to where it can become different and thus help another to grow.  I see me in the leaf.

Oh, how I love nature with all of its seasons and reasons, and how grateful I am that I have such a deep connection to it that fills my life with meaning in ways that uplift to create a mystical and magical world.  The photo below is of trees in the City of Mount Shasta.  Thank you Spirit!

Reggie loves autumn also as he bounds in the leaves that fall from the trees, flinging them up in the air as he looks for wee ones to chase.  He gets so excited when we go to Mount Shasta as there is so much new for him.  He likes the cooler weather when he walks along the rivers and lakes.  The forests have so many wonderful different smells and sounds that draw him.  Being on leash in the forest and along the rivers and lakes hampers his explorations, but he trusts that I keep him safe for a reason.  He is happy just to be in this beautiful sacred place.  Autumn with Spirit in nature wherever we are blesses each of us in ways known and unknown, and we delight in the mystery.  Nancy and Reggie♥