Because the truest and most important love, is self love.

And because I get to choose…

“I’ve decided to be happy
I’ve decided to be glad
I’ve decided to be grateful
For all I ever had”

Here is the U-Tube link for the song above, Kinder.

“I know I am blessed!”

Happy Valentines Day!

Wishing you happy and empowering choices!

XXOO

Art and photography credit: Melani Marx

Special thanks to Libby Garcia for sharing this wonderful song with me.

Here is the U-Tube link for the song Kinder.

Because the truest and most important love, is self love.

And because I get to choose…

“I’ve decided to be happy
I’ve decided to be glad
I’ve decided to be grateful
For all I ever had”

“I know I am blessed!”

Happy Valentines Day!

Wishing you happy and empowering choices!

XXOO

Art and photography credit: Melani Marx

Special thanks to Libby Garcia for sharing this wonderful song with me.

Here is the U-Tube link for the song Kinder.

I am learning to be a human being.

This is not as easy as it sounds.

Somehow when they dropped off the instruction manual for that, my neighborhood got skipped.  All my life I have been a human doing. And this human-doing thing has worn me out.  It’s not a sustainable way to live. It’s left ME out of the equation. It’s not even necessary, simply a deep groove in my brain’s biological program.

One day I decided to be a human being. I chose. I discovered that this is not a one-time decision and then everything falls in line. This is a decision I make over and over. And over again. Sometimes a bzillion times in a day.

This is a life lesson.

A journey.

The good news is, I am getting better at remembering to make that choice.

Would you like to be a human being too?  

Here are a few of my tips.

1. I notice that I am not breathing, at least not much. This is a clear sign to me that I am not present.

2. I stop. I close my eyes. I breathe. I follow the breathe deep into my belly. I drop completely into the experience of the breath, my body and the moment.  I do this for several breaths.

3. I open my eyes and look around me. Really look around me…at what I am in the room with. I look out the window. I see the trees, the sun, the rain, the birds, the colors.

4. I ask my body what it needs, in this moment.

5. I listen to what my body is telling me…deeply and respectfully, listen. Sometimes it says “walk away from the computer,” or “go to the bathroom,” or” drink water.” It might ask me to take a walk, eat, or lay down.

6. I do it. I follow directions.

7. Now that I have listened to what my body wants and needs, and I’ve followed instructions, I ask myself, ”What’s next?”

8. I quietly wait for the answer to show up. I am getting pretty good at knowing the difference between the pusher, (that human doing,) and the human be-er. One feels good. One doesn’t.  The be-er voice comes from a quiet place deep in my belly and speaks with just a word or an image. The do-er talks in full sentences, about lists and things to do.

9. If there is the smallest trace of confusion, overwhelm or anxiety, I begin again at number one.

And believe it or not…I get way more done as a human being than I ever did as a human doing.  And it’s way more fun!

How do YOU get to “be-ing” rather than “do-ing”?

I would dearly love to know.

Please share!

Photo of Melani on her journey: Thomas Doty

All other photo credits: Melani Marx

First, my apologies!

Yesterday, the RSS feed for my blog sent out an old post from the Fall Equinox of it’s own volition. The first line said, ”September is a time of transition.” Most folks, I suspect, just deleted the email and went on about their day.

A few sent me emails saying, “Did you mean to send this?” or “I’m confused.” My immediate thought was, “Oh no! Did my website get attacked”

I went and looked. No. Everything looked fine. I have no idea how it happened.

One thing I believe is that the Universe is always communicating with and guiding us. I also read energy and am enormously curious. So when something unusual happens or catches my eye, I pay attention. I want to know what’s up. I ask questions. In essence, I follow the energy.

Mars just went retrograde on Monday.  It will not go direct again until April 14. I can feel what a big deal this is, but I’ve hesitated sharing about it. Frankly I am NOT an astrologer. I am however quit fascinated with the natural cycles we are all inextricably a part. And this is definitely one of those.

Traditionally when planets go retrograde, (this means they appear to move backward from our vantage point on the earth) it signals a time to slow down and assimilate all that we’ve been doing, learning and taking in. This is simply part of the natural and very normal rhythm of life, similar to winter, which is the time of rest and assimilation for the earth and her inhabitants.

Retrograde is a great time to sift through things on all levels: mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually and energetically.

Anything with an “re” in front of it: re-flect, re-do, re-align, re-evaluate, re-think, re-arrange are all appropriate when planets go retrograde. It signals a time to look back. Time to slow down. Rest.

This is what I began to think about.

However most of us, if we think about it at all, have a negative take on retrograde planets. We have a collective belief that when planets go retrograde it means negative outcomes and hassles. Things will get difficult and hard. This is not such a useful belief. All it does is amp up our fear and create a sense of survival and lack. It ignites our lizard brain into hyper over-drive. We move out of the natural flow and into resistance against.

Many years ago when I learned astrology from Grandmother Bernice, she also taught me a very valuable way of looking at the world. She believed that if you had something that could be construed as negative in your chart, you could also “use that energy up” in a positive way. It was simply energy…we got to choose how we would use it. We could be victims or we could be leaders and empowered in our own lives. We don’t always get to choose the energy we are presented with. We do get to choose what we believe and how we act on it.

Grandmother taught us to engage whatever energy we were presented with and turn in to our advantage. Embrace it. Allow it to work for us and with us, instead of moving into resistance against it.

The post that mysteriously went out yesterday was about, guess what? Resistance.  Resistance to the energy that life is presenting to us. I went back and read it again. It was a great reminder to go WITH the energy, the flow. To let go of the fight. Just put it down and walk away.  Fighting and resistance squanders our own precious life-force energy. And as my daughter recently said so eloquently, “Wow! Resistance hurts!” Want to go back and re-read the post too? The link’s at the bottom of the page.

Just a tad more about Mars…

Mars is all about energy. Every single thing is energy first before it moves into 3-D and becomes form. Everything.

Here are a few questions to ponder, if you choose,  as Mars takes us into a time of re-flection and re-evaluation.

What am I putting my energy into?

What is it creating? Is it what I want?

In what ways can I re-direct my energy to create more of what I do want?

And less of what I don’t?

What next small action or step can I take right now, to move me in that direction?

What are you in resistance against in your life…right now? How can you stop? Right now.

I would love to know.

Here’s the link for the post with a life of it’s own.

Photo credits: Melani Marx

When I first celebrated the Chinese New Year, the circumstances of my life were difficult. I was a single mother, self employed and raising three spirited and somewhat troubled teens. I felt unsupported and anxious most of the time. My life was careening out of control. I was in desperate need of a turn-around in my fortunes.

On that particular Chinese New Year, this is what I received.

Not  long after I began to study directly with His Holiness, Grandmaster, Professor Lin Yun (the man who brought Feng Shui to the West) a friend of mine urged me to room with her in Berkeley over the Chinese New Year’s Celebration. I agreed and flew to California from my home north of Seattle.

After a harrowing cab ride, the driver railing the entire time about the evils of America, his new country, I arrived at the Cultural Center. Totally rattled, I found myself in front of brick stairs that lead up to a pair of closed wrought iron gates. In almost absolute darkness and pouring rain, I wrestled my too-large suitcase up the narrow stairs. I stood at the gates, attempting to get them to open for several minutes, my fear and despair building. I finally managed to discover the secret and gain entry. I then walked across a long path and stood in front of the most enormous and heavy looking door I’d ever seen. Sheltering in the narrow overhang, umbrella in one hand, suitcase in the other, I rang the bell and waited. All I could hear was the sound of rain and traffic a few streets away. The neighborhood  appeared deserted. My worry mounted by the second. I rang the bell again.

The door was flung abruptly open onto what looked and sounded like a riotous party. Bright colors, loud voices, and the heavy scent of incense and food mingled together… a sudden assault on my senses.  As though she had been standing there waiting for me to arrive, a petite Asian woman welcomed me in.  I noticed dozens of pairs of shoes scattered neatly over the entry floor, and cubbies lining the walls filled with more shoes. I quickly understood to take mine off.

In stocking feet, I began to take in my exotic looking surroundings, I saw a swarm of people getting ready to sit down to eat at the biggest table I had ever seen. Apparently my arrival was right on time… or not!  Dinner was being served!

Without being aware of what was happening and no room for refusal, I was whisked into the throng and brought to the table. I looked around at a sea of Asian faces all rapidly speaking a language I didn’t understand. I was terrified. I desperately wanted to turn and bolt. This was so not in my comfort zone. Several of the women guided and welcomed me in. They found a place for me at the table, across from His Holiness, in what I now know was an honored place. It was as though they had been saving it for me. They beckoned my friend to come sit next to me. The only non-Asian faces at the table were ours. Everyone settled, and the meal began.

I found out later that almost every one of these folks had traveled to get there. Most from places like Hong Kong, Taiwan, Hawaii, Minnesota and New York, to gather and spend this auspicious night with their temple family. Many brought their entire families. There was much catching up and playful banter.

Just off the dining room was an enormous industrial kitchen, where many of the women had been cooking and preparing for hours. Each shared their favorite and traditional dishes for the New Year. As the food began to arrive it was placed on enormous lazy-susans along the length of the dining table that sat more than 40 people. I was handed a pair of chopsticks and firmly schooled in how to use them. I credit the many meals I shared with these amazing students close to His Holiness with my ability to use chopsticks. The women close by served me small amounts of everything, told me what the dishes were and why we were eating them. They were kind, gracious and welcoming. Every person in that room. Professor had schooled his students well in kindness and courteousness. Everyone made an effort to translate what wasn’t spoken in Mandarin, so my friend and I felt included. I completely relaxed. I felt at home. Welcomed.

That night we ate: long life noodles with tiny shrimp to ensure longevity. Chicken dishes for happiness and marriage. A whole chicken to ensure a proper beginning and end to the year. Egg dishes to symbolize new beginnings. Whole fish for marital bliss. Dumplings for good fortune.  Sweets for a sweet year. And SO much more. The food came for what seemed like hours. There was much laughing, joke telling and good wishes. It was the first over-the-top feast I had ever experienced.  I learned that on New Year’s Eve you want to have way more food than necessary so you have plenty of leftovers for the next day. You don’t want to cook on New Years Day. This portends an especially prosperous year with lots of money rolling in.

After the dishes were cleared and the meal was over, the adults and a few of the children sat and told stories. Some got up and sang songs for His Holiness, which he loved.

At some mysterious agreed-upon moment, everyone, including the children, moved into the Shrine Room and settled down. His Holiness began to speak in Mandarin and for those few of us who were not Chinese; his words were translated into English. He teased and taught the teenagers and children. His Godchildren honored him. He blessed us all. Then out came the big bowls of hard-boiled eggs for the traditional Golden Cicada ceremony. This ceremony symbolizes shedding all the past woes of the year and starting fresh once again. It brings you back to your “primordial, essential,” state as Professor always said. And is very powerful and. somewhat like a baptism.

Just before midnight, everyone walked outside into the neighborhood to perform their personal ceremony . The rain had stopped and a big moon hung in the sky, clouds scudding.  After we did the Golden Cicada ceremony, we also welcomed the wealth gods, then headed back to the Cultural Center.

Traditionally one stays up all night, talking, playing games and enjoying family and friends on New Years Eve. This night we reassembled in the Shrine Room and His Holiness gave blessings and Chi Infusions. Blessing us for a New Year. We gathered until the sky began to lighten. Everyone wandered off to bed.

In the years that followed, as I studied and spent more time with this community, I learned more about the how and why of celebrating this auspicious New Year’s time.

The warmth of these beautiful people, His Holiness’s blessings and the ceremonies I did that night changed the course of my life and my children’s lives in a permanent and positive way. I felt much that had been weighing me down, let go and disappear. From that time forward, I felt a palpable and different kind of support that was sincere, heart-centered and filled with compassion.

His Holiness made his final transition in August of 2010. He left a rich legacy. I am deeply grateful for the good karma to have met, traveled and studied with him. His powerful and gentle teachings still inform much of how I work and move through the world.

I think often of something His Holiness shared with us, and embodied in the way he lived. I paraphrase here: “There is much in life that is difficult and sad.  Always look for opportunities to celebrate. And do so to the fullest.”

Tomorrow night my family and I will have a feast with traditional dishes. We will play Banana-grams and stay up to greet the Year of the Dragon. I will gift them with charms to carry during the year of the Dragon, gold chocolate coins and traditional Red Envelopes with crisp paper money. We will do much in the house to prepare and open to receive the blessings that the Year of the Dragon will bring.

As we welcome the New Year beginning at 11 pm on January 22nd, I will complete ceremonies. Some will be as taught to me by His Holiness, some will incorporate the CCT™ energy work I do now infused with the spirit and essence of his precious teachings.

What are you celebrating as we welcome in the Year of the Dragon? I would love to know.

Wishing you a prosperous and healthy Year of the Dragon!

 Gong Hee Fat Choy!!!

For information about some special ways I am offering support for your own Dance with the Year of the Dragon, click here.

To read more about H.H. Grandmaster, Professor Lin Yun, click here.

To read a bit more about Chinese New Year’s traditions click here.

January 22, 2012 is the last day of the Year of the Rabbit. 

On January 23, 2012 we move into the Year of the Water Dragon.

Photo credits: Melani Marx (Taken while spending time with His Holiness, Grandmaster Lin Yun.)

Travelling.   Teaching.   Thinking.

Taking it all in. Turning everything over.

Endeavouring to see with deeper, clearer eyes.

This has been my journey as I’ve navigated the transition of one year, one cycle, one moment as it ends and the next begins.

Along the way…

I have promised myself that I will slow down and savour this year. This life. This moment. Now. Right now. No more waiting for later.

I have committed to stopping frequently. To coming back to my very own deepest, sweetest resting place. My self. My body. My temple.

I have embraced play and experimentation as the most necessary of ingredients for learning, growth and expansion.

I have chosen to spend this year and my life force energy with greater discernment and care.

I have decided to focus on balance, equilibrium and simplicity as the unifying force and underlying theme as I move forward.

I have pledged to love more deeply, more completely, absolutely, and oh, yes, indiscriminately.

I have sworn reverence, honor and respect for all life, especially and including my own.

I have dedicated my essence to freedom, growth and transformation.

I have elected to vote for freedom, kindness and equality with my choices, daily.

I have vowed to be an infinite expression of Creator Source.

I have agreed to listen more deeply to each and every being’s wisdom and to fully receive every single one of their gifts.

I am alive.

I want  myself. All of me. Every. Single. Nano-particle.

I need to tell the Truth. Always and in all ways.

My intention is to walk through this precious life , this year, with a stance of openness and receptivity. Receiving all the gifts, support, sustenance, acknowledgement and joy that comes my way.

This is what my journey has gifted me. A truer, kinder and quieter  compass to steer by.

What compass are you steering by?

Please share…I would dearly love to know.

P.S. The 2012 Monthly Energy Spa begins January 23rd. Real energy help to keep your inner balance and stay current with yourself so you can feel more ease and grace in your life. Don’t let the little price fool you. This is big help. Check it out here.

Photo credits: Melani Marx

All photos were taken using the CCT™, Energy Magic, Healing the Earth protocol.

As unready, on many levels as I feel, the undeniable fact is, this year is swiftly winding to an end.

In just a few days we will wrap up 2011 and move into 2012.

Here are a few of my last thoughts, as we close the door.

The week before Christmas, I cleared my schedule. I had big plans and all kinds of stellar, at least in my mind, intentions. I was committed to review the past year and plan the next. I have to admit I felt very virtuous and somewhat smug about this! Well, you all know what they say about God/ The Universe and plans? It’s a sure fire way to create laughter in the heavens!

My body, it turned out, had very different plans. Namely a migraine, then the flu. Internally I struggled and created a lot of anxiety for myself. How could I go into the next year with out crossing my “t”s and dotting my “i”s? I was very upset to put it mildly…not thankful in the least that I had already scheduled the time off.  I was resentful and pissy.

In the midst of this, without thinking, I did something very rare for me. I picked a divination card. It turned my world view upside down and stopped me in my tracks. In other words, it was just what I needed to hear.

The card was Freedom. This is how it started…

” You have drawn this card as a means of finding a more satisfying inner freedom from anxiety and feelings of being pushed by life, with never enough time, energy, money or experience to find what you feel or create what you feel you need or are ready for.

You may be impatient with your own work.

You may feel impatient to heal.

One of the great delusions of Earth School is that there is only limited time in which to accomplish your goals and meet your essential needs. You may have limited ordinary mental time, but you have unlimited spiritual time, and this an essential difference to become aware of when seeking freedom from struggle and stress.

Your ordinary mind has you rushing headlong toward death, with hardly an opportunity to breathe in the goodness of life and benefit from your life before it is over.

Your very normal mind tells you not to bother waiting, that you are ready for whatever it is you want right now. If this were so, then you would have done that very thing already, or be doing it this moment.

Impatience is misleading because you hear your mind telling you that you are ready for something when you may not be.

Nature is never hurried; it responds to the cycles that build, one from the next, as each has fulfilled its opportunity for growth. You are no less guided by the Divine.

Impatience becomes a way of life that you hardly notice as your motivation for gulping down life without savoring any of it. This is the feeling of always being pushed, out of breath, and reaching for what comes next.

Take a deep breath, smile at your compulsiveness and anxiety, and love the fact that you can see that in yourself and not judge that they are bad.

The next time you are aware of feeling pushed: stop what you are doing and say to yourself, “There are no time limits to my spirit’s work, and there fore all that I do will come into fruition at exactly the right moment.”  From The Angelic Messengers cards.

Well, that was clear. As a bell.

Suffice it to say, I stopped. I looked. Really truly looked. I surrendered, once again to what was. In the moment. I stopped struggling. I opened to receive the love and perfection at work in everything, always. I even laughed.

This year is almost over. It’s been a big one. For me personally. For my family and friends. For the world.

As I sit at the end of the day…

My intention is to receive every single one of its gifts, known and unknown.

My intention is to learn, grow, transform. Always. And in all ways.

My intention is to enjoy and see the success and brilliance …in everything.

I am offering impatience as my parting gift to you at the end of this year. It certainly was to me.

Happy New Year!

P.S. What unexpected gifts did you receive at the end of this year? I would love to know.

P.P.S. I have it on VERY good authority that 2012 is going to ROCK! Whooo-hooo!

Photo credits: Melani Marx

All photos were taken using the CCT™ Energy Magic, Healing the Earth protocol.

In the ever changing constant, that is the turning of the year, the Solstices are the farthest point in the arc of the pendulum at either end.

Winter Solstice is the longest night. A demarcation line, one year moving naturally into another. Winter is the time of dreaming in the dark. The journey inward to restore and assimilate. Everything settling into stillness and rest.

This is the natural time to reflect on all that we’ve accomplished. All that’s passed through on the current of our lives in the last twelve months.

The triumphs.

The stumbles.

The joys.

The losses.

The ways we have grown and stretched.

Each an opportunity for deep learning. Each a celebration. Each a story to sit and tell by the fire, as our ancestors did since time out of mind, even if only to ourselves. An enriching. An informing.

This is a time of deep letting go… of all that’s been completted and all that’s left undone. Equally. Completely. Allowing everything to come to rest. Following the rhythms of the earth.

The oak trees that fill the canyon outside my windows, have buds set already, on bare branches. The trees wait stripped and quiet for the return of longer days. Sun and warmth will nourish, sustain and call the life force up from the earth, the sap from the roots into the limbs, come Spring Equinox. Tiny buds giving birth to brilliant infant leaves. Leaves that will unfurl and grow to give shade in summer’s high heat.

Like the oaks, we too, already have the seeds of the next turning deep within us. Now is the time to nourish them. To dream our inner dreams. To connect to and listen to our deepest yearnings and own wise council. To celebrate ourselves, our year. Taking this time, this very moment to rest in stillness. Holding it deep in our bellies.

Time to dream in the darkness, birthing ourselves anew in the light of the coming year.

May your inner fire be bright and warm.

May your path forward be clear and simple.

Wishing you a warm and peaceful Winter Solstice.

You are welcome to download the Energy Infusion above. A Solstice gift. Click here.

An Energy Infusion is an inspirational statement I create, married  to a photo using Crystalline Consciousness Technique™ ,energy magic. It’s infused with intention, energy, love and inspiration. Simply looking at it and taking it in gives you an infusion of uplifting energy! It is a healing in and of itself. Energy Infusions are wonderful as a focus for meditation or quiet reflection. Or simply as a pretty to place in your office or on the fridge.

How do you settle in the dark and celebrate yourself?

I would love to know.

Photo credits: Melani Marx

It Happens Three Times a Year.

From our vantage point here on Earth, Mercury, the planet that rules communication and travel, the planet that is closest to earth and moves the quickest, slows to a stop and appears to move backward.

We call this Mercury retrograde. We’re experiencing it right now.

So, what IS the big deal?

One of the most important ways we can stay balanced and keep our inner equilibrium, is to be in balance with the natural world. Most of us humans are essentially disconnected and out of timing with those natural, ever shifting, rhythms and cycles. We live in cities and neighborhoods with lots of light at night, so we are unaware or in sync with the phases of the moon. We spend much of our time indoors. Hidden away from the smell of dirt and the sight of the shifting seasons, the natural landscape.  We loose touch. We forget the truth. We are absolutely interwoven with all of life, the planet and the natural world. We ARE it.

A few of these cycles and rhythms are the phases of the moon, the shifting of the planets, the cycles of the seasons, the ever-changing amount of daylight in a given day. Each of these is part of the natural order. The ever-constant ebb and flow of life.When we are in synch with these natural rhythms and universal laws of creation, when we allow them to buoy us up and carry us forward, instead of resisting them, we experience greater ease and flow in our own lives.

This past week we moved into Mercury retrograde.

Most folks, if they’ve heard of it, have heard Mercury retrograde used as an excuse for why things go wonky.  It creates glitches, slow things down and causes all kinds of trouble, like computer crashes and plane delays. And yes, it can and sometimes does. As with all things, there is also another side to this, a positive one. When we view it as part of the natural flow, like the tide going out, or the trees undressing for fall, we can use this energy to our advantage.

Without going into a very long explanation of astrology, here is a bit of what I know.

Mercury Retrograde…

• Mercury rules communication and travel, so issues can show up with these when it goes retrograde.
• Communication with others can be more challenging. It’s a great time to communicate more internally, with ourselves.
• This cycle’s dates are 11/24 – 12/13. The effects begin 3-5 days before and continue 3-5 days afterward.
• Expect delays and things to take longer. Breathe and practice patience.
• Slow down and double check things.
• It’s a very good time to look back and catch up with ourselves.
• It’s a good time to review where we are and revise where we’re headed. In other words, planning.
• All kinds of things from the past can show up. Lost objects. Old friends. Old patterns ready to let go on a deeper level.
• Buried insights that need to surface, may, so that we can move forward in new ways.
• A very good time for some contemplation.
• Great for sorting through things and lightening the load, physically, mentally, emotionally and energetically.
• Time to slow down and do less.
• Not the time to start new things. Time to finish the old.

We can use this retrograde energy with a big dose of self-EMPATHY, to “see” where we are and consider what we really want.

It’s the perfect time to:

Re-evaluate

Re-visit

Re-juvenate

Re-energize

Re-new

Re-commit

Re-turn home to ourselves

Re-cover

And anything else with “Re” in front of it.

Instead of, “Oh, my God!” and resistance. How about, “Thank God!”, taking an opportunity to go with the natural flow.

A great time to…

Clean out the closets.

Look back at the past year and see where you’ve been.

Look at your plans for the future and re-adjust the path so it is more in alignment with what your heart longs for.

If we do this now, before the holidays get especially busy. If we just put down the list of “do” and give ourselves the extra time we need right now to get things done. The quiet reflective time to go within, then when we get closer to the big holiday flurry we will be rested and re-juvinated and re-energized to enjoy and have fun. We’ll walk into the New Year feeling ready in our deepest being to explore what is new for us.

“If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.” ~  Chinese Proverb

Some Mercury retrograde questions to ponder….

If I keep going in the direction I am, where will I end up?

Is that where I want to be?

If I keep living my life in the same way?

If I keep doing business in the same way?

If I keep telling myself the same old story about______, where will I be?

Next week? Next month? Next year?

How can I adjust that?

What’s one small thing I can do that would help me to shift that?

Let the energies of Mercury retrograde help you to check in and slow down just a bit.

Allow yourself to come more deeply into balance with the natural rhythms of the season.

How will you do that?  

I’d love to know.

Want some extra help?

There’s still time to join me at the Energy Spa. Enjoy a special meditation for Mercury retrograde, and others to help you stay balanced and stabilized throughout the holidays, connecting to natural rhythms with ease and grace.

Mercury photo: NASA

Nature photo credits: Melani Marx

All nature photos used in this post were taken while using the Healing the Earth protocol. Unleash your creative energies. Class begins December 2, 2011.

More than twenty years ago, on Thanksgiving day, I was taught to perform a version of a Native American Ceremony, called the Corn Bowl, by my teacher, Grandmother Bernice Falling Leaves, the leader of the medicine lodge I belonged to.

There were almost forty of us at the Thanksgiving dinner table that year. There was also laughter, jokes and mountains of food. The energy of celebration and gratitude for all that we had and each other was thick and sweet. After dinner we gathered in the big room by the fireplace and finished the day with the Corn Bowl Ceremony.

I’d like to share the essence of that ceremony with you.

In the Corn Bowl Ceremony, each person’s prayers for the year are placed into a sacred vessel or “Corn Bowl” prepared and used exclusively  for that purpose. Our bowl, that Thanksgiving was sprinkled with corn pollen and meal by Grandmother Bernice. It was then infused with prayers, songs and blessings.

I was taught that the Corn Bowl Ceremony is traditionally done at the time of the new moon that marks, or is near the Fall Equinox, or in this case, Thanksgiving. It honors the harvest and sets the energies for the coming year’s abundance, health and harmonious relationships.

As we gathered in a circle, we asked that all the energies of earth and heaven be present with us. We honored the gifts they brought and thanked them for their support. The bowl began to move around the circle from person to person, starting with Grandmother. Along with the bowl an ear of dried corn was also passed from hand to hand. Each of us took a kernel or two, even four and infused them with our prayers for the coming year. One kernel each, for our families, our communities, the world and ourselves. Many of the prayers were spoken aloud, some were whispered, others held silently in the hearts of those saying the prayers. When all, including the children, had offered prayers, the bowl was passed one more time. This time, as it was held, one by one, prayers were literally breathed from the heart into the bowl. We ended with a water ceremony.

The public part of the corn bowl ceremony was complete for the year.

The “keeper” of the Corn Bowl, me, had the sacred responsibility to safe-gaurd  the community’s prayers. The Corn Bowl sat in the center of my altar. Every New Moon I  blessed  imbued it with the intention that each prayer be lifted to heaven, come to fruition and “grow corn.” I did this task with the seriousness and respect it deserved. I was synchronized and tuned to the ebb and flow of the moon and the seasons in a way I have not been since. I completed the full cycle of the year. All 13 new moons. This brought us back to the time of harvest. Another year’s Corn Bowl ceremony.  Another “keeper.”

Once again, this year, Thanksgiving falls on the New Moon.

With deepest respect and gratitude for all those that have come before and in the essence of Grandmother’s precious teachings, I offer this story and the meditation below. I give this as a blessing and an opportunity to anchor in your own thanks-giving for the past year and your prayers for the coming one.

Gathering the pure creative potential available in the dark of the moon, and using the scared container of CCT™ for this work, we sow the seeds of our prayers. May they all “grow corn.”

Click on the link below to listen to the New Moon Healing Meditation. At one point you will be asked to pause the recording and speak what you are most grateful for, allowing the energy of appreciation to fill you and all you hold in gratitude. There will be another pause to anchor in your own prayers for yourself.  It is useful to write down your prayers and tuck them away. Keep them safe, until next year.  This mediation will link will be available until November 30.

New Moon Healing Meditation       Be sure to click the back button to return to this page.

The container for this work, and all the work I do, is Crystalline Consciousness Technique™ (CCT™). For more information about it and how it works, click here.

May all your prayers be lifted to the heavens to rain gently down around you with joy, love and sweet celebration.

If you enjoyed the New Moon Meditation and would like to know how to receive additional support to move with ease and grace through the holidays and into the new year, check out the Holiday Energy Spa here.

Photo credits: Melani Marx

All photos used in this post were taken while using the Healing the Earth protocol. Unleash your creative energies. Class begins December 2, 2011.