Strawberry Moon Summer Solstice

2019 Strawberry Full Moon and Sagittarius: Summer Solstice to Follow

Strawberry Moon Summer Solstice

This week, as we move into summer, we are gifted two wonderful opportunities to experience the incredible healing energy of the cosmos.

First: The Full Moon

Take some time tonight or tomorrow night to sit outside and connect to the feminine energy of this week’s full moon, known as the sweetest moon of the year. Since ancient times, Native Americans have given very descriptive names to each full moon, inspired by what’s happening in nature at that time of year. They call this full moon in June the Strawberry Moon because it is the time of year when wild strawberries ripen and are ready to pick.

As you sit outside under the night sky, allow the light of the full moon to gently open your spiritual side. And listen to whatever fruitful guidance she may offer you. I’ve had some of my biggest spiritual openings outside, under the light of a summer full moon, feeling her energy and receiving her counsel. So head outside and let the moon do her magic on you!

Then you’ll be ready to make the most of the solar energy of solstice this Friday – you’ll be open to hearing what’s best for your body and how to restore and optimize your health, open to hearing the perfection of the now.

Next: The Summer Solstice

The Earth is closer to the sun this week than at any other time of the year, and we are bathed in solar energy. In summer, we celebrate the incredible bounty of the earth and the powerful energy that can turn tiny seeds into nourishment. The warmth of the sun can help you to grow the seeds of your inner being into an abundance of health, happiness, and wisdom.

For those of us who live in the Northern Hemisphere, Friday, June 21st marks the longest day of the year. Ancient astronomical monuments like Stonehenge are aligned to the sunrise of summer solstice, celebrating the height of glory for the Sun King before the days start growing shorter once again. You can connect to the sun’s vital power at solstice during the extra hours of daylight and remember that you, too, can burn brightly and bring nurturance into your life.

Summer is the time of flowering, a time to reap the rewards of your spiritual efforts and grow in the Light. It’s also a powerful time to recharge your life force energy out in nature, seeing how everything is alive and vibrant under the sun.

Summer is a happy time of year, filled with incredible energy. Use the available energy to walk in the woods (and try Forest Bathing, see last week’s blog, swim in the ocean, or a lake, tend your organic garden (even if it’s just a pot or two on the windowsill) and relish the beauty of nature’s patterns in the vegetables and flowers you grow. Align with the influx of powerful solar energy as you swim or kayak across the water, the sun sparkling its surface and infusing you with joy.

Fuel Yourself Accordingly

It’s a good time of year to eat more lightly, and the perfect time to try eating a more plant-based diet with so much fresh produce readily at hand. Remember to stay well hydrated while out in the summer sun. There are so many luscious fruits available to help your liquid intake. Try blending chunks of watermelon into juice; it’s about 92% water with lots of nutrients and beneficial compounds that lower inflammation and improve your heart health as well.

The Light – It’s Here For You

When the sun is shining and your body is warming along with the outside temperature, and you’re able to sleep outside under the summer’s night sky, you are content in the moment and grateful to be able to serve the light – the moon light, the sun light, the star light, and the inner light of Spirit. So let the light of the full moon and the glorious sunrise of the summer solstice awaken you and guide your way.

Forest Bathing Nature Therapy

Forest Bathing – A Must-Try Therapy for Healing and Wellness

Forest Bathing Nature Therapy

If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears, does it make a sound? That’s an old Zen koan, an unanswerable or paradoxical question used to go beyond the intellect and help open the student’s mind to greater internal truths of spirit and intuition. But you don’t need a Zen Buddhist master’s koan to benefit from the Japanese practice of Shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing.

It doesn’t refer to sitting in a bubble bath in a grove of trees, although it definitely feels like it! Forest bathing is simply being in the presence of trees, doing nothing but hanging—not hiking, not taking photos with your phone, not talking. It’s simply being with the trees and letting your nervous system attune to their presence. The trees and all members of the plant kingdom are the highest consciousness on our planet; they instinctively know how to soothe us, how to heal us.

The Scientific Backing for Nature Therapy

According to an EPA survey, we spend 87 percent of our time indoors, plus another 6 percent in our cars. That doesn’t leave much time for the restorative benefits of the great outdoors.

One study showed that gallbladder surgery patients who just looked at trees through a hospital window had a faster recovery time.

The Japanese have spent millions of dollars to study the effects of forest bathing on the mind and body. A professor at the Nippon Medical School in Tokyo measured human NK (natural killer) cells in the immune system both before and after forest bathing. NK cells respond rapidly against viral infections and protect against tumor formation; they are a vital part of a healthy immune system. During the week following a forest visit, NK cell activity increased significantly, and positive effects lasted for a month after a weekend in the woods, including less inflammation, improved mood, better ability to focus, more energy, and better sleep.

You know how the air in a forest seems fresher than city air? That’s because trees emit essential oils (called phytoncide) to protect themselves from germs and insects. When you inhale phytoncide, it improves the functioning of your immune system.

Another Japanese study measured stress factors before and after a 30-minute visit to a forest. They found lower concentrations of cortisol, blood pressure and pulse rate went down, there was more parasympathetic nerve activity (rest-and-digest system) and less sympathetic nerve activity (flight-or-fight responses). In other words, hanging out with the trees makes us humans less stressed.

Trees are not only good for your body, they are also good for your spirit. Another study showed reduced hostility and depression after being with the trees, or as one researcher put it, “therapeutic landscapes.”

As a regular practice, forest bathing can deepen your intuition, increase your ability to communicate with the land and various species, increase your life force, and overall sense of happiness.

Forest Bathing Clubs

In San Francisco, there are hundreds of members of the Forest Bathing Club Meetup who forest bathe once a month to take a break from the stress of constant technology—your computer and phone and invasive social media, emails, and texts.

There are even certified Forest Therapy guides.

Check to see if there are such clubs near you. If not you can go on your own – or use this as an opportunity to start your own and club and build a community.

Trees in Myth and Religion

Many myths from around the globe tell of a “world or cosmic” tree, where the roots, trunk and branch represent the underworld, earth, and the heavens. The bible mentions the “tree of life” as well as the “tree of knowledge of good and evil.” The Buddha reached enlightenment while sitting under a Bodhi tree. Druids worshipped in sacred groves of trees. And Kabbalists celebrate the 15th of the month of Aquarius (on the lunar calendar) as the birthday of the trees.

It’s said that even spiritual teacher, Krishnamurti, found his enlightenment in Ojai under a pepper tree.

A number of trees have always been regarded as sacred. The willow tree is associated with the movement of water and the moon, so priestesses of the Goddess Hecate of the Moon use willow water as part of their magic. Celts considered the oak, apple, birch, and ash trees as sacred, with the ash tree known for healing and enchantment. The largest yellow oak in the U.S. (in Oley, PA) is 500 years old and is said by the Delaware Indians to have the power to heal. The Bodhi tree of India is a symbol of Buddha’s presence, while the banyan tree with its unique aerial roots represents eternal life. The bible mentions the Lebanese cedar 75 times.

Take Advantage of Nature’s Free Therapy

Trees help us physically by providing oxygen and shade to the planet as well as shelter and habitat for animals. Like all living things, trees have an energetic vibration and aura. Their grounding energy comes from having roots that reach deep into the earth, and give trees their vibration of security and stability.

So bathe your body and spirit in the forest (or your local city park) as you mingle with the trees. Go ahead and have a moment and physically hug a tree. Release any negative energy (as well as all those EMF’s you absorbed from your TV/laptop/phone!) and let them travel down the tree’s roots and get recycled by Mother Earth. At the same time, you’ll absorb the nourishing energy Mother Earth sends up through the tree’s roots as you rest against the tree’s trunk beneath its leafy branches.

For one moment, no need to do anything, just be. 😊

shutterstock_130218290.jpg

How to Cultivate Your Inner Light

shutterstock_130218290

Can you think of someone you know who is always positive? This doesn’t necessarily mean that they are always happy—sometimes life throws pretty hefty curve balls—but do you know someone who responds to those curve balls with grace and perspective, who reacts from a place of love and light? It’s these types of people, like Ghandi or Maya Angelou or Mother Teresa, who face hate and fear with love and forgiveness, who are true beacons of light that inspire the world.

The Light Inside of You

You have a light inside of you, too. Depending on where you are in your spiritual development, that light might be a flickering flame or a giant bonfire, but it’s there, and it’s ready for you to nourish it and let it get brighter and stronger.

Those people who seem to be lighter and happier have reached higher levels of awareness. In an expanded state, you realize that we are all connected to the universal field, and this understanding allows you to interact with the world from a thoughtful, loving, distanced standpoint. This is a far cry—and a much happier one—from the immediate knee-jerk reactions and fearful defensiveness that is the pattern of so many who are not coming from an enlightened awareness.

Spreading Love to All

I have traveled all over the world to meet with shamans, priests, monks, and many other spiritual teachers and energy healing practitioners, many of whom were living their daily life full of love and looking at the world and all its struggle from the vantage point of an expanded state.

heart2

What I learned from them, and have confirmed in my thirty years as an energy healer and spiritual teacher myself, is that when you have experienced the light of the divine, even momentarily through meditation, you can begin to cultivate that divine light inside of you. When you begin to express it through your thoughts and actions, it creates a ripple effect of love in the world.

Don’t Squelch Your Light!

Healing and enlightenment go hand in hand—it’s much harder to reach states of expanded awareness when your energy field is blocked or your chakras are spinning incorrectly. Think of it like this: when your chakras and energy field are not operating optimally, darkness fills your field and your body like a drop of ink in water, spreading quickly, and dimming your inner light. This is where energy healing comes to the rescue. With energy healing, you can clear those blockages and begin cleansing, charging and balancing your field, allowing space for the light to return.

Here are 3 tips for healing yourself and growing the light inside of you so you can live a more positive, happier life.

1. Have fun.

Joy is often overlooked in our fast-paced, work-driven culture, but it is one of the most important catalysts for bringing light into your life. If you’re like many, you are often rushing around, caught up in the busy-ness of projects, travel, appointments, etc. and you might forget to take time out to simply enjoy yourself. Take a fun break! Even if you have to schedule it in, make time to read a good book or watch an entertaining movie or take a bubble bath, play games with friends or run with your dog. Whatever makes you smile, laugh, and feel uplifted—do that as often as possible. Really let yourself have fun the way you did as a child, totally free and uninhibited. Think about how good it feels to let go. Joy is healing.

couple3

2. Live your soul’s true purpose.

When you are living your true purpose in life—doing what your soul came to this planet to do—you move further into the light. It’s like a key in a lock, and when you find your true life purpose, each day will feel like a gift. You know how they say, “You never work a day in your life when you do what you love.” I have found that to be true for myself: when I’m doing energy healing or teaching my healing courses, I feel great! I wish for you to manifest your own life purpose, whatever it may be, and if you haven’t found it yet, you can discover it through meditation, working with a spiritual teacher, or other personal work. You can always tell when someone is living in alignment with their true soul’s purpose, because they literally glow.

3. Be of service.

If you’ve been to one of my energy medicine workshops or listen to my weekly show, you have probably heard me say, “Chop wood, carry water.” Be of service. Serving others is a way to help heal yourself. I know it might sound backwards, but giving and using your gifts for the greater good takes your energy and light beyond yourself and helps others. But since we are all connected through the universal field, that light you shine on others comes back to illuminate you. Light brings more light.

If you encourage the light that is already inside of you to grow and expand, it will eventually burn so brightly that others can’t help but see it, and they will want to follow your radiant example. Not only will you be raising your own vibration by living in light and acting from a framework of positivity, but you will also be helping to raise the vibration of the whole planet!

sunset4