2020-5HealingRituals&PracticestoHonortheSummerSolsticeBlog

5 Healing Rituals & Practices to Honor the Summer Solstice

Summer Solstice is coming up fast, and now is the time to decide how you want to celebrate…

On June 20, we honor this major celestial event in the Northern Hemisphere — a magical time when you can connect with the sun’s vital power and usher in spiritual initiation and CHANGE.

What exactly IS the Summer Solstice?

The word “solstice” comes from the Latin words for “sun” and “standing still.” On the 20th, the sun will reach its highest position as seen from the northern half of the Earth, and it will appear to stand still as it marks the height of long days and the abundant aliveness of Nature. Summer Solstice also marks the longest day and the shortest night of the year. And of course for folks in the southern part of the planet, the reverse is true: Winter Solstice comes at this time, bringing the regenerative darkness that nurtures the rebirth of life. (We are thinking of all of our students and friends Down Under)

In ancient cultures around the world, Summer Solstice was considered the turning point of the year. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna describes the solstice as the way out of the physical world and into the spiritual realms. It’s a time (as is the Winter Solstice) when the veil that separates you from nonphysical reality is so thin that it can be easily pierced. Especially if you’re highly attuned to the cycles of the Earth, you might be able to feel this shifting of energy. It offers a powerful opportunity for renewal that stays open for several days before and after the actual occasion.

Summer Solstice rituals & ceremonies

Just as the ancients held special ceremonies on the solstice, you too can connect to the sun’s heightened energy at this time, and take advantage of its radiance to shine light on whatever you want to transform in your life or the world. Plus, if you’re starting to shift out of shelter-in-place, this is an optimal time to explore more deeply what you’re thinking of stepping into.

So let’s take a look at some simple things you can do to celebrate your connection to the sun, and take stock of where you are and what you want to accomplish.

5 healing rituals & practices to honor the Summer Solstice

  1. Call in your highest intentions for your life or the world. As we birth a new consciousness across the Earth, harness the energy of this day to help usher in change for the better. Light your favorite yellow or orange candle. Call in your angels and guides. Journal about or pray for what you’d like to see come to fruition. Summer is the time of flowering, so let the warmth of the sun help you grow the seeds of your intentions into an abundance of health, happiness, wisdom, peace, and justice.
  2. Take a gratitude sun bath. Try watching the sunrise on solstice, or do Sun Salutations, and give our life-giver your gratitude for gracing the Earth, for bringing warmth and helping seeds grow. And while it can be hard to keep in mind that good things are happening on Earth, acknowledge a change that’s come that you’re happy about. For example, this week we saw a historic national ruling in the US that protects LGBTQ workers. Another example is that more and more companies are honoring Juneteenth as a paid holiday. While we’re bombarded by bad news left and right, it’s crucial to honor everything you view as positive. That’s one of the keys to uplifting consciousness — and higher consciousness uplifts our physical reality.
  3. Meditate on this: What role will you play in evolving your community and our global family? This is the time to ask yourself: “What can I do now to welcome the change I want?” This year more than ever, people have felt like everything is out of our control, but the truth is that you always have the power to start working with the universe toward meeting a goal. What steps — even if they seem small — can you take now to uplift your workplace, to change a law in your community, to ensure justice, to shift a broken system, to help someone who’s struggling
  4. Visualize yourself crossing a threshold. See the place you’re crossing from as what you’re ready to leave behind. See the place you’re approaching as what you’ve been longing for. With the sun shining brightly ahead of you, will you enjoy more nurturing relationships? Make a job change? Be more creative? Use this time when the sky is at its brightest to welcome more nurturance into your life!
  5. Recharge your life-force energy in nature. As a spiritual teacher and energy healer, I make sure my ties to the sun, the Earth, the sky, the wind, the stars, the plants, and our fellow animals are always intact. I have my favorite places in nature that support my spirit and strengthen my knowledge of the unconditional love and universal connection we all share. Are you making good use of the power of nature to soothe and guide you? Choose a favorite tree to hug. Lie on your back under the sun with your palms up in a receiving position and watch the sky. Marvel at the absolute majesty.

Most of all, enjoy this magical time of year! The more open you are to new energy, the more you’ll increase its presence within you. Remember that like the sun, you can shine brightly, and you have the power to help bring forth the great new growth that’s so needed on this beautiful planet.

To learn more about tapping into powerful life-force energy, check out my master-in-training certification course here.

Work one-on-one with Deborah
2020 June Eclipse

3 Practices to Embrace Hidden Aspects Through June’s Full moon + Lunar Eclipse

This month’s full moon is INTENSE — but there’s hope…

Are you feeling it? Tensions are mounting, personally and collectively — and here in the US we’re seeing this energy play out with strong reactions to deep-seated issues with racial injustice and police brutality, to name just a few of the conflicts that have been erupting.

Full moons in and of themselves are all about illumination — both literally as the moon brightens the night sky — and figuratively as it lights up different aspects of our personal and collective lives…

And this month on June 5 or 6 (depending on where you live), our full moon is also a lunar eclipse. I’ll tell you about the significance of the lunar eclipse shortly, but first I’ll tell you that this week’s full moon is also in a T-square with Mars and Neptune.

In a nutshell, the T in T-square stands for Tension. Some of the manifestations of Mars include energy, action, and drive — and the tenser manifestations include violence and upheaval. Some of the manifestations of Neptune include oneness and deep sensitivity — and the tenser manifestations include deception and emotional turbulence.

In Vedic astrology, eclipses herald change. Combine that with Mars’s energy for making something happen, and Neptune’s energy for oneness, and we have a recipe for people gathering to create necessary change that’s long overdue.

This applies especially in America right now, but you’ll likely be able to see it wherever you live on one scale or another — perhaps with families and educators coming together to change the way we teach our children, or maybe in your personal life with a job or a relationship.

After all, we know that tension and conflict drive action, right?

As I shared in a post about transforming your perspective during the pandemic, there are different levels of perception — and with the God brain, we can see this as the potential to make the necessary changes that need to happen for us to grow, to change, to step ­up in consciousness, and to progress to higher levels of being.

Which is something we ALL need, right? You’re very likely seeking to step up personally, and I bet your intention — like mine — is to help humanity rise up from its current state.

As individuals, and society as a whole, if we make racial bias a moral issue, then no one will want to embrace their bias, because most people don’t want to be a “racist.” However, the truth is, we all exist in a society with inherent bias built into the system, therefore, we all carry bias — consciously or unconsciously.

The path forward is in embracing our bias… which means digging into our inner work and exploring our shadow aspects.

Fortunately, there’s tremendous opportunity for positivity that we can reap from this moon, which has the potential for great transformation — a potential driven by tension and drive, determination, and resolve.

Harnessing the Power of the Strawberry Full Moon Lunar Eclipse for Healing and Transformation — and Embracing Your Shadow

The strawberry full moon lunar eclipse? You read that mouthful right — the June full moon is traditionally called the strawberry moon or the rose moon — because strawberries are abundant and roses bloom in June. (There’s a little opportunity for some vibe-lifting, chakra-clearing gratitude!)

Because emotions are heightened during a full moon, it’s a perfect opportunity to acknowledge and release them.

Try these full moon cleansing strategies to access the full spectrum of healing energy from this cycle’s moon.

Journal to release racial bias and inherited imprints & beliefs
Want to see big benefits during the full moon? Journal to express your inner feelings and observations, write out your intentions for change, make decisions about what to do next, and channel tension into positive action.

Try these journal prompts to help you get started:

  • What does Black Lives Matter mean to me?
  • Do I hold any pain my ancestors experienced through racism? Do I hold any responsibility? (If you feel you do, call on your guides and the Violet Flame to help you release old wounds.)
  • What did I learn about race from my mom, dad, or family in general?
  • What is hidden or eclipsed in me? Are there experiences or beliefs I can release?
  • What are my deepest desires when it comes to racism and humanity?
  • What actionable steps can I take to help heal racism?

Meditate, meditate, meditate
In Vedic astrology, eclipses are caused when the North and South Nodes of the moon, Rahu and Ketu, swallow the sun and the moon. The moon at these times is not actually auspicious to watch with the naked eye, but going inward and meditating is extra beneficial.

I recommend meditating for 20 minutes twice a day with a mantra I give you. If I haven’t taught you yet, here’s a link to learn. Use this contemplative time to receive messages from your inner guidance, spend extra time grounding and connecting to the creative and generative power of the Earth, and open to the wisdom being revealed to you.

Your meditation and prayer time is also vital to helping every other sentient being on the planet. Dedicate your practice time to amplify vibrations of higher consciousness raising the unified field around all of us. Our world needs healing more than ever right now, and by consciously sending healing intentions into the universal field, you’ll help create the healing our planet needs so desperately.

Protest peacefully
If there are protests taking place in your community and you feel called to join, do so, guided by your heart. If you’d prefer to stay at home and drop in to the reflective time that lunar eclipses call for, watch this TedTalk with Damon Davis. Courage is contagious, he says, which could not be more true.

In everything you do this week and always, know that you can navigate turbulence with grace, and your thoughts, prayers, and intentions will help make this a turning point for upleveling consciousness — yours and the people in your life and the planet’s. You are never alone; call upon Spirit and your guides to help you harness this moon’s power for personal and collective upliftment.