Here is a sample of what I share in my private online community, Gateway to Gaia.
I created a private space online during COVID where friends could gather and freely express their opinions and discuss their healthcare options without having to talk in code under the threat of censorship.
Everyone should really think about that last paragraph. I live in the United States of America, what used to be a free, democratic country whose Constitution states, under the First Amendment:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
The first year of the Gateway to Gaia community was a journey through the 5 Elements of Taoism by following the seasonal energies for an entire 12 months.
When the pandemic began my first overriding thought was, if we humans are going to dig ourselves out of the global mess we have created, we need to lean into Mother Nature and our forgotten connection to the web of life we are a part of. Most people no longer have any idea where their food is grown, let alone what is in it or how it is grown, let alone how to keep themselves healthy.
I am a descendant of farmers and ranchers. My grandparents did not have grocery stores to shop in. They had the land they homesteaded on and the animals and plants on that land. I am lucky to have grown up knowing them and how they lived not that long ago, in the 1930’s.
The healing paradigm that has formed the foundation of my veterinary practice for the past 25 years is Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine, TCVM for short. The spiritual/philosophical foundation of TCVM is Taoism.
The Taoists left us with a remarkable system and map, some even call it an ancient technology, showing us how to maintain a dynamic balance both internally, within the body/mind/spirit, and externally, with the greater environment and ecosystem.
It essentially describes a complex web of life, where every part reflects every other part like a hologram. We cannot be healthy unless we are living in balance with all other life forms. This gives a whole new meaning to the Buddhist prayer The Four Immeasurables:
May all beings have happiness and the causes of happiness.
May all beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.
May all beings rejoice in the well-being of others.
May all beings live in peace, free from greed and hatred.
Gateway to Gaia has morphed into a place to gather, with weekly meditation circles. I offer various courses and programs according to the themes of the seasons and the 5 Elements to empower people to keep themselves, their family, their pets, and the planet healthy and thriving.
If you are interested in finding out more, I am holding an Autumn membership drive, that includes a bonus class, Food is Medicine: Culinary Mushrooms.
I, myself, bring a unique mixture of spiritual paths (shamanism, Native American, Tibetan Buddhism, paganism, western hermeticism), western scientific and medical knowledge (degrees in Biology, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine), alternative medicine (acupuncture, western herbalism, Chinese herbalism, massage, homeopathy, vibrational medicine, Reiki, Bodytalk, energy medicine, nutrition) and personal experience: 25 years one-on-one patient care, psychedelic psychonaut before it was a thing, and personal healing using the same modalities I utilize in my practice. My personal creed is not to recommend or espouse anything unless I, myself, have witnessed or experienced it, period.
Let’s help each other keep this country free for generations to come! Support me here or in the Gateway to Gaia.
Autumnal Equinox
September 23
The Autumnal Equinox happening today, called Mabon in the Celtic calendar, is the second harvest and the big harvest - before the first freeze. The first harvest is Lughnasad, the first week of August and the last is Samhain, when the pumpkins and cornstalks, along with all the other dead debris, are cleared from the fields.
It's important to clear the dead debris. For one, it composts more effectively when piled up with some good fresh horse manure. Second, it prevents molds and other undesirable pests from infecting the soil. Third, it makes room for the new. Sometimes farmers plant cover crops over the winter, e.g. rye, alfalfa, and our good friend red clover. These crops, instead of planting for harvest, are planted to manage soil erosion, soil fertility, soil quality, water, weeds, pests, and diseases.
The Solar Cycle: Dark and Light
The Spring and Fall Equinoxes take place right at the midway point between the Winter and Summer Solstices, marking the quadrants of the solar year - the sun's path around the earth. At the Equinox, the day and night are of equal length, there is a balance between light and dark. We are right on the midpoint, on the fulcrum point, about ready to slide over into the time of the year when the nights grow longer and the days shorter.
In our modern culture, darkness is often vilified. It is where all the scary things reside, the monsters and wolves in fairy tales. But without the dark there could be no light; that contrast, that polarity, is required.
The monsters and shadows hiding in the dark can actually turn into allies once they are recognized and integrated. It is then that we can step into our full power.
The symbol of Yin and Yang is the best illustration of this dance between the polarities. Neither one is "good" or "bad", they are just opposites, and the dance between the two of them, waxing and waning, creates the manifest world around us.
The YIN, the darkness, is associated with the feminine. Side Note: we can have a solar feminine as well - that little dot of white within the black of the symbol. Nothing is absolute.
Magic occurs within the darkness. The darkness incubates the seed that will sprout in the springtime with the coming warmth of the sun, the time of the WOOD element. But until then, all of the life force energy, the Qi, will be concentrated within that seed, during the time of the Water Element, in the depths of Winter.
Before we can plant the seed, we need to clear away the ground. The fields must lay fallow as the old dies off, making way for dreaming the new into being. This occurs in Autumn, the time of the element of METAL.
The leaves turn colors and then drop from the trees, a brittle dry likeness of what they once were. The bare trees are like skeletons outlined against the autumn sky. The fields are brown, awaiting the first frost.
I love autumn but it's a tough time of year because it's a grieving time of year. We have all experienced plenty of loss these past few years: the lives of loved ones, both human and animal, lifestyles, jobs, the way things used to be, the old normal. And I am afraid we will continue to have a lot of losses as we move forward from here on in our earthwalk.
It is no accident that Samhain and the Day of the Dead are celebrated this time of year, to honor the dead and to honor our ancestors who have gone before.
The only thing that is constant in life is impermanence. This was Shakyamuni's first teaching after reaching enlightenment. We are certainly getting a crash course on that recently. I am hoping our Tuesday night prayer group can give us some strength as we come together to grieve those losses and honor those who have gone before, both animal and human.
Equi-nox: Equal + Night
The Equinox is a good time to contemplate balance in our life, between work and home, personal and family time, and between rest and play, balance in what we consume, whether it is food, alcohol, information, politics, love, etc. in all the different aspects of our lives.
Justice, from the Ostara Tarot
Sometimes we get hung up on having to be balanced and looking at balance as some type of an endpoint that is static. Balance is more like a dance, the dance between YIN and YANG, a dynamic equilibrium. The seesaw goes up and down and we dance back and forth, attempting to keep it level. Sometimes it works, sometimes we fall off. The key is to get back on and try again. while the seasons flow and change, never the same as the previous year or the year before that.
TCM - Acupuncture and Autumn
In acupuncture, the Shao Yang (Triple Heater, Gallbladder) and the Jue Yin (Liver, Pericardium) channels are the hinge channels, the "equinox " channels. Our bodies respond seasonally as well as the balance between Yin and Yang, day and night shifts. In the spring, the energy moves from inner/YIN to outer/YANG and vice versa in the Fall. These channels lay in between the Exterior channels of YANG and the Interior channels of YIN and act as fulcrums, or hinges, as the great tides of energy change direction, within our bodies as its happening without.
The acupuncture channels involved point to the emotional involvement in this hinge point or fulcrum time of year. The Triple Heater regulates the whole whole body, much like the hormonal system. We know how powerful our hormonal system is regarding emotions. The Gallbladder empties out the Liver, much like a release valve for Liver Qi Stagnation, as explained below. It is also involved in decision-making, this way or that. The Liver helps keep the energy flowing smoothly through the body. When it becomes clogged up, impatience, anxiety, and anger result. The Liver is also the seat of the soul, hence trauma to the soul, i.e. severe loss and death, can impact the Liver. The Pericardium is called the Heart Protector, protecting the Heart from major traumas, physical and emotional. The role of these channels alone does a good job of describing the multifaceted levels of grief.
The Five Elements and Grief
The map of the Five Elements shows us how the outer cycle of the seasons and the climate (hot, cold, dry, damp, wind) mirrors the inner cycles of our organs and our emotions. The Five Element cycles of creation and control give us a map to dance along as we move through life and attempt to maintain a harmonious balance within and without.
The Metal Element rules the season of Autumn. It is a time of slowing down and going within. It corresponds to the senior years of a person or animal's life. The Metal element rules the Lungs, Large Intestines, nasal passages, and the skin. During the Autumn, these organs and tissues are more susceptible to imbalance, hence we see respiratory infections, sinusitis, and constipation. The climate factor associated with Metal is dryness. The cooler air of autumn tends to be dryer, which further aggravates the nasal passages and lungs. Dehydration also leads to constipation,
The emotion associated with the METAL Element is GRIEF. Autumn is a time of letting go, of things dying off, of loss. This naturally produces grief, which is exhibited through crying and the respiratory tract. Many times grief will lead to respiratory illnesses. It also depresses our immune system and taxes the Lung's ability to fend off pathogens.
It is important to allow the grief to freely flow through our systems, as it arises, process it, and then let it go, If we repress grief or hold onto it, it will often build up and turn into anger. If we do not let it go, in the form of tears, sobbing, therapy or however that may look, it can lodge in the body and create more disharmony and disease.
To keep our immune systems functioning optimally, we need to release emotions like grief and anger.
Unfortunately, our Western culture does not allow much space for grief. Grief cannot be put on the schedule for an afternoon or a weekend. Grief has it's own schedule that is far beyond our control. Tending to grief is more about surrendering to its flow, allowing it the space to do what it needs to do.
Grief can hit us up alongside the head when we are least expecting it. Reading a billboard, hearing a song, smelling a home-cooked meal, all of these sensory experiences can trigger a tsunami of tears. And that's OK. We may think we are going to drown under the wave, but if we surrender, the wave will carry us back to shore and we will be a little bit lighter.
Have compassion for yourself. Take time out, a walk, a long nap, or some alone time to allow the emotions to move through you. Things like exercise, art, playing music, dancing, and journaling all help. Some of the best art the world has seen has been created out of grief.
Notice these are all activities to give your inner space, your soul, some much-needed attention.
Another way to make space for our grief is to honor it through ceremony and ritual. The Day of the Dead is an excellent example of honoring the dead and our ancestors. We can do smaller gestures like setting up a small ancestor altar at home. It could be as simple as a photo, a glass of water, and a candle you light in their honor. I recommend altars for animals that have died as well.
Whatever feels right to you, do it. Even talking to the dead can be helpful, and no, you are not crazy. I have had more extensive conversations with loved ones who have died than I did when they were alive. It’s never too late to express yourself. In many traditions, ancestors are thought of as spiritual guides and helpers you can take your problems and concerns to and petition for help. Ask away! They may just be waiting for you to invite them in to help.
Have a Blessed Equinox!
Plantation, FL·Posted Today, September 23