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The Need for Solace

“I wish grace and healing were more abracadabra kind of things.” 

~~ Anne Lamott

Greetings to all my precious people!!

The last of the Super Moons in 2024 rises this week. The Full Beaver Moon will rise on Friday November 15 at 4:28 p.m. EST, though it is best seen in its fullness at moonrise on Saturday, November 16. That will also coincide with the peak of the annual Leonid meteor shower. It is the last of four consecutive Super Moons that include August Blue Moon, September Harvest Moon and October Hunter Moon. Super Moons occur at perigee: the point when the Moon’s orbit is closest to Earth and so the Moon appears a little brighter and larger than an average Full Moon. 

This Super Moon is also in Taurus, with Saturn and Pluto coming together, entering Aquarius for the next 20 years. According to Lorna Bevan at Hare in the Moon Astrology, these movements are creating the Rite of Passage, as we all enter a new era of shift and change, destruction, reconstruction, death and rebirth. But remember—this is the endless cycle, the pattern of our planet and galaxy. Change is inevitable.  

We might consider ourselves pilgrims—for we are journeying to a sacred place in these moments of havoc, disruption and disorder. The sacred place, of course, is all about returning to our Self, the spark that differentiates us from all others we encounter. In a world of churning chaos, we need ways to anchor, comfort and steady ourselves. While there are signs, symbols and guidance surrounding us and available to us, their appearance will only be noted if we are watching. If we are paying attention. If we are settled enough in our bodies to distinguish our inner guidance from the outside rattle and hum. If we trust the innate, miraculous DNA wiring that connects us to our ancestors and will support us into the future.

This is a time of opportunity and growth, despite the discomfort. Trust that you were made for these moments of exploring the edges and limits. But begin to acknowledge and assemble your resources for the journey. We are all in need of feeling secure in the times of collective crisis. We need to continue to clear and strengthen our own resilience as we concentrate on the basics: food, water, shelter, means of exchange, and community building. We are in need of solace: the comfort and consolation in times of distress and sadness.  

Refocus on cultivating friendships, for especially now, it is vital to build alliances and create community. Create safe places and gather to have challenging conversations about uncertain futures. When we come together, we learn how to heal. Be selective as you choose how you feed yourself, what books you read, which programs you watch, and certainly the people you spend the most time with. We are here to support each other as we do our daily good work to generate kindness, self-compassion, and keep the lines of communication clear and open.

This is how we save ourselves, and each other. Feeling our way through the muck and mire as we tend to our own wounds, while gathering with our loved ones and dreaming of what is possible. If, at any time you forget this week, please remember the community needs you. Your wildness, your energy, your flaws, and your friendship; your sparkle and shine, your deep darkness offering a space for incubation.

A few years back, Zen Buddhist teacher and author Roshi Joan Halifax spoke on a podcast about the disruptive times in our society as well as the disruptions to the Earth and the physical environment since 2020. She was asked: is it possible that living in these times meant we would be engulfed in a collective initiation? Roshi Joan noted that a classic initiatory experience begins with separation and moves through a threshold phase before reaching the time of return. She pointed to the separations of our time: the quarantine and social distance caused by the alien coronavirus as well as the hurtful chasms we have carved for ourselves through hundreds of years of history. These separations have hurled us into an uncertain and unwanted threshold. The long interim threshold phase within initiation is the place where the reckoning and turmoil, the revelations and transformation happen. And here we are again—change is inevitable, the endless cycle of death, destruction, rebirth. We are still in need of solace.

The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows was beautifully created and written by John Koenig, artist, film maker, writer and editor. He recognized that our language seemed to be lacking in words to adequately express nuances of the human experience and so he created his own dictionary. One of my favorite words lately is SONDER, as John Koenig describes:

SONDER

  1. The realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own—populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness—an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you’ll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk.

Sonder is a noun that means the realization that everyone has a life as full and complex as your own. It’s the feeling that each person is a central character in their own story, while also being a supporting cast member or extra in other people’s stories. 

It’s easy to experience life from the lens of our own eyes, with ourselves at the center of our narrative. But we are, of course, part of everyone else’s stories as well and these stories are deeply intertwined and interconnected. In subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle ways, we influence the trajectories of the people around us, those we have yet to meet and even those we will never get the chance to encounter. Whether you realize it or not, you play a part in an endlessly-unfolding story. Not only that, but you are also writing your own script for it. Once this awareness takes root in your heart, all things shift.  

Take a moment and enjoy this 2 minute video experience as you reflect and ponder on the word Sonder

Let us turn to each other in times of shift and change, embracing our shared humanity and celebrating our differences as we walk each other home. I leave you with the following prayer from Roshi Joan Halifax, a beloved Buddhist teacher, Zen priest, anthropologist and author, as a reminder for solace and peace on our journeys.

May I fully face life and death, loss and sorrow.

May I be open to the pain of grief.

May I find the inner resources to be present for my sorrow.

May loving kindness sustain me.

May I accept my sadness, knowing that I am not my sadness.

May I accept my human limitations with compassion.

May I accept my anger, fear, anxiety, and sorrow.

May I forgive myself for not meeting my loved one’s needs.

May I forgive myself for mistakes made and things left undone.

May sorrow show me the way to compassion.

May I be open with others and myself about my experience of suffering and loss.

May I receive the love and compassion of others.

May I find peace and strength, that I may use my resources to help others.

May all those who grieve be released from their sorrow.

Let us work together to help you source your seeds of transformation. Autumn is a perfect time to harvest what you need and release that which no longer serves you. It is very important to actively and intentionally clear your space, in your home as well as in your heart and mind, so that your incubation period of Winter can allow the manifestation of your deep resilience and dreams for the New Year 2025.

Acupuncture and herbal medicine are some of the tools I use to support the health and wellness of my patients, but the healing that occurs is always prompted from the inside. The answers to health and wellness reside in your heart. Treatment in my healing sanctuary goes beyond the needles—they simply serve to prompt the body to do its own mysterious and miraculous work.

I help people learn how to listen to their body’s wisdom and reconnect the unconscious mind to nurture the mind-body connection. This work allows people to realize their full capacity and choose to live a life aligned with their values, nourished by their dreams and desires. Together, we co-create opportunities for healing as the process unfolds.

I offer compassionate, attentive care. I see you. I hear you. I celebrate your journey. As an experienced clinician, I support patients as they come home to themselves, reconnecting the mind, body and spirit. This is my greatest passion: to serve as a facilitator, navigator and coach as you transcend old patterns and come into alignment with your best self. Are you ready to choose your Self and celebrate your gifts? Are you ready to manifest your Authentic Self that is abundant with health and vitality? Commit to being present and living your life with intention.  Schedule your consultation today!

“The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.

Don’t go back to sleep.

You must ask for what you really want.

Don’t go back to sleep

People are going back and forth across the doorsill

Where two worlds touch.

The door is round and open.

Don’t go back to sleep.”

~~ Rumi

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