Autumn Equinox Celebration
The Noongar season known as Bunuru is coming to an end as the season shifts to Djeran.
The winds change, the nights become cooler, as nature transitions from summer to autumn.
The autumn equinox takes place on 21 March when the daylight hours and the night time are equal.
After 21 March the days become shorter leading up to the winter solstice of 21 June.
In some traditions in the northern hemisphere, March 21 is regarded as the beginning of the astrological year.
Since ancient times the sun has always been regarded as the giver of life.
The annual movement and cycles of the sun are reliable consistent and predictable. When we take the time to become still and present and tune into its radiance, we may be able to sense something greater than the scientific definition of the sun.
God can be defined as that being whose body is the conscious universe. In this case the sun is a potent aspect of the underlying universal consciousness and in human terms is represented by the heart chakra/energy centre.
When we continue to rest our attention within the heart space something magical and beyond words and thoughts may begin to unfold.
Early civilizations were so attuned to the patterns of nature that it was natural for them to observe, experience and celebrate the reflection of the changing qualities of the patterns of nature within their own being. Monuments and temples were built not purely for tracking and calculating the movement of the sun but also for celebrating this deep inner connection to the cycles of our inner nature.
That moment when we have an experience that we are perfect just the way we are and that we are a part of the whole is beyond words.
Mondays Aries equinox provides a balance point, a safe haven, the quiet between the storm, the joy in the now. It is a time to celebrate not what pulls us apart what pulls us together.
Equinox meditation
Spending time outside is one of best ways to become grounded.
Find a quite still place in nature.
Take your shoes off and feel the earth below your feet and the sun above your head.
Notice, feel the angle of the sun and the quality of the sun’s radiance from an inner perspective.
Be still and close your eyes.
Take a few long slow deep breaths into your solar plexus and all the way to the base of your pelvic floor. Pause at the end of the inhale and the exhale.
Make the intention that you are prepared to take a few minutes to simply tune your attention and direct your awareness to your 5 senses.
First allow your awareness to scan the whole field of sounds. The sound of the wind in the trees, the sound of the air moving, the sound of the air entering the nostrils, birds chirping etc. Close sounds and more distant sounds. Avoiding the temptation to focus on any one particular sound.
Then shift your focus and your attention to any sense of touch. From the sense of your feet on the ground, your sit bones on the chair, the clothes on your skin and the air on your skin, your chest touching your shirt as it rises and falls with each inhale and exhale and so on. Again, avoiding the temptation to focus on any one particular touch.
Apply the same approach as you scanning your awareness for any sensations associated with smells. Whether pleasant or unpleasant.
Then for a few minutes allow the attention/awareness to scan the whole field from sound, touch, and smell.
Allow your awareness to expand out like a fishing net for a few minutes and experience the simple delight of awareness without analysis/judgement or inner commentary.
Finally shifting your awareness into your heart area.
Not the physical heart area. Feel into the energetic area associated with the physical heart.
Allow your attention to rest here for a few minutes whilst contemplating that this energetic heart area is the center of the field of awareness that you are experiencing. Non intellectually.
I hope you enjoy the above practice.
Taking time to simply be in nature either walking or sitting is a wonderful healing tonic and a powerful way to connect to your self.
Namaste