Sunday, April 22, 2012

Happy Earth Day!

Dandelion                                                                                                                                                                   B Upton
Viola 1                                                                                                                                                                           B Upton


I enjoy finding delight and wonder in the very small, the often overlooked and sometimes even in the maligned.- like the "lowly" dandelion photographed above. I find that when I look closely- at  anything in nature, I see divine handiwork of the most delicate and inspiring beauty. For instance, in the dandelion, I see a flower radiating like a sun, bursting with tendrils of golden light, like little solar flares looping into space...I notice their curved tips and how they mimic the curve of the insect's antennae...in the tiny viola, I see dark blue, bare branched "trees" with the hint of a rising sun...I see the harbinger of spring- a contented looking robin paying a visit to the goddess altar I am assembling with stone, pansies and bird bath. The robin laid there for about a half hour as though blessing the space. I will post pictures of my little goddess altar soon. I discovered the stones spell out a word- one I did not consciously create.

Today is Earth Day and it has NEVER been so important for all people of good will to come forward to pledge to be the guardians and protectors our beautiful earth so needs- to honor, cherish and love her and for all of our words and deeds be expressions of that love. I hope my little observations rekindle your awe and reverence for our one jewel of a home and may they always remind you that the sacredness that is all around you, is also in you and is you.

On this Earth Day, I hope you can reconnect to the limitless reservoir of vast healing and nurturing energy that is always at your disposal. It is the very ground beneath your feet! Even though our planet is facing environmental perils, it still contains amazingly powerful energy. Most of us have cut ourselves off from this life force energy and then we wonder why we feel sick and tired. But the good news is, we can tap into this renewing energy anytime. It is available to each of us in the same abundant and nourishing way!

Robin 1                                                                    B Up

Mini Earth Meditation

Take a few deep, slow breaths- inhaling peace and exhaling tension, allowing your body and mind to relax and slow down.

Bring your attention to the earth- to its beauty, power and sacredness. Imagine you have "roots" extending down from the base of your spine, or the bottom of your feet and going deep down into the nourishing, dark soil of mother earth. Now imagine your roots branching out laterally and connecting with the roots of the plants and trees nearest to you. See your roots and theirs intertwining and together sinking deeper into the earth. With time, you can extend your roots to connect with all the rooted ones on the earth (it can happen in an instant!) and together you can journey to the center of the earth- to the place of transformative healing.

As you inhale imagine a beautiful golden light entering your roots and the roots of all you have connected to- bringing healing, calm and strength.  As you go deeper you will be able to feel more and more relaxed and a pleasant warmth may flow through you. It can feel like you are nearing a healing fire and it may even have a sensuous quality to it as your roots go deeper and grow warmer. Each time you inhale, the golden light grows brighter and fills you and all you have connected with- bringing vitality to every cell of your body and to all of the grasses, bushes, flowers and trees.

With each exhalation you can give mother earth all your worries, all your fears, all of your heartache- she can recycle it all into nourishing energy. With every in-breath, fill with peaceful, golden light and feel your wholeness and oneness with the earth and all life on it. Radiate love, honor and protection to the earth and imagine it glowing brighter from your loving connection.

Know that every time you do this little exercise, you are grounding and strengthening yourself, the earth and all its life! Reconnect to the earth to be your highest, healthiest and happiest self.

Happy Earth Day, Happy Spring....over the next few days, may beauty reveal itself to you serendipitously when you least expect it! May you feel your very real connection to the earth and be strengthened and renewed by it.

May everyday be Earth Day!

Robin on the Goddess Altar                                                                 B Upton




Robin 2                                    B Upton








The world is full of magic things,
patiently waiting
for our senses to grow sharper.
~W.B. Yeats












Viola 2                                                                        B Upton

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Thank you, earth guardian! Great meditation. I'll try this out with the workshop participants this coming weekend. I also love all your images: the flowers, the robin checking out the altar. I look forward to see more of the altar and the stone wall. Meanwhile let's stay grounded - with a smile of course :)

Barbara Upton said...

That would be wonderful if you would share the meditation- when doing with a group you may want to add more detail to make it a multi- sensory experience. Thank you dear Monika!

Shirley said...

I love your meditating robin!

Barbara Upton said...

Thanks Shirley! It did looked so peaceful laying there.