Summertime is always the best of what might be. — Charles Bowden
Sitting on the porch of my finished Gentlewood! Notice the labyrinth on far left. ^_^
When I was a young girl, summer meant two things: sun and swimming. I was a fish! I would dive in the pool by 8 AM for swim team laps, and stay until I needed a burger at lunch. My blonde hair would sometimes tinge to a straw-chorine green color. No matter how bad things were at home during the school year, summer was coming. No one could touch me in the water. It meant freedom.
I smile when I think back on that time. Now I look out at the Puget Sound, even to Canada, from my newly renovated home, complete with a starter landscape and finished labyrinth. Clients have told me the house "vibrates," it is so high energy and I feel gifted as an owner and steward of Gentlewood.
One Gift of the Season: MOTHER NATURE
As you learned in the Spring Bulletin about Wabi Sabi, Mother Nature isn't perfect. But she is showy! The flowers burst, the bees are busy (especially this year) and the summer heat drives furious weather. Summer reminds us to be extravagant ourselves. To get outside, attend an outdoor music venue or take that picnic you've been putting off.
Whether you experience Mother Nature in a park, by a shore or simply by picking up some dahlia's at the market, take a moment to consider how your own life is in bloom. Who are the favorite "flowers" of your various relationships? What needs air and space in your life? What needs more watering? What is the nature of your spirit these days?
Truth be told, I'm a bit afraid to being out in nature. It's a growing edge that I am tackling with a friend on the island, going on hikes in wooded areas. But I am intimately aware of its healing powers. Listening to the waves lap my beach is like listening to nature's prayers. JC has told me more than once that waves represent the amount of love that spirit has for us: it never ends. And every once in a while, while I am reading at night, I can hear a whale slapping its tail on the water, signaling to his friends below.
Whether it is the gifts of the sun or water, nature calls us outside to remind us that we are each moving cogs of her great design. All of nature's beings are part of a great symphony and we each play an instrument. At least, that is how my guides explain Mother Nature to me.
Speaking of grand designs, now that my Gentlewood is finished, I am opening my home to overnight retreats for clients. Come to Orcas and spend the day and night on the island! I will teach you a private Wisdom course where you will interact with my guides and receive a personal spirit Wisdom guide. You can listen to guided meditations, lie on my heated amethyst Biomat, and take a walk on the labyrinth. We can take a hike near Mt. Constitution or you can take off on your own, shopping in town. Together, we can come up with a custom plan to navigate your best next steps for spiritual growth. I will be adding this visit option on my website this month. Any interest in the mean time, please text me at 206.909.3737.
If Spring is the awakening season, summer is the live-and-let-live season. Are you living it up these days? There is only a few weeks left of summer. It's high time to get your nature on!
One Practice: WATER BLESSING
Maybe it's because I am a water sign [Scorpio], my relationship with water runs deep. There is rarely a night that I don't take a hot bath before going to sleep. In the morning, the first thing I do is drink some warm water with lemon and a pink Himalayan salt nugget. Clears the digestive track and your body is actually a bit dehydrated after the hours of sleep. Then I fill up a pitcher of filtered water with the goal of drinking it all by the end of the day.
Before moving on to either making tea or coffee, I place my hands around my Picasso water picture, giving thanks aloud for the clean water I have in my life: "Mother Father God, Thanks so much for the water in my body, on our lands and in the air. Thank you that this clean water is readily available to me, without effort. Amen." When we give thanks for what we most take for granted, Spirit smiles down upon us. One Reflection:
What do you most "thirst" for this season?
What part of Mother Nature do you find most healing in your life?
Is it time for you to "slap the water" and get together with a friend this summer?
Sally 206.909.3737 | My Inner Lighthouse | we all house the light ®