| Spring
February 4, 2007
At long last! The season of action is upon us. Some of you may have
noticed an intensity of blockages this winter when trying to move
forward. It has been a particularly high energy couple of months,
but perhaps not in the way you might have hoped.
Winter (November 5 to February 4) is a time of disconnecting from
the world and turning your attention within. It is a time to listen
for the answers to your most burning questions. By simply stating
your question (What is my purpose? What is the next step I should
take? What changes should I make in my life? What will make me happy?)
your inner selves will begin a process of revealing information
to you. If you are not paying attention, you may miss key pieces
of inner wisdom. Water governs Winter. Water does not answer your
questions directly; rather, it brings pieces of information to the
surface of your consciousness a bit at a time. Like the Wheel of
Fortune, if you play long enough, you will suddenly grok what the
entire phrase means. But until you get enough of the clues to create
a picture, it may seem like random and meaningless gobbledygook.
(Have you asked yourself in the last 3 months "why is this
happening to me?" If so, that is an example of information
being revealed to you).
Without this information, you will be unable to fully access the
energy of Spring. Spring is the time of leaping into action. After
three months of hibernation and reflection, spring brings us a time
of RIGHT ACTION. With the information received from the various
parts of our subconscious over the winter months, we now have a
better idea of what our next step can be.
Think of yourself as a microcosm of the world. You have four major
nations. The Nation of Metal is your intellect. The inhabitants
of this nation are engineers. They build structures around ideas,
in which specific things can happen. If they embrace an idea like
“money is scarce”, they then build a structure that
reflects those ideas. The inhabitants of the Metal Nation like things
tidy, organized, and staying the same. They love logic, and wish
the action plans could unfold exactly as they are written (or preferably
typed on an 8.5” X 11” paper with equal margins, justified
type and an equal balance of dark and light space).
The Nation of Water is your potential. The inhabitants of this nation
are artists of some kind, and not all of these inhabitants are human.
They love change, and express their enthusiasm for an idea by either
boredom or excitement. They long to be connected to great mysteries,
and they push the edge of safety. They present their ideas with
great intensity of feeling, but lack consistency as they get bored
quickly. They are constantly encouraging you to change the structures
built by the Engineers. These inhabitants attract the resources
necessary to put the “action plan” of Metal into motion.
The Nation of Wood is your physical body. The inhabitants of this
nation are Olympic athletes. They love to be strong, and to use
their physical strength in the service of justice. They get very
very frustrated if they are not physically connected to the natural
world. They like to be challenged, and continually draw adversity
to see how well they can crash through the roadblocks in the way
of their goal. They commit and follow through on the action plans.
The Nation of Fire is your spirit. The inhabitants of this nation
love to play together and celebrate a job well done. They bring
medals and awards with appreciation, showing that they recognize
the contributions of each of the other nations. They invite the
other nations to stop their work periodically and rejoice with ceremony
and laughter. They love to share the rewards of their journey, and
take delight in hearing great stories. They bring the sacred back
to everyday life, and yearn to make each action meaningful. They
transform the world through extravagant gestures. They yearn to
feel they are part of a much bigger story, a story in which their
role has great significance.
The Element of Earth is the environment that is created between
these four nations. Earth looks for balance and fair distribution
of the resources. All four Nations inhabit the Earth element. The
more equal their voices are, the more balance your environment will
have. The more balance you have, the easier it is to be happy and
attract the resources you need to achieve your goals.
Winter is the time when all of your inhabitants make their voices
known, so that when spring comes, you can take right action that
is fair and equitable to all the nations in your world. If you have
not been listening, or too busy to understand the information, you
may find yourself unable to move in a direction. This then builds
up more and more pressure, as the energy of Wood looks to leap forward
and “DO”. If we do not have a clear idea of what that
“doing” looks like, we may find ourselves stalled and
frustrated.
Each nation comes forth during the winter and presents their best
idea for the year. To make a choice with integrity of where to invest
the resources, the Wood element needs to have all four nations providing
their best vision of the future. No whining about what the other
nations are doing wrong– each nation must present its own
best story. Is it a story that the rest of the nations can share
and enjoy? If not, the other nations will withhold their much-needed
resources from the action or direction you choose.
Now, if you find yourself at this time without a clear idea of what
changes you are going to make in your life, or what your next direction
is, fret not! There is still time to gather that information and
make balanced choices. Here are some suggestions for your own international
summit.
1. Get a notebook strictly for the nations to speak. Dedicate two
to five minutes a day to hearing their desires, or their criticism.
Start with whoever is loudest. (Usually the critical ones are the
loudest and most insistent on speaking). Then just write it down
without judgment or attachment. You are a translator, nothing more.
Nothing is required of you at this time except to be a scribe.
2. If you are consistent with your daily dedication, you will quickly
find out the prevailing atmosphere in each nation. This then allows
you to begin formulating plans that will appeal to more than one
nation.
3. As your plan unfolds in your mind, you’ll get feedback
from your nations. Take it into consideration.
4. At some point, the path forward is clear. Now is the time to
commit to right action.
Now let me give you an idea of some of the information you might
receive from your nations.
Metal: Metal hates change. Let’s say your structure is going
to work, coming home, watching TV and passing out over a pint of
ice cream. Every day. You decide you want to change to incorporate
a healthier lifestyle. Your metal inhabitants will spend hours assembling
charts, graphs, and information off the internet to convince you
that ice cream is good for you, exercise has not been proven to
be healthy, and without 4 hours of daily television, you will not
be educated enough to do your job.
Water: Water just cannot be excited about anything longer than a
month. Whatever you do, don’t make a long term structure based
on Water’s desires, cuz sure as can be, you will get bored
just as you set the structure in place. Your water inhabitants would
like nothing better than to be paid to go to various schools and
workshops – they have a structure with deadlines, they get
to learn new information, and they can play in the field of “what
if” forever.
Wood: Wood hates being interrupted once it gets moving. It likes
the feeling of focus and speed. Even if your other nations can see
you’re on the road to disaster, stopping your Wood energy
from that direction will require strength. Commit to a path only
when you know it will satisfy the other nations equally, or when
you try to change direction you may find yourself frustrated and
rageful.
Fire: Fire is extravagant by nature. It loves to share. It can often
give away the farm and leave you with nothing, then get furiously
angry that no-one appreciates its gifts. When the Fire nation is
angry, it withholds its appreciation, and treats the other nations
with disrespect. Like a stubborn and willfull child, Fire wants
what it wants, when it wants it.
As
your energy levels increase during the next six weeks, I wish you
success in finding a path that leads to your greatest joy. May new
and interesting things be revealed to you by your nations.
I would be delighted to hear how these exercises work. If you would
like to share your stories, please submit them to me and give your
permission for posting them on the website.
February 4 through Spring equinox is the outward expression of the
Wood element. At Spring Equinox, March 21st , the energy begins
to move back towards the center, or the Earth element. The next
newsletter will address the six weeks from March 21st to May 6.
"Man’s ideal state is realized when he
has fulfilled
the purpose for which he is born. And what is it that
reason demands of him? Something very easy--that
he live in accordance with his own nature."
~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca
from Letters from a Stoic
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