Blessings of the First Harvest my friends,
August 2nd is Lammas, which means loaf-mass, so named because of the bread baked from the first grains offered on the altar. It is the celebration of the beginning of the three traditional harvest festivals; the others are September 21st and November 1st. Lammas is a feast of joyful thanksgiving for Mother Earth’s bountiful offering of the first fruits that will sustain her children through the winter.
The last newsletter highlighted gratitude as a state of consciousness, similar to the state of love. Although the theme of thanksgiving is certainly important for the harvest time, I would like to talk about HARMONY in this newsletter.
We can see the need for harmony worldwide as well as in our own country, where factions are facing off and forgetting the good of the whole, yet I have come to understand that living in Harmony is a deeper concept. Living in Harmony is not the same as trying to agree with those around us, believing and perceiving in the same way. Our perceptions are as varied and multifaceted as snowflakes and true Harmony actually respects and honors differences and blends them into an exquisite wholeness. The experience of Harmony begins with the self. When we are at ease with the self and have a sense of being home in the moment, we are in harmony. It is a space within, not an action to be accomplished.
One way to understand the personal sense of Harmony is how you feel when you are out in a natural setting. As a child, I always felt at one with myself and my surroundings when I walked deep in the woods and when I stood at the shores of the lake near my home, observing how all the aspects of life; animal, vegetable, and mineral interacted as if moving with some secret rhythm.
By far, the most powerful experience I have had with Harmony to date was a night when I was deep into the Rainforest of the Amazon. I was with a group staying at an Eco Lodge with several Shamans and we were in a Shamanic journey. I walked to the edge of the clearing and listened to the symphony of sounds coming from the jungle which included hundreds of species of animals. Part of the symphony was also the sounds of the plants and trees for miles around us. The intelligence of the forest was like a conductor and the spirit of the forest was palpable. I was told by my guides that the whole rainforest is a living breathing entity that is aware of us and interacts with us in very real ways. The fact that we were there to learn their ways meant so much to the spirit of the rainforest and I felt accepted, even in my foreignness; I felt at one with all life.
What I learned that night is that creation is at the core of Harmony; we create from the sense of Harmony. I learned about personal power from this encounter with the rainforest. Personal power is the amount of joy we can bring to our lives which releases us from fear and loosens the control of cultural limitations (the world of having to do) allowing the awareness of being in the moment: the feeling of Harmony. We all experience that beautiful harmony of the universe in moments and the art of living is to bring it into our everyday life.
Our consciousness creates a space for meaning making and we are the creators of our own meaning. I invite you to write your own story in a way that brings you into Harmony with yourself, letting go of comparing yourself with anyone, and letting go of any ideal that does not reside deep within your being. Bring into your story your experiences of feeling at ease with the self and belonging to the moment. Notice the meaning you make of life situations and choose the meanings which align with your true value. Take responsibility for living in your new story and creating your life in ways that tap into moments of joy which is the true source of your personal power. Harmony is deeper than joy, but the way can be illuminated by the feelings of joy. I encourage you to write your new story, and if you choose, send your stories to me.
Blessings of the Harvest,
Linda
lindasavagephd@goddesstherapy.com
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