My March Om

March is a Time for Renewal

 "Life on Earth has been a history
of interaction between living
things and their surroundings."
-Rachel Carson

 When early man settled an area that allowed plant life to flourish, agricultural societies prospered allowing for the pursuit of higher ideas. In areas where grain could thrive, civilizations grew, cultivating religion with man's evolving ability to sense the changing seasons and note the motions of the celestial bodies.

To the ancients, bountiful grain fields were a sign of health and harmony. A Sumerian tablet from 260 B.C. lists the crops as rice, soy, wheat, barley and millet and from the cultivation of these five sacred grains, a rich culture was established as deities of local power sprang up with symbols central to the agricultural cycles.

The agriculture year falls into four quarters based on the movements of the sun at the solstices and equinoxes. The ancients marked these days heralding the seasons beginning with feast days naming them: Imbolc or Candlemas, the return of light in the longer days and lactating ewes. Beltane or May Day, coinciding with the sprouting of the first crops and the birth of farm animals. Lammas the first fruits festival and Samhain or Summers end the final harvest of the crops before the time of cold and want. Under the growing pressures of the Catholic Church, the old feast days became Ember Days; or days for fasting and self-denial but paganism persisted until many of the old gods were canonized into Saints and the pagan symbols and rituals over-laid the new celebrations especially apparent in Christmas, Easter and Halloween.

Easter or Ostara is a celebration of the arrival of spring or Vernal Equinox on March 21. This is the time when light and darkness are in balance, yet the light is growing stronger by the day. This is a time of renewal. A time to celebrate fertility as life re-awakens. Also known as Oestara or Eostre's Day, Rite of Eostre, Alban Eilir, Festival of the Trees and Lady Day, this ancient holiday precedes the Christian holiday Easter. The name for this Sabbat actually comes from that of the Teutonic lunar Goddess, Eostre and her chief symbols are the bunny and the egg.

This is a time of renewal, a time when life reawakens and all is new. This month is the perfect time for you to become an all new, better and improved, you. Look in the mirror and decide what is important to you. Write your goals for this year down and post it where you can see it every day. Take time to sort out what is important to you and put your energy toward its realization.

 It is the small changes we make today that fosters big changes later on. A healthy lifestyle which includes moderation in all things: eating right, daily exercise and a normal sleeping pattern is key to balanced energy. One trick to healthy living is making small changes. Make wise choices (skip the chips choose raw fruit or vegetables) Eating healthy snacks will make you feel awake and alive. Free yourself from a bad diet in simple steps: add fruit to your cereal, have an extra glass of water instead of soda, limit your alcohol and caffeine consumption. It is possible to ease into a healthier lifestyle just by making conscious choices.

The practice of yoga and daily meditation are also wonderful vehicles to a healthier life. Our bodies are so much more than meets the eye. Of course we are flesh, blood and bone but we are also Spirit and within our body lies and an amazing network of energy centers or chakras.

This energy system ensures that our organs, cells, and tissues stay strong and healthy. When there is a block in an energy pathway, the organ system that the pathway corresponds with will also become blocked. Through meditation we can move energy through the body and heal it. Not only can we eliminate stress but we can heal and balance our own bodies by drawing energy to the energy center or chakra point that is not functioning to its fullest potential.

The practice of meditation is a large part of psychic development and spiritual work. Meditation is the practice of focusing and quieting your mind to achieve a heightened awareness of your inner spirit and release your inner wisdom whereby you are attempting to merge the desires of the subconscious mind with the desires of the conscious mind in order to work toward a common goal.

When you shift your attention to each breath slowly and deeply drawn and released, you shift your mind into a quiet mode, releasing your mind clutter and silencing the “monkey mind" that constantly tries to invade our thoughts and emotions. The result of this shift is peace, serenity, calmness and inspiration. Through Meditation we are able to recalibrate our energy and connect with the divine. Your world is what you make it. Take time to make a conscious change. You have the power to create the happy, peaceful, fulfilling (you choose the adjective) life you always wanted. It is in your power to simply choose to worry and let life drag you down or let go of the distraction, switch you attention to the wonder of the here and now and live the harmonious life you were intended to live.

Only you can make your life better. You can make your life into the life you desire. Indeed You have the power to change the world.