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Earth of the Heart: Heart of the Earth

5/1/2020

 
When you realize that Heart and Earth
are spelled with the same letters,
it all starts to make sense.

                                                                                        Anonymous
I hope that you and your loved ones are well--mind, body, and

spirit.  


How are you doing during this surreal and strange time? Are

your emotions going from hopeful to scared, from positive to

negative, from feeling hopeless to grateful? You're not alone. I

told a friend recently that sometimes it feels like a bumpy roller

coaster ride! I’m thinking this might be the new normal—at least

for a while.


The pandemic has presented each of us with challenges—to

our values, our empathy, and our resilience. Even with all the

fears, concerns, and inconveniences that stay at home orders

bring to many communities around the world, there is an

unintended and unexpected benefit, a glimmer of hope in the

darkness .  The pandemic has gifted scientists enormous data

on human environmental impact. Just over a month ago, China

saw jaw-dropping global improvements on an unimaginable

scale in air quality due to “The Great Pause”. News reports

show that the polluted rivers in Venice are looking cleaner and

wild animals are reclaiming their habitat from Chicago to

Sydney. Mother Earth is inherently resilient.



April 22nd marked the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day,

an opportunity to reflect on how to protect the only planet we

have. In April 1872 the first American Arbor Day was celebrated

in Nebraska City. 
Now, 148 years later, in the midst of the worst

pandemic in over a century, billions of people from all over the

globe came together this year--at a distance--to pause and

appreciate Mother Earth.


Nature is our most powerful, healing ally right now!  Grounding

with her is deeply healing. Have you noticed that, even with all

of the trouble we’re seeing across the globe, the natural world

continues on?  Nature holds wisdom and healing for us to

uncover — no matter how dark the times we find ourselves in.

And it reminds us that we are a part of something bigger. Doing

our practices and remembering our intentions helps us reach

beyond overwhelm, stress, and despair — and become more

attentive, present, and receptive to the beauty and wisdom of

the Earth.  This is a pathway to bring us back home... to

our true Self, to our Wholeness. 


There is no difference between
healing ourselves and healing the Earth.

                                                                              Thich Nhat Hanh, 
                                                                  Love Letter to the Earth

May 1st marks the mid-point between Spring Equinox and

Summer Solstice.  Do you see and feel the evidence that the

wheel has shifted? The days are noticeably longer – the sun

sets much later than it did at the Spring Equinox. It’s grown

considerably warmer outside (in the high 80s where I am in

Colorado--WAHOO!). At the Spring Equinox new life was just

beginning to emerge. But now, at the beginning of May, there is

no denying that the Earth is being reborn. Nature has an

amazing ability to reproduce itself, and in such  stunning &

beautiful ways. It’s important to honor this power that nature

holds – a power that we, as humans, also hold.



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Victory Gardens are being

planted in neighborhoods all

around the world. The renewed

interest in local food production

represents another positive

consequence of this waking

nightmare, among the other

encouraging signs—the

countless examples of selfless

service and generosity toward

others. The pandemic is forcing

people to think hard—and to feel deeply—about our connection

with each other and to the source of life. It is allowing people to

see the world with fresh eyes. No wonder many of us are finding

solace in reconnecting to the Earth through backyard gardening.

To feel grounded, we are putting our hands in the dirt.



No matter what your circumstance is remember to go out in

nature as much as possible. According to one study if you can’t

be outside, you can calm your mind just by looking a

pictures of nature
.
  


Science is only scratching the surface of the many benefits that

come from understanding our interconnectivity with others,

animals, trees and nature. This is truly an opportune time for

humanity to shift to increased cooperation and harmonious

interactions with each other, other cultures and Earth’s

bounty.


This Co-Creative Mandala, "Resilience", from a photo of a

Ginkgo Biloba tree reminds us that nature continues on even

under the worst of circumstances.  Ginkgo trees are the oldest

known surviving trees species, with a botanical history that

dates back over 200 million years. Located near the center of

the 1945 bombing in Hiroshima, Japan, six Ginkgo trees

survived the devastation and are alive today. Any crisis, such as

the coronavirus pandemic, can test resilience. Like a tree

branch that springs back under the weight of snow,

we have the capacity to recover  from adversity, and come

back as strong or stronger than before.


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Mother Nature and all of her remedies exist within.

Call upon Her at any moment

to heal and guide body and soul.

The Earth is bursting with energy.

This a powerful time to

honor and celebrate

the resiliency inherent in all life.


Resiliency Exercise:

In this simple, yet powerful exercise, I invite you to celebrate

this incredibly joyful, festive time by honoring nature and all life.

It is an amazing, complex, beautiful and miraculous process,

this ability nature has to renew itself and to grow new life.


Give yourself plenty of time without interruptions to dive deeply

into this exercise. Meditate, journal, create and bless your

sacred space.


Make this exercise your own. Invest your time and attention.


Don’t rush.


As you sit quietly in your space, light a candle that welcomes

“Resiliency”.


Close your eyes. Bring your awareness to your breath; just be

with your breath. Take a deep breath in. Breathe out. Take

another deep breath in. Breathe out. Notice the sensations as

you exhale—without judgement.  Feel the body breathing. Bring

your body into stillness.


Open your eyes and bring your attention to the mandala; allow

the mandala energy to fill your heart; be with whatever is there.

Invest a few minutes toward allowing the “Resiliency”  energy

to flow to and through your body.  Imagine that energy bursting

through your crown chakra & extending far into the heavens.

Imagine the “Resiliency”  energy flowing through you and

down deep into the earth. Imagine it radiating from your heart

and extending out in front of you and behind you. Imagine the

“Resiliency” energy is a radiant ball that encircles you. Now, sit

with this energy for a few minutes.


What about the mandala captures your attention?


Notice and Wonder--Something in me is feeling...


I wonder what it wants me to know?


Relax into your body and its quietness. Be with the energy, be

present, listen.



Now, ask yourself:


1. What is bringing me great joy right now?


2. What currently lights up my spiritp? What do I feel inspired

to devote my spring energy toward?


3. What parts of myself do I feel most confident about?

Where do I need to boost my self-acceptance & self-

compassion?


4. What intentions do youI want to plant for the coming weeks &

months? What do I hope to grow in my life? What do I want to

harvest in the fall?




Listen to the answers you receive and act on them from a place

of love and compassion. 


Repeat this exercise as often as you like.


During this uncertain time, remember that the only thing

imprisoning us is the idea of what is possible or not. Nature is

with you all the time: a portal into the beautiful unknown, a

mysterious realm, the gateway to the magical, the Heart of the

Earth — even when you feel alone, isolated, overwhelmed...


Resiliency means letting any thoughts of limitation go. Instead of

the “what if” thoughts that seem to predict a future of all kinds of

problems, allow a new kind of “what if” thoughts like:


  • What if as a result of having more time I create something

          amazing I never imagined I could before?

  • What if this time brings our human family closer together,

          realizing we’re much more alike than different?


  • What if we come up with all kinds of new ways to support

          and inspire each other and the ripple effect impacts lots of

          people and the Earth  in wonderful and lasting ways?



What if...


I wish you and all beings the blessings of happiness, peace, and

good health during these times and beyond.


Peace and joy to your seeking heart,


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    Author

    Sheryl Harrell, Gardener
    of the Soil and of the
    Soul & Co-Creator of
    Mandalas. Happy you
    found my Blog!

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