AUTUMN MUST BE THE SEASON OF THE ...........

 ........ Witch way do I turn?

It's the most invigorating, confusing, melancholic, and radiant time of year, all stirred into one pot of stew! Mother Nature seems to take delight as she plays tricks on you from one hour to another. Temperatures plummet then rise again, darkness begins its slow descent, challenging you to count your blessings, not the hours of light remaining. Trees illuminate the way to cathedrals in the woods. Winds blow fierce as silence amongst trees is broken. Chaos swirls, leaves twirl, while enchantment fills the air. Autumn releases her restless spirit. An alchemy of fire and air moves the soul, thinning the veil between this world and the next.

Autumn teaches you the gift of gratitude. You are alive and able to say yes to life once more!; The Earth celebrates the wonder fullness of manifestation and the co-creation with humankind that partakes in its ever unfolding, rhythms and mysteries. While you savour the fruits of your own labors, remember to become richer from lessons well learned. Sometimes, you discover the true harvest lies within your heart.  Often, it is not the belly that knows the taste of fullfillment.

Fall, Autumn's shadow side,  is also a teacher reminding  you to seek balance in this season of extremes as you struggle to maintain order in chaos. Take a break from your serious side before your rigidity breaks you.  Kick up those leaf piles and throw down the rake every once in a while! Shock yourself,  then make yourself laugh, as you climg out of the roles that cling to you. Let the masquerade begin; at least in the privacy of your own home. If you ignore the need for balance within, then you jeopardize another kind of fall with colds, flues and aching bones. If you stretch yourself too thin, you soon feel like a halloween skeleton screaming from lack of nourishment and rest!  Learning how to stay in balance is not a trick but definitely a treat. Learning how to let go when the time is right, as softly as the last leaf that floats to earth, is the movement of body wisdom.

ARE WE NOT ALL MADONNAS ?

A little more than a week ago, I had the honor to be part of an intimate circle of support to a young couple that were first time expectant parents. The new mother Annette successfully gave birth to her little girl Bowie B. Meyers, after a two and a half day labor. Annette was very clear from the beginning that she wanted to have a vaginal delivery, if at all possible. She felt strongly that she could accomplish this, even while her window of time became increasingly narrowed. Her midwives stood by her decision and aided her with years of their experience in feminine body wisdom. Her husband stood by her in loving respect and support, while he watched the woman of his heart wield a feminine life force that was unparrallel to any physical feat he had ever witnessed. Fully possessed, as only a birthing mother could be, Annette and her Bowie worked together to experience a healthy entrance into this world. 

 It is not possible to sit in wait and not recall one's own birthing experiences and the flood of memories that accompany them. I write this articles with the awareness that my own son's birthday was yesterday and within a few days I will join him and his family in Colorado to celebrate him.

I recall after the birth of my second child Iris, that my husband Pat, who participated in both of our children's home births, came to my bedside with joy and tears in his eyes and fell to his knees. He spoke of his "awe for me" and said he had never witnessed such strength and force.  I ask myself as I reflect on this memory, "Are not all women Madonnas, when they give birth?" Regardless of how the birthing process goes and there are so many twists and unexpected turns of events, we as woman struggle and waver at the threshold of life and death. Our bodies demand that we thin out, until no resistance remains in us; our wills organize in a determined resolute so our committment is unshakeable in the face of pain and fear; our psyches are required to trust and surrender to the mystery of a fate and destiny in the making; while our souls become initiated into divine co-creation.  

Blessings to Annette and all our Mothers who have risked it all for the love of humanity!