Taking the time to care for the hurt self

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

I have been describing a process of exploration and healing that occurred on a medicine walk in Eureka Valley. There is one more piece to the puzzle that arose as I explored my intention with Ruth and Larry. I've already talked about the defense of anger, and how I was ...

Clarifying intention – caring for the hurt self

Friday, November 13th, 2009

I have been writing in the last few postings about my experience working with anger on a medicine walk in nature the last time I was in the desert. A friend from Ireland sent me an email about this topic, and he said something very pertinent about anger: "It really ...

Understanding the cycle of anger

Friday, November 6th, 2009

As I mentioned last time, when they mirrored my intention for my day walk, Ruth and Larry helped me clarify something about anger. I have long understood that when I have a very angry, charged response to a situation, it is usually because I am feeling hurt about something. The anger ...

A lifetime of anger – breaking the cycle

Sunday, November 1st, 2009

As I have written previously, the south is the place where we feel our emotions and act on them in an unmediated way. When we mature from childhood into adolescence, moving around the wheel from the south to the west (from summer to fall), we start to be aware of ...

Digging a hole

Thursday, December 11th, 2008

Here it is, December already. The time of the west is drawing to a close, enticing us to move around the wheel to the north. But sometimes, in our solitude, we can get stuck in the west. Especially for those of us who enjoy the introspection that the west evokes. ...

Roads, signs, and what the heck is Mercury retrograde?

Tuesday, October 14th, 2008

What the heck is Mercury retrograde? On this blog I have been talking about the Four Directions model of noticing how humans are part of nature's cycles. Being in rhythm with these cycles can help us flow through our lives more smoothly. It doesn't make sense to plant a seed ...

Coming home to Monkey Valley – October

Monday, October 13th, 2008

I actually come home to Monkey Valley quite often. Usually, I make two trips a month to Vancouver, which means I get to come home to Monkey Valley twice a month. The previous post gives some background on why I was away so much before the September homecoming. Originally, I began ...

The mystery of the West

Monday, October 6th, 2008

The West asks us: Who am I? What in me is dying? It is the place of oncoming darkness, endings, mystery, shadow, subconscious, dreams and visions, soul, self-discovery, introspection, introversion, transition, descent into the depths of the psyche, and inner power. Here we wrestle with adolescence and grow toward individuation and our adult-self. Here ...

Falling into the West

Tuesday, September 30th, 2008

Tomorrow is the first day of October. The fall equinox has passed. The wheel has definitely turned from summer to fall, from South to West. The four shields model of working with nature and psyche has much to teach us, and enticing doorways of exploration to offer through the West. To place ...

Clinging to summer

Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008

Labour Day is over. It's September. There's no denying that summer is over, even though the sun is still bright. The wheel is turning around to the west, to the harvest, and the dying time of the fall. As a Scorpio born in late October, I always relish the coming ...