August Sarasota Almanac

Full Moon: August 24
New Moon: August 10
Meteor Shower: the Perseid meteor shower peaks August 12
Other Astronomical events: Venus, Mars and Saturn are very visible by the moon on August 12 immediately after sunset; Jupiter rises later. Should be a good show! On the 13th as well. Saturn looks yellowish and Mars looks orange.

Other Events in the World Around Us:

Temperature, weather, etc: Hot, humid, lots of afternoon thunderstorms and rain. Mid August is the start of the heart of hurricane season, so be prepared. Usually mid-August to mid-October is the most intense.

Foliage, etc: Some varieties of bananas, figs and guavas ripen. Some varieties of night blooming cirrus blooms. Sea grapes begin to ripen and leaves slowly turn color.

Animal Activity: Snake breeding season--watch for pygmy rattlers. Frogs singing.

August Ecopsychology Event:

Open to the Wellness Education Club and the general public: You are Invited - Please join Aquarian Quest August 7, 2010 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. aboard the Sea Dragon Catamaran. We will have a "Circle of Song". We'll be leaving out of Nokomis for a relaxing and fun time on the water with sounds of music wafting across the waters of our beautiful Gulf! The best way to assure your spot on the voyage is to email Annie at naturespirit123@gmail.com. Please feel free to bring musical instruments, food and drink to your liking--and big smiles. Look forward to seeing/hearing you there!

July 2010 Ecopsychology Events:

Saturday, July 3, 2010 Grounding/Earthing for Wellbeing. Science is finally proving what indigenous and nature people have always known, that there is healing power for us from the energy of the earth itself. It is available free to all of us! Learn basic grounding techniques and experience the changes within you. You will also hear about recent research as reported in the new book “Earthing”, by Clinton Ober, Dr. Steven Sinatra, and Martin Zucker. $10; 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. R.S.V.P. to Annie Cederberg by July 2 at naturespirit123@gmail.com. Location TBA

Saturday, July 10, 2010 Kayaking. Trying to put together a kayaking/nature tour. Cost would be approximately $30. I need to know how many people are interested in order to set the details. Catch a cool breeze on the water, gaze into the secret worlds at the bottom of the bay and relax! Please email Annie Cederberg by June 30 at naturespirit123@gmail.com. Location TBA based on event enrollment.

Anyone interested in a Paddleboarding (standup on surf board and paddle!) nature trip? Paddleboarding is becoming popular on the East coast of Florida. Supposedly anyone can do it! It’s a great work out, and an excellent way to see Marine Life, even better than kayaking. I’d love to get a trip together. Mark your calendars: there will be a big Paddle- boarding event on July 17, including yoga instruction on Paddleboards! Please email me at naturespirit123@gmail.com if you’d like to be part of a nature trip in the near future.

July 2010 Sarasota Almanac

Full Moon 25

New Moon: 11

Meteor Showers: No major showers

Other Events in the world around us:

Light: starts to decline very slightly from the summer solstice June 21

Temperature: Hot hot and hotter! Gulf water temperature very warm, fueling storms. Summer weather pattern of afternoon thunderstorms.

Foliage: Golden poincianas still in magnificent bloom! Lychees are ripe. Rain or Zephyr (or "Resurrection") lilies in bloom after storms and rain. Also Resurrection ferns have risen from the dead again, due to rain.

Animal Activity: More baby ducks and baby birds (song birds such as Mockingbirds, Blue Jays, Doves, Cardinals, etc.)

Wisdom from Jean Houston

Jean Houston sent this out yesterday, 6/16/10 about the Gulf Situation:

Our hopes and dreams are too small for the world these days.

It’s time for an upgrade in energy, skills, commitment, and effectiveness. Our work in Social Artistry is growing into Social Alchemy: beginning with the oil spill. Let’s join together to stop it. Let’s work at it in alchemical ways, beginning with its sludge and devastation and adding coherent intentional energy in a variety of ways to transform it, such as:
Pay attention to the wise counsel and prayers coming from many sources, such as the suggestion that we hold clear intentions for all marine life to move wisely, swiftly, and safely away from the spill.

Take responsibility for the “oil on our own hands,” acknowledging that our demand for this fuel has brought us to this earth-cry place. As global citizens, we can stop pointing fingers at “them,” and choose to encourage effective action to reduce personal and community oil needs.

Empower the chemical geniuses working on the problem to find a perfect solution soonest. While we’re at it, empower others working on alternate energy resources.

Envision the earth’s capacity to reduce the pressure that is spewing the oil, and to find another channel underground into which it can flow. At the same time, remember to thank the earth and her oceans for their loving support of all of us living beings.

Decide on a time of day each day to focus mindful compassion and prayers on the scene; the first part on relieving the anguish experienced by the sufferers, the second on collectively stopping the spill.

Give hands-on help, in person or through contributions, to help with the clean-up.

Notice what happens in your mind and heart as you do these practices.
Let us know what else you believe is needed and may be useful.

Jean Houston

Ways to work in consciousness towards change in the Gulf Oil Spill

There are a number of ways to support efforts to help in this crisis. Here are a few. We will also be publishing a number of prayers to help with the healing of this situation; please leave comments with prayers of your own!

1. Brad Yates, who is a master EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) healer, has a great You Tube video about the oceans. You can access it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlyxubOTJk4

*EFT works through tapping on acupuncture meridians. Although it may sound difficult, it’s not.

2. EFT radio has a 15 minute special “tapping*” session on the Gulf Oil Spill. It is available here:

The Oil Spill – A Tapping Meditation for Healing
Hosted by Carna Zacharias-Miller and Betty Moore-Hafter

Using tapping to send healing and loving support to the animals, plants, ecosystems and humans affected. http://www.eftradioonline.com/mtt-audios/schedule-june-7-14th/

3. Brad Yates also suggested that there are many physical things we can do (send donations, help clean up) and there are the things we can do energetically, like asking “yourself what might be going on inside that is a possible reflection of the oil spill, and allow it to be cleansed.”

4. Replay available - JOE VITALE [THE SECRET] joins host Nicole on News for the Soul to talk about AND DO a unique collective energy clearing directed at the BP oceanic oil spill! Tune in and lets work on cleaning up the mess together… Using Hooponopono clearing techniques brought forward by Dr Hew Len and more, the clearing we will do today will be directed at helping to clean up the most major oil spill in history - at the energetic roots. Go to www.NewsfortheSoul.com .

Look for the blue box on the lower left of the page. It has the player, and listing of recent recordings. Click on Joe Vitale.

5. Masaru Emoto’s healing prayer for the Gulf:

from an email that’s being passed around:

This is based on Ho opono pono (a Hawaiin healing method)

Dr. Masaru Emoto's Healing Prayer for the Gulf

Focusing our energies in response to the Gulf tragedy and for healing the waters and its inhabitants -

Yesterday at our spiritual center we read a letter from Dr. Masaru Emoto who many of you will recognize as the scientist from Japan who has done all the research and publications about the characteristics of water. Among other things, his research reveals that water physically responds to emotions.

Right now, most of us have the predominantly angry emotion when we consider what is happening in the Gulf. And while certainly we are justified in that emotion, we may be of greater assistance to our planet and its life forms, if we sincerely, powerfully and humbly pray the prayer that Dr Emoto, himself, has proposed.

"I send the energy of love and gratitude to the water and all the living creatures in the Gulf of Mexico and its surroundings.
To the whales, dolphins, pelicans, fish, shellfish, plankton, coral, algae, and all living creatures . . . I am sorry.
Please forgive me.
Thank you.
I love you. "

We are passing this request to people who we believe might be willing to participate in this prayer, to set an intention of love and healing that is so large, so overwhelming that we can perform a miracle in the Gulf of Mexico.

We are not powerless. We are powerful. Our united energy, speaking this prayer daily...multiple times daily....can literally shift the balance of destruction that is happening.

We don't have to know how......we just have to recognize that the power of love is greater than any power active in the Universe today.

Please join us in oft repeating this healing prayer of of Dr. Emoto's.
And feel free to copy and paste this to send it around the planet.
Let's take charge, and do our own clean up!

And so it is! Pass it on.

6. The Global Coherence Initiative. As we've mentioned before, this is an amazing project bringing together people from all over the world to focus healing love and energy on different world crises. go to glcoherence.org (based on the work of the Heartmath Institute).

Sarasota Almanac June 2010

Full Moon: June 27

New Moon: June 13
Meteor Showers: no major showers
Other Astronomical Events: June 21 is the Summer Solstice.

There is a major event in the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction on June 8. There should be a burst of new energy and leaps forward in our growth from what I've been reading about this conjunction. Early in the month, Jupiter is visible in the eastern sky before daybreak. With binoculars, look to the left of Jupiter for what looks like a blue-ish green star. That is Uranus!

Saturn is high in the southwestern sky at dark (early in the month) and looks golden.

Other Events in the World Around Us:

Temperatures: Water in the Gulf is really getting warm this time of year; humidity and air temperature are both high and will remain that way for 5-6 more months.
Foliage: Frangipanis often bloom now; some varieties of night blooming cirrus, Poincianas (first orange, then yellow) too. Mangoes become ripe! Some passionfruit are available and lychees for those lucky enough to have trees!

Animal Activity: Baby song birds, including woodpeckers, jays, crows, mockingbirds and more. Baby ducklings, too!

Wellness Education Club Ecopsychology Events

June Ecopsychology Events

Saturday, June 5, 2010 Grounding/Earthing for Wellbeing. Science is finally proving what indigenous and nature people have always known, that there is healing power for us from the energy of the earth itself. It is available free to all of us! Learn basic grounding techniques and experience the changes within you. You will also hear about recent research as reported in the new book “Earthing”, by Clinton Ober, Dr. Steven Sinatra, and Martin Zucker. $10; 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. R.S.V.P. by June 4 to naturespirit123@gmail.com. Location TBA.

Saturday, June 12, 2010. Vision/Animal Talk walk. Last summer we did a “Vision Walk”, an abbreviated Vision Quest where participants get answers to their personal questions reflected back to them through nature itself. Results were profound with lots of good feedback. This time we will do a similar process and focus specifically on attracting animal messengers and decoding their messages. This should be a fun and meaningful process! Cost: $10. 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. (early time so we beat the heat and get to see more animal messengers!) R.S.V.P. by June 11 to naturespirit123@gmail.com. Location TBA.

The Summer Solstice

June 21 is the Summer Solstice. In our Northern Hemisphere, this is the longest day of the year (the most light). In the Southern Hemisphere, they experience the exact opposite: Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year.

The word Solstice comes from two Latin words, "sol" meaning sun, and "sistere' (meaning "to stand still"). As we progress through the spring the sun seems to appear further and further north in the sky. Then it appears to stop at Solstice, and then gradually, day by day, reverses its course until it appears very far in the southern sky at Winter Solstice. At that point, it appears to stand still again, and then reverse its course and start back north.

This apparent movement is not the sun moving at all, it is due to the tilt of the Earth on its axis. As the Earth revolves around the sun, the tilt of the planet on its axis has the sun toward or away from each pole. This tilt, and the angling towards or away from the sun, is the reason we have seasons.

In many cultures the Summer Solstice is symbolic of fertility. Married couples would jump over solstice bonfires (made to increase even more the energy of the sun). Their crops would grow as high as the couple could jump. (Hope they grew a lot of root crops and had small fires!)

Some cultures consider the Solstices and Equinoxes the beginning of a season. Our culture does that. Other cultures believe that they mark the middle of the season. In fact, in some places, the Summer Solstice is called "Mid summer".

There seems to be less mythology about the Summer Solstice than the Winter one. Perhaps Winter Solstice was such an endurance test in many places that the mythology was more abundant.

There is some mythology, though, as cultures like the Chinese choose the Summer Solstice to celebrate Li, Goddess of Light. The Druids called Summer Solstice the "wedding of heaven and Earth" and believed June weddings were lucky. (hence June being a big month for weddings, even today!) Druids called the Summer Solstice "Litha".

Summer Longings

I lust for
the sun
blue green water
sea wind
bare feet
juicy peaches
soaring sky
full moon
lazy days

watch

Nature Time

One of the first things I recommend to people who want to have a deeper and stronger connection to nature is very basic: spend quiet time in nature each day. Mornings are best but any time of day is GREAT! The statistics are scary, but most people spend 98% of their lives inside. Dare to be one of the 2% being outdoors more and enjoying it.

I prefer morning because;

1. If I do it first, it will actually get done, I won’t get distracted
2. The nature energies are wonderful in the morning, especially around sunrise, and in the evening around sunset. The T’ai Chi masters say these are the times of maximum chi. There is a lot more activity in the natural world. Animals are smarter than us and tend not to be very active in the mid day sun, so you have a better chance of enjoying their company.
3. Doing it first thing in the morning says that you are making it a priority in your life.

Whatever time works for you, find a place outside, either in your yard, or in a nearby park or natural area. Go there each day and simply sit for at least 15 minutes. If possible, sit with your back against a tree and your bare feet on the earth (be sure to ask permission first and always say thanks when you’re done). Leave your cell phones, newspapers, coffee, and even other people at home. The focus is on being in your natural space, with as few distractions as possible.

If you are there in the morning, watch the day come in. If in the evening, watch the natural world settle down and night come in. Watch the activity of the birds, the qualities of the lighting. Are the lighting tones more pastel in color? Or vibrant? There tends to be a difference in coloring as well as intensity between morning and evening light. Mid afternoon light is entirely different yet. Watch the birds flying back to their roosts in the evening.

Listen to sounds in your area: birds, insects, perhaps thunder. Touch different things in your area and notice different textures. This helps you be more in your body and less in your head.

Try to keep your mind focused on your special place. If worries keep coming to mind, you might want to carry a small note pad and write them down and tell yourself you will come back to them later. Write them down and forget them for now.

Treat your special place like a friend in the making. To make a good friend, we need to have consistency and need to pay attention. We need to build history of times shared together. We learn to be sensitive to our friend’s moods.

Fifteen minutes of this special nature time can make a big difference in your well-being and your enjoyment of life.

If you need some extra relaxation and nurturing, try lying on the earth and really absorb those wonderful earth energies. Many people are intuitively led to lie on the earth when recovering from illness or exposure to too much electromagnetic fields or chemicals. Even when we’re feeling great this is a wonderful thing to do. Sense the Earth’s energies and their effect on you.

To quote Nike, Just do it! Just get out there. Just show up. Nature will do the rest. Nature may teach you, inspire you, and heal you. It knows exactly what you need.

God, where are you?

"Too many times people are looking for the spectacular, when the supernatural is actually right there in front of them. Smith Wigglesworth once said, “Some people wouldn’t recognize the Holy Spirit if He walked in with a red tie and red hat on.” This poem is about being sensitive to the supernatural things.

"God are you real???"

The man whispered.

“God, speak to me”.

And a meadowlark sang.

But the man did not hear.

So the man yelled,

“God, speak to me!”

And the thunder rolled across the sky

But the man did not listen

The man looked around and said

“God let me see you”

And a star shone brightly

But the man did not notice.

And the man shouted

“God, show me a miracle!” And a life was born

But the man did not know.

So the man cried out in despair,

“Touch me God, and let me know you are here!”

Whereupon God reached down

And touched the man.

But the man brushed the butterfly away

And walked away unknowingly.

--Anonymous

Listen to those hunches!

In April, I was walking on the beach, enjoying the beautiful day. The water was blue and green, and the sun was bright. As I walked and enjoyed myself, I suddenly had the strangest feeling that I might not be able to walk on the beaches much this summer. Was it due to red tide, I wondered? I remember 2005 or 2006, when the red tide was so bad I did not walk on the beach all summer, let alone swim. It was a curious thought. It was a week or so later when I heard about the oil spill in the Gulf.

Shortly after that, I also felt it might be an early and busy hurricane season.

Often when I’m out in nature, I’ll get information. Maybe it’s always there, but I’m quiet and receptive enough to hear it when I’m outside. I have chosen to “rerun” the information below, as a reminder to myself and others.

**************************************************

(originally from the August 2009 newsletter)

Eco-psychology Notes: We’re approaching the heart of hurricane season. Will we get storms? Consciousness may have a role in creating storms of all kinds. I was in downtown Portland, OR, years ago, during a hostage situation. The only cloud in the sky was a black one, right over the building with the gunman! There was a pretty clear connection to me.

As you make your normal hurricane preparations, you might also:

Spend time daily in nature. Listen to nature. I was gardening once when I got the hunch that a hurricane was coming. I doubted the message because it was only June 1, but it was true, there was a storm on the way. When we’re doing meditative and right brained activities, sometimes it’s easier to hear the voice of nature.

Watch animal behavior as a storm approaches. Wildlife, especially, can sometimes predict earthquakes, hurricanes or other storms. It has been said that fewer people would have died in the Tsunami if someone had noticed the animals retreating.

Trust your intuition. In September 2001, Tropical Storm Gabrielle stalled off the coast of Sarasota. The weatherman that night said with certainty that it would continue north. My gut disagreed, but I chose to believe the weatherman and didn’t go out and get extra water. I awoke next morning to Tropical Storm Gabrielle pounding Sarasota. There was so much rain, trees topped over in the yard, no electric, and not much drinking water. It was another chapter in the continuing story of listening to my intuition!

When there is a storm, try getting quiet and “asking” the storm where it is headed.

Use your nature grounding tools to help you stay calm when bad weather approaches. This can help you detach from the panic around you.

Global Coherence Initiative

There is a wonderful project called the Global Coherence Initiative (GCI), which is part of the Institute of Heartmath. The GCI is teaching us how to use our compassion and feelings of love to help soothe things on the planet. They have different focuses for their sessions. Right now they've been focusing on us sending love to the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. Earlier in the year, we were focusing on the areas affected by earthquakes (Haiti, Chile, China, etc.) You may have heard Gregg Braden talk about this project.

To read more about their fascinating research and their projects, visit http://glcoherence.org/ .

Jacaranda Extravaganza!

Due to the cold winter and cool spring, the flowering trees have been especially beautiful! Here are Jacaranda (purple), which was preceded in bloom by the bottlebrush trees (red). (Photos copyright 2010 by Anne Cederberg)

Splashing with the Koi

One of the highlights (of a trip of highlights) at Selby Gardens was splashing with the koi! They came up to greet us all. This photo is of Tatiana Agafonova, founder of Transendance Chiropractic and Wellness Education club, with Julia Seyffert, Tour Guide for Selby Gardens (and gardener extraordinare!) and many enthusiastic, finny friends! These large fish are fascinating to watch and their coloring is gorgeous.

Selby Gardens Ecopsychology Excursion

On May 15, the Wellness Education Club, part of Transendance Chiropractic, offered an outing to Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota. We were surrounded by beauty: colors, textures, blue sky, things we had never seen. It was a glorious morning! We ran into Selby Tour Guide Julia Seyffert, who identified many unusual plants for us and gave us a splashy introduction to the Garden's Koi fish. We all had a marvelous garden. Please join us on one of our Ecopsychology Adventures (go back to the January or December postings to get a better idea of what Ecopsychology is). (All photos copyright 2010 by Sandrina Mayela)

The Water Lilly

The water lily grows in the bottom of a body of water like a pond.

They grow out of a sometimes stinky, gooey bed of mud mixed with dead, slimy,

rotting plant and animal material.

Out of this mess, this mire, however, rises a stalk and some leaves.

And when some of those stalks reach the surface,

an exquisitely beautiful flower,

the water lily,

bursts into bloom.

The water lily

reminds us all that out of the “mess”,

something beautiful can grow.

It appears we have created a mire, a mess of our environment.

We’ve polluted it with garbage, with chemicals, with violence, with our bad thinking, with our unconscious actions and poor decisions.

Something beautiful can still rise out of our mess,

and when it reaches the surface,

blossom into an exquisite flower.

What beautiful creations can come out of this?

It’s up to us.

May Day (Beltane)

In Pre-Christian times, the first of May was known as Beltane (in Celtic tradition). It was also the Festival of Flora, named after the Roman Goddess of flowers. In many Germanic countries, including Scandanavia, Germany, Estonia and others, Walpurgis Night was celebrated with dancing and large bonfires. (For some great photos of these fires, go to Wikipedia and look up Walpurgis).

In some pagan traditions, February 2, Candlemas, was the beginning of Spring, and May the 1st was the beginning of summer. This explains why some traditions refer to the summer solstice, June 21, as "Mid summer".

In the U.S., many people participated in creating small baskets of flowers to leave on neighbor's doors anonymously. This tradition pretty much died out in the late 20th century. There was also a tradition of dancing the Maypole.

In many countries, May 1 is also celebrated as International Worker's Day or Labour Day.

May 2010 Sarasota Almanac

Full Moon: May 27
New Moon; May 14
Meteor Showers: Eta Aqarids, May 5-6
Other Astronomical Events: Scorpio much more visible in the night sky

Other Events in the World Around Us:
Temperatures: Gradually getting warmer and much more humid; often dry and the end of the dry season; fires sometimes. Usually the start of summer weather. Rainy season may start late in month.
Foliage: Jacarandas (a little late this year), gardenias, crepe myrtles all blooming.
Animal activity: Love bugs, round one! Many song and other birds nesting and raising young; baby ducks.