SUMMER YURT LIVING!

We have just enjoyed a few days of glorious sunshine and some real summer yurt living.
The yurt's circular space has this month offered a wonderful healing environment for recovery from another back procedure. At 3.30pm at this time of the year the sun shines through the crown straight onto the floor cushions, just in time for a snoozy and sometimes dribbly siesta on the floor.

We have been enjoying simple food;bbq's, forraged salads, new potatoes ,green beans,tomatoes straight from the veggie patch.

We are pleasantly surprised that there havent been lots of mosquitos, no need to use the mosy-net. Chris getting very proficient with the night-time swatting by torchlight, means that the few that are around dont last long!
Feel like we are getting a real taste of yurt life , very settled into the early morning, early night routine, and lying in bed with all the candles lit is magical.

Amazing metorite showers, standing on the farm track we saw lots of shooting stars.

There has been a good harvest of calendula petals this year. Once dried we shall infuse some in oil and use the rest for cosmetic concoctions.

We have a resident blue tit!! He/she roosts in between the canvas , just under the roof canvas.
Every night( remarkably early) he tucks himself in and you hear him turning in his bed and ruffling his feathers! I think its amazing that he/she is happy to be so close, with only canvas between us he must know that we are there and can hear us. we have named him rather unoriginally "Timmy the tit", so i hope if its a she , shes's not offended!
And also a beautiful little wren that roosts in the shed .

still havent had the roof cap off at night, the evenings havent really been balmy and we just havent had the confidence that it wouldnt rain! Think i may save some pennies and have a clear roof cap made at a later date.

MUSING ON THE CIRCLE

The circle is a sacred symbol of life,

individual parts within the circle connect with every other ;

and what happens to one ;

or what one part does affects all within the circle

The circle is used by many traditions the world over from time immemorial is referred to by such names as the Medicine Wheel, Sacred Hoop, and the Wheel of Life .
It has also been used in the sacred art of many religious traditions as an image of wholeness.
Ceremony and religious rites were practised in circles, life was lived in circles and moved with the changing seasons.

The circle symbolizes the sacred unity of existence and is used in the designing of sacred spaces all over the world.
Today's lifestyle has removed us from this natural experience, cushioning our senses with central heating, piped water, flush toilets and supermarkets.

The seasons pass us by year after year and we become more anaesthetized.
To step into the circle is to say yes to becoming - becoming more aware of who we are as individuals and more aware of our interactions with others and the environment we find ourselves in.
It brings a fuller sense of being and knowing, that the journey we walk in this life has a rhythm, and that rhythm can become revealed to us.

Stepping into the Circle, Stepping onto the Wheel

Stepping into the circle is about aligning ourselves to a rhythm.

Nature offers a constant reminder of movement through the changing of season, from the Sunrise and Sunset points to the Moon's ebb and flow.
To bring ourselves into alignment with these changing seasons brings us onto the wheel of life and our own energies into alignment. http://livingintheround.blogspot.com/2007/06/eight-fold-yesrt_1821.html

How often have we felt frustrated in the middle of Winter wondering what to do with ourselves instead of taking the time to be still and allow ourselves to rest? The CIRCLE is a reminder of wholeness and the round-and-round nature of life-cycles. We can take a lot of comfort in the way seasons and the very hours of the day repeat endlessly.
In becoming aware of what our changing energies do at these seasonal times gives us a picture of who we are, how effective we are in our actions, how our energy comes and goes....
Stepping onto the wheel means becoming conscious of where we stand at any one moment on the cycle or rhythm of life.
To become aware of our own personal circle of energy also brings us in touch with a greater sense of awareness around other peoples' energy fields - knowing when to offer healing and when to stand back; knowing that perhaps what is being said is not quite what the person is feeling.

Working with Mandala

The word Mandala arises from the Sanskrit and means sacred circle, they are used as objects to aid contemplation.

The circle symbolizes the womb of creation; and mandalas are geometric designs that are made through uniform divisions of the circle. The shapes that are formed from these divisions are symbols that embody the mathematical principles found throughout creation. They reveal the inner workings of nature and the inherent order of the universe.
Mandalas act as a bridge between the higher and lower realms. They are interdimensional gateways linking human consciousness to the realms of archetypes and the infinite. The relationship of form, movement, space and time is evoked by the mandala. Mandalas offer a way to engage with the inherent harmony and balance of nature. They bring the principles of nature into our field of awareness. For thousands of years, mandala imagery has served as a means to an expanded way of thinking. The images transcend language and the rational mind. They bring about a certain wisdom of universal knowledge and a deeper understanding of human consciousness.

The circle is perhaps the purest, most profound and the most common symbol in existence. It has many interesting associations and appears in or lives in a number of forms.

With the probably infinite billions of stars, planets, moons and galaxies full of the same, the circle is well represented in the physical universe in the form of spheres.

A circle, having no beginning or end, represents infinity, eternity, wholeness and femininity. Other meaningfully significant symbols or objects are circular: Stonehenge, Ouroboros, the Wheel of Life, a halo around the head of a saint, etc. In a very practical way, it can be said that circles rule the world.The circle is a sacred symbol of life, individual parts within the circle connect with every other ; and what happens to one ; or what one part does affects all within the circle

Think of all the things that are circular. From the symbol for nothing to the symbol for the powerful life-giving sun, circles cover a lot of territory. Circles are egalitarian and inclusive; it was for very good reason that King Arthur placed his knights at a Round Table.

As the Tibetan woman spins an endless prayer written on a strip of paper coiled inside the cylinder..........

Give some thought to all of the interconnecting circles in your life.

How can we invite a more inclusive way of being into our lives?

LUGHNASADH

Lughnasadh - the Harvest festival in honour of Lugh/Llew, the Sun God.

The Christian church recycled Lughnasadh as the feast of Lamas, a word meaning "loaf mass" from the Anglo-Saxon "hl af-masse". Traditionally on this day a new loaf of bread was offered at mass as the first-fruit of the harvest. In the old days bread was truly your harvest fruit - you tilled the land, planted the grain and watered to soil to make it grow - the making of the Lamas/Lughnasadh loaf was packed with mystical symbolism.
The bread-maker and those who ate it were acutely aware of their relationship with Mother Earth - a relationship not of words but of conscious interaction. Just like the Sun God whose heat has nourished its growth, the grain that goes into bread must be cut down in its prime to be useful. Death is necessary for life to flourish, otherwise life dies. In the past humankind the world over acknowledged this relationship between death and life - harvesting grain for bread and seeds for next year's crop - through ceremonies and rituals. One of the famous ones in Britain is told in the song John Barleycorn.

There were three men came out of the West Their fortunes for to try And these three men made a solemn vow John Barleycorn must die.

The crops are ripening and will soon be cut,the fruit is swelling upon the trees and the land is about to slip into the richness of fall. The growing crop, must die each year in order for the seed to ripen and so yield the harvest.

At this time the sun God is nearing the end of his reign.
The name of the festival (pronounced loo-nus-uh) comes from the druidic festival of Lugh, the Celtic sun God. In some ancient traditions, this is the festival in which the sun God dies, usually in a ritual of sacrifice of some sort. To commemorate him, the ancient peoples of Britain and Ireland held processions, feasts, and athletic games in his honour. It makes more sense if we see this as the beginning of the hunt for Lugh - the chase that will end in the fatal cut that marks his death at Mabon (Fall Equinox), the end of the harvest. With the first cutting of the grain, this was traditionally a feast of bread.

It is tempting to see echoes of ancient human sacrifice, but that is not really what this time is all about. The god does not really die, he continues in the form of next year's growth, he continues in the form of the food and drink he provides for people's sustenance against the coming winter. So who (or what) is it, that is being killed?
What is being killed is the child, to make room for the man.

The period of growth is ended and it is time for the completion of a purpose.

This must happen in all our lives. At one level, we must always remain children, for we never stop learning, we never stop growing. But at another level, we reach a plateau in our development, we step over into a new phase of existence.

In our late teens or early twenties we reach a stage of development of our physical bodies that we call adult. With our new status we acquire certain responsibilities: there are certain aspects, freedoms and liberties, of our childhood that we must lay aside forever so that we may properly fulfil our new role.

So in later life, we reach a state of mental and spiritual growth where we may stop growing for a while and start to make more use of our more developed faculties, for the benefit of others. This is not merely a right, but it is a duty, aresponsibility.

What is all your knowledge and spiritual insight for, if it is not to be used?

Thus, for example, one of us teach. Another may heal. Someone else may be a writer, or an artist, and so on. Some of you may still be looking for your path, not yet quite certain of the way to go on your spiritual journey. This particular time of year, Lammastide, is a good time to be looking for those answers. If you already have the answers, then it is time to put them fully into action.

It is the time of maturity,

of completion of growth,

of the final step towards attainment of purpose

It is an ideal time for completion of projects. Also, like the other major festivals of the old pagan calendar, it is considered to be a time when the veil between our world and the other worlds, the worlds of the spirit, is particularly thin, it especially benefits those projects that are spiritual in nature.

visualisation exercise with the object of bringing about a certain state of events, perhaps to help someone in difficulties or maybe to sort something out in your own lives. This kind of visualisation is usually concerned with the early stages of a project, with getting something off the ground, to a point where you can consciously take over and continue the good work by your own efforts, without the help of outside forces. Then, eventually, your project reaches a state of maturity and you can, indeed must, take on full responsibility for it, just as you take on responsibility for your life when you reach adulthood. But sometimes bringing a project to its intended conclusion can be as difficult as initiating it in the first place. It is not unreasonable for us to request help from higher forces. If the project is worthy, help will be granted. But, you have to ASK.
So, do you have a project that is about to come to fruition, which maybe needs a little final push to get it there? Or, if you are still seeking a direction, is it time that the direction became clear to you? These things are what we will seek to put in hand today, by means of our visualisation.
Lughnasadh: Prepare yourself for meditation in the usual way. Sit comfortably and relaxed. Close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths to cleanse your body and mind of everyday cares and concerns.

Visualise yourself in the countryside, on a warm summer afternoon, surveying a field of ripe, golden wheat. Think about how it will shortly be harvested and baked into delicious fresh bread. Enjoy the beauty of the moment.
Now turn your thoughts to your project, or your question. Form it clearly in your mind, with every detail of where you stand at the moment, and of how you came to be where you are.
Make sure you have every detail of your situation clear in your mind.
Now visualise a successful outcome. What is necessary to complete your project, or to give a satisfactory answer to your question? Let this, too, form clearly in your mind.
Now, quickly dismiss the pictures you have formed in your mind into the ether, and return to normal consciousness. Your petition will be dealt with. Do not think any further about your project or your question for a little while, perhaps a few days, and then the answer or the resolution will come to you.

Now is an appropriate time to take a little refreshment, something to eat and drink. Take a biscuit, or a cookie, or a piece of bread, and break it. As you do so, think of those people in the past, who would celebrate with the eating of new bread, the coming of the first harvest. Feel close to them, and feel close to the time of year, the time of coming to fruition. Then eat in silence, and sip the drink.
Take a few hours, or a few days, to absorb the significance of this meditation. If you wish, you may repeat the meditation several times during the period around the Festival .