Winter Solstice 12-21-12

What did the stable hand do when he had seen the face of God? . . . he returned to the stable. ~ from Meditations with Meister Eckhart by Matthew Fox

In response to the question many of you are asking me, "What's going to happen on 12-21-12, the 'end of the Mayan Calender' and the Winter Solstice?" my short reply is "I'm returning to the stable" and by that I mean:

• Meditating at 11:11 am on 12-21-12

• Painting

• Journaling

• Being in nature > here's a slide show of what that looks like.

• Loving

Kathy Crabbe, For Per, 2012, mixed media on canvas, 48 x 48”.

Insights from my favorite astrologer, Barbara Hand Clow & Gerry Clow in Alchemy of Nine Dimensions:

So how are you finding yourself today? Are you ready to address any imperfections you may find, with neutrality, and even with some self-love? Good. You are on the path to taking responsibility for your own wellness and stability.  (Gerry Clow)

If your home is not stable, see what is making it unstable and make it stable. Your home is a direct reflection of your own body, of your own stability.  A home can be a van, a tent, a mansion: All are worthless if they are not stable, and priceless if they are. (Gerry Clow)

So, awareness first. Then, what to do about it. Being aware is the first step. The second, immediately after the first, is not judging yourself, Say to yourself: This is how I am finding myself today. That is what is called being neutral - not positive, or negative, just neutral. (Gerry Clow)

For most indigenous people, the New Year is the Spring Equinox, and that is the time to manifest! The first three months of the new year up to the Summer Solstice are the time to receive and actualize things. The next three months up to the Fall Equinox are the time to develop these things, and the three months up to the Winter Solstice are the time to complete what we have been creating. The final three months in the winter up to the next Spring Equinox are the time to go into deep contemplation about the larger meaning of these creations. Then the new Spring Equinox is the time to create new manifestations for another whole year...Once you really see all the potential you have, ordering your life by the seasons and the lunar cycles and using manifestation become essential.

The reason most people get stuck in meaningless jobs (and lives) is because they follow orthodox belief systems. In my life, I've watched many people disempower themselves by seeking the divine, instead of just finding it in nature or in other beings by loving them.

By following whims and creating new realities in 3D, the corresponding mist thickens and new things manifest instantly in the solid world. Have you ever followed up on an intriguing course of action, and it manifested so quickly that you could hardly handle the results? This is a sign you are really in tune. Creation works best when you move quickly to grasp the potential or seize the moment.

To organize cycles on Earth, the great being in the Galactic Center - Tzolk'in - created the Mayan calendar to orchestrate Earth's evolution. Calendars are formats for spiritual masters who orchestrate specific time waves by working with the Keepers of all nine dimensions. Tzolk'in, the Keeper of 9D, is orchestrating events on Earth for this twenty-five year period (from 1987-2012 - galactic synchronization)...We are coming to the end of this long game (going on for 26,000 years), when the activation in the Galactic Center opens our crowns. The rest of our time through 2012 will be truly memorable, and working with our minds is where we already have the most skill. Now we need to discern - and master - frequencies.

The Mayan calendar has now become the operating manual for human potential, and it is one of the few things in 3D that makes any sense. It is a huge time wave that functions as an attractor in the sky that is sucking us into a new stage of development, the apotheosis of Earth's biology. We are the pinnacle, and the transmutation of our reptilian minds will send us into the stars if we can learn to respect our planet.

Life on Earth will not end: Instead, Earth will expand into the Milky Way, which the Selfish Biocosm hypothesis predicts; "Baby Universes" will be intelligently designed and sent out to populate the universe.

Recommended listening: Journeys through Nine Dimensions by composer Michael Stearns. Alchemy of Nine Dimensions by Barbara Hand Clow

New Offerings on My Website: Astrology Report Deluxe ~ 49.95 ~ Order here

What you will receive:

1.      A 25-30 page computer generated natal birth chart astrology report that includes a beautifully illustrated cover page (you can choose a spirit animal for the cover) created by Kathy. *A great way to introduce yourself to astrology and makes a great gift too! Click here for a Sample Report.

2.      Your astrological birth chart wheel in color.

3.      Links to websites that will help you understand and interpret the symbols and language of your birth chart wheel.

4.      A Bonus 16 page intuitive, spiritual Natal Chart Astrology Report (computer generated) discussing areas of heightened activity, the planets, your ascendant, and the moon’s nodes.

5.      Delivery of your reports within 48 hours plus email support and follow-up.

Plus Your choice of 2 bonus reports (computer generated):

a. 12 page Time Line Report: A three month forecast that looks at major events in your life, including monthly highlights.

b. 14 page Goddess Asteroids Report to shed new light on the important areas of emotion and experience plus greater insight into how you interact with the rest of the world.

c. 22 page Friends or Lovers Report: To offer you insights into a specific relationship. This will require the birthdate/time/place of 2 people.

d. 26 page Past Lives Report.

e. 25-30 page Career Opportunities Report to discover the personal characteristics, talents and inclinations that provide the key to fulfillment in your career endeavors. Click here to view a sample report.

Awaken Your Divine Feminine Creative Fire

The Divine Feminine Fire by Teri Degler

Today's Creative Soul Spotlight is on Teri Degler, author and co-author of ten non-fiction books including The Divine Feminine Fire; Creativity and Your Yearning to Express Your Self.

Teri will be my guest in the Creative Soul Circle this month (September 2011) where she will be available to answer all your questions. The Circle is a women-only support group and social site that is free to join.

An Interview with Teri Degler

Web: teridegler.com,
Blog: blog.teridegler.com
Fan Page:  Facebook

What fears did you break through to write this book?

The biggest fear was that – in spite of having had nine other books published -- I couldn’t do it. I simply would not be able to pull it off. And then – as I tell the story in the book – I completely collapsed in fear when the arrangement I had with my former publisher fell apart. I realize now that part of the reason I had so much trouble with this was that, in my mind, having I had a major publisher for the book validated it and validated me in some way. I didn’t have the inner faith in my self or in the book that I needed.

Do you have any advice for women struggling with fear?

In The Divine Feminine Fire I talk about the battle between divine love and fear and the fact that love is always capable of conquering fear. This love is the active power of the divine. St. Hildegard von Bingen called this fiery power Caritas or Sophia. The ancient yogis called it Shakti – the cosmic divine feminine. But the important thing for those of us who struggle with fear is that this inner power is accessible! It is embodied in each one of us. We simply have to tune into it – through prayer, meditation, creativity exercises like the ones that are in the book – and allow it to flow through us. Like any spiritual practice this requires practice!

(Unfortunately, trying to summarize this makes it all sound a bit glib! Fear is part of the “unenlightened” human condition; it is something we face continually and meet on different levels as we grow and progress. This is certainly true for me at any rate!)

How does it feel when you’re ‘in the flow’ of creation?

Although I imagine this experience is different for everyone, it is no coincidence that we use the word “flow” when we refer to these types of experiences! There really is a sense of something – call it a force, an energy, whatever you will – flowing through you. For me, when I am really writing at the deepest level, the world around me fades away and nothing exists but images conjured up by what I’m writing. It feels like I am floating in time and space. It is also very blissful. For me this is connecting to the divine feminine – the creatrix of the universe and the creative force within each one of us. But there is also a lot of work with writing – for me that’s when my inner divine masculine comes into play – a constructive critical side that edits, rewrites, and rearranges so the work is as clear as it can possibly be.

(I want to make it clear at some point that I believe the Divine – God, the Absolute, the Great Spirit, whatever you want to call it – is beyond gender. It is neither masculine nor feminine. However, I also believe the Divine exists in terms of an inner divine masculine and divine feminine and that the Divine expresses itself in this kind of polarity throughout the universe. Indeed we experience life itself in terms of polarity – male/female; light/dark; yin/yang; positive/negative electrical charges, and on and on…)

When you were younger what did you want to be when you grew up?

Nobody has ever asked me that before! I wanted to be a singer because my older half-sister had a wonderful voice and I idolized her. But after being demoralized by music teachers who told me I couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket I gave up. Fortunately, I also love to draw and was quite good at it so I turned my sights to becoming an artist. A year of being an art major in university convinced me this wasn’t the right path for me. Now I realize that it was the yearning to express myself that was the important thing. According to interpretations of the age-old yogic texts, this deep-seated longing can be thought of as the voice of Shakti – the cosmic divine feminine – propelling us along the path of spiritual transformation…

How has writing The Divine Feminine Fire transformed your life?

Exactly in the way I describe in the answer above. The ancient yogis described Shakti as what today we could call an evolutionary force – we can also think of it as a sort of spiritual transformative “energy”. And there is only one spiritual transformative energy; it doesn’t matter whether we call it kundalini-shakti, jeng chi, dumo fire, or Holy Spirit – it is the fire of the spirit within that transforms us and brings us closer to the Divine. Writing a book about ancient women mystics and seemingly ordinary, everyday women today who are experiencing this transformative power in their lives gave me a chance to really focus on that very same force and to really feel and experience it in my own life.

Teri Degler

How can we, as women best contribute to this crucial time in human history and can you share some real life examples from your own life?

We simply need to express this force in our lives – whether it is in our creative expression, the creative thinking we bring to solving either our own problems or the world’s, or the hands-on work we do to make the world a better place. Mahadevi – a medieval yogini – described it as being filled with the “precious juice of grace”. Once filled with this grace she then poured it back into the world in the form of her writing and in the efforts she made to ease the suffering she saw around her.

In the book I talk about four steps involved in expressing this force. First, be able to recognize this power. This is why I describe the divine feminine from the Hindu, Christian, and Jewish traditions in the book – so we can know her and know how she works in our lives. Second, we need to practice sitting with/simply being with this power – we need to be comfortable with holding this power in our bodies. Third, we need to listen to what she is telling us – really hear the guidance that is being given to us. Then we can come to the last step, which is allowing this precious juice of grace to flow upwards, outwards, and onto the world which needs it so badly.

There are examples in the book of women who did this. Anya, for instance, came up with an extremely creative and exciting way to start a big environmental movement in her home town. And right now one of the other women whose earlier story I told in the book is in India working passionately with the Global Peace Initiative of Women to create an international, interfaith centre aimed at helping to bring the values and wisdom of the feminine into contemporary spirituality and society.

What is the most important message you would like to convey through your book?

This is directly linked to your question above. This transformative spiritual force – that is embodied within us! – is transforming us and we can use that power to transform the world. And I absolutely believe it is our responsibility as human beings – and especially as empowered women! – to do just that.

Who or what do you find yourself returning to over and over again to inspire your Divine Feminine creativity?

Personally I really love to keep reading the age-old yogic and Tantric texts that describe the transformative power of the divine feminine. But I get much of my day to day inspiration from the women I’ve met and continue to meet who are doing incredibly inspiring work in the world. I tell one these women’s stories in each issue of my newsletter: http://www.teridegler.com/newsletter.html. I’m also posting their pictures, a bit about why they are inspiring, and their websites on my new Face Book community page, and I’m in the process of starting an “Inspiring Women Inspiring Women” page on my website. So everyone can check them out and get inspired!

What is the most difficult part of following your creative passions?

Fear. It seems I have to keep coming back to this and facing new levels of self-doubt every time I face a new challenge.

What advice can you offer to women who are seeking to reignite their Divine Feminine fire?

The four steps above. Learn to recognize the divine feminine. Become ever more comfortable holding this great power in your body. Listen to what it is telling you. Express it. (And, remember, you can’t express it if you don’t create a certain amount of time and space in your life for doing so!)

When you look back on all the research, writing and interviewing you did for The Divine Feminine Fire, what one thing stands out the most, as if it’s been burned into your memory for all time?

That this divine feminine force is real – that the active power of divine love is real – that the “light within” is real – and that they are all the same thing!

What is your next project going to be about, can you give us a hint?

I am thinking about writing a book about the spiritual journey I’ve been on – it has had painful, heartbreaking moments and many really whacky, funny moments too… I would be very nervous if this were going to be a book about “me” – but I think it could be me as a writer being a sort of “lens” on the spiritual journey from the late 1960s on – and a way of sharing the absolutely amazing people I’ve met, things I’ve seen, and experiences I’ve been blessed – and, admittedly, sometimes tortured! – to have had. But there are about ten other books I’d like to write too!!

About Teri

Teri Degler

Award-winning writer Teri Degler is the author/co-author of ten books including The Fiery Muse: Creativity and the Spiritual Quest (Random House of Canada). A long-time student of yoga philosophy and mystical experience, Teri has taught workshops in the United States and Canada and made numerous media appearances. Her freelance writing has appeared in Family Circle, More Magazine, Today’s Parent, The Toronto Star and many other publications. Her latest book, The Divine Feminine Fire: Creativity and Your Yearning to Express Your Self, recently became a #10 Amazon.ca Bestseller in two spiritual categories. See www.teridegler.com

Express Your Divine Feminine Creative Fire: An Interview with Author, Teri Degler

Today's Creative Soul Spotlight is on Teri Degler, author/co-author of ten non-fiction books, including The Fiery Muse: Creativity and the Spiritual Quest and the topic of our interview today – The Divine Feminine Fire; Creativity and Your Yearning to Express Your Self. I've had the pleasure of getting acquainted with Teri through numerous emails discussing this interview and it's truly been a delight, but I really just LOVED her book and am adding it to my Resource List for the Divine Feminine eClass I teach. It's personal, it's intuitive, it's helpful and it's even got Creativity Exercises included at the end of each chapter, and in fact I fell so in love with Teri's book and made so many notes in it and copied so many quotations from it, that I just couldn't bear to part with the review copy I was sent! (I'm sure you'll understand why after reading this interview.)

An Interview with Teri Degler

Web: teridegler.com Blog: blog.teridegler.com Facebook Fan Page

What fears did you have to break through to write this book?

The biggest fear was that – in spite of having had nine other books published -- I couldn’t do it. I simply would not be able to pull it off. And then – as I tell the story in the book – I completely collapsed in fear when the arrangement I had with my former publisher fell apart. I realize now that part of the reason I had so much trouble with this was that, in my mind, having I had a major publisher for the book validated it and validated me in some way. I didn’t have the inner faith in my self or in the book that I needed.

Do you have any advice for women struggling with fear?

In The Divine Feminine Fire I talk about the battle between divine love and fear and the fact that love is always capable of conquering fear. This love is the active power of the divine. St. Hildegard von Bingen called this fiery power Caritas or Sophia. The ancient yogis called it Shakti – the cosmic divine feminine. But the important thing for those of us who struggle with fear is that this inner power is accessible! It is embodied in each one of us. We simply have to tune into it – through prayer, meditation, creativity exercises like the ones that are in the book – and allow it to flow through us. Like any spiritual practice this requires practice!

(Unfortunately, trying to summarize this makes it all sound a bit glib! Fear is part of the “unenlightened” human condition; it is something we face continually and meet on different levels as we grow and progress. This is certainly true for me at any rate!)

How does it feel when you’re ‘in the flow’ of creation?

Although I imagine this experience is different for everyone, it is no coincidence that we use the word “flow” when we refer to these types of experiences! There really is a sense of something – call it a force, an energy, whatever you will – flowing through you. For me, when I am really writing at the deepest level, the world around me fades away and nothing exists but images conjured up by what I’m writing. It feels like I am floating in time and space. It is also very blissful. For me this is connecting to the divine feminine – the creatrix of the universe and the creative force within each one of us. But there is also a lot of work with writing – for me that’s when my inner divine masculine comes into play – a constructive critical side that edits, rewrites, and rearranges so the work is as clear as it can possibly be.

(I want to make it clear at some point that I believe the Divine – God, the Absolute, the Great Spirit, whatever you want to call it – is beyond gender. It is neither masculine nor feminine. However, I also believe the Divine exists in terms of an inner divine masculine and divine feminine and that the Divine expresses itself in this kind of polarity throughout the universe. Indeed we experience life itself in terms of polarity – male/female; light/dark; yin/yang; positive/negative electrical charges, and on and on…)

When you were younger what did you want to be when you grew up?

Nobody has ever asked me that before! I wanted to be a singer because my older half-sister had a wonderful voice and I idolized her. But after being demoralized by music teachers who told me I couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket I gave up. Fortunately, I also love to draw and was quite good at it so I turned my sights to becoming an artist. A year of being an art major in university convinced me this wasn’t the right path for me. Now I realize that it was the yearning to express myself that was the important thing. According to interpretations of the age-old yogic texts, this deep-seated longing can be thought of as the voice of Shakti – the cosmic divine feminine – propelling us along the path of spiritual transformation…

How has writing The Divine Feminine Fire transformed your life?

Exactly in the way I describe in the answer above. The ancient yogis described Shakti as what today we could call an evolutionary force – we can also think of it as a sort of spiritual transformative “energy”. And there is only one spiritual transformative energy; it doesn’t matter whether we call it kundalini-shakti, jeng chi, dumo fire, or Holy Spirit – it is the fire of the spirit within that transforms us and brings us closer to the Divine. Writing a book about ancient women mystics and seemingly ordinary, everyday women today who are experiencing this transformative power in their lives gave me a chance to really focus on that very same force and to really feel and experience it in my own life.

How can we, as women best contribute to this crucial time in human history and can you share some real life examples from your own life?

We simply need to express this force in our lives – whether it is in our creative expression, the creative thinking we bring to solving either our own problems or the world’s, or the hands-on work we do to make the world a better place. Mahadevi – a medieval yogini – described it as being filled with the “precious juice of grace”. Once filled with this grace she then poured it back into the world in the form of her writing and in the efforts she made to ease the suffering she saw around her.

In the book I talk about four steps involved in expressing this force. First, be able to recognize this power. This is why I describe the divine feminine from the Hindu, Christian, and Jewish traditions in the book – so we can know her and know how she works in our lives. Second, we need to practice sitting with/simply being with this power – we need to be comfortable with holding this power in our bodies. Third, we need to listen to what she is telling us – really hear the guidance that is being given to us. Then we can come to the last step, which is allowing this precious juice of grace to flow upwards, outwards, and onto the world which needs it so badly.

There are examples in the book of women who did this. Anya, for instance, came up with an extremely creative and exciting way to start a big environmental movement in her home town. And right now one of the other women whose earlier story I told in the book is in India working passionately with the Global Peace Initiative of Women to create an international, interfaith centre aimed at helping to bring the values and wisdom of the feminine into contemporary spirituality and society.

What is the most important message you would like to convey through your book?

This is directly linked to your question above. This transformative spiritual force – that is embodied within us! – is transforming us and we can use that power to transform the world. And I absolutely believe it is our responsibility as human beings – and especially as empowered women! – to do just that.

Who or what do you find yourself returning to over and over again to inspire your Divine Feminine creativity?

Personally I really love to keep reading the age-old yogic and Tantric texts that describe the transformative power of the divine feminine. But I get much of my day to day inspiration from the women I’ve met and continue to meet who are doing incredibly inspiring work in the world. I tell one these women’s stories in each issue of my newsletter: http://www.teridegler.com/newsletter.html. I’m also posting their pictures, a bit about why they are inspiring, and their websites on my new Face Book community page, and I’m in the process of starting an “Inspiring Women Inspiring Women” page on my website. So everyone can check them out and get inspired!

What is the most difficult part of following your creative passions?

Fear. It seems I have to keep coming back to this and facing new levels of self-doubt every time I face a new challenge.

What advice can you offer to women who are seeking to reignite their Divine Feminine fire?

The four steps above. Learn to recognize the divine feminine. Become ever more comfortable holding this great power in your body. Listen to what it is telling you. Express it. (And, remember, you can’t express it if you don’t create a certain amount of time and space in your life for doing so!)

When you look back on all the research, writing and interviewing you did for The Divine Feminine Fire, what one thing stands out the most, as if it’s been burned into your memory for all time?

That this divine feminine force is real – that the active power of divine love is real – that the “light within” is real – and that they are all the same thing!

What is your next project going to be about, can you give us a hint?

I am thinking about writing a book about the spiritual journey I’ve been on – it has had painful, heartbreaking moments and many really whacky, funny moments too… I would be very nervous if this were going to be a book about “me” – but I think it could be me as a writer being a sort of “lens” on the spiritual journey from the late 1960s on – and a way of sharing the absolutely amazing people I’ve met, things I’ve seen, and experiences I’ve been blessed – and, admittedly, sometimes tortured! – to have had. But there are about ten other books I’d like to write too!!

About Teri

Award-winning writer Teri Degler is the author/co-author of ten books including The Fiery Muse: Creativity and the Spiritual Quest (Random House of Canada). A long-time student of yoga philosophy and mystical experience, Teri has taught workshops in the United States and Canada and made numerous media appearances. Her freelance writing has appeared in Family Circle, More Magazine, Today’s Parent, The Toronto Star and many other publications. Her latest book, The Divine Feminine Fire: Creativity and Your Yearning to Express Your Self, recently became a #10 Amazon.ca Bestseller in two spiritual categories. See www.teridegler.com

Creative Soul Blog Giveaway: Teri will be giving away two articles she's written: Hildegaard: Yogini in Nun's Clothing and Sophia/Shakti to one lucky winner who comments on this interview by telling us what kind of divinely inspired creative fires you hope to stir up in 2011. Enter your comments below to win.

Heart-Home

Sometimes it feels like I spend more time shutting out the world than I do being in it, through meditation, deep thinking, deep feeling. The time spent on this is immeasurable (a word?) - time does not equal money. How little money can we exist on? How to simplify so that basic needs are met, leaving room for art-making, play, deep reverie. A longing for one-ness with the universe, the Divine, the source, the thread connecting all I do. Sometimes we seek outside of ourselves to fill this emptiness, this loneliness felt deep within our soul, but outside sources can never fill this bottomless pit. Instead we need to recognize our yearning for what it truly is, a search for source, a longing for re-connection with our Divine self.

In process - acrylic and pastel on masonite - 48" x 48"

When we realize this - that our heart-home lies always within reach and that our true home is always within ourselves, we are home, we are blessed, we are free.

"I love the ground whereon he stands." From the song "Black Is The Colour" by Marcy D'arcy & The Prodigal Sons

Musical Ambiance: Women of the World Celtic II

The Time Is Now

Sometimes its sooooo hard to calm down and focus on painting, often due to feeling the pressure of everything else I have to do - I'm sure you know what I mean! How I Calm & Center (a really quick meditation that WORKS!)

Close my eyes. Deep breath. Sit with eyes closed, just listening. Breathing deeply. Relaxing my body. Checking in and asking, "How do I feel?" Picking music that fits my mood (eg. The album "Flow, River of My Soul" by Single Gun Theory) Letting the music energize and sweep me up. And I'm OFF and painting!!!

"The time is now." From the song "Transmission" by Single Gun Theory

In process - acrylic & charcoal on masonite - 48" x 48"

"Thank you forces of good, Thank you positivity, Thank you, joy." From the song "Metaphysical" by Single Gun Theory

The best feeling: like anything is possible!

Musical Ambiance: Flow, River of My Soul by Single Gun Theory