The Feminine Energy & 2012

January 2nd, 2012

My interest in the Mayan architecture has been growing as I have been reading a number of books regarding the end of the Mayan calendar as predicted to be on December 21, 2012.  What does this all mean you may be wondering as I have?  Well, as predicted by the Mayans, it is the end of 13,000 years of the masculine dominated energies of the earth and the beginning, or rise of the feminine, or the Great Mother energies.

Drunvalo Melchizedek talks about his following the relocation of the earth’s energetic chakras in his book, Serpent of Light: Beyond 2012 – The Movement of the Earth’s Kundalini and the Rise of the Female Light, through a ‘Serpent of Light’ energy that shows how the spiritual centres of the world shifted from ancient Lemuria, to Atlantis, to Tibet, to Mexico where the Maya located (with Atlantian ansestors) and has now shifted to the Andes Mountains in Chile, which is becoming the next major spiritual centre of the world.

Drunvalo talks about his journey in awakening and helping to balance the rising goddess energy with various ceremonies with different indigenous cultures throughout the 1980′s to the 1990’s in a fascinating, spiritual, action-thriller, way of describing his experiences.  It is easy to read and I do recommend it – if only to open your mind more to trusting your intuition and allow synchronicities happen.  His main message is one of how he has learned to live with his heart open and to trust the spiritual wisdom that he can ‘hear’ within.  This is an important message for all of us that is also deeply reiterated in Dr Christine Page’s work!

“For the first time in 26,000 years the sun is most closely aligned to the Galactic Center, the heart of the Great Mother, the entry point to the abundant Source of all life or Ocean of Possibilities. This is what we’ve been waiting for; to create a world of unity and harmony where Heaven and Earth meet in a sacred marriage. All we need to fulfill our destiny is clarity of focus and the power to transform our insights into manifestation.”

- Dr Christine Page

Here also is a link from Ken Pages website describing some of the above journey’s that he undertook along with his Uncle Drunvalo (its a few hours worth of reading – very good too); http://www.kenpage.com/articles/yucatan.html

I met Dr Christine Page, in 1995 at my first intuitive wisdom workshop that initiated a profound spiritual awakening for me at the time that I will never forget.  Dr Page has written a very clear and grounded book called,  2012 and the Galactic Center: The Return of the Great Mother. She talks about the rise of the Great Feminine, how we are coming into alignment with a great galactic cosmic galaxy that is also the source of our interconnected consciousness.  And how there is a real need to own our shadow, unconscious aspects as this is a time that is about integrating a fusion of our polarities. She stresses that it is important to learn how to follow and live from and through your heart as the tendencies in this time of great Chaos is to react from fear, which will only serve to lift you away from the greater truth or reality of what is truly occurring.

Dr Page recommends that we do what we can to root or ground ourselves as much as we can to handle the increasing frequencies of chaos & change that his new Age of Aquarius is calling us to do.  We need to learn how to resist the pull of the speeding up in these times and find ways to help ourselves slow down and live more simply. This becomes a conscious choice daily. Click here on this link for more info in my blog about this phenomena and what you can do to help yourself handle the overwhelm, anxiety and fears that will continue to increase in your life this coming year.

Dr Page believes that we are here ultimately to feel and be a continuous expression of Joy!  I am considering bringing her here to do a workshop on Spirit Mapping if there is enough interest. Here is an audio MP3 link to an interview with her regarding the 2012 book or click this youtube video link.  Please let me know if this might interest you.

The solar system (* SS) in the spiral arms or limbs of the galaxy.

The third limb, counting outwards from the center, is called the Orion limb.

Distance from the SS to the galactic center (GC), about 24,000 light-years.

Full span of limbs, about 30-32,000 LY.

The view is foreshortened, making the outer limb look larger.

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Sacred Temples as Energy Conduits

January 2nd, 2012

Seed of Knowledge, Stone of Plenty

I had done some reading in a book before I left on a trip to visit Mayan temples in December 2011, about sacred temple sites called, Seed of Knowledge, Stone of Plenty, Understanding the Lost Technology of the Ancient Megalith-Builders, by John Burke & Kaj Halberg.  This was a fascinating description of their journey over several years, exploring these ancient, sacred sites and discovering how many of these sites were built to harness Nature’s electromagnetic energy to powerfully enhance seeds for the crop yields of their communities.  Burke even met Mayan’s on his travels who would still do this to this day.

He discovered that communities would begin by building these structures during desperate times of famine first and then they would build their own personal residences, after which their societies would flourish and be richer than any other’s around them without the temples, henges, pyramids or mounds at their centre.  Burke & Hlaberg tested these sites with electromagnetic readers and did various tests with seeds showing photographs of substantial differences between “untreated” seeds and those that were placed on top of the temples.  They also offer details of how they did this so that the reader can follow up to verify for themselves that this is possible.  Here is a link of some excellent photographs from the book.

Contemporary Mayan maize seedlings (@11 days) grown at Tikal. Samples had been placed on top of the “Lost World” pyramid on a morning with extremely powerful electrical activity

Archaeoastronomy

I have been aware for a number of years of the way that sacred temple sites were built in alignment with the cosmos – the stars & planets.  Sometimes, like giant sundials, these structures were carefully organized to mark the exact moment of the equinoxes and solstices as well as sometimes including the cross quarter nodes.

Astronomically aligned, the Great Pyramid at Giza in Egypt was carinally orientated with great accuracy and  the Maya Palace of the Governor at Uxmal in Yucatan was aligned with the planet Venus. The study of the cosmic alignment of these sacred temples is called Archaeoastronomy.

“….knowing seasonal durations and transitions was vital to success in hunting migratory prey, planting crops and harvesting them. Archaeoastronomy draws on several scientific disciplines, primarily astronomy, archaeology, anthropology, psychology and epigraphy, the decoding of ancient inscriptions.”  www.archaeoastronomy.com

“The five major pyramids of Tikal were all constructed within a 40-year period beginning in the mid-eighth century A.D., apparently as part of an ingeniously designed astronomical matrix.
The sight-line between Temple I and Temple IV (the highest of the pyramids) marks the sunset position on August 13, whereas the sunrise position at the winter solstice is perpetuated in the sight-tine between Temple IV and Temple III. Because Temple I and Temple III are sited due east-west of each other, they mark sunrise and sunset alignments at the equinoxes. Although there was no star located directly above the earth’s pole of rotation in Maya times, a sight-line from Temple V to Temple II appears to have marked the most westerly position of the Maya’s equivalent to a polestar, Kochab.”
http://www.world-mysteries.com/alignments/mpl_al2c.htm

As I understand it, when ceremonies where held at these auspicious moments, the specific energies that were in alignment with a specific cosmic planet or star would enhance the conscious intentions of what the ceremony would be requesting.  Now I am understanding that there was also an energetic science that the shamans understood that would enhance the crop seeds as well.

I find that there is still is so much too learn to understand the full potential of creating buildings that include the invisible worlds of nature, earth energies and cosmic energies.

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Mayan Temples

January 2nd, 2012

My Mom & I + Detail at Altun Ha, Belize

I visited a couple of Mayan ruin sites last month during my Caribbean holiday with my mother in December 2011.  I had a few unique energetic experiences that I’d like to share.

Altun Ha Temple, Belize

When I stood on top of one of the Altun Ha temples, (near the city of Belize, in the country of Belize, just south of east coast of Mexico), I found myself feeling a figure 8 energy where I was standing at the apex which was through my heart, at the centre of the 8.  The bottom half was going through the temple and the top half was in the air.

It felt like a circulating male/female energy looping that was bringing balance into my body.  Then I started to imagine it as more of a 3D torus shape rotating in a circle around me.  This was fascinating to feel and see with my third eye, as I was truly not expecting this and had not read anything about this possibility beforehand.  It felt exhilarating.

San Gervasio, Cozamel

I also visited another Mayan sacred site on the island of Cozamel a couple of days later, (just off the east coast of Mexico), called San Gervasio.  This island was revered by the Mayan’s as a goddess temple for the Goddess IxChel. There was a round mound of stones in one area that was rather unusual and as I stood on top of it, I could feel such a strong pull in my Uterus towards the earth.  Like there was a heavy magnetic pull that was grounding me in a way that I never have ever experienced.  It was incredible to feel this difference on top of  one side of it and no where else in the entire complex.  I didn’t know why or what it meant at the time, until I started writing this blog and did some further research (read more below), but I do know that there was a real, definite energetic difference in my body.

The buildings were made with stone and then plastered on top.  Some of the roofs appeared to have been made from tall arches with smaller rounded stones. Some of the buildings still had original colours on it of reds & blues. They must have been beautifully painted with earth plasters.

Later on, as I was walking throughout the various small buildings (they were built differently than the typical Mayan temples, all one storey small temple like buildings or residences), I suddenly sprained my right ankle.  It forced me to sit down on the ground and with my new healer/friend, Tracey (who was also teaching me a form of meditation at sunrise each day on the cruise called Sahaja of which I highly recommend its’ free online courses).  Tracey immediately began doing a form of Reiki on my ankle and I found myself channelling energy from the ground through my left hand into the ankle.  Tracey guided me through this process and I feel that my ankle was not nearly as bad as it should have been considering the intensity of the pain when I first fell over.

It was a miracle that I could even walk out of there and hobble along for the rest of the day.  I feel that the something in the energy of this site was brought through me to heal me and be blessed by the spirit of the land here.  This area was where the women only apparently came once a year to honour their goddesses.  I had never heard about this before and was in awe that I stumbled upon this as it is not written about in any of the marketing literature about the Mayan temples that I had seen briefly beforehand nor had I intended to visit it.  We just happened to be driving by on a tour of the island in a rented VW convertible (rented from a company called ‘Isis’ – the egyptian goddess! who turns out to be a very similar goddess to this island’s IxChel goddess)  Fascinating how synchronicities continue to abound!

In writing this blog, I have been trying to find out more about the goddess energy in the Mayan culture.  I found a few other links that may interest you about the feminine presence in the Mayan architecture;

“Although the more famous sites of the Mayan Goddess IxChel are on the Caribbean islands Cozamel and Isla Mujeres, we discovered a strong Sacred Feminine presence in Yucatan. Just as the underground channels hide abundant water, the land and sites here conceal the Goddess; but gladly reveal her energies to those who really look”. – Leonide Martin, author of Dreaming the Maya Fifth Sun: A Novel of Maya Wisdom and the 2012 Shift in Consciousness

“Located on Mexico’s largest island, Cozumel, San Gervasio was the island’s ancient Maya capital and ceremonial center dedicated to the goddess, Ixchel. She was viewed as the mother of all other gods, along with being the goddess of fertility, childbirth, the moon and rainbows. Women from all over mainland Mesoamerica were expected, sometime during their lifetime, to make the dangerous 12-mile pilgrimage by sea in a dug-out canoe from mainland Mexico to Cozumel to honor her..”

“Numerous religious temples were dedicated to the goddess Ixchel and in response, the goddess Ixchel sent to the Mayans, her favourite bird as a symbol of gratitude. That is why the Mayans named Cozumel as the island of the swallows.”

“As an ancient fertility goddess, Ix-Chel was responsible for sending rain to nourish the crops. When fulfilling that function she was called “Lady Rainbow”.  She helped insure fertility by overturning her sacred womb jar so that the waters would flow.

Though sometimes depicted as a goddess of catastrophe (the woman who stands by as the world floods), many of her myths show her in a more benevolent light—as a goddess who refused to become a victim of oppression [by men].

This was a woman who, when faced with adversity, took charge of her life and turned it around!

Many nights she spent on her sacred island (Cozumel) nursing women during their pregnancies and childbirth. Ix-Chel, like other moon goddesses, governed women’s reproductive systems so it was quite understandable that she would become the protector of women during pregnancy and labor

Ix-Chel encourages us to acknowledge the negative forces affecting our lives. And she prompts us to assert ourselves fully in the face of physical or emotional violence that would diminish our sense of self”.

“At her sacred temple, she was worshipped on the 6th day of the moon with a special ceremony that honored and celebrated her powers of medicine and magic.


In her myths, Ixchel was married, but she came and went as she pleased and had other lovers. When she got fed up with the jealousy of her lovers, she made herself invisible to them and spent her nights assisting women in childbirth. As protector of mothers and children, she is often depicted as a maiden with a rabbit, a symbol of fertility and abundance across the world.”

After reading the above research I feel now that I was truly guided to visit this profound temple and that I was genuinely blessed by the goddess and only feel gratitude for what I received on that journey.  Notice how the left hand is on the ground in the photograph of the goddess above, just like how I channeled energy from the ground when I sprained my ankle to heal it.  I was sitting exactly like this picture above!!!!! My ankle has healed remarkably fast and has taught me how much I truly need to continue to open up to all the love and abundance that is there around me, all the time, through the wounding in my masculine inner and outer worlds (right ankle wounded = masculine aspect).

Thank you Goddess Ixchel!  You have become a new spiritual guide for me for 2012!

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Straw Bale in China & the Hakka Tulou – Multi-Unit Round Straw Bale Housing

December 5th, 2011

Hakka Tulou - Round straw clay multi-unit housing.

Recently I was in Toronto to see a fantastic talk on Straw Bale Building in China co-hosted by the OSBBC and Chris Magwood  & Jen Feigin of the Endeaver Centre.  It was so fascinating to see their experiences of working with straw bales in building.  They are producing 700 new straw bale homes a year, increasing to 1500 next year as I thought I heard!!  Can you imagine!  It’s a straw bale building boom there!

They have a limit on how much wood they can use due to their limited resources – so they have been investigating other methods.  They often use concrete frame for their structure and then use straw bale wall systems for the exterior walls.

Interior of a Tolu Haaku

Interior of a Hakka Tulou

They showed some history of straw bale buildings and there was one particular example I thought worth noting.  The Hakka Tulou – They are now listed as heritage buildings –  an incredible number of enormous, 3 – 6 story round building complexes, some housing up to 800 people each, whose walls are made of straw mixed with clay.  These buildings were built between the 13th and 20th centuries!!  Some of these buildings are hundreds of years old to this day!  They were built in square, rectangular, pentagonal and about 360 were in a circular shape (one is oval).  The square shapes were the earlier buildings and over time, they realized that the darkened corners were not a problem anymore when the buildings were made round.  So the newer, more evolved buildings are all round. Each building was like a little village having their own characteristics.  Families would take two to three rooms per floor and would own a vertical section – like a modern townhouse complex.  Often nestled into the landscapes following the natural curvatures, they were designed to be in harmony with its surroundings.

Fujian Tulou

Often the ground floor had the kitchen with livestock, the second floor held grains & other food stuff and the higher levels were for living.  There are wells & complex drainage systems.  They were designed for maximum defensive protection.  Few windows on the outside, all the focus & decoration was on the inside with windows and balconies.  The outer walls were often a full metre thick with slots for rifles, etc. to protect.  The entrance is bolted with a very heavy door.  If they were attacked, they could stay inside for a very long time with the stores of food they had.

Fujian Tulou (China), 46 multi-storey earthen houses

“Fujian Tolou is property of 46 buildings constructed between the 15th and 20th centuries over 120 km in south-west of Fujian province, inland from the Taiwan Strait”

Fujian Tolou Interior

Click here for more info and links on these buildings;

http://www.chinabackpacker.info/dest/d70.html

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1113/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fujian_Tulou

Now, wouldn’t you rather live in a 2012 version of one if these than in a concrete high rise??  If so, email me at info@somaearth.com and I will start a hub for people interested in living in a multi-unit, straw bale/clay  eco-village close to a city centre, yet also close to a nature area.

Hakku Tolou Exterior

Exterior of a Hakku Tolou, built in 1308 of the Yuan dynasty by the Liu clan

“Yuchanglou Lou is a five-storey tulou located at Nangjing county Shuyang district Xiabanliao village. It was built in 1308 Yuan dynasty by the Liu family clan. It is one of the oldest and tallest tulou in China. Yuchanglou has been nicknamed the “zigzag building”, because the vertical wooden post structure is not straight and perpendicular, but zigzags left and right. It was built that way due to an error measuring the building materials. But in spite of this apparent infirmity, this tall tulou withstood 700 hundred years of natural elements and social turmoil. Yuchanglou’s outer ring is 36 m in diameter and boasts five storeys, with 50 rooms on each floor.

Each of the 25 kitchens on the ground floor at the back half of the circle has a private water well beside its stove. This is the only tulou in all Fujian with such convenient water supply.” – From Wikipedia

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Meet Michael Pawlyn : Using nature’s genius in architecture

November 22nd, 2011

And now for something completely different.

How can Architects build a new world of sustainable beauty? By learning from nature. At TEDSalon in London, Michael Pawlyn describes three habits of nature that could transform architecture and society:

  • radical resource efficiency
  • closed loops
  • drawing energy from the sun

Michael Pawlyn: Using nature's genius in architecture
Michael Pawlyn: Using nature’s genius in architecture
This is an incredibly inspiring 17 minute video.  If you want to have a glimpse of where the future is going, click on the above picture link and learn more about;
  • Biomimicry as an inspiration for creating buildings
  • How to change a fossil fuel dependent economy to a Solar Economy
  • Creating smart buildings that are hydrophilic
  • Be amazed at how a building can actually heal the environment from desertization

Here are a few of his beautiful buildings inspired by Nature;

Wood Green Animal Shelter Education Building

Wood Green Animal Shelter Education Building

There are a huge number of examples in nature of using shape to create robust structures with a minimum of materials – corrugated forms, shells and ribbed leafs are good examples.  This Education Building for Wood Green Animal Shelter is based on a timber grid-shell built entirely out of small sections of timber. It achieves the strength necessary through its curved forms that create stiffness with a minimum of materials.
Douglas River Bridge
Douglas River Bridge

Biodiversity

This bridge proposal would be the first of its type in the world; combining a revolutionary lightweight technology with a continuos biodiversity link. The lines of the bridge are deliberately simple and understated, eschewing the use of complicated solutions that typified much of bridge design of the late twentieth century.

The bridge is designed with an absolute minimum of resources using a pioneering new approach to creating lightweight structures.  Relatively small steel elements are combined with a pressurised air beam such that the compression member is stabilised and the necessary structural depth is created.  It is deliberately designed to be a structure of its time, marking the advent of the sustainability revolution -     a period in which design approaches will change radically as we learn how to do more with less.
The Sahara Forest Project
The Sahara Forest Project

The Sahara Forest Project combines two proven technologies in a new way to create multiple benefits: producing large amounts of renewable energy, food and water as well as reversing desertification. A major element of the proposal is the Seawater Greenhouse – a brilliant invention that creates a cool growing environment in hot parts of the world and is a net producer of distilled water from seawater. The second technology, Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) involves concentrating the sun’s heat to create steam that drives conventional turbines, producing zero carbon electricity twice as efficiently as photovoltaics. The two technologies have very promising synergies that make the economic case even more attractive
Here also is a link to Michael’s Website – Enjoy!
www.exploration-architecture.com

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Straw bale (Music) Dome in Forstmehren, Germany

August 12th, 2011

The below excerpt was found on this website; http://www.strawtec.com.au/page.php?id=21

Thought it might interest some of you…..

Straw bale (Music) Dome in Forstmehren, Germany.

This exceptional strawbale building will be used as a sound studio or music-dome where voice development & music seminars as well as concerts are to be held. The musician and owner of the dome explains that the special acoustic properties of domes are due to the sound being distributed very evenly as the waves travel around the room.

The strawbale dome measures 8.20 metres in diameter, is about 5 metres high, with an opening of 1.8 metres on the top from where a skylight provides plenty of daylight. It has been built using a construction of laminated beams and plywood strips with the strawbales placed in-between this structure. Even the floor is built with strawbales; they are positioned on pallets and particle boards are freely swimming on top.

Internal walls are completely rendered with clay whereas only one coat of clay render has been applied on the outside. The dome has been covered with a very tough waterproof membrane and vines are to grow over the bright blue fabric.

With the brick foundation hidden by earth and the vines growing over the structure this building will soon blend in perfectly with nature. Prof. Minke (author of the Earth Construction Handbook), together with his research assistant Friedemann Mahlke and a team of architecture students from the University of Kassel, Germany http://www.uni-kassel.de/fb6/fachgebiete/feb/ designed, planned and built this structure. They were helped by Frank Thomas, the owners and clay rendering & finishes specialist Manfred Fahnert. Prof. G. Minke has built more than 20 domes, mainly from mud bricks, rammed earth and earth bags however, this is the first strawbale dome or music dome he and his team have realised and probably the first strawbale dome to be found in Europe.

Here also is an incredible link to a FREE downloadable ~200 page book by Minke called ‘Building with Earth‘;  http://www.scribd.com/doc/6694182/Building-With-Earth Very inspiring projects with great photographs!  Enjoy!

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My Organic Garden

June 3rd, 2011

Adding the Coriander!

I am in awe and in love with my new organic vegetable garden!

Garden Layout

We designed it originally as a vesica pieces shape – 2 overlapping circles. But over time, we decided that is wasn`t practical in terms of planting and lay-out for our area.  So we compromised with an L shape to the garden that is based loosely on harmonic proportions.  We added a square in the centre to include the sacred geometry principle of overlapping shapes to enhance the energies.  And we added small rectangular stones to the outside corners on the ground in a `pinwheel` pattern that also enhances the energetic flow of the garden in a clockwise direction.

Seeds starting to Sprout from the `Cottage Gardner Co.`

Seeds Sprouting over several weeks time in our homemade make shift greenhouse!

We grew organic heirloom seeds in egg cartons and put them into the garden on the May 21st Weekend.  We have planted a variety of herbs along with lettuce, spinach, fennel, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, corn, peas, a variety of beans, bok choi, kale, melon, yam, squash and zucchini!  We built a small whimsical fence out of cedar from our land with various stones and crystals on top of the posts.

Crystal post cap

The Coriander Soldiers!

The Entire Garden Planted!

Farmer Brad - Garden Designer, Digger & Planter!

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First Straw Bale House Retrofit in Toronto 2011

June 3rd, 2011
Toronto Straw Bale House Retrofit

Preliminary 3D design sketch of Toronto Straw Bale House Retrofit Addition at top & rear!

Existing one story brick bungalow

On April 8, 2911, we received a permit to start the building of the FIRST STRAW BALE HOUSE RETROFIT in the heart of the City of Toronto (in North York at Eglington & Allen Road Expressway)!

This project is a retrofit of a second story straw bale addition on top of an existing post-war brick bungalow, as well as a rear straw bale addition.  The foundation is will be made with Nudura ICF forms.  These forms minimize concrete use as well as provide extra insulation as the formwork that stays in place.  We will be adding an additional interior wall to increase the insulation in the basement.  The exterior finish will be an earth plaster made with clay found on site – called ‘Wild Dirt’ – with a potassium silicate paint that acts much like a gortex raincoat.

Foundation poured with second floor trusses stacked in the background

Last week the rear addition was poured.  In the rear of the above photo, you can see the 14“ wood trusses stacked and ready to be installed.

Framing without roof sheathing or shingles

Framing without roof sheathing or shingles

This week the roof has come off the existing ground floor.  Rather exciting to expose the site to the elements finally.  Now the sill plates get attached before the floor joists are added…..

Roof Gone!

Roof Gone!

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GRANDFATHER TREES CALLING ME TO A NEW HOME

April 20th, 2011

One day a couple of summers ago, I found myself on an island off of Tofino, the furthest point west of Vancouver Island and the furthest west of North America that I have ever been.  I was sitting at the base of the largest tree in Canada.  I was told it was some 800 years old.  I was meditating with the tree and found myself hearing a deep pulse, a rhythm that was profound and strong.  He was the grandfather tree of the whole island, but his pulse reached farther than that.  It felt like his pulse had called me all the way from Toronto, just to find my way to meet him.  To listen to what he had to say and teach me.  I learned that all living things have their own pulse, their own particular rhythm or frequency.  Together we are all interconnected into one beautiful, grand symphony of sound.  It was a wonderful thing to experience it from the vantage point of this great tree.

From that moment on, I felt a much deeper affinity with trees.  When I felt disconnected within myself, all I need to do is to place my hand on a tree, or lean against it, connect with the rhythm or pulse of the tree, feel its roots deep down, it’s strength in its trunk and the stretching of it’s trees towards the sun.  When I breathe with that for awhile, I start to feel more whole and connected again.  And more inter-connected with Nature and all of its mystery.

Listening to this deep call, pulled me out of the city finally a year later, to a property that is full of large trees.  And as I sit here writing on my laptop, I am facing the great grandfather tree of my new area here.  This tree is a great white pine, over 100’ tall and has a grand presence at the entrance to my land.  I feel his constant pulse and as I sleep at night I know that he is holding me in a way that allows me to feel more grounded and at peace, with him only about 30’ away from my bed and the large window that looks out directly at him.

Living here gives me both challenges and peace.  Challenges in learning how to live more simply in a smaller space.  And peace when I stop to pause and take in the natural beauty that surrounds me completely.  I have been renovating the small 3 season wood frame cottage into a 4 season winterized home.  The challenges have been in becoming my own contractor, rather than just a designer (Architect) drawing and directing the work.  Now I was actually running around, picking up building materials & supplies, hiring sub’s, as well as building things myself – while I was also running my office, designing and drafting projects out of one of the tiny bedrooms in my new cottage.  It has been a huge learning curve how to hold my balance during this time of great transition.

The deeper peace that I have been searching for within my soul has been slow in coming as for the first several months, the building has been so full and busy. Its part of the rhythm of change.  To allow the new in, one needs to let go of the old.  Sometimes there is a fair amount of chaos and disorder to adjust to that requires you to find a different way to hold your inner peace, remain centred, like the eye of calm in the centre of the storm.  The key to this is to truly know  yourself well and know when you are overwhelmed and ungrounded and to know that you can find new ways to bring yourself back.  Also to know that here are other people out there who are very good, skilled, guides that can help you better than what you might know or understand on your own.  It is important to take responsibility for yourself also by recognizing that you might need some assistance and to be able to reach out and ask for help when you need it.

Mother Earth Gaia

I have travelled in the realms of healing, self-growth, and holistic wellness for many years and have found several tools and techniques of how to do this which I will be sharing with you now in future writings. I feel there is a greater need for this more than ever because of the GREAT CHANGES that Mother Earth is calling us to transmute within to be with her in new ways to come into a greater balance and co-harmony with her.

To begin with, here is a link to an article I wrote several years ago on ‘Grounding Strategies for Overwhelmed Systems’.  You could also try a Bach Flower remedy that I have found recently that works wonderfully for overwhelm called ‘Elm’ of all things.  Figures doesn’t it!  The Elm tree would help for overwhELM!!!  No wonder I’ve moved to a land that is full of large, grounding trees!  Thanks Great White Pine!  I heard your call and now we are in a new, balanced, inter-connected relationship on a daily basis.

Elm Tree

And as it so happens, 2011 is the International Year of Forests!  So, when you feel disconnected, stressed or just plain frazzled, go find a tree and give it a great, big long hug. Not only will you start to feel different, it too will be feeling you!  You can literally change & shift your energy as your energy will RESONATE with the tree’s vibration.  This is truly healing!

May the Peace and Groundedness of many TREES Bless You All!

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Grounding Strategies for Overwhelmed Systems

April 20th, 2011


Ways to have one’s feet on the ground and remain centered and connected to the physical world.

  1. Focus on body awareness.  Learn how to feel your body;
      • Take body awareness classes such as Bioenergetic’s , Pilates, Yoga, and/or Focussing
      • Explore body therapies such as massage, Feldenkrais, Alexander technique.
      • Do regular physical exercise at least 3x/week.  Walking, running, biking, swimming, team sports – anything that gets you moving.
      • Rub or massage your legs, feet, hands, arms.  Use a loofa sponge or a natural brush and scrub your body vigorously. Use a brisk towel over your body after you bathe.

2.  Learn mindful awareness and live in the present moment. Read less – reading keeps you in your head. Become more body aware and focussed by being attentive to learning how to listen to your bodies’ messages by tracking your body sensations.Try to establish a consistent daily routine.  Structure and weekly rhythms really help when you feel periods of chaos or formlessness.  Don’t be hard on yourself for not being able to keep it all together. Be gentle with yourself.

3.  Eat regular, healthy, well-balanced meals. Stop all junk foods, caffeine, sugar, smoking, drugs and alcohol.  Increase your vegetable & protein intake – the most grounding being red meat.

4.  Increase your sleep, rest, and relaxation time. Consciously create space in your life to do quite, peaceful, restful activities.  Listen to calming music. Take baths. Nurture yourself.

5. Spend time with yourself. Become self-reflective and aware. Understand your patterns. Do therapy to learn how to make friends with your shadow side (the negative and/or unconscious parts of you).  Try to let your emotions be expressed rather than avoiding, resisting or struggling against them.

6.  Get away from the over-stimulation & electromagnetic energy congestion of the city.  Expose yourself to natural light as much as possible.  Find ways to connect with nature.  Hug or lean against a tree (it really does help!). Take the time to deeply breathe in purer air; soak your eyes in large expanses of greenery, blue sky’s; listen to the forest sound of birds, animals, wind; explore the smells of pine, fall leaves, etc. Expand your senses.

7.  Don’t watch or try to limit TV news (especially before going to sleep) or read newspapers, newsmagazines.  Ask yourself; how is this information helping me on a daily basis in my local environment or personal life?

8.  Concentrate on mundane (of this world) matters, the ‘details’ of life;

      • Cooking, cleaning your home – vacuuming, dishes, laundry, re-organizing..
      • Gardening – put your hands in the soil..
      • Chores, errands, grocery shopping, bookkeeping, bills….
      • Returning and/or making phone calls..

9.  Connect with someone, or a pet, whom you care deeply about. Spend quality time with them, touch them, hug them. Learn how to keep on reaching regardless of how unconnected or groundless you might feel.  Sometimes you can ground through others, or your connections with others.  Touching (heart and body) and being touched is very, very helpful and important.

10.  Meditate and/or pray daily. Some people meditate in ways the are about not being connected with the body.  Focus only on meditations that connect you with your breath and body awareness such as in many Buddhist meditations.

11.  Try aromatherapy oils such as sandlewood, pine, etc. – anything that has grounding elements such as in tree’s.  Or try lavender to help you calm down and relax.  Put some in a bath.  Add Epsom salts, baking soda to release negative toxins from the body.

12.  Find a creative and expressive outlet for your energy and your emotions, such as dance, art, music, etc.

13. Slow down and simplify your life. Plan to do only half the things on your list.  Walk to the store instead of driving. Practice being rather than doing.  Learn from children how to live and be in the present moment.

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