Into my 6th Month
It feels so much longer than five months. This time of year is always reflective to me , my year is more smaller cycles than 12 months where I have multiple ends and beginnings. As I feel more settled it is time to set intentions.
Stella (the cat) is loving living here and now neighbours are visiting her.
I couldn’t say I have completely let go of the awful experience of the first 3 months before coming here but I have been consistently working on noticing my mind wander into thinking about it. It has happened , so it is best just to let it happen once rather than continuously repeat what was atrocious behaviour of another.
My teacher guided me in sitting in stillness and being with what comes up , feeling whatever arises and let it be
My new sense of being in my power and having self respect allowed me to walk away but it wasn’t without pain, but now I feel safe and grounded something I have never felt before.
There is a wonderful poem or mantra by a 10th century Indian master Tilopa.
Six words of advice
Let be what has passed
Let be what may come
Let be what is happening now
Don’t try and figure anything out
Don’t try to make anything happen
Relax right now, and rest
I think it is a great contemplation for anytime especially through difficult times but also a great one for the coming end of summer.
We tend to overthink things and become addicted to something which happened through our thoughts which continuously go around in circles and each time becoming more and more intense and then difficult to let go.
I made my peace with the situation knowing the best antidote is moving on and being present.
Being in a “Dark Skies” part of Britain I am super excited about the dark nights drawing in. I have my binoculars and star chart ready for my upper floor living rooms provide far reaching views of Kielder Forest and a huge sky. Star gazing is one of things I am super interested but never get around to properly do.
There are things I need to explore to be able to sustain myself financially but I having been changing my old beliefs which to be honest are probably other peoples beliefs which I took on board. The way I am seeing things is being able to sustain the way of life I have and nothing more.
When I worked as a self employed construction consultant I spent days if not weeks over thinking not having any work coming in and when it did I was cross with myself for wasting time worrying about the future.
The work I have to do is to have more faith , stop over thinking the future and be present with what I do.
Hareshaw Linn
I think now nature is sitting in contemplation of its own creation. It is the cusp of change once more and in places that’s more apparent as the plants change colour or morph into something different.
September is harvest and reaping the rewards the of energy of love.
It is a time to rejoice the potential of life and what it can provide but also what you can give and share to others.
For myself the changes have a direct impact on me as I have aphantasia I cannot recall visual but that information is stored within me and when I paint those shapes and colours seem to come out magically. I am automatically drawn to earth colours and what I draw is like a scrambled mass of lines.
Being in nature has a profound affect on you subliminally as it does to me. It has a deep healing and soothing affect on your soul and when you can just be with it , you can begin the feel something very ancient within you.
Don’t be a gallery browser spending seconds looking at something and moving on , you have to immerse yourself , zoom in , zoom out , touch , smell and just gaze and when your mind wanders bring it back to looking. Take your time , if you feel compelled to move away just notice this and spend a bit more time with what you're with.
Re root your way of being with yourself by being slower and lingering with intention to something in nature.
Nature heals you through grounding you back to realness and soothes your nervous system.
This will be the last month when the woodland canopy is totally bright green letting light rays in and diffusing itself as it gets deeper. One by one the colours will change themselves and then again until there is a moment where you look with wonder how did it get like that .
Bull Crag Peninsular
My little punk rockers in the mosh pit. I get little confused with the different Thistle families and Knapweed , these are thistle as the differentiation is in the leaf , if its prickly then its Thistle.
If you were a Roman legionnaire sneaking up to a Scottish clan you may recognise the agony of stepping on a thistle raising the alarm. There were others in history which fell into their prey making the Thistle a national emblem.for Scotland of protection.
Thistles have many healing qualities and resonate deeply with our ancient past.
Some would say pick them in August or September full moon and maybe wear them to ward off feelings of dread. Maybe one on your lapel or carry in a small box but for me , a few in a small vase .
Remember it is good manners to ask the plant before you harvest them.
In early summer it is a riot of vibrancy which captures your attention distracting you away from everything else, that’s their job , right ! But late August things mellow as they mature which widens the awareness of the whole , there is something soothing about that.
It is fun seeking out little stories of nature here and there , whether its grasses transforming their colour , a thistle grasping hold of too many wishes or maybe one cow parsley has flower heads in different states which defies the understanding it is the light which always transforms things.
Bakethin Nature Reserve
This was the one of the last Clover flowers and the verges are now receding back ready to winter itself. I really like the Indian red flower petals there is something earthy and homely about them. I am not sure whether there is something else to come which adds to my excitement of a new place to live.
This months treat is so many variations of purple , lilac and crimsons in the offerings . This year has been the best for a long time for colour and now in anticipation for the change of colour as they come to their end of life this year. Although I always took photographs it was more about my mental health process to connect to nature this year I have added sharing and documenting every month whats here.
I see this as my gift to people as I know I am privileged to live in such a wonderland
The Goddess Kali came to my dream in April 2024 and asked me to show others what i see in nature and help people fall in love with the land, A good part of what I see is the beauty of everything especially the unseen; I guess that when you have been “the unseen” for a long time you tend to notice it yourself.
The instagrammable world reveres the perfect and awe inspiring but what is perfect and awe inspiring ? Do you let a rich tech bro define to you what is perfect , beautiful or awe inspiring or do you reach into your heart and see for yourself? Who cares if you see things differently , right !
Haven’t these plants perfectly transformed into something quite different , isnt this transformation awe inspiring ? Bringing curiosity into your life is strengthens your mindfulness as you make enquiry into what and how you connect to life.
I think Kali saw that in me and as a teaching from nature and mindfulness that there is no judgement.
Locally now along the verges of the woodland at the front of my home Blackberries are now ripened in places which is common for fruits to ripen over a period but I cannot remember it being so much at this time I harvested blackberries for ink last year in Nidderdale , North Yorkshire late September , I remember as it was early morning and it was a little frosty.
So coming next month I will be enjoying taking photographs of them , perhaps making a pie or two.
Blackberry picking when they are in abundance is a brilliant introduction to nature connection, seek out from others a good place and time to go and plan a day out with a picnic and by the end of day there is a bountiful harvest which you or with friends and family together can make jams and pies.
It is good to share your endeavours with gifting to others what nature has provided , the act of giving is kindness to another and that benefit grows bigger circles of sharing the gifts of nature. You have to remember that you are a gift of nature and that plants knows your ability of alchemy that’s why it taught us.
It is all in the feeling of something which connects you back to the energy of a place and in a western world where we dismiss feelings as weakness we miss the delight of nature as that is its true language.
Before I began to learn mindfulness I was a typical northern English man where everything was pushed back or ignored. Still now , feelings can be confusing and distracting but slowly it transforms, it opens up to intuition but most of all an ability to communicate with nature.
When you communicate with nature , which is heartfelt, nature shows you more and more of itself. The work is within you , there is a switch and it begins with an intention of healing and figuring yourself out. There are human guides and then there are nature guides and like anything there is a learning curve. so you need a motivation to keep you on path.
