Autumn You And Me

Originally done Live on Insight Timer, a talk and small meditation on Autumn. Shorter daylight yet brighter stars. Sharing tips on self-care a time to nourish the earthly body. Topic of Seasonal Affective Disorder S.A.D. that happens during certain seasons of the year such as less daylight may trigger a chemical change in the brain leading to symptoms of mood, appetite and sleep that mirrors depression. So let's look what autumn is naturally revealing to us so we can flow.

Transcript

Welcome to this guided meditation called Autumn You and Me.

Let's begin,

So please get seated or lay down fully if you wish.

Let's meditate and close those eyes,

Thank you.

Empty the mind ten seconds now.

Imagine the next breath in still belongs to summer.

Remembering such a warmth and heat to this breath going in and out.

Yet the body laughs yin and yang.

Therefore hot summer days were balanced out with cool icy drinks.

Now imagine a new autumn breath goes in and out of you.

Autumn air is profoundly deep and fresh.

Breathe again the magic that autumn wishes you to know.

Being born this time of year is good.

Research shows autumn babies live longer.

The immune system is strengthened by cooler fresh air.

But what about the abundance of natural color?

One autumn tree alone can disperse thousands of bright bold chakra colors in beautiful shaped leaves that we are captured in color therapy and also touches our inner child that loves to play and sees the magic of life.

Things look messy in autumn but in a glorious celebrated style.

Seasonal food,

Now this is where the heat comes in,

The balance and comfort of yin and yang.

Warmer foods like bowls of soup,

Hearty stews and home baking fills it in a mindfulness magical way.

Some of the foods are quite old recipes passed down the family tree.

And when the clock goes back one hour in autumn,

Hence an extra hour in bed,

Heart problems drop during autumn for sleep is a natural balance.

Now with less sunshine we can counteract the lack of vitamin D that sunshine makes on the skin and increase the foods that are rich in them,

Such as eggs,

Fish and vegetables.

Autumn mumps may trigger mild weight gain due to lower levels of that vitamin D because it breaks down the body fats.

Although this would be great for any outdoor animals.

So looking at the bigger picture,

A lack of sunlight can lower serotonin levels which is linked to the hormone in the body that affects moods and appetite and sleep and so mirrors depression.

Now is the time to see what autumn is trying to show you and bless you with.

If it's dark yet early it makes no sense to be outdoors and so we focus indoor to become active at home,

Adapt your eating habits and stick to sleep patterns.

And whilst we are proactively looking to cheer ourselves up,

Becoming attuned to autumn,

There may be the gift of cheering up others around you,

Including house pets,

Even the garden birds looking for that support.

Remember the home is a vital most important thing to your life,

Your energies,

The privacy of self-nurturing and growth,

The bigger picture.

Sometimes we have an energy cleanse like doing our chakras and that can include the energy cleanse of your home.

So the autumn opportunity is to fill it up,

This bigger temple,

The home,

With love and light,

Warmth and colour and creativity that we can do so well.

Autumn used to be called harvest,

This season which included the harvest moon.

With less sunshine the moon becomes that new friend.

Moon is all about feminine energy.

The Japanese for example called the period around the autumnal and vernal springtime equinoxes Haigen.

There is a saying that goes both the heat and cold end with Haigen.

Haigen lasts for seven days,

Beginning three days prior to the equinox and ending three days after it.

It occurs only twice a year,

Once when the winter temperatures give way to spring and again when the heat subsides and the cool air of autumn is with us.

Haigen has Buddhist origin and means the other side of the river of death.

This side of the river is the world where we live and the other side is the realm where the souls of those who have passed away dwell.

So visiting traditionally to the family grave,

Cleaning the tombstone,

Fresh flowers and even food,

Also burning incense and praying.

The fantasy dress party has happened too.

Has not every child been so excited of a once a year Halloween of trick-and-treat?

Swiftly follows traditionally celebrating the Day of the Dead,

The popular Mexican holiday on November the 1st and 2nd.

This is a 3,

000 year old Aztec death ritual.

Remembering these dead with family members providing again food,

Water and tools to be aid,

They deceased in their journey to Mitlan,

The final resting place.

So dark nights begin.

Every star you see with your naked eye in the sky is bigger and brighter than the Sun itself.

The autumn star called For Mahalt appears unusually distant from other bright stars in the sky,

Leading to its other nickname,

The Loneliest Star.

Since this star is so low and lonely and is so bright and often wildly twinkles in the atmosphere,

From this single autumn star comes many constellations.

The brightness of the zodiac constellation of Aquarius,

Aries and Pisces and the constellations of the Pisces family,

Adronima,

Cassiopeia,

Pegasus and so on.

The stars are a part of the universe and we as humans are connected to the universe.

Now sometimes the moon shines so bright it looks like an incredible Sun and we're able to look it straight in the eye and bathe in moonlight making personal wishes.

Now back to harvest,

Its meaning of farmers were ready to collect their fully ripe produce in huge abundance and this caused a celebration of singing,

Of dancing and prayers of gratitude.

Bonfires and pumpkins started back to ancient Celtic festivals 2,

000 years ago from Ireland,

England and France.

We must remember we rely on Earth for all our needs.

Now with early dark nights an opportunity to re-look at home activities.

I love this pagan point of view that festive food dishes designed to honor the earth and harvest like grains,

Bread,

Wine and vegetables.

It's also the perfect time to clean your home from top to bottom in preparation for winter and bless every room as you go.

So if you are like me you're at home these extra dark autumn hours,

Beyond work but our passions for creativity,

Cold hobbies,

Crafting,

Lots of skills,

Things we are good at can come alive again.

And if we have a garden then cozy fires and mindfulness in a form of deep relaxation with the company of nature pets and lighting the pure white flame of candles and enter the magic of this time of year.

As for self-nurture the coziness of softer clothes from head to feet,

Colorful scarves,

Hats,

Gloves and dress for the season so you can still enjoy it.

A little home baking makes the home smell mindfully gorgeous.

Bring some colorful leaves into windowsills let them glow inside.

Remember we have chakras that are colors of energy.

Bedrooms the bed can look so cute and cozy.

I'm sure our inner child is smiling at the warmth and furry softness of it all.

Grab a hot water bottle under your coat and have a cold walk with it outside.

Connect to yin and yang.

Keeping fit indoors or outdoors and grounding and strengthening and releasing endorphins.

So when the body feels strong the mind feels strong too.

Looking after your feet with a foot bath followed with self-massage and you will notice a great change looking after them.

The map of the feet connect to all your body your organs and all your senses.

Now let's have a fun autumn leave chakra blessing meditation.

Imagine you are standing tall dressed from head to toe in white outside.

There is a perfect row of autumn trees in front of you.

The first tree is full of fiery red leaves.

Every leaf is in a star shape naturally.

Then a cool fresh breeze blows and blows on your face.

Your eyes look up and watch the leaves fall on top of you.

Surrounded in red the color is amazing.

Breathing out long this bright red energy.

Then push your feet through a flower of red leaves up to the next tree full of bright orange leaves all shaped in hearts naturally.

A fresh wind blows and blows on your face.

Then all the leaves drop on you.

Your eyes love this blurry heart-shaped vision of bright orange.

Breathing out long this bright orange energy.

You rush and push through the bright orange leaves to the next autumn tree.

A fierce strong wind blasts excitingly onto your face.

This tree holds golden yellow leaves all in oval shapes naturally.

And they all fall on you.

It is so bright,

So golden yellow.

Breathing out long with golden yellow energy.

And as you walk home to the warmth and coziness of your home,

Your temple,

You just know you have been touched by color.

That you have been blessed by the autumn trees.

And a smile,

An energy smile fills your aura.

Telling you that your life force energy feels so good in autumn.

Give a smile too for the animal kingdom.

Remembering how the geese fly loud and proudly like a shooting arrow up to 3,

400 miles all the way to their abundant new homes where all their needs are met.

And that delicate monarch butterfly.

Just see this butterfly for a moment on your hand.

And just know this little beauty will also travel up to 2,

500 miles for their needs to be met too.

Now smile at this last miracle of the animal kingdom whose name includes the word God.

A nine-day journey with no sleep,

No food,

No drink.

This bird is called Bar-Tailed Godwit.

Flying 6,

835 miles for their needs met.

And now think of the great warmth of autumn yourself.

Its history,

Rituals,

Magic,

Stars,

Celebration,

Universal soul connection.

And your body will be pampered and all your needs met.

Crafting,

Creating,

Self-nurturing.

So breathe into the heart of autumn and your heart connected to the cycle of life.

Seal this all in with an autumn magical blessing.

At the count of three,

Open your beautiful eyes.

One,

Two,

Three.

Eyes open bright.