“Revolve your life around summer and winter solstice and everything will be taken care of” – Yogi Bhajan
Prepare for some magical transformations tonight and tomorrow (Wednesday 2oth June – Thursday 21st June) as the Earth tilts directly towards the Sun – The Summer Solstice. This annual event marks the time when the Earth is most inclined towards the Sun; creating the day of the year with the longest period of daylight. (The word solstice derives from Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still).) Summer Solstice, often refered to as Midsummer, is an ancient festival, historically known as the central point of the magical year.
The Sun, representative of fire or action, is a powerful elemental force in its own right. But the June Solstice also marks the time of the Sun’s move into the water sign of Cancer. (The Sun actually stops on the Tropic of Cancer – having gone as far north as it is going to each year – before turning South again.) Cancer is ruled by the Moon, so Summer Solstice brings into force the Sun and the Moon – Fire and Water. Which is why people traditionally light fires the night before and stay up to bathe in the dew on day-break, the morning of Midsummer’s Day.
Summer Solstice is an opportunity to balance the feminine (mother/earth/moon/water) and masculine (father/sky/sun/fire) energies. The Sun God and Mother Goddess Earth are both in their greatest period of flourishing at this time. And you can utilise his fire energy to transform yourself, whilst harnessing her receiving nature to take root.
BELOW YOU’LL FIND HOW TO CREATE YOUR VERY OWN CEREMONY.
Create an altar or build a fire – both of which will encompass the Sun God’s FIRE. This is a time to celebrate the triumph of light over darkness in the individual – a return to wholeness, like nature. So draw the vision of the flame, of this transformative power into your very being. Take time to connect and feel and remember. You might also like to add summer flowers, scents and fruits.
Reassess. This is the mid-point of the year. Are you following the path you carved at the beginning of the year? Are you off track? Are there things you still want to accomplish or change by the end of the year? What needs to happen in order for you to do this? Take some time to reassess. Then write your intentions in summary on a small piece of paper and set this ablaze in the fire!
Manifest. After watching your intentions be fuelled by the sun god’s fire, meditate and let your mind dream. Dream big! Imagine yourself shining like the sun!
Meditate. Let go! You might like to follow this meditation to find balance and open up to receive, harnessing the potency of the fire (representative of the sun) and then offering your prayers to the great mother/feminine to take care of you. You might also choose to begin a 40 day personal practice (sadhana) to actualise those intensions. It is said to take 40 days to break a habit!
The Divine Shield Meditation for Protection and Positivity
The compassion of the Universe uplifts and expands you. It provides a Divine Shield to accompany you through your trials and tribulations. This meditation does exactly that. If you make it a regular practice, you will become positive, fearless, and happy. Nothing will stop you as you pursue your goals. It will eliminate the feeling of loneliness and separation from your soul.
In this meditation the sound of Maaa calls on compassion and protection. It is the sound that a baby uses to call on the mother. Here, your soul is the child, and the Universe becomes the Mother. If you call, She will come to your aid and comfort.
It is difficult to focus on your higher feelings and sensitivity if you feel fearful and unprotected.
If the Universe seems hostile, uncaring, and non-responsive it is easy to become filled with cynicism, despair, and hopelessness. In that depressed state it is impossible to sense the fullness and possibilities of life. It is very difficult to solve the very problems that upset you.
Those feelings occur when the aura that surrounds the body is weak and small. The human aura can extend out to nine feet in all directions. If it drops below four feet, we tend to become depressed. We cannot fight off negative thoughts from within or from the environment.
If we can extend the aura, the outer arc of the aura acts as a filter and a connector to the universal magnetic field. It is that outer circumvent field that preserves the integrity of the aura, the furiously active blend of thoughts and feelings that emanate from our body and mind.
The aura can be temporarily expanded. One way is to connect your aura with the universal field by using an inner seed sound that activates the power of the Heart Center.
When this shield is strong, it is easy to sense the tide of the Universe, the Tao. You become spontaneous and vital as you move in rhythm with the greater reality, of which you are a part.
When the shield is strong, you are protected from the impact of your own past actions. You are like a great ship that turns toward God and reality and then must cross the waves of your own wake that you created by your past actions. The shield keeps you alert and awake to the real task of your life.
Eyes: Closed & focused at the brow point.
Posture and Mudra: Raise the right knee up with the right foot flat on the ground, toes pointing straight ahead. Place the sole of the left foot against the arch and ankle of the right foot. The ball of the left foot rests just in front of the ankle bone of the right foot.
Make a fist of the left hand and place it on the ground beside the hip. Use this to balance the posture. Bend the right elbow and place it on the top of the right knee. Bring the right hand back along the side of the head with the palm facing the ear. Form a shallow cup of the right palm. Then bring it against the skull so that it contacts the skull below the ear but stays open above the ear. It is as if you formed a cup of the hand to amplify a faint sound that you want to hear.
Mantra: Inhale deeply and chant Maaa in a long, full, smooth sound. Project the sound as if someone is listening to you. As you chant, listen to the sound and let it vibrate through your whole body. If you chant in a group, hear the overtones that develop and let those tones vibrate all around you and in every cell of your body.
The mantra is Maaa. Chant it at a comfortable high pitch. When you have exhaled completely, take another deep breath and continue. In a group you may all inhale at different times. The group sound will seem continuous.
I LOVE THIS RECORDING OF THE DIVINE MAAA MANTRA TO SING ALONG AND CREATE HARMONIES WITH.
Time: Continue for 11-31 minutes. Then change the legs and hands to the other side. Continue for an equal amount of time. Start slowly. Learn to hold the concentration into the sound. Build the meditation on each side to total 62 minutes.
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