SUMMER SOLSTICE MESSAGE 2014
from
Cie Simurro ~ Thunderbird Starwoman

I’m writing this on the cusp of the summer solstice… I’ve taken my dog, Abbie to a beach of stones, boulders and sand in western Massachusetts at the conflu-ence of two rivers. I throw the ball into the water and she retrieves it … over and over and over. Whether in the water, swimming with all her might to get that ball, or on land, her tail never stops wagging the entire time we’re out. Her joy over the prospect of fun, and achievement of the goal is paramount to her. Her enjoyment is as focused as her attention on the next ball throw. As the magnet on my car says, “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing!” I am inspired in my own life by this master teacher of play.

Why am I telling you this? Because summer is a time for play, for bringing out the child or adolescent in each of us, and for emphasizing the physical body and action. These are also times of great pressure and overwhelm. We are inundated with information and things we have to make decisions about. Our past comes up like a spector, so we can change old karmic patterns, and tie up loose ends. Although all that is true, sometimes we just have to stop working and play, dance, sing, and make art. Think of it as part of your health regimen, because the single most important factor in health is a relaxed body and mind.

In the Medicine Wheel I use, the SOUTH is the direction we honor in the SUMMER. The time of day is midday. The totems of the South are DEER for its gentle love; PORCUPINE, with its undefended belly and nose for trust and innocence; MOUSE who shows us the macrocosm in the micro; and COYOTE, the Koshare (Sacred Clown) who sometimes tricks our hearts open in order that we may truly love.

Our 4-legged companions are in the South and they warm our hearts. All forms of FIRE, with red-hot flames including our heart flames, and especially our Sun, from which life and love flow to all beings on this Earth. The qualities of the South are growth, health/vitality, playfulness, abundance, ripeness and harvesting the results of our intentions which we planted earlier in the year.

It’s the time to re-light the fire in our hearts that may have been put out or dampened by disappointment in others, or the way life has turned out. How do we light our heart flames again? One way to approach this is by replacing the runaway negative thought with a scenario that produces more happiness? See, we always feel we have to directly address issues on the level they appear to us; however, that just gives us more of the same. We can always find some thing – big or small to be grateful for: the smell of wild roses as we walk by; the breeze in the trees; all the different berries we get to eat in summer. In fact, sometimes, it’s recognizing how blessed we are with the smallest thing that produces a feeling of well-being. And if something in our bodies isn’t working right, find something that is, and praise it. Our bodies respond better to our gratitude than our criticism.

It’s also a good time to watch the fire in our bellies. We’re not only quicker to act, but also to flare up in anger or passion. Let the heart rule the impulse, so we don’t have to regret words or actions said in the heat of the moment.

As we slip through the portal of spring into summer, all the rain in the Northeast has brought a profusion of flowers, butterflies and green in the plants and trees.

Summer is the time for growth. As we pray for balance in other parts of the country experiencing drought and ferocious winds, it’s a good time to remember the ONENESS of all life on this planet and the universe(s) beyond. Walk in the shoes, paws or hooves of others. Let yourself feel what the animal, plant and mineral nations feel – the repercussions of our actions; the impact on the whole. Let us allow ourselves to care about them as we would care for ourselves, our families and friends. Then, our decisions concerning them will carry the imprint of our love.

As I open myself to be a conduit for a message to the People, the sun peeks out from a bank of white cumulus clouds that washes across the sky. It’s always there behind the clouds. When we are going through tortuous times, behind the dismay and despair, we are still whole and intact. How can we access this wholeness in the midst of torment and upset? I like to do this quick simple alignment exercise:

  1. Open your crown to all that is above.
  2. Let the energy from the center of Mother Earth flow into your body through your feet.
  3. Wrap your arms around yourself (or if you’re out and about, you can knit your fingers together).
  4. Suck in that Source Energy that is in every particle of every single thing. Manna, Chi, Life, Love. Everything out there is an expression of Source. Breathe it in and settle deep into YOURSELF as an extension of Source. Each of us is where it’s at! Let’s love ourselves through the good times and bad.

The sun is still behind the clouds. It is Thunderbird who just flew by with a message for these times:

“Though my power is in the storms that – yes – shake everything up, bringing change and re-balancing, still- it is on the currents of air warmed by the Sun that I sail and soar. Don’t hate the difficulties and challenges that periodically arise. They always will, for this is a planet of polarity, rhythms and wave patterns. Try to be present for all of it, fully experiencing what is happening. If you avoid the feeling of pain, it merely hides out in your body to be stuffed down by addiction, only to rise again in a more aggressive, inappropriate form. If, however, you let yourself feel all your feelings, painful as they may be, you can let them go on the next wave. This will enable you to experience joy, happiness, and fun more fully and deeply.”

Aum-Ho. Happy Solstice,

In kinship,

Cie ~ Thunderbird Starwoman