-SB
Hello friends. As I travel on my spiritual journey, I often see or experience mystic patterns that arouse my enthusiasm, that I want to share with others, but that are a little too “out there” to share on any sort of mainstream social media. There are many that I love and with whom I have wonderful relationships, but that do not embrace, or even acknowledge, a spiritual path. I find no fault with them for this. After all, the experience of every single soul is legitimate, and a diversity of perspectives, ideas and lifestyles is one of the beautiful things about being a part of the human species. In the last several months I have had wonderful conversations about spirituality with almost all of you included in this thread. You might say that I have been quietly developing my practice, sporadically bouncing ideas off of one of you or another, momentarily enjoying connection and vulnerability, before closing the curtain and retreating into solitude. You who are included in this thread are the open minded seekers, and with each of you I feel some connection. In this message I wish to share something with you all.
Summer is coming to a close. Autumn is coming. It is a time of transition. On September 21stthe Earth’s axis will be exactly perpendicular to the Sun, and the hours of day will be equal to the hours of night. On the 8 Shields Model, our planet and all the species she harbors will be in the western quadrant, a time of abundance, a time to be of service and a time of celebration. And for those practicing Kabbalah, it is a time for a very important spiritual ritual: the annual pruning of the Tree of Life.
It was Kabbalah and the Tree of Life that helped me to understand the importance of autumn and the transition that occurs during this time. My mentor explained this process to me one year ago: in the summer, when the Sun is brightest, we are full of energy, full of ambition, full of love, full of hope, full of life. Our frequencies are naturally higher, and our spiritual connection to the Earth and all her wonders are more tangible. The brightness can be so intense that it’s blinding, giving us the opportunity to grow outside of ourselves. Many of us feel the most optimistic and the most powerful during the summer months, fed by the radiant energy of the Sun.
As we approach the end of these euphoric summer months, we start to feel a decline in our spiritual connectedness. Many of us become disheartened, some of us experience a subtle sadness, and others crash into outright depression. The brightness ebbs, and in the dimmed light, we begin to see things with new clarity. Our weaknesses and sorrows and frustrations, which were outshone in the summer Sun, begin to come back into focus. It is a cycle that occurs year after year as we resist the evaporation of the blithe of summer. This is why the ritual of the pruning of the Tree of Life is so important.
I am only vaguely familiar with the mystical teachings of Kabbalah, and I do not claim to have an understanding of the various branches of the Tree of Life. But I do recognize and have a deep appreciation for the way the mystics take advantage of this time of transition. This is an opportunity to see ourselves and aspects of our lives with profound clarity. Take some time to look back over the last year and the direction that your life is taking. Be honest with yourself about how you feel about the decisions you’ve made. Take this opportunity to see yourself in this moment with absolute clarity. And make the decision NOW about the direction you want your life to take. Decide for yourself what is working and what’s not. Decide NOW what will be pruned away and what you will cultivate.
As I said, I first did this exercise for the first time one year ago. It was one year ago that I made the firm decision to prune away my job in the restaurant business and cultivate a different path. It was one year ago that I decided to cultivate my own spirituality, and prune away contrary agreements that I had carried around for years. That’s not to say that my entire life changed overnight. Over the last year I have made many mistakes, risen from and fallen back into bad habits, lost my way, doubted myself and my decisions, and even almost given up. But one year later, and as I prepare once again to prune my tree, I can look back with pride and see just how far I’ve come, how much I’ve grown, and how much more fulfilling my life has been since I performed this ritual.
I share this with you all for two reasons. Firstly, this is part of my pruning ritual this year. I want to prune away my spiritual disconnection from other people and cultivate spiritual connectedness. I admit that I have been ashamed of my spirituality. I have been secretive and hidden it because I have been afraid of being judged, misunderstood and criticized. It is my intent to prune away the fear and shame. I will instead encourage myself to be vulnerable with those I can trust, and cultivate spiritual community with similarly open minded spiritual seekers. Secondly, I know that many folks on the spiritual path are sensitive to energies, both emotional and planetary, and I hope that this ritual may be as helpful to others as it was to me.
Thank you to all of you on this thread. Thank you for your openness, your love, your enthusiasm, your vulnerability. I thank you for allowing me to be vulnerable with you. I invite you all to participate in the pruning of the Tree of Life ritual this coming Fall Equinox. I invite any and all of you share with me and with each other what you intend to cultivate in the coming year. With all the love in my heart, Namaste.
-SB
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