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The Medicine Wheel
and Summer
in Sedona
In
order to fully embrace the dynamics of the medicine wheel
and the healing its teaching provides, we must be willing to shift and
flow
with the ever-changing energies of nature. As each season turns it
provides
different perspectives along the path of self realization and, once we
can
infuse this knowledge into our lives, wholeness is possible. Our focus
will now
shift as the spring warms away and takes us into the summer season in
Sedona.
The summer
season is akin to the middle of the day when high temperatures and long
periods
of daylight prevail in Sedona. The summer solstice marks the day when
the sun
reaches the apex of its journey in the sky marking the longest day of
the year.
This incredible warmth and amount of daylight reflect the intense
energy of the
summer season and is like the inner fire that burns within each of us
inspiring
us to bring our passion into the world. It
is at this
time when we see the Sedona terrain awash in the fiery
colors of the agave bloom. The agave plant will grow for 30 years
before its
sends its life force upward to produce a flowery stalk that grows six
to eight
inches per night.
Love
is the key energy of the summer medicine
wheel position and, in Chinese medicine, the summer is the time when we
change
our habits to bring healing energy to the heart. Once we embrace our
spiritual
connection (spring), discovering the love of self is vital to the
creation
process. The summer is about taking time to ourselves to explore what
we truly
love about ourselves – What would we love to do? Who do we
love to be with?
Where do we love to go? As we realize and honor the answers to these
questions
it infuses our being with the energy of purpose and a sense of
excitement.
Perhaps this is how the Creator “speaks” to us
– the language of love.
The summer season is
related to the
teenage years of being a human. This is a time when we explore life and
begin
to find our place in the world. We begin to discern what it is we love
and hold
sacred about life. This process of self realization is greatly aided
when we
use our emotions as our guides. Positive emotions such as love and joy
cue us
in that we are on the right path while negative emotions such as doubt
and fear
show us we have gone astray.
As
the nights cool off and people in Sedona
open up their windows for the evening, it is not uncommon to hear the
call of
the coyotes howling in the distance. The coyote is the spirit animal of
the
summer and teaches us to forgive ourselves and learn from our mistakes
– to
fall down six times but to get up seven times. Coyote medicine often
works by
allowing us to make mistakes in life and take us off our path. Once
realized,
the healing energy of coyote allows us get back up and we are now one
step
closer to our true direction.
The summer is fire season
in Sedona
as lightning strikes set the wilderness ablaze and teach us to respect
the
power of nature. The fire element is the most quickly transforming of
the
elements as nature burns away the old to give rise to the new. In
Sedona, the
intense heat from a fire is needed to open up the pine cones and
release the
seeds for regeneration. The summer is a good time to work with candles
and
allow the element of fire to burn away old energy. The fire that burns
within
us is the creative force that helps us to bring our expression into the
world
and that is why you see many drumming circles, outdoor music events and
artists
along the side of the roads painting outdoor landscapes in Sedona.
Once we
more fully discover ourselves it is time to give of ourselves to
others. Just
as the prickly pear and blackberry fruits emerge for all to partake, we
can
begin to share our fruits with others as the healing love of self is
infused
into our relationships. Summertime is when many families come to Sedona
as the
kids get out of school and we share fun times together with full
campgrounds in
the Oak Creek Canyon and swimming in the Oak Creek at Slide Rock State
Park.
Come mid summer, gambil quail are seen scurrying across the streets of
Sedona
with their little ones in tow.
The summer
is a time to take outward action on the creative impulses generated
during the
spring. It is not a time to begin anew, but to nurture what has already
begun.
We pull the weeds, water our crops and tend to our own sacred gardens.
On the
medicine wheel, summer relates to the full moon when emotions are high
and the
Farmers’s Almanac suggests we plant the crops that grow above
the ground.
Like
most things in life, too much of something can tip the scales of
balance from
which life thrives and, in summer, we may need to cool off. In mid
July, the
monsoon season begins to bring much needed rain to Sedona and the
deciduous
sycamore and cottonwood trees are full of foliage providing welcome
shade and
relief from the heat.
Questions?
Contact us!
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