Transitions & Remembrances

November 1st—

Also known as Samhain (Sauin), or All Saint’s Day, or El Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead), depending on the tradition.

All these Northern Hemisphere traditions rooted in the seasonal shift of autumn--the Earth transitioning from the warm, flowering harvests of summer into the dormant, dark, cold of winter.

The common theme: death

Autumn displays death artfully, as the leaves show their true colors in one last flair before letting go.  

What is death anyway?

It's a question I’ve been asking a lot lately, especially since losing my mother and only sibling within the last 2 years.

Growing up in a fundamentalist/non-denominational Christian home I didn't have these November 1st  traditions. I just had the commercialized understanding of Halloween, a holiday that my parents forbid me to celebrate because they believed it to be "the holiest day on the Satanic calendar.”

Now at 33 years old, having studied several spiritual philosophies, and having lost a significant number of relatives and friends to death, I find myself drawn to this time of year, as nature beckons us to observe the death cycle.

I pull from all these traditions, and others, to help me understand the big picture.

I pull from Samhain, in awe of the seasonal shifting, and how it informs my understanding of God.

I pull from the Catholics to honor my mother who has surely entered the Cloud of Witnesses, and resound the deepest vibrations of love for my brother, that Christ’s Light may guide his trajectory.

I pull from El Dia de los Muertos, and fondly remember the quirks and hilarities of the departed whose hands held and guided me when they were still among the living.

I clean my home, and rake the fallen leaves, getting the message that energy's sole purpose is to keep moving.

When energy becomes stagnant, it moves internal, or it moves on, so that the shells and encasing may be released.

In ancient Chinese philosophy, the opposing forces of Yin (passive, feminine, night) and Yang (active, masculine, sun) balance life.

In Yogic philosophy, the Atman, or the eternal soul, permeates and illuminates all things. It is the Life Force in all things.

A few weeks before my mother died, she said, "I don't know how it all works, but I believe I'll be with God."

"I believe that too, Mama." I told her.

And so I do, so very deeply.

I commune with God daily.

God whispers to me in a Still Small Voice.

I see God best in nature, as the Force that illuminates—the underlying Hum.

Because I see God in all things, and I believe my loved ones are with God, I see my loved ones in all things.

Last year, I traveled to Costa Rica at this time.

I missed the crescendos of colorful leaves, as Central America stays warm and blossoms all year round.

I was still so fresh in grieving my mother, wrestling with the reality that I would never, for the rest of my days, see her again.

There was a large old tree, in the center of the resort where I stayed.

It reminded me of her.

I spent time under its branches, and got up close to its gnarled bits, covered in ants and other microcosms.

I could very tangibly feel the Life Force exuding from the tree.

Surely the Life Force that left my mother's body went back to Source, and Source illuminates the tree. So in a way, my mother was there, tangibly with me, in a new, different form.

Since that moment, I see her in all of nature-- in all trees, plants, and greenery, even when the green shifts to golden.

As we turn towards darker days (from November 1st until the winter solstice's darkest night on December 21st), we have a chance to turn inward for reflection. We enter a Yin phase.

We honor death (or stillness) and the shifts it brings.

We hibernate, slow down, and rest.

Before I get merry for Christmas and Yule, or really feel into the total stillness that deep winter brings, I pause at this threshold, smile, and say a gratitude to my loved ones who are no longer here in the physical,

"Thanks for being here, thanks for all that was, and thank you for this gift of sweet release that allows the energy to continue in motion."

Life's a Flow.
Align and Spiral with it.