I want to thank everyone that joined us this past Sunday night for Reiki Hour. I encourage all of you to join us for Reiki Hour as we move into the season of Autumn with its dimming light. It's nice way to remain connected as a Reiki community, no matter where you live. When we connect with the light; when we become the light by participating in Reiki Hour, then we honor the light within, which is the message of the Autumn season. This year, the season begins with the Autumn Equinox on September 22nd. 
                                                               
As we move into Autumn, the amount of daylight wanes, encouraging us to slow down and become more reflective. As we transition from the active, yang, masculine energy of Summer to the slower, yin, female energy of Autumn, we are called to do less, to go inward and prepare for the next phase of our lives. If we don't honor the energetic shift that the season brings, then we will move out of alignment with the energetic flow of nature, and we will eventually suffer in some way. It's a Law of Nature. If you are someone who charges into Autumn with high energy levels, rushing around all day, staying up late at night, and continuing to eat cold foods, then you will eventually spiral out of balance. You may find yourself out of balance at the physical level (getting a cold or flu), the emotional level (becoming anxious or depressed), the mental level (feeling overwhelmed or stressed), or the spiritual level (wondering how your life got so out of control and why you're living this way). How often has this happened to you or to the people around you?

         



Some people dread the Autumn season and the coming Winter, and develop symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). There are many reasons why people may suffer from the symptoms of SAD, but I believe that our workaholic society makes it difficult to honor the seasons and the accompanying changes that we must make in order to remain in alignment with the Earth. After all, our bodies are made up of the Earth element and we must remain grounded as we move into Autumn in order to stay in balance. Some ways that you can easily bring the Earth element into our lives is to nurture our bodies by transitioning to preparing and eating warmer foods, slowing down and ending our days a bit earlier, and getting more rest.

Just as the gardener plants bulbs in the Fall that will flower in the spring, we must prepare ourselves (mind, body, and spirit) for the season of rest and renewal. We can honor the inward movement of the energy at this time of the year by slowing down, consuming warmer foods, getting more rest, and taking time to nurture ourselves in any way that our intuition guides us to. We can use this time to turn our focus inward and make changes that will serve us when we transition to a more active phase in the Spring. If you are a Reiki practitioner, Autumn is a good time to receive a healing session for yourself or to practice Reiki self-healing sessions, as opposed to overscheduling yourself with client sessions. You can also deepen your commitment to Ghasso meditation during this time of reflection. If you honor the changes of the seasons, you will be more likely to remain in balance, which will result in health and happiness.  

Blessings of the season,
Mary
www.IntegratedEnergyHealing.com