On The Farm
Ready or not! After a month of extreme cold alternating with unseasonable heat and lots of rain, spring came in with a vengeance! Everything began blooming at once, as though it was taking the opportunity while it could. The upside is the beauty. The farm looks amazing if I can enjoy it without making a to-do list every time I go outside.
That’s the trick, isn’t it? Being present with what is and noticing the miracles that present themselves constantly. Our vision, perspectives and heart are not so clear all the time—they get contaminated by stresses, expectations, future thinking and the pain of stories from the past.
Recently, I did a series of shamanic journeys to see what I need to plant to be able to manifest a clear heart, a full and powerful heart, and an open heart. It boiled down to being in the present moment, rather than focused on the past or the future; being in nature, specifically walking among the trees; and being grounded, trusting my own knowing of things. So, I planted those intentions with the stones I journeyed with, and followed through with specific actions to support the process. Stitch and I are now walking through a forest at least once a week for a forest ‘bath’. I planted flowers for a hummingbird garden at my tiny house office—felt really good to get my hands into the Earth. AND, my daily ritual to begin the day is to brew either a big cup of Mexican hot chocolate (cocoa with cinnamon and cayenne) or my favorite tea, and sit still for about 20 minutes playing music that helps to ground me and bring me present.
How do you maintain the heart you want to live with? Do you have a ritual, small or large, that will help you to do this? The rituals speak to our deepest longings and wounds to heal them. More than words, the repetitive action of a ritual helps to frame our world and acknowledges that part of ourselves that can’t be put into words. How will you honor your whole self every day? Play with it for a week or so and see if you notice shifts in your heart and your perspective.
Calling All Animal Lovers
Enjoy a week of self-care through gentle interspecies experiences, addressing the joy, the grief, the full range of emotions that come with having an animal as a best friend. AND relax within a group of like-minded persons who understand why you talk about your cat, your horse, or your dog all the time, and welcome your stories! The Omega campus also offers amazing self-care for the retreat with the wellness center, beautiful walking paths, and yoga, meditation or tai chi classes each morning gratis.
The retreat will be led by three animal chaplains, Rev. Sarah Bowen, Judy Ramsey and Amanda Ree, who will share over 50 years combined knowledge, bringing expertise from different perspectives, different ways of being with animals. They offer a definition of animal mindfulness that includes:
1. A state of awareness and receptivity that allows access to an
ever-present deep relationship and presence with animals.
2. A heart state of unimaginable closeness with the spirit of an animal(s).
3. The ability to receive wisdom from an animal and to integrate this
wisdom into daily living to elevate one’s state of being.
Bring yourself into the most amazing relationship with animals that you have ever experienced.
Get more information and register here.
Elemental Support
Our bodies are made up of the elements that reflect those inherent in our planet Earth. Harmonizing the elements within us brings us into harmony with the elements around us in our environment, and helps us to be aware of how our actions influence our sacred places of living, from our homes to our broader environments.
Since most everyone can go outside now and be comfortable, I will be focusing on an element in each of the next four newsletters. Each element offers so many gifts. The short video that will accompany the article will be a guided meditation that will bring you into harmony with that element. I will also offer a reading in THE BOOKSHELF segment of this newsletter that aligns with the element of focus, in case you would like to investigate further.
EARTH. This month, I’ll focus on the element EARTH. In Chinese traditional medicine, Earth is a supporting foundation, associated with patience, practicality, hard work, and stability. The earth element has a feminine nature (Mother Earth, Pacha Mama) that is nurturing and protective, drawing all things together to bring harmony, rootedness and stability—grounding.
When the earth element is balanced, one is dependable and loyal, caring, compassionate and giving. However, when earth is out of balance, one is prone to confusion, worry, over-thinking, unable to focus or remember things.
Just as one assimilates nutrients through the stomach, one assimilates life experiences through the element earth. Reconnect with the earth element through earthing. Earthing is the practice of connecting the body to the Earth by either walking barefoot or by lying on the Earth for about 15 minutes. This has been scientifically proven to lower inflammation and to enhance the immune system through neutralizing positively charged particles coming from the wifi and technical devices (phone, computers) that we use daily.
The forest bathing that I do calms immediately. Walking in a forest, silently and intentionally, allows the tree energy to neutralize anxiety and over-thinking similar to the earthing process. I find that a minimum of 30 minutes does the trick.
Ayurvedic medicine comes to us from India. The Ayurvedic diet is based on the principles of Ayurvedic medicine and focuses on balancing different types of energy within your body. An Ayurvedic practitioner can determine which body composition (dosha) one has and recommend those foods which will balance you. Each type of taste is linked to an element and the balance keeps us better energized. Sweet and sour tastes are more suited to the earth element. They nourish the body, strengthen the tissues and help the body absorb more vitamins and nutrients. A few examples of sweet foods are melons, beetroot, sweet potato, cardamom and cinnamon and sour foods include grapefruit, lemon, pickles, tomatoes and vinegar.
The minerals in the Earth are also those that make up our bones and contribute to our well-being. We are not separate from the Earth, but are part of its makeup, its energy, and its life. This month’s guided meditation helps you to merge with your favorite tree to feel how the tree heals, connects with community, and communicates with everything around it. Enjoy!
The Bookshelf
Sandra Mendelson is an animal communicator, author and medium whose books, articles and interviews have helped thousands of people understand their animals, and animal sentience in general, at a deep Animal chaplain Jill Angelo is an extraordinary human being. She runs a sanctuary for physically challenged dogs and those who are the most needy. She rehabilitates dogs under her care and adopts out guinea pigs and rabbits from her rescue. A pot-bellied pig, Elmer, rounds out her menagerie. When she’s not rescuing, she’s advocating for animals and also writing.
Her book, Sacred Space: Turning your home into a sanctuary, was done while she was being certified as an animal chaplain—that program is where we met and worked together through two levels of study and practice. In this book, Jill’s compassion translates to very down-to-earth practices that we can all do while life happens. She incorporates the senses and the spiritual aspects of our lives in a straightforward, practical way to address everything from clearing the space and energy to self-care and daily ritual for our own well-being.
Keeping with the month’s elemental theme, we can easily begin with our homes as our place on Earth, transforming them into sacred space for ourselves and the beings who live with us.
Best Causes To Support The Earth
There are two 501c3 environmental organizations who continually make the annual list of 10 best non-profit organizations to protect the Earth.
The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is my personal favorite of the environmental organizations. It was founded in 1967 by a group of scientists and a lawyer in Long Island, New York to save osprey in the area from a toxic pesticide. Using scientific evidence, they achieved this goal. Today, they are a national nonprofit using science, economics, and the law to find practical solutions to critical environmental problems and climate change. Consistently, EDF ranks in the top 5 non-profits for effective service and responsible, transparent fiscal management of their projects. I find the communication with members is outstanding and informative.
The organization gets its impetus from over 3 million members, supporters and activists and a staff of over 1,000 scientists, economists, policy experts, and lawyers. Through 50 years of experience working in over 30 countries worldwide, they have forged powerful partnerships for economic sustainability and strong advocacy, applying scientific evidence to achieve the most effective solutions. To donate, go to https://www.edf.org.
Earthjustice is a national nonprofit using science, economics, and the law to find practical solutions to critical environmental problems. “THE EARTH NEEDS A GOOD LAWYER” is their motto. Their 200+ full-time lawyers rank among the nation’s foremost legal strategists for the environment.
The organization protects people’s health, preserves places and wildlife, advances clean energy, and combats climate change. Founded in 1971, Earthjustice has saved irreplaceable wildlands, cleaned up the air, and fueled the rise of 100% clean energy. They have protected countless species on the brink of extinction, and secured long-overdue, historic limits on the nation’s worst polluting industries.
With research analysts, policy experts, scientists, and more, their team leverages unparalleled legal expertise — from the nation’s highest court, to local public utility commissions. They represent their clients for free. To donate, go to https://earthjustice.org.
Upcoming Classes
Find full descriptions and costs of the classes and events on the website - https://JudyRamsey.net. Registrations are on the website. Once registered, a Zoom invitation will be sent with the meeting i.d. and passcode. If you want to attend a journey circle, please contact Judy at info@judyramsey.net. All classes and journey circles are recorded for your convenience.
June 8, 2024
Shamanic Personal Safety: Creating Sacred Protected Space—Learn techniques for energy hygiene when doing shamanic work and why it is so important. Be able to set protected space for yourself in practice. Pre-requisite: basic shamanic journeying.
$80 per person. 9am-4pm EDT
July 6-7, 2024
Ancestors: The Power Within—Ancestors can be powerful allies in your practice, and healing our ancestral lines can help us heal ourselves and our families. Explore your heritage, deepen your connection with the grandmothers and grandfathers in ceremony, in initiation and in the shamanic journey. Prerequisite: basic journeying skills. The class will be taught online via ZOOM.
$160 per person, $80 for repeating students. 9am-4pm EDT each day
July 20-21
Extraction: Illness and Healing From a Shamanic Perspective—This is an advanced in-person class with a limit of 6 persons. Deepen your understanding of illness and how one’s spirit can help the physical body thrive or not. We will focus on power loss and extraction of intrusions. Explore different ways to “diagnose” an illness as well as to address its healing. Working with partners, deepen your understanding of spiritual intrusions and learn ways to extract them. Prerequisites: Basic Journeying, Medicine For the Earth/Healing With Spiritual Light. Suggested Reading: Walking In Light by Sandra Ingerman. Class is held in Chelsea, MI.
$220 per person, $100 for repeating students. 9am-5pm EDT
July 27-28
Basic Animal Communication—Learn to communicate with animals the way they communicate with each other. Open your intuitive, telepathic skills through step-by-step activities in a nurturing environment. The class will be taught online via ZOOM.
$180 per person, $90 for repeating students. 9am-5pm EDT