we are each other's destiny
the power of air
After working our way through the elements of earth, fire, water; we come to air.
The timing of this elemental mini-series is starting to reveal its synchronous perfection.
We need air right now in so many ways.
On the most basic individual level, consciously connecting to the breath is the most natural way to commune with the great (mostly “invisible”) power of air. So, let’s start today with some of my favorite wisdom from music-legend Willie Nelson (maybe take three nice cycles of breath, right now, as you read it?)…
“The secret is breathing. Everyone knows that filling your lungs with oxygen is good, but not many people choose to do it... ...Through breathing, you deepen your contact with the world around you. An open window is a wonderful place to breathe deeply. When you clear your lungs, you expel the old and take in the new. The new air, of course, brings oxygen to your lungs, your bloodstream, and all the cells of your body, including your brain. When you expel the old air, you also provide carbon dioxide for trees and plants that make oxygen for you... ...The hardest thing to see on this incredible planet is the eternal circle of life, which is anchored by the links between sky and water, between day and night, winter and summer, O2 & CO2. Each of those links is infinitely more solid and everlasting than you and me. The water we drink, the food we eat, and the air we breathe are our connections to that circle. We have many forms of spiritual strength, but physically the choices are few and simple. If the choice you make is to breathe deeply, you can uncork the genie of your own personal power."
- Willie Nelson
Another POWERFUL way to know the magic of air is to realize, recognize and/or remember that we all (human and non-human alike) share the air. As I say at the very beginning of our Aquarius meditation (available as audio here or the written version in Dreamworld) -
The air you breathe may certainly have been in the lungs of Cleopatra, or Crazy Horse, or some other luminary. Right now, you are breathing the same air that a jaguar in the Amazon or an elephant on the Serengeti or a grizzly bear in Alaska exhaled three days ago.
When we look at earth from space, the “pale blue dot” of our planet is surrounded by one atmosphere… that we all share.
As we go through our week keying into the consciousness of air we might find ways to “share air” (with people, with plants, with animals) in new, more expansive and generous ways.
Another powerful way to work with air this week shows up when we understand how the air element relates to both logic-thinking AND the imaginal. At first glance, this is a little counter-intuitive; because our overculture ALWAYS puts these two at opposite, diametrically opposed sides of the spectrum. Our society tells us a thing is either logical OR came from imagination.
But air, ever connective, every surprising, shows us that the powers of logic and the imaginal can be combined BEAUTIFULLY, and to great affect.
A small example, let’s say, logically, I know I need to make more money next year than I did this year. From that point, I can start to envision or imagine myself doing so, feeling into it and getting new ideas. Then, I swing back from the imaginal space and consult logic to help me break the journey down into achievable steps. I can then return to the imagination any time my resolve diminishes - letting the vision enliven me once again.
Let’s now do an example in reverse. Let’s say I am meditating, and an old acquaintance keeps “popping in” to my awareness and sort of “waving” at me through the mists of time. When I emerge from meditation, I need logic and discernment to determine whether this means I ought to reach out to that person OR (and this is very often the case) I simply need to think through what that person symbolizes for me and attend to whatever that symbolism points me towards.
Just like the perfection in the cycle of in-breath and the out-breath, when we become adept at air consciousness, logic-thinking and the imaginal become two parts of a cycle that naturally nourishes itself; and can run infinitely.
I feel like I’ve been saying this for years now, but we really are - on individual and collective levels - going through a very hard time. Especially online and in the United States - if we were being bombarded by media before, now we risk being buried under its emotion-tension-terror-avalanche.
So, my friend, wherever you are on this beautiful blue-green. planet, I invite you to choose some aspect of air to help you through it
And, if you haven’t yet tried the Friday space - I’m going to share this Friday’s meditation, which is The Flame and The Sword - with the whole group because it is SO PERFECT for this exact moment in time. Even if we’ve never met in-person, I really love all of you in this space and I can’t wait to share The Flame and The Sword with you… it is a very clarifying and empowering meditation.
The Friday practice space is becoming a very lovable endeavor. Each week I offer a short spiritual talk (3-7 minutes) and a short meditation (5-10 minutes) from 99 VISIONS. The Friday space also allows you access to the full archive of all my Substack posts ever AND all of those special talks and meditations.
(If you can support the Friday space by contributing $5/month or $50/year, please know I SO APPRECIATE it. Like many people this has been an extremely challenging year money-wise for me and Substack subscriptions are little glimmers of hope dotting my path.)
One more thing…
Whatever happens this week with the elections, etc., I encourage us all to remember the sun will rise the next morning, the earth will continue to turn and we probably won’t have “official results” for a long time after election day. So, we are still in a long-game, that will likely continue to be destabilizing. Let’s take deep breaths and be gentle wherever we can - with ourselves, with one another, with the world.
Fortunately, our elemental that we are connecting with next week is aether-quintessence-mystery. I know in my heart that this elemental will help us in ways we cannot even imagine.
Lots of love to EVERYONE,
Until next time,
Jess
“I would say that there exist a thousand unbreakable links between each of us and everything else, and that our dignity and our chances are one. The farthest star and the mud at our feet are a family; and there is no decency or sense in honoring one thing, or a few things, and then closing the list. The pine tree, the leopard, the Platte River, and ourselves - we are at risk together, or we are on our way to a sustainable world together. We are each other's destiny."
- Mary Oliver
"In fairy tales, power is rarely the right tool for survival anyway. Rather the powerless thrive on alliances, often in the form of reciprocated acts of kindness - from beehives that were not raided, birds that were not killed but set free or fed, old women who were saluted with respect. Kindness sown among the meek is harvested in crisis."
-Rebecca Solnit
“You cannot buy the Revolution. You cannot make the Revolution. You can only be the Revolution. It is in your spirit, or it is nowhere.”
—Ursula K. Le Guin
“Though we do not wholly believe it yet, the interior life is a real life, and the intangible dreams of people have a tangible effect on the world.”
— James Baldwin
"I can see that it might look as though you were simply pawns in a game. It can certainly be looked at like that. But think of it. You were lucky pawns. There was a certain climate and now it's gone. You have to accept that sometimes that's how things happen in this world. People's opinions, their feelings, they go one way, then the other. It just so happens you grew up at a certain point in this process.
It might be just some trend that came and went. But for us, it's our life.
Yes, that's true. But think of it. You were better off than many who came before you. And who knows what those who come after you will have to face."
- Kazuo Ishiguro
“Will you be at the harvest, Among the gatherers of new fruits? Then you must begin today to remake Your mental and spiritual world, And join the warriors and celebrants Of freedom, realizers of great dreams. You can’t remake the world Without remaking yourself. Each new era begins within. It is an inward event, With unsuspected possibilities For inner liberation. We could use it to turn on Our inward lights. We could use it to use even the dark And negative things positively. We could use the new era To clean our eyes, To see the world differently, To see ourselves more clearly. Only free people can make a free world. Infect the world with your light. Help fulfill the golden prophecies. Press forward the human genius. Our future is greater than our past.”
- Ben Okri
It's in the imagination
With which you perceive
This world,
And the gestures
With which you honor it.
- Mary Oliver
“All of us have to learn how to invent our lives, make them up, imagine them. We need to be taught these skills; we need guides to show us how. If we don’t, our lives get made up for us by other people.”
—Ursula K. Le Guin
“The great lesson from the true mystics, from the zen monks, from the humanistic and transpersonal psychologists, is that the sacred is in the ordinary, that it is to be found in one’s daily life, in one’s neighbors, friends, and family, in one’s own back yard. This lesson can be easily lost. To be looking elsewhere for miracles is to me a sure sign of ignorance that everything is miraculous.”
- Abraham Maslow
"If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don't hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that's often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don't be afraid of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb."
- Mary Oliver
Jess for real, every thing you post is just unbelievably helpful
I am eternally grateful for finding your wisdom
The messages (and quotes) are always inspirational but this week they are all what my soul needed for nourishment. 🥰