What if is the way forward is backwards?  What if time is a spiral not a line? What if space & time can warp? What if time is an illusion.

Consider our common language: catch up, move forward, climb the ladder, hustle culture, get ahead. Sounds exhausting.

Are there any signs that we may want to step back? Yes, of course. Do any of these sound familiar?

I’ve sent out a hundred resumes but have gotten zero callbacks. I keep messaging but no one replies. I feel sick to my stomach every time I think of it. I wake up grinding my teeth afterwards. I’m board; I’ve lost my spark, passion, creativity for the project. The same conversation occurs again and again with no resolve. I’ve become someone I no longer recognize or like. The environment (internally and externally) is consistently negative, toxic or abusive. My body rebels: I oversleep, I forget important dates, deadlines, I double book, my shoulders are in knots. Technology fails when I work on the project: consistent internet outages, glitches, 404 messages, files won’t load. 

What can happen when we take a step back? A new perspective, an allowing, respite, presence, creativity. Stepping back can allow us to reconsider and reconfigure with newfound clarity. 

Are there any practical tips to stepping back?

• Pause. 
• Breathe.
• Rest.
• Practice compassion.
• Set Boundaries.
• Apply self-love
• Reflect.

Sometimes stepping down is then next step. Sometimes stepping up is the next step. 

When have you stepped back and the result

has been better than you could have ever imagined?

Today autumn begins in the Northern Hemisphere, while the folks in the Southern Hemisphere are preparing for warmer, spring weather. 

In 2025, the Autumnal Equinox arrives on Monday, September 22, at 1:19 P.M. Central Standard Time. The autumn equinox happens at the same moment worldwide marking the astronomical start of fall in the Northern Hemisphere – the moment when the direct ray of the sun crosses the equator to the South. After the autumnal equinox, nights begin to grow longer than the days until the winter solstice in December, when the days start to grow longer and the nights are shorter. The Autumnal Equinox represents the symmetry between light and darkness, as a balance is struck between day and night.

According to the Chinese Medicine understanding of the cycle of the seasons, we have technically returned to Earth phase, or Doyo, which is the transitional time when the seasons change, four times per year. After this return to earth transition, we will be in the metal phase of the seasons which invites reflection and resonates with breath and sound healing.

The Earth element is associated with times of change throughout the year, which happen between each of the seasons around the two equinoxes and the two solstices. These transition phases begin about 7 days before each equinox and solstice and continue for about 7 days after, which constitute an approximate three-week period of adjustment between the seasons. 

I  embrace and promote the wisdom of seasonal cycles  increasing awareness of and balancing our individual constitutions within dynamic change and to honor repeating cycles throughout our return to our wholeness.  

WHAT IS THE EQUINOX?

The word “equinox” comes from Latin aequus, meaning “equal,” and nox, “night.” On the equinox, length of day and night are roughly equal.

During the equinox, the sun crosses the “celestial equator”—an imaginary line or extrapolation of Earth’s equator line into space. The equinox occurs precisely when the sun’s center passes through this line. When the sun crosses the equator from north to south, this marks the autumnal equinox; when it crosses from south to north, it marks the vernal equinox.

At this exact moment, the lengths of day and night are approximately equal around the world in the Northern and Southern hemispheres — hence the term “equinox,” which is derived from the Latin phrase meaning “equal night.”

Image credit: NASA

Why the Autumnal Equinox Doesn’t Fall on the Same Day Every Year

Depending on the part of the world and time zone where you live, the equinox usually falls on either September 22 or 23; although it can sometimes occur anytime between September 21 and 24. That is because the equinox is not an exact, daylong event but is defined by the position of the Earth and the sun at a particular moment in time. 

Ancient Autumn Traditions 

The fall equinox has been celebrated by cultures for ages as people track the transitions of the Earth’s paths around the Sun. Indigenous cultures recognized EARTH wisdom and understood that the Winter Solstice, Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice, and Autumn Equinox reflect our own inner spiritual journey.

• An ancient stone monument called Intihuatana at Machu Picchu in Peru, which means “Hitching Post of the Sun”, serves as a solar clock to mark the dates of the equinoxes and solstices.  
• In Mexico, the Mayans built a giant pyramid called Chichen Itza. On the equinoxes, a snake created by light appears to slither down the pyramid’s steps.
• And of course, in England, Stonehenge is aligned with the equinoxes and solstices.

An image of the serpent appearing on the side of the Temple of Kukulcan on the equinox at Chichen Itza

SIGNIFICANCE

The Autumnal Equinox is a significant time of year to honor the harvest, which may be an actual harvest of fruits and vegetables from your garden or the harvest of efforts and intentions for your life that you set earlier in the year.  This Earth seasonal return represents the harvest time of year, when we acknowledge the gifts and abundance in our lives. It is a time when we can see, in nature, a reflection of our own lives as we go through cycles of growth, harvest, death, and rebirth.

At the Autumnal Equinox, it’s important to take a moment to go inward. Life is a continuous circle of shifting and evolving, dying, and being reborn again. Because change is a constant, it is possible to identify unbroken patterns within the ebb and flow of life. As we become quiet during this time of transition, we are allowing space for our greater vision to emerge and set in motion the intentions for another cycle. I invite you to take some time September 22 to be mindful of your life cycle, honor your own growth and shine your inner light.

Invoke your innate intelligence.

We have never had more immediate access to information. We can acquire certificates and degrees from the comfort of our own home. Opinions on most anything is available 24/7. Agenda and propaganda masquerade as news while dissenting voices are censored.

Intelligence is the ability to acquire, filter, sort and apply information. There are many forms of intelligence: artificial, abstract, logical, emotional, social, creative, adaptive, self-aware, critical thinking, problem solving. Intelligence is not an agency.

The proper place for human beings is between heaven and earth. Our birthright is heavenly connection and earthly incarnation.

Our innate intelligence surpasses that of an entire network of supercomputers. The question is do you know how to tap into it?

The revelation is in the slipstream. You can’t purchase it because it is not for sale. It is free. Priceless. You won’t find it on the internet.

You can invite it as you observe the dynamic patterns of nature. You can invoke from the ageless, timeless depth of connection to all that is.

But you must still the businesses, quite the babel.

Claim agency over your innate intelligence.

Interested in rewilding yourself? 

Seasonal wisdom helps us cultivate a closer relationship to the dynamic rhythms and cycles of nature, which is essential to healing dis-ease and optimizing our health. 73 days of inspiration, wisdom, instructions, nature cure, inquiries are available in 5 seasonal decks in our Element Wisdom Cards.

Learn more & purchase the entire collection or a single deck here

How can we develop healthy humility?
Passionate curiosity is a start.

In the asking, we engage the other and the ego is checked.

Service is a good middle.

How does it feel when we volunteer our best hours of the week, donate our most valuable items or fund a heart felt cause?

In the end, seek original origins.

Humilis is the Latin root meaning low.

By our own choice, consequence, or chance, true humility is often the outcome of experiencing great depth, deep troubles or profound sorrows.

Water, the element of winter, teaches us how to serve all, go underground and spring up when necessary, go deep and take many forms.

The water element paired organs that peak in winter are the Bladder and Kidney (plus adrenals).

The bladder meridian travels from the inner canthus of the eye across the head down the back side of the entire body exiting out the little toe. It traverses all of us.

Many of the point names indicate their function: bright eyes, supporting yang, supporting middle, celestial pillar, soul door, spirit hall, spiritual celestial connection, soul gate.

Acupuncture treats all levels of the human – mind, body, spirit.

Treating the bladder points can not only treat our organs like the bladder or the eyes, but it can also treat our spiritual sickness. It can help us see through the eyes of spirit. The dark clouds of our emotions and thinking can be cleared to see the bright blue skies of divine perfection.

Winter is Dreamtime.

Make the connection to your internal visionary this winter.

Dream it.

Envision it.

As the longest and most complex of all the cranial nerves, it starts at the stem of the brain, behind the ears before it meanders down the sides of the neck, through the chest, and eventually ends in the abdomen linking the brain to the heart, lungs, throat, and gut. It helps to regulate our heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, sweating, and speech.

When we are in parasympathetic dominance we are able to rest and heal.

Vagus Nerve Connects the Brain and Gut

The vagus nerve and it’s feedback are the sensory network that informs the brain of what’s going on in our organs, most specially the digestive tract (stomach and intestines), lungs and heart, spleen, liver, and kidneys.

People with good vagal tone can relax faster after a stress and are more capable of regulating blood glucose levels, reducing chances of diabetes, stroke and cardiovascular disease. Recent research presented by the European League Against Rheumatism indicate that vagus nerve stimulation significantly reduces symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.

Symptoms are messages from our body that something is wrong. Poor vagal tone can express as ongoing high levels of stress, anxiety, depression, overwhelm, an inability to focus or regulate emotions and inflammation. The nerve can become damaged express deeper dysfunction such as abnormal heart rate, blood pressure or glucose.  Digestion or speech may be become compromised.

It is essential to listen to our bodies. Winter is the perfect season to slow down and take notice of our capacity to reset, restore and recharge.

This study on loving kindness meditation improved healthy vagal tone in participants. Being present and acknowledging that everything in the moment is okay reduces anxiety.

Significant and important research has been making the news about a microbiota-gut-brain axis. Read up on this fascinating subject here. Also this article discusses the science behind gut microbiota, brain function and stress related disorders.

What does the phrase ‘down to earth’ mean to you?

Earth Writing Exercise

Take a moment.

Find pen and paper.

Transcribe the phrase Down to Earth. 

Place both feet on the ground.

Take three deep breaths, expanding your ribs.

Write free associations of what ‘down to earth’ means to you for 90 seconds.

Wake the spleen, an earth organ with the exercise below. 

Repeat the automatic writing exercise.

Wake the Spleen

With both feet on the ground, raise your left arm.

Wake the spleen organ by tapping on your left side, one hand width below the arm pit.

Vocalize the sound of the spleen: whooooo (like the wise owl calling)- gutteral and brethless

Repeat eight times.

Shanren kan wo xinshi?  Wo xin shi!

Do I posses the earth attributes of integrity and deep trust?  Yes I do!

The phrase down to earth can refer to an approachable person.  Someone that is practical, plain spoken, honest, realistic, trustworthy, unassuming, unpretentious.

What did your list reveal? Which of those qualities do you posses? Which qualities would you like to strengthen?

If there is a quality you would like to embody or strengthen in yourself?

Try replacing the sound of the spleen with the quality that you wish to strengthen.  For example, tap ‘trust’ into your spleen.

The digestive organs are injured by stagnation.  Desk or remote virtual jobs, long hours of studying, research and writing keep us seated.  Relaxing and decompressing may also become habituated to screen time, gaming or media binging. Fatigue sets in from lack of activity; a sedentary life is injurious. Frankly, it is killing us slowly. The combination of oversitting and overthinking is a harmful combination for the earth organs,  particularly the spleen.  The lack of healthy circulation settles dampness deep into our systems. If you are prone to oversitting, please build in healthy habits. 

Set a timer at the desk for 30 minutes to take a 5 minute movement break out of the chair.

Shake away any accumulated worries, negative postures.

Take a few stretches or yoga poses.

Walk to the water station and hydrate.

Walk a few flights of stairs.

Take a walk around the block.

Learn and practice Heaven & Earth Rotation Daily

Heaven & Earth Rotation: Qi Gong Earth Exercise

1. Open the gates of heaven (top of head ~ meeting of ten thousand things) and earth (bottom of feet ~ bubbling spring) again. 
2. Pivot from the lower back with smooth and continuous action. The left palm, facing earth, pushes downward while the right palm, faces heaven, pulls upward. 
3. At the end of the pivot, alternate hand positions. 
4. Repeat 40 times while imagining healing, golden light internally healing and balancing your spleen, stomach and pancreas.

Purchase your element wisdom card deck to support your daily health & wellness journey

Cultivate wellness this Earth season by practicing exercises for healing the spleen with Qigong support. 

One self-care practice that I invite my patients to incorporate into their daily lives is looking into their eyes in the mirror daily upon waking and speak ‘I love you’ or ‘you, darling, are fabulous’. It sets the tone for way in which we see ourselves and encourages us to accept compliments with grace. Will you accept this challenge to voice and reflect love to yourself?

 This tip is from the Metal/Autumn Element Wisdom Card deck.

I invite you to daily wellness journey with Element Wisdom Cards.

Purchase here

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