02 Sep September: Shift into Grace

I had an image come to me the other day as I was preparing to write this article, it was of a boat wizzing along the surface of the sea, moving so fast you couldn’t see what was in the water. When the boat stopped, you could see all the dark creatures beneath it and the vast mass of the ocean. Summer can often feel like that boat on the surface of the water. As the bright warm months are so short in the northern hemisphere, there is a feeling of not wanting to miss one sunny day, so we zip along for the ride, taking things in at perhaps more of a surface level. But fall is coming with the equinox this month, and beckoning our boat to slow down so that we might peer beneath and see whats truly holding us afloat.

If you are lucky you will not only look down but fall in, fall into the dark and face whats lurking beneath, into the depths that are vast enough hold fear and shame, regret, greed—all the ways you’ve betrayed yourself and others. Nothing is lost or forgotten in our lives, its all there in your somatic body, the sea of your unconscious mind.

You may be wondering why on earth I would tell you this is lucky. It really does not present that way, and you may be itching to get back in your boat and zip on your way. Truly, diving in is not for the faint of heart, but hidden in the dark seas are all the big things that make life worth living- Love, Peace, Acceptance, Beauty, Truth. They are all entwined with the dark stuff wanting to be cracked open and seen by you. As energy cannot be destroyed we must help it transform, and fear always runs out of steam eventually. The big qualities are infinitely bigger than your fear and the story you have told your self about who you are and they are filled with Grace.

One definition of grace is to receive an unearned favour from God. I want to highlight the unearned part. Most of us think we have to be special or chosen by grace, or that we must crawl and repent and suffer to deserve it. Grace is the light that falls on a new mothers cheek just as she feels incapable of holding her baby for one more second. It’s the hand that reaches back for you when you feel incapable of taking another step, quenches parched throats so we may remember the broadness of our spirit. Grace is going to find you whether you slow down your boat or not.

Life has a tremendous capacity to show us truth, to wake us up. And yet, many people avoid this thing called life, even as it is attempting to wake us up.

-Adyashanti

September is the first nudge back into the deep waters of who we are and who we want to be. It wants us to understand that there is nothing in the water that we can’t face.

The energy this month isn’t asking us to go DO, that will naturally be shown to us. September tends to have a ‘new year’ kind of feeling.  If you would like to consciously work with the energy, show up to your deeper self by asking, “how am I resisting what is being offered?” and “how can I see the grace in this moment?”

As we begin to release our grip on what we define as good or bad, we soften into what simply is. Life offers up what we need to work with in the moment and we that we no longer have to get in our speed boat and run away. Right now becomes enough, rich in colour and texture. All the material you need to become more loving, peaceful and conscious is already in your life. That truly is Grace.

Wishing you a gentle transition, from summer to fall.

Love,

Jacqui