Magical Mud Season & Maple Syrup Meditation

Welcome to this moment of mud, maple and mystery, the miracle of early Spring. We will be taking a journey of celebration and revelation together, and I thank you for joining me. Sense yourself settling into your seat, bringing your awareness into your body, gently allowing your breath to relax and inhabit all your body, all your cells relaxing, melting into the space of your body.

Now in your mind’s eye you realize the seat you are sitting on is in a vehicle. You are traveling in an automobile, a car or a truck, going down the road. You are driving through a winter wonderland with diamond sparkling snow all around, brilliant Sun shining down from bright patches of blue between white clouds, with tiny snowflakes dancing in the air here and there, catching the Sun and sparkling like the most magical winter fairy dust. You roll down the window to catch some of these magical sparkles and joy wells up inside you.

Soon you begin to feel the temperature rise and a mist begins to form all around you. The road beneath you and in front of you turns from white snow to melting permafrost to thawing mud. The wheels of your vehicle begin to slow down, straining against the thickness of the mud, sliding in and out of the ruts made by the tires of other vehicles that have passed this way. You are still steering, trying to maneuver the car so that the tires are on the top of the heaves, but they still settle into the tracks, shifting you back and forth as you slog ahead. Doesn’t this remind you of the way life feels sometimes? Moving forward is such hard work, seems so slow going sometimes, but you persist. Sometimes it even helps you to slow down and take a look around you at beauty and blessings you might otherwise have missed.

Pulling forward out of this soggy spot you drive up a little rise and find a dry place to park the car. The mud and mist are just too thick to drive into safely and so you proceed on foot. You are not in hurry now, and you still feel that happiness, gratitude at being in such a magical, beautiful place.

You also feel safe and comfortable. You are dressed warmly, your feet are covered and protected, and the mist feels welcoming somehow, refreshing, and you want to walk forward into it, feeling a gentle excitement, anticipating what lies ahead. You might notice what you're wearing. Are they your regular clothes or something from a different time or place, a time in the past, or a time you can't quite place? Within the thick mist around you there is a current that gently streams across your path and touches your face. It feels warm and smells sweet, beckoning you forward, and then it swirls away.

As you stroll on, you hear a faint musical jingling of metal bouncing rhythmically, and then to that is added a regular beat that you can also feel through your feet. The sound becomes louder as its source draws nearer from behind you and the excitement builds in your heart. Soon you turn and see a gorgeous pair of dappled silver horses emerging from the mist, the jingling merrily emanating from their harness and from bells riveted to leather straps hanging around their necks. They are pulling a simple sled with a single seat upon which is seated a driver, and behind the driver is a large metal tank attached to the sled. You step aside to make room for them to pass and the driver waves at you with a friendly smile. You sense that she would offer you a ride if she had another seat beside her, for her face is kind and friendly.

As they pass, you breathe in the scent of the horses’ warm bodies, and catch a whiff of that sweetness in the mist that you noticed earlier. It settles on your tongue and tastes alive with the first green stirrings of Spring. You walk on along the lane, now enjoying the soft feeling of the mud enveloping your feet while your nice warm boots keep out the cold and damp. All your senses feel so awake and revitalized in this magical place, your mind is clear and present, and your heart is content with the simple pleasures of Nature.

Up ahead you see through the mist there is a light golden glow that draws you onward. Soon you reach the source of the light, a small rustic wooden structure with a peaked roof and an open cupola on top that is streaming with clouds of steam emerging from the building, rising up into the forest canopy. You can see from the tracks that the horse-drawn sap sled has stopped here and then traveled on down the road.

The many-paned windows are fogged so you can't see in clearly but the golden light is shining from within. Intrigued, you open the heavy plank door and step inside to find one main room mostly occupied with a gleaming metal apparatus from which emanates the steam ascending through the roof. It is known as a sugaring arch, holding a wood fire hearth and the long, flat pan that that holds the boiling maple sap until it releases enough steam to become the delicious thick syrup our bodies crave after a long winter.

You are greeted with a gentle cloud of warm, sweet steam and a friendly circle that welcomes you warmly. You may or may not be able to identify each of the members and they appear to have come from many times and places. They may be wearing farmer's overalls and boots and plaid shirts, or robes, or cloaks, or skins, or suits and ties, or long dresses and flowery hats. One person gestures for you to come and sit next to them on a beautiful simple wooden bench with lovely flowing carvings on the back. You shed your cloak or coat and settle comfortably on the bench.

The room feels both cheery and solemn. One of the eldest in the group greets you by name and says, “Now we are ready, let us begin.” Someone hands you a hand-crafted ceramic mug that is shaped to perfectly fit your hands and you cradle it, waiting contentedly. Another member of the circle stands, holding a larger vessel engraved with beautiful symbols and sigils. A man next to her dips a ladle into the roiling sweet waters of the arch and pours some of the hot sap into the dark liquid already in the vessel. Together they hold the bowl and offer blessings over it. Then they move slowly around the circle, ladling some of the liquid into each person’s cup. You see the others sniff the steam and begin to drink when their cup is filled, so you do the same.

The brew is delicious. It instantly warms you to your toes and up through the top of your head. It is naturally slightly sweet, with a deep rich taste, a bit of a tang, and even a little tingle on your tongue. It tastes of all the fiery wildness of the life rising in the woods, the Earthiness of the soil, the coolness of the mist, the freshness of the melting snows and streams.

Your awareness of the sugarhouse fades as you feel the life force of the forest rising up from deep within you. You feel it rising, rising, soaring up through you, streaming through every cell in your body, wanting to burst forth into new life, new shoots, branches, buds, flowers, celebrating the strengthening Sun, worshipping the warmth of Spring’s life emerging. And then just when you feel you’re about to burst with the joy and ecstasy of it all, the Sun sets and the energy begins to descend, to settle, to become more subdued and retreat into the depths and darkness of your roots, to the safe nourishing resting place in the Earth where it will remain until it rises again. And so the next morning dawns again and the sap again arises, joyful, pulsing through the trees, streaming through you, filling all your cells, again bursting with life and new growth as the Sun rises, and then again receding with the setting of the Sun, resting in the night. Over and over you witness, you feel this cycle of Spring’s rebirthing in the forest, in the land, powers of Earth and Sun arising to bring forth new life in the repeating expansion and contraction of the labor of love as the land begins to take on a green shimmering hue and the leaves and buds finally unfurl, the blossoms forming just after. The forest sings with joy and you are at peace, one with the land. Enjoy this wonder for a moment.

Your awareness returns to the sugarhouse and the circle of friends, or guides, or ancestors, whoever they may be. You wonder if the others have experienced something similar to your vision. And then you think you catch a glimpse of a little leaf sprouting from the shoulder of someone across the circle, but it’s a little steamy so you can’t be sure. Everything does seem to have a slightly green tint to it... Again the vessel circles round and fills your cup, and again you drink.

And now that life force that was so vital and present in the trees and the life of the forest is in your human form. It is the Divine spark of Life that gives you breath in every moment. Every breath is a birthing expansion and contraction of new possibilities, new potential, new opportunities. And now you feel that Essence, that life force arising within you not as a tree, but as you, fully human and yet so sacred, so powerful. You feel your creativity arising, your desire, your inspiration and excitement, your deep wisdom, the knowing that goes far beyond your mind, the vast love of your endless heart, the healing power of your hands and the blessing of your mere unique presence. You begin to feel or see or hear or sense these things within you taking shape in that birthing process of expansion and contraction repeating over and over. The inspiration and excitement arises, and then retreats again to ferment while you are resting or healing or going about your day. And then it arises again with new clarity and a new calling, calling you forward, showing you the way. Again and again, each time moving forward a bit more, showing you a bit more of the beautiful design of your life, your work, your relationships, yourself, the wonderful things you simply can’t help creating because this is what the Life Force in you is for. This is what you’re made of. You can’t help blossoming forth in your own unique forms any more than the maple tree can help making sap or the apple tree blossoms. Your gifts are arising, you can feel them, see them, welcome them joyfully. You are safe now to be who you are meant to be and to bring forth what is emerging in you now. It’s all happening so naturally and so comfortably even as you stretch and grow. You’re only growing into more of who you really are, who you’ve always been and who you’re meant to be. Revel in your Divine human self for a moment.

Now your awareness returns again to the sugarhouse and the others are looking at you as though they are silently cheering you on, as though they have glimpsed your vision as well. They also seem to be glowing with the radiance of great purpose and deep wisdom, even more than before. The elder who greeted you nods to you from across the circle. And the vessel passes again.

You sip again, and this time you feel the life force of the trees flowing... you feel your own Essence arising... and then these fade a bit as another awareness arises. You feel that surge of life in a deeper pulse, one that ebbs and flows throughout the ages, far back into the mists of prehistory and on into the unseeable future. The rhythm of our collective evolution sways back and forth, advancing and retreating, yet somehow ever onward, always moving forward toward who and what we are meant to be, and beyond ourselves. Reaching far back into the distant ancient past, you feel it in the surge forward as we learned to walk on two feet, as we began to craft tools, to create communities and relationships for more than just survival. You feel the collective consciousness arising in similar ideas and inspirations in different places around the world at the same time. You feel the ebb and flow of cultures and civilizations rising and falling, tribes and nations coming and going over many, many centuries.

You sense the archetypes arising one after another, expressing in humanity itself as the Great Mother, the Innocent Child, the Warrior Hero, the Savior, the Queen, the Emperor, the Fool, and now a new archetype is arising, a very ancient and sacred collective human form that will live on for many ages to come, for she is full of magic and love, healing and wisdom, beauty and power. Feel her arising now not just in you but in the world, in all of humanity collectively. She is Lady Liberty, she is Justice, she is the archetypal Priestess as Sacred Activist, the One Who Changes. She embodies the great transformation of our time. She is She, and yet she is male and female, man and woman, boy and girl. She is all that has been lost and yet never forgotten. She has been with us always, lying dormant for many ages like the sap in the roots of the trees, like your gifts that you have been safekeeping for just the right moment.

That moment is now. You can feel the tides of history pulling us forward to the edge of what we think we know, and now we step forward beyond knowledge into wisdom, into our own Divine guidance and perfect intuitive clarity. As the sap that rises through all the trees in the forest is the life blood of the one Earth, so the Essential light that is the Divine spark in each of us is a flicker of the eternal flame of Spirit. See those Divine sparks of life lighting up all around the planet now, every living being connected by threads of light touching from one Divine spark of life to another, forming the most gorgeous Web of Light and Life you can imagine, stretching around the world like an enormous net of love, embracing Mother Earth with our joy and our Divine human power. This is what we’re here for. This is why we have come. Bask in this radiance for a moment.

Feel this Web of Light glowing and growing and flowing to every being on the planet, welcoming in those who have been excluded, lifting up those who have fallen, nourishing those who are weak and struggling. Sense the endless flow of Light and Love and Life surging through the Web to reach every single life, blessing all of us with exactly what we need to shine. See all the energy of the Web just perfectly balanced, flowing freely through all.

And now see or sense the threads of humanity in that Web, the collective consciousness of our species. Feel the life force arising and taking form in the most beautiful, healing transforming ways, feel the Essence of humanity expressing itself in creating a beautiful new world full of diverse cultures and amazing new systems, technologies, communities, celebrations as well as ancient traditions remembered and preserved, many thought lost now being recovered, new hope for seemingly unsolvable problems, ideals like justice and safety and equality, beauty and prosperity now being manifested. Take a moment to feel what is already spontaneously arising in our world that is beautiful and wonderful.

Now remember the life force Essence arising in you individually and how it wants to express itself. You may see projects or ideas fully formed, or just forming, or just a glimmer, or just the space where they will arise. Whatever it is, hold that vision lovingly and nurture it with your radiant heart. Perhaps you can see a shining thread connecting your gifts and inspiration to a need somewhere in the world, or to a wonderful movement or opportunity that is already arising. Take a moment to let yourself see this bridge creating a link between your gifts and the opportunities in the world for you to bring them forth. Feel the need and opportunity literally drawing your genius, your passion through you as a portal and out to where it’s needed and appreciated. You are one of those bright lights in the Web sending and receiving energy, love, inspiration, joy, healing, beauty, transformation through those shining filaments that connect us all. It is our nature to shine. Let it emerge.

As your awareness now returns to the sugarhouse and the circle of beings around you, they are definitely all glowing with a lovely Divine light and you are as well. All of you join hands and the energy surges, filling your heart with love and joy overflowing. Through the steam you suddenly realize it doesn’t look like a sugarhouse anymore but a cave with a small fire and stars shining outside, and then you’re in a lodge of skins around you with steaming rocks in the center, and then the scene shifts once again and we are all standing in a larger circle, hand in hand around a great bonfire on the top of a high hill and Sun is rising over the horizon. It is the first morning of Spring, and we have come here to love the new world into being.

Our transformation is already complete. She lives within us now, as always. We are as we have always been and yet only now are fully emerging. We are the ones who bring the prophecy for our age, and we create it as we see it and speak it and write it and live it. We are not bound by the prophecies of the past, though we are fulfilling many, and we do not bring our prophecy only for the generations ahead, though certainly they will feel the ripples of our laboring rhythms for many ages to come. Our prophecies are no longer the property of a few to be given only to those who prove worthy. The truth now dwells among us and within all of us and we are all worthy to bear these powerful truths. We know exactly who we are, what we need to do and how beautiful this world is meant to be. We are the blessings that are needed now, and we live the teachings that are being brought forth. Just look and see them already unfolding in yourself, in your own life. They are there, emerging. It cannot be otherwise.

I am in awe of your power and beauty and I thank you for bringing this message forth through me. I am deeply grateful and honored to share it with you. I love you and I believe in you. We are doing this wonderful world-blessing work.

So let it be and so it shall be. Blessed be.

I would love to hear your insights and experiences with this meditational journey. Please feel free to share in the comments or contact me directly.