October is about more than Halloween

Halloween isn't "all that"

What else is there to pay attention to in October besides Halloween? Halloween is great fun with it's tradition of costumes and candy, yet what I share in this blog is way more valuable to know about than where to get these things for the best deal. Did you know, for instance, that by ignoring these three reasons to pay more attention, we miss out on a unique opportunity to inject our lives with some great juice?

Don't get me wrong. I love Halloween. I have super fond memories of running around our neighborhood with friends as a kid, wearing my beloved costume and carrying my orange plastic pumpkin bucket to freely collect my fair share of the lute that night. It was an amazing thing to comprehend and I looked forward to it every year.

As an adult, I still love Halloween. Yet in addition to that world of fun, why not look beyond typical Halloween fanfare into something deeper and more substantive for our lives? The energies vibe high at this time of year. These three reasons give us an opening to power up our reality in useful and supportive ways by taking advantage of this energy. Ignoring that is like punching a hole in our water bucket.

Reason 1: With the dawning of Autumn on the Autumnal Equinox, we entered the season of the harvest, and the season of the harvest is linked to the activity of gratitude. In Autumn, our life seeds have been planted (Spring), toiled over and nourished (Summer), and now we harvest (Autumn). It’s time to start considering what gifts this year of our lives has generated. Look beyond the obvious and into the deeper aspects of yourself and who you have become, how you’ve changed internally.

Reason 2: On the 25th of October we have a partial solar eclipse. This is a powerful time to consider what we are ready to release and what we are ready to generate in our lives. Eclipse energy is about finding balance. And about facing our shadowy insides—the thoughts, feelings, and actions we prefer to deny and ignore. And about bringing light into the dark corners of our lives so that we can transform the energy that’s likely stuck there. It’s an interesting thing that by simply giving attention to the things we try to bury, they find some air and begin to soften, open, and even heal.

Reason 3: At the end of October, we celebrate Samhain (one point of origin of the modern-day “Halloween”), a time when the veil between the seen and unseen worlds is said to be thin. It’s a perfect time to honor our ancestors and tho9se in our lives who already crossed over that veil. Honoring our ancestry and the memory of those who have died in our lives helps us connect more deeply with all that we have to be grateful for. And so, we cycle back to the activity of gratitude. This will resonate through the month of November and the time of Thanksgiving, yet its frequency has already begun to tremor.

I find it helpful to take time to so something nourishing and loving for myself every single day, even if it’s just for a couple of minutes…sitting in the sun, breathing the cool fall air, meditating, enjoying something special, etc…This is a great way to help maintain integrity and balance in the midst of a lot of “crazy” going on in the world these days, and it’s also a nice way to connect with the sense of gratitude.

Happy Trails!