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The Song of Life – a message from Ann Napier

An Introduction to The Song of Life: Cygnus Review Calendar 2012

Spending most of our time inside buildings under artificial light, as so many of us do, it is easy to feel cut off from the magic of life, and the subtle radiance and guidance of our higher selves. Yet this consoling, enlightening sense of connection is always there for us, as even a brief time spent in the fresh air, with all our senses open to nature’s wonders, never fails to prove. For our Mother Nature sings a perpetual song – of love and renewal, peace and protection – that we can hear and be restored by…. if only we listen.

Do you believe in nature spirits?

Have you ever noticed how wonderful the wind can feel? How awakening! And how sweetly it revives our sense of connection with nature and the All.

THE SONG OF LIFE: CYGNUS REVIEW CALENDAR 2012 Ann Napier & Janet Baxter
CODE: 210817 Cygnus Prices: 1 copy £4.99, 2 or more copies £4.49 each

Can you feel the presence of the nature spirits and elementals who support and take care of plant and animal life? We know that many of you are very familiar with the idea of communing with invisible beings, and enjoy their help with all kinds of activities from gardening to protecting your home. If you’re still not sure, may we ask that you suspend your disbelief for a moment, and just cast your mind back to when you were a child, and probably did believe in fairies, or at least Father Christmas? And remember how natural those beliefs felt to you at the time? And how much support you derived from them?

Could it be that you weren’t so deluded after all? And that your ‘truth’ at the time was in a sense truer than some of the beliefs held by your adult self? Could that be why we modern humans can often feel so grey, so ‘motherless’, as it were? Because the fun-loving, childlike, spontaneous, beautiful creativity and nurturing support we subconsciously know we should feel coming to us from the elemental kingdom is absent, withdrawn or very much diminished?

But on windy days, it seems to us, all that changes. At the same time as the wind blows away all our mental and emotional cobwebs, it seems to carry – even into the most sterile places – such irrepressibly playful beings; yes – real beings whose presence you can sense, creatures with consciousness and the ability to create; beings you can feel are capable of cleansing all but the stoniest of hearts and filling us with a renewed sense of expansion and freedom, reconnecting us with The Song of Life.

Children are spontaneously aware of this, and that’s why they always get so excited on windy days. Birds love it as well, and if you watch their flying antics you can’t help thinking that they, too, are infected by the spirits of fun blown in by the wind. And don’t you just love how the trees whisper and dance as the wind stirs their branches? To us, that delicious mingled feeling of cosiness and cleanliness, fun and freedom, almost as if one could fly, is not just the product of mind and imagination. It really is inspired by genuine, conscious beings, who just happen not to be visible to most people.

Thanking the beings

And these beings have so much to give! All we need to do is Acknowledge, Appreciate, Ask and Accept!

So, next time you’re out for a walk, doing some gardening, sitting down to a meal, lighting the fire or even a candle, try remembering and thanking the beings. Try remembering them on your way to work, too, and in the barren places. Try sensing them. Just playfully. With affection. Just as you did when you were a child. Remember the four ‘A’s, and see where they take you.

To our mind, it can only bring more light and joy into the world…. and into your life, too.

A Blessing from the Trees

Nature in its visible aspect, too, can bring us no end of blessings if we open ourselves to receive them. In the Spring of 2011, for instance, Geoff and I stopped while taking a stroll and lay down flat on our Mother Earth, beneath two huge oaks that were just beginning to come into leaf, and allowed ourselves to receive the blessing of the trees. Sheltered by their arms, and washed through with their love, peace and breathtaking beauty, this was the message that came through:

Dearest children, we want you to receive, and be filled with, the deepest comfort. Open your hearts and listen in stillness to the song of solace and renewal that you can hear – the song of joy and passion that reverberates through the whole of nature at this time of year.

We know you often think of life and death as two sides of the same coin, and from the perspective of life in a human body, in the world of space and time, that is often how they look. But in truth they are not. They are not of the same order, just as clouds are not of the same order as that overarching canopy of blue you call the sky. Life is eternal, never ceasing to flow, both within and beyond time. Whereas death is merely a momentary incident, a discrete event signifying change. It does not and cannot signify ending, for life – by its very nature – can never end. Just open all your senses, and look and feel around you, and you will know that this is true.

Love is stronger than death. Life is stronger than death. Light is stronger than death. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. See this, around and within you, in all its glory. Know that it fills you, and will never leave you. Recognise that, in truth, it is you. Yes, all that beauty, all that joy, flows through you just as it flows through all creation, giving you your sense of self, giving you life, ever present to wash you clean of those illusory twins: death and separation. Know that this river can never come to an end. Give thanks for this eternal blessing which is given to you freely, and is always yours. And in that state of gratitude, let Life come to full flower within you, just as you can see it blossoming all around you now.

And with this renewed sense of the invincible power of Life flowing through you, step out into the world with courage, knowing that – through your open mind, your loving heart, and your willing hands – this power of Life can soften and dissolve many an illusion, in ways far beyond your understanding.

So dear friend, why not give yourself half an hour to lie or sit under a tree, and let yourself be replenished from the ever-flowing well of Life itself?

We hope, too, that the texts and images in The Song of Life will give you a daily reminder of the healing messages of Nature, so that you can feel more deeply connected with Life, your higher self, and the divine throughout 2012, and know that – whatever happens – you are safe and in exactly the place where you are meant to be. Daily reflection on these texts will – we hope – help your soul to flower and to turn her face towards the sun of your own divine Spirit. In this way, we can become fully human on this Earth, as Nature has always intended for us. So go well, dear friends, and may you always walk in beauty.

With much love from us all at Cygnus

From The Song of Life: Cygnus Review Calendar 2012, © 2011 Ann Napier and Janet Baxter, published by Cygnus Books.

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