#71 Harvest Season & Soul Lessons: The Plum Tree Principle, Letting Go, and Stepping into the Eclipse

Hello, dear listeners! Sometimes the universe clears our schedules to create exactly the space we need, which is why today’s episode is an intimate, grounding one-on-one session. As we reach the height and end of summer, we are entering the powerful, cyclical season of the harvest. With the August 12th eclipse just around the corner, cosmic shifts are actively asking us to clear out what has reached its full potential. 

In this episode, we sit down to rest, reflect, and do an energetic check-in to help you find peace and ease. Through a beautiful visualization involving my great-grandmother's plum tree, we explore what it means to gracefully release our heavy, ripened fruits back into the earth. Letting go is not about failing; it is a sign that you are right on time and ready to create a space of pure potentiality. 

In this episode, we explore:

• The Energy of the Harvest: Recognizing when a relationship, thought pattern, or chapter has reached its natural conclusion and completion. 
• The Plum Tree Visualization: A guided, grounding practice to help you surrender the heavy fruits of your labor back to the earth with deep gratitude. 
• The Universal Law of Giving and Receiving: Understanding that everything in this life is on loan, and how gifting things back creates energetic balance. 
• Navigating the Eclipse: How to harness the transformative energy of the upcoming eclipse to step into your next phase with grace. 
• Calling in the New: Journaling prompts to help you intentionally replace your released fears with excitement, wonder, and joy. 

Life loves living for you, and whatever phase you are in is happening for you, not to you. Pour yourself a hot tea, settle in, and let's honor the ritual of the harvest together. 

To dive deeper into your cosmic and energetic journey, or to connect further, visit www.josephinemcgrail.com.

Sending you so much love—see you on the other side!

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 1:22

Hello, dear listeners out there. Hello, hello. Oh, it's so nice to be back with you all. Um it's been a minute. It's been a fun kind of experience over the last I want to say the last 10 days, maybe two weeks. I don't know how you guys have felt, but a lot of things in my life um has been clearing out. So for instance, with the podcast, I had three people booked in, and for whatever reasons, life had other plans. Um, one sadly lost his dad, you know, um bless him in. Another got really sick. And anyway, um, not to start all doom and gloom, but I think it's true for many of us that when we are here at the height of summer, but also towards the end of summer, um, we need to have a release. So uh it's just gonna be you and me today. It's gonna be nice, it's gonna be intimate. And there's also something really beautiful about just having a little moment to sit down, rest, and reflect. So, whenever this podcast episode finds you, just know that I hope that our time here together today will bring you the peace that you long for, the ease that your mind and your heartbeat needs. I hope that today's session will be really healing for you on all levels. So, a little bit of an energetic chicken. As I mentioned before, we are coming towards the end/slash height of summer, and so traditionally, for many countries here in the northern hemisphere, this is the time of the harvest. And so, again, because we're not all farmers anymore, anyway, right? You might not feel that connected to nature, but on a really physical level, your body is still in tune with the cycle of life, and so with that I mean, even if you are not out there farming, you are still very much impacted by that cyclical, cyclical nature of life. So, you might have noticed, just like my podcast friends here, you might have been feeling really tired lately, you might have, you know, god forbid, you might have got had had an illness, you might have had people leaving your life, there might have been a lot of endings and closures. Um, and these are all signs, not evidence of you failing in life or you know not having a good time, even though it can be challenging, not taking that away. These are actually signs that something has come to fruition, something has come to its full potential, something has reached the end of the contract, you have learned whatever you needed to learn. And before the next chapter, this this you know, the start of school can can start again here in the end of uh August September time, something needs to be released. At the time of this recording, this is also two days prior to the eclipse. And so, again, whatever isn't coming with you, where you're going next, has to leave. So, again, the fact that you decided my podcast out of the whole world of podcasts you could be listening to today, I know that there is an aspect of you that is willing and ready to let go, and that is truly what the harvest is. The harvest symbolizes not just abundance and you know, flowers and fruits and you know, ripened vegetables. So it also symbolizes the end of something. So the same way, sadly, if you put under the weather, the body's had to, you know, you've been going through that period of like emotionally releasing something, physically releasing something, maybe you've had to move house, maybe a job was taken away. Whatever it is, maybe it's just a mindset. I definitely had my own little thing this morning of going, you know what? This thought pattern that I'd been in, it's time to end us. This ends today. Let's take a breath in, and a deep breath out. One more deep breath in, and a deep breath out. So, with that nice and grounded and deep beginning to our podcast episode, I would like you to just ask yourself, and if it's safe to do so, maybe bring a hand to the heart and just ask yourself, breathe deeply into the heart, and just ask yourself what in my life has reached its full potential. Breathe in. Breathe out. What in my life has come to its completion? Breathe in, breathe out. What in my life has completely is completely ripe, so ripe that I can let it go, that I can release back into the earth the gift of letting go. So, whatever it is you're releasing, remember, what might be something that's now has expired for you, even if it's something that feels slightly toxic to you, your poison could be another's medicine, another's blessing, another's dream, another stream job, another stream person, another stream piece of clothing. So as you ask yourself this question, hand and heart, ask yourself, what aspect of my life could be again a thought pattern, a physical reality, a person, a relationship, a job, it could be money, it could be anything, could be an old plant. What are you willing and ready to give back to the earth? Because remember, the truth is everything here on our planet, when we're here as human beings, it's all alone. The clothes that I'm wearing, one day I'll have to bring it back to the planet, right? Everything that we are currently experiencing is alone. Just kind of that thing that I got this little reminder from the library this morning. Justine McGrail, you have, you know, your book is due for renewal, right? So I renewed the lease, but it's alone. So ask yourself, what aspect of my life, mind, body, or spirit, could be work, could be an idea, could be a relationship, could be absolutely anything. Could be the old spices in your spice work. What are you willing to return to the earth? What are you willing and ready to gift back to the earth? This is the harvest of your life. Breathe in and breathe out. And again, you could grab pen and paper. It might be really nice to journal about this. Just that really potent question. Where in my life am I ready to give back, to return to the earth with grace, ease, and gratitude? That which is no longer coming with me. Breathe in and breathe out. And then I invite you to visualize yourself as a beautiful plum tree. My great-grandmother, who I am really, really connected with. She passed away when I was, I think, around 11 years old back in Denmark. And I still speak to her every single day to this day. She is always with me. In her garden, I'm getting greased plums as I say this. In her garden, she had a beautiful plum tree with the most beautiful deep dark purple slash reddish plums, and they were super juicy and they smelled amazing and they tasted amazing. But I remember as a kid, I was so eager, I was so excited. You know, in the beginning of summer, I would be like, Can we have the plums now? And she would say, No, when they are ripe, they will drop, right? They'll when they are ripe, they will drop, or you go over and give them a little hand. But either way, the point is see yourself as a plum tree and feel the weight of all those beautiful plums, and each plum will represent a relationship in your life, a belief system about yourself and your purpose in life, who you are, why you're here, could represent your home, your family, friendships, colleagues, could represent your clothes, your belongings, your dreams, your fears, ooh, your frustrations, but also your dreams, your aspirations, your hopes, all of it. So visualize and see yourself like that beautiful great big plum tree rooted in the earth, and you've been shooting towards the stars, you've been reaching for the sunlight, right? But now, here at the height and towards end of summer, here in August, you are ripe with sunlight. You're a little bit exhausted from all that sunlight. Your branches are heavy, and your fruits are beautiful, but they are ripe and ready to be released and returned back to the earth. Breathe in. Yes, release it back into the earth the same way we ourselves must one day release everything we have loved, everything is alone in this life. Your relationships, even your kids, your children, your job, your passions. Release it all into the earth. Give back that which was yours not to have, but to love, to cherish for a short while. Breathe in. In breathe out. Wonderful. And then just notice how much lighter your branches became. And notice that there's a sense of ease to your breath now. And notice that there's a sense of like, oh this was with a heavy heart that I let go. But what is about to happen has, you know, I now have space for it, and there's a sense of excitement here, and there's a sense of release and fulfillment here. It is not empty space, it is space of potentiality that has now been created within you and within all aspects of your life. Let's take a breath in and breathe out. And with this in mind, again, if you're journaling or maybe you're gonna do it later, just write one thing because then one thing is to let go. But we have to remember the letting go is not just pushing away, it's not just easing releasing, it's not just grieving. Next part of the letting go process is getting really excited about what is to come. So I would like you to think about one thing. Now that you've cleared the space, you release the harvest back into the earth where it belongs. So new plum trees can bloom and sprout everywhere, all around the world. You've given back to the earth so there's balance in the system again. One of the universal laws, these principles of our life on this planet is giving and receiving, right? We are not just here to get, get, get, get, we're also here to give. And if we can give that which we love the most, if we can let that go, perhaps it is the greatest sign of our undying love. And perhaps that in return will give us the greatest sense of ease and peace. And with all of that said and done, get yourself ready for what you are looking forward to. What are you gonna do with all that space in your life now? So, for instance, if you are willing and ready, if you let go, if you decided to harvest, to return like a plum back to earth, the an aspect of you that was holding on and identifying with fear, really fearful. If that was you, what are you gonna replace it with? Let's replace it with excitement instead of what if maybe let's return it and and and replace it with ah, but what if? Ooh, see, same words, different energy behind it. Anything can be replaced with something that feels like exciting and expansion and wonder and joy. So write down or think about something where you're like, this feels really exciting. Now that I have decided, because everything in life, it's just a decision. You could literally be one decision away for your greatest idea, your greatest love affair, your greatest new life, your greatest best friend, your greatest new idea to start that amazing project. You could be one decision away. Could be something as simple as just going, I'm gonna get off the bus one stop earlier. Surprise yourself. I'm gonna say no next time because actually I really don't want that thing. Do something different. Anyway, what are you excited about? What are you what have you created space for? What I like to do is because I like to work just with I like to keep everything really simple. So instead of getting super like, oh, I want this and that. Maybe it's just a feeling. Maybe you want a little more spaciousness in your life, and how good is that gonna feel? So then you're gonna ask yourself, where does spaciousness live in my life? Maybe it lives in your heart, maybe that's that state where your heart can breathe with ease. Love, home is where my heart breathes with ease. Breathe in and breathe out. Or maybe it's something very specific, maybe it's more materialistic. Maybe you're like, thanks, that's all very good, Josie, but I need a home. Okay, visualize that dream home, but then go deeper. How are you going to feel about you once you live in that beautiful space? Maybe you're gonna feel really relaxed, maybe you're gonna get really excited because you're like, Yes, and now I can invite all these people, we're gonna have so much fun, right? So, whatever it is, write down. Now that you've had your harvest, you've gone through the ritual of the harvest, you have released and surrendered whatever isn't coming with you where you're going next. What are you going to replace it with? Replace, replace, replace. The mind, the ego knows to know loves to know what's going on. So even if you can't with certainty say this or that, at least know the feeling. How do you want to feel? You have all this new space in your life. Maybe you just, you know, maybe part of your harvest ritual was to release half your wardrobe. What are you gonna replace it with? Maybe you just want a nice big space. Now you can really see what clothes you have, or maybe there's just one new item that you really want to get. Whatever it is. What are you excited about? What are you looking forward to? Maybe you're really looking forward to autumn. Beautiful colours, the smell of the kind of slightly wet leaf. For me, it always smells like apples in autumn season. Hot cheese, hot hot chocolates in front of the fireplace. Maybe that you have an autumn tradition, just something that you really look forward to. And with all of that said and done, I think we're gonna finish here. I just wanted to briefly pop in and just remind you that whatever is going on in your life, if you're finding yourself in the season of the harvest, which I think we all are, don't see that as a sign of you failing in life. Seed is a sign that you are right on time. Everything happens when the time is right. The last thing to ripen on a fruit tree is indeed the fruit. The plum tree does not try to be anything else than who she is. She loves who she is. Her plums will bloom and sprout and ripe and fall when the time is right. So can we trust the seasons of life? If you are currently going through a space, a situation, whether it be work, personal, maybe it's just your mind, your mental health, your physical health, emotional health, whatever's going on for you, know that it is just a face, but honor that face. Know that this phase is not random. This phase is not happening to you, it's happening for you, it's moving through you and with you. Life wants you to live. Maybe say that with me. Life wants me to live. Life loves living through me. Even Buddha, my dog, is agreeing with that. So wherever you are in your life, it's just a face, but it's an important face. Do not neglect this face, but juice it, appreciate it, give thanks for this face. Thank God this face is facing through me. What is this face teaching you about you? How is this face helping you to regulate, digest, process, reflect, delegate, and now take action in a way that feels fully aligned with who you're stepping into? Honor all of your faces. Honor this ritual of the harvest. What are you ready to release back into earth? Gift it back with ease and grace, with deep love, care and devotion. We're not here to push it away, to throw it away, even if it if it's reached its expiry date, even if it's causing you grief right now, send it love and send it off with love. I hope you have the most beautiful harvest season. Step into the eclipse that's happening here on the 12th of August with ease and grace. And know that whatever changes are happening, they're happening for your best. Sending you so much love and hope to be back with you really soon. From my heart's to yours. Know that the world needs you, and there's a much bigger dream here for you. See you on the other side.