August meditation including, new moon, solar eclipse and first harvest

Join me for August’s newsletter meditation. I have recorded the meditation that accompanies this month’s newsletter. It’s easy to use in the morning, in the evening, or during any quiet pause in your day to reset and refocus on the present moment.

This is a gentle meditation visualisation designed to support the natural transition as our bodies embrace the the August harvest, new moon and solar eclipse

A reminder not to listen to the meditation while driving or operating machinery, and if you can to be in a space that you feel safe and comfortable within   

I do hope you enjoy it. Your feedback is always welcome, and I would love to hear how you find the practice. Please feel free to share any suggestions for future topics, particularly those connected to the therapeutic world.

Do remember to subscribe so you can stay updated whenever a new episode is released.

You can find more information at www.mindfulmomentstherapies.co.uk. I am also on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and Pinterest under the name Mindful Moments Therapies.

You can read more on my blog 

https://www.blogger.com/blog/posts/8004319244158596631

Or subscribe to my newsletter 

http://eepurl.com/zNd7jfpCvt

Wishing you a wonderful month ahead,

Phiona

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A Gentle Reminder
You don’t have to have everything figured out.

Sometimes, the most important step is simply giving yourself space to pause… and notice.

Until Next Time…
Take things at your own pace.
And allow yourself to reconnect in whatever way feels right for you.
 

Take care.

Phiona 

Transcript

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SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hello and welcome to Mindful Moments Podcasts. And I suppose there's a little apology for the slowness in my recording podcasts. I've been on a break. I've been on a summer break, which felt very much needed. And just taking my time, being slow, being in nature, enjoying this lovely weather we're having, and just taking a bit of a time off. So I'm back. And this is the podcast that actually accompanies my August newsletter. So it's a really lovely, relaxing, meditative, mind, relaxing recording for you. But as always, I'm going to remind you that before you settle into this meditation, just make sure that you're somewhere safe, comfortable, unlikely to be disturbed. Somewhere where you can sit upright if you need to, with your feet supported by the floor, or to lie down if that feels more comfortable and it's okay for you to do so. The most important thing is if you're listening while driving, walking near traffic, operating machinery, or doing anything that requires your full attention, please stop the meditation and return to it where you are somewhere that you can be supported and can relax fully into it safely. As always, if at any point you begin to feel uncomfortable or lightheaded, emotionally overwhelmed, or simply do not want to continue, you can open your eyes anytime, look around you, reconnect with your surroundings, grounding into them and stop and pause. Time to pause in often a busy life, a busy time, time to listen, time to come back to yourself, time just for you. And today's recording is bringing in all the different energies that are around us in nature at the moment. Today I'm recording this is the new moon. And also we have the solar eclipse tonight and meteor showers also as amazing imagery. We've also just moved past the very first harvest of Linassa in the beginning part of August, and this is summer's last hurrah. I read somewhere yesterday, and I really loved the way it was written. I can't credit who shared it because unfortunately it was anonymous. August is the Sunday of the year. I thought, wow, that's so true. Because this is August is that last moment before we really begin to turn to autumn. I don't know whether you've noticed or not, but already, you know, the nights are drawing in. It's getting dark by 10 to 9 o'clock. By quarter past nine, it's pitch black. Whereas a month ago, it was it was you know gone past 10 that the sun was setting. So we are moving that cycle, ever moving, ever forward movement towards autumn. So for today, let's settle in the August energy. So when you're ready, allow your body to settle. Just taking in a slow breath through your nose, gently breathing out through your mouth, and acknowledging that the exhale will always find its own way out, its own rhythm. So just do that again. Just inhale and exhale, allowing the breath to find its own natural rhythm. No need to breathe deeply or differently. Just simply notice your breathing. Feel the surface beneath you, your feet against the floor, your legs supported and your back held, and your hands resting wherever they naturally fall. Notice the weight of your body and allow yourself to be supported by what is beneath you. And just take another slow breath. And as you breathe out, allow your shoulders to soften, allow your jaw to relax, the muscles around your eyes becoming softer. There's nowhere you need to get to, and for these next few moments, you can simply be here. Now begin to imagine yourself, if not already, outdoors. Somewhere that feels familiar, peaceful, and alive. Perhaps a meadow, a woodland clearing, a garden at the end of a warm day, or a quiet place beside the sea. And imagine the landscape around you in August. The fullness of summer is still present, but something has changed. The light has begun to soften. The evenings carry a different quality. The greens of the landscape are deeper now, and some flowers have passed their brightest moment. Seeds are forming. Fruit is ripening. The fields are beginning to reveal what they have produced. Summer is still here. But you can feel its turning. This is the last hurrah. Not an ending that needs to be mourned, but a moment to notice, to appreciate, to gather what the season has offered before the year begins to move towards something quieter. Take a breath here and allow yourself to notice what this moment brings up for you.

SPEAKER_00 7:42

Perhaps it's gratitude. Perhaps resistance.

SPEAKER_01 7:53

Perhaps excitement for what comes next. Maybe a mixture of all three. Whatever is here is welcome. August carries an ancient seasonal turning. Lanassa, traditionally associated with the fast harvest, marking a point when the promise of earlier months begins to become tangible. What was planted can now be gathered. What was tended can now be recognized. What has grown quietly is beginning to show itself. Imagine yourself walking slowly through a field at this time of the first harvest. You can hear the movement of the grasses around you. Feel the warmth of the day still held in the earth. Perhaps there is a scent of dry grass, grains, fruits, or sun warmed soil. Look around you. Notice what has reached maturity, and now gently turn that attention towards your own life. What has been growing for you over these past months? It may be something obvious, a relationship, a project, a change in perspective, a new habit, a greater sense of confidence, or it may be something much quieter, a boundary you've learned to hold, a part of yourself you have begun to understand, a little more trust or a little more ease. You do not need to decide whether it's complete, just simply notice what is there. What has this year already given you? What have you created, learned, survived, changed or allowed? Just take a breath and allow yourself to acknowledge it. You do not need to minimize it. You do not need to compare it with anyone else's harvest. This is just for you. Now imagine the afternoon beginning to move towards evening. The warmth remains, but the light is changing. The shadows become longer. The edges of the landscape soften. Somewhere within this transition, you notice the sky beginning to darken. The new moon carries a very different quality from the brightest of high summer. There is less to see, less to hold on to, more space for stillness. Allow yourself to imagine the sky without the visible moon. It's not empty, simply dark. A darkness that gives the stars somewhere to appear. Allow your breathing to become slower, not forced, just slightly more spacious. Imagine that darkness surrounding you gently. Not as something threatening, but as a place where you do not have to perform. A place where nothing needs to be visible. A place where you can put down all you have been carrying. Asking yourself quietly, what am I ready to stop carrying? You do not need to search for an answer. Just allow something to arise naturally. Perhaps a pressure. An expectation. A story about who you should be. Or something you've outgrown. Something that no longer needs your energy. With your next exhale. Imagine setting it down and then breathe. Now imagine the landscape changing again. The daylight is still present. But something unusual is happening above you. The sun is becoming partially covered. The light shifts. The familiar world takes an unfamiliar quality. And for a moment the ordinary becomes the extraordinary. Without looking directly at the sun, just simply imagine the changing light around you. The landscape becoming quieter. The temperature shifting slightly.

SPEAKER_00 14:40

The world pausing for breath.

SPEAKER_01 14:57

Notice what happens within you when something familiar is temporarily altered. Perhaps you become a little more attentive, more curious, more aware of what you normally overlook. This is the invitation of the eclipse. Not to fear change, not to force transformation, but to notice what becomes visible when the usual light changes. What do you notice about yourself when you stop seeing things in the usual way? What becomes clearer when you pause? What have you been looking at so often that you no longer really see it? Take a slow breath in and breathe out. You do not need an answer, just to notice. Now allow the imagined darkness to deepen into night. First stars appear, then more and more. And now you are beneath an open sky. Your body supported, your breath steady, the earth beneath you, the vastness above you. Now imagining a meteor crossing the darkness, a brief line of light, then another and another. The meteor shower reaching its peak, coinciding with the new moon, and also the solar eclipse. Imagine watching one pass overhead. Just there, and it's gone. Another appears, but it's brief and bright, impossible to hold on to. Allow yourself to notice the contrast. The meteor is moving quickly. Yet you are still. But you are small. And yet you are part of the same living system. The earth beneath you, the atmosphere around you, the stars above you. The rhythms of the planet continuing, whether you are paying attention or not. And perhaps this is where nature meets the nature within you. You do not need to control every movement. You do not need to know what comes next. Some things are allowed to move through you. Some things are allowed to pass. Just gently bring your awareness back to your body. Notice your breath. Your heartbeat. Notice the sensations beneath your skin. You are a living body within a living world. Your rhythms change. Your energy changes. Your needs change. Just as the landscape changes, there are seasons within you too. Times of expansion, of activity, times of retreat, times when something is beginning anew, times when something is being harvested, and times when you need the darkness before you know what is coming next. There is nothing wrong with this movement. You do not need to remain at your summer peak forever. Take a breath and allow yourself to recognize where you are now. Perhaps you're still full of energy. Perhaps you're tired. Perhaps you're somewhere between the two. Gently ask yourself what am I ready to gather? What am I ready to release? What deserves to come with me into the next season? Let the question settle and give yourself time. Imagine returning once more to the landscape of the first harvest. The field, the hedgerow, the fruit trees, the warm earth, the fading light. And imagine you are carrying a small basket, and into it you're going to place the things you wish to carry forward. Perhaps one quality you've developed, one relationship or lesson, one memory or intention, one part of yourself that feels more alive than it did before. You do not need to fill the basket. Choose only what matters. Now imagine leaving behind anything that has completed its purpose. You do not need to throw it away. Simply allow it to return to the earth. The season knows how to compost what is finished. It knows how to transform what has passed into nourishment for what comes next.

SPEAKER_00 22:43

Perhaps you can allow yourself to do the same.

SPEAKER_01 22:51

Begin now to bring your attention back to the space around you, noticing the surface beneath your body, the temperature of the air. Notice the sounds closest to you and the sounds that are further away. Take a slightly deeper breath and let it go. Feel your hands, feel your feet, gently move your fingers and toes, perhaps rolling your shoulders and stretching your body if it wants. There is no need to rush back. Stay here for another moment if you need to, just connecting to the August landscape once more. Those last long evenings, the first harvest, the dark moon and the changing light, the meteor trails crossing through the dark night sky, all of it part of a larger rhythm. And you too are part of that rhythm. And as you prepare to open your eyes, taking this final thought with you, you do not have to hold on to summer to honour it. You can receive what it has given, gather what matters, release what has finished, and allow the next season to arrive in its own time. Now take another slow breath in and breathe out. When you're ready and on an outward breath, allow your eyes to open and to focus. And take a look around you, noticing five things you can see, four things you can physically touch, three sounds you can hear, and allow your attention to return fully to the room or the space you're in, your surroundings, your body, and if you can, place your feet firmly on the ground, take a sip of water, move gently, stretching the muscles and the body. Give yourself a few moments before returning back to anything demanding your full attention. And if you're listening to this meditation beneath the August sky, perhaps take a little time afterwards to simply look upwards. You do not need to search for anything. You do not need to make a wish. Just look. The sky is enough. The season is enough. And for this moment you are here, and that is enough. Thank you for joining me for today's August meditation. Bringing in lots of energetic and seasonal alignments that are around us naturally within nature, and helping our physical body to align to that energy, to remind ourselves that we are connected and not separate. And that alignment helps us to feel whole and balanced. As always, go safely, go well, and until next time, take care. Bye bye.