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The Power of Place

14 Monday Nov 2016

Posted by Lesley Irene Shore in Nature, Spiritual, Whole

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Tags

Attune, Awareness, Community, Connection, Earth, Emotional, Energy, Environments, Flow, Harmony, Harmony Farm, Haven, Healing, Heart, Holistic, Intuition, Land, Light, Medfield MA, Moss, Nature, Place, Pond, Retreat Center, Sacred, Sensation, Sense, Senses, Settings, Sounds, Spiritual, Trails, Vibrations, Water, Wellbeing, Woods, Yoga

Harmony Farm

In Medfield, a small suburban town 45 minutes from Boston, you spot the Harmony Farm sign hanging from a tree and know you have arrived.  Turning into the driveway, you hear the wheels humming a different tune as they move from harsh black macadam to gentle gravel. The sound of cars fades into the distance.

The car slows its pace as you travel along the gently winding road. You unconsciously let down your guard, breathing out a sigh, letting anxiety dissipate, worry and stress gently release.

Harmony Farm - Shore, Tragakis family reunion, August 2005

Looking to your right, you watch a few sheep and a donkey contentedly grazing in the verdant green meadow. After a while you cross a bubbling stream and begin to notice a profound shift happening inside you. A change in energy, something magical is happening. As if you’re journeying to another time, a sacred space.

You continue following the road, passing a barn, then what looks to be a residence on your right. The road leads ahead, then bends to the right and you chance upon a building nestled inside a circle of tall pine trees.

This must be it, you think, as you park your car and enter the building. You’re here for a workshop sponsored by the non-profit, Harmony Center. Upon entering the building, you notice herbs hanging from beams above, then stop and stare ahead, awed by a high ceilinged octagonal room, three sides of which are glass.

Resuming your slow pace, you move toward the windows and breathe in the scene outside. Woods slope gently down ahead, a pond to the right and stunning flowers demand your attention.

You open to the peace and tranquility of this place.Foxglove outside Harmony Center

Attunement

Wherever we are, we attune to our surroundings. The energy of place seeps inside us. This happens beneath the surface, outside conscious awareness. The vibrations around us affect every level of our being – physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.

Where we live and where we work affects us more than we may realize. It happens very gradually, almost imperceptibly.

Natural environments affect us differently from citified ones. We know this intuitively. If we live and / or work confined by concrete, we yearn for the healing energy of natural settings.

Tuning In

Your Harmony Center workshop includes experiential exercises held outside. The group walks slowly down a grassy path, arriving at a pristine pond. You watch sparkles of light dance upon the water as sunbeams play on its gently rippling surface. Birdsong fills the air and winged beings flit here and there.  You absorb the sound of water cascading over rocks below and open to sense water flowing through your veins, enlivening every cell in your body.

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A reflection floats through your mind, “This land soothes my soul and pulls on my heart strings.

After crossing the dam, you walk along trails through untamed woods. Your feet feel earth moving up to greet each and every step. The softness of moss, smell of earth, vibrant colors of trees – your senses awaken and absorb sensation.

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When the workshop ends, your car wends its way back along the driveway. Reflecting on your experience, you realize that something has shifted deep inside. You feel peaceful and serene, more connected to yourself and at one with the world. “How could this happen,” you wonder, “Is it this place?”

Turning onto the black-topped road, you enter the flow of traffic. You hold onto your sense of wellbeing, storing it deep within your heart.

Such is the power of place.

 

Note: All the above photos were taken on Harmony Farm, Medfield, MA.

Dare to Dream: Harmony Farm

25 Tuesday Oct 2016

Posted by Lesley Irene Shore in Growing, Nature

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Caretaker, Community, Earth-Friendly, Food, Gardening Organically, Gratitude, Harmony, Harmony Center, Harmony Farm, Imagination, Journey, Land, Medicinal Herbs, Meditation, Nature, Peace, Peaceful, Plants, Pond, Private Well, Retreat, Sacred, Seasons, Serenity, Soul, Spring, Stream, Trails, Tranquility, Walk, Whole, Wholeness, Woods

We Had A Dream.

Over 35 years ago, we fell in love with 23 beautiful acres in Medfield, MA. A bubbling stream ran through the property. It fed a private pond and excited our imaginations. We dreamt of living there, in harmony with nature, and gave this dream a name – Harmony Farm.

Building the Dream

After purchasing the land, we began the process of manifesting our dream. Wanting to experience nature as much as possible from inside our home, we designed it with large expanses of glass facing south, which had the added benefit of passive solar energy gains. We built the house overlooking the pond. . A barn for some sheep and a donkey, then a coop for chickens came next.

housespring

While erecting these buildings changed the land, we tried to do so in an earth-friendly manner. Most of the property remained as we found it, with trails meandering through untamed woods and open fields for a grazing and planting. And when planting and tending gardens, we did so organically, without sprays or chemicals.

 Living the Dream

We enjoyed living in harmony with the land. We drank pure water from our deep private well and ate many of our meals from the garden. Our huge vegetable garden grew various types of tomatoes, corn, carrots, peas, green beans, cabbage, potatoes – to name just a few. We also cultivated medicinal herbs and gathered others from the wild. The land generously produced wild fruits: blueberries, raspberries, elderberries, and more. Our breakfasts included eggs lain that morning by happy hens who spend time outside. Nothing can compare with the taste and nutritional value of truly fresh food.

Seasons were no longer marked by pages turned on a calendar. We lived them, experienced them in every cell of our bodies. We ate asparagus in the spring along with the power-filled herb, nettles. During winter we reaped the benefits of our labor in the gardens, eating stored food from our huge freezer and cold storage room.

trail-022No matter what the season, we spent time each day outside. Nature surrounded us during strolls down the winding driveway to pick up the mail, invigorating walks through vibrant woods, and meditative moments sitting by the pond. During spring, summer, and fall we often ate outside, listening to birdsong, inhaling the sights around us. We also swam in the pond – a delightful sensory experience.

Something important happened during the years that we’ve lived on this sacred land. It happened gradually, almost imperceptibly. We began feeling whole, more complete, more peaceful and serene. Harmony Farm had slowly, but surely, changed us. We attributed these changes to the healing benefits of our connection with the natural world.

Sharing the Dream

Full of gratitude for the abundance of our holistic haven, we expanded our hearts to further grow our dream. We decided to share our good fortune with others, give them the opportunity to experience Harmony Farm’s healing properties. We founded Harmony Center, a non-profit corporation, and built a separate building.

The new building provides the ideal setting for experiential workshops and classes. People gather inside an octagonal room with views of nature visible through large expanses of glass. Two bathrooms and another multipurpose room add to its versatility. Harmony Center offers programs that facilitate physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing in this remarkable setting.

Whether someone comes for two hours or the day, it feels like a mini retreat. Upon turning into our driveway, people leave the hustle and bustle of everyday life behind. Worry and stress release as people open to the tranquility of this place. They leave feeling refreshed and renewed – at peace with themselves, at one with the world.

Dreaming Anew

As we moved into our elder years, we recognized that it was time for us to move on, to release old dreams and make room for the new. While this was happening, Harmony Farm began dreaming of new owner(s) / caretaker(s).

A lovely young couple heard Harmony Farm’s call.  These like minded souls will now care for it, love it, help it to thrive.

They dare to dream!

Praying

12 Tuesday Feb 2013

Posted by Lesley Irene Shore in Nature, Spiritual

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Blizzard, Connection, Doe, Feeling, Gratitude, Harmony Center, Love, Nature, Prayer, Protection, Sacred, Safety, Sensing, Snow, Spirit, Spiritual, Spirituality, Walk, Wind

On the day of the impending blizzard, I took my usual walk in the woods.  Snow drifted down lazily around me as I put one foot in front of the other and connected with the land around me. 

Arriving in my sacred prayer area, I stood for a while surveying the scenery.  My heart expanded to include each tree, each rock, and each place my eyes touched.   I felt filled with love.

I began speaking out loud.  “Dear Spirit, please protect all of us during the coming blizzard.  Protect the birds, including Blue Jay who sat on the branch outside my bathroom window this morning, from the danger coming our way.  Protect all the wild beings, including gentle Doe who recently visited this area.  Help all who are in the path of the storm find shelter and stay safe.”

I continued praying, “Please guide each snowflake to pass between the tree branches and pine needles.  Help the trees sway and bend with the wind.”  

My prayers became more specific as I asked for protection for my family and friends, for our chickens and sheep, for Star our donkey, for Kali our dog, for Pizzaz our cat, for our home, for Harmony Center, and for all of Harmony Farm.

I prayed, and prayed some more.  Then stood in silence, listening, sensing, feeling.

Deep inside I felt reassured.  I couldn’t say how I knew, but I felt everything would be all right.

As the day progressed, I watched snow pile up and heard wind blow.  When I went over to Harmony Center during the evening, I noticed that our driveway had already been plowed.  I said a mental “thank you” to John for being out in the storm, for taking good care of people like ourselves.

Snowy Scene

Later at night I lay in bed, listening to wind howling around our house.  Snuggled cozily inside my bed, I felt safe and warm.  As I drifted into sleep, I felt deep gratitude for the unsung heroes out braving the storm keeping us safe, plowing, repairing electric lines, answering emergency calls, clearing railroad tracks, etc. etc. 

I prayed for their protection and sent them love. 

Doe

07 Thursday Feb 2013

Posted by Lesley Irene Shore in Nature, Spiritual

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

Commune, Deer, Doe, Energy, Gentle, Healing, Heart, Kindhearted, Love, medicine, Nature, Prayer, Presence, Sacred, Sensed, Spirit, Spiritual, Thoughts, Walk

The other day I received an e-mail from a friend.  After informing me that her husband had been hospitalized with pneumonia shortly after contracting the flu, she asked that I hold him in my thoughts and pray for his recovery.  

Later that morning I took my usual walk in the woods, which includes visiting a special area on a small hill where I say daily prayers.  I stood for a while in this sacred area, holding Paul in my heart and sending him love and healing energy.  I then vocalized a prayer out loud, asking Spirit to help my both friend and her husband.

Upon finishing my prayers, I immediately sensed a presence on my left.  Looking over, I spotted a beautiful doe looking at me intently.  Again I spoke aloud, though this time I spoke with her and asked her not to be afraid. 

Usually deer run the minute they hear my voice or the sound of my footsteps.  Instead, she remained standing while I moved slowly to another rocky area nearby where I usually say a few more prayers.

Doe on Hill

Looking at Doe, I thanked her for her gentle energy and asked her to send love and healing to my friend and her husband.

Doe and I continued to commune with one another.  I felt her radiating kindhearted gentleness.  She even appeared to pose while I took her photograph. 

When our time together was up, we slowly moved in different directions.  I felt Doe’s gentle energy reverberating inside me throughout the remainder of my walk.

Paul returned home from the hospital and continues to recover.  While allopathic antibiotics helped kill the bugs., Doe’s gentle, loving energy assisted his healing process. 

Thank you dear Doe!  

Making Stone Soup

12 Wednesday Dec 2012

Posted by Lesley Irene Shore in Spiritual

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Align, Ceremony, Consciousness, Cycle, Dark, Energy, Galactic Alignment, Growth, Harmony, Light, Manifestation, Nourish, Peace, Peru, Prophesy, Renew, Sacred, Season, Seasonal Cycle, Spiritual, Spiritual Practice, Spring, Stone Soup, Stones, Wheel of the Year, Winter, Winter Solstice

One of my favorite spiritual practices involves participating in ceremonies that honor the wheel of the year, the seasonal cycle from winter through spring, to summer then fall.  By aligning with the energy of each season, these ceremonies help me stay in balance.  They also support my spiritual growth.

The ceremonies take place at important junctions in our seasonal cycle, the beginning of each season, which is determined by the length of night and day.  Winter Solstice, the beginning of winter, takes place on the shortest day and longest night of the year.

Winter Solstice ceremonies welcome this darker time of the year, the time when we retreat inside to hibernate.   Winter is our time for reflection, for inner composting and rejuvenation.  Like bears who hibernate, our rhythms similarly slow.  If we rest and nourish ourselves during winter, we emerge in spring feling renewed, with energy for manifestation.

A few friends joined me recently to plan our group’s Winter Solstice ceremony.  One woman had just returned from a trip visiting Peru’s sacred sites.  As she shared some of her experiences, her words sparked a vague memory of a book I once read. 

I wandered to the nearby book shelf, surveyed titles, and my eyes fixated on “Masters of the Living Energy: The Mystical World of the Q’ero of Peru” by Joan Wilcox.  Grabbing hold of the book, I handed it to my friend who located a photograph of the ceremony she had been describing.

We then explored the coming Galactic Alignment anticipated by the Mayans and other indigenous peoples.  Ancient prophesies foretold that this Winter Solstice’s Galactic Alignment would herald an era of spiritual development, with consciousness potentially evolving to enable peaceful, harmonious co-existence with each other and all of nature.

Focusing on the ceremony, we brainstormed in many directions, from Peru to Mexico, from earth to sky and from intent to gratitude.  Our spiraling journey eventually gravitated toward a ritual involving stones.  One of our activities would include narrating the Stone Soup Story and then making Stone Soup.

While many versions of the Stone Soup Story exist, the central theme remains the same.  In a nutshell, here’s the story:

A stranger arrives in a town where the people are hoarding food because of a famine in the area.  When they let him know they have no food to share, the stranger pulls out a pot, fills it with water, builds a fire under the pot, adds a “magical stone” to the water, and declares he will share his delicious stone soup with everyone.  Then the stranger begs for just a little vegetable to add to the pot, to make it truly tasty.  One by one the villagers respond to his pleas and contribute to the pot, until a truly nourishing meal gets created – which they all share.

This story describes how our ceremony came together.  We each contributed ideas to the pot.  It cooked and a nourishing ritual emerged.

Making Stone Soup

After my friends departed, I left Joan Wilcox’s book on the kitchen table.  A few days later, I sat at the computer trying to put the ritual on paper.  Stumbling to find words that would adequately describe the Galactic Alignment, I searched the web to learn more about this anticipated event.

A few hours later, though bleary eyed and hungry, I finally had a sense of the astronomy involved.  Deciding to give myself a break, I went downstairs for a snack.  Sitting at the kitchen table with my bowl of muesli, I idly picked up Joan Wilcox’s book and leafed through it.

My fingers stopped at a page with the caption subtitle, “Andean Prophesy of Spiritual Evolution.”  Reading what lay below, I was amazed to discover information relevant to our ceremony.  This information asserted that we humans will need to work together, in a collective manner, to facilitate the shift in consciousness.

“Aha” I thought, “the prophesied shift in consciousness will require us to make Stone Soup.  Our talents may be different, our interests diverse, but if we pool our resources we can help create a better world.”

Yes!  We’ll prepare Stone Soup.

 

Learning from Sandy

20 Tuesday Nov 2012

Posted by Lesley Irene Shore in Nature

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Cairn, Earth, Elements, Energy, Flexibility, Freedom, Global Warming, Gratitude, Message, Nature, Oak, Prayer, Release, Rock, Sacred, Simplify, Stone, Strength, Walk, Wind

Heeding warnings of Hurricane Sandy’s impending arrival in Massachusetts, we battened down the hatches as much as possible.  I carried outdoor chairs into the basement, watering cans into the garage, and cushions into the attic.  Bill dealt with heavier items, turning over the picnic table and benches.

We waited anxiously, aware of the wind picking up steam, watching leaves swirling on the ground and trees swaying to and fro.  Standing inside Harmony Center, I gazed through glass windows at the rock cairns outside.  They looked like sentinels standing guard around the building.  I felt them offering strength and protection, along with an ability to ground swirling energy.  I found their demeanor reassuring.

I sent prayers to the trees, asking them to hold on tight with their roots, release their leaves and allow the wind to flow freely through their branches.

Focusing on Sandy, I sent peaceful loving energy her way.  I asked her to be gentle, to let go of anger, and to be kind to all the innocent beings in her path.

I apologized to Gaia, our planet Earth, for all the abuse we humans have wrought – for the ways we’ve taken her for granted while polluting her sacred waters, air and earth.  I begged for her forgiveness.

As Sandy neared the east coast, I went for a walk in the woods.  Watching the trees bend and sway, I asked them to hang in there, to go with the flowing wind, not fight it.  Arriving in an area I consider sacred, I sent more prayers to Sandy, to trees, to all of Earth’s elements.  I fervently hoped that life would be spared.

Wind howled, rain fell, and so did some trees.  We were fortunate, for the trees along our driveway and around the buildings withstood the storm quite well.  They released some branches and leaves, but avoided hitting the power line and buildings.

Yes, we lost power for a while, but not for too long.  Others were not as fortunate.  Ocean water rose up, flooding areas of New Jersey and New York.  Raging wind fueled fires and devastated communities.

After the wind calmed and rain abated, I prayed for healing.

On subsequent walks in the woods, I observed Sandy’s damage and wondered about the message.  What can we learn?

I notice that oak trees sustained the most damage, especially those with leaves still attached.  Their roots held firm, but their trunk snapped.  Mulling this over, I infer that these trees were too rigid.  Rather than bend in the breeze, they stood straight and tall.   I take this as a lesson – there is strength in flexibility.

Looking at fallen boughs resplendent with brown leaves, I wonder why these particular oaks held on so tightly to their leaves.   They wouldn’t let go.  If they had, perhaps the wind would have flowed through their branches more easily.

Knowing the difficulty I have parting with clothes I rarely wear, I recognize another lesson.  I must learn to let go, to release what no longer serves me.  Taking this insight further, I recognize the freedom that comes with paring down one’s life.  If I let go of irrelevant stuff – whether material possessions, compulsive behaviors or distracting thoughts – I can then focus more fully on what is truly important, more relevant to life.

Most importantly, Sandy sent a message from our planet.

We humans need to shift our relationship with Earth.   We need to recognize that we depend on her for every aspect of our lives: for the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe.  Instead of abusing her, we need to value her, protect her, care for her.   We must end global warming.

Let us heed Sandy’s warnings and learn her lessons.  The time is now.  It is up to us!

Circle of Stones

01 Thursday Nov 2012

Posted by Lesley Irene Shore in Spiritual

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Altar, Cairn, Circle of Stones, Community, Fall Equinox, Foxglove, Grandmother Pine, Harmony Center, Journey, Memorial, Nature, Place, Sacred, Sacred Space, Stone, Wholeness

Many years ago I read “A Circle of Stones” by Judith Duerk.  The repetitive “How might your life have been different if there had been a place for you, a place for you to go to be with…” evoked a sense of longing in me.  It spoke to the need for women to gather in community, to share their stories with each other, and to support each other’s journey to wholeness. 

“What if there was a place…”  “What if there was a place…”  This phrase rooted itself in my heart, silently waiting for the right time to echo forth.  On walks in the woods, I felt the land offering to be that place … a place where people could commune with nature, connect with each other, and help each other to grow.  “How might that happen?” I wondered to myself, as well as the land. 

Year after year, “How might that happen?” continued surfacing in my mind.  Then my parents died.  After my sadness abated, which took a couple of years, I realized that the money they left might just cover the expenses of erecting a building.  But in order for it to be built, a large and stately pine tree would need to be chopped down. 

My husband and I debated about Grandmother Pine.  She felt sacred.  We wanted her to stay.  Yet forced to choose between the building and the pine tree, we ultimately opted for the building – with one condition.  Grandmother Pine’s stump would need to stay.  I wanted Grandmother Pine to be remembered. 

While the building was under construction, a fluorescent yellow ribbon with the word “CAUTION” circled the stump, alerting all contractors to exercise care when navigating machinery in the area.  I removed the ribbon once Harmony Center came into being.  

I thought of the stump as an altar, and sometimes placed ceremonial objects either on her or around her.  For the most part, however, Grandmother Pine’s memorial remained undecorated.  This summer, when Foxglove surrounded her with loving energy, it felt as if they were honoring Grandmother Pine.

At this year’s Fall Equinox, I placed a sunflower at her base.  Then recently, I stood contemplating her flat top, asking how she might like to be honored, and suddenly thought, “A Circle of Stones!  Grandmother Pine gave her life so we could have that place, a place to gather in community.  A circle of stones would honor the sacrifice she made.”  And with this thought an image came to mind – a circle of stones around a rock cairn on top of the stump.   

I walked around, gathering stones from various places on the land.  As always, I checked in with each stone, making sure it wanted to be part of this altar.  Then I placed larger ones in the middle creating the cairn, and around the cairn a circle of stones. 

Completing my mission, I stood back to take a look.  I saw the cairn as a new being growing up from the center of the stump.  And around this being, a stone circle creating sacred space within which this being can grow. 

“What if there was a place…”  “What if there was a place….”

Thanks to Grandmother Pine, we now have that place, a place where people gather in community–Harmony Center. 

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