As we move into the last month of Autumn, it seems appropriate to reflect on the meaning and purpose of our lives. Having walked through Winter, Spring and Summer, it seems quite natural to slow down a bit here in November to reflect again on where we’re going, why we’re here and what there’s still left to be and do before we move into the darkness of Winter and the possibilities of new life. What difference would it make for you to slow down and fill the hours of your day with greater meaning? 

I recently took an assignment to help a community transform the transitions they’re in. In some ways it feels like ‘business as usual’ and in other ways, not so much. We have tendencies to do what we’ve done and wonder why things don’t seem to change. Initially, it’s important to simply observe the processes we’ve put in place to see how they function and what we can learn from them. Through this observation and reflection, insights emerge which open new opportunities for growth, change and new meaning.

The same is true for us as individuals. As the seasons change outside and within, we require new perspectives, new inner and outer garments to fit the climate of the season. The notes in November speak to getting out sweaters, coats, boots, hats and gloves as the weather changes. This is also a metaphor for the inner changes that take place while moving into different seasons of our lives. For example, I notice how I get tired much more easily than when I was thirty five and need more stillness and quiet to thrive.

The good news is, the more aware we are of the seasons we’re in, the more we can adjust to and embrace them. The bad news is, that as we resist the changing seasons, ‘we only lose a hundred percent of the time.’ What I keep awakening to in every season is that the ‘seasons of soul‘ are taking place every moment, day, week, month, year, decade and lifetime. The course corrections and adjustments that need to be made for a loving, joyful, peaceful, fulfilling and abundant life are ongoing and need our attention. 

In the schemata I’ve devised, the first season is Winter: December with ages 0-7, January with ages 7-15 and February with ages 15 -22. Spring begins in March with ages 22-29, April with ages 29-37 and May with ages 37-44. Summer begins in June with ages 44-51, July with ages 51-59 and August with ages 59-66. The Autumn of our lives begins in September with ages 66-73, October with ages 73-81 and November with ages 81-88 and beyond which runs us through them all again on an ongoing basis.

Simply stated: Winter 0-22, Spring 22-44, Summer 44-66, Autumn 66-88 and beyond. Strangely, no matter our age, all these seasons are within us, drawing and shaping us.

The singular take away in this theoretical model is that growth and change are the primary movements of our human/divine condition. We are evolutionary creatures! The more aware we are of the energy fields of birth, life, death and new life, the more we can participate in the ongoing evolution of our consciousness. Our mental, emotional, physical and spiritual participation in this evolutionary trajectory is critical. This is not a random throw of the dice but a systematic and integral engagement for the whole of creation. As we become more awake and aware of it, we become Participants, Co-Creators and Stewards of what can be called a ‘Godding‘ process. . . . 

• What are the November notes you are becoming aware of? Why  are they significant? What are you willing to do with them?
• How could using the schemata of the ‘seasons of soul’ be helpful to you in your day to day living? What practices could you engage to help you awaken to the season you’re in? What metaphorical clothes do you need to take off, put on, change and rearrange?
• Spend some time today writing about what came up for you in reading these November Notes. What are the positive, negative and neutral impressions? What might they be saying to you about you? What is this moment asking of you?