A path upward and downward!

Posted on February 5, 2026 by new desert

Dear Ones,

I listened yesterday to a meditation by Gene Keys author Richard Rudd. A meditation entitled Journey to the Summit.

In it, Richard uses the analogy of a path opening up in a verdurous environment and gradually moving toward harsher and more desert-like terrain before reaching a peak of some sort—perhaps a peak we can each imagine “way up there.”

What is interesting is that Richard mentions that we are both “sitting” at the beginning of the path and at the apex of the mountain. That is, before the journey begins.

Then, does that mean we travel both upward and downward?

Downward with the spiritual aspects or attributes of our self, and upward with the more physical or material aspects of our self?

That would agree with what many spiritual traditions teach; a personal elevation is necessary in order to meet a celestial descent at some point. Spirit uniting with matter is another way to describe the path.

This analogy made me think of the tarot card The Moon. Major arcana number 18. I’ve been intrigued by its symbolism, especially the crayfish slowly coming out of the pond; the two towers, one to the right and one to the left, facing each other; and a summit far in the distance. Not to mention a dog and a wolf howling at the shining moon!

You will find below more information about the Moon card.

Let’s enjoy our journey, dear Ones and muster our courage and our faith. Richard said it was OK to take a pause along the way!

Topic: A path upward and downward!

Time: Feb 5 @ 3:00 PM Eastern Time

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 The Moon tarot card (XVIII in the Major Arcana) signifies illusion, intuition, subconscious fears, and hidden truths, urging you to trust your inner knowing during times of uncertainty, where appearances deceive. It often shows a moon over a landscape with a wolf, dog, and crayfish, representing the wild vs. tame self, hidden dangers, and the emergence of consciousness from the subconscious. This card calls for facing anxieties, exploring dreams, and relying on inner wisdom rather than clear logic to navigate murky emotional depths.

Symbolism in Rider-Waite Deck

  • The Moon: 

A radiant, often full moon, sometimes with a crescent, casting mystical light.

  • Dog & Wolf: 

Howling at the moon, representing primal instincts (wolf) and trained consciousness (dog).

  • Crayfish/Lobster: 

Emerging from water, symbolizing the unfolding of consciousness from the subconscious depths.

  • Two Towers: 

A path leading between them, representing the journey from the known to the unknown, or from confusion to clarity.

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How do we evolve?

Posted on January 29, 2026 by new desert

Dear Ones,

We had a beautiful “intention meeting” on Monday, which generated quite a bit of discussion after our fifteen minutes of silent meditation.

Our intention, crafted by one participant, was,

“May we open our hearts, minds and souls to the individual transformations that we are each experiencing.”

Another participant had a strong “transformational nudge” and we had a follow-up chat yesterday. Here is what she shared.

“Your interpretation of my musings on transformation were definitely greater than mine. In fact I presume I “called upon the sharing process of the group” because of that. When I closed my eyes after the meditation reading, all that popped up for me was “transformation.” 

“I can more easily sense larger periods of transformation in larger periods of time as I reflect who I was at different stages of my life. But I don’t have much of a sense of great transformation in shorter time frames. Rather I see it in increments. Which is why our group is such a blessing because each week I think we all recognize shifts – great and small.”

My interest, with this title question, is about how we evolve, how we transform.

It is fairly easy to shift back and picture us 10 or 20 years earlier and then assess how we’ve moved forward, in terms of our attitudes and our beliefs. Something I would call psychological growth. Life feeds us the “gift of change,” or the “gift of an evolving human being.”

What is more difficult is to capture how consciousness evolves within us.

There is what I call an “underlying process,” present in the universe as well as through each and every one of us. This process allows us to evolve, at our own pace, depending on our circumstances and our karma. And possibly our destiny!

This feels similar to a river flowing under (or within) the very earth of our being, as well as impregnating the whole universe. A below-and-above-river of consciousness.

How it works with, and within, us is still a mystery.

Any insights, dear Ones?

Topic: How do we transform?

Time: Jan 29 @ 3:00 PM Eastern Time

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81087811172

Meeting ID: 810 8781 1172

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The energy of control

Posted on January 22, 2026 by new desert

Dear Ones,

How are you?

As the end of the second quarter approaches in our son’s high school, I am compelled to look at the energy we deploy when we want someone else to do something. In this case, completing missing assignments and retaking tests.

Honestly, I must admit that all this energy we poured into our son’s body and mind has had limited success.

Does that sound familiar?

Did you ever face a situation when a person, or even a pet, wouldn’t do what you asked her or him to do?

Why was it so, you think?

Because of too much–what-kind-of-energy—on your end?

I mean, what kind of energy is behind the need to control?

Fear (of obtaining a good education and failing) is obviously running high in our case.

Perhaps the little blurb below, excerpted from a recent Arcturian Group message, will help us.

A question came.

Is there really a Divine Controller in all of us? And that perhaps that Divine Controller’s strategy is, at times, to not want to do anything? So that the person can learn a lesson?

Indeed, I thought that letting go, and trusting what the future might reveal, even years ahead, might be the best approach to this situation.

Time will tell, obviously. Knowing there are five days before the end of the quarter and …. a big snow and ice storm looming….

Topic: The energy of control

Time: Jan 22 @ 3:00 PM Eastern Time (New York)

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82553036803

Meeting ID: 825 5303 6803

The underlying energy of control is the three dimensional belief that humans are separate from God/Divine Consciousness, the belief that there is not a Divine Controller already fully present within every person.  It is the belief that there are powers other than the ONE power waiting around every corner to harm, kill, destroy etc.  These beliefs create fear, fear of what could, may, or will happen if things are not done or people don’t conform in a certain way.  The belief that God’s creations need fixing, healing, and changing is simply the hypnotism of a world that believes in separation from God.

The men, women, countries, leaders, governments etc. who function from a consciousness of control believe that they are entitled to tell others what to do because they believe that they are wiser, more experienced, smarter, and in positions of power–all manifestations of ego, the false personal sense of self.  Allow your intuition to guide you when giving help, guidance, and direction to others, always doing it from a place of love and not superiority. Be very honest about whether your guidance and assistance is based in ego or love.

It is an act of love to assist another with your attained wisdom, experience, and knowledge, but only if or when the other person wants and is receptive to receiving it.

Never, in spite of any outer appearances, doubt that you and all living things are individualized expressions of One Divine Consciousness (God) manifesting not a little bit, but the fullness of Itself in, as, and through every person. Bring this to mind every time you are tempted to use control to make something or someone “better” according to your or the three dimensional world’s concepts of what constitutes “better”.

Every individual at some point of their evolutionary journey must accept that there is a Divine Controller within every person which may occasionally mean letting another fall flat on their face if that is what they need in order to wake up. Your job as an awakened person is to have your hand out, ready to grab another’s hand should they reach out.  Your job is NOT to reach down and pull another out of their personal gutter experience without their wanting, seeking, or asking.  They may have specifically chosen their present experiences for learning and evolving.

Arcturian Group Message January 4, 2026 | Marilyn Raffaele
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What does it mean to love in 2026?

Posted on January 15, 2026 by new desert

Dear Ones,

This is a broad, deep question that is not meant to be answered on the spot!

Perhaps it is meant to be reflected upon, analyzed, dissected, hummed, and cherished.

All year long, that is.

And with our heart, not our mind!

Yet, the other question that came on the heels of this one is,

Why would loving in 2026 be different from loving in 2025?

What would warrant such a change, assuming an increase, in the power of our love?

Perhaps a more profound knowing of who we are, and a greater concern for the world and the planet that supports us?

Or us getting closer to who-or-what-knows-what!

Or “the unknown” (l’inconnu) as Google translate puts it. Beautiful translation.

I feel that the energies of this year have started off with some sort of a bang, sending a message about a greater need for us to pay attention.

Attention to what goes on in the world, and who needs our compassion.

And even more so, paying attention to what goes on within us.

Let’s reflect together, dear Ones. And let’s pay attention!

Topic: What does it mean to love in 2026?

Time: Jan 15 @ 3:00 PM Eastern Time

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89278400896

Meeting ID: 892 7840 0896

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A story about the New Year!

Posted on January 8, 2026 by new desert

Dear Ones,

Now that the old year has been “fully lived,” honored, and perhaps archived, it is time to turn toward the new.

I came across a story the other day that a FB friend silently offered, in Spanish. It’s a story about creating in the year 2026.

Have a read at it and think about what it is that you might want to create this very year, with a generous dose of wisdom, inspiration and a perfect alignment with the stars.

Topic: A story for the new year!

Time: Jan 8 @ 3:00 PM Eastern Time

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88983933147

Meeting ID: 889 8393 3147

Now it’s your turn, my dear Magician.

I’ve already done my part.

I guided you to look inward, I challenged you when necessary, I asked for silence, pause, and awareness. Perhaps my year felt difficult, perhaps uncomfortable but it was the only way I could tell you: let go and move forward.

I helped you leave behind what no longer served you, to say goodbye to old versions of yourself, to understand before acting.

Now I hand you the light.

And you, my dear Magician, have the mission to create, to begin to manifest in the physical world everything that already lives within you. It is time for conscious action. For aligned decisions. For magic applied to real life. You will be a good guide for others and, together with your magic, you can make 2026 a year of manifestation, expansion and real opportunities.

The wisdom is already within you.

Now… work your magic with it.

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Sending the Light of Forgiveness

Posted on December 17, 2025 by new desert

Dear Ones,

This past weekend felt pretty gruesome with what I would call a “death triangle;” innocent people being slaughtered in three parts of the world, Los Angeles; Providence, Rhode Island; and Sydney, Australia.

Killings usually do not catch my attention to the point I would write a post; yet these ones did and I have been called to send out what I call “the Light of Forgiveness.”

The Light of Forgiveness is a light that blesses anyone with forgiveness—period.

Sending Light & Forgiveness to the victims and the perpetrators, certainly, but also to planet Earth as a whole as she suffers terribly when one of her members leaves accidentally or tragically. Even earth’s animals or plants are being decimated.

Here is a snippet of today’s New York Times’ newsletter.

Today’s number

13

— That is the number of elephants killed for their ivory since July 2024 along a stretch of highway that runs through a Malaysian rainforest. Five of the animals were beheaded.

As human beings dedicated to a peaceful cause and promoting a healthy world, we can put an end to the cruelty, hatred and blind rage that engulf some people’s hearts.

Let us send out the Light of Forgiveness and let us bask the earth in a beautiful mantle of purplish, violet shades.

Would you please join me in reciting this Forgiveness decree?

Even once would be utterly beneficial.

It is a decree I have been offering for some time and I can feel or sense seeds of benevolence being rooted all over as the Violet Flame spreads its wings around the world.

I AM forgiveness acting here,

Casting out all doubt and fear,

Setting men and women forever free

With wings of cosmic victory.

I AM calling in full power

For forgiveness every hour;

To all life in every place

I flood forth forgiving grace.

–Decree published by the Summit Lighthouse

Topic: Sending the Light of Forgiveness

Time: Dec 18 @ 3:00 PM Eastern Time

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84762577290

Meeting ID: 847 6257 7290

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Holding our Light

Posted on November 13, 2025 by new desert

Dear Ones,

This morning, I was reminded of a poem by Irish Poet John O’Donohue. A poem that I shared on my blog on January 7, 2019 as I answered the call to travel to the nation’s capital. I am still in awe as to how it happened, guided by the Light that I was.

The last verse, perhaps the most meaningful one—about searching for the Divine—came back to me a few days ago as I was looking for a quote to share with a group.

Holding the Light is what we do, silently, in our respective corners of the world. Even if we don’t get any visibility, a vibrant spark within tells us it is important and meaningful work. Opening our hearts and sending creative energy into the world.

As we know, the Light dispels the darkness and verily, it opens the path of the wanderer.

Aren’t we all wanderers in a journey called Life?

Thanks for holding your Light!

Topic: Holding our Light

Time: Nov 13 @ 3:00 PM Eastern Time

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83747158428

Meeting ID: 837 4715 8428

For Light by John O’Donohue

Light cannot see inside things.
That is what the dark is for:
Minding the interior,
Nurturing the draw of growth
Through places where death
In its own way turns into life.

In the glare of neon times,
Let our eyes not be worn
By surfaces that shine
With hunger made attractive.

That our thoughts may be true light,
Finding their way into words
Which have the weight of shadow
To hold the layers of truth.

That we never place our trust
In minds claimed by empty light,
Where one-sided certainties
Are driven by false desire.

When we look into the heart,
May our eyes have the kindness
And reverence of candlelight.

That the searching of our minds
Be equal to the oblique
Crevices and corners where
The mystery continues to dwell,
Glimmering in fugitive light.

When we are confined inside
The dark house of suffering
That moonlight might find a window.

When we become false and lost
That the severe noon-light
Would cast our shadow clear.

When we love, that dawn-light
Would lighten our feet
Upon the waters.

As we grow old, that twilight
Would illuminate treasure
In the fields of memory.

And when we come to search for God,
Let us first be robed in night,
Put on the mind of morning
To feel the rush of light
Spread slowly inside
The color and stillness
Of a found word.

~ John O’Donohue ~

(To Bless the Space Between Us)

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The balm of Compassion and Forgiveness

Posted on October 16, 2025 by new desert

Good morning dear Ones,

As someone originally from Europe, I am keeping a close look at the show taking place in the French National Assembly. It has been an intense saga for a few weeks and the newly appointed Prime Minister narrowly escaped a vote of no confidence today.

Every party is fighting for its own interests and pushing its viewpoints and no one seems to care about the well-being of the country. No one wants to see or take into account “the greater whole.”

This feels like a phenomenon prevalent in our world, where division appears more widespread than the search for unity.

How did we get there at this time in our human evolution, with so much technological knowhow at our fingertips?

Shouldn’t we be aiming for peace after so many conflicts ravaged the world?

And most importantly, how do we heal this fracturing?

I can tell that the healing will happen through the opening of people’s hearts, like a beautiful yellow flower aiming for the nourishment of the sun, and through reaching out to another human despite our differences.

There is indeed hope when we see the improvement of the situation in the Middle East.

May this clearing of the clouds be the beacon we need to move in the right direction and may Compassion and Forgiveness spread all over the area and the world.

Topic: The balm of Compassion and Forgiveness

Time: Oct 16 @ 3:00 PM Eastern Time

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83038726122

Meeting ID: 830 3872 6122

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Is the Earth shaking again?

Posted on October 9, 2025 by new desert

Dear Ones,

I came across this beautiful Hopi prophecy yesterday, mentioning the three great shakings of the Earth. Two have occurred during the 20th century and it may be time for the third one to manifest.

The first two shakings brought desolation and destruction to Europe and many other parts of the world.

Would this third shaking be as boisterous and devastating as the first two?

That is an interesting question to ponder as our world moves into higher and deeper phases of transformation and clearing.

Topic: Is the Earth shaking again?

Time: Oct 9 @ 3:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82838409137

Meeting ID: 828 3840 9137

The Hopi Prophecy of the Third Shaking of the Earth 🦅🪶

In Native American wisdom, the Hopi tribe spoke of a powerful prophecy known as the Three Great Shakings of the Earth. 🌎

The first two shakings are believed to have already occurred, being the First and Second World Wars, both global events that deeply impacted all of humanity.

The Third Shaking, the Hopi said, would come at a time of great upheaval, marked by an increase in extreme weather events of all kinds, such as, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, storms, fires and floods. 💨🌊⚡️🔥

These would all be signs that Mother Earth was entering a sacred birthing process and a time of deep cleansing, purification and transformation in our world. 🌎

The Hopi understood the Earth as a sentient, sacred being and our living, breathing Mother, with indigenous peoples living in harmony and balance with nature, honoring the lands, the waters, the entire planet and with great respect for all that she provides.

The Hopi taught that the Earth moves through natural cycles of release and renewal and that when humanity strays from living in alignment, the Earth responds with a great rebalancing as a natural consequence. ⚖️

At this time of The Third Shaking, the Hopi believed that global division, conflict and disharmony would become so widespread that the Earth would begin to call out to her children and she would urge us, as the children who live upon her, to return to peace, unity and harmony with one another, with Mother Earth herself, and with all life. 🌎

At the same time of The Third Great Shaking, the prophecy also speaks of a shift into a new era, which coincides with the Hopi Rainbow Warrior prophecy, that foretells a tribe of millions of people, from all races, nations and walks of life, who would hear the Earth’s call and begin to awaken spiritually. 🌱🌈

One by one, these peoples would set aside their differences, begin to unite and return to a way of being that is rooted in love, healing, harmony and balance upon the Earth.

Many believe we are now living in this time, the time of The Third Great Shaking, where the old ways of division, disconnection and imbalance are beginning to dissolve and something new is about to be born. 🌀

The birth of a new humanity, one that recognizes our shared responsibility to walk gently upon the Earth, to return to balance and harmony and to honor the sacredness of ALL life upon her. 🙏🏻

‘The Earth does not belong to us, we belong to the Earth’.

~ Chief Seattle. 🦅🪶

And the time to awaken is NOW.

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A balancing day

Posted on September 25, 2025 by new desert

Dear Ones,

I came across this post that a friend of mine relayed and it rang mystically true.

What a beautiful day of balancing we are in!

25 September of 25

Reduced to 7 – 9 – 7

The sacred (7) surrounding a clear mark of completion (9); a crucial point of closure and new beginnings, as a door closes (the first 25), a new one opens up (the second 25). The same happened when we entered the eclipse corridor on the 7th of September and left it on the 21st.

Please read on!

25.9.25 is a day for deep spiritual exploration and introspection.

It carries a strong energy of transformation and closure, offering the opportunity to find balance in your life, complete old cycles, and prepare for new beginnings.

As Angel Number, 25.9.25 carries a powerful message of spiritual transformation and the completion of an important life cycle.

25.9.25 marks a crucial point of closure and new beginnings. You are being guided to release the old (represented by number 9) so that you can fully embrace the positive changes and opportunities that are unfolding (represented by number 25).

Your angels are cheering you on:

Trust the process of change.

Although endings can feel difficult, this is a necessary step for your personal and spiritual growth.

Listen to your intuition. Your inner voice will guide you toward the right decisions and partnerships during this time of transformation.

Step into your higher purpose. The completion of an important cycle frees you to pursue your life’s mission and be a light to others.

In essence, this date is a powerful cosmic sign that you are on the verge of an important shift, and the universe is fully supporting you to let go and move forward with faith and courage.

This is a powerful message to follow the energy reboot that was the partial solar eclipse on the Equinox; and it gives us new signs that we’re preparing for a massive energy shift.

This is a time for the endings and beginnings of personal cycles and marks the point of an upcoming focus throughout October to come to observe our awareness of the sense of who we are and how we relate to others. It’s the start of a new theme of ‘Connection’ that will be an important focus throughout 2026.

Kirsty Elizabeth

Topic: A balancing day

Time: Sep 25 @ 3:00 PM Eastern Time

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84800457798

Meeting ID: 848 0045 7798

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