Back to nature on Lihou Island

Wow, what a few days it has been!  On Sunday we had the full moon, not that I felt as connected as I usually do to it, I even forgot to leave my crystals outside to cleanse!  I did pop outside before I went to bed and managed to catch a glimpse of it rising on the horizon and then during the night I was aware of its light permeating the bedroom.  I hope for brighter skies next month so I can really bathe in its light.

This week's reading from Pat at realastrologers.com makes for interesting reading! Evidently this week is the Scorpio Full Moon, which means it is the festival of Wesak, honouring the birth, death and enlightenment of the Buddha.  Wesak is a major "download" time, when a portal opens to higher consciousness.  Apparently, we are also marching towards an extraordinary alignment of the Sun, Moon, Earth and Venus on June 4th and 5th, which Pat believes will trigger a giant leap forward in human consciousness.  Wow, so that could be quite some Diamond Jubilee celebrating, and quite a Coldplay concert I shall be attending!

Evidently we have solar flares and corresponding disturbances in the Earth's magnetic field.  Pat says, "I have no idea whether this phenomenon is affecting our consciousness, but I’m fairly sure it’s having some effect. Several people I know are experiencing extreme fatigue, elevated heart rate, and hot flashes. Is it related to solar activity? In astrology, the Sun is associated with the heart, so it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that there’s a real correlation here. I just don’t know how we’d prove it to the satisfaction of medical science.

Dancing on the boundaries of parallel universes is disorienting and possibly dangerous. No one would entertain the idea of surfing the big waves before learning the basics of the sport, and yet we may be doing the spiritual equivalent. What I don’t know is whether everyone is experiencing this shift at some level, or whether those who are sensitive to these energies feel it, while those who aren’t remain blissfully ignorant. I pass no judgment on which is better. Someone has to hold down the fort while a percentage of the population stumbles around in a daze.

I strongly encourage you to keep a journal and record any strange dreams, visions, synchronicities, or other unusual events in your life. At the same time, try to stay grounded. Fortunately, the Sun and Jupiter in Taurus are helping in that regard. If you find yourself mysteriously craving meat and fattening foods, don’t fight it for now. You can take off the excess weight as soon as the cosmic dust settles. I’m definitely of a mind that we have to trust our bodies and higher minds at this point to know what’s right for us and not try to overpower them by force of intellectual beliefs. It’s a leap of faith, really."

This all makes for rather interesting reading and I was rather fortunate to spend 24 hours on Lihou from 12.30pm on Bank Holiday Monday so that I was able to ground my energy in nature and make the most of the opportunity to rest - my body is certainly crazing quiet times and lying around on my bed!

Lihou is magical.  We hired the house to celebrate E's Mum's 70th birthday, there were just four of us, including our friend Mike.  Richard, the Warden, picked us up in the tractor and drove us over the causeway, thick with seaweed on the Lihou side.  E's Mum had already walked over and was in the kitchen boiling the kettle when we arrived.  I unpacked the food and realised that we had not brought any chocolate, a bit of a disaster as far as E is concerned!  E's Mum then realised she had not brought the bottle of bubbles as she had intended, quelle horreur! 

So it was the strangest thing really.  Within minutes of our realisation, Mike presented E's Mum with a belated birthday present, of lots of bars of organic chocolate!  And then minutes later my parents arrived with scones and jam and a bottle of bubbles!  How wonderful the way the Universe helps to deliver.  We were very grateful, even if we didn't need the extra excesses!

So we sat in the warm conservatory as the weather showered and then cleared again, leaving the Island clear of visitors, put off somewhat by the rain.  It was lovely sharing tea, scones and chatter while watching all the birds outside.  I have to admit I have developed a love of birds recently.  E thinks it is rather worrying and I will turn into one of those twitching types laying low with my binoculars.  I just think it is great. 

It is another one of those weird things.  Lihou related too really, because the first time we stayed on Lihou we were fortunate to share it with the snowy owl.  And then the second time sitting in that conservatory I couldn't help becoming mesmerised by all the birds flying in front of us, like a show really, a nature show.  Since then and I can't remember how it happened but I became friends on facebook with someone who used to attend the Grammar school with me, but I doubt very much we have ever really spoken all these years, let alone at school.  In any event, I am really rather pleased as he is a bird watcher and has been posting all these wonderful photos of the recent migrating birds, so that I have become very keen to see them for myself.

So after the tea and scones, our visitors scooted back across the causeway as the tide was rising to cut us off from the mainland.  This is such a wonderful experience when you are staying on Lihou and all of a sudden have the Island to yourself, truly, for the rest of the evening and the next morning.  The weight just lifts form the shoulders - no traffic, no email, no internet, no telephone, no tv, no radio.  No contact with the outside world unless you bring your blackberry or mobile.  I just love it.  makes me realise how much all those other things simply add more stress to our lives.

We went out for a walk and were amazed by all the sea gulls nesting all around the Island.  Really incredible.  In some instances we found ourselves rather close to nests without realising we were close to nests.  The herring gulls were fine with this and we even managed to get a photo before respectfully levaing them to it.  Not so the lesser and great black-backed gulls.  Phew, that was close.  We were following the path but one of these gulls had laid just next to the path and as we got closer it got very agitated, and without much warning starting swooping at us from above, which is what they do when the nests are threatened. 

The thing was E's Mum was totally disorientated and had a gull swooping down at her as she ran closer towards the nest, without realising it.  I had retreated completely, totally scared by the whole experience.  E took control, directing his Mum away from the nest and thankfully the gull left us alone after that.  It was funny after the event, all of us running in different directions but Richard, the Warden, tells me that they do actually make contact and he has had to use his first aid on people who have ended up with a beak grazing  their head.

The island is stunning at the moment, full of sea pinks, more than Richard has noticed on the Island previously.  It just makes it seem so incredibly beautiful.  There are violets and bluebells and sea campion too.  You have to love Spring.  On our ramblings we passed shelduck (the largest duck in the world, with red markings), oystercatchers and lots of swallows and swifts.  We also came across a razorbill, dead sadly, but a razorbill nonetheless, a relatively unusual visitor to the Island, sad really. 

I missed it as I was on a marathon sleeping session, but the rest of them witnessed a marsh harrier coming down and taking an egg out of a nest with a group of seagulls going crazy overhead.  It is sad as the Societe Guernisiase are encouraging marsh harriers on the marshland at L'Eree, without perhaps considering that these harriers are popping over to Lihou for quick feed on eggs and, shortly, new chicks, and yet the Societe are also trying to encourage the breeding of more gulls.  Someone hasn't thought that through properly.

E and I managed a couple of swims.  Well the first one on the first night, at high tide not far from the house was more of a dip as the sea was full of seaweed, not so great!  The second one the next day on the low tide was at the Venus Pool, a first for me and quite refreshing jumping into that big pool of cold water!  We have been in quite a bit in May and I have to say it is really not so bad!  Aside from a bit of a ramble and those swims, I spent a lot of time sleeping and watching the birds from the conservatory - it is fascinating watching those gulls protect their eggs.

We ate dinner together in front of the wood burning stove that evening.  I prepared lots of different salad dishes so we could simply help ourselves.  It was wonderful, there is nothing better than good food and good company, and especially when you are on your own island with the background sound of the sea and the birds and the smell of seaweed! 

Needless to say none of us wanted to leave the next day,  twenty fours is not really long enough, but better than nothing.  I just felt so much more grounded and connected to nature than when I arrived, calmer therefore and lighter.  I can only imagine how you would feel spending a whole 5 days of neap tides on the Island when the causeway never clears...one day, will be much better for the environment and the soul than trekking all the way to some other secluded part of the world.  I can't wait to return in the next couple of weeks to see the hatched baby seagulls, let us hope the marsh harriers leave them alone!

Now back on Guernsey it is Liberation Day, reminding us of the sacrifices made by our ancestors so that we can continue to experience freedom today.  Of course we always have the choice to experience freedom of mind, we choose our thoughts after all, but there is a lot to be said for living with so much freedom in our lives.  With this being the time for looking forward and grounding our new year resolutions, I can't help thinking how lucky we are that these days we do have that opportunity, that we are not simply focused on surviving.  So I hope this finds you all well and happy.  Keep practising for all comes to those who practice.

With love and much gratitude.

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