October 2019 - Peace - Om Shanti
"By meditating or practising yoga, we should not merely seek the peace that a wise practice inevitably leaves in its wake. Peace is not an end unto itself, just a means. When our mind is at peace, we can listen to our heart, realize our dharma, and then act upon it. A troubled, turbulent mind can hardly see itself objectively or fathom the purpose for its creation. Hence, cultivating peace of mind helps us discover the purpose of our existence. Peace must not simply serve our desire for comfort; it must serve our dharma. So find peace, yet reject peace. Strive for purposeful peace, while discarding the lethargic peace that prevents you from actively living your dharma." Aadil Palkhivala
AUGUST 2019 - Rest
"Be present. Make love. Make tea. Avoid small talk. Embrace conversation. Buy a plant, water it. Make your bed. Make someone else's be. Have a smart mouth and a quick wit. Run. Make art. Create. Swim in the ocean. Swim in the rain. Take chances. Ask questions. Make mistakes. Learn. Know your worth. Love fiercely. Forgive quickly. Let go of what doesn't make you happy. Grow." Paulo Coelho
JANUARY 2019 - Rest
REST is the conversation between what we love to do and how we love to be. Rest is not stasis but the essence of giving and receiving. Rest is an act of remembering, imaginatively and intellectually, but also physiologically and physically. To rest is to become present in a different way than through action, and especially to give up on the will as the prime motivator of endeavour, with its endless outward need to reward itself through established goals.To rest is to give up on worrying and fretting and the sense that there is something wrong with the world unless we put it right; to rest is to fall back, literally or figuratively from outer targets, not even to a sense of inner accomplishment or an imagined state of attained stillness, but to a different kind of meeting place, a living, breathing state of natural exchange… David Whyte
APRIL 2018 - Vows
Playlist: "Landfall" Laurie Anderson/Qurnos Quartet
"As long as I live, I vow to die and be reborn, die and be reborn, die and be reborn, over and over again, forever reinventing myself. I promise to be stronger than hate, wetter than water, deeper than the abyss, and wilder than the sun. I pledge to remember that I am not only a sweating, half-asleep, excitable, bumbling jumble of desires, but that I am also an immortal four-dimensional messiah in continuous telepathic touch with all of creation. I vow to love and honor my highs and my lows my yeses and noes, my give and my take, the life I wish I had and the life I actually have. I promise to push hard to get better and smarter, grow my devotion to the truth, fuel my commitment to beauty, refine my emotions, hone my dreams, wrestle with my shadow, purge my ignorance, and soften my heart -- even as I always accept myself for exactly who I am, with all of my so-called foibles and wobbles." Rob Brenzy
Shadows & Light; The Yoga of Eclipses:
The sun is associated with illumination, and therefore enlightenment. The Sun is the king of the sky, the embodiment of righteousness (dharma), and is the most visible and easily recognized of deities. Seeing and being seen (dharshana) by an enlightened deity is auspicious and tends to improve luck.
Spending time near an enlightened being or in a location (like on a sacred mountain, or at the shore of a sacred river, or in a temple) that is auspicious will "rub off" on you and help you to align with the enlightened state of that being, or the auspicious nature of that location. Actions, situations, and locations that obscure your ability to see clearly or be enlightened are generally considered inauspicious and best avoided. Eclipses block the illuminating power of the Sun (Righteousness/Dharma) and the Moon (Nourishment/Intuition). The word for planet in Sanskrit “Graha” means “to seize.” because their influence is said to 'seize' our consciousness and cause us to play out our karma in a reactive way.
This can be understood as a kind of possession, a partial possession, in that you are being possessed by an energetic pattern that causes you to act like a puppet. You are still "you" but heavily influenced in an unconscious way. This isn't "bad," it's just normal, but it does imply a lack of freedom. The whole point of spiritual practice is to increase your freedom, self-possession, the ability to discern and choose for yourself what you wish to do and which path you wish to walk. The more directly you view planet, or bathe in its light, and the longer time you soak up the light, the stronger the influence.
As yogins, our path is one of skillful means, choosing the situations and experiences that lead us toward our goal, whether that is stillness, liberation, or union. So it is important for us to be clear about the choices we make that lead toward illumination or toward obscuration. It is to CHOOSE what is appropriate for you at this time, what helps you along your path. In Vedic astrology, solar eclipses are said to accelerate social evolution, often through agitation, which may present as some kind of crisis or confusion. Synchronistic with this view is that the shadow of this eclipse will move across the states from cost to cost, at a time when the U.S. government seems to be teetering on the edge of a breakdown.
Monday’s solar eclipse falls in the area of the sky known as the heart of Leo the lion. The magnanimous Leo is a generous and honorable star that holds the blessings of our ancestors and the powerful bonds of loyalty held within bloodlines. But called the “throne of kings,” because it is also the star of authoritarian power, nationalistic and racial pride—it also happens to be the rising birth star (ascendant) of the current American president, a president who was born during an eclipse. Trump’s astrology shows a unique configuration where all the planets at the time of his birth were in “the belly of the serpent.” They are grouped between the shadow planets known as the north and south node that create the alignment of the eclipse. Traditionally it is recommended that one stay indoors during the eclipse, not to cook food or eat, and to wear lightcolored clothing (that which best reflects light.)
Day After the General Election:
"The wrecking ball has arrived. Never fear. Never accept the appearance of things. The young king with Alexander the Great's personality traits appears to have his prize. Hillary the warrior does not yet know the horror she avoided. All this shall pass in this unstable universe of ours. Do not under any circumstances engage in fear. Do what empowers you. Keep your hearts open no matter how hard. Do not engage in martyrdom, resentment or hopelessness. As the old Buddhist monk said when faced with alternating praise and condemnation,”Oh, is that so?” In every seeming impossible situation there is always opportunity…We are beyond ready for major change and as a collective we have chosen our agent. Let us not allow our attachments to stand in the way of the work ahead of us."
Jose Stevens, Shamanic Healer/Visionary