Sunday, November 14, 2010

LOVE

we are so afraid to open ourselves to love...
to the beauty and magnificence of what we are in truth...
but for every moment of loving...every moment of seeing beyond the lies to the truth...
we allow ourselves immeasurable healing...

it is love that connects us...
love that heals and teaches us...

and in the end we realize

THERE IS NOTHING TO BE AFRAID OF BECAUSE LIFE IS ALL THERE IS






















no other game to play...

completely safe...

completely safe...

in the womb of life...

safe in the all...

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

WHAT IS REIKI?

A few days ago, I sent a friend of mine a link to Pamela Miles' website: "Reiki, Medicine, and Self Care with Pamela Miles."  I am truly inspired by her pioneering work with integrating Reiki and other alternative and complementary medicines with conventional health care.  I also appreciate her ability to discuss Reiki in a way that is simple, grounded and practical.

But my friend wanted to know what Reiki is?  After browsing Pamela's website, he wrote to me, "She says allot about what Reiki does, but she doesn't say what Reiki is..."

He's absolutely right!  On her website, Pamela doesn't really go into what Reiki-the energy itself-is.

I think that she doesn't go into that (although I'm sure that she talks about what Reiki is in her Reiki classes) because...well...she doesn't really know!

And neither do I!

And neither does any other Reiki practitioner or Reiki teacher.

The word "reiki" is a Japanese word that we translate to mean "spiritual energy" or "universal life-force energy."

But what is spiritual or universal life-force energy, exactly?

Scientists haven't come to any conclusions about the validity of spiritual or life-force energy.  All the information that we have about spiritual energy comes from those who claim to be studying it and working with it...people like myself!

So, what in the world am I going to tell my friend?

I can only tell him what I have experienced for myself and what is true for me.

Reiki seems to be more than "energy."  In Pamela Miles' book, Reiki: A Comprehensive Guide, she says that Reiki is "primordial consciousness."  I like this definition because it points to something more than energy...something intelligent...something that is connected to the vast intelligence that creates, sustains, and transforms our universe.

I also love what our first Western Reiki Master, Hawayo Takata, said about Reiki:  "Reiki is wisdom and truth."

For now, I'll tell my friend that Reiki is a subtle, life-supporting energy that promotes balance and well-being.

Perhaps this definition will somewhat-satisfy his logical mind until he can experience what Reiki is for himself.

But even then, there will always be this wonderful mystery that is Reiki, that is life, that is our existence...that is.






















The Fifth Tarot

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

FREEDOM
























The Osho Zen Tarot


~

Did you know that you are free?

But only right, here...

...right NOW.

No matter what has gone before...

No matter who you have been before...

No matter how heavy the weight of the past that you carry...

BE HERE, NOW...

...and you are free to be as you would like to be.

We have the past pulling at us, threatening to pull us under into a whirlpool of habit and conditioning.  It all feels so familiar and safe.

We have the future calling us forward with visions of what could be, and the road ahead is unknown and frightening.

And we have NOW.

I had a wonderful experience the other day.  I was able to be present to the automatic tape of the past that plays itself, perpetuating habitual ways of being.  I saw myself beginning to perceive and behave in a way that I really would rather not.  Why not?  Because the old way of being does not leave much room for touching my essence, my spirit, my joy.

In the midst of this pattern that I know so well, which had to do with me withdrawing into myself when I would rather be reaching out to another, I became present.  I noticed that I was having a habitual reaction, but I also noticed that I was present in that moment, and that I could actually choose differently.  In that moment, I asked myself, "How would I like to be?"  It became clear that it was my choice.  No matter what the past said, no matter what the fears were, no matter what my perceived limitations, I saw that it was my choice in that moment to be, do, and have as I desired.  There was nothing that could hold me back.

In the moment that I realized I had a choice, I embraced my freedom.

MANY OF US ARE STILL PROTECTING OURSELVES WHEN IT IS NO LONGER NECESSARY.

It only takes one moment of NOW to become present and to see that we are free.

We are only bound by our lack of presence and consciousness.

RIGHT NOW, we can be as we like...

...even if we have to do it over and over and over again.

Here and now, we are free to walk courageously into the future.

Here and now, we experience the truth of our BEING and BECOMING in absolute spaciousness and freedom.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

SPIRITUAL GUILT

This is what I call that sense of guilt that comes to those of us who strive to be "spiritual" and continue to fall short of our ideals.

Those of us who seek to be more loving, more kind, more selfless, more open, more peaceful, more harmonious-fill in the blank with some of your own ideals-are prime targets for spiritual guilt.  We have a picture in our heads of how "spiritual" should look. 

Does spiritual get angry?

Does spiritual get impatient?

Does spiritual get depressed?

Can spiritual have a bad attitude?

I don't know about you, but I find myself falling short of my spiritual ideals all the time.  Does that mean something is wrong?

Am I destined to fall short of what I SHOULD be?

And who decides what the standard is?  Who gets to say what SHOULD be?

Is there a standard?  Are we being judged?  What is the point in being here, now?

Is the point to reach an end-state of perfection?  Is there only one way that spiritual can show up in life?

It seems to me that the only way to view our predicament is through the eyes of compassion.  There is a part of us that is wise and unconditionally loving.  That means that there is a part of us that holds us to no standard and loves us just as we are, warts and all.  Then, there is a part of us that is critical and judgmental.  This part of us condemns and punishes.  We appear to be split.  What to do?

I say we can do away with the spiritual guilt and give ourselves the room to explore and play in this vast playground of reality.

We are what we are. 

I AM THAT I AM.

What if we were never meant to be perfect?

What if we are perfect as-is?

Let's say we remove spiritual guilt from the equation of living. 

Okay, if we are not striving to be perfect or to meet some self-imposed or other-imposed standard, then what the hell are we doing?

Good question!


 Cosmic Tribe Tarot

We are BEING and BECOMING.

We are THE FOOLS innocently exploring all there is to experience in this miraculous life.

Without the guilt, we come to know and love our wholeness.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

ASTROLOGY & CHOICE
























The Cosmic Tribe Tarot

~

This morning a co-worker asked me to tell her about the sign of Sagittarius.  Specifically, she wanted to know if an acquaintance of hers was sincere or not.

I told her that knowing someone's sun sign, moon sign, or other horoscope information cannot tell you whether or not someone is sincere.  Someone is either sincere or not, but it has nothing to do with what sign the sun or moon was in at the time of their birth.

We continued to talk about the symbolism of the zodiac signs, and this same co-worker said, "My husband is an Aries, and he doesn't like to talk...Aries men don't like to talk..."  I told her that her husband may not like to talk, but that has nothing to do with his sun being in the sign of Aries when he was born.

What does it have to do with? 

CHOICE.

Astrology is a great map of the personality's dynamics and the imprinting that we have likely been exposed to in our younger years of development, but it does not tell us how CONSCIOUS we are.  It does not tell us how consciously we are responding to the imprinting and the experiences we have in life.

No matter what type of picture the astrological chart paints, we always have the choice to respond to life however we want.

We are much bigger than our charts.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE?

Something has happened.
There has been some revolution in my consciousness...in my comprehension of life.

I remember this person who thought that joy and fulfillment came from what could be accomplished and achieved in the eyes of others.  So he was obsessively focused on how to get a career/job that would bring him to joy...or how to get more money...or how to find his PURPOSE and MISSION so that he could experience joy, fulfillment, abundance...

Life was spent believing that certain things would bring joy, and if he couldn't get those things to happen, much time was spent in resentment.  "Hey, world...life...GOD...where's my stuff so that I can be happy???!!!" 

It was a life constantly lived in the future of, "I need this to be happy, and when I get it, I will be so fulfilled!"

But something has happened.

I see that life will never be experienced as only one thing.  There will be pain.  There will be joy.  But where is my attention?

I can experience my joy and fulfillment right NOW.  It is my CHOICE.  Everyday is a new opportunity to seek joy...to allow it...to create it...to acknowledge it...

Every moment...

Up until this point in life, I have never had a clear sense of my purpose because I had been taught to believe that my purpose could only be something BIG in the eyes of others.  Simply enjoying my life was never worthy of being a possibility!  Even now I hear the voices of fear rising up, "Hey, but you have to DO something!  You have to do something worthwhile!  You have to use the God-given talent you have!  Hey, don't be lazy!  What's wrong with you???"

And I sit quietly inside my smile...inside my PEACE...inside my newly won understanding -

THIS IS MY LIFE, AND MY ONLY PURPOSE IS TO ENJOY IT.

What is your purpose?

Monday, August 9, 2010

Leo New Moon Tonight

Ah!
Can you feel that Leo energy?
Leo, the bold expressive child-
Full of drama and play-
The joy of life!
Can you feel yourself as the Divine Child living to be creative and bold?
Shine and radiate your sun-
Warm rays of golden life-giving energy to fill us-
Inspire us!
Do you want an audience?
Why not?
Go ahead-
Perform for us.
Show us your creations.
Pretend you are 5 years old, and it's show-and-tell.
Fall in love.
Have sex in an open field under the stars.
There is creative energy ready to be freed!
It's the middle of summer, and there is no better time to be alive.
Play with your friends-
Go dancing-
Make some new ones.
Finger-paint the walls a funny color-
Clean it up tomorrow.
Now is the time to play, to be creative, to enjoy BEING HERE NOW-
Being ALIVE-
A unique being with a unique expression in the world.
Let the child come out to play.

GOALS

Recently, I talked to a friend who was in a panic after someone suggested to him that it would be good if he set some goals for himself.  He is a "go-with-the-flow" type of guy, and I think the idea of setting goals feels quite unnatural for him.

I can relate!

I have become quite a "go-with-the-flow" type of guy myself.  I used to set all kinds of goals and accomplish quite a few of them, but over time, I have noticed that I set fewer goals for myself.  I tend to set more immediate goals depending on what I identify as a want or need in the moment.  I have found that what I want and need changes quite often.  I may set a goal today and tomorrow realize a more important desire.

Still, I can see the benefit in taking the time to identify and focus on goals.  Having them and working towards them can certainly give one's life a sense of meaning, direction, and forward momentum.

To take some of the pressure off, I told my friend that if the word "goal" brings up negative associations for him, then he could change the word to one that has less of a charge for him, like "wish" or "intention"-whatever works for him.

Also, I told him to remember that goals can change.  Nothing has to be set in stone.  Our goals can be refined, shifted, and changed as we continue to grow and gather new information about ourselves and the world around us.

The deeper issue for my friend and myself (and perhaps you?) is that we like to be fluid, adaptable, and navigate more in the moment based on self-discovery and self-exploration.  We like to let life unfold and focus quite a bit of our attention on BEING and less on HAVING and DOING.  I think there is a middle ground.  I think we can be fluid and spontaneous while still having goals that we are working towards.  Being fluid/spontaneous and setting goals does not have to be mutually exclusive.

But what if we are unsure of what we want?  The dominant belief system in this culture manipulates us into thinking that we should know who we are, what we want, and what goals to be working toward from a very young age-too young for most of us to have really discovered who we are and what is deeply important to us in life.  I think we are pressured to set goals and accomplish things before we know what we really want out of life.

How do we direct our energy if we don't know what we want?

Joseph Campbell said it best:

"FOLLOW YOUR BLISS..."

"FOLLOW YOUR BLISS...AND YOU WILL COME TO BLISS."


The Fifth Tarot

We may not know what we want over the long-term or what we want to honestly work toward for the long-term, but we can always fulfill our need for JOY and BLISS today.

Everyday is a new opportunity to experience this fulfillment.  Every moment...

As we seek to create and experience joy in the smaller context of each day, the joy and clarity in our lives expands, and we become aware of goals that we would like to set for ourselves that may take more planning and time to manifest.  It is a natural progression through ever widening circles of expansion and fulfillment.

What does joy look like to you?
What does it feel like?
What does it sound like?
What does it taste like?  Smell like?

Can we let our goals arise naturally from the continued seeking and finding of what truly brings us joy?  Can we let our larger goals arise naturally from the foundation of all the joy we create from moment-to-moment, day-to-day?

I think it's much simpler than we let it be.

And it can be as easy as child's play...

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

GRATITUDE

How is your summer going so far?
Where are you, and what are you doing?
Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, are you at peace with your choices?

More importantly-
Are you grateful for YOU, and your unique journey, and all the life experience that has gone into creating this person that you are right now?

I have spent the past two months participating in the Oberlin Summer Theater Festival.  The experience was challenging and wonderful, and there is much that could be said about it.  But I want to talk about what happened right at the end of my time in Oberlin.

One of my cast-mates shared with me their perspective on me, my life, and the choices I have made.  It was a very brief exchange that affected me profoundly.  In a moment, I had a very deep understanding and appreciation for ME, my unique life journey, and all of the decisions and choices that have lead to who and where I am now.

It is so easy to compare ourselves to others...
So easy to believe others' opinions and ideas about how we are living our lives...
What we are doing and what we should be doing...


I had a moment of seeing how someone else might view my life, and how they might be inspired by what they see.

But can I be inspired by my own life?  Can I feel gratitude for so much freedom to live my life as I choose?  To make this life a unique expression of my own being and becoming?  Can I see the beauty in all of it?

This is the card I just pulled from the Fifth Tarot to help me put words to what I feel about the past two months, as well as the past in general:


The realization is that it is not so much the outer events in life that lead to a life of joy, but an inner stance of gratitude for the entire journey.  And sometimes, maybe we can't bring ourselves to appreciate ALL OF IT, but there are always specific moments and experiences along the way that we can appreciate.

This summer I have been doing allot of thinking about how to re-inspire myself...how to have more of that awe and wonder that I knew as a child...more of that passion and enthusiasm for life that I used to know...

I am going to start by allowing myself to feel this deep gratitude for all of my life experience.

I invite you to do the same.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Fear & Love on the Spiritual Path

In her last new moon report, astrologer Anne Ortelee takes us back ten years to May of 2000, when transiting Saturn and Jupiter formed a conjunction and began a new cycle of growth and awareness of the forces of CONTRACTION and EXPANSION in our lives.

What was I beginning around May 2000?  Well, I graduated from college around that time.  That was a major completion...but what was beginning?  As I look back over the past ten years, I can see clearly what began to emerge at that time.  It was my own connection to SPIRIT.  I bought my first "spiritual" book, One Day My Soul Just Opened Up: 40 Days and 40 Nights Toward Spiritual Strength and Personal Growth, and I tried meditation for the first time.

Ten years ago, for all of us, there was a beginning, and now, as Jupiter opposes Saturn, there is the opportunity for clarity about what is blossoming after ten long years of exploration, learning, and growing.  What has the through-line been for you these past ten years?  What has grown up from a tiny sapling to now stand strong as a young Oak, brilliant and magnificent for all to see?


For me, it has been a deep spiritual journey.  It has been an ever cycling experience of EXPANSION and CONTRACTION.  Saturn is a symbol for contraction, fear, pessimism, separation, solitude.  Jupiter is a symbol of expansion, love, faith and optimism, unity in diversity, and inclusion.  Of all these qualities or states of being, it is a deeper intimacy with FEAR and LOVE that I feel the past ten years have gifted me.


I don't know about you, but I have become so aware of these two forces that dance with each other, in and through all experience.  Actually, what I have come to realize, is that LOVE simply remains as it is; open, present, free, always available, while FEAR plays its games with us.  They are not truly equal forces.  There is no war between fear and love.  For there to be a war, you must have at least two opposing forces.  Love does not oppose.  Love does not defend.  Love simply is.  Only fear fights to retain some illusion of being apart from love.

What am I getting at?

It seems we really have an opportunity now to SEE CLEARLY the FEAR and LOVE in our lives.  They appear to us to be in stark contrast, and we can watch these two forces at work in us and our world.  From moment to moment we can watch how fear begins in our thoughts and bodies, attempting to protect and defend our sense of EGO, when perhaps there really is no threat.  We can watch all those lies that fear cooks up about our unworthiness and shame.  We can really watch the mechanism at work when it rises up, placing walls between us and our loved ones, hardening our hearts, and tempting us into a pressurized dungeon of alone-ness.

And we can watch when we are BEING and BECOMING free of fear's grip.  We can see how the world looks to us in those moments when we are expressing from our true selves instead of our false selves.  In love, we allow and accept ALL OF THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE, which includes our own fear and overcoming of the fear.  When love comes a'knockin', we watch all the walls come down, and we bask in the miracle of life.  We feel at one with life.  We recognize our brothers and sisters for who they are.  We feel ourselves blessed to be spiritual beings having this experience, whatever it is, here and now.

Ten years ago, when I first began consciously on my spiritual path, I thought that I had to eradicate all fear and become perfect.  There was this ideal of what a spiritual person was supposed to look like.  Now, as this awareness blossoms inside of me, I see that I will never become that ideal, and that's okay.  That's one of fear's lies-that I must become something other than what I already am and what I am already becoming.  At anytime, I can see myself through the eyes of love and accept myself as I am; a child of the Universe, ever BEING, ever BECOMING something more.

As this new awareness opens for us, let's give ourselves plenty of room to expand and contract, to allow the in-breath and the out-breath, to accept the cycling periods of rest and activity, and to allow ourselves to have our fears and love them and ourselves anyway.

Let's look back and appreciate how much we've grown over these ten years and just how much we have learned to love...in spite of the fear.


 Osho Zen Tarot

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Perfect Being...

This has been a strange week.  I've felt "off."  Low energy.  More sleep.  Foggy mind.  Juicy dreams.  A vague haze surrounding my day-to-day.

Has anyone been experiencing the same?

In the past, I used to get angry at myself for feeling "off," or I'd get angry at the world for continuing to expect the same performance from me.  I used to beat myself up and use the "off" symptoms as a way to prove that I was damaged goods, broken...that something was wrong with me.  And boy-oh-boy did I try to get in there an fix it!  This was an on-going cycle of self-denial and self-hate.

This week I could have given myself a little more acceptance, a little more room to snooze a little bit longer before rising to prepare for work.  I could have allowed myself more room to be "off," and taken more time for myself to simply slow down and be with myself.  Perhaps the slowing down would have lead me to taking a day OFF from work, and who knows where that would have lead...

But I can say that there is more room here, now, for whatever is expressing inside of me than there used to be.  This week I was able to acknowledge the ebb in energy and concentration.  Even though I chose to go out into the world and work-business as usual-I allowed myself to be low energy and lacking in concentration.  I didn't fight it.  I gave myself the permission to relax a little bit more in my chair and indulge in longer periods of doing nothing.  I let myself have the damn coffee, too!

Still, before leaving work for the day, I heard the quiet voice of Spirit nudging me to take some time for myself...to honor where I am and to nourish myself from within.

So, what did I do when I got home?  I lit a candle, rubbed some essential oil ("Purification" from Young Living Essential Oils) onto my body at the chakra points, selected some crystals to place at each chakra, began playing Buddha Nature by Deuter, and gave myself an hour long Reiki self-care session.

Ah...just what the doctor ordered.

During the session, I let my mind and energy wander wherever it needed to go.  On my journey there were partly cloudy skies morphing into and out of cotton candy-like shapes.  There were vast oceans, and there I was floating peacefully in their calm waters.  Vines grew up from the Earth and wrapped around my body, supporting me, anchoring me, and giving me strength.  Every now and then, I would see colors and energies coming into and going out of my body and energy field.  Every now and then, a deep breath of realignment would well up from nowhere and fall into nothingness...

And somewhere in there, these words bubbled up from the stillness -

"Perfect being...perfect becoming..."

After rising, I selected a tarot card from my Fifth Tarot deck:


A mini-song that I wrote long ago drifted back into my awareness...

"...I am a part of the Universe
The Universe inside of me
Every amazing little thing
Is a part of you, is a part of me
We are a part of each other..."

The Universe card was a perfect mirror for the harmony and balance I was experiencing in that moment.

This perfection of being and becoming that we are can be experienced anytime, whether we are still or in motion.  These "off" days can be the perfect opportunity to slow down, realign, and return to the peace and stillness at the center of being.

Peace and blessings from the center...

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Epic Breakthrough!

This is an article that I wrote for a good friend and holistic health practitioner, Brenda McDaniel, and her friend and colleague, Donald Piranty.  In June, they are holding a 4-day practical holistic living workshop in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and they felt that getting attuned to the current astrological climate would help them and their workshop participants navigate this time of great change and renewal.

Spring 2010 – Astrological View (written 4/27/10)


~ Epic Breakthrough!

Everyone is familiar with the energy of Spring: new energy and vitality bursting forth, zest for life springing forward, and new possibilities erupting all around. This Spring is no different. We will feel this urgency to go forth and create something new in our lives, and this time, there is great potential for epic BREAKTHROUGH within and without! Life is calling us forward into a new paradigm of living. Although we will still be healing and transforming old patterns of habit and belief that no longer serve us, the coming CHANGE is imminent.


Osho Zen Tarot

On April 19th, Chiron, planet of healing, integration, and multi-dimensional awareness, moved into Pisces, the sign of transcendence and compassion. This shift is bringing a greater sensitivity to the work that must be done in order to heal and allow more of our soul potential to shine through in our day-to-day lives. We are now beginning to receive impulses to not only heal and transform what is divided within us, but to go forward expressing our new found wholeness and vision in the world. My sense is that there is a mounting force and momentum that we can ride into a new and improved mode of BEING and BECOMING. We may all experience ourselves feeling more alive than we have felt in a long time, as we manifest more of our true selves in our daily lives. Though this transformation and breakthrough may feel overwhelming at times, there is a great deal of energetic support to move through the changes with a new sense of trust, wholeness, and hope for the future.

This is also a time of PURIFICATION in our lives, as we release energy from the past so that we can express the new. The future of new possibilities and manifested vision is calling us forward out of our safe and familiar boxes. Look back at the last two years of your own life to see what relationships, habits, beliefs, and paths have become a thing of the past in order to make room for this NEW VISION. This Spring increases the purification and breakthrough-to-new-paradigm energy that we have been dealing with since November 4th of 2008, when Saturn opposed Uranus for the first time. For the 4th time in this cycle, on April 26th, these two planetary lights are polarizing again; Uranus is sending shock-waves of liberation through Saturn, inviting any outdated structures to give way to the new. Pluto, planet of empowerment and transformation, is also a part of the mix. He will be in a t-square configuration with Uranus and Saturn all Spring. For us, all of this energetic stimulation might manifest as periods of deep introspection and purification alternating with periods of feeling as if we are soaring and breaking through into new realms of possibility. As we launch ourselves into the new from the old structures that are dissolving, we are being asked to manage our resources wisely and stay grounded while we allow the shifts and changes within and around us.

This Spring continues the changes that have been ongoing for the past two years and introduces something new to the mix, as Uranus enters Aries on May 27th. This will bring an electric, expansive energy, and we are all likely to be swept up in the enthusiastic and courageous energy of Aries and the liberating expanded perceptions of Uranus. This energy is freeing us up to create anew. This is rebirth time! It appears that many potential seeds of creativity that have been gestating and growing in quiet will now be erupting into our awareness. Much deep cleansing will happen as this new energy begins to gain momentum, pulsing and flowing like a great river, carrying us ahead into the summer solstice on June 21st.

So, keywords for this Spring are PURIFICATION and BREAKTHROUGH. If we honor these energetic impulses, we may find ourselves nourishing our body-mind with healthier foods, committing to new ways of exercising and caring for our bodies, deepening our spiritual practices, and sharing our new sense of hope and vision with the world around us. This Spring, we say goodbye to the past and welcome new life!

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Peace & Hope with the Taurus New Moon

Hello, everyone!  I feel like I've been away on a long hibernation.  I needed a break.  I needed to rest and renew.  Life is moving so fast these days, and my 2008 and 2009 were so full and rich.  And I needed time to process all that happened in such a short time.

All of us are CHANGING and moving through these great times of CHANGE.  I don't know about you, but I am excited!  There is so much to be thankful for.

Before I go into the energies of this NEW MOON in TAURUS, I want to share some music with you.  This is a song I sang with One Voice of Sacred Center New York last Spring.  It was the perfect gift as I said goodbye to New York, and the perfect beginning as I said hello to the unknown before me.  It says so much about the way I have always felt about life...the mystery...the gift...the experiences that we have that fill us to exploding sometimes...our very real human lives.  It helps me to feel my SOUL and remember that there is room for all of it.  THERE IS ROOM FOR ALL OF IT.  And I am so thankful for ALL of it!

"Esperanto" ~ (from Esperanca, which is Portuguese for "Hope")
Music by Vince Mendoza
Lyrics by Kurt Elling

There's a secret that never dies -
like a song of hidden meanings that we never apprehend.
There are questions just as old as time
and the answers that come never quite make amends.
Even so, when you look at time
you can get a subtle feeling of the way it ought to be.
Take a good look at your own real life
and you'll see if you want what you've gotten to be.
It's a hope, a sign, a measure of quiet rapture -
of love and what may come after.
It's let-ting go, and letting no answer be an answer.
How did smoke learn how to fly? - Where do birds go off to die?
Why does coal sleep in darkness? - Do dreams live in apart-ness?
Is a number forever? - Where's the soul of the water?
How old is old November? - No one here can remember.
If I die, where does time go? - Do the bees feel ver-ti-go?
To get love - is there potion? - Or is love on-ly mo-tion?
Holy lift, holy reading - holy gift, holy needing.
Holy sound, holy waiting - holy spark a-ni-ma-ting.
Holy food, holy breathing - holy light in-ter-wea-ving.
Holy night, holy hand-write - holy flight, holy in-sight.
Holy sun, holy brother - holy moon, holy mother.
Holy dream, holy vision - holy scheme, holy mission:
Holy one to a-no-ther - holy me, holy other.
Holy lives, holy blending - holy start, holy ending.
~
Sit back and listen to it, here.
~

NEW MOON
May 13th
8:04 PM CDT
23 degrees of TAURUS

Within this tumultuous Spring energy, there is an opportunity to relax, to be at peace, and to touch your soul essence.  There is an opportunity for a deep letting go and a simple communion with BEING.  Be here with the body.  Be here with the mind.  Be here with all that is in the moment.  The serenity and peace of Taurus at rest in the field can be experienced.  This is a time when we can all feel deeply present in our bodies and connected to Mother Earth.  We can tune-in to the place inside us that is always at peace...at rest.  As new moons are times of beginnings and renewals, begin something that connects you to your deep peace...something that connects you to your own body and sense of sensuous presence in your life.  For me, this evening, it is listening to a song of HOPE...a soothing voice...and feeling the comforting vibrations of the Brazilian quartz blessed by "John of God" that I hold in my hand.  Let's take walks and feel the warm air on our skin.  Let's smell the flowers.  Let's hug someone for a real long time.  Let's gaze at the sunset.  Let's thank our bodies for doing so much for us that we rarely ever give thought to.  Let's take a moment to enjoy our peaceful center.

Take some time over the next few days to PAUSE and breathe deeply.  Ask your own soul to give you a message about the energy of this new moon and what it means for you.

One thing TAURUS teaches us is to TAKE IT EASY.  There is no hurry.  SLOW DOWN, and ask your soul to give you a deep experience of PEACE to help you connect to your own new beginnings.



The Fifth Tarot

When I first turned over this card, I thought of the depth and fullness of the ocean and how it reflects our own deep, ever ebbing and flowing feelings and emotions.  We may have a great deal of emotion bubbling up from our depths at this time.  We may need to find a quiet space away from it all in order to feel this deep peace within.  If we can sit with whatever is arising in our emotional bodies and just experience it...no judgment...no attachment...we can touch the center of our peace.

In the next few days of this new moon energy, I would love to hear about the PEACE you have touched within your own lives.  And so it is.