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New Moon and Solar Eclipse in Scorpio
Here on the east coast of the US there is a big astronomical and astrological event in store for us. As we move into Samhain and the Celtic celebration of the beginning of a new solar cycle we also, on Sunday morning, experience this Sun/Moon conjunction and eclipse.
I am already feeling the effects of the “dying” Moon as she slips ever closer toward the Sun. As I write she is at almost 14 degrees of Libra while the Sun is 9 degrees of Scorpio. Only 25 degrees separate them and the Sun is winning the race; he always does.
I always look forward to the New Moon, the rebirth and emergence back out of the Sun. The energies clear and there is a freshness to the astrological patterns. And I cast a new I Ching Gua to get a handle on the patterns developing for the next Moon cycle. (I’ll publish my findings here on Monday.)
Meanwhile we are still approaching this event and we need to prepare for it. In Rosemary’s “news” post today (link to that post) she writes this:
Are you ready for something new in your life? The New Moon on Sunday, November 3 at 7:49 a.m. Eastern Standard Time is a Solar Eclipse and supports you in bringing in the new energies that support your transformation.
Here is what astrologer Steve Nelson says about the event:
“The Nov 3 Total Eclipse of the Sun is the most powerful celestial event this century so far… An eclipse is an opportunity to eliminate old patterns of thought and behavior from the world. As old forms dissolve energy set free is moved into new forms, this is transformation.”
And here is a slightly expanded version of Steve’s thought on this transformational eclipse:
As old thought patterns break energy is set free for new creation. Energy flows where attention goes. All we need to do is focus on what we wish to be, feel what is needing to be let go and breathe. Energy moves with the breath. As old forms dissolve energy set free is moved into new forms, this is transformation.
I particularly appreciate the ease about this event Steve permits: “let go and breathe.” Transformational work can sometimes feel hard. I think this is the ego’s way to defend against change. The ego does not like to “let go.” I know mine doesn’t! But I certainly do like the “breathe” part – even my ego appreciates my breath work!
So I think to slip into Hamsa. This mantra is always there, of course, but not always top of consciousness. Part of the allowing of old patterns to slip away as the Moon slips into the grasp of the Sun is to set our attention on the breath, to follow the mantra “chant” as we breathe through our whole bodies. On Ham we breathe in the energy of change, the energy of the eclipse to allow the approaching event to consume old patterns, old thought-forms, old structures. And on Sa we exhale the old, expelling those patterns that no longer serve in this new awareness.
With each breath-cycle there is an opportunity for transformation. With each Moon-cycle there is an even greater opportunity for transformation. And with this approaching eclipse there is “a most powerful” opportunity to eclipse those old patterns totally and breathe in Transformation!
However you celebrate these exciting astronomical and astrological events do remember to breathe through them and simply let go!
The Echo of Truth from the Future – Richard’s Commentary
I love this kind of talk! I have been a futurist for most of my life. My first love in reading is a good SciFi novel, some wonderful, imaginative projection into the future of the possible.
So, when words like “truth from the future” come from Rosemary’s channel I also perk up and take note! Here are the key thoughts from her message this week:
Humanity is constantly evolving. Human Consciousness is always growing and expanding. Human Awareness and Understanding grow with each human experience. Truth must constantly be re-evaluated as consciousness evolves.
When we hear that ‘the new truth comes back from the future’ we must understand that, as humanity evolves, we are growing into the New Human, the human of our future.
And that “human of our future” is calling us forward into that future. We have to embrace the truth of that possible future in order to allow ourselves to flow toward that future.
This is heady stuff. But it is not really as crazy as it might sound, especially if we suspend our western, Indo-European notion of time. One of the ways I do this is to remember back to my times with my most esteemed teacher, Martín Prechtel when I sat with him in his Bolad’s Kitchen. Martín teaches from many sources, but his grounding in Mayan culture and language comes through at every turn. The Mayan language has no verb form for “to be” so the whole notion of time in Mayan culture is completely different from our western notion of the linearity and vectored flow of time. This is not an easy concept to grasp when we are constantly reminded of the was/is/will be experience of time as captured by our western languages.
One way Martín offers to help get in touch with this other way to view time is to picture ourselves as islands in the middle of an ocean, the ocean of time. The past, present and future events are all part of this ocean. Events flow to us and away from us and influence us as we exist in the ebb and flow of time. Both the past and the future “echo” toward us as these islands.
And this is how Time Line Therapy® works. We can go backwards on our time line to heal wounds in the past, in a way we undo karma. We can then bring that healing forward to the present. Equally we can flow forward on our time line to embed events in our future so that when we reach that point the event is already energized. Using the analogy of the ocean we are flowing back and forward on the surface of the sea to receive information from both the past and the future. Past events can be healed; future events can be energized.
This is also the mechanism of the Law of Attraction. We can visualize the future we want to attract and actually influence that future.
The Divine Feminine as channeled by Rosemary during her Satsang event pointed this out clearly:
…focus on your dreams being realized, if you say ‘I usually handle this easily’ or ‘I always find the perfect parking place,’ then you are echoing a truth from the future.
You create your future with the thoughts you project. You experience ‘the new truth’ when you allow the future to manifest in this present moment.
What does the future truth that is pulling you forward have in store for you?
PS: Are you looking for advice from beyond the usual, maybe the future, through a gifted Medium? Join Rosemary for a Conversation with The Other Side at 7:00 PM Eastern, November 1 – All Saints Day – tomorrow evening. If you are in Maryland, join us in person. From a distance join us by tele-video conference or simply by phone. Learn more here.
MONDAY’S POEM: Hamsa
A while ago I offered a poem on the breath. It was inline with my approach to Qigong breathing. I got good feedback on that poem and even published a bookmark for use in my Qigong classes. That poem is here.
Last week I wrote about the happy discovery of Hamsa as both a way to breathe and a mantra meditation rolled together. My practice of Hamsa and my Qigong breath poem inspired today’s offering:
Hamsa
Inhale
Expand
Belly out
Ribs out
Spine straight
Head up
Ham…
Sa
Exhale
Neck free
Shoulders down
Chest in
Belly in
Contract
Pause
Be…
Ham
Sa
I Am
That!
©2013 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
More on Hamsa – and Less
Formal meditation is not always easy for me. I like to sit, maybe with a candle and some incense burning, offering my hopes and prayers to the Goddess. I have all the rituals well in place; I have the accoutrements: zafu and zabuton from my Zen meditation days, a collection of incense that could open a store, altar objects large and small to create sacred space in every corner of our house.
And while I enjoy sitting and all the ceremony I surround it with I am not always able to easily and quickly move to that still center where merger with the Divine is attained.
I don’t think it’s about practice, more practice. I was initiated into traditional TM by some German folks just returning from India and their own initiation and study with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 1969. I’ve had some time to practice! And yes, I do return to TM reasonably often but it is not a daily practice now. When I return to TM I don’t often find that still point within.
I also sit zazen from time to time. I enjoy watching my breath and seeking stillness. I enjoy the formalism of Zen and slip easily back to my times at Zen Mountain Monastery with Roshi Loori. But even with my formal training, practice and approach I don’t often achieve that quiet mind and find that still center.
With this backdrop my excitement in finding and reading I am That by Swami Muktananda has its context. As I wrote in yesterday’s post, Hamsa as a meditation practice is already changing my life.
Hamsa – I am That is a mantra meditation approach I immediately understand. And my first breath with this mantra showed me a way inward that is straightforward and effective. Ham – I am – is the sound we make when we inhale. Sa – That – is the sound we make when we exhale. Each breath repeats this mantra Hamsa, I am That.
And it only takes one breath! On one repetition of Hamsa it all comes rushing toward me and plants itself deeply within. My years breathing on a cushion, my yoga time on a mat with my TM bija-mantra, my qigong breath and movement, even my time in my writing chair seem to merge into this single still point in the middle of my chest, my heart chakra, and quietly abide.
What more could I ask for than to receive and embrace a “new” meditation practice that in some alchemical way combines all of my practices and takes me immediately to that quiet-mind, still center?
And there is almost nothing to it! It is a breath. We all breathe. We repeat this mantra, this Hamsa 12,600 times a day! And all we have to do is remember the deeper meaning.
I don’t need a cushion, I don’t need a candle and incense, I don’t need images and objects, I don’t even need to still my body, or prepare it through exertion. I only need my breath. Ham Sa!
Everybody’s Talking at Me – Richard’s Commentary
My first reaction to this statement about the voices in my head is, yeah, everybody’s talking at me, especially me! I don’t know about you but my voice is constantly chattering at me, like that “Monkey Mind” spoken of by meditators. And often that voice seems so critical. As Rosemary states:
We all have those ‘old tapes’ playing in our mind and sometimes it is difficult to figure out that we don’t have to listen to them anymore. The first step in personal growth is to decide on YOUR TRUTH in this present moment.
Those old tapes may be from another time and other people’s words are spoken, but the sound is of my own voice. And it is not always easy to shut me up!
I have been a seeker all my life. Maybe the “truth” I have sought after is the means to quiet my mind-talk, to shut down the litany so I can listen for a deeper Truth.
What does your inner voice tell you? Mine is often reminding me of all the things I have to do; it runs through lists and sorts through them endlessly for priorities, shifting items, ordering them. At other times the voice is reviewing reactions to events; examining my actions, reactions, judging, analyzing, finding the fault.
I’m working on this constantly, taming the voice, searching for the lessons. I do follow Rosemary’s prescription:
Ask yourself, ‘Is this thought, belief, rule true for me?’
And often it no longer holds true, if it ever did. I remain vigilant to detect the old voice, to listen instead for what is true for me now. I practice many methods of doing this from physical yoga and qigong, to emotional and mental writing and creating poetry, to spiritual meditation, ritual work and touching Higher Mind. These practices work well; the Monkey Mind subsides, the critical voice quiets, the list builder recedes to his corner.
—–
The best part of moving (and the worst) is handling all the books! Both Rosemary and I are book collectors (and we even read a lot of them!). Moving them is an incredible chore and we have committed to slimming our collection down to lessen the load. But during our recent move books have jumped out at me insisting that I read them. I accumulated quite a stack as I opened boxes and stuffed shelves.
One book rose to number 2 on the list and I just finished it: I am That by Swami Muktananda. The subtitle is: The Science of HAMSA from the VIJNANA BHAIRAVA.And this book, this time, just might change my life!
I don’t remember if I read this book before. We’ve had it for years; one of Rosemary’s earliest business cards as a newly ordained reverend was in it as a bookmark. Reading it now struck a significant chord in me and I may have stumbled on that Truth I’ve been seeking all these years.
And it is so simple! Hamsa is a mantra of the breath. As we inhale we make the sound of Ham and as we exhale we make the sound of Sa. The Sanskrit meaning ofHamsa is I am That. As I read this little book I was immediately drawn into the practice. Every breath I take is repeating this mantra. This mantra is reminding me of who I am. And as Rosemary points out in her post yesterday:
Let’s set the record straight right here, right now. You ARE good enough, smart enough, pretty enough. You ARE enough!
Now when my inner voice grows loud with lists and shoulds and judgments, I remember to breathe; remembering to breathe I hear Hamsa, hearing Hamsa I am called back to who I truly am. I am That!
Do you have good practices to quiet that voice in your head, that Monkey Mind?
MONDAY’S POEM: Molting by the Light of the Moon
On Friday evening, here on the East Coast, we experienced a very powerful full moon in Aries and a Lunar Eclipse. As I wrote here that Friday morning the effects on me were substantial. I came through the experience renewed; today’s poem reflects the experience and results.
Molting by the Light of the Moon
The Great Moon swells
To her fullest magnificence.
She takes on all we have to give her
Stripping us of the surplus, refuse.
It can be a painful time
Of loss and grief and letting go.
Like snakes their skin and crabs their shells,
We twist and scratch to transform.
In the midst of the molt
We are left wounded and vulnerable;
This is a rough and dangerous time
To release the old and trust the new.
And then we crawl
Into the light of the Full Moon,
Hardening shells, thickening skins
Armoring once again a New Self.
The shadows recede
Hiding no longer the threats once held.
The night sky bright light encouraging,
We stand taller in New Minds.
©2013 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
Full Moon and Lunar Eclipse in Aries – Today!
Every Friday Rosemary publishes a “news post” on events in the Heavens as well as events in her life and work. Similarly I post whatever is on my mind on Fridays. Today, Rosemary’s news and my thoughts coincide.
And here’s what’s most important from her “news”:
Happy Full Moon and Lunar Eclipse!
Today, Friday, October 18 at 7:37 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time we experience both Lunar events. The Moon moves into the shadow of the Earth and stirs up our unconscious mind and emotions. What has been hidden that needs to be brought out of the shadows and into the light to be examined? And what old motivations and fears can we now release?
This is a potent time for all of humanity as we are being called to expand our consciousness. What are you doing for your personal growth during this week?
This swelling Moon to fullness here on the east coast this evening is clobbering me. First my body has been whacked. I am stiff and achy with cold-like symptoms, but I know I don’t have a cold. I have not slept well for the past two nights (the filling Moon affects us for three days on either side of her largest); so, I’m feeling strung out. Emotionally I’m feeling stressed and tense, like there’s something I need to do but don’t know quite what it is and am anxious about it. Even mentally I am not feeling very sharp; all I want to do is go back to bed!
What’s going on? The Full Moon always affects me, but usually in less potent ways. I always sense it with minor physical symptoms. When others complain of similar symptoms I remind them of the Moon and always get an “oh, yeah, that explains it.” We all experience these phases.
But this one is hitting hard. Maybe because the Moon is in Aries we are getting that fire and power from this Mars sign. But I think the eclipse is having the most dramatic impact on us today.
As Rosemary observes, the eclipse is the result of the Earth’s shadow falling on the Moon and blocking the Sun’s light. “We’ll be receiving the most pure Moon energy with it blocked from reflecting the Sun’s powerful light.” And we are asked to examine what we have been hiding, to bring it out of the shadow. “What old motivations and fears can we now release?”
This is a time of major transformation. It is time to shed the old husk and leave behind fears, anxiety, stress, anger and grief. This shedding of the used up and ineffective parts of our selves is not an easy process. Like a snake shedding it’s old skin it has grown out of we need to let go; this can be painful. And when the release is accomplished we can be vulnerable for a time. But we have to go through this.
Do Full Moons affect you? Do you pay attention to the phases of the Moon? She is our emotional companion for the journey. She helps us through our shifts and changes.
And we no sooner get through this Full Moon today when Mercury plunges into retrograde on Monday! I’ll say more about that then…
Have a great weekend! Take it easy on yourself and be very careful. As Rosemary concludes:
Have a luminous week! And watch out for the luna-tics who don’t know how to drive during a Full Moon or a Mercury retrograde!
Use the Good China – Richard’s Commentary
True confession time: I am an inveterate procrastinator. I have been all my life. Maybe it’s my Leonine nature; with a birthday in August I definitely have some cat-like tendencies toward an independence from all those things waiting to be done.
And here’s another confession: when we unpacked the “good China” during our most recent move-in we tucked it away in a cupboard over the refrigerator – a rather difficult to get to area – because we don’t use the good China!
So, what’s this post of Rosemary’s about; and what do I take away that it might be good to consider?
The key paragraph that speaks to me is this one:
When you are connected to your inner wisdom and your spirit guides, you can check in to see what your next step is. Sometimes the message might be to capture the idea and then schedule it, even if it is not to be acted upon today. But often we challenge or question the energy of the guidance and step back to analyze until we have moved away from pursuing the action.
Yes, there are certainly times when I do “step back to analyze” and then the opportunity slips away and the guidance for the “next step” is ignored. This is the downside of procrastination. But here’s the thing: I do receive and hear a lot of guidance. And yes, often what I do with that guidance is put a task on my to-do list. In a sense this is putting it off; however, I do use my task list to get things done.
Lists really work for me. I learned yeas ago that if I can get a task listed and scheduled it will get done. It may not even get done on the day I first schedule it (the procrastination habit is tenacious!); but it does get done. This is my solution to my “Leonine procrastination” trait.
So, then I look at Rosemary’s comment on “Universal Flow” – When you follow the energy of the idea you receive then you are staying in the flow of the creative energy that comes to you from your connection to Universal Flow. She actually implies that when we are in this flow perhaps we are not procrastinating at all! She also implies that it’s OK to put off, even ignore the “shoulds” our egos present to us!
I often do have the sense that I am in a kind of flow, a rhythm in my life. And when the list of tasks obtained from guidance is used to channel the flow of my days I feel good, accomplished and content. And I have long since given up the idea that my task list for any given day will be exhausted. I have accepted that it’s OK to slide a task to another day; and sometimes tasks even drop off the list when they are overtaken by other tasks or they lose their importance within the flow. Perhaps those dropped tasks were in the “shoulds” category!
When I am in flow, in the rhythm of life I tend to feel productive; tasks get checked off, others get moved, some even dropped. An “old tape” may start up in my head accusing me of procrastination. But, if I really examine my life and accomplishments, maybe I’m not such a bad procrastinator after all!
What drives your life? Do you let your ego over-schedule you with shoulds then beat yourself up with labels like “procrastination”? Go inside for guidance. Listen for direction and list the tasks you can undertake to move in that direction. This moves you into flow and purpose!
Meanwhile, maybe I’ll get that good China out this weekend—for just the two of us!
MONDAY’S POEM: The Divine Feminine Speak
Last week I wrote of balance. I think it must be the Sun in Libra that has influenced my rumination since the New Moon in Libra last Tuesday. Here’s more on this subject:
The Divine Feminine Speak
Libra, the pivot point
Leads the way toward balance.
Liberation of purpose,
Leaning away from power,
The way forward is toward both.
The Divine Feminine restore purpose
Lifting to light, facing the Sun,
They do not see the shadow.
Evolution is a directed tale;
Progress is an upward spiral.
The Divine Masculine control power.
Offering the Moon, reflecting the Sun
They cast no harsh shadow.
Evolution requires strong force
To lift consciousness higher.
Balance is the key to all:
Not a static status quo,
And not a raucous mountain ride;
A gentle spiral toward the light,
A resting spirit through the night.
©2013 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
This Issue of Balance
Yesterday I posted a message I channeled from The Divine Feminine as a response to Rosemary’s post from them the day before. And as I look back on it I realize I have been receiving a lot of information on balance lately. What’s going on?
Here’s the key quote from The Divine Feminine:
The Goddess is in you just as the God is in us. We are inseparable yet dual. We inter-penetrate one another, affirm one another, in fact, manifest one another. And there is the problem with the dual nature of existence, of consciousness, just as there is a necessity to it. Often there is an imbalance in our natures. In you men, when the masculine over-powers the feminine, there is too much action, too much aggression. When the feminine over-powers the masculine there is too much inaction, too much passivity. The mirror image of this imbalance is true for women.
While all of existence has this dual nature, it is the imbalances in that duality that are the root of difficulties. Restoring balance is critical to righting the wrong in everything, from paddling a canoe to improving one’s health; from improving one’s relationship to re-opening the Federal government of the US.
Interestingly we don’t wish for a static balance either; in this case there is no change, no dynamic to press for the evolution of consciousness. So, there is a need for some disturbance to balance to power progress. The dynamic seesaw of restoring, losing, restoring balance generates the spiral of evolution. Balance is desired; imbalance is required. But an over-imbalance can also lead to arrested development.
In my lifetime there have been a number of wars fought around the world over little and large territories and ideologies. I was nearly drafted into one such war, in Viet Nam, in which nothing at all was gained and so much lost. I believe The Divine Feminine was addressing this type of imbalance when they spoke of too much action, too much aggression. The predominance of war in the past 70 years is all about this imbalance. And I can only hope that the return of The Divine Feminine to power can begin to restore a balance and channel resources toward a more creative energy and away from this destructive energy of conflict.
We are in the Astrological Sign of Libra. This is about balance. For the New Moon in Libra I cast an I Ching Gua (or hexagram) that translates as “Little Exceeding.” (see Monday’s post). This divination for the month is about following the middle way – follow the way of balance.
How do we do this? Practice awareness. Go back to the practices that work for you, whether they are some form of meditation, a form of physical exercise (yoga, qigong, jogging) that leads you into a state of awareness, activities that bring you into the present moment, like creating ritual space. Just take a breath and do a quick “gut check” to ask yourself if you are feeling balanced in the present moment; and if not, take another breath to see what balance might feel like.
And don’t expect to remain there fully present and in balance 100% of the time! There are many sources of distraction, many events in a day that throw us off balance. These events and sources are our teachers; we learn from them and then we breathe and come back to balance.
Balance is the key. How do you restore balance in your life?
PS: If you are in the Annapolis, Maryland area, I am beginning a new series of Qigong classes next Monday, October 14. Check details here.
Men and The Goddess 