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Pictured below: Margaret and The Cookie making tacks ... .  Today, December 21st, 2020, Jupiter and Saturn will move to only 1 degree of each other (the closest in our lifetime) forming The Great Conjunction in the southwestern skies just after sunset at 4:57 PM PST (in northern California). Today is also the day of the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year and the day the sun prepares its departure from its lowest elevation in the sky. A great metaphor for what we are facing in these times. Typically, Jupiter and Saturn join closely in the skies every 20 years to launch changes in our social, political, and economic systems and to set the tone for a new phase of our lives and the world. Think about what was happening in the world and in your lives 20 years ago - in the year 2000. I got married, lost my job, got another degree, and began a new career. In addition, there was the political turmoil of the 2000 US election (sound familiar) and shortly thereafter the toppling of the Twin Towers that spawned major social and geopolitical shifts. Today’s Great Conjunction, however, is on a mega dose of steroids and super amplified for new beginnings. JUPITER & SATURN MEET IN THE SIGN OF AQUARIUS Jupiter, the planet of wisdom and expansion, and Saturn, the planet of karma (the lessons we learn from the choices we make in life) last met in the sign of Aquarius on January 16, in the year1405, (615 years ago!), coinciding with the ending of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Renaissance. Prior to that they joined on March 4, 1226 in Aquarius! Most importantly, though, the last time The Great Conjunction of these planets occurred in such close proximity, in the sign of Aquarius, AND on the day of the Winter Solstice was, wait for it ... over 5000 years ago! We are talking 3000 BC!!!! And what was happening in 3000 BC? The Bronze Age began. This was when man moved from making tools with stone to bronze and was considered the birth of civilization (and slavery). There were great improvements in technology that included the birth of papyrus, the calendar and the potters wheel to name a few. So, needless to say, this Great Conjunction is a once-in-a-life-time event. The birth of a new era, marked poignantly by the COVID-19 pandemic. WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT AQUARIUS? Aquarius is symbolized by the Water Bearer, the mystical healer who bestows water (or life) upon the land, representing a human who has become a vessel of the divine through inner awakening and consciousness. Aquarius represents our journey of truth and awakening. But this is no "one-size-fits-all" journey. Aquarius reminds us that we are each unique and have our own programming, paths, filtering systems, attachments and individual expression through which we must navigate our personal truth in this lifetime. SO WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DREAMING ABOUT LATELY? I ask this question not for the sake of demanding answers to the unfathomable mysteries that life puts before us, but rather to help us understand what stands in the way of our path and purpose in this lifetime. Are we here to finish unfinished business? ... to answer to the karma of our past lives or ancestry? For many years I have had a recurring dream that has recently come back with a vengeance. It is a dream (usually quite vivid and brutal) of being trapped and imprisoned. In these dreams, I am helpless, frantically searching for a way out and although there are usually others that are imprisoned alongside me in these dreams, I am the only one trying to mastermind an escape - the only one that is clutching and clawing for a way out, a desperate victim of my constraints - my own constraints, that is. This recurring dream has allowed me to reflect on my own inner passivity and self sabotage that have often made discovering my purpose and path more burdensome than necessary. They have helped me to see the difference of seeing life through the lens of fear or fearlessness, which I've failed to understand on countless occasions. So ask yourself today:
Think deeply about the emotional filters that have shaped your life and reflect on what has dogged or tethered you to your past? Take this moment to lean into the uncomfortable. TILLING THE UNNECESSARY Tonight, at sunset, I will release to the winds the answers to such questions in an effort to till the grounds of my soul for new endings and greater beginnings - and it helps to know that the symbolism of Aquarius gives us the opportunity to do this hard work from a place of observance and neutrality - no matter how difficult or confusing the work before us may be. PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR SURROUNDINGS Don't forget to look to the messages being given in our every day lives - in our conversations, the music we listen to, the shapes of the clouds, the people we meet, the coincidences that fall upon us. Pay attention, piece these clues together, notice their patterns and LISTEN. I truly believe that when we pay attention to everything around us, the messages we need present themselves at just the right moments. Nothing is coincidence. Besides my dreams, the patterns I've noticed lately have had such relevance to me and only me because they are the words of my soul - coaching me along. As an example, recently, my husband and I decided to geek-out and watch all the Star Wars movies in succession. Last night we watched the offshoot episode Rogue One, which focuses on the difficult choices, the faith and the sacrifices we must make for the best chance at a new era. Last night, there were 2 lines that stood out before me while watching this movie. Mind you, this is a movie I have seen gazillions of times! The first was when the blind character, Chirrut Imwe, decided to follow the leading female character, Jyn, on a mission and when asked why he was following her, he said: “.....her path is clear” The other, again by Chirrut Imwe, was the oh-so-familiar mantra he chanted often when in need of courage and inner guidance: “I am one with the Force, the Force is with me.” A reminder that when we work to clear our path, we are no longer burdened by the weight of our past or attachments and, most importantly, that we are not alone (even when it feels that way). WE ARE HERE FOR A REASON I choose to believe that we are here in this lifetime for a reason. Our souls chose to be here in this moment. May the messages you need to hear come before you during this Great Conjunction, so you can clear your own path and be one with the Force! Below is an important (and easy) meditation to find solace and to open your hearts to the challenge being set before us. With love. Margaret Jod Kriya: Meditation for Heart Chakra This meditation is very relaxing. The autonomic system will relax and your breath will automatically move toward a meditative pace to renew and relax your heart and mind. To heal the emotional wounds of the heart, we need to bring calm to the nerves that hold the wound. We know that a break in relationship (to others or to our Self) has almost identical reactions in the nervous system and brain as a physical injury or loss of limb. This mudra creates balance; it generates a subtle pressure which adjusts the heart meridian along the little finger and outer forearm, activating the "action nerve" junction with the autonomic system to reset itself by keeping the forearms parallel to the ground and involving the armpit reflexes; and finally, it uses the pranic influence of the middle finger and its Saturn and air qualities to quell residual emotional storms. Posture: Sit in Easy Pose with a straight spine and a light Neck Lock. Mudra: Palms together, lightly touching. The tip of the Saturn (middle) finger is at the level of the Third Eye Point. The forearms are horizontal to the ground, elbows high. Look within. (No mantra or breath specified.) Time: Continue for 11, 31, or 62 minutes. To end: Inhale, exhale, relax the breath, and with clasped hands stretch the arms up for 2 minutes.   I am comfortable with the uncomfortable Tonight's Pisces full Corn Moon - also known as the Harvest or Barley moon - is about turning our awareness and focus inward rather than outward for solution. As uncomfortable as it may make us feel, this is a time to resist the logical, to resist the typical dead-end approaches to the things that are complex or bewildering in our lives. These days, grabbling and putting the pieces of logic together for solution will only leave us more deeply mired in the quicksand of chaos and naive to inner resolution. Things are much different than they were 6 months ago at the start of the Spring Equinox and the onset of COVID and as we enter this full moon, the last one before the Autumnal Equinox, take a moment to go beyond what your Mind tells you and to listen deeply to what your heart is saying because what is right in life may not always make logical sense. SO WHY THE LOOK to the HEART? Think of the Heart (your soul Self) as the Sun and the Mind as the Moon and recognize that the Moon's radiance and brilliance is merely a reflection of the light from the Sun. THIS is exactly what our Mind is to the Heart, a reflection of our Soul Self. To find clarity it is the Heart that needs to speak and shine - before the Mind every can. Our work now is to focus on feeling good about ourselves from the heart. This is something we are now beginning to realize humanity has been ignoring for millennia. So, to manage change successfully requires us to become more familiar, more comfortable, with who we are inside. It's the time to reflect and ask ourselves the question: What is it that we fear by by listening deeply to our hearts? Is it the old wounds we may have to acknowledge and make space for? Is it the fear of owning up to our potential? Or is it the fear of letting go of what no longer serves us but to date is all we have ever known? When we become comfortable within ourselves this is where the magic begins, where pathways to solution and resolutions open wider. Connecting the Mind to our Heart allows us to evolve, prosper, and integrate rather than reaching for what's outside of us that only disappoints and disintegrates. WHERE TO START Take the time to reflect on what is overwhelming you at this time or the things that make you uncomfortable and remember to gently (and with compassion) push aside the Mind's veil of illusion, e.g., those excuses we constantly make through avoidance. I treat my mind like a younger version of myself sometimes, the child version of me, so I have a better sense of Self when addressing what's really going on. I remind myself that my mind is only acting on conditioned, learned behavior - but my heart knows the way. The older wiser, from-the-heart-Margaret tells the younger Margaret, "it's okay, I've got your back, just sit back and relax, I've got this." A great way to re-establish the HEART, MIND, BODY connection is to breathe deeply as you feel your pulse from the wrist. We call this the Pulse Meditation (instructions below). This is a great introduction to meditation and a first strong step to inner connection. Through this simple meditation one can begin to listen, truly listen, to their heart beat and manifest an inner reconnection in this Age of Aquarius as we become attuned to our inner rhythm - and our truth. OUR KARMA ON THIS FULL MOON Our karma, the lessons we must learn, on this Corn Moon day relates to our befuddlement in connecting within. NOW is the time to master the subtlety of all you are - to become comfortable with what seems uncomfortable - to come to relish your own depth and dimension - to know it doesn't have fangs or poison, but rather a deep radiance that makes us feel whole and fulfilled because with this comes solutions to the things that seem bewildering at present. When we feel divine and successful within ourselves we have the capacity to share this with others and to perpetuate practising what we preach in a positive and powerful way. It is the opportunity for us ALL to heal and find solution collectively from within. This may sound corny on this Corn Moon but it's true. SIGIL PRACTICE TO HELP MANIFEST INNER CONNECTION This morning I meditated on the things within that make me uncomfortable. What might happen if I come to realize myself more? What if it puts too much pressure on myself, what if I fail? What about losing control? Trusting my heart makes me feel vulnerable, untrusting... It's not that the above aren't natural ways of thinking (in some cases they're instinctual) but they can also represent patterned ways of thinking that are outdated and only send us into cyclic chaos. So I decided to acknowledge these fears, to commit to becoming more comfortable with my Heart rather than the Mind through a Sigil (a symbol) I drew based on the following statement: "I am comfortable with the uncomfortable". This Sigil represents stepping outside the box of my comfort zone, accepting that logic isn't always the answer - but the heart is and can be, and that solutions and pathways open when we listen within. I inserted the sigil above for review. I will leave this sigil and let it sit for a while. I will forget about it for the day and when I come back to it I will re-charge it with more introspection and then release it to allow it to manifest, because in this year of 2020 - solution is from the Heart PULSE MEDITATION - HOW TO
This is a good meditation to help you get in touch with the inner self. It will also help if you are scattered and want to settle down, or if you are already quiet and want to go deep into the core of yourself. It’s a good meditation for beginners and to develop the ability of concentration in action. It allows you to control your reaction to any situation and can bring sweetness and one-pointedness to the most scattered mind. Sit in Easy Pose with a light jalandhar bandh. Focus the lightly closed eyes at the Brow Point. With the four fingers of the right hand, feel the pulse on the left wrist. Place the fingers in a straight line, lightly, so that you can feel the pulse in each fingertip. Breath deeply with each heart beat you feel through your finger tips. In kundalini we recite the silent mantra Sat Naaaaam with every heart beat. Sat Nam is a seed mantra - to germinate your inner Self and growth. It is your truth - all you are in this life time and all you have to offer in it. Sat Nam.  "BE STILL"
These were the words I thought I saw when I blindly pulled a book off the shelf and let it open to a random page. They were the first words my eyes gazed upon, an answer I needed during a flash of deep sadness. My attempt may sound cryptic but sometimes the Soul knows what it needs in order to lead us to the answers already within us. This was what led me to that darkly lit bookshelf in my attempt for a new perspective. But the actual words on the page, when revealed under better light, were “GIFT SPELL”. The title to a poem from Joyee Sidman in a book titled, What the Heart Knows. A book my husband had given me for my birthday many years ago. Ironic, how this very book and those two words, many years later would rest in my hands on my 50th birthday. Even more ironic, was the title of the book itself as I currently sift my way through the emotional difficulties of the COVID19 crisis. The reason I tried this experiment with the book was because I was feeling lost and having difficulty putting my finger on my inner conflict. By sitting down with these words, I began to see my current frustration for what it is, and for what it may be for my fellow citizens. Nine years ago I started a guided nature tours business. It was a passion of mine to do what I loved - to do in life what the heart knows (pretty interesting that of all the books I blindly pulled off that shelf it was the one with this title!) My work is where I am most socially comfortable, always engaging with others positively in collective spirit. Otherwise, I am quite an introvert. I gain deep meaning and value through the communal dialog of my work. It defines the very essence of my Being and allows me to do what I love and to express myself authentically. But most importantly, getting out everyday, meeting new people, making a difference in how they experience our region, it gives meaning to my life. I never really thought about that until I had a moment to be still with those 2 words. It dawned on me then that in just a matter of weeks into the fluid COVID19 crisis my business, the things that define me, give me value & purpose not to mention my ability to contribute to my household and family - were stopped dead in their tracks. Shuttered into deep silence. And it was the same for millions of others on this planet. WE ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS CRISIS. COVID19 wasn’t just attacking us physically. COVID19 was threatening the obsolescence of all that brings meaning into my life, that brings meaning into all of our lives. “BE STILL”, the words I thought I saw, and “GIFT SPELL”, the words I actually saw in the dim light of that night were speaking the same language to me. They were an opportunity to look deeper beyond the title of this crisis and more closely into the pages of its meaning. Momentarily, COVID19 has stripped us of the very things by which we define ourselves, leaving us vulnerable and fearful. In fact, at that moment with those two words my mind began to run an emotional check list of my feelings from these past few weeks; rudderless, reactionary, bored, trapped, concerned, useless, worthless, lonely, scared, and needy to name just a few things banging around my mind. But, like the title of the book I held in my hands, there was something deeper within me that my heart already knew. That in this space in time of forced isolation there is a diamond in the rough nestled within ourselves. A diamond of an opportunity to accept ourselves, stripped of what we attach to our perceived inner worth, and to liberate ourselves for ourselves. To reconnect to what we bring to this lifetime from the heart and soul. But clearly, this is not as easy as the words make it seem. Because to do this means we must DARE to try to accept ourselves and possibly fail at this task and if this were to happen while in our isolation, then how would we deal with that perceived failure without the support system to which we are accustomed? I believe we are here to give meaning to life and our current confinement seems to threaten the very concept of how we are supposed to do this. Most importantly, to have meaning in life is to have love - love for one another, for our community and for ourselves. Those two words I thought saw "be still" were exactly the words I needed to translate to myself. I needed to be still and reflect on how to receive, to liberate and open a new door to Self Acceptance. Love, to me, is an oscillating energy. We have to be open to receive and willing to give. This is its current, its flow. Others may validate us, the Universe may even show us how to try to go about it, such as randomly selecting words from a page of a book in a moment of deep sadness as I had done. But all of this, means nothing without our ability to open the door within ourselves and to receive it, accept it and, most importantly, rise to the occasion and courage to love ourselves implicitly to share it with others. Perhaps while Mother Earth begins to once again find herself. As her lungs clear and she begins to breathe deeply as she once did, we, too, can rise to the courage of this occasion and breathe love within ourselves, collectively. I leave you with the full poem that opened randomly to me that night so we can be reminded that the message we need comes to us at exactly the right time: GIFT SPELL Whatever is inside that large, flat box: Let it not be made of wool - snowflake pattern - one arm slightly longer than the other, knitted in my formerly favorite shade of green. Let it not be square and thick with stiff covers, full of wit and wisdom. Let it not be the hope of a new hobby. Let it not be anything to keep me neat, or clean, or safe. Whatever it is, let it shrink down small and hard and cold. let it have metal teeth and a whiff of speed. let it slip with a sweet jingle into my battered jeans as I run for the garage. That box: It looks like something else But let it be freedom.  This year, a series of intense planetary line-ups strongly suggests that 2020 will be a year of “make-or-break/sink-or-swim” turning points in our lives. If we do it right, there is great potential to achieve a place of harmony, balance and protected path this year.
With this said, there is one common factor among us that can block the path of our potential in 2020 if we are not vigilant in our efforts. It rules us through fear and compels us to revert to old, destructive patterning. It is a common mental dis-ease that when left unchecked, unobserved and unacknowledged can make an alien of us within our own families, our own lives and our own Self. I call it the Innovative Isolator or the Master Separator but it is most referred to as ... SHAME. No matter your achievements, your success or day to day perseverance, shame is an evil whisperer reminding you that you (and only you) don’t measure up. What’s worse is that when we try to talk of our shame, our feelings only deepen into its vicious cycle. That’s because shame is a pity party to keep us prone! It is literally nothing but an ego trip. So what is Shame, exactly? Shame is the core belief that something is fundamentally wrong with us, that we are somehow broken, or unfit; that we don’t belong. Most importantly, shame comes from within! No one can shame us but ourselves. No one! No matter how hard someone may try! Shame is the ego's demand for the status quo and to achieve this the ego will dial up predictable patterns of our childhood scripting that trick us into feeling safe, secure and less vulnerable. In fact, shame is very similar to the fight or flight response which puts us in “survival mode”, and prepares us to escape from threats. Like a gazelle escaping the lion, our response to shame through this scripting is so ingrained and instinctual there is very little or no thought behind it. This is why shame can be a silent killer of potential. Etched deep into our subconscious, our childhood scripting makes it nearly impossible to be aware of our reactions and, most importantly, how to change them. We are simply reacting to preserve our safety and protect the ego. Through fear, we are unable to see beyond the immediacy of survival and our "lion" of shame eventually wears us down and drowns us from our full potential and expression. So how do we break free from shame? Shame is a choice - not our voice. The fact is that shame is ever present. It’s how we manage it that matters. I write about shame to KNOW IT and to know it is to teach it through my work, my yoga and more. By journaling I develop a better understanding of what Lights me up or Burns me down. Understanding these differences helps us better prepare for triggers. Medical studies have shown that surgical patients who write down a day-to-day game plan of their recovery actually recover faster. The same can apply to our shame. Journaling our shame and noting the feelings we have at inflection points can help us roll play a better solution the next time we face triggers. Once we acknowledge and recognize the patterning we then begin to recognize our options. Most importantly, we recognize that shame is a choice - not our voice - and we can begin to establish more positive routines to replace those old, status-quo, negative patterns. Birds of a Feather flock together Community is key. Remember, shame likes to isolate us. As a part time introvert who needs silence and solitude to recharge, it is important that I keep my isolation in check. A good partner, support group, yoga class, walking, birding or book club or even volunteering for services you are passionate for can help you stay on track and reflect your potential Self. Become your Mantra! Make Mantra your drug of choice and LIBERATE YOUR SELF WORTH. I teach a mantra class because I believe in the power of chanting. Do you like singing your favorite, positive and happy song? That’s mantra! Mantras are like the password to the keypad of Self. When we become our Mantra we carve the key that unlocks the realms of our potential. Mantras smooth over old scripting and create new neural pathways to establish a more balanced mental framework with which to manage our daily world. When I feel my triggers to shame coming on - I silently chant a mantra and put into that mantra the emotions I am feeling. Mantra is a my drug of choice. Become your Mantra! Take the Needle off the Record! Our Mind (including the ego) is like taming a wild Mustang. We have to somehow find a way to bridle it, to tame it and direct it. Otherwise, it will buck us off and trample us. How can we do this? Meditate! Take Yoga Class! Walk in Nature! Hug a Pug! Explore ways to take your mind off cyclic thinking by doing different things. Even small things can have great impact! Because doing so lifts the needle off the negative mind and its skipping pattern of fear. Feeling angry? Set a timer for 3 minutes and do long deep breathing or take a quick walk outside and then check back in with your feelings and repeat if necessary. One simple shift such as this can create a more positive position within our mental negotiations and ripple into better choices along our journey in life. Set Intentions When I teach yoga I remind students to set an intention for the work they are about to embark upon on their mats. Intentions support our actions. They plant the seed for change. Bring your intention to just one word and turn it into a mantra. I set the intention for Courage everyday and repeat to myself "I am Courage". Put that intention into the water you drink, the greetings you impart, the thank you notes you send and the smile you put on your face. Lastly, I can’t say enough about how my passion for Nature and what the technology of yoga has done for me in my life. I would have sunken long ago had I not used these tools to dial into my true inner compass. I still grapple with shame every day - it is ever present and for some of us, we may need a broader network of professional support to help us through. But today, yesterday, tomorrow and for as long as I can - I will write, chant, walk, meditate, acknowledge, learn, and make every effort to continue to know and grow and step onto the other side of FEAR and SHAME. Sat Nam. You know, life really does have your back. All we need to do is observe and make note. To remind ourselves that with the bad comes good in so many ways. Recently, I had an appointment with an orthopedist that left me feeling ashamed and humiliated. I have an old injury to my lower back and was following the advice of a practitioner to see a specialist. But the doctor, upon seeing that I was a relatively healthy, middle-aged woman, treated me like I just wanted attention and was wasting his time as he barely looked at the x-rays I had painstakingly remembered to bring with me (AS REQUESTED). He barely listened, barely cared, and his physical examination was patronizingly brief. We live remotely and my round trip drive to see this specialist was 4 hours. In addition, the doctor's office made me wait 1 hour, fill out 23 pages of inquiries, sign several documents and then made me wait an additional 20 minutes in the examination room. Was I angry or impatient? Not at all. Actually, I was pleasantly calm as I awaited a good discussion with this specialist. But in the course of the barely 2 minutes this specialist gave me, he managed to stick a knife into old mental wounds many of us women have when it comes to healthcare; that our needs don't matter, our lives don't matter and nothing we have to say, especially about our bodies, is valid. I was enraged and yet, I did nothing, said nothing. I even ponied up to the patronizing tests this doctor had me do to prove I was a wasting his time. All this, while his intern observed proudly. What I wanted to say to this man was so vile I can't repeat it on this post. But I wanted his intern to know one thing - not to act like the jerk he was listening to. To remind him that every patient has a need and that empathy and compassion matter. Did I say that? No. No, I just hurriedly grabbed my things and scurried out of the room as the doctor looked on with impatience. The rest of my day was laced with those 2 minutes. Laced with anger for not having done something, said something, stood up for myself. The cloud of shame from that appointment only thickened the more I thought on the compliance of my inaction. Sound familiar? No kidding! The next day, I woke to a schedule of tours. A typical tour day for me involves anywhere from 3 to 6 and sometimes 8 hours of walking (or yoga), meeting and greeting guests, and sharing every aspect of conversation from my heart authentically. It's the only way I can communicate. When I get home, all I can do at times is take a bath and vegetate to recharge my mental and physical batteries. Yesterday, I met 4 couples that had joined together from my morning walkabout tour at Timber Cove Resort. We had such a nice time, they booked an additional tour with me. We spent almost the whole day, together. Never having met one another before - we acted like old friends. I never mix groups but this tour was the exception. On this day, I made 8 new friends and those friends also made new friends and I was reminded that I do matter. I was reminded that I do have value. I was reminded that my guests have value. I was reminded that we all contribute to one another. I was reminded that the Universe has my back. I was reminded that I have purpose in Life. I came home and later, as I reflected on my day, I wrote down a thank you note. Thanking the Universe for reminding me that it actually has my back. That with the bad days, comes - always - the good. THANK YOU.  PISCES NEW MOON - march 6th 2019 Have you ever been swimming in the ocean only to realize (quite frantically) that you are caught in the powerful current of a rip-tide that is sweeping you quickly further and further away from the safety of the shore? If so, then you also know that to escape the dangerous pull of a rip-tide one must first abandon their reactionary instinct to swim against its current towards safety. In fact, the key to staying alive is to calmly allow oneself to flow with the current to escape its pull and then swim back to shore. It is completely counter intuitive and takes great mental stamina to calmly "go with the flow". So the question with respect to this new moon is this: Can you "turn your back" on the need to be in control and to accept that “my way” may not be the best way? Wednesday's New Moon in Pisces is all about being aligned with the flow and that’s not necessarily a bad thing nor is it an easy thing. TIPS FOR THE NEW MOON WEEK AHEAD
NEW MOONS represent the 1st day of the 28 day lunar cycle and are normally a grand time to sow the seeds of intention, to begin new projects, to be hands on and to get "doing". This Pisces New Moon on March 6th, however, will bring with it a powerful ocean of energy (a potential miracle zone) and the opportunity to align our inner being and outer actions with the flow of Life and Love. The twist? To align with this flow of New Moon energy we need to step away from “doing”, to release any resistance and our need to control. Here's why: The energy of Pisces typically uses consciousness (not thinking) to keep us tuned into the flow. But going with this kind of “flow” requires strong will and effort. Fortunately, the tools of Kundalini Yoga can keep us from entering a mental cul-de-sac of resistance, negativity & fear of these efforts. THIS WEEK is a good time to tap into the inspirations of our meditations, the insights of our dreams and to active intuition (not passive day dreaming) because the reality of this new moon and it’s other cosmic line-ups (such as Mercury going retrograde which can cloud truth and lead to assumptions) is that good intensions will not be good enough and can get you into as much trouble as over optimistic calculations. Therefore, it’s important with this New Moon to stay attuned to our day-to-day living, and not to get lost or try to escape into fantasies. Journaling, activating the Neutral Mind, Meditating and a vigorous Kundalini Yoga set will help us do just this. Join us on this New Moon for Unbeaten Yoga Wednesday! (see below) A great way to understand this New Moon is to think of ourself as ship on a vast, turbulent ocean that must stay afloat and not be scuttled by the waves of Life and shifting energies. To do this we need the know-how to remain “ship-shape” and to listen to the navigator within ourselves. Kundalini Yoga, meditation and the tools we mentioned can give us clarity and assist us in making the necessary adjustments to stay the course through the strong undercurrents we encounter in life. Our mind may be the metaphoric Captain of this "ship" but it’s the Captain’s partnership with the Navigator (our Soul Self) that will right the course and get us to our Destiny and the white sandy beaches of Self. But without this inner GPS (AKA - our Sat Nam = our true Self and essence of knowing what we have to give in this life time), our ship will be pulled into the abyss of emotion, fear, and reactionary behavior that leaves us weak, in the doldrums and eventually diseased. There may be things in life we don’t fully understand and we may not be able to control where were are going at the moment. So the key to this NEW MOON is to use the powerful currents of its energy to our Path’s advantage. We need to remind ourself not to fight the powerful undercurrents but to know how to align with reality - to flow with them. To live in this flow, however, our mind must be in its neutral channel - we must have clarity, calm and confidence OR at least have access to the channel in our mind that is open, accepting, vast, and at peace. Greater Self Awareness can help us do just this and to accept, most importantly, that the flow of the current is the path, it IS the way to the safety of Self. Join us for Unbeaten Yoga Wednesday at Gualala Dance Studio 6:30 - 7:30 PM, March 6th for the NEW MOON Class AND join us for Unbeaten Yoga Saturdays at Timber Cove Resort 9:00AM - 10:00AM. Gain the tools that can help you navigate the flow and path of Life. Learn how to tap into your neutral channels of the mind, to climb the ladder of self and to rise above the clouds and see the broader spectrum of your Destiny. Thank you to Guru Rattana for her great insights and wonderful, miracle blogs that inspire.  Painting by Unbeaten Path Tours & Yoga owner, Margaret Lindgren  Our past emotional traumas in life are akin to a deep and massive oceanic underworld where our darkest moments are preserved under intense pressurization sometimes never to be discovered but somehow surviving without light or other forms of life. It isn’t until we become our own mental explorers and squeeze ourselves into a claustrophobic subconscious submarine of sorts that we begin revealing the undiscovered creatures of our dark underworld, exposing our mental underbelly for investigation. It’s frightening, overwhelming, treacherous, physically painful and yet absolutely exhilarating when we make it back to the surface and are able to fill our lungs with the breath of renewed life. - excerpt from Pencil Safety, Memoirs of an Engineer’s Daughter by Margaret Lindgren That above excerpt is from a book I began writing a couple years ago after my father passed. Both my parents are gone now, my mother having passed when I was 18. The chapter this excerpt came from is called Shift Change and reflects on a moment in my childhood when I realized more concretely that my parents were just humans, struggling with their own issues and difficulties, and could NOT be the super heroes I had put them on the pedestal to be. This particular memory was a bit more serious than this simple explanation but the point is the same - it was a moment that changed me. I remember going a bit dark then, like a shadow had come over me, my trust faded and thinned and I began in many ways to take matters into my own hands as a kid. It shaped me and played a big role in who I was to become as the adult Margaret. But what I experienced is nothing unique or different it’s just a recording of a moment in my life that at times plays itself over and over again, bubbling up old bad habits and conditioned responses.
Have you ever heard the story about how a lobster grows? As a lobster grows - its shell does not and eventually the shell becomes too tight. Can you imagine? That would be like wearing shoes that are two sizes too small for your feet and then having to run a marathon in them! Except, in this case, your feet in this metaphor would be your whole body! It’s painful and uncomfortable to the point which the lobster must seek refuge into a sea floor rock outcropping where it can safely shed it’s shell and grow another to accommodate it’s expansion. This process repeats itself over and over - discomfort, pain, refuge, shedding, growing anew - discomfort, pain, refuge, shedding, growing anew. This lobster would probably never put itself through this painful and arduous process if there wasn’t the stimulus of discomfort involved. In fact, its the adversity of the lobsters’ pain that is the very stimulus that helps it grow. And here’s the kicker ... Lobsters don’t have a doctor so when the pain gets bad they have no choice but to deal with it. They don’t have a pill they can take or a glass of wine they can drink, a pizza they can eat, someone to yell at, or ice cream to ease the pain. So theirs is an important lesson: That we can use our own adversity to stimulate positive change to free us from the burden of our inner chains. If we live life aimlessly and just plow through it to get through it then we don't live and we are not happy - and if we don't know any better then how is better ever to come? So what does this all have to do with this NEW MOON IN SCORPIO coming this Wednesday, the 7th???? Oh, yeah, discomfort! This New Moon will be one of deep emotion that is bound to stir our inner discomfort. It is a time to be careful of those things that can trigger our same old negative patterns that drives us to focus on things outside of ourselves, to externalize our wounds, rather than focusing within to resolve our inner conflict. In an earlier blog I mentioned the topic of hidden agendas and how, like it or not, we all have them. So what are they, exactly? Remember that moment I explained about my parents? They are the things that shaped us in our early, formative years of life. Experiences stored in our subconscious mind and played over and over again. And those experiences stay in the subconscious realm as we get older and create reactions in us to ensure our needs are being met. Ultimately what this does is undermine our ability to appreciate life, to be happy and fulfilled. Without greater self awareness of this aspect of our subconscious we sing the same song to that recorded tune over and over throughout life. That's not to say hidden agendas are a bad thing. It is only natural that we do what we can to have our needs met, to survive and to be loved but it is striving blindly through this process that creates habits and karma. Some examples??? The need to control or be controlled, to be the center of attention, of wearing a mask to convince others we are something other than what we really are - but because we fear that we are nothing without that mask we continue the charade anyway. Or maybe its binging on foods or other substances for comfort. No matter what it is, the problem with these conditioned “solutions” is that, ultimately, they are not sustainable and not a path to true fulfillment. Yogi Bhajan called this the Reactive Personality or Hidden self. This is exactly the time for Kundalini Yoga because it gives us the opportunity to play out a lot of our “stuff” internally which helps us to heal our wounds and gives us greater clarity and self awareness to make better choices for our happiness & love in life. And we can do this (through Kundalini Yoga) without the consequences of Karma. Practicing Kundalini Yoga is the tool kit for greater Self Awareness & Acceptance/Acknowledgement of “self” (lower case self, that is, the finite version of ourselves) where we can accept our choices in life and know they all serve a purpose. That our adversity, like the lobster's, serves a purpose! Kundalini can actually help us forgive ourselves and shed our shells. The title of this blog is Culling Gifts from the Garbage. That GIFT is our Sat Nam - our true Self (infinite Self). And to flow connected we have to struggle against something in order to grow. That’s why in class I work to inspire others to take their efforts to the next level. To aspire to go higher because there is always opposition in stretching and moving the body. Like an electric current, we cannot flow without opposition. LIFE IS A STRETCH that is ever deepening. Our gift, our SAT NAM, is the pearl from that discomfort - it is the beauty of Self. Like the lobster, a pearl begins its life from irritation, a piece of grit that has made its way inside the oyster. Over the course of many years, that irritation transforms into a seamless, radiant pearl. In fact, the more imperfect oyster shells are, the more ideal the environment for pearls to form. So, feel it, be it, release it. Use the tools given to us by the grand masters to manage the conditions of our mental environment. When you see that Hidden self come out - and you fall back into that negative pattern be firm about the following:
This NEW MOON is an excellent time to venture & dive DEEP into the underworld of ourselves, to learn to love the creatures of our deep that play such a crucial role in the flow of all that makes us whole and to accept ourselves for ourselves. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. It is understanding ourselves that is important to our growth and for the compassion of self. It might seem frightening, overwhelming, treacherous and physically painful at times but to rise to the occasion with the pearl in the hand of Self is absolutely exhilarating! Sat Nam! See you in class - Wednesday Evenings 6:30 - 7:30PM @GualalaDanceStudio |
AuthorMadge Malone in her blogging zone! Categories
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