If It's Broke, Should You Fix It?

We're all familiar with the adage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" But what about when it IS broken ~ is "fixing" necessarily the best strategy?

In the last month, my eyeglasses, car door handle and wristwatch band have all "broken." I was cleaning my glasses when the micro-thin bridge quietly snapped in two. My old Toyota's door handle mechanism, which had been progressively weakening for weeks, finally quit working altogether. And my beaded watchband's elastic cord broke.

From a 3D perspective, we could view these incidents as discrete (unrelated) events that occurred because the objects in question simply wore out. And this interpretation would be accurate, although limited. Since I tend to live on levels other than the literal, I laid in bed one night and wondered what message, if any, all these "breaks" happening at year-end 2010 might be trying to communicate.

Eyeglasses help me see, but have nothing to do with inner vision. My car transports me from Point A to Point B on the physical plane, but can't help me travel metaphysically. And my watch enables me to "tell time" in our linear, third-dimensional reality, but will not assist me in accessing the timeless realm of Now.

The sense I have, especially after participating in an alchemical conversation between Jim Self and Celia Fenn on Winter Solstice, is that these breaks actually signify a breakthrough: in the incipient New Earth, we'll see with our inner eyes, travel at the speed of thought, and live in the eternal present.

It was a humbling and humorous awareness. I've always enjoyed these "object lessons" ~ especially from my car, which has long served as a surrogate "body" of sorts (if you spend considerable time in your own vehicle, I expect you know what I mean.)

Of course, since I am still traveling in 3D, I'm in the process of seeking a replacement part so that I can open my car door; the watch is out being restrung, and I'm going to invest in a new pair of eyewear so I can continue to journey safely while in a body.

With a foot in both worlds, this is one of the most challenging and exhilarating times to be alive. You can read more in my January newsletter, Some Assembly Required, which will be live on 1/2/11.

Blessings and joy to you!

The Mother of All Winter Solstices

Visionary activist astrologer Caroline Casey has been calling it, "The Mother of all Winter Solstices". This December 21st heralds a full moon / total lunar eclipse, making our inner darkness visible. What has been concealed is now revealed, and ready to be healed.

It's a galactic Dark Night of the Soul as we surge down the 2012 corridor into a brand new world, eclipsing millennia of spiritual darkness, says astrologer Allison Rae. She offers one of the more eloquent and inclusive depictions of now, and what it means for each of us. READ MORE

Two no-cost events I'm participating in that are sure to provide groundbreaking guidance and information:

Celia Fenn with Archangel Michael in conversation with Jim Self, Solstice eve webinar from 4-5:30 pm PST

And immediately following, human capacities pioneer / social architect Jean Houston, offering her signature Mystery School as a teleclass.

Join me, and invoke the 2011 you deeply desire and envision.

Taking the Bite Out of Tooth Decay

Frank Zappa once wrote a tune called, "Dental Hygiene Dilemma." The song may have been intentionally tongue-in-cheek, but the poor oral health of millions of Americans isn't very funny. According to the Weston A. Price Foundation, "95 percent of the civilized population suffers with tooth decay and/or periodontal disease." Which might sound pretty shocking — until you count yourself among this group.

Who knew that the very substances I was using to clean my teeth — tap water and toothpaste — were actually creating the problem? READ MORE!

Kindness

Naomi Shihab Nye's poem is a universal salve; the depths of the Journey we all must make:


Before you know what kindness really is
you must lose things,
feel the future dissolve in a moment
like salt in a weakened broth.
What you held in your hand,
what you counted and carefully saved,
all this must go so you know
how desolate the landscape can be
between the regions of kindness.
How you ride and ride
thinking the bus will never stop,
the passengers eating maize and chicken
will stare out the window forever.

Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness,
you must travel where the Indian in a white poncho
lies dead by the side of the road.
You must see how this could be you,
how he too was someone
who journeyed through the night with plans
and the simple breath that kept him alive.

Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,
you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.
You must wake up with sorrow.
You must speak to it till your voice
catches the thread of all sorrows
and you see the size of the cloth.

Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore,
only kindness that ties your shoes
and sends you out into the day to mail letters and
purchase bread,
only kindness that raises its head
from the crowd of the world to say
it is I you have been looking for,
and then goes with you every where
like a shadow or a friend.

The 7th Day of the Mayan Galactic Underworld Begins!

On November 3rd we entered the 7th and final "day" of the Mayan Calendar, which takes us up to its momentous conclusion in this time-space continuum, the much-lauded 2012. According to Mayan scholar Carl Johan Calleman, the end date is actually October 2011. But we're quibbling about minutiae when dealing with cycles so vast: on a scale of 26,000 years (the Mayan long count), 2011 or 2012 makes little difference. Besides, the Maya were not using our Gregorian calendar, but indigenous cycles aligned with the seasons and the stars.

The particular passage is all about balance: fully embodying the feminine after millennia of masculine dominance, and allowing both our bodies and our planetary body to come into wholeness and fusion.

This is not about masculine and feminine as they apply to gender distinctions, but to the energies we all carry: masculine being synonymous with dynamic, assertive, solar, outward, yang energy, and feminine synonymous with magnetic, receptive, lunar, inner, yin energy. Wedding the light and the dark within ourselves is the beginning of sacred reUnion for us all.

For more information on Mayan Calendrics, here's the piece I wrote a year ago when we entered the 6th Night: The Sky Is Falling ~ NOT! The Truth About 2012.

Halloween: Just a Specter of Samhain

In the U.S., Halloween is all about costumes, trick-or-treating, candy and, occasionally, mischief. Few people realize the date also marks a sacred day on the Celtic calendar, Samhain, ushering in the dark half of the year. October 31st precedes Day of the Dead/All Soul's Day, which takes place November 1-2, honoring those who have crossed over. Clearly, the dark side — what remains hidden from view — is calling.

As mythologist Kathleen Jenks writes on Myth*ing Links, this is an excellent time to explore what is ending, or "dying", within our own beings. What do you need to release in order to move forward in your life? Now, when the veils between worlds are thin, is a ripe moment to embrace transformation.

The souls of those who have transitioned can share their wisdom with us still, if we request their collaboration. Visionary activist astrologer Caroline Casey likes to say, "We cannot live through the dead, but we can invite the dead to live through us." What gifts are asking, aching to be brought forth in you?

The real treat of Samhain is the opportunity for quantum growth, on both personal and planetary levels. And the trick, perhaps, would be turning your back on those inner voices begging you to shine your brilliance and step fully into your aliveness, purpose and service.

So by all means, enjoy the outlandish get-ups and fun. Try not to ingest all the candy at once. And remember to remove your mask when trick-or-treat time is over, so that you can fully become who you came here to be. Blessings!

Taking It Personally

Recently I suggested to a new, local editor that we meet in person to discuss some story assignments. She acquiesced, though I sensed she found it an unusual request.

Today I called a business prospect who responded to my initial email with an email asking several involved questions, and wanting a rate quote. Since he'd included a toll-free telephone number, thinking to connect as well as expedite the process, I phoned this morning.

He sounded nonplussed when I identified myself, saying, "I'd prefer to communicate by email if you don't mind. I'm interviewing a number of candidates." I felt like part of an assembly line, and dismissed — not to mention a lot less inclined to continue this potential "relationship".

Yet truth be told (because I always strive to share the complete story), I didn't accord his online post any more importance initially than any of the other ads I receive daily as a member of a freelance writers' network. With these sites, I troll for new business by sending out fairly generic letters, customized as the posting warrants.

Does the fact that he knew who I was make a difference, assuming he received numerous replies?

I can appreciate both perspectives. I opt for going the extra step and connecting via phone or even face-to-face when possible — especially if we're going to work together. Yet I've also enjoyed working virtually with many individuals and businesses around the world for many years. I see it as a question of balance.

How personally should we take or make our virtual connections? Your thoughts?

I Can't Get No … Satisfaction — Or Can I?

Gretchen Rubin wanted to discover the secret to happiness, so she spent a year "test-driving the wisdom of the ages, the current scientific studies, and the lessons from popular culture about how to be happy — from Aristotle to Martin Seligman to Thoreau to Oprah."

She began blogging about her experiences and discoveries, convinced no one but herself would ever read it. Famous last words. Four years on, several hundred thousand people look forward to her daily musings, and her book, The Happiness Project, is a #1 New York Times bestseller. One reviewer calls it, "A cross between the Dalai Lama’s The Art of Happiness and Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love."

I first wrote about Gretchen's work in March 2008 in my inspirational enewsletter, What Shines. (This article, A Big Tank of Pink Liquid is now part of my eBook, What Shines: Practical Wisdom for Unleashing Your Inner Brilliance/Volume 3). Today I listened to her share some of her wisdom in a telecast:

How can you increase your happiness every day?

#1: Get enough sleep!
#2: Novelty and challenge bring happiness, but not right away. First you'll feel insecure, incompetent, and frustrated — push through to mastery.
#3 Strong relationships. Increase your contacts with others, including social media — but don't overdo it!

Gretchen blogs six days a week, and encourages people who are having trouble blogging regularly to actually increase the amount they blog. It's counterintuitive, yet, she says, when you know you have to do something daily, it becomes part of your routine.

She also recommends adding structure to your blog. She has specific categories: video, tips, quizzes, quotes, interviews — which makes it easier to frame what she wants to share. People learn differently, so offering various formats allows more people to resonate with what you have to offer.

Finally, she says, don't be concerned if some visitors don't agree with what you post. A strong brand will repel as well as attract. While it's painful to have someone attack you in their comments, it also provides an opportunity for you to learn from them, expand your growth by not reacting in kind, and engage more readers through the discussion.

Is Your Battery Corroded?

Last evening I stopped to put gas into my trusty Toyota, which is now old enough to graduate from high school. When I turned the key afterwards: nada, zip, no reaction. I popped the hood, and sure enough, the battery (barely a toddler) was laced with corrosion.

What ensued is comical this morning, not so much last night. The first AAA driver I called gave me a jumpstart, but said he was a tow truck and therefore had no tools to clean the battery. He sent me sputtering down the road to a nearby Kragen's Auto Supply. The Kragen employee helpfully cleaned the battery terminals while the battery was recharging in the store. We then asked another customer if he'd please help me with a second jumpstart, and, although at first nothing happened (tension!) at last the car sprang to life.

I thanked both Samaritans profusely, backed up, and — it died completely.

This time when I called Triple A, I did request a tow truck. When Dave arrived, he asked what the problem was, and I recounted the evening's events. But instead of hooking me up for a tow, as I expected, he asked me to pop the hood again, and expertly found quite a lot of additional corrosion under two of the bolts, that the Kragen's employee had missed in the dark. After this, the car started up just fine, and I drove home.

Since my car has often symbolized my body and/or my life, I immediately began to identify areas where my "battery" (life force energy) might be corroded. Even when we think we're in great shape, having done a lot of work on ourselves and transmuted dross to light, there can still be a bit of corrosion hiding in the corners of our mind, sapping our power, creating "terminal illness" on many levels. Our battery isn't dead; it just can't fire because of the insidious slime gnawing through our façade, encroaching on the cables to make a clear connection impossible.

The solution, with cars, with our bodies, and with Life in general, is to alkalize: get the acid waste (rage, frustration, disgust, hatred, fear, despair …) out of your system through the powers of love, appreciation, enthusiasm, self-worth, service, joy … and your battery will continue to serve you faithfully for many years to come.

Context: The Sequel

The "Tao of Now" for my October What Shines newsletter is Context, and how, as Anais Nin observed, we see things not as they are, but as we are. Today I experienced another, literal, "frame of reference":

I'd wandered into a local art gallery, in part because a new client had mentioned his photography was being exhibited there. After finding his work, I continued to enjoy the other artists' creations ~ until I came to a canvas that appeared to have crumbling strips of white plaster pasted on a background, with a little blob of red in one corner. The price was $1350, and I shook my head in amazement. While I aim never to criticize art, as it's the epitome of personal preference, this looked like something a child might have done when bored.

I strolled to the entrance and saw a fellow I've seen here before; one of the exhibiting artists. We struck up a conversation, and I mentioned that, as usual, I loved seeing the new works on display, although there was one that I didn't understand. Something kept me from saying anything more judgmental. I was glad I'd obeyed my intuition when Bob revealed himself as the creator of the piece.

A recent transplant from Taos, New Mexico (a noted art colony) he explained that the white strips represent the dominant Caucasian culture — which is crumbling — and the red dot, Native Americans, whom we've dominated. All at once, like a trick cube, his work appeared brilliant, and I asked why he didn't include a brief Artist's Statement with the piece to help people understand his intent — even something as simple as "Anglo / Native American". But he wants it without training wheels, so to speak. Enigmatic, though quite powerful, once I had a context.

Where are you making assumptions because you're missing the proper context? It's a potent exercise for us to practice every day: staying open to new information that could completely shift our interpretation of what we think we see.

Fueling Our Future

At its best, technology is a universal connector and translator, helping us come home to ourselves in the deepest sense. Never before have we approached such a leveling of levels, an alliance of adopters across age, social, cultural and religious spectra.

As the world again becomes flat, we're creating ever-expanding arcs of connectivity. And connection equals energy.

We can literally power the planet with the energy of pure love, which enables us to reimagine the obvious. When I recently listened to David Blume, a globally recognized expert on Ethanol and biofuels, cavorting with astrologer Caroline Casey on her weekly Visionary Activist radio show, I was galvanized by possibility.

Caroline introduced the show by saying, "We are convening the Ouija Board of Directors," where curiosity and generosity open the path to ingenuity. Caroline and David are masters of non-linear, alchemical thinking; in fact, both spoke to the "alchemy of reversal" that only awaits human receptivity to manifest. READ THE REST ON THE NEW GREEN ECONOMY!

Of Chocolate, Face Cream, and Life Purpose

The call to claim our purpose usually sounds at a somewhat inconvenient moment. Sometimes we hear whispers years before we're ready to acknowledge them, let alone begin taking the steps necessary to create a new reality. And while the call can come at any life stage, there's something special about the thirties, when our inner voice tends to start asking, "Is this all there is?"

Recently I've been privileged to meet two vibrant, self-aware women, both 35, who have started heart-centered, Earth-based, health-conscious businesses. In each instance, a health crossroads precipitated the call (as is true in my own life). READ THE REST @ TheNewGreenEconomy.com

Possessed

Possession wears many faces. Meanings can range from falling under a temporary spell: "Whatever possessed you to buy that?!" to outright seizure: "We're taking possession of the property." The essence is a sense of ownership — and often what we "own," owns us. Lately, large numbers of people have been releasing years of accumulated baggage in preparation to relocate, travel, or simply feel freer. READ THE REST @ The New Green Economy

Dancing With the Shadow: Mercury Retrograde

It's that time again: Mercury is retrograde (Rx), and as the past cycles back (or recycles, if you see Mercury as an environmentally-minded messenger!) we have an opportunity to claim/reclaim what's been hiding in the shadows. Mercury Rx is also when technology, travel and the best-laid plans often go haywire — especially in the season of fire.

For instance: three days ago I discovered that "Live Your Light" (my website URL) was at last available as a Twitter handle (it had been parked, unused, since 2008) and joyfully added it to my existing Twitter presence. The next day, the power cord to my laptop appeared to short-circuit; it wasn't working at all last night. Today, after sending my Mac and its accoutrements some good juju, all systems are go — but the refrigerator in my van isn't cooling.

This might be because it's been well over 100º, highly unusual for northern California. I mentioned the soaring temps to a friend back East, who opined, "The mercury at 112 is certainly in retrograde." It's all highly amusing, when we can get a bit of perspective.

Dancing with our unhealed/unacknowledged aspects, observing how they control us in ways that do not serve our highest good, reveals a potent opportunity to live into Aretha Franklin's song Respect, where she sings: "Re-re-re-re". You know: review, redefine, renew, reform, reimagine …

This particular Mercury Rx began in Leo, seguing quickly into Virgo, where it remains until September 12th. What do you need to release to the fires of transmutation? What needs to be planted in fertile soil for the future?

Astrologer Allison Rae counsels, "Mercury's transiting back through Virgo, so pay attention to details. Take the time to get things right. Also pay attention to your health and well being. Mercury Rx check-ups aren't just for cars and computers. On a deeper level, our path of service is highlighted in the sign of the Vestal Virgin, goddess of hearth and harvest. What did you come to do in this lifetime? Are you tending the flames of your soul's passion? It's time to remember and recommit. Soon, it will be time to take action."

As we surge towards 2012 we're in the midst of the most accelerated period of personal and planetary transformation in history. The energetic of the new exhorts us to live as large as possible NOW, not some time in a shadowy future. It's a continual process of reinventing ourselves.

We can use the energy of Mercury retrograde to release our resistance to going higher. The world needs all of our gifts, especially now. We've never been so primed "to boldly go where no one has gone before." This star trek begins in our bodies, minds and hearts as we begin to burn brightly with purpose and to activate our true potential in every realm.

You are the gift; open yourself now. It's time to shake hands with the shadow, unbox its message, and multiply our power exponentially.

For further illumination:

What's shadowing your potential? Is there:

∞ Someone you need to forgive (including yourself)?
∞ A phone call you're afraid to make?
∞ A long-standing debt (monetary or otherwise) you've not yet fulfilled?
∞ A health challenge?
∞ A relationship issue that's quarantined your emotional energy?
∞ A job that leaves you too drained to think about anything else?
∞ Or "simply" an all-encompassing fear of living your light?

The 8/8 Lion's Gate: Your Portal to Power

Each year on July 26th, a gateway opens with the heliacal rise of the star Sirius in Egypt: the Nile floods, enriching the land, even as the Heavens flood us with cosmic illumination from the Galactic Center. Known as The Lion's Gate, this powerful portal of light code transmissions reaches its peak on 8/8. The Stargate closes about August 12th.

To handle the intensity, we can take comfort from Viktor Frankl's quote: "What is to give light must endure burning." The author of Man's Search for Meaning spent World War II in a concentration camp, and went on to write the landmark text about what it takes to continue to say "yes" to life under the most extreme conditions. READ THE REST!

Barter: It's the New Money

When I discovered a gorgeous but flawed sweater at a clothing designer's semi-annual sale, the small company gave it to me: they weren't going to be able to sell a sweater that had one long sleeve and one cropped mid-forearm. And what was I going to do with a lopsided designer cardigan, anyway?

Request help. I posted on Waccobb.net, my local equivalent of CraigsList.com, to see if anyone could repair the sweater sleeve in exchange for writing, coaching, office organization, or other assistance in lieu of cash. A woman responded that she knits and sews "for fun" and would be happy to take a look. READ THE REST!

Recess and Reassess

With our focus on The Shift taking place worldwide, it's easy to forget we have the power to effect change at the very local level ~ within our own beings ~ by altering how we think. Simply shifting our emphasis allows "I feel depressed" to morph into "I feel deep rest".

I also realized the root of "recession" is "recess": it's summer, time to take a break and allow ourselves the deep rest and rejuvenation we deliciously deserve in these tumultuous times!

All the players I've encountered recently say the same, in their own unique ways. Visionary spoken word artist DreamingBear Baraka Kanaan, a modern-day Rumi, exhorts us, "Play hooky from your have-to's, Will you marry freedom with me? Let's elope into ecstasy…"

Clearly, the keynote of now is, "Ain't it awe-full?" READ THE REST!

Summer Solstice: An Opportunity to Become More Whole

Summer Solstice celebrates the sun at the peak of its power. Both the sun (male energy) and the moon (female energy) are waxing, or increasing, now. June 21st marks the longest day and shortest night of the year, in the northern hemisphere (Winter Solstice for our southern hemisphere allies). It's a stillpoint. A time to reflect. A potent moment to set your intention, because the manifestation momentum is strong.

The day goes by many names: All-Couples Day, Feast of Epona, Gathering Day, Midsummer, Litha, Vestalia. In ancient times, June was a popular marriage month, since summer offered a window between the sowing and reaping seasons. The June full moon was considered the best time to harvest honey from the hives, and newlyweds were fed honey during the wedding feast to encourage love and fertility. The tradition lives on in our modern post-nuptial getaway, the honeymoon.

How might we translate our ancestors' emphasis on love and union at Solstice to our lives today? In other words, how can we best live this light? READ THE REST!

Becoming Homeopathic: You Are Your Own Medicine

Just as our planet contains all of the resources we need to create and heal — awaiting only our discovery and ingenuity — we contain the ability to self-heal on an intrinsic level. This was brought home to me the other day when, in the midst of a strong (and highly unusual for me) allergy reaction, I was looking at a homeopathic remedy.

To my great astonishment and amusement, one of the chief ingredients in the remedy I selected was ignatia amara. I picked another remedy off the shelf for insomnia, and discovered ignatia amara listed there as well. In fact, when I did an online search of the remedy, it seemed to describe my very nature to a "T": "Women of sensitive nature, mild disposition, quick to perceive, rapid in execution. Rapid change of mental and physical condition, opposite to each other." The website also stated a supreme aversion to coffee — and I can't bear the smell of brewing coffee! READ THE REST

The Gold Standard: True Wealth Means Stepping Fully into Life

"You sit here for days saying, 'This is strange business.'
You're the strange business. You have the energy of the sun
in you, but you keep knotting it up at the base of your spine.
You're some weird kind of gold that wants to stay melted in
the furnace, so you won't have to become coins."

~ Rumi
While many of us realize this pivotal moment we're living heralds a return to unity among all peoples and all life on Earth, visionary author Moira Timms takes the shift a step further, painting a lucid picture of how wealth and wholeness are one. As we remember and reclaim our wholeness/holiness, we elevate the concept of abundance to a "whole" new level.

In Beyond Prophecies and Predictions: Everyone's Guide to the Coming Changes, Timms describes our emerging "true wealth" consciousness this way: "The mind analyzes — the heart synthesizes. The turning point is where the heart is awakening. The United States motto (inscribed on the banner in the beak of the eagle found on the Great Seal, on the back of a one dollar bill), reminds us that America was founded on the principle of 'E Pluribus Unum' — 'Out of the Many, One.'"

Further, the inscription beneath the Great Pyramid (also part of the Great Seal) says, "Novus Ordo Seclorum" — which translates, appropriately, as "A New Order of the Ages". Isn't this amusing? The answer is in money, but it's not about who can become the richest at others' expense. READ THE REST!

Memorial Day: Releasing the war within us

This weekend the United States observes Memorial Day, a federal holiday enacted after the Civil War to commemorate the men and women who died in military service. Yet there is no recognition of a more insidious war that's being waged globally, every day, by billions of people: the one we're fighting with ourselves.

In our civilized, industrialized, pasteurized, homogenized world, we're frozen into form, ossified in the material — and inured to the whispers of tree leaves, the murmur of brooks, the hissing of summer lawns. Now it takes a rock and roll band pounding 110 decibels directly into our ears, and still most of us, earbuds securely in place, walk on placidly. It's a false peace, and we know it. The uneasiness stirs in our bones, barely kept at bay by the jackhammer rhythm of life in the 21st century.

It's as if we've all been secretly anesthetized against the pain of those who yearn — and it's our yearning, our fear, our wounding, our wonder, that's wanting. But turning to face the music means accepting the invitation to the Dance. And most of us have forgotten how to dance — if indeed we ever knew. We find it easier to lash out in anger: rage, the undiscovered country. If being "outrageous" means getting the rage out, Americans are black belts. READ THE REST!

Marketing 101: The Heart of Money

It's been awhile since I last wrote about money — one of my greatest apprenticeships this lifetime. I discovered a fabulous local networking group with the intriguing title, "New Consciousness Entrepreneurs," and knew upon arriving that I was home. The woman who conceived of and facilitates the group, Maggie Ostara, has, in the synchronous way our lives intertwine these days, been on my What Shines newsletter mailing list for years.

Maggie's topic for the first meeting I attended was, "Marketing is Not A Four-Letter Word!" The other women seated around the table chuckled, because, while we come from diverse backgrounds, what we all have in common is an ingrained terror of taking our spiritual work public in a way that also supports us financially — something we have no trouble doing for our clients. READ THE REST!

Stand! Mother's Day Message for World Peace

This Sunday the United States celebrates Mother's Day, a holiday that was originally not a Hallmark occasion, but a call for women to put an end to war. Poet, author and activist Julia Ward Howe first championed a Mother's Peace Day in 1870. In her Mother's Day Proclamation, she exhorted, "Arise, then, women of this day! 
Arise all women who have hearts…solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
 whereby the great human family can live in peace..."

More than a century hence, women everywhere are heeding the call, thanks to Sharon Mehdi's seminal book, The Great Silent Grandmother Gathering. Written for her newborn granddaughter, the book tells the tale of two grandmothers who chose to stand silently in a local park. When asked why, they responded, "We are saving the world." People laughed at them, even as other women — and men — joined the vigil. Pretty soon more than 2,000 people filled the park, and word quickly spread until similar groups were standing all over the country.

Mehdi's book touched a chord. The Great Silent Grandmother Gathering meteorically morphed from fiction to fact as StandingWomen.org was born. READ THE REST!

Beltane: Celebrate Your Planet, Yourself

In the West, we often water down our sacred days to become mere children's celebrations: Samhain, ushering in the dark half of the year, becomes a specter of itself as Halloween; Imbolc, heralding the return of the light on February 2nd, morphs to Groundhog Day; Beltane becomes a chance to dance around the Maypole.

Yet the deeper meanings reflect our lost connection with natural rhythms, with seasonal shifts we actually embody. READ THE REST!

It's Not About You

Don Miguel Ruiz's classic, The Four Agreements, is a template for conscious living — yet his core wisdom is essentially what your mother taught, as well as the Golden Rule deconstructed:

1. Be Impeccable with Your Word.
2. Don't Take Anything Personally.
3. Don't Make Assumptions.
4. Always Do Your Best.

For me, the greatest challenge is usually not taking something personally. I resonate with author Marya Mannes' quote: "Women are repeatedly accused of taking things personally. I cannot see any other honest way of taking them." READ THE REST!

What's Green and Blue and Brown All Over? Earth Day!

April 22nd marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, an environmental event that, according to founder Senator Gaylord Nelson, was "self-organizing" — like the Earth, Herself.

We've come a long way in consciousness since 1970. We're awakening en masse in these creational times, when living the NOW places us in sync with the ineffable.

It's a potent moment to ponder this primordial quote from renowned sustainable development architect William McDonough ... READ THE REST!

Terms of Endearment: What does "I love you" mean?

"I love you." No expression of emotion is more powerful, more sought after, more fraught with meaning. But what does "I love you" mean?

A decade ago, I was in closure with a companion who helped to radically shapeshift my life. One morning, just after midnight, we were driving in his van when he glanced at the car clock and said, almost absent-mindedly, "Good morning, Amara, I love you!" This had been a catchphrase for us, arising from his teaching that it's preferable to awaken to a hug, a "good morning" and an "I love you" than to one's typical daily dramas or complaints.

This time, however, instead of echoing the sentiment or smiling my love back, I responded, "What does that mean?" READ THE REST!

A Passover Question: Are You Fleeing — or Returning?

"You were once wild here. Don't let them tame you."

~ Isadora Duncan

Today marks the beginning of Passover, a holy week on the Jewish calendar that commemorates the Jews' exodus from Egypt and freedom from slavery. Yet the Jews were not only fleeing subjugation; they were also making a pilgrimage home.

Every encounter with what we might call the Divine presence within is a call to return home — not necessarily to a physical location, but to the truth of who we are. In a stunning essay on Moses' encounter with the burning bush, Rev. Charles Hoffacker declares, "The encounter with the Eternal is the essence of every call story … Eternity calls out to us through a moment of time, and though the moment disappears, Eternity leaves its impress and we are not as we were before."

T.S. Eliot poetically concurs in Four Quartets: "Quick now, here now, always — A condition of complete simplicity / (Costing not less than everything)." READ THE REST!

Health, Wealth and Wisdom: Health care reform a step in right direction

"The greatest wealth is health," said the Roman poet Virgil. Ben Franklin noted, "Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man, healthy, wealthy and wise." Both men clearly possessed the wisdom embodied by the 44th president of the United States, who is bringing greater health and well being (an older definition of wealth) to more than 30 million uninsured Americans.

I am one of them.

Except for a few brief years when I had coverage through a visionary, now-defunct plan that paid for visits to alternative medical practitioners (e.g., chiropractors, acupuncturists), I haven't had health insurance in close to two decades. A protracted health crisis for which mainstream medicine was actually harmful, made paying for such coverage superfluous. Instead, I paid out of pocket and through the nose to reclaim my health, and have funded my own health care ever since.

Of course, a few items tend to fall through the cracks. READ THE REST

Atom and Eve

[Originally appeared in What Shines newsletter Issue #22, April 2003]

"Regard the universe often as one living being, having one substance and one soul;

and observe how all things act with one movement;

and how all things cooperate as the causes of all that exists;

observe too the continuous spinning of the thread and the single texture of the web."

~ from Meditationsby Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor, AD 161-180

It's official: the universe is expanding at an ever-increasing rate, fueled by a mysterious substance astronomers call "dark energy". Satellite maps reveal the universe to be just four percent atoms by weight, 23 percent dark matter (presumably, elementary particles left over from the Big Bang) and 73 percent dark energy.

This turns what we used to believe about the composition of the cosmos on its ear. All this time, we thought the universe was mainly atoms, yet this is only the tip of the evolutionary iceberg. We've been looking at ocean froth, thinking it's the ocean.

Here on Earth, we're in an era of diving deep, mapping a new world as a planetary organism. In the midst of our collective birth process, the astronomical course correction suggests a macro-micro view: "as above, so below."

The journey to self-knowing is frequently referred to as the "dark night of the soul." We descend to the depths of our being, releasing the "ordinary world" of everyday awareness to discover what has been hidden in the "Underworld." It's an initiation. The successful navigation of this often arduous passage signifies a quantum shift in consciousness.

The dark also equates to the Feminine, because it embodies the rhythms of Nature: a dwindling and replenishing, an ebb and a flow. It's an instinctual process: trees shed their leaves in fall and bud again in spring; we heed the call and step into an inner wilderness. This transformation awakens our cellular memory. Like a snake shedding its skin, we leave behind what no longer "fits" as we expand into the fullness of remembering who we are.

Is the mass of dark energy the cosmic oversoul, ready to reveal itself to a species on the brink of deeper development? If we are collectively at that liminal place between the worlds, we might think of it as the Eve of our planetary emergence into unity. Reunion means no duality. Dark and light are simply aspects of The One, life's spiral, the yin/yang. "Uni-verse" is, quite literally, one song.

It's a concept. Since scientists have no idea what either dark matter or dark energy is, these substances that comprise 96 percent of the universe ... maybe it's us, along with the highly probable life out there in other star systems. Perhaps dark energy is our readiness and intention to evolve.

© Copyright 2010 by Amara Rose. All rights reserved.

Equinox Wisdom: A Solar Wave to Heal Earth and Us

This Saturday the Sun enters the sign of the Ram (Aries), creating an equal balance of dark and light on Earth. We call it Spring. The Vernal Equinox (Autumn Equinox for our Southern Hemisphere allies) is a time of rebirth and renewal.

Aries likes action. The first sign of the zodiacal wheel initiates a physical, spiritual, mental and emotional renaissance. It's time to plant the seed, invoke (give voice to) your vision, conceive the next steps in our personal and planetary unfolding. READ THE REST!

"Beware the Ides of March!" Does the day signal danger — or opportunity?

Five centuries after the astrologer in Shakespeare's play counseled Julius Caesar, "Beware the Ides of March!" we still shudder at the thought that March 15th might harbor some hidden hazard.

But it's just another day, albeit one that was part of a convoluted calendar. In ancient Rome, each month had an "ides," a mid-month division of the calendar based on phases of the moon; "ides" means, "to divide." In March, May, July and October, the ides fell on the 15th. In the other eight months, the ides fell on the 13th. READ THE REST!

Daylight "Savings" and the Truth About Time

This coming weekend and throughout the following six weeks, approximately 70 countries worldwide will participate in an annual illusion: saving time. We move the hands of our clocks ahead and think we've harnessed the sun.

Time, like space, is elastic. Athletes know this. When athletes move into "the zone," time slows down. They see every move or play with perfect clarity, and execute the correct maneuvers as if in a dream, sensing the triumphant outcome. Something expands within them that translates into success.

How many people do you know who never seem to have "enough" time? We are each gifted with the same twenty-four hour cycle to use as we choose. People who are time-deprived are exhibiting one aspect of our pervasive scarcity consciousness. READ THE REST!

Earth changes, eruptions and empathy: it's all good

Been flying off the handle lately? Feeling spacey or ungrounded? Or as though time seems to be speeding up? Relax. It's only ascension.

A lengthy channeling from the Ashtar Command, excerpted below, reminds us that what is happening in the Heavens, on Earth and in our own beings is all cosmic mirroring. Each of us is a Sun, carrying the Light of the Great Central Sun within us, and "being the bridge of this Light between you and the Earth, just as your solar sun is the bridge between the Central Sun and your solar sun." As above, so below.

Ashtar counsels, "As you witness solar sun eruptions and flares, look at the other 'suns' about you and you will see these same flare-ups and eruptions taking place. As you witness this mirror effect, look below you and you will also see all kinds of erratic behavior and eruptions taking place upon the Earth." (Such as our recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile). READ THE REST!

Are your wells low? Have faith: help IS on the way!

Several years ago, when my own wells were full and a friend was struggling financially, I invited him over for dinner, placing a $50 bill in a holiday gift envelope under his plate. When he saw it, he said, "Oh, I can't accept this!" And I replied, unconcerned about repayment yet with absolute certainty, "Spirit will give it back to me!" READ THE REST

Going for the Gold: Is it about prizes, money — or love?

"You sit here for days saying, 'This is strange business.'
You're the strange business. You have the energy of the sun
in you, but you keep knotting it up at the base of your spine.
You're some weird kind of gold that wants to stay melted in
the furnace, so you won't have to become coins."

~ Rumi

The Olympics are all about prowess and prizes. And while it's exhilarating to watch athletes who have trained for years achieve their dream, there's a deeper dimension to what "gold" represents.

I've suggested before that we're "morphing out of materialism". In Beyond Prophecies and Predictions: Everyone's Guide to the Coming Changes, visionary author Moira Timms describes our emerging "true wealth" consciousness this way: "The mind analyzes — the heart synthesizes. The turning point is where the heart is awakening. America's motto, inscribed on the banner in the beak of the eagle of the Great Seal [of the United States], reminds us that America was founded on the principle of 'E Pluribus Unum' — 'Out of the Many, One.'"

Further, the inscription beneath the Great Pyramid (the centerpiece of the Great Seal, on the back of a one dollar bill) says, "Novus Ordo Seclorum" — which translates, appropriately, as "A New Order of the Ages.” So, the answer is in money — but it's not about who can become the richest at others' expense.

If we continue to consume planetary resources — and each other! — at the speed of greed, the money will not follow. True wealth/prosperity flows from alignment with purpose. "Get with the program" is not a reference to the home shopping network! It's about tuning in to a higher frequency. READ THE REST!

Valentine's Day / Year of the Tiger: It's Time for Powerful Love!

In 2010, the Chinese New Year falls on Valentine's Day (February 14th). It's the Year of the Tiger, a fierce, proud feline that denotes mastery: on my CD, What You Need to Know Now: A Road Map for Personal Transformation, a panther accompanies the quester as she enters the cave to begin her journey; as she emerges, a tiger walks beside her, indicating she has conquered her fears and now stands fully in her power.

Are we ready to claim our true power, to manifest our dearest dreams, with immense Love? That is the question I explore in my February newsletter, Heart Knocks. READ THE REST!

Please adjust your settings … lessons from a sweat lodge

When I was still living a typical Type A existence and dealing with an increasing array of perplexing physical symptoms, a healer suggested I participate in a sweat lodge ceremony. I'd never done anything like this before, and was not only skeptical, but a bit afraid of being in a small, dark, enclosed space with strangers, submitting to extreme heat and incantations (so I imagined) in an effort to purge my body of malaise.

But I signed up, and went. We were instructed to enter the lodge in a specific order. It was understood that once the flap to the lodge was closed, no one else would be permitted entry. READ THE REST!

Beyond Groundhog Day: February 2nd as Imbolc / Candlemas / St. Brigid's Day

February 2nd goes by many guises. In the U.S., it's popularly celebrated as Groundhog Day, when a small furry rodent supposedly either sees his shadow or doesn't, and the result determines whether we experience six more weeks of winter. The day has far deeper meanings than this — but yes, it is a potent moment to watch your shadow!

Celebrated cross-culturally since "time out of mind," the day is both a Christian and Pagan holiday, known variously as Imbolc, St. Brigid's Day (Bride's Day), and Candlemas. READ THE REST!

Spirit in Disguise, or Blessed by the Dress!

Here in mid-winter, I recall one summer Solstice week of little miracles and amazing synchronicities that affirmed the ever-present Power within and around us, regardless of how life appears to be going at the moment:

While housesitting in another town, I saw a woman in Whole Foods wearing a beautiful sleeveless summer dress, sprinkled with stars, in all my favorite colors. I spontaneously went up to her and said, "I love your dress!" Whereupon, to my astonishment, she promptly offered to mail it to me if I gave her my address. READ THE REST!

Untying the "Nots"

"We learn the rope of life
By untying its knots."

~ Jean Toomer, novelist and poet

"Surrender, Dorothy!"

This is one of the more memorable lines from the movie classic, The Wizard of Oz, writ large across the sky by the Wicked Witch of the West.

Surrender is also one of the more misunderstood stages of the spiritual journey. It doesn't mean to give up or give in, but to open to something beyond; to acknowledge, honor, and allow the energy that moves through us free reign. It's about letting go of what you know, how it "ought" to be, what you think you should do now. Instead of relinquishing your freedom, I envision surrender as more of a "Yield Right of Way" sign. The one you're yielding to is your own higher Self. READ THE REST!

Soulquake

When the magnitude 9.0 earthquake rocked Indonesia five years ago, the full moon was in Cancer, an intensely emotional water sign. The quake struck deep beneath the Indian Ocean, unleashing a tsunami that obliterated more than 220,000 lives and left more than five million homeless. It also permanently reconfigured southern Asia's geography. The massive quake in Haiti this week is a comparable wake-up call in terms of the devastation.

The Shift of the Ages is, quite literally, upon us.

From a meta-perspective, these cataclysms might be seen as fierce messages from the Mother that we humans are merely playing at being powerful when we play with firepower — and it's time to reimagine our rage, at the elemental level. As with 9-1-1 in the U.S.A., what is happening affects everyone. The Haitian soulquake is the latest call to open ourselves to love, compassion, harmony and healing as never before — and to detach from our drama/trauma. We always do this in an emergency. Can we emerge and see the grander picture? READ THE REST!

Becoming REAL

In recent years many of us have felt like stand-ins in our own lives: understudies playing a role on short notice while we waited for our "real" selves to return. We've been in dress rehearsal for the quickening, and it's been a flume ride of the highest order.

The good news is that density is transmuting into destiny faster than we can say "anagram". The world stage is welcoming us as the human holons we are, stepping up to the plate and into our soul missions as never before. READ THE REST!

The Heart of the Matter

We've entered a quantum realm, where mainstream "realities" of force and fear seem more and more illusory, while living in the flow and in the know feels real. The mental, hierarchical structures and strictures are dissolving, although it doesn't always look that way! Embracing the matrix is key. How do we do this?

In Urgent Message from Mother: Gather the Women, Save the World, Jean Shinoda Bolen, MD, reminds us that the words matter, matrix and material all come from the Latin word for womb, "mater," which means mother. She also uses the evocative phrase, "speaking truth to power."

Reading Bolen's eloquent call to action, I suddenly remembered a play I saw years ago, Mother Wove the Morning. During my own pilgrimage to consciousness, I realized how profoundly I yearned to nestle into the nurturing archetypal arms of the Great Mother. I found her in trees, in our animal kin, in metaphysical bookstores and sacred ceremony, and in the wisdom of those who had gone before me and could give a name to this longing. READ THE REST!