Feeling squeezed? Make juice!

It's August, it's hot, and our planet's going to Light. Everybody's feeling just a little squeezed now — in all ways, not just financially. Yet we don't necessarily envision the squeezing as creating more juice, which it can, and does.

This consciousness upgrade looks different from person to person, making for some strange interactions and a great reminder to take a deep breath before responding from habit when something or someone pushes our buttons. Weird feelings, depression, anger, etc., may not necessarily be "ours". Since we're all being strongly affected by this transition, it's important not to take on energy that is bubbling to the surface to be transmuted — to yield rather than shield.

This is core training in learning to surrender — into strength. In an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, (a reliable source of evolutionary metaphor) a boy is the only survivor of a decimated ship. When the same "enemy" starts firing on the Enterprise, Captain Picard orders, "More power to the shields," yet the assault worsens.

The youngster (who is on the bridge in the hope he'll know something that makes a difference) suddenly pipes up, "Hey! That's what the other captain kept saying just before the ship was destroyed: 'More power to the shields.'" Picard, always a quick study, immediately orders the Enterprise to drop its shields. His crew thinks he's given a suicide command — and it works. Resistance is futile …

This is an example of turning the squeeze into real juice: making courageous choices, strengthening our rapport with our inner voice. Evolution is putting the squeeze on us to expand into the unknown — and we're being "fresh-pressed" as a collective. Where we'll end up is wholly new territory: something we co-create by yielding dried-up beliefs to the extraction process. The more energetically hydrated we are, the more enjoyable the ride, even when the heat is on.

What Does It Take to Get Glowing?

Last Friday I dueted with Jennifer Alhasa on her new blogtalkradio show, Get Glowing. We discussed what it means to get glowing, what blocks us from shining our light — and how best to reclaim our power, passion and purpose. Enjoy the replay (just 30 minutes long), and please let us know what you think!

Zapped! Are You a Victim of Electronic Pollution?

Power. From our iPhones to iPads, Wii to DVDs, plasma TV to wifi, we're living in an electronic fog that may be causing a whole host of illnesses and conditions, from ADHD to chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia to heart disease, and much, much more.

I've been reading Ann Louise Gittleman's Zapped, and it's blowing me out of the water: years ago I lived through a health crisis of what I've long referred to as environmental toxicity, and written about the experience. I thought I was well aware of the chemical challenges of modern society, and have been doing my best to minimize my load as well as educate others.

But Gittleman adds a whole new dimension to everything I've understood until now, by demonstrating in her staggeringly well researched book how electro-magnetic (EMF) pollution stresses everything from our hearts to our immune systems, endocrine to digestive to reproductive systems. It's like the missing magic layer.

Before you panic, toss your Blackberry into a lake and head for a remote island (there's probably wifi there, too), take heart: Gittleman provides sound guidance and resources to help us reduce our electronic overload.

One great place to start is with her list of 21 Superfoods and seasonings, many of which you may already enjoy:

1. Artichokes (USDA's #1 antioxidant veggie)
2. Asparagus (more glutathione than any other food)
3. Blueberries (and blackberries, raspberries, strawberries: all high in antioxidants)
4. Cinnamon (blood sugar stabilizer and antioxidant)
5. Cranberries (free radical scavenger; kills H. pylori bacteria)
6. Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage: good sources of sulfur, zinc, selenium)
7. Cumin (enhances liver detox)
8. Garlic (keeps werewolves away; also powerful anti-inflammatory)
9. Grass-fed Beef (excellent source of glutathione, zinc, selenium, which EMFs zap)
10. Mushrooms (immune-boosting antioxidants)
11. Olive oil (boost glutathione levels dramatically)
12. Pomegranate juice (better than red wine for neutralizing free radicals!)
13. Prunes/Dried Plums (powerhouses at vanquishing free radical)
14. Red Beans (stabilize blood sugar, protect brain cells)
15. Rosemary (protects cellular DNA from radiation)
16. Sea vegetables (kombu, hijiki, arame, nori: reduce radioactive exposure, protect thyroid)
17. Tart cherries (melatonin powerhouse)
18. Turmeric (inhibits radiation-induced chromosome damage)
19. Wild Alaskan Salmon (rich in anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids, which boost liver function, detoxify the body)
20. Walnuts (for non-fish eaters, alternate source of omega-3s; also high in glutathione)
21. Yogurt (replaces calcium leached from the cells by EMF exposure)

Here's to your health, wealth and wisdom!

Embracing Ereshkigal

This moon the Tao of Now (theme of my monthly inspirational newsletter, What Shines) is Embracing the Exponential, bridging the chasm between science and spirit, energy and matter, yin and yang, masculine and feminine … it's quantum, although for many of us, especially in this retrograde month of consuming fire, the dichotomy may loom much closer to home: namely, how to love our own dark side, our shadow, the part of our being that keeps us slogging through molasses, too tired to break free.

I've written and spoken often about "my Inannic journey," and my reverence for the Sumerian Queen of Heaven and Earth who descends to the metaphoric Underworld to e/merge with wisdom gained, bearing gifts for her people. What I haven't focused on is Inanna's dark sister, Ereshkigal, who summons her to the netherworld in the first place so that Inanna may expand her awareness.

For me, learning to love my root chakra, which grounds me yet is divorced from my perception of the Light, is my journey into essential darkness. In the original Star Trek series, there's an episode in which Captain Kirk is split in two due to a transporter malfunction, but the crew doesn't know this — and his "good" side becomes weak and unable to make decisions without his wild, primal essence to balance it out. Years ago I journeyed to the Underworld to meet my own darkness, and returned whole/holy/healed (all from the same root word, hale). Yet I've never loved Ereshkigal, even though she is part of Inanna, just as Kirk's split-off dark side made him the Captain he was.

I must welcome Inanna's dark sister home in order to be whole/wellthy/wealthy in the deepest sense. According to the classic Wheels of Life by chakra expert Anodea Judith, the first chakra resonates to Ereshkigal and the seventh vibrates to Inanna, anchoring me to both Earth and Spirit. Unified, I am greater than the sum of my parts, as true wholeness always is.

What parts of you are ready to be welcomed home during this fiery gateway? I invite you to embrace Ereshkigal, whatever the dark, split off, hidden, divorced aspects of your being look like, and expand the possibilities for who and what you may become on the far side of reintegration. It's time, and wholeness has never been more available for you than right now.

Blessings!