Cast No Shadow

The only ones without shadows are usually witches, demons, or Star Trek movie characters. But on rare occasions, the absence of shadow can be a blessing:

Tomorrow's celebrated eclipse is happening conjunct the Pleiades on the day of the solar zenith at Chichen Itza, the pre-Columbian Mayan civilization in the Yucatán.

Solar zenith means the sun is directly overhead and thus casts no shadow. "Prayers that are offered on the day of no shadow are the most powerful," says shamanic astrologer Daniel Gimario. Listen to his informative, inspirational duet with Caroline Casey on the Visionary Activist show.

It's a stellar invitation to eliminate shadow from our lives. What do you wish to kiss goodbye forever? What do you want to invoke (literally, give voice to)? There's never been a more magical moment than right now. As above, so below.

It's time to paint a bold canvas with transmutational fire.

It's stretchy, it's fluid, and we've worn it unaware … until now

Ever since I was a child, I've been fascinated by the nature of time. The phrase, "time seems both elongated and compressed" rippled through my consciousness years ago, though I couldn't explain what it meant; only that time wasn't what it appeared to be: a unidirectional progression from birth to death, marching inexorably forward. Instead, I felt a taffy-like quality to it; a pliable, stretchy, deliquescence, like Dali's famous clocks. Certainly anyone who's ever melted in a lover's embrace or suffered a public humiliation is intimately acquainted with the one-minute hour and the 24-hour minute!

Gillian Macbeth Louthan's latest transmission carries confirmation that my intuitive perceptions were not only accurate: they'll now be experienced by everyone.

She writes (all emphasis is mine):

"As you are quickened into bonus time cycles, you are also able to access your pasts that stand within the frequency of the future. In the expansion of time, there is a contraction of time. In the moving forward there is a simultaneously moving backward. Forward stretches are always paralleled by backward movement. Getting to the destination of the future can only be entertained through the nuance of the past. All time runs hand in hand. Moving forward is the same as moving backward, and moving backward is the same as moving forward. 

"In the time of the eclipses, there will be a sequence of numerical encodings that are shifted within the common denominator of earth. The numbers held hostage within your chronological age will change. The numbers of your biological age will change. The number sequences that you know and hold within your DNA will shift and change. The number sequences that hold time together will change. The latitude and longitude of where you reside will shift. All will be tweaked. There is galactic movement and time will move backwards. Backward movement is needed in order to re-calibrate the near future. 

"It is similar to times in history when calendar days were deleted and added in accordance with the wishes of those in power. There will be corrections in time and space as deemed by the time lords. Your earth Time has been as a man riding on horseback running beside a train trying to catch up with a airplane. Eventually one horsepower is going to slow. The locomotive represents the galactic perceptive of time. The man on horseback represents the human understanding of time. The plane represents possibility. Nothing in your galaxy runs in a straight line. Everything is curved to gain momentum. Curvatures in time and space are necessary for planetary shift to happen. At the time of the May 20^th eclipse, you will gain momentum in a time alignment.

"The time periods of your earth are limited. The 24-hour day, 60 minutes, 60 seconds and 12-month years were created to confuse and limit you. This time nuance that you are to enter will help you understand that Time as you know it is pliable, malleable, stretchable, and contract-able. Each person will create Time in accordance with their personal wants and needs, sculpting it to fit the situation.

"The energy that your world is based on is holographic of nature, like water that fills a container it fits your personal expectations. Your imagination sculpts the outcome of your life. Allow these nuances of time to escort you into probabilities that go beyond the calculation of what is deemed Pi. The symbol of Pi opens a doorway. This solar eclipse activates dormant light encodings and then you yourself will become as Pi. You will become as a portal, an entranceway for energies of a higher dialogue.  

"Until you actually experience the energies, you will not be able to decipher the language of light. Know that you are the doorway for the light, for the future, and that you are a white hole and a black hole. Know that you are as every sacred place that has ever existed through all time and space. The light shall walk through you and you shall be as a beacon, an airport of light for the higher octaves of the celestial beings and the divine beings to enter into. You escort this higher light to earth by your desire, by the light that is in your heart, and by the light that is in your intent. 

"The 'portal' that you all seek is who you have always been. The key that unlocks the doorway to gaining entrance to the heavenly sphere is you. You are the key in human form. You are the doorway in human form. You are the light of the divine that you seek.  Now it is time to prepare your bodies, your minds, your homes, by releasing what is not of a higher vibration. Whatever is not of the highest Light will scream and kick and bite you until you recognize it and set it free. On this night as you sleep give permission to release all that is not of the highest good. For behold – the Light Comes. Are you ready?"

What the Upcoming Eclipse Can Teach Us About Torture

There's something more insidious than any malevolence we inflict on others: what we do to ourselves, using the one instrument of torture that's available to everyone, every day: our minds.

We become adept at berating ourselves for imperfections, whether physical, mental, or emotional: Why don't I weigh less/earn more/control my temper/have more friends/attract a lover/have a great job…? And that's just for starters.

However, we're living in a fulcrum moment for quantum change. This is the time that's been prophesied for millennia as the Turning of the Age, and so it is. The Mayans were correct, although not as those who interpret their calendars through a linear lens believe: the world is not ending; a world age is. We are moving into a time of consciousness, which is what their calendars measure: human evolution on a vast scale, which in one sense is time. But neither the world nor the calendar "end"; we simply continue, albeit at a higher level along life's spiral.

The upcoming solar eclipse on May 20^th, followed by the Venus transit June 5-6^th, offers us a slightly-more-than-two-week window of omnipresent opportunity. While being in the actual path of the eclipse will enhance its potency, there is no one on Earth who will not be affected — and profoundly changed, whether you're aware of it or not. Anyone who is incarnate now is de facto part of the shift, so no matter what your life "looks like", this is one area in which you can surrender the whip: if you're here, you're helping the planet and all her inhabitants to transform. Thanks for agreeing to play your essential part.

And there are multiple levels working. A few luminous takes on the eclipse include the current newsletter of Gillian Macbeth Louthan, whose Quantum Awakening site has been a beacon for 26 years and counting; this message from the Star Elders through Aluna Joy and this brilliant piece on the esoteric aspects of aligning with our Great Central Sun, Alcyone, in the Pleiades. I expand upon these topics in my own inspirational newsletter, What Shines. You can read the current issue on the Venus transit in Second Rock from the Sun, and a reprint of the eclipse issue on SpiritCrossing.org: Down to Earth.

A personal ah-ha: According to the 13-Moon Calendar (interwoven with the Mayan sacred calendar known as the Tzol'kin), which helps us attune with natural rhythms and return to biospheric alignment, the eclipse takes place on a 5Eb day. Eb, or Yellow Magnetic Human, happens to be my galactic signature/solar seal, which means it is my personal Mayan "sign". Each solar seal also has a "guide", and on 5Eb, the guiding energy is (drumroll): the Sun! (The Sun is one of the 20 Mayan solar seals; its Mayan name is Ahau). So, do I feel internally held and guided by the imminent eclipse on May 20^th?  You know it!

Finally, for all of us regardless of solar signature: each month in the 13-Moon Calendar consists of 28 days, or one moon cycle, and is thus referred to as a Moon, also carrying a specific energy. The life-altering May 20^th eclipse takes place during the Spectral Moon of Liberation, whose core question/action is: "How do I release and let go?" And the totem animal is the Serpent.

We're evolving Eden anew. This article delineates each of the 13 Moon inquiries: Embracing Paradox Can Help You Beat the Clock and this web page introduces you to each Mayan glyph in depth.

One more piece: The sacred Mayan cycle known as the Tzol'kin is 260 days long: the same cycle as Venus, and also the exact length of a human pregnancy! I expand upon these themes exponentially in my e-course for women on awakening to the Divine Feminine and celebrating life in a female body, Loving Our Lunacy.

So, dearhearts, let us release our attraction to suffering and free ourselves from self-inflicted torment to rise in love, eclipsing what no longer serves our growth, both individually and collectively, as we allow the planet of love to bathe us in her radiance and complete our journey into a greater awareness and allowance of union than we've ever known.

Blessed Be!

Beltane: Dancing the Sacred Fire of reUnion

May 1st is Beltane: a time for celebrating the beauty and sanctity of all life. Today is a moment for reclaiming your power, balance, and inner strength.

Beltane is one of eight Shabbats on the Wheel of the Year. The others include the Solstices and Equinoxes, Lammas (August 1st), Samhain (October 31st), and Imbolc (February 2nd). Beltane breathes renewal into our cells as we acknowledge the Nature Kingdom and the advent of summer. [For our Southern Hemisphere allies, the Wheel of the Year is reversed: they now celebrate Samhain.]

In the West, we have an unfortunate tendency to 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 2^nd, morphs to Groundhog Day; Beltane becomes a day to dance around the Maypole. Yet the deeper meanings reflect our lost connection with natural rhythms, with the seasonal shifts we actually embody.

As Samhain honors the power of death, so Beltane honors the cycles of life and rebirth. Beltane takes place in Taurus, the zodiac's most earthy, sensual sign, and focuses on exuberant sexuality: the pollinating of flowers, the lush cornucopia of fruit-bearing plants and trees, the reproductive cycle of the entire natural world, from birds and bees to humans. It's a celebration of fertility in all its forms — and thus we dance in homage to Aphrodite, the Goddess Herself.

Although traditionally observed on May 1st, astronomical Beltane arrives about the 5th, a nice sync-up with Cinco de Mayo, giving us an entire week in which to renew, dance the fire back into our beings, and open once again to a sacred reUnion of our masculine and feminine selves. Mythologist Kathleen Jenks provides a page rich in Beltane lore from around the globe.

Ignite your Light!

Scared to Sacred: Falling in Love with 13

In high school English I learned a 64-carat word for a common ailment: triskaidekaphobia, "fear of the number thirteen." The elevator in my grandparents' apartment building omitted the thirteenth floor. Apparently the assumption was, nobody would have wanted to live on it. It was a fashionable New York City address; fear and loathing cross all perceived boundaries. I also recall a series of horror movies with "Friday the 13th" in the title.

A society steeped in superstition and a materialistic value system will find it easy to assign anxiety to anything that threatens the status quo. Thirteen is the number of movement, of change — a wild card — and that can be very scary. But it's our lost connection with the Divine in everyday life that gives rise to such distress. Divorced from our origins, terrified of our own power, we profane the sacred: thirteen becomes unlucky, evil, a curse; symbolic scapegoat of all we're afraid to embrace.

When we can take the thirteenth step, however, we're on the first step of the Stairway to Heaven. With the courage to look, we find thirteen stitched into the very fabric of our culture. Thirteen colonies gave birth to a nation. The first American flag bore thirteen stars and stripes. We were on the right track back then, grounded into the roots of our heritage.

Think about it: thirteen has traditionally been cause for celebration. The thirteenth year signifies a coming-of-age, also across all perceived boundaries. In the Jewish religion, boys make their Bar Mitzvah at thirteen. This ceremony, which involves reading from the holy Torah, marks a boy's entrance into manhood.

Girls generally begin to menstruate at thirteen. Cross-culturally, it's common to commemorate the first blood with an initiation rite; here in the West, this significant threshold is at last beginning to be recognized as a powerful, sacred passage. (My e-course, Loving Our Lunacy, is an embodied initiation for all women.)

In fact, there are even thirteen sun signs in the Real Solar Zodiac — which is not the one used in conventional astrology. Ophiucus, the serpent bearer, has been omitted from the oversimplified Tropical Zodiac used in the West. Yet the serpent denotes transformation — and on the Winter Solstice of 2012, Earth will be directly aligned with both Ophiucus and the center of the Milky Way galaxy.

Thirteen, then, is a fundamental Earth rhythm, manifested in our physical bodies as well as the heavenly ones. To reject thirteen is, perhaps, to reject or deny some core aspect of ourselves as human beings.

How can we reawaken to our true purpose and potential, beyond the fear and perception of separateness? By reclaiming our native knowing.


One way that resonates for me is following a 13 Moon Calendar. The 13 Moon Calendar shows us a path to walk to restore right relationship in our lives, to re-member (make membership again) our journey as one Earth family. Based on an annual solar cycle of 13 moons (months) of 28 days each (the female menstrual cycle), plus one "day out of time" in which to reflect and regenerate, the 13 Moon Calendar is synchronized with Earth rhythms and human biology. It's expansive, intuitive, juicy, flowing: life, in all its harmonious chaos.

The beauty of this apparent paradox lies in learning to honor the both/and: life is orderly and messy, pragmatic and unpredictable, spiritual and material. Living in tune with these innate contradictions, we breathe in our own magnificence, and feel nourished and held in the body of the Great Mother.

Our Gregorian calendar, by contrast, models scarcity, so we always subtly feel we're starving: if you get what you need, there might not be enough for me. Living a compressed, alienating, sterile existence, our spiritual lungs squeezed for air, we evince these invisible shackles in the way we treat each other and Gaia. Time-is-money, me-first, bigger-better-best, I want it yesterday, are the credos of mechanistic time. Pursued by the clock, separated from our humanity, we've forgotten that time is creativity, that women carry time in their bodies, and have come to accept the clock as king.

Another Earth-based analogy may also help: I've observed a fairly rampant homeowner disgust with the "lowly dandelion", scourge of suburbia's well-manicured lawns — when in fact, dandelion is one of the most healing herbs available to humanity, offering itself in abundance wherever we dwell. It's a supreme liver tonic, known to help detoxify the body's "processing plant." If you want to release that pent-up rage in a healthy way, the remedy is probably available, free and easy, right in your own backyard.

Dandelion is so plentiful that I find it also acts as de facto compost within me: surrounding and helping to decompose back into rich loam that which no longer serves. Yet we curse the weed and uproot it, spray poison to keep the green carpet unsullied. When we can stop "livin' for the lawn," focusing predominantly on the external, and make the subtle shift from ego mind to Universal Mind, we see with such great clarity the incredible gifts all around us.

In the 13 Moon Calendar, the number thirteen, like dandelion, grows everywhere; it's the key thread on which the harmony of the calendar is woven. And on a 13 Moon Calendar, there's always a Friday the 13th — in a 28-day month, every second Friday is Friday the thirteenth!

Astrologer Judith Goldberg offers an additional planet-positive note for this Friday the 13th: Mars, which has been retrograde since January 23rd, goes direct. Judy writes:

"Demonstrating an auspicious sense of timing, Mars entered the sign of Virgo, the healer, on 11/11/11. It began its bi-annual retrograde motion on January 23rd, 2012, the day of the Chinese New Year. Usually transiting in a sign for a few weeks, because of the lengthy retrograde, Mars residence in Virgo lasted 5 months until it turns direct on Friday, April 13th. Each of these movements of the red planet takes on an added significance because of these cultural, spiritual or energetic synchronicities. Now, as Mars turns direct, we are in a 5-day period between April 12th and 17th, that is a powerful energetic nexus, or core, which greatly enhances spiritual practices.

"This is the perfect time for daily meditation to open yourself to the highest possibilities that will take you into your best new direction. With Mars direct it is time to begin taking action again, to turn those possibilities into new realities. In fact, the remainder of the year between now and the Solstice is a fulcrum point, a time when we can gain the necessary leverage to do the heavy lifting that will facilitate new changes in our personal lives, in our collective reality and propel mankind and Planet Earth into the Age of Aquarius."

As our evolutionary readiness dissolves old superstition around the number thirteen — and all it represents — our collective mindfield makes a quantum leap from mindless fear to aware acceptance of thirteen as the sacred number of the spiral, the energy of kundalini awakening, the step to transformation and growth. Unified in time, living on purpose, a metamorphosis occurs as we attune to a higher frequency.

Metamorphosis means going above, beyond what existed before. The Sufi mystic Rumi said, "Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right doing there's a field; I'll meet you there." In this quantum field, we midwife moth into butterfly. Scared into sacred. Each of us into our true purpose and potential.

What is this time of profound transmutation helping you bring to birth? Whatever it is, may it be in beauty, for the greatest good of all.

Oh, Baby!

Out for a walk on Easter, I met a young woman holding a very cute baby. The mother seemed tired, and the baby wasn't that cheerful, either, although I surmised she (the baby) had perhaps recently awakened from a nap. The mom told me she also had an 8- and 5-year-old, though this child was more difficult for her, because she was raising her alone. The little girl was only four months old, so I thought, either her partner didn't plan on a kid, or, as seems to happen often in these extraordinary times, the couple came together just long enough to combine their DNA, because this little Light was needed on Earth.

As her mother and I were conversing, and after I mentioned the baby's subdued demeanor, she looked at me in the way babies do: staring, never breaking eye contact.

And then she began to laugh.

Huge, rollicking, endless laughter emanated from this tiny bundle. I stood transfixed, feeling my mouth curving irresistibly into a smile and then into my own laughter ~ it is contagious, after all!

Her mother said, "She likes your soul," and I appraised the mom as clearly a conscious being, equipped to raise a Light such as the one she held, and I said as much.

I felt blessed, renewed, in some way redeemed, by this infant's unquenchable laughter. I was in the rapt presence of a baby Buddha, and received her sustenance as manna. What an amazing gift on a day of rising: Yeaster, a rite of passage. It is a benediction I share with you through our cyber connection. May you receive the pure holy joy of laughter in your life when you least (or yeast) expect it, and may it renew you in every cell.

As I walked away, I offered the baby's mother, "May you have an easy raising." I didn't even realize the full significance until this morning.

Spring Clean Your Life Teleclass!

Step up to your greatness in this momentous year. Take the deep dive that says, "I'm alive!"

Join us on Monday, April 9, 2012 @ noon PDT, 3 pm EDT (find your local time here) for a complimentary telegathering (telephone class), Slouching Towards Enlightenment: Hold the Vision Until the Vision Holds You!

Come swim masterfully with the current of our sea change in consciousness. All the details are on the LiveYourLight website, here.

Can't make it then? The class will be recorded. But, you need to register in order to receive the recording — and there will be special offers for those on the live call.

Looking forward to co-creating a transformative adventure with you!

Lights Out! And More Power to You

I encourage people daily to Live Your Light — and we're all letting our light shine more brilliantly than ever before. As we reclaim our inner radiance, it's ever more crucial to reduce our man-made light to co-create a sustainable future. This Saturday is your chance: the 6th annual Earth Hour.

What began as a one-time event organized by World Wildlife Fund/Australia in 2007 rapidly rolled out to countries around the globe. In 2011, Earth Hour saw hundreds of millions of people across 135 countries switch off the power for an hour. But it also marked the start of going beyond the Hour to commit to lasting action on climate change.

There's now an awesome Earth Hour dare: an "I will if you will" YouTube channel that showcases the creative and amusing extent committed planetary citizens will go to for environmental action.

So set your clocks for "lights out" at 8:30 pm local time on March 31st — and let it be your inspiration to shrink your carbon footprint for good.

Blessings!

How to Defy Gravity

With Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life, Franciscan priest Richard Rohr has written an eloquent book about the journey to self-knowing that's decidedly non-religious; a refreshing loom of spiritual authenticity on which to weave your own awakening odyssey. He gives voice to that which doesn't translate easily into language, so powerfully and truly that from the Introduction alone, I was nodding with inward recognition. I wish I'd written it!

In the Coda, he quotes Thomas Merton with a poem written a decade after his fabled The Seven Storey Mountain, when Merton had moved into his own "second half." The piece encapsulates the essence of Rohr's offering with such spare significance that it will be a deep acknowledgment for those on the far side of the journey, who understand viscerally what it means to own "poverty" as success ~ and an inspired meditation/guide for those yet to travel and unravel:

When in the Soul of the Serene Disciple

When in the soul of the serene disciple
With no more Fathers to imitate
Poverty is a success,
It is a small thing to say the roof is gone:
He has not even a house.

Stars, as well as friends,
Are angry with the noble ruin.
Saints depart in several directions.

Be still:
There is no longer any need of comment.
It was a lucky wind
That blew away his halo with his cares.
A lucky sea that drowned his reputation.

Here you will find
Neither a proverb nor a memorandum.
There are no ways,
No methods to admire
Where poverty is no achievement.
His God lives in his emptiness like an affliction.

What choice remains?
Well, to be ordinary is not a choice:
It is the usual freedom
Of men without visions.

How to Have a Happy Orange Life

I once heard a story of three monks who had only one orange between them. The first blessed it and passed it to his brother, who blessed it and passed it to his brother. The trio kept on like this for hours, until the orange was brilliant with light, and the three of them were sated well beyond any hunger of the stomach.

I recalled this parable yesterday after a series of mini transformations. In this incredible time of awakening, the smallest act can lift us up or plummet us — and this energy affects everyone.

I was at a gas station, and the squeegee didn't seem to be working very well; I had drips running down the windshield. Mumbling about worn-out tools that needed to be replaced, I got back in my car and was preparing to depart, when I noticed a man re-doing my windshield ministrations.

Astonished, I asked, "What are you doing? Do you work here?" I realized he was the driver of the truck at the pump in front of me. He replied, "You seemed a little upset, so I redid it for you. My dad taught me how to clean a windshield without streaks." I said, "You’re amazing, thank you so much!" My mood did a 180 and lifted towards heaven with this simple, selfless act. As I drove away, we both wished each other a wonderful afternoon.

It wasn't until later that I remembered I'd spied a disabled woman at the library just prior to getting gas, whose shirt label was sticking out, and asked if she'd like me to fix it. She responded as though I'd offered to buy her a house: "Oh, thank you so much, sweetheart!"

Tiny actions; huge returns.

Then I drove to the park, taking my travel soap along to wash my hands after pumping gas. Once on foot, I walked past the home of an elderly gentleman who often sits in his driveway on nice days, enjoying the view from his wheelchair. He hailed me, and I stopped to chat. Seeing the front door open, I asked if I might use the kitchen sink to wash my hands. He said, of course.

Inside, his caretaker emerged from the back of the house and said, "Do you just walk into people's houses and use their facilities?" My experience of her has been like this before; she is clearly a very unhappy person. I was feeling so good from the previous encounters I didn't want her sourness to steal my joy, so I politely responded that Harold had given permission for me to come inside, then quickly dried my hands and left.

Walking in the park, I stopped to stretch, and another walker smiled and remarked, "You have beautiful hair!" This comment prompted me to share the extraordinary series of encounters that had just taken place, and the incredible power we all have to shift energy. If we're having a down day (or a down life), we don't need to siphon off anyone else's light, I reminded him (and me!); we can simply "dial direct." There's plenty of Light to spare.

Wishing you a happy orange life…

Spring Equinox: Stoking the Fires of Transformation

Did you know that on Equinox, you can balance a raw egg on end, because everything (day and night, and thus, the world) is in balance? This is the lore, anyway; I've not yet tried it.

Spring Equinox 2012 (Autumn Equinox for our Southern Hemisphere allies) is an Equinox like no other: a time when the world is breaking open to a new age, when what breakthrough biologist Bruce Lipton calls "imaginal cells" (each of us as cells in the body of Gaia) reimagine ourselves/our cells into greater harmony, joy, and the regenerative power of possibility, beyond patriarchy and domination to limitless co-creative play, purpose and passion.

It is the time of the Ram, as transformation fans our inner flames into a bonfire of celebration. As you e/merge from your personal egg into the Light of the new, what will you bring to the Cosmic Egg as we dream a new world into BE-ing?

Should You "Beware The Ides of March"?

Five centuries after Shakespeare's astrologer 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." In March, May, July and October, the ides fell on the 15th. In the other eight months, however, the ides fell on the 13th.

Maybe Julius meant to follow the advice, but got his months mixed up. Or maybe he just didn't place much store in prophecy.

In recent history, the rock group, The Ides of March had a hit with the upbeat tune, Vehicle. The lead singer went on to superstardom as the founder of Survivor. Yet the Ides continued to play and record. The group's now been together, with all the original band members, for 45 years.

Mythologically speaking, the ides of March can transport you where you most need to go. If you pay attention and pay your dues, you won't pay the Piper — and you may just hit pay dirt.

How to Save Time Forever

This month, approximately 75 countries worldwide will create an annual illusion: saving time. We move the hands of our clocks ahead, and think we've harnessed the sun. In the U.S., our participation begins at 2 am on Sunday, March 12th.

How time flies when we perceive it as linear. By contrast, cultures that live in tune with natural rhythms do not alter their clocks, because clocks do not define their time. The seasons and the stars do. I once heard thought leader Deepak Chopra share how he explained existence to his three-year-old granddaughter as they walked along the beach at sunset. Essentially, he told her she is made of starlight, and that the spirit of the stars is reflected in her eyes. Tara was silent while she digested this information. Then she said, "Nanna, look up!" When Chopra asked why, she replied, "The stars want to see themselves!"

Time is elastic. Athletes know this. When athletes move into the space known as "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 favorable 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.

Psychologist Maria Nemeth writes, in The Energy of Money, "Scarcity is a reality in the physical domain. As a minister friend of mine once told me, 'It's as though we got bored living without limits. We decided to incarnate — which means, literally, to turn into meat. We further chose to work with the limits of form, time and finite energy. This was to see how much of the divine we could bring into the mundane before it was time for us to leave.'"

As paradoxical as it may seem, says Nemeth, "We reach the infinite through living fully in the finite. The infinite is not reached by trying to ignore limits, as many of us try to do."

And in Eastern Body, Western Mind, chakra expert Anodea Judith observes, "Manifestation requires an acceptance of limitation. A boundary allows us to contain, and thus collect and build."

So holding the "both/and" is a prerequisite to freedom, whether from the constraints of the clock or the tyranny of the paycheck: "We must accept limitation in order to transcend it." This is what zone athletes do.

My articles, Embracing Paradox Can Help You Beat the Clock and 'Om' Is Where the Heart Is suggest ways to shift your beliefs about time and creativity.

I also include extensive information about using natural time to reclaim our feminine power, passion and purpose in my e-course, Loving Our Lunacy.

As we set our clocks ahead, on Saturday night or sometime soon, let's look out at the stars and remember what we're made of. Recognize the expansive possibilities that exist within the limits of form.

There is enough. It's all a question of consciousness. Choose to embrace the both/and, and you'll grow with the flow!

Leap Year: Why Our Calendar Is So Weird - And What You Can Do About It

You probably take it for granted: every four years, we add an extra day to the month of February. The month is day-deprived, after all; deserving of an additional 24 hours every now and then.

This may not strike you as peculiar; it's akin to the grade-school rhyme we memorized in a futile attempt to become better spellers: "'i' before 'e' except after 'c', or when sounded as 'a' as in 'neighbor' and 'weigh'." Heck, the English language is way more whacked than the Gregorian calendar!

But this anomaly is only because we adhere to an off-kilter solar cycle. Using the time-keeping system most of the world's been accustomed to since the Middle Ages, we need Leap Years to align the calendar with the Earth’s revolutions around the sun.

Why Leap Year?

It takes the Earth approximately 365.242199 days (a tropical year) to circle once around the Sun. Since a Gregorian calendar year consists of only 365 days, we'd lose nearly six hours every year if we didn't "course correct" every fourth year.

But it gets stranger, Horatio.

Qualifying to be a "Leap Year" is a bit like applying to get into Calendar College: three crucial criteria must be met:

• The year must be evenly divisible by 4;
• If the year can be evenly divided by 100, it is NOT a leap year, unless;
• The year is also evenly divisible by 400.

Yikes! Good thing we have built-in calculators now.

This means the years 2000 and 2400 are Leap Years, while 1800, 1900, 2100, 2200, 2300 and 2500 are NOT leap years.

Got that? There'll be a quiz next lifetime.

The year 2000 was also somewhat special, as it was the first instance when the third criterion was used in most parts of the world since the transition from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar.

Holy Roman Empire, Batman!

If only Julius had stuck to salad dressing. Still, he was more flexible about what constituted a Leap Year than today's criteria. When Caesar introduced Leap Years in the Roman Empire over 2000 years ago, the only rule was that any year evenly divisible by 4 would be a leap year. Evidently Julius' crowd didn't contain too many math wizards. This system has far too many Leap Years, though it wasn't corrected until the introduction of the Gregorian calendar more than 1500 years later.

There may not be a perfect calendar, though there have been other creative options used over the years, such as a 30-day February.

13 Moons of Synchrony

Personally, I've long lived by the 13-Moon, 28-day lunar calendar envisioned by José Argüelles, who proposed it as a way for humanity to leave mechanized time and enter harmonic, natural cycles — the path of synchronicity. In a 13-Moon calendar, every month has a harmonious 28-days (which also corresponds with the female menstrual cycle) — and 13x28 = 364. The additional day is celebrated between July 25th and 26th, which correlates with the heliacal rise of Sirius and is honored as a "Day Out of Time," of peace and celebration. And there's another bonus: on a 28-day monthly system, every Friday is Friday the 13th, a reclaiming of the number thirteen as a sacred symbol of transformation, not something to be feared and avoided.

So I invite you to experience the expansiveness of living in tune with all life. José used to say, "Whoever owns your time, owns your mind. Own your own time and you will know your own mind."

There's never been a better time to leap into this knowing than now, on Leap Day. Blessings!

~~~~~ Spiraling Home ~~~~~

It's time for:

Gliding, sliding
Coming out of hiding;
Purging, merging
Acknowledging the surging;
Knowing, flowing
Opening to growing;
Tuning, reuning
Oversoul's a-crooning:
Accelerate, celebrate
This is how we co-create;
Say "yes," pass the test
Get ready for the best!
Elation, initiation
Planetary transmutation;
This moment, the Light
Our collective in-Sight;
You are the I AM
Quickened in the cosmic plan;
Ancient mystery solved:
We evolved.

Copyright © July 2001 Amara Rose. All rights reserved.

The Zen of Plagiarism

I was sharing my indignation about someone plagiarizing my website content, and my friend's somewhat surprising response — about it all being "owned by God, anyway," and her lighthearted pointing out a magazine cover of someone dancing underwater, saying, "He's plagiarizing me, because I dance underwater!" caused me to begin questioning my reaction.

Why DO we get so upset when another copies "our" words or images? A respected speakers' newsletter just posed this precise question: would you use a colleague's idea (shared in casual conversation) in your own presentation without permission? How about without attribution?

I wrote:

"I've had my ideas appropriated without attribution many times, and had my content plagiarized. However, that said, I quote other people's words and ideas frequently, always with attribution, usually including a link to their website, blog, video, etc. I often email the individual to alert them to the reference so they can promote it to their own audience. Those featured appreciate both the promotion and the acknowledgment.

"In a world where six degrees of separation is now barely two, and we're Occupying Everything, sharing has become more of a gray area than ever. But as we all still take pride in our intellectual property — even if it's something uttered spontaneously in conversation with a colleague — it seems the least we can do is to honor one another by recognizing an original contribution, and passing it along with credit where it's due."

But now the trick cube is shifting. It's akin to a time I was in a brief relationship with someone who was also loving another. One morning, in the watery world between sleep and wakefulness, I sensed the entire situation and felt no pain. I understood in a flash that this was my true state, my high Self, observing, where emotional entanglement — or not — was a conscious decision.

And as I consider (literally, "with the stars") the concept that the ideas I bring forth are not my own, that I am but the vehicle to allow them manifestation, needing or wanting "credit" begins to seem humorous. I've written about how we carve up the planet, thinking we own it: "There are no actual map lines on Earth, delineating this country, this language, this religion, this culture from the next. We've created it all. It's our collective game. As we become technologically proficient, the playing field shrinks to a more agreeable size, and the game starts to seem superfluous."

From this perspective, "intellectual property" appears even more amusing. Do we own our thoughts? Especially now, when we're becoming more transparent and interconnected than ever before?

So … this feels good, right and true. And yet, if you were to paste this post onto your blog as your own, it might irk me. We're in process, opening from ownership and a sense of separation to unity consciousness. I'm aligned with the vision and values; my 3D self is shifting as rapidly as Love replaces fear.

Imbolc / Candlemas: The Light Returns!

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, the day is both a Christian and Pagan holiday, known variously as Imbolc, St. Brigid's Day (Bride's Day), and Candlemas ("mass of the candles", which in the Catholic religion marks the end of the Yule season).

In Celtic and Earth-based traditions, Imbolc ("in the belly") is one of the most powerful portals on the Wheel of the Year: the exact midpoint between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox.

A harbinger of Spring, Imbolc celebrates the return of the Light in a profound sense. It's the first "cross-quarter day" on the Wheel, which honors the two Equinoxes and Solstices, as well as Beltane (May 1st), Lammas (August 1st), and Samhain (October 31st).

At Imbolc, the energies begin to pulse with renewed life and hope. Fire festivals are common. Vicki Noble, co-creator of the Motherpeace Tarot and author of Shakti Woman: Feeling Our Fire, Healing Our World, which affected me profoundly during my own awakening, writes, "Traditionally a time of transformation and initiation, Imbolc brings 'big dreams' and a raised vibration …

"With powerful Pluto in the physical sign of Capricorn (until 2024), we look forward to momentous planetary and personal change. As old structures crumble, inside and all around us, imagine yourself sitting safely inside of Kali's dance of liberation."

What most astonished me was discovering that St. Brigid (in the Irish tradition) is the Patroness of Midwives. Since my birthday is February 4th and I've long referred to myself as a midwife for our global rebirth, it was a clarifying reminder of "what we know, before we know that we know!"

You'll find a wealth of enlightening lore on Myth*ing Links, a wonderful site replete with information and inspiration concerning all aspects of mythology, which is the focus of this month's Live Your Light What Shines newsletter.

Excerpted from Mythi*ing Links:

"The three-aspected springtime fire of the Goddess Brighid, especially linked with the recent festival of Imbolg, is very much connected with healing. For the surge of fire, experienced in Northern Europe as slightly longer hours of daylight, restores us in three ways. First, it gives us a lift of physical and psychological energy. (It is well known that daylight deprivation inclines people to depression and lethargy.) Secondly, it pleases our souls, because it not only brings the presence of spring flowers but inclines our thoughts to love and romance. Thirdly, it can increase our creativity. As our spirits lift, we are more likely to be inspired with new plans and projects...

"It seems to me that these three aspects of the Goddess's fire are linked, in many ways. If a person's creativity is fully expressed, their health is likely to improve. Love and romance can incline us towards creativity — people often write poetry (however badly) when they're in love.

"Nature's springtime fire increases our personal fire — that power which the East calls 'Kundalini'. (This is an electrical force said to lie coiled like a snake at the base of our spines. It is awakened by sexual attraction and by certain kinds of magical and mystical experience.)

"I believe there is said to be a biological connection between daylight, the pineal gland and stimulation of sexual/creative energy. In ritual and intuitive ways, it seems to me that this is what we are celebrating, when we light lots of candles on February 2nd, in honour of the Goddess Brighid (the Lady of the first stirrings of the Light, however we name Her.) And that this was perceived by our Pagan ancestors, in the days before anyone knew anything at all about the endocrine system and light sensitivity."

Year of the Water Dragon: Thunder EnLightening

We're in the midst of a pretty incredible ride: it's 2012, a Leap Year, an election year, we're OccupyingEverything, and now we're about to enter the Chinese Year of the Water Dragon, on the New Moon in Aquarius.

The dragon is a formidable, flamboyant, magical creature, calling us to enter the alchemical fire. According to astrologer Stephanie Austin, "Of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, the dragon is the only mythological creature, setting it apart from ordinary reality. On a spiritual level, dragons symbolize kundalini, the cosmic or 'serpent' energy coiled at the base of the spine, which leads to unity consciousness. That the Chinese Year of the Dragon occurs in 2012, a year considered by the Mayans, Hopis, and many others to offer the potential for a huge leap in consciousness, further emphasizes the evolutionary nature of this year."

And since this year is a Water Dragon, it's also about balance: fire and water. I just learned from a Twitter connection that "a fulgerite is fossilized lightning. It forms when a powerful lightning bolt melts the soil into a glass-like state." So 2012 might be described as a Water Dragon fulgerite year: enLightening melting what's soiled, watering our individual and collective Soul with awareness and possibility.

In fact, Water Dragon Inc. confirms, "Most people know that water covers two-thirds of our planet and comprises 95% of our bodies; we simply cannot live without it. In Chinese element theory, water produces wood, which signifies growth and is the natural element of the dragon. The dragon governs east/southeast, wealth accumulation and the hours of 7 a.m. - 9 a.m. Associated with thunder, lightning and arousal, the Water Dragon personifies creativity at its best.

As visionary activist astrologer Caroline Casey pointed out during a recent delightful duet on An Organic Conversation: "It's a Water Dragon year: we can ride this thing!"

Let's OccupyMythology, create a new millennial mythos, and ride the fire/water fulgerite dragon off the edge of the known maps, right on into a new dawn.

The Motherboard of Invention, or "That's Not Logical, Captain!"

My laptop underwent a crucifixion and resurrection this past holiday season. Since technology often serves as metaphor and muse in my life, I knew this would be another fabulous learning opportunity…

On December 30th, my nearly 6-year-old machine (computers being like dog years, I know this is nearing old age), which had intermittent problems with the charging system as well as the screen suddenly going black, decided it was time for a long winter's rest.


Having worked perfectly the day before, it wouldn't hold a charge at all that Friday, and as my battery slowly drained to zero, I wondered how I would upload my January newsletter. I was on the phone with a friend who's a hardware engineer, describing the problem, and said with conviction, "I just need two more hours to get the newsletter uploaded!" This has been my most enduring commitment to the collective for the past decade; it was more distressing to me not to be able to get the newsletter out (especially for January 2012, the beginning of the year that's been the subject of so much prophecy and paranoia!) than not having a functioning laptop.

I showered, ate breakfast, and decided to go for a walk. December 31st was an absolutely stunning day, and I was housesitting out in the country. Before I left, I put my hand over the power cord's charge box from habit; it had been cool for over a day, despite the little orange charge light being on. Now the box was warm. I got tingles all over, and went out for a long walk.

When I returned 90 minutes later, the little light that signals charge completion was green. I opened the lid extremely cautiously so as not to activate whatever was causing the machine to suddenly turn itself off. Several techs I'd spoken with casually in recent months had said sagely, "It's the Motherboard!" (The principal circuit board that pilots the machine.) And when that goes, it's bye-bye laptop.

Sure enough, the battery charge read 100%. Joyfully, I left it plugged in and began feverishly uploading the newsletter. I sent it out, and started to check email. Just about two hours had gone by. Still plugged in, the charging light now turned orange and began to drop: 99%, 98%, 97%...

I received the two hours I asked for in order to complete my task. Whenever I've stepped out in high faith, I am answered. A wise man once taught that we are all capable of this kind of trust walk, and that when we live from here, manifestation is instantaneous. It's happened three or four times in my life, so I know the power. Consistency is the rub.

On January 2nd, I took the now non-functional laptop to a Mac tech who'd been recommended; he's been repairing Mac computers for a living for many years. The power jack issue was obvious. In terms of the intermittent shutdown, my machine obligingly did so as soon as he opened the case. Not worth repairing, he reported. It would be too expensive; buy a new one, or a refurb. Since even a refurbished Mac is quite a bit pricier than a PC, I despaired.

The first week of 2012 was not a joyous affair. I wondered if this portended what the year would be like.

But after the crucifixion comes the resurrection. Note that the first term is pronounced, cruci-FICTION.

I'd also discovered that the back-up hard drive I'd thought contained all my data, did not. That's when something approaching panic set in. I had the brainstorm to contact the Computer Recycling Center (CRC), which repairs donated machines, then sells them for an affordable price. I got my first laptop there in 2003, and it was still going strong when I upgraded to a new one three years later.


I wondered if I might borrow a compatible battery in order to give my machine enough juice to back-up my data to the external hard drive. Their Mac tech said, "Sure, come on in." When I arrived and explained the problem, he harrumphed, "I don't see any evidence of a Logicboard problem." (On Macs, Motherboards are known as Logicboards). To me, he sounded just like Spock: "It is not logical, Captain." I explained how the issue was intermittent, but he maintained that the burned out power jack was causing the electrical signal to "arc," creating the outage. It made sense, and was similar to what the professional I'd seen on Monday had told me. The difference was, Derrick didn't think the Logicboard was bad. I left the machine with him for diagnosis, since it wasn't useable until the power jack was replaced.

The next day my phone rang. "Your computer is ready," said the wise young voice at the other end. Derrick resurrected my laptop for a third of the cost I was originally quoted — just for the power jack, not the Logicboard — and I have been good to go ever since.

In this era of intuition, logic was neither the problem nor the solution — but it certainly was the Motherboard of Invention when it came to looking for the "second right answer" — or the third, or the 29th.

The gifts from this episode are many, and continue to unfold. Since all of my work is virtual, I have about 15 years of material on my hard drive; I've often said, of how precious my laptop is to me, "It's my life!" But that's not true; my life is in me; my laptop plays an important role in assisting my planetary service, but the stress I put myself through last week wasn't worth the cost to my body/mind/spirit. In fact, once I had the laptop back in fine fettle, I checked in and could hear Spirit laughing, "OK? Lighten up now!"

As Louise Hay, one of my great teachers, has often affirmed: "All is well. Everything is working out for my highest good. Out of this situation, only good will come. I am safe."

And as Bryan de Flores shared during his annual New Year's Eve telecall: when we have a challenge, say "God Blast!" and watch it dissolve.

God Blast! Yee-hah! All is well!

Happy Knew Year, Beloveds!

The Mother of All Releasings Ceremony, Winter Solstice 2011

Pixie Campbell has created a simple, sacred ceremony for December 22, 2011, the final Solstice before we enter the year that's been the subject of endless prophecy (and paranoia!). Since she asks this information be disseminated widely, I'm honored to share her elegant ritual offering:



Who: YOU, and if you wish, your circle, tribe, family, or village.

What: A fire ceremony, to release the old year and shift up into the new.

Where: In your backyard firepit, on a beach bonfire, around your fireplace, (even in your kitchen sink if you can make it scout-safe with a fireproof container).

When: Winter Solstice, December 22nd, 2011.

Why: We release what no longer serves us on the Winter Solstice, because it is the darkest day of the year. We let go so that we can step freely into what is waiting for us, as the light begins to grow brighter with each day. We're doing it as an extended community to raise the energy level of letting go, together!

How: Make a releasing bundle. Gather friends and family around a hearth (or do this in sacred solitary), set the bundle safely aflame, and let the alchemical element of fire transform the old, as it knows how to do so well. Feast on Solstice treats and celebrate the return of the light. View the video created around my tribe's ceremony:

Mother of All Releasings Ceremony: Winter Solstice, 2012 from Pixie Campbell on Vimeo.

2012 is a powerful year to let the old ways go and step fully into creative self-expression and abundant support for our dreams from All That Is. It is a time for visionaries to create reality.

Thank you, sisters. I'm so grateful that you and your energy is rippling out into the world!