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New Moon Aries

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Soul on Deck

“…One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Soul on deck shines like gold in dark times.” ~Clarissa Pinkola Estes, You were made for this…

As we proceed through this year of healing and reset we welcome change, embrace what is new and courageously forge ahead in unknown territory. We honour the growth we witness happening all around us and embrace each other as we valiantly leap hurdles and keep moving with the ever present flow. It is refreshing to feel our selves rise up and into authenticity. This is occurring as we step further away from habitual patterns of behaviour that do not reflect Reality.

As witnesses to all that goes on around us we gain the ability to listen to and feel the path that is always the way. As we are relieved of the illusion of our beliefs, we gain clarity and the opportunity to quietly observe. As observers we offer compassion, strength and light to confusion and apparent chaos. The message is to continue creating from a place of quiet knowing in various situations without becoming part of the suffering. In the suffering is the perpetuation of the problem rather than the clarity to see one’s way out.

How do we manage to avoid being affected by the world’s goings on? As human beings we are conditioned to, in some way or another, be involved. As victim, as hero but rarely as just an observer free to watch without judgment. Step out of the conditioning and be free to share the light of awareness. “I am that” which I find fault with and what I find fault with is “that”, cannot not be in this moment other than what it is. Shine your light through and beyond the myopic vision that limits us.

In Pema Chondron’s book No Time to Lose she discusses, The Way of the Bodhisattva written twelve centuries ago by Shantideva in India. From this text we gain insight into ways in which humans are yoked to their negative emotions and repetitive responses.

“When habitual reactions are strong and longstanding, it is difficult to choose intelligently. We don’t intentionally choose pain; we just do what’s familiar.”

We become attached to the familiar as it can be relied upon. It will deliver the same emotional experience and in this we feel secure, somewhat comfortable even when there is suffering involved. It may seem an arduous task to choose freedom over familiarity thus we proceed slowly and with gentle care of the self as we move on, always moving on. And with every insight, glimpse of Truth we are encouraged to let go more. We find our self standing at the edge of a cliff anxious perhaps but willing to leap. Something tells us there is nothing to fear. We have recently acquired the ability to leave thoughts alone and so are not attending to the many reasons the ego can contrive to prevent its own demise.

With the recent arrival of Spring and this first New Moon of the season, we can consciously align with expanding experience and pay attention to habitual expression. Any amount of light begins to dispel darkness; slowly seeps across what once may have been a troubled landscape with little peace. Is an organic process that happens without the interference of mind. In other words beyond awareness of resistance, ‘no effort required’!

Spring offers us a fresh start. Everything is new! My intention is to trust what is unknown and to be open to letting go of and setting free ‘the Truth that lies within’. Revealed as I dispense with the known.

One step at a time will suffice. The ‘unknown’ can seem like frightening territory. With each step approaching this territory we become surer of the destination though at no time will we be able to successfully articulate what it is. All good. We continue. Not knowing is when my beliefs are no longer guiding me. What guides me is the much deeper, all pervasive sense of Being that solves all ‘problems’ and answers all questions.

‘There will always be times when you feel discouraged. I too have felt despair many times in my life, but I do not keep a chair for it. I will not entertain it. It is not allowed to eat from my plate.”~Clarissa Pinkola Estes, You were made for this

New Moon In Aries 22 degrees 25 minutes April 11 7:31 p.m PT

“The Moon represents our deepest personal needs, our basic habits and reactions, and our unconscious. Where the Sun acts, the Moon reacts.  How do we instinctively react or respond to problems? What do we feel we need for a sense of security?” ~Cafe Astrology

The moon in Aries is the first ship out of the harbour, willing to test the waters and pursue the objective. Cardinal fire! The ultimate explorer—instinctive, authentic, spontaneous and impulsive.

The New Moon as the dark of the moon, in Aries, can direct all that energy inward, to explore uncharted waters of the ‘hidden’ Self (during the New Moon Sun/Moon act and react in unison); that which lies beyond the mind/ego. New Moon in Aries can search with child-like enthusiasm, overcome obstacles with ease (there are no obstacles) and shine light into areas that others may fear to acknowledge.

These few days are an ideal time therefore to take a step or two or maybe a profound leap toward freedom from confining habits. The New Moon chart benefits our goals in 3 ways:

1. Grand *trine in air involving Mars the planet of action aspecting Jupiter the planet of expansion, growth and wisdom and both aspecting the point of fortune where we find our greatest sense of satisfaction. Rather simply put, this geometry gives us the energy/motivation for further growth into wisdom for a deeper sense of fulfillment. Their is great trust in proceeding no matter how we perceive the lay of the land.

2. Small talent trine: Mars trine Jupiter and both **sextile Sun/Moon. The small talent trine is present in the charts of many famous and creative people. With the Mars and Jupiter aspect there is again the energy/motivation for growth into wisdom and now involving the Sun/Moon conjunction that allows us deeper insight into that which is beyond our perception of this physical world. There is creative energy to realize that we are capable of a great deal more!

3. Pluto square Venus exact: Pluto, the planet of elimination and transformation directly challenges Venus the goddess of desire, relationship and values to desist from personal gratification, of relying predominantly on material things in favour of our deeper desire for the unseen, unmanifest expression wherein we discover peace. Pluto demands and Venus may want to charm her way out of the inevitable. It is simply a matter of ‘time’ before she relents to the all pervasive power of Pluto.

One may wonder how, during the relatively few days of a New Moon, I shall accomplish all that I envision. It is enough that at this time I plant the seeds. Planting the seeds and allowing nature to do the rest. Maybe once in awhile I pull weeds.

“Once you know with absolute certainty that nothing can trouble you but your own imagination, you come to disregard your desires and fears, concepts and ideas and live by truth alone.” ~Nisargadatta Maharaj

Born April 17, 1897 (double Aries Sun conjunct the ascendant) Nisargadatta was a nondual teacher (his book, I am That) who first became an affluent merchant owning several stores and having a family before intently pursuing deeper spiritual knowing.

*Trine a 120 degree aspect with ease of flow

**Sextile a 60 degree aspect with a little more challenge

Put down distractions…

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“To understand is to stand under which is to look up to which

is a good way to understand.” ~Corita Kent

We tend to be earth bound in our gaze. Tied to detail and the tread mill of the mind constantly attending to our thoughts. Planning, solving, anticipating, deep in thought we proceed with our often sheltered perspective of the world. That as it may be, is part of our experience here which serves a purpose perhaps, until one decides that bogged down by minutia is not the only way to live. We can open up and breathe in the stars and realize the breath is a common denominator as is the star or the sky or a tree or that moment of darkness that inevitably drives us inward that we might reach outward to ultimately go deeper within.

It all begins when we put down our distractions and look.

“Look upward, and there is the sky of the clear light timeless purity, the spontaneous, unproduced illumination brighter than the sun and clearer than the moon, beyond this, there is no view, no meditation, no deeds to be done, young man, your mind is freed in the vast expanse of the blue sky above.” ~ from the Memoirs of Jigme Lingpa as quoted in Dreams and Truths from the Ocean of Mind by Sogan Rinpoche Tulku*

The most interesting experiences are available to us when we look, just look. The up suggests that the looking occurs without judgment; that we free ourselves of the ordinary way of seeing and sorting to really open up to the view. Allow our selves space to breathe and expand into the unseen. Glide between the known and the unknown. Love the feeling of not knowing. Embrace the potential.

“Climb up a ladder to reach the sky.

Try ladders of different heights.

See if the sky looks any closer

from a higher ladder.” ~Yoko Ono, Sky Piece VII

New Moon December 14–Sagittarius 23 degrees 8 minutes @ 8:17 a.m. PT

The last new moon of the year during which we may feel exuberance, enthusiasm, dynamic euphoria and profound trust. The way of things to come? These feelings relate to the sign of the Archer, Sagittarius ruled by the planet Jupiter, of vision, expansion, growth, wisdom and seeking, stretching, travelling into new territory if it affords a glimpse of the indefinable Truth.

The Archer with his arrow pointed skyward shows the way as the journey continues into a new year.

This new moon is at 23 degrees. Just 3-4 degrees away from exact conjunction with the Galactic Center. Excuse me for borrowing heavily for this article. This article written by astrologer Melanie Reinhart (Chiron and the Healing Journey and Incarnation: The Four Angles and the Moon’s Nodes) for Astrodienst puts it all quite succinctly.

Awakening…

When the last five degrees of Sagittarius are stimulated by transiting planets, a process of awakening is initiated. The arrow of the centaur points ‘beyond what we know’, and at the same time refer us symbolically to ‘what we have always known’ in our inner depths. These intimations have a strong ‘felt sense’ but are not easily verbalised or quantified. A time of accelerated spiritual development occurs, with its attendant life challenges which may include rapid change, separations, crisis, illness and stress as outmoded ideas are released. Phil Sedgwick likens this to a ‘defragging’ process of our mental ‘hard drives’!

Expect a major ‘life-review’ of a very particular kind. Density, opaqueness and blockages within the mind the soul are being spun off, as in a centrifuge. This is a perhaps useful image for the Galactic Centre – a centrifuge – where everything is spun away from the dark centre, revealing an empty space.

This ‘empty space’ is where we are receptive to Grace, and like the black holes said to reside at the core of the galaxy, it generates the substance which will birth the new, individually and collectively. www.astro.com/astrology/aa_article170503_e.htm

These moments leading us one to the next feel like exiting the forest for the wide open spaces of rolling meadows where eventually, with little to distract us, we run free. The thoughts, that like a drum beat command us, have become a distant, barely audible tapping.

At this new moon we might also consider the environment in which Jupiter, ruler of Sagittarius finds itself in the chart. In conjunction to Saturn all of Jupiter’s good graces are focused toward responsible and discerning, practical application. Jupiter is expansion. Saturn offers the wisdom to grow and expand minus ego gratification. Both planets move into Aquarius from Capricorn within days of each other. (Saturn December 18 and Jupiter December 20)

This bodes well for the development of what’s to come. as we will continue to look up toward Truth that serves humanity. Rules may be broken in favor of the vision that we, as a collective, hold for the continuation of the unfolding. Aquarius, with ruler Uranus, regularly acts to illuminate the darkness leaving no stone unturned. The Waterbearer shares his treasure with all, equally.

Jupiter and Saturn are closer together than they have been in 800 years and will appear to almost merge as we view them in the night sky. This occurs most precisely on the 21st, winter solstice, the day when we can turn our attention inward and reflect upon deeper connections, deeper meaning, deeper awareness. The heart, the deepest aspect of our physical form is the target for our deepest desire.

Love will flow in trickles, in streams, in torrents.

Another outstanding feature of this chart is an exact (to the minute) inconjunct/quincunx to the Sun/Moon from Black Moon Lilith. We might look at this point (BLM is a point in space where the Moon’s shadow cast toward the Earth ends) as similar to the black hole lying at the center of the galactic center. Therein is our emptiness, our knowing that we know not—the undefinable. BML at 150 degrees from Sun/Moon suggests that it is through freedom from attachment, from being immersed in the illusion that we find the liberation that the Archer seeks.

Answers lie in the darkness of the void.

Sagittarius is a centaur a mythical creature that is half man, half horse—wild and free at heart. These are qualities associated with this sign. Very quick, capable and sociable. Blended are the intuitive nature of the horse to protect the herd and the thinking capacity of the human to extend. It is a fine combination that we have an opportunity to access during the increased dark hours in these few days leading up Solstice.

We can approach it as a heroes journey combining individual insight with what will ultimately be of greatest service to the collective. The Fool in the Tarot, looks skyward as he takes his leap of faith, trusting without any further information to guide him. He finds his ‘security’ in having divested himself of all worldly possessions. He no longer has anything to focus on below his lifted gaze. He is indeed a hero leading us from a microcosmic view to a macrocosmic perspective.

One last aspect of this new moon chart is the exact trine of Mars in Aries to Mercury in Sagittarius. Bold and deliberate, passionate expression to guide us further toward Truth. Are we free to experience all that is available to us or are we limited by the structures that surround and define us? The mind breaks through constraints, revels in vast open space.

We have glimpsed freedom. We yearn for freedom. All we need do is remain here, free.

“Once you have tasted the taste of sky, you will forever look up.” ~Leonardo da Vinci

May we soar into this New Year unfettered, Self aware and with ease and grace. Happy holidays and a peace-full new year!

What’s so Great about Stillness?

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“Now you tell me, where does stillness end? My body has very much of an end. This video has an end. The day will end. But when you connect with stillness you connect with endlessness.” ~John Butler, Spiritual Unfoldment

In Every tiny crevasse, and then tinier, 
or in the most grandiose, 
In the unborn, the aged and dying, 
There is eternal stillness; 
that beyond time 'speaks' without words, 
permeates without touching, 
Is, without a single thought.

In these days with Mars having just gone retrograde in its own sign of Aries (September 9-November 14) we have opportunity to look at what anger is and how it might be utilized to fuel expansion and deeper awareness.

“Of course, the human mind has both positive and negative sides. But the negative is transient, very temporary. Your up and down emotions are like clouds in the sky; beyond them, the real, basic human nature is clear and pure.” ~Llama Yeshe

The mantra for Aries “I seek (my) Self. Whether we are engaged in deeper reflections upon the individual self or seek knowing of the undivided Self navigating the terrain of hidden emotion can assist us in becoming less burdened, lighter and freer to experience peace. In the end both serve one purpose, freedom to Be.

As the pioneer of the zodiac Aries leads the way, is the torch bearer for self discovery. No matter where one is in that journey this time now gives us motivation to observe, reflect and ultimately to express in a way that manifests as deeper understanding of the human relationship to the undivided Reality.

If Aries is adept at survival and we elevate that potential we may ask the question “what is it that always survives?” regardless of the disasters that visit humanity throughout the ages what is it that is, not subject to the elements or ‘time’? That is the Reality we approach as all beliefs in the transient dissolve.

The deeper we look into self more and more of the self disappears. We are being urged at this time to discover what lies beyond all emotion, longing; longing for love, or money or even peace. When we know ourselves as That all longing desists.

Aries retrograde has the confidence, the courage, the determination to swim further and further away from the known and into the depths of the unknown in order to know Truth. If anger is an emotion that needs to be observed and expressed along the way it shall be approached with indomitable spirit. Aries at its very highest is the flame of spirit on Earth, shining brightly for all of us; pointing the way to peace.

Now?

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“Letting go is not a one time event; it is a letting go as long as there is anything left to which one clings. For anything to which we cling is not our sacred self.” ~Robert Wolfe, Living Nonduality

There may be a dozen excuses why at this moment, now, it isn’t possible to wade through the thoughts and dive into the unknown, hands reaching out to feel the emptiness, no expectation of grasping anything and coming up free; empty handed and empty-minded. Now what excuse is there that would deny me everything?

In this moment…

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“You are telling me that you perceive an obstacle on the path. Your idea of a path is itself the obstacle. If the One is omnipresent (:present in all places at all times) your path of improvement–which takes your focus out of the present–is leading you away from what can in this moment be seen!” ~Robert Wolfe, Living Nonduality

We can be saved a great deal of energy by ‘attending’ to the moment. Wherever we are and no matter what may appear to be going on around us, the inhale and exhale, of the billions, in unison, of the One, delivers to us everything we need. In this moment therefore, there is nothing I want. Without filters everything has no limitations. Without resistance the immaterial is seen to reside as easily as the material is ‘seen to reside’. In other words, all in all at all times–what more can there be?

“It needs practice, like anything else. In the same way that you have to build up your muscles to carry heavy weights, you need to practice with consciousness to see things more deeply.” ~Russel Williams, Not I, not Other than I 

From the Obvious to the Subtle

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“Our major struggles end up being with our own inner fears, insecurities and destructive patterns and not with outside forces.” ~Michael A. Singer, The Untethered Soul

Coming down from Franceschi Park recently there was a doe descending a slope. When my car came round the corner she quickened her pace and disappeared into the bushes. It was a surprising sight somehow. A large wild animal roaming free. It has been years since I have seen a deer in Santa Barbara. The occurrence startled me into contemplating its symbolic meaning. Especially at this time of the New Moon and in light of current turmoil.

In Celtic tradition there were two aspects of the deer: the feminine element, called Eilid in Gaelic, the female red deer, symbolizing femininity, gentleness and grace. It was believed that the deer called to men from the kingdom of the fairies to free them from the trappings of the earthly world and taking them to the world of magic. https://www.faena.com

It was a bit how I felt. Perhaps wanting to disappear into the foliage to discover what has given these seemingly delicate but mighty animals the ability to survive in ever changing circumstances. It must be magic! Though humans have the capacity to think we too are animals. When we stop thinking and tune into deeper waters we are guided with ease and grace toward the unknown. This may seem mysterious and it is somehow magical that Life will unfold without us ‘doing’ anything.

Deer symbolize the powers in nature that are not easily subdued. They are native to every continent except Australia, thus they are able to adapt very well to many habitats. They represent instinctual energy, independence, and regeneration, which stems from their antlers being shed and re-grown each year. This instinctual energy that deer represent tells us to trust our gut reactions…http://www.purespirit.com

With the constant flow of information that comes at us from many directions we may seldom pay heed to the deeper waters of the intuitive faculties. So many distractions! These days it may seem to require Herculean effort to still the mind and be in silence. Deer are quiet. At times they take on the cloak of invisibility. There she was in that moment, agile, moving with great ease. Then gone in the next moment. Leaving her message rather indelibly etched upon my inner eye. Everything is possible when we are irresistent to change. Animals do not think they know anything; are guided with perfection based on their wholly instinctive natures. We too have that capacity.

Deer also symbolizes the gentle, enticing lure of new adventures. Should a deer come into your life, Ted Andrews tells us to look for new perceptions and degrees of perceptions to grow and expand…http://www.purespirit.com

Beliefs are being examined and those that are limiting are being discarded. The approaching swell has the power to diminish all that has stood in time to guide us in ways that have created the under utilization of our truest qualities. Heaped upon them is fear.

Deer beckons us to go deeper into the forest, into the mystery that lies deep within. There in the quiet, the stillness we may be and contemplate nothing in particular and witness the self/ego disappear as the energy of ancient solitude settles into the bones. With a sigh, an exhale I realize I am that, this infinitude of peace.

New Moon: July 20th 28 degrees Cancer 27 minutes 10:33 a.m.

Not much fanfare around this New Moon. No eclipse or solstice or exact conjunction to any important angles or fixed stars as we had in June. It is the second new Moon in Cancer this year. June 20th saw the solar/lunar conjunction at 0 degrees Cancer 21 minutes. The alpha and the omega we could say here. In the beginning (June) the moon was influenced by the moon, ruler of the first decant of Cancer while the ending (July), the last decant, is represented by Neptune natural ruler of Pisces the last of the water signs.

Moon is our emotional, instinctive, instinctual self—in June, new moon in Cancer, we received a large dose of energy focusing on this area of experience. Neptune now alleviates the burden of self examination due to emotional upheaval, in favor of letting go of all things personal to feel the true lack of separation between “this one” and all else. We are offered a glimpse of the magic of freedom from suffering. The instinct is to be without boundary, without need to classify or identify. To not take things so personally.

In the July New Moon chart there is a long trine—8 degrees between Sun/Moon and Neptune. Neptune only gently nudging these luminaries—a blessing and a whispering; to discover the treasures that lie within.

Neptune exactly trines the asteroid Vesta at 20 degrees Cancer elevating the notion of our task to one that serves the heart of humankind. Vesta is associated with the vestal virgins of Rome, the keepers of the flame. They tended the hearth that symbolically was the heart of Rome.

Vesta is where we find our deepest desires kindled; that are kept alive through great moments of victory or times of distress and devastation. Always alive within us is ‘spirit’ that which survives when all else ceases to exist, it is. Neptune and Vesta energy touches us in such a way that we cannot not sense the fire of spirit burning within. Each life is being altered according to the extent of openness we each have at this time. The cup cannot receive more than its capacity. The rest would be lost.

In exact opposition to the Sun/Moon is Saturn in Capricorn. A heavy hand to discipline, to teach us our lessons? Or the mature hand of wisdom that guides us toward a deeper sense of responsibility for the well being of all—not the victim but a part of the healing. And thank goodness for Saturn in Capricorn! It is the rudder that keeps the ship upright. It is the grounding that keeps us ‘heads above the water’. Neptune is in Pisces and Sun/Moon, Vesta and Mercury are all in water. Saturn provides an earthly anchor lest we feel in danger of being swept away. That of course is the thought, “I will be swept away, annihilated.” Saturn asks us to allow for old patterns to be swept away and to trust that what lies underneath the old structure is our greatest sense of security, our salvation.

The sign of Cancer with Moon rulership has not only to do with nurturing and nourishing the physical and emotional bodies but also the ‘soul’. This we do by diving into source.

The Moon XVIII of the major Arcana in Tarot rules the night the unconscious and represents our quest for freedom from the tyranny of the mind. It requires courage to plumb these depths, the darkness can be daunting. Fears are sequestered here. And yet, once we recognize that these fears are not of our making, that they are the product of conditioning we are freed from their grasp and free to gather the riches of these depths—stillness, peace, quiet that is the soul’s domain.

“In the stillness of the mind I saw myself as I am – unbound.” Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Deeper than thought…Breathe

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There is one way of breathing that is shameful and constricted. Then, there’s another way: a breath of love that takes you all the way to infinity. ~Rumi

Even in this apparent chaos and turmoil, in this vital time of great change, letting go and feeling into a new skin, we can breathe. We can inhale deeply into and beyond all that seems disruptive, deceptive and disorienting. The inhale carries us into the quiet, the stillness unperturbed by any noise of this material world. We can inhale so deeply that our focus on anything external to the self ceases. We become captivated (in a sense) by a boundless peace; a knowing that accompanies this, that ‘this’ is Truth. We slowly become uninhibited; shed daily experience like water from a duck’s back and are free to embrace presence, the present moment, every minute detail existing here but previously invisible to the preoccupied mind. With the deepest inhale illusion is shattered and love cascades in an endless outpouring of Life. It is as simple as that, one breath to reacquaint one self with eternal, infinite now.

The practice is simply this: keep coming back to your breath during the day. Just take a moment. This will give your mind a steadiness and your breath a gracefulness…. There’s so much to let go of, isn’t there? Your nostalgia and your regrets. Your fantasies and your fears. What you think you want instead of what is happening right now. Breathe. ~Rodney Yee, Yoga: The Poetry of the Body

In Praise of Silence

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“A day of silence can be a pilgrimage. A day of silence can help you listen to the Soul play its marvelous lute and drum.” ~Hafiz

So much is being said about these days and what they mean…really, do we know? Our words are supposition, digging in the past and projecting into the future. Neither are effective. Words seem inadequate to describe unfamiliar circumstances the effect of which has us occasionally spiraling out of control.

We are not in control. We do not know. And yet, we are not victims. Whatever goes on here, we are all in the same soup. We create, we experience—we react—we learn—we evolve. No matter what the circumstances we are presented with, we always have the option of creating with our best foot forward. In challenging situations human beings are very good at giving their best.

Most of us see this as an opportunity not to feel that we must go to battle but to take a look at whatever fears we may have based on the current situation. As much as we may miss connections with our loved ones, friends and family, we honour this time as a reprieve from the routine that may keep us focused externally. It is a time to ‘abandon’ our thoughts, give our selves space to have clarity; to listen to the silence. In silence there is no suffering. In silence we find there is no separation. Even in this current circumstance of needing to physically separate, we find there is no separation. We come to rest between the thoughts, a length of time that eventually has no measurement. There is only Now.

“Now is quieter than the mind.” ~Adyashanti (April 5th livestream)

Silence, though ever present is not what we are accustomed to. Silence though, is peace. It provides a moment in which to notice and feel into the inexhaustible, infinite nature of Reality. A moment here is enough to carry us forward to further inner inquiry. We are pulled, called to go deeper. We seek Truth.

“What am I between my thoughts? Where do I end and the trees begin, the sky…” ~John Butler

It is very possible to side line our attention to all the goings on, the noise of our human community and listen instead to the stillness, the silence. Reflection occurs and realization happens. Realization that the ‘me’ I thought I was exists as a thought. In the silence I do not find ‘me’. Me is what stands between one and freedom.

“Me stops us from going deeper. When we listen deeply we forget about me.” ~John Butler

Recently I came across the videos of John Butler and his expression of Truth after his many years of meditation and inner focus. His way of communicating may be of interest to some. Included at the end of this article is a link to one of his short videos, Silence is never boring. John also shares his very simple way of Being that promotes listening, looking and feeling, a meditation that allows for deepening. That in another video. The basic steps I share here.

According to John: Keep your feet on the ground. Feel the weight of your hands on your thighs. Look at what is around you, take in all that is in your environment. Listening, looking and feeling. Being the observer and being aware that I am the observer we become aware of infinite presence. This stilling the body and the mind in a very simple way helps create peace and calm as does any form of meditation; sitting with what is and noticing that.

“True knowledge comes through revelation.” ~J. Butler

New Moon April 22 Taurus 3 degrees 24 minutes @ 7:26 p.m. PDT

Conjunct with Uranus and Square with Saturn, expect the unexpected and emotional ‘unrest’

How can we best utilize this New Moon in Taurus? What might our intention be to assist the realization of the vision we nurture, wherever one is on their path. We can look at the qualities of Moon in Taurus as a reference point. Moon in Taurus people appreciate stability, to feel secure and to know that they are cared for. Taurus, ruled by Venus (Roman), Aphrodite (Greek) is the sign in which we learn what has value to us and where we seek pleasure and happiness. Taurus, an earth sign is most often regarded as that which acquires all things material.

However, as Aphrodite was born of the sea, from the remains of her father Uranus’s genitalia, there is a deeper aspect to this planet’s expression that is taken into consideration at this time as Uranus is conjunct to this New Moon. Uranus is known as the ‘awakener’ in astrology, as its presence is responsible for significant change—revolution for evolution. Uranus disrupts the usual in favour of freedom to Be. In order to Be we shed the accumulated conditioning that has encapsulated this planet for—a long time.

‘To be that which you cannot, not be.’ ~Bob Nickel

Uranus will direct attention to a deeper level of Taurus ability that relates to the five senses. Taurus is sensitive to the feeling nature, listening, observing, smelling, tasting and touching. These heightened aspects in human beings gives one a greater sense of security in the world, knowing what dangers one might need to deal with. When we give deep attention to our senses, as is possible at any time but more so during this New Moon, we discover a new ‘area’ accessible to all. Here there is Truth when we experience depth of being through our senses. We gradually let go of the material to achieve peace. Detachment for Taurus is a healthy achievement. Through detachment we eliminate emotional limitations.

To assist in this process is Saturn, the planet of discipline, focus and work squaring Sun, Moon and Uranus. The taskmaster is overseeing our travail to make sure that we dutifully approach the acknowledgment of patterns and conditioning that inhibit greater awareness.

Taurus is earth, the farmer, those tuned into nature with a natural ability to appreciate how all in nature unfolds without the need for thought. If we stand and listen deeply, no matter where we are, we can hear the rhythm that moves everything. This New Moon can guide us deeper to a permanent security known through ever present interconnectedness—no separation.

Also in this New Moon chart, Point of Fortune in Scorpio opposition to the New Moon. Here is another call to deepen. Scorpio wants depth and to connect with the vital nature of existence, the essence. Scorpio does not abide with pretense. The Point of Fortune is where we find our greatest sense of fulfillment. Venus, ruler of Taurus is being called upon to exhibit what lies within not just the beauty without, for which she is most often appreciated.

“You want to overthrow the established order and transform it into something better because you know that true security can only be found by being in touch with the source of life.” ~Jessica Davidson from Point of Fortune in Scorpio

In conclusion, this New Moon offers us an avenue for deepening, emotional growth and realizing an imperturbable security with which we proceed with greater confidence and sense of well being. As we are exploring new territory at this time, our vision is to be open to the unfolding of ‘this one’, the deeper expression of what ‘I’ have known to be true thus far. Sharing the light within that so beautifully illuminates this world in which we live.

Video: John Butler-Silence is never boring (one of his lovely offerings)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SVxdnE84bM

Letting Go…

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“In ignorance we strive to maintain the illusion. In innocence we let go.”

Often we hear that we need to Let Go! What does that mean? In innocence we are without story or conditioning. Without conditioning we have no beliefs that deny our true nature. Begin to know Self as that limitless, unconditioned, story-less, infinite and eternal Essence. Letting go is less about ‘doing’ anything as it is about simply not attaching to our thoughts. The ‘goal’ is less about letting go than it is about allowing. Allowing for what is, rather than about what we habitually identify with. It is about Being—there is nothing with which to identify. All that we identify with consists of thoughts from the past. If we put all of our memories in a box who am I? A place to begin an inquiry into that which has no Real existence. Eventually we arrive at the question for which there is but one answer and feel a deep, profound sense of peace. There is only “that”.

“When you are deprived of all your attributes, then His qualities become your qualities.” ~Al Hallaj from The Essence of Sufism by John Baldock*

Not being attached allows for that which occurs in the moment but does not interfere with or influence the next moment. That is when we know the freedom of experiencing every moment as it is. Letting go is a gift we give our selves to live life as Truth. There is an ease and joy to that which gives us a greater desire for clarity and simplicity. A gift we give ourselves coming from a place of LOVE and compassion. Not something to be demanded of the self or an expected accomplishment. If so we may end up disappointed and/or judging the self.

It is not a goal to be achieved, letting go, it is what naturally occurs when I know what I am not. If we can put it into words, what I think I am, that, I am not.