…everything that is offered to us, a smorgasbord, from which we nibble and sip and indulge our every whim so that eventually we are satiated and there is not much left that we yearn for except what has always seemed to elude us –it may look like the old man or the old woman sitting quietly by the window gazing out at nothing, upon whom grace and inner peace have settled. You turn around briefly for another glance at what might have caught your eye and when you return for a second look there is only a child skipping carefree, out the door, heart in hand.
New Moon May 28, 2014 in Gemini…Finding the Words
New Moon May 28, 2014 @ 7 degrees 21 minutes Gemini
2:40 p.m. EDT 11:40 a.m. PDT
Finding the Words…
…that simply express–what deeply motivates you as you interact on a daily basis. Gemini can find numerous words to describe any situation. Like the crow they are attracted to everything shiny and like a rat they can collect; for Gemini moon collecting information that offers a sense of emotional security. As there is a square to this Sun/Moon from Neptune in Pisces ‘mere’ words will prove to be inadequate and your quest for stability will be unsuccessful if you continue to think that what supports awakening has anything to do with what can be found outside of one self. Information contributes to building structure that on the surface appears to support our existence but in no way expresses the truth of Being.
At this time the illusion that we have constructed will sag, exhibit holes, deteriorate as the mind, that Gemini is famous for utilizing so adeptly, sees clearly its own limitations, dismantles it self allowing the light to permeate all things. All things are light and in that there is no separation. The mind rests and words become a tool for sharing the simplicity of what is, a very beautiful expression of that which motivates us on a deep level—inner peace. One word in the stillness has greater effect than any speech delivered from a scholarly pulpit. A single drop of water creates a ripple across the surface of a pond that like a mirror reflects to us who we truly are.
With the mind at rest during this New Moon or at least, discovering what perpetuates disturbance and nurtures weakness/fear, a clearing out occurs as balance and peace spread across terrain that once rose and fell with alarming abruptness. The roller coaster ride ends. There is no longer a desire to experience the sensation of weightlessness that two opposing forces create. For this to happen, the opposing forces must be in perfect balance, a very temporary condition in duality. The gift of Gemini is the opportunity to realize that perfection is, and balance is—it is duality seen for what it is and knowing that that is not reality.
A trine from Mars in Libra at this time lends energy to this recognition; to the ‘understanding’ that what we are not, the body, leads to not a complete demise of action but reveals that action occurs—not as a result of anything ‘I’ do but as the result of the constant eternal flow of “that”, our true nature. There is “that”, includes time/space, they too are relative. The freedom that results, the liberty to Be, is peace, is love, is beauty and gratitude for this awareness is eternal.
With Mercury at 29 degrees Gemini we can be sure that realization is the last bit of information that this sign assimilates. And with Venus at 29 degrees Aries we are aware of what truly motivates the individual here. These two planets hand in hand stimulate a powerful desire to overcome our attachment to who we think we are—this mind, this body. We realize the truth of what we have been missing that replaces this notion that I can get it through anything this mind or body does. Words do not remotely enter into an understanding of that and the mind has no idea of what that is.
Good Monday Morning…for the love of…
“Listen, for Hafiz knows, nothing evolves us like love.”–Hafiz from, A Year With Hafiz
…knowing that every nest is lined with gold;
that every one of us has the same opportunity
to sprout wings and capture the sun.
Each of us knows that
the other would die for us.
Good Monday Morning…for the Love of…
Let my soul smile through my heart and my heart smile through my eyes, that I may scatter rich smiles in sad hearts.”–Paramahansa Yogananda (courtesy jonroumain.com)
…sharing the richness of the moment and all its inseparable beauty; instantly joining the effervescence of light and joy that illuminate this experience of pure Being. Let us join hands and spread the wealth!
Full Moon in Scorpio
Full Moon May 14, 2014 @ 23 degrees Scorpio 54 minutes
03:16 p.m. EDT 12:16 p.m. PDT
With that Moon Language
Admit something: Everyone you see, you say to them, “Love me.”
Of course you do not say this out loud;
otherwise someone would call the cops.
Still though, think about this, this great pull in us to connect.
Why not become the one who lives with a full moon in each eye
that is always saying, with that sweet moon language,
what every other eye in the world is dying to hear?
–from a year with Hafiz, Daniel Landinsky
Keen focus on what matters or what does not matter. Moon in Scorpio (conjunct Saturn, 4 degrees) opposition Sun in Taurus; if we feel like we need something for emotional stability our premise for this belief will be challenged. Tugged at by old insecurities, the basic considerations of the astrological 8th house, the cycle of humanity, birth, death, rebirth and regeneration, may loom tall on the agenda for the next several days. Further penetration to the core of our beliefs and that which may limit us.
Until at last we arrive at the shining truth– what is here is love. We realize that; that which we have always yearned for, we have always been. Only at a ‘deeper’ level of knowing do we grasp this truth. It is when everything else falls away and we have no illusions that we are not, that we are liberated. This is a gift of Scorpio and this Full Moon chart. There is little wiggle room. The wound is finally cauterized, the wound being our emotional neediness, by recognizing the impermanence of material reality in exchange for the knowing of unlimited, eternal ‘Reality’.
If the energy to perform habitual distractive antics eludes you this is part of the challenge, to sit with whatever may be uncomfortable on the way to realizing nothing matters–‘nothing really matters’ means a space in which not anything is a problem (Robert Wolfe, livingnonduality.org)– except the ‘truth’.
It may feel like road rash, sound like nails on a blackboard, taste like battery acid and look like the final scene from Braveheart but on the other side of this is stillness, perpetual calm–the absence of suffering.
Scorpio is strongly motivated to succeed and rarely balks at a challenge. So, whatever test you may be presented with at this time will be victoriously surmounted. In fact dig deep and deeper. Whatever the issue, you will find the strength to ‘defeat the enemy’ and move beyond into silence where the mind is not in control and peace prevails. I am “that” is all that arises and that is everything.
With gratitude we embrace this Full Moon experience.
Good Monday Morning…It is the Same.
A Different View
Pale grey skies
pierced by red shingled roofs
and a line of trees,
ragged silhouette upon a soft horizon.
In between here and there,
metal towers carry rows of wire for miles
across narrow strips of vacant land,
a slice of green in an otherwise homogenous zone
of concrete and pavement and compliance.
Still, the ocean roars,
the late afternoon breeze still brings with it
an invitation to roam;
to discover that there is nothing between here and there
except the knowing of love and beauty
that is the nature of everything–
never mind the appearance to me while glancing over this very different view.
It is the same.
Sunrise Pickering along Lake Ontario
Good Monday Morning…Truth is…
Truth is blossoming love, flowing freely and embracing all of us in warmth and a continuous feeling of Be-longing. Love is the truth of a touch that doesn’t stop even when we are separated by many miles, our hearts remain connected in support of all we do here–no matter what appears to be going on around us. Everything is motivated by love. Love is recognizing that ‘you and I’ are one and though I may project my concerns and fears on you, it is part of the journey toward love of Self and Self realization.
In gratitude for your continued presence and willingness to participate in the intimacy that unites all of us.
It Felt Love
How did the rose
Ever open its heart
And give to this world
All its beauty?
It felt the encouragement of light
Against its Being,
Otherwise,
We all remain too frightened.–Hafiz
New Moon April 2014: In Adoration of Venus
New Moon April 28 11:14 p.m. PDT /April 29 02:14 a.m. EDT
@ 8 degrees Taurus 52 minutes
Selling Your Art
At the very least you are a vital cell in a cosmic holy body.
And everyone works so hard no matter what they do.
There is no place for you to go but onward into a greater freedom.
The poor man rarely parties because of so many cares.
We should put an end to that.
Knowledge can be pawned for a good sum.
Find some truth and mix it with your talents.
If you can get the balance right between you and others,
and you and death, shops will start selling your art.
And maybe even a masterpiece you will become,
Your every gesture.—Hafiz (from A Year with Hafiz by Daniel Ladinsky)
New moon in Taurus is about the grace of Being so that every relationship is experienced as a gesture of the truth that surrounds us all in an intimate embrace. We ‘love’ the absolute simplicity of flowing without destination, without thought free of the mind to rest in stillness, to abide in deep peace. Suffering is the result of resistance to the very easy act of surrender. What could be less stressful than resting in this moment without expectation? Embrace the truth and slip into the ease of Being that which you are.
Venus is about luxuriating in the ease of knowing Self and attracting same. This is beauty, creativity; a romance that defies temporal existence. And Venus in Pisces dissolves into all that is as effortlessly as she arose from the depths of the sea. Her home is boundless, unlimited and offered to all just as we are ‘offered’ the air we breathe and we take it in just as easily as we ‘take in’ our true nature. Why does the mind prevent us from seeing this? Because here, the mind has no jurisdiction. It is seen that we are not in need of the mind, that we move and function regardless of its activity. What joy in that!
Venus requires no words for conversation or thoughts to inspire but is inspired by Being. Being is inspiration, passion, relationship, art—love and joy. We taste the beauty of Being with our human mouths, see the radiant expression of “that” in every form, touch intimacy, smell Reality and hear the silence of life in accord. Venus is so much more than she appears superficially and why she stands naked before all—do we dare delve into what lies beneath the porcelain exterior? Can we move beyond the physical pleasure to which we cling, thinking we are the body/mind, to know the true nature of our Self?
New moon, no reflection encourages us to go within to find our answers. Self-inquiry is so simple. It involves only this right here right now and nothing more. And though we think we know, we know nothing because the mind does not understand. This is the beauty and grace of Venus. She knows nothing but experiences with the utmost presence and radiates “that” from within. Love and happiness flow.
Happiness is your nature.
It is not wrong to desire it.
What is wrong is seeking it outside
when it is inside.—Sri Ramana Maharshi
Happy new moon in Taurus. Bring it home!
.
Good Monday Morning…Here
In order to properly understand the big picture, everyone should fear becoming mentally clouded and obsessed with one small section of truth.–Xun Zi
From our tiny focus is the entire universe and infinity. “You are here”.
Good Monday Morning…Appearances
The position of several planets at this time forms a grand cross. This can appear to be causing discomfort. Rather than to succumb to what appears to be happening, remain as you are and ‘this too shall pass’.
“As an organism, every single thing which you experience is experienced within awareness. And to the extent to which awareness itself can be experienced, it too is merely another experience.
It is not “you”–an object of awareness–which is seeing through your eyes, it is this ever-present be-ing. It is not you which is aware of thoughts–objects in awareness–it is again, awareness. Anything which you can think of that you are is simply objectified in awareness. So clearly it is the awareness which is the you that perceives, not the objectifications in awareness identified as characteristics of your self. There is no self outside of awareness”. –Robert Wolfe, Abiding in Nondual Awareness
Be Still 