Don’t Bunt - Aim Out of the Ball Park

One of the ways in which we hurt ourselves on the spiritual path is to define ourselves as seekers, students, or addicts. For a time, we are, of course, looking and learning - after that, however, we must acknowledge the truth of our wholeness.

Everyone on the planet is a master of something. The question is not “Are you a master?” but “What are you a master of?”. We have the ability to succeed at whatever we put our mind to, humanity’s challenge is not that we lack the ability to succeed, but that we have applied our skills to things that hurt us.

I am reminded of the following story; A shop owner hired a man he did not know was a drug addict. The shopowner loaned this man money that he promised to repay and gave him privileges that he abused. When the shop owner confronted the man, he manufactured some of the most convincing lies the shop owner had ever heard. When the shop owner went to this man with facts that clearly pointed to his lack of integrity, the hired man would quickly and deftly come up with excuses that were believable. Eventually, the hired man stole a few items and left without notice. In retrospect, the shop owner realized he was dealing with a master? A master liar. This fellow was also a master artist, he could have been a great success, but most of his energies went down the drain of his addiction.

Many of us have mastered drama, urgency, lack, worry, and/or failed relationships. We are able to take a situation with great potential and find a way to undermine it, now that is truly mastery! Why not take the skills we have used to hurt ourselves and apply them to our healing. Harness the force of intelligent love and build the life we choose rather than the one we fear. Use the innate wisdom we were given to make the planet a wonderful place to live, this is clearly within our capacity. 

Moving Forward

I don't normally blog Astrology but I found this to be of interest, being it's in keeping with the healthy notion of moving forward. So here it is for all you astrology, (and would be astrology) buffs, enjoy!

North Node in Sagittarius and South Node in Gemini

03 March 2011 to 29 August 2012

The North Node of the Moon in our natal chart shows us the direction our Soul is wanting to move toward in this incarnation. It challenges us to leave past patterns and conditioning behind, symbolized by the South Node, and embrace a new way of being. Whatever astrological sign the North Node is in the South Node is in the opposite sign and together they show where we will be focused on the new, while releasing the old. The expression "been there, done that, don't need to do that again", is very appropriate for the shadow side of the South Node. Instead we want to embrace the knowledge gained in past lives and let it become wisdom that guides us as we learn the North Node lessons.

The Nodes change signs about every 18½ months and they always have backward motion. Since August 21, 2009 we have been working on Capricorn lessons, creating a new society, changing the dynamics of our family traditions, and being in our spiritual power in the world. Capricorn is a symbol for Soul Purpose. On March 03 the North Node will enter Sagittarius, the South Node Gemini. They will be visiting this pair until 29 August 2012. The last time they visited these signs was August 01, 1992 to February 01, 1994. It is helpful to look back and see what was happening in your life at that time for the lessons are back again.

Here is what the North Node in Sagittarius is asking you to focus on:

• To seek a spiritual path that allows you to discover and live your truth.
• To see what is happening in your life and the world from your Higher Consciousness.
• To seek experiences that free your spirit and allows you to manifest your vision.
• To develop your intuitive wisdom and listen to what others are saying beneath the surface. Hearing what they really mean.
• To connect with your Spiritual Teachers, both physical and metaphysical, and Divine Guidance.
• To believe in your true self and the inter connectedness of all belief systems. To let go of any dogma that prevents you from seeing yourself in the other.
• The Animal Totems for the North Node in Sagittarius are Elk - community, and Owl - wisdom.

The South Node in Gemini is asking you to release the following:

• Indecisiveness and scatteredness.
• The logical mind disregarding intuitive knowing.
• Wanting and needing more information before making a decision, creating delays.
• Skimming across the surface of life and not looking at the deeper meaning.
• Looking outside yourself for answers and not listening to your inner guidance.
• Talking too much and not hearing others.
• Being caught in duality and not being able to find the balance between left and right.

The points for the South Node in Gemini are the shadow aspects of the sign. The Animal Totem for Gemini is the Deer Tribe - strength, adaptability, sensitivity, and unconditional love.  Those are the attributes we are being asked to embrace with this Nodal journey through Sagittarius/Gemini.

Beyond the Dark Night

Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil ~ Psalm 23

At some point, everyone passes through a dark night of the soul. This is a difficult time in which we are moving from an old life to a new one, with no apparent security or help in sight. It appears that the old is being taken away by a hand larger than our own, and there is no solid ground on which to stand. As old friends or supporters fall away, we feel like misfits in a world that does not understand us. The activities and things that once gave us comfort seem empty or unavailable, and sometimes it appears that all is lost. At such a time, we are called upon to search deep within ourselves for faith.

Although the dark night is painful and harrowing, it is an important and productive time. If you are passing though a dark night, take comfort in the truth that there is a bigger picture than the one you are seeing, a larger hand operating behind appearances. The dark is a time to clear away the old to make way for the new and better. Nothing is taken away that is not replaced with something more valuable. The field is being turned over so that old weeds and dead roots can be dissolved and new seeds sown. Spring is not far behind the winter.

When I have gone through such experiences, this message has come to me loud and clear: Surrender to love. Do not try to fight the changes, and do not try to understand them. In your anxiety, do not attempt to clutch at the old for security; instead, do your best to release what was, and be open to what is to come. Define all the changes as good, and look for their blessings. The day will come when you will look back at such a time and say, “Thank you. ”

This is an excerpt taken from Alan Cohen's meditation book, A Deep Breath of Life

Take the Best and Leave the Rest

My dog Daisy is quite discerning. She eats only what she likes and rejects everything else. If I offer Daisy a piece of celery, she walks away from it. If I give her a slice with peanut butter on it, however, she licks off the peanut butter and leaves the celery.

Take what belongs to you by right of your joy and consciousness, and let the rest go. We are not required to put up with situations we cannot digest. We are required to do what expands and heals us and reject what causes us to contract.

The awakened mind functions as a “ blessing extractor. ” Like a vegetable juicer that grinds up a carrot and spits the pulp out of one chute and sends juice out of another, the blessing extractor takes any experience and draws forth the good from it. It shows you how you can enjoy, learn, or grow from all events and relationships. All else is compost, which goes back into the field to grow next year’s crops.

When looking back on past relationships, we must take the best and leave the rest. Bless the other person, yourself, and the relationship for the gifts you gained and the experience through which you grew. Hold on to your appreciation, and release the regret. It does not belong to you. Recycled properly, the relationship will become fertilizer to grow on.

Similarly, every teacher will offer you wisdom you can use, as well as ideas you do not understand, agree with, or wish to employ. Take the best and leave the rest. There is a nugget of good in every experience. Receive what God wants you to have, and let Spirit take care of the rest.

Make Compassion The Essential Foundation Of Your Personal Philosphy

Feeling guilty about what you've amassed or wallowing in sadness over the plight of the starving won't change things, but making compassion the essential foundation of your philosophy will.

This is one of the most significant ways of initiating the growth of a critical mass.

As that mass grows, kind hearts and actions will realign our planet, like-minded leaders will emerge, and gross inconsistencies will be reduced and eventually eliminated.

Mother Teresa was an outstanding example of how one person's way of seeing the world can change the world itself. When asked how she could continue day after day?, her response, "In each person," she said, "I see the face of Christ in one of his more distressing disguises."

"Walk in the Great Way" by doing charity work or supporting candidates for public office who embody compassionate action. Vow to make a difference on a daily basis throughout your life, which might be as simple as refusing to join in denouncing others or categorizing them as "evil" or "defective."

After all, so many of the wars that currently rage on our planet are rooted in religious hatred that perpetuates the imbalances pointed out in the Tao Te Ching.

In the following excerpt from the Koran, the great prophet Muhammad tells the followers of Islam to practice compassionate action. We can use his teaching to make a daily difference during our own lives.

Behave beneficently toward the neighbor
That is a kinsman and the neighbor that is
a stranger and the companion by your side.

He who behaves ill toward his neighbor is not
a believer, nor can ever be one.

One who eats his fill while his neighbor
is hungry by his side is not a believer.