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Vision, Compassion, Awareness

July 20, 2009

In this day and age, who doesn’t need all the help and guidance we can get?  If you are looking for inspiration and hope, please read below.  This was a recent e-mail I received from the astrologer Lyn Dalebout  at(contabo@earthlink.net).  If you are interested in an accurate and inspiring astrological reading, Lyn is the person to contact.

Posted with Lyn’s permission.

                              Vision, Compassion, Action                          Preventive Preparation for Fall 2009           

 I am writing this from one of my outside offices where I like to do most of my musing.  I am sitting on the banks of Cottonwood Creek, beneath the majesty and power of what is called the Cathedral Group in Grand Teton National Park, my home.  I am fortunate to be able to write from my various boulder boardrooms where I meet with the Wise Ones, or the more solitary streamside desks and lake laptops, better suited for individual contemplation.  The elemental energies I feel as I listen and translate what I hear while visiting these studios of study help me trust the greater guidance assisting us all in this wild ride of 2009.     

 There are two things I’ve become aware of since the Summer Solstice.  One is the intensity and entwinement of two very different astrological influences converging in September, and the other is nature of the kind of spiritual support which is always by our side, helping us in our forward movement. I call them the Invisible Ones, and they are your angels, guides, animals and ancestors which accompany you and support you, whether you know it or not.  They are REALLY there for you now.  You simply have to ask for their assistance.       

I am reminded of when I climbed the Grand Teton a few years back.  There is one point  on the climb in which you find yourself on a narrow ledge.  You are looking between your legs to a fall 2000 feet into Cascade Canyon, or if you take the step bridging the thin passageway, you are on your way to ascension…to finishing the climb to the top of this 13,000+ peak. That’s how it feels to me right now.  Somehow I find comfort in remembering this, knowing the choices I need to face, to not stay long, frozen in fear, but stepping out over the perceived hurdle, at last onto the other side.                                                     

First off, I encourage all readers to check out an article in the June/July issue of Mountain Astrologer by Raymond Merriman, an expert financial astrologer.  It helped to clarify my thinking on what is taking place in September’s symphony of shifts….important reading on the historical contexts of the coming transits, full of warnings and insights that will benefit anyone, your 401K, bolstering your courage to take the risks now, make the changes now, that you know you need to make now…no more delays!        Because we live in a multilayered, multidimensional world, it might be helpful to understand the two crosscurrents I will shortly discuss,  swirling around us.  You can choose which will rule your life, you can decide which one will grab more of your attention and intention.  Yet,  both will be going on around you and your loved ones.  It will require a vigilance of consciousness and a ferocity of focus.      We are currently immersed in what astrologers call a time of “mutual reception”.  Sounds good, right?  We’d all like a little of that in our relationships…in our global community.   Outer planets articulate the evolutionary currents that are always moving us on, honoring one of the great Truths: Everything is Change.   In studying what Pluto, Neptune and Uranus are up to, we can learn where the tide of history has been, learning from misjudgments and mistakes, and where it might be taking us next.  Nothing is predetermined, as we reside in the reverberations and responsibility and of infinite possibilities of choice available to us every moment.  Every single moment.                                 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^         Clarification for non-astrologers or borderline skeptics:  The planets don’t cause things to happen, but in the great mystery of how this Universe seems to work, they  synchronisticly (is that a word?) mirror what’s potentially going to happen.  That’s why it’s better to think of astrology as a language, not a belief system.  Astrology, used as the fine tool it is, articulates the meaning of certain events going on around us and provides a helpful map and way to discuss the repercussions of these events.                                        ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^           I believe most of us are either mystical scientists or scientific mystics.  We all have a left and a right brain (I think). Usually, one side  is more dominant than the other.  We all have to learn the lesson that there is what we can KNOW…the visible, touchable, quantifiable world…. and then there is the Great UNKNOWN, the Universal Mystery, God, the Unseen,  Love (my favorite description).   Equally REAL, but different.  In life, we learn of this through great love or great loss, but I believe it is part of what it means to be human.  No one, thankfully, escapes this teaching.          With Uranus (innovation, inventiveness, revolution, authenticity) and Neptune (imagination, spiritually, art and creativity),Jupiter    (abundance, joy, optimism, hope) and Chiron (healing, leaps of faith, miracles, rainbows) in this harmonious alignment that won’t happen again for 3000 years, we are all being blanketed with supportive energies that will help you reinvent your life based on what truly brings you joy. I imagine this transit is laying the foundation for what will eventually become the Aquarian age, still 400 years away, by the way.          But that doesn’t mean it will be easy. It’s never easy to leap into the void without that 100% guarantee the net is there.  Perhaps this is what we are learning at an accelerated speed in the global economic “downturn”.  When any sense of a safety net is already dissolving before your eyes, be it your pension, your savings, your loss of a home, having  faith and trust  in something larger than your individual self may be the best option for survival.  This downturn is an upturn in feeling our connectedness, in dissolving social classes, in recognizing, painfully, thankfully, how tied we really are to one another.                                               ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^      Adjacent to this positive energy is what might be called a more foreboding, dismantling  astrological transit beginning to align in the heavens.  Even for someone like me, who is the eternal optimist, I  feel I am being asked to prepare for a gathering storm, big, blueblack clouds full of high, intensity winds.  I love storms, a combination of excitement and angst, prayers the lightning won’t strike ME, and a desire to witness its power and mystery.  Winds of change, winds of spirit, winds of cleansing, all wrapped into a building intensity that we’ve lived through before, but not without massive changes and release, restructuring and renovation.  Again, read Raymond Merriman’s article for the historical context.       This soon to be impending cosmic weather event is called a T-square, as in squaring off, as in a conflict….between three people…. like a love triangle…usually not the most pleasant of relationships.   Very different in tone than the mutual reception I described above.  The planets involved in this grandiose geometry are the outer planets of Pluto (death first/rebirth eventually, transformation, transmutation, biology, big kinds of power) and Uranus( revolution, innovation, radical sudden shifts) and Saturn (form, institutions, limitations, restraint, status-quo).  The best way to talk about this is whatever is about to take shape this autumn has links back to the big revolutions of 1968-69 and to Sept 11 2001.   This doesn’t mean history will repeat itself, although that is one possibility. It can also mean we will take the lessons learned and dramatically restructure society in an accelerated, dynamic way. Our choice, both collectively and individually.       T-squares aren’t just about forces fighting. They are also about  a creative tension that can transform itself  into great art, revolutionary movements, and entirely original ways of seeing.  This T-square is literally aligned in the Universe, from the sidereal perspective, in what are called the mutable signs, the signs linked to transitioning  and morphing us all to the next cycle.  The influences are:  Pluto in Sagittarius, the birthing of new vision and a new way of power,  Uranus in Pisces, universal compassion and acceptance for all ways, and  Saturn in Virgo, healing and hard work  to get the job done, to take the necessary,  concrete actions.                                    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^                                      Vision*** Compassion***Action                                   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^         These are the attributes I read  into this event from a sidereal perspective. Vision***Compassion***Action.  Will we be that wise?  Will we be that visionary?  Will we take the necessary leaps into new forms, new institutions, new kinds of organizational (schools, churches, philanthropy)  and economic models, new acceptance of all kinds of love?  Will we live our compassion more fully, in every moment, with each encounter?  Not just with humans, but the more than human world. We’ve done the personal work for the past forty years, especially for the last 8 years since 9-11. Now it’s the full-on renovation of our society into a greener and more compassionate world.  A true grassroots revolution.                                   Vision***Compassion*** Action.                                 Make it your mantra.                                 Make it your practice.                   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^          You probably  already sense these two strands tugging at you on a daily basis. There’s lots of good to come out of lean times. Strengthen your skills in preparation for this fall…walk often in nature and ask for guidance, meditate,  lift weights, lift spiritual weights, dream large, green your diet and lifestyle in all ways, attune and attain to your inner oracle, that deep place of knowing what’s best for you. You get the picture. Each of you has your own best routine, your individual healthy habits.  Discover what supports your health and vitality and release the rest.  Get focused, energized and confident in your Self so you are ready for the work ahead…so you have that physical, spiritual and emotional strength to take that leap when it is your time. Hone your joy, perfect your peace, sense your service. Get ready. And most importantly, ask for help from your Invisible Friends.                                             Vision*** Compassion*** Action         With Love,        Lyn Dalebout      contabo@earthlink.net                                            *************

Keep Going…

July 18, 2009

storms

I recently read Keep Going: The Art of Perseverance by John Marshall III.  Marshall is a writer of the Lakota tradition. 

keepgoing

This book could not have appeared at a better time in my life.  Marshall does an outstanding job of making it clear that life is not fair.  You can hope for the “good stuff” – happiness, health, employment, healthy children and parents, yet we all are eventually confronted with the labors and difficulties part and parcel of living.  The simple phrase, “Keep Going” is amantra when things are difficult.  That’s it – Keep Going. 

The timing for this book’s appearance in my life could not have been more relevant, as I recently entered some difficult situations in my life – my father lost his job, my friend’s father died, and my husband seemed to remain in love with the idea that despite the fact I did not bear his children, I would have no problem with dedicating my life to raising them, even though he and their mother were fully physically present in their lives.  

            I needed the shift in perspective this book brought, as did my mother.  She was visiting as I read it, and decided to take the copy of the book home with her.  Facing difficult times, we often do not realize our own strengths and powers.  On the surface we may wish we handled things differently or judge ourselves in other ways, yet, we often overlook the beautiful grace and composure that most of us display at these times.  It is amazing what people can “get through”, and not only get through, but find that part within that strengthens themselves and those around them.

Inguz Rune

July 14, 2009

 kimsart 029

I dreamed of Jesus last evening – in the image of an icon – with yellow halo.  The unusual part was the spine was in the form of a lit, yellow diamond (or lozenge) chain.  According to http://www.whats-your-sign.com/ (a wonderful symbolism site), this is known as the Inguz ruin and symbolizes creation.  Native Americans will also use the diamond shape to indicate wind (life force).  Can also symbolize vulva and birth canal.

Go to fullsize image

http://www.wolfcall.de/runes/inguz

Ingwz ruin — meditation, faith, what was begun will move to fruition, fertility, etc…

http://runesecrets.com/rune-meanings/inguz — According to this site — “Rune of isolation or separation in order to create a space or place where the process of transformation into higher states of being can occur.  Ruin of gestation and internal growth.”

Aha! This is how I feel at this time.   The support of on image in a dream can have such a transformative, supportive effect on our lives.