January 2010

Karma is the law on which the nature of time and space depends. One one level, it’s easy to understand karma.  Cause precedes Effect.  Effect produces Cause.

But then imagine trillions of causes producing trillions of effects all at different moments in time, triggering an unimaginable complication of intertwined (and seemingly unreleated) experiences.

Somehow the sudden and uncontrollable appearance of our life’s happenings is meant only to serve a higher need to even everything out.  As you sow, so shall you reap. But then some things happen that seem so out of line with how we’ve lived our life (like when bad things happen to good people), it makes no sense.

Why did certain things happen to you when they did and how did they trigger the next round of your life events?  And what’s the point?

You only come around to these questions when you’ve reached what you think is the end of a karmic episode.  You ask yourself: “What was that all about?”

It’s like a greyhound race when in order to get the dogs out of the pen, they’re lured by a stick with a fake rabbit attached to it – except the dogs don’t realize that it’s not a live rabbit.  Instead, they bound after it, mindless to its real nature.

One of them gets ahead.  One falls behind.  One bites the tail of the other.  Another trips and falls, causing the dog behind him to fall.

And then when they get to the end, one wins and the rest lose.  But they never wonder where the rabbit went.

It’s the same in our lives.  We think we see the rabbit of what we want more than anything and we run after it.  And then all the karma in our life starts to unfold.  We get ahead.  We fall behind.  We drop to the ground.  We encounter bends along the track that we didn’t see coming.  And when we get to the end, often there’s no rabbit.  Or when there is a rabbit, it’s lost its savor.  It’s just a dead, stuffed toy.

Yet in the next round, you forget and again run after the hope of gain.

Grace is the moment you wake up and see that you’re part of a vast machinery of causes and effects fueled by a shouting crowd of desires – all wanting different things at the same time.

Somehow the churning and churning of karma brings up a profound realization in you: In the present moment, nothing is happening.

Bring your mind right now to the present moment.  Let go of any anticipation or need to do.  You can observe so powerfully that something in you is always standing still.  It doesn’t move with the thoughts in the mind or the actions of the body. It’s always the same in gain or loss.  It was here before you were born and will be with you when this body is no more.

You are free right now.

Monday, January 25th, 2010 (Waxing 10th Phase; Taurus/Rohini ~ “The Fertile Cow”)

This is the best day of the month, in my opinion, for the growth of business, prosperity, and happiness through the things that bring us comfort. The Moon is exalted in Taurus, connected to the constellation of the fertile cow.  The 10th phase of the Moon ensures fertility and success in encouraging things to grow.

If you are planning on incorporating a business, today is an excellent day for that activity.  It’s also a great day if you’re thinking about putting your house on the market for sale, to contact your real estate agent.  Apply for the job you want.  Conceive the child you’ve been praying for.  And in general, move forward toward greater prosperity.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010 (Waxing 11th Phase; Taurus-Gemini/Mrgashira ~ “She Who Possesses the Head/Mind of a Deer”)

Today is a good day to either work at home or take the morning off for some personal time.  You’ll find that you need to feel like your life is under your control and that you’re not just a cog in the machine.  Otherwise your mind will wander off dreaming about being independent and free.

So better to use the morning especially to hang out in a coffee shop or at your kitchen table in your pajamas and draft your future.  What would you do if you knew you could not fail?

The Moon moves into its next phase during the second half of the day.  Having nurtured your rebel-without-a-cause side, you’re now in a better position to rejoin your world.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010 (Waxing 12th Phase; Gemini/Arda ~ “The Lord of the Storms”)

The Moon is in a tough place today in my opinion.  It’s a really good idea to never make decisions when your mind is overtaken by emotions.  Likewise, it’s never a good idea to make a decision when your rational mind dominates your heart.

Decisions are always best made when there’s a balance of heart and mind, when your feelings match your logic.

But that rarely happens and we end up making a choice that really makes sense but doesn’t feel right at all (or the other way around), and all the trouble arises.

Today is a day that brings all kinds of complications to the mind and the heart.  You may find it really difficult to see both sides of whatever you face today and instead be influenced by past impressions.  So often we assume that what happened in the past inevitably will reoccur.  Not true!  Every moment is new.  Be in the present and be happy.

Thursday, January 28, 2010 (Waxing 13th/14th; Gemini/Ardra ~ “The Lord of the Storms” & Gemini-Cancer/Punarvasu ~ “Again the Light”)

Today brings a feeling similar to when a storm is about to pass.  It’s still storming, but you can see the Sun shining behind the clouds.

Take a mental fast by just watching the thoughts arise in your mind. Just when we fast from food we consciously choose not to eat, today consciously choose not to be bothered by your mind.  Every time the mind wants to engage you in some dialogue (that you know will just cause you to spiral downward into complication, confusion, and frustration), take 10 deep breaths or chant ‘Om’ slowly with all your breath.

The thoughts will pass and your peace will be preserved.

The feeling of clouded judgment, weighty emotions, feeling stuck will start to lift early on Friday morning around 3:00 am.  You may be woken from a dream to remember an important message coming to you in a symbol or strange occurrence.  Or you may have a nightmare that has no meaning at all.  In both cases, it’s just the release of stress and negativity coming out in the dreamstate.

Think of these impressions as mental toxins being released from your mind as a result of your mental fast!

Friday, January 29, 2010 (Purnima or the Full Moon, Cancer/Pushya ~ “The Nurturer”)

The end of this week confirms my belief in the Vedic expression: Well begun is half done. Monday was such a magnificent day that even though some rough days followed, by Friday everything is truly good again.

So even though (due to Mars’ presence in Cancer with the Moon) you may feel like saying the wrong thing or you may feel like acting in a wrong way – but you don’t.  Instead, you’ll get distracted by the magnificence of the day.  You’ll feel like celebrating the end of the week with good friends and uplifting entertainment.

There’s a valuable lesson in the diversity of experience this week has brought us.  On the one hand, whenever we initiate an activity at a moment that is aligned with good energy, it bears good fruit.  On the other hand, it’s true that both the Moon and our mind/emotions fluctuate and change.  Who is it in you that simply witnesses all this?

Hope never fades, my friends.  It just disappears behind clouds sometimes.

Saturday, January 30, 2010 (Waning 1st Phase, Cancer/Ashlesha ~ “The Coiling or Entwining”)

Don’t see intentions behind other people’s actions.  That’s the only thing you have to do today.

Sunday, January 31, 2010 (Waning 2nd Phase; Leo/Magha ~ “The Magnificent”)

We acknowledge that we are here today by something someone did before we came.

In World War II, my grandfather made a decision while imprisoned in a POW camp that changed his (and my) fate forever.  He risked his life to become free and succeeded.  If he hadn’t, I wouldn’t be writing this blog today.  (And he’s only one of the many, many people in my ancestral line who took a risk, dreamed a dream, loved and failed so that I could take my turn at this life.)

Think of all your ancestors and everything they did to survive and pass on their history to you.  You are a living testament to human survival and evolution.

It’s said in the Vedic tradition, that when one person in a family lineage comes on the path of Yoga and meditation, they liberate seven generations behind them and seven generations to come.

And so it’s true that we influence the living as well as the dead by our state of being.  Those who’ve passed away in truth haven’t gone anywhere.  They are here among us, connected on the feeling level of energy.  They feel our happiness and bear our sorrow.  And when we taste the nectar of enlightenment, they become free from the burden of their regrets and sorrows.

It’s a nice day, therefore, to reflect on the profound impact you can make by cultivating your highest awareness and spiritual depth.

One of the most common problems with astrology that I encounter with my clients, is the question (and confusion about) destiny and free will.

It makes us really uncomfortable to think that we have no free will – especially as Americans! We’re here to chart our own destiny, to create our life, and to make our own choices after all.

From experience and introspection, that seems to be true.

Yet, free will has another side to it.  When we think we’ve “done” everything in our lives by ourselves, we suffer deeply. We bear hurt and guilt, shame and sorrow.  We inflate with pride that breeds jealousy and greed.  And we recoil with anger, hatred, and depression when we feel that we’ve failed.

Jyotisha is the art of Vedic astronomy and astrology that teaches us about the laws governing time and space – and how our individual lives are connected to those laws.  It helps to explain that our exercise of free will is determined by something prior that has a rhythm and cycle of its own – irrespective of what we think we want. It’s called destiny.

Why do certain things happen when they do?   Why do you react the way you do to those events?  And then, how does your experience shape your memory and perspective – for positive or negative?

The astonomical science behind Jyotisha tells us how the sky looked at the time and location of those events. The astrological intepretation of those factors tells us how you will perceive, experience and store them in your memory bank.

The ability for that interpretation to heal and free you from the bondage of your fixed mind depends on the level of enlightenment of the Jyotishi or astrologer.  Enlightenment or jyoti results from the cultivation of perceiving the light of all light within yourself.

Enlightenment is the realization that you’re not separate from anything – not even the smallest atom.  Everything exists in you and you exist in everything.

Your intelligent nervous system is hard-wired to experience this truth in every cell of your body. Someone possessed of jyoti has simply just begun to awaken.  And the jyotishi whose light has been turned on is here to help turn your light on as well.

A skilled jyotishi will help you to see the pattern behind the events in your life.  She’ll explain why they happened when they did – and how you’re supposed to grow from them.

In this way, you start to perceive the hand of destiny in all things when you thought you were exercising your free will.  You realize you had no choice but to go through what you went through.  And through it all, somehow, you were always taken care of.  You were never given more than what you could endure.

The light of this self-perception starts to heal you from the suffering caused by free will.  And then you feel okay with destiny and naturally question: Who is controlling my destiny? The dawning of that question brings wonder.  It opens you to the great mystery which feels so vast and yet is so incredibly intimate with everything in this creation.

So you can see from one perspetive, you have free will.  And from another perspective there is only destiny.

This week we enjoy the expanding light of the waxing moon!

According to the wisdom of Vedic astrology imparted to us by the ancient “seers” thousands of years ago, the relationship between the Sun and the Moon (indicated by the latter’s phases) determines the course of all life on our planet, in our communities, and in our own internal experience.

The Sun is the spark of our life, determining our life span and the karma we have to face in it.  The Sun is intimately connected to our individual soul and its predetermined experience — just like a seed is predetermined to become a particular kind of tree that sprouts when the conditions are right.

The events of your life sprout, blossom and decay according to the Sun’s timing, just like the events of any given day or night are determined by the rising and setting of the Sun.  Certain things are more apt to happen in the morning than in the afternoon or evening.  Likewise, the Sun imparts the timing of your karma according to when it’s most appropriate.

The Moon, on the other hand, determines how we’ll feel about the events in our life.  Our deepest feelings give rise to the thoughts in our mind that give rise to our speech that results in our actions and the consequences of our actions, which is called karma. In this way, the Moon reflects the Sun’s light that gives rise to karmic events that originate within the deepest layers of our instinctual and intuitive mind.

These karmic circumstances are not personal, but we make them that way.  We interpret them according to how the Moon moves — whether it is waxing or waning and which sign and constellation it is connected to — and how these movements make us feel deep inside.

Each star constellation has its own “story” that gets told in the events of your life over and over again through its medium of communication, our Moon.  We think we are that story, which we participate in like Oscar-winning actors. We suffer and we triumph. We cry and we laugh.  We grieve and we rejoice.

Yet when we objectively observe the movement of the Moon together with its stellar associations and their patterns, we become free from the story and instead identify with its author.

Who is the author of this great universal epic that repeats itself over and over again? The attempt to discover the answer to this question is the start of the spiritual path.  (I hope this week’s moon forecast helps you on your path of self-inquiry and discovery of the miraculous intelligence governing the vast matrix of life!)

THIS WEEK’S MOON FORECAST

Monday, January 18th (4th waxing phase); in Aquarius/Satabhishak (“the 100 physicians”)

Today the Moon and Jupiter sit together in the same sign, which is auspicious (even though neither planet is especially fond of Saturn-ruled Aquarius). This combination imparts the “Elephant/Lion Yoga,” which brings support for your efforts — just like the elephant and the lion rule the jungle, you may feel like you are in control of your fate today.

There are, however, indications of struggle and obstacles — in health and relationships.  Be true to yourself and absolutely honest in all dealings and everything will work out.

Tuesday, January 19th (5th waxing phase); in Aquarius/Purva Bhadrapada (“the former lucky feet”)

The fifth waxing day of the lunar cycle is generally favorable, but today things may not be what they appear to be.  The constellation, Purva Bhadrapada, is symbolized by a man with two faces or a man who wears a mask.

You may think things are one way, but there is another agenda behind the appearance.  Don’t rely on assumptions, but question the real motivations behind any dealings you may find yourself in today.  Again, be true to what you want and try not to be talked into a compromise that doesn’t serve your best interests in the long run.

Wednesday, January 20th (6th waxing phase); in Pisces/Uttara Bhadrapada (“the lucky feet”)

I may be biased (being a Piscean), but I always feel better when the Moon transits the sign of the fish.  But being a Wednesday, the rulership of which is Mercury — the planet debilitated for Pisceans — I believe the struggle today is between heart and mind.

The rational intellect wants to tell you one thing and the heart another.  You may feel caught in the middle wondering what is best for me?

The best way to answer this question, in my opinion, is to broaden your circle of service and ask instead, “What will serve the most people around me with this decision?”  When you ask yourself in this way, you can never make a mistake and invite wisdom into your life.

Thursday, January 21 (7th waxing phase); in Pisces/Revati (“the wealthy/the transcendent”)

Today the confusion lifts and the path is clear.  If you could put off any decision this week until today, you’ll feel much clearer.  The constellation Revati is wonderful because it imparts both deep feeling and rational logic.  So the heart and mind come together.

Be assured that the path you walk is absolutely perfect for you.  There are no mistakes in this world.  Every so-called mistake is a simple turn in the road destined to make you see a different form of your life’s scenery.  Today be grateful for all your life’s mishaps, tragedies, and triumphs — and stop blaming yourself and others.

Friday, January 22 (8th waxing phase); in Aries/Ashvini (“the horse-woman”)

Today the Moon transits the sign of Aries, which is ruled by Mars — who is causing us all kinds of trouble until May with his transit of Cancer, where he is debilitated and especially abusive.

Usually Friday (being ruled by the peaceful planet of harmony, Venus) is a day that causes us to enjoy ourselves, but today brings a rough ending to the week.  Everything seems upside down.  The end of the week occurs when the Moon transits Ashvini, which is all about taking initiative and starting something new.  But inside you just want to rest and relax.

So it’s easy to get irritated today.  Just know that when someone curses, blames or insults you, they are just taking away your bad karma.  Likewise when they praise you (unlikely for today!), they are taking away your good karma.  Karma, whether good or bad is bondage — let it all go.

Saturday, January 23rd (9th waxing phase); in Aries/Bharani (“she who bears a burden”)

Today is a good day to do something that you haven’t wanted to do and have put off — like preparing your taxes, cleaning out your garage, paying your bills, or scrubbing your bathroom.

The weight of responsibility is on your shoulders today anyway, so you might as well use this day of the weekend to take care of personal business.  Otherwise, you’ll feel guilty anyway.  So take a deep breath, grit your teeth, and take care of it.

Sunday, January 24th (10th waxing phase); in Taurus/Krittika (“she who cuts”)

Ah, the 10th phase with the Moon exalted in Taurus!  You should be feeling quite good.  Good enough to call your critical mother, father, brother or sister and spread some love.  But beware of getting burned!  Go ahead and make the call, but don’t expect anything in return.

It’s a good day, in other words, to not be too invested in your Ego and its gratification.  If you want to express your love, go ahead.  But don’t get caught up in defending yourself.  Be unconditional.

Today, January 15, 2010, we experience the annual solar eclipse, which occurs when the Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon on either a new or full Moon.   Eclipses offer powerful glimpses into realities beyond our Ego and emotions — imparted to us by the light energy of the Sun and Moon.  They are moments of transcendental pause that strengthen us like a deep meditation that reconnects us to the source beyond time and space.

Every 18 years the annual solar eclipse occurs in the same sign and constellation it had occupied before.  What we think is a new direction or a new beginning is a return back again.  But just like the starting line, it feels like a fresh start.

This solar eclipse occurs in the same place it was 18 years ago — in the sign of Capricorn and the constellation of Uttara Ashadha, “she who experiences the highest victory.”

Think of where you were 18 years ago in 1992.  This year is a repeat of that year.

For me, I had just started graduate school and was planning a trip to India that I would take in May/June.  This year, I’m starting a new year of Vedic studies at Shruti Institute for Vedic Arts and planning a trip to India in May/June.  I’m back to where I was before.

Time is not linear, but an endless circle of repeating patterns. But just like running laps, we become stronger and more aware with each go around.

On this day, set a wise intention to repeat your experience with powerful awareness.  What growth have you achieved between then and now?  What have you learned that you can now apply to this second chance?

Our entire life depends on the Moon. We’re conceived according to our mother’s Moon cycle.  The water, hormones, and biorhythms in our body are regulated by the Moon.  Our food grows with the Moon’s phases.

And we’re all connected on the level of our deepest feelings to the Moon.

Whether we realize it or not, every living being is totally unified by the Moon. Have you ever noticed that there’s a collective feeling that we all participate in on any given day?  If we study the stars and the light they emit, we gain amazing insight into this collective feeling which gets communicated to us through our Moon into our bodies, minds, and spirits.

When we contemplate the daily Moon phase and the star(s) it’s connected to, we understand our relationship to the larger web of life that is the intelligent universe. Every moment is a profound opportunity to realize that you are not alone, that the events in your life are not random, and that you have a purpose to fulfill that is part of a grand plan.

Study of the universe through our Moon’s phases is like reading a very sacred book that contains all the secrets to why things happen the way they do and the meaning behind the veil of appearances.  Gaining this wisdom is a blessing beyond compare. It totally frees you from the darkness of separation and the pain of suffering.

January 4, 2010 (Monday); 5th Waning Phase

Moon is in Leo connected to Purva Phalguni (Pubba)

If you’re heading back to work after the holiday, it will feel really hard to engage. You’ll still feel like you need more time off. Call in sick if you can! Or at least don’t make efforts to work hard. Just relax.

January 5, 2010 (Tuesday); 6th Waning Phase

Moon is on the cusp of Leo and Virgo connected to Uttara Phalguni

If you’ve been arguing with someone, better to take the high road today. Channel your anger or frustration into something nice for someone else. You’ll feel better!

January 6, 2010 (Wednesday); 7th Waning Phase

Moon is in Virgo connected with the Hasta constellation.

Today is the day your new year officially begins. It’s a great day to start your new year’s resolutions, especially your new exercise and diet plan. It’s also a great day to send out advertisements for new programs and products.

January 7, 2010 (Thursday); 8th Waning Phase

Moon is on the cusp of Virgo and Libra (conjunct Saturn), connected to the Chitra constellation.

Chitra is all about casting illusions and Saturn is all about destroying them. Don’t get caught in the way things seem, but look to the underlying meaning behind appearances. Otherwise anger and frustration can arise. See if your anger is about you wanting things to be different, rather than just being with the way they are.

January 8, 2010 (Friday); 9th Waning Phase

Moon is in Libra, connected to the Svati constellation. Today is a day when depression can set in. The holidays are over and January can feel bleak. You can feel like there’s nothing to look forward to. Listen to uplifting music or chant mantras.

January 9, 2010 (Saturday); 10th Waning Phase

Moon is on the cusp of Libra and Scorpio, connected to the Vishakha constellation.

Today is an excellent day for spiritual practice. Take extra time for Yoga and Meditation. Sing kirtan with your favorite group of yogis. Express your devotion.

January 10, 2010 (Sunday); 11th Waning Phase

Moon is in Scorpio (debilitated), connected to the Anuradha constellation.

This is a good day to not take your emotional state seriously at all. Organize your files. Clean your house. Call a close friend in need. Eat really healthy food or fast.