The onslaught of energies assaulting the planet that began with the Solstice and successive eclipses in June, and have continued with a particularly strong Mercury retrograde and the proximity of a retrograde Jupiter, moves ahead once again this week with a double-whammy of the Full Moon Equinox on September 23 (or, the evening of September 22 for those in North America). If ever you have been doubting that your life is in flux and that the only reasonable course through such commotion is to breathe and ride with it, now is your chance to embrace this philosophy.

Let’s discuss these events separately and then together.

The full moon occurs regularly and is a figure on a regular basis in terms of providing an opening toward growth or movement. Use this time to your advantage to focus on what you are creating. What messages are present for you in the perceived movement (or lack of movement) in your life? Take care with your thoughts about creating your life and your story – if you focus only on the “good,” you rob yourself of the power of your shadow side. In meditation, embrace all that you are creating and welcome it to your side. Breathe for a while with what you have created, and then seek to release what no longer serves you.

The Equinox, especially this one, is even more powerful. It symbolizes the crossing over from life to death, and for balance, in the Southern Hemisphere it symbolizes the crossing from death back to life again, or rebirth. With this energy, then, is great power, one that can bring you in closer connection with your cellular beginnings. Use this time to think about your life on a grander scale — bring into your awareness all the what-ifs and might-have-beens; they are a part of you as and such deserve to be honored and considered. Now is the time to perform your own soul retrieval, bringing those past parts of yourself, the lives created by the choice points in your past that are not a part of the You that you know yourself to be today, into your conscious being.

Together, then, this Full Moon Equinox is a time to bring into balance and awareness the totality of You. It is a powerfully healing time, and offers a space through which to move into a new chapter in your life. 

On a personal level

This is perhaps the most noticeable manifestation of these energies. Along with the inner expansion of the Jupiter retrograde, and in preparation for an upcoming Venus retrograde, the majority of you will find yourself re-examining past patterns and relationships. We have said before that the primary method of experience physical plane experience is through interacting with others, and so relationships are an important part of each individual’s experience. In this time, you’ll find yourself realizing new insights about old issues that have felt stuck to you in the past. Use this time to meditate on your common triggering reactions and responses. Embrace them and bring them to you without judgment, and then stay with the feelings that arise. After all, they are just feelings! In time, with sitting with these reactive patterns, you’ll be able to release them. For the next several days, try to create some space within which to meditate and to allow your sense of these patterns to come into your consciousness. If you like, follow the threads that lead from you to the others in your life with whom you have created these patterns and practice Tonglen, breathing in awareness and understanding, and breathing out love and compassion.

On a relationship level

Because of all the intense inner work that most people are experiencing, relationships will be changing as well. Now is the time to pay attention to what you have been creating and the story you have been telling, perhaps for years now, about the people you have known. Do you still wish to hold onto that story? You may use this energy to make a new story if you like. Mentally hold hands with the person with whom you’d like to create a new story, and tell them that you are now choosing differently. The in-real-life reactions of people to the inner changes you are making will vary, but understand that it is the people closest to us who have the hardest time seeing change in us. Allow time and space for change to develop.

On a community level

To balance the inner work, people are feeling more intensely a need now to connect with others. This has been occurring overall on a global level for some time, but the shift of seasons, from light to dark, is an important marker for most people that creates a need for change. Summer is an outward, expanding time, while Winter is an inward, contracting time. You’ll likely be feeling a need to ground yourself within the activities of others at this time (for those in the Southern Hemisphere, you’re also feeling a pull toward community but in an expansive, action-oriented way) in ways that bring a sense of fellowship and sameness. Examples of this are desires to worship with others, to create and eat food with others, and to interact in a meaningful way with deep discussions. This is a good time to join a book or film discussion group or to seek a new way to connect with others who share your beliefs and values. Connecting through shared experience becomes important now. 

On a global level 

Worldwide, balance is created among the hemispheres which moves the global collective community light-years into the What Comes Next. Because of the amount and intensity of the inner work being done on a personal level, waves of global change will begin to emanate after this Full Moon Equinox. This has an effect on many levels: expect through mid-October some repercussions that may look like earthquake activity (Northern Pacific Rim), large bank failure, political scandal eruption, and other events that “rock the boat” for some time to come.

Full Moon Equinox Meditation 

To assist you with moving effortlessly into the energies of this time, we offer this meditation. Try to practice it at least twice over the coming three days, paying especial attention to when you need to create this connection on the Equinox itself.

Close your eyes and focus on the breath. Feel how your body, your cells, expand along with the rise and fall of your chest, your shoulders, your abdomen. Feel how this breath move along tiny passageways into every cell in your body, infusing you with the energy of this moment. It is this moment – right now – in which you are creating what happens next. In this breath, you plant the seeds of your next week, month, year, and decade. In this breath, you infuse your being with all your hopes, dreams, and expectations, and in this breath you embrace also the stories and dreams of all those who share breath on this planet with you. Breathe now and breathe in those stories, allowing them to mix with your own. Breathe out again and send your hopes out into the universe to be co-created by all those who share breath on this planet with you. Rest now in the immense possibility that you have created with one breath. Breathe that knowledge – knowledge of your innate power to create – into every cell, down to your toes and beyond back down into the Earth again. Feel the door that you just opened, and choose to walk through it into your next breath.

This month brings a sense of making a decision. Choice. Black, or white? Here, or there? Should I stay or should I go? For many, what begins the month is the feeling that something must be done. That action is necessary in order to create the next step or enter the next phase. That everything will remain as it is unless something is done to stop the status quo or to move into what comes next.

What we feel on a personal level is much like a microcosm of what is taking place on a global level. This is frequently the case, even for those who don’t maintain conscious awareness of the overall connection of all beings. The awareness lies underneath where we can’t always touch it, yet it is there nonetheless: supporting us, creating a foundation, acting as an underground spring and giving lifeblood to all actions, thoughts, and emotions. On a global level, then, such a sense of decision is also apparent.

It is easy, given our cultural framework, to imagine spiritual learning as analogous to education - that spiritual learning is an accumulation. The idea we have is that one must keep learning, keep reading, keep listening to teachers, keep doing yoga in order to "advance." However, in truth, spiritual learning is nothing more than learning to be fully who you are. There is no "better" as you grow older and have more experience. There is simply more of who you are.

"In pursuit of knowledge, every day something is added.

In the practice of the Tao, every day something is dropped." - The Tao te Ching

No matter which spiritual path you choose, the path will always bring you to You. Some people take roundabout paths and some dive in headlong. There is structure in the manifestation of spiritual learning as the learning moves deeper into the cells of your body and your basic being. This structure creates "layers" of spiritual learning. There is movement among the layers — this is not a static creation, nor is movement restricted to one direction only. Each of the seven layers exists within you, and each may be accessed at any time (although you likely will "live" in one for a period of time). All layers are necessary to create the tapestry that which is You.

Layers — not Levels — of Spiritual Learning

Our cultural framework suggests that older and wiser is better. Certainly, in physical life, age can bring the wisdom of experience. This often translates into perception of spiritual wisdom: "I'm an old soul, therefore I'm more evolved than you" is commonly thought but likely not voiced. But in reality, everyone — from infant to elder — is on a level playing field, simply operating from a different perception. The idea of layers conveys that. All layers exist simultaneously. One layer may be close to your core, like the core of an onion, but all layers are part of you and none are let go of or moved through, discarded. You do not grow beyond a layer other than letting go of identification with it. Each layer is simply an aspect of yourself. Deeper layers are not better; they are simply present with you at all times, ready for access. Within you, you always have both the new explorer and the enlightened master.

Moving through the layers is not a linear process. You do not finish one and then move on to the next. There may be, for a time, a "home" for you in one of the layers (certainly, when looking at them, you'll be able to easily identify the layer you spend most of your time in now, as well as layers you have used in the past), but you have access to all of them at all times. They are always a part of your experience.

Layer 1: Explorer

This initial layer holds the excitement of bounding out on a newfound journey. The quest has begun. You feel an initial sense of wonder, like a child tasting candy for a first time. You taste the potential of spiritual presence and its benefits and you feel the energy coursing in your body. In some ways, you have a core connection to what the deepest spiritual attainment is — this generates enormous energy and inspiration and draws you forward to your chosen path.

It is all new, so you explore the spiritual world with a child's wide open eyes. This is what we often refer to as the "sponge" stage. In it, you accept everything but you do not yet apply discernment or even much differentiation. Everything is good; everything is valid. You might explore and read any related subject to your interest. You might follow the recommendation of any teacher, friend or acquaintance who appears to be on a spiritual path. For instance, if you are interested in Buddhism, you might read every Buddhist title in the local library to explore it all, irrespective of the branch of Buddhism, and you might also read anything else with an Eastern flavor such as Hindu teachers. Because of the newness, exploration within this layer can feel like pure Truth and the stuff of great revelations. This is the "diving in" to a new teaching. This layer helps you get a feel for what is out there and helps bring the teachings deeper within you, past the surface layers of personality.

Layer 2: Initiate

After some time spent in the Explorer layer, there is often a realization that you need to narrow down your focus so that you can explore more deeply into what resonates with you. You cannot become a master of all teachings at once; here you find that you need to focus on one thing at a time.

The emphasis in this layer of learning is on the structure of what is being learned. Passages, sutras, and scriptures are memorized and you attempt to distill for yourself the essence of a teaching for a purer understanding. This helps you incorporate that essence into the routine of your daily life. You have a basic understanding of your chosen teaching, and with this understanding comes a first siphoning off of what does not work. For instance, if you were learning about Christianity, you might at this point choose which denomination you wish to belong to and decide on some level that other denominations aren't "the Truth"- for you. You have decided which path to follow and what works best for you in this moment. This enables you to have more focus so as to better incorporate what there is to learn in the cells of your body.

Within this layer, there is also a sense of awe for all the wisdom that is out there as well as for other "wiser" beings who are teaching you. You search for teachers who bring a deeper layer of learning. This can give you a magnificent feeling of support and guidance, and it can also lead to the (false) belief that others know best for you than you do. This belief is gradually let go as learning progresses.

Layer 3: Teacher

Within this layer of learning, you've already accomplished a lot of intellectual and social learning — there is a recognition that further study yields diminishing returns. You see all the learning that you have accomplished so far. The value of the teaching is still very much appreciated, however, and so you begin to focus on teaching what you have learned to others. There is an emphasis on demonstrating the authority of learning — that you know the teaching. Teaching others brings you a renewed appreciation in what you have learned; there is a dual experience of the joy of this path.

Within this layer, you may desire to create a study group. You may become a counselor. You may respond regularly to questions in a society or in an online group. You may proselytize if your path advocates it. You may write a blog. By teaching others and exploring your own beliefs, you learn more yourself and see how your learning interacts with others' paths. You expand your own presence to try to influence others.

The limit of the learning so far, however, is that up to this point you have been learning primarily from external sources: books, teachers, and the community around you. You are an authority under something else such as an organization or an abstract teaching. Therefore what you teach tends to be your interpreted regurgitation of what you have learned so far. You do not yet teach directly and solely from your own soul. In other words, the student becomes an authority by playing the role of what they think a true person on the path should be. A student of Buddhism might meditate regularly, speak with compassion and follow the eightfold noble path as best as they can. A student of the Michael Material might teach others about overleaves or begin to learn to channel. If you have an advanced degree in psychology you may hold workshops and counsel others.

Experimenting with authority in this external fashion is all part of the journey to find a true sense of inner power by learning to live your path from your deepest essence.

Layer 4: The Search Begins

"What?" you may exclaim. "The Search Begins only here? What about Layers 1 to 3? I've been an expert - I'm not just beginning!"

It is in this layer that the diving off the cliff toward inner knowingness truly begins. This is the fulcrum layer between following a teaching and living it from within. In the previous layers, there was a social identity — a firm path to follow — which can involve teaching others. If you belong to an organization and have an identity as such, you'll have an understanding of what is appropriate within the teaching of your organization. However, at some level you will realize that just because someone else speaks a truth doesn't mean their truth is yours. Following the path of one's own quiet inner voice requires courage, integrity, and a willingness to step away from the herd. It requires changing your path if one day that path doesn't feel right for you — even if it disappoints others' expectations.

This is where the dark night of the soul appears. What you know disintegrates and crumbles around you — your identity, your comforts and defenses — so that you may find something greater: your Self.

In short, the inner self opens and begins to speak up. You have a newfound dialog with your own soul and essence. The newness of this creates movement in your life in thoughts, emotions, and actions.

Conflict and turmoil can appear if one's inner voice differs from what has been learned. It is rare that your true perception matches exactly the teaching that you have been following. Perhaps you realize that your body does not truly want to sit in meditation for hours and that substituting other practices can give you the same benefit. Perhaps common phrases you have used now feel dogmatic — that is, having lost their personal meaning for you. Within this layer you'll find yourself questioning authority of all kinds so that you find that you yourself are your own greatest guru. In some spiritual communities, this creates unrest, discomfort and conflict. Cries of 'heresy' and of not being 'true to the teachings' can occur. However, in this layer you feel compelled to truly bring your teaching to a new level that includes being true to one's self. There is a desire to see for one's self instead of relying on anyone else's experience, including liturgy. Every true teaching is a living teaching — and it is your life you bring.

This layer also brings a deeper connection to others — you are bringing more of yourself forward in meeting with others. You are no longer identified as "just" a Christian, Muslim, Jew, or any other member of a teaching. You are you. You are an expression of the Divine, just as you are, and you begin to recognize with your own eyes - not simply through others' words - that others are as well. By beginning to truly be yourself, you support others in recognizing themselves as well. You begin to understand the greeting "Namaste" for the full depth of its meaning:

That which is of God in me greets that which is of God in you.

Layer 5: Truth in the Moment

Here, a regular connection to essence occurs and you recognize the dichotomy that while your past learning may have been true for you at that time, newfound revelations and perceptions are always different in each moment. You therefore learn to live by your own perceptions, moment by moment, with a deep trust in them. You know that there are no rules, only choices - and that all choices contain within them an inherent perfection. You build from your past learning instead of limiting yourself to it. The ideas of "right", "wrong", "good" and "evil" fall by the wayside. There is only Truth, and part of that truth is a deep love of life and everyone and everything in it. The result is an expansive flexibility that is filled with gentle humor and play.
Because of this flexibility, there are many ways that you might manifest who you truly are:

• You may find a newfound interest in other learnings and see them no longer as different from one another, but as part of a universal teaching.
• You may begin to have a gentle, relaxed laughter as the humor of life itself is experienced. Yes, this path is perfect - as is every other path!
• You may find a new sense of creativity and even eccentricity. For instance, if you explained a spiritual topic to others 10 times, you may give 10 completely different explanations - each one being true as a completely new discovery in that moment. These may even be contradictory on a superficial level - but the contradictions will help others see the deeper truth.
• You begin to let go of the "shoulds" that are in your life and live life simply as you desire. There's less need to do anything. Paradoxically, this lets you act selfless, help others more, and make better use of your time.

Living firmly in this energy helps firmly build community and connection around you. True pillars of community live from here.

Layer 6: Living Deep Harmony

In this layer the connection to One has become deeper and stronger; there is less focus on what looks like teaching and more focus on loving. You live life with sacredness and spaciousness of experience, and within that spaciousness grows a deep sense of inner peace. There is room for all of You. This brings harmony in thought, emotion, and action. You love life itself. You meet all of life, from your inner demons to external conflicts, with that sense of inner harmony. This can bring tremendous inspiration to others as it shows others how to let go of past habitual conflicts and destructive habits.

This harmony also extends to tremendous compassion for the world. You bring all you have learned through manifesting a calm sense of appreciation of life in whatever form it may take. This compassion can manifest as humanitarian action, like with Mother Theresa, or through social change, as with the work of Martin Luther King, Jr. Because the action comes from inner peace, movements arise seemingly without effort. There is little basis for internal conflict.

Layer 7: Being Pure Presence

This is where the great spiritual teachers reside. Here you regularly experience essential oneness with the Self: your essence, your Buddha-nature, your Atman, or your Christ Consciousness. You experience the reality of Who You Are. Intellectual learning is put aside as you teach from the Now. There is no longer a need to teach, nor to change things — perfection is experienced simply as What Is. Love is expressed simply by being, and this is felt powerfully by those around you. This manifests as pure presence.

The power of manifesting your full nature cannot be underestimated. Students came simply to sit with Ramana Maharshi, for example, because sitting in his presence enabled them to experience inner harmony for themselves.

Pure presence is more than the ultimate manifestation of a teaching, a religion, or a path. It is the unrestricted allowing of All That Is - and this creates an unlimited potential for creation and conscious choice. It is this field which allows great healing to occur. It is a far deeper authority and power than the third layer, as the authority with the layer of Being Pure Presence comes from the full allowing of All That You Are, which without exception exceeds your wildest imagination of what you can experience. Your full and complete presence is the ultimate gift that you bring to the world and to others.

Using the Layers

How does the layer concept work in reality? Again, there is no linear progress through them, although you may experience a sense of that for a given time. I'll use my own experience as an example:

When I began to focus on my spiritual path, everything lit up for me. I wanted to taste it all. I found truth in so many different things: energy healing of all kinds, crystals, the whole "ascension" idea, plant lore, shamanism, the work of Louise Hay (just a few examples). Everything tasted good! I was clearly in the Explorer layer. This is what I often refer to as the "sponge" stage. As time went on, I applied some discernment. Some things resonated more than others. I deepened my look at the things that felt right to me. I was in the Initiate layer. Over time, I felt that I wanted to speak about what I knew. I had taken these truths into my being and was ready to move them outward again. I was a Teacher, but also used the Explorer and Initiate layers when new things were presented.

Then the real fun began. Everything fell apart and I questioned it all. I went deeper into myself, examined my beliefs, and came out more sure of who I was and how I viewed the Universe. The Search Begins. And at times, because of that, I've been in Truth in the Moment. But frequently I'll move into Teacher because it works for that time. And then into Explorer/Initiate when I wish to learn something new. And I've had moments, perhaps, of Living Deep Harmony and Being Pure Presence — we all have access to those layers — when everything just clicks and I am in the beautiful flow of the moment.

Every layer is part of the beautiful tapestry we weave on a collective global basis through our experience. Every layer has a purpose and a use. Every layer is necessary to create the structure of that tapestry and to hold it together. So wherever you are in the moment is perfect for that moment. You can flow through the layers seamlessly and effortlessly, weaving your own path through the tapestry with glorious colors, being more of who you are, and in so doing encourage others to be more of who they are, to deepen and brighten the colors we weave together.

A note about Monthly Messages: as in any month, the trends we outline for this month upcoming are just that — trends. These trends are based on a variety of influences that include astrological influences, the collective consciousness, and extrapolation from numerous outcomes gleaned from potential futures based on the point from which we give the initial message. As with everything in life, all this is subject to change, and of course, choice. We attempt to outline trends that show the influences that will affect the greatest number of people, but there are always those whose experience doesn't fit within what we map out. We encourage you to use this information as a roadmap of possibility in order to better understand your personal experience as well as your experience within the context of the greater world around you.

In this month, time again seems to speed up. The seeds you have been sowing will find fruit in the harvest beginning this month – in other words, the inner work, external projects, and anything else begun earlier this year (and even back into late 2009) begins to bear fruit in some tangible way starting this month.

The first several days of August will feel much like the latter part of July – unsettled, anxious, chaotic, moving. But by August 6 things begin to calm down. The energy smooths out. You feel a sense of flow, of “rightness” about yourself and the world around you. This does not mean, necessarily, that you won’t continue to be barraged with sensory information about the suffering of the world, but nerves are not as raw. Your emotions are not as much on the surface. You feel a peacefulness and even, perhaps, a glimmer of what inner quiet feels like.

For many this month, what has been on the inside becomes what is on the outside. Again, inner work bears fruit here, and you begin to see how your own inner transformation changes the world around you. Personal interactions become a little easier as a result, as those in your sphere sense the changes within you as well as your newfound sense of peace with your Self. Those who feel this palpable change are likely those who – ironically, perhaps – have been having the greatest amount of inner difficulty and tension these past several months. If you have felt the struggle within yourself, knowing, perhaps, that you have been making strides and realizations, then this is the time to see how all that work begins to pay off in positive ways. This is no time to rest on your laurels, however, as energies later in the month, beginning around the 23^rd, move you into a new cycle of growth, but the peacefulness in the middle of the month can help you realize how far you’ve come and how your work helps you on all levels.

On a wider level, again the energy this month is all about gathering momentum for what is to come in the future. Some of the dynamics we’ve illustrated on a personal level have applicability on a larger group level as well. You can look toward group movement (moving toward the eventual evolution of the group in its purest form) occurring this month in various groups, from families, companies and communities to socio-political groups like countries. Understand that any one individual’s needs and desires may be swallowed by the group’s evolution, as each of these groups has the capacity to act as a sovereign entity. This may be dismaying and upsetting to individuals who become heavily invested in a particular movement pf the group concerned. All of you are part of groups of some sort: your success this month (and into the future, as August is merely a beginning of a new way of interrelating on a group level) depends on your ability to sense and understand the dynamics of the group as a whole rather than your individual thoughts and desires. Notice this is no small task; as humans you of course will have individual desires and will potentially have difficulty allowing the varying perceptions and desires of others within your various groups.

To assist with this process of releasing attachment to individual desire within the context of any group (this works for groups of any size and configuration), we offer the following meditation practice:

Imagine that you are sitting opposite the group you have in mind. You are approximately the same size, both energetically and spatially. It is as if you are sitting across from a mirror image of yourself, but one that just happens to contain the hearts, minds, and sensibilities of the group you have in mind. Don’t worry about logistics; all can be contained within the space needed.

As you sit across from your group, bring your attention to your heart. As you do so, begin breathing intentionally. With each breath, send some of your own heart-energy across the space between you to your group. Imagine that your heart energy makes connection with the heart of the group. Now, with each breath, pull some of that group heart-energy back across into your own heart space. You now feel and sense the connection between you at this most basic level.

As you sense the connection between yourself and your group, say these words in your heart: We are one. We support one another as best we can. We connect through Love.

Use this meditation daily, especially if you are feeling conflict with your group, or conflict within it.

Other things to watch for this month: 

• A sense of ennui, especially in the middle of the month. Having had the initial rush of connection where things begin to make sense on a large-scale basis, you find yourself wishing for repeated "high" experiences. Distraction and ennui results when you find you are unable to duplicate that high.
• Feeling disconnected from others, especially on a universal basis – this especially occurring toward the end of the month. This is necessary as you begin to again separate and move away for a time from the connectedness and again into a space of separation. While this is part of the human experience, having sensed a connection already on a deep and intrinsic level, you may find the shift to separation disquieting.
• Increased desire to connect in a tangible way to nature – gardening, hikes, beach time – becoming almost desperate by the 29^th or so if not sated before then with plenty of outdoor connection time. This is to assuage the increasing sense of separation with your fellow beings and should be honored if you wish to keep a sense of equilibrium.

Practices to engage in this month: 

• If you haven’t been consciously and regularly finding connection to nature, this is the time to begin. Take walks; meditate on a flower; take up gardening; enjoy the fruits of your own garden harvest; commune with animals; be with others or alone in nature.
• Journaling your emotional journey. By taking pen to paper with intention of chronicling your inner journey, you open yourself that much wider to the depths of your experience.
• Look for signs and omens. This could be the ever-popular 11:11, nature signs, shapes or forms that you notice, or anything that seems to speak to you with some intention and meaning. You need not know what the message is, but making yourself open to there being a message at all will create a sense of comfort that will be useful to you in the days ahead.

As you move through August, feeling your own momentum gathering, pay attention to that which you desire to create. By being open to the energies around you and engaging in your own inner work, you make yourself available to the ongoing evolution of the species.

We spoke last month about a divergence in energy — internal vs. external — which continues on in the present month, deepening and becoming more plainly evident.

Last September there was a significant nexus or choice point made which resulted in some noticeable change for many of you. Many people found themselves feeling more fully aware of their paths, or more fully aware of the interconnection that exists between all life. It is not inaccurate to state that many people interpreted that nexus energy as the creation of an “us vs. them” or “happy” world vs. a “sad” one, because, in some ways, that has indeed been what has been created and is now resulting in the continuing divergence we see at present.

We wish to comment on the recent oil spill occurring in the Gulf of Mexico. At the risk of sounding overly simplistic or obvious, the fallout and end result of this spill is anticipated to be both more far-reaching than presently imagined and unclear as to scope for many years to come. Both the magnitude of this spill and the ongoing responses and effects are presently underestimated by the majority of the scientific community. This is, in a way, understandable, as the event is unprecedented in human history — previous spills did not occur in heavily populated areas, and the Gulf is a central oceanic pivot point, essentially affecting a vastly larger section of the planet’s total oceans than the area of the Gulf itself. But this underestimation is also naïve and reflects a misperception regarding the ocean’s existence as a single, united entity.

In other words, what affects one part of the ocean on one part of the planet ultimately has an effect on the rest of the ocean and as a result, the entire planet. This is a concept that will be coming to light over the next 50 years or so as effects of the spill are parsed, measured, and recorded.

One result of the spill, therefore, at least in the not-too-distant future, will likely be scientific acknowledgement that there is really only a single ecosystem on the planet; that all life is connected, intertwined, and interdependent.

[channeled June 1, 2010]

June is a month of contrasts.

For many of you it will be a rest month, time to regenerate, go within, and recreate the dynamism within you for the next external period to come. For you, this is an inward time, with the primary focus being on what is going on internally.

For others it will be a restless time, a month of spiky energy and high contrast, a time of feeling on the edge, with an accompanying uneasiness of spirit, mind, and even physical being. For you, this is an outward time, with the focus being on externals.

In this time of contrast, it is ever more important to remember where you are going, and what is coming next, while attending most of all to the present moment.

The primary difference among you will be of what it is you are embracing about yourself and your path. Neither path — the inward or the outward — is preferable to the other, although one may feel more innately "you" than the other. If in the first half of the year your focus was external, look now for a shift that will create balance overall within the year; in other words, look now to flip into the other portion of the cycle. If, again, in the first half of your year you were primarily focused on things external to yourself, looking inward now will help you regain a sense of balance to carry you through the year. The important thing is that you embrace this contrast and allow it to carry you into what comes next.

June is a fulcrum month within the calendar year. Within the space of this month, there is much underlying decision-making, and many of you are feeling it. Should I leave my job and follow my dream? Should I make a change in my relationship, because, I am feeling uncontented? Should I start that new project I’ve been thinking about/talking about for months now? If ever there was the perfect time for a new beginning, this month is it. Things begun this month have a good chance of finishing, and creating within that new beginning the space and path that the rest of the year will follow, with the years to come piled on afterward. Beginnings look especially auspicious this month, so we would encourage you to think about your life in those terms, whether you are in the inward phase of this energy or the outward phase.

Signs that you are in the flow of June’s energy

• Feeling as if time is speeding up and you are riding the crest of a wave
• Making new connections with others
• Feelings of synchronicity
• Omens and signs, like seeing repeated numbers on a daily basis

How to get into June’s energy flow

Breathing. Deep breathing is especially important this month. The respiration of the planet is changing, as is the pulse. Recalibrating yourself with the breath of the Earth will help you feel in the flow of the energy around you. Every time you feel out of step, bring yourself to meditation and then breathe in time to an inner metronome. This may be slightly slower or faster than you are accustomed to, so give yourself time to adjust. When the timing is right, you will feel lighter physically, as if the weight of gravity has lifted slightly.

Movement. We often recommend energy movement like tai chi, yoga and qigong. They connect you to a foundation that includes the planet upon which you live. This month you’ll want to begin or continue your practice, or try simply moving slowly and gracefully in a way that seems to bring energy up through your feet and legs and moves it upward and around your body. Paying attention to your hands can help with this. Imagine that they hold a ball of energy and move this around your body with slow graceful movements.

Dreamwork. June’s dream activity will be on the increase, as many of you are preparing for deeper spiritual engagement. Dreams can be a sign of astral activity or can be your guides and higher self, speaking directly to you. Pay attention to the feelings left as residual from your dreams. Begin a dream journal to chronicle the changes over time with your conscious connection to the dream world. If you haven’t already, try lucid dreaming.

Global change in June

A new emphasis worldwide on things that connect people. While the Haiti earthquake united people in a way that was unprecedented, we see the beginnings of worldwide events that have a similar harmonizing effect that will likely be less catastrophic in nature. These are things like dance contest winners, book or film phenomena, sports figures, and human-interest stories that touch people on a heart level.

Advancements in architecture. People are reshaping living spaces and how they associate with one another on a communal basis, which is played out through the structures within which they live.

Changes in animal rights. As you begin to re-recognize the connection among all living beings, this becomes evident in new laws and other discernible change in the treatment overall of animals.

Personal change in June

Again, this is a good time for beginnings as mentioned above. Take care with what you begin this month, as it will leave a trail for you to follow for the rest of the year. Again, as fulcrum of the year, this month is pivotal and crucial in forming want is coming next. If you feel fear or anxiety about this, try some of the above exercises to help you feel in the flow of this powerful energy. Remember though that it is a month of contrasts as well, and you may feel either or both of the ways previously described: you may experience this energy as either inward or outward, or a sometimes crazy-seeming combination of both. Gain, it is helpful to ground yourself into some of the activities mentioned above, as well as to connect more firmly to the community around you. This connection to others will play an increasingly important role as time goes on, so beginning activities that take you within the realm of others who you feel are like-minded is especially helpful this month.

When we mentioned beginnings, it is useful to remember that these can also be endings at the same time. New dream jobs mean the relinquishment of the old one. New relationships mean transition away from the comfortable and familiar. New projects can feel overwhelming and frightening. Allow yourself to move through the grieving process of whatever it is you are letting go of this month, and truly honor that letting-go by immersing yourself in it.

Other things to look for in June:

• Changes in appearance. This may be the time for a hair cut or wardrobe style change. Think also about your body and especially about the image you present to the world around you. What is internal is becoming external — what do people see about you? Is there anything you wish to change about this? Step into this month’s energy and bring more of you out to play, even the parts you think others may not like. If you are confident about yourself, others will accept you.
• Travel. You may be feeling as if you wish to “get away”, and this can be helpful. Remember that wherever you go, you take yourself with you. Reviewing yourself on an inner level can be easier in an unfamiliar atmosphere, but travel also lends itself to denial. Invite awareness as to where you are with this.
• Injury and illness. Many of you will be granting yourselves time and space to do that looking-inward from a space of slowness and healing. This is not a bad thing and can invite much self-awareness. Be sure to give yourself ample time and space to complete the process.
• Connections. Again, interpersonal connections are beginning to become paramount. Expect serendipitous meetings and connections with new people beginning this month, who will soon begin to reshape the landscape of who you spend your time with. Expect to spend some time thinking seriously about the people in your life and what energies you wish to carry with you into the future you are creating.

Again, the easiest way to ride the waves of June’s energy is to simply relax and allow things to occur as they will. Beginning a practice of mindfulness can help with this process. Meditation also supports a balanced way of looking at things. Allow this month of contrasts to be your friend, your ally in the Self you are allowing to unfold as well as the life you are creating now.

[Channeled May 2010]

Most of you reading this are already aware on some level of the change upon which your planet and those inhabiting it are undergoing at this time. Change has been taking place for a long time now (one could argue successfully that change is a constant state), but the degree and intensity of change has been on the increase and is now something that many of you can sense or feel on a number of levels. We would like to offer our encouragement in the support of these changes as well as some practical advice on what to expect and how to gracefully move through this time while at the same time applying conscious awareness to your part in the play, your place in the overall tapestry of the universe.

Signs of planetary vibration changes

• Feelings of unease
• Disorientation
• Vivid dreams
• Déjà vu, synchonicities, or similar phenomena
• Sleep issues
• Wanting change, but not knowing what to change

• Feeling like your personality is changing
• Wanting to end life as you know it
• Wanting to connect with people
• General malaise
• Feeling that you are receiving messages
• Feelings of fear that you can't connect to anything known

If these are familiar, you are not alone. You are moving toward a time when the higher enotional state is honored and accepted more than it has been. This necessitates some growing pains during a lengthy transition period as you move away from what has been into what is coming. We offer our energetic support to you during this time, to assist in the self understanding and growth you are undertaking as part of the process of being on the planet and accepting your choice to be a part of the changes that are taking place.

Awareness

It is not necessary to be aware or conscious of what is happening within and around you, but awareness helps with the sense of disorientation that can occur. But how to increase awareness? We give practical exercises frequently that can assist in your own awareness not only of Self and your place in that universal tapestry but also in your awareness of the bigger picture and of the connections you forge and maintain with Nature and with the millions of people connected to you in some fashion. We extend such an exercise now:

Sitting quietly and comfortably, rest your hands on your knees. Allow your eyes to close and allow the thoughts of the day and the moment to slip away. You are only here now. You are only in this moment, sitting and resting comfortably, with your hands on your knees. You feel the weight of your hands and the warmth that melts into the space between hand and knee. You breathe now, breathing in and then out again, feeling once more the weight of hand upon knee.

There is a circle being created here, a circle made of your own body. Hand to knee and back up through all your chakras, then down again with your breath to your hands once more. Hand to knee, up with your breath, out again to hand on knee. Over and over, around and around. Feel as you notice this circle how there are so many other such circles being met and made in the same moment. In this moment, countless other people are sitting, hand upon knee, breathing around and around. Feel these circles and your connection to them. Notice that they are there, simply be aware that they exist.

And then come back to yourself, your own small circle, now enlarged. Breathe in and around once more.

The next time you sit in such a manner, hand to knee, a part of you will remember this connection and you will build upon it. It is a common pose and therefore will bring your awareness that much deeper each time you find your body resting in this manner.

Vibration

The Earth’s vibration rate is changing and is increasing overall. This also can lead to feelings of disorientation, of spinning out of control in one’s life, especially if control is an issue for you to begin with. It is a common issue and so it is likely that many people are affected by this sense that the world is moving faster than they are prepared for.

The simplest thing to do, from our perspective, is to let go and release any expectations about what comes next or even of having a feeling of “being okay.” But that is from our perspective and doesn’t necessarily speak to the challenges of life in a physical body, where safety is not always a given.

What do we mean when we say, “let go and release”? There are connotations with those words that can lead one to conclude that letting go is a painful and arduous process. Letting go and releasing simply means detaching from expectation. Allowing for ALL possibilities, even when you can only see one or two.

Letting go exercise

Here is a simple exercise designed to assist you with feeling more comfortable in letting go.

Close your eyes. You can do this in any position, even seated at a desk. Focus your attention on the tip of your nose. For the next moment or two, the tip of your nose is the only thing that exists. There is nothing else. If any other thoughts come in, set them aside for the moment and refocus again on your nose. Just the tip of your nose. There is nothing else in the universe, just the tip of your nose. There is an entire world populated on the tip of your nose. You can imagine this. An entire world, resting there on the tip of your nose. Ives are lived, loves are loved, wars are fought, babies are born, just there on the tip of your nose. Nothing else exists but this space.

Breathe that in for a moment. Just the tip of your nose. Nothing else exists.

Now, slowly, bring your awareness to a larger area. The whole of your nose. Your mouth. Your eyes. Your face. There is still a world balanced on the tip of your nose but now that universe expands. Expand it now once again, this time on a macro level. Planets, Stars. Galaxies. And still, the tip of your nose. See how they coexist? The micro and the macro.

All possibilities exist in this moment.

Vibrational changes also occur on a very physical level. Not only is time speeding up a bit, but there is also a sense of urgency for many people about getting themselves in a better space personally. You will notice an emphasis on personal growth, even more than before. An additional emphasis is placed, for many people, on consciously being aware of AND DOING their unique life purpose.

Being a part of these changes doesn’t have to mean making any overt change within yourself or doing any particular action, but for many these types of changes become paramount. You may find yourself wishing to completely change your lifestyle now and the company that you keep. People who were friends or were in close relationship in the past may seem less satisfying to you now. This has a lot to do with vibration – not everyone processes vibrational changes at the same rate. Not everyone even responds to overall vibrational change in the same way. If you find yourself moving away from people, there is likely good reason to do so. It is not that they are detrimental to you, simply that they are not serving the same purpose for you. Look for new groups that support the things you feel are important.

Finding a passion

One thing that can help ground you through this period is finding something that you can be passionate about. Not everyone is into activism, but this is an excellent time for it. Activism moves large numbers of people into action. Positive activism (about creating something new and not about destroying what doesn’t work) can be immensely helpful at this time in grounding and helping you find like-minded people with whom you can weather the vibrational changes together. This is very important at this time.

Another way to find passion is to look inward. Is it finally time to write that book? To publish those poems? To think seriously about a career change? To find a personal practice that fulfills you? Use the next few months to try some new activities that you have been putting off for a while, or to bring out an old project that calls to you.

Reach out and reach within

Again, we can’t stress enough the importance of forging a sense of connection to Self and to others around you. This is a challenging time with challenging energies, but you will be best served (and best serving others) if your connection to Self is strong and your connection to the spheres that surround you is acknowledged. Challenge yourself over the next few months by reaching both outward and inward.

Reach out to people you might not have in the past. Whether you dismissed them or felt dismissed by them, now is a time to acknowledge the connections that exist around you. Be open to introductions from others. Be open to people handing you gifts of a phrase, word, book title, or thought that becomes a part of you afterward, Be open to new experience and to new perceptions. Others are changing as rapidly as you are, and, just as you are, are looking for an anchor in the storm. Remember that you give as much as you receive — if not more.

Reach inward to deeper and deeper places within you. Yes, there are dark corners you have avoided. Now is the time to shine light on them and to invite them into your experience. Make friends with your darkness. Find ways of pleasing yourself with small things — a bunch of flowers, an ice cream cone, 20 minutes to make a quick drawing. Notice the connection between you and the greater You that exists within.

You are part of the change. Everything you do is helping to create, maintain, and support life in this planet as you know it to be. Each breath and each moment is important. You are important.

We have been talking for some time about things coming closer to the surface, not only on a tangible physical level manifesting as earthquakes and volcanic activity, but also – and perhaps primarily – on an emotional level. If human experience and interaction can have been characterized as intellectual for the past several hundred years, what is being created and encouraged now is movement toward experience and interaction on an emotional level. This affects each of you.  

Why do we call this month’s theme Mixed Emotions?  There will be a variety of effects on the invitation each of you – and your planet as a whole – is receiving to begin to move toward embracing the emotional aspects of yourselves, one another, and the planet.   The reaction to this, as best as we can express it, will be mixed. Some people who long for this invitation will feel more at home, more free, more at peace with the overall vibration. Others will feel ill at ease or find that personal matters are coming to the forefront in unexpected ways. Still other people will find old patterns resolved effortlessly. The effects upon the earth will be much the same.

If you feel resistance to or fear about the idea of moving toward a deeper emotional interaction and connection on a global basis, it’s likely that the next several months will be challenging for you. There are ways of making this easier upon yourself, however. We’ve included a simple exercise that can be helpful to everyone during this time.

Close your eyes and breathe deeply, breathing down past your heart space and into your solar plexus. Continue breathing down all the way into your root chakra. Feel the power gather there, connecting you to your ancestral roots. Within each of you is a personal place of power that is associated with this place – breathing into it will activate your ancestral memories and allow you access to that personal place of power.

Continue breathing, feeling the energy grow inside the limitless space that is your root chakra. Bring your awareness now to this space, and remember a real place on this Earth at which you felt a sense of peace and goodness. This may be a distant memory, and if you allow it, it may be a past lifetime memory. Picture this place in your mind, placing it within your root chakra. Feel your indelible connection to this place and to your humanity. Feel also your connections to the natural life that exists in this place – trees, animals, plants, birds. Feel the sounds from this place – rushing water, birdsong, infinite quiet – resonate deep within you, awakening within you a great Love.

Breathe into this peaceful, loving space deep within you, knowing that you may return to it at any time. It is yours because you are a part of it. It is a part of you, your personal place of power. Return this way as often as needed.

What to expect on a personal level

Expect any and all of these, often in very nearly the same moment:

• Feeling out of sorts
• Feeling exhilarated
• Old patterns coming to visit, or becoming more noticeable
• Reconnecting with people from your past
• Finding kinship with new people in unexpected ways
• An abundance of energy
• Feeling unusually tired
• Connecting to childhood memories
• Desire to travel
• Desire to connect with animals

As this global invitation is to feeling, we invite you to feel whatever is occurring in each moment to its utter completeness.  When you do this, the next moment may be seemingly unrelated to the last; a new lifetime of sorts.

What to expect on a global level

The Earth is certainly not impervious to change, and primarily moves through cycles in much the same way that individuals do. On the whole we would expect trends to continue much as they have, simply because change on a global basis occurs more slowly then it does on an individual level – the Earth is essentially a collective of individual change. Animals feel these cycles as well, and their behavior will tend to shift over time as a result. Look for changes in herding trends and feeding desires for many species including companion animals, plus larger “mood swings” and fluctuations in energy levels.

Overall, expect the following planet-wide:

• Surprising political news such as abdication, coup, or impeachment, in a first-world country
• Increased levels of political and economic solidity among third-world nations
• Unusual degree of water crisis in traditionally arid areas, as well as unusual flooding in wetter places
• Increased attention on the ocean and marine life
• New species discoveries

If at any time you find yourself feeling as if the world is moving faster than you are, or faster than you’d like, you can perform this simple reconnection to help ground yourself and focus on the inner portion of you that is at all times balanced and centered.

Stand, focusing on the connection your feet make with the ground. Do this barefooted if possible. Feel the floor (or Earth) beneath your feet. Breathe up from the soles of your feet into your 3^rd eye, passing each chakra – root, sexual, solar plexus, heart, and throat – slowly on the way. Feel the energy gather there in your 3^rd eye. You may feel dizzy at this point – simply focus for a moment on your solar plexus.

 

When the sensation has passed, continue breathing up from your feet and allow your 3^rd eye to expand further. You are now connecting to a sense of timelessness – past, present, future – that grounds you in the Now. Create in intention to utilize this stored energy to assist you in creating conscious choices this month that support your soul growth and effortless movement into an emotionally-centered universe. From this vantage point you understand the need for a higher emotional connection at this time, and any fears of change or overwhelm are diminished.

Now bring your awareness down to your feet again. Feel them tingle. Move them slightly and feel the floor or Earth beneath them. Feel your connection to where you step next.

May is a powerful month, and can fuel creative practices as well as higher intellectual pursuits. The sense of connection to nature and to all life is very close to the surface now. People who create a practice that honors this connection will themselves feel nurtured. Ideas include:

• Drumming circles
• Nature walks
• Shamanic practices to connect to your spirit animals
• Meditating outside

You are at all times welcome to connect with our energy for support. We are available to all who ask.

This channeling concerns a group question regarding the well known channeled phrase "All Is Choice".

You may have already noticed in thinking about the statement "All Is Choice" on a big picture, theoretical basis, it is not all that useful in a practical sense.  It can be comforting to have that as a basis or background, but the human mind finds it impossible to maintain a real connection to that idea when also faced with mundane, day to day activities.

In other words, when you pick up your coffee cup to take a sip, it is not that useful to you in that moment to imagine how that small action fits into the overall arc of your life as a projection of a soul. How does taking a sip of coffee serve you in the larger sense?  It's almost impossible to grasp that - and then the question arises: "how does the act of taking a sip of coffee affect me, either positively or negatively, in terms of the overall arc of my life?"   From that moment, from the human perspective, it's almost impossible to tell.

And so for some, a sense of "bullshit" can erupt from this.  The human mind invents reasons to stave away inner chaos.  The concept of "all is choice" can be used to push away feelings and to rationalize acts or feelings about acts in a way that's typically not very useful to a person. An intellectual, older soul can have strong feelings about an act, but step back to intellectualize under an "all is choice" motto in order to be "loving" and deny negative feelings.

While stepping back and becoming part of that larger perspective is part of the old soul experience, there's a not so fine line there. When that stepping back is done to create a denial of what's being felt in the present than that is not particularly useful.

Our suggestion about how any person can view their life in terms of choice in a way that's empowering would be to instead of looking at things at the macro level to look at the micro level and to connect emotion to every moment:

As I pick up my coffee cup to take a sip, what am I feeling?  Am I feeling energized?  Am I feeling frustrated?  Am I feeling hurried because I need to gulp down a whole cup of coffee before I leave for my day?  Am I feeling complacent?  Am I feeling bored?

That's only a small fraction of the kinds of feelings that someone can feel in the simple act of picking up coffee cup to take a sip.  The more you are present and aware of what you feel in a given moment, the more you will feel connected to your own empowerment regarding choice.

Choice within Simple Actions

Let's examine this more.  We will go back to the coffee cup analogy. In that act of picking up the coffee cup, you have all kinds of choices. Perhaps they might be in some ways dependent upon or connected to other factors. If you're in a hurry, then you might pick up the coffee cup in a certain forceful way. If your mind is engaged in something else and you reach out with a fumbling hand because you decide you want a sip of coffee while you're staring at your laptop screen, that's another way of being present in that moment.

A small word of caution: while it is possible to be mindful and aware of what you were feeling in every given moment, that again is not necessarily useful to the human experience. In other words, you can get anal about it: "I'm sitting in a chair.  What am I feeling now?  I'm leaning back a little.  What am I feeling now? I glance out the window.  What I am feeling now? ... "   And you can get caught up, lost in the midst of intellectualizing.  You would be trying to feel instead of allowing the feelings to be present. There's a balance.

Not everyone that we're speaking to can join in what's referred to as an "old soul perspective" of stepping back and becoming distant. And that's okay - it's not necessary in order to feel empowered in your own life or feel good about what's going on in the world.

When we are referring to empowerment in this instance, we mean feeling that you yourself have the ability to make changes in your life as you see fit.  The very first step in that is assessing where you are in a given moment.  This is why we talk about the micro level, or bringing in an element of mindfulness.

The most useful way to apply that concept is when you feel the "big feelings" - when you feel a fair amount of emotion.  That's when you rest in that and simply ask "what am I feeling?" from within your presence - from outside your intellect.  Allow the feeling to be there while you rest in it.

Question:  I recently had an experience where my child was misbehaving and getting very angry, screaming and not listening.  I felt a very strong impulse to spank him until he "behaved", but then I caught myself because I know that is very bad for him.  I guess my own childhood pain came out - I don't know.  But then I got very tense and pushed away the feelings, but I still noticed him being very frightened of me and seemingly feeling threatened.  I guess by stuffing away those violent feelings, I was also being unloving.  This relates to the nature of choice to me - both were fairly automatic.  Either I behave like my parents did to me or I try to repress and do the opposite, but somehow create a similar dynamic.  I didn't feel I had any other choice.

This situation is a moment of big emotion.  The parent, feeling all this welling up inside them, has a moment to create that change from how they themselves were treated as a child. So the parent can assess this, starting with the knowing of "I'm feeling this big emotion."

Realize first that immediate action is not necessary. In other words, following through with that spanking energy is not necessary.  Removing or changing the emotion is not necessary.  If there is a big emotion there then this is a time for the parent to sit with that emotion for a moment without taking action.  Allow it to be there.   The action arises from believing that the emotion can't be there.  It wants to move through and out.  Tensing is another way of saying that the emotion cannot be there - and it also communicates to the child that their own mirroring emotion should not be there.

Again, this is an invitation for the parent to truly be with that emotion without moving into action.  This "action" can be external or internal, such as tensing or rationalizing.  Understand that this moving into action is likely a pattern for that person that came from their own childhood (such as with the pattern of self destruction).  Whether or not they tense themselves and try to try to deter any tendencies that feel negative, or they go ahead and strike the child:  those are two opposites of the same spectrum of non-acceptance.  The trick them would be to simply sit with the emotion and to let it be there without taking action.

Once the parent does that, other perceptions begin to come up: realizations that this is a connection to my own life. Realizations that I don't need to perpetuate this with my child, that there are other choices available now that the need to push an experience away has dissolved.  Emotions are simply energy.  They are an experience.  From our perspective, all emotions are good emotions, as energy itself has no value judgments attached.  But people can feel disempowered by emotions when they have not been encouraged to actually feel them.  Surrendering to the experience of an emotion is a tremendously empowering act.

The child's experience is a little different.  A child is naturally feeling a little bit disempowered, especially in western cultures, because of the physical dynamic that already exists. In other words, they're a small person and surrounded by big people who make the rules, provide the structure and play the "authority figure". There's already an atmosphere of not feeling that they have a choice.  But also within the child is a beautiful invitation to create a sense of choice in the midst of what could feel like a disempowering situation. The choice is about feeling.   The child too has the impulse to take action:  Do I cower and cover my head?   Do I run away?  Do I try to smile to defuse the situation?  Those are all potential actions.  But the child too can simply be with the emotion.

A child naturally does this at a very early age, but in the western culture is largely educated away from this.  This is true in the modern world in many Eastern cultures as well. The role of "parental authority" is a factor in 90% of the cultures around your world now.

We can offer a practical exercise beyond the theoretical which we've already given you that can increase your ability to feel connected to the choices in your own life.  We've already talked about stepping back while feeling and allowing yourself to feel when a big emotion comes up.  Again, that's useful situation by situation as it comes up for you.

In order to assist, provide support and create a pattern of energy movement within you now that can become a foundation for you whenever those big emotions come up so that you can practice what we've already told you, we can offer this.

This exercise is best if done seated and your spine is relatively straight. If you are accustomed to a particular meditation posture this is a good opportunity to take a particular posture but it's not necessary; you can be seated in a chair. 

[We offer the audio recording of this with beautiful background music which you may download to aid you in this exercise.]

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Closing your eyes, take a deep breath and allow it to float out if you.  Take another deep breath, hold it for a moment and allow it too to float out if you.  As you release that breath, imagine your conscious awareness expanding.   Every time you breathe in and breathe out your awareness expands. In other words, rather than being tightly placed inside your head, perhaps, it moves to a space outside yourself. You can start with a space that extends about a foot away from your body.

Just as you breathe out, allow your breath to float into that space about a foot on all sides of your body and allow your awareness to extend to that distance.  It's especially important to bring your awareness up over your head to that distance.

Now you can imagine that your awareness has expanded to a place that's up above and slightly outside of your physical body. This causes you to have the sensation that your movements would be slower, more flowing than you are accustomed to.  You feel wiser, perhaps.

Understand that within the space you may also incorporate all your emotion world by stepping up and back and out just slightly. You have the opportunity to include an awareness of more of yourself than you are accustomed. Yet this is not a  place of overwhelm. This is where you can be with those big emotion's without being overwhelmed by them.

If the idea of choice and empowerment has been particularly troubling to you - in other words if at times in your life you have felt buffeted by the winds of chance - then we would suggest taking a few moments of each day to perform this exercise.  Understand that when those big emotions come up for you this is the place that you can rest in while you are allowing yourself to be present within those emotions. And when we say "be present with" we are not suggesting that you become detached from and intellectual about them.  But we are suggesting that from this space you can see them for what they are. You can allow them into you without creating a need for action.

The energy this month can be described as “Anticipation of Change.” We have described in the past the sensation many people feel of late, that things in their lives are changing, moving, perhaps in ways that feel a little outside their control. This anticipation of change will be following many of you this month as you stand on a precipice, wondering what it would feel like to jump.

We have used this analogy before, when we spoke about the overall energy of this year. This month, then, April, brings with it a heightened sense of what is yet to come. But now, some time has passed since you first thought of 2010. You have dug down, gone within, and come up again for air with a new sense of perception of yourself and the world around you. You have a greater sense of what is yet to come, of the direction you wish to take in the eight months remaining to the year. Time is passing! Yet each moment brings you new discoveries, new pathways, new joys.

Personal Anticipation of Change

On a personal level, you may expect to experience some of the following:

• Sense of purpose
• New connections to people
• Wistfulness or nostalgia for what remains in the past
• Anger or frustration about where you are vs. where you wish to be
• Childhood emotions playing out in new ways
• Sense of “rightness” with the world
• Feelings of injustice
• A call to action
• Feeling connected to guidance in ways that are new for you

As you can see, you could be all over the metaphysical map this month, so expect highs and lows as you proceed. Remembering that nothing remains the same, even the feelings you wish would last forever, will be useful this month. Everything changes. Impermanence. Darker emotions and childhood emotional patterns may come up for you, yes, but on other days this month you’ll feel inspired and connected, filled with joy in the simple act of breathing.

How to make this month’s energy of Anticipation of Change work for you on a personal level:

We’ve designed a simple practice you can engage in this month to keep you feeling grounded and anchored while leaving you open to the possibilities that you create in each moment.

Sit or lie down comfortably and take a few deep breaths. After a moment, as you release each breath, allow yourself to make an audible sound. Ahhh. Breathe in again and release, again with an audible sigh. Ahhh. As you sigh, feel the vibration in your throat. Feel this vibration move down from your throat into your chest, your heart, your solar plexus. Feel the sigh fill your body.

Keep breathing and releasing audible sighs, moving the sense of vibration down your charkas as far as you can. Can you reach the soles of your feet? Try this now, releasing a breath and allowing the vibration from your audible sigh to move slowly down each chakra and out through the soles of your feet.

Now breathe in through your nose, still releasing each breath audibly. Feel now the echoes of the audible breaths being released all over the world. Connect your vibration to those and feel the song you sing together.

Now breathe in through your crown chakra as you pull in air through your nose, moving the breath now through your 3^rd eye before it reaches your throat and down. Imagine now that you are breathing as part of a great spinning circle, that the breath moving out through the soles of your feet and the breath coming in through your crown chakra are connected, one enormous circle, and your breath and audible sighs are making the circle spin faster.

You can speed the circle up or slow it down. You are in control of this enormous circle. Play with the speed of its spin until you feel comfortable. Set your intention that this circle keeps spinning at the same rate even without your perceptible attention. You may change the rate of spin at any time.

Now, even when you feel ungrounded or not in synch with your life and your internal guidance, you have a way to reconnect and set things to your liking again. Try this practice on a daily basis for a while and notice what changes for you as a result.

Global Anticipation of Change

On a global level, things are boiling just under the surface. We’ve talked before about increased volcanic and seismic activity throughout the coming year, and while we are not presently expecting any major events this month, with the increased pressure below the surface of the earth there will certainly be a major and perhaps catastrophic event occurring in a populated area within the next few months. Italy and the area surrounding the Adriatic Sea are at potential risk in this time, as are Malaysia and the Phillipines.

The below-the-surface boil continues on in other ways. A major American political reversal is on the horizon, as is the potential of an assassination of a world leader. Overall tensions remain at a strong point, suggesting that events that create a sense of resolution to the constant under-surface tension is close at hand, though likely not this month.

To put global anticipation of change in perspective, understand that the tension of expected change is magnified when on a large-scale or global level. It is one thing to feel for yourself that things are moving. You can explain away your discomfort with the level of lack of control that you feel about personal change.  Larger entities like countries, kingdoms, and corporations have no such luxury, however. When tensions increase to a certain point, something must be done to relieve the pressure. You cannot suggest that France, for instance, begin a meditation program in order to better deal with political and religious tensions that bubble just under the surface of everyday life. France, as an entity, is an amalgamation of many things including individual people, their expectations, past patterns, and a sense of propriety for maintaining a particular image that others have come to associate with France. Every country, kingdom, and corporation is much the same, and as such is affected differently by under-surface tensions. Things tend to erupt, then, in often surprising ways with these larger entities.

Possible global symptoms include:

• War
• Systemic starvation
• Corporate failure, buyouts, mergers
• Religious terrorism
• Political “spin”

Sound bleak? Not really. These things are present all the time; most people are either unaware of them or choose a low level of awareness of such activities.

Assisting Change on a Global Level

While you may be feeling unempowered about helping to create change or to support the sense of anticipation of change on a global level, we can assure you that you do indeed have the ability to effect assistance on this global level. You only need to do one simple thing.

Engage your personal creativity.

That’s right: paint, dance, sing, sew, write. Whatever creative pursuit makes you feel balanced, whole, and happy. This is an especially fruitful time for creativity, so make use of it! And you’ll be assisting the global community as well.

How? Because all this anticipation of change is built upon a great deal of energy accumulation. By tapping into and creating movement with this energy, you create a cumulative effect of movement in all this “excess” energy, and help create a platform upon which the energy can begin moving in a large-scale way.

Take charge of your personal precipice, then, and jump with your eyes wide open.

The theme for the month of March is Chaos.

March is a month of seeming contradiction. You are perhaps familiar with the adage that March “comes in like a lion and out like a lamb”? This is a reference to weather but could also be applied to the winds of change permeating your very existence. In other words, what appears calm on the surface is seething and roiling underneath, and what appears chaotic is in actuality forming a new, more stable foundation.

Let us examine our theme of Chaos. When defined, one finds that chaos is in actuality quite structured.  In other words, it is unpredictability within a highly defined and perhaps rigid set of rules. Would you not say that this is your world, in part? In your universe there are certain rules within which, at times, there is certain unpredictability. Even the very appearance of individuals within the human race is subject to this: there is a general set of ‘rules’ (DNA structure, for example) within which there are endless – and seemingly unpredictable – variations. Chromosomal abnormalities. Cancer markers that are never triggered into actual cancer. Endless variations in size, color, personality and other peculiarities of the human manifestation that don’t seem subject to any rules. This is the hallmark of your world – this seeming contradiction – yet many of you have endless difficulty with the fluidity of choices available to you at any given time.

This seeming contradiction is part of what is going to be becoming stronger and more apparent as time goes by. How will this manifest in ways easily perceivable?

Physical manifestation of energetic chaos

1. Increased weather “events”. We have talked before about climate changes and extreme weather, have we not? You may expect, subject to region, further such extreme events over many areas, some widespread.  Drought is beginning this month across parts of India, Africa, and the southwestern part of the US. At the same time, extra precipitation is expected across much of western and southern Europe, the South Pacific, the central and Eastern US, the Caribbean, and much of South America. This precipitation could arise in the form of hurricane-like weather. Or other extreme events.

2. Earthquakes and volcanic activity. As above, so below. Look for increased visibility and awareness of Pacific Rim (especially the South Pacific, also possibly Alaska) activity this month as well as isolated earthquakes in areas not generally known for them (central US, eastern Europe). It is likely that a fairly devastating quake takes place in a populated area within the next 60-90 days.

3. Discoveries of genetic aberrations or new species are likely to be found in the animal kingdom. Animals and plants are, of course, subject to this chaotic energy as are people and the earth as a whole. While it is true that the animals, plant, and mineral kingdoms respond to such change with greater apparent aplomb, change affects all. What will be likely, then, are overt and tangible effects to the energetic shifts, resulting the “new” species, flocks of “deformed” species found regionally, or other similar discoveries.

Intrapersonal manifestation of energetic chaos

1. People “snapping.” This can be on a low level (increased arguments between spouses and children) or on a wider level (employees ‘going postal’, random attacks, mob situations, etc). It can be helpful to remember that this is occurring worldwide, not just in your neighborhood, and that the statistical likelihood of being a part of such an occurrence is relatively low. If this is a fear for you, please try the following:

Standing near a table or waist high horizontal surface, stand with feet hip width apart while your hands rest on this surface.

Take a moment to breathe and remember your particular fears surrounding this potential occurrence. Imagine while you do so that the charkas in your hands and feet are opening fully to embrace the energy of your planet: your home, the Earth. 

Feel the enormous loving energy pouring in to you now through your hands and feet. Your hands may feel warm and tingling. Feel the pulsating aliveness of your planet, the place you call home and that you, along with billions of others, are creating. Feel the love inherent in this energy of your creation. Feel the safety inherent in this energy of your creation.

Draw this energy, along with the live connected to it, up through your hands, feet, arms, and legs. Allow the energy to meet and mix in your root chakra. Feel your center of consciousness drop a few inches as you do so. Feel any tightness on your heart area now dissipate. Feel the immense sense of perpetual, eternal safety wrap your being in a soft, warm blanket. Feel how this sense of safety was created by you, along with billions of others, in the creation of your world as you know it to be. Remember that you carry with you a bubble that includes this sense of safety and protection.

Feel it now and rest in your ability to re-create this sense any time you wish.

2. Relationship hurdles. This is a huge month of growth for people involved in all sorts of relationships.  Long-held patterns may be released this month. Expect things to re-surface so they can be released.

Welcome these issues rather than attempting to submerge them again.

Those who are less self-aware will have greater difficulties relationship-wise this month, but if it is your practice to be aware of these patterns, then you should have little difficulty allowing them to simply drift away into the winds of change that surround you. Understanding, too, that any seeming surface disruption is for many a sign of healing underneath that is long-lasting and permanent in nature. This relates to all sorts pf relationships, from intimate connections to family dynamics to work relationships, as well as the relationship to Self that each of you possesses. Again, look for outward conflict as a sign of inner healing and change.

3. Spiritual depth. For those of you seeking greater self awareness, this is a month in which you can easily accelerate your growth. We would caution against becoming stuck in linear terms to describe such growth (‘evolving’, ‘moving forward’, ‘ascension’, etc), but at the same time there are exponential possibilities this month that will allow you great enhancement of whatever path you are presently choosing and such terms can be useful in this manner.

Practices to assist in flowing with, not against, the energy of Chaos

You can, of course, enhance your sensation of flow in relation to the energy that is around you at this time. This is not, of course, to allow you to “control” your experience or outcome, but is more designed to help you feel movement in a pleasurable way.

1. Practice an energy movement exercise. This could be tai chi, qigung, or some forms of yoga or meditation – anything where energy is consciously and deliberately moved through the body. This is very much a month in which to let go of conscious thought and allow your other wisdom (of the body, of the soul) to surface. Even if you have mental resistance against such exercises – and we would suggest daily use to enhance the effects – this is a case where “just doing it” is the most helpful approach. A side benefit, of course, is that after 30 days of such practice is becomes a habit, which in our perception would only continue to be beneficial.

2. Drink water. More than ever, this is an important practice. Pure, filtered water, preferably from a source local to you, is best. A liter per 50 pounds of body weight.

3. Breathe. Again, this is such a basic practice that is welcome at any time. Try simply breathing as fully as possible when you first awaken. Not only are you more relaxed at this time, making it easier to actually “get” a full, deep breath, but it will help create the tone for the day and energize and fully awaken your body. Spending 3-4 minutes in contemplative, deep breathing upon awakening will greatly enhance your abilities to flow with this month’s energy.

In addition to these practices, we suggest going within to seek answers to long-held questions. We are, of course, available to those who seek our advice and will continue to make our presence known to an ever-increasing number, but we also support your abilities to seek the inner guidance that is always inside you.

May you rest in the seeming contradictions.

The theme for this month is Flow. When we speak of Flow in this context, we speak of the ability you all have — perhaps something unique to your species, at least in your way of doing so — of assimilating yourselves into that which surrounds you. In other words, you take in the energy of what is around you and breathe it into yourself, sometimes quite literally, creating an ever-changing new organism with each breath.

When we speak of “what is around you” we mean this:

• The literal air and all it contains: particulate matter, the pheromones of nearby lovers, the scent of the pot roast bubbling on the stove in your kitchen.
• Visual stimuli: the flowers in a vase on your table, the piles of clutter on your desk, the view outside your window.
• Clothing and furniture: the touch, smell, and feel of what touches your physical body.
• Energetic information: every tangible item or person (or non-human being, such as pets, plants, and stones) has with it an energetic signal, and this you also take in.

Each of these things that you take in, the actual tangible things as well as the energetic information, also contains within it all the memories you have ever experienced of similar such things. When you observe the vase of flowers on your table and take that into your being, you take with it the memory of all flowers in vases you have ever observed, and all similar-colored flowers you have observed growing, perhaps, in gardens, as well as the memories that come flooding into you with the scent of flowers, the color of flowers, and the feeling of warm sun on your back as you, perhaps, once walked through a garden filled with flowers.

After upheaval comes quiet, at least for a while. It’s a time of taking stock, of seeing what’s in the larder, and then moving ahead again into new territory. By month’s end, many of you will have unearthed a direction or secret resolve that you intend to move forward upon into the future.

The stabilizing energy is a direction to head toward. There will likely be a number of ups and downs along the way — realizations and discoveries — but on the whole, the energy of January speaks to an overall stabilizing effect so that further deepening and movement can be possible in the future.

Effects on a personal level

What does this mean to you personally? For starters, it’s about bringing things to the surface. Not so much in the dramatic ways of the past few months, but more lovingly, tenderly, almost as if you are greeting inner parts of you for the first time, giving birth to the most precious deep elements to the creation that is you. So you can expect feelings of surprise, wonder, childlike yearnings, and innocence to be crossing your path this month.

Another effect of January’s energy on a personal level is a sense of greater connection. This may occur for you on a family level, between neighbors, in a community, or on a virtual basis, but awareness of the greater whole that is all of humanity will be becoming more evident this month. Deepen this for yourself by reaching out in tangible ways to those around you — volunteer, give charitably, or simply host a gathering.

Right now you – all of you – stand poised at the edge of a precipice, ready to jump. Or to fly.

2010 is a pivotal year. We have been telling you about changes taking place within you and around you these past several months. Many of you have begun deep, lasting, and profound inner transformation as a result of choosing to step into the flow of change that is taking place all around the world. We repeat here what many of you have heard from other sources, or perhaps sensed yourself: you are here – now – for a reason. Most of you reading these words will feel a familiar tingling or chill right about now. You are here, right now, in this place and in this time, to take part in what is likely to be one of your species’ greatest times of expansion.

First, a caveat. The change that we speak of will take years to complete or even to come to a place that is readily discernible by most people as great change. This – now – is just the beginning stage of great overall growth. Expansion. You have agreed to be a part of what will end up being among the beginning stage of this expansion. Many of you will intend to incarnate again later on for a role in later stages of this change that will likely require several hundred years overall.

But understand, too, that change is occurring. Many of you are sensitive enough to feel what’s coming and to incorporate new ways of relating into your own lives. Many of you are now riding the crest of the wave yet to come.

Now, what do we mean by “expansion”? The human species has collectively agreed and chosen to begin evolving in certain ways that will eventually support new ways of interacting. Evolution has been occurring throughout your entire history, of course, but soon there will be more evidential changes taking place. Nothing so drastic, perhaps, as growing gills to breathe underwater, but just as significant in the overall effect.

December is the month of richness. Not “rich” in the material sense, although that is certainly a possibility for those on that path, but rich in the sense of depth. Added complexity. Layers unfolding layers. Last month you allowed what was under the surface to bubble up to conscious awareness; this month you explore things more deeply, in a rich, soul-satisfying way. You'll see the strata of each layer of past experience and insight, and this month the patterns become more clear and beautiful. You sense purpose in your experience. Everything you have been before this moment has built the You that you are now, and you rest this month in that knowledge.

It’s no accident that this energy is occurring along with a few other things going on in the world at this time:

1. End-of-calendar-year review. Now you’ll be looking back over the past year, a convenient marker or milepost, to see where you’ve been and the journey it took to get to where you stand now.

2. December religious holidays, for whatever amount of significance they hold for you personally, are extremely affecting to the vast majority of people in the world. Even if you don’t personally hold religious significance to this time of year, there’s a pervasive sense of global collective awareness this time of year. Now, more so than other times of the year, you are aware of the connections you have to all of humanity.

3. Solstice. For the Northern Hemisphere it’s the winter solstice, the time of inward contraction, which invites inner exploration. In the South there’s expansion with the summer solstice. Two magnetic poles in perfect balance. Overall, this affects your richness explorations by inviting you to feel more in tune with the energy of your region.

4. Copenhagen energy talks. Much of the direction you’ll be headed on a collective basis in terms of how humans and the earth interrelate will manifest through the results of this summit. If you like making predictions, pay attention to what goes on here.

It is helpful, with all this collective energy abounding, to bring yourself to a place of conscious connection to the global collective entity known as “humanity” as well as to the larger global collective entity known as “Earth.” To create a stronger conscious connection, we suggest the following. This exercise is most effective if done as a group experience, but can also be practiced alone:

Lie directly on the ground if possible, or on the floor of what feels to you like a comfortable space.  Lying on your back, take a few deep breaths to relax your body somewhat and to allow you to focus your energy and attention.

When you feel that you have expanded into the space surrounding your body (about 6-8 inches all around your body), focus your awareness on the space within your heart. As you do so, notice that this space is of infinite size – although it is contained within your awareness, it extends in every direction toward infinity.

Maintaining your awareness of that space, allow yourself to imagine a golden light emanating from that space, dropping down into the center of the Earth below you. The center of the Earth, you now notice, is also a space of infinite proportion just as your heart-space is. The two infinite spaces are now connected by the golden light.

You are now connected to this source of energy that exists within your planet that fuels and connects the global collective entity known as “humanity”. You are also now connected to the global collective entity known as “Earth.” You are no bigger and no smaller than either of these entities.

Your own space is as infinite as any other.

Practice this daily if you can this month, especially on the solstice.

Other ways this energy of richness will appear this month, beyond that of a personal nature: