​We are all driven by ten or twelve year cycles. If you look back over your life you will be able to pinpoint big events to these larger cycle points. They are not exact, to the day. This is nature, but this is the estimate. Once you pass the threshold of 7 years you start to enter selfhood. The 8th year you are trying out the things you have learned from your family, your peers, your groups that have had an impact on you and trying to figure our how you fit into it. This is the time that you start to experience yourself as separate from your parents and siblings. As you sweep out forward 18 ish is another threshold, then the Saturn return around 28-30 years of age. And so goes the march of time. If by 31 you have failed to mature, failed to step over the threshold, you are doomed to experience the karma of your astrology chart. Not because of fate, but because you are not doing anything to change yourself, to mature and grow.

If on the other hand you have a system that you are working, you surpass the karma in your chart, to a degree. What is a system? It is a guiding foundation from which you make yourself accountable. Everyone needs a system. If you don’t have one, see above. There are many systems, and they are all based on some set of virtues. Being honest, not lying, not stealing, not being a shitty human being, being selfless, etc. The benefit of these systems is they hold you accountable. The key is it must be a daily practice.

I just passed my 55th solar return, aka birthday. I have been about 3 years in a media blackout. This means no newspaper, news programs, podcasts, YouTube or anything else. In this last year I finally cut out Facebook and Instagram. Not that I had been very attentive to it.

This is what I know. I am not a democrat or a republican. I am not liberal or conservative. I am both of those things and everyday I draw from each centered from my heart. Sometimes I must lay down a boundary, conservative. Other times I must open my heart and be compassionate, liberal. The unending drum beat to keep the populace divided by choosing sides is evil. I refuse to be put in a box, labeled and sorted. Every human being I know wants the same thing and has both liberal and conservative qualities. I refuse to see others as enemies, deluded, or catastrophizing their process.

There are two biological sexes. But there are probably millions of sexualities. If we look to nature, we see plants have thousands of sexualities. We see animals have multiple sexualities. I don’t care what your sexual identity is, I just don’t want to see anyone’s private life in my face. I don’t like graphic sex, graphic violence or behavior of any kind to excess. It’s not my thing, but I don’t mind if you want to flaunt it. Sometimes it is fun to watch. Other times I just don’t have the energy. Long and the short of it, be with the one you love and love your neighbor like you love yourself. Although that doesn’t turn out to well if you don’t love yourself…

Climate change and over population. We are guessing. We don’t know anything. It is all a working hypothesis. What we do know is we have become conscious to the fact that what we do to Mother Earth we do to ourselves. I still think She is more powerful and has her unruly children under control. She will smack us if necessary. Read history, every single generation has said the world is going to end or going to hell in a handbasket. It hasn’t happened yet. It is all a guessing game. Overpopulation has been debunked and now we are in a crisis of not enough working people to support the larger system. Look at China, that tells the story of what happens when you limit childbirth. They have are in crises and have an unsustainable future with not enough people coming up to support their future. Other governments are paying women to have babies (Japan). 

 Reality check, life marches on and gets better and better for most people in spite of our stupid politics. There is less poverty in the world, there is less ignorance, more education for all. Life spans are longer. Honestly, I think we have an inbred self-loathing that perpetuates this shitty worldview of some version of the apocalypse. Hollywood loves this theme.

Here is another one, ascension, the planet is ascending, and I am a light worker. Nope, sorry, you have just swung to the other end of the apocalypse and the other side of self-loathing. Now we are all super special, or those of us in the know are. We are dissociating from messy existence and not participating, not getting our precious feet dirty, holing up in ashrams or yoga communities or our homes and being so smug and zen and better than those filthy humans who are deluded. Same story as the liberal conservative bullshit. Everyone is special. Everyone is an expression of God. Everyone has a capacity to be of service to humanity and uplift this world.

There is a book I like to recommend to my clients called “What is Lightbody”. I recommend it with the precaution to flip past the whole beginning and just use the tools. Why, because the tools work, but the whole first part is about the planet ascending. I recently went back an read it again. Nothing it says has come true. The book was written in the 80’s and republished in the 90’s.

Channeled material should be taken with a grain of salt. There might be some information that feels good in your gut, leave the rest. Channeled material relies on the human being it is coming through and it will be colored by that human’s belief system. Whatever it is. This is where Christians have visions of Christ or hear Christ’s voice, Hindu’s see Krisna, Kali or Shiva, Buddhist’s see Bodhisattvas. They are going to use your beliefs to talk to you. You need to use your discrimination and test everything for practical application and results.

I work with angels. Do I know they are angels. Nope. I can’t see them. When my brother told me he was concerned I was opening myself up to demons, because that’s where many Christians go, it gave me pause. I prayed and they said to me, you know us by our works. Then I thought about that. Since working with angels, I have made incredible progress as a human being. It has been harder. I have been put through my paces more. I have had to take 100% responsibility for every part of my life. But I have matured and become a better human being. What is more, my clients have been able to clear tremendous hurtles and are beaming joy. They are right. I know them by their works. Practical application, not wishful thinking. It has not been all magical by the way. If you are really working with angels, they are going to make you face your karmas and work through them. If you do that, you become a better human. If you are all blissed out all the time and floating around, you are ungrounded and not getting anything accomplished practically and most likely not being of service to our human family.

That’s the thing. Once we progress and get it, it is part of the mission to reach back and lift others up too. This is a primary tenant in all the world’s religions. We are all connected.

I had to get that all off my chest. I made it a practice to not respond when friends and family try to get me on their side, or espouse their beliefs thinking, well everyone thinks like I do. I don’t. I don’t like anything that makes enemies, picks side, that separates people from each other and certainly not anything that calls others deluded, stupid or uneducated. Not that I don’t get worked up about things sometimes. But I know that anytime I get upset about something, that says more about me and my issues than the thing I am upset about. Anytime I see enemies, it is because I have enemies within. Psych 101.

I have been blessed in my lifetime to have ecstatic, fantastic events and hard, painful, gut-wrenching times. And many boring, mundane days in-between. The best thing I do for my clients is help them reframe their reality so it is more serviceable to a happy future. My birthday wish for humanity is to reframe our worldview to one of wonder, delight, grit and determination. Let’s try to love each other and have compassion for our brothers, sisters, she, her, them, we and everything in between. It is a messy, beautiful life we are blessed to get to have. Even the angels envy us.

​Happy Summer!


I hope everyone is getting a chance to play, relax and unwind. I have been very busy with not enough time in the day. I am going to try to squeeze in a beach day sometime soon...
But I love my "work". I have been studying the Avasthas again. The thing with yoga-ic Astrology that derives from yoga philosophy, is that there are so many layers. It would take many lifetimes to master this stuff. I came back around to the avasthas after in meditation one day my muses told me to look at the state of one of my clients avasthas. Avasthas are a classification of planets based on the sign they are in and some other stuff.  I took a look and was blown away at something I hadn't noticed before. The majority of her planets are in the deep sleep state, Sushupti. This certainly can create sleep problems, but it also makes it hard to make things conscious. The positive is that planets in this state create a psychology that can change pretty quickly. We just apply remedies and figure out how to bring consciousness to psychology that is always running around in another world! Then of course, I spent the next week looking at many charts in my files to see how this has played out for people. It has been fascinating re-visit to this topic. I plan to continue research on this topic in anticipation of our next class on the topic. This class will be different. I will be teaching and then we will go on guided meditations regarding each person's avashta issue. IIt will be exactly on the full moon, so our minds will be bright and receptive. No knowledge of astrology is necessary. We will MAP, Shamanic journey, and reiki different issues. You will require some pre-training if you don't know those techniques. You can register to learn them on this website main page.

​In Vedic astrology there are Avasthas. These tell us the state of your psychology, your psychological karma. I will be conducting a full moon Zoom retreat where you will learn about the Avasthas, identify them in your chart, and then we will perform healing rituals to alleviate and transform those aspects. The astrology chart continues to inspire and lead me to bringing these transformative healing spaces out into the world. I hope you will join me for a weekend of love, light, learning & healing with the cosmic forces. A prerequisite of Reiki Initiation I or MAPPING is required. You can find those on my website to schedule your pre-training. To register for the retreat return to the menu selection on my home page and select Weekend Retreat.

Build Strength & Flexibility, find a community, stay astrologically attuned!

I am very blessed to have a daily exercise program where I get to lead a group in Cardio, Weight, Yoga training mixed with Astrology, Angels and Spirituality! This is a very unique daily inspiration that keeps you healthy on every level physically, emotionally, mentally & spiritually. Join us every morning at 7am 5 days a week for Cardio, Dumbbell and Yoga training. Wednesday nights there is a 6pm Slow Flow Class with Bunny & Dr. Robert. Friday mornings we have 2 classes. A Kundalini Yoga Class at 7am and a Spiritual Tools and Dream Class at 8am.On the 6th day, Saturday, we get to sleep in. Class starts at 8am to unwind and restore with gentle Yoga using props and yoga balls and Guided Meditations.   

The brilliance of this program is rolling out of bed, turning on zoom and getting it done. Many keep the camera off and just chime in when they want to share a laugh. Every class ends with angelic inspirations and astrology of the day. You will be calm, happy, grounded and centered to start your day.

A free weekly trial is available now! Then you can make a choice of class passes, a ten-class pack or monthly unlimited pass. Send me an email to sign up!

I am republishing my favorite Gluten Free Tortilla recipe with a few end notes added. Tortillas mix up super-fast. I had two small ones this morning with spinach, broccoli and eggs. I always have a jar of Patak curry paste or Tikka Masala paste in the refrigerator. I swirl some up a big tablespoon full in a pan with a little water or milk alternative, add the veg to cover and steam. I like very hot food, so moderate for your taste buds. 


Meanwhile, I have a bowl of tortilla dough in the refrigerator ready to roll out and dry pan fry in a skillet.  I use a caste iron omelet pan. While the tortillas dry fry I remove the veg to a plate and add my scrambled or over easy eggs. Everything is done at the same time. It is spicy, packed with flavor and an amazing breakfast (lunch or dinner) that is satisfying, flavorful and very low in fat and high in taste.


The Patak pastes are a wonderful way to make a quick meal special. You can add a protein (Garbanzo beans, chicken, eggs or pork) and have a curry ready in minutes with a quick pot of steamed rice. You can have your protein and add the veg at the end to steam on top. Then wrap it in a tortilla or put with rice. Very quick and easy way to get to delicious fast. Enjoy!

​These recipes are adapted from Gluten Free Baking, Michael McCamley

Gluten free all-purpose mix

1 1/2 cups of sorghum flour or brown rice flour
1 ¾ Cups of tapioca flour
1/2 cup of almond flour
One teaspoon of xanthan gum
This makes just enough for the Tortillas

Gluten Free tortillas
2 1/2 teaspoons of dry yeast
1 ¾ Cups of lukewarm water
 2 tablespoons of sunflower or coconut oil
3 1/4 cups of gluten free all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of xanthum gum
2 tablespoons of chopped herbs
1/2 teaspoon of crushed red Peppers (optional)
Chopped cilantro or parsley is awesome (optional)
salt and pepper

Mix the yeast in the lukewarm water with the oil in a bowl and let stand for 20 minutes

Sift the flour and the xanthan gum into a large bowl and make a well in the center add the yeast and the herbs and mix until it forms a sticky dough
Flour a surface. Place the ball of dough and knead it. Divide it into 10 equal sized balls

Using parchment paper, roll out the dough under a piece of plastic on the paper. Heat a non-stick skillet on medium heat and add the tortillas one at a time with the parchment paper underneath and cook for two to three minutes until golden brown. Flip it over, remove the paper, and cook the other side for two to three minutes until golden brown. If this paper starts to scorch cut a new circle
To store stack each tortilla after they are cool. You can separate them with wax paper or parchment paper and put them in an airtight container or bag for a week. You could also freeze for a couple months.

So, those are the recommendations. I don't use parchment paper. I don't equally divide the dough. I mix it up and take a heaping double tablespoon full, press it in my tortilla press or roll it out with GF Flour on a board. Then I put it in the skillet. I don't know why he calls for the parchment paper. But in case you want to...I usually cook two and then wrap the bowl and put it in the refrigerator until I want another. They are SO delicious; nothing beats warm bread.

See you soon via Zoom or in my office. Namaste, Laura

​Plans are still being worked out for this tour. My muse is being pretty loud. She moved quick when it came to putting it out to do the trip. She came through recently about the itinerary, which days where and for how long. I also heard the name of the tour planner/ helper to work with when I had multiple people working on quotes for me for different services. 


Why me, why India? Honestly, who knows. Shiva has been dropping hints for a long time now. In dreams, in my becoming a yoga teacher, then a Vedic astrologer. Then there was that first demand that I was in peril if I didn't go to India in 2019, Now they want me back again and made it happen fast. One thing about this kind of travel is that it expands your consciousness. 

Growing up in the military I moved a lot internationally. This is not the case with many military people. We moved to Japan and Germany. We lived in the north and the south and even the west for a brief spell of the US. My first international trip happened when I was 4 months old moving back to the states after being born in Germany. 

Growing up this way made us, me and my 5 siblings different. We had no community we identified with, no state, neighborhood, no childhood friends. There is a detachment that occurred and also a more expanded awareness. One no longer idealizes other cultures when they live in them. You really see that all people are the same. I loved Germany. I loved traveling. I loved visiting Italy, Switzerland, etc. but I was keenly aware there was no country I would rather live in than the United States. There is a freedom here that is not paralleled. In older countries there is old culture that is very entrenched and hard to grow your own wings in. The Unites States being a young country, we have the energy of youth. We are founded on people who were risk takers and idealists. We encourage people to get out and find themselves. In older countries that is not the case. In India it is in the scriptures that one who moves from their home area loses physical power.

Being over 50 I hear my friends and family talking about how this is the worst time ever, "I wouldn't want to raise children during this time", etc, etc. If you read history, literally every generation has said this. When you think this way, just replace it with, I'm old and I am thinking like an old person. Experience is always changing, evolving, doing something never done before. It is the unknown that makes people uncomfortable. The inability to predict what will happen. 

I really challenge people to reframe what they think about this beautiful gift of life. Every day I wake up in a beautiful home, with more food than I could ever eat, with a loving family and loads of friends. I have money in the bank and creative fulfillment. In my 50 plus years I can count on one hand how many people I know who have suffered any serious crime. Through all the political dramas our lives have marched on pretty sweetly. I remember the gas crises of the 70's, the nuclear threats, 3-mile island, and many other, world ending, "horrible" events. The past was no rosier and certainly not simpler. There have been plagues before and will be again. Being an adult is a complex matter that asks for more responsibility and awareness. 

For those of you caught up in the current senate hearings, this is the new normal with a 24-hour news cycle that needs to be fed like a demon and keep ratcheting up the provocation. I am sure it isn't as salacious as the Clinton trials with the blue dress and all, but still makes a good soap opera. Now each president is impeached or brought to a long drawn out grand standing oratory feast. They all know how to speak in that swelling cadence, they all know the power of the myth that will get people to have a gut response. Money, power and politics has always had this level of drama. Meanwhile they become millionaires in their golden kingdom, and we continue to live our lives.

What would be more helpful to this country and to your fellow human beings, would be if you tried to see everyone else as God and made more of an effort to understand those who didn't think the same as you. When it comes down to it everyone wants the same thing. When you actually talk to real people, you would never have the same level of outrage that the TV whips up and the pundits provoke. But, since you like drama, and feeling the thrill of fear and being able to have an enemy, enjoy. But please, leave me out of it. I live in a different universe than you do. I spend my time intending to be of service to my fellow humans. I work on trying to see everything as God, to being non-reactive, non-judgmental, yet discerning. I try to be a good wife, mother and family member, and a good friend. The Christians have a saying, What Would Jesus Do? Would Jesus judge so harshly? Jesus hung out with the lowest of the low and tried to lift them up.  He didn't tell them they were stupid, uneducated, or call them sheep. Just consider this, if you're taking your cues from a political party, and from what we used to call the idiot box, who is programming your consciousness? Who is cultivating your world view? 

Namaste, I bow to you, to the small spark of God within you, Laura 

We all have our stuck psychological processes. Or, as I like to think of karma, we have the areas that we incarnated to develop. Our astrology charts show us what they are. The signs of the zodiac, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, etc, show us what our stuck psychology is by planetary placement and house rulerships.
For me I have Cancer rising, Moon in Capricorn and Jupiter and Venus in my 2nd house, an Artha house. Artha is dealing with material existence, values, money, but also oral teachings and food.  Anything to do with natural second house significations. Cancer is concerned with material security and nurturing; Capricorn is concerned with material security and the second house is about your material resources. Notice a theme here? That is what we look for in the astrology chart. We look for repeating patterns. When we think about our lives, we see these issues keep coming back with different nuances. We evolve through a spiral dealing with each and every aspect of the complex that we incarnated to handle,
I am going to hazard a guess that I do not have a lot of experience as a soul with material resources. I am going to assume that this is a skill set I need to acquire. When looked at from this perspective, there is no shame or guilt.  It is just a learning process.  We are never punished for learning if we make mistakes.
When I am learning about something life is going to present me with opportunities 😉 When challenged the thing to do is bring the problem to your discipline. Yoga is my discipline, so I bring my resource/value/security issue to my yoga philosophy.
In yoga there are the Yamas (Restraints) and Niyamas (Ethics) I have had the same issue repeat throughout my life in different ways. When I was younger, I was financially irresponsible, didn't have a clue. Then when I was a little less young, I had regret and shame over my financial struggles. Once I became an adult, (this doesn't happen until after 40), I was ready to be more responsible, to learn to do things in a different way and to apply discipline to myself. I have read books, I have done inner work, I have prayed, I have reiki-ed. I apply the Yamas and Niyamas, I restrain myself, I practice being content, I study myself, set new goals and then surrender it. I have had great revelations around how grateful I am not to have wealth. Wealth has a whole other package of problems. When you don't have stuff and work to get it, or achieve it, you can be SO happy for what you have. I regularly practice contentment, charity, discipline, restraint, economy, and turning my life over to something larger than myself. This last bit is what allows miracles to happen. I said in my last email, and I will repeat it, the book The Journey Home Autobiography of an American Swami was just the medicine I needed. I highly recommend it. When I turn surrender to something higher than myself it means I trust that as long as I do my part the universe will meet and support me. In the book, Monk gets dysentery at this critical moment of choice. That might seem bad, but the reality was, it cleared a lot of bureaucratic hurdles that allowed him to stay an extra month over his visa in a place that was critical to his soul's development.
Everyone needs a program. It doesn't matter what the program is, but it has to become the foundation that holds you psychologically, It is the thing that gives meaning to your world and helps you make sense of it. The astrology chart and yoga principles that underly it is such a system. This astrology that comes out of the Eastern sacred scriptures is astounding in its structural analysis of the world and your little part in it. I invite you to meditate on it and let it help you to flower and flow.

​I love making these packages. It includes a painting based on your chart. I put in your houses and signs and where the planets are. I meditate on images for you to include. Then I print out a professional report explaining what the chart means. This example was made for a newborn. The image below that you click to order is my chart I made for myself :)
The painting is your mandala, your sacred geometry. Use it as the focal point for your meditations and self-study (Svadyaya).
Click below to order

Being a Cancer rising person it is important for me to nurture and feed others. I love food, I love cooking and I love sharing recipes. This is THE MOST delicious, make your knees buckle, banana bread. Good quality chocolate is a must. If the bananas are super ripe you can try decreasing the sugar. Taste the batter to judge. It is a worthy investment to buy a big block of quality chocolate. I have been known to buy the 11-pound Callebaut chocolate to have in my pantry. But then again, I have that crazy second house in my astrology chart that rules the food you eat. For Jupiter and Venus to be there I tend toward the extravagant with food ;) I slice this up and freeze to enjoy when I want a sweet treat.
Gluten Free Banana Bread
2 tablespoons of rice flour
1 ¾ cups of gluten free all-purpose flour
 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum
2 teaspoons of baking powder
3 mashed bananas
1 cup of sugar
one stick of butter melted
2 eggs beaten
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 Cup of dark chocolate chips
 1/2 cup of walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a loaf pan (Or muffin tins) with parchment paper
Sift the dry ingredients together
Mash the banana with the sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla
Mix the dry in the wet, fold in the chocolate chips and the walnuts.
Pour the batter into your loaf pan and bake for about 40 to 60 minutes to pending on your toothpick test.
Let it rest for 10 minutes once out of the oven. Lift it out of the pan, open the paper and cool for about 45 minutes on a cooling rack.

​I am one of those fortunate over 50 people who can still drink coffee.  As a matter of fact, I can drink coffee and take a nap or go to sleep 😊 This time of year I love to make a pitcher of cold brew coffee with spices. You can add all the masala chai spices or just cinnamon, or just cardamom for crazy good coffee. I love mine with oat milk.
So, what's the deal with cold brew? Coffee extracted in cold water is more caffeinated. It also is much less acidic than typical hot brewed coffee. Therefore, it is smoother and less bitter.  Cold extraction of coffee has been done in Japan for four centuries. If caffein is a problem for you use decaffeinated. You will still get a delicious summer drink.
RECIPE
This makes one liter or 35 fluid ounces and is ready in 12 to 24 hours
70 grams or 2 1/2 ounces or one scant cup of fresh coarsely ground coffee
one liter or 35 fluid ounces of cold water. 
Place the ingredients in a pitcher and refrigerate. Pour over ice to enjoy.
OPTIONS
Cardamom and vanilla cold brew. Add 3 cardamom pods, half of vanilla pod and steep for 16 hours
Cinnamon and vanilla cold brew, same as above except using a half stick of cinnamon.
As always, the quality of ingredients is what makes a dish or a drink amazing. Don’t skimp on ingredients. You will consume less because you are satisfied.
I don't like sugar in my coffee, if you do make a simple syrup and add that to the cold coffee.

This full moon 13 July 2022 is guided by the Vishwadevas (aka the Archangels) the Vedic deities of the ten directions. In the Rigveda the Vishwadevas are known as the "lightworkers", bringers of light and inspiration. Sagittarius is a fire sign and that is the function of this element. To inspire you and make you happy to be alive! Let this full moon illuminate your path and bring you home to your own highest creative self. It is believed that on this full moon, also known as Guru Purnima, your deepest wishes can be fulfilled. Spend some time in prayer the day before, the day of, and the day after and illumination will come. The Vishwadevas, or the Archangels, will be easier to hear with your illuminated mind. You can also ask for a dream to show you what you are supposed to do IF you haven't had any recent illumination. Journaling is the great way into exploring the dream life and your own mythic journey.

Those of you who yoga-ed (I just made that word up) with me for years have heard me talk about this before. Yoga and art run on the same track as sex energetically. You can experience an orgasm in your yoga practice and in your creative life. This is why there is so much sex depicted in art and why yoga makes you feel so good. If your libido needs a lift, start doing yoga or creating or both. It is designed to light up all the energetic channels, 
Spiritual seekers for years have renounced sex to channel that potent energy toward their one goal, God. In the same vein, if your libido is in overdrive, channel it into a creative pursuit. This will change your life and blow your mind. It will make you SO happy and you will be excited to jump out of bed every morning! It will also make you feel that yummy feeling more, all day, and bring you deep fulfillment. When you get this charge flowing nothing beats it. It is better than wine, it is better than shopping, it is the best thing. And in my opinion, is the closest we come to God because We are Creating! You will finally feel like you know who you are. 
I can hear the "but, but, I am not creative." If you were created, you too are a creator. Creativity does not have to be painting or drawing or what one thinks of as art. You have to find that thing that makes you zing. I am absolutely sure it has left footprints in your life. Look closely, you will find it. Pray on it, it will come to you. Look at your 5th and 3rd houses of the zodiac and their nakshatras. Those are good clues as to where your creative charge is. Who rules them and where are the rulers? Book a mini reading to just focus on this area.
Personally, I am on a creative high. It feels a lot like a constant orgasm. Not kidding. That's what happens when you really tap this energy and stick out the practice and failure. I love these creative highs. And what is funny is I am doing a lot of practice and study. I just signed up with a tutor in technical nature drawing. I am studying color theory. I am doing a lot of work and painting. It is exhilarating. When you tap this bliss, you just want everyone to have it too. So, on this auspicious full moon coming up I hope your circuits get LIT UP!
I give much of the credit for my current bliss to my years of dream work, yoga and my daily exercise program.  It is all a system that promises joy, joy, joy, down in your heart :) I highly recommend weights, cardio and yoga as a team with your spiritual practice. And it just so happens that is my program. 6 days a week, zoom cardio, weights, yoga and spiritual practices.   You can check it out on my website and book there or reach out and let's talk about it. 
                                                                         www.laurahamiltonastrohealing.com
                                                                                    Uncover the bliss factor.

Non-Grasping yet Dealing with Reality
It is no secret I love yoga, the Sanatana philosophy. When I tend toward excess, which usually happens during times of transition, my yoga practice brings me back to ground.
I like everyone can tend to excess. Any time one has a planet in its own sign or exalted in an astrology chart this can indicate too much of an energy charge that one needs to reign in, be mindful. As we continue to practice, as we continue to meditate on our astrological signatures, it helps us recover quicker. To know when we are in the grip of the complex and pray for guidance or help to move through it.
I have been in a process for about a month, a transition. This brought fear, lack of control. I began taking measures to control things. I made lists and reikied them. I worried. I thought how things Should be. Fortunately for me I started to read The Journey Home, An Autobiography of an American Swami by Radhanath Swami. This beautiful story brought me home to myself. It cooled my jets. It set me back to calm. It helped me remember. I dropped back into my yoga self. It reminded me of the yoga principle of non-grasping.
The other thing that happens when I go off track is my ears close up. I noted my left ear was closing. I couldn't hear well. This is a clear signal to sit down, shut up, and listen. I have. As soon as I did, my ear opened again. It is all one blessed system.
I am going back off social media. The energy of it is constant grasping and ego fulfillment. It lacks compassion toward all beings and creates divisions and factions. I feel bad because it is a good way to see what my loved ones are doing, to know about events and get information from yoga and astrology groups, which I enjoy. But the bad outweighs the good. Notably I was drawn back in during this time of tension and transition. While I won't go to excess and cancel accounts, I will no longer be posting even these newsletters there. I just don't like the energy of it. It is like opening yourself up to mass consciousness at its worst.
Pratyahara is one of the limbs of yoga, sensory withdrawal. One must only allow in those things that uplift and improve oneself and the world. It is a balance. I will simply do the next thing there is to do and commit myself to being of service to the world every day. Some days that means being of service to myself and my family and just cleaning the house and cooking healthy meals. I will take the actions my businesses require. I will manage my accounts, etc. But I leave outcomes to God. I leave success or growth to God. I will not try to control outcomes. I commit to just doing the next right thing in the day.

Shiva is my Ishta devata. He came to me first many, many, years ago in a flea market above Searsport. I had been studying yoga for a couple of years and was diving deep. My husband came to me and said, ‘you have to come and see this statue’. When I went over there was a 2-foot-tall bronze statue of Shiva with His foot upon a prone human. I asked Iain to get a price and we were shocked when the vendor said $35. He came home with me and has been my beloved guide ever since. He did that. God is always calling to us.

When I was in India I was in a bookstore, and I had this strong impression to buy a book on Shiva. But there was this other more scholarly book that I thought was better. So, I bought the scholarly book, and the next day was strongly compelled to go back and buy the original book. Which I did. That book has been a profound guide for me as well. Shiva is such an amazing deity. He is the God of yoga and the God of destruction. In Yoga there is a trinity, Brahma, Visnu and Shiva. Brahma is the Creator, Vishnu the preserver and Siva the destroyer. The more I meditate on Him the deeper my spiritual practices and the better Yogi I am. I meditate on Shiva as the Sun as I watch it rise every morning. Yoga is an intense science that takes many, many, lifetimes to master. I consider myself a baby on the path. As a Jyotish (astrologer) I strive to live my life in the rhythm of nature. This is dictated by the sun and the moon and their relationship to each other daily. The quality of light, the rising and the setting of each and the mathematical distance between them.

The Vedic day begins about an hour before dawn it's in the first house of the Zodiac. The first house is your body, your self, the identity. During these hours you should rise and wash, drink water and maybe have something light to eat. Then when the sun progresses to the 12th house (it goes backwards through the houses) This will dictate the kind of meditation that you will do pending on what your first house is. Because I have cancer rising my practice is very devotional. You spend 2 hours approximately in every house of the zodiac throughout the 24 hour day.  An hour before dawn you are in the 1st house, then the 12th house when the sun has risen and there's a little bit of space between the earth and the horizon. Then the 11th house, 10th, 9th, 8th, 7,6,5,4,3 and then 2nd.

The Houses of the zodiac are the fields of activity in life. If you get up before dawn, even just a little before dawn, when many wake up anyway, it is easier to shake the dross out of your body and consciousness and start the day. If you wait and get up when the sun is in the 12th house between 6-8am it becomes harder to get up. The 12th house is a house of bed pleasures, so enjoying one’s bed becomes more natural than rising.

Right now, in Maine while the days are lengthening the sun rises at 5:08am. Therefore, you will be in your first house between 4-6am. If you rise during this period wash up and exercise it is the best because the 1st house represents the body and so you take care of your body.

Yoga practitioners know physical exercise takes care of the bodily needs and then one is calm enough to sit for pranayama followed by pratyahara, then dharana, dhyana which somedays results in samhadi. The 12th House is a Moksha house which means spiritual practice. Currently between 6-8am you are in this house where it is a good time to read sacred scripture and follow the limbs of yoga listed above and for journaling or working with your dreams.
 
When the sun progresses to the 11th house between 8am-10am it's a good time to be with people, to socialize, to be group oriented. It's also a good time to deal with creative projects.

When the sun moves into the 10th house between 10am -12pm it is a good time to get work done.

When in the ninth house between 12-2pm it is good for communication, teaching, travel, philosophy, law.

When in the 8th house between 2-4pm it is a time to do research, your taxes, anything that is intense and requires a deep dive. Do not exercise or travel if possible. One is much more prone toward accidents during 8th house times.

When the sun enters the 7th house between 4-6 it is time for relationships.

When the sun enters the 6th house between 6-8pm it is time to eat. The 6th house is a house of dietary concerns. You will make better food choices here. It is also a house of daily work so getting more work done during this period is ok too.

When the sun enters the 5th house between 8-10pm it is time for recreation and fun.

Then it is bedtime as you enter the 4th house between 10pm-12pm. This is a house that represents the deepest peace and resting place.

When you enter the 3rd house you are in REM sleep, dreaming and dealing with your hopes and fears, which is part of the 3rd house.

In an ideal world you will rise when the sun enters the 2nd house 2 hours before dawn. This is one of the best times to eat. Not a lot, but a little something will nourish your body in a big way. This is also the best time to dial God or just be present to your deepest self.

I exercise every morning at 7am regardless of what time of year it is. This is a guideline not written in stone. Just like in class this morning when I reversed the order of bridge, plow, shoulder stand.  I also tend to eat between 3-5pm. #pm in winter, later in summer. This is just about the right timing.

These bodies belong to nature. As guests we should do our best to treat them right. Aligning with natural cycles helps you live in balance and harmony.

My whole thing is about mastery. Mastering myself and mentoring others to wield their own power thoughtfully.  I think I became an astrologer from a control issue. Mars in Sidereal Scorpio in the 5th house might do that. I needed to know why. The perennial mantra of Myers-Briggs Thinking Types. We have to know the why, the foundations of everything we are interested in. We take that one thing and go deeper into it than anyone thought was possible. The thing becomes our life. It is all we want to talk about, to do, to be. There isn't a lot of multi-dimensionality in a dominant Thinking type.  They live, eat and breath their system.

In Western Tropical astrology my moon is in Aquarius. This is a pretty good metaphor for astrologers and yoga teachers. A fixed air sign that channels the energetic charge of the gods. In my case, for others because it is in the 7th house. When you have planets on the 1 - 7 axis it takes a lifetime to figure out how to balance your needs against the needs of others. Those others can be partners, both personal and business. Because that planet is the Moon it makes it deeply personal as She beams Her light across to the first house of the self, yet is embedded with others. The Moon is also a deeply irrational being. Very disconcerting for the personality who has to figure out how to not be so lost in the abyss of the emotional life. It is sink or swim for us, mastery required.

With all my technical skill in studying systems I am not a technical writer, teacher or mentor. My Mercury is in the 4th house in Libra with Ketu, aka the south node. My intellect is in a section of the zodiac that charges the native up with the creative spirit next to the eclipse point with Neptune! I have one foot in both worlds and I am a messenger at heart (literally the 4th house is your heart). It is my honor to make the gods incarnate for the portion of humanity I engage with. To reach into their hearts and make their stomachs ping. To drive folks to ah-ha moments that only come when you are engaging with the archetypes. I walk the razors edge of rational systems in the irrational realms of emotions and intuition. I guide and dive deep into the unspoken; your power, your deepest drives and your relationship with the Soul and Nature. How Do you fit into this picture, this life?

I read recently 'First and foremost, Mentor was a person. We tend to think of the word mentor as a noun (a mentor) or a verb (to mentor), but there is a very human dimension embedded in the term. Mentor appears in Homer's Odyssey as the old friend entrusted to care for Odysseus's household and son Telemachus, while he is away fighting the Trojan war. When he does not return his son Telemachus leaves in search of him and the Goddess Athena assumes the form of Mentor and accompanies him. The human being welcomes a human form for counsel. From its origins, becoming a mentor is a transcendent act; it carries with it something holy.' Paraphrased from Nicole Gregory at the Mentoris Project.

​I invite you to walk on this next part of the path with me delving in to the Moon in all It's symbolism and story.
In our travels we will learn to map your own journey with the moon each day of the month through creating and learning about the Kalachakra Chart. This will begin with an introduction to the Lunar Mansions or Nakshatras.  We will learn about Her phases, Her fickleness and Her remedies. You will delve deep in to your relationship with your personal mother and the Archetypal Mother.  You will begin healing the Mother Complex, or at least understanding the story your moon tells, so you can begin the healing journey to reclaiming a sense of belonging on this earth and being nurtured and cared for. You will experience a connection to the natural world and one of the great Luminous Beings we call the planets. Namaste, Laura

                                                               This Workshop is on Zoom

                                         April 16, 17 23 & 24 from 12-3pm
                                                        The Course cost is $225
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