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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