Are you experiencing glitches and obstacles popping up in your attempts to plow through your to-do list and seasonal tasks?

If so, I invite you to take this weekend to take a earnest step back, ground and prioritize before continuing full steam ahead. 

Consider what areas the glitches are effecting and what things are tripping you up.

Is the frustration that arises proportionate to the issues itself? If your reaction feels disproportionate, what is that telling you?

Channel the pragmatism of Virgo (reflecting the position of the moon) to evaluate where you are putting your energy, and the carefree energy of Sagittarius (position of the moon) to allow what is not essential and proving to be particularly pesky, to take a back seat so you can be present in vital life moments that enrich you. 

What Conversations Are You In?

This Full Moon in storytelling Gemini, illuminated by the Sun in truth seeking and speaking Sagittarius, is a prime time to inquire into how you are using the power of speech.

Paying attention, for a period of time, to the conversations you are having can provide deep insight into what you are manifesting in your experience; because words have immense power and what you speak is directly related to what you are creating.

The holiday season, as it wraps up the year and orients us toward a new beginning, is a great time to pay attention to what you are saying, where you speak from, the topics you are engaging, and the questions you are asking.

Take a moment on this Full Moon to consider the conversations you were having in the last week and reflect a bit in writing on the following questions:

Note what you find objective and consider any patterns and themes.

Do you tend to speak from your head or your heart?

Do you walk away from interactions feeling satiated or empty?

Are you retelling a certain story or experience frequently?

What questions do you lead with; do they lead to a depth of conversation your find satisfying?

Use your observations to set a few intentions that you can focus on when you are engaging with others in the last weeks of the year.

How are you Feeling this Sunday after the First Round of “Holiday Cheer”?

The next 6 weeks provides ample opportunity to gather, indulge and give.

The key to whether we indulge and give in ways that are life enhancing and support deeper connection or ways that leave us feeling exhausted and disconnected is intention and attention.

Paying attention to where healthy mindful indulges slips into escapism for you is self-knowledge that can make all the difference between heading into the New Year depleted or inspired.

Carving out quiet moments to feel into what we really need to stay balanced and connected and planning accordingly is essential.

With the Sun in Sagittarius reflecting on the Moon in Pisces, it is prime time to take some quiet time to feel into the coming weeks, hone your intention and bring attention to what is key for you to maintain equilibrium as the intensity ramps up.

1. Get out your calendar and get a lay of the landscape through the New Year.

2. Set an intention to prioritize and plan in a way that will keep space for to rest, rejuvenate and bring meaning to the activities of the season.

3. Ask yourself what days are already feeling too packed and make a note that nothing else can be added.

4. Find several spaces where you can schedule in self-care like a body-work, mindfulness/breath/yoga workshops, opportunities to dance, walk in the woods or something else that is nourishing to you and block times out each week and book it now so you are committed.

5. Think about the people that you know you will want to honor by spending time over the holidays and make sure you have a date set to see them because if you do not, you will end up fitting it in and may find yourself overextending as a result.

6. Consider your gift giving strategy (if you are planning to give gifts) and consider how you might simplify it by finding one or two meaningful offerings that would be useful to different segments of your list.

7. Determine who you desire to get something personalized for and make a separate list, consider giving them an experience that will nourish their mind, body and soul. Give the give of compassionate self-awareness and insight into life lessons and purpose with an Astrological Insight Session.

8. Look into shopping experiences that will connect you to local artisans in your community so your commercial activity is something that also feeds your soul and contributes to local meaningful connection. Consider the MadeinDC local marketplaces or private trunk shows like:

December 2: Saturday Sweetbay Yoga Bazaar 4-6pm

5456 Westbard Ave

Bethseda, MD 20816

December 9: The Pheonix  12-6pm

1514 Wisconsin Avenue NW

Reaping What We Sow Through the Seasons

Savoring what we Sow through the Seasons

Thanksgiving marks a threshold of the final frontier in an annual cycle. Here we enter a landscape full of occasions to reap the benefits of the the energy and attention we invested in evolving mindfully throughout the year. 

The added tasks and festivities of the holiday season call us to refine the art of prioritizing to avoid feeling overwrought and harried. 

Indulgences generously offered are invitations to practice discerning and savoring with all our senses. By truly taking pleasure in what we choose to consume we can resist the urge to overdo it. 

The expectations of family and friends create moments to bring conscious communication to the forefront in order to listen deeply and hold our and others desires and needs with care. 

The planning, procuring and preparation involved in hosting are opportunities to apply principles of simplicity to create experiences that are balanced and easeful. 

And, when we feel our edge and find ourselves off kilter we can mine the moment to practice self-compassion and feel our growing edges, noting areas for growth in season ahead.  

All of this really gets to the heart of evolving mindfully, as this approach to life is all about being conscious of the depth of potential in every moment.

How we navigate this potent period solidifies personal gains and set us up to enter another season of growth with a heart full of appreciation for the way we are living our lives.

Bringing mindful conversations to the table or mingling at parties can be a real gift to those you with gather with this season.

As you gather with friends and family, invite those you are with to take pause to honor the efforts each another have made in the last year to learn and grow.  

Share something you have learned through self-inquiry and invite others to reflect back what you have shared. 

Ask friends and family what new activities or ideas they are finding supportive to live well and share a positive development that has arisen from your practices. 

Give voice to your appreciation for the people that you find inspirational and whose work in the world is meaningful to you.

Express appreciation for the particular ways that the person in front of you contributes to your life.

Seeing the heightened potential of how we engage with those we share with over the holidays can make the difference in whether our gatherings leave us feeling satiated or starving. 

It may feel awkward at first to dive this deep and intentionally in settings that you have not before, however, you are bound to reap a reward for the risk. 

If you have continued reading this far, I offer you the deepest bow of gratitude for the level of mindful attention and intention your are bringing to your life and this world. 

I would LOVE your feedback on this offering and any conversations it stimulates. Please email me with any feedback at connect@evolvingmindfully.com

What Are You Afraid of Revealing or Having Revealed About You?

The answer to this question provides a key to your personal liberation for we cannot be free aslong as we are harboring a fear of exposure or shame on any level about anything. 

Scorpio is the archetype that holds the fear of exposure and secrets for it reflects the sides of human nature that we deny, repress and shame out of fear that if other people knew these things they would judge or think ill of us. 

The list of transgressions that keep us tied in knots is highly subjective. So much plays into what we feel ashamed or embarrassed for people to know about our personal struggles, our families, our experiences, the things we have been exposed to in our lives. 

The kinds of things we hide might be feelings we are unsettled about having, challenges we are having in areas of our lives, regrets from the past, issues in relationships or errors of judgment. 

The truth is it is not necessarily the nature of things we are are afraid for others to know about us or see in us that matters, but the havoc it reaps in our psyches that ultimately is the bigger concern.

The impact of allowing ourselves to be seen in our vulnerabilities and asking for support and help is not nearly as damaging as the way that holding back and obscuring our truth limits authentic expression, self-actualization and the kind of intimate connection we all long to experience. 

This New Moon in Scorpio, especially with Jupiter, the planet of magnification and expansion transiting Scorpio, is a auspicious time to find the courage to release whatever fear you have and name the issue that you are holding back from revealing to yourself or those who care for you. 

Take a bold and brave step over this New Moon weekend and confide in a trusted friend something you feel embarrassed about or where you feel a bit of shame. 

Let them know ahead of time that you are sharing something you are fearful of exposing and that what you desire is to be witnessed and heard. 

And, invite them to share something with you that feels heavy in them. Breathe deeply and be present as you share in this moment of honest heart-led connection and vulnerability.

Are you Longing to be Seen, Heard, and Felt?

One of the things I love about Astrology is how the archetypes bring a full picture of human needs into perspective and provide a framework to consider the needs that we feel most acutely. It can help us consider how we tend to go about meeting them so we can mature in our understanding and approach.

This is so key to life because the truth is, if we do not attend to our needs we will suffer and so will the people around us.

This Half Moon, the Sun in Scorpio shines on the Moon in Leo, evoking the power and intensity of our need to be felt, seen, and heard.

Many of us are out of touch with our needs and at the same time acting out of them.

So many of us learn early on to minimize our needs to be held in the gaze of another, to have another person deeply care about what we have to say, to know that someone feels us.

For many of us, family dynamics, social structure and cultural messaging send messages that we should defer our needs to attend to others.

The irony is that the denial of our needs in the end does not render us more generous.

Take some time on this Half Moon to brighten your light of awareness around the messages you got about your needs.

Consider how you are tending to your needs to be seen, heard and felt.

Observe the behavior of the people you spend time with through the lens of what needs they are expressing with their behavior, and see what insights you gain into yourself and those you love.

Softening into Intensity to Self-Regulate, Release and Recalibrate.

Softening into areas of intensity is a tall order, but it is what this Full Moon in Taurus beckons us to do. We all have those places in our lives where the inner gauge can go from 0 to 60 with reactivity or 60 to 0 into shutdown, in seconds.

Often it is when we are feeling the most hopeful, feeling we have reached a deeper level of openness, opportunity, connection and sense of growth, when suddenly we are gripped by insecurity, vulnerability and/or fear.

As we allow ourselves to wholeheartedly imagine what is next for us in our career, take steps to heal an aspect of past that is affecting us today, edge into a more expansive or authentic expression of ourselves, or try a new strategy to meet the challenges of parenting, we are vulnerable.  

We can be particularly sensitive to a question that touches in on where we are stretching ourselves or when circumstances arise that bring us back into a sense of frustration, fear or doubt. What we do in those moments is what makes all the difference.

It is in these moments that we are most likely to engage in behavior that was modeled to us or we developed as a coping strategy when we had less awareness and skills. We may have little conscious awareness of where/how we developed these ways of responding and often find ourselves feeling regretful or remorseful for not having chosen differently.

Mindfulness is a key to being able to soften into intensity in order self-regulate, release, and recalibrate. It is in the softening that we can to find the spaciousness to respond rather than react. To hold the ground we have gained.

Intensity is simply a form of energy in the end. Moments of intensity are always potential to choose to direct that intensity intentionally. In celebration of this Full Moon and the light of awareness that softening brings, I offer this 10 minute mindfulness practice for softening into intensity.

It can be used in a moment of intensity, where it will be the most potent, if you can soften out of the situation to find a quiet space to take 10. It can also be used in a neutral moment in a reflective way, and is powerful in helping build skills you can apply in moments of intensity.

If you want to dive deeper into navigating the fear and doubt. There is still time to register for my

Free Online Self-Mastery Session: Navigate Fear to Exercise Opportunity and Realize Your Potential. Friday, November 3rd, 12:00- 1:15 ET

Harness the Creative Power of Your Inner Imaginings

Most of us have been trained out of using our most powerful tool for propelling us forward into new horizons: our imaginations. The education system that most of us experienced growing up rewards memorization and application of established means of solving problems and conventional ways thinking.

Yet, it is our imaginations that lead us into the direction of our soul’s callings, that inspire us as individuals, and societies to pursue expressions of beauty.

Our imagination provides sparks of hope that fuel our ability to see our way through and out of the muck and mire (emotional and experiential history) of the unconscious mind that we are venturing into in this Celestial Cycle; so we can truly move in the direction of our growth and actualize our aspirations.

Our ability to imagine that life can be different than it is today and that we can be the versions of ourselves that we sense possible, propels us out of situations that stifle us and patterns that have us stuck in the past.

On this Half Moon in Aquarius, the archetype of the Visionary thinking and rebel (with a cause), allow yourself to inquire within to check the health of this potent and essential aspect of yourself.

Take some time over this weekend to give expression; allowing yourself to voice those inner imaginings that have been pushed aside.

1. Get out in nature. Allow yourself to simply observe the motion of the change of season and the play of nature.

2. After some time just being and observing, pull out a journal or use your phone to record yourself. Without editing, answer the following questions or complete the following thoughts:

As a child my relationships with my imagination was…

As I grew up the messages I received about being imaginative and investing in different ways of seeing the world and myself were…

The messages I got about exploring different ways of thinking about the issues I faced were…

I use my imagination today when…

The most satisfying vision of myself that sparks in my imagination when I am feeling most hopeful is…

My inner response to this vision of myself is…

I allow myself to invest in this vision by…

A few actions I could take to nourish this vision are…

Thank yourself for taking this time and make a plan to do one thing you like to do that would free and feed your imagination before the Full Moon (one week from today).

Fear is one of the biggest obstacles we have in pursuing the potential of our imaginations and what that might lead us forward in life. Fear is also one of the emotions that causes authorities to discourage the development of imaginative thinking. Learning how fear functions in us is key to freeing our imaginations, which is one of the reasons I am offering a Free Evolving Mindfully Self-Mastery Session, on Friday November 3rd,  to explore tools and strategies to learn to Navigate Fear to Exercise Opportunity and Realize Your Potential.

Celestial Cycles: Sun's Transit Through Scorpio

In this Celestial Cycle we take our cues from from the Sun’s transit through Scorpio, which embodies the archetype of the Invisible or Unconscious. This archetype embodies emotional intensity, power, sexual desire and death; with the emphasis on reconciling fears, doubts, and shadow aspects of ourselves for integration and transformation.

Scorpio often gets a bad rap in the mainstream because it is associated with the sides of human nature and experience that our culture deems undesirable, scary, or in need of sanction. This is precisely why it is so important that we take more than a superficial look at the symbolism of this season and this archetype that calls us to scratch the surface and uncover what resides in the depths of our psyches.

In it’s fascination with the hidden places, Scorpio provides one of the most potent opportunities for integration, reclamation and coming into wholeness with all sides of ourselves.

In this Celestial Cycle we will engage in self-inquiries to consider how we can face our fears, desires, and doubts to integrate aspects of ourselves that we repress, deny, and resist.

You can engage in this process by following along on FB or Instagram or, if you are really ready to dive in, sign up for the Celestial Cycle email list to participate fully and receive all inquiries and exercises in your inbox on the Half Moon, Full Moon and New Moon.

Where Does Fear and Doubt Have You Caught?

It was 1am and I was itching to crawl into my camp bed in the cabin at Camp Ballibay in the beautiful rolling hills of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The last of the counselors had signed back in for the night and I only had to do my final round to make sure all was clear on campus before snuggling down.

I began walking down the path, in the cool dark night, in a landscape that had me completely enthralled by day. In the light of the warm Sun, my heart melted as I admired every curve, tree, plant, and fungi of this land.

But, as the dark of the night with sky full of twinkling stars beckoning me to look up and take pleasure, I was seized with fear.

As my body grew tense and my heart began to race, I fought the strong urge to literally sprint back to my cabin screaming.

It was so unsettling to see myself having this reaction. So very upsetting to KNOW that I was safe and DESIRE to relish in the beauty of this landscape under the light of the moon and stars, only to be thwarted by a fear deep in my unconscious that robbed me of this pleasure.

The night duty that seemed a chore ended up being a gateway to a new inquiry and a profound journey to claim freedom over my fear of the dark and many other unconscious fears that had me caught somewhere short of realizing the opportunities and pleasures that life has to offer.

Along the way I learned a ton about how fear functions; how to track fears to their origins. I discovered ways to learn what our fears and doubts have to teach us, and how to free ourselves from the limitations they place upon us that forestall us from realizing our intentions and aspirations.

Throughout this Celestial Cycle, I will share what I learned in this journey. The inquiries and practices are designed to support you in coming to a deeper understanding of how fear (dis)functions in your life, and begin to shift your relationship to those fears that have you trapped somewhere short of where you long to find yourself in the landscape of your life.

Open the Door to all Aspects of You and Call them Home

At the end of the day when the Sun goes down it all comes back to

You and You

Me and me

We are so addicted to focusing on the other

that it is easy to lose track of this fact.

Why do we spend so much of our time:

Running from ourselves?

Externalizing our lives?

Diving into the drama of others?

Looking with conviction beyond the plank in our own eye to examine the speck in another’s?

All the while, we are (I believe) seeking ourselves.

I am as prone to all of these tactics of avoidance and projection as the next person.

Still, I advocate that we actively seek clear reflection.

That we bring our inquiries Home

To our own Hearts

Clearing out the judgements, prejudices, fears, insecurities, doubts that keep us from knowing the unconditional love that is the foundation of all that we search for in our seeking

Inquiring inwardly to find the love that guides us away from that which does damage

to our minds, bodies and pscyches.

Honing the love that ushers us toward that which heals, honors, extends generously and knows the unity of all things.

From here we can truly meet the eyes in the reflection and see

our grandmother, mother, grandfather, father, sister, brother, partner, child, friend

and foe

looking back at us and know.

This Dark Moon in Libra is the perfect time to make a date with the Self to withdraw from the externalizing and go within, carrying an olive branch to make peace with the aspects of yourself that you do not want to see.

Those parts that in your desire to avoid you externalize a journey that can only be taken within.

Offer love to those parts of you that have been neglected, rejected, overlooked or ignored.

Take that time to be with yourself and say what you need to hear.

Open the door to all aspects of you and call them Home.

How Can Self-Awareness Begin to Shift Longstanding Dynamics in Your Family System?

We all live in family systems where the norm was established a long time ago. Family systems are often generations in the making and so set that it is easy to completely take them for granted and overlook the ways that each member contributes to maintaining the status quo.

Even when they have highly dysfunctional aspects, the stability of the system can take precedence over addressing issues that are detrimental to the wellbeing of each individual and their true intimate connection.

While emphasizing balance and harmony, the archetype associated with Libra tends toward avoiding confronting issues that need to be addressed. This can come at the cost of allowing patterns that do not serve the whole to entrench.

When there are dynamics in our family systems that trouble, irritate or upset us, one of the most potent things we can do does not actually involve confronting others. And, in fact, it focuses our attention where we have the most influence. This is, to zoom out and consider our role.

Engaging ourselves is indeed an empowering step in waking up to where our power lies. With self-awareness, we are best able to advocate for a shift in the dynamics that sustain unhealthy and unsatisfying patterns.

The real catch is to keep our attention focused on how our attitudes, thoughts, patterns of communication and behavior contribute to family dynamics.

This really is a huge shift for most of us, because we are so deeply invested in how others words, choices and behavior affect us. We want others to take responsibility for their part.

There is nothing wrong with wanting this; sometimes it comes and sometimes it doesn’t.

Still, one Truth (note the capital “T” here; I do not use those lightly) that I am continually  (sometimes reluctantly) working more fully into the way I engage in life is this:

The only person we can control is the one that looks back at us in the mirror.

I have found that the chances of getting to a place of mutual ownership of the “stuff” weighing down our family structure increases when we own up to our contributions and clean up our side of the street.

In this waning Half Moon in Cancer, which is the sign associated with the home and family, take cue from the cosmos. Zoom out and take stock.

In preparation for the time of release approaching with the Dark of the Moon, set aside an hour for honest reflection.

Prepare for this exercise by setting the space. Choose a place to sit (outside in nature is the BEST!) and take a few deep breaths to attune to the environment and setting into full presence.

Be in the process, read through this again slowly, and consider the intention behind the exercise.

Consider one aspect of your family dynamic that troubles, upsets, or challenges you.

Take a situation that exemplifies this dynamic, but one that you are not super charged or too emotionally triggered by, so that you can be as objective as possible. Imagine that you are watching the situation play out on a movie screen. See all of the characters, including yourself, in action.

Ask yourself:

1. What are the feelings that each person is communicating with their words, body language and behavior?

2. What are the central needs that each person is trying to meet with their behavior?

3. How self aware does each person appear to be of their own feelings and needs?

4. What are the strategies they are using to try and meet their needs?

5. Do you see patterns?

Now focusing on yourself, free write about your contribution to the dynamic:

What are you feeling?

What need is the feeling connected to?

What strategy are you using to meet your need?

Are you confrontational?

Are you defensive?

Are you afraid or reluctant to share how you feel or what you need? If so, why?

Does the role you are playing feel empowered or disempowered?

Where can you see an opportunity for connection based on a deeper understanding of the feelings and needs you can identify?

Where might you shift the way you are interpreting the behavior of others to empathize more fully with what they are feeling and they need they are trying to meet?

What is one action you could take (this might mean doing less) to shift the dynamic?

Take some time to just stretch, breathe, and relax after completing this exercise. Honor your commitment to yourself and your relationships, acknowledging any insight or increase in self-awareness. Be hopeful knowing the potential behavior has to shift the family dynamics as well as the fact it takes time.

Be mindful that any shifts you make in your approach based on this or any exercise will unfold in time and commit to being patient with yourself.

Do something that brings you pleasure and joy to express gratitude to yourself for taking time to live mindfully and tend to your relationships with care.

Rising Toward the Light of the Equanimous and Authentic Self

This Full Moon in Aries beacons us to turn our attention to our relationship with ourselves. A key aspect of the Aries archetype is a clear sense of individuation and a willingness to rise to meet your highest Self.

For so many of us, the idea of embodying the kind of independence that is actually KEY to healthy relationships with others is fraught with uncertainty.

Our deepest longing for true connection and belonging gives rise to a fear that if we truly individuate, articulate our own needs and desires, and express our truth authentically, that we will be rejected.

All of our families of origin, social circles, and communities model particular norms and values. Whether we realize it or not, we internalize preferences that can inhibit us in ways that undermine us; realizing an individuality grounded in unconditional love.

Sometimes this happens subtly and implicitly over time. It may also be the result of direct critical responses, teasing, pushback, threats of sanction, withholding attention, or resources.

One clear example that affects us all is the cultural dichotomy of masculine and feminine. This duality places vast, implicit restrictions (for some strongly drawn explicit ones) on us that causes us to turn our backs on aspects of ourselves.

Many men feel bound by expectations of what it is to be masculine that prevent them from expressing their sensitivity, dissuade them from exploring interests that are labeled as “feminine”, and engaging in areas of life are considered the “realm of women”.

Meanwhile, in many areas, women pay a price for showing their ambition and toughness. They are critiqued for asserting themselves in fields that are the prevue of men and dissuaded from interest in fields that are historically male.

Of course, this plays out in millions of different iterations; many of which involve the rejection of the feminine nature in women and the masculine in men. This Libra Sun reminds us that balance is where we should place the focus of our inquiry.

Even if we have consciously gone against the grain of family or societal norms in some areas of life by following our own path and expressing in our own unique way, there are often ways that we continue to sanction ourselves to our detriment.

It behoves all of us to consider how social dynamics, assumptions, and norms are passed down and how they live in us today. Only in doing so can we lay claim to the full spectrum of our feelings, interests, aspirations, and gifts.

With Mars (the planet that represents the male/masculine) and Venus (representing the female/feminine) Archetypes in the Astrological system standing side-by-side in the cosmos, this Full Moon is a particularly prime time to look into where this dichotomy lives within us.

Stand in the light of this moon and claim one aspect of yourself that you have rejected, diminished, or undervalued.

The most powerful and empowering experiences for self-inquiry and transformation I have experienced are those that work on the level of mind, body and psyche. Join me in exploring this theme this Friday at The Church of the Holy City. 

How is your Approach to the “Work” of Life Affecting the Quality of your Relationships?

This Half Moon is in the sign of Capricorn, which embodies the archetype of the leader that is purpose driven and oriented toward getting things done.

With all we are juggling on a daily basis, it can be easy to get tunnel vision. For some of us we can lose sight of how the way we are approaching the “work”of our lives impacts the quality of the relationships with the people in our lives.

Whether it is colleagues in a professional setting, peers in a community organization, your partner and/or children in caring for your home; the way that we carry out our daily round sets a tone that sends a message and affects our relationships.

We may know this, and yet, it can be easy to lose sight of it, or feel like we do not have the time or tools to deal with it in the moment.

We may not always notice how this is building up. Sometimes this feels more like a dull toothache than a sharp pain, making it is easier to ignore and keep on truckin’ until…

Taking a step back to consider how we are engaging and what we might shift, is a pause worth taking.

Set aside a half hour for this 17 minute meditation practice that I have created to support mindful engagement in the way we work in the world to support the quality of relationships we desire.

Really give yourself this time in a thoughtful way. It only takes a little devotion to carve out a mindful moment to engage in ways that can truly shift your energy, your thinking, and the dynamics in your life.

If you want to dive deeper, consider joining our Self-Mastery Session tomorrow at noon.

The Power of Relationships

Relationships. They truly are the fabric of our lives. Everywhere I turn, they are at the heart of the conversation.

I hear myself addressing the tone in our teenagers voices, in terms of how the way we speak to each other affects the quality of our relationships. I observe how conversations with a friend who is in turmoil over a breakup centers around where the fabric of their relationship began to fray.

So many conversations I have had this year have been with people who love the nature of their work, but are miserable in their jobs because of the dysfunction in key relationships. What strikes me is that in each of these conversations, there are underlying issues with the way that the people involved are relating to themselves.

Tending to the health and well being of relationships takes time, attention, and energy. And, perhaps most essentially, tools and skills that many of us did not learn in our homes or other environments as we grew up.

Think about it for a moment.

Did the primary relationships of your family and close friends growing up reflect the qualities that you truly desire to experience in your relationships today?

Did the people in your life speak and act in ways that modeled how to truly navigate feelings, negotiate needs, and address differences of perspective on core issues to support intimacy and fulfillment?

What about the shows you watched and books you read?

I know that mine did not. As a result, as I approached adulthood, I was adamant that I would not get married or have children because I did not experience models of marriage and family that were appealing or instructive.

I have found that life has a way of edging us into the situations that will provide the context for us to evolve. In my mid 20’s I lived with the Vasquez family in Ecuador for a summer. This was the first household I had spent time in where the wife and husband had a connection and shared a relationship with their fledgling children. This experience began to soften my position on the idea of marriage and family. So much that within 3 years of that experience I was married and had my first daughter.

It wasn’t long before I realized that, although I had seen a model that seemed desirable, the models that I would emulate by default were the ones I experienced growing up.

When our daughters were toddling, I realized I did not have the tools and skills to create the kind of relationship I now felt was possible.

So I began to seek out knowledge and strategies to learn how to cultivate the quality of relationship I desired to experience and model for our girls. It has been a long and winding road (both externally and internally) and I have learned a ton.

This Celestial Cycle, I offer a series of self-inquiries to explore relationships with respect to Work, Self, and Family.

If you are interested in joining us in this process, please click here to add yourself to this particular email list. You will receive the practices in your inbox on the New Moon, Waxing Half Moon, Full Moon, and Waning Half Moon.

Take Time for Release to Restore Balance

This Celestial Cycle comes full circle with this New Moon in Virgo as we bring our exploration with the Inner Healer forward to a deeper level of commitment. Now is the time to come fully into conscious willingness to release feelings in order to shift thought and behavior patterns.

Virgo represents practicality, order, and responsibility. In this Celestial Cycle series, we have looked at the way we can take an active role in our own healing by considering our relationship to indulgence and self-denial, avoidance/escapism, and the power of our stories.

If you have worked with one or more of the self-inquiry processes in this Celestial Cycle, it is a great time to circle back to take it to the next level and create a ritual of release at the dark of the moon. If you have not had a chance to, take a moment and see if one of the three inquiries this cycle would serve you in releasing.

As the sun wanes, it is time to take these reflections to the depth of understanding and bring forward what needs to be released in order to heal. It is also time to make a personal commitment to continue to develop your relationship with the Inner Healer.

As the Sun and Moon both transition from Virgo (representing the Inner Healer) to Libra (representing the Advocate, who seeks balance and equilibrium in the system), it is an auspicious time to call yourself to a deeper level of balance and equilibrium.

What would it mean for you to make a deeper commitment to become a true advocate for your own health and wellbeing?

What is one area of your life that you are longing for more balance?

What would it look like to bring balance to this area of your life?

What would it feel like to bring balance to this area of your life?

What conversation needs to happen to support balance in these areas of your life?

What actions can you take to support these areas of your life?

Personalize this Ritual of Release and Call to Balance:

1. Set aside personal time in the next few days (at the dark of the moon on Tuesday if possible).

2. Have with you: any notes you have taken in this Celestial Cycle process; a pen and loose piece of paper; candle, matches/lighter and a bowl that can withstand a little heat; incorporating anything of symbolic meaning to you on this journey.

3. Light the candle and focus on the flame as you breathe deeply. As you inhale, call yourself to full presence, with each exhale feel yourself arrive in full presence.

4. Distill your reflections to extract what is at the heart of the matter, write down the patterns that you wish to release, being specific about the ways of thinking or seeing yourself/others/world that you wish to shift.

5. Speak out loud each pattern, thought, or idea (you are taking a vow to yourself), stating, “I release…..”

6. Light a corner of the page and drop it in the bowl where you can watch it burn.

7. Take a second piece of paper and distill the commitment you are making in order to become a better advocate for yourself.

8. Speak out loud the area of your life you are calling into balance in this Moon Cycle, name the feeling you seek and the actions you will take to support this new state of equilibrium.

9. Burn the paper with this on it and feel into the beginning of this process unfolding within you.

10. Close the ritual in a way that is meaningful to you and thank yourself for taking this time to engage in your own personal evolution.

Please join us in exploring practices of mindful evolution by participating in one of our upcoming events:

Join us for a special Self-Mastery Session on Thursday, September 28th as we explore how comparison impacts our ability to self-authorize and exercise sovereignty in our lives.

What Story Needs Healing in Your Life?

We are all creatures of story. Stories are the building blocks of our identity. Our individual stories, family stories, and communal stories compose the way we see ourselves, relate to one another, and engage in public life.

This waning Half Moon in Gemini, associated with storytelling, communication, and conversation, reflects the light of the Sun in Virgo; embodying the Inner Healer, which we are exploring from different angles this Celestial Cycle.

There is perhaps nothing more important to personal evolution than considering the implications of the stories that underpin our reality. Taking responsibly for the role we are playing in perpetuating the storylines that give rise to the circumstances in our lives is the key to empowerment.

Our stories shape our thought and emotional patterns which drive our choices: what and how we eat; how we look at and care for our bodies; how we relate in love (toward ourselves and others); our style of communication.

Take some time in the light of this Half Moon to inquire which of the stories that you tell about yourself, your family, and your relationships that need the attention of the Inner Healer. Pay attention to the stories you are literally telling friends, peers, colleagues, your therapist, and family about your life today.

Observe yourself for a few days.

Notice how you are positioning yourself in the stories you tell. What role are you playing: victim, aggressor, helper, enabler, accomplice, critic, betrayer, betrayed, heroine, hero?

What are the themes: lover, unlovable, unworthy, hubris, money (abundance vs. scarcity), injustice, anger, fear, jealousy.

Take one story that holds emotional energy that binds you in a undesirable pattern and ask:

Where can your perspective shift to learn the lesson this story holds?

What kind of support might you need to tend to the hurt or shift the patterns?

What can you do today to begin to shift the storyline?

I specialize in supporting people in identifying patterns in their stories, unwinding limiting beliefs, and shifting the storyline to create the lives they envision in their hearts.

Please join us in exploring practices of mindful evolution by participating in one of our upcoming events:

Join us for a special Self-Mastery Session on September 28th as we explore how comparison impacts our ability to self-authorize and exercise sovereignty in our lives.

One of the most direct ways to reconnect with your instinctual nature, intuitive rhythm and your authentic expression is your body.

Tending Your Connection with Your Inner Healer

Pisces embodies the emotional, mystical, and intuitive nature. It’s symbol is two fish swimming in opposite directions. The sensitivity embodied in Pisces is both a portal to intuitive knowing as well as temptation toward escapism.

The conditions required to hear the guidance of our Inner Healer are not highly valued in mainstream culture; which orients us outside of ourselves and bombards us with emotional content that can fuel the tendency to want to numb ourselves rather than feel.

Being aware of how and when we are choosing to lose ourselves rather than find ourselves is key to healing of any kind. Coming into balance with our sensitivity as embodied in Pisces and learning to unplug and turn within is key to coming into the right relationship with our Inner Healer; which is the archetype that we are exploring this Celestial Cycle.

When we combine the power of our intuition with practical knowledge and a commitment to our wellbeing, we are truly empowered to tend to our mental, emotional, and physical health.

Take time while the Moon is full in Pisces, reflecting on the sun in Virgo, to ask whether you are dropping in or checking out, and tune into what you need to do boost your own overall health and wellbeing.  

1. Choose to make one evening entirely screen free.

2. Make yourself a home cooked meal using fresh ingredients you choose by getting quiet within and asking what would be most nourishing to your body.

3. Put on some music that relaxes and soothes your mind.

4. Take some time after your meal to sit with a cup of tea and a piece of paper and free on whichever set of questions holds the most charge for you.

What am doing regularly in my life that I know is not supporting my well-being; when did this become a habit; how do I feel about this; what would I like to do differently and what am I willing to do to make this change?

What areas of my life am I trying to escape from or avoid dealing with? Why am I avoiding this or trying to escape? How long have I been doing this? What are the consequences of doing this?

What would it mean to turn toward the issue rather than away from it?

What support might I need to engage rather than continue to avoid?

5. When you are finished take a moment to offer yourself a pat on the back for taking this time to unplug, drop-in, and engage honestly in self-inquiry. Offer yourself a hug and tuck yourself into bed in a spirit of kindness, compassion and love.

In the processes and programs I facilitate, much of the work is in helping people learn to withdraw their attention from things outside of themselves and to orient within for the answers.

I support people in gaining compassionate self-awareness and engage in processes and practices to connect them to their Inner Healer and support them in tuning into their own intuitive guidance. 

If you use this exploration please share your feedback in the comments section.

Let your Inner Healer Guide you into a Balanced Relationship with Indulgence

This Half Moon in Sagittarius is an opportune time to inquire into our relationship with indulgence, play, travel, and adventure. During this Celestial Cycle, as we reflect upon how tuned into our own Inner Healer we are, it is key to be honest with ourselves regarding our relationship with food, rest, play, exercise, stimulants (caffeine and sugar) and alcohol.

We all desire pleasure and we all have tendencies with respect to when and how we indulge. Some of us lean into indulgence while others are too duty bound to allow ourselves to enjoy the pleasures of life. Both of these tendencies are supported by different sides of our culture.

On the one hand the marketplace encourages us to consume consume consume, while the message of the workplace is that if you are not working yourself to the bone, your advancement and your career is at risk. While for parents, the message is that if you are not hyper vigilant with respect to the development of your children, they are at risk.

This context often leads to a relationship with pleasure and indulgence that swings like a pendulum, rather than one that is in balance. If we are not conscious of our own tendencies and the way they interact with cultural messages, we can swing ways that undermine our well-being.

Take time on this Half Moon to consider your relationship with indulgence.

1. Set aside an hour and take a walk in the woods, go to a park, or find a cozy spot at home to sit with a journal or a way to record your reflections.

2. Take 10 deep breaths and tune into your surroundings. Look around and see what you see. Feel and smell the quality of the air. Listen to the sounds around you.

3. Look over the last few months and ask yourself:

What is my relationship with the things that bring me pleasure?

Do I have a tendency to overindulge or be self-denying?

Free write a bit about how your tendency, whichever way you lean, impacts your sense of wellbeing.

Do I swing from one extreme to another?

What are the messages or beliefs that underpin the way I tend to engage with indulgence?

How do I feel about my relationship with indulgence?

4. Take these insights and consider what would support you in finding balance?

5. Make a plan to take one action step that would bring you more toward balance in the next week.

Our relationship with pleasure and indulgence is so central to our well-being that calling ourselves to a more conscious level of engagement and taking steps to find balance not only improves our health, but supports a healthy self-esteem.

I would be delighted, through an Astral Insight Session, to provide you support in diving into a deeper relationship with your Inner Healer. Through compassionate self-awareness we can make shifts to be healthier in mind, body, and spirit. If you are interested in exploring these themes further and working with me to learn tools, practices and strategies, visit the "Astral Insight" tab on my website. 

What Does the Coverage of the Solar-Eclipse Reveal about Us?

The widespread coverage of the mechanical details of the Solar Eclipse alongside symbolic/mystical interpretations of it illustrates the vast spectrum of understandings that form the foundations of our contemporary collective culture.

On one hand, we operate from a modern perspective that is mechanistic, impersonal, and objectifies the world around us. On the other, most of us relate, on some level, to the world in a way that is deeply subjective, mythic, and numinous.

In our modern scientific mindset we look at our earthly home and the cosmos in a way that is far different than the way that most humans in the history of the world have regarded their surroundings. We objectify our reality by drawing a distinct, definitive division between ourselves and everything else that exists around us.

At the same time, we all descend from a view that interprets the world around us in a more numinous way. A central aspect of being human throughout history is to seek understanding, insight, and transformation through our relationship with the world around us.  

Since recorded history humans have found something unifying (omnipresent), conscious (omniscient), and energetically powerful (omnipotent) existing in the world.

Whether a pantheon of Gods and Goddesses, one supreme God or a view of the universe and all it consists of as being ensouled, most of us share a common ancestral experience of our world as imbued with something divine.

While any people privilege one orientation over the other, I see both as equally valid and valuable. While I appreciate and utilize the practical application of the objectifying (scientific) perspective, I also experience the power of a ensouled perspective to support healing, personal insight, transformation and an enriched quality of life.

As I was growing up I felt pressure to adopt the that mindset that there one “right” way to believe, think about or make sense of the world. I found this perspective of exclusivity of interpretation intellectually incomplete, socially divisive, and spiritually deadening.

As a seeker of understanding, healing, and personal evolution, I have spent decades diving into ways of perceiving, understanding, and experiencing reality. I am informed by scientific knowledge, nourished by philosophical inquiry and nurtured through mystical experiences.

I find the richest and most empowered experience through living in a way that honors in balance, a materialistic and mystical perspective. I recognize that I am a creature comprised of physical as well as symbolic material. I breathe, drink, eat, warm myself and take shelter in the world.

At the same time, I regard myself as an ensouled embodiment of the elements. I experience the intake of air as a opportunity to cultivate inner spaciousness, experience water as a source of emotional cleansing, align with the bounty of the earth in gratitude and a sense of potential for manifestation, regard fire as a means of transformation.