When you know beyond all doubting
that you are that life that flows through all, 
you will love all naturally and spontaneously.

When you realize the depth  and fullness of your love of yourself,
you know that every living being and the entire universe
are included in your affection.

 But when you look
 at anything as separate from you, 
you cannot love it for you are afraid of it.
Alienation causes fear deepens alienation.
It is a vicious circle. 

Only self-realization can break it.
Go for it resolutely. 

In dream you love some and not others.
On waking up you find you are love itself, embracing all.
Personal love, however intense and genuine, invariably binds;
 love in freedom is love of all….

When you are love itself, 
you are beyond time and numbers.
In loving one, you love all,
in loving all, you love each.
One and all are not exclusive. 

All the universe will be your concern;
every living thing you will love
and help most tenderly and wisely.

—Nisargadatta Maharaj from I Am That

Dear Anam Caras,

You continue to be in my heart as we witness a time like no other in history. For the first time ever, all beings on earth are affected by the group karma of the twin pandemics of Covid-19 and Fear.

So many souls are leaving the Earth, many spending their last days isolated and alone. So many souls are grieving their loved ones. So many souls are hurting physically/economically/emotionally/psychically.

IF ALL IS CHANGE, CAN ALL POSSIBLY BE WELL?

These days, we are also witnessing the karma of World and Personal Shadows, being dragged out into the Light. We can no longer look away from the ancestral violent biases and prejudices against the Other.

It is a time of soul searching as we witness the consequences of systemic racism, colonialism, nationalism, capitalism, environmental degradation, poverty, misogyny, sexism, homophobia, child abuse, ageism, religious bigotry, and, and, and…

It is a time of reckoning as we examine our personal responsibility for the suffering all around us. These horrors are as old as humanity. They reside in our ancestral cellular memory and subtly impact our behavior

What is new today is how our pocket-sized technology can instantaneously transmit scenes of the Light shining relentlessly on our old inhumane ways of living. Millions around the world woke up when they saw the image of one human being take the hunter’s pose over his prey, kneeling on the neck and squeezing the life out of another human being. Millions around the world woke up and said, NO! NO MORE!

Regardless of whether we live in a first, second or third world country, we are waking up to the group karma of…

• the continuation of our old violent ways of operating in our societies,
• the same old hierarchy of power brokers hanging out in the same old smoke-filled back rooms, enabling…
• the same old, same old institutions to continue unjust, inhumane policies with no consequences.

We who have benefited, simply through the circumstance of our birth, from these old ways are waking up. We are realizing that, intentionally or unintentionally, we have participated in the injustice. We can no longer look away and deny our personal part in the horror. No longer can we agree to protect the status quo.

(At the end of this essay, see the first link. It is a video by my spiritual teacher Swami Pranananda where she describes the Bigger Picture and the symbols flowing at this time in human history.)

“Our life’s work is to use what we have been given to wake up.
If there were two people who were exactly the same—same body, same speech, same mind, same mother, same father, same house, same food, everything the same—one of them could use what he has to wake up and the other could use it to become more resentful, bitter, and sour.

It doesn’t matter what you’re given, whether it’s physical deformity or enormous wealth or poverty, beauty or ugliness, mental stability or mental instability, life in the middle of a madhouse or life in the middle of a peaceful, silent desert.

Whatever you’re given can wake you up or put you to sleep.

That’s the challenge of now: What are you going to do with what you have already—your body, your speech, your mind?”
From The Wisdom of No Escape and the Path of Loving Kindness.
—Pema Chodron

My Watchword practice this year is to explore how my Watchword, “CHERISH What Is,” is given expression in the 12 Key Life Arenas or the 12 Houses of the horoscope. Today, the Sun moves into the sign of Cancer. The Moon, a symbol of perpetual change, rules the sign of Cancer in its natural home of the Fourth House of Home.

What does it mean to “Cherish What Is” in the Fourth House of Home and Perpetual Change?

The answer comes swiftly. No one else is responsible for changing my life. Genuine change requires unceasing labor and clearly seeing the reality of others who over generations have been mortally wounded by systemic bigotry.

To cherish change I must begin with waking up. I begin by changing the thought-forms in my mind and heart. I begin by committing to skillfully changing my words and action.

My soul calls me to cherish the major systemic changes barreling toward me. My soul calls me to take a stand that I must be the change I want to see in this world.  

The Summer Solstice

June 21, 2020, is the Summer Solstice when the Sun moves into the sign of Cancer, ushering in the longest time of daylight in the Northern Hemisphere.

The Summer Solstice is a celebration of the Sun and its power to bring Light to the world.

HOPE OR DESPAIR?

On March 20, 2003, President Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq. My beloved mother called me, outraged and sobbing. “Marti, what is going on? Your father and I served in World War II, dad served during the Korean War. Our family was torn apart over Vietnam. You and your brother turned out to be right about that one. What has changed? Nothing! I give up on humanity !!!”

A chill went through me. Never before had I heard a word of despair from my healthy, optimistic, brilliant 84 year old mother. 24 days later, she departed from the earth plane.

On June 3, 2020 one of my precious grandsons called to describe how he (and 500 others) was arrested and handcuffed during a peaceful protest. He had filmed the experience using the Light of his phone camera. The crowd was kettled by 1000 police officers, according to news reports. The city council dropped all charges. He described his fear and resolve to continue to protest peacefully and to become active in the movement for justice.

Tears of pride and relief flowed out as I listened to my grandson tell this story. I flash-backed to that moment 17 years ago, remembering the shock of hearing my mom express her despair with humanity.

I told my grandson that story. I promised him that I will never “give up on humanity.” Because of him and his generation, I choose the Light of Hope over the Darkness of Despair at this time.

DEEPENING YOUR WATCHWORD PRACTICE

1. Make a SoulCollage® card for this year’s Watchword. Keep it out so you may contemplate it daily.
2. This month we are in House Four. In this new cycle, reflect and record your insights about the aspects of that Life Arena/House. For each cycle, make a new card to represent how that Watchword manifests in the corresponding new House.
3. Journal about the House Four card. See PDF here to help you dialogue with it. Step into the card and ask it to…
   • Tell me about yourself. Listen carefully and take notes when you hear the answers.
     •  “I Am One Who…”
     • Keep listening and allow for a kind of stream-of-consciousness answer.
   • What do you have to give me?
   • What do you want me to remember? Or, what do you want from me?
   • How will I remember your message?
     • (What will trigger me to remember your message? Perhaps a color, sound, fragrance, form or symbol, etc.)

HOUSE FOUR

Ruled by the MOON, the subjective amplifier. The Moon symbolizes the mind, human consciousness, and the soul; thus it’s an indicator of the personality. The Moon is Perpetual Change. Without the changing of the Light, we would not have light available in the night or moving pictures or video on our cameras or…

Natural home of CANCER, a sign of changeability. Cancer is the “I feel” State of Consciousness. Cancer is the Mother, nourishing, caring, worrying and insecure.

The Fourth House is the Life Arena concerned with one’s…

Home life
Family tradition
Roots
The beginning and ending of things
Conditions in later life
Real estate

Here are the 12 cycle dates. Here are the descriptions of the 12 Houses.

I’m grateful to Swami Navagrahananda for sharing her deep knowledge of astrology. If you’d like some help with the practice, please use our Contact page. I am happy to coach you so you can get comfortable. I invite you to share your experiences in the Comments section below.

“As long as I am alive,
I will continue to try to understand more
because the work of the heart is never done”--Muhammad Ali

Peace be unto you, dear Anam Caras. May you embrace Change with a loving and compassionate heart. May you trust that all change begins with you. May you hold out the Light of Hope to those who are discouraged and in despair at this time.

May you walk in Beauty today and all the days of your life, dear ones. With great love and respect,

Take a break from the anxious churning of the endless new cycles. Instead, enjoy these enlightening offerings:

The astrological symbols and historical context of the Summer Solstice by Swami Pranananda

5 Questions That Help Us Wake Up

Buddhist teacher Tara Brach on Facing Her White Privilege

https://www.bustle.com/p/9-summer-solstice-2018-spiritual-meanings-that-every-zodiac-sign-should-know-9514018