May the stream of my life flow
into the River of Goodness.
May the bonds of my ignorance be loosened
that I may be free.
And let not the work of my life end
Before its fulfillment.
(Prayer from Rig Veda 11:28)

Dear Anam Caras,

I’m sending you prayers that you may have what you need at this time, a time now being called “unprecedented.”

In a way these are indeed unprecedented times. In other ways, we are enduring a repeat of some of the darkest times in history–

• a pandemic that is lethal to the most vulnerable among us;
• no social consensus to trust the guidance of science and medicine;
• power hungry elected leaders who are permitted to distort reality; who have allied themselves with the darkest of human impulses; and who are unfamiliar with the true nature of Service, which is to act in the best interest of ALL their citizens;
• a tragic loss of empathy and care for anyone deemed “Other” and note in one’s tribe;
• a spiritual amnesia about what most religions teach–that we are ALL ONE.

Thanks to technology and instant communication, recent horrifying violent acts cannot be unseen by the world’s citizens. Unlike our ancestors whose worldview may have been limited to their village, we modern people have access to the broadest horizon of awareness in history.

Now out of the shadows and on display for all to see is the human suffering caused by systemic racism and injustice, created over centuries in societies predicated upon the false notion of superiority of white people.

Some witness this current reality and react in horror, helplessness, outrage, and guilt. Some react by dismissing, diminishing, or justifying the current reality. All in an understandable attempt to deny one’s here-and-now part in the horror.

None of us can look away any longer. Each of us shares in the group karma of the moment. And each of us has the power to soften this karma and bring authentic healing change to the future.

“Life is to be lived and thus you need to bear your karma cheerfully. Difficult as it may be, use it to gain greater self-control over emotionality.
Use it to learn more about life and the Path Divine.
Remember that good-heartedness and cheerfulness in and of themselves are potent karma neutralizers.”
–Goswami Kriyananda, from A Meditation for Each Day, 2009

Some of us feel we are on our “last nerve” and cannot endure the unrelenting losses, uncertainty, and inability to see the Light at the end of this tunnel. Some of us are losing our confidence in our steadfast ability to find the pony near the barn full of manure. It’s tempting to become discouraged or to turn away from the possibility of Joy, Peace, and Happiness in the midst of the triple pandemics of the virus and fear and human cruelty to our brothers and sisters.

“When they go low, we go high.” –Michelle Obama

Please do not become discouraged, dear ones! You have the capacity to meet the Current Reality with fierce integrity and courageous vulnerability. If you are willing to shift your thinking, you have the resources to change your quality of life. You have the capacity to serve life with gratitude for a chance to live and evolve in greater consciousness.

“We but mirror the world.
All the tendencies present in the outer world
are to be found in the world of our body.
If we could change ourselves,
the tendencies in the world would also change.
As a man changes his own nature,
so does the attitude of the world change towards him.
This is the divine mystery supreme.
A wonderful thing it is and the source of our happiness.
We need not wait to see what others do.”
—Mahatma Gandhi, 1913

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO “CHERISH WHAT IS” IN THE SIXTH HOUSE OF SERVICE?

Over many weeks in meditation, my Divine Intuition answers,

• You and you alone have the capacity to soften your karma. Act wisely. Turn inward and ascend so you are able to clearly see and accept Current Reality.
• Educate yourself about the history of systemic injustice and its implications for present day action. Most of all, humbly take responsibility for your unconscious collusion with the system.
• Take a vow to become an active agent of compassionate reconciliation.
• Embody and share your healing gifts of Beauty, Meditation, Practical Actions and Community Building.
• Continue to see clearly and fiercely meet all of reality with compassionate non-violence and creative actions.
• Most of all, claim the Joy present in this moment.

What is your Divine Intuition telling you these days about how Life is asking you to serve?

WATCHWORD PRACTICE

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.

Each month, my Watchword practice asks me to explore what “CHERISH What Is” looks like in the current astrological House. On August 22, 2020, the Sun moves into the sign of Virgo which has its natural home in the Sixth House.  

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

HOUSE SIX

The Sixth House is the Natural home of VIRGO. Virgo is a mutable earth sign ruled by Mercury, the symbolic messenger sent by the gods to humans. Mercury reveals what is in one’s everyday logical mind and one’s capacity to communicate.

Virgo is the state of consciousness of “I Analyze.” Virgo is the urge to live and serve analytically, striving for perfection of self and others. Virgo energy has a kind of logic that may seem critical to others. Think Mr. Spock and you’ve got the vibration. Or think Marie Barone in Everybody Loves Raymond, who is wanting to help improve her daughter in-law Debra who desperately needs to improve by offering tips on how to improve–her hair, her cooking, her everything!

The sign of Virgo is symbolized by the virgin/young maiden holding a harvest basket. Ancient Hindu and Isis temples allowed Almahs (young women) to live there and learn instead of marry and have children. Alma Mater still means a “place of learning.” (See The Wisdom and Way of Astrology by Sri Goswami Kriyananda for further details.)

The Sixth House is the Life Arena concerned with the practicality of one’s…

• Service and Servants
• Work
• Sickness, Health
• Diet and hygiene

DEEPENING YOUR WATCHWORD PRACTICE

If you’d like some help with the Watchword practice, please let me know via 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.

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 Six. 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 Six 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.)

“The best way to find yourself
is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

Peace be unto you, dear Anam Caras. May you find Harmony in serving Life with your special gifts of constructive thoughts, words, and actions. May your love and compassion become an ever greater blessing to all you encounter. May your Heart-Light be a beacon for 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 news cycles. Instead, enjoy these enlightening offerings:

A wise woman writes of Forgiveness.

Good Trouble, the story of civil rights leader, the late John Lewis.

An opportunity to see clearly–13th, a film about how the 13th Amendment inaugurated systemic racism into American law.