Friday, June 12, 2009

wandering around...

it was my first day off since four weeks today...I needed to get out and just be, take space and uplift myself... i strolled around the streets, read, shopped, drank over sweet chai at Starbucks, met an amazing couple at their 90's who told me about their Istanbul and childhood stories...even discovered an all organic spice and herb store and bought Surme, all natural eye makeup used by the Arabs, sorry could only find a Turkish link for the benefits. Now back home, with my pretty eyes, having an all green salad topped with roasted eggplants, artichokes, peas and buckwheat with pomegranate olive oil dressing, alone but not lonely.

then got the article from Daily Om, feeling much better already....


June 12, 2009

Fanning the Creative Flames
Boredom

The human mind thrives on novelty. What was once a source of pleasure can become tedious after a time. Though our lives are full, boredom lurks around every corner because we innately long for new experiences. Yet boredom by its very nature is passive. In this idle state of mind, we may feel frustrated at our inability to channel our mental energy into productive or engaging tasks. We may even attempt to lose ourselves in purposeless or self-destructive pursuits. While this can be a sign of depression, it can also be an invitation issued from your mind, asking you to challenge yourself. Boredom can become the motivation that drives you to learn, explore the exotic, experiment, and harness the boundless creative energy within.

In Hindu and Buddhist traditions, boredom is perceived as a pathway to self-awareness. Boredom itself is not detrimental to the soul—it is the manner in which we respond to it that determines whether it becomes a positive or a negative influence in our lives. When you respond by actively filling the emptiness you feel lurking in yourself, you cultivate creativity and innovation. If, when in the grip of boredom, you have difficulty acknowledging the merits of any activities you might otherwise enjoy, generate your own inspiration. Before you find yourself beset by boredom, create a list of tasks you can consult when it feels like there is simply nothing to do. Referring to a list of topics you want to learn more about, projects you've yet to begin, or even pending chores can spark your creative energy and reawaken your zest for life.

When we are troubled by boredom, it is not that there is nothing to do but rather that we are not stimulated by the options before us. A bored mind can be the canvas upon which innovation is painted and the womb in which novelty is nourished. When you identify boredom as a signal that you need to test your boundaries, it can be the force that presses you to strive for opportunities you thought were beyond your reach and to indulge your desire for adventure.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

istanbul days...

I don't believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive.
Joseph Campbell




Tuesday, June 09, 2009

companion

i love joseph campbell...i first read him in 1999, and made some of my bravest decisions with his "jump it is not as wide as you think" quote. It was really not that wide:)

While going thru the old stuff at home, I found my first Campbell book. Tons of memories, charged with emotions from all directions, past depressions, joy, cries for strength, being lost, not knowing where to start...looking at the past with my clear mind now, I see so many things shift, change and weaken. Impermanence.  Where I am now, i do see the journey that has started long time ago and i am loving reading through him again, discovering me, depths of the beauty and the pain, such a blessing to connect with his joy and the "companion".

this is for you, enjoy...

the privilege of a lifetime is being
who you are

the goal of the hero trip
down to the jewel point
is to find those levels in the psyche
that open open open
and finally open to the mystery
of your Self
being buddha consciousness
or the Christ.

that is the journey.

Saturday, June 06, 2009

happy full moon...

how lucky we are to be alive, to breath, to be free and just be. celebrating me, you, family, love, life, happiness. my dad got out from the hospital and we had dinner last night, no fighting for a couple of hours, first time ever at home....happy full moon!


Full Moon in Sagittarius
Sunday, June 7, 2009
11:12am PDT
17ยบ 07'

©2009 Lisa Dale Miller
All rights reserved

Sagittarius represents idealism, faith, enthusiasm, the quest for meaning, and a generosity of spirit. The Full Moon in Sagittarius is an invitation to bask in the light of some good old-fashioned Jupiterian optimism and joy! This Full Moon represents the union of the physical and the spiritual in the search for knowledge. Sagittarius wants to understand the totality of existence through "journeying" in all its forms. This sign loves to travel abroad to foreign lands or armchair travel with books and on the Internet. It also loves to move through the spirit realms, and use the mind to uncover deeper levels of the psyche or theorize about philosophical and moral issues. The bright fire of knowledge is at its apex on a Full Moon in Sagittarius.

This Full Moon is tempered by a T-square with Sun in Gemini and Saturn in practical Virgo and Mars/Venus/Mercury in grounded, show-me Taurus. That Mercury will be spiritually energized by a square to Jupiter/Neptune/Chiron conjunction in Aquarius. All this intense planetary energy focused around such an expansive Full Moon makes it perfect for a celebration: make a bonfire, gather friends and loved ones to while away the night telling stories of worlds seen and unseen. Share experiences of other cultures and far away places, or share your spiritual insights and speak about the paths and belief systems that worked and those that didn't. Open to the desire to understand your place in the universe, to know the deeper meaning of life, and to do both through investigation and conversation.

This is a great night to deepen wisdom though meditation, chanting, and prayer. Have your group gaze at the Moon, the stars, the vast ocean of sky above us, and seek connection with the universe. Use visualization to send them on this personal journey and then have them return to the gathering and share their insights with the group. The cosmic/global spiritual healing energy of Jupiter/Neptune/Chiron in Aquarius (the visionary) and Uranus in Pisces (awakening into healing) joins the grounded, bodily experience of Mars/Venus/Mercury in Taurus and Saturn in Virgo to form a rainbow bridge connecting personal insight with global awakening.

Since Sagittarius is naturally optimistic and enthusiastic, we can mine these qualities to help us find a calm center in these turbulent times. Going to new places expands your sense of who you are and how your life stacks up. After all, perspective is a great vehicle for growth and gratefulness, two Sagittarian ideals. Sagittarius is convinced that everything happens for a reason; no matter how painful or how hard the lesson.

The Sagittarian Moon represents the ideal form of communicating wisdom with compassion and joy. When you communicate do you do it with compassion? Do you look to help not hurt? Do you constantly talk or just talk to hear your own voice or do you speak with forethought and care? Words do have meaning and effect, so use them wisely and never as a weapon. But it is not enough to talk the talk; we must walk the walk as well.

All this deep insight will force the issue of clearly, honestly, seeing the dangerous and dark side of organized religion, which is ruled by Sagittarius. Causing death and abuse in the name of Allah, Yahweh, Jesus or any other god is a reflection of how disconnected the fundamentalist wings of the major religions are from true spiritual principles. Dogma and codification are the by-products of fossilized spirituality. Don't give in to their trickery, but insist on continuing your own search for truth and wisdom. Sun in Gemini brings openness to old spiritual beliefs while Jupiter/Neptune/Chiron in Aquarius and Uranus in Pisces jumpstart freethinking. Both loosen attachment to deluded old patterns and beliefs. Jupiter/Chiron/Neptune in Aquarius, Uranus in Pisces and Saturn in Virgo are crying out for new solutions to global hatred and disconnection that stems from fundamentalism. It is time to turn away from old, destructive notions of religion that keep us beholden to some intermediary for experience of the Divine. We have ready and direct access right now since our common source is an underlying blissful reality from which all existence arises. This is the truth of our interconnectivity and our sameness. Diversity is the key element to transforming our isolationist spiritual beliefs. True spirituality is all inclusive and all-loving.

This means that it is time to turn off your TV and tuning into the broadcast channel of existence. This particular part of the Sagittarian spectrum is all about questioning, postulating, and reaching for universal truths that exist outside the boundaries of spiritual/academic dogma and rhetoric. Isn't it interesting that over on the other end of the Sagittarian spectrum are the religious, political, economic, and educational institutions telling us what to believe, what to think, what to do and how to act. This is the paradox of Sagittarius: it seeks meaning, finds what it thinks is the truth, institutionalizes that truth for the masses, and then uses all its energy to stop adherents from searching for deeper truth and meaning.

Truth and meaning don't live somewhere far away. It is not in heaven, it is not in the words of some channeler, it is not in your guru, it is not in your church, it is not in your school, it is not in your therapist, it is not in your psychic, tarot card reader or astrologer, it is not in your government, it is not in your guides, angels, or other disembodied entities you have chosen to give away your power. The Earth is speaking to you, every minute of every day! The answers you seek are in the wind, the movement of the waves, in the activity in a bee hive or an ant hill, in the intelligence that moves the stars and planets, in the storms and earthquakes, in the songs of birds, in the howl of a wolf, in the grace of a deer, in the smile of your child/spouse/parent/friend
, in the sensual embrace of your lover, in the flowing water of a river, in the shape of a cloud, in the cosmic music of the shimmering particles and waves that make up our universe! Go outside, be in nature and tune in to the teachings of Mother Earth.

Get your Ego out of spirit's way and open yourself to listening deeply to the existent wisdom of our world. Accepting the animal part of humanity as a source of knowledge will help bring harmony, peace and generosity back to our deadened species. This is why Sagittarius is a Centaur: half animal, half human. Think about it, it will make sense to you! Above all else, make sure to spend this Full Moon celebrating your life with enthusiasm and optimism and sharing this joy with everyone you meet!

©2009 Lisa Dale Miller
All rights reserved