New Message from My Guides -- Time to Trust

Beloved Child,

We call you beloved for your sake, not for our sake.  We need for you to feel how we see you, what we see you as.  It comes naturally to us to address in this way, as we do all precious beings who approach us.  Let us begin.

You are from your home in the stars.  Your moments of clarity come from remembering.  You remember you are on earth to play and enjoy.  Not to toil and suffer.  No one will be happy until they understand, or more accurately, commune, with that "point" beyond physicality.  When you get a breath of the knowing, how much you become relaxed and into  your own Cosmic Consciousness.  When we whisper to you, Child, let go and embrace the crystal blue clarity of knowing, then you turn your mind toward the Oneness which is merged in the NOW.  Those whispers are so tiny and yet they fill you with great satisfaction.  We will increase their strength, or really light intensities is more like it, as you refine your physical vessel.  That's all it is, my Dear.  It's a vehicle, a home for the time you are on Earth to carry you around to learn the lessons, to learn what you simply have forgotten.  And in those moments of remembering you receive Divine Insight.  That insight can never lie, because you feel it, but that feeling is beyond human range.  It is the feeling of closeness to your Mother/Father God, Shiva/Shakti, and those who watch out for you, your own soul power.

Think of that Soul Power for a minute.  Soul-are power -- the sun gives light and energy -- Sol = Soul.  From that everything grows, everything on Earth is blessed with life and sustenance.  And by extension, your soul empowers you, it is the engine.  Not the ego nor the mind nor the intellect.  The same soul power that will gift you all the physical support you need for your journey.  All the tools of your liking shall be found, discovered, because you are getting extremely close now to understanding, grasping in heart and mind, what that genuinely means for you.

Part of you, as we speak, is still holding on to a bit of doubt; a bit of holding old patterns in your mind's energy flow or movement.  You are interfering with flow when you hold back.  Do you see what we are saying? 

[Yes, those females in the room are distracting you because you see the futility of their costumes.  So much work for so little or no results.  The ego is clinging tightly to body image, and only suffering occurs.  Ignore that -- it is not your concern.  Send Light and let's move along.]

How in the world will this situation of yours turn around, you ask everyday.  And yet you know it is to be true in your heart; that is those moments when you are accessing your soul power, It is not just an idea, a nice idea that the world of illusion would have you keep at bay.  The soul power is the illusion, it creates the illusion and it transcends the illusion.  This is Maya Shakti, Mother's manifestation in physical form.  You love her and you have spent your whole life serving her in illusion.  Now, I will tell you today, is your time to move beyond this third dimensional bondage and step into liberation.  You can let go now.  Nothing will happen, Dear One, you are safe because we surround you.  Can you feel that?  You know and yet you've been holding back, gripping the last branch of the survival tree, a tree that has no roots.  You are very often asking us, sometimes once an hour, to help you take care of this insecurity that confronts you.  Let us do that, that is our job.  Need we remind you?  It would seem so.  Have you been so caught up in work and other endeavors that you've forgotten to remember?  Give us the burden, release it to us, we will carry it away and transform it into Light and Love and return it to you in a form of your liking, your loving and you in-joy-ing!

Are you ready to trust?  Carry on with the rest of your day and walk in this world as a Child of God, and wait for the miracles to unfold.  (You don't want us to leave, we can see that.)  But go do your chores and we walk with you.  Don't cry, we are all around you.

With so much love,
Your light Guides

Happy Year of the Dragon

Professor Lin Yun

 In honor of my Feng Shui teacher, Master Lin Yun, I place his likeness on this page with the intent of showing my respect and gratitude.  Professor Lin has brought his brand of Feng Shui to many, many students in America and throughout the world, and has propagated only goodness and compassion wherever he went.  His teachings were profound, his sacrifice was large and his heart was simple.  For the knowledge I have gained and for the joy I have experienced from my practice, I offer my sincerest thanks.  Revered Professor, may the 10,000 Buddhas guide you and protect you wherever you are.

OM MANE PADME HUM

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As with any big holiday, Chinese New Year comes replete with plenty of rituals that help appease the Year God, and herald good luck and auspicious events for the next 12 months.  The celebration goes on for 15 days, with each day requiring a different offering,  gesture or ritual.

The date for Chinese New Year is decided astrologically, which means that right now the planets are piqued for good things to come our way.  If we ask.  And a new way you can do that today is by doing a few simple things in your home.

1.)  The best thing to do is clean the house or apartment.  Or last least straighten up real good and give your space of sense of freshness.  The use of water for the purpose is good.  If you don't mop anywhere else, at least mop the kitchen floor. Avoid chemicals in the water; instead toss in pure oil extracts or liquid castile soap.   2.)  Give red envelopes with a coin or paper money inside to 3 or 9 people.*  This symbolizes wealth and is an auspicious gesture for the recipient and the giver.  3.)  On your altar place 4.)cooked rice to which you can add salt and oil, and two other items such as fruit and nuts.  5.)  Light a candle.  6.) Light incense.  7.)  Place a glass of water on the altar.  8.)  Open windows and doors to let out the old energy and bring in the new.  9.)  Create your intention from a quiet, restful place in your heart and mind.

[*I pledge to give 9 red envelopes to the Lin Yun Temple in order that the knowledge I shared today will have an auspicious bearing the author and the reader.]  

The 9 Star and 2012 - Determine Which is Your Number

The 9 Stars and 2012     

by Jon Sandifer, Professional member of the International Feng Shui Guild

 IFSG Blog Team, on January 12th, 2012

Determine Your I Ching Star
There are 9 different Stars in I Ching Astrology. For ease of practice over the centuries, the stars have all been allotted a number from 1 to 9. Apart from the central 5 T’ai Chi Star, the other 8 and their symbolism is drawn directly from the Trigrams in the I Ching.
 
It is very important to remember that the year begins in I Ching Astrology on the first day of the spring – 4th of February annually. This is the first day of the solar year in all forms of Chinese and I Ching Astrology. Therefore if you’re born before February 4th in any year, you’re actually born into the previous year.
 
The Star Calculation
1. Begin by adding up all the digits from your year of birth, e.g. 1954: 1 + 9 + 5 + 4 = 19.
2. Keep adding these figures till you get one that is below 11. Therefore, with this example, add them again, 19: 1+9 = 10.
3. Now that you have a total below 11, take this final total of 10 away from 11: 11 – 10 = 1 = 1 Water.

6 Heaven Year  
4 February 2012-3 February 2013
 
The 6 Heaven Year usually brings clarity and completion for the party. The hidden element of the year is that of Metal. In the I Ching the Heaven trigram can represent authority or the father. Another take is that it is the harvest since the north-west is the autumn and brings with it the reaping of what has been sewn. In some ways it can be the end of an era. 1940 in Europe, 1949 in China, 1967 and the summer of love are just a few examples. (See below to determine your I Ching Star.)
 
Here is my take on the year ahead for you: 
 
1 Water Star
 
After a year in the Mountain in 2011, you now rise up to the Fire House this year! This is going to be your year to shine and to be seen and to be noticed. It will be effortless for you to achieve recognition. A perfect year if you wish to put yourself in the spotlight regarding new work, new opportunities or even a new relationship. 
 
2 Earth Star
 
After a pretty frantic 2011 in the Fire House, you now move to the more gentle and deeper Water House this year. This element allows you to recharge your chi on a very deep and profound level. Try to avoid big projects and undertakings that could burn you out this year. But it is a perfect time to reflect deeply and start to plan for a whole new cycle of time that lies ahead of you. 
 
3 Thunder Star
 
2012 is a wonderful year for you, as a 3 Thunder Star, to start to plan out your future in detail. It’s ideal for contracts, new deals and even new relationships. All the ideas and dreams and schemes that were coming your way last year can now start to take more shape and form. But hold tight a little bit until later in the year to launch anything seriously massive. 
 
4 Wind Star
 
After two relatively quiet years for your Star, you’re now on the up and up. In 2012 your Star moves to the East and borrows the House of the First Born Son – Thunder. An amazing year to be innovative, alert and flexible. Try to avoid being too impetuous and enjoy the full force of spring this year. 
 
5 T’ai Chi Star
 
If you thought last year began to heat up, then 2012 will start to get even hotter. Your Star shifts up one more gear into overdrive this year, and it would be very wise to keep your feet firmly on the ground. Without a doubt, this is the most creative and active year that you will experience within a nine-year cycle. The secret is to stay on purpose and to stay on track and avoid being diverted. 
 
6 Heaven Star
 
This is your year of rebirth in I Ching Astrology. Your Star passes through the same House that it did in the year of your birth. New opportunities will come your way quite effortlessly, while old patterns of lifestyle or behaviour may start to change. It’s a powerful year and the best advice is to keep your feet firmly on the ground and use very good judgement in making decisions that could affect your future. 
 
7 Lake Star
 
Last year your Star was in the T’ai Chi – full of changes and new possibilities. But this year you move on to the House owned by the Father or the Heaven Trigram in the I Ching. It’s a wonderful phase of chi where you can benefit financially from your past efforts, while at the same time be taken seriously by friends, colleagues and family. This is your year for clarity, focus and achievement. 
 
8 Mountain Star
 
This year your Star moves to the West position which is known as Joy or the Lake. The owner of this Palace is the Youngest Daughter, who’s fun and knows how to relax and enjoy life. Overall this year is one where you can benefit from your previous few years of hard work, chill out and celebrate. Finally, reflect this year on your progress over the last six years and how you may want to move on in the future. 
 
9 Fire Star
 
This is a year where you experience what I call the calm before the storm. Your Star moves into the Mountain in I Ching Astrology, which gives you access to wisdom and knowledge that perhaps others do not find so easy to achieve. Prepare yourself this year for major breakthroughs in 2013, as this year gives you the opportunity to get things wonderfully lined up.
 
Previous 6 Heaven Years: 1931, 1940, 1949, 1958, 1967, 1976, 1985, 1994 and 2003.
 
 

Invitation to Sacred Space Healing Circle

Healing Circle with Barbara Barnett

I am inviting you to a healing circle with Barbara Barnett who is a trance channeler. The circles, which I have been participating in for nearly 5 years, are an amazing, dynamic and, might I say, mind-blowing experience. Beyond the healing aspect of the circle, which you can choose not to participate in, is the presence of angelic and spiritual beings, the invisibles, who fully assist, and engage us in, the process. You are free to work on emotional, spiritual, physical or creative issues, or not. If so, you will find unconditional love and support in a most protective and respectful environment. Or you may choose to lend your support by simply observing and being in the moment. The only requirement is an open heart/mind. The tone of the circles seems generally Native American, but at the same time, the evenings are loosely defined and the energy changes according to who is "entering". Barbara is warm. compassionate and sensitive healer who has been blessed with the gift of channeling incredibly powerful entities with grace and generosity. I am so honored to be hosting the evening, as it gives me the chance to be of service to Divine Spirit. There is no set fee to attend, and all contributions are on a donation basis. Note: January 14th is an especially auspicious day on the Hindu calendar, as it is Guru Jayanti. The energies are high and it is a date particularly favorable to gatherings such as this, that help elevate our energies, collectively and personally. http://www.thelincpages.com/barbarabarnett/

When	Sat, 14 January, 6pm – 9pm GMT-05:00

Think With Your Heart

Dear One,

Keep following your heart.  Your heart will never let you down.  You have worked extensively to open it up to the Higher Vibrations, to open it to the Devic Kingdom, to our level of Light Vibration.  But in truth, you don't have to work so hard -- the heart of the human being is easy.  And soft.  The heart is the first thing about the human specimen to respond to goodness, kindness and generosity.  The heart has no born enemies.  The heart comes into this world ready and willing to give and to receive love.  The actual physical heart is a marvel and an amazing mysterious gift of God the Creator. 

Keep it safe, but don't hide it.  Nurture it, nourish it and share it gladly.  When you share it, it grows, expands its innate Light to attract more of what we are giving to the humans [?].  No need to wait for the right "time" or the right moment to appear -- you take your heart with you wherever you go!  It is the guidance system for your new world.  For here on forward you will refer to the heart first for direction and knowledge and you will never be led down the wrong path.  Think with your heart.

Yes, my dear, the pain you feel right now in your physical heart is your personal message...it is God/Goddess dialing in.  Later, when you become still, or more still, you can download that transmission.  It might be tomorrow, or next week or next month, but you will recall this brief moment and a beautiful surprise of unconditional love will be waiting. 

How absolutely glorious is the human heart!  It can lead all the way to God!  All goodness and knowing, all compassion and strength comes from this one small part of your sacred being.  And each of you has one, therefore you can all unite with this common denominator.  Don't underestimate what this means, doing so will create peril.  Look at it, think about it and see, feel, know how it is guiding you.  It's there, it's free and it's the most fun you can have being one with it.  (By the way, we are more than a little impressed that you can do this in such noisy surroundings.)  Until  next time.

With much love from my heart to yours, your own,

Vanya

Where's The Feng Shui?

What to leave out, what to put in....it's all in how we want to frame it!

Saturday, January 7, 2012  Hi everyone.  So, it's been one month and one week ago that I began this blog and I am still working out a few things.  Figuring it out as I go along, the layout and things like that, which is not the big issue.  The big issue is, "Where's the Feng Shui?" 

My intention seems to be getting sidled by my preoccupation with channeled messages, my own communications from my guides and the ascension process in general.   It's easy to see that's what I love and am spending much time on these days reading about, researching and contemplating.  What has been entered thus far on this blog is a kind of warm up, a way to grease my wheels as I get my creative juices flowing.  Things happen on a continual  basis that give me any kind or level of inspiration or insight or answer.  It's really a lot of fun being in my head right now.  I get signs all the time about how I am doing, or what I should be doing or that give me a bit more of a clue to a solution I might need.  Just for starters.  

And yet, I still have the aching idiotic editor in my mind that keeps putting the kibosh on what I really want to say.  It's getting better, I think, and as I said, there is the issue of Feng Shui topics and all the great stuff to write about.  I just want to finish laying what I consider the ground work -- introducing the few parenthetical topics to express, by way of example, the foundation of my philosophy.  This is the point:  I want to have it in the archives so that the reader, if s/he gets that far, can go back and see where I am coming from and what makes me tick.  I have the need to do a little straightening up, to perform a little house-cleaning and organizing for the sake of getting to where I won't be distracted by all those wonderful things that I feel you should know. 

The long and short of it is that I formulate my notions of Feng Shui because of and in harmony with my ideas about spirituality and its function in the material world.  And visa versa.  It's an attempt at balancing the physical with the invisible and creating a genuine background story for my work.  Like when an actor  prepares a character, they have to give it as much background, history, as they can so that they know details and nuances and motivations of that person.  Well, this is kind of the same thing.  I feel my ideas, notions, inspirations need their provenance, have to come from somewhere, that my conclusions cannot come from thin air, they are not fabricated, but are based on a solid understanding of what motivates the expressions of Feng Shui.

Plus I am just plain slow.  I am a Capricorn and so by nature we are proceed cautiously.   We take each step with so much conviction; we want to be sure it is the right one.  But I am getting better at it.  There is no time to waste -- ascension is here and energy is moving very quickly.  I can tell you it is quite real, it's the most real I have known in my life.  We will move onto that topic elsewhere.

That will be my new post:  why the reality of feng shui fits into the ascension process.  Good one, let's go!

My Birthday -- "When the 'nothing' happens, something else of a much grander dimension rushes in to fill the void."

January 5, 2012.   Today is my birthday, therefore I get to do and write whatever I want.  That is rule of birthdays - in fact, you should not have to work and if you do, it should only be under the condition that your gang take you to lunch (extended of course) and they have a birthday cake for you and everyone gets a piece. 

Russian Orthodox Cross Tattoo

 I love this time of year, for obvious reasons.  From Thanksgiving    straight through to my birthday, it's the holiday season.  In fact, growing up in the Russian Orthodox tradition, "our" Christmas was celebrated  two weeks, give or take, after the regular American December 25th holiday, so we got to celebrate twice.  If I remember, it always fell on a Sunday.  And shortly thereafter, each January, the priest would make a visit and bless our home.  It was a very big deal.  He would come in with all his religious church regalia, altar boy assistant along side him, and sprinkle oblations throughout the house.  He presence was profound.  Everyone was on high spiritual alert.  And by everyone, I mean me, my mother and father.  My siblings who were still living at home were usually not there; they were teenagers, who found some reasonable excuse to be busy with friends.  I didn't understand how one would not want to be there.  I often felt that those annual visits by our church priest was what kept our somewhat fragmented family together.  And the tossing of holy water, the remainder of which was gifted to us and stored in the pantry for the year, all over the walls and furniture, protected us from the unpredictability of life.  I actually felt he should have made a monthly visit.  I was always nervous that the once-a-year thing was too sparse, that the blessing would wear off.

Russian Orthodox Priest

A solemnity surrounded the Father and the ritual, which was conducted almost in complete silence, except for the incantations in the Russian language.  The vibe in my house was very...serene, peaceful...other-worldly!  It was pretty deep and something I can recall even now.  It was as though our house was church for the duration, and for about a week afterwards.  We followed behind him as he made his way into the different rooms.  He splashed holy water from a bowl which he brought using a kind of wand.  It may have had bristles, I wasn't paying attention to those details at the time.  I was more concerned with trying to figure out what he was saying, and hoping he would notice that we had cleaned the house special for the occasion.

Officially, for yours truly, the holiday season ends on January 6th.  As we get older the date doesn't have the impact it did when we were younger.  I am usually excited about January 5th, but I see I have changed.   Time and my attachment to it is different.  The more I meditate and find myself in the now moment, the less that the time/space parameters dictate my frame of mind.  I spend an enormous amount of time by myself, though not alone.  I am slightly aware of a few things that I wasn't say, a year ago or even six months ago.  I am more aware that I am a spiritual being having a human experience.  When I forget, or should I say when I remember, it is a very simple matter of just putting my mind there, a matter of shifting perception, or even consciousness, remembering what I really am, and that is soul or spirit or light.  The other kind of thinking that I am more willing to embrace more often is that I am a part of Source, or God or Creator or Universe.  I come from there, I was created from that and I am returning to that.   This is a journey of wisdom, of trials, of realizations, of questions, of ecstasies, of paths that undulate within and around a wondrously creative landscape -- internal and external -- that never ever gets boring or tedious or old so long as our third eye remains open.

It, the path, my path, is about a fully wakeful meditation.  Or more like a continual remembrance of what is real.  In Sanskrit the expression is Neti Neti which means not this, not this. This world is not real, only God is real.  It is taken from the Raja Yoga tradition and implies that by negating the illusion, the Maya, we will put ourselves in touch with Truth and Reality.  The mind, like the world, is the training ground for the Yogi.  It's about subduing the mind and detaching from  sense objects, thereby thinning out the constant barrage of mental fluctuations which are the cause of suffering.  But I digress.  The topic is enormous and is in fact one of the basic tenets of the Upanishads. 

As the energies of the Ascension increase and change and charge our bodies and minds, our cellular structure and even our DNA, we begin to sensing the SHIFT.  It's real, it's here and it is our ticket home.  It has created within me, and many others, a peacefulness, an awareness of a divine presence, a heightened perception of "otherness" whether it be God or humanity, and it's created nothing.  Nothingness.  A fearlessness of nothingness.  It's a process (often extremely uncomfortable and misunderstood) of emptying ourselves of ego, attachment and fear.  When the nothing happens, something else of a much grander dimension rushes in to fill the void.  It is inexplicable.  And when you begin tapping into it (for lack of a better expression, and most of them are lacking) and experience what this is, you just want more and more.  And all you need is a tiny bit, a glimpse, a peek into what you are inside, beyond the boundaries of the world, to keep you asking for more.

Thus, the date of my birth, though acknowledged with gratitude, is...well, just is.  Human birth, according to Hindus, is an amazing and precious gift.  To take human form is extremely rare and therefore sacred.  The time the soul spends in the body is to be honored and respected because it is the perfect chance to walk the path to enlightenment.  It is while we spend time on the planet that we have been granted the opportunity to gain knowledge of BOTH the  universe and what animates it.  And that knowledge is there for the asking, on our birthday and all the other days of our life.

  

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Vanya and Guides to Me -- December 23 & 27, 2011

Dearest, Sweet Child of the Universe,

Know that We provide for you each and every day.  It is the power of God that sustains and cares for you, your body, your mind and your heart.  God your Father, Goddess your Mother, cradle you as you carry on with your daily activity.  Where else does everything come from?  The Universe is THE MOST abundant place and you are a part of it.  Ergo, you are the embodiment of abundance.  Each soul, in human form or otherwise, is their fullest expression of Source.  Each soul, for the asking, is well-maintained according to their preference.  Tell us what you want, how you want it, when you would like it and in which capacity.  Your power to imagine is the key to manifestation.  

Child,

The ego mind is slowly receding.  The time will emerge, the time is close, when you will have continued and  unbroken blissfulness.  Yes, you will be with your beloved on Earth.*  Slowly and steadily you bring the Light energy toward you.  You want to hear that you bring it "down", but that is not purely accurate, because Light is all-pervading.  But you do succeed in bringing it "toward" you -- as it surrounds you all-ways, and is there for the asking.  The hesitation, the holdup, is merely your own willingness  to hear or listen or see or know.  Any of these is correct.  Communion is possible, as a choice, indeed.

You wonder, and even worry a little bit, about putting it all out there, as you say, about exposing yourself.  But what you are exposing is of the Light -- do not forget that!  The path is expanding and by extension you are processing more Light energy, and so your outlet is your writing.  Put aside small concerns about what the world thinks.  At this advanced stage of your progress, you worry about that now?  (giggling)  What you have read today you must burn into your conscious thought, which was that it is ego that makes us think we need to do better.  You are good, better, best.  (Inside joke)

You are waiting for your expansion, this is your birthright and this is the Law.  Yes, that burning sensation in your chest is us dancing about the fire of old ideas.  Return not to contracting -- move forward.  It is very exciting for you to think like this.  You become buoyant and light-Source-hearted in the anticipation of your place in the new paradigm.  After all, you helped create it.  

Much love, yours in Truth,

Vanya

*It became a little personal here, so I opted not to indulge.

Unity Consciousness: Balancing the Planet With Our Intention

 “Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to a divine purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: that we are here for the sake of others.” -Albert Einstein

I always loved the idea of "One for All and All for One".  It is a genuine expression of how we could, at our best, live our life on the planet with equality and balance.  The whole is the total sum of the parts, indisputably.  And by extension, we, as individuals, are part of this u-n-I-v-e-r-s-e.

The Tai Chi for Balance & Health

We are a part of this Big World.  "We are all connected", or, "what you do to one you do to the many", or, "everything you do comes back to you", are phrases that I intellectually understood but didn't KNOW.  Couldn't experience or feel, so the idea drifted around, always sort of bothering me; it sounded nice but a bit big to really wrap my mind around. 

Moving into 2012, I am seeing that living in isolation, is not healthy, desirable, fun or productive.  What is healthy, spiritually and physically, is thinking, remembering really, that I am part of the whole.  That what I do makes a difference to you, and what you do affects me, even if you are unaware of it.  When I am conscious of my actions, and that includes thought, which is the first action, then they take on a whole other dimension.  The meaning of what I do changes for me -- it goes from being self-centered to be part of a unified field.

                   The New Age, the Ascension, is calling for a new paradigm of existence:  the Planet is literally breaking out of it's old form, shedding it's old skin.   And we are right there along with her because this, our physicality, comes from her; she has given it to us -- literally.  We have outgrown the old way of surviving based on fear, separation, selfishness and scarcity.  This is how we are shedding our old "skin".  In fact survival skills, or the need for them, will become outmoded as we move into ascension, because they are based on fight or flight mechanisms.   I keep on hearing (by that I mean I keep on reading, which I interpret as hearing, as in a lesson) that we really need to start sharing what we have, giving of our time, lending a hand, or in some way reach out and let someone else know you are there.   By doing this we can actually assist in propelling Mother Earth through her Ascension more easily, more quickly, and that's good news for us.  That's because when we do that we create an incredibly loving and benevolent vibration far beyond what we can imagine.  Acts of selflessness increase and elevate our own chi; when we extend ourselves selflessly toward any part of Creation we also infuse just a little more light into the world!

After all, the sooner Ascension gets here, the sooner we can enjoy it!  And whatever can help my Mother, I am all for.  My Feng Shui master, Professor Lin Yun, always told us to do one good deed everyday.  That's all, just one.  A selfless, simple act of kindness directed toward someone else.  (Note:  That is a tough one if you have a family for whom you are already doing everything.   So perhaps that act of kindness would be more for someone or something outside of our daily routine, directed toward those not in our world who don't take us for granted, necessarily).  Yesterday I made a sign for someone to use in their store window just so they can advertise a service they offer, which patrons did not otherwise know.  It was fun.  I enjoyed making the little sign, learned something about clip art and "paint brushes", and the person to whom I gave it was pleased.  And the important thing is that I wanted to do it, regardless of how it was received.  This is a small example, but it illustrates where our collective consciousness is headed.  The new paradigm exemplifies Unity Consciousness and an awareness that we are not separate from one another, and by extension, we are not separated from the Earth.  I think about it in those terms every so often, and interestingly, I am starting to get it.  The question to myself goes something like:  "How is that staggering homeless alcoholic connected to me?  How is the tree connected to me?  How is the cow on his way to the slaughter house connected to me?"  I can't answer that intellectually.  But I can answer that emotionally.  How does it feel to be connected, why should I be bothered concerning myself with it -- it is, after all, beyond my scope.  But we are told that it is just a thin "veil" that separates us from the pure knowledge, the knowing, that we are ONE.  I would love nothing more that to tear the veil aside and get a picture of that!

But I can't, not yet anyway.  What I can do, however, is not judge the bum on the street, or I can clean the litter that's near the tree, or maybe stop eating meat for the greater good of the animal kingdom.  And if I do all or any of these, what I ask myself is,  "How does it make me feel"?  It makes me feel connected, it makes me feel happy and it makes me feel love.  These acts of kindness and goodness remove me from the petty, self-centered and ego-driven thoughts, not by glossing over the discomfort with gossip or electronic gadgets or an addictive indulgence, but by the simple sense of otherness.  This is one way I am going to remove the veil, one good deed at a time.

So the thought, the intention begins within, internally, a very Yin energy, which then is extended outwardly, Yang motion, by following through as action.

The concept of balance entered my consciousness when I started working with Barbara Barnett, about 5 years ago.  She works, among other things, with balancing the hemispheres of our brain.  What a concept -- because I didn't realize mine were our of balance!  Every now and then I would go to her and get my brain hemispheres balanced and feel great.  This started the ball rolling -- the grand idea of balance was in my head. (Ideally equally on both sides of the noggin.)  When I was speaking with Vanya not long ago, I asked what was it that made Feng Shui work the way it does?  He pontificated on a few points and finally said, above everything that makes Feng Shui work, it was balance the created what a space needs. Huh, that was not what I expected to hear, and yet it makes perfect sense.

The subtlety of balance, the subtlety of thought, the subtlety of energy from ourselves to the world, and back again --  all have the inherent movement of Yin-Yang.  When the qualities are out of balance we have worry, hoarding mentality, conflict, stress, etc.  When it's balanced, we have harmony, compassion, generosity of spirit, peace.  The Ascension is the planet's movement toward  balancing the Yin-Yang of her body, her heart, her soul and her children.