Journal

The world’s collective wisdom about addressing life’s obstacles is tremendous. And yet, day to day, we seem unable to answer these deceptively simple questions: Am I on the right path? Am I doing the right thing? Sometimes, it seems the world has conspired against us. Maybe on the way to that new job interview, every light we come to turns red, and every door seems to close, then we get in a fender bender. Or when we date someone new, our friends yell at us, our parents chastise us, we lose money, things break and fall apart. After a long day, it seems like the universe couldn’t have made it any more clear that we were heading in the wrong direction. Then we wake up the next morning, and our current job seems so boring and pays so little that there has to be a better alternative, and so-and-so’s “good morning” message to us was so sweet, how could we not go on another date with them?

This month presents us all with an opportunity to hit the reset button and begin a new phase in our spiritual and political lives.

In my last blog I talked about what Reiki is and what my clients say about it. Now I would like to share with you some ways I like to use Reiki. Besides being a Reiki master, I am also a court certified Spanish interpreter. I interpret mainly in superior court and specialize in sexual assault and child abuse crimes. As you might imagine, it is quite terrifying for a victim to have to sit in the witness chair during a jury trial and tell their horrific story to a jury and courtroom full of people she or he has never met, in front of the defendant who caused such pain.

This episode explores two dreams about spooky old houses, one about a magical trip to New Orleans, and Mimi shares a dream of her own about dancing glow-in-the-dark skeletons. We delve into the paranormal, intuition, the creative process, and the experience of sheer delight! Each dream is set to music and explored on its own, and some common threads are revealed as well.

What is Reiki and how can it help? Reiki is an ancient healing art which has been said to date back far beyond the documented beginnings with Dr. Mikao Usui in the early 1900’s. REIKI comes from the Japanese word meaning Universal-Life-Force-Energy. It was used predominantly in the Eastern Hemisphere and even by doctors as well having healed tumors without surgery. Today, Reiki and other energy work is recognized and used worldwide as a safe alternative for ailments. We, as with everything in existence are made of energy, with humans having 4 energy bodies comprised of emotional, mental, physical and spiritual. When one or more of these bodies is out of balance, it can create many forms of discomfort or dis-ease.

Here we are, friends. Another significant retrograde -- this time with our friend Venus. Venus retrograde periods tend to be quite personal in their effects. This article, however, is intended to help us understand what this retrograde period has to say at the collective level, because it is incredibly poignant and powerful. From an evolutionary perspective, this Venus Retrograde ushers us through another gateway. It gives us an opportunity to work through patterns of surrender and sacrifice -- particularly those that stem from violence and repression of all things feminine -- female bodies, the body of the earth, feminine essence and feminine expression. Within it, we can learn something about the antidote to self sacrifice: groundedness in personal power and awareness of our worth, needs and desires.

As I write this, the sun has come out and a swarm of ladybugs has landed outside my window. Ladybugs are a sign of good luck and kindness, including kindness to oneself. The perfect symbol. After all, my blog topic today is kindness to self. And in that pursuit, it’s been my great fortune this week to interview Corinne Cayce, the great granddaughter of the late Edgar Cayce who was known as “America’s greatest psychic.” Corinne Cayce is coming to East West Bookshop on Saturday, October 20 for an all-day workshop. This is one not to miss. As a working mother, Corinne is the first contemporary Cayce woman to carry on the family teachings. Her approach is kind, esoteric and practical -- in line with the Cayce legacy.

On Monday, October 8 at 8:47pm we have a New Moon right smack dab in the middle of Libra. Libra is the sign that is normally about balance, harmony and beauty. Perhaps this New Moon will offer a chance for some respite, or a coming back to center. The astrological, political and social context, however, speaks to the emergence of something deeper. This lunation is ruled by Venus, now in the initial stages of her retrograde through Scorpio. Any retrograde invites us to go inside to reexamine our truths, but this one is quite forceful, demanding an honest look at our motivations, manipulations, needs and desires at a soul-level. The New Moon is also squared by Pluto -- the planet with a natural affinity for Scorpio, underscoring and echoing the transformative qualities of the lunation and the moment we are in.

This is part three of a multi-part series summarizing “Education for Life”, the philosophy behind our curriculum. Reading these articles will familiarize you with the principles and ideas that make the Living Wisdom School a unique educational experience. Please check our site regularly as we post synopses of additional chapters from this original and pioneering text. Reason Must Be Balanced By Feeling In chapter three of Education For Life, the author digs into one of the most important topics concerning not only education, but the human experience: questioning the current paradigm of reductionist, materialist culture. Kriyananda calls for an observance of human nature (and human consciousness) in the realm of education, scientific rigor and understanding of the world overall.

The Bhagavad Gita, the sixth book of the Hindu epic The Mahabharata, has been translated into over 75 languages, and in English alone has 300 published translations. This book, often considered the Hindu equivalent to the Christian bible, has been cherished by not only prominent spiritual figures, but also authors such as Aldous Huxley, Henry David Thoreau and Herman Hesse; political figures such as Gandhi and Steve Bannon; and scientists such as J. Robert Oppenheimer, who famously quoted after the first nuclear test "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." Have I convinced you that it is a big deal? It would be easy to say that the work on this book has been done. It would also be easy to feel that tackling this work should be left to the experts. But then again, the book itself would unravel those statements, emphasizing that our “dharma” should be done, no matter how difficult the task at hand. Amit Majmudar, a radiologist and writer from Ohio felt that it was his dharma to give this ancient text new life in a translation he calls Godsong.

Paradiso and Rasamayi will be visiting East West Bookshop on Saturday, October 6 and Sunday, October 7. Here is a written transcript of a recent interview with the sound healing duo. Paradiso & Rasamayi, could you share a bit about your paths as sound healers? What drew you to this work? We share a deep devotion to the spiritual path and to safe, gentle and powerful healing modalities. We have both had profound peak spiritual experiences in Sacred Sound. In addition to spiritual growth, our work connecting with sound frequencies also has brought us complete and rapidly accelerated healing of emotional and physical dis-ease (including cancer, depression, parasites, Lyme's co-infections and more). We have been offering this work for a combined 35 years, and 10 years working together full time! We continue to dedicate our lives to it because of the many attendees who have enjoyed and reported similar benefits.