Tuesdays with Timji

Tuesday, January 24th

This morning at 7am, like every Tuesday morning at 7am for the past thirty years, I rolled out my yoga mat in preparation for doing the First Series. Typically 20-25 people show up to do it with me—today there were 8. “What’s going on?” I wondered out loud. “Where is everyone? This is really bad for my self-esteem—normally I have a 10 person minimum,” I joked. (two more students did show up a few minutes later) Then I remembered that Mars turned retrograde yesterday evening, so I could blame the energy of sinister planets rather than thinking that I’m losing my appeal in my old age. Mars is an energy planet, a motivating force that impels us to take action in the world, to assert ourselves in a dynamic fashion. It turns retrograde less often than the other planets, about every two years and two months. The glyph for Mars is identical to the symbol for the male of the species—a circle with an arrow attached, pointed outward, representing the primal male urge to penetrate something or someone. When a planet turns retrograde its influence becomes more internal and introspective. For the next 80 days, until April 13th when Mars goes direct again, that Martian urge to penetrate can most constructively be used to penetrate our own body and mind.

Mars is currently in the sign of Virgo, which is the sign related to our physical health. When a planet is retrograde it becomes weaker in terms of its potential to provide us with physical vitality. This is a time when we need to be particularly attentive to our physical health. Mars is associated with the Manipura Chakra, the fire center in the etheric body located in the area around the navel. The Manipura Chakra is associated with Agni, the digestive fire. There are several different types of agni that help us digest food, prana, sensory impressions, and mental and emotional experience. When Mars is retrograde, we may find that the inner fire is not burning quite as strongly as usual and we could suffer from digestive problems of different kinds. We may feel as if we need to have a fire lit underneath us to motivate us. Perhaps the best way to keep the fire within burning brightly is to stoke it with Tapas. Tapas is any kind of self disciplined activity that goes against the grain of our tendency towards Tamas (inertia), creating friction and heat to facilitate penetration and purification of the mind and body. Patanjali says:
II.43 Kaya indriya siddhi asuddhi ksayat tapasah—The fire of self-discipline removes impurities and brings mastery to the body and the sense organs. Tapas is one of the most important aspects of yoga practice and is particularly indicated at this time when the fiery, penetrating nature of Mars is turned inward. Through tapas we can begin to cultivate Tejas, one of the three “vital essences” of Ayurveda. Tejas is the purified fire element that provides us with radiance, strength, courage, and penetrating insight. Another of the by-products of tapas is Saucha, or internal cleanliness. Patanjali lists the benefits of Saucha:
II.41 Sattva suddhi saumanasya ekagrya indriya jaya atma darsana yogyatvani ca—Then clarity, purity, well being, focused attention, mastery of the sense organs and perception of the soul are realized. It’s an impressive list.

Recommended reading during Mars’ retrograde (what else?): The Ramayana –I like Ramesh Menon’s version. In India, reading The Ramayana or listening to the story being told is considered a kind of tapas that will purify the Soul.

Tuesday February 21st

The new moon today at 2:35pm falls in the nakshatra called Shatabhisha—“One Hundred Physicians”—a faint group of stars in the heart of the constellation Aquarius, the “Water Bearer” called Kumbha in Sanskrit. Shatabhisha, symbolized by a thousand petalled lotus, represents the crown chakra and the fulfillment of the evolutionary process. The presiding deity is Varuna, lord of the oceans, and bestower of wisdom, who is depicted holding a pot (kumbha) and a bundle of herbs. The pot contains Soma, the preferred drink of the gods, which brings both rejuvenation and intoxication. The herbs are related to the hundred physicians and healing on all levels. The two planets associated with Shatabhisha are Rahu, the lord of this nakshatra, and Saturn, which is the traditional ruler of Aquarius. Rahu has the tendency to lead us towards materiality and Saturn is associated with the trials that purify the soul. The acquisition of higher knowledge and comprehension of universal principles that Varuna bestows destroys the bonds of materiality and enables a new awakening. Such a process requires great self-discipline and sacrifice on the part of the individual for the benefit of others. Back to the symbolism of the flower--the flower is meant for the enjoyment of others. At its highest, the energy of Shatabhisha supports the spiritual transformation and cultivation of healing ability in an individual so it can be directed outward for the benefit of others. Shatabhisha is generally considered to be Sattvic in its nature, but can become Tamasic when an individual succumbs to lethargy and psychological stagnation.

Another association with Shatabhisha is Lord Shiva, who presides over the sign of Aquarius. The new moon of late February/early March is celebrated as Mahashivaratri, the great night of Lord Shiva. Mahashivaratri was observed last night, February 20th, (my birthday, by the way). This is Lord Shiva’s favorite night of the year, celebrating his marriage to Parvati and his famous Tandava Dance, when He is at his most merciful and compassionate with his devotees. It occurred a day after an auspicious conjunction of the Sun and Neptune in Shatabhisha on February 19th. This conjunction has a very spiritualizing influence, stimulating the “urge to merge” with our Divine Nature. They say that all yogis, whether they know it or not, are devotees of Lord Shiva, since Yoga was Shiva’s great gift to humankind. Shiva, of course, is the ultimate yogi, who sits in deep meditation on his tiger skin atop Mt. Kailas, holding his trident (Neptune?) and catching the waters of the Ganga in his matted locks as it flows down from the heavens from Varuna’s Kumbha. Shiva bestows a contemplative, mystical and ascetic nature that is ideal for yogis.

Before we re-embark on our yogic path with earnest, however, today is Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras, the last day of Carnival before the beginning of Lent on Ash (Shiva likes ashes) Wednesday tomorrow. So, the order of the day is to cut loose a little bit, release some inhibitions and have some unrestrained fun, focus on the intoxicating quality of the Soma and celebrate your carnality. In the immortal words of William Blake, “The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom.” Tomorrow we can return to the path of self-discipline and self-restraint, and think about what we might want to give up during the six weeks of Lent before our spiritual rebirth on Easter Sunday, April 8th.

Tuesday, February 14th

This past weekend I taught a workshop in Las Vegas. It seems like an unlikely place for a yoga event, but I thought it might be fun to combine some work with a little family vacation. I was last there for a Grateful Dead show in 1994 when my old buddy Larry Schultz was teaching yoga to the group and arranged backstage passes for a friend and me. We got a chance to ride in the van to the show with some of the band members, and talked to Mickey Hart about yoga—according to Larry, he liked talking about it more than doing it. It was a big venue—UNLV stadium-- and there were close to 40,000 people there for the show, which included Stevie Winwood and Traffic. The Dead had played the same venue a couple of years before with Sting, who encouraged them to try yoga. My most vivid memory is the strange juxtaposition of 40,000 long haired, tie-dyed, stoned Dead Heads against the backdrop of the neon jungle that is the Las Vegas Strip.

In recent years, “Sin City” has become a more “family friendly” place so I decided to take my family with me. My wife, Carol, did a lot of research about the various hotel options and all the different shows we could see. We settled on the Venetian, a four star hotel built in the style of renaissance Venice, complete with beautiful domed ceilings covered with art, a grand canal with gondoliers, and a replica of St. Mark’s Square—where it is perpetual dusk due to the painted sky and clouds which are tinted with hints of pink and orange. There are many fine restaurants to choose from, including one inspired by the famous Italian chef, Mario Batali and another by Thomas Keller, of French Laundry fame. As we were checking into our room we were offered an upgrade to a suite with many amenities at the adjacent Palazzo Hotel, for just a pittance more per night. We decided to go for it. It was a lovely room on the 25th floor, overlooking the Treasure Island Pirate Show across the street. Friday night, while I was teaching, the girls went to see the Blue Man Group at the Venetian—Leela loved it. Saturday morning we had breakfast at Bouchon—the Thomas Keller place. It was pricey, but good (I had the quiche). After a three-hour break from eating to teach a yoga class, I rejoined the girls for another gourmet meal at Mario Batali’s place—B & B. We tried to keep it light because after dinner we had tickets for Mystere—the Cirque de Soleil show at Treasure Island—their typical blend of amazing costumes and sets, stunning acrobatics and contortionism, great music and comedy. On Sunday we tried the Grande Lux Café at the Palazzo for breakfast, a beautiful setting and great food. Afterwards, to meet my ride to yoga class in front of the Palazzo, I had to walk through the casino. I felt a little out of place carrying my yoga mat through the smoky maze of gambling venues. After yoga class it was time for more food and entertainment. Sunday night we dined at Sushi Samba, a great Japanese/Peruvian/Brazilian restaurant and then went to see an inspired hip-hop dance troupe called Jabbawockeez at the Monte Carlo. We concluded the evening with gelato in St. Mark’s Square.

Overall, the weekend in Vegas was a study in contrasts. The yoga classes took place on the west side of the city, which seems very normal. I talked to the yoga students about the “looking bird” that lives within us, and the virtues of a simple, disciplined life. Meanwhile, on the other side of town, it was all about the “eating bird.” This morning in practice I felt like a stuffed turkey.

A Valentine from Leonard Cohen, “O troubled dust concealing an undivided love, the Heart beneath is teaching to the broken Heart above.”

Tuesday, February 7th

The full moon today at 1:54 pm is in the nakshatra called Ashlesha—the “entwiner”-- symbolized by a coiled snake and ruled by Swarpa, the king of the Nagas (half serpent/half human creatures). Ashlesha is related to the Kundalini Shakti, the latent energy coiled three and a half times around the sushumna nadi between the muladhara and swadisthana chakras. This nakshatra gives us great appetites in the physical and emotional realms, making us gluttonous in regards to food and insatiable in our sexuality and our desire to entwine ourselves around others, sometimes in an emotionally manipulative way. This is Ashlesa functioning in its lower aspect, when it is considered to have snake-like qualities—secretive, creepy, cold-blooded, deceptive, hypnotic, and poisonous. Serpents are also considered to be semi-divine creatures that possess insight, wisdom, cunning, concentration and powerful sexuality. Basically, Ashlesha doesn’t function very well in the realm of the mundane. The key issue for Ashlesha is this-- overcoming selfishness in order to evolve spiritually and function in a positive manner.

The Ramayana provides a symbolic illustration of the age-old battle between self-interest and selflessness. Ravana, the demon king, has kidnapped Princess Sita, purely out of desire and selfishness. He already has a hundred wives and they are all sexy and beautiful, but Ravana is a creature of insatiable appetite, symbolized by his ten heads and twenty arms and his name itself, which suggests the word “ravenous”. Sita symbolizes the Kundalini Shakti, the Divine Feminine energy that is held in the coils of the demon king. The liberation of Sita (Kundalini Shakti) requires the intervention of Hanuman, who is the embodiment of selfless service. Krishnamacharya thought of the Kundalini Shakti as a congestion of Prana in the lower charkas. What causes this congestion is our attachment to and overindulgence in things like security, money, possessions, food and drink, sex, and sensory and emotional gratification. To some degree the Divine Feminine (Sita) is being held captive within all of us by our demonic tendencies (Ravana), preventing it from being reunited with our Divine-Masculine (Rama). The key to this reunification, which will make us feel whole again, is to embody the qualities of the perfect sadhaka, Hanuman-- strength, intelligence, and devotion.

Ashlesha is a portion of the larger constellation known as Kataka (Cancer), a water sign that bestows a sensitive emotional nature. Cancer is the sign associated with the Mother and the qualities of compassion, devotion, intuition, empathy, and love. When the Divine Feminine is held captive by our attachment to our baser desires, we end up expressing the more reptilian aspects of Ashlesha mentioned previously. With the help of Hanuman, who is known as Mahaprabhu (“The Great Friend”) and Sankata Mochana (“The Dispeller of Difficulty”), we can begin to liberate the Divine Feminine within by defeating the demon called “Selfishness”.

At the risk of revealing more of my self than I should, I’ll let you in on a little secret--Moon in Ashlesha is of particular interest to me because this is my natal moon position. Of all the nakshatras of the Zodiac, this is considered to be the most challenging. If not for the intervention of yoga in my life, my “samsara halahala” would have been lethal long ago.

Tuesday, January 31st

Greetings from the Mayan Riviera.  I am writing form the Yucatan peninsula, eighty miles south of Cancun in the lovely retreat center known as Maya Tulum..  I have been leading a yoga retreat here in late January , early February for the past fifteen years.  It’s high season down here weather-wise, mid eighties during the day and high sixties at night.  The Caribbean water is a deep turquoise color, close to eighty degrees, and a pure pleasure for swimming, body surfing and snorkeling.  A white sand beach stretches for miles to the south, dotted with small retreat centers and restaurants.  The skies at night are spectacular, so clear that you can clearly see the three dimensionality of space.  The rooms at Maya Tulum are built Mayan style, with conical thatched palm roofs.  We are close to the elements here—the ocean, the wind, the rain, and the various critters that drop by—geckoes, iguanas, crabs, etc.  The Mayan ruins of Tulum are three miles down the beach and offer evidence of the thriving Mayan civilization that was here for many centuries.  The food is great and the service is friendly—all-in-all a great place for a yoga retreat. 

My friends Paul Gould and Jenni Fox were the first ones to do a yoga retreat here twenty years ago.  The idea caught on, and Now Maya Tulum is booked year-round for yoga retreats.  The demand is so high that several years ago Maya Tulum added a second yoga room so they can host two yoga retreats at the same time.  Paul and Jenni “own” this week and have graciously shared it with me for the last fifteen years.  This year my group is relatively small—twenty people—but what it lacks in quantity it makes up for in quality.  I have them in my charge for seven hours a day, teaching them as much about Ashtanga Yoga as I can in the limited time that I have.  They are a very enthusiastic group who are curious enough to ask intelligent questions and kind enough to laugh at my jokes.   They have cheerfully endured lengthy discussions of the Yoga Sutras and grueling asana practices, and bravely submitted themselves as Guinea pigs so their peers can attempt to learn something about the art of adjusting.

Each morning I speak briefly about the ruling planet of the day, discussing its symbolic meaning and energetic quality, as well as the chakra and Diety associated with it.  Today of course is Hanuman’s day, so I made everyone sing the Hanuman Chalisa.  Some people were obviously attempting it for the first time and their was a palpable sense of relief when we finished the forty verses and got to the Sri Ram Jai Rams. 

Three more days to go here.  Tomorrow, after lunch, some of us are going snorkeling in a nearby cenote.  A cenote is a body of water where an underground river has been exposed by a caving in of a small section of land above it.  There are hundreds of cenotes in the area of various sizes and levels of desirability.  Tomorrow’s cenote is one I was introduced to last year and my favorite to date.  You can swim for a quarter mile in cool, fresh water teeming with many different varieties of fish.  Then, if you like, you can walk across the road and dive in the ocean where you can go snorkeling again in a coral reef.

Needless to say, I am enjoying my time here, working hard, but in very pleasant conditions.  Happy Groundhog Day to everyone—if you’ve never seen the movie, you should see it.     

 

Tuesday, January 17th

Tuesday January 17th

“All I’m saying is simply this, that all life is interrelated, that somehow we’re caught in an inescapable network of mutuality tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. For some strange reason, I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. You can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality.”—M.L.K.

In the early days of the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King was exposed to the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi and made a pilgrimage to India in 1959 to visit Gandhi’s birthplace. On his last night in India he said, “Since being in India, I am more convinced then ever before that the method of nonviolent resistance is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for justice and human dignity. In a real sense, Mahatma Gandhi embodied in his life certain universal principles that are inherent in the moral structure of the universe, and these are as inescapable as the law of gravitation.”

In 1964, Martin Luther King became the youngest person (35) ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Mahatma Gandhi was nominated for the same award in 1948, the year he was assassinated by a rabid Indian Nationalist who blamed him for the partitioning of the newly independent nation into India and Pakistan, something that Gandhi was vehemently against. Gandhi’s career as a political activist began after he graduated from law school in London and moved to South Africa at the age of 23 to take a job as an attorney. It was in South Africa that he began to practice nonviolent resistance to what he believed to be unjust laws that denied the Indian population any rights of citizenship and relegated them to the status of “coolies”—something decidedly subhuman in the eyes of the white ruling class. Gandhi successfully organized the Indian community to protest laws that were based on racial prejudice and socioeconomic repression. After 21 years in South Africa he returned to India in 1914 to begin the great work of his life, championing the cause of Indian independence. In India he founded the movement known as “Satyagraha”—literally, holding to the truth. Gandhi said, “God is Truth and Truth is God.” He believed that it was not only his right, it was his moral duty to protest laws that were based on racial prejudice and socioeconomic repression. Such laws dehumanized the oppressed, but also the oppressor, robbing him of his humanity through his failure to treat other human beings with dignity and respect. Gandhi was the architect of a nonviolent revolution that lasted more than three decades and ultimately resulted in Indian independence. It was a remarkable achievement that inspired Martin Luther Kin and many others.

The core principal of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King is Ahimsa—nonviolence. Nonviolence means both not doing harm to others and not allowing harm to be done to us. In the Yoga Sutras Patanjali says:

2.35 Ahimsa pratisthayam tat samnidhau vaira tyagah—In the presence of one solidly established in nonviolence, all enmity is abandoned.

This is an incredibly powerful teaching today in a world that seems increasingly violent. Gandhi famously said that if we practice the philosophy of an eye for an eye, “Soon the whole world would be blind.” Asked what he thought of Western Civilization, he replied, “I think it’s a good idea”—meaning, the sooner we get started the better. I just finished a book called A Walk Across the Sun by Corban Addison. It’s the story of Ahalya and Sita, two teenaged Indian sisters who are orphaned by a tsunami, and in their attempt to find refuge, are abducted and sold into slavery. It’s not a book for the squeamish, examining the horrors of the world of sex-trafficking through the plight of the two sisters and the attempts of a once idealistic young American attorney both to rescue the girls and find some kind of redemption in his own life. It’s a bit like a modern version of the Ramayana--the demon king symbolized by the sex-trafficking industry and the young attorney an unlikely Hanuman. I found the book to be both harrowing and moving. It sheds some needed light a criminal enterprise that affects almost every country in the world, nets over $30 billion in profits and involves millions of men, women, and children in forced prostitution and slave labor.

Tuesday, January 3rd

2012 should be a very interesting year. It’s an election year, of course, with the first presidential primary today in Iowa. There is certainly no shortage of Republican wannabees in the running at this point. It should be entertaining to watch who ends up clawing his way to the top of the heap as the various contenders continue to shoot themselves in the foot or fall victim to personal scandals brought to light by the intense media scrutiny that they will all be subject to. At this point I like Obama’s chances and am curious to see what he could do in a second term when he could focus on things other than trying to get reelected.

It’s also a leap year, a Dragon year in Chinese astrology starting January 23rd (good for personal power and luck), an Olympic year, and to top it all off, the final year of life as we know it on planet Earth, according to the Mayan calendar, which ends on December 21st, 2012. Personally, I would welcome the end of life as we know it on planet Earth, providing that means an end to a world dominated by greed, exploitation, callous and shallow behavior, violence, selfishness, insensitivity, rampant materialism and superficiality, and the beginning of a world characterized by mutual respect, cooperation, generosity, kindness, compassion and love.

This week we come to an official conclusion of the holidays on Friday January 6th with the Feast of the Epiphany—also known as Twelfth Night and Three Kings’ Day. Epiphany commemorates the arrival of the three Magi in Bethlehem and the revelation of the baby Jesus to them as the “Christ.” In a larger sense, Epiphany refers to the appearance or reappearance of something that was previously hidden from view. It is a day that has particular significance to me because it marks the anniversary of my first yoga class in 1978, when my own immortal soul made an appearance after many years of being ignored and unrecognized. The Feast of the Epiphany is a day associated with the giving and receiving of gifts—gold, frankincense and myrrh, for example. In my case it was the gift of yoga, the gift that keeps on giving because it is something we can give ourselves every day.

The full moon on Sunday January 8th falls in the nakshatra called Punarvasu, consisting of two bright stars in the constellation Gemini known as Castor and Pollux. Punarvasu translates roughly as “good again.” The twins, Castor and Pollux represent two extremes of human nature—Castor is naughty and cruel while Pollux is generous and wise. Punarvasu relates to the balancing aspect of nature, it offers us a second chance to redeem ourselves from negative actions of the past. Of all the nakshatras it is considered to be the most efficient in restoring a sense of harmony and equilibrium. The symbol for Punarvasu is a quiver of arrows. Punarvasu’s quiver represents the resources at our command, but these are not normal arrows. They are considered to be like the Divine Astras used in ancient times, which magically return after fulfilling their mission, conveying the idea of renewal and regeneration.

Speaking of arrows and quivers, Rama, the seventh avatar of Vishnu, was born with his moon in Punarvasu as well as Punarvasu rising. Rama’s great mission was to restore equilibrium on planet Earth by killing Ravana, the demon king, who was trampling all over Dharma and temporarily dominating the forces of light with the power of darkness. Rama’s life sheds light on the functioning of Punarvasu. He lost his kingdom and through his adherence to Dharma, his patience, strength, and nobility, later regained it. He was separated from his wife, Sita, and by winning over powerful allies (Hanuman, most notably) with the pathos of his plight, the righteousness of his cause and his impeccable character, was able to win her back. It is Castor who is associated with all kinds of loss and Pollux who is responsible for bringing back that which was lost. Both of these principles are well demonstrated in the life of Rama. Punarvasu’s influence ensures that we will return safely from whatever journey we undertake, as long as we don’t quit when we are only half way there.

Tuesday, January 10th

Soon after I began to practice yoga 34 years ago, I began to notice that the same practice, done on different days, was a very different experience.  Some days the practice was fun and seemed almost effortless, and on other days, everything hurt and it was a torturous experience from beginning to end.  The cause of this variability of experience was unclear to me.  It didn’t necessarily seem to have anything to do with the amount of sleep that I got, the purity of my diet, or the general state of my relationships.  Then there was that first day I showed up for class and found the door locked and no one there.  When I returned for class the next day and asked about this I was informed that it was a “Moon Day”—that we weren’t supposed to practice on the full moon.  Two weeks later I had the same experience—I showed up for class and the door was locked.  On the following day I was informed that it was another “Moon Day”—this time a new moon, another inauspicious time to practice. I began to pay attention to the lunar cycle so I would know when the “Moon Days” were.  My yoga practice was making me more sensitive to the waxing and waning of the moon—I would feel more energetic and emotional around the full moon and stiffer and lazier around the new moon—but this wasn’t the whole explanation of the physical, mental and emotional fluctuations I was experiencing.  Seeking more clarification about this mystery, I began to learn about astrology.  Over the years it has become a hobby of mine and, nowadays is often a subject of my blog.

 

Each year I purchase an astrological calendar—my favorite is Jim Maynard’s “Celestial Influences.”  It has a great little introduction for the astrological beginner, giving a brief explanation of the signs of the zodiac, the planets, planetary aspects, and the Moon through the signs.  The glyphs (symbols) for all the signs, planets, and aspects are also given.  Each month has a chart that shows the degree of the sign that each planet is in on each day of the month and which planets are retrograde.  All of the days of the month tell you which sign the moon is in—it moves quickly through the zodiac, spending about two and a half days in each sign—and listing all the planetary aspects for each day.  In the section on planetary aspects you learn that trines and sextiles are good, squares are bad, and conjunctions and oppositions can go either way.  In Sanskrit the planets are called “Grahas”, which means graspers.  As they pass through the various constellations of the zodiac they are thought to grasp the energy of that particular sign and transmit it into the Earth’s energy field, where, combined with their own inherent energetic quality, they then grab a hold of us by influencing the way we think and feel and act.  Each of the planets is like a musical note, and when they aspect each other they create a kind of music, known as the “Music of the Spheres”, which is sometimes harmonious and sometimes discordant.  Every morning I check my calendar to see what kind of music we may be in store for.

 

In the week ahead we appear to be in for some interesting music, especially on Thursday and Friday, when, within a span of 48 hours we have a total of six trines and three conjunctions.  Some of these are lunar aspects, which are of rather short duration, as the moon transits Virgo and forms trines to Jupiter (in Taurus), the Sun, Mercury and Pluto (in Capricorn), and conjuncts Mars, all in Earth signs to help us feel well-grounded.  The Sun Tines Mars on Thursday evening which should be good for our overall energy level and our capacity for self-expression.  Early Friday morning will find Venus trine Saturn, promoting stability in relationships and good attention to detail.  Mercury will be conjunct Pluto on Friday morning, stimulating intense mental activity, which would be good to channel into solving some sort of problem.  The counter pose to this is Venus conjunct Neptune a couple of hours later, giving us “The Urge to Merge” , to lose ourselves in Love in the great Oneness.  Friday evening Venus enters Pisces, its sign of exaltation, for the next 25 days.  Music, poetry, art, romance, and exploration of the Great Mystery are recommended.

 

 

Tuesday, January 3rd

2012 should be a very interesting year. It’s an election year, of course, with the first presidential primary today in Iowa. There is certainly no shortage of Republican wannabees in the running at this point. It should be entertaining to watch who ends up clawing his way to the top of the heap as the various contenders continue to shoot themselves in the foot or fall victim to personal scandals brought to light by the intense media scrutiny that they will all be subject to. At this point I like Obama’s chances and am curious to see what he could do in a second term when he could focus on things other than trying to get reelected.

It’s also a leap year, a Dragon year in Chinese astrology starting January 23rd (good for personal power and luck), an Olympic year, and to top it all off, the final year of life as we know it on planet Earth, according to the Mayan calendar, which ends on December 21st, 2012. Personally, I would welcome the end of life as we know it on planet Earth, providing that means an end to a world dominated by greed, exploitation, callous and shallow behavior, violence, selfishness, insensitivity, rampant materialism and superficiality, and the beginning of a world characterized by mutual respect, cooperation, generosity, kindness, compassion and love.

This week we come to an official conclusion of the holidays on Friday January 6th with the Feast of the Epiphany—also known as Twelfth Night and Three Kings’ Day. Epiphany commemorates the arrival of the three Magi in Bethlehem and the revelation of the baby Jesus to them as the “Christ.” In a larger sense, Epiphany refers to the appearance or reappearance of something that was previously hidden from view. It is a day that has particular significance to me because it marks the anniversary of my first yoga class in 1978, when my own immortal soul made an appearance after many years of being ignored and unrecognized. The Feast of the Epiphany is a day associated with the giving and receiving of gifts—gold, frankincense and myrrh, for example. In my case it was the gift of yoga, the gift that keeps on giving because it is something we can give ourselves every day.

The full moon on Sunday January 8th falls in the nakshatra called Punarvasu, consisting of two bright stars in the constellation Gemini known as Castor and Pollux. Punarvasu translates roughly as “good again.” The twins, Castor and Pollux represent two extremes of human nature—Castor is naughty and cruel while Pollux is generous and wise. Punarvasu relates to the balancing aspect of nature, it offers us a second chance to redeem ourselves from negative actions of the past. Of all the nakshatras it is considered to be the most efficient in restoring a sense of harmony and equilibrium. The symbol for Punarvasu is a quiver of arrows. Punarvasu’s quiver represents the resources at our command, but these are not normal arrows. They are considered to be like the Divine Astras used in ancient times, which magically return after fulfilling their mission, conveying the idea of renewal and regeneration.

Speaking of arrows and quivers, Rama, the seventh avatar of Vishnu, was born with his moon in Punarvasu as well as Punarvasu rising. Rama’s great mission was to restore equilibrium on planet Earth by killing Ravana, the demon king, who was trampling all over Dharma and temporarily dominating the forces of light with the power of darkness. Rama’s life sheds light on the functioning of Punarvasu. He lost his kingdom and through his adherence to Dharma, his patience, strength, and nobility, later regained it. He was separated from his wife, Sita, and by winning over powerful allies (Hanuman, most notably) with the pathos of his plight, the righteousness of his cause and his impeccable character, was able to win her back. It is Castor who is associated with all kinds of loss and Pollux who is responsible for bringing back that which was lost. Both of these principles are well demonstrated in the life of Rama. Punarvasu’s influence ensures that we will return safely from whatever journey we undertake, as long as we don’t quit when we are only half way there.

Tuesday, December 27th

Here we are in the final week of 2011—a good time to reflect on the past twelve -months, as we prepare to welcome the new-year. Each year provides a variety of experiences—good and bad—from which we can learn a great deal and move forward with greater self-awareness, wisdom, compassion, and humility. Christmas was a particularly poignant time for me this year. Christmas of 2010 was my last opportunity to spend time with my father before he passed away. He was a mechanically oriented guy who spent his Air Force career working on airplanes and had an extensive workshop filled with tools that were meticulously organized. I have never been particularly handy myself. As my wife says, “Sometimes the apple does fall far from the tree.” Almost every Christmas my father would give me a tool set of some kind, hoping to instill in me the love of tools he had.

My daughter, Leela, has been playing a new game at school called “bump out,” which involves a basketball. She enjoys the game, so I decided to get her a basketball hoop for Christmas. I picked one out at Sports Authority, brought it home and hid it in the storage garage. My wife, Carol, asked me which model I bought and then read some reviews of it online. The reviews weren’t good, so she suggested that I return it for another, more expensive model that was better reviewed. She also mentioned that, for a fee, Sports Authority would assemble the system for us, but I assured her that I could handle it. I took the old one back, paid an extra hundred dollars for the improved model and hid it in the garage. On Christmas morning I woke up early and thought about the basketball hoop. I felt Carol stir beside me so I rolled over to give her a kiss and a squeeze. She opened her eyes and said, “It’s Christmas, not Valentine’s Day. What would Jesus do? He’d get to work on that basketball hoop.” Whatever amorous feelings I was having were replaced by the call of duty. As I was making my coffee I went to check on Leela and discovered she was already up, checking the presents under the tree. Not once in her young life has she slept in on Christmas morning. It was completely unrealistic to think I could put together the basketball hoop before she woke up.

We opened all the presents under the tree and then I took Leela out to the garage to show her the box containing the basketball hoop. “I was hoping to put this together before you woke up,” I explained. “Maybe you could help me.” Leela helped me open the box and then disappeared. I found the instructions and began to look them over. The first page listed all the tools I would need: several open-ended wrenches, screwdrivers, hex wrenches, a power drill, a mallet, a ratchet set, and a block of wood. I had all the tools, but since I didn’t use them very often, it took me a while to locate all of them. I began the assembly process at 10am. The instruction booklet contained no written text, only pictures which were somewhat confusing. At 11am my mother-in-law, Jetty, came out to offer assistance, alerted by the cursing she heard coming from the driveway. With her help I managed to put together a few things incorrectly, take them apart and reassemble them. Meanwhile, the rest of my family arrived—my mother, two brothers, son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter -and I took a break for lunch. Afterwards, my son, Eli, and brother Rick came out to help with the project. Luckily, Eli is an apple who fell closer to my father’s tree than me. Under his guidance we were able to finish the project at 4:30pm, with just enough daylight left to shoot a few hoops. My father would have been proud.

Tuesday, December 20th

We have an action packed week ahead of us, starting with the Winter Solstice (exact at 9:30pm PST) on Wednesday the 21st. This coincides with the beginning of Hannukkah and the annual Ursids meteor showers. The meteor showers happen between December 17th and 25th, with the best viewing on the 22nd and 23rd in the constellation Ursa Minor (the Little Dipper). The New Moon on Christmas Eve occurs in the Nakshatra called Mula (the root) at 10:06am PST. The location of Mula corresponds with the center of our galaxy. This is a very powerful Nakshatra related to the planets Ketu and Jupiter and the deity called Nritti, the Goddess of Dissolution. Mula represents the peak of material achievement and the beginning of the spiritual impulse. Ketu gives us access and insight into the invisible causes of visible things that can initiate a spiritual transformation. Jupiter’s influence means that these transformations are generally for the better. It is possible to get carried away with the strength and power conferred by Mula. Ravana, the demon king of the Ramayana , had his Sun in Mula and Adolph Hitler had his Jupiter and Ketu conjunct in Mula. Our role model for the correct use of this energy is Hanuman, born with Mula rising, who offers his strength and power in loving service to Rama.

On Christmas Day we will all get a nice gift from the cosmos. Jupiter, the Great Benefic, turns direct at 2:09pm PST on December 25th after being retrograde since August 30th. All of the introspection and internal transformation that has been fermenting for the past four months will finally come to fruition—Santa Claus is coming to town , bringing gifts of fun, optimism, personal growth, and prosperity. The big news for the Miller family is that we won’t have to make the annual drive up to Riverside to my parents’ house. My 92 year old mother has graciously consented to having my eldest brother, Rick, drive her down here to celebrate Christmas Day. My wife, Carol, and daughter, Leela, are ecstatic about this turn of events, as are my son, Eli, his wife, Jamie, and their daughter, Jade. I never really minded the drive that much. My wife claims that I’m just a creature of habit and can go on endlessly repeating the same rituals, no matter how boring they are. My Christmas shopping is almost finished and most of the presents are wrapped. I was having a hard time coming up with gift ideas for my wife. Today she came home from shopping and handed me a bag and said, “Here, you can wrap these for me.” Just like her—to make sure I got her the right thing, she picked it out herself.

I love this time of year. There is something very magical about the combination of first acknowledging and embracing the darkness, and then celebrating the return of the light with rituals and lights and festive meals and gifts with family and friends. My daughter Leela, who is ten, suggested yesterday that we do a meditation together. We lit a candle and sat down on pillows, beginning the meditation by remembering all the things we were grateful for. Our dog, Daisy decided to join the meditation. I opened my eyes and saw Daisy standing with her tail about half an inch from the candle flame. Leela quickly snuffed out the candle and we added one more thing to our list of what we are grateful for—we didn’t set the dog on fire. Whatever you are celebrating this week—the Solstice, Hanukkah, the Ursids meteor showers, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or the start of the NBA season—I wish you all good health, prosperity, peace, and most of all Love and Light.