Insights for September 2024

Awakening

“Wisdom is the soft awakener.” The Insight Center

“The reason we do the work

is because we don't want the magic to end.

We refuse to live a life without

synchronicity and flow.

We embrace the womb of endless possibilities.” Farah Siddiq

“Can you rest in the quiet truth of your soul!?” The Insight Center

“Incremental change

bit by bit

one step at a time

relieves anxiety

leaves you open for

nuanced happenings

and bit by bit

moves you forward

and through” The Insight Center

“Two things can be true at the same time.

You can be frustrated and content with life,

you can be happy in the moment but sad,

you can be competent and feel completely out of our depth,

you can have a bad week that is peppered with little miracles.

Both truths are important to acknowledge.” Jane Bertch

“Awareness prompts awakening.” The Insight Center

“One of the things that can make navigating times of transition and challenge even more difficult is when we resist the changes coming at us or we think there's something wrong with our life, or with us, when the road gets bumpy. We may believe that life is not supposed to be this way. That if we plan and prepare carefully enough, or act in a meticulously organized fash-ion, or follow all the rules, we can stay in control and our life circumstances will remain smooth and predictable.” Kaira Jewel Lingo

“But transition and challenge are a part of life. They are not wrong or bad. In the Buddha's most essential teaching of the Four Noble Truths, he shares his discovery that suffering is a part of life, and there is no escape from it. This is the first Noble Truth and acknowledging it can help us to suffer less. If we can accept where we are, and not judge the disruption in our life as wrong or bad, we can touch great freedom. This is because fighting what is actually doesn't work. As the saying goes, "Whatever we resist persists." Kaira Jewel Lingo

Healing

“You will feel weird when you are operating at a lower vibration. “The Insight Center

“When you are leveling up, do your work, and meditate.” The Insight Center

“When you listen deeply, feel intimately, and allow yourself to experience this moment exactly as it is, the emotional and energetic bodies soften.” Adyashanti

“…bring to mind some question or challenge you may have right now... notice how you feel about it, and the pull that may be there to resolve it ... without trying to figure out an answer or a solution, see this question or challenge as a seed you are entrusting to the soil of your mind, down in its depths ... just allow it to lie there, peacefully, quietly ... let yourself rest back into the unknown, inviting your body to just slightly, actually lean back a tiny bit ... let yourself reconnect with the feeling of being held by the Earth ... you can rest on the Earth, just as this question can rest in the depths of your being ... while it may be scary not to know, there is also infinite possibility here ... take a few deep breaths ... feel your body, settling, present ... and give the seed permission to take the time it needs to ripen into an answer ... trust your own consciousness to show you the way when the time is right.” Kaira Jewel Lingo

Grief

"I am sorry for the loss of your person. And the million things that vanished on the day their heart stopped beating. And the billion things you must grieve every single day that they aren't here. And I am sorry that there isn't a better word than just sorry." Sara Rian

“Here’s the truth about grief:

loss gets integrated, not overcome.

However long it takes, your heart and

and mind will carve out a new life amid

this weirdly devastated landscape.

Little by little, pain and love will

find a way to coexist.” Megan Devine

Engaged Buddhism

“In a sense, our culture, our society is dissolving. We are collectively entering the chrysalis, and structures we have come to rely on and identify with are breaking down. We are in the cocoon and we don't know what the next phase will be like. Learning to surrender to the unknown in our own lives is essential to our collective learning to move through this time of faster and faster change, disruption, and breakdown.” Kaira Jewel Lingo

“How can I meet this moment to be of most use? Imagine what it would be like if each one of us were to wake up every morning with the intention to ease suffering, help others, and spread joy. Living in this way not only offers meaning to our own lives but also gives us the courage to keep an open heart in the face of tremendous suffering and the strength to keep going, regardless of how hard things may get.

If we allow ourselves to get overwhelmed by all the suffering, we can start to believe that nothing we do matters … But in a world of interconnectedness, to say that nothing matters is absurd. On the deepest level, saving one person is saving all beings. How can this be? Because we are all like waves in the ocean, and although we may appear to be separate, the truth is we are all an expression of one ocean. Each one of us is a unique manifestation of life itself, and in this sense, if one person becomes free from suffering, we all become free. The Buddha himself realized this when he attained Buddha-hood and exclaimed, "I, together with all beings and the great earth, simultaneously achieve the Way."

When we're trying to alleviate suffering, big or small, the important thing is to keep moving forward. There's a famous Zen koan that I love: A monk said to Chao Chou, "I have just entered this monastery. Please teach me." Chao Chou said, "Have you eaten your rice gruel?" The monk said, "Yes, I have." Chao Chou said, "Wash your bowl." The monk understood.

In other words, take care of your life as it arises. With a sense of care and immediacy, do the next right thing. When you're done eating, wash the dishes. When you have to go to work, get in your car and drive safely. When you find starfish washed up on the shore, throw them back into the ocean. When you see someone who is suffering, try to ease it.” Mark Van Buren

Astrology

"The essential purpose of astrology is not so much to tell us what we will meet on our road, as it is to suggest how to meet it - and the basic reason for the meeting. Which quality in us, which type of strength is needed to go through any specific phase of our total unfoldment as an individual person." Dane Rudhyar

Astrology for September, 2024

9/5 Mars into Cancer for the month

Mercury is direct all month - 9/9 Mercury enters Virgo

9/1 – 9/6 Venus squares Pluto

Venus is happy in Libra (relational) until 9/24 it goes into Scorpio

Jupiter stays in Gemini all month

Saturn is retrograding in Pisces all month

Uranus is retrograding all month in Taurus

Neptune is retrograding all month in Pisces

9/1 Pluto retrogrades back into Capricorn for the month (until November 20)

9/18 Full Moon in Pisces 
        

9/23 Sun enters Libra (Equinox)