Image: The Way of Mood Essence: The Reflection of Mood of Inner Being: The Soma of Ecstasy

To bathe in the waters of ecstasy, the inner soma of the essence of inner ecstasy, is different for each of us. For one person, the inner waters of ecstasy in a particular moment, on a particular day, may hold the image of riding horseback through fields of greenery. For another it may be the experience and expression of driving at high speeds around the curves of a mountain roadway. Yet for another, it is to design and decorate a room which reflects their inner most peace, the tranquility of quiet solitude. We can all experience each of these at different times, and each simultaneously experiencing their inner bliss, nirvana, or samadhi. One’s own inner self-awareness and intelligent self-realization is following one’s bliss without being dependent on another. This is the way and the essence of mood and choice.

To drink of one’s inner soma, the nectar of inner delight, one feeds one’s inner strength by this power. The multitudes of different simultaneous expressions and activities by each around the world is the unity of the world. We each are the expression of part of this unity. We all partake of the soma, the nectar of inner ecstasy at various levels of personal evolution and awareness.

With this new Chinese Lunar New Year, The Year of the Sheep or Ram, Aries the Ram is fire, the prana, chi, energy of identity in relation to our individual and collective relationships. We come to understand who we are within, through the yoga of Libra, the air sign of relationships. Conflict, an expression of inner fire, assists each to express their inner mood and inner being in the moment in relation to others. The moments change with the movement of the Moon, Sun and all of the planetary bodies which express themselves through each of us. This is the spiritual physics of the unity of humanity.

Though we are each different and have different tastes, values, intentions, motivations, desires, and pursuits, our individual identity is reflected in our mood. How it is that we design, create and maintain our home, our inner being, our physical home, our bodies and the home wherein our bodies and our spirit reside are the reflection of this personal essence.

Therefore, each will express themselves through their personal yoga of relationship. Their relationship to their environment will be a reflection of their inner being. The Sun is now residing in the yoga of Pisces and Virgo, the inner unconscious elements of Pisces are expressed through Virgo, the highly critical sign of health and service to others.

The Chinese metaphysical science of Feng Shui, the science of the elements, direction, placement and color give a clue to the health of one’s particular environment. This also applies to the colors of the fresh foods one ingests which also contain the soma, the precious nectar of essences which maintain the yoga of good health represented by Pisces (fish) and Virgo (vegetation).

This yoga is the prelude to the coming Spring Equinox, when the latent forces that have been nourished through the winter activities and resting, prepare each (or not) for the emergence of the Solar new year which begins new activities through the yogic expression in the signs of Aries and Libra.

The Way of Image

The Way of the Inner Sage

                                                  Foundation of Good Fortune

Quiet deliberate Persevering

Foundation

Acceptance, Humility, Caution

Inner Truth, Gentleness, Correct in Every Measure

Nonwavering Devotion, Disciplined, Modest

The Tao, The Divine, The Law It Be: Shows You Now To Live Within The How

Herein rests The Tao of old
you too can see your life unfold

Each element is within the season
wherein unfolds your reason

The Tao, The Divine, The Law It Be
It calls to you, so that you can really see!

Study the symbols of your chart a little each day
The Tao will show you the way

These images give you the clues
but require you ensue

The sage a tonic be
in time you can see

Knowledge, resources and insights are its supply
herein they multiply

Ensuing Chinese Year of The Horse
The ninth house of higher knowledge is the course

The Tao, The Divine, The Law, the command it Be
It wants you now, how to understand

The Tao, Our Divine Physics
Truly is the Metaphysics of all wisdom classics

Essence: Elements: Inspiration: Spirit: Spirituality: Being: Expression

The Way of Refining One’s Life Through Meal Preparation

The Zen of Preparing One’s Food

Preparing a meal for oneself, one’s family, “the communal table” at various levels, for the “tenzo”, the “chef” (cook) and the chef’s assistants within the Buddhist philosophy of the “spirit of meal preparation” brings a whole new meaning to the function of both kitchen and the “tenzo”. A renewed spirit of reverence for fresh food handling and preparation for specific life-styles and behaviors is essential. That “spirit” within which meals are prepared is transferred to those who ingest the vital nutrients of life and good health.

This book is not about recipes, but about the importance of reverence and a “life-style attitude” of the tenzo, the “chef” of which many of us are in various degrees. The daily effort of the practice of meal preparation is essential for refining one’s life and the lives of those one prepares such food, and is the foundation of one’s own enlightenment. Every daily practical work is the essence of personal refinement, and that includes one’s time within the kitchen and one’s attitude around procurement and the preparation of “one’s daily bread”, so-to-speak.

The spirit of meal preparation is the most fundamental of “Dogen’s” teaching: “Freedom is attained by realizing everything one encounters creates and is the self.” “Nonjudgment” is living with an unbiased mind. The very nature and complexities of the reality of each individual life and passing contain inconsistencies and negligence.

“Zazen”, daily contemplation (or meditation) assists the mind to be more flexible and capable of seeing from a broader perspective. Simply reading this very thin book and its footnotes, provides the meaning of the essential daily practice, of simple practice of both “Zazen” and the role of the “tenzo”, “chef”, “cook”, and the real role of meal preparation.

This book is a metaphor for each sector of our lives:

The Way of Great Opportunity: Right Timing: Auspicious Timing: Miracles

Foresight to not leave any loose ends is the opportunity at this time and for several months as Saturn, the personal self-disciplining narrowing, focusing, concentrating, purposeful-self-limitation structuring energy which assists each of us to accomplish something very important and necessary that will have long-term positive consequences if we harness this inner energy most effectively.

Added to that energy is a trine to Jupiter, the optimistic, expansive creation of something good in each of our lives, societies and the world as a whole. Jupiter turned retrograde (appears to be backtracking) from the ecliptic or tropical astrology). Jupiter will turn to direct motion March 5th, 6th, 7th, 2014, depending on where your location is.

This transiting aspect, is also occurring for those who have a natal/birth Saturn in the same position now, as transiting Saturn, which would be a Saturn return for those around 29 years old, 58 years old, and so on (a return every 29 years to one’s birth Saturn location).

When Jupiter turns direct motion, early March 2014 it will be at 10.26 degrees in Cancer, right on the cusp of the first 10 degrees of cancer, called the first decan, ruled here by the moon, going back over this point, and the second 10 degrees, ruled by Scorpio/Pluto and Mars. This correlates with Saturn in Scorpio. Jupiter is exalted in Cancer which is an Auspicious time. Cancer is the 4th house/constellation in the zodiac which rules one’s physical home which is both one’s physical being and the physical house within which one lives, be it house, an apartment or wherever.

The retrograde of any planet is symbolic of delays and reversals in thinking, situations, and life situations. In religious terms, this can be a time of a miracle or miracles in the areas of one’s life wherein Jupiter and Saturn are transiting and are connected through trine. This is the logic within all religions of having faith in knowing that what you want may not appear in your timing, but in the Divine Timing of “God”, the “Cosmos”.

When we are aware of the physics, the cosmological science behind manifestations, we can be more effective and productive. Even when you know nothing about astrology, there is an inner force that pushes one to make things happen in ways that are seemingly miraculous because the doors of effective behavior meet with right timing, and great opportunity opens.

This is what this aspect looks like for where I am now in Colorado, United States at 10:33 a.m. (though I am writing this two hours earlier, I have printed out the astrological chart. One can download your own chart and align one’s personal chart with this chart to see what areas of your life and in your life, Saturn in Scorpio and Jupiter in Cancer, both water signs, will open doors of great opportunity to utilize foresight not to leave any loose ends.

Any gains made the past several weeks and forward for a few weeks, then when Jupiter turns direct in March an goes forward to meet a trine with Saturn again, what one does can be made even more solid when one utilizes foresight in the various aspects of one’s life to understand and to know how important it is not to leave loose ends, to be thorough in what one accomplishes.

The results of thorough organization will make one’s gains even more solid. This is a time when you are able to understand the rules and you will play by them in those areas of your life wherein these aspects are occurring. This is a period of practical, pragmatic, patient work to improve a situation. Important choices made now will greatly affect your future!!!!!

It is a time wherein you are able to make it clear to others that they will gain as well by working within a spirit of cooperation to accomplish something very important in your lives. A positive give-and-take attitude will assist others to be more willing to be on your team.

Further, This process of pulling things together with organized foresight so as to not leave any loose ends, will broaden your perspective and self-understanding through the utilization of real insights that you can gain for the betterment of your own life, from the lessons, stories of experience, or just inner seeing, the lives and choices of those older than yourself.

Previously, in my writing on Saturn in Scorpio 8th house of one’s astrological chart, I expressed my experience with accounting, the tax advantages of charitable gifting (knowing the rules and taking advantage of them to assist one’s financial being), for long-range tax advantage and tax preparations. Every location is different, the rules are different, my scenario may not match the rules of where you live, but something that is most advantageous can be recognized in some form, no matter where one lives. So I will express my current situation, to assist you to maybe obtain deeper insight as to how this opportunity can work for you.

As I expressed before, Saturn in Scorpio is about debt (or not), taking advantage of debt, like a rental property to be a financial strategy to reduce taxes, increase income, assist one to become financially independent in the long-term through asset building for retirement.

Back 29 years ago, when this transit was occurring for me, Saturn was going through my 10th and 11th houses, age 35, whereby I paid off all debt, except the mortgage on my home and a rental property, and through the instrument of the rents from the rental property I paid off both my home and rental property and saved, over a period of time so that my husband could retire sooner and we would be financially independent.

I now have a return of that period in our lives with this transiting aspect. Several years ago I sold the rental, put the money into 10-year CDs at a very fine interest rate. So, now I am structuring our Trust account for the future. Therefore, right now I am re-structuring our wills and our trust, and the goals that we had are now different and these instruments will reflect our evolution.

This is where Saturn in Scorpio, is structuring insurance and inheritances for others for the future. For us, it is about making sure our expenses will be covered through our own personal savings, rather than depending upon others. Remember, those of you who read my Saturn in Scorpio, I talked about the necessity of aligning one’s savings goals so that one does not have to depend upon others.

Our future has been set in place, plus the creation of Educational funds for Honors Scholars in the local community college and the university here, wherein I was an honors scholar and utilized graduate school. We are giving back to the community, to those young people, or nontraditional students returning to university to pursue a higher understanding. Those students with excellent grades can apply for various scholarships.

Therefore, I want to also send a message to those young and mid-age, who feel they may not have opportunity for higher education because their family or own personal resources are inhibiting. I want you to understand that you must ask, seek, and knock, and the doors will open. For me, I was always a good student, and good grades was my goal. I didn’t take the traditional track, I married first, went to university for accounting at age 18, had a career in accounting and organizational analysis up to age 39. At age 40-41 the Uranus opposition Uranus kicked in, which is the proverbial seeming mid-life crisis which ends the first part of one’s life.

The structuring of Saturn between age 35 and 40 of paying off all debt except mortgages (positive debt), set up what would open the door to a new re-orientation of my life, which was profound and fantastically rewarding in terms of what my dreams were, and how I fulfilled them according to the miracles of the physics of cosmology, The Divine, the physics of Astrology wherein each individual is given greater opportunities to earn higher stations in life, not just financially, but spiritually, the inner core of what one has made of oneself, what one has earned through the diligent self-disciplines and the structuring power of Saturn – Shani.

In my next writing I will express the wonderful Uranus opposition Uranus at age 39-41, wherein one has encountered the outer world, made an impact upon it, learned all about it, and one turns through a re-orientation of inner being, reaping the consequences of the choices of the first part of one’s life.

The Unity of Diversity

The Ways of Self-Improvement: The Process and Journey of Small Changes

Feng Shui: Subtle Energy Flow symbolized by color and direction of change Desired

The Way of Personal Healing