Of Like Minds

Time of Radical Shift A Look into the Coming Cycle  by Maurice Fernandez (evolutionary astrologer)

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:42:05 -0600

Greetings,  I feel compelled to write this note about what we astrologers are seeing coming. We are in the beginning of a very unique time in history that will redefine the foundations of our lives. The astrological circumstances are uncommon and very dramatic. Change is likely to affect every level of our being, even though each person will feel it differently and in varying degrees of intensity.  I’m writing this note so that you may make better use of this time and understand what it is about. As astrologers we are aware of cycles that affect our existence; because this coming cycle is very unique, I feel it is important to share this information. I will try to keep it simple and not burden you with a long text and excessive details.  There are multiple planetary bodies that are gradually forming a very particular and rare alignment. This configuration began to form during the fall of 2008. Politically, that time was when the economical crisis exploded and when US president Barack Obama was elected.  The configuration will move into a second phase during November 2009 and January/February 2010. (Saturn will move into the Cardinal sign of Libra and will form powerful angle to Pluto in Capricorn)..  The third phase is probably the most dramatic and intense, and will occur from the end of June to the end of July 2010, when all the factors of the configuration will align together in a cross at the very beginning of Cardinal signs in astrology. (Cardinal signs are the signs of new cycles. The planets in questions are Pluto, Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars).these planets are slow moving bodies and therefore it is absolutely exceptional that these slow moving bodies end up all aligned in a cross on these very sensitive degrees!  In normal circumstances, some people go through changes while others continue their routine. Here the alignment is so strong and dramatic that everyone’s life can be considerably affected… it is likely that your life will not be the same by fall 2010! The question that often arises is:” Is it bad, or is it good?” The answer is that it depends on the way one deals with the events; a conscious approach can make a difference.   One thing for certain: do not expect security, consistency, and predictability during this time. Reality is bound to change fast and so it is better to move with the flow, while remaining conscious of what is going on. Flexibility is one of the most important assets during this time. This influence is analogous to a gigantic wave forming…you can ride on that wave and go farther than ever expec ted —experience a powerful transformation that can elevate you to new grounds. But this wave can also destroy a lot of what you are currently attached to.   Redefinition may occur in different fields: you may change vocation, relationships, location, mindsets, to name but a few. New people will move into your life, current ones may leave. New ideas and projects will develop and you may feel inspired to completely reinvent yourself! The cards are re-shuffled! This is a time of an awakening, a revolution…an internal and social revolution.   Everything is shaking up… everything…from November 2009 until August 2010, nothing will stay still. It can be very good, but you have to learn to navigate these changes and seize opportunity when it comes. Don’t try to have it all perfect, don’t try to keep the cake and eat it: change can take you to a completely new and perhaps higher level of what you are about, but you will have to let go of your security during this time. It is a time for risk, reinvention, new ideas, new concepts, new vision, and the impetus to make it happen.   Marriages may break, jobs and possessions may be lost, people may get sick, and simultaneously, new relationships may emerge, new passion may awaken, a completely new lifestyle is in the making...You are embarking on an adventure whether you know it or not, whether you like it or not. My suggestion: make peace with the idea, don’t resist the adventure. If you are accepting it, you will make the best of it. If you fight and resist it, you won’t win. This is what I mean by being open to risk taking… it may be time to take that “plunge!”   Risking does not mean giving in to every silly venture. It is about hearing a calling for truth…things you have denied, postponed, avoided, feared, but things you know were true. This is a time to be more truthful and follow a calling.    Collectively, while the forces of corruption and manipulation may attempt to control the course of events, they are bound to disintegrate. Scandals will continue to hit the news…Natural events will continue to shake the earth. At worst, a war may break during summer 2010 or later because dramatic changes can spur fear and conflict.. But it does not have to go that way; we are creators of our own destiny in the midst of the given circumstances.   As you go through these changes, it is crucial that you take good care of your immune system because as positive as changes may be, they can overwhelm you and weaken your immune system: eat more healthy, avoid fast sugar, ingest raw garlic and onions daily (sandwich), exercise, take time out of the intensity loop, do not let negativity take over—these are basic tips that can keep you grounded.  Importantly: the situation heating up is like a piece of molten iron that can be beaten into a better form—personally and collectively. Be an ambassador of good and avoid wasting time on trivial details. For example, as we see the earth being depleted and all resources and species dwindling, people waste time arguing if global warming is or is not happening…if it is man-made or not! IT DOESN’T MATTER! What matters is that the natural world is vanishing before our eyes because of our misaligned actions: excessive pollution, deforestation, and peaking toxicity levels are a reality beyond global warming debates.   Similarly, the economy is not likely to stabilize any time soon…but perhaps, necessarily so. And so it will be with many other aspects of your life...you will not have immediate answers. Be patient and keep doing your best. When the cycle will complete, new circumstances will emerge.. This cannot be artificially rushed. These dramatic times are an opportunity for us to restructure our lives, p ersonally and collectively. As many things are being redefined, we can relinquish bad habits and attachments, open up to new ideas, and invest in what works rather than settle for immediate gratification. Patience is another essential asset.  In this context, do not expect others to change for the better if you don’t do it yourself. We blame the governments and project our frustration on distant “evils,” but fail to open our hearts ourselves. Being pro-active may work better than being self-righteous.  IMPORTANT DATES TO NOTE:
October 30 to early December 2009
January 15 to February 15, 2010
June 25 to August 5, 2010
November 1 to December 26, 2010

 GENERAL SUGGESTIONS:
Understand this is an opportunity to reinvent ourselves in a better way.
Understand there will be a price to pay, something may need to go.
If you lose something or someone, understand this is the sign of these times, use a crisis to venture into new horizons and create something new.
Understand this is an adventure and risk must be taken.
Understand that this is not a time when we can expect security—we are in transition..
Listen to your inner truth, make you life truly happen now.
Take care of your immune system: avoid bad diets in general…they render you vulnerable to opportunistic viruses.
Support your friends and family, we all shall need one another for support during this transition time.
Cultivate your spiritual practice: this is also important for your immune system.
Do your best to do good: whatever you seed now will have effect now and later.

There is probably more than can be said and explained, but you get the point… An incredible opportunity is arising, now and throughout 2010…this type of cycle has not happened in recent history. We can expect a certain level of destruction to occur—that is the price to pay…but the prospect of experiencing an awakening and creating a better future is now within reach. We are now in the midst of a revolution—a cultural, social, and political revolution. On a personal level, it is a conceptual, emotional, and or spiritual revolution…truly, it is in the making!

Sex brings Christians closer to God

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 21:06:13 -0600

Professor says the relationship between humans and spirituality is essentially erotic -- some Christians even have peak religious experiences while being sexual.
Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun
Published: Saturday, July 26, 2008
WARNING: The content of this story may be offensive to some readers.
When people feel awkward saying the words, "sexual intercourse," many instead talk about how Jane and John have come "to know" each other (tee hee) "in the biblical sense."
They seem to believe Bible writers were so shy about sexuality they had to employ a euphemism, "to know," because they dare not write "sex" or something more graphic.

But B.C. psychologist Chuck MacKnee, a Christian, believes the Bible writers and translators were using "to know" in a surprisingly intimate way.
They were expressing how men and women through sexuality can deeply connect, truly "know each other," in the most holistic, ecstatic and divine way.
Many people, not only Christians, are afraid of sex, the "amazing, wonderful thing," MacKnee said. That's why they deny it, repress it, joke about it and use euphemisms to describe it.
"I think we're afraid because ultimately in sex we're going to meet God," said MacKnee, describing the divine as "big and mysterious and way beyond us."
Expressing a viewpoint that was once taboo among many Christians, MacKnee believes humans' relationship with God is essentially erotic.
While popular culture focuses on the sexual philosophies linked with Eastern religions, particularly Tantra and the Kama Sutra, MacKnee has been researching and extolling Christian sexuality for more than 15 years. The 51-year-old married father of three has been a pioneer in a reform movement that has picked up tremendous energy in recent years.
MacKnee now teaches psychology at Trinity Western University, an evangelical school in Langley.
His PhD research at UBC in the mid-1990s was ahead of its time, focusing on Christians who had peak religious experiences while being sexual.
The fact he teaches at TWU, which officially opposes homosexual relations and sex outside marriage, adds to his novelty. More on that later.
MacKnee's positions on the link between sexuality and spirituality might cause the more demure to blush.
He talks non-judgmentally, possibly approvingly, of an Episcopal priest in the U.S. who told him he once had an orgasm while serving communion, the symbolic blood and body of Christ.
Then there was MacKnee's client -- a depressed Christian woman in her 40s who had never had an orgasm. One day she came in to his office and seemed entirely different. She'd had a religious experience, she said -- after her first orgasm.
The TWU professor admits his research has "raised some eyebrows," both in secular academia and Christian circles. But there are always waiting lists for his TWU classes, and his private therapy practice is full.
Through history, he said, many Christian churches have earned a justified reputation as anti-sexual for constantly preaching "Don't, don't, don't."
The apostle Paul's comments in the New Testament on "the sins of the flesh" have led to mixed results. The same is true of church traditions such as celibate priests and nuns (as MacKnee says, the "most holy" are considered non-sexual), as well as abstinence, and sex for procreation only.
To help revive long-buried pro-erotic traditions in the Jewish and Christian religions, MacKnee tells people the Hebrew word for "to know," yadah, is the same word the Bible uses to describe God's relationship to humans.
To him, "knowing" a woman or man "in the biblical sense" is a way of describing a peak experience: Unity with the divine in all its overpowering sensuality and wonder.
Like groundbreaking psychologists and philosophers, including Rollo May and Alfred North Whitehead, MacKnee calls God "Divine Eros."

The Catholics and mainline Protestants who are today joining evangelicals such as MacKnee in teaching about spiritual sex are in some ways catching up with Eastern-influenced New Age spirituality.
In the West, so-called alternative, or "self," spirituality, has been teaching for decades that spirituality and sex are intimately related. They've relied on spirituality from India, whose religious icons can be openly erotic.
Sensual spirituality has been popularized in the West through Hindu Tantric ritual, which links sexual energy with spiritual liberation. There has also been much talk in western pop culture about the Kama Sutra, an ancient Indian text that includes graphic advice on stimulating desire. The early Persian Sufi mystic poet, Rumi, has also helped spread the message.
At Banyen Books, a long-standing spiritual bookstore in Kitsilano, two floor-to-ceiling bookcases are filled with titles on the spirituality of sex.
They include Finding God Through Sex; Tantric Sex and Lovemaking; Western Sex and Mysticism; Zen and the Art of Making Love; Urban Tantra: Sacred Sex for the 21st Century; If the Buddha Dated; Intimate Communion: Awakening Your Sexual Essence; Soulfully Gay; Tantric Orgasm for Women; Enlightened Sex, Deepak Chopra's Kama Sutra: Including the Seven Spiritual Laws of Love, and many titles by David Deida, author of Wild Nights and The Way of the Superior Man.
Susan McCaslin, a Vancouver poet, is a mainline Protestant who, like MacKnee, is exploring the links between sexuality and God.
McCaslin recently gave a sermon highlighting how medieval mystics and celibate priests such as John of the Cross often talked about being "ravished" by God.
Such mystical union is captured in the famous baroque statue by Bernini titled The Ecstasy of St. Teresa, which is prominently displayed in a Catholic church in Rome that has become a tourist hot spot.
The Ecstasy of St. Teresa sculpture was inspired by the writing of 16th-century mystic St. Teresa of Avila when she described her vision of an angel who pierced her heart with an arrow "to leave me all on fire with a great love of God." The sculpture emphasizes there is often little distinction between religious and sensual moments.
The Bible often sends a similar message. McCaslin maintains the frank eroticism of the Bible chapter known as The Song of Songs uses the image of lovers to exemplify humans' relationship to God.
"What the poem suggests is that Spirit is more like a lover than a lawgiver or judge," McCaslin wrote, "and that living in harmony with Spirit is more like falling in love than living up to an external standard of rightness."

The United Church Observer, the in-house magazine of Canada's largest Protestant denomination, recently ran an article that touched on a sex survey of 3,800 North Americans by Gina Ogden, author of The Heart and Soul of Sex.
More than two out of three respondents told researchers that "sex needs to be spiritual to be satisfying" and 45 per cent said they "experienced sexual energy during spiritual ecstasy."
The author of The United Church Observer piece, Rev. Trisha Elliott, enthusiastically concluded: "If our ability to love makes us most like God, then it stands to reason that when we make love we might be in our most holy state. Should we break out the linens, candles, incense, flowers and wine? O God, yes! Great sex is not only possible -- it's divine."

Meanwhile, one of North America's largest Catholic newspapers, The National Catholic Reporter, has published an article in which Rich Heffern confessed he'd been taught in seminary to believe sex was shameful.
Since then, inspired by writers such as Thomas Moore, a former monk who wrote The Soul of Sex, Heffern has come to believe Catholics need to get beyond their guilt and enjoy sexuality for its sacredness; to experience married sex as a form of religious expression.
Heffern's favorite gospel story is of the woman who bathes Jesus' feet with her tears, "wiping them dry with her long sensuous hair. It always knocks me out, reminding me of the intimate Christian connection between sacredness and vulnerable flesh."
Bodies are "thoroughly sacramental," Heffern wrote. He goes so far as to make the connection that people who are uncomfortable with their own bodies, alienated from them, may be destructive to the body of the planet, leading to ecological devastation.
Christian sex 'more fulfilling'
In the 1990s, when people were talking about and researching Tantric sex, MacKnee began wondering why the sex lives of loving Christian couples weren't also being studied.
He began putting together a research project on Christians, five men and five women, who had peak experiences related to sexuality. No one in the UBC counselling department had ever seen anything like it.
The prestigious Journal of Psychology and Theology eventually published several of his papers, including Profound Sexual and Spiritual Encounters Among Practicing Christians: A Phenomenological Approach.
MacKnee discovered his Christian "co-researchers" (including two evangelical pastors) had 11 common experiences when they engaged in sexual intimacy. They included a sense of wonder, bonding, euphoria, gender equality, arousal, blessing and transcendence.
The sense of God's presence during sex, in the midst of, as the Bible says, becoming "one flesh," elevated the Christians' sexual responsiveness to the point of ecstasy.
Many said they found the experience "unbelievable." And the after-effects were transforming and empowering.
In comparing the Christians' ecstasy to research subjects who practised Tantric sex, MacKnee concluded that Christian sex was more fulfilling.
Why? Because Tantric sex encourages men and women not to reach orgasm.
Christian sex does.

"It appears that the peaks of sexual and spiritual connection among Christians were more holistic," MacKnee wrote in his scholarly paper, "involving full body gratification as well as emotional and spiritual highs."
Furthermore, MacKnee concluded, "This study demonstrates that peak sexual union requires mutual trust in the security of a committed relationship with another person, just as spiritual union requires unquestioned trust in God."
Which leads us to the controversial topics -- for a man who attends an Evangelical Free Church and teaches at TWU -- of sex outside marriage and homosexual sexuality.
Trinity Western University, where MacKnee has taught for many years, requires students and faculty to restrict sex to heterosexual marriage. MacKnee calls such rules "guidelines."
Asked whether sex could have a peak sacred quality outside heterosexual marriage, including in gay and lesbian relationships, MacKnee replied:
"I think God desires sex to be as whole and complete as possible, to include the whole body, mind and soul. Why settle for something less -- for just physical pleasure -- when you can have the whole thing?"
That's about as far as we got with that line of questioning.
Shifting the topic, MacKnee said his current research is into female sexual esteem, including among Christians, and how males who are hurt in relationships often succumb to pornography addictions.
He doesn't want to "deliver" Christians, or anyone, from the temptations of sex. Ultimately, he wants to help them fulfill their sacred desires. In that way, he believes biblical laws against such things as promiscuity and adultery were not prohibitions against pleasure.
Rather, he maintains they were guidelines designed to help humans attain deeper pleasures, which he believes can be found in sexual intimacy within the unity and security of marriage.
But what about the sexuality of Jesus, who the New Testament says never married?
"I think Jesus was celibate, but that doesn't mean he wasn't sexual," MacKnee said.
Jesus appeared highly sensual, he said. "People loved him and were in awe of him. I think there was a lot of sexual energy there."
As in Celtic Christian tradition, MacKnee believes being sensual and sexual creates a "thin zone" between humans and God, reducing the usually thick barrier between this world and the sacred realm.
And should there be any doubt, MacKnee makes it clear he has experienced this spiritual connection himself, along with his wife.
"In our own life," he said, "we've found the more we're connected with God, the better our sex lives."

Foods for Romance

Mon, 8 Sep 2008 17:20:30 -0500

Oysters. Chocolate. Basil. Aphrodisiac or hype? The key is not the food itself, but what you believe about it. There’s no scientific evidence that one food enhances the libido more than any other. But think back on some of your fondest romantic memories. Was there food involved? You bet there was.

You can probably also remember a time when you ate the same food and the result was anything but romantic. The difference boils down to your attitude, the environment, and the company. Harry E. Wedeck, author of A Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, said, "Many so-called aphrodisiac recipes are basically wholesome ingredients prepared in a tasty way. The receptivity to romance probably comes from the general sense of relaxation and well-being good food induces."
The best way to whet your appetite for romance while satisfying your hunger for food is to make your meal a sensual experience. Involve your senses, all five of them.

Taste is easy. We like food because it tastes good. That’s a nice start, but don’t stop there. How often to you let a taste linger on your tongue? When was the last time you closed your eyes to concentrate on the flavors in your mouth?
Scent plays a powerful role in sexual attraction. Even the memory of a scent, whether it’s a lover’s cologne or pumpkin pie, can set one’s heart aflutter. Yes, pumpkin pie. Dr. Alan Hirsch, Neurological Director of the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, studied how different smells affect sexual arousal. He found that the aroma of pumpkin pie had a stimulating effect on genitalia for men and women. Is pumpkin pie the newest aphrodisiac?
Make your romantic meals a visual feast. It’s the little things, the attention to detail, that makes an event special. This applies not only to what’s on the plate, but what the room looks like, too. Use the best dishes, put parsley on the plates, and light candles.

Think of a romantic dinner scene in a movie. What’s the sound track? It’s not the noisy, shout-to-be-heard atmosphere common in popular restaurants. Whether it’s sexy saxophone music or the sounds of nature, think about the feelings your sound track will arouse. Years from now when you hear the sounds of that evening, memories will flood back.

No sensual experience is complete without touch. Eating with your fingers connects you to the cuisine. To complete the connection, feed each other.
If the music moves you, dance between courses. Vigorous activity releases feel-good chemicals called endorphins in the brain and increases blood flow to the genitals. Top off the evening by dancing cheek to cheek.

Thomas Wolfe said, "There is no sight on earth more appealing than the sight of a woman making dinner for someone she loves." Maybe half the population would agree with him. The other half would be even more pleased to see a man making dinner for his sweetheart, and cleaning up afterward.
Angela and Tony met online. First they got to know each other via emails and phone calls. Then they met in person. Soon they knew each other’s favorite foods, personal background and leisure interests. Tony invited Angela on a special date. He planned to take her to Antonio’s, a great Italian restaurant where she could order her favorite dish, eggplant parmesan. When he picked her up, he was very apologetic. He said he forgot his wallet and he needed to stop by his apartment. She briefly wondered if she’d be paying for dinner. When they got to his place, he asked her if she’d like a tour.

As soon as Tony unlocked the door, Angela knew this was no ordinary visit. The lights were on, but no one was home. Soft music was playing. A mouth-watering aroma emanated from the kitchen. Tony stepped aside and said, “Welcome to Antonio’s.” In the dining room, she saw a beautifully set table. Eager to showcase his culinary skills, Tony had prepared a fabulous meal, with sensuous results.

Tony did everything right. He used basil, a reputed aphrodisiac in the eggplant parmesan. Music, candlelight and flowers completed the recipe for romance.
Angela decided he was a keeper.

Bio:
Mary Zalmanek is a speaker, trainer and author of the award-winning The Art of the Spark: 12 Habits to Inspire Romantic Adventures (www.ArtOfTheSpark.com). In 1997 she founded Adventures of the Heart. She offers coaching for romantic adventures, workshops, and spouses’ programs. She lives in Colorado, where she enjoys romantic adventures with her husband of thirty-one years.
 Speaking Schedule
The Groundbreaking 2008 Lotus Workshop and Conference October 17th -19th The Marriott Southwest, Minneapolis, Minnesota    Eight experts in relationships, sexuality, and sacred sexuality will be converging in the beautiful Land of Lakes region of Minneapolis for three days of revealing the tips,practices, and secrets of intimate relating from ancient cultures and modern science. Speakers include Deborah Sundahl, Mary Zalmanek, Chip August, Francesca Gentille, Ina Mlekush, Harold Taitt, Ann Maxwell and Deborah Adele.    The journey begins with a beautiful ceremony, keynote speakers, overview of the weekend, and gentle mixers. Saturday is smorgasbord of 1 and 1/2 hour workshops, with an evening of dinner, mingling with the experts and exhibitors. Sunday is a day of intensive trainings and deepenings.    For detailed information about this exciting conference, visit www.lotusworkshop.com.

Until Next Time
Wishing you a life of romantic adventure,
Mary Zalmanek

The Practice of Meditation

Mon, 8 Sep 2008 10:46:21 -0500

My family loves the board game Risk. In the game, every player receives armies which are strategically placed on various countries. The goal is to take over the world. In the beginning of the game, my oldest son concentrates all his armies on 3 or 4 countries. From all appearances, he should never be a threat to anyone. The rest of the family, however, looks strong and powerful with their armies spread all over the world. But, after hours of play, my oldest son, who has marched out to conquer the world from a place of concentration, has the only army left standing; all the other player’s armies have been conquered.

Like the game of Risk, our lives are often spread all over and our minds are scattered in several directions. Spread thin, we can feel like we’re being tossed around on a speeding roller coaster. We may look impressive, but how strong are we really to meet the challenges of the day? How little of an interruption does it take to knock us off balance?

Meditation is the ability to bring all of our scatteredness into one quiet, centered, focused place. In this gathering of ourselves, we begin to experience the power of concentration. And we begin to experience the unshakable strength that our lives can have. In the board game of Risk, this is how my oldest son always wins. In the game of life, this is how we become formidable players.

Yoga defines meditation as sustained concentration on an object. It is the ability to keep our mind focused for a period of time. We can get tripped up if we think this is easy. It’s not. For us then, meditating becomes the practice of meditating, the practice of trying to bring our minds into a sustained focus. In the beginning, our ability to be still and focused may be broken and discontinuous, like drips of a leaky faucet. But as we practice over time, our ability to stay focused lengthens, and our concentration begins to look more like a steady stream pouring from that same faucet.

In the practice of meditation, we close our eyes to remove ourselves from outside sensory stimulation. When we draw inward from the senses, we find thoughts, sensations, and feelings arising from what we call the inner world, or the world of our unconscious. Meditation is the practice of watching the arising and falling of these thoughts, feelings, and sensations without the need to think, feel, or sense them. It is a stance of neutrality, rather than emotional involvement or interest. We call this the stance of the witness and it involves the ability to be non-attached to whatever arises in the moment without getting “hooked” on it. In Western culture, we want to analyze and fix things as they come into our awareness. In Yogic thought, the healing actually happens from the ability to witness whatever is arising without attachment.

Meditation is a form of prayer in which we listen to the mystery that exists beyond what our minds can grasp. It gives us access to our creativity, intuition, and inner wisdom. One of the most damaging attitudes we can bring to meditation is that of expectation. Thinking meditation should look a certain way or cause a certain result can disappoint and discourage us. The practice of meditation requires trust; if we are sitting in the stillness inviting our minds to a focus, whatever is happening will probably not be what we expect or maybe want, but it will always be what we need.

Because you have practiced sitting still with a gentle focus through periods of restlessness, boredom, and all kinds of self-messages, you begin to grow an essence that is strong, calm, and centered. You find that your practice of meditation begins to seep into all parts of your daily living, creating a steadfast and peaceful presence for yourself and others. You are moving past your self-conditioned programs of happiness and your need to impose your own agenda on life. You are moving past the roller coaster of ups and downs, into serenity and contentment. You are becoming formidable and unshakable. Life’s surprises cannot knock you over. Life begins to take on a more radiant aspect; you are more alive, more aware, more grateful, more loving.

It is ultimately our hunger for the Divine that calls us to make this inward journey of meditation. Divinity is the treasure hiding inside each of us. Until we seek and find this treasure, our lives will remain incomplete and unfulfilled, a mere fraction of what could be. Whether you are a beginning or a seasoned meditator, I invite you to be steady and curious as you explore the landscape of the inner world, until you come to rest in the heart of God where all your questions will be answered and all your desires fulfilled.

--Deborah Adele is co-owner of Yoga North, author of 2 CDs and an upcoming book on Yoga Ethics.
www.yoganorthduluth.com

Yin and Yang

Sat, 2 Aug 2008 15:15:39 -0500

Yin and yang. The Chinese principle of dualism. Yin is soft, yang is hard. Yin is tranquil, yang is restless. Yin is slow, yang is rapid. Yin is cold, yang is hot. Yin is gentle, yang is rough. Sometimes, I hear people assert that yin is feminine, yang is masculine.
I was talking Satyen Raja on my podcast and he said “in any type of relationship there’s a masculine energy, one person has more of a masculine energy at their deepest core and there’s another partner who has more of a feminine essence at their deepest core.” He went on to talk about how this feeling of “fitting together” can fool us into believing we’re in love. It’s a great interview. But it got me thinking about this idea of duality.
I once heard a comedian say that there are two kinds of people in the world - those who think there are two kinds of people and those who don’t. I don’t. I see the world in infinite variety. I see masculinity in the way I care for my children and femininity in the ferocity of my sexuality. I see the hard in the soft and the light in the darkness, and all the shades of gray in between.
I believe great relationships are all about the gray areas. We are neither one thing nor the other, we dance and flow back and forth, sometimes leading, sometimes following, sometimes on top, sometimes on bottom, always side-by-side, intertwined.
The funny thing about the Chinese philosophy of yin and yang is that it also includes finding the yin in yang and the yang in yin. And then finding the yin in the yang that’s in the yin…well, you get the idea.
By the way, there are actually three kinds of people - those who understand arithmetic and those who don’t.

Chip is a facilitator for the Human Awareness Institute, HAI, founded by Stan Dale, where he leads workshops in Love, Intimacy, & Sexuality and Podcaster/Blogger for Personal Life Media on Sex, Love, and Intimacy.

www.PersonalLifeMedia.com/podcasts/222-sex-love-and-itimacy
www.ChipAugust.com

More about Chip...

Of Like Minds

Time of Radical Shift A Look into the Coming Cycle by Maurice Fernandez (evolutionary astrologer)

Sex brings Christians closer to God

Foods for Romance

The Practice of Meditation

Yin and Yang

Time of Radical Shift A Look into the Coming Cycle  by Maurice Fernandez (evolutionary astrologer)