“A cat has absolute emotional honesty: human beings, for one reason or another, may hide their feelings, but a cat does not.” ~ Ernest Hemingway Cats are special animals! They are somehow connected to the mysterious, metaphysical plane, which may explain why we always see cats with witches; never dogs with witches. I am definitely not a witch, and chances are, if you see me at all, you’ll see me with a dog.

“This is the excellent foppery of the world, that when we are sick in fortune, – often the surfeit of our own behavior, – we make guilty of our disasters the sun, the moon, and the stars: as if we were villains on necessity; fools by heavenly compulsion; knaves, thieves, and treachers, by spherical predominance; drunkards, liars, and adulterers, by an enforced obedience of planetary influence; and all that we are evil in, by a divine thrusting on.

“Oh, to be a center fielder, a center fielder—and nothing more.” ~ Philip Roth, Portnoy’s Complaint Real change starts within. Creativity comes from deep inside ourselves. Fixing something only works if we start with the core of the problem. New ways of living must grow from the core. Or else they’ll fade away. Outside help cannot keep inner growth alive.

“Time is the vehicle, the medium for the Absolute or Supreme Consciousness to be and to become and it is knowledge of this principle which integrates the Spiritual and Physical dimensions and grants the individual a direct experience of the Supreme within the physical manifestation.” ~ Patricia Norelli-Bachelet For an inkling, which is a measure of time that is way less than the time it takes for paint to dry, or grass to grow, or for a pot of water to boil, I thought I was adventurous an adventurous spirit.

“Energy moves in cycles, circles, spirals, vortexes, whirls, pulsations, waves, and rhythms—rarely if ever in simple straight lines.” ~ Starhawk Time’s circumlocutions means we travel the same territory over and over again. If we pay attention, we may learn to make our way with grace and ease over the same passages that on previous turns nearly broke us. Each turn on the wheel marks precisely 9-years, and the mid-cycle is especially important at 4 1/2 years.

“In the view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognize, there are yet people who say there is no God.” ~ Albert Einstein Imagine operating from a central point within the realm of all that surrounds you, in the heart of the core of your being. What will you become in the moment you realize the harmonies in the cosmos? HVA 💚🍀

“Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.” ~ Victor Hugo Peter Gabriel was huge when I was in college, and his album So, featuring the iconic Sledgehammer was and still is a crowd favorite. After he left the band Genesis, and went out on his own and published four self titled albums.

“The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but makes our life in harmony with all existence.” ~ Rabindranath Tagore We are a species that clings to old ideas and so the notion of “letting go” is extremely important. In fact, our grip on the illusory and falsity is so tight that it alone explains most problems in the world.

“We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share. This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity.” ~ Paulo Ceolho Normally we vacationed on the Cape where the water is a balmy 56° on average. But one summer we opted for the Outer Banks. We rented a little house with a sign over the door that read…

“They were afraid of your authentic love, because authentic love is beyond their control. You are possessed by it. You are not the possessor, you are the possessed. And every society wants you to be in control. The society is afraid of your wild nature, it is afraid of your naturalness, so from the very beginning it starts cutting your wings.

“The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson Each dawn, I offer gratitude—waking to the horizon awashin pink and orange — the sun’s blush.My heart keeping timelike the glad tail of a Labrador—alive, with purpose,yet surrendered to a rhythmnot chosen, but choosing me.The journey: excruciating.The discovery: exhilaration.

“A good teacher is like a candle—it consumes itself to light the way for others.” ~ Mustafa Kemal Atatürk As far as I can tell, Capricorns tend to be teacher’s teacher. I think this is because of an orderliness of mind, and a natural coherence in thought patterns. Have you ever noticed how Capricorns are kick-ass storytellers? Now it is true that not every…

“Worry is either about acquiring what is out of reach or holding on to what is already acquired. When you know that it is the Divine who brings you what is out of reach and protects what you have, you are free from worry.” ~ Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Worrying is like praying for bad things to happen! A friend who was stricken with multiple sclerosis late in life used that phrase often, and in his case he was speaking from experience.

“Every illness is a musical problem; every cure is a musical solution.” ~ Novalis Staring out the window one afternoon, there was nothing to do, the shelter in place orders were in effect. Everything had come to an abrupt halt. I remember hearing the birds earlier that spring and thinking how they sounded like they were especially “on.” Later I read research that suggested bird songs were more ornate and complicated; more mellifluous mating calls as it turned out that were more of a “turn on” because the birds no longer had to “shout.” There were no cars or trucks on the road or trains barreling up and down the railway tracks sending decibel levels up to the hi hum of constant “noise.” The birds could sing, without the need to compete with each other over the din.

“Self-reflection, or… the urge to individuation, gathers together what is scattered and multifarious and exalts it to the original of the One…” ~ Carl Jung “As within, so without,” is an ancient Hermetic maxim that I first heard on Pink Floyd’s epic Dark Side of the Moon album. There are so many great songs on that record, in fact they’re all great, which makes it one of my all-time favorite albums.

“The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient.” ~ Warren Buffet The decision to live a more sustainable lifestyles happens at a very young age in terms of financial sustainability and presumes consistent, gainful, and uninterrupted employment. But this playbook has worked well for only a very small percentage of society. Most people working part time have no access to retirement planning, and almost half of the full time workforce have no retirement access either.

“Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?” ~ T.S. Eliot As I caressed the young smooth skin in my hands, my hands were also young at the time. But this was my very first time, so it was awkward and I thought the smooth orange-yellow surface would be as soft and supple to my lips as it was to my curious fingers.

“A river never goes back. It always moves forward. In life, you can’t go back; you have to move forward. Learn from the past, but don’t dwell on it. Keep flowing like a river.” ~ Paulo Coelho If I were forced to wear one outfit over and over again, put me in an orange jumpsuit suit! Why an orange jumpsuit? Wearing an orange jumpsuit would be a stark reminder that we are all…

“The answer lies here on Earth – but transformed by the power of a new ‘seeing’…” ~ Patrizia Norelli-Bachelet Religion isn’t necessarily spiritual in practice. A teacher once told me that “all religions are crystallizers of the truth.” What she meant is that certain events in the distant past were interpreted in a significant way but through a static way of seeing that clings to the old only because it is familiar.

“The number Zero, or the Sun in the centre of the Gnostic Circle is the core. Nothing can change in ourselves and hence civilization unless actions stem from a core, and this is the essence of the message I have to give out. The core is the great secret… my task is to realize that…” ~ Patrizia Norelli-Bachelet The essential component of well-being is movement: physical, mental, and emotional.

“Even if we are in a simulation, the simulated world is no less real to us. But there is no compelling evidence that we are, and the default hypothesis should be that our world is as it seems.” ~ David Chalmers, Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy (2022) My day starts as it does most mornings, by writing a little something.

“Life is short, break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile — especially a candy apple.” ~ Mark Twain The food that brings me back in my mind’s eye to wax nostalgically about an idealized past is the candy apple. I’m not really sure how old I was when I first had one but my grandmother treated me to a candy apple when I was still a kid and we were walking the fair grounds.

“Wine comes in at the mouth And love comes in at the eye; That’s all we shall know for truth Before we grow old and die.” ~ William Butler Yeats Happy Solstice! The Sun moves into Cancer tonight at 10:42 p.m. and the chart for the summer solstice appears to be focused on power dynamics. Issues of authority and power emerge from dark hidden places that eventually come to light.

“It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.” ~ Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo da Vinci has always been an intriguing figure in my mind. He was born in the sign of Taurus, a little over two hours before midnight. The Moon was racing toward Jupiter, the grand benefic dignified in Pisces, near the end of the sign and feeling the tug of Aquarius no doubt.

“Skambha upholds both heaven and earth; Skambha upholds the wide firmament.” ~ (Atharva Veda 10.7.38). The south of India is home to some of the most ancient and sacred temples in the world. Kodaikanal is an especially sacred place in its own right. Temples such as the Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai, Brihadeeswarar Temple in Thanjavur, and the Shore Temple in Mahabalipuram are not only places of worship but also living testaments to the region’s rich cultural and spiritual history.