Tibetan Buddhist Altar

Astrology

May 21, 2011 by Norma

Full steam ahead! Major action today, or if you’ve been diligent, yesterday was the accomplishment day. Tell everyone! Powerful news, powerful communication, is effective today. Pay attention to the news and to the messages you receive. This is important. Be sure you clarify what you hear, since confusion is possible. Double check information, triple check! If you don’t, you could make a mistake. The boss could be left off the guest list for an important occasion. Don’t get lost or over-party today. Still, your progress is excellent, and things are working out. Anne Morris said, “Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after.”

The daily astrology post affects everyone. Because individual charts vary, the circumstances outlined in the post will affect people differently. Some will feel this energy in the personal arena, some in finances, some with children or family, some in work and so forth. There are many departments of life. Look to see where the dynamic affects you!

Come Together – The Great Mother Needs Us!

January 9, 2012May 20, 2011 by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo

The following is from a series of tweets by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo:

Good evening all. Many feel this is our last day on earth. Anyone packed yet? Once in Sedona Arizona a large group packed essentials and stood waiting in a grocery store parking all night with their leader. Oopsey! No pick up. Now the end of the world is tomorrow. The rapture! At last some action! Were the teabaggers “in the know?” Hmmm. See this is what happens when you leave the heavy spiritual lifting to regular people, ordinary in their spiritual view? Always listen to the elders. They are the only ones capable of understanding and interpreting ancient mystical teachings from ancient times. If you follow the “pretenders” you will get the wrong info every time. Even Christian pastors follow the Bible like a recipe book because they have no ancient ways to guide them, to interpret. I as many feel the Bible (read it three times) is metaphor. We then miss out on the beauty and wisdom. In Buddhism we have one life practitioners who say outright they are enlightened. Just follow their (insane) ways and drop the care and kindness. Then we won’t care if we are dead or alive, so long as they have power over our minds.

Elders of any long rooted Lineage know what the bottom line is. They live it. In Buddhism we go to the “Elder” Tulkus who do know from lifetimes of practice and learning plus teaching. And the blessings of their “Elders” in an unbroken line. The Hopi elders know. The Mayans know. The northwestern Tribal elders know. Indigenous people know, as they watch and care for the earth. Who tells you truth? Those that have wisdom or those that read? Rapture will not come tomorrow. Unless you are high. No, the earth suffers and dies bit by bit.

Those who try to have power through opinion do not know. And they convey that nobody needs to do anything to help. Cop out! It isn’t over. It is time to get off our lazy deluded butts and help. Get political. Pick up the damn garbage. Quit dumping sewage into our water. Get into Japan’s face and make them trade their pride for earth’s safety. Stop whaling, feed your ego to the hungry (they need. You don’t.)

America is fat mostly because we are gluttons who do not help sentient beings. Selfish. Gotta have all the bacon. Too bad, you don’t need it and half the world is hungry.

So- how do we wake ourselves up? Prepare for difficult times. Learn how to grow food. Learn to pray. And how to make offerings. Learn how to learn. Learn how to shelter. And please, most of all come together, stay away from divisive people. All faiths must join together to save, not destroy Mother Earth. The Great Mother needs us to wake up!

Astrology

May 20, 2011 by Norma

Serious stuff today! A major force aligns favorably with business ventures. Fast thinking and a pleasant out look score major points. You may have had an “aha” during the night, a new way of understanding the situation. Something is revealed, dug up, that clarifies things. Something hidden is brought to light. Using this knowledge, you can move forward effectively. An action can place the final piece in the puzzle you’re been carefully constructing. This may cost money, but consider it well spent. An emotional hurt comes from a source you weren’t paying attention to. Tend to the hurt, but don’t lose your temper. Robert Ingersoll said “Anger is a wind which blows out the lamp of the mind.” You’ll need that mind later, don’t lose it now.

Astrology

May 19, 2011 by Norma

A surge of steady energy stabilizes a project. The old guard and the powers that be are on your side! A lucky break comes today, and emotional happiness is here as well. A burst of generosity enters the scene. Express yourself! A hunch or intuition is favorable early in the day. At the same time, the tone is one of stability, careful planning and accounting. Everything takes time to do well, and you’re enjoying carefully building your project. Physical comforts are important. If you’re skimping yourself, make things comfortable. Treat yourself as well as you treat others. Why? You may be treating others the way you treat yourself, without realizing it. Theodore Isacc Rubin said “Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom.”

Astrology

May 18, 2011 by Norma

Long distance communication is good, and a message from someone you admire gives solid advice and direction. Listen! You are magnetic and very attractive to others. Enjoy your power, and keep slowly building your business ventures. This is a nice day to garden, cook, eat, and shop as well. After all the forward push, it could seem as though you’re standing still. You’re not; you’re consolidating your position, which requires a different energy. Think of the little pig who built his house out of bricks and mortar. When the wolf came, he couldn’t blow that house down. How about your house? In a different direction, love is satisfying, and good taste leads to nice purchases or gifts. And kind words heal unseen wounds. A Japanese proverb says “One kind word can warm three winter months.”

The Honest Truth

January 9, 2012May 17, 2011 by Holly

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An excerpt from a teaching by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo called “How Buddhists Think”

The first step in achieving the cessation of suffering as prescribed by the Buddha is to understand samsara, or cyclic existence. This tends to be difficult for Westerners. They often come to the path assuming that it’s all about “love and light” or about being positive. This is not Buddhist thinking.

As Buddhists wishing to attain knowledge, we must examine the faults of cyclic existence fully and completely. We must understand why cyclic existence doesn’t work. We Westerners don’t want to spend any time on that: we tend to fool ourselves into thinking we’re happy until we get old and die. “There is just too much to do,” we say. “We can’t sit around being sad all the time. Shouldn’t we just think positive?”

That is really how Westerners think when they come to this path. “I’m okay,” they say, “but now I want to figure out how to be better. I want to be spiritual too.”

According to Buddhism, that is absolutely wrong thinking. In order to attain awareness in the Buddhist sense, one must understand the faults of cyclic existence.

The Buddha’s teaching is extremely logical, and very real. So we must enter this path not with blind faith but with our eyes wide open. If you think that to practice the Buddha’s teaching is about coming into an amazing place with exotic wall hangings and sitting around being bliss-ninnies, you’ve got it wrong. Here you’re going to get real, very real. You’re going to look at cyclic existence, and you’re going to face the fact that some day you’re going to die. And it’s up to you whether you waste your time, or whether you use this life in a way that you will see as beneficial. And you will have the capacity to make that distinction.

When you see beautiful, youthful bodies, you will understand that, yes, this is nice, but soon these bodies will sag and become wrinkled; soon they will get sick and die. You have to get real about that, because it’s the truth. No one has ever beaten that rap. When the Buddha teaches us to make use of this precious human rebirth, he doesn’t do it in an exotic, far-flung way. He teaches us to be very honest, very courageous, very real.

Astrology

May 17, 2011 by Norma

Full moon morning! You are able to see both sides of an issue, and they are mutually exclusive! Give each side their due, and avoid taking positions. You are carefully and thoughtfully assembling a plan that brings success. Be sure that every part is in place. Slow and steady wins the race now that Taurus is the boss of the skies. If you run around wildly, you’ll be gently put in your place. No rushing things, and no skipping steps. The goal has been found and it’s time to stabilize the project. An Wang said “Success is more a function of consistent common sense than it is of genius.” Use your common sense today.

Astrology

May 16, 2011 by Norma

Today begins a new mode, where it’s all money all the time. If you feel good, you buy something. If you feel bad, you buy something. Your impulse is to take it easy, have a good meal, relax. “What’s the rush?” is your new attitude. You may simply need a rest after a long, action packed period of time. Slow down, relax and smell the roses. Oddly enough, as you relax money starts coming in. You begin experiencing the fruits of your past exertions. Pretty things attract you. Pleasing speech is still a powerful influence, and now it may be expressed on the card of a floral arrangement. Tangible objects are more important now than abstract ideas. Notice the pleasing objects around you, and balance your bank book. It’ll be easy to be content today if your tend to financial issues.

Astrology

May 15, 2011 by Norma

You will be debating opposing opinions all day. Pretty much nobody will agree, but this will be oddly fun. Conversation is enjoyable thanks to the planet of chat traveling with the planet of love. Talk! The tone of your voice soothes others as well as the words you say. If you have your eye on someone for romance, today is the day! You’re irresistible. A legacy, bequest or gift may come in unexpectedly. Accept it gracefully. This is a good time to diet and exercise, thanks to the positive energy floating about. Someone may become quite insistent about money, and this seems out of sync with the vibe of the day. Take this person seriously. Alberta Flanders said “Sometimes only a change of viewpoint is needed to convert a tiresome duty into an interesting opportunity.” Pay attention, an opportunity may be at hand.

Astrology

May 14, 2011 by Norma

Blah! The morning may begin poorly, or else you got too little sleep. An emotional weight needs to be addressed, and it’s important to tend to your partnership. With all the forward action, an ally may be feeling neglected. Time to spruce up your relationships and to make others feel cared for. Today your heart is with your loved ones. Go out with the people you are closest to. The dominant mode has been so action oriented that it’s hard to break away, but do your best. There is a slight danger of broken relationships or connections now. Don’t work so long and hard that when you come home nobody’s there. On the other hand, the gift of loving conversation is especially strong now. You can persuade anyone of pretty much anything if you’re willing to slow down and pay attention. And be humble. Robert Hutchens said “This is a do-it-yourself test for paranoia: you know you’ve got it when you can’t think of anything that’s your fault.”