Blog Your Blessings Sundays---Kuan Yin

This is ONLY the second blog post I've made on any of my blogs since returning from my travels in Asia this Spring and early Summer. When I returned, I had zero desire to blog, and it's taken me awhile to get back into posting again.

However, now that I've processed my journey, I'd love to share one of my blessings, and this involves receiving a very special blessing in Beijing, China. This story involves Kuan Yin, and for those who've read my posts, they'll recall I have a very special connection with Kuan Yin.

Kuan Yin is also spelled Quan Yin, Guan Yin, and Kwan Yin. I prefer 'Kuan Yin' because it most resonates with me.

Ok, back to the Blessing:

I was in Beijing, China and very much wanted to visit a Kuan Yin temple. Before leaving for the trip, I googled and searched the net for such a temple, but I couldn't find one. So when I arrived at our hotel in Beijing, I asked our concierge to help me. She tracked down the oldest Buddhist temple in Beijing which honors Kuan Yin. She offered to take me there (along with others in my group), and off we went.

Upon arriving at the temple, I spied a small gift shop, and when I went into it, there were hundreds of Kuan Yin statues of all types and sizes. After deliberating for awhile, I decided to buy a small metal one which would be easily packable and unbreakable. I already have many Kuan Yin statue's in my Maui home, but I wanted another from this very special temple.

After I purchased it--to my great surprise and BLESSING--the concierge ( who was also translating for me) arranged to have my newly purchased Kuan Yin statue blessed by one of the resident monks! The ceremony he performed was powerful, and I felt chicken-skin as he conducted the ceremony with his long fingers and hands twisting into various mudras. The energy was so strong and loving. He wrote mantras on red papers which he then cut out in designs and attached them to the bottom of the statue as well behind the head of the statue. For the remainder of the trip I hand-carried this statue with me.

Na Mo Kuan Shih Yin Pu Sa

Blog Your Blessings Sunday--Mudras

My blessing to share for this Blog Your Blessing Sunday is the knowledge of using mudras. Mudras are a very ancient science. Mudras help to restore balance to the system, and thus, they are great healing tools. Different mudras are used for different needs.

Wikipedia defines mudras thusly: "A mudrā (Sanskrit: मुद्रा, lit. "seal") is a symbolic or ritual gesture in Hinduism and Buddhism. While some mudrās involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers. Mudrā (Sanskrit) is "spiritual gesture" and energetic "seal of authenticity" employed in the iconography and spiritual practice of Indian religions and Taoism."

The above photo of a mudra is for protection. Here is a link where you can view more mudras.

Uranus and Me

Moon photo: Charles Pfeil

There's no getting around it: Uranus has me in it's crosshairs. And so it will be for longer than I wish to even state. Today, especially, is one of those Uranian days.

Let's begin with the details:

It's a Full Moon today, March 10th, with the Moon and Uranus conjunct in Pisces opposite the Sun AND my natal Sun too.

Five planets (counting Chiron) and the North Node are currently transiting Aquarius whose ruler is Uranus. My life partner is an Aquarius.

Uranus is close to my Ascendant.

These are the keywords often used by astrologers for Uranus: freedom, surprise, revolution, sudden shocks, futuristic, computers, electricity, jolts, originality, inspiration, and brilliance. On the flip side, here are some other words: eccentric, fanatic, rebel, restless, and impulsive.

With Venus currently retrograde in my First House, I'm not planning on changing my hair color or to undergo surgery. Rather I'm gonna patiently await Uranus to surprise me with a windfall, download of intuitive information, AND most likely, write a lot on the computer. :Smile:

“The basic difference between an ordinary man and a warrior is that a warrior takes everything as a challenge, while an ordinary man takes everything as a blessing or a curse.” Carlos Castaneda

Blog Your Blessings Sunday--Ocean

The 'blessings' I'm celebrating today are the appreciation, beauty, and nourishment I receive from the gorgeous ocean surrounding my island home of Maui. Every day I have the opportunity to view this exquisite ocean from many different places.

In some locations the ocean is a pale aquamarine...in other places a deep cobalt blue. Sometimes the ocean is threaded with different shades of blue. The photo above was taken in a little town called Paia on the North Shore of Maui in the late afternoon, and you can see the water has a greenish shade in some parts.

I can gaze upon it for hours on end and love to listen to the sound of the waves. Whether I'm swimming in the warm ocean water or merely viewing it, I feel totally blessed.

Blog Your Blessings Sunday--Maui Ocean

During the winter months, the Hawaiian Islands are blessed by the return of the Humpback Whales who migrate to our wonderful warm waters every year. It's during this time that many people (as do I) venture out on boats to view the antics of these amazing beings.

I've been out on boats lately enjoying the ocean and the whales, and today I'd like to share the blessings I receive from being on the ocean. The ocean changes from place to place and day to day. Yesterday the ocean was a deep, dark blue...on another days it's a gorgeous cobalt blue...and on some days, the ocean has a turquoise coloration. Yesterday the ocean was very choppy and covered with white caps. At other times, the ocean is like a mirror.

Whatever way I discover the ocean, I feel blessed to be living around such an amazing element, and the energy I receive from being 'on the ocean' and experiencing this expansiveness which comes to one surrounded by deep waters.

As many people probably read online, the message was that yesterday officially began the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius. Many people were sending Heart Hugs around the planet with the intention to celebrate this dawning. I was on a boat on the ocean doing just this in my meditation.

For those that missed the viral message about yesterday, I'll sum it up briefly for you: On February 14 at 7:25 am Greenwich Time a rare astrological concentration brings together a group of planets with the North Node (higher purpose) in Aquarius which energizes the possibility for upliftment and breakthrough.

These words taken from a song of the 60's called "Aquarius" brought the idea of our New Age into our collective awareness:

When the Moon is in the seventh house
And Jupiter aligns with Mars.
Then love will rule the planets
and peace will steer the stars.

Such an alignment actually HAPPENED yesterday when expansive Jupiter and energetic Mars aligned with the North Node. Chiron (the healer) also got into the mix as did Neptune, Mercury, and Pluto. The Moon in Libra in the 7th house emphasizes harmonious relationships. Venus in the1st house energizes co-creativity.

What an awesome day it was, and I was on a powerful grid point in the Maui waters and blessed to be participating in such a day.

Blog Your Blessings Sunday--Eucalpytus High

Recently we took a hike through a grove of eucalyptus trees high on the slopes of Haleakala. The fragrance of eucalyptus was highly intoxicating, and we became high from this beautiful smell and energy from the trees.

Eucalyptus trees are an incredible blessing. It is said that if you sit with your back to an eucalyptus tree, you can easily send a telepathic message to the dolphin kingdom. Eucalyptus are native to Australia, and they've been extensively planted throughout Hawaii. There are medicinal uses of eucalyptus as well. Click here to read them.

Rainy Days And Astrology Magazines Never Get Me Down

Photo: terragalleria

The last week or so there have been a lot of rainy days on Maui, and on such days, I love to curl up with a pile of books and magazines, one of which was The Mountain Astrologer magazine. I'm going to share some of my favorite articles from the Feb/March issue of The Mountain Astrologer.

The fascinating interview with long-time consulting astrologer Bill Herbst is a must read. I love this part: "...so I tried to run out in front of the parade a little bit, and now I'm presuming that the parade is reaching the town square."

Bill's the kind of astrologer who has been around the block and well ahead of most of us, and his candid insights about our future thus need to be carefully considered.

"Re-Visioning the Lunar Nodes" by Kathy Allan, is a comprehensive analysis of the lunar nodes, and it offered remembrance of my own Lunar node placement through one of the people she examined, Dr. Kay Mullis, winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Dr. Mullis has a Cancer North Node in the 4th house and her South Node in the Capricorn 10th house as do I. It's always good to get a nudge/reminder: "The South Node in the 10th house in Capricorn indicates that, if the profession is directed toward the greater good of the collective, the native can be successful. But if he is seeking prestige or social standing, he will fail."

"Neptune and Economic Turmoil" by Paul Wright is another article which interested me for several reasons. My birthday is Sept. 14th, and one thing I hadn't computed was that the Full Moon on my birthday, 2008, was "significant by its alignment with the U.S. Neptune (at 22 degrees 26 minutes Virgo) in the Sibly chart." Somehow I had overlooked that interesting detail which has me reflecting upon the implications.

Another quote from this article: "Neptune is the great leveller, and as I have said, and over the next cycle I think there will be a (welcome) drift towards global equalisation of wealth." I'd like to think Paul Wright is right!

"In Praise of Melancholy or the Danse Macabre" by Brad Kochunas was another provocative read. "I do wish to make a distinction between major depression and melancholy, of whose praises I sing," writes Kochunas. I also treasure my melancholy when it comes, and out of the time spent in the melancholic phase, new creativity and direction arise for me. So I guess you could say I praise it too.

“We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future.” George Bernard Shaw