Kaleidoscope september 2014 edition by Meetu Sehgal

KALEIDOSCOPE The Balancing Act

The Vital Balance Am I Spiritual If I have Feelings for My Gucci Bag? Dasha System in Astrology

September 2014

Remedies for Balance and Harmony Conscious Capitalism-‐ A Balanced Way of Business Tarot Predictions for you this Month

“In each of us lie good and bad, light and dark, art and pain, choice and regret, cruelty and sacrifice. We’re each of us our own chiaroscuro, our own bit of illusion fighting to emerge into something solid, something real. We’ve got to forgive ourselves that. I must remember to forgive myself. Because there is a lot of grey to work with. No one can live in the light all the time.” ~ Libba Bray “Sadness gives depth. Happiness gives height. Sadness gives roots. Happiness gives branches. Happiness is like a tree going into the sky, and sadness is like the roots going down into the womb of the earth. Both are needed, and the higher a tree goes, the deeper it goes, simultaneously. The bigger the tree, the bigger will be its roots. In fact, it is always in proportion. That's its balance.” ~ Osho,

Table of Contents From the Editor's Desk ........................................................................................... 4 The Vital Balance ................................................................................................... 6 Live for All the Seven Days ................................................................................... 17 Am I Still Spiritual If I Have Feelings for My Gucci Bag? ......................................... 18 Work & Life – Balance Each Other ........................................................................ 22 Conscious Capitalism – A Balanced Way of Doing Business ................................... 24 Remedies for Balance and Harmony ..................................................................... 28 Balance Work Life with Creativity ......................................................................... 31 Anna .................................................................................................................... 36 Dasha System in Astrology ................................................................................... 39 Tarot Predictions September 2014 ....................................................................... 42 Fengshui Tips for the Garden ................................................................................ 50 Astrological Queries from the Readers ................................................................. 52 Book Review ........................................................................................................ 54 The Dalai Lama’s Cat and the Art of Purring ......................................................... 54 Crystal of the Month -‐ Flourite ............................................................................. 56 Thought for the Month ........................................................................................ 58

From the Editor's Desk Dear Reader, Here we are with yet another exciting edition of Kaleidoscope. This month we are exploring the theme of balance. Since time immemorial, man has always strived for balance – balance in health, relationships, work and life, career, emotions, mind. Yet somehow it feels everyone is still searching for it. With the new era of electronics, smart gadgets and hectic lifestyle, balance is something that looks like a far away dream. If we notice the universe very closely, we will see a precise balance in the universe and its entities in spite of the perceived chaos. The planets move in their orbits at a particular speed. Any lack of balance in their orbit or speed can send them crashing into each other. Similarly nature shows that balance. The five elements of creation – Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space also always remain in balance. Any imbalance in them will cause problems. For example, excess of water in the form of rains will cause depletion of earth and life, excess fire in the form of heat will cause drought. Everything stays in balance for the harmony to be maintained. Even in our body, the cells maintain a balance of water and nutrition, homeostasis ensures temperature is regulated and balanced in the body. According to Ayurveda, The three Doshas or Humors – Vata, Pitta and Kapha in the body are balanced and are responsible for proper functioning of every system of the body. Anything in excess or deficiency will cause problems in the form of diseases. For example, excess of Vata will create diseases like constipation whereas deficiency of Vata will cause the body system to become sluggish. All the ancient medicine systems like Ayurveda, Chinese, Tibetan and the more contemporarily discovered energy healing systems like Reiki, Pranic Healing, Theta Healing, EFT etc. are focused towards bringing a balance in the human being on all levels – physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. Moving beyond the body, we need balance between work and recreation. These days most people find their lives off balance where in they are spending majority of their time in work nurturing their physical aspect and neglecting the emotional, spiritual and mental aspects of their life. We are living 20% of our life neglecting the 80% and expect to live 100%. Seems like an irony. The result is the widespread disease called stress.

Stress is nothing but living a life out of balance. Lack of balance causes stress. Life is never ending series of desires. The problem happens when we make the desires as our center of existence and forget to differentiate between needs and wants. To achieve this balance, we don’t need to go very far. If we can manage to balance ourself, our emotions and being, if only we can begin to listen to that still small voice inside our heart, the balance can be achieved. In this edition of Kaleidoscope, we explore more such themes and also look at ways on how to achieve that balance in our lives, live a fulfilling life. You can send your feedback and suggestions to meetu.sehgal@ezinekaleidoscope.com. You can also connect with us on Facebook and Twitter. Wishing you all the best for your journey With Grace and Light -‐Meetu Sehgal Meetu Sehgal, a Tarot Consultant and Holistic Healer, is an MBA from Delhi University. With more than 8 years of experience in Tarot Reading, she is known as a “Tarot Healer” for her in-‐depth tarot counseling sessions which are insightful as well as empowering. You can reach her at meetu.sehgal@gmail.com or www.divineinnovations.org She also teaches Osho Zen Tarot, Reiki and other holistic sciences.

The Vital Balance

Dr. Henrotte: There is a problem with people like me, in our civilization and especially in our profession. We make too much use of our intelligence, so much so, that we tend to view life through the intellect only, thus negating all other means of doing so. This tends to make life boring and dull and robs it of its lustre. Acharya Rajneesh: No one can use his intellect too much. It is such a great force, with so much potentiality that you cannot use it too much. Not only too much, we never even use it totally -‐ never. Ordinarily, we do not use more than 10 to intellectual work, it does not necessarily mean you are using your intelligence. Intellectual work too, is mechanical. It does not require any intelligence at all! Once you get the know-‐how, no intelligence is required at all. Then the mind works just like a computer. The real problem is, not the use of too much of intelligence, but the non-‐use of emotion. Emotion is completely discarded in our civilization and the balance is lost. Our whole civilization is anti-‐emotional. So a lopsided personality develops. If emotion is also used then there is no imbalance. An emotion-‐intellect balance must be maintained in the proper ratio; otherwise, the whole personality gets diseased. It is just like using your one leg only. You may keep on using it but you reach nowhere. You will simply tire yourself. The other leg must be used. Emotion and intellect are two legs -‐ they are like two wings. When we use only one wing, the only outcome will be frustration and then the Bliss that comes by using both the wings, simultaneously, in balance and in harmony is never attained. So do not fear to use intellect. Only when intelligence is used, then you touch the depths. You are stimulated in your potentiality. Intellectual work is merely superficial. No depth is touched, nothing is challenged. That gives rise to boredom. That creates lustreless work -‐ work without enjoyment. Enjoyment always comes -‐ when your individuality is challenged and you have to prove yourself or when you have to respond to a challenge, intelligence or emotion when challenged create their own bliss. A person becomes schizophrenic if only one part of his personality is working and the other is dead. Then even the part that is working will not be really working well due to overwork. It cannot work because personality is a totality, it is not divided -‐ it has no division at all.

Actually the whole personality is a flowing energy. When energy is used logically, it becomes intelligence and when used, not logically but emotionally, it becomes the heart. These are not two separate things but the same energy is challenged through different channels. When there is no heart but only intellect, then you can never relax. For relaxation means the same energy working in a different channel. Relaxation is never no-‐ work. It is work in another dimension, so that the dimen-‐ sion which is already overtaxed relaxes. So a person, who follows an intellectual pursuit continuously, never relaxes. He has not diverted his energy to other dimensions, thus causing the mind to go on working unnecessarily in one direction only. This creates boredom. The thoughts just come and go and energy is diffused, wasted. You cannot enjoy it. On the contrary, you will be disappointed and disgusted with this unnecessary burden. However, the mind or the intellect is not at fault, because an alternate dimension has not been provided. The energy is veritably ruined, and it keeps circling round and round, as no other door is open to it. Energy can never be stagnant. Energy means -‐ that which is not stagnant -‐ that which is always flowing. So relaxation does not mean energy-‐stagnant or energy-‐ asleep. Relaxation scientifically means energy in another channel, another dimension, in another room. Even if the room is different but not the very opposite, the mind will not relax. You work on a scientific problem, and then you can relax by reading a novel. The work is different. As to deal with a scientific problem is to be active -‐ a very masculine trait -‐ to read a novel is to be passive -‐ an absolutely feminine trait. The work is different, and although the mind is used, all the same you will be at ease, as another and opposite pole of the mind is used. You are not solving anything, you are not active. You are just a receptor -‐ receiving something. The dimension is the same, only emotion -‐ the opposite polarity is brought into use. Similarly when we love, the intellect does not come into play at all. Rather, quite the opposite; the irrational part of your personality comes into action. Intelligence must be balanced by love. But ordinarily this balance is not found anywhere. If someone is loving and he is not intelligent this too becomes a case of boredom. Even love becomes a tension if it is a twenty-‐ four hour business. It will create its own boredom. Once the challenge is lost, the enjoyment too will be lost. The 'play' will be lost and it will become -‐ just work. The same happens with the intellectual. These two parts, two polarities of the human individuality must be in balance. Only then the integrated and individuated being is born. Otherwise, it is the same disease; whether from the part of emotion, or from the part of the intellect. The East became warped with the heart. Now the West has tried the other polarity. Both have achieved disastrous results. There is rebellion in the West's

new generation against intellect, against reason. The whole mind of the new generation is leaning towards the irrational. Nature takes its own revenge -‐ always. Nature is very revengeful. It never pardons, it never forgets. If some part of it remains suppressed or unfulfilled, it will have its revenge. So the irrational in the West is taking its revenge. In the East, the rational has got the appeal, the scientific has got the appeal and communism has got the appeal. Religion has lost -‐ it no longer appeals to the East, as reason has been all along suppressed. So to me, neither a human being nor a human culture can be healthy without an inner balance between the rational and the irrational. I do not take these two as two different parts; I take them as the two poles existing in the same energy. All energy exists between two opposite poles. Otherwise, it can never exist. Energy requires an inner tension to create itself -‐ to be. It could be the negative and the positive, as in electricity. It could be one pole and another, as in magnetism. It could be the male and the female, as in biology. Energy cannot exist in one pole. The other -‐ the opposite is needed to challenge, to stimulate, to create the necessary tension. But in the human society, the other is always suppressed -‐ either the intellect or the emotion. Therefore, the total culture has not come into existence yet. There has only been civilization either of the intellect or of the emotion. Culture as such is yet unborn. Culture means the polarities functioning simultaneously. So always balance one by the other. The more the other is put to use, the more the one for which it proves to be a relaxation brightens, is illumined. So the mind must be capable of changing poles, just as easily as waking and sleeping. One must be able to close one dimension and open another. When this happens, life is no longer dull. It becomes bliss. Unfortunately we become addicted to one polarity. Why this addiction to one? We become addicted to one, because the one which is in use, and for which we are trained, is easier to do. You can do it without any conscious effort. Consciousness is not required. When you change the pole, when you change the total perspective, you become an amateur. Then you are not an expert in this realm. You are not trained in it. So, you try to escape from it. Then in the realm in which you are proficient you tend to overdo. This over-‐doing is the problem. One must not be an expert all the twenty-‐four hours! One must also do something in which one is 'no-‐one'. One must also do something about which one knows nothing. One must be a child, sometimes playing, immature, unknowing and ignorant; and that will be a help to the expert part of the mind. So every genius has the child in him. No genius can exist without the child in him. And the child is the source of all his energy. He can, in moments, be a novice. He

can, in moments, be totally ignorant. He can touch realms of which he knows nothing. A mathematician turning to poetry is never the loser. He comes back to his mathematics with a purer mind, with new experiences unknown to the mathematical realms. All that has been invented and discovered has never been done by the professional. It is always the outsider, because he comes with the mind of a child. Only a child is inventive -‐ never an old man, for he is an expert! But he cannot invent. He will go on repeating the same thing -‐ doing it, and over-‐doing it. He will make it more perfect but never new. So a professional cannot contribute anything new to knowledge. He knows too much. He cannot touch anything which is new. So persons who know, who are professionals, are always orthodox. They are never revolutionaries. They cannot be. Their very being is heavy. They cannot see the new. They are always oblivious of the new. So whenever it happens that a scientist turns to poetry; or a poet turns to mathematics, or a businessman turns to painting; or a painter comes to be a sannyasin, then something new is born. And to give birth to something new is blissful. Otherwise, your every work will be dull and boring. Man cannot work like a machine. He cannot just go on producing the same things mechanically, repeating the same routine endlessly. If he goes on doing this, he will be completely dead, long before he dies. He will only know that he has been alive when death comes. In a mechanical routine, there is every danger of the human machines being replaced by 'machine-‐humans'. These human machines can be replaced because whatsoever they can do, can be more efficiently done by a mechanical device. One can never be at ease if one has just turned into a mechanical device. Society does not need individuality, it needs efficiency. So the more a person becomes a person, the less useful he becomes to the society -‐ and more dangerous. So the whole pattern of our civilization, and in fact of all civilizations that have existed in this world, is to turn the human being into an automaton. Then he is obedient, efficient, and, not dangerous! Otherwise, a mind which is inventive, inquiring, searching for the new, seeking the new and always trying to give birth to something unknown is bound to create disturbances. The establishments cannot be at ease with him. So they begin to kill individuality as soon as a child is born. Before he is seven they kill his individuality completely. If by change they are not successful in doing this, then only a person becomes his own individual self. But this is rare. Every type of social institution is a means to kill the individual and convert him into a machine. All our universities are factories to kill the spontaneous -‐ to kill the spark, to kill the spirit and change man into a machine. Then the society feels at ease with him. He can be relied upon. He knows what he can do, what he will do. He can be predicted. Man becomes predictable as soon as he be-‐comes a machine. We can predict a husband, a wife, a doctor, a lawyer, a scientist. We know who they are and how they will react. We can be at ease with them.

But with a person who is living, spontaneous, it is impossible to be at ease. Because we do not know what he will do! He is unpredictable; and unpredictability is always a source of insecurity. A wife will not be at ease with a husband who is unpredictable. The moment he is unpredictable, he is unmanageable. He cannot be managed, he cannot be manipulated. No one is at ease with an unpredictable person. Not even a father with an unpredictable son. And only the unpredictable can feel happiness -‐ can feel life, no one else. Life itself is unpredictable, unmanageable. Life as such is from moment to moment -‐ towards the unknown. It is an opening into the unknown -‐ nothing more, nothing else. So if you are open, just like life itself, then you necessarily live in all your dimensions -‐ the physical, the intellectual, the emotional and the spiritual. Then you live totally. Then there is no bifurcation, no division. Your energy flows as if from one room to the other, and then to another. There is no barrier to your energy. It is not pulled from anywhere. It is a flowing river. You have just to switch on to any realm. You are always fresh and relaxed. And, whenever you return to your particular field of work, you approach it with newness, a freshness that comes only from relaxing in the opposite fields. So the problem as I see it is not excessive intellectual work, but too little or no work in the other dimensions -‐ specifically the emotional. Reason is balanced by emotion. If you can do an exercise in logic but cannot weep, then you are bound to be in trouble. If you can only argue and not laugh, you are inviting trouble. But whenever a person appears, whose life is like a flowing river, it is difficult to understand him, because he cannot be categorized. There is a Zen story. A famous monk died, he was a great teacher. He was well known, however, because of his chief disciple. Thousands of people came to pay homage to this monk. To their amazement, they found the chief disciple weeping. They were at a loss to understand him. An unattached person should not weep, especially he, who had always said that the spirit never dies! One comes and asks, "Why do you weep?"The monk replied, "I cannot live with the 'Why' always. There are moments when there is no 'why'. I am weeping and that is all." They still insisted, "You always say that the soul is immortal. Then why do you weep?" He replied, "I still maintain that the soul is immortal. But that does not check me from weeping"! This sounds illogical -‐ 'the soul is immortal so one must not weep'. But the monk says, "The soul itself is weeping and I cannot do anything about it. I have never done anything myself. Whatsoever comes to me, I am with it. Tears are coming and I am one with them." This attitude cannot be categorized. We can understand someone weeping if he believes the soul to be mortal. If one believes the soul to be immortal and does not weep, that too is understandable.

It is alright. The soul is immortal, for whom to weep? No one has died; but this man says that the soul is immortal and yet he weeps. There is no 'why'. The tears just flow. They ask, "Then do you weep for the body?" The Monk says, "Yes, it must be for the body that I weep. The body too was beautiful and it will never be seen again. I weep for the body." "But you are a spiritualist," they say. And so the arguments go on. They accuse him of confusing them. "I myself am confused -‐ Life is such. The soul is important but so also are the tears! Such is Life -‐ so contradictory! It exists in contradictions. I myself am confused. But I am at ease with my confusions. I am at ease with my contradictions. So I am not tense. See my tears! See me weeping, I am at ease; I am relaxed. I am blissful." The other part must not be denied. The more you use reasons, the more you must use the irrational to balance it. The moment it is balanced, you become weightless. You feel free. The weight of one is set off by the weight of the other. The balance is achieved. You are free. Otherwise you will feel the burden, the weight, more till a moment comes when there is only burden and you are no more! You will feel only the burden; that is the only reality you will be conscious of. This burden will be so much with you always that you cannot conceive, what it is to be without it. No one is without burden. But burden can be balanced by another burden -‐ from the opposite pole. When the two burdens are balanced, there is no burden. Thus a mind which has no burden is not a mind without burden. Rather, it is a mind with balanced burdens. So I am in favour of reason and 'no-‐reason' at the same time and I advise a perpetual balance between the two. As soon as the burden is felt, you should know that the balance is lost. You must set about to restore it, by adding the necessary weight, wherever it is required. If the intellect is heavy, do something irrational -‐ meditate. Meditation is not reason. It is irrational. So when someone asks me to explain meditation, I am at a loss! Simply because you cannot understand meditation. You can do it and know it. It is not at all concerned with logic, reason, arguments and understanding. There are people who have been studying meditation all their lives, and still not understood it. They cannot. Krishnamurti talks about understanding it and makes understanding equivalent to meditation, as if meditation is something to be understood! Rather, understanding must be balanced by meditation. It is the opposite pole.

So, once you try not to understand meditation you can do it. If one goes on trying to understand meditation, there is less possibility of practising it. And because understanding is intellectual, there are people who say they understand Krishnamurti perfectly. Intellectually we understand him. And even though he says intellectual understanding will not do, he still equates understanding with meditation. If intellectual understanding will not do, then I say a non-‐intellectual JUMP will do. There is no understanding which is not intellectual. Whenever you go into meditation, it is less like understanding and more like feeling. It is felt. It is never understood. Philosophy and science are intellectual processes. Religion and art are non-‐intellectual processes. Philosophy must be balanced by religion and science must be balanced by art. Otherwise, a topsy-‐turvy, lopsided world is created in which everyone is diseased. I have not come across a single individual who is at ease. Something or the other is always disturbing him. It does not matter what! All that matters is that he is disturbed. Everyone is disturbed. Then there must be something in our very conception of a human being which has gone wrong. In the very structure of our society something has gone wrong. Therefore, persons who are diseased in the mind are only symptomatic. There is a very surprising fact. In the 30's, all the mental patients who visited the psychoanalysts were basically disturbed by violence. Then came the Second World War. The same thing happened in the early 19th century and this was followed by the First World War. So as I see it, the mental patients are the forerunners of us all. They herald that which is to come. In a way they are more sensitive. They perceive things beforehand. The same happens with the artist. Everything that is to happen first happens in poetry, painting, music, etc. If we look deep in the art of Picasso we will find the indication of a diseased civilization. In his painting 'Guernica', or for that matter in any of his other works, he never portrays a human figure as it is. He never paints all his parts together, nor in the right context. The head will be in one place and the neck somewhere else. The eyes are under the head. Such is his painting -‐ schizophrenic, schizoid! He is an extra sensitive person who sees the shape of things to come, the plight of the human being in time to come. A society basically philosophic only, will be lacking in religion. A society basically scientific only, will be lacking in aesthetic art. Art will become ugly. Thus the whole Western art has become ugly. Rather, the grotesque and the absurd has become the criterion.

Ugliness is appreciated as greatness in art. The uglier a painting, the more distorted, the better it is appreciated. There should be no harmony, no rhythm, no music -‐ everything should be deranged and decayed like the present human mind. These are indications and symptoms. They are symbolic expressions. The other part of the human mind is taking revenge. It is demanding attention. When a society becomes less and less religious, religion takes its revenge. It will become ugly, ritualistic. Priesthood will come up, religion will go down. The Church will come up. The Church is religion turned ugly. The priest is the revenge of the prophet. The prophet has no place, so the priest comes in. He fills the vacuum. We have not yet even conceived a total culture, a total personality, a total mind. The totality is the sum total of both the opposite polarities. Therefore, a totally consistent personality is an imperfect and partial personality, and is in a way on the path to madness. This is dangerous. The part that has been denied expression, denied attention, because of a consistent mind, will take its revenge. The irrational will become aggressive. It will come with a revengeful force and shatter all reason. You must not only understand, but also feel this. This is not difficult to understand intellectually. The problem comes only with the question of feeling. You must also feel it. This can only be possible when you do something irrational. Just jump and dance for an hour and see how relaxed and refreshed you feel -‐ and how bright! The mind gets purified because the irrational is satisfied. Now reason can work freely without any enemy behind. There is now a freedom in its working. Thus give an opportunity to both sides of the mind to express freely. Always balance the two. Live in these two complementary compartments. They are not contradictory. They look so, because we have been living only in one and become fixed in it. When you dream, you do not feel the contradiction, the inconsistency of the dream. You see a friend approaching. Suddenly he turns into something else. But you take this as a fact in the dream. You feel no inconsistency, no contradiction. You do not ask how man can change into an animal. This is because a dream has no logic. Dream has still to know its Aristotle. In a dream you cannot say that, if A is A, then he cannot be B. If A is A, he cannot be 'not-‐A'. In a dream, A can be 'not-‐ A' and 'not-‐A' can be A. No logic is taken into account, nor is any contradiction imposed. So there are realms totally lacking in logic. All the same they are part of you.

Rather, you are part of them, for they are greater. If this balance is achieved between the rational and the irrational, boredom vanishes. There is moment to moment bliss. Then every moment comes with bliss of its own. Otherwise, life becomes a burden. But life is not responsible for this. We alone are responsible, for the choice lies with us. Dr. Henrotte: If one tries to balance oneself, he will not fit into a category. Then he will be rejected by society. He will become redundant. Acharya Rajneesh: It is better to be rejected by society than to be rejected by life! Ma Yoga Maitri: How should I plan to proceed in this method of yours when I go back to Japan? Acharya Rajneesh: Do not plan anything. Just go on digging. Things will take their own course. Planning always presupposes frustration. When you plan you create seeds of frustration. Do not plan. Just go on digging. Let it come. It is always beautiful when it comes by itself. It is always fulfilling, never frustrating, because there has been no expectation! Where there is no expectation, you are never disappointed. The less you are disheartened the more you can do. The more you are disheartened, the less you do! So I say again: "Do not plan." Just go on. Let it come by itself. Let it come. It WILL come. When we plan, we hinder the way of its coming. Because of our plans, the plans we have made, life cannot work. Our plans come in the way. I have made my life without plan and I have never been frustrated. There is no question of frustration. So, I am always successful! I cannot be a failure as there is no plan against which I calculate. No failure is a failure, no success is a success, only our conceptions and pre-‐ determined plans make them so. If you fail in your plan you feel disappointed; the ego is hurt. If you succeed, the ego is strengthened and it will plan more, ceaselessly, causing perpetual strain and burden on the mind. The ego is always in fear of life. In life we never know what is going to happen, so we make plans for our security. Life disturbs them, as we are not whole and sole. We are only a negligibly small part of the infinite existence, Ma Yoga Maitri:

The plan I was following in Japan, seems to be identical with yours. Acharya Rajneesh: Yes, it will be so. The moment you start planning, you begin to compare and contrast. Doubts and fears will catch hold of you. "Will I succeed? Is it possible? What will happen? What will people say?" The moment you plan, the seeds of frustration take root. Now anxiety follows. We normally plan to be free from anxiety but the plan itself is an anxiety! We become anxious! The anxiety comes because of planning. So do not plan. Just go on. You do not plan your breathing! You just go on breathing. So let it come easily. And all that comes easily becomes Divine. And all that comes with effort cannot be divine. The divine comes effortlessly. It is in fact coming all the time. So let it come. Just let go of yourself and see; things will begin to move. You will find yourself in the midst of movement, but there will be no anxiety. Then there will not be any trouble created for the mind. If something happens, it is alright. If nothing happens, then too it is alright. Everything is alright with this type of a mind. Only then you can do something for meditation, otherwise not. Because meditation is not a business, it should not be made a business. Then you will not be helpful to others towards meditation; much less to yourself. Rather, you will be suicidal to your own meditation, as it will be a burden to you. Ma Yoga Maitri: So I should not plan! Acharya Rajneesh: But if you plan for not to plan, then again the same thing will happen. Do not plan -‐ just go on. If meditation has come to you, if something has flowered in you, the perfume will spread. It will work in its own way. Something has happened to you. You are calm and at ease. Tranquility is achieved. It WILL work. You will not have to work. It will gather people there. They will come by themselves. They will ask. Let them plan. You just go and meditate. Things will begin to happen. They must happen. Only then they have a beauty of their own -‐ a beatitude, otherwise not. Business is always tiring. It has no beauty, no joy. Meditation is not a business. Yet it has been converted into a business in India -‐ a flourishing business. There are shops and there are factories. Do not take meditation in this way. You have experienced meditation. You have come to a door. You have seen something. You have felt something. Let it go on. Let God work.

Go completely without planning. Do not think about it at all. You just be there. Your very presence will begin to work. Only then it will be my work. If you plan, then it will not be my work at all. That way, you will be merely distracting yourself and others. You will not be a help to others in meditation if you yourself are tense. You cannot help. You will be helpful only if you go without planning. Just go. Sit there. Meditate and see what happens. Things are bound to take their own course. [An interview with Acharya Rajneesh by Dr. Jean Georges Henrotte, Paris (France) and Ma Yoga Maitri (Mme. Yuki Fujita) Tokyo, (Japan). ] on 6-‐1-‐1971, Bombay (India).

Live for All the Seven Days

Question: How does one balance work and life and especially family and children? Sadhguru: If your work is not life, I don’t see why you should do it. Your work also is life. Would your life happen if there was no work? – don’t think of only the economic aspects. So work is very much life. Do not ever make this demarcation that there is something called as work and life. There is life and life. Different aspects of life need to be dealt with. One of the important things that people should do is – I know people are trying to keep it away but I would say that’s a mistake – if family conversations also revolved around various things that you are doing as a part of work, it builds a completely different level of trust and you do not know what insights may come from people who are outside observers to your business and activity, who are trusted people and not some other commentator. People you trust and people who love you and who want you to succeed, their input may be extremely valuable. It may be your wife, it may be your five-‐year-‐old child, you don’t know. So I think there should be no such demarcation. Why can’t work conversations be very interesting if you are creating something? Family could get involved in it and when you are at home, though you may not be actually working hands on, you could be still thinking and evolving things for tomorrow or for the future. I think it is very wrong for people to work for five days and live for two days in a week. It is a horrible way to live. You must live all the seven days. ~Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev

Am I Still Spiritual If I Have Feelings for My Gucci Bag?

The moment I read the topic, “the balancing act,” a few global dilemmas came to mind instantly. Sex and spirit—old as hills and never to be resolved properly I think. Love and Lust—huge topic by itself. Do we have a tough time being sexually attracted to the people who love and nurture and take good care of us? Spirituality and materiality—this I think continues to be one of the biggest conflicts for most practitioners in the complementary healing world and one I want to restrict myself to for now. Having grown up in Calcutta and seen people living in the most wretched and horrific poverty I am crystal clear on one thing—there is Absolutely NOTHING spiritual about being poor. I come from a business family whose main goal was to make money! So there is a part of me that is happy with the idea of having and enjoying all that money can buy. And yet since having drifted into the complementary healing field 20 years ago, I have had a hard time charging my fees without cringing a wee bit every time. The reason I keep mentioning “complementary healing” is because doctors and surgeons, dentists and all the “traditional” healers have No issues expecting to be paid and even their patients don’t give it a second thought. Outside of voluntary services, there is no profession or service or business where you are not expected to pay a remuneration. And yet the moment I started printing my business card and distributing it to a few and sundry, especially family and friends, mostly everyone began assuming that any reading would be free—just as their pundits gave. Well the pundits could be given a small donation of 101 rupees, half a dozen bananas and a newspaper bag full of old laddus. But since I would be clever enough to spot old laddus, they couldn’t and thus didn’t offer me anything! If there was someone amongst the relatives selling furniture, or jewellery or shirts, it was clear that you wouldn’t really get a free dining table, or a free gold

ring or such from them. But for some reason what I offered, invaluable guidance and healing, was expected gratis. My dilemma first began showing it’s venomous head when for the first year or so of my astrological practice I charged $25 and spent a week working on the personally analysed and typed 10-‐12 page horoscope report!! I told myself since I was just starting out it was right that I should keep my fees so pathetically low. I discussed the issue with my Hypnotherapy Tutor in New York who warned that if I don’t charge, my service will not be valued—also the treatment does not “stick” for some reason. I agreed vigorously and proceeded to continue giving free or very low priced sessions. A few years later, I was sick of the anxiety and resentment about the constant confusion and yet couldn’t mention the price without feeling guilty, ashamed, fearful and worried. And at the same time, charging low fees gave me absolutely No feelings of satisfaction at having done a good deed which it ought to have been. Consciously and rationally I had a fantastic case for charging a fat fee as I was obviously highly skilled and offered a superb service. (The testimonials on my website are from real people).But obviously the complex was rooted deep in my subconscious beliefs about my self worth, money matters and spirituality. And to be fair, most of the issues of payment came up with my clients or friends or family in India. Although the anxiety amongst holistic therapists about charging a proper fee is Global, it’s mostly in India that clients expect a discount. In India I often hear someone mention an astrologer they went to, “he doesn’t charge. He may sometimes take a small donation. Good man”! Does not charge a fee = good person. Since just about everyone charges for the services or goods they provide, the few who don’t are automatically considered noble, virtuous and holy. So one sunny afternoon in my home in London I made a decision that for at least a whole year, I would charge EVERYONE outside the immediate family. And only after that period which would hopefully clear this complex, I would offer some free sessions as part of my pro bono work. I was pumped up and couldn’t wait to test my new resolve and I am not dramatising for the sake of the story but actually, the Next day I received a call from a chap in India, my first love, our first contact in about 20 years, who was going through severe financial problems and had learned that I was now an astrologer and asked if I would give him a reading! Walking on hot coals would have been less painful as over the next few days I agonised and wept and finally explained to him why I just would have to charge

him—but, I added quickly, he could pay whenever he was able to. He was very decent, said no problem and did send me a check some months later. Unlike of course a surgeon in Delhi who, after I’d finished giving him a reading in 2007, stood up from the chair and walked smartly out of my office saying he would mail the cheque. Although I’ve written off ever receiving that cheque, some minuscule part of me still feels like bopping myself on the head for letting him walk off without being able to say a word. To be fair to myself, he scuttled out so quickly I didn’t stand a chance. So where does this fear of asking for a fee come from? And I know it is not mine alone—there are dozens of self help books, audios and miraculous programmes all offering coaching on exactly this conundrum! For many of us the issue is not that we don’t allow ourselves to have any material comforts—in fact quite often we have supportive and financially sound spouses who don’t, thankfully, have our complexes. But mostly it seems to be a belief rooted in childhood about our own self worth, qualities of a good person, and believing there is something virtuous about poverty. For some of us who studied in convent schools, it was likely the Sister/Poor Claires and Franciscans and their vows of poverty, chastity and obedience that got us. For when you think about Hinduism, there is a goddess specifically in charge of all material wealth. There is a god who can remove all your complexes which prevent you from acquiring such wealth. There is a bloke, Kuber, one of the richest in the universe, the accountant of gods, whose presence in your altar is deemed beneficial. The Lord Venkateshwara of Tirupati, promises all the wealth you want for a small commission! So clearly, if holistic healing is rooted in spirituality, money and the pursuit of money is not prohibited by at least the Hindu gods. Then, quite possibly it is more about whether you feel you are deserving or not. If you grew up being told you were not good enough as many, many many of us were, then how could you ethically charge for providing a service at which you couldn’t really be very good! If you learned that giving everything of yourself and what you had freely was a virtue and made you a very likeable and kind person, then the opposite, asking for money made you bad. So what were you going to choose? Not only do we feel awkward about asking for our own fees, but sneakily judge anyone else who has no hesitation asking for a fee that in heart of hearts, you would kill for!

But say I managed to get Shahrukh Khan as a client and managed to confidently quote Rs one lakh per session (yes you can stop giggling!), how do I determine how much to charge someone in the remaining 98 percent of the population. This is more like a statistical or technical problem. Should I charge premium rates on Fridays and economy rates the rest of the week? Another layer of this whole muddle is it’s hard to place a value on or quantify a healing session because sometimes the results are not instant. You may feel the difference three days later and that too very indirectly, as in a change of some attitude. How much is that worth to you as a client? As a practitioner I feel a bit relieved that our attitude towards money is changing. Even though we still try to barter for service, pass it off as “energy exchange”, offer concessions and so forth, increasingly we are seeing the difference between money as something to hoard and attach to, or money as energy which can flow through our lives. People like Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer, Tony Robbins, Oprah and dozens of other spiritual, super successful and very wealthy people have also been showing us how this inner discord is unnecessary and doesn’t serve anyone. Ultimately, in order to clear these stupid blockages I think we need to address two main themes rooted in our childhood conditioning: 1. our sense of self worth 2. our beliefs about spirituality and service. (Note to myself: remove offer for concessions on my website). God Bless you all. -‐Neo Pachisia Neo Pachisia has been in the healing field for the past 20 years. She has trained in Psychological Astrology, Shamanic work, Energy Therapies. She has taught and held workshops and has clients all around the globe—she lives in Brighton and Goa. Her current favourite Rumi quote is “Don't be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth.” She can be reached at neospace12@gmail.com/www.healwithneo.com

Work & Life – Balance Each Other

The life of a human being is all about balance. The first being as an tiny infant of 6 months of so when it tries to lift it head up and balance the weight of its body in it. The infant tries to roll over and move forward. The second major milestone comes at around 10-‐12 months when the baby learns to balance its whole body on its two legs and stands up; this act gives him pure joy and bliss. It’s first step towards being independent. The whole body is like a balance beam and the little baby uses this to balance itself. This is its first balancing act in the long list of other acts to follow. The routine continues, the expectations have been set by the society, the family and the world in general. First balance yourself, then balance studies with competition and extra-‐curricular activities moving on to balancing your higher education with teenage flings, girls friends, movies, fun and a whole bunch teenage issues nagging you. The life that awaits us post this age is nothing short of a tightrope walker. Bringing into being the whole gamut of understanding and hope that we so dearly believe and live by, we carry on with our lives. The moment we land a job and get married, there comes the major balancing act of all. To maintain the work life balance and do it in such a way as to not affect both your professional or personal lives. The whole concept of work life balance is derived from the idea of prioritising. Why has it become such a big thing in the Indian corporate scenario? Why are our corporate so focused on this? Questions like the above keep cropping up and hence the various stress management programmes or the work life balance workshops that keep happening and employees are required to attend these. But do we really need workshops to teach us how to balance our life and work? Will a couple of hours discussion on work life balance be enough to ensure that we prioritise life as per the diktats? The more important thing that needs a change is the attitude. The whole attitude of us sucking up to our seniors and pleasing them to no end. The attitude of procrastination needs a change. The attitude of saying yes to everything needs a change. The attitude of thinking beyond work needs a change. Just harping on

prioritising work and family life to maintain a balance without giving up the attitude of drowning oneself in work is not going to lead us anywhere. This rule of prioritisation will work only if we feel that life is more than work. If we for once say “no” to things and learn to trust others to do the work. If we learn to delegate and also plan our work better, it will help us make a good balance. If we choose for once to give it all up once and enjoy the time with family, we might have achieved the goal of maintaining some balance sans work. It would also be a good idea to go for a family vacation once a year (if not more). It would benefit if this is a ritual like brushing our teeth every morning. All the hard earned money should not go to the investments, always. It is a mark of a sensible person if he utilises the money earned wisely, which includes having a family vacation once a year, without any office work or any untoward work bogging us down. Everything is possible; the only option being is to choose what we want. Choosing wisely is important as it marks what we want to do. If we choose to work and work more and drown ourselves in it, then it is our choice to dis-‐ balance the work and life situation. On the other hand, if we choose to stow away some time and money for just having fun, it might lead a more healthy and happy lifestyle. It would provide us with the impetus to work more rigorously and enjoy the fruit of our hard work. Someone has righty said “work hard and party harder”. -‐Susmita Shroff Susmita Shroff is MBA (Finance). She is a homemaker and freelance mentor. She writes for pleasure and is a voracious reader.

“We can’t talk about our own health without understanding our place in our environment, because in order to fulfill our potential we have to live in the context of our surroundings. We have to know our place in the ecosystem of which we are a part, and this means living 'consciously': being aware of nature and how it affects us and how we, in turn, affect nature.” ~ Sebastian Pole, Discovering the True You with Ayurveda: How to Nourish, Rejuvenate, and Transform Your Life

Conscious Capitalism – A Balanced Way of Doing Business

(Review of book named “Conscious Capitalism” by John Mackey & Raj Sisodia published by Harvard Business Review Press) Definition of Business as Management Gurus and Management Books keep on defining is to maximize profits or to maximize shareholder’s wealth. It clearly specifies that Business & Capitalism are fundamentally based on greed, selfishness & exploitation. This exploitation could be exploitation of consumers, workers, society and the environment. Those (Managers, Proprietors, Investors) who have clear cut personal goals of money making, cannot do so much for the business, employees and the customers. Therefore we can say that profit is a necessary evil for businesses. Data support Gallup has found that confidence level of customers in big businesses has declined tremendously from 34% in 1975 to 16% in 2009 in America. Business in today’s world, for internal as well as external stakeholders, is synonym for stress and fear. (www.Gallup.com/poll/148163/Americas-‐Confident-‐Military-‐ Least-‐Congress.aspx) Awareness level of stakeholders Awareness level of all stakeholders has increased in last some years after the advent of Internet & other social networking applications. So, today we have smart consumers, smart employees, youngsters in workforce, informed and effective media etc. Therefore, old tactics like carrot and stick etc. are not workable in the present form of society or scenario, which has changed a lot from the historical ones. Stakeholders want transparency and inclusion at every step involved in a business. Organizations who are trying to befool the stakeholders cannot run the show for too long. So need of the hour is to take them into full confidence and move ahead. What is the solution? It was researched in many good organizations which are very excellently making profits even in the adverse of conditions and it was found that there are some good practices and policies in such companies which the others are lacking and because of which their prime objective and purpose although is not profit making but still profit is a side product of such companies for which they don’t

have to bother. Such organizations are not in hundreds but in thousands all around and all parts of the world. Examples are Whole Foods Market, The Container Store, Patagonia, Southwest Airlines, Eaton, the Tata Group, Google, POSCO, Twitter, and many more. Therefore solution is Conscious Capitalism. This is an evolving paradigm for business that simultaneously creates multiple kinds of value and well-‐being for all stakeholders, like financial, intellectual, physical, ecological, social, cultural, emotional, ethical and even spiritual. This is based on love and affection towards the organization and towards the people. It involves dealing consciously with employees, customers, investors and suppliers. Dealing consciously with employees Employees look for a lot of things and expect a lot from the job where they spend one-‐third of their time of the day. His job should not only give him a career but he should be attracted towards his work like a magnet does towards an iron object. Things of focus here are intrinsic motivation from within, conscious hiring and retention policies, a conscious approach to compensation (not too much difference between highest paid and lowest paid workers), promoting Teamwork, special benefits to employees based on tenure rather than ranks which they hold, Benefits related to life insurances and health. Dealing consciously with Investors Treating Investors responsibly & consciously and transparently, Investors should be well informed, Exit facility available to investors without a time lock period, Rather than any external short term analysis report create panic in them, they should be made aware by the organizations much before that, no false promises or dreams should be sold to them rather it should be tried that they should have long term associations in order to enjoy the returns and keep associated from generation to generation. Dealing consciously with the Suppliers Treating them fairly, ensuring that they are earning good profits while doing business with the organization, understanding their problems & requirements, trying to find ways to improve relationships with them, paying them on time, helping them to survive and flourish, involve them in innovations, award them for innovations, creating long term agreements with revisions whenever required from both sides, working together for CSR. An example of Tatas in dealing with a tragedy (Conscious Capitalism) In November 2008, there was a worst attack of terrorists in Mumbai where Taj Mahal Palace & Tower Hotel was the center point of attack. 164 people were killed & wounded at-‐least 308 in the southern part of the city. Eleven hotel team members were killed, most while helping 1500 guests escape from the place. For the entire duration of the attack, not a single team member abandoned his or her

post. Many repeatedly guided guests to safety before they themselves were shot by terrorists. Some even stood in front of guests to take bullets. (Source: http://karmarkars.net) Indeed in an act of defiance, hotel reopened for business a mere 21 days after the attack even though it was damaged about 2/3rd. Though it took more time for the rest of the hotel to be repaired and reopened. Ratan Tata and other senior company leaders attended all 11 funerals and visited the homes of all 80 members who were either killed or injured during the attack. Tata provided compensation to the families of all deceased members. In addition Tata did the following: 1. Guaranteed that deceased team members’ residences would be provided to the family, throughout the lifetime of the next kin. 2. Waived off loans and advances, regardless of amount. 3. Committed to paying the team member’s last salary for life. 4. Took complete responsibility for the education of children and dependents through college-‐anywhere in the world. 5. Provided full health care coverage for all dependents for the rest of their lives. 6. Provided a counselor for life for each person. 7. Relief and assistance to the families of those who were killed in the vicinity of the hotel and at railway station a few miles away. 8. Railway Employees, police staff, street vendors and pedestrians who had nothing to do with the company were offered monetary assistance for 6 months. 9. Street Vendors who lost their carts were given new ones who have nothing to do with the company. Food for thought: Caterpillar who has the property of eating everything, they keep on growing and growing by eating and eating. Some caterpillars grow to size about 100 times its original size. Our Capitalism is like this hungry caterpillar whose purpose is just profits without emotions and consumption of all kind of resources and affecting the environment too. When the right time comes, caterpillar changes into cocoon and further transforms into a colorful Butterfly. Butterfly signifies beauty and does the work

of pollination of plants and thereby production of food and shelter for others to live. This is like conscious capitalism. Now we ourselves have to decide what we want to be like, a hungry caterpillar or a beautiful butterfly. -‐Ashish Taneja Hindu Mythology has three main Gods: Brahma, the Creator, Vishnu, the Preserver and Mahesha (Shiva),the destroyer. The Saptarishis mean Sapta=Seven Rishi(s)=Sage(s) or the Seven Rishis in Sanskrit, an Indian language from which most of Indian languages have evolved. These Seven Rishis are the great seers, caretakers, mind born sons of Brahma.In a similar way, Greeks too had seven wise men namely Cleobulos, Periandros, Bias, Pittacos, Chilon, Solon and Thales which shows that mythologies around the globe do have parallel connections though it will take another hundred years for researchers to prove it.They live for a period of time known as a manvantar (306,720,000 Earth Years).

Remedies for Balance and Harmony

Dr. Edward Bach was a medical practitioner in England in the year 1919.He was not very happy with the conventional modes of treating the sick. He often found the medical practice inadequate as it did not address the root cause of the problem. He also felt that the outer symptoms were not the causes but the effect of some deep seated disturbance in the body, mind and soul instrument. He was a deeply meditative person and was receptive to the healing energies of nature. Through his journey as a doctor he came to the conclusion that:-‐ 1. All diseases are caused by some disturbance in the emotional body due to internal or external forces. 2. If this balance is restored the body can heal itself. Dr. Edward Bach was a true humanitarian and had the welfare of people at heart. He wanted to devise a system which could gently restore this balance without any side effects. His continued efforts in this direction brought forth the system of Bach Flower Remedies. These remedies are drawn from flowers which grow in the country side and are potent to bring harmony and balance in the body. Dr. Bach isolated 38 flowers whose essences could be used as remedy for different life conditions. Each flower was thoroughly studied and found that it corresponded to some emotional trait in living beings. Thus any problem that was caused by this emotional disturbance could be corrected by using the essence of that specific flower. This is a simple method and can be used effectively by anyone anywhere. As a Bach Flower Practitioner, I have come across various people with problems which range from physical, emotional, professional, lack of focus in studies, marital discords etc. and the list is really long. In this column I would like to share some such queries and their solutions with the readers of this wonderful e-‐ zine. Readers are welcome to send in their queries and I would be happy to help. Query from the Readers Query: I have often tried to meditate but find myself distracted all the time. Is there a remedy which could help me meditate better?

Answer:-‐ Let us first understand, what is meditation? Meditation in simple words means being with yourself. A person can be painting and be meditative because no other thought other than his painting exists in his mind at that time. It is the basic nature of the mind to remain distracted and this hinders our effort of being with our true self. Bach Flower Remedy which could come to your rescue is White chestnut Bud. This particular remedy has the power to ward off unwanted thoughts. Take four drops of this remedy in some water, swish it in your mouth and slowly gulp it before you sit for meditation. This goes without saying that you should keep following the simple rules like-‐ place of meditation should be clean, silent and done up aesthetically. Do not change your place of meditation often. You could use some soothing music or fragrance, read a scripture or spiritual book and chant a mantra etc. before meditation. This remedy can also be used by students if they get distracted or are troubled by disturbing thoughts. This remedy can be taken as told above before one sits down to study. A prayer of gratitude thanking the Divine and also thanking the flower should be said after the intake of the remedy for helping you to improve your life condition .Now close your eyes and enjoy your own company! Whitechestnut bud taken four times a day will keep a person calm and level headed all day long. Needless to say such a person will not require any meditation as such. What is White chestnut bud?

White Chestnut Tree White Chestnut Flower It is also called as the horse chestnut. Its botanical name is Aesculus hippocastanum. It blooms between the month of May or early June. Its flowers are creamy white with a splash of crimson and yellow. These flowers have the soul quality of peace and calm. This remedy encourages a balanced state of mind, clear and calm head, ability to use one’s thought power constructively. Solutions to all problems seem to come to surface automatically keeping the mind calm and empowered. However, it is also advised that some breathing exercises or yoga be done along with these remedies. This will help to enhance the effect of the remedy.

Forever In Gratitude To Her Divine Grace! -‐Archana Sharma Archana Sharma is an M.Phil in Life Sciences and practises in Astrology, Numerology and alternative therapies. She is currently pursuing research in Medical Astrology. You can contact her on archana7sharma@gmail.com

Balance Work Life with Creativity These days "busy” is such a buzz word that even small kids can be seen saying, "I am busy.” Life seems to be an ongoing race without a break for many. Sometimes when I see people around me living their routines mechanically I am reminded of my own routine when I was juggling in two different careers as a Reiki healer and boutique. I use to travel to teach and in class breaks give instructions to tailor on phone. I remember I made my life hectic to prove that I can also indulge in hard work. Now I find this attitude funny that what was the point of doing all this. Thanks to Divine, finally I learned that life is not a competition to win and get a medal or award to boost your ego. One can experience abundance by making life simple and creating free time to relish its small and simple gifts. I have witnessed people doing hard work and this quality becomes punishable when they become harsh with themselves to the extent that they neglect their own need for rest and also ignore health. They forget that they also need a break to revive their energy. They become mechanical and start behaving like a machine. They take life so seriously that with passage of time they loose their sense of humour. They become insensitive towards their own needs and people. They loose 'sense of belongingness’. For them indulging in small pleasures is wastage of time. For them quality of life can be judged with the amount of money you have earned. Life is a business for them. It's not that they are to blame for being like this. Actually they are victims of the childhood conditioning they are brought up with. Since childhood we are fed with thoughts of practicality like, life is not a cakewalk, there is cut throat competition, success can't be possible without luck or struggle. . and so on. ... Some how we have forgotten or lost our basic trust in life and spiritual laws of nature. We have accepted this conditioning that we need to push very hard to survive. There is no poetic justice. So, no time for rest and play and enjoy life. Have you heard song of Bollywood movie,"Dil dhundta hai fir wohi fursat ke raat din...” Let's take a pause to reflect at the story of our life and ask ourselves few questions, I am grateful for how far I have come? What is the definition of success according to me? (Think about your own definition not ideas fed by others) • Is work part of my life or my life means work, work and work? • Do I spend my time with myself (pursuing hobbies) and with my family and friends? • Am I happy?

• Do I feel excited about small blessings, gifts and surprises of life? If any of your answer is No then find out your own definition of life. Let's create balance in our busy work life with creativity. Here are few time-‐ tested fundas to improve quality of our life. 1. First of all release the negative conditioning and replace with ideas of spiritual laws. Have a look at working of nature around you. By observing minutely you will find that the growth and changes in nature are natural and effortless. Have you seen a flower pushing its petals to blossom? Have you seen any premature or late openings of eggs of bird babies? Have you seen fishes tired of swimming all the time? So, trust that Divine is taking care of all of us. Being part of nature I am also taken care of. All I need is to trust the workings of Spiritual laws in nature. This trust will release the undue burdens from your shoulders. 2. Daily spare few minutes to walk down the memory lane and bring the most wonderful time of your life when you felt peak. Run those beautiful memories in your mind or before your eyes like a movie. Relive your past. This small technique will trigger the energy of your spirit. 3. Spare few minutes with your own self-‐alone. Be yourself. 4. Understand that there are many pleasures of life are priceless and free of cost. Spend time with nature. Watch the sky, stars, full moon, sunrise, etc. You will feel relaxed and calm. 5. Never leave your hobby. Nurture your hobby. Indulge in new hobbies. 6. Break the routine sometimes. Following the same daily routine can be boring sometimes. Be flexible and change your routine. Do something new. Learn something new. 7. Spend time and play with kids. 8. Do meditation 9. Never neglect your health. Understand and fulfill your personal needs. Life is beautiful. So don't be so busy that you miss the small pleasures and excitement of life. -‐-‐Prathma Prathma is a Reiki & Karuna Reiki Master. She is practising and teaching Reiki & many other healing Modalities for last 15 years. An expert in Reiki, Magnified Healing, Past Life Regression Therapy, Theta Healing, Angel Therapy, EET and EFT, she has formed a Spiritual Meditation Club in Batala. You can reach her at prathma.healingzone@gmail.com, http://prathmahealingzone.com/

-‐Dr. Pallavi Mishra Dr. Pallavi Mishra has been a lecturer in Physics before taking charge of Amrapali Media Vision as CEO.She has been regularly writing poems,articles for various print & electronic media.She has also written lyrics for films."

-‐Susmita Shroff Susmita Shroff is MBA (Finance). She is a homemaker and freelance mentor. She writes for pleasure and is a voracious reader

Anna

I looked forward to this day—the day when I would embrace freedom at least for the next six years. Perched in my favourite cozy corner of our home by the side of the balcony with a book, I stared ahead as a million thoughts scuttled in my mind. I looked out of the balcony window. Life went on as usual for all the people out there. The flower vendor lady walked ahead, her flower basket balanced carefully on her head. Rose and jasmine strands intermingled with each other, along with a few marigolds, carnations and chrysanthemums. A young ice cream vendor pushed her cart along, tolling a bell attached on the cart, gaily singing a song. A few children thronged around her, eagerly waiting to gulp a few gallops of sinful sweetness. Some vegetable sellers too pushed their carts and walked ahead. The monotony of the mundane life struck me, and I just couldn’t wait to be out of all this. My mother, Elizabeth, was happily churning out my favourite dishes: appam and chicken stew, beef fry for breakfast. My father, George, was busy readying our car in the garage, listening to his favourite song “Suzanna, I’m crazy loving you.” My pet dog, Rudy, a Pomeranian breed, lazily lay on our sunny porch that faced the majestic Fort Kochi beach. Artist: 1Josephine Wall My brothers, Sam and Matt (twins), were out “fish-‐catching” as they would proudly say; whether they actually catch any fish still remains an unsolved mystery! Suddenly, the grandfather clock and the cuckoo clock, downstairs, chimed eight in the morning. I sprung out of my reverie, all set for the big day. With the swiftness of a mad hare, I rushed downstairs into the kitchen startling my mother. “Anna, how many times have I told you to behave yourself? The chicken stew on the stove would have toppled on us had I not stopped myself in time!” “Mamma, today is the big day. I will be sent off to join The Lawrence School in Lovedale, Ooty.” The Lawrence School, in Ooty, founded in 1858 by Sir Henry Lawrence, a solider-‐ cum-‐civil administrator, is one of the prestigious public schools located amid pristine green surroundings spanning 700 acres. My mind echoed with the

numerous fun and romance stories and escapades I had heard from my neighbourhood friends, many of them were Lawrence alumni. I was in love with my life, and I wanted to enjoy life to the fullest. It was, after all, my life! Mrs. Pamela, our English teacher, read a few lines from John Keats’ Endymion, “A thing of beauty is a joy forever: its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness.” Yes, a thing of beauty is a joy forever, I thought. Ruminating on these lines, I stared out of the window seat. My heart skipped a beat, Mrs Pamela’s voice flew into some distance, the world stood still, Time went into some warp-‐-‐-‐my eyes were only for a handsome boy approaching the classroom. His strides oozed confidence and his physique resembled that of an athlete: broad shoulders, oval face, eye-‐catching height. But the icing on the cake was his dimples. His dimples seemed to bob up and down with the strides he took. Somebody nudged me and I heard, “So, Anna, what does the first stanza of Endymion present the reader with?” After battling with a million thoughts that sped like lightning in my mind, I cleared my throat and replied, “Ma’am, the first stanza of the poem presents me love. I see my love walking toward me with confident strides. His stunning looks, admirable height and those playful dimples are enough for me to forget Keats!” I heard thunderous giggles and whispers among my classmates. This was followed by a hushed silence as Mrs Pamela’s voice transformed itself from a singsong voice into an authoritative one, “Anna! What an answer! Please stay back in the class after the class is over.” Why should I stay back? Is it a sin to admit I am in love? I thought. The Gulmohar tree aka Flame of the Forest outside the window appeared almost bare naked, stripped off its leaves and flowers. I stared out of the window into the unknown. The mist thickened into a white snowball. The distant Nilgiris turned a shade darker and secretive. The evening birds’ songs could no longer be heard. All I could hear was the mild ticking of the wooden clock on the wall of my room. A few lines from my cherished Lawrence school song reverberated in my mind: Distance may part us and seas may divide us Fortune may frown and odours grow cool But still these words will inspire us Never give in is the motto of our school Somebody knocked on the door. I caught a glimpse of somebody. The pen I was holding fell from my shaky hands. The last leaf on the Gulmohar tree flew away

into the Nilgiris. The mist that had thickened into a white snowball ironed out mildly, turning a shade lighter. At the noon of life's endeavour While we toil to win the prize There'll be memories naught can seve Thru heart and soul they'll rise. To the Blue Hills they'll restore us From the heat and toil and din To the home whose haunting chorus Till rings out its Never Give In. -‐Smitha Abraham Smitha loves traveling in her flights of imagination and uses these flights to craft short stories and poetry. Full time mom to a give-‐month-‐old baby and a budding writer from India, her passions are reading, creative writing, listening to music, learning new languages, meeting new people, getting acquainted with different cultures and traveling.

Dasha System in Astrology

We all know that planets are placed in different houses in a horoscope. Their placement in a specific house and in a specific sign gives specific results. Now the simple question is as to when are we likely to get those results? A system was developed by our seers to predict this and this system is called the Dasha System. Dasha means period of time. The most popular dasha system is based on the Nakshtras and is called the Vimshottari Dasha system. According to this, the life span of an individual is 120 years. An individual in his life span undergoes the dasha of various planets placed in his horoscope. If the planets are placed in good houses and in friendly signs and are yog karak for the native, good results can be expected. Native makes good progress during this time. If it is otherwise the native has to face obstacles and learn some lessons in life. We often see that in a horoscope certain planets are related to each other by way of aspects and conjunction to form certain” yogas". Let us understand with a simple example: -‐ Gaj kesari yog is formed by the conjunction of Jupiter and Moon. This yog brings prosperity, name and fame to the native. This is likely to happen if the native runs the dasha of the participating planets i.e. Jupiter and Moon. It will not be efficacious if the native does not run the period of any of these planets. In every horoscope a summary of these dashas from the time of birth are shown in columns. Readers can open their horoscope and check this out. Given below are the sequences and the general result of various dashas. 1. Ketu -‐ 7 years -‐ Developing a spiritual connection, gaining wisdom and lack of material comforts. 2. Venus -‐ 20 years -‐ Leading a fun filled life, interest in art, music and enjoying luxuries. 3. Sun -‐ 6 years -‐ Developing your own individuality, job related issues. 4. Moon -‐ 10 years -‐ Issues related to MIND and mother are in focus. 5. Mars -‐ 7years -‐ Brings discipline and action in life. 6. Rahu -‐ 18 years -‐ Learn to cut across illusions; can give worldly pleasures as well as spiritual gains.

7. Jupiter -‐ 16 years -‐ Divine wisdom, name and fame, may not give much monetary gain. 8. Saturn -‐ 19 years -‐ Learning lessons of life and once a person has done it, then he can enjoy all round development. 9. Mercury -‐ 17 years -‐ Reaching out to people and communication becomes very important, business issues gain importance. Now we all know that planets are nothing but divine energies and whenever they come into our life, there is a major change in our energy levels. This change can sometimes be overwhelming. To help us to get attuned to the new energies and to help us get through the transition smoothly, the Supreme Divine Energy has a plan. It will be interesting to notice that the last antar dasha or the sub period of the ongoing dasha prepares us for the change and we often begin to feel the change well before the commencement of the main dasha. Let us understand with one example. Suppose a native is running mahadash of Ketu. Ketu in its period might have given the native conditions to gain spiritual knowledge, study of occult subjects, native might have joined some religious order etc. got disinterested in socialising etc The next dasha is going to be of Venus, which is likely to make the native lead a luxurious life, music, dance , art and socialising may be the focus now. How difficult it would be for a person leading a life of serious contemplation away from society to suddenly get catapulted into a vibrant life. The last antar dasha of Ketu i.e. Mercury comes to the rescue. Mercury is all about communication, friends and practical knowledge. Native now sees the need to share his gained knowledge (during mahahdasha of Ketu) with others. He begins to meet people, attend social gatherings and slowly transits into an active social life full of fun and frolic. Readers will find that in their individual horoscope the sequence of the dashas will not be as seen above. This is because each person has a different sequence of dashas in their life. Each individual has his own lessons to learn. The commencement of the dashas is based on the placement of Moon in a particular constellation or Nakshtra. Hence, the first dasha will be of the planet which is the lord of the constellation where Moon is residing at the time of birth or the janam nakshtra. This is fine tuned by checking the specific part or the “charan” of the constellation where Moon is placed. For example if Moon at the time of birth is present in the Poorbhadrapad nakshtra,the first dasha would be of Jupiter who is the lord of this particular nakshtra.I may add here that it is the Moon or our mind which is the carrier of our karmas in the form of sanskaras from one birth to the other. Hence the selection of Moon as the decisive factor about the dasha system.

This gives us an idea as to how an individual has to go through life learning lessons as well as enjoying the blessings he has been showered by the benevolent Divine energies. Once again it becomes clear that astrology is a tool to balance and harmonious living, as it encourages us to lead a life of awareness. If we are ready to understand and tune into the changing energies in our life, it becomes a lot easier to lead fulfilled and balanced life. Forever In Gratitude To Her Divine Grace! -‐Archana Sharma Archana Sharma is an M.Phil in Life Sciences and practises in Astrology, Numerology and alternative therapies. She is currently pursuing research in Medical Astrology. You can contact her on archana7sharma@gmail.com

Tarot Predictions September 2014

Aries (March 21 to April 20)

This month would be about gatherings, socializing and meeting new people as your social circle expands and you come into contact with people from varied walks of life. Open yourself to new experiences, however, at the same time, listen to that still small voice inside to guide you towards the right people and experiences. If somehow bitterness creeps in, remind yourself to listen to your intuition and forgive yourself. Work and Finances: Work environment will be competitive, expect lots of work. This will also give you the opportunity to prove your mettle and move towards that much-‐awaited hike. Finances will be good. New projects will get started, as there will be no lack of finances. Love: Issues from the past may raise their heads if you are not careful to handle them as and when they sprout. This may cause some strain in your relationships. If you have been repeating patterns in your personal relationships, its time to heal them from the root by cutting karmic ties and forgiveness. Health: Health will be good and support you in your endeavours. This is a good time to take up a fitness regime as it will give good results this month. Message from the Angels: Working for yourself and self-‐employment allows you to better follow your divine guidance and intuition. Angels are helping you find avenues for self-‐employment and they are your teammates to achieve success.

Taurus (April 21 -‐ May 21)

This month would bring in a lot of opportunities for work as well as relationships if you are single. This is not the time to sit back and relax but to reach forth and receive all that is coming your way with open arms. Travel opportunities will come your way this month. It is a good time to begin new things, start working on your dreams and creating the dream life that you had always wanted. You are only limited by your imagination. Work and Finances: Work opportunities will be abundant. Don’t let your limiting beliefs stop you from achieving your goals. If you have been

looking for a job, you are likely to find the right one this month. Everything is working in your favour now. Use this time well. Finances will be good and supportive in all your ventures. Love: Relationships will be deep and nurturing. With a certain level of understanding, you can take your relationships to the next level. If you are single and ready to mingle, marriage bells are likely to ring this month as you find the perfect one for yourself. Health: Health will be good as long as you keep well emotionally. Emotional disturbance may lead to minor health issues like stomach upsets or pains. Work on balancing and healing your emotions. Message from the Angels: Let your past go. The burden of carrying your past around has made you weary. Its time to set this burden down. Keep only the lessons and love and leave everything else behind. You don’t need it anymore and it’s now gone.

Gemini (May 22 -‐ June 21)

This month is about taking it easy, learning to let go of the past so that the new can take its place. Speak your heart and express your pain for in expressing it and being vulnerable you will find your strength. Things that are not working for you, holding on to them will cause more pain than letting it go. Work and Finances: You need to exercise precaution and care in your work as things could go wrong. Stay away from gossip at work place as it could land you in trouble. Financially, this month will be below average. Avoid lending money this month, as it is not likely to come back easily.

Love: Personally, this month may not be very exciting. If you are in a committed relationship, watch how you express yourself in your relationships. Minor issues could turn into major problems. Health: Health will be average. Take care of your lifestyle. Listen to your body and flow with it. Message from the Angels: Your soul longs to express itself in creative ways. Angels are guiding you to infuse artistry and creativity into your life. Creative expression makes you feel alive and excited and reignites passion toward your life.

Cancer (June 22 -‐ July 22)

This month will be a crucial month as many breakthroughs in important areas of life would be possible. If you have been working on personal development, this month will bring you insights and a new opening to yourself. Things are falling into place so you don’t need to worry too much or work too hard towards a goal. Important thing at this time is to flow with life and its events as everything is happening exactly how it is meant to be. Work and Finances: Your workload is increasing and perhaps changing its course. You need to pay attention to the changes and adapt accordingly. Financially, this will be a good month, as money inflows are likely to increase and sources of money will expand. Love: If relationships have been feeling suffocating or restricting, its time for you to realize that that restriction is more inside you rather than in a relationship. Any blame game at this time would only worsen the matters. Work on yourself in resolving that limiting feelings and relationships will improve automatically. Health: Health will be average, however, a health issue from the past may become a source of trouble this month. Take adequate precautions and stick to a healthy lifestyle for better health. Message from the Angels: Each thought is an investment that pays immediate dividends, so invest wisely. You have the power to choose your thoughts, align them with love, peace and harmony.

Leo (July 23 -‐ August 21)

will

average

This month you may face situations that will force you to relook into your life situations and make you go into a contemplative mode. Spending too much time outside and not within can have its own set of problems. It may feel like you have lost touch with yourself. Spend time everyday with yourself and loving yourself, enhancing your sense of self worth. Work and Finances: Your work or your working style needs to undergo some changes. Perhaps you have been working from other’s opinions too much at the cost of disregarding yourself. Take charge and listen to your own intuition. Financially, this month. Take care of your expenditure. 44

Love: Loving relationships need to be nurtured with time and space. Follow your inner voice in matters of the heart. If you like someone, express your feelings, things are likely to go your way. Don’t let any third person interfere in your relationships. Health: Health will need to be taken care of. Nurture your emotional self by letting go of heavy emotions like guilt, regret and fear. Pamper yourself by taking time out from your busy schedule. Message from the Angels: Give angels your feelings of heaviness in the form of guilt, anger or blame that may shroud your loving outlook. Enjoy the peace within your heart once more. Everyone is guiltless in truth, as no one can alter God’s handiwork of perfection.

Virgo (August 22 -‐ September 23)

This month you need to take it easy and treat yourself with much more kindness. Don’t exhaust yourself in a competitive environment. Life is not a competition and your worth does not depend on how well you do in comparison with someone else. This is a time for you to follow your heart and choose the life that is your calling. Work and Finances: Work will be good. Your past efforts will ensure that all the things fall into place as you get ready to complete old projects and move into new ones. Take it easy as things will happen in a flow. Financially, this is an average

month. Love: You may face some strain in your relationship due to the difference in your opinions and perspectives. In order to heal the relationship, be open to seeing things from the other person’s perspective too. If you are looking for marriage, don’t just focus on the external beauty but also the inner goodness and compatibility. Health: Health will be good as long as you keep yourself in good shape both physically and emotionally. This can be an emotionally draining month. Spend some time in nature to nurture yourself. Message from the Angels: Be honest with yourself. Look into your heart and you will know the truth of this situation. It’s safe to admit the truth to yourself as angels support and guide you through any necessary changes. Focus only upon your true desires and they will come to you upon angels’ wings.

Libra (September 24 -‐ October 23)

This month it may seem like you are trying to struggle to cope up with various situations in your life. However, this entire struggle may be futile if you do not stop and think. Whatever is over, there is no use dwelling on the past as future is bringing lots of goodness and blessings for you. If there is some resistance in your environment, it is a sign of a conflict within you. Go within to find your answers. Work and Finances: Avoid making any long term plans this month, as you may have to face some disappointments. Take each day as it comes. You may have to wait for a while for the raise you had been expecting. Financially, this may be an exhausting month. Keep your expenses under control. Love: Relationships will be supportive but don’t get too attached. Always remember that people come into our life for a reason or a season. When the reason is over, it is time to let them go peacefully. Short trips with the family are likely to happen. Health: Health needs to be taken care of. Don’t be too harsh on yourself, as it will put unnecessary pressure and burden on you. Be gentle with yourself, don’t push yourself into a vigorous exercise regimen. Message from the Angels: Nurture your inner child as it requires your love, affection and attention. Angels are helping you by clearing and opening your heart and schedule so that you can give yourself more time and energy.

Scorpio (October 24 -‐ November 22)

You have perhaps been trying to control your life and its situations, how things work out etc. however, it is best to go with the flow right now as your attitude may cause you problems in your work and relationships later on. Don’t hesitate to consult others before taking a major decision in your life. It is better to take opinions before deciding on a course of action. Work and Finances: Situation at the work place will be cordial. You are working more than your capacity. This is a good time to negotiate a raise or hike. Financially, this is a good time. Take wise investment decisions otherwise it could lead to loss.

Love: To nurture your relationships, give them time and attention. Spend quality time with your loved ones, go on outings and create an activity that you do with your family. If single, don’t take any decisions regarding commitment on your own. Take advice from your elders. Health: Health will be good. Any actions taken towards creating health and fitness will yield good results. Message from the Angels: Now is the perfect time to act on your inspirations. The doors are open for you to walk through them. Don’t procrastinate, as all the ingredients are ripe for your success.

Sagittarius (November 23 -‐ December 24)

You have been working very hard to achieve results, however, the goal is still a little ahead. Take some time out to rest, recuperate and plan ahead before you move on. This month do something that is different from your mechanical life, take a hiking trip or a road less travelled. Go on an adventure. Do something different from routine that will rejuvenate you. Work and Finances: If the work at work place seems stuck, take a step back and look at it from a bird’s eye view. Looking at the bigger picture will make things easier and bring more clarity. Don’t fret over work that is getting delayed. Keep up the slow and steady pace. Finances will be below average this month. Love: You may have to take up the role of a friend and guide in your relationship this month. Stay open to any changes that are happening as it will help to shift the dynamics in your relationship for the better. Marriage bells are likely to ring for those who are looking for partner. Health: Health needs to be taken care of. Don’t push yourself too much this month. Take it easy. A gentle form of workout will give better results than pushing yourself into a vigorous workout. Message from the Angels: The purpose of your life is to serve in a way that brings great joy to yourself and others. Don’t worry about finding your purpose. Instead focus on serving a purpose and then your purpose will serve you.

Capricorn (December 23 -‐ January 20)

This month you may be involved with a lot of analyzing, thinking, planning etc. It will be about putting things into action and getting ideas turned into reality. Starting on dream projects, buying that much coveted property or house seems likely this month. As long as you stay practical and focused on turning ideas into action, this month can be very productive. Beware of getting trapped into the thinking mode too much as it could be disappointing in the future. Work and Finances: Work will be good and your efforts will be appreciated by your seniors and colleagues. This month is about working in cooperation and leading the team together. Financially, money inflows will be steady. Love: Relationships need more softness and gentleness. Too much Thinking and analysis are not the ingredients that make the relationship work. Spend quality time with loved ones and appreciate them for their efforts and for them being there to support you always. Health: Health will be average. You need to stick to a healthy lifestyle and follow a diet plan consisting of nutritious diet. Take care of your health now so that it supports you in future. Message from the Angels: The changes you are experiencing are divinely directed by your newborn willingness to open your heart to love and angels’ guidance. You are protected; follow your path to the happy outcomes you desire.

Aquarius (January 21 -‐ February 19)

This will be an interesting month for you, as you get ready to begin a new phase of your life. This is likely to be an eventful month meeting people, working on ideas and dreams, creating new opportunities and relationships etc. don’t hesitate to take risks as things will fall into place soon. New phases generally involve letting go of the old so there may some sadness which comes up. Stay open to the feeling as it will help you in the letting go process. Work and Finances: Work ideas and opportunities are opening up as you receive offers for job or investment for that dream project. Keep working at it and soon you will reap the rewards of your work. Financially, this will be a good month.

Love: Relationships will be nurturing and supportive. As you spend quality time with your loved ones, your relationships will experience a deepening and a stronger bond in the vulnerability that you express. Health: Health will be good. This is a good time as it will help you tide over difficulties and difficult health issues that you may have been going through. Message from the Angels: Ground yourself. As you go through your daily activities and meeting people everyday, one can tend to become ungrounded and feel spacey and a lack of perspective. Angels are helping you balance the spiritual and material so that you can enjoy a fulfilling earthly life.

Pisces (February 19 -‐ March 20)

This month will be a mixed bag as you achieve heights in your professional life, however the personal life will see some changes as you take the courage to stand for what’s right and stand up for yourself. This is a time for awakenings when you are ready to break the patterns and bonds from the past that no longer are beneficial for you. Take some time out to nurture your inner self this month. Work and Finances: New opportunities at workplace or new job openings for you bring in a fresh breath of air as you get ready to take charge of your situation and flow with the new events. Financially, this will be a rewarding month. Love: Love relationships need to be relooked. Be authentic and practice open and honest communication. Be true to yourself and who you are, this is the key to wholesome and healthy relationships. Health: Health will be good and supportive. Your health and fitness regimen will yield good results. Take precautions against any seasonal disorders. Message from the Angels: Don’t be too serious. Playfulness, gaiety and laughter will lift your energy so that you will return to work with a renewed perspective and heightened energy. With Grace and Light -‐Meetu Sehgal Meetu Sehgal, a Tarot Consultant and Holistic Healer, is an MBA from Delhi University. With more than 8 years of experience in Tarot Reading, she is known as a “Tarot Healer” for her in-‐depth tarot counseling sessions which are insightful as well as empowering. You can reach her at meetu.sehgal@gmail.com

Fengshui Tips for the Garden

Garden is an integral part of the house and its condition has a direct impact on the house and its residents. Imagine a house which is surrounded by an unkempt garden. The house loses its beauty and the residents too feel low and disheartened. On the other hand a house surrounded by a well kept garden enhances the beauty of the house and the residents too feel cheerful and energetic. Water feature in the garden has its own aesthetic value. Sometimes it is difficult to decide about the location of the fountain in the garden .Fengshui outlines basic rules for this and makes it easier to install the water feature. First and foremost is to know the bagua of the garden. Once the directions are clear locate the fountain in the East, North East and North of the garden as you know that these are the directions which are best suited for the water element. Flow of the water should be towards the entrance of the house. Water element is a powerful representative of growth and abundance. Its flow towards the house is hence symbolic of prosperity reaching your doorstep.

For some reason if you have to place the water feature in the South or the West it can be intertwined with the shape, colour or the element specific to this direction. For example if you have to place the water feature in the South which is the direction for the fire element, use red ,pink, or crimson colour in the water feature. You could also take triangular water feature because triangle is the shape specific for this direction. Query:-‐ Where should a tortoise be placed in the garden? Answer:-‐ Tortoise is one of the four celestial animals in Fengshui. It is used to bring in health, stability, protection and prosperity to life. A tortoise made of metal or black in colour can be placed in the North of the garden, where it helps to promote growth in the career. Tortoise placed in the West encourages grounding energy and stability in life. Tortoise facing the main door is always a good choice. Health benefits can be gained by placing a green colour tortoise in the East. Forever In Gratitude To Her Divine Grace! -‐Archana Sharma Archana Sharma is an M.Phil in Life Sciences and practises in Astrology, Numerology and alternative therapies. She is currently pursuing research in Medical Astrology. You can contact her on archana7sharma@gmail.com

Astrological Queries from the Readers

Name -‐ James Mathew (Name changed) D.O.B -‐ 30 October 1954 T.O.B -‐ 12:43:00 P.O.B -‐ Kottayam, Kerala Query -‐ Problems regarding job etc.

Answer:-‐ You are a Capricorn ascendant and your moon sign is Scorpio. You are running mahadasha of Mars since 9 June 2008 and it will last till 10 June 2015. Presently you are running antar dasha of Sun. You are also running Sade Sati of Saturn. Transit of Jupiter, Rahu and Ketu are favourable for you However, your natal chart shows that you have a pattern of getting and losing jobs( or you leave them).You also have tendency to get influenced by your surroundings and people around you. You are advised to keep company of good people and keep away from negative situations and people You can benefit from jobs related to overseas trade, real estate, farming, factory, mining, coal, gems, oil gas, granite etc. You should worship Sun and donate copper, wheat, red clothes to a priest in a temple. Chant the Sun mantra-‐Om Aditaya Namah as many times as possible. Feed needy women. Wear turquoise in silver in the ring finger of the right hand. Also wear an iron ring with a small cut, in the middle finger of the right hand. You should also worship Goddess Durga. You are also advised to take the following Bach Flower Remedies for general well-‐being and also to help you get an appropriate opportunity. 1. Scleranthus. 2. Chicory. 3. Larch

4. Cerato. 5. Agrimony. 6. Wildoat 7. Gentian Add equal amount of all these remedies in a clean bottle and take 6-‐8 drops of this mixture four times a day mixed in a small amount of water. Do not take anything 15mts before or after taking them. These remedies are easily available in any Homeopathic store. First dose should be taken first thing in the morning and the last dose should be taken last thing at night. Other two doses can be adjusted as per your schedule. Take these at least for a period of forty days. Each time you take these remedies say a prayer of gratitude to the Divine and thank these flowers for changing your life condition. Forever In Gratitude To Her Divine Grace! -‐Archana Sharma Archana Sharma is an M.Phil in Life Sciences and practises in Astrology, Numerology and alternative therapies. She is currently pursuing research in Medical Astrology. You can contact her on 09871153164 or archana7sharma@gmail.com Kala Sarpa Yoga is formed when Rahu Ketu hem in the planets in the natal chart i.e. if Rahu is 10 degrees Leo and Ketu 10 degrees Aquarius and all the planets are within these degrees, either from Leo to Aquarius or Aquarius to Leo (Vedic Astrology does not use the outer planets Uranus, Neptune and Pluto). For this yoga to be complete, no planet should conjunct Rahu or Ketu. It restricts completely any indications of the charts. However capable the person, his life is impeded due to past Karma. Important lessons have to be faced in this life, where no amount of effort is rewarded, obstacles are encountered at every junction for inexplicable reasons. The Yoga does not suggest either success or failure, but a person caught up in Karmic forces so great that they restrict his/ her destiny. It acts mysteriously, without other indications in the birth Chart. A heavy price is paid for past Karma in this life. Understanding and counter-‐ acting the effects of Kala Sarpa Yoga needs a person to move towards his higher self. As Rahu and Ketu act on the inner self, the need to understand the psychic implications and the inner blocks created by this combination is important. Source: http://www.komilla.com/

Book Review The Dalai Lama’s Cat and the Art of Purring Author: David Michie Hay House is the well-‐ known publishing house that has swept book stores with its self-‐help books that explore the mind/body/spirit connect. It was started by Louis L. Hay whose book You Can Heal Your Life (1994) was a pioneering effort and still remains a best-‐seller. Published by Hayhouse, The Dalai Lama’s Cat and the Art of Purring: A Novel by David Michie is the second fiction title in the series featuring His Holiness’s Cat; which also happens to be the title of the first novel The Dalai Lama’s Cat. Who then should read this book? Cat lovers definitely, as the blue eyed cat offers to curl up on the reader’s “metaphorical lap” and shares the secret behind “What makes you purr?” She does this imperiously reprimanding the reader: “Oh, good, you are finally here, though you have taken your time about it, if you don’t mind my saying so!” (opening sentence, Prologue). Lovers of Dharamsala will willingly follow the “snow lion’s i.e. the kitty’s ramblings through the Kangra valley. The book is equally likely to be lapped up by any reader who wants to “discover the true cause of happiness” especially as revealed by the Dalai Lama himself. What makes this journey interesting is that we are literally taken on a tour down the lanes of Mc Leod Ganj, through the evening prayers of Namgyal Monastery, to the yoga studio against the backdrop of the breath taking Dhauladhar range and the vibrant Himalaya Book Café, and learn with HHC (His Holiness’s Cat; also called Rinpoche which means precious one in Tibetan) the path to “deep down happiness that makes us purr from the heart”. This feline chronicle is termed “a novel” in its title so what we have here is a delightful spiritual book that works in terms of the stories it tells of people who live in the monastery or work at the book café but the focus remains on how these characters and by implication the readers make choices in life that sometimes force us to choose between how the world defines professional success and spaces our heart and spirit might lead us to instead. The characters

are people that the reader can relate to and not abstract projections of some universal ideal of celibacy and self-‐denial. The depiction of Dalai Lama who appears only briefly in this novel is lifted with wonderful strokes of humour and his compassion for all animals especially HHC but also hints at the sublime. His pet describes his presence in these terms: “How can I describe what it is to be in the presence of the Dalai Lama? Quite simply, it is extraordinary. From the moment he enters the room, every being within it is touched by his energy of heartfelt happiness. Whatever else may be going on in your life, whatever tragedy or loss you may be facing, for the time you are with His Holiness, you experience the sensation that deep down all is well. If you haven’t experienced this before, it is like being awakened to a dimension of yourself that has been there all this time, like an underground river although until now it has gone undetected. Reconnected to the source you not only experience, profound peace and wellbeing at the heart of your being, but you may also, for a moment, catch a glimpse of your own consciousness-‐radiant, boundless, and imbued with love. The Dalai Lama sees us as we are and reflects our true nature back to us. This is why so many people simply melt in his presence” (viii-‐ix, Prologue). We experience the world in the book sensually through what Rinpoche the cat sees, smells, eats, hears, fears and overcomes. Even His Holiness’s (fictional) cat has her share of feline “attitude” issues. As for example, when she is summoned by Lobsang, she informs us disdainfully: “I ignored him, of course. We cats are not given to kowtowing to every plea, entreaty or even humble petition made by humans. What good would it do? You are much more grateful when we do eventually throw you a bone-‐if you’ll excuse the whiff of dog about that particular metaphor” (42). The wit, humour and of course the insights coming from a cat lover make this particular offering from Hayhouse very endearing. Mischief and charm aside, the book does convey the Dalai Lama’s secret for human happiness. Ah, that is for the reader to find out with the help of the agile and intelligent cat that observes the world from the top of the magazine rack in the book café and is the nemesis of the bossy snarling dogs of Dharamsala. As the author puts in a quote from Robert Byrne: “To err is human, to purr feline” -‐Namita Sethi

Crystal of the Month - Flourite

Fluorite is credited with “balancing brain chemistry” by Naisha Ahsian. It seems that Green fluorite goes a step further and balances the decisions of the mind with the heart and helps us harmonize with nature. Most crystal experts see fluorite as a psychic vaccum cleaner, collecting all doubts, negativity and mental clutter into a heap, getting rid of it and stimulating the mind to take creative decisions with clarity and also to structure one’s energy and assignments. The name Flourite derives from the Latin word “Fleure”, which means: ‘to flow’, which denotes “additives that enable an ore to reach melting point more quickly” (Micheal Gienger, Crystal Power Crystal Healing, 284). Composed of Calcium Fluoride, it is used as a source of fluorine for fluorinated water. It is associated with fluoride which prevents tooth decay. Fluorite was known as fluorspar, since the eighteenth century. A spar is a mineral that breaks into leaves. Quite a few specimens of fluoride display fluorescence under UV light: they glow in the dark. But apart from these obvious physical properties, many metaphysical properties are attributed to this “Genius Stone”, which is another name for fluorite. Its octahedron structure, composed of two fused pyramidal shapes, is said to give it a “sacred geometry”. Fluorite brings order and structure at every level, including the cellular level in an organism. Micchael Gienger says that Fluorite also brings out “the free spirit that wishes to determine and shape his/her own life”(284) and fosters a rebellious attitude to being controlled by others. There would be two advantages of keeping it on one’s study table or work area: It helps in learning, organizing and sorting ideas; and it has an amazing ability to absorb computer and electromagnetic emanations. When kept near a computer, it will absorb negative energies and stress, along with any electromagnetic radiation from the surroundings. It is also an immense healer overall: gently protective of the aura as it stabilizes and balances it. Used for either of these purposes, i.e. cleansing the surroundings or healing the person, fluorite should be cleansed in running water regularly, but carefully, because it is a soft stone. After cleansing, it must be charged in sunlight or moonlight. Fluorite is associated with the third eye, throat and heart chakras, with specially its purple variety responding to the mind (brow) and mental-‐spiritual issues, blue fluorite with communication (throat) and especially with psychic

communication; green fluorite with balancing and healing the heart. Yellow fluorite is associated more with creativity and group work, healing the organs associated with the solar plexus centre and also helps people who compare themselves unfavourably to others as Cassandra Eason has remarked. It can help with regulating the liver, kidneys and spleen and is said to help with cholesterol mechanism. Green fluorite is associated strongly with the healing of stomach and intestines, and is especially useful for reducing the pain of stomach cramps. Gazing into the depths of a piece of the beautifully striated green fluorite, is like looking at the heart of the ocean, and the calm that it brings to the feelings is similar, which is why it is such a good healer for emotional traumas, and an aura cleanser, especially good for self-‐healing. It helps bring subconscious feelings to surface, and encourages acceptance of new ideas and circumstances. Blue fluorite is very good for throat infections, healing the ears, nose, and throat. Purple and blue varieties, also pink and magenta are all associated with developing the intuition. Purple fluorite in particular is supposed to promote spiritual vision and aid in developing discrimination. Pink fluorite is used to reduce the pain and inflammation of spinal injuries, by certain practitioners. Clear transparent fluorite promotes spiritual harmony and is associated with the mystical properties of the crown chakra. Pretty rainbow fluorite is supposed to bring joy, creativity and have positive effects on the nervous system. All fluorite is believed to be useful for arthritis, asthma, and for protecting arteries from fat deposits, regulating cholesterol and strengthening bones. Fluorite is useful for gum strength, and can assist with dental treatment (though it is certainly not a replacement for it!). It enhances the functioning of immune system and promotes cellular regeneration. It is an excellent learning aid and is useful for increasing concentration. Banishing chaos and bringing in balance, at the physical, auric and psychic levels, the benefits of fluorite are manifold and still revealing themselves. -‐Namita Sethi Programming and cleansing crystals This means that crystals have the power to hold energies. You may hold a quartz crystal with the intention of filling it with your love. You do not need any wires or a special connection with God -‐ all you need is intention and focus. The crystal will remember your love, which will then permeate any environment in which the crystal is placed. Crystals can remember negative as well as positive energies and so will sometimes need to be cleansed. -‐ See more at: http://www.holisticshop.co.uk/articles/introduction-‐guide-‐ crystals#sthash.26OFtGMD.dpuf

Thought for the Month

Balancing is very important in life and each aspect in this cosmos is related and affects each other in significant ways. We say there are 4 elements which are Earth, Fire, Water and Air. Consider any of these to be in excess or in dearth; all the other elements will be badly affected. When these elements are effected, people are affected as well. For example, in India farmers wait for the rains; if these rains happen in excess the crop is affected which affects farmers and us equally; if it rains less then too the crop is affected. But this is not in our hands. Let’s look at what is in our hands. We are all a combination of Mind, Body and Soul. If any of these three things goes imbalanced; our existence goes for a toss! We can experience damages not only on our body which are physical damages but on our mind through stress and mental tortures and in turn to our soul because we might not be dissolving our Karmas but further adding to them. As a first step to balancing; I personally feel that we need awareness, patience and unconditional love for oneself and each other to create this balance. I believe in destiny but I also believe in the 90/10 theory of action and reaction. 10 is what our destiny throws at us and 90 is how we react to it. This is what I say awareness. We should be aware and patient to distinguish this 10 & 90 as this 10 might not be in our hand but certainly the 90 is! And then we need unconditional love for ourselves and others to learn, forgive & forget which will balance not only us but our surroundings, our family and society at large. -‐Neha Khanna

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