By Himat Kaur Khalsa

So, will we all become magically enlightened on December 21, 2012, or what?! The Mayan Calendar is “ending.” Are we? Well, I have my hesitations about that “instant enlightenment” concept, as described in previous articles. I think humanity is still evolving, and we’re definitely being asked to go to a deeper, broader, more integrated and all-embracing way of being.

We’re being asked to root out “weedy” things in us that get in the way of good growth; to shore up the foundation of the highest Truth of us; to “rewire” how we think of ourselves, how we relate to our brothers and sisters (in the local as well as the global sense); and how we frame our ideas of what life is and the part we can/should play in it. The evolution of our understanding and reframing of life takes time, which is totally okay and good.

What the Heavens Tell Us

Having said all of that, I’ve pondered the astrological landscape of December 2012, and while my ephemeris (log of daily planetary placements in their orbits around the Sun) does not indicate planets doing things radically different than anything humans have ever experienced, I can report that we do have a potentially transformative event in play this month, foreshadowed by the November Lunar Eclipse, and followed in January 2013 by another energetic trigger.

The Mutual Reception: Saturn in Scorpio (Caring for Others) and Pluto in Capricorn (Transformation)

To set the stage of astrological events, in the midst of evolutionary change being stimulated by the seven Uranus-Pluto squares of 2012-2015, we have roughly a two year period in which Saturn is in Scorpio at the same time that Pluto is in Capricorn. This is known as a “mutual reception,” when two planets are each moving through the sign that the other planet rules. It creates an amplified vibration of the themes the two planet/sign combinations reflect. It is as if the solar system is asking, “If I talk loudly and echo the same type of thing in two different ways, will you get the message?” Two of the major themes of this mutual reception are healing and transforming “bad” and limiting things we have institutionalized culturally and personally (Pluto in Capricorn), and taking responsibility for how we live with and care for other people (Saturn in Scorpio).

To add relevance to this particular planetary choreography, consider that this mutual reception last occurred around the American Revolutionary War period, from late 1776 through 1778—a short but poignant span of time that saw a lot of churning for change, stemming from a society of people who wanted to gain and anchor freedom and independence—who in theory wanted to institutionalize freedoms at a level protected by the fabric of the society itself. (Ponder and free-associate at your leisure the similarities of that period of time to now! It seems at the very least that it could be a time of addressing any changes needed to the structure of the constitution and the union, the psychology of the citizens, and their rights and place in the structure of society.)

So this mutual reception last occurred 236 years ago. Looking to the future, the next time Pluto will traverse Scorpio is the period of February 2254 through late 2270. However, Saturn will not be in Scorpio during that time, so no mutual reception will occur as it does in December 2012.

In fact, the next time we will see a mutual reception of Pluto and Saturn, will be from October 2512 through May 2515 (in case anyone is interested in conceptualizing how things might be that far in the future)! So, in at least a 740-1,000 year period, we have the mutual reception of Pluto and Saturn just twice. Not so insignificant for a fairly major astrological event in December 2012!

The Sextile Aspect: Opportunities to Grow

Now, increasing amperage to the two-year period of mutual reception, we add the fact that from December 2012 through March 2013, the two planets are actually in a close sextile aspect to one another. They are really stimulating and energizing each other—their combined energies buzzing around and through us, ready to be tapped and utilized.

Sextile aspects do not “get in our faces” and demand change in the same way as “hard” aspects. They present opportunities that we must purposefully engage. Having said that, these are powerful vibrations, and in the same way that we should meditate all the time, even when we’re not in crisis, we can make tremendous strides in growth by applying spiritual and mental effort beginning in December 2012, electing to do work that will help us tap into and ride the stimulus and energetic support for change. In times such as these, our efforts are amplified and benefits exponentially multiplied by well-timed discipline and self-awareness.

The Yod and the Lunar Eclipse: Re-Set the Psyche and Emotions

Into this energizing sextile dynamic, along came the Moon on November 28, 2012, slipping into a point that formed a Yod aspect with the Saturn-Pluto sextile. And this takes center stage because at this point, we had a semi-annual Lunar Eclipse (Full Moon) at the foot of that Yod. A Yod is an aspect like a big Y shape, where the two planets at the end of the fork put intense pressure on the planet at the foot of the Y. Suddenly the two planets in sextile (Saturn and Pluto) are amped up into agents of immense pressure upon this passing Moon, which is being eclipsed by the Sun at the same time.

In a Lunar Eclipse, the Moon goes from fully reflecting the maximum possible light and radiation of the Sun, to suddenly reflecting little or nothing. This means that the Moon, if we could see her, would be seen as she really is, and not as a reflector of the Sun. Read into that what you might about stepping out of the bold tyranny of powerful, dominating rulers, and breaking free from the status quo or limiting patterns, maybe only briefly, but long enough to slip the noose.

The point is that we are afforded a brief experience of reprieve, where at a deep level, we are free from the Sun’s projection on the Moon, and can perhaps feel what’s really happening beneath the surface in ourselves. The reprieve may not be obvious and conscious in the moment, because it happens relatively quickly. It is as if we figuratively go from full throttle to full break to full throttle again in a short period of time in terms of bombardment of solar light and radiation at multiple levels of the spectrum. (Seriously, take it easy on your bodies on full moon days, folks!)

Coming back to the Yod, Pluto and Saturn placed intense pressure on the Moon during the Lunar Eclipse, as if we’re being asked to do a reset of our psyches and emotions, to reflect a clearer vibration born of our work on healing and transformation stimulated by the Pluto-Saturn sextile.

Jupiter in Gemini: Expand and Break through the ‘Group-Think’

The eclipse sets the groundwork for another similar trigger: On December 22, 2012, transiting Jupiter moves into the same place of the eclipsed moon, when it becomes the foot of a Yod with Saturn and Pluto. The foot of the Yod is in Gemini, which rules the mind and faculty of perception, the way we take in sensory stimulus and experiences, and pass them through our internal (conscious or unconscious) filters, thereby interpreting reality according to our own internal landscape. There are two realities for each of us: the actual, external, factual reality (if we could objectively stand outside ourselves and see it), and the internal interpretation of that reality, which feeds into our paradigm about life and our place in it.

Jupiter has been moving through Gemini since June of 2012, and asks us to expand our understanding, to see beyond our current habitual thoughts and paradigms. In ancient astrology, Gemini was sometimes related to heresy, because ideally, it strives to perceive things as raw data, without filters of “right” and “wrong.” Although we understand in modern days that differences of opinion do not necessitate punishment and excommunication, nothing is more threatening to the status quo, to current societal structures, and to those in power, than to accept and promote ideas that differ from the current “group-think.” Jupiter in Gemini is asking us to examine how we have perhaps underestimated the power of our own minds and the ability to think for ourselves, to make up our own minds, and even to simply take in information for ourselves, ponder it to come to our own derived conclusions and beliefs.

This powerful Yod of Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto invites us to now unhook our minds from beliefs and filters and thought patterns that support the old, tired, broken, limiting stuff that we’re releasing through Pluto’s transformational work. And to anchor into our mental habits and paradigm the things we learn from Saturn’s maturation with attending to our relationships to one another. Can we and will we take advantage of the energetic support/churning that the planets are stimulating in their dance?

The Lunar Eclipse and Yod of November 28, 2012, followed by the Yod of Saturn, Pluto and Jupiter on December 22, 2012, invite us to actively participate in our own transformation, individually and societally.

As with all planetary events, this short experience, however rare, only facilitates change if we take action. We can sleep through a lot by being distracted with other stuff and not tapping the opportunities that present themselves. The question is, will we choose to apply some leverage of effort, and make a start to pulling up rotted bricks and overhauling the infrastructure of our individual and collective framing, paradigms, and filters of interpretation?

What You Can Do:

Mentally: Make the effort to see more clearly. When you’re in the middle of an issue, consider as objectively as possible, whether the problem may be escalated or created by a limiting internal belief. Ponder what the situation might be like if you were free from that limited paradigm. Entertain the idea of letting a shift occur internally, where you begin to integrate a perspective that reflects broader, higher principles.

Yogically: Use the technology to support and balance the pressures brought to bear on Jupiter in Gemini. This would be especially helpful leading up to and beyond the day of the exact Yod on December 22, 2012. Two relevant meditations are:

• Meditation for the Neutral Mind, from The Mind – Its Projections and Multiple Facets. “Neutral mind opens the gate to that deep remembrance of the self and soul. The neutral mind lives for the touch of vastness. It lets all other thoughts be without disturbance to your constant inner light.”
• “Relay of a Past Memory,” from The Mind – Its Projections and Multiple Facets. “The hemispheres [of the brain] will be balanced. The past will be processed and dumped, and insecurity will vaporize.”

May the coming month be a blessed one for you! I wish you happy growth and change!

* Chop wood, carry water: This is a reference to the Zen saying, “Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.” The saying addresses our concept of enlightenment, and the question of whether it changes our relationship to living mundane life. Key point: For almost everyone alive, regardless of our level of spiritual evolution, if we are still on the planet, we are still engaged in doing the normal stuff of daily life. Escaping the experience of time and space is not the point.

Himat Kaur offers private astrological consultations, and can be reached at (813) 444-6285, or (813) 4HimatK. HimatKaur@EvolveWithAstrology.com.

Neptune takes approximately 168 years to revolve around the Sun. In February 2012, it finished its transition from the sign of Aquarius into Pisces, where it will be until it begins making its way into Aries in 2025.

Neptune moving through the sign it rules, Pisces, is particularly strong in the Neptunian/Piscean vibration. On the high end of expression, themes include inspiration, revelation, deep spiritual experience (not intellect, but experience), and a divine discontent that churns us to reach for something greater. On the “low” end of its expression, themes include fogginess, confusion, escape, despair, addiction, and sometimes subterfuge.

Neptune churns evolution through dissolving what no longer fits in our lives whether we agree with the assessment or are attached to things none-the-less. Neptune can seem subtle and beyond our conscious awareness, but are confusion and fogginess really that subtle? We feel the frustration of things being difficult to identify and pin down. We feel the absence of concrete structures around which we can frame our lives. We feel ungrounded and like we’re walking on a high wire without a safety net. Sometimes our confusion and lack of grounding is not subtle at all, but instead very obvious and disorienting!

Throughout history, when Neptune has been in Pisces, the world has seen the emergence of new religions/spiritual movements, and the spread of some existing religions. It’s as though humanity was perhaps unconsciously hungry for a more passionate experience of emersion into Spirit, or submission to whatever “God” one clings to.

To site just a few examples of religions arising or spreading during historical times of Neptune in Pisces:

• In 45 AD, with Neptune in Aquarius, St. Paul started his journeys to the seven churches of “Asia” (now known as Turkey); that continued the rest of his life. Beyond the four gospels, most of the Biblical New Testament is the story of bringing Christianity to the Mediterranean world. This explosion of Christianity occurred largely during the period of Neptune in Pisces from 47 AD to 61 AD.
• In that same cycle, in 58 AD, Buddhism entered China. It was essentially the same story. While Paul was going to “Asia,” Buddhism was spreading into China, transforming that culture, and spreading as fast as lightning.
• From 701 to 716 AD, humanity saw an explosion of Islam across almost the entire world. The Moors invaded Spain in 711. In 712, the Muslim state was established in Pakistan. By 715, in just a decade and a half, the Muslim world spread from France and Spain (the Pyrenees), across North Africa, Asia, India, Indonesia, to China.
• During the period of 1520 to 1534, Martin Luther was condemned as a heretic and excommunicated (in 1521). He nailed his 99 theses to the church door at Wittenburg, condemning the corruption of the Catholic Church.

The gist of this key theme of Neptune in Pisces is this: People are hungry and ready for a new metaphor, a new perspective and approach and especially a new experience of religion or spirituality, something filled with deep inspiration and passion. On some level, people want to get beyond intellectual ideas and have the spiritual experience, particularly an experience that feels “alive,” inspiring, moving. What they find and adopt may or may not be the clearest experience and expression of our souls. We should never mistake the urge for a deeper, more meaningful spiritual experience with the readiness for the “Ultimate Truth.” I have said before that human evolution takes time, and we are so impatient to see things change fast and for the better. We often don’t have patience to wait out the slow progress of the larger, collective social level.

What can we expect during these approximately 15 years of Neptune’s dance through its own sign of Pisces? I expect we will see the full gamut of possibilities on the spectrum of archetypes, including:

• People feeling tossed and blown about by the winds of fate, and from a place of incredible insecurity, clinging to smaller beliefs and concepts and paradigms that are actually limiting and holding them down.
• People feeling like they’re swimming in a foggy, nebulous sea of confusion, like they’re free-falling without a safety net; and from that internal space, feeling utterly victimized by life, and seeking escape in anything that numbs them to the pain and insecurity they experience.
• People reaching out for more understanding and experience of limitlessness, reaching beyond their previous experiences and paradigms, opening to new spiritual experiences and beliefs that permanently change their internal realities for the better, and with no turning back. Thankfully, the mind stretched beyond its previous limitations can never completely go back to that smaller state, no matter how much we might wish to and try to.

What might the highest possible expression of Neptune in Pisces look like? Beginning its transit of Pisces during the current three years of Uranus-Pluto squares, Neptune could assist in dissolving our fears of authority and our projection of control as outside of ourselves. The rebellious, freedom-and-equality-seeking push of the Uranus-Pluto squares could assist us in throwing off the control and suppression of those who would take advantage or undermine us individually and societally. Where religious ideas and leaders have undermined our own internal experience of Truth and our Divinity, we could shrug off limiting paradigms and structures, expanding ourselves into a deeper experience of God within. If we “get it right” over the next few years, our growing mastery of the emotions and subconscious overflow will facilitate a deeper experience and identification with Har Naam/Sat Naam/God Within (high vibration of Neptune in Pisces for the next 15 years).

What might lower expressions of Neptune in Pisces look like? In the face of the pressures and decisions of leaders in control of major facets of our lives, people could choose not to rise up and be heard and demand their freedom and equality. We could see loss of representation in our social structures, and a lack of solid foundation and security. If we don’t navigate it so well, intense emotions and subconscious overflow (low Pluto) cause human drama and commotion and messes, and we could ride the victim mentality at the low end of Pisces’ archetypal range.

I mentioned it in my October article, but I want to mention again in this critical month of November, that Mercury goes retrograde on Election Day. It is so vitally important that people stand up and vote to make their voices, opinions and desires heard.

Not long ago, Egypt had its first democratic elections, which then had to be redone some months later. The winners of the election were from a predominant Muslim faction that did not reflect the will of the people who fought for changes. In the wave of Arab Spring, Egyptians have risen up to take a stand for social rights and freedoms, such as electing their own leaders, but they are still developing the infrastructure of democracy. They need to further develop their democratic processes, so other candidates who reflect different beliefs and interests and paradigms actually run for election. They have a ways to go, but they are on the road to developing representative democracy. At this point in that development, the choice was one many saw as voting for the lesser of two evils, simply because those were only a couple of major candidates who ran for election in Egypt.

There have been many in the U.S. who talk of feeling disgruntled at the two presidential options running for election this Fall. It’s important to remember that while citizens at the grass roots level strive to develop other options, we still face a choice between two major candidates. If we don’t make our voices heard, expressing our preference for the greater of the two options, we may end up dealing with the problems of the lesser of two options/”evils.” If citizens of the United States do not rise up and integrate larger social awareness and participation, we will be subject to the agendas of those who step up to take control. The cost of non-participation is high, because if we don’t speak our conscience and vote, we passively subject ourselves to the whims and desires of others that may be bad for us.

This is a critical time when we can either use the energies of Pluto in Capricorn, Uranus in Aries, and Saturn in Scorpio to overhaul the limiting agendas and social structures of those in control, to rise up and speak our minds and demand freedoms and equality, or fall victim to those who will presume to speak for us and perhaps work against us. We can either use Neptune in Pisces to dissolve what no longer works and rise up to change things, or fail to act and struggle in the aftermath of results that may not reflect what we’d wished.

Regularly and intently through 2025 with Neptune in Pisces, keep anchoring the experience and understanding of God within. “God and Me—Me and God—Are One.”

Himat Kaur offers private astrological consultations, and can be reached at (505) 927-2256, HimatKaur@EvolveWithAstrology.com.

“Be aware, from the information age, you are entering the sensory age. It is a sensory human being, who is going to be very different from what we know or see.”

Q: When I get stressed at work my whole body seems to shut down. Physically and mentally everything is a mess. Even though I know it is happening, I am unable to stop the negative experience. Is there a quick fix so I can get my energy and psyche back to normal so I am able to perform my job?

 A: The results of what we call stress today are not even close to what they will be in the near future. Stress is rusting the complementary system of the body, and damaging the sensory system. In life this causes a lot of gaps, which we don’t always recognize as stress-related.

Sometimes the best experts on health cannot discover cold stress that actually freezes the spirit and the mind and which can damage our relationships with people, in work and in our surroundings. Take it slow and steady. The only solution is that our daily schedule must include exercise, breathing, massage, and healthy foods, including herbal remedies and teas.

Q: Thank you for bringing Kundalini Yoga to the West. Its practice has made me resilient in the face of adversity. My biggest challenge is staying centered in the face of “good” stress in my life—for example, planning celebratory gatherings with my family and friends, and managing projects to make the workplace a better one. I get so worked up about it that I even lose sleep and appetite. And, to be honest, I kind of like the high. Is there anything I should do about this?

A: Fill up a tub with warm water up to the navel point and arrange a shower which falls perpendicular on your head. Enjoy 11 minutes of it. Remember, not hot, not cold, but warm water, and see the miracle.

Q: My question is, how can one best deal with the stress of not having a relationship with a preferred life partner? There are many people in my situation—men and women who have achieved most or all of their career goals and are living financially secure but empty lives because of loneliness and disconnection. I have everything I ever thought I wanted including good health. I am simply not able to meet a suitable life partner and create a healthy, committed relationship for the remainder of my life here. Along the way, I would have given up some of my other goals in order to have met the right man’ and settled down into the householder’s life. This perceived lack creates stress and unhappiness to the degree that I sometimes do not enjoy my many other blessings.

A: Longing for a mate should not be pursued on physical, mental, or social level. Longing for a mate should have the foundation of virtues and values, like a sacred oath. A human has to be trained to accept life mutually with another human. When two people are conscious, mutuality has to set the rule. In that, life becomes a sweet tender give and take.

[Aquarian Times, Spring 2001]

© The Teachings of Yogi Bhajan

How will you align yourself on 12-21-12?

Powerful Activation Dates of 2012:

NOVEMBER 13, 2012
Total Solar Eclipse

NOVEMBER 28, 2012
Lunar Eclipse

DECEMBER 3, 2012
The planetary Alignment of Mercury, Venus and Saturn will take place on December 3, 2012. This precisely corresponds with the Giza Pyramids and Orion’s Belt. This alignment will happen for the first time in 2,737 years.

DECEMBER 12, 2012
12-12-12
Triple portal activation.
Final trinity activation of the planetary crystalline grid system.

DECEMBER 21, 2012
3HO WINTER SOLSTICE
LAKE WALES, FLORIDA
One of the most anticipated dates of our time. There are many who believe this date marks the end of an era, and the beginning of a new age.

www.harijiwan.com

By Nam Hari Kaur

A Sneak Preview of 12-21-12
As we look towards the future and the cosmic time clock changing on 12-21-12, many people are concerned about the future and welfare of humanity. I personally get questions about this all the time now. So, here’s the sneak preview! The number 12 (of 20-12) is a special number in the science of Numerology. It represents “tribes” and the tribalization of people coming together for safety and well being. With the overall number of 2012 being a 5 (2+0+1+2=5), number 5 represents change and upheaval. It is also the Earth Element, which signifies the likelihood of Earth changes. So how are you going to make it through? Sitting by yourself with only one or two friends, and one of them is having a nervous breakdown?

You need to have a greater scope of support, and this can be found in spiritual alignment with a tribe you feel in sync with. It can be a yoga center, a bicycle club, a sewing circle, or church; but by golly, get connected now so you are acclimated by 12-21-12. Don’t be frightened by this, because the good news is that we are all going to be a lot happier once we let go of insulating and isolating ourselves. I spoke with someone once who was directly affected by Hurricane Andrew in Florida. After she weathered the storm she said to me, “Who cares about the roof. That can be replaced! Now I know my neighbors and have three new friends. I’m not so lonely anymore.”

Every change, no matter how challenging it may be, is now an opportunity for elevation. Once you have elevated yourself to the higher ground you will then begin to notice new faces around you. Very likely they have just been through a similar experience, and once you start talking you will be amazed at how much you have in common. This bond of common experience can be the foundation for better times in the future.

Keep your grace, show a bright face, and know that you have a place in the emerging Aquarian Age.

Once again, here is my checklist of things you can do to help yourself through the transition time:

12-21-12 Portal Transit Checklist

Would you like to know more? Nam Hari can do a personal reading for you over the phone. Hidden in the numbers of your birth date are the secrets to your life’s happiness and true potential. Nam Hari specializes in the area of relationships, and by knowing the diagonal and parallel lines of energy connecting you to another, you will better understand your most important relationships. Nam Hari also offers a study course to learn the Science of Numerology at an advanced level. 310-202-8937 or 575-305-0017 email: namhari17@gmail.com

Posture: Sit in easy pose with a straight spine. Interlace your fingers so that the finger tips press into the cavities between the fingers on the back of each hand. The index fingers are straight up, pressed together along their length. Thumbs cross each other comfortably. hands are held at chest level.

Focus: Eyes are open, focused at the tip of the nose.

Mantra: Chant Wahe Guru Wahe Jio* from your navel point, creating a mental focus in this way. At the sound of Wha focus at the navel point; Hey focus at the chest; Gu (as in ‘good’) – roo (as in ‘true’) focus at the lips. Follow the same sequence and rhythm for Wahe Jio (‘ji‘ as in ‘gee;’ ‘o‘ as in ‘go’).

Time: Continue for 3 minutes building up to 31 minutes.

End: Inhale and hold. Listen to the sound of the mantra. Exhale. Inhale, hold and give back all the cold depression to God. Exhale. Inhale, hold and feel the preciousness of life. Let it go through your exhalation. Relax.

*The version used in class was from the Raga Sadhana CD by Sangeet Kaur

©The Teachings of Yogi Bhajan; reprinted from Aquarian Times, Winter 2001

Photo by Joe Miller

By Catalyst Yogi

Lately, people have been expressing a deep feeling of dissatisfaction with their lives.  At one time a steady paycheck, a predictable relationship and not getting sick used to be enough.  Now, especially after major 2012 astrological events, there have been strong messages from the Soul that it wants FULL EXPRESSION. People want more from their lives -  they want to make their unique contribution to humanity – they want to serve with their gifts.  And you’ll notice if you refuse to act on these powerful urges to make real changes and choose to hold on to the old  instead  – the evolutionary energy will shift your circumstances  for you.

What’s the Problem?

The strength of your judgment is the only enemy you have. – Yogi Bhajan

Right now, the events of your Life are simply bringing you to your highest potential – this is the evolutionary process.  It is our judgment about our life that causes most of the stress and suffering.

Judgment is part of the  victim consciousness that is leaving the planet. The victim feels dis-empowered and believes that life is happening to me and that I am separate from what I see in the world.

Judgment is the mind’s conviction that your life should be different, you should be different,  others should be different  – which can take the form of complaining, extreme negativity or gossiping. You can express this energy to others and/or keep it as an internal dialogue – both are damaging to the self.  This lower frequency energy is stealing 3 feet from your aura and infecting the human field of consciousness with  more fear. NOT Good for YOU or the rest of us !

5 Ways to Get Rid of  Judgment

1.Don’t Assume You Know Someone’s Story

Often we project our own self-judgments onto others. For example if someone does not seem to be working as hard as everyone else we assume that person is lazy, lesser than and not deserving of our respect.  We cannot know another person’s unique experience – it is impossible.  Best to take your particular judgment and bring it back  to yourself because it is really only about you. In the above example that person’s ego is identified with being ‘a hard worker’ and  will value themself only when they work.

2. Let Life Come to You

In the Aquarian Age, we are shifting our reliance on Time and Space – in the Piscean Age we had to go out and get what we needed.  Now what we need comes to us through magnetic frequency. Have you noticed when you stick to this old way of doing life – that you become exhausted and nothing works anyway? This new way of being is very upsetting to  the mind and you will hear a tirade of panicky judgmental thoughts with the sole purpose of  keeping you under its control. This is part of the process of the change over.  Trust that your magnetic frequency is bringing everything you need even as you read this.

2. Do Not Believe What you Think

The mind is like a computer – it is constantly measuring and comparing –   it works with contrasts – this or that.  You are not your mind – you are the eternal witness of your mind. Do not identify and attach to thoughts, opinions and the ego’s need to be right.  In fact those thoughts and opinions may not even be yours – inherited from your ancestors or you may be just picking up other free floating thoughts from your co-workers, neighbors – strangers on the street.

3. Stop Should-ing all over yourself

Judgment’s power word is should. Go deeper to explore your unique should -  it often means you are seeking approval from an outside source such as a parent, authority figure or your community.  Start to seek approval only from your higher consciousness. This is your Life –  it is time to stop living someone else’s dream and trying to please everyone.

5. The Secret Antidote to Judgement

The secret antidote for judgment is acceptance. This is 100% acceptance of yourself and where you are in your life in this moment.  When you bring this kind of acceptance to yourself – it will raise the vibrational frequency around you.  If you fully embrace this moment in time –  you will notice that you have everything you need.   When you completely accept yourself –  you won’t have to try and effort to accept others – you will naturally be accepting of others.

Try this Meditation for Self – Acceptance for 40 Days  (Meditation for Inner Conflict)

Full 11 min Meditation begins at 4:32 with Tuning In

Cold Depression is our single biggest challenge as we enter the Aquarian Age. It affects vitality of spirit and leads us to behave in ways we would not otherwise. Yogi Bhajan, the Master of Kundalini Yoga, cautioned us that as we transition into the Aquarian Age, that is, through 2038, humanity would suffer from a phenomenon he called Cold Depression.

What is Cold Depression?

It is when the external demand is greater than the internal capacity to deliver and we have spent our reserves. We are depressed but we are so numb and insensitive to our own self, we do not feel it. The depression is therefore “cold.” This leads us to inner anger and isolation from our soul. Cold Depression is when we are cut off from our spirit, source, strength, and inner guidance. At its core is a deep sense of loneliness, a prevailing sense of anxiety, and a loss of meaning. Yogi Bhajan called this, “The Silence of the Soul.”

We instinctively counter the numbness of Cold Depression with behavior that fulfills the need for stimulation. A person experiencing Cold Depression does not seem depressed to herself or others. This is because she is busy, active, and appears energized. She may overwork, create “emergencies” or drink 6 energy drinks a day. He may engage in extreme sports, risk taking, or substance abuse. The insensitivity of Cold Depression leads to reactivity, impatience, and drama. Do you know anyone like this?

Cold Depression is not just a personal challenge; it occurs across an entire population during global transition such as the one we are in now. When there is a major frequency change, Cold Depression can increase to profound levels, like a sudden tide. Yogi Bhajan said this “gray period” of the planet has occurred in the past, whenever there was an epochal transition.

What Causes Cold Depression?

Information overload, unrelenting stress, and rapid change contribute to Cold Depression. Bigger. Faster. More. These are all elements of modern life. The glandular and nervous systems of most people on the planet are not sufficiently developed to meet this challenge. When we don’t have the energy within, we seek it outside ourselves. We go for the rush.

How Do We As Yogis Manage?

We are all affected by the impact of the pressure of these times. We can no longer power through on the strength of our body alone. We need the power of our frequency. The quick solution? Get your energy from Prana and not from adrenaline. The rhythmic flow of Kundalini Yoga kriyas restore the nervous and glandular systems and releases old stress response patterns from the body. Mantra breaks the silence of the soul and builds the pranic and radiant bodies. This gives both calm and vitality.

Even quicker solution? Breathe and chant! Let the mantra regulate your breath to restore your Prana. Let the tongue and lips move across the meridian points to balance your brain to deal with stress. Feeling so pressured you can’t do that? Click ‘Play’ and have the mantra going as you keep going. Even play it while you sleep. In this age of change, we succeed by letting the sound current work for us.

Following are a few more yogic practices that have helped many people overcome the symptoms of Cold Depression.

Meditation for Release of Cold Depression

Seven Wave Sat Nam Meditation

Kundalini Yoga Kriya for Inner Anger

Shanti Shanti Kaur Khalsa, PhD, has taught Kundalini Yoga since 1971. She began teaching people with chronic or life threatening illnesses in 1986 under the guidance of Yogi Bhajan, and now directs the Guru Ram Das Center for Medicine & Humanology, founded to bring his teachings into healthcare. She is a Kundalini Yoga Teacher Trainer, a Yoga Alliance ERYT 500 and a charter member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists. Dr. Khalsa trains health professionals and yoga teachers, researches the medical effects of Kundalini Yoga, and lectures widely on the psychological, spiritual, and behavioral aspects of health recovery. www.grdcenter.org

I felt blessed to attend a 2-day workshop in the presence of a very radiant teacher named Hari Simran Singh Khalsa, an Italian yogi who studied under Yogi Bhajan in the early years and who had many a story to share. The workshop was poignantly entitled ‘Turning Crisis into Opportunity,’ a reflection and sentiment that could be meditated upon as a sutra and taken into the core of all our hearts. I would like to share some of the teachings of Yogi Bhajan that Hari Simran Singh shared with us during this meditation workshop.

Hari Simran Singh talked fluidly about Kundalini Yoga and the application of these sacred teachings in a time where there is a great collective unrest. We are at the end of the transit into the Aquarian Age and for most people without a solid sadhana in place this transition from the Piscean Age to the Aquarian has proved very difficult.  Especially here in Greece, I hear many people talk about the difficult times they are experiencing. I see many people losing their connection to their creative selves, closing downing their heart centres and embracing a type of forgetfulness of who they really are and the blessing of life itself.

Hari Simran Singh talked a lot about theses complications. He encouraged us to understand that these difficult times are actually a joyful period for yogis because this is the time that, as yogis, we can put into practice the teachings we have been given. It is a time of growth. “Beautiful things are always very simple and never complicated. If you try to work in a complicated way, complications come to you,” he said.

Kundalini Yoga is based on the fact that we all have a creative potential—Shakti—and nobody can change that creative potential, not even the Creator, for even Creation has to follow the laws of Creation.

Hari Simran Singh mentioned the vanity that some students and teachers embrace and again related to our spiritual development in Shakti Pad. Shakti Pad is the third stage on The Five Stages on the Path of Wisdom.

Saram Pad is the first stage, a type of honeymoon period where we consciously embrace the choice to walk a spiritual path. Karam Pad is the second stage where the work to embrace our spiritual path begins. We start working upon ourselves and understanding some of the root causes of our issues.

Then we come to Shakti Pad, the most crucial stage which will either make or break the practitioner. The choices that originate here will determine whether you continue on the path to mastery or whether you stay at the level of the apprentice or give up altogether. Hari Simran Singh said, “Here you confuse the Shakti from you with the source of Shakti that you identify with yourself, so you misunderstand the blessing, and Shakti becomes your curse.”

The fourth stage is Sahej Pad, which after conquering ourselves and our ego at Shakti Pad, becomes a stage of relative ease. This is where everything just fits together in a natural synthesis. Synchronicity is a regular occurrence as we manifest effortlessly. The final stage is Sat Pad, a place of grace and complete harmony. Yogi Bhajan says, “There is no separation between the duty of the world and the choice of our own will. There is a sense of equality and transcendence.”

Even amongst the discord of everyday living, when there seems to be no exit door, you can cultivate yourself. Hari Simran ji talked about a type of duality between Shakti and Bhakti (devotion)—how we can become caught in this reality as human beings. The human quality is to replay a mental tape that says “I can’t.” He says, “Say ‘No’ to the no!”

Yogiji said that Shakti Pad is so funny—you feel God in yourself. It’s okay to love yourself but not your ego, and in order to not love your ego, you need to recognize that ego. But how do you recognize ego if you are full of ego?

He said if you see a weakness in yourself and you don’t accept it, this is the crisis, this is tragedy. The Universe is not selective, it has to serve everyone. Know that the Universe will support you and don’t worry, go humbly, smiling.

Hari Simran Singh told us that Kundalini Yoga is not just exercise, it is awareness. All exercises, meditations, kriyas are helping you to get into this awareness state of mind. These are techniques to facilitate the process of awareness, but you have to be aware that you need to use your potential, your Shakti, to be aware.

When you talk, there is no projection. You need your mind projection. You have to see that you project the power of the naam, the power of mantra. This is why words are so important. The Word is like a law, a vibration that creates things. Talking doesn’t work the same—with one exception: using your words to touch the other person’s heart and not just to stimulate their emotions.

He told us, “The mind is like a telephone. The way you think is the way you call in life.” So stop chasing around, stop the gossip. Whoever controls the mind, controls the Universe. And what do we do with that control? We learn not just the Shakti but the Bhakti.

There are many humble people who have never practiced yoga but they are in a state of ‘Chardi Kala,’ this positive attitude that faces the face of adversity with courage and strength. Chardi Kala is complete faith. It is also a vibration, the rising of the kundalini.

He said, “Do your best and you will be the best. No competition. Compete with yourself, impress yourself.”

He talked about finding ourselves. He spoke about finding the anger and that the moment we go under pressure, the story of our childhood comes out and all that childhood anger. He said we need to learn how to release that childhood anger and that we need to recognize that sometimes when we are talked to, we think that our adult selves are responding but actually it is the child.

Turning crisis into opportunity is like a type of sublimation, but it is also the essence of Chardi Kala. It is our choice how we choose to create our own realities and with the practice of Kundalini Yoga and the support of the Golden Chain of all those teachers and masters who have walked before us and who are with us now, we can stay steadfast in our faith in Creation, humble in our dealings, neutral in our minds and abundant in our hearts.

There will always be a crisis to overcome, but in the difficult times we find ourselves in, there is a blessing in disguise. There is an opportunity to build together a strong community where the virtues of patience, compassion, fellowship and love are being re-awokened and the limitations of old belief systems are being stripped away to allow for the truth in personal experience to unfold. Yogi ji said, “If you just remember that you are a student of Sat Nam, that your first word is Sat Nam and your last word is Sat Nam, that you belong to Sat Nam, then you won’t need anything else to measure yourself by.” When we chant Sat Nam we call upon that eternal truth that resides in all of us. We awaken our soul and this is the opportunity we all have when we confront the crises ahead. We choose to face them directly and take a step further than we previously thought was possible and elevate that crisis into an opportunity.

Tabather Harpreet Kaur is Kundalini Yoga teacher from the UK who now lives and teaches in Greece. She studied with ISKY with Guru Dharam and Darryl O’Keefe. www.soulomorphe.co.uk   Email: tabather@soulomorphe.co.uk

Once, just for fun, I started looking at somebody’s hand, and twenty people wanted to get their hands read. You all want to know your tomorrow but you don’t care to know your today. Isn’t it amazing that we call ourselves civilized human beings, with churches, religious teachers, yogis, swamis, preachers, and counselors—all with tons of status—yet you are all mentally alone? There are books, libraries, and magazines, but you are still unfortunate and still alone. You have never been taught that this loneliness is a power. You don’t have a practice, so every day you become harsher and harsher and harder and harder. You have never been taught to become you. You have been taught to become “somebody.”

We have been taught wrongly for all these years. We have never been taught to be peaceful or how to achieve peace of mind when everything is upside down. Our existence is not a peaceful, tranquil existence. You have a very powerful magnetic psyche. You can just attract things, you can get things, but no, you don’t have that training to do so. Instead you sweat and hassle and go after things. Is that living? Hustling and going after things? Your own dog will not do it. You have God and yet you are beggars and hustlers, requesting everything: “Please, can I, may I, should I, would you love me? Would you like me?” What kind of life is this?

Because I travel everywhere, I see this common disease, this sickness. We are suffering because we do not trust ourselves. It’s simple. There is no self-trust. We look in the mirror. We want to look good and then make speeches. We want to convince each other. Don’t we know each other?

It’s very important that you are just you, even though you may be sick, hungry, or tired—just you are you. Just that. That’s very important. Think, when you are not you, how miserable that situation is.

The time has come to become your own master. Stop chasing masters. Become your own reality and stop chasing religion. Stop chasing God, be you. Become your own God. In the beginning, in the middle, in the end it is you and you alone. So live well in your inner peace, in your inner strength. And when you feel weak, call on your soul, your friend. To start, sit down, and breathe one breath per minute. In exactly thirty seconds your soul will start communicating with you. In three minutes you can change your mood. Then why are you suffering?

On the average you take fifteen breaths per minute. Suppose you had one hundred years to live. If you breathed at the rate of one breath per minute, you could live for fifteen hundred years because life is measured by breath, not by years or calendars.[1] When you are out of balance your breath will be shallow and fast, and you will average twenty to twenty-five breaths per minute. In good health you breathe ten to twelve breaths per minute, and in the best mental state, you breathe five to seven breaths per minute. But if you practice one breath per minute for eleven minutes a day, you can be in control of your mind.[2]

The time has come. You have to be you—a beautiful, bountiful, blissful human. Nobody can create you. God created you in His own image. Don’t create your own images. Just have one image of you as you being the being of God. It’s very human and that is what the Age of Aquarius is all about–the “New Age.” It will be the Age of humans and peace, love, and service. We shall all live as one family and wars will cease. Humans and humanity will prevail again. As the Berlin Wall fell, other walls will fall. We will all be united under one God, one spirit, one self.

© The Teachings of Yogi Bhajan