By John Holland

Words have the power to inspire, heal, and transform. Just as they can have a positive effect, they can also be hurtful, especially when directed at ourselves. Do you really want to know how someone’s life is going or why it’s the way it is? If so, it’s important to actually listen to the words they use. I believe that you are the embodiment of your words. For example, if someone is constantly talking about misery and despair, then it’s most likely that their life is a reflection of what they’re saying. We all know someone in our lives like this. It can even be draining to be in their company. You come away feeling exhausted, as inadvertently, they are really sapping your precious energy whether you realize it or not.

My family had a rather unique mantra as I was growing up, namely: “We never have any luck.” I grew up believing this and set my expectations accordingly. Of course, it’s not the sort of affirmation I’m suggesting here...

Astrology Forecast for the 2014 Taurus Full Moon

by Kathy Biehl

November 6, 2014

2:22 PM PST / 5:22 PM EST / 10:22 PM GMT

14 Taurus 25 / 14 Scorpio 25

Manifestation is the theme of this month’s Taurus Full Moon. Don’t expect to stare in a shop window and will a piece of jewelry to appear around your neck, as misleadingly popularized by “The Secret.” No simple, wishful thinking is at work now. Instead, what’s coming into being is a direct outgrowth of how you have been responding to the change imperative that has been destabilizing and restructuring your life.

Earth plane, mundane developments are very much in play now. Ruled by Venus in her most sensual form, Taurus is the first of the earth signs, the most fully and immovably affixed to immersion in the physical.

The experience of the senses is paramount: the taste and texture of food; the sensation of fabrics against the skin...

By Janice Chrysler

Whether you are new to meditation, getting back at it or practice it daily, one thing that is always a great learning tool is grounding. Regardless of the type of meditation you are doing – mantras, guided, drumming etc. – you will always go deeper and feel more centered when you perform a grounding technique at the beginning of your meditation. If you do any form of energy work you will find grounding a valuable tool to use with it as well. Any time you can bring your focus inward you are able to connect to your Higher Self which in turn will enable you to raise your vibration as you set aside the ego and the world around you.

As the name implies, the purpose of grounding is to make you feel planted on the earth. Have you ever had one of those days when you were just a bit “spiny”? When you couldn’t seem to concentrate on what was right in front of you because your mind was travelling everywhere else?...

by Veronica Tioicha

Why teach children to speak to plants and rocks and animals? The truth is, they already do it. If you tell a 5 year old she can communicate with animals, not only will she believe you, she probably already knows how to. Children have this incredible natural connection to the spirit life around us. Our job is to nurture that. Do you see how all of us are born caretakers of the Earth? This is a gift not to be taken lightly and not to be discarded, as it so often seems it is.

So why encourage children to listen to the Earth and the Moon and the Stars? Because it has the ability to change our world. I refer to this as raising modern Shaman children but really it is just raising children to be conscious.

We need more children who grow up and still think like children. We need more grownups who still commune with nature and recognize its deep knowledge.

The Art of Mindfully Letting Go with Buddha’s Four Noble Truths

by Ronald A. Alexander PhD

Twenty-five hundred years ago, the Buddha was like the first psychologist, teaching his followers about the power of mindfully letting go and changing their mental processes in order to alleviate emotional discomfort and embrace change. One of his insights were the four noble truths that helped people free themselves from the patterns of thinking and behaving that perpetuate their suffering.

By looking at these four central tenets of Buddhism we can better understand how micromanaging our circumstances can cause us to become agitated and restricted. Instead when we learn to let go of our attachments we can transform our lives in an innovative way.

The four noble truths can help us break out of the need to be in control and, instead mindfully letting go into an acceptance of the present moment. Only in the present will we find the courage to cross the threshold of the unknown...