Full Moon in Aquarius: The Call of the Wayshower

The Star-XVII, Universal Waite Tarot

This Friday, we welcome the Full Moon in the fixed air sign of Aquarius, the Water Bearer. Aquarius is symbolized by The Star in the Tarot, and the Eleventh House of Astrology. Here we find ideals and friends, groups and communities, and that which we call “The Future.” Aquarius is the sign of revolution, rebellion, and doing one’s own thing. Marching to one’s own drum.  Breaking rules, or changing them to suit one’s own values and perspectives du jour. At its healthiest expression, ‘taint nothin’ better than being an Aquarius and/or embracing the Aquarian Age – ‘specially if you’re a real freedom lover at heart.

Aquarius needs to break away, as she is the wayshower and not meant to fit in. If we all fit in and were accepted or acceptable by society, there would be no such thing as evolution of consciousness. We need Aquarian energy to give us the chutzpah to say what we see, to stand apart from the crowd, to tell the truth even if it means we aren’t understood for five, ten, fifty or five hundred years.

When we begin to accept this part of ourselves, rather than vilifying it or rejecting it simply because it seems too weird or challenging to our current perspectives, we begin to embrace and love being a truth-teller. We begin to realize that the truth of who we are can never be threatened, for we are timeless consciousness. The body and the reputation and the popularity and the bank account and the relationship? Well, they’re all appearances in time and space and they will certainly come and go. But the truth of who we are is infinite and eternal.

 Opening the Time Capsule

Fifteen years ago, at the Full Moon in Aquarius of 2006, I broke away myself from a safe professional role as a content manager and producer of the world’s #1 independent astrology and tarot websites. In the year or so prior, I’d begun having kundalini activation symptoms in my body-mind – some uncomfortable, some pleasurable, including insomnia, heat, shaking, and intensive series of lucid dreams every night. I was burning hot and so high I could not come down until I acknowledged the core of the message from my soul:

• I needed to leave my 9 to 5 stable career
• I needed to acknowledge my own intuitive, tarot, and astrological gifts
• I needed to start reading for others

When I sent out the announcement to my community at large, that I was now ready to read for others, my knees were knocking. I knew there was no real turning back: I was out of the broom closet. I had to walk through and with my fear of rejection, of ostracism, and of exile – all Aquarian themes – and the decision had a snowball effect.

In actuality, that was my last day job. I began piecing together a makeshift alt.career in which I was a freelance writer and editor (travel, astrology, new thought, etc.), indie author, and astrologer and tarot professional from the road – I spent the next five years living out of a rucksack, based in India, and working from whatever Internet café I could stumble upon – and began giving readings remotely, as well as to travelers from all over the world, paying anywhere from 100 Rupees to 100 dollars. 

Business Card, 2006

 

San Francisco, 2006

What Mainstream?

This is what it means to take a Leap of Faith. To listen to your individuality, your psyche, your body (remember the Kundalini activations?). To trust. Now, of course, I had done a boatload of personal work – psychological, recovery, metaphysical, financial – to prepare for this mid-thirties leap. But surrendering “fitting in,” having a real job, having a stable platform, and becoming a real entrepreneur is, in a way, a form of ART.

I have lived as a working artist (intuitive and spiritual arts) for the past 15 years. I’m way out of the closet now – y’all know who I am and what I’m up to. I’ve been this way my whole life, actually – it’s a bit like being queer… you simply know. Yet to offer myself up publicly this way, and more and more and more – is to consistently risk being misunderstood, and to face that ongoing Aquarius strange situation of possible ostracism from the community.

Aquarius is the antithesis of mainstream. This is the job of the Water Bearer: to bring our attention to that which is “out there,” not just for perverse, selfish purposes, no. Rather, for the collective, for the good of the whole. Aquarius is the sign of humanity. Ironic, since most Aquarius- oriented individuals (or those with a strong Uranus influence) feel like they are from another planet. Perhaps many are Star Children –from Sirius or the Pleiades or another dimension – maybe they are from Atlantis or Lemuria of yore. They must to be, in order to deliver such different frequencies to us. It is the sacrifice of Aquarius to feel odd, to try to have a human experience. The only solution is to, as I said, continue to embrace and appreciate this unique role they have come in with.

At this time of the Full Moon of the Aquarian, see if you can be a little more forgiving with that oddball part of yourself. If you can be a little more faith-full when it comes to “doing your own thing,” of not fitting in, of taking a leap of faith. See if you can consider some of the quirky things you know in your heart, your body, your being to be real. See that you actually are onto something. See if you can release the need for approval or the need for being understood by others (boy that one is a real trap!).

This latter one is vital if you want to be free. Stop trying to make yourself understood by others. Simply acknowledge your own sense of things, validate your own heart. That is more than enough: it is healing, and one secret to ease and grace, and – some would say, in its highest definition – it is SUCCESS.

Trust the beat of your own heart!

Erin Reese, M.S. is a contemporary non-dual spiritual teacher, author and guide. A modern mystic with over thirty years of experience, Erin Reese offers incisive, practical intuitive readings to her clients worldwide. She is a counselor, guide and mentor to those seeking an alternative to traditional psychotherapy or business coaching. Erin also offers non-dual meetings and retreats on embodied liberation and freedom from suffering. Visit erinreese.com for more information. 

 

Full Moon in Capricorn: Slow Your Roll

When Your Love Takes You to a Barn Dance

 

Today, we welcome the full moon in the cardinal earth sign of Capricorn, the Sea Goat. The Sun in watery Cancer trines the fortuitous planet of expansive Jupiter in Pisces, harmonizing well with the Moon right now. Earthy Capricorn connects us to Mother Nature and Cancer/Pisces brings in the cooling, yin, feminine side of life This is good: we need a little ease as the recent yang Gemini (air)/Sagittarius (fire) eclipses and Mercury Retrograde, along with unseasonal heat waves, put many of us on edge mentally and physically.

What is happening under the surface is that the messages from the culture (i.e. mainstream) tell us that it’s time to get back to “normal.” The state of California,for instance, is declared “open” and it’s magically time to socialize, see everyone again, move about, get busy, spend money, and do a lot of things that weren’t available to us over the past year of lockdown, whether because they were officially shut down or the fear factor was too high.

The problem is that our animal bodies and our soft underbellies, and our intuitive souls, may not be ready to get back into gear. The empathic wisdom in all of us is attuned to something much deeper than what is being fed to us on the social media feed or the news… If you’re one of the empathic people or sensitive spirits who feels this, you are not alone. Trust your body’s wisdom. Just because the society tells you to come out of your lockdown hermitage and run around again, it may not be time to do that for you.

When Kitty Encounters Her First Stag

As the veil covering that which is hidden has been fully ripped open since the past year, empaths and intuitives are acutely aware of what is behind the curtain. The collective shadow is knocking hard on the door – some of us can’t sleep at night as our guides are speaking to us, our ancestors are teaching us, our souls are doing heavy lifting and processing in the nighttime hours. If that is you, it is vital that you adjust your lifestyle to rest more often during the day. Take more naps, lie flat on your back, and definitely schedule less on the calendar.

Explain to your family or friends that you are needing more time to rest. If they’re in tune to you, and attuned to themselves and their own processes, they will understand and support you in this. Speak up: you are practicing good modeling!

When You Finally Attempt to Garden

If you do travel, whether by air or land, make sure you build in ample time (like, weeks) before and especially after your journey to ground, to earth yourself. Let yourself be in an “ordinary” lifestyle and chop wood, carry water, hang your clothes on the line, plant flowers, take a walk in the woods. Driving in cars and getting on planes stimulates vata, the air element, which in Ayurveda can create pain or stiffness, anxiousness, and confusion in the body-mind. Slow down, do less, especially talk less. Bed earlier, cook your own food, sit quietly and feel into your spine and hips and legs.

Same thing goes for social events and visiting friends and family: before and after the event, make sure you have plenty of time built in for quietude. The theme is spaciousness. Our bodies and souls are begging for more space and a slower pace. It’s totally OK to let loose or attend highly stimulating events or crowded situations – we just need to ground, root, and center all along.

Last but not least: IF you have plans to go somewhere, to have a visitor, to do something, and you feel a sense of unease or even dread about said plan – stop immediately and reevaluate. Adjust, minimize, or cancel. No hemming and hawing. This is a time in our evolution that we cannot compromise that which is for our body-mind-soul’s highest good. If you’re still hearing the internal message that “it would be good for you” or “it’s not nice to cancel on someone” or “it’s good to keep your commitments always,” realize that it is completely outdated conditioning. What is good for you IS what is good for everyone else, for the whole. When you are tuned into your body, your spirit... When you slow down and listen... When you pay attention to your belly, your root, your heart... it is absolutely PERFECT to change or cancel plans. You can trust that is perfect for the collective and everyone involved.

Do not deny any insights you are having.

Do not gaslight your soul. Honor your soul’s truth, and be free.

Enjoy your precious Presence.

with love,

Erin 

When You Take a Long, Solo Hike to a Secluded Beach

 

 

THE KING (OR QUEEN) IS AWAKE!

from Rumi

 

There are people with their eyes open

whose hearts are shut. What do they see? Matter.

But someone whose love is alert,

even if the eyes go to sleep,

he or she will be waking up thousands of others.

If you are not one of those light-filled lovers,

restrain your desire-body's intensity.

Put limits on how much you eat

and how long you lie down.

But if you are awake here in the chest,

sleep long and soundly.

Your spirit will be out roaming and working,

even on the seventh level.

Muhammed says, I close my eyes and rest in sleep,

but my love never needs to rest.

The guard at the gate drowses.

The king stays awake. You have a king inside

who listens for what delights the soul.

That king's wakefulness

cannot be described in a poem.

- RUMI

Have you read Truth Seeker yet? If you prefer supporting your local brick and mortar bookstore, you can order the book straight from your local bookseller. Otherwise, it’s available on Amazon Prime in paperback and Kindle here. I continue to be touched by the reviews (keep 'em coming, please), like this one from an appreciative reader in Berkeley, CA:

 5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, inspiring, and a joy to read

Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2021

This book took me on a journey through India, and through spiritual awakening, with a front-seat view from the author's perspective. The honesty of the author's writing made it a joy to read, and her tone always remains humble and relatable, even when she shares her experience of awakening. I gained a greater understanding of the core principles on non-duality and I was moved by the piercing description of her love for her guru. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is a spiritual "seeker", and to anyone who shares a passion for travel in India.

 Erin Reese, M.S. is a contemporary non-dual spiritual teacher, author and guide. A modern mystic with over thirty years of experience, Erin Reese offers incisive, practical intuitive readings to her clients worldwide. She is a counselor, guide and mentor to those seeking an alternative to traditional psychotherapy or business coaching. Erin also offers non-dual meetings and retreats on embodied liberation and freedom from suffering. Visit erinreese.com for more information.  

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Full Moon in Virgo: Focus, Stop, Stabilize

The Melting Watch, Salvador Dali 1954

Today, we welcome a full moon in the mutable earth sign of Virgo, the Virgin. The energy of Virgo is earthy, but it isn’t solid earth; we are still in the time of Pisces, the nondual sign where life feels dreamy and dissolves when you try to hold on. Time has felt like taffy – it’s stretchy, and messy to the touch, even muddy.

This lunation continues to amplify 2021's Saturn-Uranus square that I wrote about last week here, "The Collective Crunch.” Over and over, we are being asked - nay, forced - to leave outdated programs and concepts by the wayside as a natural if challenging process of evolution. If we forget, and attempt to grasp, we are usually hit by a cosmic 2x4 that is meant to get us back on track – so best to surrender to what is, and ground best you can.

Sensitives and empaths are 100% clear: The collective walls have been melting for a long time. We are not in Kansas anymore, Toto. We are coming up on one year since most of us heard the words “coronavirus” and COVID, one year since pandemic and lockdown became household words, one year since the world came to a virtual stop. Anniversaries bring up deeper body memories for people. Our nervous systems remember, and the prickles can come in – “Are we in the clear? Are we getting back to normal? If 2020 went down like it did, what else could come down the pipeline?”

There is a feeling of skittishness and unsettledness in the collective air. Half of the world is anxious to get a move on, trying to get back to a busy lifestyle where activity, travel, busy-ness is the norm; half of the world is just entering into the cocoon that will hold them for the next years as they continue their internal evolution. It is like two sliding glass panel doors. We can call this old vs. new paradigm, or third dimension vs. 5D or ascension – it doesn’t matter. In fact, many of us are finding that words and terminologies are starting to melt too, but we do the best we can to try to find language to point things out.

There can be a feeling of seasickness, fogginess, confusion, or vertigo for those who are highly sensitive to the planetary shifts. Even for those of us who usually do a good job getting grounded through domesticity, nature, lovemaking, yoga, exercise, creative expression, etc. it has been a hell of a time to attempt to stop the time-space swirl. You might notice that appointments with others are cattywampus – scheduling has become a joke. You might notice that facing your to-do list is laughable. Either there is no energy to “do” that which is on the list, or the list itself feels like a rope strangling your neck.

Speaking of to-do lists – a very Virgoan invention: In my work with clients and students across the board the TO-D0 LIST is one of THE most stressful entities in a person’s life. I have found that if folks get rid of the ominous to-do list and learn to rely more on intuition in the moment, the stress level decreases tremendously. Of course, jotting down a few critical items for the day or week, or marking something vital on the calendar, makes sense; it’s the massive list of “getting sh*t done” or “to research” or “be productive” or “optimizing your life” that will strangle the life out of your life faster than anything. So throw the to-do list in the trash and trust your natural instincts to guide you from day to day.

As a human species, we have been like drunks on a bender, except instead of alcohol, we’ve binged on activity, productivity, efficiency,  improvement. Not only have we made ourselves quite ill, we’re in a raging addiction. It might take a few minutes, let alone days or years, to come down off the drug. Stop.

Instead of doing more to attempt to ground, emphasize focus and stabilizing Consciousness. This is all available 24x7 by simply sitting, lying down, or standing in place, then breathing, focusing on your feet, hips, breath, root. The main word is STOP. The monkey mind will rear up swiftly, so keep coming back to relax into beingness rather than doingness.

 This is not about doing more meditation, either. It’s about a full-on inner halt.

Then, and only then, will the room stop spinning.

Erin Reese, M.S. is a contemporary non-dual spiritual teacher, author and guide. A modern mystic with over thirty years of experience, Erin Reese offers incisive, practical intuitive readings to her clients worldwide. She is a counselor, guide and mentor to those seeking an alternative to traditional psychotherapy or business coaching. Erin also offers non-dual meetings and retreats on embodied liberation and freedom from suffering. Visit erinreese.com for more information.

 

Full Moon in Leo: Your Inner Child Needs You

Konkan Coast, South India

Today we greet the full moon in the fixed fire sign of Leo the Lion. Leo rules the fifth house of the horoscope, the home of love affairs and play, drama and romance, gambling and risks, self-expression and creativity, children, and the Inner Child.

In my recent New Year’s and January 20^th Meditation and Messages online meetings, the theme of the Inner Child featured prominently in the transmissions. It is clearly important in 2021 to stay connected to this part of self, no matter what age or condition they are appearing to us.

This lunation is unstable and potentially volatile with Venus conjunct Pluto in Capricorn, and the Sun conjunct Jupiter in Aquarius opposing the Full Moon. There is a clear conflict in the messages we are being given as a society and the messages that Nature is giving to us. The media and popular leadership are telling us to prepare for normalcy again, to start making plans to travel, to run around, to spend money, to get together with folks as quickly as possible. In short, the input we are receiving is “get busy, get back to normal.”

The pressure in our culture is to go back to where you were a year ago, to get busy, stimulated (and spend your stimulus check), make plans (lots of them).

Well…

Intuitively our bodies and inner children are confused as to what that means. The truth is, there is no return to normal, at least if you've shifted into the new paradigm. Many of us are stabilizing in a completely different reality and it is going to create a ton of stress to pretend to revert to pre-2020 activities and modes of living.

Kushinagar, India

Whether you are feeling hopeful, skeptical, or daunted by the idea of “getting back to normal” this year, there is one aspect of the lived human experience that comes along with you every day, integrated or not, and that is the Inner Child – the young part of self.

Check within and see how she is showing herself to you these days. A cheery five-year-old, a sad seven-year-old, a wailing infant, a cranky toddler, a wistful preteen, a rebellious or brokenhearted adolescent?

The Sun - XIX

The flavor of the age you are working with will not necessarily reflect your memory of yourself at said age. What is important is how the Inner Child is presenting itself to you now. You may have more than one age showing up. I often tend to my five-year-old sensitive and magical Little Erin, but my hormonal, misbehaving sixteen-year-old has been known to make an appearance.  A depressed infant pops up on occasion, as does a confused sixth grader.

An easy way to reconnect to your Inner Child is to commit to spending a half or full day only doing that which they need from you. Usually this is away from the computer, phone, adult duties. You might need to read quietly with your Little One envisioned beside you on the sofa. You might let your little one choose the book or magazine to read, or the movie to watch together. (I recently watched Taika Waititi’s The Hunt for the Wilderpeople which I highly recommend as an Inner Child playdate flick; I’m sure you will have fun picking your own!).

Like Leo and the Sun card of the Tarot, the Inner Child needs time to play, to shine, to be seen and acknowledged. And the most important person to revel in your goods is… YOU. Sure, hamming it up with others in your household or community or job is fab, especially for our extroverted aspects and the part of us that likes to put on a show – Leo’s fave. But even when we are uninterested or unable to socialize or perform, or it is not received, remember that we will benefit most by going within. We are the parent. We can celebrate and revel in our little one’s creations or fascinations – and play along.

Performing with the Inner Child, 2007

Inner children often like to draw, paint, collage, sketch or scribble – badly or goodly as it appears. You might try drawing with your non-dominant hand to let them express themself unedited. Perfection, goals, intentions, and getting it right are blocks and bugaboos, so let yourself go. What is most important is to stay present with the body and feelings, pleasant or unpleasant.

A nation of non-recovered Inner Children is a world filled with Walking Wounded. The Child is the squeaky wheel that gets the grease, whether consciously (through tending to their needs) or unconsciously (acting out). Without paying attention and listening, we have an immature, reactive, cranky, needy, upset, confused self leading the show, and we’re left wondering how it could be so.

With the tumultuous energies in the world right now, it is time to hold on to your Inner Child. Remember it is healthy to allow this part of self to be the Center of the Universe – the leonine Sun. Everything rises and sets on the energy of the Inner Child.

Erin Reese performing, 2007

Erin Reese, M.S. is a contemporary non-dual spiritual teacher, author and guide. A modern mystic with over thirty years of experience, Erin Reese offers incisive, practical intuitive readings to her clients worldwide. She is a counselor, guide and mentor to those seeking an alternative to traditional psychotherapy or business coaching. Erin also offers non-dual meetings and retreats on embodied liberation and freedom from suffering. Visit erinreese.com for more information.

  

A few resources and books:

• adultchildren.org
  
• Recovery of Your Inner Child, Linda Capacchione (1991) 
• Sacred Contracts: Awakening Your Divine Potential, Caroline Myss (2001)
• Homecoming: Reclaiming and Championing Your Inner Child, John Bradshaw (1990)

Full Moon: Energy Calibrating + New Year's Day Meditation

Tomorrow, we welcome the full moon in the cardinal water sign of Cancer. This lunation arrives just one week after the super-powered Jupiter-Saturn great conjunction. Many folks are feeling wobbly, trying to integrate all the energy and awareness of the fifth dimension. For some people, it was like a shot through the heart as the portal opened. All of the new freed-up space and energy in 5D embodied living can be disorienting.

“What do I do with all this ACCESS?" you might be wondering on a subconscious level. As an empath and energy intuitive, I sense the vulnerability in the field right now, and know some feel nauseous, slightly ill, confused. It is going to take a minute, friends!

If you’ve already blasted through the portal, whenever you try to calibrate your energy field with someone who is still running old paradigm consciousness, you won’t feel good. It’s as simple as that. So don’t do it.

Become a ninja at unplugging from people, places, and situations that continue to run limited consciousness. You don’t have to be harsh or unkind; in fact, you don’t need to say a thing. Use the energy of the Cancerian crab to shell yourself; remember I mentioned in the last report that healers and empaths are forming a protective energy shell, like a space suit? These are the moments to use the shield. Gently remove yourself from the conversation. Any attempt to fix, change, convince the other – no matter who the ‘other’ is – will only perpetuate the dysfunctional, outdated bond. In short: unplug. Unplug. Unplug.

Come back to your center. Rest there. How will you know that you’ve been successful? You’ll start to feel good again. Remember that feeling good is your true, natural state.

There might be a period of detoxing and releasing habits, relationships, conditioned spaces and places in the body-mind. This is the wobble.

Some folks are learning to run a 220 volt current, but the body-mind is still at 100 and hasn’t yet upgraded to the new channel. What can you do in the meantime?

• Keep unplugging from anyone or anything that is pulling on you
• Get outside. Walk, run, hike, breathe. Connect to the earth.
• Take baths, soak in a hot tub, take a hot shower.
• Give yourself a massage. Oil is a great way to ground (especially sesame or ayurvedic oils)
• Spend more time alone. If you don’t live alone, find a room or a corner (use a screen if you have to) to get at least 10-15 feet away from other people. You need this space to run your own clean, new vibration.
• Go to bed earlier. Yes, even earlier 😊.
• Don’t take it personally. This is no longer about your personal story, drama, narrative. We are now in a time of Total and Complete Trust in Unfolding. The less you take on with involvement, the easier it is to flow with ease.

Most people need more physical exercise right now, even in winter conditions. Just put your hat and shoes on, step outside and start walking. It doesn’t have to be fancy.

Most people need more time alone, too – this is one reason why some folks wake up in the middle of the night, or super early in the morn. This is because your soul is aching for time alone with you, before you talk to the kids, the partner, the world. Try not to get upset that you’re awake at odd hours. Relish the time alone with your self.

New Year’s Day Meditation and Intuited Messages for 2021

Our last group meditation on the Solstice/Great Conjunction was beautiful and helpful for the 20+ folks who attended. So, let’s do it again and work with rebalancing of frequencies.

I’m going to host another free group meditation to welcome the New Year.

Please RSVP directly to me for the special Zoom link!

Friday, January 1, 2021, 10am Pacific

Free

As always, we will see what opens up on the call itself. Surely, we will take some time for grounding and centering, before dropping into silence together. I will be tuning into my guides and the collective, and will share some of the information and pointers received for the global shift into 2021. Also, you may ask questions and receive guidance during the call. Remember to message me with an RSVP for the Zoom link. Yes, you may repost this to share with friends and family.

Finish up what you’re able to this week, treat yourself with gentleness, and put yourself first. Remember, what is best for you IS what is best for the other. This is new for many of you, but if you start practicing radical Self-compassion, you will see that it is always what is best for the Whole.

Welcoming the miracles of ease, grace, and enjoyment on the horizon.

With love,

Erin

Erin Reese, M.S. is a contemporary spiritual teacher, author and guide. A modern mystic with over thirty years of experience, Erin Reese offers incisive, practical intuitive readings to her clients worldwide. She is a counselor, guide and mentor to those seeking an alternative to traditional psychotherapy or business coaching. Erin also offers non-dual meetings and retreats on embodied liberation and freedom from suffering. Visit erinreese.com for more information.

 

 

 

 

Full Moon Eclipse in Gemini: Think for Yourself

"A holy person is someone who is whole; who has, as it were, reconciled his opposites." - Alan Watts

Tonight, we have a full moon lunar eclipse in the mutable air sign of Gemini, the mentally questioning and flexible Twins. Eclipses are known for big surprises and major life changes that seemingly come from nowhere. Does that make you uneasy? Well, if we’ve learned anything in 2020 it’s that anything can happen, and change is swift and unpredictable. If you can get on board with impermanence, you might be able to ride the wave and enjoy the activity. Highly recommended.

The eclipse in the sign of Gemini Twins brings up the theme of opposites, polarities: hot and cold, light and dark, beautiful and ugly, yin and yang, etc. The critical thing to understand – that is, if one wants to be free of existential suffering and angst – is that polarities are perceptions. What is hot to one, might be cool to another. When is it a warm day to an eskimo? A hot day to a desert dweller? Think about couples sharing a bed – who needs the blankets more at night? Who wants a cooler room to sleep in? Perception!

And regarding beauty and ugliness – have you noticed the range of beauty exhibited in movies made outside of the image-focused U.S.? Humans with real features, real aging, real noses, teeth, body size, etc. are considered beautiful, and not ugly. Put those real folks in a Hollywood film? Doesn’t happen so much unless they are cast as the outcast or oddball. Perception!

It is the mind that creates issues by labeling and judging appearances. To be free is to go beyond these fixed ideas, and that is where Gemini the Questioner can be a guide. In addition, Neptune in Pisces stationed and turned direct Saturday, November 29, giving us the power to dissolve our fixed perceptions and allow things to be a bit more fluid – our thinking, our timing, our dreams. Neptune brings us out of the fixed ideas of duality and allows us to rest in the vastness of Existence.

Gemini Sisters, Jeffrey Maddex

Stepping Out of the Societal Superego

A simple definition of the superego is the Inner Critic, the evaluative aspect of the ego that tells us how we “should” be doing things, to fit in and adjust to the world around us. In a large percentage of modern humans, the superego gets overblown on steroids, causing us to doubt and question our natural inclinations. Some of us spend many years in therapy and self-help realms to combat the harsh voice of the Inner Critic. However we face the superego, happiness comes when we make choices based on who we really are, sans expectations.

Did you know that societies, cultures, countries all have a collective superego? When one becomes sensitive enough to input and conditioning, the collective superego can actually be sensed in consciousness, felt like a sticky glaze over the mind. Stepping out of the societal superego is why it feels so damned good when we travel internationally, especially to cultures that are vastly different than our own. We feel the freedom, viscerally – the freedom to think, act, err, express, move, breath outside of the constant, subconscious monitoring that is ever-present in our native land.

This is why a simple Thoreauvian “Walden Pond” experiment – leave everything familiar – can be so completely vital in one’s life, for a certain period of time. It can be six hours, days, weeks, months – or six years. The point is to disconnect from what you believe is true, because it’s always been said it’s true.

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden

For about five years in my thirties, I spent 90 percent of my time in India, solo. I wanted to disconnect from the West in order to see how I really felt about things, and to learn to think for myself. I wanted to step away from even the “good” conditioning of California – being a healthy person, a spiritual person, a successful person, a moral person – and see what I was without all of these inputs. I immersed myself in a culture that wouldn’t automatically reinforce my regular thought patterns and habits.

Was this easy? Um, no. Did I feel alone and adrift some of the time? You bet! Did I feel unhinged at times, unsure which way was up and which way was down? Absolutely.

And you know what? As a result, I gained true, lasting happiness. I am Free. Dismantling belief systems and facing existence without the constant feedback of whether I was doing it right, I fell back on the Self. I examined my value system as well, and found that it was also fluid.

How do we move out of the conditioning of right and wrong, good and bad, and all of the other judgements that we carry with us, in our bones – genes and conditioning – if we can’t do a Walden? Some folks find that meditation helps, as well as other contemplative processes, time in nature, time with animals, time off the phone and computer, and languorous time in bed with a lover (another form of meditation!). It can be helpful to read news or follow media from other sources than the usual, or people you disagree with without categorically dismissing what they’re saying before you consider their point of view first.

At this Gemini lunar eclipse, we can take the opportunity to step outside of what we are being fed mentally. With flexible minds and hearts, we can take a good look at we’re being guided internally to do, to uphold, to live. And interestingly, the more we know ourselves, the less we need others to agree with us.

In good Gemini fashion, it is a fascinating experiment to question everything. Ask your body, your mind, your heart – is this true? Is it really true for you? Or are you swallowing what you’re told? When you ask, “Why?” do you automatically hear “Because it’s good for you” or “Because it’s the right thing to do”?

Is it? Inquire within. And be free.

Erin Reese, M.S. is a contemporary spiritual teacher, author and guide. A modern mystic with over thirty years of experience, Erin Reese offers incisive, practical intuitive readings to her clients worldwide. She is a counselor, guide and mentor to those seeking an alternative to traditional psychotherapy or business coaching. Erin also offers non-dual meetings and retreats on embodied liberation and freedom from suffering. Visit erinreese.com for more information.

Full Blue Moon in Taurus 🌕 The Unspookable

This weekend, we welcome a Full Moon on Samhain/Halloween, Dia de los Muertos/All Souls’ Day, All Saints’ Day, and a Blue Moon on October 31st. Mercury is still retrograde, and we are in the middle of an election that can only be described as tragicomedy. Kids are struggling to stay in brick-and-mortar school, the slightest scratchy throat brings paranoia, friends ‘n family relations tense up when it comes to heated topics such as anti-vaxxers, mask-wearing, race relations and oh hey, what about the environment?

After all, we are about to experience a Full Moon in the fixed earth sign of Taurus, tightly conjunct Uranus, the Great Awakener and planet of disruption, earthquakes, tornadoes, Kundalini rising, surprises and shocks, the totally unexpected and the flat-out bizarre. What’s a body to do? How to cope? Do we hide out like trolls, burrowing even further down into our bunkers? Hold our breaths and stress out? Implode in a news consumption frenzy?

Is there another alternative? Of course there is. 

Come along with me…

Imagine if you will that you are in a carnival or adventure theme park. You’re around twelve years old, and about to board, for the very first time, a massive wooden roller coaster. This could be the Giant Dipper at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, or the old Cyclone at Coney Island.  You’re simultaneously scared, and super excited. You’ve absolutely no idea what to expect once they strap you into your seat and pull the safety bar over your lap. Such is the nature of our upcoming days on Planet Earth…

Or, apropos of the season, imagine you are touring a pitch-black Halloween funhouse at night – terrified – as you put your hands through black curtains to feel something in the dark. “It’s the decapitated bloody head of Lizzie Borden’s axe-murdered mother,” your guide whispers to you. Your brain knows it’s actually a mannequin head with a wig soaked in greasy oil – after all, you know it’s not real! – but it’s fully freaking you out, nonetheless.

You place your hands in the next hole in the black curtain. “These are the eyeballs,” your guide whispers. You know it’s a bucket of peeled grapes but – O.M.G! – it sure feels like eyeballs! Completely grossed out, you turn to see a posed couple in turn-of-century garb soaked in blood. You know it’s ketchup – it’s got to be! You’re about at your limit when you see a man dressed as Freddy Krueger revving up a chainsaw in the corner. Quickly, you try to get out – get out! – of the haunted fun house.

Are you having a good time? Stumbling into the outdoor courtyard, you squeal, groan, and laugh with your friends and say simultaneously, “Never again!” and “That was so great!” “Totally excellent!”

Yes, you know it’s a haunted house. You know it’s a nightmare. And, you know deep in the truest part of yourself, that the truth of who you are IS SAFE.

“We live in illusion [and] the appearance of things. There is a reality. We are that reality. When you understand this, you see that you are nothing, and being nothing you are everything. That is all.” – Kalu Rinpoche, as quoted by Ram Dass

At this time of wild world happenings, we may have the luxury of getting spooked. This is the luxury of consciously experiencing the power of the human mind. The ability to believe. To believe that the stories you hear, imagine, watch are, in fact, real.

We all know about suspending disbelief, such as when we are watching a scary movie on Netflix, or tripping through a haunted house. Yet the real angst – the suffering – comes when we actually suspend belief. Suspending belief gives an appearance of a happening – which is all perspective – the illusion of a duration in time and space. Belief gives the appearance the quality of realness. It is a quality like stickiness – this belief stuff. The appearance seems to stick due to the nature of the mind. Embodied understanding of this illusion is the key to freedom – true happiness.

When you get spooked by what you hear, see, smell, sense, simply STOP. Halt, and wait. Do it quietly and internally, on the spot. It’s easy to watch the nature of the mind.

Can you allow yourself to watch the movie of current events, even feel the blood pressure rise, the sweat on the palms, the rising pulse, i.e. the somatic responses labeled as anger, fear, anxiety – when you tune into what appears on the movie screen known as “The World”? Can you realize it is a response of the conditioned mind, perceiving conditioning itself, and that it is all Consciousness playing the starring role, writing the script, and producing the show?

You can see the mind grasping concepts like a Venus flytrap snaps its jaws shut to claim its prey. It reaches out and gobbles up an idea – some news bit, something a friend sends you on social media, some advice or opinion from a family member about this or that. Whatever your mind takes in, consumes, it then must alchemize, digest, spit out the junk. It adds more work. Not ultimately a problem, nothing to blame, but also not necessary.

Can you see beyond the appearance of good and bad, notice that it is all conditioned preference? Whether the emphasis is on personal freedom, the environment, justice, health, responsibility? Or mystery, intrigue, shadow, conspiracy theory, the Dark, the Light, peace, conflict, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera?

Currently in the world play (lila), as always, it is much simpler to stay seated in the Self. Know that You Are the Eternal Self. Rest there. If you are not seated (or seeded) in the Self, it’s going to be a sticky mess when it comes to picking up ideas, notions of intentionality, cause and effect, and playing with them as if they are real. Check to see if you are truly ready for the PG-13 movie, let alone the R-rated director’s cut.

If, on the other hand, you know the Truth of Who You Are, as Consciousness, then – ONLY then – it’s no problem at all diving headlong into the land of maya, with politics, pandemics, plans, or purposes. Once it is all seen through… when there is no suspended belief in any of it – then go ahead and play fully in the divine lila game – the fun house. Play in it, and be happy all the time.

Live in samsara and be happy all the time

Nirvana and samsara are one.

Erin Reese, M.S. is a contemporary spiritual teacher, author and guide. A modern mystic with over thirty years of experience, Erin Reese offers incisive, practical intuitive readings to her clients worldwide. She is a counselor, guide and mentor to those seeking an alternative to traditional psychotherapy or business coaching. Erin also offers non-dual meetings and retreats on embodied liberation and freedom from suffering.

*Weekly nondual satsang in the advaita vedanta lineage is held Thursdays, 9am Pacific. Email Erin for more information. The November 13-15 retreat in the High Sierra has one spot remaining!