Energy
Astrology: August 2007
Lassoing the Stars for a Better Life
By Cyndi Dale
The Gift of The Stars: August 2007
This Month: Inspiration
What inspires you?
To be inspired means to be “in the spirit,” or filled
with your own spirit. Many of us are able to accomplish numerous
feats of labor, every day, but that doesn’t necessarily
mean that these are inspired actions. In fact, if you could do
what really inspired or enthused you, how much of your daily activity
would fall by the wayside? If you could reach for any star at
all, what goals would softly slip away, never to be seen again?
We have to be responsible. I might not feel inspired to take out
the garbage, wash the clothes, or make the nightly trek to my
son’s Little League games—but I’m going to fulfill
these tasks anyway. These are the details that comprise the mortar
of life. But what about the bricks? What about the architectural
plan? What am I building?
Character is built brick by brick, as are our lives. We choose
the design, the timing, and the materials. August builds toward
an impressive and major stellar event that invites us to renovate
our lives so that they reflect our inspired nature—or to
at least shape the rubble into a house fit for life.
The Skies Part for…
An August eclipse!
All of August prepares for a grand event on August 28th, a lunar
eclipse in Pisces. Pisces represents intuition and dreams. Piscean
energy is best illustrated as a reservoir of water, fed by a river
and spilling into tributaries. All aspects of life—tangible
and intangible—flow in and mingle in our psyche, which then
enriches those around us. In and out, the mix of feelings and
senses, the psychic and the sensory; acts of giving and receiving.
On August 28th, the Earth’s own shadow crosses over her
body. Our Piscean self loves to swim in the lake of possibilities,
but to forge a probability or a manifestation from a maybe, we
have to choose. We have to get out of the water, stand on the
bank, and commit to a life path.
Over the last two months, the stars have been leading its followers
through the darkness of death via the detachment of surrender.
It’s time to start moving forward again—but for what
reason? What star are we going to follow?
What is better inspiration than your own spirit? Where better
to journey than on the path of your own heart’s desires?
If we’ve been truthful these last couple of months, we’ve
come to realize that sometimes we follow the lead of our past,
not our dreams for the future. There are many things that inspire
us—and not all emanate from our own spirit. As a child,
did you want to be just like dad, when you grew up? Did you want
to make sure you wouldn’t become just like mom? Are you
inspired to make money, rather than enjoy your job? Are you more
comfortable fitting into your church, temple, neighborhood, school,
work place, or family system, than you are living from your own
spirit?
The human community is tribal. This is great! People who live
in community, who have friends, spiritual input, and loving activities,
enjoy longer and happier lives. However, communal love doesn’t
equate with cells phones that sing show tunes, E-mails that prompt
stress, or gossiping gangs of jealousy. In a tribe, each and every
participant must develop his or her own unique gifts. What good
is a group in which everyone hunts game? Who is going to seed
the fields, sew the clothes, or heal the ill? Our society is sick—as
are our institutions, including family, school, and religious
systems—in that it defines community as sameness and love
as copying.
To be inspired is to become the self that you are. You’ve
spent two months narrowing down your life so that you can expand
it again—in a direction that is heart-felt. What might this
mean to you?
To Be Inspired: An Act of Voluntary Will
(And Adding New Brain Cells)
You can be the busiest person on earth, and not feel or be inspired.
Inspiration requires a voluntary decision to follow your dreams
and to enrich your life. We might be frenetically following others’
dreams, but that’s not going to get us anywhere but depressed
or anxious. If said by a neuroscientist, we must add new brain
cells if we’re to become enlightened.
Can you really change your life? Can you really add more brain
cells—and what does that have to do with inspiration, anyway?
Let me show you.
Brain experts used to think that we had a fixed number of brain
cells—which incidentally, are pruned at the rate of 20 billion
synapses every day between childhood and adolescence. Science
also thought that after this time period, a person couldn’t
learn anything new. The brain was set in stone. How depressing!
This would mean that you never develop beyond age—well,
three. How can we possibly lead fruitful lives if we can’t
expand beyond age three in likes and dislikes, attitudes and views,
inspiration and goals?
Some very interesting brain studies have turned traditional thought
upside-down. In actuality, we acquire new neurons throughout life.
As well, the brain is more neuroplastic than thought, which means
that it’s brain can adapt and change. An old dog can learn
new tricks—IF IT WANTS TO. A grumpy old dog can become happy
and interesting—again, IF IT WANTS TO. (Information available
in Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain, by Sharon Begley. This
book explores the relationship between neuroscience and Buddhism.)
Initial research showed that a hamster that ran a wheel for four
to five hours a day developed new brain cells. Additional research
revealed that a hamster forced to exercise did not add brain cells
(only developed exhaustion.) The hamster had to voluntarily set
about its daily runs to receive real benefit.
Choice was only one of the elements that increased the intelligent
use of the brain—and the number of new neurons. Novelty
and an enriched environment both enabled greater transformation.
What does this say to us? In a way, the research implies that
it doesn’t matter what has happened to us. We can change
our brains—and change our lives. By taking responsibility
for our own growth and actions, we can improve our lot in life—and
get a lot more out of life. The best way to increase our life
satisfaction is the voluntarily select and go after goals that
mean something to us.
Going after someone else’s goals isn’t going to work.
Chaining ourselves to a desk job we hate, sitting in front of
television shows that mean nothing to us, or having coffee with
someone we dislike, is anathema to hope and progress. The truth
is, we have to live life our own way, or we’re going nowhere.
Now, we don’t have to be mavericks—entirely. Studies
on community reflect the importance of close relationships, support,
and love. In my own life, I learned an important lesson on following
a set path in a unique way when I decided to participate in a
marathon.
A Personal Inspirational Story
A few years back, my friend and myself had participated in a nine-month
self-development program. One of the tasks was to undertake a
physical endeavor (aka, hardship) that made you prepare (aka,
sweat) so as to achieve a sense of accomplishment (aka, be glad
you never have to do it again.) I had chosen the Twin Cities Marathon,
with a caveat: I wanted to walk, not run. My girlfriend said she’d
walk it with me.
The morning of the event was clear and dry, so I was relatively
comfortable standing at the starting line; in fact, I felt pretty
darn “cool.” Looking around at all the buff and slick
people, I felt like one of the chosen elite, an athlete through
association. We lined up, the horn fired, and we were off.
Within a half-hour, my friend and I were near the end of the line-up.
Even the slow joggers and race walkers were bounding ahead. Behind
us were only a few people in wheel chairs or on crutches. Within
an hour, we weren’t just near the tail; we were the tail,
followed only by the emergency crew.
“Go around us!” I shouted. They said they couldn’t
because of safety rules. Feeling totally embarrassed and completely
lame (I could just see us making the newspaper: Walking women
cross the finishing line at midnight, in last place), I decided
we should veer off and establish our own path.
So we did.
I actually completed my walk of the Twin Cities Marathon, just
not on the “right” streets. By following my own inspiration,
I think I had a much more interesting odyssey—and maybe
developed a few more brain cells, in addition to sore feet. As
we sauntered the lakes, we stopped once in a while to talk to
people we knew. The window-shopping on Hennepin Avenue was truly
inspirational, as were the double-dips cones at Sebastion’s
ice cream shop. And if it took a few forays into Starbucks to
keep our adrenaline pumping? All the better.
When we tired, we called another girlfriend to join us. Her gift
of gab picked up our spirits, and created additional stir when
making shopping detours, and it was she who came up with our mileage
equation. “X” amount of minutes would equate to “X”
number of miles, regardless of how many ice cream stores we visited
in that time period.
That was the best (and only) marathon I ever did.
How is this a lesson in inspiration (versus justification)? Well,
I’ll leave you to figure it out. Since my marathon days,
however, I’ve been much more comfortable waiting to be inspired
before acting—and following my own unusual style when inspired.
Words of Inspiration
I can’t tell you what inspires you, or how to go about acting
out your dreams. I do know that we can’t wait for the winds
of change before we rise, put on our racing (‘er, walking)
shoes, and get inspired.
However, here are few words of inspiration, from the famous and
the infamous, to assist you on your path.
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life
you have imagined.
Henry David Thoreau
All men dream but not equally. Those who dream by night in
the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that
it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men,
for they may act their dream with open eyes to make it possible.
T.E. Lawrence
The end of wisdom is to dream high enough not to lose the dream
in the seeking of it.
William Faulkner
I like the dreams of the future better than the history of
the past.
Patrick Henry
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their
dreams.
Eleanor Roosevelt
Perhaps the best way to become inspired is to ask if we’re
being inspired. When arising, why not ask:
What inspires me about today?
When performing a task, why not ask:
How can I become more inspired in this activity?
When talking to a friend, perhaps query:
“How can I shape this conversation so it’s more
inspirational to both of us?”
And always, you can ask yourself:
“What inspires me?”
Remember not to edit your answers—as I didn’t when
querying the members of my own household, who responded in the
following way to my question, “What inspires you?
