April kicks off with (yet another) Eclipse on the 4^th, this following the total solar eclipse two weeks ago.  This one is a Lunar Eclipse (full moon) which is activating the final Uranus Pluto Square. It is also the last in a string of four  “blood moons”, a phenomenon that has been written about a lot on the internet for the past few years.

Some people are seeing this as the shift of all shifts, some as the end of the world as we know it. Others are viewing it as the end of the age of Pisces and the real beginning of the Age of  Aquarius. Whatever it is and whatever is going to happen or not happen, nobody really knows, quite frankly. However, a lot of people are filled with the fear of the unknown and focussing on the “what ifs”.  There certainly seems to be a kind of a quickening – a growing unease with the status quo and an “it’s now or never” sense of urgency.   I have very little doubt that we are at a radical turning point in our history and can only hope that this is going to shift us into a dimension of higher consciousness.   Whatever is going to happen, we need to be very very present indeed.

In March, as the sun journeyed through Pisces, a whole lot of stuff was dredged up from the depths of our beings, either through  conscious investigation and growing awareness, or by  people and life situations, which pushed our buttons relentlessly (which may still be happening for many of you.  Whatever the trigger, we’ve been more or less forced to look deeper and ask the really big questions, from  “Am I in the right job, relationship, house, country” …to  “What is my purpose?  What is my value system… now… really? What do I stand for?  Am I living authentically? What’s really important now… at this stage of my life?”

Having asked these questions, some answers are starting to appear and now, as the sun makes his way through Aries,  it’s about integrating what we’ve found and starting to plant brand new seeds of  inspired, heart-based intention and activity.  (see below or email me for info on Inspired Intention Workshops, Law of Attraction and Tree Workshops  in April – Johannesburg and Durban)

The lunar Eclipse on the 4^th April is in Libra, along with the north node of the moon, which gives us an indication of  how we can best navigate these turbulent waters and  where we are supposed to be heading as a human race.  What  we need to be focussing our attention on, is real peace, love, balance, harmony, co-operation and integration . We’re being called upon to be peaceful warriors, to take our visions and turn them into something worthwhile, whilst working with and co-operating with others.

Being in Libra, the focus is very much on relationships, but for me, this isn’t only about love relationships or the connections we have with other people. Its also about our relationship with money,  possessions, our bodies, expectations, thoughts, addictions, emotions, beliefs,  work,  home and  our planet.  Everything is connected, so we’re all in relationship with everything all the time, whether we like it or not.

And then… there’s the  most important relationship of all – the one we have with ourselves.  As the Dali Lama said, “We can never make peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves”

I read something last night that really resonated with me – right in the middle of my being:

“Every time you  judge yourself, you break your own heart” Swami Kripalu

Wow! We are past- masters at breaking our own hearts. I’m sometimes horrified at how I find myself talking to myself and how other people  talk to themselves.

Think about how often you judge yourself, beat yourself up for  making an error,  not being perfect,  saying too much or too little; for being  too emotional or too hard;  too reactive, too depressive, too loud, too thin, too fat. .. and the list goes on. Have you noticed what happens when you give someone a compliment?  How many people are able to just gracefully receive it and say “thank you?  Most of the time, we rush to demolish the kind words someone has said to us.  Why? Do we think that’s being humble?  Actually it’s  rude and disrespectful to  them and us, when you really think about it.

What if each of us started treating ourselves as we would  a precious and valued friend, child, parent or lover? How would our lives change?   What if we became the peaceful warriors that the world so desperately needs, by  starting to co-operate with ourselves?. What if we started being patient and gentle with ourselves, irrespective of our apparent “flaws”? What if, when we messed up, we focussed on nurturing ourselves, rather than beating ourselves half to death?

Here’s what I’ve been doing for some time and it’s really helped me.  When I find myself messing up… let’s say I break a plate or something. As soon as I notice the tightness in my body and the judgemental mind leaping in to tell me how clumsy I am, that I should have been more careful blah blah blah… I STOP.  At that very moment, I take myself by the hand and start gently speaking to myself as I would speak to my child.  Yes, I know… it would seem rather batty if someone was eavesdropping, but whatever!  My conversation goes along the lines of “ Its ok Sweetie. It’s just a plate. Let’s go outside and stand in the sun for a while or have a cup of tea. We can clean this up later.”  Straight away, the tightness starts to diminish and the story I would normally have told myself, ends right there, instead of ruining my day.

Every time we are able to  show up and simply love ourselves,  regardless of what’s going on,  we are actively re-programming negative core beliefs. As always, love is the answer to everything.

I read a fascinating article a few  months back, where research was done on drug- addicted rats. The rats were moved out of horrible little cages, to a wonderful Rat Park (filled with swings, rat wheels and climbing things – rat heaven I guess). Plain water was put in one container in Rat Park and water containing heroin was put in another.  Due to the happier environment, the rats started choosing the plain water, rather than the drug infused water, even though they had the choice.  Love and nurturing were the only drugs they needed.

So what I am seeing in these times, this month, is a Universal call for peace  and that peace starts within our own hearts.  Please let’s stop breaking them and start healing them –then and only then can our planet heal.

“Every time you judge yourself, you break your own heart. You stop feeding on the love that is the wellspring of your vitality.  The time has come. Your time. To live, to celebrate, and to see the goodness that you are. You, my child, are divine. You are pure. You are sublimely free. You are God in disguise, and you are always perfectly safe. Do not fight the dark, just turn on the light, and breathe into the goodness that you are.” Swami Kripalu

Love

Michelle