by Brad Jordan

Feng Shui is not just a way to design your home.  Clearing your clutter and releasing personal items that no longer serve you is one of the most fundamental first steps in practicing Feng Shui in your home or space.  This is not only a process to get started but also an ongoing practice as you and your spaces evolve and change.  Clutter is considered anything that you don’t use or love, and anything that does not serve you in your current life path.  It also is considered to be a representation of the inability to move forward and make decisions.  When you get rid of clutter, you make room for energy to flow and by closing one door you make room for new beginnings through a new one. 

I recently moved my grandmother’s piano back home with me from California to Cape Cod.  Her piano has been one of my most beloved possessions to have since she passed away almost 25 years ago, but lately I have been thinking about the fact that I really don’t play it much anymore, and it isn’t a good fit for the limited space that we have in the new house.  I started exploring my feelings about how could I bear to think about selling it or giving it away?   Or ultimately, what would happen to it if I passed on?  At a family get together I asked if anyone would like to have Nana’s piano and nobody had either a place for it or an interest in having it.  So the dilemma became more prominent and I started thinking that I want to know the destiny of the piano during my lifetime.     

Two weeks ago we were out walking the dogs and bumped into a neighbor.  In our conversation she mentioned that her daughter wants to major in music in college.  She currently sings and writes music and her piano teacher just told her mom that they should consider getting a piano because she is too gifted of a player for just a keyboard.  I immediately mentioned my piano and my willingness to let her have it, and after showing it to her and telling her the story, she accepted the gift for her daughter in tears with gratitude.  We got together and moved the piano next door and their daughter sat down and sang to a song that she played.  Standing there to experience this immediately brought an unbelievable feeling of love and peace for the decision that I made.  The weather is now warm and we are all outside a lot and everyone has their doors and windows open.  Through the past week while sitting on the patio or working in the yard, I have heard my grandmother’s piano playing through the neighborhood.  It is emotional and I am full of joy and thanks for this happy ending.  

And now that the door has closed for this chapter of my life, another has opened with space for a new dining room server that I have wanted for years.   Now that is good Feng Shui!   

JUNE 2014 Astrology Forecast

***Mars, the planet of action or war, triggers the ongoing Uranus – Pluto square this month (see below).  Life can throw some of us some major curve balls under these potent aspects.  It can also force us to make some long needed changes for our highest and best.  It is wise to think first, act later….not act first and regret later.

Dynamic energies this month:

6/7/14- Mercury, the communications planet, stations retrograde at 3 degrees of Cancer today for the next three weeks.  It will station direct 7/1/14 at 24 degrees of Gemini.  We can use this retrograde time productively by reviewing, revising, reconsidering, or reuniting with friends and family.  It does not always have to be stressful.  Expect possible delays or technology mishaps and try to go with the flow.  This is not an auspicious time to initiate a major under taking, however, it is a good time to make plans behind the scenes to initiate next month when Mercury is direct.  Beware of missing details in important contracts or legal paperwork.   It is also a good time to finish up old projects and tie up loose ends.  As always, confirm all travel reservations and leave for the airport early!

6/9/14- Neptune, the psychic, ethereal, imaginative and creative planet, stations retrograde at 7 degrees of mystical and sensitive water sign Pisces today.  This is an excellent time to cultivate our inner vision or intuition.  Our perceptions are extremely acute at this time.  It’s important to try and avoid draining people, places or things which sap our energy.  Pisces energy is so sensitive, a station of Neptune, which rules Pisces, can amplify our desire to escape unpleasant situations in non-constructive ways.   Our physical bodies are also very sensitive to medications, drugs and alcohol at this time. 

6/13/14- FULL MOON at 22 degrees of fire sign Sagittarius at 12:13 AM EDT.  A Full Moon is an energetically potent time for both illumination and release.  In Sagittarius, adventure, travel, higher learning, philosophy and sporting events are more in the spotlight.  This is a wonderful time to open up to new vistas or go on a vision quest.  The Mercury retrograde with a Full Moon in Sagittarius is very supportive to go inward seeking the truth.

6/12-6/13/14- Venus in Taurus opposes Saturn in Scorpio.  This adds a sobering chill to love and romance matters.  However, on the bright side, commitments are taken very seriously.  Social engagements may feel heavy or demanding.

6/13-6/14/14- Mars at 12 degrees of Libra square Pluto at 12 degrees of Capricorn…Ouch!  This is heavy energy which may bring out hostilities or anger in some people and places on our planet.  This type of energy often evokes some kind of violence or eruption on a collective level.  On another note, there is extreme determination and willpower to make changes.  If a fighting spirit is needed to go on….this aspect will lend support.

6/19/14- Sun in Gemini aligns with retrograde Mercury in Gemini.  Air sign Gemini is social, diverse, communicative and always on the go.  It rules networking, short trips and all things related to communication.  Our minds are buzzing with information and ideas.  There is an “air” of sociability today.

6/21/14- The Sun enters 0 degrees of Cancer at Summer Solstice today- celebrate the longest day of the year offering us the beginning of long, light filled summer days.

6/24-6/25/14- Mars, the warrior planet, next confronts rebel Uranus with a challenging opposition aspect, completing the collision with the Uranus-Pluto square.  This is a very unsettled and tense time when unexpected events, accidents, eruptions or sudden change may be in the forefront.  This is a temperamental alignment.  On the bright side, this aspect is often found in charts of brilliant minded people who excel in science, math and technology.  It can also suggest sudden progress or advances in the collective.

6/27/14- NEW MOON at 5 degrees of water sign Cancer at 4:10 AM EDT.  This New Moon will harmoniously align with mystical Neptune in Pisces, enhancing new beginnings related to emotion, home, family and nurturing.  It will make a wide opposition to Pluto, suggesting an auspicious time to initiate change and transformation in regard to all Cancer matters.

6/29/14- Venus in Gemini square Neptune in Pisces.  Things are not as they seem today.  Boundaries may be blurred and escapism may be yearned for.  This is an imaginative and dreamy time.  It is best to engage in right brain activities and refrain from making long term decisions today.  We do not have all the facts though we may believe we are doing the right thing.

by Julie Fraser, CYT

Certain sounds can bring you into a different mood or thought pattern. Birds singing in the spring are a great example. The sound of a beloved being’s voice may be another.

Sound affects us in ways and at levels that are far deeper than we typically understand. If we allow the vibration of sound to penetrate us without resistance, we can begin to vibrate at our own best and truest as well. Similarly, when a sound fades away into silence, you can experience peace. The stillness in our surroundings can help us to find a stillness within.

During the closing period of my classes, I play singing crystal bowls. These healing tones can bring deeper peace to the final relaxation or savasana of a yoga class or to certain parts of a guided meditation. The silence that surrounds those sounds is also healing.

Take time to notice how sound and silence work for your highest and best.

Read more in Julie’s blog here: http://inhaleyoganow.com/2014/05/20/healing-with-sound-and-silence/ 

By Marsha Therese Danzig

The soul is defined as the truth of who we really are, the reflection of the divine in human form, the fingerprint of the hand of God. When we meet a person who is full of soul, we feel different around them, as if  we are being lifted up to the best of who we really are.

In most cases.

Sometimes, a person full of soul bothers our inner selves. We feel resistant , critical, defensive, defenseless, better than,  worse than. To me, these are all reactions to our own soul's longing, only we don't know how to access what our soul is really saying.

In many cultures around the globe, there is a support network set up from pre-birth to nourish the soul of each individual as they enter into their community. For example, in one African tribe, before a baby is born, the mother goes to a private area in nature to meditate on the song of her child. She learns her child's song, and teaches it to her tribe. When the child is born, the tribe sings that song to the child. If the child strays, the song is sung to bring the child back to their SOUL.

This Western culture doesn't always have the rituals set up to accomplish this exquisite task of singing the soul into being or back into being.We may not know, or understand how to fully access our soul's calling or purpose.

To see what your soul might be singing to you, take a few moments to answer these questions.

1. What do you consider your greatest virtue?
2. How do you practice this virtue in your daily life?
3. Imagine someone close to you telling you what your highest virtue is. Is it the same as the virtue you named in the first question?
4. Why or why not?

If you would like someone to help you find YOUR song, contact me to begin the process of uncovering your greatest contribution to the world and your own life. Your soul is begging you to say yes .  Set up an appointment for my three part energy healing package which includes a Soul Retrieval.