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- What's in the stars for 2011?
- Sacred Space Sacred Time
- My life changed in an instant - here's what happened
- Are you living in challenging times - it could be Saturn
- Is Saturn getting in the way?
- It's Not All Bad
- How does numerology work?
- The Dance Of Purpose
- Once in a Blue Moon
- MarkBorax-Cosmic Weather Report
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The Cosmic Compass
World events and timings from an astrological perspective
Laurence Harrould - Sunday, November 21, 2010
You're probably familiar with the idea of sacred* space. Have you considered scared time?
Synagogues, churches, temples, mosques etc are designated as holy or sacred. We understand that when we're in these places we change our behaviour, dress, way of speaking accordingly.
This applies not only to buildings but places as well. Uluru is an example. The traditional custodians of this landform, located in the centre or heart of Australia, consider it to be a desecration to walk on the rock. Unfortunately, many people don't understand the significance and see it as a badge of honour to climb it. However, it's likely that these same people would be highly offended if someone where to use the alter in their church, temple etc as a common table to have a picnic on or for preparing lunch.
When building sacred places we often use the landforms in the area to select the location. This may be the top of a hill, the presence of a significant object such as a rock or tree, laylines etc.
So we understand the concept of sacred space. What about sacred time?
In the same way as we can mark out a building, landform or even a room as being sacred, we can do the same thing with time.
Many people have daily rituals. After waking they may spend time in prayer, meditation, jogging etc. During this time they refrain from mundane activities like checking email, answering the phone etc and attempt to focus on those deeper or more personal things which give meaning to life which may or may not be religious.
In Judaism there is a lot of emphasis on sacred time. The core of this is the Sabbath. The seventh day of the week (Saturday) is set aside for contemplation and interaction with the divine.This day (defined as the period from sunset on Friday evening to the appearance of three average size stars on Saturday night) is marked on by special rituals, prayers and behaviour. By inculcating this into our lives we learn that taking "time out" is important. It gives us a chance to refresh, to renew our thinking, to gain clarity and insights into how and why we do what we, why we behave the way we do and where we truly fit into the world and the universe.
How is this time spent? As I said it is usually marked by specific rituals at the beginning and end of the period. Often candles are lit, special music may be played or listened to, prayers or chants can be used to initiate the process/period.
During the designated period refrain from normal activities. Don't use the phone, don't allow distractions like TV, radio, computers etc This may not necessarily be a time of personal contemplation or introspection, although it often is. It may be time with family, friends etc.
The important element of sacred time is that it's about spending time properly focussed on those things which have a high degree of importance in our lives but are often overlooked or overridden by those things which are urgent. It's very common in values surveys for people to rate family amongst their highest values and yet when you look at the amount of time spent in that area it's often not given much importance.
One very important aspect of sacred time is that it's regular. In the same way as sacred places are fixed on the Earth's surface (they don't generally move around), so too is sacred time fixed in time. The seventh day is sacred whether you use it appropriately or not in the same way that a temple is sacred whether anyone attends services or not. Certainly, people's involvement strengthens and reinforces the state of holiness or sanctity but that state exists with or without us.
What do you think?
* What do we mean by sacred/holy? According to Wikipedia, sacred means "considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspiring awe or
reverence among believers in a given set of spiritual ideas".
My life changed in an instant - here's what happened
Laurence Harrould - Monday, September 27, 2010
A few weeks ago I received a phone call which changed my life - in an amazing way. Before I tell you about it I need to give you some background.
Six years ago Danita & I had some coaching about marketing our Aviel business coaching services. One activity was to describe our dream scenario. We came up with a multi-disciplinary natural therapy centre located in a rural/semi-rural area close to Sydney. The name we had for it was Wellness, Wealth & Wisdom.
On Monday 13th September at 11.18am (see below for the technical/numerological details) I had a phone call from an associate offering me a business which matched this description EXACTLY. His wife had a multi-disciplinary natural therapies centre in Dural, a semi-rural area just north of Sydney. While her business was well established, she wasn't able to commit the time needed to grow it.
After much deliberation they'd decided to shut down the centre. However they felt uncomfortable with this decision due to impact this would have on the fantastic team of practitioners and their wonderful clients. There was something nagging at the back of his mind; my name kept coming up. He had no idea why that would be as he and I had never discussed this type of business and our connection was in a very different area. Following his intuition, he rang and asked if I'd like to take over his wife's business.
From my perspective this was unbelievable. At that point I was feeling very challenged as the Aviel business was not bringing in the income we needed and I couldn't see a way to address the situation. Life was feeling pretty grim; my relationship with Danita was suffering and there was no light at the end of the tunnel (except the one where it's a train coming).
However, there was one thing which kept me going. I was right in my Saturn return (when the current position of Saturn matches that of my birth). One thing I know about the Saturn return is that while it shuts down areas of your life which are not right for you it shows you the new direction that will work for you if you're open and willing to change. This usually works through subtle hints. So I was on the lookout for new opportunities and possibilities. What I wasn't expecting was such a dramatic event!
For me, this brought to mind the biblical story of Joseph (see the end of the book of Exodus). Joseph was in prison for 22 years and then within a matter of hours he became the person next in authority to Pharoah. I was always fascinated by this story but had the view that it doesn't happen in the 'real' world. This has now changed my perspective - it does happen when the time and energies are right.
Some technical stuff
As I mentioned I'd been going through my Saturn return. The first week of our ownership of the centre was when the transiting Saturn (ie where Saturn is in the sky now) was on exactly the same degree as my natal Saturn.
Also, the numbers associated with this timing were incredibly significant. There's no such thing as an accident or co-incidence so when certain numbers turn up I know there's a message for me and I pay special attention. 13, 31, 18 are special for me personally. Numerologically, 11 is important as is 9. So, when I received the phone call on 13/09/2010 at 11.18am my "psychic antennae" were on high alert. The other interesting number was the address of the centre. As I
mentioned 31 is special for me. The address is 31 Kenthurst Road.
At first there were some slight doubts. Remember the old adage: "if it's too good to be true it probably is". The timing (and the numbers) helped me move through the suspicious phase pretty quickly. Also, while we still went through our due diligence and arranged formal legal agreements, contracts and leases our attitude has been very different to the "naturally" suspicious mindset that we'd normally have. This has had a huge impact on our approach to the negotiation process and legalities.
Danita & I are incredibly excited by this opportunity and would love the chance to show you our new business. So if you're in the area (it's only half an hour from North Ryde) please drop in. It's called Change For Life.
Laurence Harrould - Monday, March 08, 2010
This post is taken from Mark Borax's Cosmic Weather Report. It's important to understand what the impact of Saturn is and I felt Mark
states things very well. So, rather than try to rewrite what he has
said I've posted it intact.
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From November 2009 through the end of this month (March) Saturn has been moving through the early phases of Libra, after spending a couple of years in Virgo. Then Saturn retrogrades backwards through the end of Virgo until July of this year, when it goes back into Libra for the next couple of years. This dance from Virgo to Libra to Virgo to Libra is raising some interesting energies, and pushing many of us through evolutionary hurdles.
Saturn is the planet of Purpose. Its main purpose is to remind you of why you came here. After you died in your last life, and before you were born into this one, you looked back at what you'd accomplished in that life, and saw how it fit into the overall scope of your reincarnational purpose through many lives. After looking back you made some key decision about why to send your soul into a body one more time. That prenatal resolve is held within the Saturn sphere, and is the deepest underlying purpose of why you're here.
When the things you do reflect that prenatal vow, you experience release along the clear arc of your greater purpose. When you do things counter to that vow you experience resistance, like trying to swim upstream.
When Saturn dances back and forth between Virgo and Libra as it does in the nine months from November to July, your role in the world is being shaken around, danced with, questioned, probed, pushed through the wringer to see how well it fits with the whole reason of why you're here.
The Virgo side of this nine-month dance has been to awaken your inner knowing in relation to how skillfully you're tracking with your own purpose. Are the things you're doing each day clear reflections of what you really need to be doing? Is your life serving some greater point than just keeping all the plates spinning, keeping all the juggling pins in the air? Are you going to sleep at the end of the day with a feeling of inner satisfaction that you got something meaningful done?
The Libra side of the dance is teaching you how your choices and actions effect others, and how you're affected by the actions and energies of those around you. Virgo is the skilful management of your personal gifts and resources; Libra is the energetic engagement between you and others. With Saturn straddling both signs for a while, we're all being challenged to find a way to balance the two.
This is the time to discover how your individual purpose and personal relationships align with the greater thrust of evolution. As Saturn moves through Libra this month, the accent of the dance shifts to partnership. How well are your connections with others serving a greater need? How well are they serving you? Have you been holding some crucial truth at bay for fear of the waves it'll make when you finally face it? Are your feet stuck in the mud of obsolete patterns of relationship? Are you gathering your true tribe around you? Is there a current of inspiration you can draw into the shared space between you and others? Is your love giving you what you need? Have you dropped beneath your assumptions and disguises to let love show you who you are? Are you healing and releasing the wounds of the past? Is there anyone in your life, that if they died tomorrow, you'd spend the rest of your life regretting that you haven't yet cleared the air between you, or haven't yet told them how much you love them?
Who are you really? What are you here to do? How much longer are you going to wait?
Being grateful for gratitude - stop asking and start receiving
Laurence Harrould - Friday, November 27, 2009
I recently learned an important lesson from my sister.
After I'd starting using the "Perfect" mantra (see last week's blog - Join the "Perfect" experiment) I had a phone call from my sister who was VERY excited about some things that had been happening for her. Without going into a long story, things had turned around for her suddenly and dramatically - especially with regard to work and people she was meeting who could have a big impact on her life. The thing that really struck me was her attitude of gratitude. She was so grateful for what "the Universe" was bringing to her that she started doing things to acknowledge the help. One statement she kept making was "I don't want to ask for anything". Even without asking specifically, the things she desired were happening for her. One example was that her husband was having a struggle as he'd not been able to find any work. With this new attitude of his wife's he started getting regular work.
The message for me was to stop wanting and asking. Intellectually, I've understood this for some time. However, it was not a way of being. When I started thinking about how my sister was behaving I realised I live in a cloud of requests, wants, desires, needs, goals etc:let the weather be cooler, we need rain, please let that person find their lost dog, we've got to stop the clearing of the Amazon forests....... As you can see not all the requests were personal. I realised that even though my requests may be altruistic and worthwhile I was still living in a space of asking the Universe (in whatever form you want to define it) to provide STUFF. Going to a meeting or event had to have a purpose or objective - there was always an intention around achieving something. That could be to come away with a certain number of business cards or to let someone know about what I do or .....
What struck me (AT LAST - hey I never claimed to quick on the uptake) was that I can shift to a space of acceptance and being grateful for where I am right now and that whatever is happening is perfect. I'm shifting my mindset to a place of being rather than doing.
Ultimately, our soul knows what it's here to achieve. Our challenge is to get out of our own way so we can be who we've come to this time and place to be. The doing will come and we'll achieve our soul purpose. But first we have to get out of our own way. We have to stop chasing goals (no matter how worthy) that we've DECIDED are what I want/need.... Ultimately, the purpose of a goal is not so much in achieving the goal but in who we become in order to have whatever it is we've set our minds to. Often, this sends us off on a path which doesn't support our ultimate life or soul purpose. When you focus on your goals how do you FEEL about them rather than THINK about them? Are they things you think would be good to do because your friends, peers, TV show or book characters have led you to believe would be worthwhile objectives? Yet somehow deep within your "heart of hearts" something doesn't feel right.
I've now changed my BEHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) to simply being fully present all the time. I reckon that is probably the greatest challenge of my life and potentially the most fulfilling.
What do you think?
Laurence Harrould - Monday, November 16, 2009
I've recently had a channeling session with Jo Prior and The Team and it was an amazing experience.
One of the things coming out of it is a new way to change our thinking patterns. It's very simple.
All you do is run the "mantra": "Perfect, it is perfect. Thank you for everything." Keep repeating this ESPECIALLY when things don't appear to be they way you want or expect.
Now here's the experiment.
As I come from a scientific background I'd like to see what happens when people start using this statement. So that I don't pre-empt anything or create expectations I've not said anything about what "should" happen.
Here's what you do. Start using the phrase "Perfect, it is perfect. Thank you for everything." as a constant mantra / thought. When / if you notice ANYTHING that's unusual please add a comment to this blog post. Alternatively, email to laurence@aviel.com.au
We'd love to hear about what's happening for you.
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