Wisdom & Empowering Tips for August 2012

Are you ready to embrace wisdom and enhance your life?

The theme for August is POWER. There are many ways to work with a theme of power and for this month it is more about looking at where you give your power away and then changing that behavior or pattern. It is also about learning to empower your desires from within rather than always looking to a greater power outside yourself to make things happen. This is a great month to revisit the idea of power and energy leaks and to spend some intentional time reworking your patterns in these areas.

Power and can show up in many ways. Power is health, vitality, truth, love, resources, awareness, creativity, service, acceptance, attention, connection, joy, ability, talent, recognition, expression, freedom and choice just to name a few. These are what you practice or embody and what no one can take away from you. So the resources we are mentioning are not resources that can be taken but rather inner resources of resiliency, flexibility, and personal talent and creativity. What power is not includes control, worry, negativity, resistance, oppression, slavery, fear, and any practice or behavior that is run by the obstacles of the false personality

We all have an idea about what power is. We also all have a definition of what a powerful person looks like and acts. We have been told all our lives about what and who has more power than we do and when it is best just to do as you are told without question. This is a month when all of this automatic behavior comes into questioning and reevaluation. At the end of the day, you are the one who gets to decide whether or not to give your power to something or someone. You will also get to evaluate whether something is capable of empowering you or not.

The task this month is to study where you put your energy. Is it a good investment or not? If you spend your time worrying about something that could happen you are giving your power away to the future that has not yet manifested and may never manifest. There is no power in that. However if you put that same energy into gratitude, you will not only feel better, you will be greatly empowered rather than disempowered. Anything that keeps you in the present rather than regretting the past or worrying about the future is a much greater source of power.

Procrastination is also a great power leak. Take up the motto this month of “DO IT NOW” and get a handle on your procrastination. If you can’t “do it now” then decide when, make a plan, and forget about it. It is not the timing that is the power giveaway; it is the worry and obsession that goes along with it. This is giving your power away to time.

Another common power giveaway is deferring to another’s preference all the time, saying yes to doing things you truly do not wish to do, and compromising yourself in an effort to keep the peace in a volatile environment or to please someone in a relationship. This never works, as it will breed resentment in the long run. Anything you do with strings attached has an expectation on the other end, either yours or someone else’s. Expectations set you up for disappointment and limit the power available. Practice doing things because you want to and if you are in a situation such as a job or family commitment that requires some degree of sacrifice and compromise, remember that you chose this on some level. The best approach is to continue choosing it fully and from service rather than martyrdom.

There are many ways that people give their power away to others, to institutions, to those they consider more powerful or more knowledgeable, to government, to authority, to addictions, and to anything they consider vital to their survival. These are too numerous to list. However you can examine your own life and see where you may make some small changes to take your power back where it makes sense. Reevaluate what you thought was more powerful than it really is. What makes you react in a fearful way? Does it really have power over you?  Continually asking yourself questions is an important practice and will help you deepen your wisdom.

The other part if this equation is looking at what truly does have power and being receptive and open to it as a source of energy, inspiration and vitality. Anything in nature and the elements, essence connection, your own creativity, beauty, starlight, love, the sun and moon, a waterfall, sacred mountains, a storm, just to name a few. The more time you spend in communion and practice with natural sources of power, the more powerful you will be from within and the more wisdom you stand to acquire.

How the month shows up:

YOU PERSONALLY

You have the opportunity to examine where you give your power away and to consciously make choices to change that behavior. If you are always deferring to another’s decisions out of fear, you are giving your power away. If you are letting your obstacles (stubbornness, greed, self-destruction, arrogance, self-deprecation, impatience, martyrdom) get the better of you and influence your decisions, you are giving your power away. This month is a time to take your personal power back from the habits and patterns that do not serve you.

You can also make great strides in empowering yourself personally through practices of being around natural power consciously. The next time you see a beautiful sunset, open yourself up to the power of the beauty and absorb it into yourself. If you take one thing every day and turn it around from being a power giveaway into a practice of empowerment you will be doing good work. For example if you are always judging and speaking negatively, spend a set amount of time speaking only positively and suspending all judgment. Then follow this up with a practice of gratitude.

RELATIONSHIPS

Relationships could see power struggles depending on the nature of the relationship. There is also an opportunity to empower relationships with more truth, creativity, joy, freedom, choice, love, attention and wisdom. It is important to try and take the expectations out of the equation. It will become clear once you take your power back from relationships where you have been giving it over, whether the relationship is still viable.

Some relationships have been built on an imbalanced platform of power where one person has given their power away. Once the power is taken back, the relationship either has to reconfigure a new platform or dissolve. Reconfiguring a new platform usually requires a time of separation or disconnection to be successful.

A good practice to do with regards to relationships is the practice of giving acknowledgment, attention, acceptance, freedom and choice to others. Give it without expecting anything back. This gets you away from focusing on yourself and into the service of empowering others. By eliminating the expectation you also make yourself available for that experience to come to you in ways maybe you never imagined.

HEALTH AND THE PHYSICAL BODY

Where do you give your power away? To your addictions, to your health practitioners, to your bad habits, to your lethargy or fear, to your illness, to your beliefs about aging, to your beliefs about what the body is capable? This is a time of examination and taking your power back from where you have given it away. It is also a great month to drop the excess weight, worry, obsession, doubt, and fear. It is maybe the best opportunity so far to reestablish a new relationship with your body and empower it as never before. Acknowledge it, have gratitude, give it love and attention, decorate it, get some new clothes, feed it some good food, take it out into nature as much as possible and let it run and play.

This is a time to move away from fear and mistrust to trust and relationship. The body will respond to physical nurturing and loving attention from you and from others. You may through periods of lethargy or depression. Use your will to get out and walk and be in nature. The body is designed to move. Notice how your thoughts about what it is you need to do are the ones making you tired and not the actual activity. Notice when you give your power away to your thoughts and beliefs especially around your body, your health and what you are capable of.

FINANCE, PROJECTS, PARTNERSHIPS, BUSINESS

This can be an exciting month for projects, partnerships and business. The opportunity for empowering them is huge provided they are infused with the right kind of power. For example if you have been waiting for a certain investor to come along to launch your business and you believe that you cannot do it without them, you are setting yourself up for disappointment and perhaps failure. If however you focus on infusing your business with the powerful support of inspiration, the right people, creativity, resourcefulness, flexibility, the power of an ally, the support of the four directions and other natural elements, you will open the opportunity for great success. The key is dropping the expectation of what it should look like.

Examine where you are giving your power away and take it back. There is a great movement now away from larger corporate entities and towards smaller more local business models. The more personal of a relationship you can have with your projects, finances and business the better. Stay involved and inspired. If you are entangled in an old model with partners that cannot change, you may need to take your power back and do something else. Any project that is launched in the right way this month has the possibility of great success. If it is not right, it will be obvious.

The above is an excerpt from the monthly forecast.

The author of this commentary, Lena Stevens, is the co-founder of an international school and consulting firm dedicated to the study and application of shamanism and wisdom.  Lena Stevens has co-authored books with Jose Stevens, Ph.D., such as Secrets of Shamanism:Tapping the Spirit Power Within You.

Click here to access the full forecast on their website to  learn more wisdom & specific power days of the month.

November Forecast 2011

This is the time to renew your commitments, your intentions and your priorities. It is the month to refresh your environment, to refinish and brighten what has dulled, to rekindle important friendships, to recharge relationships, to bring more chi into the body and to re-determine your goals and the path to reach them.

November is a more masculine month with plenty of energy available for moving forward. We have had times supporting movement previously this year. The difference now is that everything has shifted, giving you more access to the quantum field and to what is possible. You need to acknowledge this difference and expand your awareness to accommodate it.

The image is of being in a small pond where you know your limits and your limitations, the edges and the boundaries. The pond has become too small however you are used to navigating within it. The enclosure of the pond has been removed and we find ourselves in a vast ocean not being able to use the sight and feel of the enclosure for navigation. What is necessary now is to trust the inner navigation, your inner radar. This inner radar is your own intuition and sense of self, sense of what is right and sense of where your path lies. Your inner radar is your own heart.

Deeper dimensions of experience are now available to us where we are not limited to experiencing just the physical plane. When you look at a tree you will begin to see not just the physical form of the tree, but rather a multidimensional experience of the tree, its spirit, its communication, its soul. The same goes for people around you. You will begin to experience them as multidimensional beings with loads of history. The downside of this expansion is the tendency for overload and the possibility of losing ones tether to the agreed upon collective experience of the physical world. You will probably witness what appears to be mental breakdown and psychic meltdown among many who are not able to differentiate and separate the physical from the astral very well. They need much compassion and help at this time.

Then there are those that are not conscious enough yet to notice any difference. We have said before that this time frame will begin to create a huge gap between how one person experiences life as opposed to another person. One person’s reality will definitely be way different than another’s depending on their level of consciousness. These times require a great allowing and acceptance of others to be just where they are and acknowledging that the experience of life will be as varied as each individual.

It is important that you keep a good handle on reality during these times but with a conscious allowing of a gradual expansion into the broader experience available. This can be done with intention and we advise taking some time every day to meditate and open your senses. This is a good practice also when you are in nature or in a place of clearer energy. It is not advised when you are in a crowd. If you feel you are on overload you may need to practice pulling your energy field in and putting some protection up. Recommended audio for working with the themes of the month link: Energy Management: Protection & Appropriate Exchange.

The masculine quality of the month provides an opportunity for great clarity especially if you use your intuition with it. Anytime you feel confused you are probably trying to sort things out based on something other than what simply feels right to you. Beware of too many cooks in the kitchen when you are in the process of an important decision. Remember that others view things through the lens of their own experience and what ends up being right for you may not always make sense to them. It is always a good idea to run things by someone you trust but the final decision will have to be yours alone.

In this time you all should be renewing your commitment to taking responsibility for your own lives. No one is going to fix it, make it better, get you out of debt, improve your health, give you a better job, remove your addictions and co-dependencies, or make anything stop except you, yourself. This is the time of growing up. It is your life. Stop whining and complaining and renew your commitment to yourself to create the kind of life that you want. Not what someone else thinks you should be doing, but what you want. Renew your intentions and honor that this is a time of renewal when anything becomes possible. Dream big.

Now comes the hard part; dealing with the distractions that threaten to derail you at every turn.

There is the story of the monk and the temple of a thousand demons. A group of monks were to go through their final test, getting through the temple of a thousand demons. One by one the monks entered the first door and after screams and intense noises coming from inside the temple not one of them emerged from the door on the other side. Finally the last monk asked the elder priest for any advice that would help him get through. “Just keep your eye on the door on the other side. Never take your eyes off the door”, the elder answered. The young monk entered and after a time of the same loud intense noises and screams, he came tumbling out the door on the other side. When asked how he had done it when so many others had failed, he said “I just kept my eye on the door, never took it off”.

The door on the other side represents your goals and intentions. The temple of a thousand demons is life itself. The distractions are your reactions and any behavior that is not of spirit. Feed any energy at all into a small drama and it will very quickly become a big one. Any reaction at all that is not completely neutral will have a charge to it and throw you off center. You will notice that all behaviors not of spirit are initiated by some reaction that is not neutral. Practice neutrality. It is absolutely the best thing you can do and always puts you in a position of power. So renew your priorities based on your inner rudder and your heart and then keep your eye on your goals, on the door on the other side of the temple of a thousand demons.

The theme of Boundaries is a big one this month. As energetic limitations are lifted it is important to renew and reset your own boundaries. In the exploration of the expanded access to the quantum field, you may run across some people with no boundaries at all and others that try to impose on yours or impose their boundaries on you. Everything and everyone is pushing this way and that in an attempt to reset some kind of order. It is up to you to reset and renew your own boundaries according to your priorities and goals. The human experience has been based on reaction and pushing up against something. When you are in the ocean there is nothing to push up against until a boundary is created. The new container has to be created from within and many people are not used to the responsibility of the task. It will be very interesting to observe in the next year or so, what becomes manifest.

Sometimes renewal demands the death of something. The theme of death/rebirth is also active this month. As you go through your life and decide what needs renewal, there may be aspects that you can no longer tolerate or accommodate. Open your eyes and see things realistically. Allow death when it is called for by purposefully eliminating what is past. Especially use death to eliminate old dramas that still have you tethered. Remember that if it does not feel good and if you cannot be neutral about it, it is not of spirit.


Click here to access the full monthly commentary packed with tips to help you strengthen your relationships, health and more.   Print out the full forecast and reference it throughout the month. (The above is an excerpt from the commentary).

The author of the monthly forecast, Lena Stevens, is an author and co-founder of an international school and consulting firm dedicated to the study and application of shamanism and wisdom.  Lena Stevens has co-authored books with Jose Stevens, Ph.D., such as Secrets of Shamanism:Tapping the Spirit Power Within You and The Power Path: The Shaman’s Way To Success in Business and Life.

October 2011 – The Point of No Return

The image is that of facing a well-known view, in fact a view you have become so accustomed to you hardly notice it anymore. And now you have just realized that you are turning away from this view 90 degrees to the right and leaving it completely behind in order to face a new view. Suddenly it dawns on you that the old view will be gone forever, never to be seen again in the same way. There is nostalgia around the permanence of the loss of this old view. It is familiar to you and it has served to inspire, entertain, give you feedback and be a placeholder in your life. You realize that once you turn towards the new view the old one is gone forever. And despite the inadequacies of the old view in matching a new time, there is a resistance to giving it up and turning towards the unknown. What if the new view isn’t as good as the old one? What if you won’t be able to see the new view? What if it is not a clear view, or an inspiring one? What if there is no new view?

The Turning Point can also be called the Point of No Return. When one season ends and another begins, as in moving from Summer to Fall, there is no going back. You have passed the point of no return. And as you move clockwise around the medicine wheel from one direction to the next, you are at a point of no return as you arrive at the new position or direction. The natural progression in moving forward is always clockwise or to your right. That is the way the clock works, the seasons roll, and wheels move forward. So we are at the point of turning clockwise into a new landscape providing us with a new view.

We have been creating this new view for a while now. We just have not turned our sights on it as yet. The new view has been waiting for our much-needed focus on it to come into being and we are just now at that point but some of us still unwilling to make the final turn. What we do not realize in our resistance is that the new view is fabulous, inspiring, supportive and perfect for where we need to go. However in order to see the new view we must turn away from the old one and turn towards the new one. This is happening whether you are choosing to or not. We are truly at the Turning Point right now.

Another image to work with is the idea of the Turning Point as the point at which there is enough energy moving in a certain direction to insure a result. If you have been ill and are recovering, there is turning point in your illness where you are insured a recovery. The same thing applies to an ending or a death. There is a certain turning point at which there is a certainty about the outcome. When a lot of energy is being put into building a business or starting a project, or cultivating a relationship, there is always a turning point at which it either takes off or you see that it won’t work. This month you have the opportunity to experience turning points in many aspects of your life. Perhaps you have set certain intentions, and worked with them over time. This month you may get to experience a turning point in manifesting those intentions.

Other themes of the month are Transition/Transformation and Death/Rebirth.

Transition/Transformation and Death/Rebirth are similar in that they both use the turning point to move from one point to another. The main characteristic of this change as a turning point is that there is finality to the ending of one experience that automatically turns you towards another one. What is the experience of the Turning Point trying to teach us this month?

What we need to learn is to be more present so we can fully embrace what is in front of us and then let it go with gratitude for the experience it provided. We need to learn to be less attached so that we can turn away from the old view and toward the new one with less resistance. We also need to learn to be more trusting and confident that the view we are creating that we are turning toward is exactly what we want and need. We need to face this view with confidence, enthusiasm and excitement instead of with fear.

Many of you know that there is a marker at the end of this month that marks the official end of the Mayan Calendar, namely the date of October 28, 2011. There are many predictions about what may happen at this time. Some predict 3 days of darkness, some predict major earth changes, some predict that nothing significant will happen, and other predict that the changes will be mostly personal, emotional and psychological

October 28, 2011 is simply a marker as it is impossible to predict what the Turning Point will manifest. What we can predict is change and transition that brings us all beyond the point of no return.


Click here to access the full monthly commentary packed with tips to help you strengthen your relationships, health and more.   Print out the full forecast and reference it throughout the month. (The above is an excerpt from the commentary).

The author of the monthly forecast, Lena Stevens, is an author and co-founder of an international school and consulting firm dedicated to the study and application of shamanism and wisdom.  Lena Stevens has co-authored books with Jose Stevens, Ph.D., such as Secrets of Shamanism:Tapping the Spirit Power Within You and The Power Path: The Shaman’s Way To Success in Business and Life.

September Forecast – Tips for Staying Positive and Overcoming Worry

This is a tremendous and unpredictable time of change, opportunity and resetting patterns and we have no idea how it’s all going to manifest or show up. So what is called for right now is to be generously allowing of whatever is occurring to occur without resistance, fear, judgment, over processing, over identifying, over thinking or denial. “Allowing,” means opening yourself up to the unknown, stretching your flexibility muscle and being neutral about whatever is happening. Allowing is not about surrender or giving up, nor is it passive. It is an active choice to let things be the way they are.

The biggest challenge this month is worry. Worry keeps you in a micromanaging position of constantly needing to track and obsess about what is going on. Worry creates a hyper vigilance that is not useful at this time and will only keep you from being able to move forward. Worry and fear are never justified and any choice or decision that is made from a place of worry or fear will set you back instead of supporting you in your greater intentions and desires.

We could say that the subtheme for the month is Trust. A great deal of trust is needed at this time in order to allow for what has been seeded and planted and nurtured to actually be able to come into full bloom. If you have seeded your intentions and tended the garden, you can trust that the plants will bloom. It does not require you to stand in vigilance worrying that they won’t. We are quickly moving towards the harvest of what we have set up for ourselves as a species and global community. What comes before the harvest is seeing the full bloom of our efforts, lessons, personal and collective patterns, and the colors of what we have accomplished and what has yet to be done.

So if you have been in denial, fear, worry, resistance, negativity, complacency, ambivalence, anxiety, judgment or any other negative expression, you will see this in its fullest bloom so you can do something about it. If you have been manifesting unexpressed emotions, old patterns or suppressed anger through your body in physical conditions and symptoms, these may show up as well. If this is the case, the worst thing you can do is go into more anger, resentment, martyrdom, self-loathing, resistance or judgment. Let it be. Allow whatever it is to show up fully however it is showing up, without any resistance and from a place of deep neutrality. From there you will be able to make practical and proactive choices about the changes you need and about what should come next. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

However if you have been working on yourself and weeding out what does not serve you, setting good intentions, staying present, paying attention, taking responsibility for yourself, your health, your reactions and your patterns, then you will see the fruits of your labors and the blossoms will be big and beautiful. Continue the good work, as this time frame requires a continued focus, responsibility and showing up. Allow yourself to be flexible and resilient. Have compassion for those less fortunate without feeling the need to fix.

The times are unstable, unpredictable, chaotic and full of trends and patterns that are very new to our collective experience. We have pushed through the birth canal and now it is time to trust the current environment to fully support a new life. Allow the environment to serve you in its own way and allow yourself to be in service to whatever your essence has in store for you. This is no longer about what the personality wants but rather what the essence goals are. So get out of your own way and allow the transformation. Just as the caterpillar resists the destruction of its form, that destruction is necessary if it ever intends to be a butterfly.

This is more of a “being” month than a “doing” month. Certainly you may have energy to put into tasks and projects but the motivation and support for their accomplishment comes from a place of being rather than a place of doing and effort. Because of the unpredictability of the times, things may manifest in very unusual ways if you allow them to. This requires putting your fixed ideas about how it should be done aside so that something new can emerge. It is a good month to revisit all of your intentions and determine whether you have enough flexibility to allow a new way of manifesting.

The other challenge this month is to stay positive in the face of so much fear, negativity, martyrdom and discouragement. Staying positive takes discipline. Not effort, just discipline.

How to stay positive:

Always acknowledge a higher order, a bigger picture and a greater plan to anything that feels like a setback, unfair, limiting or contrary to your highest intentions.

Remind yourself daily that you and only you create everything you experience, and usually for a good reason that you may not be able to see just yet.

Allow for the positive things to come into your life as well as the challenges. Just because others may be challenged does not mean you have to join them.

Be inspired by, rather than fearful of, the possibilities and the opportunities that change provides.

Be willing, be allowing, be trusting, be flexible, be in humor, and be delighted.

When you take responsibility for your own blossoms and harvest you come from a place of power. If you are in the drivers seat you can determine where you go next. So if you don’t like what you see, know that you have the power to change it. If you like what you see, don’t get arrogant. Just be grateful.

Click here to access the full monthly commentary packed with tips to help you strengthen your relationships, health, finances and more.   Print out the full forecast and reference it throughout the month. (The above is an excerpt from the commentary).

The author of the monthly forecast, Lena Stevens, is an author and co-founder of an international school and consulting firm dedicated to the study and application of shamanism and wisdom.  Lena Stevens has co-authored books with Jose Stevens, Ph.D., such as Secrets of Shamanism:Tapping the Spirit Power Within You and The Power Path: The Shaman’s Way To Success in Business and Life.

August 2011–A Time To Do More Than You Think Is Possible

The main theme for August is Wake Up and Pay Attention.

This does not mean becoming more hyper-vigilant or controlling but rather becoming more present and taking notice from a place of expanded awareness. Most of us have narrowed our experience of life and ability to respond down to a very narrow band, being asleep or unconscious about the greater part of it. If we didn’t, we would be overwhelmed at what we have put up with and continue putting up with.

In the development of the mind and the mental ability to problem solve, we have traded in the awareness of our instinctual and emotional responses for the illusion of security in trusting that the mind can solve everything. We are quickly seeing that in these accelerated times not only can the mind not keep up, but that it limits our ability to respond in other ways so crucial to our survival at this time. The mind is almost never present. It is almost always either in the past; reviewing, judging, trying to understand, categorizing, filing and organizing; or in the future; planning, worrying, tracking, organizing and trying to get a handle on linear time. Notice that when you are doing a task that requires complete presence, the mind becomes quiet and inactive, taking a back seat.

Animals in the wild and other aspects of nature react to their environment with efficiency in their knowing, timing and action. This does not come from a place of mental planning but rather from being aware and responding to the present circumstances. Nature is very flexible. Because of our attachments, expectations and constant mental micromanaging, we have lost both the ability to be flexible and the ability to be instantly responsive. We have diminished our experience of life, we have fallen asleep, and we forgotten how to trust and be present.

We are still in an emotionally centered year. The emotional center is there to teach us a different way of reacting. The emotional center is not about emoting or being emotional. It is about relying on a different level of intuition that takes in way more information than the intellectual realm of the mind can ever process. We need to remember how to use this center more effectively so that we can trust our non-mental process and begin to give it more credit. The mind is a very useful tool and it is important to use it to set intentions, goals and direction, but we cannot expect the mind to get us there. The mind on its own is not capable of driving enough energy to accomplish anything. It is too limited and yet we have given it this impossible task. No wonder we feel helpless, powerless, fatigued and confused.

It will take time to turn this pattern around and you can start by waking up your senses and paying attention to your surroundings by being more present and aware. If you spend a little bit of time every day in non-mental awareness practicing being present, you will exercise this part of yourself and eventually it will become automatic. This is what is required in order to move into a higher state of consciousness at this time. Anything you can do this month that raises your consciousness is an excellent use of the influences. Any practices that help connect you to spirit and get you out of your mind will also be very helpful.

There will be many lessons and opportunities to see just how effective you can be without your mind trying to control everything. The discipline will be to keep yourself present and out of the past and the future. This is the time to step up to the plate, show up fully and take responsibility for yourself, your actions and your truth. It is time to get out of denial, to open your eyes and all your senses, to truly look at what you have been putting up with and to do something about it. This requires courage and action and you may not always get positive responses from others, as misery loves company. When you decide to take the high road you may need to set some boundaries against certain energies that are no longer compatible. Remember that negative reactions from others are usually projections and it is important not to take things personally especially when you know you are on the right track.

By the same token, if you are having a strong negative reaction to someone or their actions, you may need to look at how you may be projecting on them or how their actions may have threatened your own complacency and denial. See each of them, as a teacher and a mirror, stay neutral, present and awake.

This is an incredibly accelerated time where incredible things are possible. You need to watch for the aggression mode of the year showing up in negative ways both in yourself and in others. Since the mind is being quickly surpassed by the speed of things these days, you also may experience anything from feeling like you are losing your mind, panic attacks, anxiety and amnesia. This is much about the dissolving of linear time and thus the tracking method of the mind. Watch also for bleed-through from the astral plane at inconvenient times, throwing you momentarily off the course of linear thought. You are being called upon to trust all the other senses, to trust your intuition and to learn to process information in a different way. The acceleration of the times makes it possible to accomplish way more than your mind would “think” possible. At the same time, if something is destructing, it will take much less time than “usual” for it to completely destruct. Any process is aggressively accelerated in these times so if something seems stagnant or not moving, all it needs is a spark of intention to set it on course.

Click here to access the full monthly commentary packed with tips to help you strengthen your relationships, health, finances and more.   Print out the full forecast and reference it throughout the month. (The above is an excerpt from the commentary).

The author of the monthly forecast, Lena Stevens, is an author and co-founder of an international school and consulting firm dedicated to the study and application of shamanism and wisdom.  Lena Stevens has co-authored books with Jose Stevens, Ph.D., such as Secrets of Shamanism:Tapping the Spirit Power Within You and The Power Path: The Shaman’s Way To Success in Business and Life.

July 2011 Forecast–Personal Growth and Big Breakthroughs

The main theme for July is Birth.

It is OK to feel like a different person, to not know who you are, to sense that something has changed in a big way even though you can’t really say what it is, and to feel somewhat unsettled, ungrounded and anxious. It means you have found yourself in a new landscape and are uncertain as to how to navigate and move forward. Learn to let spirit guide you and give up trying to control everything. There is great opportunity this month for personal growth and truly stretching your container of what is possible. You can adopt a whole new belief system and expand your awareness to the degree you never thought possible.

The “birth” theme of the month can also be seen as a re-birth. Re-birth always follows the death of something. It is not too late to give up and let go of attachments that may have been holding you back. What in you still has to die for you to be able to have a re-birth into a new life?

We have been in labor and in the birth canal for a while now. Labor is uncomfortable and being in the birth canal is intense. We leave the safety of the known environment that has gotten too small for our growth. We are launched into a new world that we have no idea yet how to navigate. It is a scary place of stimulus, danger and our focus is instantly on the basic need for survival. We are vulnerable yet strong with a powerful intent to survive and live life. If you have ever watched newborn animals at this critical phase, their ability to propel themselves fully into life in order to survive is amazing.

At this juncture we have been launched into something new. We are all in some process of birth whether we like it or not. Some of us are still in labor as some labors are longer than others. The shorter labors provide more intensity and the longer labors provide for more preparation even though they may leave you somewhat weakened. Some of us are already in the birth canal with the realization that there is no going back. And some of us are actually crowning and ready to explode into a new life.

Just as it is important to have good physical caretakers that await you as you are born, and helpful teachers as you learn to navigate physical life, it is also important at this time to have strong guidance and support from your spiritual practice, your relationship to spirit and nature, your guides and allies, and those who can help you at this time. The support of community is also being called upon to provide a strong container for this new experience.

An infant at birth has no idea how their intentions and life goals will manifest as they mature. An infant at birth is pure potential landing in an environment of vast opportunity, pure innocence, and not yet imprinted with the limited belief systems of others. The imprinting and circumstances of a physical infants birth and first experience of life is usually dictated by karma, agreements and a chosen blueprint. Your birth now into something new carries a freedom with it of choice with regards to intention, imprinting and limitations. Use this time well and decide how you wish to live, how you intend to be supported and what you choose as your new imprinting. You can either limit yourself or go for an expanded sense of freedom and creativity.

An infant spends a great deal of time on the astral plane bringing across the information needed for developing the lifetime. You may find yourself drawn into dreamtime for short catnaps during the day. Do not resist this. It is important time on the astral plane. An infant is curious and trusting and has no way yet of defining the present based on past experiences. Practice living your life like an infant whenever possible. This will keep all your options open and allow you to truly see things in a new way.

We can’t stress enough how truly amazing this time is for breaking through into something new. See every challenge as an opportunity and trust in the big picture when events around you are being defined as negative, destructive or unnecessary. It is a raw and edgy time. Emotions will run high and aggression could be at its worst. Just as a woman in the process of giving birth is not always the nicest to be around, everyone going through their own process will have times of being cranky, overwhelmed, out of sorts, very uncomfortable, and even in major meltdown mode. Have compassion for yourself and for others around you. You have grown beyond the size of the old container and it is time to push through into a new landscape. It is scary leaving the known environment even though you are cramped and squeezed but there is no other option at this time. We are at the point of no return and there is no going back. An infant that refuses to come out of the womb when it is time will become toxic with its own waste. Do not let that happen to you. Let go, let go, let go. Your future security will depend on how well you navigate the birth canal, not whether or not you can hold on to any of your old structures.

An infant needs care. You need care. It is a time to put yourself and your needs first. We are not talking about high maintenance needs of the physical body personality here. We are addressing care in terms of health, spiritual life, time, rest, creativity, love, and allowing yourselves to do the things that you love to do and have wanted to do for a long time. Personal care is nurturing and protecting the new landscape, not taking things personally that others may project onto you, and making sure that you put yourself and your true desires of spirit first. It is a good time to revisit your definitions of responsibility and to differentiate between your true responsibilities and the dependent expectations of others. Being of service is not carrying another’s burden but rather showing them the way through your own example.

This month is crucial for taking some time for self and for setting good boundaries against energy leaks from others, bad habits or behaviors. It is an excellent time to be surrounded by nature whenever possible. Focus on the power of the sun as the representative of fire, one of the elements of the year and a masculine energy. Bless the service of this element and spirit in your life. Focus on the power of water and the other element of the year and a feminine energy. Bless the service of water, its life-giving as well as destructive force. Pay attention to your own water element in your body. Feed it with the spirit of water. Focus on the masculine sky realm as the patriarchal father archetype witnessing and supporting your birth, protecting the infant, imprinting it with the unconditional love of the generous and protective masculine.

Click here to access the full monthly commentary packed with tips to help you strengthen your relationships, health, finances and more.   Print out the full forecast and reference it throughout the month. (The above is an excerpt from the commentary).

The author of the monthly forecast, Lena Stevens, is an author and co-founder of an international school and consulting firm dedicated to the study and application of shamanism and wisdom.  Lena Stevens has co-authored books with Jose Stevens, Ph.D., such as Secrets of Shamanism:Tapping the Spirit Power Within You and The Power Path: The Shaman’s Way To Success in Business and Life.

May 2011–Influences To Take Advantage Of and To Beware Of

This month begins a much larger cycle of bringing all the disconnected parts back into communication with each other. In the name of individuality and based on the model of competition, the right hand has not known what the left hand is doing for a long, long time. The masculine has been disconnected from the feminine, our personalities have been disconnected from our essences, the mind has been disconnected from the heart, systems of the physical body have been disconnected from each other, and we have been living in an uncooperative, separate, lonely, dysfunctional world. There is no communication, everything is secret, and we guard our ideas, hearts, generosity, emotions and energy, measuring them out in small amounts and then only for the highest price. We are just as stingy with receiving as we are with giving, guarding ourselves against the danger of exploitation and the fear of annihilation. What a sorry state we have found ourselves to be in at this juncture of our evolution.

With all that said, we now have a great opportunity to change this pattern around from one of separation to one of cooperation and community. The theme of getting two sides of the same edge to communicate and work together is a huge one. This is just the beginning of a process that will probably take years but is necessary and inevitable as the next step in our evolution on the planet as a species. When was the last time your heart spoke to your little toe or your liver spoke to your pancreas? When was the last time you spoke to your food with gratitude for where it came from? When was the last time you asked for help?

We have been fed an illusion that power comes from being able to stand alone and to not rely on anything or anyone else. To some extent it is true that being self -sufficient is preferable to being overly needy, however this applies more to how you run your energy rather than to what you accomplish in the world. It is a known fact that when you have help and support you can accomplish a great deal more than if you don’t. What would it be like to have all your body parts cooperating with you in accomplishing a physically challenging endeavor? What would it be like to have help and support come easily, naturally and without conditions? And what would it be like to be confident that your intentions will always manifest because you trust 100% that it will be so? It is time to change our approach to life from one of effort and mistrust to one of believing in the cooperation of the universe.

There is a focused energy to the month that will work well with the aggression mode of the year when used in conjunction with your clear intentions. Intentions should be set very specifically and with plenty of flexibility for cooperation and support. Intentions should always be set around how you want to end up feeling and how satisfied you wish to be in your life. So when you are setting an intention for prosperity, instead of a dollar amount, set your goal to be what you intend to feel and what you imagine that amount will give you in terms of satisfaction. That way you give the universe more options for cooperating with you on manifesting your intention. Likewise if you are looking for a relationship, be specific on how you wish to feel in that relationship instead of what you think it ought to look like. The points of reference for the achievement of goals and manifesting are outdated and we are just now in the process of creating new ones. We have not yet experienced what it would be like to live life from a fully supportive and cooperative place where there was never any concern that an intention would not manifest. These are uncharted waters and a very exciting time on the planet where anything is possible provided we keep eliminating our attachment to old ways.

One of the aspects of this month is focus. Focus is important if you want to harness the engine that will drive your intention into being manifest. There can be no distractions and you have to be clear about what you intend. This is not a time to sit around and wait for something to happen. This is not a time to become frozen with fear like a deer in headlights. This is a time to move, to act, to intend, to ask, to pray, to get support and to be cooperative. Cooperation is a two way street. You must be cooperative yourself if you want to have cooperation. Part of this process is simply coming into an awareness of all things being connected. Set the intention to do your part and everything else will fall into place. Consider yourself and all that you have around you that supports you in life. Think of that support system as being a connected community of parts and pieces that need to work together to synthesize your life. From your car to your house to your clothes to your plumbing to the food you eat to your body functions to your friends, work, nature, time, your bank, grocery store etc.; they are all connected and form a cooperative community of sorts that supports your life.

Many of you have the illusion of being separate, alone, disconnected and unsupported and yet you are not. If you begin to focus on how everything is connected then you will begin to experience a greater sense of support, belonging and harmony. You will begin to streamline your intentions and trust the universe to deliver. Your life will become richer and you will feel more active and participatory rather than passive and victimized. So be aggressive about what you want but be a cooperative participant in the setting and manifesting of your intentions. One of the biggest lessons of these times is to learn to communicate and learn to trust. The fear of disillusionment and disappointment has kept most of us from communicating our deepest wishes. We don’t want to be seen as arrogant, foolish and unrealistic so we have kept ourselves small and secret. It is time for that practice to be done with and time to turn our sights towards a more intimate, trusting and cooperative pattern where so much more is possible. Instead of asking why, we should be asking why not.

Whenever you are working with a theme, the opposite of the theme shows up to illuminate the lessons. So in the case of cooperation what you may experience first is the uncooperative aspect of your life. You may be shown where you are disconnected and where there is effort. You may experience life as being very uncooperative. Should this happen, acknowledge the reminder and get to work changing your attitude. We have a tremendous opportunity right now to connect up the dots, to heal the rift between opposing forces and to get ourselves back on track. When you think of cooperation think of connecting right and left, behind and in front, up and down, inner and outer, the heart and the mind, masculine and feminine, giving and receiving, the body and spirit, all with the intention of getting them to communicate and cooperate.

Click here to access the full monthly commentary packed with tips to help you strengthen your relationships, health, finances and more. Print out the full forecast and reference it throughout the month. (The above is an excerpt from the commentary).

The author of the monthly forecast, Lena Stevens, is an author and co-founder of an international school and consulting firm dedicated to the study and application of shamanism and wisdom. Lena Stevens has co-authored books with Jose Stevens, Ph.D., such as Secrets of Shamanism:Tapping the Spirit Power Within You and The Power Path: The Shaman’s Way To Success in Business and Life.

For a more complete discussion on the themes and influences for 2011 link here to order a download of TRENDS 2011 (link here).

February 2011–A Powerful Time To Manifest Using Unbending Intention

The main theme for February is Commitment.

It is time to get off the fence and really commit to your intentions and goals without the need to know how you will accomplish them. There has been a tendency to get bogged down in the need to know and the process of trying to understand whatever present situation you are in. The mind has entertained itself long enough with the creation of stories to try and get a handle on this understanding. All this processing and storytelling has thrown conditions into the mix and kept true commitment at bay. “I will commit to this if…..”

This is the month where the “ifs” or conditions around your intentions need to be put aside and relegated to a position of less importance. You know on an intuitive level what you truly want and it is only the fear of not getting it that keeps you hesitant to commit. It is the mind that comes up with the reasons that feed the fear and keep you imprisoned in your story. Are you willing to give up your story? Who would you be without your story? This is not an easy opportunity to deal with. It demands trust, courage and intuition. Use the aggression mode of the year wisely to cut through the bullshit of the mind and begin manifesting that which you have fully committed to. Remember that we are also in an emotionally centered time and headed for experiences that don’t necessarily make linear or logical sense.

For more details about the trends for 2011 (link here).

Belief systems are probably the most challenged this month as they create the foundation of our stories. Belief systems are anchored in the past and will continue to affect our future unless they are disconnected. They are instruments of the mind and only geared towards survival. They will continue to feed you false information until you examine them and give another instruction. This is a great time to examine your beliefs and see how absolutely divorced many of them are from what is really going on in the present. It is important to stay out of judgment as you realize how outdated your beliefs are and the enormity of what needs to change.

Everyone has specific beliefs about what will make them happy, healthy, loved, successful, well, tired, sick, sad, strong, stressed, depressed, anxious, relaxed, good, bad, responsible, irresponsible, forgiven, spiritual, productive, unproductive etc.. Take some time to examine each of these categories and ask yourself what your personal and specific belief systems are regarding each one. Sometimes it is easier to write in a stream of consciousness exercise unless you are able to do this with a partner where you simply express the stream of consciousness regarding each belief. This is not about judging anything to be either right or wrong. This is about uncovering what’s there so you can see what has been running the show. Emptying the mind in this way is very powerful and you will get to see where your fears are hidden. Belief systems are very limiting in that they constantly create the reasoning behind why you can or cannot do or be something or someone. There are many examples in history of people who have accomplished extraordinary things because they did not buy into the belief that they could not.

We have talked before about the power of the collective belief system that guides the evolution of all living things on the planet. In order to change the collective belief system, each individual must first change their own. It is the hundredth monkey effect that dictates that when enough individual belief systems have evolved to a less limited function, the whole collective will be free to evolve as well. So all of you out there that wish to be of service to the planet at this time can do so by working on your own belief systems.
Along with beliefs come expectations. Expectations are different from committed intentions as they are usually attached to a specific outcome. They are fed by your beliefs and their success or failure becomes part of your story. A true “don’t know mind” leaves a lot of room for your intentions to manifest in interesting and wonderful ways. When you commit to something one hundred percent, without the need to know how you will get there, the universe will begin to weave it creatively into the physical world.

All information about everything already exists in the quantum field and that information will respond to the instruction it gets that comes from unwavering commitment. The minute you try and control how something is going to happen you diminish the power behind the intention that is necessary for the quantum field to respond. And if you commit with conditions (I will do it “if”) the quantum field is a bit confused as to what you really want and will end up creating chaos from mixed messages. Sometimes you have to make a choice. Here is a good example of that. If you are involved in legal negotiations for damages for health reasons (accident, environmental pollution etc.), there is an attachment to your continuing to be in poor health as part of the argument. All the energy you are putting into the legal process is reinforcing the fact that your health and well-being are compromised. The quantum field takes that as an instruction from your belief system. You need to continue to be compromised in order to receive compensation. Therefore the other intention of actually getting well is clouded by the need to remain ill.

Regardless of the other players involved, you may have to examine your original motivation and intention and commitment. If your primary intention is to end up completely well then that is what you intend even if it comes to you in a different way than winning a legal battle over compensation. Beware of giving the field mixed messages. Committed intentions that are not compromised are indeed powerful and have the ability to become manifest almost overnight. If your intentions are compromised or clouded with doubt, mixed messages or conditions it will be much more difficult to see results.

We can’t stress enough the power of these times and what they afford to everyone in terms of opportunity if you can commit, stay in present time and get out of your mental trap that needs to know and control the how of things. You don’t need to know how, you just need to know what. In fact there is very little information available with regards to “how” these days. And what is available is outdated and doesn’t work. So be a pioneer of your own life and decide what you want. Then commit to it one hundred percent without the need to know how you will get there. The early explorers did not have a map. They followed their intuition and they followed signs. They paid attention and stayed present. Signs are different than conditions. You can always ask for signs to guide you so you know you are on the right track. Signs appear as support and provide synchronicity and magic. Conditions are what you place on your intentions that keep them from being fully committed.

Let’s talk about the aggression mode of the year as it relates to and will be filtered through the obstacles. This is something many of you will have to deal with perhaps on a daily basis and it may not be pretty. It will be important to stay out of judgment and to practice compassion and neutrality instead of reacting. All the obstacles will become more aggressive. For example someone who has martyrdom can become aggressively blaming and complaining and demanding; those in stubbornness, aggressively obstinate, argumentative and defensive; those in impatience, aggressively intolerant, dismissive and inconsiderate; those in self-destruction, aggressively destructive and self-destructive and belligerent; those in greed, aggressively hungry, hoarding and ungrateful; those in arrogance, aggressively going for attention and trying to make themselves special; and last but not least those in self- deprecation aggressively withdrawing, giving up, rejecting support and acknowledgement. Remember that self-deprecation is also one of the obstacles of the year and will be manifest by everyone in varying degrees. All the obstacles are nasty, do not serve spirit and will derail your good intentions and commitments faster than anything. So beware, try not to react to others and watch your own tendencies.

The author of the monthly forecast, Lena Stevens, is an author and co-founder of an international school and consulting firm dedicated to the study and application of shamanism and wisdom.

Click here to access the full monthly commentary filled with wisdom tips and practices, which you can print and reference throughout the month. 

(The above is an excerpt from the commentary).

Welcoming January 2011!

In this month’s forecast, Lena Stevens, author and co-founder of an international school and consulting firm dedicated to the study and application of shamanism and wisdom, reveals influences and opportunities to take advantage of.

Click here to access the full monthly commentary that you can print and reference!

Below is an excerpt from the commentary.

The main theme for January is RESETTING PRIORITIES.

We are now under a new set of influences and themes. As the trends of 2010 have started their exodus as primary motivators and the new trends have begun to settle in, we are inspired to take the creative artisan energy of the last year and begin to use it in realigning our relationship with service. We want our lives to not just be creative but purposeful, growing us towards a deeper satisfaction around what we are actually doing here on the planet. In December, the influences were internal, transitional, re evaluating, and very focused on maintaining on a personal level.  The moving center of 2010 stepped aside allowing the emotional center to flow in as the primary influence for 2011. Many of you may have felt unfocused, unproductive, aimless, tired, subdued and possibly even un-inspired as the moving centered artisan influence of 2010 released its primary position. Now we have an adjustment period as we realign ourselves with what we have chosen for this year. For a time it may still feel like we are under the influence of the artisan as there is definitely the creative desire for expression. However the artisan is not running the show but rather becomes part of the foundation that is in service to the server role of the year.

One of the first things on the agenda for 2011 is to reset your priorities. Spirit has given you many clues and messages over the past months regarding what should be important in your life, where you should be putting your energy and intention, what needs to be let go of as it is of an old paradigm, and what you should be doing and with whom. Some of you have been better than others about listening to these hints and actually taking the steps to reinvent yourselves in a way more aligned with spirit. Therefore some of you will feel a surge of energy this month that should enhance this alignment and open opportunities for self-expression, support and the experience of service. The experience of service is not only related to how you can serve others and the planet, but also addresses how you can be served and how you are presently served by spirit, your allies, the elementals and all of nature.  There is definitely a potential in this alignment for a higher centered experience of life, connection, and all things being really “right”.

If you have not been great at listening and feel your life is somewhat less than you would like it to be, it is never too late to discard those attachments and to choose resolutions that will put you back on track. We are still under the influence of the very powerful winter solstice, eclipse and Full Moon, and will be until the New Moon on January 4 that comes with a partial solar eclipse. The time frame between two eclipses, especially when they are accompanied by other very powerful alignments, is always very potent and should be used proactively to set your intentions and to get things moving in the right direction. If you have been feeling unmotivated, lethargic and unfocused, that could change just before this New Moon when we should experience a surge of energy. Make sure this surge does not scatter you into chaos and negativity, but rather gives you some needed fuel to move forward in the right direction. If you have your priorities set straight you should experience more energy, enthusiasm, inspiration and movement. Pay attention to the intuitive wisdom of the emotional center and the synchronicity it produces. Don’t let the questioning mind get in the way of what you know to be emotionally true. Pay attention to the signs of spirit and don’t argue with or resist what is obvious.

The resetting of priorities this month will definitely be addressed, whether proactively by your decisions and choices, or not so proactively where you end up at the effect of someone else’s decisions and choices. For example, if you know you are in the wrong work situation but have not had the courage to do something about it, a decision may be made for you where you end up out of that work situation through a medical condition, being let go or some other unpleasant circumstance. Take the resetting of priorities this month seriously as there is a rather large engine of energy that wants to propel all of us in the right direction.  Evaluate where you are with your priorities and be truthful about what needs resetting. It may be that you will have to give something up or disappoint someone or take a risk. But if it is the right decision, you will know it.

Since we are under the influence of the emotional center, these decisions of what is “right” for you cannot be fully intellectual. The knowingness must come from another more intuitive place. This is especially challenging for those of you who are not as comfortable with the emotional center and who are used to relying on your rational mind for your answers and problem solving abilities. This is a time when little can be actually solved by “thinking it through”. It is better to use the capacity of the mind in support of the decisions of the intuitive self. Watch out for the obstacles of Self-deprecation and Martyrdom as they try to discourage and disregard what you feel as insignificant, wrong or unworthy. Watch the mind as it strives for control through these obstacles. Trust and hope may be uncharted waters for you but they may be all that is left in some situations.

Remember that what is right for you will also be influenced by the server role of the year.  Re evaluate your motivations for anything you do and any situation you are in. Have the courage to change your mind, say no or yes, and to open yourselves to receive the support and service available to you. The era of going at it alone to prove your strength, power and independence from others is over. This is a time of building trust, receiving support, and collaborating with others. Resetting your priorities should always include putting yourselves first in line to be served by spirit and to receive what is available to you.  Sometimes it is difficult to see through to what is your priority over what is someone else’s priority. In partnership you may have to compromise and support and honor another’s priority at the same time as supporting and honoring your own. This requires a balance so that there is an equal exchange. Often to make a collaboration work, all parties need to be supported equally in a give and take exchange especially when it comes to what is most important. What is most important to you may not what is most important to another and vice versa. Coming up with a balance where everyone gets their needs met and their importance honored will create a balance and bring the spirit of service into any partnership. The main thing is never to give all your power away and compromise yourself completely as this will only lead to resentment and Martyrdom. At the same time, if you are a person who does not make a point of considering what is important to others, this could be an opportunity for you to improve your partnerships by doing so.

Let’s look at some of the specific areas you may need to reset priorities and what it may mean for you if you do it successfully and what it may mean if you don’t.

To read about the influences this month on your finances,

relationships and health, click here to read the full commentary.

December 2010 Forecast–How Will This Month Play Out?

In this month’s forecast, Lena Stevens, author and co-founder of an international school and consulting firm dedicated to the study and application of shamanism and wisdom, reveals influences and opportunities to take advantage of.

Click here to access the full monthly commentary that you can print and reference!

Below is an excerpt from the commentary.

The theme for December is MAINTENANCE.

This is a month of putting time and energy into all those aspects of your life that require maintenance at this time. Maintenance is not only about changing the oil in your vehicle or drain opener in your pipes, although that may be right on target for some of you. Maintenance also refers to your physical and emotional health, your home, your spiritual life, your relationships, your car, your things, your work environment, your routines, practices and disciplines. This is an excellent time to review what is out of balance or has been neglected and to take action or make a plan to take action. It is a good time to scrutinize your environment to notice what is broken or in need of cleaning, elimination or an upgrade.

December is characterized by an energy that is local, ordinary, somewhat inward and close to home. Keep good boundaries against putting too much expansion on your plate, as this is not the month for it. Look to what needs doing in your own back yard. Fix or upgrade the things you already have rather than expanding into new territory. The influences are pulling the energy inward and some of you may feel restricted or confined by it. Beware of impatience and becoming agitated or antsy around the illusion of limitation. Think instead of this time as catching up to yourself through the process of maintenance in the areas that need it.

Things in your life that do not function are an energy leak. If you have a broken toaster that is waiting to be fixed, either fix it or get rid of it. We learn to live with things around us that do not function. They get stuffed into a closet or put into the garage. Part of maintaining balance in your life is to address these items that are not functioning or are no longer useful and to do something about them.  They create dead weight and take up valuable psychic space. It does not matter what you paid for something or who gave it to you. The price of having these things around holding energy is not worth it. Either fix them and put them back into service or give them to charity or to someone who can fix and use them. A good formula if this task feels overwhelming is to take one thing every day and either fix it, take action to fix it or decide to eliminate it. How many items of clothing do you have waiting to be mended or waiting for a button to be sewn on? Do it or get rid of it.  Look in your closets and junk drawers and basements, attics and garages and just pick one thing every day.

Then take one thing everyday in your physical environment that simply needs maintenance like cleaning the fridge or your oven, or weeding out a bookcase or changing the oil in your car, and do it or take action to do it (like calling the housecleaners or making an appointment with your mechanic). Then take one thing that could use an upgrade and take an action step towards that upgrade. This could be buying a higher quality food item or something inspirational such as flowers for the table, or something to support your health. It could also include refreshing the paint on a wall or replacing a ratty piece of furniture. All of this activity sends a message to the quantum field that you are taking Maintenance seriously and you will definitely be rewarded for it.

An equally important part of the Maintenance theme this month is to look at the aspects in your life that need more from you at this time. If you have neglected your health due to a busy work schedule, this would be the time to do something about that. Whatever it is that you require for more balance should be included in your daily routine and program this month. Whatever you need more of, whether it be rest, exercise, healthy diet, a hair cut, teeth cleaning, body work, etc., work it into your schedule this month and make it a priority. Many of you have a tendency to put yourselves last. This is a month where you need to put yourselves first on the list of things to maintain. Since the influences of December are consolidating the energy towards self and the home front, always think of what is best for you and resist the tendency to want to please others. There will always be someone who is disappointed in your choices. Don’t take it personally and avoid reacting to the projections of others. Beware of your energy leaks. Identify them, eliminate them and focus on re charging yourself.

Some of the less obvious and more intangible areas requiring maintenance are the areas of relationships, personal growth, spirituality and intentions. Regarding relationships, this is a good time to make note of what relationships need some attention and to do what is required. If you have not been spending enough time with your family, pets, employees or good friends, this would be the time to remedy that. If unimportant people are unreasonably demanding of your time and energy, you may have to set some boundaries in order to maintain a balance. Pay attention to old relationships that cycle back into your life with unfinished business or karmic history. Do what it takes to get things back into balance. Be honest with yourself and others regarding where your responsibility lies and where it doesn’t. You can’t fix it for someone else, only for yourself.

The area of personal growth and spirituality has to do with your relationship to self. Only you know where you are in this area and what it means to you. Maintenance may include professional emotional help, the support of putting into practice bits and pieces you have collected over the years in the area of personal growth, and perhaps some discernment of what you do and where you go from here. Most of all it is important to pay attention to your emotional and spiritual well being, to practice good spiritual and emotional hygiene, and to do whatever you can to stay connected to spirit and to follow your own intuition. Don’t worry if you don’t feel like you are making any progress this month. This is not about feeling expansive and higher centered but rather about getting all your ducks in a row in preparation for what’s to come. All the work that is being done under the surface is creating a stronger and deeper foundation that will carry you through future times. And it does require attention, discipline and maintenance.

Your dreams, plans, intentions and desires also have to be maintained. If you have a practice of visualizing or affirming your intentions or setting goal or wish lists, this practice also needs maintenance and attention. Anything that becomes too much of a routine where you are no longer present with the process needs to be re evaluated. Try going over your practices in this area and re inventing them just slightly so they become more meaningful to you. Whenever you make a change, you are likely to be more present with the process until it becomes routine again. This is also a good month to re evaluate your current goals, intentions, dreams and plans to see if they are presently viable, appropriate or something you still really desire. Remember to make sure they are yours and not in consideration of someone else. You can never set goals and intentions for someone else, only for yourself.

The downside of this month is that you may feel overwhelmed with how far you have let things go in the area of maintenance. Don’t be hard on yourself. Take it one step at a time, do one thing at a time. Watch the tendency for procrastinating and make a little sign for yourself that says DO IT NOW. Watch self-deprecation as it wants to judge you for being so neglectful. It does not serve to wallow, complain or be depressed. These are energy leaks. Just do one thing at a time that does not feel overwhelming to you, like polishing a pair of shoes or doing your laundry. Remember that part of this practice of maintenance is symbolic therefore polishing a pair of shoes has an energetic ripple effect that will begin to form a pattern of momentum around other maintenance tasks. The other challenge this month could be a tendency to feel flat, bored, impatient, and like nothing significant is happening in your life despite the numerous activities of the day. You may feel like you are spinning your wheels especially if you are person somewhat addicted to the drama of high level activity. Relax, there is a lot happening in the mundane day to day and this is an important time to regroup, recharge, maintain and rebalance.

To read about the influences this month on your finances, relationships and global issues, click here to read the full commentary.