Connect

The roadmap to a mindful life lies in the simple pleasure of consciously becoming aware. In particular, meditation techniques provide individuals with introspective means of becoming conscious of their own sensations, thoughts, and feelings as they exist without judgment and over-identification. Often times this goes well and meditators feel a sense of joyful peace and freedom. Their flow of mind seems to float in a transcendent state of gratitude and appreciation.

More often than not when life gets busy with work, responsibilities, or kids, couples decide that sleep is the new sex! But before you choose to snooze rather than canoodle, remember that sex is as powerful a stimulant and relaxer as sleep (even when you don’t quite hit the peak)…

The Karmic Tools Weekly Forecast covers the current planetary transits which affect people in different ways and to various degrees of intensity.  Take notice when it is a Personal planet (Sun / Moon / Mercury / Venus / Mars) interacting with a Social (Jupiter/Saturn) or Collective planet (Uranus / Neptune/Pluto).  And pay extremely close attention when it is a Social planet interacting with a Collective planet because that means something *big* is brewing that will move large groups of people along their evolutionary paths. Tun

Highlights:

• That energy is out there.  It's sort of pulling us away from balancing our own individuality, and our relationships now we've got this third point over here.  With them, the media is pulling us, and really the focus point to balance all this out is at home.  It's home, the Cancer energy of home, and family, and nurturing, and bonding with those that we love.  So one of the things that we can do to spend a little bit, to balance things out, spend a little bit more time, loving and nurturing our family.
• We talked about Venus being the sol

I’ve always had a compulsion to rid my closet of excess materials–clothing that has never been worn, books that have never been read, and papers that don’t provide any value – emotional, informational, or otherwise. While friends and family continued to collect clutter, I remained baffled at how they could sleep at night with messy bedrooms, kitchen cupboards so full they couldn't close, and desk drawers stuffed with random gadgets and trinkets that would never be touched again. Over the years, I believed myself to be the odd one out, forever plagued with a compulsion to clean.

Every single morning for the past nearly 11 years I have treated myself to one of Ayurveda's oldest secrets for health and longevity. With herbs and warm oil in hand I rub my entire body down with a gentle massage which has helped me to retain elastic skin and a vibrant body. Abhyanga is the Ayurvedic term given to describe warm oil self-massage (often with herbs) and it is simply heavenly.

Gemini is the sign of the twins. It is a very mentally oriented sign which can often manifest as a sort of “dual nature.” Communication is a strong suit for the natural Gemini and ruled by Mercury the messenger we find Gemini governing largely the throat chakra as well as standing at the helm of right and left brain integration (or disintegration).

The word “dopamine” gets thrown around a lot these days, especially with the rise of mental illness. After experiencing some depression myself, I decided to do some research on the science behind this neurotransmitter and some ways we can keep our levels in check. 

Dopamine deficiency is often classified as feeling unmotivated. You’re not necessarily sad, you just don’t feel as excited about things as you used to, maybe even a little bit numb. 

Aaah, it’s June. By the way, that was a sigh of pure relief. I can already feel the relaxation settling into my soon-to-be well-rested bones. June is such a surprisingly pleasant month for numerous reasons—my absolute favorite reasons are because the weather is just dreamy, and this month marks the start of summer. To kick off your fabulous summer with your fabulous loved ones, be sure to immerse yourselves in some (or all) of these totally June-tastic activities.

It’s hard to deny, as lilacs bust out, that stuffing a handful of fragrant flowers in a vase is super-springtime-satisfying. I’m a sucker for a fistful of lily of the valley, myself. But, as spring blossoms into summer and flowers flash unique colors and shapes, why not consider a more simplistic and intentional arrangement? Why not try your hand at ikebana, the ancient Japanese art of flower arrangement?