Greetings <<First Name>>!

“There is an expiration date on everything that does not serve you.” When I heard that a couple of weeks ago from one of my own teachers, I knew instantly that is exactly the energy that we are all feeling right now, that is if we are in tune with our spiritual world – our truth – our essence – our highest potential – whatever we want to call it.  It is the discomfort of things that seem to have been tolerable before, but now they are not.  It is a longing for something that feels more joyful, more fulfilling, and more heart centered - the more of who we are.  And…no one is being left behind.
 
We have entered the final one-and-a-half month lap of 2012, a year that seems to have stirred a lot of still waters for people, including me.  There are lots of yearnings and longings, and there are lots of potential changes and shifts. Yet, I am very clear that I cannot make any of these shifts until I have clarity about what I am ready to leave behind.  That’s the first question: what am I ready to leave behind?  Then I must ask, “Where am I going?” This is a process of asking the right questions.  It is about knowing my self and my truth so well that I am certain everything needs to align; otherwise, it must leave. It truly is that simple for me. 
 
This time in our world – November and December 2012 - is to be considered a pivotal time, a time when we can make things happen if we are willing to look at our blind spots that prevent us from growth.  When we can envision where we are going and feel the pull of that, it is a pull that is unlike anything else we have ever felt, and it is one of Divine nature.  It is about trusting and then committing to a daily practice of letting go of having to know details and holding our vibration around that.
 
I know that this is going on; I hear it daily from clients.  If it is not occurring for you personally, it may be for a family member or friend. So I will be writing a few more blog postings than normal, with tips on how to get through this process with more ease and to help guide you through the next couple of months.  It is not for the weary – transformation never is.  What I can tell you is that if you ignore the call, it will come again and again until you have to pick up the phone.  We want a translative experience to be transformed, but we don’t want it to be messy.  It just doesn’t work that way.
 
I invite you to shift your perspective and look at this time as one of great potential and opportunity to become co-creator of your destiny.  This is exactly where you can shift your Victim archetype and stand fully empowered in your own light, committed to not accepting anything less.
   
Watch for the blog post tip within the next few days on how to develop a daily practice of channeling grace through prayer.

THE VICTIM ARCHETYPE

Symbolic Living Through the Lens of an Archetype
The Victim
Guardian of Self-Esteem
 
The primary objective of the Victim archetype is to develop self-esteem and personal power.  When you are in a situation in which you feel threatened or you suspect that you lack the appropriate social, professional, or personal power, take notice of that reaction physically, emotionally, and mentally.  That is the intuitive voice of your inner Victim (Myss 118). 
 
The core issue of the Victim is whether it’s worth giving up your own sense of empowerment to avoid taking responsibility for your independence (Myss 116). 
 
The lessons associated with the Victim archetype demand that you evaluate your relationship to power, particularly in your interactions with people with whom you have control issues and need to construct personal boundaries (Myss 117). 
 
You have Contracts with people who are directly connected to the Victim archetype.  Their primary role is to help you develop your self-esteem through acts of honesty, integrity, courage, endurance, and self-respect.  Those people whose Contracts are linked to empowering your Victim will play, or have played, the leading roles in awakening in you an awareness of the value of these spiritual qualities and how essential they are to your well-being (Myss 118).
 
In its shadow aspect, the Victim shows us that we may like to play the Victim … because of the positive feedback we get in the form of sympathy or pity.  Our goal is … to learn how to recognize these inappropriate attitudes in ourselves or others, and act accordingly (Myss 420). 
 
We are not meant to be victimized in life but to learn how to handle challenges and face our fears.
 
 
Work Cited
Myss, Caroline.  Sacred Contracts: Awakening Your Divine Potential.  New York: 
   Three Rivers Press, 2002, 2003.  Print.

A VICTIM TESTIMONIAL

The Victim – In My Experience
 
Certainly, any one of us can be a victim of unforeseen adverse circumstances. Yet those who have learned to use their own biases to seek justification to themselves and others for the negative actions that occur to them by thinking, acting, and speaking poses the victim mentality. We all have, will have, or have had a relationship with someone who has learned to become a victim during his or her life.
 
During my relatively short life thus far, I have experienced both allowing myself to become a victim as well as being victimized by someone who has been a victim all of his life. I am a person who is sensitive, nurturing, caring, and conscientious, not to mention a romantic at heart. I let myself become victimized by letting these traits attend to and care for the perceived suffering of the ever-present true victim held within the other. I was nearly sucked into the same myriad of twisted thoughts that reinforced the victim’s image. I attempted to use rational suggestions, feelings, and love to overcome the negative, self-absorbed, defensive, and stubborn mentality and actions of the victim. These unsuccessful efforts, combined with being blamed and criticized by the victim for events in life that he too was part of, led to my own thoughts of victimization.  My thoughts of helplessness, despair, and hopelessness combined with feelings of guilt, depression, and ultimately self-blame were underpinned by the manipulations and abuse of the victim.
 
In the book A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of “A Course in Miracles” by Marianne Williamson, a quote that was given to me reads: “Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.” I read this most every day as it lands squarely and heavily on my heart. I changed who I was; I had become smaller and smaller, believing that I was responsible for the victim’s problems. We learn to survive in life as necessary, and it takes a great deal of effort to wake ourselves up, declare that enough is enough, and choose a different path. I am now fully aware of who the victim is, and as I stay further and further away from the victim, I grow back into serving the world as I was meant to. Although it is not easy to completely stay away from someone, it has proven to be the only viable path in rebuilding my own self-esteem. I consider myself a work in progress; I now recognize the patterns in my life and understand what I will no longer tolerate.
 
- LJM
 

Work Cited
Williamson, Marianne.  A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of “A Course
   in Miracles”.  New York:  Harper Collins Publishers, Inc., 1992.  Print.
 

IN MY EXPERIENCE

Using our "All Things Alchemical" Tools

An Interview with "All Things Alchemical" Contributor John Morris

I have had the pleasure of knowing John Morris for 7 plus years.  He is one of the most gifted numerologist's and Sixth Sensory Leader's I know.  I look forward to his Divine wisdom and guidance through a yearly (at least) reading I have with him.  With that said,  I cannot say enough great things about the tool of numerology and John's way of interpreting the numbers using his intuitive guidance.
 
I encourage you to explore his website and if you feel urged - contact him to see what lies ahead in 2013 for you.  Without further adieu, I humbly introduce to you…..John Morris!
 
John, in seven words or less, tell us about yourself.
 
I help people remember who they are.
 
What first inspired you, or whom, to do this work?
 
I first got involved in Numerology after studying with Carol Adrienne, the co-author of the workbook for The Celestine Prophesy and an amazing numerologist. I did my own chart and was stunned by how ‘on’ it was! So I started doing readings for friends; they were all stunned by their charts, and it was a natural next step to start reading for clients. That was ten years ago! Soon afterward, I met my next great teacher Sonia Choquette, developed my intuition, and expanded into being an intuitive teacher and mentor.
 
What prompted you to begin your great mystical journey?  Was there any one event that occurred?
 
It is difficult to pin down one event; it’s one of those things where you trace back further and further in your life, finding more and more ‘significant events,’ until you are looking at the time when you were two years old. That’s the way it is for me. I was always interested in consciousness and metaphysical things. But if I were to pick one, it would be the first time I traveled out West from my home on the East Coast. I was hitchhiking across America with my best friend from college, and once we crossed the Mississippi River, the land seemed so big and powerful, beyond belief really. While immersed in that landscape, in North Dakota I read Black Elk Speaks, about the life of the great Oglala Sioux medicine man, and something inside me just cracked open spiritually.
 
What is the most significant shift thus far you have experienced by aligning with your truth?
 
Absolute inner peace, no matter what is going on in my life. That doesn’t mean I don’t experience fear or worry, but underneath my emotions I am always connected to Oneness. Having found that connection, it can never be taken from me.
 
What brings you joy?
 
Dancing! - In my living room, down the street, and for many years on stage and in classrooms as both a student and teacher. I still love to teach people how to dance their way through life.
 
Is there anything about numerology that you would like to share that most people, if they didn’t know this, would be missing out on a valuable tool to use in their life?
 
Numerology is a powerful way of stepping outside the intellect and looking in a visionary way at the big picture of who you really are as a soul. So many of my clients, when experiencing their chart, get real validation about what they always thought might be true about themselves deep inside, but perhaps didn’t recognize or understand on their own. Numerology gives people the insight and clarity to move forward in a way that honors who they really are.

To find out more about John’s work, go to www.johnmorris.info

INSPIRED POETRY

Who’s Got the Power?
by John Morris
 
Two of the most powerful guiding questions you can ask yourself on your soul’s journey through life are: “Am I giving my power away?” and “Am I taking away someone else’s power?” Let’s face it – we have all done both, somewhere along the way.
 
From childhood on, we learn (often by example) about the proper and improper use of personal power. If all goes well, we learn early on how to balance our power, how to stand up for ourselves and take responsibility for our own behavior without either yielding control to someone else or attempting to wrest control from another.
 
In numerology, any of the single digits one through nine can contain victim-related energy. And remember, victim issues always include a perpetrator as well as a victim, which can create complexity, confusion, or denial about what is really going on between people. Fortunately, numerology is well suited to untangling these energies.
 
As a quick review from my previous columns, each of the nine single digits has its own character, its own essence. That character can be used intentionally or unintentionally, in either a positive or a negative, contracted way in everyday life. This dual potential for each number means that some numbers will have more of a tendency to slip into the role of victim, while other numbers will be more likely to carry the energy of the perpetrator.
 
How about an example? The number two in numerology is the number of the peacemaker, the mediator. A person with prominent two energy in his or her chart tends to be the one who makes sure that everyone else is happy. Twos are very sensitive, empathetic, and usually see both sides of an issue. Because they can relate to how others might feel, and they want to make others happy, twos may tend to avoid saying how they feel, or they may be indecisive and leave the decisions to others. If this tendency becomes the default, the two may slide into victimhood, even if the other person had no conscious intention to become the perpetrator.
 
Another number that might suffer a similar recurring difficulty in life is the number six. Six is the number of love, service, nurturing, and family, and people who are not conscious in working with this energy may tend to put their own needs last in a misguided attempt to be of service, resulting in victimization.
 
On the other hand, certain of the single digits tend to get controlling if they fall into a negative use of their energy. Maybe you can guess which ones?
 
Yes, the most obvious is the very first number – one: the initiator, the leader. If unaware or irresponsible with its energy, the one may become bossy, pushy, or unyielding – which will mean trouble for more sensitive twos and sixes. Another number with similar potential is the number eight. Eight represents the energy of personal power, accomplishment, and achievement. Eight is often the number of the CEO. A person with eight energy is comfortable being in charge of others, whether in the workplace or at home. You can see how easy it might be for someone with prominent eight energy to play the victimizer, if they have not learned to work with their energy in a responsible way.
 
Whereas the one and eight might be more inclined to consciously victimize another if they are stuck in their dark side, the energy of certain other numbers may be more conducive to making unconscious victimizers. Both three and five energy can be very passionate, curious, enthusiastic – as well as scattered or irresponsible. If these numbers take over, get on a roll in their drive to explore (the five) or create (the three) and become oblivious to the needs of others around them, people with more passive number energies might fall into the role of victim when around them.
 
Now may be a good time for an important reminder, because at this point you might be wondering, “Hmmmm, maybe some numbers should just avoid certain other numbers altogether!” Don’t go there.
 
First, remember that anyone can be working with a number’s energy in a variety of positive or negative ways, depending on his or her level of self-awareness. No number is inherently good or bad!
 
Even more important, remember that we are never represented by just one number, but a whole chart full of numbers. The energy of each number interacts with and influences the others in an ever-changing pattern. To return to a previous example, a person with prominent one energy might also have a prominent two in his or her chart, which may soften and complement the one leadership energy, creating an understanding leader rather than a victimizer. And our example of two, the peacemaker, might also have prominent three energy elsewhere in the chart, which can add a cheerful confidence that counterbalances any victim tendencies in the two.
 
Numerology charts can certainly be used to check potential compatibility or conflict between two people, but it takes practice and awareness of how the different number energies can interact. The most important thing, ultimately, is to know yourself, your own true nature, your tendencies – and take responsibility for your own growth. If you suspect the presence of undetected victim energy somewhere in your life, start with your own numbers for unique insight.

WISDOM FROM ANIMALS

• “Am I gobbling up anything and everything out of fear or lack?” 
• “Am I giving to receive,” or
• “Do I feel that the world ‘owes’ me something, preventing me from recycling my giving nature in the world?”

WISDOM FROM ASTROLOGY

What Happens When Libra and Scorpio Rule?
By Vidya Dasi
 
This is a very important time astrologically, and I am sending a reminder to everyone that the time for concentrating on ways to alleviate and solve the puzzle in our lives of how not to feel victimized, fearful, and helpless has arrived.  Debilitated Rahu, although weakening its influence as it slowly moves closer to Libra, still is emphasizing the places in our lives where we have always felt like the victim. At the same time, Saturn exalted in Libra is becoming stronger and stronger and offers deep understanding and wisdom (born of hard work and commitment) to bring light to these places of darkness.
 
Hopefully you have been able to pinpoint those arenas in which you feel you need change and are finding some philosophical and practical solutions to your lifelong, if not lifetimes long, conundrums.  Often it means seeing your difficulties from a different point of view and understanding how the obstacles in your life are actually bringing elucidation, building your character, and making you into a better and more significant person.
 
Perhaps you have noticed in your own life and in others, including the political unrest and hurricane destruction, how many difficulties and obstacles have been arising.  Some are experiencing them in their personal lives as well.  Depending on where the signs of Scorpio and Libra lie in your lagna and moon charts, that is the place where the action will be happening for each of us individually,  particularly this month as two eclipses happen as well.
 
There is a total eclipse of debilitated Sun by debilitated Rahu on the 13^th of November and a partial lunar eclipse on the 28^th of November.  Where Sun and Saturn meet depending on the house, there is usually some dissolution experienced in our lives.  This year it will be debilitated Sun and exalted Saturn; so, it will especially affect our power of personality, which probably feels to be in a relatively weakened state at the moment, and our careers.  Saturn, the planet of sacrifice and wisdom, is exalted.
 
What this means for us is that we are being called upon to take the time and the energy to face our weaknesses fully and introspectively and be willing to perform some tapasya (sacrifices) to help strengthen these places of weakness.  By bringing philosophical understanding, introspection, and spiritual light to these areas, the weaknesses can become strengths, and the difficulties will provide inspiration for growth and change. 
 
There is also divine intervention awarded to us, as struggling souls attempting to become enlightened, in the form of Jupiter’s aspect upon all of this activity.  Jupiter, the planet of expansion and spiritual understanding, will provide us good conscience.  By increasing or initiating spiritual practices into our lives, this difficult period will be navigated well and can prove to be highly informative at the least.  Great impact and understanding is available if we apply ourselves rather than hiding from the areas in our lives that are being pressured.
 
Whatever houses Scorpio and Libra rule, that is where you will be experiencing all the activity during this month.  Those of you whose moons and/or suns are in Libra must use extra caution during this time in all that you do.
 
If Libra or Scorpio rules your first house, you may experience feelings of insecurity about how you are perceived by others, your own process of self- realization, your body/health might be affected, and your partnerships may be highlighted or experiencing some need for refinement.  Adding some thoughtful process for self realization may bring some relief and elucidation. Writing will also help.
 
If Libra or Scorpio rules your second house, you may be facing some financial difficulties or the need to make some adjustments in your spending.  You may be searching for new ways to earn and save money.  Speaking your truth will be highlighted, as well as the need to do so.  Writing can bring some relief from your frustrations. Singing, if even in the shower, should bring you happiness.
 
If Libra or Scorpio rules your third house, communications are being emphasized as well as the need to improve your ways of dealing with others, which may be inhibiting your ability to get what you want from life.  Deep thought on ways to improve your communication skills will be in order.  If you can, also utilize your artistic skills to bring some much-needed release from the tension.  Listen and move to music.
 
If Libra or Scorpio rules your fourth house, it is probably not a good time to move ahead with fixed assets, but rather wait until next month.  Your happiness and inner peacefulness may feel almost extinct.  Finding inspiration by using deep meditative or spiritual practices and introducing them in a deeper and more consistent way in your life will help immensely.
 
If Libra or Scorpio rules your fifth house, you may be experiencing some extra anxiety about your children or investments or creativity or spiritual aspirations.  Again, increasing your spiritual practices will aid you greatly in solving the issues at hand.  Exercising or playing sports will help as well, as more inspiration may come with physical improvements.
 
If Libra or Scorpio rules your sixth house, you are probably feeling as if circumstances and enemies are going to be victorious in your life, and you may also be having some difficulty with your health.  Doing physical exercise will help, as will understanding that dichotomous thinking is not necessary in your life.
 
If Libra or Scorpio rules your seventh house, with the activity going on here your partnerships are highlighted and may be causing you some anxiety.  It would be especially good to concentrate on your spiritual practices to bring some light to the difficulties you are experiencing.  It is important to be introspective and view issues from the other’s point of view as well.
 
If Libra or Scorpio rules your eighth house, sorrows; deaths; mental pain; health; and difficulties with insurance policies, wills, and legacies may be occurring.  Concentration on healing practices and spiritual practices will bring you relief here, and you should also try to develop your intuitive or psychic abilities using meditative practices.
 
If Libra or Scorpio rules your ninth house, you may be experiencing philosophical and spiritual conundrums.  Your reputation could be taking a hit.  It is probably not the best time to travel.  Concentration on doing right activities and particularly developing honest, spiritual practices and attending to them daily will be especially beneficial for you.  Studying will also bring relief and inspiration.
 
If Libra or Scorpio rules your 10^th house, your occupation and career may be in question and may also be depressing you.  It is not a particularly good time to make a change, but rather a good time to contemplate how to improve your career and improve your practices in life that support your career.  Perhaps you need to spend more time concentrating on it and finding some ways to bring inspiration to the daily work.  Reading and expanding your consciousness will help.
 
If Libra or Scorpio rules your 11^th house, you may be experiencing some difficulties with friendships, and/or your friends are experiencing drastic difficulties.  It may also be that the accomplishment of things that you have dreamed of or hoped for do not seem possible, and you are feeling somewhat discouraged by your life and its prospects.  Again, increasing your self-realization processes and/or spiritual practices will be comforting and inspiring and may bring you some very real solutions.
 
If Libra or Scorpio rules your 12^th house, here you will probably be having some very difficult occurrences in your life, which seem to have come from nowhere.  It is always recommended that your qualities of patience and tolerance be cultivated as these occurrences are karmic ones and must be tolerated patiently.  Again, increasing your spiritual verve and practices will be extremely helpful in riding through the difficult waters.  If you can do something for others in the medical, educational, or spiritual realm, it would be very good to do.  Giving to charity will help matters.
 
I am looking forward to our next installment and meeting you at the other side of these eclipses, wholly or partially healed and newly inspired from all the purification from these difficult times.

Special Offer:  I am willing to map your Vedic Astrological chart for a nominal fee (to cover my costs) of $25.  If you email me the following information, I will mail your chart to you:

• full name
• address
• birth date with year
• birth place
• birth time

I think this will really help you follow the information I provide each month.  As you can see this month, I am getting more specific about the planets in YOUR chart.

Until we meet again……... Vidya

WISDOM FROM YOGA

Click here to watch this month's yoga video ...
Click here to listen to this month's audio ...
To Download the Audio, Right Click here and select Save Link As ... (Mac Users, Hold down Control when you click)

In the experimental 1960’s, a groundbreaking idea came to prominence: feeling like a victim is a choice. In other words, no matter how deep the injustices you have suffered in the past, the human psyche has the capacity to heal and make a fresh start, unburdened by yesterday’s scars.
 
However, when this idea first broke out it took a wrong turn. Many therapists and practitioners of the healing arts adopted a ‘tough love’ approach to those trapped in a victim mentality. Since feeling like a victim is a choice, it’s your fault you feel this way. By failing to make the choice right now to move on from your past traumas, you are being selfish and indulgent. It seems this shock therapy worked for a few people, but for many others it merely added insult to injury.
 
Bad experiences with the tough love approach led many people to abandon the idea that victims can reclaim their own sacred internal space and put the past behind them independently of external retribution. Thankfully, we’ve moved forward since then. Thanks to a rediscovery of the ancient yogic approach – with its more sophisticated understanding of human psychology – we are now in a position where we can equip ourselves with the tools we need to move on from the injuries done to us by others. We can bury the past peacefully and open to a future free of suspicion and filled with companionship.
 
In the accompanying video and audio practice we explore powerful practices for the physical, emotional, and mental ‘bodies’ (as yogic philosophy describes them) that are especially potent for releasing feelings of victimization and moving into a sense of enduring abundance and wholeness. The key to this is generating internal space – accessing your own personal infinity. By doing this, you identify less with your ephemeral, superficial aspects and increasingly with your deepest, unchanging essence. Then the wounds of the past no longer appear like dominating features of your life. Instead, you are able to watch them be incinerated in the blinding light of the miracle that is your existence.

 - David

CONSCIOUS EATING

This month's recipe ...

Pumpkin, Sage and Chicken Pasta
from Alexandra Topp

Ingredients:

• 1 box (4 servings) of bowtie pasta or brown rice penne pasta
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped Sage
• 3 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 3 chicken breasts cut into strips
• Olive oil

Preparation:

• Cook pasta according to packaging.
• Mix pumpkin, broth and cream in a bowl.
• Add chopped sage and 1 teaspoon of salt into mixture.
• Set aside.
• Pour olive oil in a saucepan and place over medium heat.
• Sprinkle sliced chicken with the cinnamon and remaining 2 teaspoons of salt.
• Place chicken in pan and cook fully (no pink).
• Once chicken is cooked through, place pasta and pumpkin cream sauce in the pan with chicken.
• Cook over low heat to allow the sauce to warm for about 5 minutes.

For a healthier option, use more broth (3/4 cup) and less cream (1/4 cup). The sauce will be thinner but the flavors will still be there.