Moments of Awareness

The planet of mental and lifestyle energies moves retrograde today at 12:28 PM MDT . It begins it's twenty-four day period of reflection in Leo, sign of pleasure and creativity, asking us to revisit and refine our attitudes and choices regarding recreation. Monday, July 10 at 2:18 PM, Mercury moves into Cancer, sign of home and family life, asking us to turn our attention to our interactions with those closest to us and the space in which we live until he turns direct again on Friday, July 28 at 6:33 PM. As always, this is a time to be particularly friendly to electronic devices (especially those involved in communication) and the vehicles we use for daily travel, as they are susceptible to glitchiness during this time. We'll want to allow extra time for getting around town and take a moment when speaking and writing to be sure we're making our points clearly and accurately, and it's a good idea to pay attention to our personal health and the habits that support (or de

Please be sure to check the reading date, as postings will be made early much of the time. Current readings will always be posted at MOA . Once again, Sunday is the most astrologically busy day of the week, starting off with a bit of timely communication which opens a door of opportunity in the first hour of the day. And of course we need to hang on to the pleasant feeling of that because the next few hours aren't so easy. Through the 1:00 hour ( MDT ) we move from annoyance to annoyance to annoyance to antagonism (and then back to annoyance during the 2:00 hour). So it's kind of nice when, just after 4:00 AM, we hit a roadblock with the illusory aspects of our current emotional state being reined in by the transformation of our philosophical outlook. It's always worthwhile to let an obstacle slow us down, and sometimes, as in this case, it's a downright relief. After a little growth spurt around twenty to 7:00, the Moon makes her last aspect before going void of course

Please be sure to check the reading date, as postings will be made early much of the time. Current readings will always be posted at MOA . [updated link (February 1, 2014):  MOA Eot* ] Well, it’s Sunday again, and the most astrologically busy day of this week. Most of the day is not particularly pleasant, with our emotions overheating and the material world rubbing us the wrong way, so when that bit of luck comes along at quarter to 7:00 AM MDT we’ll want to grab it and hang on to the pleasantness of it as a buffer to the challenges to come. It will be followed at twenty after 9:00 by an opportunity to combine our dreams and life philosophies in ways we’d never previously considered. The party’s over by 9:30 and the rest of the day we just have to relax and breathe our ways through. I’m tempted here to say, ‘grit our teeth and muddle through’, since it’s more that kind of day, but relaxing and breathing usually bring about better results in terms of helping us stay calm and peacefu

Please be sure to check the reading date, as postings will be made early much of the time. Current readings will always be posted at MOA . [updated link (February 1, 2014):  MOA Eot* ] Uh-oh. The week comes in with a Sunday full of irritating energies. Virgo’s Moon is asking a lot of us, mostly that we make a genuine and concerted effort to remain positive in the face of what may feel like overwhelming negativity. When we’re not feeling fractious today, we’re feeling blocked. Earth, water, and fire are coming together in all the wrong ways, and what little air is working it’s way into the mix is buried under the other energies of the day. In other words, it will take Herculean effort to allow our thoughts to buoy our spirits. Despite all this, it’s one of the hallmarks of humanity that we’re able to overcome seemingly incredible odds, so take heart and hang in there. The Moon goes void of course after 5:30 PM MDT upon completion of her square with retrograde Pluto in Sagittarius

Please be sure to check the reading date, as postings will be made early much of the time. Current readings will always be posted at MOA . [updated link (February 1, 2014):  MOA Eot* ] The week begins with a mixed bag, as Sunday's energy fluctuates from positive to negative and back again all day. The trick to days like this is to maintain a positive attitude in periods of negative energy in order that when things turn positive again in the wider world our internal energy is aligned and ready to accept what comes. We spend the early part of the day stuck in our thoughts, and at 10:30 AM MDT our emotions jump into the mix which, while uncomfortable at first, brings a welcome bit of stability. The morning's subsequent developments carry us through the afternoon to a point of new possibility around 4:23 PM in terms of action we may take regarding that which attracts us, after which the Moon is void of course until entering her home sign of Cancer at 5:33. There's some mi

Please be sure to check the reading date, as postings will be made early much of the time. Current readings will always be posted at MOA . [updated link (February 1, 2014):  MOA Eot* ] Where last week began with a bang, this week starts with a splash. Change is in the air, and it’s not entirely comfortable. There is fixity in our dreams, but since they are by nature nebulous even that isn’t a place we can rest. The other area in which there’s some sense of solidity at the moment is in the need to play creatively in order to most greatly enhance our future endeavors. That’s a fun thing to have to do, but not always an easy thing. The prominent themes for this day are agitation, growth, and luck, with a fleeting dash of opportunity at 11:40 AM MDT , almost entirely revolving around the theme of our dreams for our homes and families. The closing notes of the day, however, are a sense of friction regarding how the past we can’t release is shaping these dreams, and a block in seeing ne

Please be sure to check the reading date, as postings will be made early much of the time. Current readings will always be posted at MOA . [updated link (February 1, 2014):  MOA Eot* ] The week gets off to a fiery start as Sag's Moon forms a lucky trine with Leo's Saturn just after midnight Sunday morning MDT . The Taurus Sun continues to offer stability and weight to life's dealings, but at most other levels today's energy is largely fire tempered by water. The result is a day of spiritual and emotional renewal. At about 8:30 AM there's a bit of upheaval concerning our idealism and recent optimism toward homey affairs, but a steady approach will bring us through it with positive effect. In the later afternoon things begin to feel a bit blocked but if we take care in our words and keep travel to a minimum this too will bring us to a larger playing field by day's end. Monday continues in much the same vein. This day is busy and larger than life, full of

Please be sure to check the reading date, as postings will be made early much of the time. Current readings will always be posted at MOA . [updated link (February 1, 2014):  MOA Eot* ] The week begins with a very earthy energy, as Virgo's Moon adds weight to Taurus' Sun. Sunday is an astrologically busy day, and for the most part quite good. Watery emotion creates a malleability which allows for our dreams to manifest, and there's just enough fire and air in the mix to dry and harden our creations. We'll want to look out for friction around 8:00 AM ( MDT ), a quarter to 5:00, and just after 10:30 PM, and a mental block around 8:00 PM, but none of that should stop us from making the most of what is largely a lucky, opportune energy. The night ends on an agitated note, but that's short-lived as the very early hours of Monday morning bring growth. This too is fleeting, and much of the day is edgy in a raspy, sort of annoying way. Things lighten up around a quarter

DShield - Distributed Intrusion Detection System, The Internet's Early Warning System and Internet Security community site

Please be sure to check the reading date, as postings will be made early much of the time. Current readings will always be posted at MOA . [updated link (February 1, 2014):  MOA Eot* ] Sunday begins with a hint of dreamy magic shortly after the midnight hour, but there’s an unsettling heat behind it that warns us to take care in being too indulgent. Around 3:00 ( MDT ) when we find ourselves faced with an obstacle we can’t see a way through, we choose to go around and over, and the result is that we spend the rest of the morning and the early afternoon in expansive energy, dealing in the morning hours mostly with spiritual matters and moving around 1:00 to a bit more material focus. This brings us a bit of luck, but it’s important passing through it to remain focused on mental and intuitive energies. There will be a mild distraction around 2:00 but if we let it pass we’ll be back on level ground in no time and moving in a positive direction. This continues through the afternoon and ev

theSite - dodgy  [updated link (February 1, 2014): How dodgy are you? ]

Please be sure to check the reading date, as postings will be made early much of the time. Current readings will always be posted at MOA . [updated link (February 1, 2014):  MOA Eot* ] Dream-time is busy this Sunday morning in not-entirely-pleasant but not-entirely-unpleasant ways. By the time we wake up (in MDT ) we’ve worked our way into what will be a good place given a positive attitude (attitude is, after all, everything :-> ), and lucky energy persists into the early afternoon. That growth spurt we started last night regarding communicating the pain of our past in new, useful ways gets another bump between 1:00 and 4:00, and around 8:00 there’s a flash of insight in which that growth reaches a point of fruition and we really internalize the transformation it brings. We’ll want to watch for a little jolt in the late evening as what attracts us is restrained by what we must do. The energetic aftermath of this continues through the sleeping hours to culminate around 7:00 AM as o

Toddlers Today: A Bad Rap for Soap? Germs May be Good for Kids  [defunct]

MoveOn.org Civic Action: Save The Internet

Mumps Epidemic Spreads; More Vaccine Is Promised - New York Times

Learning to Savor a Full Life, Love Life Included - New York Times

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BBC NEWS Science/Nature Yummy mummy feeds young its skin

Nuggets of Death - New York Times

Life in the Green Lane - New York Times

A Bad Leak - New York Times

Taking the Least of You - New York Times

And this is the problem with legislating personal moral decisions (abortion, gay marriage, sexual conduct between consenting adults, and personal drug and herb use are the ones most politicians use in campaigning to press voters' buttons); it creates divides between people who are otherwise fine going about their lives in harmony and keeping what they do on their own time to themselves. Ripples From Law Banning Abortion Spread Through South Dakota - New York Times

I'm O.K., You're Biased - New York Times

Please be sure to check the reading date, as postings will be made early much of the time. Current readings will always be posted at MOA . [updated link (February 1, 2014): MOA Eot* ] The week starts off well with Sunday being largely a day of growth and luck (although it’s a good idea to remember that luck is not automatically ‘good’). Our thoughts and emotions heat up in the morning ( MDT ), with the former leading us to feelings that, if respected, acknowledged, and absorbed, will help to move us in the direction of true good fortune. There are minor bumps in the course of the day but overall with a positive attitude all will be well. It’d be a really good idea to carry this positivity into Monday. Sunday’s energy bleeds into the first few minutes of the day, but from about 1:30 AM on things become a bit more challenging. We move from agitation to obstacle and back again during the sleeping hours, and the morning is spent in that energy. In the early afternoon benefit arises out

Regrow Your Own - New York Times

Faith-Based Medicine - New York Times

For meowing out loud. I love critters as much as the next person, but either America's priorities are really screwed up or people just have way too much time and money on their hands. From Faint Meows, a Frenzy Grows - New York Times [Molly was rescued , by the way. (February 1, 2014)]

SPACE.com -- Skulls, Tornadoes and Insects - The Bizarre Sightings of Modern Astronomy

It's always made sense to me that Judas was acting on Jesus' orders. Jesus was not so stupid as not to know that Judas would eventually 'betray' him. If he knew it would happen the only reason he would keep Judas in his inner circle would be because he knew that Judas would do the right thing, which was, after Jesus' act of aggression in the temple and heresy in the streets, to turn him in to the proper authorities and let the law run it's course. He also knew that the government with which he was dealing was so corrupt that justice would not prevail, and he would be made an example. That doesn't mean he wanted to go through what he did, but he was certainly willing to, thus the, "Let this cup pass from me... but not my will, but thine be done," prayer. The Gospel Truth - New York Times

Virtual Schools, Real Innovation - New York Times

BBC NEWS Science/Nature Seventh planet has a blue ring

BBC NEWS Americas Bush 'approved intelligence leak'

Golf's Power Failure - New York Times

Stop: Don't Test Those Cows! - New York Times

'Gospel of Judas' Surfaces After 1,700 Years - New York Times

BBC NEWS Science/Nature Telescopes 'worthless' by 2050

BBC NEWS Health Premature babies 'feel true pain' [The troubling thing is that the assumption for so long was made that it didn't, rather than taking the compassionate route of assuming it did and working to mitigate it anyway. (February 1, 2014)]

Second Life: Your World. Your Imagination.

grocery bag shoes on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

BBC NEWS Health Brain blamed for teen stroppiness

Death by Smiley Face: When Rivals Disdain Profit - New York Times

Basic Instinct 2 - Review - Movies - New York Times

Long-Awaited Medical Study Questions the Power of Prayer - New York Times

Too Many Stuffed Animals? See: The Lisa Project

Wired News: Jell-O Fix for Spinal Cords  [updated link (February 1, 2014): Jell-O Fix for Spinal Cords /Originally posted on Wired.com]

LiveScience.com - Brain Cells Fused with Computer Chip  [updated link (February 1, 2014): Brain Cells Fused with Computer Chip ]

If you're missing the daily horoscope, please let me know. Your responses will help me determine with what frequency I bring it back once I'm done with the larger update I'm working on at MOA. Meantime, go see Marsala's site  [link no longer Melissa's, now blocked as malware, updated links (February 1, 2014): Melissa Armstrong Art and Art in the Fast Lane ]. It's chock full of cool stuff. (Support the arts; buy something!) Or go visit HouseOfStrauss  [updated link (February 1, 2014): My Zero Waste ] and learn all kinds of hints, tips, and tricks for making life greener. Lookin' forward to hearing from you. Love, Peace

SPACE.com -- Broken Comet On Its Way

In the summer of 2000, before Bush was even elected, Dude and I lived in Jacksonville, NC, a Marine Corps town from top to bottom. Our neighbors ran a tailoring/dry-cleaning business on the main strip out of Camp LeJeune. They wondered aloud to us several times that summer why, when there was no significant military action taking place in a desert area and no sign that one would be upcoming, nearly all the uniforms coming in were desert warfare camos. At the time, Dude and I said, "Apparently someone's planning a desert action." The really disturbing thing about it is that, if this was related to Bush's plans, not only was he sure he'd win the Presidency (to a greater degree than should be possible pre-election), but he had some power to influence military prep activities. This isn't surprising considering his pedigree, but should be a cause for a great deal of alarm in a country founded on principles of freedom from tyranny. Love, Peace Bush Was Set on

A Poverty of the Mind - New York Times

Don't Take This Lying Down - New York Times

Selling the Forests - New York Times

To All the Girls I've Rejected - New York Times

An interesting note: Anyone who's ever in their lives used Ritalin or Prozac is considered unfit for military duty. Panel Advises Disclosure of Drugs' Psychotic Effects - New York Times

Roberts Dissent Reveals Strain Beneath Court's Placid Surface - New York Times

TheStar.com - How to spot a baby conservative  [updated link (February 1, 2014): How to spot a baby conservative /Originally posted in TheStar.com]

The day begins with our external energies feeding our ability to nurture that which matters in our immediate world. We don’t confuse work with home and family, and as morning draws near we find new opportunities evolving to bring our dreams to fruition. Shortly after we arise (in MST) we find ourselves making new and reasonable resolutions with regard to career that promise, if carried through, to positively enhance our public standing. In the early afternoon our friends and dreams come together to enrich our lives in the little ways that sometimes get lost in the big picture. Later we’re motivated to spend some time engaged (truly engaged, not just present) in constructive discussion, which brings us back in a very positive way to the issue of making the most of what our ancestors have given us. In the early evening we find new motivation but keep it to ourselves lest it turn out to be illusionary. Shortly thereafter a bit of turbulence arises in our self-image, once again tied to th

Gentle Christian Mothers - Christian Attachment Parenting

The Doctor Will See You for Exactly Seven Minutes - New York Times

The recent destruction and recreation of our philosophical stance is highlighted this early morning, and shortly thereafter we find ourselves gaining perspective in our thinking which will translate to clarity in our communication. Mid-morning MST the day takes on a rough edge as we find ourselves faced with reconciling several issues over the course of the next few hours. We feel fairly clear at this point about our career and effect in the wider world, but there’s dissonance between what we’ve come to in that regard and our internal journey. Later in the day we’re reminded once again that reconciling all the issues in our lives, from career to friends to finding our own time to balancing what we have with what we need and what we want, is simply a matter of going about life with an attitude of discipline, and taking pleasure in the rewards as they come. As the day draws to a close we’re in a good place mentally and emotionally, with growth and opportunity apparent on every front. L

This early morning’s sleeping hours (in MST ) are spent pruning and shaping the growth our ideas have experienced over the last few days. By the time we wake, there’s a clear delineation and reconciliation between what we think and what we need to do. Over the noon hour everything is good as the past and present continue bringing growth and opportunity into our lives, but in the early afternoon a bit of tension arises as we feel that the rewards we deserve for our discipline are too long in coming. If we can put that aside our afternoon ought to be fairly quiet, but in the evening we’re faced again with apparent dissonance between what we have, who we are, and what we think is best. Every day we live we become, if we’re paying attention, just a little more aware that things tend to work themselves out given the time and space to do so. This too shall pass, and if we’re doing our part every rough patch brings us more tools with which to make life generally smoother. It’s just a matter

AFE :: Biofuels Team :: Home  [defunct (but Dude's nephew Zach Yatso, who was part of the project, is now an engineer and plant manager :) )]

It’s a quieter day than we’ve seen lately, but quite good. Just after midnight MST our dreams turn to creative uses for this energy with which we’ve been wrestling of late, and mid-morning it becomes apparent that our effort in reconciling these issues has brought us to a greatly enhanced sense of who we are – and we’re happy with what we’ve found. We drift through the midday enjoying this newfound sense of self, and in the late afternoon we come to a place of greater clarity regarding how it is that our past is going to translate into humanitarian work in the wider world, beginning with our friends and loved ones and rippling out from there. Near midnight some tension creeps back in as we find ourselves once again faced with dreams held back by pragmatic thinking, but time will bring solutions so we’d do well to let go wherever possible and allow our sleep to be refreshing and restorative.

We wake this morning ( MST ) after a night spent weighing the issues of the past couple days, realizing that part of our problem in releasing our attachment to what’s come down from our ancestors is that in many ways we define ourselves thereby. It begins to become clearer as we realize that we are so much more than that. We are our choices, and all those choices have made of us. After a few hours sitting with this, accepting the things we cannot change, deciding what of the things we can change we’d want to and seeking the courage to do so, we start with our home and family and begin to shake things up. The afternoon is spent setting a tone for future growth and by evening it becomes apparent how those very issues we thought were holding us back are indeed an integral part of our growth. As bedtime approaches there are still some unresolved points, but overall it’s been a productive day.

A Magical Childhood

Main Page - SourceryForge

In general, we’re in a place of dealing with that which was passed down to us by our forebears. As we dream this early morning there’s a bit of a tug of war between the ideas of working for what we get or having it given to us and which is 'better'. As we wake up and move toward starting our day, we’re weighed down a bit with the feeling that what is passed down to us stands in the way of properly nurturing our friendships, but as we move toward midmorning ( MST ) we begin to see that we can use those legacies to enrich our homes and family lives which gives us a stronger base from which to offer friendship and all that it entails. There’s a period of confliction between this dream and our more usual philosophy on life, and the afternoon is a bit of an emotional roller-coaster as we oscillate between thoughts of friends, career, and dreams, sometimes engaged by the possibilities and sometimes annoyed or even discouraged by seeming obstacles. This continues through the early ev

SPACE.com -- The Moon to be Higher and Lower in 2006

We wake from a night of dreams in which our world schema has been dismantled, examined, and rebuilt, and spend our morning conversing with partners and sorting through our plans for the parts that stand up to close examination. Midmorning there’s some disagreement or dissonance between us as dreams collide without necessarily matching up, but a philosophical approach leads us to cooperation through which greater opportunity than we’d previously seen becomes possible. The noon hour ( MST ) is fairly quiet, but midafternoon the energy shifts back to one of mild agitation which interferes with communication between us and our friends and loved ones. We want to brainstorm, to talk things through, but there’s this niggling itch underneath that asks us to keep things light. That’s not to say we ought not to examine the issues at hand, only that it’s important right now not to let the little itch turn into a big problem. In the early evening we feel our past creeping into our thoughts and ch

Astronomers Find the Earliest Signs Yet of a Violent Baby Universe - New York Times

Greek Mythology Link, Home Page.  [defunct]

THEOI PROJECT Guide to the Gods, Spirits & Monsters of Greek Mythology

Mythography Exploring Greek, Roman, and Celtic Mythology and Art

As we move into this day we're asked to look into and put aside all remaining illusions regarding our intentions, bringing on another bout of transformation. We spend some time questioning where to push ahead and where to reserve our energy, but around the time we get up and get our days started (at least in MST ) our bodies have figured it out and get us moving in the right direction. By early afternoon our minds have followed and everything begins to come together. Around 5:30 PM we come full circle to the energies with which we came into the day, but rather than competing they now complement one another and we can spend the evening resting in a comfortable awareness of our place in the world.

From: Jennifer J. My pal Maureen had this on her blog! Had to share it! Even if you're not "religious" it's really nice! ********************************************************************************* 17th Century Nun's Prayer Lord, You know better than I know myself that I am growing older and will someday be old. Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion. Release me from craving to straighten out everybody's affairs. Make me thoughtful but not moody; helpful but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom it seems a pity not to use it all, but you know, Lord, that I want a few friends at the end. Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details; give me wings to get to the point. Seal my lips on my aches and pains. They are increasing and the love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by. I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tal