slowly discovering my purpose on this planet

I am a 36 year old caucasian college-educated male from a middle class family.  And I am so much more than this.  It took me at least 27 years to see and then another three years to realize that I am a spiritual being having a human experience.  And I am still unpacking what exactly that means.

In this post, I am intending to stay focused on my “profession.”  I have that in quotes because I do many things.  So I am slowly discovering what I am meant to give back to humanity, in the form of what I do for the energy known as money, a.k.a. my profession.

I have explored many complimentary medicine-type avenues – I have certificates in training in several modalities – Reiki, Biodynamic Cranio Sacral therapy, BodyTalk, trauma resolution, visceral manipulation and more.  I have studied Spiritual Astrology since 2003 (Western Astrology through a karmic lens), so that informs what I do.  Most of these modalities come easy to me – I’m not trying to brag, but rather, I want to explain that I’m not sure if I have found “the one” modality which ties many of my interests together AND challenges me enough to enjoy it and to continue growing in its knowledge.

Having laid the foundation of my complimentary (read alternative) therapeutic background, enter my three years spent at the University of Virginia acquiring my bachelor’s degree in Psychology.  This is a very conservative and traditional college, very research oriented and empirically driven.  So it goes without saying that I had to keep most of my interests to myself as I went through classes.  One might guess that I would not enjoy my time at UVa, but you would be wrong   🙂    Because I felt it was a form of mind training to be there.  For my intuitive, I-love-what-comes-easy-to-me mind, stepping outside my comfort zone was just what I needed.

I gained one of the most important tools a functional human being can have in their repertoire – a critical, analyzing, empirically-based mindset.  I learned what is true science and what is opinion.  I learned that occasionally our intuition is not accurate – but rather it is fear or an imagination gone wild.  Therefore when you say that a study proves something, and it is peer reviewed and it is replicable, then you might be onto something.  The best part is that I got to blend my already blessed intuitive and emotionally-aware mind with a critical understanding.  It might sound strange that it took three years to learn (or unlearn poor habits), but maybe that is typical.

And now I don’t exactly know what is next.  I stand on my next precipice.  Perhaps my next step will be a short step downhill toward an easier destination or maybe I will be challenged nicely and head upwards.  I have applied to nursing school.  And I am already loving the classes I have had to take – Microbiology and Anatomy and Physiology.  The more I learn about the human body, the more I am reminded of a metaphor.

As an astrologer, I sit on the sidelines and spout wise sounding advice.  And if I have experience in the particular area someone is asking about, then it is actual wisdom.  Sometimes I might channel a bit of wisdom from another source.  But nonetheless, I am (or was) on the sidelines.

Now as a potential health care practitioner, I will be licensed with a specific scope of practice, with serious responsibilities and duties (and inherent consequences).  As opposed to sitting near a lake and describing it for someone, without ever having swam in it, now I am dipping in my feet and I am about to take the plunge.  And it is awesome (and of course not knowing exactly where I am heading or how I will blend complimentary modalities into what I will do is a bit disconcerting, but it is apart of the unfolding mystery of life).

As I know more, I will keep you post.  Thanks for visiting!

Time for a spring cleanse?

I have been researching the best time to do a spring cleanse and of course I personally prefer using a method of cleansing that is relatively gentle.  If a cleanse program suggests inducing vomitting (even if just once), I avoid it.  If a program recommends a lot of colonics (enemas), I would most likely avoid it.  One or two colonics a year is healthy in my opinion (I do not receive this many), but going beyond that may start to impair your body’s natural elimination processes.

Some cleanse regimens recommend going completely off of meat and oils for a week or more, and I’m not sure if this is necessary either.  Remember – first and foremost – we are all unique individuals with unique situations.  If you work a physically demanding job that requires for you to take in many complex proteins and high amounts of calories, then maybe you should simply consider drinking some organic lemon juice in warm water in the morning and/or before bed.  But otherwise you should obviously keep up your protein and carbohydrate levels.

If you are fortunate enough to be able to take a week off of work (maybe you work from home or you are self employed), then you might consider taking more intense actions for cleansing – like going strictly vegetarian for a week or cutting out gluten completely during that time, etc.  So, most importantly, figure out what you can handle and what will be gentle for you.  If you eat meat everyday, and you suddenly go for a whole week without it, you might experience a cascade of symptoms and this would not be gentle.

One article (and practitioner who I trust) is Dr. Isaac Eliaz, a medical acupuncturist.  He has a nice article on spring cleansing here: http://www.faim.org/guestwriters/seasonal-spring-cleanse-protocol.html

Good luck and try to be kind to yourself!

Thanks for visiting.

 

Take care with what you put in your mind stream

I just got out of the movie, the Kingsmen, not too long ago.  It was a corny, fun, fast-paced spy movie with lots of gratuitous violence.  And I mean LOTS.

I knew what I was getting myself into with the movie, but what really got me were the previews.  I did not expect a horror flick to preview for that kind of movie.  Yikes!  I had to look away and I chose to chant mantras in an attempt to distract from the sinister pictures and ideas.  Whoa!  Can’t they warn us or something?  Do not go in if you wish to abstain from the horror footage.

I am wondering if this movie is the last of this type that I watch.  I use the website rottentomatoes.com to judge a movie’s value.  If they give it more than an 80, I typically will consider it.  But I’m tired of spending big bucks for a roller coaster ride for my autonomic nervous system – sometimes the “fight-or-flight” kicks in around the violence and then the “rest-and-digest” parasympathetic kicks in for the cute dogs or precious baby scenes.

I think it is worth considering.  Spending time, money and driving resources to go to something which might leave my brain stem in a knot.  Hmmmm…  What do you think?

I always welcome comments here.

Thank you for visiting!

Spiritual Astrology & the Astrological Sun: the spark and a catalyst

This material is copyrighted by M. Kirby Moore.  Reproduction without permission is prohibited.  Thank you for visiting!

This post contains info which assumes the reader has a basic knowledge of astrology.  If not, then keep reading and you will probably get something out of it!

One piece of Spiritual Astrology which should be kept in mind when reading this post is something called “Frequency Based” Astrology.  This takes into account that we are all at different points in our spiritual, emotional, psychological, financial and health-oriented paths (etc).  So you must assess where you stand on any given spectrum.  For instance, if I am the type of person whose major goal is to buy that Beamer and I wonder why I can’t keep a steady relationship going…  well let’s just say that person is at a completely different place than the person who is content with less, who works a satisfying job and who slowly and steadily saves money for practical goals and who might have a rewarding yoga practice.  These two individuals could have very similar astrology charts (horoscopes) and yet the way in which their planets interact and reflect their inners lives would be vastly different.

Likewise, when reading this post, when I mention the words “heavy” or “challenging” or “difficult” in referring to aspects.  I am not saying anything definitively – rather, for people who have a lot of work to do on themselves, they might experience certain transits as heavy or burdensome.  While those of us who have done our personal growth work and who have awareness and maybe even a spiritual practice, we might just experience these “challenging” aspects as learning opportunities (or a stubbed toe).

We all have different karma, and we can gage from our previous history where we are on any given karmic continuum.  And now I hope you enjoy this piece:

I am writing this post because I am reminded again and again how a particularly “heavy” transit, like Pluto square the Sun or Saturn square Jupiter with a challenging Mars Progression, does not feel heavy or challenging all the time.  Even a faster moving Uranus (transits a planet for a total of 9 – 18 months with a 3 degree orb) does not reveal surprises or upheavals for the entire time it is on that planet.  Can you imagine a new surprise or upheaval or accident every week for a year?  No – that would be too much to bear.  So then why does that Uranus / Moon hard aspect only come out during a certain week or month?

It is because of certain catalysts in the astrology chart – planets like a Transiting Sun, Transiting Mars and Full / New Moons and Eclipses.  Tracking these events and these planets through someone’s chart will reveal when a heavier (and longer enduring) aspect might “manifest.”  I say “manifest” because it is not the planets “doing” anything but rather the astrology chart is simply a blueprint of our karma – all the gross and some of the subtle karmas, including positive karma and negative karma.  If we have a lot of negative karma to clear, and the conditions are in place to do it, then during a “heavy” transit or progression, we might have a rough stretch.

Here is a for-instance: say I had Pluto crossing the Square point to my Lunar Nodes, plus my Progressed Moon was coming to make a conjunction with my Natal Neptune (not necessarily a tough aspect in and of itself), along with Saturn making a conjunction with my Natal Mars…  you can see where this is going.  This might be a rough month or two for me – but which month will it happen in?  Look at the Transiting Sun or the Transiting Mars, these planets, along with the Progressed Moon will tell you a lot about when something might manifest.

Say I had those challenging aspects going on above, and then, that same month, my transiting Sun also crossed (conjunct) my Natal Mars.  Then boom – suddenly I might experience bad abdominal pains and a few days later have my appendix removed.  I’m not saying this has to happen, and I am not even saying this is likely!  But it is one possible way to purify some negative karma.

Then, if Saturn is still hanging around my Natal Mars, then there might be a slight complication and I have to go back because I have an abscess (Saturn and Mars can indicate infection), and due to the Progressed Moon’s influence with Neptune, I might have even had some response or possible reaction to the anesthesia.  Who knows, there may have been an out of body experience.

And all this may not have occurred if the transiting Sun had been clear of tough aspects for a couple weeks.    But something may have been more challenging if not as rough as I describe it above.

Go back and if you have not already read it, read my post about Bodhisattva Astrology as a way to counter the fatalistic trends in this post.  Remember, our awareness and our spiritual practice determine how negative karma manifests.

For someone who is fortunate enough to practice an authentic spiritual path (maybe like Buddhism), if they are sitting on a meditation cushion for a 3-month retreat, then maybe they don’t have the same manifestation as I mention above.  Instead of requiring surgery, maybe they experience a couple days of headaches and then they continue with their practice and they don’t even have to interrupt their retreat.

That is the beauty of life (and of astrology).  We don’t know exactly what is going to happen.  We can’t say exactly how negative karma might manifest.  But we can control the conditions and possibly the causes for karma to manifest – for instance, if we are doing an arduous yet relatively safe hike on the Appalachian Trail for a full summer, then we will probably miss any negative karma that would have manifested in a busy, chaotic work environment.  I’m not saying that you should go sit on a meditation cushion for a few months or that you should go take a hike.

Rather, take it one step at a time.  If you have the time and resources, maybe explore taking a yoga class.  Or explore a meditation group.  Or join a group of outdoors enthusiasts.  Set realistic goals and try to keep them but don’t be too hard on yourself either.  You might reward yourself for reaching certain milestones.

Thank you for reading!

His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon, giving Kalachakra in Florida

August 1st and 2nd, H.H. Chetsang Rinpoche, one of the two Drikung Kyabgons, is bestowing this rare empowerment at the Drong Ngur Jangchubling center near Tampa, Florida.

Here is their website: www.dnjus.org

I am confident this will draw many people.  It is on their event calendar.  It should be an extremely auspicious and inspiring few days.  If my class schedule permits it, I am planning to go!

Don (obstacle) season, 10 days

I have written about this topic in the past.  I definitely experience this time of year (a time before the Tibetan new year – Losar – where things need to be reconsidered at best, and I often have to slow down to get through it with a modicum of ease).  Not everyone is going to feel it though, and perhaps, depending on other astrological factors, some years will be more intense than others.  So take this with a grain of salt if you like.

From February 8th until the 17th, we might encounter extra obstacles to spiritual practice, obstacles to mindfulness, or possibly even physical obstacles.  It is recommended that during these ten days, we should do Vajrasattva mantras (purification), or Protector practices (Achi Chokyi Drolma or Mahakala, etc) and this is often the time of the year where Tibetans literally clean their houses.  I think it is viewed as a time to move stagnant energy out.  On Feb. 18th, it is a new cycle, a fresh start.  So get ready ahead of time!

I would recommend this article on the topic as well: http://www.elephantjournal.com/2015/02/don-season-how-to-survive-the-next-10-days-of-chaos/

Thanks for visiting!

Writing an Essay for Nursing

This material is copyrighted by M. Kirby Moore.  Reproduction without permission is prohibited.  Thank you for visiting and you can visit my website to see what I offer in Spiritual Astrology or Process Oriented Bodywork and more at www.mkirbymoore.com

So I read the directions on the website and tried to prep ahead.  I am applying to nursing school and I knew I would have just 300 words to write about myself and how I might make a good nurse.  So this is what I wrote: (but when I got to the testing center, they had me pick a random topic to write about, so this essay prep was sort of in vain)

 

I am not your typical nursing student.  At 35, I feel a little behind my peers academically, however I have many life experiences informing my present decisions.  It took some time after graduating from UVa to decide what to do next.  I explored several options, mainly involving psychology, but I settled on nursing.  This is due to nursing having much to offer me: being able to benefit my community, being able to educate people, and having a broad scope of practice once I obtain my RN license.  Ultimately I would like to complete nurse practitioner school, but I realize there is much to learn and explore before then.

I have always been interested in the functions of the human body – nutrition, digestive processes, environmental effects and psychological functioning.  I just completed Microbiology with a high grade because that was one of the most stimulating topics I have yet to study.  It opened my eyes to the possibility of using my nursing degree to go into research.  And now that I am studying histology and actually working cadavers in A & P, my passion for this subject continues to grow.

I believe I will offer a lot to the nursing profession.  I have taken massage and Craniosacral classes, so my bedside manner is fairly refined.  I try to meditate each day so I would bring a compassionate presence and practical grounded approach.  I am looking forward to wholeheartedly learning and being challenged in nursing school.  thank you for your consideration.

 

So that is what I had written ahead of time.  But then I got there and drew the “tell us about your accomplishments and attributes that you believe will make you a good nurse” topic.  So I wrote about that in 300 words.  I’m hoping I did great.

Thanks for reading!

Visualizations for health

This material is copyrighted by M. Kirby Moore.  Reproduction without permission is prohibited.  Thank you for visiting!

At some point in our spiritual journey (through life) there is a progression toward mental (intangible, intuitive, inner) power, strength and confidence.  What do I mean by this?

I would say that most mainstream Americans – maybe 50 % of the population – believe that once they cross a certain threshold of sickness, then they MUST go to the doctor.  And they are smart to believe this.  However, I will elucidate this matter.

At some point in our inner evolution, we will notice that certain food and drink makes us feel a certain way – and hopefully at some point we notice that drinking a lot of cheap alcohol makes us feel very crummy the next morning.  If you have not done this yet, then you should stop reading right now.  🙂

So we start to believe that we can affect our health by what we put in our body – generally speaking, eating less processed food (due to add GMO ingredients) and cutting out all non-organic dairy products (the growth hormones and antibiotics they add are disturbing) – will lead to our feeling better and probably being healthier overall.  There is a great TED talk about this and you can view it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rixyrCNVVGA

At some point, maybe you are here, maybe it will happen in a few years, maybe another lifetime, you will notice that meditation (and certain types of efficacious spiritual practice) makes you feel better – in your heart, in your gut, improving your health and intuition overall.  It might be yoga, it might be guru yoga, it might be sun salutations, it might be native practices, it could even be receiving process-oriented bodywork twice a month.  Whatever it is, you feel more connected to the Earth and all of our brothers and sisters who live here.  Once you get here, you are well on your way to creating the life you desire and deserve.

Recently, I happened to come across an article that talked about how certain doctors experimented with using visualization techniques with their cancer patients and the results of these experiments were pretty astounding.  For instance, having one group of patients visualize white knights charging into battle with the cancer cells and visualizing them vanquishing the cancer led to an additional 27% positive recovery.  That is pretty significant!  And yes, I am too lazy to go find this article.  But trust me I read it.

So having read that piece, I decided to start using my own form of visualization.  I already have a slight edge on the general population I think, owing to the fact that in Tibetan Buddhism, we do certain visualizations for certain practices.  (I’m not saying I do them well!!  I am just an ordinary human being who is in possession of many poor habits…)  But I have some experience with visualization.  So I decided to mix the two – if and when I feel sick – whether it is a tiny scratch in my throat, or if I just want to get rid of a pimple, or if I feel a cold sore forming on my lip – then I visualize Vajrasattva (a Buddhism deity of purification) and white knights going to work on that part of my body.

And sure enough, so far it seems to work.  I will wake up the following morning feeling better – the sore throat will be gone, or the cold sore will be all but gone and / or the pimple will be smaller.  So maybe it is just a coincidence, maybe these things were going to improve on their own, or maybe I am actually affecting my body for the better.  I believe that.

So go ahead.  If you feel down or sick or fatigued, experiment with visualization.  It can’t hurt!

And may you and all beings be well and happy.

Thanks for reading.

preliminary ruminations Jan 2015

I am pondering several little things in my life…

 

I have been in a growth-0riented relationship for about a year now (Wow! right?).  Growth-oriented because Stephanie (my partner) is a strong woman who is thankfully able to assert her needs and desires.  It has been very pleasant at times and occasionally trying.  But overall I am very happy to be in this relationship.  It will get better and it is getting easier each day.  So there are stresses but they are mostly positive.  I just have to remember to take (or make) time for myself in my (and our) busy schedule of life.

 

Also, on a separate note.  I wonder about learning about history.  I am presently reading a great book entitled “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.”  It is fantastic and it is helping to open my mind to the horrors and beauty of people’s lives who lived under the occupation of German soldiers during World War II.  I am starting to wonder about maturing.  In the past, I avoided learning about our planet’s tragic history (unless it involved China or Tibet).  But now I wonder if another level of maturity involves learning about people’s plight in the world – in little, doable doses of course.  It is a great book by the way – did I mention that?  🙂

At present, I am taking classes in Anatomy and Physiology at the local community college and I am working full time.  That and the relationship I mentioned and my life is full.  Very full.

Oh – and I am applying to nursing school.  Whoa!?!  Wish me luck!

Aqua Float experience, part 2

Continuing from the earlier post about floating in a sensory deprivation tank…

I was starting to notice that there might have been tension in my bones?  Was that possible?  Then I slowly became aware of a point in my neck that was developing discomfort.  Now before you judge the whole concept of floating based on this review (which you probably won’t do), you need a little bit of back ground about me.

I am not an entirely typical human being.  I have experienced at least 200 process-oriented bodywork sessions, I meditate on a quasi-regular basis, and I have been told that I am an Indigo Child (adult now of course).  I have done meditation retreats, somatic-process retreats and I have spent a decent amount of time outdoors – hiking and walking in nature.  So needless to say, I know my body more than most typical Americans do.  I practice process-oriented bodywork and offer it to others, along with Spiritual Astrology – so I have some uncanny insights into transpersonal reality.

Anyway – back to the float.

So my neck is becoming more and more uncomfortable as I lay there, more relaxed than I have ever been.  Knowing my system like I do, I realize that my neck is processing one of two things: either birth trauma (when I was born the cord was wrapped around my neck twice and forceps were used) or an injury from when I was five years old – where I dove into a pool that was three-feet deep and I nearly killed myself.  However, knowing trauma resolution like I do, I just lay there and allowed the pain and discomfort to increase to its strongest and then it slowly started to melt away in warmth and heat.  Seriously.  I felt warmth running down my spine after a time.

This experience above is not some minor thing.  I sometimes go for bodywork to work on this neck issue, specifically, and sometimes I do not feel like much gets worked through.  Therefore I would say that attaining these deep levels of relaxation are pretty special and unique (that is what I acquired in one float experience).  And that once these levels of relaxation are attained, then other deeper stuff can start to unwind and process through (if you are ready for it to).  I don’t know how much of this would have happened without the history I mention above.

At one point in my float, I felt like my whole body was being supported by something larger than me.  Something larger than the room the tank I was in, was in.  🙂   It was pretty incredible.

Then to be honest, maybe around the 60 minute mark, I had to go to the bathroom.  So getting up and slowly coming back into my skin was pretty wild.  I felt the cool air of the room as I opened the tank.  The light in the hall way was extremely bright after lying in the pitch black darkness for an hour.  And then, getting back in the tank, I could not get as deep as I had been previously.  I think this was because I was not sure how much time I had remaining.  (Each session is 90 minutes long and then the L.E.D. light comes on in your tank letting you know you have 5 minutes before the pump and filtration system will make your tank into a whirl pool.)

Further thoughts:

So that is one big quality in favor of floating.  Deep deep levels of awareness below and beyond the surface senses, relaxing below the skin.

However, here is what I have to say about the inference that floating in a sensory deprivation tank is a form of meditation.  Yes it is.  But I don’t think it should take the place of a regular meditation practice.  Maybe floating can be a great supplement to meditation – seeing your progress?

In conclusion, I would go back to Aqua Float several times per month if I could afford it (not that it is expensive, but I’m in school, etc etc).  It was an awesome experience.  I got to process something deep and complex and in the first session!

And actually, as I write this, several hours later, my neck feels much much better.  There are times that it is stiff and I rarely suffer from torticollis – stiffness which radiates up from behind my heart, making it nearly impossible to turn my neck.  So that feels better at present   🙂    Yay!!