![]() (Authenticity is the New Currency) By Isaac George Feb. 15th, 2016 “Be yourself. Everyone else already exists.” - Unknown What does authenticity mean to you? Do you endeavour to just be yourself in your business or personal life? Or do you struggle with an inner and outer persona, and strategize how you wish to appear in your work or career? Do you hide how you really feel because of what others might think? “For me the word authenticity only has real weight if a person is fully in touch with their feelings. To own one’s feelings and to show them fearlessly to me is a sign of emotional maturity. Sometimes we’re up, sometimes we’re down.” Of late I’ve been examining the business world, and especially what could be termed “soul-based” or spiritual/intuitive coaching. I do really need to do this as I have been rebranding my own work in that vein. One of my inspirations for this was reading about the life experience of a successful coach in America who I had the pleasure of working with briefly. What was instantly refreshing and different about him is that he revealed a bit of his history…who he had been and how he moved to where he is now. He did this without any sense of embarrassment. In terms of success, this guy had it clicking on all cylinders during the first half of 2015. Then early last summer, the wheels came off of the bus. He had a series of misfortunes and setbacks that would have made anyone question their vision and life’s direction. Instead of hiding behind a façade of “everything’s fabulous”, he sent out a newsletter recounting his challenges and what he was learning through them. No sugar coating, no lies. It was a humbling and inspirational demonstration of trust and vulnerability. Integrity was written all over this guy. ![]() For me the word authenticity only has real weight if a person is fully in touch with their feelings. To own one’s feelings and to show them fearlessly to me is a sign of emotional maturity. Sometimes we’re up, sometimes we’re down. I read somewhere recently that there is some research now showing that acting “as if” or putting on a performance for others can have a negative cumulative effect on one’s own well-being and physical health. The striving for perfection, or even excellence, can cut us off from many things. I feel that we avoid showing up 100% because our egos have been trained and conditioned so thoroughly in the twin shackles of shame and embarrassment. “Showing up and being who you are, no matter which side of the bed you clambered out of this morning, is how people will instinctively know that you are trustworthy. You don’t have to “sell” it to another, because your truth will permeate whatever you think, say or do. It becomes self-evident." We often hear that the world of business is about building relationships. If that’s true, why reserve only our “game face” in our business dealings? Is that authenticity? No, not really. It’s the same theatre we see in political campaigns and corporate public relations media campaigns. Both rely on certain types of psychology to manipulate the public into believing something, then doing almost the exact opposite of the stated purpose. Fraud is epidemic. Sound bites and pretty images have a hypnotic effect. But if you are ignorant of the tools employed, then you are a target. I feel it’s time to stop playing games. Showing up and being who you are, no matter which side of the bed you clambered out of this morning, is how people will instinctively know that you are trustworthy. You don’t have to “sell” it to another, because your truth will permeate whatever you think, say or do. It becomes self-evident. Of course it IS essential that you do as you say you will do! Your words and actions must agree in order to be experienced as real and authentic. To that end it is very important that we can never over-promise or over-commit…or that will cost us in numerous ways. Conversely, honesty and authenticity is magnetic! When we were kids (no matter in which lifetime you care to think of) our learned behaviours were pretty much dictated by the “shoulds” or “thou shalt nots” that we learned in our primary relating with our parents. Whether we were imprinted with their religious ideas or not, we looked up at them as being gods or goddesses. Almost without exception we perceived that our very survival depended on them! Of course when we were indoctrinated into some religious form, we also projected our perfected ideal of a paternal or maternal God onto our fragile and flawed parents, and when they couldn’t stack up to that image because they let us down, it created confusion and deep disappointment. "To find the source of your authenticity and your soul, your mission will be to find your nugget, your seed; you’re absolute true nature." The work of becoming authentic will be found to rest squarely on realizing the combination of our mystical and human natures, the divine and the mundane…our very personal mythos. We are simultaneously a unique expression of the One Love that is the Source of All, and we’re also connected with everyone and everything else. Why hide it? Why hide from it? To find the source of your authenticity and your soul, your mission will be to find your nugget, your seed; you’re absolute true nature. Our core beliefs about the nature and purpose of “business as usual” (busyness as usual) will may have to also change dramatically, if we are to avert social and ecological apocalypse. "This is the nature of how consciousness works. Trust and love must begin in one’s own personal sphere, and then translates into our intimate partnerships, families, communities, and our business relationships." The new currency is authenticity. The coming way of being, whether personally or in business is to embrace the power inherent in our vulnerability. Trust will be something that will not have to be spoken, because each person will be more in tune with their true natures. This is the nature of how consciousness works. Trust and love must begin in one’s own personal sphere, and then translates into our intimate partnerships, families, communities, and our business relationships. All of our relationships will thrive because of cooperation with one another, instead of competition. Love and authenticity are values that must inform all other values. Embrace your truth, and be fearless in being who you are and a journey of magic and bliss will open up to you, and in every life you touch. With love, Isaac Isaac George, Intuitive Mentor – Coach for spiritual awakening, conscious relationships and sexuality and evolutionary astrology www.isaacgeorge.com www.starwisdomastrology.com YouTube Channel Inspirational Sources: Video- See below: "The Real Me": The Who (From Quadraphenia at Royal Albert Hall) Articles - Dr. Brene’ Brown’s “The Power of Vulnerability”: https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability?language=en Dr. Brene’ Brown’s “Listening to Shame”: https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_listening_to_shame?language=en Suppressing Emotions – New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/03/us/health-new-studies-report-health-dangers-of-repressing-emotional-turmoil.html Held Emotions Can Kill: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/timi-gustafson/bottling-up-negative-emotions_b_5056433.html
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![]() by Isaac George Oct 12th, 2015 I am morphing into a heretical evolutionary astrologer. In other words, with a few future exceptions, I will be blogging less about lunar events, eclipses, etc. There are a number of reasons for this, which I’ll cover in a different series of blogs that will be coming up in the next few weeks, but suffice it to say that as an evolutionary, or soul-based, astrologer, it’s time to evolve! Perhaps the term “pirate astrologer” might suit. Hmm…star larceny might not work. Now that’s out of the way, time to focus on this week’s festivities. There’s a lovely being whose been messaging me for a week or so now, asking “when will things settle down?” My pat answer to her, and others, is “not in the foreseeable future.” Today is a good example. It’s a New Moon in Libra, and yes, there is a HUGE amount of energy pressing down on all of us regarding relationships; our relationship with Self, with others, or a significant (and possibly difficult) “other.” With each passing day, it appears that external and internal forces are coaxing, if not downright pushing us to make decisions…to choose a path, a new direction or commitment. And this is indeed what is occurring, and will continue to occur with increasing intensity. (The chart is below, and the exact moment of the New Moon is 1:05BST, 12:05GMT, October 13th. It occurs on October 12th in North and South America.) When is it going to settle down? I’ve got no idea, and my advice is don’t look for some sort of external reprieve to suddenly return you, me or the rest of the world to some somnambulistic version of our previous worldly experience (think the Eisenhower years of the 1950’s, or Marty McFly’s lifestyle in “Back to the Future” during the 1980’s). It’s not going to morph suddenly into a future Utopia either (remember 2012?). Nobody is going to get to sleepwalk through the next decade or so, and I’ll stake my astrological reputation on it. Now, before you shut down and call me a negativist and accuse me of fear-mongering, I’d just like to ask you to look at how positive these times and the potential future times can be if we are stimulated, prodded, pushed and otherwise compelled to evolve out of our dysfunctional beliefs, habits and general brainwashing about how things are and how they’re supposed to be. The time for compromising your values or soul-instincts in order to please others and just get along in the Matrix is becoming more untenable with each transit. This New Moon is only part of the energy that is ripping away the veils from our eyes. It’s activated and activating Uranus in Aries (retrograde) and that guy is traveling in close proximity with his feminine counterpart, the dwarf planet Eris. Eris is like a biker chick that’s looking to disturb your civilised sensibilities. The other activation is the inconjunct (tension) between the New Moon and Chiron retrograde in Pisces. This placement will ask all of us what our deepest despairs, losses and childhood wounds have been, and we will need to feel them, not intellectualize them. No room in the new paradigm for our unhealed inner child baggage. To be soft, yielding and compassionate with ourselves as we invite these soul parts back into the fold is the only way through the tension. It could get very edgy and a bit messy…let it do that. Diplomacy may be in short supply, as there are sudden shocks and insights regarding significant others that may upset your previous assumptions. Venus and Saturn are the Razor’s Edge Gang today and over the next few days. In a close and tense square to one another, Venus demands a high level of ethics in Virgo…a purity of intent and purpose, while Saturn in Sagittarius is like a prosecuting attorney, pushing the defendant (you, other, or both) to come clean with the truth. Hear that sound? That’s because the veil of illusion and denial getting ripped apart. Have a box of Kleenex nearby at all times. Now on to the next order of business, which is about Jupiter and Venus conjunct in Virgo, and which will be in a trine Pluto in Capricorn on October 16th. Perhaps it’s time to watch the markets again. Business as usual is going to also be undergoing the gravitational crunch over the next few months/years. The old models will be disintegrating at a more accelerated pace. Our economic model is currently fueled by two factors – greed or fear. There’s an astrological art known as mundane astrology that has been tracking trends in the financial and business world since before the last crash in 2008, and they were mostly right about that one happening. Now these astrologers are sounding the alarm bells that we may be headed into another not-so-nice situation, mainly because the fundamentals that caused the downturn in 2008 have never been addressed. In case you think I’m making this stuff up, take a moment to look at some of the headlines. Investors are paying attention...especially to the situation in China. This is only one article, but many governments and financial institutions are getting nervous, or creating the nervousness. Read more about it here. Can our business model be reformed? For a number of reasons it’s very doubtful. I remember in the 90’s that some people who were awakening spiritually thought it would be possible to hang out in the corporate arena and effect change from the inside out. As former U.S. President Jimmy Carter discovered the hard way, it was easier to campaign on the promise to completely reform the U.S Federal governmental bureaucracy than it was to actually do it. And, as Buckminster Fuller recommended, we will need to invent something new and better to take the place of hyper-capitalism and neo-liberal policies (austerity is good for you!). You probably sense that all is not well with our financial and economic systems, and this is another reason the anxiety is at an all-time high. Perhaps higher than the Dow Jones Index on the Wall Street! The whole planet is operating from a place of cortisol poisoning. Don’t try to ignore it, because it’s not going to go away until we face facts and the truth of our illusions (Virgo-Sagittarius). One of the primary energies this week is to download your own Soul Program. This will, by its very nature, not be what your mind will think it might be. Your “mission” is unique to you, and, it is integral with everyone else’s mission in one sense or another. You might find yourself outside of the mainstream, and wonder where your tribe/family/allies are hiding out. You may still try to operate within the “system” and it will work for the time being, until it no longer feeds your soul. One thing to assiduously avoid in any case is the idea of spiritual significance. In other words, you and your being here is no more or less important than another soul’s mission or purpose. Cooperation will have to replace the old ideas of competition. You just need to ask for it and cooperate with it, without trying to define it...for now anyway. It would also be useful to examine some of our unconscious language we utilize in the marketplace and our lives. Here’s one example of what I’m talking about. For all of us who are in the helping professions, life coaches, therapists, healers, bodyworkers and so forth, I’d recommend ditching the overused and well-worn term “client”. The origin of the word “client” is as follows: Origin of client: Old French ; from Classical Latin cliens, follower, retainer ; from Indo-European base an unverified form klei-, to lean, as in Classical Latin clinare (see incline); basic sense, “one leaning on another (for protection)” Read more at http://www.yourdictionary.com/client#gJat6GGMGuD7eVWp.99 According to one of the Merriam -Webster’s Dictionary references, a client as “a person who engages the professional services of another; also: “patron, customer”. But get this, the first definition is “dependent.” A health coach I know told me that she likes to think of those that come to her that she’s a professional friend for them. That’s a new clarity in the business relationship…being there as a friend! It’s so ironic. We are all striving to become more self-actualized and self-sufficient, and at the same time we run the risk of becoming dependent on our “clients” and they become dependent on us. The therapeutic model needs an upgrade too. I look around and am amazed that our culture now demands so much of us, and a lot of folks are finding it harder and harder just to keep up. A larger swath of the population than ever before is in therapy, or on medication…or needs to be. Coaching and therapies are proliferating exponentially, and at the same time things are still getting crazier. Just noticing, and wondering if there’s something we’re missing in the equation. I feel that what most of us really want is quite basic, and very human. We want to feel good!! We all are Love, and crave love. Finding and feeling acceptance with one another is giving voice to love. To be listened to, seen and deeply understood is love in action. To be enfolded, and to be cherished…just for being human is Love demonstrated. To feel secure in our intimacies, in our strengths and in our vulnerabilities is Love as Protector. To just feel what it would be like without so much striving, stress and worry would be welcome. Should not Life be more than jumping from one stress management and coping mechanism to another? That in itself produces more stress…trying to find things to reduce stress. Do we have to reach the breaking point in order to change? We are so imaginative, inventive and creative…gifts that beg to be made manifest will begin to emerge from the crucible of change, the ripping of the veil. Welcome to the new normal. Perhaps the planetary eco-emergency is something that will actually propel humanity into sanity again. I don’t know for sure, but we obviously need to behave differently if we, and most of the other species on this world, are to do more than survive. To thrive will require a spiritual renaissance, but I feel it will be more a shamanic and neo-pagan movement than something etherically spiritual, aka the "New Age." Empty yourself of all that you thought you knew…beginner’s mind is required today, tomorrow, and for the next millennia. I recommend more a return to miracle-mindedness. “A miracle is something that looks impossible, but happens anyway.” That little gem was delivered by a character named Griffin (picture above) in the film “Men in Black 3”. I like it a lot! What we may be on the threshold of discovering is how we can integrate the practical and the magical, the pragmatic and the shamanic. It certainly sounds and looks a whole lot more sustainable and fun than the old model! Let the veil fall from your eyes, or rip it away, and behold yourself new and renewed. You will see things that have been hidden, that have tranced you out, or numbed you from your true identity. Allow the illusions to crumble, let the child within heal, and may your warrior/lover arise from the ashes of the old order. It’s a New Moon…it’s a new day…it’s a new world, if you want it. With love, Isaac ![]() by Isaac George March 14th, 2015 This month has a load of astrological markers that are quite significant on their own, but it is the synthesis that is most intriguing. If you are not savvy with astrology terminology or the use of archetypes, the technical side can be a bit daunting and distracting. I’ll try to minimize the astro-babble and focus on the feel and meaning of these times, and more importantly, how best to respond to them. For those of you who do follow astrology, and know a bit about your own charts, the areas of highest sensitivity for this month are planets, asteroids or chart angles between the 8th to 17th degrees of Aries, Libra, Cancer and Capricorn, and Leo. This is the second installment in a three-part series. If you missed the first segment, click here to read it. Week of March 15th to the 21st – “Mission…Possible!” “We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful what we pretend to be.” Kurt Vonnegut We begin the week fully in the energy of the 7th and final square between Uranus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn. This will occur this Tuesday, March 16th, at 2:22am GMT (UT). There are also some significant triggers preceding this point, such as Saturn turning retrograde at 4 degrees of Sagittarius yesterday (March 14th) and the Moon meeting up with Pluto in Capricorn today at 9:19am GMT (UT). This coming Friday there is a partial Solar Eclipse at 29 degrees of Pisces at 9:35am GMT (UT), followed by the Spring Equinox when the Sun ingresses into Aries at 10:46pm GMT (UT). All charts are provided at the end of this article. For more detailed information about the Solar Eclipse, just click here. Now that that’s handled, I’ll flesh out my feeling/knowing about what’s happening… We are all on a ‘mission’. Our souls have a big agenda, or we wouldn’t be here at this time on this world. One of the things about this notion is that it is essential to see that everyone else is on a mission too, so you have loads of company, and no one is better or lesser equipped than another; just uniquely equipped, as it were. I’ve titled this blog “Mission…Possible!” because in spite of there being so much change and flux and intensity, this is not a negative situation we find ourselves in. Sure, letting go of the familiar, even that which has been a fixture of love, attention, security or familiarity in our lives looks “negative”, or is viewed as a loss, as this is a judgment from our ego. Face it, egos dislike change….intensely. But the new landscape will be quite different from our old familiar territory. Our egos (our little kid) have been under a lot of pressure during the Uranus-Pluto cycle, which really began in the summer of 2012. We must deal with all the hurts, disappointments and injustices it suffered over the decades since we arrived here. All this got really triggered after the 6th Square, around Dec.15th, 2014. Secondly, it does not like feeling abandoned or ignored. It has NEEDS, and we better listen to it or else we’re going to find ourselves dragging a squirming tantrum into the future with us. None of us will be able to afford that bill as this year progresses. In order to fully manifest and realize our purpose for being here, we will have to integrate our unconscious bits quite dramatically, and also very lovingly and compassionately. Part of this work centers around redefining our view about our natures. We are human, and we do possess a spark of divinity, a quality of self-awareness and imagination. However, we are also human animals, and do share a connection to the Gaia, the planetary consciousness, and all of the other biological forms here. Our planet is also known as the Magna Mater – the “Great Mother.” Actually, that’s an old Gnostic term for Nature in general, no matter where it arises in the Cosmos. They also called her “Sophia”, the Wisdom Goddess, and wisdom is a weapon we’ll need after the major shifting we currently find ourselves embroiled in. We are all interconnected in a profound way, as if we were one organism, with each person constellated in such a way as to provide a particular service or gift to all other parts of ‘us’ that are in need of such support. This is the basis for real communing, or community. It is touted as the primary quality of the coming Age of Aquarius. One aspect of the Solar Eclipse this Friday is that the Sun and Moon meet at 29 degrees of Pisces, the ultimate end of a Zodiacal cycle that began around 200 B.C.E. In other words, the imminent end of the Great Age of Pisces may be upon us. Look at the glyph for Pisces…two Fish swimming in opposite directions. This represents the rise of self-reflection, the expansion of the ego, and the sense of separateness from Nature and each other that has marked this Age. Perspectives were “either/or”, and hardly ever, “both/and”. It gave rise to Darwinian Theory, competition, scarcity and poverty consciousness, etc. One might argue that this began when agriculture was invented, and we stopped living in small foraging tribes. However, during the last 2,200 years we really excelled in creating a power over, victim-perpetrator game that has brought us to the edge of ecocide, and species extinction. Our psyches are exhausted and trying to catch up with the evolutionary pressures brought to bear. We are extolled to “evolve or perish” now, and it is imperative that we do so to avert disaster. Years ago I read a book entitled “The Coming of the Feminine Christ”, by Dr.Niamh Clune. The standout quote from this work was “only the Awakened Heart can avert the apocalypse.” I strongly feel that is a truth worth reflecting upon as we encounter the planetary agents of change in our midst. Our hearts must awaken, our souls must be given reign over the egoist concerns of survival and personality. This is the test of Uranus in Aries, which is the Sacred Warrior of the Aquarian principle facing up to Pluto in Capricorn, the defender of the Established Order of the previous Age. Each archetype has a light and shadow aspect. On the dark side Uranus is change at all costs and Pluto is ruthless about power. The enlightened side of Uranus is community, and the expansion of “Yintegrity”, or doing what you want when you want to. The shiny side of Pluto (is there one?) is deep and profound shamanic transformation, leading to lasting change, whether you personally like it or not. New opportunities are before us. We are called upon to own our mastery, our mission. I am coming to view the term “mastery” in a new way, more like a kind of Jedi Knight. Instead of some impossible ideal of divine-human perfectionism, this mastery is about full authenticity and vulnerability. Sometimes we can flow with the Force, and achieve amazing things. Sometimes, the Force does not cooperate, and we need to just grow still, nurture ourselves and listen. At other times we can wield the power within us at will, and at other times, it’s Will with have its way with us. Wisdom comes from listening to the ebb and flow and responding, rather than pushing and shoving. Trying to do 'power over', with all the inherent abuses, is not going to work anymore. Everyone is becoming too sensitive to the amount of fraud rampant on the planet right now, and any attempts to use power to gain an advantage over another will boomerang. Let’s just say that karma may be instantaneous, and leave it at that. Yes, practicality will be required. Getting your hands dirty and working hard will definitely be required. That’s Saturn for you. The next cycle we enter is Saturn-Neptune, and it will require discernment, hard work, and also a respect for process of bringing ideas and ideals into form. Not everything you want, or think you want, will be necessarily good for you or for others. This is the Neptune part…releasing your dreams and desires to your Soul for a more balanced manifestation to materialize. As previously stated, we still have to contend with the Old Order, the 1% who refuse to give up their greed and ‘power over’ game. Be careful it doesn't infect your heart’s true desires. Our Response-Ability: There will be a bit less pushing and shoving with Saturn going into retrograde. That doesn’t mean you will be idle and contemplating your navel till August 2nd. What it means is that this is a time of review. Your course may be cluttered with pictures of reality that no longer serve you, or others. The past may be incompatible with your present and your vision (mission, desire) for the future. This is like “remedial lessons” time for some folks…another chance to tidy up loose ends before really moving into your Soul’s direction. Uranus-Pluto will ask you to move from horizontal reference to vertical reference. Connect within, and connect to Galactic Core (7th Chakra) and Sophia-Gaia-Earth (1st Chakra). You are an embodiment of Life...not a struggling human (that’s the old Piscean mentality of divide and conquer, sacrifice and abandonment). It will also empower you in such a way as to finally leave old contracts and commitments that no longer serve you. The Solar Eclipse is also about realizing your innate power and gifts. This is a time to really shed some skins around the old “no power” or “abuse of power” syndrome most of us have had imprinted in us. As Saturn moves deeper into Sagittarius next year, it will begin to expose more of the false power matrix, especially in politics and religion, and then the true effects of embracing our innate power will have the potential for hammering out real social change. It begins with one person at a time, and then multiplies exponentially. The Eclipse is sort of a death-knell for organized politics and religion anyway. Saturn will expose much, and the remaining energy of the Uranus-Pluto square and this Eclipse will continue the crumbling of static and outworn structures, from the personal level to the global stage. One note of caution – eclipses are tricky, and since there’s a Lunar Eclipse at 14 degrees of Aries-Libra on April 4th it could distort some of the things you thought you were previously clear about. In other words, no final decisions about some things will be available until after the Saturn retrograde is completely resolved – around mid-November. I’ll address this in more depth in the final installment of this series this coming Saturday, March 21st. Check out the flower essence and article suggestions below, they may help. Keep putting one foot in front of another. We’re all together in this journey. Ask for help…it’ll be there, from within and without. Blessings, Isaac For information about the Isaac’s Services, please click here. Special Offer: 20% off any Transit Reading for the rest of the month. Click here. Contact: Email: archariel@hotmail.com, or call: Ireland: 00353 (0)870 978204. United Kingdom: 0044(0)7875 123406 Resources and Practicum: Flower Essence Strategies, as recommended by Ariel Elohim Scleranthus – for uncertainty/ indecision/ vacillation, fluctuating moods. Walnut: assists in adjustment to transitions or changes, e.g. everything that is going on fast and furious right now. Olive: fatigue--drained of energy. White Chestnut: for persistent unwanted thoughts. Pre-occupation with some worry and/or mental arguments. Bach Flower Essences or any other reputable source will do. Ariel Elohim offers practical spiritual guidance and counseling services. She resides in the eastern United States. She may be contacted at trinityariel@verizon.net. Her motto is “Live Heaven! If it doesn't look like fun, it's probably not.” Related Articles: https://dancinginthetao.wordpress.com/2015/02/19/just-one-thing/ https://dancinginthetao.wordpress.com/2015/02/20/changing-consciousness/ Lynda Hill’s Sabian Symbols podcast about the March 20th Eclipse: http://sabiansymbols.com/ |
Isaac GeorgeSpiritual Teacher/Mentor, Evolutionary Astrologer, Author and Musician. If you'd like to the Subscribe to the Infinite Wave Blog and receive it in your email, just click here.
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