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(800) 647-0732 or www.sedonaintensive.com.

Light Foundation Scholarship Fund Needs Your Help

There are a lot of people who need help; oftentimes it is getting sober or straight and in other instances it is coming to terms with lifelong issues that keep them from being authentic. The Light Foundation, a not-for-profit IRS-approved organization, would like for you to be a part of this effort to help others clear away the wreckage of their past through help in the Sedona Intensive. All donations are tax-deductible. 

Please send donations to:  

Light Foundation Scholarship Fund,

PO Box 50, Sedona, AZ 86339

What Mr. Darby is Teaching Me
For starters, I never had a pet growing up. I never put a pet turtle in a box with holes punched in it so it could breathe, or adopted a stray cat or dog—I never even had a goldfish. It may have had something to do with having been born at the end of the Great Depression and right before World War II when the country was getting back on its feet financially. Feeding six kids was all my single-Mom Marguerite could handle. So why the day I turned 71 did I buy a wire fox terrier with peerage when I have always said I am too selfish for “relationships”—the clients take all I can muster?

My favorite First Family the Bells from New York have a wire named Curtsey who stole my heart when they got her several years ago. She is feisty, independent and runs like a bat out of you-know-where when she is let out into their backyard in the country. Curtsey loves to be scratched and rubbed and I loved making over her. Then I met my friend Joanne’s adorable wire named Molly. The first time I met her she jumped on my bed in the guest room and I thought that meant, like Curtsey, that she was crazy about me. She let me walk her and she seemed to come to me when I called her. I was enthralled. I had met and loved and was convinced that two wires really liked me a lot.

Enter Mr. Darby. When I got him he was exactly five months old and he had a mind of his own and although potty-trained, he disproved this when I fiddled around with how and when to feed him and he did his business a lot in the house. “Poo and pee wherever I choose,” seemed to be his motto. He would sit when I said “Sit” and he would come running when I said “Treat,” but I will be damned if he will come when I call him to leave the Dog Park where he runs the show. He meets and greets all the dogs and jumps on all the elephant-size Rottweilers and Great Danes. Mr. Darby hops in the kiddy pool that some well-meaning couple fills daily and he takes five or six dips every day that he is top dog in the park.

When he goes to the office he runs in like Scott and Linda hung the moon and I merely the chauffeur who dropped him at his “office.” He seems to eliminate on cue for them and “holds it” when he gets home. I finally resorted to a dog walker at 5:30 every afternoon because “his majesty”—the wire fox terrier—seems to potty and pee on command for Bob, the dog escort.

But what has this sixteen pound puppy with black, brown and white markings taught me. I am forced to learn patience and tolerance because I may be intuitive but he reads me better than I do. He also gets out of bed every morning and follows “daddy” as if he is waiting to see what excitement I have planned for his dog day. And when I bring him to my bed and he gets under the covers and lets me scratch his back and little paws while he falls asleep, I know that all of these dog lessons he is teaching me is worth the Spot Shot Stain Remover scrubs I have to give my white carpet. He is now going on 9-months old and I can say honestly I am finding out what I was missing when I was a young boy not having a dog to love me when everyone else didn’t. For all my threats to send him back to Iowa where he came from, I love Mr. Darby and I will keep learning from him, whether I like it or not. Stay tuned.

Extended Sessions
There have been so many requests recently, especially due to the rollercoaster financial markets, crumbling housing crisis, and other life challenges, that we at the Sedona Intensive™ have begun to offer Extended Sessions. In weekly sessions we are able to see how you and your planets in angulation and aspect are compatible or incongruent to what’s going on in the world. We take the planetary movements for the week ahead and see how Void of Course Moons, retrogrades, New and Full Moons and Eclipses affect you personally. Having this information can mean the difference in being caught up in pandemonium and panic that is not applicable to you but you don’t know it.

Call the office at 800-647-0732 and inquire about the Extended Sessions.

GETTING ALONG

I recently read an article online that said there is still a clear-cut class distinction among people all over the world. The study indicated that people tended to divide along lines of education and money—the haves and the have-nots. It seemed as if we all would have considered ourselves in the same boat with the financial meltdown last year, but I guess not. Human nature being what it is I guess we still believe that some people consider themselves too good to mix and mingle with one another.

And then there are four-legged animals who could care less which pup came from a
highfalutin breeder and which were adopted from a rescue shelter—dogs are dogs. I see that every day when my new puppy, Riggs, a red heeler/Australian shepherd mix and his new best friend, Mr. Darby, a wire fox terrier who comes from a long line of champions get together to play—more like wrestle and put the other’s neck in their vise of teeth. When the two of them are knocking the other to the ground they could care less which one has the blood line and which never knew who his sire and bitch were. Riggs and Mr. Darby have gotten to enjoy and look forward to their days in the Dog Park, wrestling in my office or chasing one another in Mr. Darby’s grassy backyard.

I am getting married in a few months and my guess is that Alison and I will be parents in no time. What we can agree on is that we will have our babies grow up playing with these dogs so they can learn how to get along with each other and other kids. If there’s one thing I know, watching all these rescue dogs and fancier canines in the Dog Park as well as observing Riggs and Mr. Darby, is that we two-legged types have a lot to learn from those who get about and along on four legs.

by Andrew Bell

How come sometimes the greatest opportunities and experiences in life are the ones we never plan for and expect the least from? This is a dilemma that Albert likes to say is something ‘only God knows’.

Aside from the typical great weather and a reprieve from tiresome classes that summer provides me with, this June I had a lot more to look forward to then I ordinarily would have. Luckily I had been selected to work as an intern in a prestigious PR Company that represented big time celebrities and well-known clients. I was thrilled, and excited to be able to handle famous people that I adored and to help promote interesting TV shows and computer companies that consumed so much of me and my friends’ time.

This summer would provide me with an opportunity to not only conquer the boredom that so many college kids feel upon going home for two or more months, but more importantly, to teach me the necessity of working hard to master a career path that interests me. Reminding me of the exciting opportunity that awaited me in June (delete comma) got me through a lot of those early morning Tuesday classes during my second semester, and gave me something potentially career-building to look forward to. I didn’t care whether or not I would be lifting boxes or making deliveries, I knew that I would be doing something exciting and that the ends would absolutely justify the means.

But instead everything turned out to be the opposite of what I had imagined. After two endless weeks I realized that the awesome opportunity I perceived the PR internship would provide me with turned into an enormous waste of time. The shallowness and unprofessional behavior of the staff irritated me, however being reprimanded for a completely absurd reason was the last straw for me. I realized that I was wasting my time. I didn’t need the constant negativity and the depression that the internship was causing me. I started the internship eager to see the inner working of Hollywood but left when I realized that I was instead dealing with those in charge of continuing to fuel our constantly growing celebrity obsessed culture. I thanked them for the opportunity and decided to pursue other personal and more valuable ways to spend my summer.

As I thought about what I would do next, I was asked out of the blue to attend a show detailing experiences of Iraqi’s since Sadam’s removal. I expected a boring quasi documentary production but was instead enthralled by the spectacle I watched on the stage. The writers at the end spoke of their journey into Iraq to hear these stories, and their diligent effort to recreate these civilians’ stories in an eloquent, fair and accurate way. I was tremendously moved by their journey and felt my passion for writing be re-invigorated. I too want to detail and capture the experiences of those around me, and to revel in the new attention given to causes previously neglected. I hate that after a major event unfolds and the 24 hour news sites move on, our minds reach unfair closure on issues still left unresolved. So I decided to spend this summer writing, exploring, and diving deep into important issues that affect all of us. This summer would not have served me to fulfill personal goals that now seem pointless and uninspired, but rather to improve my ability to write honestly and expressively in order to capture eloquently the daunting and unending problems that surround us.

This summer I realized that the internship I had been looking forward to and had expected to help me to surmise my career path, had not turned out as planned. Instead the boring night out turned into a magnificent experience and has helped me to shape my plans for the summer and quite possibly for the future. Carl Sandberg once said “Nearly all the best things that came to me in life have been unexpected, unplanned by me.” Although I previously subscribed to these words, it wasn’t until this summer, that I saw firsthand just how true they really are.

This is going to be a time of reckoning as there are two Eclipses this Solar Cycle. On July 7th there is a Lunar Eclipse Full Moon at 15 degrees of Capricorn exactly opposing the Sun Sign of the chart of the United States of America. Someone asked me recently what I was “predicting” would happen and I reminded the fatalist that I don’t predict I help change what happens by how I see and write and speak about an aspect. So what do I see for the USA under the Lunar Eclipse Full Moon? It is the beginning of recovery as many had said would take years. Just today the news was that the stock market had had its best six-month cycle since 1975. But it is not a time to get out the plastic and go crazy; rather it is a time to learn from the past—save more than you spend.

There is a Solar Eclipse New Moon at the critical 29 degrees of Cancer, which oddly is in perfect trine (the best aspect planets can make to one another) to the Moon in Scorpio when President Obama was inaugurated. The Moon of our natal chart is in Aquarius, which is being conjuncted (on top of) by Jupiter (the blessed planet) and Neptune (visionary or deceiver) in Aquarius—thinking outside the box. All of this portends for a better second half than we had in the last year and a half. The minute you read this a lot of you are going to sing, “Let the good times roll,” and you would be missing the messages the stars are trying to teach us. One benchmark, the stock market, is still more than 5,000 points lower than it was at its high. Keep praying and meditating and turn everything over to the Divine and following His lead.

Saturn, known to some of us as the “Cosmic Cop”, has picked up speed in direct motion in Virgo. More of the mutable signs, Virgo, Pisces, Gemini and Sagittarians will continue to feel like we are in the examination room and being given our score cards—how we are doing as human beings and where we still need a lot of work. My motto, since I am a Pisces, is to ask others, “What can I do for you?” Nothing will turn the tide of heretofore negativity like seeing how you can help someone else.

Cancer (June 21 - July 22)

With the Lunar Eclipse Full Moon in Capricorn and the Solar Eclipse New Moon in Cancer you Crabs are gonna be letting go of what has served its purpose—a marriage, a job, the house—friends that have become less friendly—and embracing what is new and exciting when the Solar Eclipse New Moon arrives on time on July 21st. If you ever wanted to be a little less smother mothering—less emotionally on a see-saw—and not so controlling—this is the time of your life. Did you ever think of turning your will and your life over to the care of a Higher Power? Now is the time.

Leo (July 22 - August 22)

This is the time of year when you are champing at the bit to have your day in the Sun. You’ll have to wait 30 days before it’s your turn and your time to shine, but in the meantime what do you see if someone else can be in the limelight; let someone else be the center of attention. It won’t kill you to play second fiddle to a bigger piece of stuff. Actually, since you are known to out-give and out-spend why not find someone or some cause with a big need for your largesse? Now there’s a Leo idea for how to wait your turn in the Zodiac.

Virgo (August 23 - September 22)

With these Eclipses making favorable vibes in your neck of the Zodiac, get ready to have a fine old time with your friends, the Cancerians. Since you probably don’t know how to track the Stars, let me be the first to announce that Saturn will leave your Sun Sign October 30th—and not a day too soon for most of you. But enjoy the eclipses and how they will bless you and bathe you in their light and light heartedness. You may not know it but all the hard works and big changes will make 2010 and 2011 a lot better for you because of it.

Libra (September 23 - October 22)

Your face may “prune” up under these eclipses this month. Your usual savoir faire will leave you wondering what to do under the simplest of circumstances. This is time to clean out your closet, go back to school and re-learn the ABC’s of diplomacy and tact. When the teacher asks who’s ready for a new assignment, don’t raise your hand. Your saving grace will be Venus, your ruler, will be in Gemini all month, giving off super vibrations to your sign, as well as Jupiter and Neptune in Aquarius blowing you kisses.

Scorpio (October 23 - November 21)

Keep your cool exterior while you lap up all the good news from those eclipses. Settle down your nervous stomach and switch to bland food and no booze this month. You can’t pay too much attention to these lunations because they are opening doors for you that had slammed shut. My advice to you is to show up but leave anxiety at home. Make sure that your jealousies are in check and your manners are evident. Practice a life-saving mantra that will rescue you from your darkest obsessions: “God is in charge. Turn it over every minute of every day to Him and forget about it.”

Sagittarius (November 22 - December 20)

If you can rein in your busy mind and show up for life in an orderly fashion you might be able to reap a few rewards when the Sun moves into your house in late November. The reign of terror is over—you are not going to lose any more than the silly risks you’ve been taking deserve. It would be a great time to take stock of where you are and how much money you have left. May we remind you that God lives in your Sun Sign, so you might do well to turn your will and your life over to Him.

Capricorn (December 21 - January 19)

You won’t need a bank to tell you that your house or business is worth less than you thought. As a matter of fact lending institutions are now in the business of hoarding for fear of making a mistake, so take your own inventory and be creative in how you finish this phase of your long-term project. The Lunar Eclipse New Moon on July 7th is going to give you great insights in whether to finish up something or cut your losses and start over. These are the best of times and the worst of times for Capricorns—but you will survive to thrive if you listen to the voice of intuition.

Aquarius (January 20 - February 17)

With Jupiter in Aquarius retrograde for a few months you are not going to have the benefit of largesse and expansion that’s been your due lately—the trip to bountiful may have to be delayed for a few months. And the Master Deceiver, the planet Neptune, is also sitting like the infamous “Foo Bird” on your head, ready to lead you into Neverland. Your saving grace is that artful, ingenious Gemini in Venus all month will steer you away from some of the impeding bad relationships and cockamamie “out of the box” notions that you oftentimes cook up. This month, lay low and count your blessings.

Pisces (February 18 - March 20)

With Uranus retrograde you should not feel so much like the San Andreas Fault is moving beneath your feet. Both of the eclipses are also going to benefit you in such a way that your best ideas won’t harm you but will finally make you feel that God and fellowman really do love and care for you. And, a trailer of things to come toward fall, Saturn is positioned to move you out of harm’s way as it glides into Libra in late October. All in all, this may be a month to strut your stuff…but humbly.

Aries (March 21 - April 20)

Do not ‘lock and load’ this month and do not try to refinance anything. There are few yeses for you on any fronts. Venus in Gemini may save your house or the check where you work won’t bounce, but this is not the time to say, “May I” to Simple Simon. There are few moves that are going to put you in high cotton or on Easy Street, which quite frankly has been condemned and shuttered for the near future. A good idea would be to take a “staycation”—a new term for, rather than the South of France or the beaches of Hawaii this summer, read a stack of good books from your hammock in the backyard.

Taurus (April 21 - May 20)

Stop licking your wounds. Just because you didn’t get invited to booze it up at Happy Hour last Friday isn’t the end of the world. These Eclipses are going to toast your marshmallows just fine and your nest egg will not be smashed into littler pieces. Everything seems to be working for you. Saturn is still shining on you and Uranus is giving you that shove you need—Taurus is not known to move faster than 15 mph. What you need is a hot lava rock massage and some reflexology for your tootsies. And it wouldn’t hurt to turn down the hot fudge sundae when offered.

Gemini (May 21 - June 20)

With Venus in Gemini this month you may feel like you’ve won the Power Ball Jackpot or that you are ahead in the race to be Mayor of your town. Jupiter has been upping the ante in your favor for months, but just like when Mercury goes backwards, this benefic planet is now retrograde for awhile. The good thing about you mercurial types is that you have a mother lode of ideas to tide you over until your ship comes in. This is a good time to thank God for what you’ve got—and for what you don’t—and don’t need. Ask a few people how you can help out because everyone likes a Gemini—and none more than a Gemini loves himself. Smile!

Enjoy Your Eating
by Sarah McLean

For Buddhists, the practice of eating mindfully has been a form of meditation and a way to experience sincere appreciation for life. Practitioners of Ayurveda, the ancient mind body approach to health from India, say that how we eat is as important as what we eat and that eating with awareness can create enhanced digestion leading to optimal health. In America, however, our food meditation consists of drive-through food stops, missing meals, and speed eating.
Humans have made eating very complicated. Animals seem to balance their nutritional needs quite well without the knowledge of calories, ingredients, fats, proteins and carbohydrates. They eat based on nature’s intelligence, which we humans have basically forgotten. The ancient wisdom of Ayurveda reminds us that there are cycles of nature, rhythms of the day, and seasons that affect us, and we are not separate from them. Living in harmony with nature’s cycles creates health benefits and helps us to heal a major cause of disease: our improper lifestyle.

Every meal involves a cook, the food, and the one who eats the food. When food is prepared with love, it improves its absorption. To maximize the pleasure of eating the meal, the eater should be relaxed, unhurried and all five of their senses should be involved. Ideally, you’ll eat with the idea of maximizing your digestion. Here are some helpful hints:

Eat Your Main Meal in the Middle of the Day. Hurrying through our day, racing through lunch, and coming home to eat our biggest meal of the day at 7:00 PM or later, when the digestion is the weakest, could not be more out of tune with nature. Ayurveda recommends that the main meal should be at midday between the hours of 10 am- 2 pm. This is when your digestive fire is the strongest. Your meal should be eaten slowly and calmly. Try to be regular in your meal times, eating at the same time each day. Breakfast and evening meals should be light. The evening meal should not be taken too late, or too close to bedtime. In the evening avoid heavy foods such as meat, fish, yogurt, cheese, buttermilk.

Eat When Hungry. Eat only when you’re hungry and when your last meal is fully digested (about 2 - 6 hours after a main meal). Avoid eating between meals. Instead sip hot water, or eat ripe sweet fruit. There is a difference between physical hunger and emotional eating, stress eating, or eating from boredom. You can practice recognizing physiological hunger and a sense of fullness both before and during your meal by following these steps before you eat:

- Put down your fork
- Close your eyes
- Take 3-5 deep breaths through your nose
- Place your hand on abdomen and focus on stomach pouch (internally)
- Notice what you feel
- Ask yourself - Where is my hunger? What is my hunger? Or, Am I full? How full am I?

Eat a Variety of Foods. According to ancient wisdom, each meal should be comprised of different textures, colors, and all six tastes (sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent). The tastes also have an influence on the subtle balance of the physiology. Using culinary spices supports the digestive processes. Minimize ice-cold food and drink, especially during meals. Ideally, your food should be in season, fresh, freshly prepared, wholesome, organic, and taste good. Avoid re-heated or stale food.

Choose Foods You Enjoy. Many of us spend so much time avoiding certain foods or viewing food as the enemy that we can forget it can be pleasurable. Ask yourself - What do I feel like eating? Listen to your body’s wisdom. Be aware of the taste, texture, temperature, and smell. And you don't have to finish it if it doesn't taste good.

Create a Pleasant Atmosphere. Eat in a quiet, relaxed atmosphere. Eat with people you enjoy. Avoid eating while working, driving, or watching TV (especially disturbing programs or the news). Clear off the table add candles or flowers, put down the book, get away from the computer, get off the phone. Always sit down to eat. Enjoy pleasant conversation though don’t talk while chewing your food. Take some deep breaths prior to beginning your meal. Avoid stress while eating. When we are stressed, our digestion can be compromised. There is a wise saying, “What you put on your mind is more important than what you put on your plate.” Avoid confrontations, serious discussions, or worry during meals. If you feel stressed or upset, stop eating and relax before continuing with your meal.

Slow Down. Digestion begins in your mouth: enzymes in saliva help break down food so that it is digested more easily and fully. Most Americans eat too fast, and, as a result, they take in too many calories before they realize they've eaten enough. It takes approximately 20 minutes from the time you start eating for your brain to send out signals of fullness. Eating at a relaxed pace allows ample time to trigger the signal from your brain that you are full. Research presented at a meeting of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity showed that overweight men and women took in fewer calories when they slowed their normal eating pace. And a recent Japanese study involving 1,700 young women concluded that eating more slowly resulted in feeling full sooner, and thus eating fewer calories at mealtime.

Chew your food thoroughly. Chew your food about 30 times or however many times it takes to make the food unrecognizable in your mouth. Our teeth are made for grinding food. The more the food is masticated and mixed with saliva, the less digestive energy is needed to in the stomach and intestines to absorb it. Mahatma Gandhi once said, "Chew your drink, and drink your food." That is, chew your food until it turns to liquid in your mouth. And hold liquids in your mouth until they are the temperature of the body, so when they reach your stomach, they don’t put out the digestive fire. Another wise saying is, "Let your knife & fork do the work of your teeth and let your teeth do the work of your stomach"

Don’t Go Back for Seconds Right off the Bat. Stop eating when you feel full. It actually takes a few minutes for your brain to tell your body that it has had enough food. Eating just enough to satisfy your hunger will help you remain alert, relaxed and feeling your best, rather than stuffing yourself into a “food coma”. In Ayurveda, it’s recommended to leave 1/3 to 1/4 of your stomach empty to aid digestion (a general guideline is to eat the amount that could fit into two open palms of your hands). Ayurveda also recommends waiting five minutes between the first helping and the second. Sit quietly for 5-10 minutes at the end of each meal. Or for an easy stroll outside.

Sarah McLean, founding director of the Sedona Meditation Training, former education director of the Chopra Center in California, has taught hundreds of people to meditate. She speaks and writes about meditation and holds retreats throughout the Southwest. Find out more, call (928) 204-0067, or visit www.SedonaMeditation.com.