First Off
As a teacher in the Jivamukti Yoga lineage, I was encouraged to make the ancient teachings practical, to bring the heavenly down to earth, translate scripture so that its wisdom is accessible to real people living real lives. & that’s my intention with The Daily Bliss. My hope is that you find some nugget in these posts that you can use to maximize the joy & productivity of your day whether you are astro-literate or not—even if you are an astro-virgin!—& if you learn something about astrology in the process, that’s a bonus.
Who, What, Why
The notion of “bliss” was ignited eons ago by a guy I met online who, after we chatted for a few hours, declared me a blissninny, b/c I’ve always been a seeker & I guess that came out in our convo. Well, he was a fire-eater, so maybe knew a thing or two about following your bliss! I didn’t, however, truly start following my bliss until I resigned from my safe & secure editing gig at The New York Times & moved to the foothills of the Rockies to ski & hike, teach yoga & write (pretty much in that order, lol). Which led to more yoga philosophy, enrolling at Naropa to study Sanskrit & then going down the rabbit hole that is Vedic astrology.
Wait, there’s more than one kind of astrology?
Yes! & different zodiacs too—oi!
Most people are familiar with western (aka tropical) astrology. Its zodiac is based on the seasons & reflects where the constellations were, well, eons ago. It is based on sun signs: i.e., if you were born with sun in Virgo, you identify as a Virgo. The zodiac of Vedic astrology, the Indian/eastern system, reflects where the constellations are now. It is based on rising sign, the sign that was on the eastern horizon when you were born. Both systems work; they’re just different.
For example, in western astrology, I have sun in Capricorn, so I’m a Capricorn. But in Vedic astrology, my sun is in Sagittarius (there’s a 24 degree difference between zodiacs) but Leo is rising, so I identify as a Leo.
All I can say is that once I realized I was a Leo, my life made much more sense. Try it, you just might like it!
As Above, So Below
How I got from there to here was written in the stars, as all of our karma is. & when I spontaneously started writing The Daily Bliss five-plus years ago, that, too, was written in the stars. (FYI: I was born on Monday, the moon’s day, which probs explains my obsession with this particular aspect of astrology, the moon’s daily mood. & I had just entered a 17-year phase in which Mercury, planet of writing, plays a starring role.)
The moon is our consciousness. Just as it waxes & wanes from day to day, so our energy & emotions, our ability to hold space or perform certain tasks does. Writing The Daily Bliss is my way of aligning with that energy, with the Vedic wisdom that flows through the moon, so I can share it with you, so that you, too, can follow your bliss, be in the flow of your bliss, b/c bliss is our essence.
More offerings to come, but in the meanwhile … IN-joy!
P.S. Yesssss, I do readings! Click here to schedule a session.
P.P.S. If you don’t have time to read a whole post, just skip to TL;DR for the CliffsNotes version!
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