Live, Live, Live: Choose Something New

By Elizabeth Morgan
© 2006 Elizabeth Morgan

Most people who only know a little about astrology often shy away from Scorpio because it has a bad reputation. Yes, Scorpions can be difficult (never make one mad if you can avoid it) but every person has Scorpio in their chart somewhere even if they have no planets in it and every year the sun, Mercury and Venus move through the sign, as does the moon every month, so there's no hiding from it. Scorpio makes us uncomfortable because it rules secrets and death but it also rules transformation and rebirth, along with passion, discernment and insight.

Right now we have a stellium (4+ planets) in Scorpio because the sun (personality), Mercury (thought and communication), Venus (love, pleasure, relationships and creativity), Mars (action, initiative) and Jupiter (luck, expansion, beliefs) are all in the sign of mystery, death, transformation and rebirth. Mercury will be there especially long due to its upcoming retrograde (October 28, 2006 Mercury turns retrograde at 25° Scorpio until November 18, 2006 when Mercury turns direct at 9° Scorpio).

So it's especially appropriate to pass on the follow passage to you. In Awakening the Buddha Within, Lama Surya Das (the lama from Long Island, or as his mother jokes, the Deli Lama) reminds us that science tells us that almost every cell in our body changes at least once every seven years so we are always being reborn. People often think of past lives or rebirth as something odd or esoteric but we are being reborn all the time.

"In this life you're reborn every moment. Every single second is a rebirth, a time when we re-create ourselves and our self-concepts. Who knows about after we die, but look at your experience now. It's like the movie Groundhog Day. Every day you wake up; it's the exact same day, and you can recreate it according to your interpretations. Or you can continue to relive the same daily drama -- as Yogi Berra said, 'Deja vu, all over again.' Can you change? Where will you go, what will you do? Will it be different?

"We are all drawn to the familiar; when something or someone resonates familiarity, our conditioning responds to what modern psychologists describe as a return to the patterns of your family of origin. However, you can break the pattern; you can change the next moment; you can do something different, something enlightened; something creative, imaginative, and fresh; something compassionate and wise. That's how you get off your karmic gerbil wheel and transform your existence." -- p. 114, Awakening the Buddha Within

It boils down to the fact that you have a choice. Do you want to keep doing what you've been doing your entire life with the same uncomfortable results or do you want to try something new? Don't say you can't change.

"There is always choice. We say there is no choice only to comfort ourselves with the decision we have already made." -- Lady Morella (Majel Barrett-Roddenberry) in the episode "Point of No Return," written by J. Michael Straczynski, from Babylon 5.

So since we have all these planets in Scorpio and it is shadow month, the time to face our fears and shadow issues to change and better align with our Higher Selves, now is perfect time to consider what isn't working in your life and how you can transform it. I hate to break it to you, but we're in a period of change already. Virtually everyone I know is dealing with some variation of life shifts. It's just a question of how deep the changes are, how much is conscious and how much they're resisting the changes.

If it helps, remember that Scorpio energy is never afraid of the dark and that when faced, our deepest fears turn out to be much smaller than we thought they were. They're much like the mouse whose shadow looked like a big monster. Don't fear a shadow. Face it and shine light on it.

Again from Awakening the Buddha Within:
"Things are not what they seem to be; don't be deceived by appearances. The alchemical secret embodied in Buddhism is that nothing is absolutely real... Everything is relative and depends upon the mind and its projections and interpretation. How we relate to things makes all the difference... What this means is that everything impermanent, interdependent, as malleable as soft plastic. Reality is not fixed. Alter the global situation, atmosphere or temperature and all local events are affected [note from Elizabeth: change on the personal and local level and gradually the global is affected]. Transform any aspect or part of the universal mandala, the cosmic hologram, and all aspects are affected... Penetrating insight reveals that the responsibility for what we experience lies nowhere but within ourselves, and that the steering wheel of our own lives and evolution is in our hands. Wouldn't it be irresponsible to overlook this fact and continue uncontrollably thrashing around, trashing others as well as ourselves? Check and see: Are your hands on the steering wheel of your life, or are they holding the rearview mirror while you wonder why you are careening around in such an unintended fashion?" -- p. 154, Awakening the Buddha Within

Too many people spend much of their lives mentally rehashing the past. "I shouldn't have done this," "I should have done that," "he said this," etc. You can't drive a car safely or effectively by constantly looking behind you. Why live your life that way? Live in the now and if something isn't working in your life, make a change. If that change doesn't work, try another one. There is no shame in trying something and failing. Successful people have failed a lot. They just keep trying; true failures never try or give up. How can you learn if you like a new ice cream flavor if you don't try it? Why live your entire life only experiencing the same flavors over and over again?

"Our thoughts form the universe. They always matter." -- G’Kar (Andreas Katsulas) in the episode "The Hour of the Wolf," written by J. Michael Straczynski," from the Babylon 5.

Notice your thoughts. Don't obsess. Just experiment with noting how many of your thoughts focus on your past, your present and the future (the latter is usually worry). Are they positive or negative? How do you feel? If you feel bad or blah, do something to feel better. Our feelings and our energetic imprint create our experiences. If we feel lousy, especially if we're focused on problems, we'll experience more problems. If we feel good, we attract more good. Usually, when we feel good we're focused on the present and enjoying what we're doing. It's all linked.

Use this period to do something different, better, happier. Don't put off living your life. Get out of Groundhog Day and create new experiences. Embrace every day as a fresh start and a chance to be reborn. Mame Dennis used to say, "Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death." (from the play and movie Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis). Join the banquet!

Elizabeth Morgan