by  Stella Woods

July Eclipses

We have two eclipses in July - a lunar eclipse at the full moon on the 7th in Capricorn and a solar eclipse at the Cancer new moon on the 22nd. Eclipses have a tendency to intensify situations and bring hidden energies to the surface. It is wise to avoid making major decisions or starting new projects just before an eclipse, as new information often comes to light at the time of the eclipse, forcing us to revise our plans. Who could forget the last lunar and solar eclipse falling either side of the Black Saturday bushfires?

The Capricorn lunar eclipse teaches us about the need for physical activity as part of a healthy lifestyle. Consider taking time out from the pressures of work and mortgage repayments to focus on your inner world and the needs of your body. The total eclipse of the sun at the Cancer new moon asks us to examine socio-cultural values, especially those enshrined in tradition. Cancer is the sign of family, so cherished family values and beliefs will be under the microscope.

By Stella Woods

Midwinter Solstice

Our cosy heaters and pot belly stoves make modern life pleasant and comfortable. Not so for our ancestors, who prepared for the coming of winter long in advance, knowing the challenges of finding food and keeping warm. For them, the midwinter solstice was a vital turning point in the seasonal calendar, marking the longest night of the year. From midwinter to the summer solstice in December, the nights would grow shorter and the days longer. Many of the customs associated with the winter solstice (and with other midwinter festivals such as St Lucy’s Day, Saturnalia, Hanukkah, New Year and Twelfth Night) originate from stories of a fierce battle between the dark and the light, where the light finally conquers the darkness. Other traditions record this as the time that a saviour or sun-child is born to a virgin mother.

In Australia, our winter solstice is marked by the passage of the sun into Cancer on the 21st June. If you note the point at which the sun rises from the 21st-23rd June, you will see that it is in exactly the same place over these three days. Solstice means “sun standing still”. The weekend of the solstice (19th-21st) is the perfect time for a ritual to cleanse and release old energy and honour winter, the season of death and decay. The desire to slow down and go within is further intensified by the solstice falling during the darkest phase of the lunar cycle - less than two days before the new moon. And as the sun rises on the shortest day of the year, mighty Pluto, ruler of the underworld and collective unconscious, sets on the eastern horizon taking us down into the depths of existence.

Breathwork/Rebirthing

by Raym Richards

I am in a state of perfect bliss, alternatively laughing hysterically at the absurdity of life and then crying because I feel so happy and loved. My heart feels so full that is about to explode. I can see my whole life’s journey with great clarity.

More than that, I can see my soul’s and humanity’s journey, and it is funny. Funny, that we all take it so seriously. Funny that I feel so separated from the truth of my own profound connection to infinite love, the love that some people might describe as God.

I am experiencing the climax of a guided breathwork session with an experienced teacher. During my session I have been lead into gentle connected breathing, where each deep breath is connected to the next, in a continuous unbroken cycle.

This simple process affects your physical body and leads most people into a state of expanded consciousness. To get to that state I needed to release any emotional traumas locked into my body as cellular memories. Fortunately for me just a few, the primary recall being of a time in my mother’s womb. I saw myself clearly as an embryo and felt the powerful emotions I experienced as a conscious being, just before birth.

Pic by Ona Henderson. Email: onaandsyd@bigpond.com

This extraordinary technique was initially developed by two key people, Leonard Orr and Stanislav Grof. Essentially the core approach is the use of a conscious connected breathing to work with the psyche and clear unconscious patterns.

by Jeremy Lee Shub

I want to tell you a story about my experiences with rites of passage for males. When I use the term rites of passage, I mean that there are many potential rites for males between birth and death. In our times these are often ignored. A rite can be many things to many people. To me it is people coming together with a particular intention. Mostly the purpose is a ceremony of either healing or transformation. A ritual often involves acting, performing, dancing, prayers, singing, celebrating and other creative means to communicate with Spirit. I wish to unpack these words that often get thrown around. Spirit to me is either inside us, or outside us, or both. It could be goddess, god, gods, spirits or our own unconsciousness.

The journey for males has many possible stations. From birth to 7ish is one period. This is the time for starting school and moving one small step away from the mother. At around 13 or 14 puberty starts to physically change the boy’s body. The name ‘boy’ becomes fluid at this time. The next phase is the 17 or 18 year old. The body is stabilising, the hormones are racing now. School is coming to an end. Jobs are looming and girls, girls, girls.

There are more stages at every seven years.

Most traditional cultures around the world had ceremonies to mark the ages of 13 and 14 year olds, then 17 and 18. Some people still maintain these rites with dignity. There are now communities creating ceremony for their boys to guide their transformation into manhood. Manhood does not come easily. It is an art that needs to be learnt and practised regularly to maintain achievement. Becoming a man takes many years and many teachers. Some males will never reach the title of ‘man’. Without appropriate change it is possible to remain a boy your whole life. We all know 40 year olds still acting as children.

by Marty Wilson
Charles Darwin, the father of the theory of evolution, born 200 years ago this year, said: It’s not the strongest of the species who survive, not the most intelligent, but those who are the most adaptive to change.

(I can hear the readers now: “Change! Um-aaaah! He said the C-Word.”)

Change is hard on all of us. I’m a pharmacist turned copywriter turned stand-up comic turned wine writer turned author and speaker and I still find change incredibly challenging. If you ever see anyone stand up and brag “I love change. Change scares me not! I am The Change Master.” Point at them, giggle and say “Liar liar, your nervous, skid-marked pants are on fire.“

We human beings have evolved to love certainty. When something is familiar we feel relaxed and confident. When we’re trying something different, we get a surge of adrenaline that gives us sweaty palms and a tight feeling deep in our gut. Some people call it ‘fear’ or ‘nerves’ or ‘butterflies’; some call it ‘knots in the stomach’; sadly some of us call it ‘that thing that stops me learning a language/starting a business/phoning that girl’.

It’s such a shame we’re all taught it’s something bad, because it doesn’t have to be. We only feel it at all because our physiology hasn’t caught up with civilised society. Emotionally and intellectually we’re not primitive any more, but we still have this Neanderthal part of our brain, called the amygdala, that sets off alarm bells if we move too far away from the cave. These days, however, we almost never face life or death. We still get the same big hit of adrenaline – but we’re just out of our comfort zone – so fight or flight just isn’t appropriate. In a new business meeting it’s not considered good form to run away from your client screaming, or to lean over the table and punch them in the head.

So, even though it feels scary, in times like these it is far more productive to expend your energy trying new things.