Dear Friends,

Synchronizing Consciousness and the Cosmic Cycles    

 We live our lives based on cycles. From the seconds, minutes and hours, on up to the lunar and sun cycles that create our natural rhythms; we operate and synchronize within cyclical patterns. Expanding this idea to the universe as a whole, it is logical to assume that in some ways, the entire universe is one large cycle in which our consciousness is connected, and it's this very idea of entrainment between consciousness and the flow of the cosmos that fascinated the Maya. Their studies of the stars allowed them to understand the flow of these cycles on a very large scale.

What were the Maya hoping to understand by studying these cycles on such a large scale? They were trying to understand our position and relationship to the cosmos as time flows. They understood that cycle upon cycle builds up to bigger moments of significance. Just as we might say one second is meaningless, but that second builds up to a minute, then an hour, a day, and to a month; these cycles get bigger and more important and meaningful as they expand. This was the Maya's way of showing their ultimate respect and love for the universe, and it was a natural way to document their events.

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Creating the Effect to Cause Happiness  

As we approach new beginnings on the grand scale of the universe, it is very important for us to take a look at ourselves and readjust what we can do on an individual level to coincide with the shift in cosmic consciousness.  Even as the largest cycles come full circle, let's not forget the smaller ones; every day inside our selves there can be a new season of hope.   

Spring is a week away, and with this comes rebirth, growth and renewal. The sun and warmer temperatures can help motivate and inspire a personal spring cleaning of our own spirit, and this begins with positive energy.  How can we clean up the debris of our personal past and start fresh, like the first flowers of spring?

I found some real inspiration on this topic the other day after re-discovering a book by Ervin Laszlo, one of the human potential thinkers that I most admire.  While scanning my bookshelf I came across his book:  You Can Change the World:  The Global Citizens Handbook for Living on Planet Earth. This little book with a big title was published in 2003, but I still found it held some fascinating information.What really excited me was a chapter contributed by Masami Saionji, author and peace activist, who wrote on "How you can invite Happiness."

Within this part, she discusses cause and effect, and essentially karma, although she never specifically mentions the word. In this chapter, Saionji goes back to the old adage: what came first, the chicken or the egg? Which one is the cause and which the effect? When we apply this riddle to our emotional states, we usually choose to focus on "cause" as what came first, assuming our present state is conditioned by some previous event.

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Quote: Expressing Gratitude for Nature   

"Once we fine tune our attention and interpretation of our path, we can all express our gratitude to the spirit within Nature.  In return, we just might receive an unexpected reward in the sense of joy, especially if our thankfulness is sent unconditionally- not to appease any god, but simply to send our love out to the wonder of nature.  What we receive in return may have a whole lot to do with the state of our spirituality."