Benjamin will do an experiential "Planetary Invocation Using Shamanic Astrology" presentation for the Asheville Friends of Astrology on Tues., Feb. 22. The meeting is free and open to all at Earth Fare Westgate, 66 Westgate Parkway in Asheville, NC, from 7-9 pm.

 In this lecture-demonstration, Benjamin will give an overview of how he does shamanic astrology, and will describe how his experiences attending magical sweat lodges and Amazonian shamanic ceremonies led him to combine Western Astrology and shamanism.

He will give attendees a firsthand taste of their own living planetary forces by doing brief basic invocations of each planet for the entire audience at once. (Any who do not wish to experience this will be energetically excluded from the invocations.)

Finally, to demonstrate the process in more detail, Benjamin will do in-depth single-planet interpretations and invocations for volunteers.

For more information on Benjamin's Shamanic Astrology Consultations, including detailed testimonials, click here.

Online Transits & Progressions Class starts this Saturday. The class will meet Saturdays, 2:30-4:30 pm eastern, Feb. 26 - Apr. 9 (no class Apr. 2).

Please note that you can try the first class free -- no strings attached -- and then decide if you want to continue.  

 Please email me if you want to try the first class free. Or you can pay the class tuition in advance via PayPal; a payment button is at the bottom of the class description. (Call me at 828-658-9073 or 800-461-3569 if you prefer to pay by credit card, check or money order.) Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back!

Click this link for Transits & Progression Class to learn more or enroll!

Online Beginning Astrology Class started last Friday, but you can still join the class! Benjamin will be happy to email you the lecture MP3 of the first class for free. This will let you catch up before the second class meets on Friday, Feb. 25, from 2-4 pm.

Please email Benjamin if you want to try the first class free. Or you can pay the class tuition in advance via PayPal; a payment button is at the bottom of the class description. (Call 828-658-9073 or 800-461-3569 if you prefer to pay by credit card, check or money order.) Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back!

Click this link for Beginning Astrology Class to learn more or enroll! 

Benjamin will demonstrate simple, powerful "ask and receive" techniques to accelerate spiritual awakening during a live appearance on the Glolady TV show this Thursday, Feb. 24, 4:30-5:30 pm US eastern time. He will appear for half or all of the one-hour show. You can watch it stream online, or on the Asheville, NC URTV cable channel (Channel 20).

by Benjamin Bernstein

Would you like to experience divine light saturating your body, energy healing, ecstatic divine bliss, awareness of your light body, accelerated awakening, and the enduring integration of your spiritual and physical bodies?

How about experiencing all that in the next 30 minutes?

An Unprecedented Time

We are extraordinarily blessed to be alive at an unprecedented time in recorded history. The veils between the physical and spiritual worlds are thinning rapidly. Access to spiritual energies has never been easier. States of higher consciousness that once typically required years of rigorous spiritual practice can now be accessed in an instant.

Simple and Powerful

In my recent shamanic work, I am grateful to have received an exceedingly simple and extraordinarily powerful technique: ask and receive. You may find it hard to believe that something so basic could work so well. But, if it resonates for you, I invite you to try it out for yourself.

Ask and receive. The personality asks, and Spirit delivers. What could be easier?

Let the Expert Handle It

It's been my experience that the ego just isn't as good at working with divine energy as the higher self. The ego's expertise is taking care of business on the physical plane. But the higher self has subtle energy as its natural element, and works with divine energy as effortlessly as we handle knives and forks.

Of course, the ego wants to control everything! When doing spiritual practice, it wants to specify things such as the color of the subtle energy, the being that's sending it down, and what level of consciousness the "juice" is coming from. But why not trust your higher self to manage all that? After all, it can continuously adjust all these variables in response to your highest need, instant by instant!

Imagine that you hired the world's finest gourmet chef to cook an exquisite meal. Would you hover over her in the kitchen, telling her what ingredients to use and how to prepare them? I hope not! She's the expert, and your meddling would only get in the way. Interfere enough, and the quality of the meal would suffer.

In the same way, your higher self is the energy work expert. Your active participation is only required on the front end, as you make your request. Once that's done, your best strategy is to step aside.

Focus on the Breath

It can help to focus on the breath, since the mind does need something to do. But let the breath breathe itself, flowing in and out of your nostrils easily, comfortably and naturally. With your remaining awareness, monitor what Spirit is doing in response to your request.

Making the Request

You can ask for whatever you want. But this article will focus on requests that involves subtle energy and higher consciousness. We all like instant gratification, and Spirit can respond to these types of requests instantly!

Say the request aloud if possible, or silently if need be. Once the request has been made, the hardest part can be not helping. If you find yourself trying to make something happen, just smile and redirect your focus to your breath. The more you simply relax and receive, the easier it will be for Spirit to honor your request.

Great Stuff to Ask For!

During my recent shamanic healing sessions, I have often been guided to have my clients make some or all of the following requests. I invite you to try any that call to you.

• "Spirit, please saturate me with the energy that will serve my highest need, right now. Thank you."

• "Spirit, please grant me the healing that will serve my highest need, in [specify the area of the body], right now. Thank you."

• "Spirit, please saturate me with the maximum amount of bliss that will serve my highest need, right now. Thank you." (Soak in bliss often. It not only feels great, but automatically promotes healing!)

• "Spirit, please grant me the maximum amount of light body awareness that will serve my highest need, right now. Thank you."

• "Spirit, please expand my light body to the largest size that will serve my highest need, right now. Thank you." (Remember that the divine being that you really are encompasses the entire universe and all the dimensions of consciousness. There's no limit to how huge you can become!)

• "Spirit, please grant me the maximum amount of spiritual awakening that will serve my highest need, right now. Thank you."

At some point, after you've experienced yourself as an expansive being of light, you may feel your awareness automatically shrinking back down to the size of your physical body. At that point, or whenever it feels right, say...

• "Spirit, please integrate my physical and spiritual bodies to the greatest extent that will serve my highest need. Help me to function from now on as a spiritual being having a human experience. Thank you."

Karma-Free Safety Clause

These requests are only examples; ask for whatever feels right to you. However, I recommend always putting in a "karma free safety clause" such as, "...to the greatest extent that will serve my highest need." If your request affects another being, try a phrasing such as, "...that will serve the highest need of all concerned."

My Request: Your Feedback!

The requests I've given here work very consistently when I use them during shamanic healing sessions, and I have every expectation that they will also work for you. However, I'm a big fan of reality checks, and would be grateful if you would email me with your "ask and receive" experiences.

Ask and receive. The personality asks, and Spirit delivers. The possibilities are truly infinite!

The video and MP3 of Benjamin's third astroshamanic webinar, held last Tuesday, is now available for FREE download. It focused on astrology, shamanic astrology & shamanic healing.

Benjamin answered astrology questions, flowed energy to the group, shamanically invoked Neptune, Pluto and Mars, called in "highest need" bliss and awakening, and helped participants integrate their light bodies consciously into their physical forms.

The energies that were invoked are transmitted by the recordings.

2/22, 3:35 am - 4:30 am (Scorpio)

2/24, 6:15 am - 7:47 am (Sagittarius)

2/26, 1:09 pm - 2:33 pm (Capricorn)

2/21 (Mon). Mercury is in Pisces today thru 3/9, making it easier for the mind to receive intuitive downloads, visualize and receive divinely inspired creativity.

2/22 (Tue). You can productively turn your thoughts to healing and mentorship as Mercury conjuncts Chiron.
        Also today, Mars enters Pisces thru 4/1. This radiates the same energy as Mars' conjunction to Neptune on 2/20, and so gives us over a month of the same opportunities for activities which combine physical action and spiritual energy. As described above, these include ecstatic dance, tantra, yoga, tai chi and chi gung.

2/24 (Thu). With Mars conjunct Chiron, it's time to take action in the areas of healing and mentorship.

2/25 (Fri). There are four noteworthy aspects today, but the giant among them is one of 2011's most powerful astrological events - a Jupiter-Pluto square in the cardinal signs of Aries and Capricorn, strong 1/29 thru 3/21. 
        Though unquestionably intense and challenging, this also holds abundant opportunity. As the most challenging single aspect of 2011, it calls for some sort of amplified death-and-rebirth process. To harness this energy positively, release and surrender all that doesn't serve you, and actively seek positive transformation.
        The other three aspects involve the Sun conjunct Mercury, followed by both planets sextiling Pluto. The overall sense of this is powerfully energized learning and communication, with a special emphasis on diving deep into the uncensored heart of the matter. With the Sun and Mercury in Pisces, the area being explored might be spiritual or creatively inspired, and intuition might play a large part in the process.

2/27 (Sun). Any Saturn-Chiron connection holds the potential for challenges in the areas of healing and mentorship, and their current sesquiquadrate (a 135° angle of minor irritation) is no exception. But this connection also opens the door for a mature and disciplined approach to bring healing and wisdom to any old wounds that arise for healing in the weeks around this aspect.

Benjamin offers shamanic astrology consultations (experience your planets!) and shamanic healing to both local and long-distance clients.