Just picked up a Barbara Kingsilver book, a collection of essays, High Tide In Tucson, and am inspired to write my story and share my world again.

YAY! Feels good…

Since the last blog entry, everything has been a blur. I’m just beginning to see it all (mas o menos) clearly from a distance and feel the divine order, the flow and the gratitude.

I’m listening to Abraham Hicks again, my favorite- go with the flow, find your center of happiness “the vortex” and enjoy it there. Realizing that when I’m outside my center, I don’t believe Abraham…

So, here I am, month 11 of rooting down in Cali, Colombia. 7 Months pregnant and .5 months of clarity. Back on Abraham and Monisha (my favorite Thedic healer/sister) and the magic is flowing. I’m seeing how perfect everything is. How blessed I am for all the pieces in my life and how they fit together.

How, I can be living in a random city in Colombia and have a quiet room in the countryside to play music in and read. How I’m about to move into my own quiet house, with lots of sunlight, fresh air and a secret garden to grow my child in.

How, I am received to share yoga in a sweet yoga studio, where all the mommas drive me home after class and bring me gifts for my baby, sprouting words of wisdom and listening when it hasn’t been easy.

I am grateful for my friends here, who invite and create and call, and don’t take it personally when I don’t call back or don’t show up…and they continue calling and loving me compassionately.

Smiles and the healthiest food in town are always at my reach, and time to be alone and take care of myself has also been gifted to me.

It’s like looking at all the pieces of ones life and realizing that it’s all a perfect creation. We need to dream it and believe it and create it. Which a lot of times comes down to feeling and then arriving in exactly where we want to be.

Down to the lessons we learn from the hardest moment or when someone isn’t treating us how we want to be treated.

I am so grateful for my partner Leo. For pushing us to be in our highest. For allowing me for the first time in 3.5 years (and that was for 3 months in Thailand, I think it’s been about 6 years) to be in my own room, my own space.

For Space.

I had forgotten what it’s like to feel all my sacred belongings surrounding me, instruments, books, clothes, alter. To be able to wake up and practice or spend a rainy afternoon reading. And truly feeling what it means to be in my center before reaching out to be in relationship with another. From this place of Sam, I can feel when I’m not here.

I am grateful for the years of travel, of companions and co-leaders/teachers, of beautiful souls who hosted me in their homes and in their towns and yoga studios. For the practices and dedication, and Path, that kept me sane no-matter where in the world I was, or who I was with…

Now, this child, we call Ganesh (the hindu god who removes obstacles and creates them to in order to learn from them). Has invited me to stay in one place, to grow my garden and let my roots explore in depth.

A man from Honduras who I met a few months ago in Costa Rica, was sharing with me how both his children were born in Costa Rica, and that’s why he stayed. That “where your children are born in your “hogar” or home.”

So my life-long dream of living in Spanish is happening.

Next month I’ll plant the organic seeds I brought from Maine (where I was born) and design my garden beds to feed my Colombian child, neighbors and family when they come for the “big moment.”

Continuing to remove any semblance of a mask because I am drinking in this time to know who I am, to accept me, and to love me. Nakedly…

In gratitude for all the support and wisdom that has brought me to this place. And the continued dream and community that will support my child and all the light beings returning to teach us to proudly be ourselves, and to dance in our wholeness..

In light and love,

Sam

Mangomitas and Machetes~

My favorite thing in Mexico were the Mangomitas or Mangos Enchilados, dried mangos covered in chile powder and lime. You can find them in any of the open air markets or at the OXXO(like 7-11) convenient store. Towards the end, every time I saw an OXXO, I’d point and yell, “mangomitas.”

The flavors and textures and small details in the Mexican cuisine rocked my world. Everyday, every meal was so rich and tasty I felt like a little kid again. Another favorite food was the Chilaquiles, nachos covered in a green or red salsa (more saucy and savory then the typical salsa), covered in grated cheese and usually with beans, avocado, eggs or whatever type of meat one desires. I was blown away that this is an accepted “meal” for breakfast, or anytime of the day. Imagining waking up in the US and deciding to eat a full serving of Nachos for breakfast. Awesome! And definitely made me feel giddy, all smiley and happy to start off the day.

Justin and I were hosted graciously straight out of the airport. Alejandro Quiyono, the local Mexican AcroYoga teacher, sent a chauffer to pick us up and bring us to his apartment. We wanted typical Mexican food, so instead of our usual request for a sushi dinner, he brought us out and introduced us to Chilaquiles right from the get-go. I remember eating so much, and feeling like I wouldn’t need another meal for at least 24hrs…So this is Mexico!

I’d always imagined Mexico City as full of people walking everywhere, pollution, and really dangerous. I’m constantly amazed how, while traveling in the yoga scene, the places I’m brought to are similar no matter where I am. Alejandro’s apartment is super sweet and everything and more than a traveling yoga teacher could ask for. The traffic, although at peak times, was slow moving, was orderly rhythmic, and the streets and buses well taken care of and on schedule. I felt the contrast from living in Colombia, where the order feels more like disorder, and most moments I’m in awe of everyone’s ability to get out of each other’s way. In Mexico, the pace of the tr….

A segway…I just arrived to Guayaquil, Ecuador and while writing this was waiting in the airport for Justin to fly in from Colombia. He just showed up early with a gift, one last Mangomita from OXXO. We left Mexico 2 weeks ago. That’s what I call a solid co-teacher and a sweet friend…THANK YOU JUSTIN!

Anyhow, the traffic in Mexico, was like a soft bzzzzz…

We left Alejandro’s to travel to Querétaro, a colonial city 3 hours to the north. Took the bus, which was super clean and cozy and arrived to be picked up by our next host. Paloma was organizing our weekend of workshops and was super excited to be bringing AcroYoga and Us to the up-and-coming yoga scene. She brought us to an all natural restaurant, Casa Verde, to dine with our the owners of the Taekwondo studio where the workshop was going to take place. Pablo and Marisol also invited us to stay in their house. The food was gourmet and fresh and super yummy. This was within the first 24hrs of Mexico and I was still amazed by all the different names and varieties that were available. My mouth was having a party.

Justin ate ant eggs with tortilla and guacamole. He loved it. I tried one ant egg...

After dinner, Paloma and hubby Luis drove us to the small colonial town of artists and retired expats, San Miguel de Allende. They lent us their apartment there for the next five days in a gated community with outdoor swimming pool, steam room and lots of sun during the day and freezing cold at night. It was the first time in over 5 weeks that we had full on sun. In Colombia, the invierno (winter) had left us with out a day without rain for our whole time there, even changing cities.

San Miguel de Allende is the kind of town where you can wonder down any alleyway and you will find a treasure of a small restaurant, archway of flowers, antique hacienda, artisan shop or beautiful view of the whole town- cathedral, winding streets. The mix of the old colonial with the liberal and new, gives the whole town a smooth and spicy feel.

We wandered around the botanical gardens above San Miguel, expecting large areas of grass to fly on and beautiful flowers and trees. It was a shock to be reminded that we were in semi-arid desert, and I was blown away by the creativity of the landscape of cactus, desert flowers, secret spaces, and a lagoon with colorful birds and bamboo. From the botanical gardens we continued strolling down the mountain towards the town center. First passing huge elaborate mansions and grey haired expats walking their dogs. Then we hit the outskirts of town, the working class, one house plastered to the other balancing almost diagonally on the steep street, and courageous motorcycles blasting their way home. Grandmas, señores, kids out and about, selling their goods, buying produce, sharing the latest chisme (gossip) around the dogs and vehicles. The downhill leads us to the central market, colorful fruits, veggies and meat in one building, winding down to another with tapestries, statues, jewelry. I comment to Justin, how so many people would “die” to be in this scene. How for me, when I first came to Mexico, and visited markets in many other countries, this was my dream. And now, 11 years later, it feels almost normal, and a lot less mysterious.

We sit on a street corner near the main church, which is famous for it’s pastel and multicolored façade, we people watch and talk story.

Our days in San Miguel were filled with yummy food, AcroYoga demoing in the gazebo in the main plaza surrounded by school children on their lunch break, attending a sweet bilingual yoga class and nighttime salsa class and flying the teachers, being showed around by new friends and practicing lots of yoga and chanting on our rooftop in the sun.

When it was time to head back to Querétaro, we took another cozy bus and were déjà-vu picked up by Paloma and taken to meet Marisol and Pablo at a Mexican fusion- sushi restaurant. The veggie sushi in Mexico I have decided is consistently the best in the world (I’ve never been to Japan). They always have avocado, spicy sauces and are sometimes wrapped in maduros (plantains). Marisol and Pablo brought us home with them and we instantly felt adopted, as they led us to our separate rooms, and asked us what we wanted to eat in the morning. This trend continued throughout the weekend, as they constantly fed us the most delicious and healthy vegetarian cuisine and cared for us down to every little detail. My favorite dish was hands down the Huitlacoche, a mushroom that grows on the head of corn, and is marinated in spices and tossed in a tortilla sometimes with queso y aguacate and hot sauce!

The 15 hours of AcroYoga were well received, as a lot of the students hadn’t had any idea of what the practice was, and just showed up because we were highly recommended. So we all experienced a weekend of transition, ending with the students being able to guide and support each other and smoothly complete complicated flying sequences. After many hugs and filling our suitcases with gifted books, we got back on the bus to Mexico City en route to assist the founder of AcroYoga ,Jason, and another sweet sister, Ale, in Puerto Vallarta.

In few words, the AcroYoga immersion was BLISS, LOVE, SHAKTI~! I stayed with Ale in the Best Western where the workshops were held, with 3 pools, white sand beach, and spectacular sunsets. Just being in the presence of the teachers and their precise and fun teaching style, and supporting this beautiful group of talented students, opened up my world. Dear friends came for the immersion too; Andy Bemis, a soul brother, who led with me this last July for Global Routes, who I hadn’t seen for over 4 months, Aaron Lindt, an inspiring yoga teacher from New Orleans, who came with a whole posse of students/friends, and Aya, a sweet sister who I had shared magical space with in Thailand before I was a certified AY teacher and was teaching donation classes for a local refugee school in the park. It was beautiful to see the cross-cultural bilingual interactions throughout the 5 immersion days, a true living example of world peace.

Afterwards, I winded down in serious chill mudra style in Yelapa, a small beach an hour boat ride away. Quaint and quiet. With one yummy taco restaurant, waterfalls, and little winding streets with red flowers and lanterns in the nighttime. We saw whales and dolphins swam under and around our boat. Pure Mexican magic…

I took a boat, taxi, 3 airplanes, friends car, taxi, bus and motorbike to reach EcoVillage Atlantida outside of Cali, Colombia and celebrate with friends their finishing of a vision quest, where they are alone in the woods without food or water for 4 days. It actually took 3 and a half years to arrive. One of those places where you get there when you are supposed to get there, as Atlantida had been recommended by many dear friends from around the world. Re-connecting with the land in Colombia, grounded me and made me even more excited to be there for a “long-er” term.

A few days after returning to Cali, I was invited to another eco-village, Villa Maga, where I slept on the porch under the stars and in the morning opened my eyes to a pink orchid also waking up with a back drop of green mountains and valleys. Carlitos, Paolo and I bushwhacked with machetes a new trail that lead us to La Cascada de Purificacion (Waterfall of Purification). A 75 meter waterfall that is one of 3 inside primary tropical rainforest.

In love,

Samantha

Temescal~Tayrona~Abuelitas~Yoga

As we enter the days of the Eagle in the Mayan Calendar, The Celebration of Light (Chanukah), following the day of grace (Thanksgiving), I’m feeling even more connected with the earth, the mother, the abuelitas (the grandmothers). I made it to the Carribean, where the Mountains are documented as the highest mountains closest to the ocean. The Indigenous believe it to be “el Corazon del Mundo”- the Heart of the World, (and Machu Pichhu, the belly button).

Lulu Cordoba, who hosts Yoga Tayrona Retreats, showed me around her house which is one of the few houses still allowed to remain inside the park, as it was a fisherman’s house before the park became property of Colombia. To arrive, you enter the park, drive about 15 minutes on a dirt road to the ocean, and then either find a fisherman to bring you in his boat, or climb through the jungle, over a small mountain to one of the most stunning and secluded coves, I have ever witnessed. I finally met the sacred Palo Santo tree and practiced acrobatics in the warm and tranquil water, embracing the contrast of the bluest blues, and greenest greens of the jungle and the ocean. Lulu also organized an AcroYoga workshop in Santa Marta, in the new Hotel Casa Verde, inside a small garden next to a pool, fountain, and open to the ocean sky.

A sweet couple, Ios and Claudia, invited us to spend a few days at their retreat center, on the beach past Tayrona. They have committed to protecting much of the surrounding land as nature reserve. Their cabins, reminded me of Yurts, with the showers, outside and open to fresh air. There’s no electricity, only candles, and all the buildings are built on top of white sand in between palm and coconut trees. We stayed in the cabin that was originally the yoga studio, with a colorful tile mandala in the middle of the floor, and sacred vibrations of practice and prayers.

The food, Divina (Divine, an expression commonly used to describe people, places, most everything), fresh, local, and made with lots of love. We walked up the river to Quebrada Valencia, a series of waterfalls, also in warm water. I felt so at home with the vegetation, as it reminded me of the tropical forest in Costa Rica and in Bali, where I have farmed and trekked with students. As I took of my sandals, and finally connected with the earth of Colombia, after teaching and living in cities for the last month, I was reminded of the power and importance of this connection.

We continued barefoot the following day on a trek through Tayrona National Park from 11am to 6pm en route to the beaches where many people camp, and the most famous beach, La Piscina. The rain was pretty continuous on the way in and the muddy trail went up to my knees at times. There were leaf-cutter ants, monkeys, frogs, horses, mules and lots of mud.

We met up with a group of Chilenos who were also staying at Ios and Claudias’. And rocked the trail like Avatars. On the return, during the golden hour, the rain stopped, the light made the jungle into a fairyland, the air was warm, and we ran and jumped and swung from the trees.

I flew back to Bogotá, ate in the airport at Crepes and Waffles, a chain restaurant with one of the best and cheapest salad bars I have ever experienced (with quinoa and lots of yummies, for under $4). I love the Bogotá airport, for this and because there is free internet. It was rainy and cold in Bogotá, so I dropped my bag off at a sweet sister’s house, grabbed a few changes of clothes and my harmonium and took off on the last flight of the day to Cali.

I arrived at Carlitos house, where I stayed previous to going to the beach, and where Justin and I taught our workshops. In the morning, a group of us, jumped in his jeep and headed off to the countryside for a Temescal~Sweat Lodge. On the way, we stopped on the side of the road for Arrepas, traditional corn tortillas, that Colombias eat (apparently) everyday. Finally arriving, to the house of Chichan and Catalina. There was more mud, as it has been raining in Colombia for the last 3 months, so barefoot again, I approached the bonfire and the temescal.

I’ve been in contact with a friend, Claudia Yasmin, of Catalina and Chichan for about 3.5 years now, with the intention of getting to her EcoAldea (eco-village), La Atlantida. Many of my brothers and sisters have participated in ceremony with her, and have recommended a visit. She was Just in Mexico with Catalina and Chichan, and on the day of the Temescal, in Medellin.

It felt so in the flow, and so right, to finally arrive to the home of friends connected with dear friends, to sit, sweat, sing, and rebirth. The songs the same as those I have encountered in the Temescales and ceremonies, in Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, Hawaii, Thailand, and Bali. The earth is becoming even more connected and there are people honoring it, and coming together to send out these sacred vibrations.

I also was blessed to be able to offer prayers for my Boubeh,-Abuelita-Grandmother. At the age of 102.5 she had been staying in independent living until a fall last week, and is now recovering in a hospital in Portland, Maine. She is now being asked to move to assisted living and out of her apartment where she’s been for over ten years. I feel this as a big shift in her life, and in ours, as her family.

This connection and care for our grandparents is so important, as they are those who hold the knowledge, the history, the wisdom. Even if they are not able to empathize completely with where we are (especially as a travelling teacher of massage and flying), I know my abuelita understands so much that I can’t even imagine.

With the temescal, and time at the beach, these last two weeks have given me lots of space to meditate over what I want and what my purpose is on this planet… My intention for the temescal, was one of rebirth, of connection not only to the earth, but to the people of this planet, my grandmother, and to the divine in gratitude. As a woman of strong and grounded intuition.

On the coast, a friend of mine, asked me about where I feel the yoga is in AcroYoga. I love this question because it really made me think about why for me, AcroYoga is completely sacred, an offering. Why when I teach, communities receive the practice and take care of us, with food, housing, company and love. It brought me back to my intention with the practice, which is to share this love, connection, communication, touch, presence, union. That AcroYoga is a medium for bringing this intention and that the AY teachers, share this intention of creating conscious loving community. That is why it is so powerful. We bring the Yoga to AcroYoga.

In love,

Sam

Bogotá~Medellin~ Storms, Salsa and Torrentes

We arrived last night to our friend Alejandro's mother's house in the suburbs of Medellin. This city's nickname is the "city of eternal spring," where the weather is always the beautiful and we're usually told this in the same sentence as- "it's a shame that you arrived during the winter."

For the first time in two weeks we have sun and a huge lawn to play on. I am so grateful for my own room, comfy bed, hot shower, laundry, quiet space, internet. It is definitely a luxury for us as traveling yoga teachers who are hosted by friends of friends, owners of studios, new friends and old friends. It's been an incredible journey so far, meeting wonderful, open hearted souls who have been excited to host us, cook for us, chat with us.

We've been on a futon in a room that was Homer Simpson themed, in a comfy bed on the top floor of a high rise apartment building, with a view of Bogotá and a window screen that makes "black-out." In Medellin we arrived to another stunning high rise, overlooking the fairyland/mayan mountain green luscious jungle valley cityscape, with a blow up mattress and a terrace where we chanted to Lakshmi and did our favorite ab workout "Ab Ripper X." Later an Ecology profesor, Estela, hosted us in her parent's house for a night, and took us out salsa dancing in the center of Medellin. We met up with friends from the local, organic veggie restaurant, Verdeo and Marcelo who owns an oasis of a hostal (Buddha Hostal) and danced salsa all night. A couple, Eva and Alvero, who's house is full of handmade puppets, nude circus-indian dance photos/artwork, tapestries, instruments and creative energy hosted us for a few nights. They have a 4month newborn who they sing and tell stories to. Justin and I arrived one night at 3am de rumba and witnessed Alvero holding his precious morena baby outstretched in front of him, telling her a story about elephants- one black and one white- who fall in love and begin the grey race of elephants. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever experienced.

We've been fortunate to have been invited to attend yoga classes and fly people in the spaces where we are teaching. It's such a blessing to be able to feel out the new and expanding yoga scene and meet the teachers. When we first arrived to Medellin, after an hour long car ride from the airport, lots of pollution, and new to the city, we stepped into Andrea's studio, 108 Yoga. I was hit with the familiar positive vibration and breathed in the ample light and golden floors. I realized the importance and power of holding space for transformation and relaxation in the midst of city life. In a city once known as the most dangerous city in the world it grounded me to feel the pulse of Yoga.

We head to Cali tomorrow morning and feel we'd like to come back to Medellin and share more with the kula here. Our friends from Torrente de Vida, where we taught 9 hours of workshops, have been super sweet and even gifted us massages at the end of our teaching.

Reiki is becoming popular, and Torrente de Vida is a center for healing, massage and yoga. It was beautiful to see many of the students impromptu giving each other bodywork after a rockin acrobatic session. It's inspiring to see communities organically sprouting- sharing the healing power of touch, play and caring for one another.

When I think of Colombia, so far, I think of these beautiful angels who share so openly with us-random yoga classes, taxis (where it's common for the passenger to know more than the driver, or maybe that's just Justin), sushi (our new favorite meal) along with brownies with ice cream, salsa dancing, and rain...

I'm a little tired from switching houses 4 times in a week yet recognize the importance of the storm (aguacero) to help us appreciate the calm that follows. Constantly in the fast moving spanda ebb and flow, surrendering and manifesting what is to come- light, love, calmness, chocolate y cama.

Blessings,

Sam and Justin*

Puerto Riquisimo~ The Yoga House

Laura Valazquez, the local rockin' acroyoga profe in San Juan, blew my mind with her ability to manifest greatness and beauty. We taught a full weekend of workshops at her new studio The Yoga House which is the first studio in Puerto Rico that overlooks the ocean. It has a warm vibe to it that makes everyone want to stay for hours and during lunch break we were able to stroll downstairs and be on one of the most exquisite beaches I've ever enjoyed. Warm water, enough waves, blue sky, white sand, acroyogis and copoeristas.

I really see The Yoga House as becoming a center, not only for acroyogis, but for beings to come together to build conscious loving community.

I'll be returning in April to co-teach a 5 day AcroYoga and Anusara Beach Retreat with Laura, Justin, and one of my favorite brothers and teachers on this planet, Andrew Rivin. He also is the co-founder of the non-profit Global Routes who I've been blessed to collaborate with for the last 5 years. We organize programs for high school and college students from the USA to live in homestays and work side by side with locals while serving in rural communities around the world. Check out www.globalroutes.org for more info...

Justin and me soaking in some sun on the playa in front of The Yoga House...

~Too cute, Us with Laura= so much love!~

Blessings from Bogotá,

Sam

The Journey begins...

Sitting crosslegged by the only outlet I've found in the Fort Lauderdale Airport, halfway between California and Puerto Rico, catching up on emails and the amazingness of the last few weeks. Preparing by opening space and intention for the upcoming 6 months of sharing AcroYoga in Latin America with my co-teacher Justin...

I'm feeling the blessings pouring in and the realization of a dream I didn't know looked like this, but always knew it felt like this. All the years of working in rural communities in Latin America, volunteering, teaching, bringing in students, building schools, community centers, health clinics... eating plates of white rice and plantains. Teaching English to illegal and legal immigrants and yoga to mexican farmers in the United States... It's all coming to a point right now. I've done the work and it continues to change shape and form.

It's time to bring this practice that feels so light and so free, of building conscious loving community, to the pachamama (the earth mother), bless the soil and heal the earth that has been so tormented. Las Venas Abiertas de America Latina.

I am so liberated by this medium.

I bow to the lotus feet of Jenny and Jason, the humble founders and seed planters of this practice. Always stepping into their highest and sharing their journey with those who approach them with the same openness.

The moment that stood out for me at the First Annual AcroYoga Festival (www.acroyoga.org/festival) was the final event, as 200+ acroyogis created a vinyasa yoga mandala, breathing and moving together in pulsating connection. I felt a chill run through me with an awareness that this is the manifestation of a dream being completed, and the door opening for what this practice and festival will expand into, in the next year, 5 years, 10, 20... And the realization hit, of the auspiciousness of me being a part of this highly vibrational community, in this moment, of being invited to teach at this first festival, the begining of so much. Of constantly being invited to go deeper and higher and more fully into my true being, so others can feel this liberation and relief...

This does exist. True intentional, global community, it does exist. It is being practiced, it is happening, and it is dancing around this planet, because the beings here are thirsty for this.

Just until recently, I thought that what I truly desired wasn't possible, that I could get close to the feeling of manifesting exactly what I wanted, but would have to settle for less. Feeling less would still be really awesome...

My time in California, at the AcroYoga festival, in fairyland with the tall grandmother redwood trees, the stunning coast, Orr hotsprings, an AY General Immersion and adventuring with friends who treat each other as sweetly as they want to be treated...

It is clear that:

There is no settling for less than the dream.

There is a perfect fit with me and others.

There is a community that feels like my community in all of it's aspects.

There are teachers who are role models embodied.

~Let's clarify our dreams and play together to co-create manifestations of the one~

It has begun.

Love,

S

Autumn Equinox

I have learned the value of a 'breakfast taco." It's something like the smell of the perfect taco. (Jitterbug Perfume) They even put avocado in them if you ask. Justin and I had our despedida (going away party) at Torchy's on South 1st street in lovely and sweet Austin, TX. Beautiful divine goddess Miranda, her daughter Ocean, Tall (who's very tall) and soul level energy from California, Mateo spontaneous love dancing up-for -anything, has magic hands and knew how to spin me around everywhere we went, and Todd from Houston. I love seeing who two people can attract. Justin and I sure know how to pull together some eclectic family vibes.

2 hours later we arrive to our 12 story high rise apartment in Houston with pool epic views and close to all the shopping centers and the yoga studio we're teaching at this weekend. We're driving around a Lincoln Continental rented and already made our pit stop at the "local" Whole Foods for some stone fruit and kale.

Today we demoed and flew people at Lululemon. It's always amazing to feel and see people fly for the first time especially when at first they're hesitant. Justin and I met a few spanish speakers (which always makes us happy) and ended up with some new flashy yoga wear for our upcoming tour.

We met a friend of a friend in a park with a meditation center and two large trees that are said to be magical. The usual mix of harmonium, flying, massaging, love...occurred and a soft jazz band began sharing their tunes from a museum nearby. The sky was so blue, the clouds so white, and the sun poked through the green leaves of the huge momma-magic tree.

A man showed up, James, looking for and needing a dose of magic. He took of his black shoes and brief case, touched the earth, flew and felt magic. James ended up skipping away in his business suit, laughing...knowing that there is HOpe for happiness, community, perfect days in the park, and at least 3 beautiful things about Houston today.

Happy Equinox and

sweet transitions into the discovery of now!~

September 22 is Autumn Equinox, the moment the Sun enters Libra. Libra loves a mystery. Its passion is to decipher the chemistry of what makes life and love flourish. The depths of Libra, like the wilds of New England autumn, contain secret corridors, subterranean windings similar to the route that tree nutrients travel between their hidden roots and fully exposed branches. Libra's difficulties are compounded out of the discord that results when life and love languish in trapped, withheld stages, rather than blossoming into their full colors. When couples settle for diminished rather than passionate versions of partnership, when daily existence fritters away to boring routine, Libra shrinks to a fraction of its full power. How do you stay in touch with that inner core of inspiration that transforms existence to something magical and profound? Since giant Saturn entered Libra this summer, this question hangs in the air even before Equinox, and will become instrumental during the next two and a half years as this outer planet passes through this enigmatic sign. Like fall foliage, there's more to Libra than meets the eye. Under casual scrutiny it appears as if New England leaves change color in the fall, but this is not the real story, because the colors were there all along, hidden beneath a shiny layer of green painted on by chlorophyll. During the crisp September chill nights and mornings in Vermont, the chlorophyll wears off revealing the brilliant hues that were waiting in the wings during the earlier acts of spring and summer. To produce the world-famous explosions of golds, oranges, tans, pinks, reds and especially the rich saturated rust color that marks the special peak years when the forest bouquet is at its fullest, requires only a slight scratching away of the green by the lowering temperatures of autumn. New England Autumn is not just a visual spectacle though, but a multi-sensory excursion. The air becomes pungent with a certain scent that leaves only seem to acquire in New England. The crispness of the leaves seems to extend into the spirit of the people, awakening creativity even as the strong northwestern gusts and storms send the first batches of maple, oak, dogwood, hickory, beech, ash, aspen, and birch twirling through the sky. And at the end of August, the first tiny outbreaks of color only erupt from the most stressed-out trees, who lose their chlorophyll before the others. So too with human beings. The inner composition of a single human being or a love partnership is at hard to fathom at first. And those who burn brightly tend to get stressed out before the others, and so, perhaps reveal more of what we're made of. The Libra in me (I was born October 2) is crazy about decoding the underlying themes and patterns of a single human being, a relationship, or a period such as the current moment of cosmic weather here on earth. With Saturn in Libra, as we approach Equinox, we're all being invited to find out what we're made of. What dream of life and love burns brightest within you? Bits and pieces, and cues and random inklings are being flushed out from under the green now. Libra asks us to learn the give-and-take of life. Who you run with, where your soul-sisters hang out, what greater awareness is possible when you band up with your own brand of spiritual outlaws and push the limits of the commonplace-in such ways you can learn where you're able to bend and compromise versus what's non-negotiable, what you have to stand strong within and claim as your own. Libra's weak point is playing to the crowd, giving others what they seem to want at the expense of your own truth. It takes many back-and-forths of the balance scale to identify the true ground you stand on and learn when the path of inflexibility is truer than compromise, which is why Libra's been called the iron hand in the velvet glove. This balancing act during the next two years will accompany one of the greatest turning points in world history. Civilization has run its course. Two thousand years of Pisces is ending. The Age that began with Christ is finalizing. We stand poised on a new era of human consciousness and are being asked to become more flexible in some areas while uncompromising in others. More than anything, as the old stories lose their power, we need new stories to navigate by. The single most powerful way to change the world is to get people to transform the stories they tell themselves. The things we tell ourselves are more instrumental than any other single thing, especially the things we tell ourselves down below the surface, where we don't usually realize we're telling ourselves anything. Stories about my god is better than yours, stories based upon fear and lack and scarcity must give way now to tales of the hidden magic of life, stories of regeneration and hope and healing and love and miracle. Especially in our relationships with others now and in the coming years we need to open our dreams as to what's possible, and not settle for less; instead of getting caught in superficial Libra, playing to the crowd, we need to practice pushing ourselves, honing our edge, developing life and love as transformative arts. The world is morphing. Our DNA is being rewoven. The way things work can no longer be based on old stories taken for granted. Under the complacent green leaves of summer, personal myths, childhood biases and mass assumptions are being wrenched back and forth in the universal balance to release the very way we look at the world. This summer I've spoken with people in different parts of the world who became relieved to learn of the current global transformation within which their personal disruptions can be seen. No, you're not crazy. Yes, things are changing fundamentally. No, you can't count on the old methods producing the same results. We're each being summoned to locate the places we cling to worn-out tales and try something new. The day after Equinox is this year's Harvest Moon, which happens to fall in the first degree of Aries and packs an unstoppable blast of willpower. In primal bursts, at the end of September, the full moon will beam into us the imperative to work out key differences between self and other, get clear in love and relationship, band up with your tribe, group, or circle, and aim your creativity toward the stars. In such ways we help the world change. Who are you really? What are you here to do? How much longer are you going to wait? Forward! Mark Borax Soul Level Astrologer