Nearly every problem in life can be solved by inhaling and exhaling . . . with awareness. –Buddha

Freedom is not doing whatever we want, but really wanting to do what we must.
–Nietzsche

Trying to control the mind is like trying to dry out the ocean or catch the wind. –Amma

* Disclaimer: Sagittarius Full Moons bring out the preacher in all of us so please forgive any pushy lingo ahead of time. Look to where 25 degrees Sagittarius-Gemini-Virgo-Pisces falls in your horoscope for arenas of greatest change.

This eclipse is a glaring reminder of the urgency to take our meds before someone gets hurt. Ideally in 2011, the meds would include first and foremost some form of meditation and deeper breathing. We’re forced to confront our own paradoxical nature as well as our dualities and contradictions–as painful as it is. Where do we say one thing and do another? Where do we talk out of both sides of our mouth and still feel clueless about where the real truth resides? You know those conversations or emails you have with an ex where you feel the need to both love and hurt at the same time? That’s where the Sagittarius eclipse comes in: we are forced to confront the cross your heart and swear to die level of truth.

Getting Brutally Honest:

Confronting inconvenient truths and eclipsing convenient lies. Write down the three biggest lies you are still telling yourself or others about yourself? And then ask yourself what it will take to change your story. This is an excellent time to monitor current self-chat. If it includes any of the following: ugly, fat, stupid, lazy, or loser—take lotus position at once! We can’t afford to keep running the same self-abusive thought patterns and expect our relationships, health and lives to flourish. Gemini-Sagittarius eclipse points remind us of the power of words and intentions. It’s not just what you say—it’s the thought and more importantly the energy of the intention behind the thought that leads to the words spoken. And the words lead to the actions that create the karmic seeds for the next round on life’s great Wheel of Fortune.

A.D.D. & Me:

Feeling more distracted than you ever thought humanly possible?

“There was a time when we loved people and used machines . . . now we love machines and use people.” says Amma. I don’t know about you, but my brain is starting to organize itself in 140 characters with hash tags as subtext. Cannot even begin to describe the agony and anguish that is going into forcing myself not to just turn this into a quick fix Tumblr post, status update or 5 Tweets (which would probably be the smarter idea considering there may only be a handful of people left on this earth with the attention span to actually focus for an entire paragraph and they probably aren’t following, liking or thumbs-uping.)

This eclipse highlights how the immediacy and boundary-exempt reality that our high tech world provides has paradoxically ripped away our ability to be present, focus and appreciate that the good things in life take time. As Amma says: if we try to force open a flower before its time to blossom, we will destroy all the fragrance. And the same happens when we lose patience for the process and kill all the beauty because we reverted again to iCrack urgency mode and couldn’t download the app or the relationship fast enough.

Look around and see how easily people channel Satan the second the speed of the Wifi connection slows down or they have to wait for their side of Ketsup. And if you really want to witness a demonic possession—disconnect someone’s modem, or put them on hold for more than 50 seconds.

No Doubt:

Three D’s that destroy us when we stop evolving: doubt, depression and denial.

They kill our ability to trust ourselves, trust life and trust that actually everything is going to be all right. Sagittarius is the sign of faith, optimism and truth. When we go into doubting mode, what happens? We run around collecting second opinions, abusing our oracles and going into feedback overload in a vain attempt to alleviate our fears. We don’t trust and we begin a frantic search for the answer out there. We revert to our Gemini minds looking for the immediacy of reassuring sound bytes the mind can attach to. This is when we need to sit down, stop running at the Gemini mouth, power of the iCrap and ground back into the body. Mantras and affirmations are excellent to replace negative mind grooves. Actually many of us have mantras already that we’re using but sadly they are more like the rants of an abusive partner beating us down to make sure we’ll never leave them, or some insane preacher speaking in tongues.

Change the Channel:

We easily become our mental habits. What is the story you tell yourself? Where do you spend most of your mental energy? What do you regularly obsess about? Just a little time of sitting in meditation will reveal the answers to these questions. And most importantly what feelings are you avoiding by obsessing about something else?

This morning in meditation class, the Swami said that the moment we start to think our spine bends. Sagittarius is about expanding our mindset. Opening the mind is easier said than done which is why Sagittarius is associated with travel. By changing the details of our daily routine, we can change our thinking. Childhood wounds play a huge part in the negative side of the drama we create in our mind and spin out into our reality. Look to where you keep recreating the same scenarios that only serve to reinforce limiting beliefs about yourself and the world.

Our Minds Need Maintenance:

Amma says we need alarms of awareness and discrimination before negative thoughts have a chance to destroy us. Especially anger. When we’re angry we release poisonous vibrations into our cells and the atmosphere. After a huge fight, doesn’t your body feel like it’s suddenly contracted every form of Cancer and autoimmune disorder known to humankind?

Don’t Believe the Hype:

The trickster is making several appearances compliments of the Sun, Mercury, Venus and the South Node in Gemini. Words can be mighty deceiving so try to see beyond all of the details and get back to the bigger truth, bigger picture. Don’t believe the gossip or buy into the cheap version of the story. Sag says we must do the research. Words are the swords in the Tarot for good reason. They can easily harm, distract and put us in the defense zone. Marianne Williamson has a teaching on this. When we feel we need to defend something we give it power and make it more real than if we had ignored it altogether. Just let it go. The other teaching is: do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?

Jupiter & The Wheel of Fortune:

Sagittarius is ruled by the planet Jupiter and is associated with the Wheel of Fortune archetype in Tarot. While we’re still riding the wheel of Samsara, if we hold fast to the center we can avoid the feeling of getting dragged through the inevitable ups and downs of karmic cycles like a dead animal stuck to the rubber of the tire instead of rambling on with the flow like the shiny chrome in the middle of the hub.

Sagittarius is the big-breakthrough sign. Sag likes everything big. This eclipse can spark a tremendous six-month period filled with moments of deeper self-realization and unexpected fortune. The Fortune archetype says: if miracles aren’t happening in your life, something is wrong. What does fortune mean to you at this point in your life? What’s standing in the way? Make a list of all of the mental obstacles and obstructions that prevent you from believing that something miraculously huge could happen in your life. And then keep your eyes open for unexpected gifts and possibilities. Speak your peace. When you own your truth, there is no need to manipulate or be manipulated. Think Free Bird, baby!