Radiant Buddha

The Radiant Buddha said regard this fleeting world like this:

Like stars fading and vanishing at dawn,

like bubbles on a fast moving stream,

like morning dewdrops evaporating on blades of grass,

like a candle flickering in a strong wind,

echos, mirages, and phantoms, hallucinating and like a dream

–The Eight Similes of Illusion, from the Prajna Paramita Sutras

Aurora Borealis Power

As winter approaches, some of us living in the far north may be able to see the Northern Lights, while the rest of us can call upon its power.

In 1621, a French scientist, Pierre Gassendi, saw the lights in the north and named them after the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora. He added the word "borealis" for the Roman god of the north wind, Boreas.

Although they look elegant and calm, aurorae are produced from millions of explosions of magnetic energy.

The Aurora Borealis is a portal of spiritual energies. When harnessed it can bring your awareness to all new levels!

Vata Season

Vata season—in between fall and winter. The daylight hours diminish, the dark and cold surround us. We tend to resist the change and complain about it, however, it is far more productive to embrace it and prepare for it.

Here are some tips to prepare you for winter:

• feed the digestive fire after meditating to keep body tissues from drying up. Enjoy nutritious and healthy breakfasts

• stay warm: hats, gloves, hot tea

• be sure to soak the sun and get your Vitamin D, even if it means through a window facing west at sunset

• try japa meditation—the rhythmic repetition of a mantra slows a racing mind and increases focus

• practice yoga asanas like tree pose, mountain pose, and Warrior 1 to keep you grounded

When I am Among the Trees

by Mary Oliver

When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.
I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.
Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”
The light flows from their branches.
And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say,
“and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine.”