“The art of listening comes from a quiet mind-
The spiritual journey is not about acquiring something outside yourself. Rather, you are penetrating the layers and veils to return to the deepest truth of your own being.
When somebody provokes your anger, the only reason you get angry is because you’re holding on to how you think something is supposed to be. You’re denying how it is. Then you see it’s the expectations of your own mind that are creating your own hell. When you get frustrated because something isn’t the way you thought it would be, examine the way you thought, not just the thing that frustrates you. You’ll see that a lot of your emotional suffering is created by your models of how you think the universe should be and your inability to allow it to be as it is.”
Ram Dass, Polishing the Mirror: How to Live from Your Spiritual Heart
Mars is a few weeks into his seven month retrograde journey through Gemini, bringing up all the chitta “mind shit,” aka the lower conscious thoughts up from the shadow recesses of our minds… Gemini, ruled by Mercury the trickster God of the zodiac and ruler of the third house of communications, local communities, neighborhood, siblings, & early childhood mentors.
You may be facing the skeletons from your childhood closet.. I know I am.
But the medicine here is to do our best not to “muddy the waters,” but to instead be still & pay attention to the mind.
How does the mind work? Particularly your mind.
What is the feeling it fears feeling. That is the work.
If you feel rejection, what part of you needs you to include it at the table of your psyche?
If you feel abandoned, what part of your inner child needs you to help it to feel safe and secure within your psyche?
If you feel lost? Which part of your psyche needs you to grow up and tell the rest of your parts of Self which direction to go?
Mars Retrograde in Gemini is an opportunity to practice stopping reactivity and instead practicing the art of being reflective.
To heal.
To be in right relationship to Self/other.
If you feel the need to project, stop and face yourself.
If you feel the need to gossip, stop and process these feelings with the parts of your self that needs validation.
If you feel reactive, stop engaging until you can respond.
This process is the true work when it comes to consciousness, and shadow work.
The practice of being a conscious human choosing to utilize the next seven months to heal the parts of ourselves that truly need our own awareness and focus is the medicine of any retrograde in a Mercury/Mind ruled zodiac sign.
The work is to use the things that cause us to react to first look in the mirror and work mindfully with the content.
If you are not familiar with IFS- Internal Family Systems aka “Parts Work” I highly recommend looking into this very effective form of therapy.
Parts Work allows us to look the parts our psyche as helpers that all work to keep the Self alive. Some are more effective than others, but learning to love and appreciate all parts of self is extremely healing.
If you are interested in learn more about how Mars Retrograde will be effecting you please book a reading with me- and state in the comments you want to focus on Mars Retrograde.
Be with your Self friends. You are worthy of that attention and love
Lauren Wilde
Photograph by Lauren Wilde named “Fractals of the Psyche”