Author: Lynne Conant

Short-sightedness seems to be the national theme. That’s what happens when you go for immediate gratification. You sacrifice the long term gain. Clearly there is a shortage of good chess players in today’s political and economic scene. How did we get here? Where are we going? No one seems to know.

Everything in our society revolves around the “buck”. Nothing has greater value in our society. Money talks. Unfortunately, this may not have the fairy tale ending that so many imagine. Since when does quality of life not play a huge role in our overall happiness and sense of satisfaction?

Under our current line of thinking we only isolate ourselves more and more from the things that are important to every living being. Health is influenced by our environment. That includes both the physical and psychological. We are driven by overexposure to idiotic commentary about what we should be doing and how we should be doing it. Perhaps manners and thinking for oneself should start taking on a bigger role.

We are more interested in reality television than the reality of our own lives. We pick up on bits and pieces of information with no general theme and don’t use our ability to synthesize the information. For most people almost nothing makes sense and it doesn’t even bother them.

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us”. (Quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson) We should take the time to journey inward.

Be careful who you play “gotcha” with. These things have a way of coming unglued very quickly. You think you have cornered someone only to find that there is some delusional thinking that you weren’t anticipating. Further, you may find that there are additional unintended consequences.

For every action is a reaction. It is a good idea to know what that reaction is going to be in advance. Just like lawyers at trial….never ask a question you don’t already know the answer to. Well, I can only imagine the anger that wells up in these situations. When you get something you weren’t counting on.

That reminds me of yet another thought. I never ask “what it is that people want from me” but rather “what is it that they want to give me”. This thought is amusing to me but experience has taught me that there are a lot of sore losers out there.

Personally, I don’t have time for “gotcha” nor am I at all interested. I like to see justice done but I am wise enough to know that it is out of my hands. Really, I believe in divine justice but it isn’t swift enough. That is why we have courts of law where justice is not always served either.

To make a long story short, it is really aggravating to lose. No matter who you are or whether you are right or wrong …no one likes losing.

But, get over it…you are not defined by your winnings and losings but rather you are defined by your deeds both good and bad.

The world moves along and so do we but it seems that our values are very flawed these days. It turns out that our God is “Money.” Now that may seem callous but it doesn’t seem too far afield. Look at the current political situation in the United States and abroad. We accept a lot of unethical behavior because in some way we are benefiting from it financially…at least for the moment. But ask yourself at what expense. You pay for everything. You pay for what you want and you pay for what you don’t want.

In normal times, people who are criminals are not rewarded either by a book deal or some other obvious form of remuneration. People who are crass and uncaring are not thought to be successful and powerful. But these are strange times. Although recently, I have come to think that the human being may be coming back to life. I see protests and people making objections to hearing speakers who have recently been incarcerated and stolen lots of money from the public.

Maybe all this chaos is bringing about our ability to think on our feet. It is telling us to act and not to rubber stamp bad values. It is telling us that these behaviors should not be rewarded. We don’t have to be a tolerant audience to criminals and other degenerates.

It won’t be soon enough for us to return to some old fashioned values by caring for others. It wouldn’t hurt to put “others first” at least once in a while. We don’t always have to be getting richer and every effort that we make doesn’t have to be dressed around how to get ahead in one form or another.

There may be hope that people are beginning to wake up before we find that we are all slaves to our own bad psychology. Let’s hope so…life is short.

Today, I am asking myself this question, “Does character really matter?” It seems to me that success and character are strongly connected. What success is can only be defined by the individual. Survival is one key to character but some survive at the expense of others.

When we make decisions it reflects our character. It is how we see life. We are making all sorts of decisions based on these concepts. Is it possible that good things can come from bad character? Possibly, because what is good is bad and what is bad is good. It is a polarity and it is two horns on the same goat just like love and hate. We balance these by moving from one extreme to the other.

Generally, it is our ability to balance the expedient with the principled. It is about taking the road less traveled. Character requires that we see a situation from all points of view and not just our own. Character is an inner struggle that we all must face as individuals.

You could say that morals are connected with the laws of the society in which we live. You could say that ethics are something that exists between ourselves and our God. But I would also say that you should be moral in order to be ethical.

Character means to identify those qualities of self that are worth fighting for. It suggests that we take a universal approach to life. No judgement, but solid acts of human decency.

Character is destiny.

It may seem that either you have come upon a panacea or plunged into a dark hole but I assure you that neither one is an accurate perspective. It is important to remember that everything is cyclical. Ideas, people, parties come and go. So it is safe to say that we have entered another cycle that will pass in the not so distant future.

We are all capable of making the best out of circumstances. That might mean that you get out and let people know what you really think by supporting causes that represent your values or you can wait it out by being distracted with your day to day activities. Either way, we are simply passing through a passage in time.

You might wonder if the human being makes any impact on world affairs and I ask myself the same question. I am really only poring over a small part of the big picture and no one really sees the big picture although some of us try our best.

All I can say is lighten up. I am preaching to myself as well. We can only do our best by bringing in new ideas and testing them out one by one. If they work for you ….well, then you are on the right track. If they don’t…you might want to rethink things. In any case, learn to be your own friend. Make adjustments to create a more peaceful and engaged life.

It is difficult to clear the mind but it is also necessary.  In order, to view things in a way that is of benefit to you, you must create a clean slate.  Everything that we see, every opinion that we have is based on our own colorations. These colorations are a product of our life and who we are.  There is nothing innately wrong with them but they may be skewed or out of balance.

When you look at a situation, you see what is there.  But, you should also see what is missing.  By doing this you add dimension to your thinking.  You synthesize rather than analyze.  As an astrologer, this is a must.  You have to see the bigger picture.

Often, we think that our perspective is on target but given all the individuals in the world, it is not exactly the way that we think it is.  It is the way you look at it and it is that way for everyone.  How is it possible to see clearly?  I would say that you do it by putting things together and not by taking them apart.  This is not the traditional thinking taught in Universities or institutions of higher learning.  That is because the goals of these institutions are more worldly and short term.

As an astrologer, you take a more timeless approach.  You may not get paid immediately but you are creating good karma for the future.  This is painful to some degree as you are probably going to trail behind others in the worldly sense.  It is a choice that should not be taken lightly.

If you succeed at clearing your mind, you will be a clear and real reflection for all that you come into contact with. It won’t matter if this meeting is for a lifetime, an hour or a second. It will make a difference.

 

Sometimes getting what we want can be an awesome experience of both a good and bad nature.  We always think we know what we need and go about using our intelligence and ingenuity to get it.  But we don’t see the big picture.  As human beings, we are not able to.  Still we can always make the best out of the opportunities that come our way.

“Men are not the creatures of circumstances, but circumstances are the creatures of men” – Benjamin Disraeli

The best thing to do is to follow your head and your heart when it comes to making decisions.  There are many roads to choose from and we can only make our best effort to create a harmonious experience.  All things are good and bad at the same time.  It is all in the way you look at it.

You also must learn to be your own friend.  Don’t beat yourself over the head if things don’t go exactly as planned.  Be kind to yourself and be kind to others.  Be the master of yourself and not of other people.

 

Today a great deal of emphasis is placed on exercise, eating the right foods and meditation.  All of these mind body enhancements are great but it seems that one thing is glaringly missing from the formula and that thing is “right thinking.”   Having the right thinking is something over time that we arrive at. But, there are opportunities to accelerate your wisdom.  One way is to listen to people who have had these experiences.

It is easy to discount experienced people’s advice as not being au courant, but really, I think there is something to be gained by a little indulgence.  Many things are apparent from my years of being in the workplace but a lot of my insights come from my study of astrology.

Astrology is a soft science, based on observation. It is the repetition of something playing itself out over and over with similar results.  At first, the patterns are not so obvious, but, as you continue to observe things it becomes oh so familiar.

Clearly, there are a few things that are definite do’s and don’ts in your personal approach.

The first thing is; Don’t allow your ego to dictate your behavior.  Put your ego in your back pocket or in your handbag.  Somewhere that it isn’t easily accessible.  This prevents you from revealing how thin skinned you are.

The second thing is; Do your best to make the other person comfortable.  Allow yourself to be predictable.  People will feel much more generous toward you if they can guess what you are going to do next.

The third thing is; You don’t have to always be right.  Lots of people are “dead right” but in the end, it doesn’t get them anywhere.

Just these three things can give you a boost in your quest to get what you have worked long and hard for.  Give yourself a chance to succeed by having the right thinking.