Welcome to the seventeenth edition of the Weight Management and Fitness Forum. We had a record number of new authors submitting articles for this edition. We appreciate your participation and hope you continue to be a part of our forum. Hope you enjoy …

I am going to go in a different direction (away from politicians and celebrities) and request a reading of the brilliant James Hillman, author of the “The Soul’s Code”. I have read this book again and again and I know you like it. If I can find a photo of him, I will read his aura and see what I get.

I have been so busy (happily) but fatigued, I have not spent much time on line. I am also keeping a journal about my experiences of deeper perception with the neonates, (being careful to change the names etc.).

One of the most fascinating aspects of astrology and helpful in a practical, grounded way is the information that can be gleaned from exploring the North and South Nodes of the Moon in the astro chart. A hugely abbreviated explanation is that the South Node describes brush strokes of habits, talents, and knowledge that we bring in from past incarnations. Kind of like being an actor on Broadway who can pull off those 8 shows a week in her sleep, she’s so well-rehearsed.

The North Node describes the path or trajectory in this lifetime that will move us along our soul path with much less ‘friction,’shall we say, from repeating outworn habits, and will lead us to growth and exploring new areas where there is a lot of potential for fulfillment.

Here’s an example from my own life and how I’ve used this and how it relates to Deeper Perception. My South Node is in Pisces and my North Node is in Virgo. I’ve had past lives as a religious devotee…lots and lots of time spent in contemplation, religious settings, developing compassion, dissolving the ego, that type of thing. With my North Node in Virgo, life goes more smoothly for me if I’m focussing my energies on Virgo-esque pursuits, like being of service, paying attention to details, my health, being practical, grounded, healthily discriminating in relationships. How did I learn about this?

Divine Humor!! I (unconsciously) married a minister and was drawn to the religious setting…again. Repeating an old habit, in a way. But the marriage didn’t last and neither did the church connection. Long story short, after many “learning experiences,” I’ve come to see that it’s very important for me not to get too ‘spacey,’ not to expand too much or spend too much time in solitude (as in ‘been there, done that’ in past lives), but to be sure I’m moving, exercising, being of service, out in the world, eating well, etc. These are the times of my greatest insights. I know, for example, that the absolute wrong thing for me to do would be to go to an intense meditation retreat, the kind where you’re in silence for hours or days on end. And do you see how it all connects with what we’ve been talking about? Your work has been like the practical “how to’s”, the marching orders, in a sense. See, the use of grounding activities to process came to me from my explorations of the North Node in Virgo. So astrology can provide insights into the types of activities that we empaths can turn to perhaps more efficiently or effectively to ‘shift gears’ in these ways. This is basically how I’ve begun to use astrology in my language teaching.

It’s great fun to see all these connections….thanks for the opportunity to share them!

Two good questions deserve two good answers! The quicker one is here. The other can become its own post.

Although I never thought about it before in the way you described, that use of grounding activities to bring out answers, or clear the mind, IS a great example of contrast between one function of the mind-body-spirit and another.

Becoming unstuck can happen with relative ease when we get out of a favorite compartment of life, like emotions or spirit, and shift to another compartment, like body or environment.

The latter are examples of grounding activities. The former are examples of expansion activities. We empaths do tend to favor the expanders, so that grounding is especially helpful for us.

But anyone, empath or not, will benefit from the contrast of waking up and using different aspects, different compartments of life.

(And if you’re thinking, aha, that corresponds to enlivening different chakras, too… well you get a prize!)

I think I understand what you mean by ‘a lack of contrast’ and feeling something by becoming more grounded and not stretching, but I’m not sure I’m completely grasping what you mean.

I’m wondering if a particular example that came to mind is what you’re referring to…when I’m looking for a particular answer and it only comes when I do something like wash the dishes or clean the house, grounding activities. Is that what you’re talking about or am I completely off base here? Thanks.

Ann, I think this is a huge Aha! People with different mind-body-spirit systems will hear an identical message differently. And an empathic system really is different, even if that shows only on the level of auras.

The one thing I would add is that empathic gifts aren’t necessarily emotional, and some authors and coaches are similarly inviting people to do things intellectually, spiritually, with physical perceptiveness, etc.

This can, likewise, be an invitation to open up perception of one kind or another, and an empath will think, “If I only try harder, I will feel something.” Actually, it can be a lack of contrast for that empath, and the way to “feel something” is to become more grounded, not keep stretching.

There is such irony in these realizations…these people I’ve connected with or tried to connect with in one way or another have each touted themselves as sensitive, caring, healers, blah, blah, blah…but each has revealed a stunning lack of empathy. Now I really get it. Viscerally.

Another realization that came to mind in reading the other conversation is just how important it is to fully register what it means to be an empath. I’m thinking of the messages of various personal growth authors and coaches, who are actually gearing their work to those who do need to learn to open their hearts. I can recall times when these shocking relationship dynamics would happen in the past, I’d blame myself somehow and would try to ‘fix’ something in me, thinking I needed to open my heart more. Sheesh. Now I can see that what you so wisely encourage us to do is the best thing – to turn off the empathy! This has been so liberating.