I didn’t believe astrology had much to do with me in particular until my Saturn return hit and everything changed.

It’s a planet known to bring you into alignment with your greatest path and can either fuel that forward with ease or destroy what won’t get you there. It felt like a high-speed train for one that chased the rising sun for five years. From the age of 28 while Saturn transitioned back to the very spot in the sky at the moment of my birth, I felt constant waves of vulnerability and insecurity. The life I worked hard to build was crumbling without hope of a new beginning. The relationships I had come to depend on were ending. And my sense of my self didn’t seem to fit anymore. It was as if my reference points for happiness were dissolving. The only thing I could trust in truly was my body, the earth, and the moment.

Looking back, I see now that what felt like devastation and total loss was actually a deep cleanse for the soul. The universe was helping to prepare me for something bigger than the life I was living. During that time when I was lost, I could always return to my body, the earth, and the moment and find the light once again.

It taught me a good lesson on happiness. Joy wasn’t in circumstances or people or lifestyles. It wasn’t about doing something that made me feel good or eating kale or taking risks. Joy wasn’t something to be gained outside of my experience. It was in my ability to relate and engage within my experience. This was joy. Now when I lose touch with joy, I try to remember to return to these three teachers and taste the space of goodness. Here’s a few ways to explore tasting joy especially during tough transitions.

Touching the Body
Bodywork and massage have been transformative tools to process and heal. But beyond therapeutic treatments, there is so much to be explored in terms of creating space to rest and relax in your own skin. How do you nurture the self? Drawing a bath, counting your inhales and exhales, taking a yoga class, painting – relaxation is the medium not the goal. The goal is to open and extend love. But first we must be rooted in the body.

Touching the Earth
Stargazing, nature walks, picnics, camping, hikes are all simple ways to reconnect to the Earth. Even bringing awareness to how you walk can shift your attention from walking on the Earth to walking with the Earth. Feel the support of the ground under your feet. Drop down. Tune in. Even lying on the ground can inspire deep rest and help to let go of tension. The goal here is to shift your allegiance from above to below.

Touching the Moment
The moment cannot be contained. It is unpredictable, fresh, and permeates all of life. It has no beginning, middle or end. The moment is timeless. Now has never happened. You know the moment. You’ve seen it in the eyes of a toddler. They are curious, open, and engage life without story. It’s as if the entire universe arises and dissolves in an instant. For the child, this is not an act of bravery. She sees things as they are. Which is a good reminder that our beliefs do not create reality. There is reality and there are beliefs. Sometimes they intertwine. But the moment is the point where all things fall away and you have access to what is.

So how do we return to the moment? How do we find peace in now? One way is to recognize we’re not here. We’re up there in our head worrying about stuff that we can’t control, thinking about the future, numbing out about the past. We’re somewhere else.

If you can notice the mental loop you’re caught in, then you’ve begun the shift. The breath becomes the thread to move from that to this. It’s like you become Saturn and you’re returning to that exact point in the sky of your birth. But the cosmic journey doesn’t take five years. It happens now. Now. Now.

Interestingly enough, this return includes the body and the earth as you make your way to being. You don’t have to be a Zen master to find your happy spot. But if you can recognize when you’re spinning out and return to the body, the earth, and the moment – then you’re well on your way to tasting joy.

xo
Denmo