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In my teens I was so introverted that I couldn’t even share my secrets with my best friends. Talking about my hopes and dreams was uncomfortable, too. As a way to understand myself and figure out what I was supposed to do in life, I read lots of books…from philosophy to classics (mostly off the shelves of my famous intellectual parents). But guess what? I got no answers. At best, the answers were incomplete, or worse…lame. Have you ever had a similar experience? You searched for clarity and solutions, but couldn’t find any. So I looked into astrology, and became an avid consumer of print magazines featuring a monthly (or yearly) horoscope. I’d even read the daily horoscope in the newspapers my father left on the silver tray in his home office.   Trying to Manifest   The predictions were compelling, so I tried using them to make my wishes come true, in vain. And even though I tried to fit into my astrological sign, the descriptions had almost nothing resembling me or my aspirations. Yet my intuition told me that astrology was the way to understand my past, present and future, and to get what I wanted. Now I know that intuition is the highest intelligence—it’s not convoluted, goes beyond linear logic, and always turns out to be right. I love Einstein. His thinking built a solid bridge between our scientific method and the spiritual. He valued both imagination and intuition, which he mentioned as he described how advanced notions came to him, and weren’t the fruit of his calculations or rational thinking. I felt that astrology would also explain my: dislike for my female math teacher love for Latin hate for ancient Greek love of beautiful things passion for languages and more I also imagined that astrology’s positive vibes would bring me the designer clothes I craved, and the perfect boyfriend, the one I imagined while listening to classical music.   Power of Imagination   I know that imagination is powerful. I’ve tested and experienced some good results. For example, before their birth I imagined how my children would look: their hair color, facial features, even height. And they turned out to be just as I’d imagined. Again, Einstein agreed. “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” So you can pretty much create what you want with your imagination alone. Except that your karma, mindset, thoughts and past stop your beautiful imagination from creating what you want. Also, I believe that using…

January 14 marks the Sun’s triumphant entrance in sidereal Makara, Sanskrit for Capricorn, a reason for great celebration in India and Vedic astrology. This transit is considered a wonderful opportunity for you to embrace both the spiritual and material light connected with this luminary. The renewed rays from the Capricorn Sun are believed to have a major impact on your soul, finances, and overall well-being. Whether you believe this literally or figuratively, you may notice a new spring in your step. Meaning of Makara Shankranti In a way, this planetary transit celebrates the Vedic winter solstice. In fact, once upon a time (about 1700 years ago) Makara Shankranti actually coincided with our Western winter solstice. Difference Between Vedic and Western Astrology Vedic astrology is considered to be extremely accurate, and a science (according to the Supreme Court and University Grants Commission of India) because it’s based on the so-called fixed constellations. Whereas Western tropical astrology is based both on the seasons, and the precession of the equinoxes, which have caused a gap in clarity, as all the signs in the zodiac appear to have moved. Plus, according to the yogic Vedic tradition, when the Sun enters Uttara Ashada or Eta Theta Sagittarii, which is ruled by the Sun itself, the light of higher intelligence, evolution, soul, and abundance dawn on Earth. Why We Honor the Sun God in Vedic Astrology In the yogic tradition and Jyotish (or Vedic astrology), the Sun is not only considered a living, sentient being…but also a celestial being. As we hail the royal Sun and his life-giving qualities, we also honor the Gods who are believed to be waking up from their night’s sleep. That’s because for the Gods one earth year lasts just one day, as in heaven time moves faster. Benefits of Makara Shankranti The yogis said that at this time the Sun will influence our brain and intelligence, bringing more positivity, spiritual evolution, success and wealth. Traditional Meditation to Invoke the Sun for Wealth and Vitality You can do this meditation from January 14 – February 13 at sunrise or anytime, before 12 noon. Try this After your shower or bath, sit in a quiet place. In your own sincere words, thank the Sun for sustaining life on the earth plane. Offer fruits, flowers, water, light a ghee lamp (or candle) and an incense stick in front of an image of the Sun. You’re welcome to download an image from this blog and put it on a clean shelf or altar. Recite…

In October 2019, I went on a week-long car trip to visit Goddess temples in India. You know car trips are not easy, especially in India, moving through villages at the speed of the cows crossing past street vendors and horn-honking vehicles. Plus, there was little or no sleep and sporadic meals. My main diet was snacking on bags of overly salty potato chips. I was exhausted, and yet I’ve rarely experienced so much bliss!  The main reason was that this trip felt like a continuous meditation.     How to Lose the Fear of Meditation   For many, the word meditation brings a sense a frustration, memories of restless thoughts and failed attempts. I can sympathize: my first meditation in 1993 was a disaster. At that time, I was something of a jock…exercising over two hours a day (in addition to taking weekly dance classes, and daily yoga). Believe it or not, I also held a full-time job, cared for my family with two little children, co-chaired a cultural committee for hundreds of women, and sat on an active women’s board in a bustling museum of contemporary art. I probably risked a breakdown, but it didn’t happen. And for that I credit my perseverance with meditation.   Reasons We Fear Meditation   We think we need to sit for a long time We hate to listen to the chatter-box mind We’ve made pilgrimages and sacred sites obsolete We’re immersed in science and technology We’ve forgotten God We’ve forgotten ourselves as cosmic beings We don’t see a practical use of spiritual evolution We identify ourselves mostly with the body and senses   Benefits of Meditation Even When You’re Overwhelmed   Meditation’s health benefits on blood pressure, immunity, cardiology, psychology and more, are proved by tons of research. Even though your mind wants a million explanations, these facts are hard to refute. Imagine you’ve just returned home after a stressful workday. Your energy is failing and you just want a nap. But there’s dinner to make, the email your client is waiting for…and the usual (unless you live in a palace and are blessed with a 20-people staff competing for the pleasure of serving you):   laundry grocery shopping driving your kids supervising homework and so much more   Not only do you feel overwhelmed by these chores, but you can’t stop thinking about the office, the meetings the next day, and that colleague who’s less than nice…the same one that the other day criticized you for wanting a new car.…

I just came from watching some videos about God made by my incredible teacher, Dr. Pillai. I hadn’t planned to write this. God knows there’s a list long enough of busy works: an article for an astrology magazine, a meeting, a subscriber email, updates for my loyal followers in the hope that they’ll enjoy their weekend through more inspiration and ease. And also, a list of other (less exciting) tasks. But I was moved to write about light. Also, I realized that when you study with a real master you don’t get to stay the same…you might even give up some of your favorite activities. Because your taste and interests change. What grows? The love you feel. A healthy self-respect. Abundance. Well-being. Enjoyment of beauty, nature, music, without getting stuck. I know that many today are weary of gurus, due to too many scandals about ignorant gurus that haven’t done any real spiritual work. But a real guru removes darkness…or ignorance, and brings out the light in you. For the last 12 years, I’ve had such a guru—he has awakened the light in his students. And the thought that we’re light, photon light (not material or physical at all) now makes sense.     What Is Light? According to Dr. Pillai, light is intelligence. If you’re a regular meditator, you know that after some time you’ll have an experience of light or visions of light beings. After circa 30 years of meditation (like me), you’ll have a lot of experiences. I usually don’t like sharing my meditation experiences. Maybe it’s because the great majority of the world is run by the material, financial, sensual, practical, obsessive, collective machine. We all experience this voracious machine, more or less. And even very good-natured people dismiss spiritual experiences. They call them “anecdotal,” the term of choice for the scientifically minded. But real scientists (meaning with an open mind to experiment) return to God. Think of Einstein. Once, two of my beautiful, smart, creative and wealthy friends literally laughed in my face when I told them about a miracle received. I think that’s because we mostly get nervous about what we don’t understand. Anyway…here I’m talking about meditation experiences because I think that the recent heartbreaking events in 2020 have changed us. Whether it was the global shutdown, then the collapse of world economies, fear of disease, more fear of all kinds…natural irritation for our reduced freedom of traveling, socializing or the incredible sorrow of losing a loved one, changed we are. I believe…

I will never forget the day my father died. My sister called me from Italy and put him on the phone. I hadn’t seen him in at least two decades, and we had never been close. Also, when I moved to Chicago from Rome, our lives had shifted apart. I never missed him. In fact, my parents had divorced when I was 12, and I mostly grew up with my mother and stepfather. My father was now dying due to the terminal stage of a disease that had weakened him in the last few years of his life. But this phone call was meant to change everything. In the short talk we had, my father told me he’d missed me terribly, and that he once even considered going on national TV to try to find me. In fact, I’d never stayed in touch, and had specifically forbidden my sisters from sharing my phone numbers with him. On the phone, I cried. He cried. He passed away that same night.   Soul Genetics   During that difficult time (and ever since) a profound teaching and technology that I’d learned from my great spiritual teacher, Dr. Pillai, came in very handy. The teaching was Soul Genetics, a term coined by Dr. Pillai to explain how we inherit the soul tendencies of our ancestors. He also gave a technique to heal our ancestral connections, Tarpanam. Tarpanam means feeding your dead ancestors, helping them cross into a higher dimension so they become happier, evolve, and bless you. Our successes, relationship happiness and good finances depend heavily on their blessings. For this there’s a common saying in India: Shiva will not answer your prayers until you feed your ancestors. In the light of the yogic tradition, this means that you need to make peace with your genetics, because you are hardwired to repeat your ancestors’ behaviors. So helping our departed ancestor go to heaven (or cross into the light, if you will) is both a gesture of love and self-care.   On a Personal Level   After ordering a specialized Tarpanam that was performed in Tamil Nadu in honor of my father after his passing, I felt that my troubled relationship with him was healed. A few days later, I even had a dream of him dressed in white, surrounded by pure, white light. He was smiling. This dream went a long way to evaporate my hard feelings towards my father, and the sadness I’d experienced in childhood. A few years later, I felt even…

For millennia, Indian yogis have claimed to be traveling to higher dimensions where they can fly anywhere, communicate telepathically with anyone, or manifest their heart’s desire. Believe it or not, they also said that you can do the same, provided that you learn some techniques, have faith, and good intentions. Have you ever heard about power spots and dimensional portals? These words imply some mind-blowing developments, and require accepting that we’re more than flesh and blood, and letting go of a limited vision of reality. For example, have you ever dreamed of traveling beyond our solar system? Or felt curious about time travel and power vortexes? If you answered yes, this blog is for you.   The brain’s dormant capacities   Did you know that the ancient yogis of India talked about mysterious topics like effect without a cause, other galaxies, extraterrestrials beings, and the human brain’s dormant supernormal powers? They also revealed that some powerful locations on planet Earth can transform your consciousness. The energy in those areas is said to heal diseases, raise your consciousness and grant you both telepathy and omniscience. Mind-blowing, right? Also, according to yogic teachings, the vibrations of these exceptional locations could transform an ordinary person into a super human. We know that modern science is fascinated with technology and artificial intelligence (AI) to help us expand our conceptions of time and space. The ancient yogis were too. But they mostly wanted to attain supernormal powers through spiritual methods. For example, they used sound waves, or rather said that these sounds were revealed to them in deep states of meditation leading to higher consciousness. They called these special sounds mantras and were experts in harmonics and other concepts that scientists are still exploring today. Chanting mantras changed their brains, helped them conceive the impossible and experience it like, for example, acquiring a very small or very large body, manifesting objects out of thin air, or turning their physical body into a body of light. Some notions of the light body can be found in many of the world’s wisdom traditions—Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and others. My spiritual teacher Dr. Pillai (the Tamil Siddha master and scholar who has had the highest impact on my spiritual path) says that “intelligence and light go hand in hand.” And Indian yogis always talk about light, teaching how to increase it in your consciousness for instantaneous fulfillment of desires, spiritual enlightenment and permanent bliss. Vedic and yogic literature have described these yogis’ exceptional achievements: flying, resuscitating the dead, increasing…

We’re now under incredible pressure to rebuild our lives after the unprecedented challenges from both a pandemic and a devastated global economy. Many are approaching me and looking for new understanding. No doubt, we’ll require all our intelligence and unwavering discipline to succeed, create abundance, and feel safe and happy again. We may also need new skills and healing. Eclipses block light     The intuitive yogis of India were both expert astronomers and astrologers. They were incredibly curious about the workings of cosmos, the human brain and consciousness. These Siddhas or Rishis studied astronomy to observe the material cosmos, and created an astrology system to observe the spiritual cosmos. Their findings revealed that the planets and constellations have powerful effects on earth and all life. Also, the yogis found that the eclipses and their radiations often had negative impact on:   body mind consciousness world events future outcomes   What’s light? According to the ancient yogis and Vedic astrologers of India, light holds incredible intelligence. Modern quantum physicists also study light, and are still trying to wrap their minds around the wave-particle duality, and what they call the strange behavior of light.   Good luck stems from light     In Vedic astrology light, good luck and intelligence are interrelated. In other words, lucky people enjoy light and intelligence from the good planets in their birth horoscopes. So, good luck comes from the good deeds you’ve done in this or previous lives, whose fruits bring you good relationships, wealth, health, and all kinds of good fortunes. You can think of this process as the law of cause and effect or karma.   How to use time to attract good luck   The Science of Light or Vedic astrology tells us that to receive good outcomes from our actions we need lots of light. If you weren’t born during the best planetary alignments, learning when to begin a venture, get married, make an investment, or timing action for positive outcomes can help you overcome bad karma, and bring you good luck. A bright lunar phase, a powerful placement of the Sun, and good associations of the other celestial bodies can help you get the loving relationship, ideal job, new home, beautiful jewelry, or the new car you want. All this also means that making potentially life-changing decisions during an eclipse can lead to disappointing outcomes.   June and July eclipses in 2020   We’re now in an eclipse season, which Vedic astrology considers inauspicious for new beginnings:   Penumbral lunar…

Whether you’re still stuck in isolation, or done with it, and attempting to forget the grief, chaos, and fear you’ve experienced…chances are you’re trying hard to settle into a new routine. No doubt, the disease has changed the world, shaken our lives in unprecedented ways, and rattled our economies, relationships, and health. And if you’re asking: “What’s next for me?”, you’re not alone. Yet I think letting go of the disquieting feeling of being controlled by an invisible enemy is so important. Because you do, always, have control over your life. I believe that our only hope for a better future comes from our determination to get a grip on our lives, and try to move forward to rebuild a better future.   What’s next? While I realize that we can’t always rush healing, I also believe that we can’t afford to delay searching for new solutions to our health, finances, relationships, work, or careers. Moreover, we urgently need to fix the emotional, financial, and psychological damage that so many have faced.   Perhaps you’re now suffering from… an unprecedented skepticism about your capabilities anxiety about your future feeling stagnant in ideas and creativity uncertain finances after a job or money loss stressed relationships with loved ones declining fitness levels after sitting on the sofa for just too long lack of trust in your Source So how do you create a life that looks less like a nightmare, and more like your cherished dreams? If you believe the yogis as I do, you can accomplish all your dreams through self-awareness, faith, and resolve, no matter what your current circumstances are.   Advantages of embracing transformation My experience in teaching and coaching countless people over the years has brought me the immense joy of seeing their transformation: feeling happier with their lives building successful careers even after losses creating a new business getting bigger paychecks enjoying more luxury getting a loving relationship creating beauty uncovering their purpose feeling satisfied with their purpose increasing well-being aligning themselves with the true reasons they were born and so much more   Expand your vision by traditional means Renewing your faith in a Higher Power can bring you a new sense of meaning, and much needed courage to overcome your current situation. Also, broadening your view by adding service to humanity to your personal goals can bring you lasting satisfaction and fulfillment. By observing these time-tested principles, you can recreate yourself, become blissful, inspired, creative, wealthier, and happier. More importantly, you’ll feel joy from helping…