Saturn squares Uranus three times this year (February, June and  December). This square is therefore a defining factor in the events of  2021, especially at a collective and societal level.

Saturn is the planet of discipline, calendar time, karma and  responsibility. Uranus is the planet of liberation, individuality,  freedom and innovation. Far from natural bed fellows, these two cosmic  heavyweights now embark upon a dance that will see much disruption and  unpredictable twists and turns.

If you think you know what happens next, think again. If you’re  certain in your world view, let the edges begin to blur for much is not  as it seems. When Saturn squares Uranus we’re all tasked with building a  future from the wisdom of experience, potentised by openness to new  possibilities.

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About the Author

Sarah Varcas is an intuitive astrologer with a passion for applying planetary messages to the ups and downs of everyday life. In doing so she aims to support people in their personal and spiritual development, making available celestial wisdom which may otherwise be inaccessible for those without astrological expertise.

Sarah has studied astrology for over thirty years alongside an eclectic spiritual path spanning Buddhism, contemplative Christianity and many other diverse teachings and practices. She also offers an online (via email) Self-Study Astrology Course.

You can find out more about Sarah and her work at www.astro-awakenings.co.uk.

Article narrated by Marie T. Russell

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It is most regrettable that most politicians, even at the highest level, ignore the very basics of demography! For instance, the average number of births per women needed to keep a stationary population is just above two in our countries. However, the birth rate in the USA and Great Britain is 1.8 (down from 2.12 in 2007 for the USA) and in my home country Switzerland it is a very modest 1.5.

Without the welcome arrival of immigrants, our countries would slowly empty themselves of their population. In Germany, thanks to the massive and very recent increased influx of immigrants and refugees, the birth rate shot up from a low of 1.39 in 2010 (at the time one of the lowest if not the lowest in the world) to 1.5 in 2016.

But that is the purely material side of the picture.

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About The Author

Pierre Pradervand is the author of The Gentle Art of Blessing. He has worked, travelled and lived in over 40 countries on five continents, and has been leading workshops and teaching the art of blessing for many years, with remarkable responses and transformational results. For 20 years Pierre has been practising blessing and collecting testimonies of blessing as a tool for healing the heart, mind, body and soul. Visit the website at https://gentleartofblessing.org

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How do we create world peace? Einstein advised that we can’t solve our problems with the same thinking we used to create them. He also defined insanity as “doing the same thing and expecting a different result.”

Our human habit is to identify a problem and then try to fix it. That must change. But what’s the alternative? Examining how G.P.S. works gives us some clues.

First, we enter our destination. The system identifies where we are and begins to guide us. There are three necessary elements here: destination, starting point, and guidance.

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Will Wilkinson co-founded the Thriving Leadership Academy in Ashland, Oregon. He has authored, co-authored, ghost-written, and contributed to over 30 books, designed and delivered personal improvement programs in seven countries, hosted a variety of inspirational television series, and is now developing a new spiritual practice for advanced students of life. He founded The Noon Club, a free member alliance that focuses intentional prayer every day at noon to uplift human consciousness. For more information, visit willtwilkinson.com

Quite a few people have bought into the widely held myth that-long term relationships eventually become flat and boring. This belief, if unchallenged can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy that will eventually create the reality that we fear. Possessed by the expectation that the future is bleak, it’s not surprising that many couples can begin an inexorable downward trajectory that all too often ends in separation, divorce, or a flat-lined relationship.

While it is not possible to prevent periods of doubt from ever occurring, it is possible to strengthen a relationship in a way that minimizes their impact and diminishes the frequency of those occurrences. Not just a little bit, but to a very significant degree.

What’s Required?

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Linda Bloom, LCSW and Charlie Bloom, MSW have been married since 1972. Trained as psychotherapists and relationship counselors, they have worked with individuals, couples, groups, and organizations since 1975. They have lectured and taught at learning institutes throughout the USA and they have offered seminars throughout the world, including China, Japan, Indonesia, Denmark, Sweden, India, Brazil, and many other locations.. Their website is www.bloomwork.com.

I loved my work as a computer consultant designing software, coding, testing, and training the end users. I also made a ton of money and was able to pay off all my student loans and credit card debt. I even bought a Harley Davidson motorcycle straight off the assembly line. That was fun, to get exactly what I wanted.

But life doesn’t always give us what we think we want.

My body went haywire, and slowly everything I built was destroyed. I lost not only my job, but my career and identity as a computer consultant. I lost friends, and I nearly lost my boyfriend. But he stuck around and our relationship grew into something new, something stronger. (He’s now my husband.) I lost an entire decade – my 30’s –spending the majority of my time being sick in bed.

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Unreasonable Joy: Awakening through Trikaya Buddhism

Unreasonable Joy: Awakening through Trikaya Buddhism, points the way towards Enlightenment and liberation from suffering. We suffer through tragedies and the daily grind of eat-work-sleep, chasing happiness but finding fleeting pleasure. Built on the foundations of ancient wisdom, a new school called Trikaya Buddhism promises freedom from the suffering of this wearisome cycle.

About the Author

Turīya is a Buddhist monk, teacher, and author who, despite living with chronic pain, founded the Dharma Center of Trikaya Buddhism in San Diego in 1998 to share her path. For over 25 years, she has taught thousands of students how to meditate, trained teachers, and helped people discover the unreasonable joy of our true nature. For more info, visit dharmacenter.com/teachers/turiya/ as well as www.turiyabliss.com

It's completely understandable when parents give their young children their iPhone or iPad to help them wait at a doctor's office, sit at a restaurant, or allow the parent to simply catch up with household errands. But after it happens, their children may continually ask to play with the device. He or she can't seem to be content playing with blocks or puzzles, dolls or play cars. Crafting or tinkering no longer have any appeal.

While it's true that children can experience a focused flow state while on electronic devices, they are then usually depleted after screen time. To process that screen time, they need ample time to be active and run around. By contrast, after a good playground or nature session, kids feel happily tired, fulfilled and joyful, and can often naturally conclude with that experience. Phones and other devices scream "More, more!" even when the children are exhausted.

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Carmen Viktoria Gamper has worked internationally as an educator, advisor, coach and speaker for child-centered education. As founder of the New Learning Culture program, she supports parents, homeschooling families and schools in safely offering child-directed, flow-rich learning environments.

She is the author of: Flow to Learn: A 52 Week Parent's Guide to Recognize and Support Your Child's Flow State - the Optimal Condition for Learning (New Learning Culture Publishing, March 22, 2020). Learn more at flowtolearn.com.

Astrologer Pam Younghans writes this weekly astrological journal based on planetary influences, and offers perspectives and insights to assist you in making the best use of current energies. This column is not intended as prediction. Your own experience will be more specifically defined by transits to your personal chart.

Highlighted Aspects for This Week

MON: Sun conjunct Mercury

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OUR PERCEPTIONS of reality are shifting, as circumstances compel us to become more introspective. In this time of great transformation, the familiar forms wash away, and we enter a void. We can either try to fill that often uncomfortable space, quickly and indiscriminately, or we can allow it to exist and see what unfolds.

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Pam Younghans is a professional astrologer, editor, and writer. She lives in a log home northeast of Seattle, Washington with her beloved animal companions. She has been interpreting charts professionally for over 25 years. If you are interested in an astrology reading, e-mail [email protected], or leave a message at 425.445.3775. For more information about NorthPoint Astrology offerings, please visit northpointastrology.com or visit her Facebook page.

We are evolving beings. We are not "set in stone" or stuck at any particular stage of our life. What may seem like being stuck may simply be a time of preparation for the next step. Reflection, openness to change and to other perspectives, will help smooth and guide our way.

A rigid tree or branch will break, while one that bends with the wind and with the stresses of life, will go on to grow into a stronger experience of life. This week we focus on things we can change within our own self...

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When I was growing up in Jamshedpur, India, we lived a life based on Ayurveda, an ancient system for understanding disease and health that considers food that is grown, cooked, and eaten with reverence as both nutrition and medicine.

Our parents taught us to talk to the plants that grew year-round in abundance in our front and back kitchen gardens as well as on our rooftop and ask for the plants’ forgiveness before cutting, plucking, pruning, or necessarily uprooting them. We were trained to thank the plants for providing us with fruits, vegetables, and flowers and to take only as much as we needed at any given time; thus harvesting was a daily process.

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Conscious Confidence: Use the Wisdom of Sanskrit to Find Clarity and Success

Drawing on the timeless wisdom of Sanskrit, Sarah Mane offers a practical confidence-boosting system derived from the deepest meanings of Sanskrit concepts, complete with practical exercises. She outlines the fourfold energies of Conscious Confidence and shows how to discover a steady inner source of compassion, self-direction, and self-empowerment.

Sarah Mane is a Sanskrit scholar with a particular interest in the wisdom of Sanskrit as a practical means to life-mastery. Previously a teacher and school executive, today she is a transformational and executive coach. Visit her website: https://consciousconfidence.com

"Dignity is a quiet strength which reflects your deep honour and self-respect. It ... portrays a calm awareness and generosity of spirit regardless of the environment or circumstances."   -- Susan C. Young

Think of someone you know, or know of, someone with a quiet self-assurance, a person with a strong moral compass, who is not swayed by passing fancies, a man or woman who sets a clear direction for their lives, who is dependable and trustworthy. Who doesn't give his or her word lightly, but having given it, always follows through. This is a person whom others go to for advice or comfort. These are people who set an example for others, who people think of when presented with a problem.

I was reflecting on people like this and how, when you encounter one, the meeting is to be treasured. Even when they are public or historical figures – Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Viktor Frankel – and a personal meeting is not on the cards, a meeting of hearts and minds is certainly available.

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Conscious Confidence: Use the Wisdom of Sanskrit to Find Clarity and Success