Ancient Wisdom – TIME & SPACE CONSULTING

Published March 9, 2025 by ifc

…moving on

Namaste, Followers

Thank you for following my blog, The Teacher’s Journal, for so many years. There are other follower’s at yogini.wordpress which was where I began blogging.

Much has changed. For me, rearranging my writing life, whether for work or pleasure, is a priority these days.

So, after research, time & procrastination I’ve set up a Substack publication which I hope to grow whichever way the wind blows. Meanwhile, it’ll re-inspire me to write to you more. It feels like a platform that supports writers and connects us…safely. And, I need more connection.

So, if you’ve enjoyed my posts and want to read more find me now on Substack

I’ve titled my publication The World is My Ashram. It feels like a fitting title for nearly all my interests that have a spiritual component. Please subscribe. It’s free. You’ll get an email when I post. And, I’m allowing comments. If you are a bot…you will be blocked.

Over time I’ll be cherry-picking various posts from The Teacher’s Journal and exporting them over to Substack.

That’s the pLaN 🙂

namaste.

Ancient Wisdom AstroCartography Astrology Feng Shui Geometric Art Holistic Health Meditation Time Management Yoga Yoga Therapy

Published December 22, 2023 by ifc

A Field trip to Robbinsville, NJ!

…and a(nother) good time was had by all. Here are a few of the pictures I took. It was seriously overcast and somewhat sprinkly and cool outdoors. That alone will prompt another visit soon when it’s sunny. The outdoors is magnificent. Aside from the high tension wires and local vegetation, I could imagine myself transported to India. Between my visit in 2017 and this one I have continued to learn about ancient architecture and the geometry needed to build such structures. However, it’s the inside, the decoration and the artistry that keeps my attention. In India they follow the principles of Vaastu Shastra, which is similar to Feng Shui. You have to be dead or heavily medicated if you don’t *feel* something upon entry. It is the definition of Awe-some.

Ancient Wisdom My photos NJ

Architecture BAPS Hinduism India

So Many Circles!

Published November 26, 2023 by ifc

So Many Circles!

Geometric drawing has taken me on quite a cultural journey. Today, I understand why geometry is sacred.

Initially I became interested in what is known as Islamic geometry. Examples of it’s artistry are found around the world and on this website. In holy and humble places, the patterns are everywhere once you *see* them. Straight lines dominate but movement, fluidity, and spiraling is evident, especially with the addition of the biomorphs.

Ready to jump into a new genre, I found Lucie Rose, a teacher in Paris. When I saw her course in May, 2023 on the South Rose Window of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris I signed up. Whereas Islamic geometry is mostly straight lines, gothic geometry requires a multitude of circles, hardly a square to be found.

I was there in July, 2015 with my grandkids and the pictures from that day are a treasure. I watched with shock and gratitude that I had been there before the fire. Having an emotional connection to a project steps up the preparation.

Architectural achievements that display man’s faith, trust, and reliance on a higher power fuel my personal beliefs.

So, I cleaned up the entire art room and reorganized it to tackle this ONE project, rather than the many I usually have going at the same time. It took nearly the entire summer to complete the drawing and transfer it to the Khadi watercolor paper, which was a very risky choice. The first layer of color came from my coffee cup.

Rose Windows are saturated with symbolism, combining earthly and heavenly qualities, the tracery and the glass. Customarily they are placed opposite a cross at the altar. The feminine stands in balance with the masculine.

To complete my project I began to consider it a tool for meditation, like drawing a mandala. Fighting with the inner perfectionist became crystal clear! Letting go, in every way, became a joy.

It’s still a work-in-progress. I’ve been adding some silvery shine which doesn’t really show well for a blog post.

As Fall approached I got distracted and began a second Rose Window. More circles. Still on the risky paper. But loving the new colors, and now I can use all the gold & copper colors I have! We’ll see how it goes.

In December I’ll be re-directing my creative energy towards drawing the Tree-of-Life for the Winter Solstice. Want to join me for our Solstice Sadhana? LMK.

Ancient Wisdom Geometric Art Meditation My photos Watercolors

Rose Windows Sacred Geometry

The Supreme’s – 2022

Published December 9, 2022 by ifc

The Supreme’s – 2022

WHO’S WHO?

They’ve been in the news alot lately, getting analyzed every which way. So, I got curious and gathered together their birth info to create this who’s who on the Supreme Court in Dec.2022. Can you figure out who’s who? It’s a fun little exercise if learning astrology. Each of these charts was calculated only from mo/dd/yr of birth. No time or location was used. I’ve place the SUN on the Horizon, since it’s pretty easy to assume that their ego’s are prominent. More will be revealed.

There’s so much data/information in just this small slice of judicial role models it boggles the mind. Still, it’s a good place to begin a conversation…..

It’s my intention to write an article with which to compare my discoveries with others pursuing the same perspective. Of course, we still have to look at the chart for the USA to get some context. They don’t call them “birth pains” for nothing.

Ancient Wisdom Astrology

supreme court

Published September 5, 2021 by ifc

When Things Fall Apart

The book fell off the shelf and opened to this page when I picked it up. When Things Fall Apart, Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chodron page 91

Spiritual awakening is frequently described as a journey to the top of a mountain. We leave our attachments and our worldliness behind and slowly make our way to the top. At the peak we have transcended all pain. the only problem with this metaphor is that we leave all the others behind-our drunken brother, our schizophrenic sister, our tormented animals and friends. Their suffering continues, unrelieved by our personal escape.

In the process of discovering bodhichitta, the journey goes down, not up. It’s as if the mountain pointed toward the center of the earth instead of reaching into the sky. Instead of transcending the suffering of all creatures, we move toward th turbulence and doubt. We jump into it. We slide into it. We tiptoe into it. We move toward it however we can. We explore the reality and unpredictability of insecurity and pain, and we try not to push it away. If it takes years, if it takes lifetimes, we let it be as it i9s. At our own pace, without speed or aggression, we move down and down and down. with us move millions of others, our companions in awakening from fear. At the bottom we discover water, the healing water of bodhichitta. Right down there in the thick of things, we discover the love that will not die.

That’s what we do in yoga therapy, we dive down. It’s an exhilarating journey, if you are on a path of spiritual awakening. It doesn’t matter what shape you’re in, there’s a lot to learn and discover inside your self.

Join us this Fall for Yoga Therapy for Grandma, An Introductory Course On Zoom. Are you on the mailing list?

Ancient Wisdom Buddhism Yoga Yoga Therapy

bodhichitta buddhism Pema Chodron

Published November 13, 2020 by ifc

Never-Not-Broken

About a month ago I volunteered to tell a story for the 8th annual Storyteller’s Tellabration. It’s been a few years since I’ve tackled this kind of creative endeavor and I’m a little nervous.

My genre of storytelling is a hybrid of personal memoir and ancient mythology. In the past I’ve delved into ancient gods/goddesses from different cultures and I’ve always learned something important. I’ve added some links below of stories told if you are interested.

Thanks to the internet I found my muse right away. She was hardly known in the pantheon of gods/goddesses.of Hindu mythology. She was called Akilandaeshvari and her name holds the key to understanding what she is all about. In Sanskrit, Aki is Universe, lan is ruler, and deshvari is Goddess…………..she is the Goddess who Rules the Universe and her powers are unmatched by any other. But the Sanskrit also says something else. Akilanda can be also translated as Never-Not-Broken. She is the Goddess of Never-Not-Broken. Reconciling those two translations took a bit of meditation and contemplation. Within days my obsession took over and I researched and read and tried to paint the image I found of her.

I looked at all the places where I was broken, physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. Slowly as I came to understand her story and the symbolism I could see why Never-Not-Broken = Ruler of the Universe. As a life long yogini I have learned what it means to ’embody’ something. I watched my self *embody* Ahkilandaeshvari.

Her story teaches us about resilience and how with each break, crack, rupture, trauma, crisis, catastrophe we survive, we become stronger.

I suspect that her fame will grow during these turbulent times we are living in. The way she rides the crocodile down a raging river is a lesson in itself.

…to be continued

Here’s an invite to our Tellebration if you want to come.

Divine Dramas………

More Divine Dramas – Daghda’s Harp

Ancient Wisdom StoryTelling The Jersey Shore Yoga

Published July 10, 2020 by ifc

Geometry & Art – the beginning

Back to the drawing board….. that’s a phrase that comes to mind whenever I have to start something…again…from scratch… That’s what it feels like these days..like I have to re-create my *life-plan* again. Who knew a global pandemic would upend life and country in such a way? Surely not I, even with the decades and hours of study and practice of ancient wisdom traditions. Oh well. One breath at a time is a good way to live these days, as long as it’s a long one.

I’ve been taking online courses on geometric art. Some teachers are well versed in Sacred Geometry and they weave the ‘teachings’ of that ancient science as they teach us how to draw patterns.with only a compass and a ruler. It is a fascinating combination of spirituality and science.

Sacred Geometry caught my attention when I was learning feng shui & vaastu shastra. With half the solar system in earth signs at my birth, my connection to all things ‘earthy’ is embedded in my DNA. Geometry is sacred because it enables us to turn time and space into matter. It’s interesting because there is no Sacred biology, or Sacred trigonometry, or Sacred chemistry. Physics is believed to be the bridge between matter and energy, but we don’t call it Sacred. Yet Sacred Geometry has been understood as such for thousands of years, probably more because if it’s sacred it’s origins are likely beyond our understanding.

I stumbled into this current artistic obsession while looking for instructions on how to draw the Sri Yantra. I found a course on Udemy and in no time I was hooked! Because of the pandemic many of today’s masters of this art have put their classes on Zoom. The first class I attended in March had 300 students from around the globe all eager to learn the ways of the compass and straight edge. Many are well versed in Sacred Geometry and can articulate the metaphysical symbolism inherent in the basics shapes/forms of the patterns. After the geometric pattern is completed biomorphic motifs are added. In this way masculine & feminine elements are combined to produce a finished pattern with harmony, balance, and satisfaction. It is fascinating process to engage in and it’s become part of my meditation practice. Start with a dot. Draw a line. Draw a circle. Keep going. Om Shanti.

Ancient Wisdom Blogging Geometric Art StudioIFC

biomorphic watercolor

Published May 28, 2020 by ifc

The Yoga of Space……………

How aware are you of what you are feeling in your body when you walk into a house/office/building/room?

Today’s movement to declutter our homes/live has it’s roots in feng shui which is not the same thing as interior decoration or artistic design with an Asian flavor. Feng Shui is much, much more than a pleasing appearance. When properly understood feng shui is a methodology for creating harmony, balance, prosperity, health, & an elevated consciousness of environment and self.

Every culture on the planet has their own spiritual tradition of connecting buildings & man-made structures with nature and the cosmos. The idea that we are affected by our surrounding is universal. As above, so below and so it goes.

(In India, vaastu shastra was practiced. Their spatial map looks like this. (Geomancy & sacred geometry are both related fields that have their roots more in western culture. The medicine wheel might be the way native americans lined themselves up with the cosmos, which is the original intention of all of these disciplines, to align oneself with that which is greater as represented by sun, moon and all the planets in the night sky.)

These chinese characters, wind and water, are the characters used to describe Feng Shui. (Just remember, when we begin to translate from language to language, a lot of translation gets lost; just one of life’s paradoxes)

In today’s culture, feng shui is showing up as an offshoot of interior design/decoration, and it can be a great reason to give in to ‘shopping’ addictions. Awareness is a key element in knowing what is really needed. Some people regard feng shui as folk art, old wive’s tales, or magical actions time-fully performed in affect our lives, and there’s certainly an organic truth to everything you’ve heard.

Feng Shui provides the map for us to see ourselves in relationship to others and the greater whole of our communities. It’s intention is to bring peace, love, & happiness to all who enter upon the space. And, where there is peace, love & happiness, there you will also find prosperity, health, & joy.

I became interested in feng shui, per se, in the late 80’s. Previously I had studied architecture & interior design in college. At the same time I was working as a real estate agent which enabled me to see thousands of homes & businesses…although with a different focus. My right brain began to relate to my left brain in new ways and I began to understand how different surroundings impact our lives in significant ways, and that we could change our lives with some simple ‘cures’. Feng Shui became a tool for self-discovery as well as practice that kept me grounded and stable through difficult times. Another awakening occurred when I discovered the role that astrology plays in determining auspicious design & placement.

The compass school of feng shui makes specific use of astrological information.The practitioners used a luopan which was placed in the home in alignment with the birth information of the head of the family…..usually the father. With the advent of the computer, we are now able to create personalized maps of the planetary locations for anywhere and any time on earth. When these maps are placed in your home/office/business it is easy to see the ‘lines of energy’ radiate through physical space. From here, we can then apply ‘feng shui’ to mitigate, minimize, maximize, alter and adjust our interior spaces to take advantage of the movement of chi. The results are usually pretty immediate and impressive.

This is what a local space map looks like. You place it in the center of the space and work from there. (If you live more than 50 miles from your birth place then you need to recalculate the map for the current location.)

Of course you also need to be knowledgeable of all the other correlations and correspondances that are part of the astrological/feng shui vocabulary…..none of these techniques are as simple as they appear and one needs to be quite balanced with both information and intuition to make use of the data.

I like to think of feng shui as environmental acupuncture, or perhaps astro-ecology.
How you choose to define feng shui is a personal choice since Feng Shui can be either a noun or a verb.

The Yoga of Space….June 3, 4pm on Zoom. Go here:

As Above, So Below

Ancient Wisdom AstroCartography Feng Shui Holistic Health

TimeScaping

Published April 20, 2020 by ifc

TimeScaping

A long time ago I created the word timescaping….it’s a verb. I couldn’t find it anywhere else, and I researched it, so I’m ready to take ownership of this word, now. It describes the act of perceiving time as cyclical & multi-dimensional, not linear, which is how a majority of us see it. The word implies, by intention, that we can have an effect on time, just as time effects us. We can speed it up or slow it down, almost at will. It’s much, much harder to manage time for those that retain the linear perspective of absolute beginnings & absolute endings. Of course, that’s silly, because many, many things do end. Absolutely. And yet, the invisible, energetic, impulses & sparks do live on if there’s any karma around it at all.

After decades of research, life experience, and risky experiments, I came to believe that living one’s daily life according the cycles of the Moon, (and other cycles too, taken as a ‘whole’ picture perspective), is a far superior way to organize one’s activities then adhering to just calendars & clocks, Apple watches included

The Salon for Astrological Discourse is meeting again this week. How to move thru “time” is our primary study. It doesn’t matter what you know or don’t know about astrology. There’s always something to learn. Join us online.

Ancient Wisdom Astrology Stress Management Time Management Yoga Therapy

Published September 24, 2019 by ifc

The Four Ages of Man

He with body waged a fight

But body won; it walks upright

Then he struggled with the heart;

Innocence and peace depart.

Then he struggled with the mind;

His proud heart he left behind.

Now his wars on God begin;

At stroke of midnight God shall win.

~William Butler Yeats

Ancient Wisdom Poetry

Yeats

Category: <span>Ancient Wisdom</span>