"Don't Just do something, sit there!" ~ Swami Tadatmānanda
A vedic perspective on times of mental shape shifting and indecision!
Nearly every Vedic Counseling session this month has revealed clients struggling with debelitating overwhelm, indecision, and mind scatter in one or several areas of life {those who don’t have this, there’s a note for you below}. I’d like to share a vedic explanation & recommendation for this “cosmic confusion”
*Vedic Astrology, or Jyotisha, is considered the “eye of the vedas” it has been used by yogic people, families and people in positions of leadership for thousands of years to guide everything from life decisions to spiritual practices. It is a powerful way to attune to cosmic order and cultivate more peace, clarity and right action at the right time
Let’s take look at what’s happening, how it’s impacting you, and 3 helpful remedies.
What's Happening
Several important grahas {the graspers or planets} have been gathered in one location in the sky sphere.* Their location catalyzes a natural desire for abundance, happiness, comfort, growth and stability. However the way the planets are configured together there can make your mind feel:
Overwhelmed
Easily Confused
A million ideas and counting
Starting & Stopping projects or ideas
Constantly changing your mind / shape shifting
Difficult to commit to or follow through with things
The combination of intense craving for stability, improvement and abundance with a feeling like you are too scattered to commit to one path can be very frustrating & can make you jump to a premature or non-ideal decision. You really WANT something, but keep changing your mind about how to accomplish it.
Pause. Take a Breath.
How is this Impacting You?
How this affects each of us varies. Where the configuration occurs in your individual horoscope {your karma map, if you will} influences which aspect of your life you may experience this push-pull desire & confusion {or if you are impacted by it at all}. Each segment of your “karma map” holds a different set of themes and purpose.
Because of this, the scattered-ness or indecision and desire for improvement or change may show up in terms of money {such as where to invest}, or income {how to earn}, or expenditures {where to spend}. It could show up in terms of home or community {moving, buying land, building or purchasing a home}, work {changing profession or redirecting entrepreneurship}, it could be in terms of relationships, friendships, travel plans, lifestyle habits, education and studies. It can also show up in terms of your mind, intellect or emotions overall – in which case it can impact any and every aspect of life!
What if you aren’t feeling overwhelm, scatter, confusion? It may be that you are already implementing some or all of the suggestions below, or it may be that the area of your life that this configuration is seated is a theme that is already very clear or fixed, so it doesn’t get easily thrown off course or put into question!
Pause. Take another breath.
What to do?
1. If it’s not urgent, take the pressure off. Few things in life are as urgent as we think they are. Regarding that particular aspect of life where it is unclear, for the time being… don’t make any enormous decisions just yet if you don’t have to. The urgency is likely mostly inner pressure. So if you can, take a sacred pause.
2. Contemplation & Receptivity. Make the most of your sacred pause with meditation, contemplation, listening to nature, mantra recitation, journaling or inward-oriented yoga practice,
Video clips from “Demystifying Karma” and SRY Studio
3. Get wise counsel. This can be from a friend or partner, colleague, or by investing in a professional advisor or counselor. Life is not meant to be done in a vacuum. The investment in objective advice or counsel can save you so much stress, time wasted and expensive bad choices. Ask for help, gather an outside perspective. I personally use several resources, including Vedic Astrology. Of course, if you feel confused, it can be hard to find wise counsel {more on this in the video}
I hope this gives you some assurance that you are not alone, and that this is not permanent – I expect this to dissipate by mid June.
I hope you can implement these tools to handle the experience, however it is manifesting for you now, or if it arises in the future.
All of this is in the name of cultivating the truly yogic habit of making deliberate choices, in accord with cosmic order for the sake of ultimate good. Good means good for you & others. Making the ideal choices takes time and patience. It takes objectivity, commitment and trust. This is a primary teaching of the Bhagavad Gitā in particular, and the yogic journey overall.
Every action you make is your responsibility, and every action produces results. So, as you choose your actions, choose deliberately and with a clear mind. The results of your actions are not under your control, but are delivered by the laws of nature. Therefor, choose your actions wisely, and accept the results of your action as given by the divine in the form of cosmic order.
In the next part of this series I’ll be sharing more about what is happening from the Vedic Viewpoint in the next few days – a special opportunity to buckle down to the practical aspects of life, to lean into devotion, and to cultivate your sacred listening skills!
I hope this is helpful. Feel free to reach out & let me know if it is! And feel free to share this with the people you love.
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Michael Manzella is an expert Jyotishi {Vedic Astrologer}. His skill, warmth, humor, depth and practical approach is a balm to clients internationally. If you are at a juncture point in life, want insight or strategy, need to make a decision about a key aspect of work, family, finance, study, relationships and so on, we encourage a Jyotish reading. Jyotish offers profound light where there is overwhelm, lack of clarity or confusion.