It's the Awake Space Astrology podcast.
I'm your host, Lori Rivers here to help you with some
inspiration to get those aspirations out into the world.
Well, you guys know I've been playing around with my format
and after last week, which was one heck of a deal.
And if you listen to last week's podcast, you know, I ended up
having to record it in my Patreon because there was this
tech issue after tech issue and I'd spent hours and hours and
hours trying to fix things and to no avail.
And I'm an old hand at doing computer things.
So I thought, you know, I've been trying to think about how
I'm going to change things up. And that's something I'm going
to talk about in the next segment is how the Awake Space
Astrology podcast is going to get changed up.
So I'm not pulling crazy hours that Take Me Out for the rest of
the week. I'm getting too old for all
nighters. But it doesn't mean you're not
going to get the same great information.
In fact, I think you're going to like.
What I'm going to tell you. This week, you may not like what
I have to tell you about this week.
This week is a really intense week that the squares or not
squares, the trines continue to build.
And of course, we've seen the destructiveness of water,
especially with Hurricane Melissa, but there's been other
storms around the world that have dumped just an inordinate
amount of precipitation. I'm going to see that kind of
continue on, but on a personal level.
On a personal level, this is a brilliant time to transform your
own mindset, to transform inside, to make your impact in
the outside world. So we're going to talk a little
bit more about that grand water trying action as Mars starts to
now move into the picture. I know I talked about it a
little bit last week. Let's talk about it some more
and then I'm going to introduce you to The Picture of Dorian
Gray by Oscar Wilde. I'll be doing a much more in
depth look at Oscar Wilde's astrology and I'll be reading
more than just the preface you hear on this podcast this week.
I'll be reading from the Picture of Dorian Gray and then
explaining what placements are doing what as I read it.
You know, because that's a fun astrological exercise.
At least for me. But in the last couple of years,
I've done Edgar Allan Poe and the Tell Tale Heart.
I did Mary Shelley and Frankenstein last year.
This year we're taking a look at Oscar Wilde.
These are all great pieces of literature and a fun
astrological game, if you will. So you'll hear a little bit
about that this week and I'll be talking about using astrology
and why I think that's so important that it's, it's so
much more than labels or self-care.
It it's so much more. We can go so much further than
create coping mechanisms and coping skills.
We can truly self realize and live life on purpose when we
know how to leverage what's in our astrology chart.
And I've spent my life dedicated to building systems that do just
that. So we'll be talking about that
this week and I'm excited about that.
I've had my own experiences with that Scorpio Mars in trying to
Jupiter in Cancer in a trying to Saturn in Pisces.
Reworking and rethinking how to put information out that I think
you can use every single week. Quick word warning, I'm going to
get maybe a little spicy in my monologue, but not for too long.
But I, I need to have a chat with some of you because I, I
think we need to open up our ears and listen with a little
bit more intent. So we'll have a chat.
You might feel scolded and that's on you.
All right. Get your tea.
Get. Your coffee, get your magic, get
your Red Bull, get your whatever you're drinking, especially your
H2O. And whether we're driving to
work or we're going to school or taking the kids to school,
cooking, grocery shopping, putting stuff away in the
pantry, or if we're folding towels or taking a Hawkeye walk
or taking the pooches to the park, whatever we're doing,
we're going to do it together. And we're going to get perfect
parking while we're at it. Let's get going.
Well, it's going to be another week because we're in 2025 and
this is really the beginning of a very long cycle.
We're at the very beginning of it.
And regardless of what's happening in the outer world,
each one of us can use the energy of this week to do
remarkable things both in the inner and the outer world.
Our inner world is what we need to work on.
Most I know you think it's the outer world, but if we don't
have the power to make massive change as an individual, then we
have to do the inner work to find the strength, the fortitude
and the resilience to navigate these wild times and join with
others who are willing to do the same.
And one of the things I can say to the general audience is we
have to stop infantilizing ourselves, Mr. Rodgers said.
To look for the helpers to children, because adults are the
helpers and we are adults. I'm assuming if you're listening
to this, you're an adult. If you're a little and you're
listening to this, then do look for the helpers.
There are too many people who think they can't.
And whether you think you can or you think you can't, either way,
you're right. We have extraordinary
transformational energy going on this week.
It's something I've been meditating on for about two or
three weeks. How can I switch up my own
mindset? How can I show up differently in
my service? How can I both tend to myself
and to those who are attracted to what I teach?
Because I'm not here for everyone.
I am here for those who have willing ears and open hearts to
those who do not want to hear what I have to say and are
looking for some pat answered astrological feel good.
I'm not your podcast. Astrology is meant to be used.
It is not meant to be a label or deterministic outcome or to make
some pat answered self-care coping mechanism.
Astrology is a framework that allows us to be expand beyond
who we think we're supposed to be of who we've been conditioned
to be. It allows us to see who we are
in a spectrum of consciousness. I believe that the greatest use
of astrology is using our astrology, not using it to hold
us back. Well, I can't do that because my
Mercury is blank, or I can't do that because Pluto's sitting on
whatever, or I can't do that because I have this transit or
these bad things happen to me. That's ridiculous and they're
excuses. I may not feel like an excuse
some days, but they are. And I know because I used to
make the same ones many, many years ago.
But what I learned was when we take the opportunity to use the
energy at hand, we can unlock who we were really born to be.
We can find the confidence regardless of our personal
challenges. I don't have a lot of patience
for those who argue for their limitations at this point.
We know our limitations, each one of us.
Now is the time to lean into our strengths, whatever those may
be. And a lot of times people see
their strengths, so it's just something I do.
It comes easy to me, as if you have to toil and struggle in
order for something to be of value.
The grand trine we have with Mars to Jupiter to Pisces.
This week is the time to find our inner resources, our
fortitude, our strengths, and to work from there.
In my own life, in my meditations, I've decided to
change how I deliver information on the weekly basis.
This will be the last public long podcast you instead,
hopefully starting next week, depending on how recording goes,
we'll get daily short podcasts that allow you to learn
something that you can use. Because theory is no good.
If you don't know how to apply it over intellectualizing things
instead of learning how to make it work for you is going to.
Keep you stuck? And we see a lot of that in the
world. I believe that there is a middle
ground between using our our imagination to create bigger and
better things out in the world and facing reality to some
degree. The reality I face is I'm
getting older, my vision isn't great and so I need to
accommodate myself and not burn out in service.
The longer episodes will exist and they will exist in Patreon
for paying members. Remember, there are public and
free options as well, and I do service that.
As a woman of a certain age pushing 60, I do not feel that
it is my obligation to give all that I know to just anyone.
I believe in reciprocity. I believe that a spiritual walk
still deserves reciprocity, and I think over giving is one of
the things people socialized as female need to learn to stop
doing, and it's been an inordinately long time in coming
here. To my patrons, I am eternally
grateful for your support, your love, and your willingness to
learn and share and grow and be of service to those in the
general public who are entitled, the people who didn't bother to
ask, are you OK? You missed the podcast for the
first time in four years. You missed a Monday for the
first time in four years. Instead it was like, where is
it? Why aren't you posting it on
YouTube? Why aren't you doing this?
That is rude. I don't owe anyone my expertise.
I choose to give it. I, I dealt with some comments
and you'll say, Laura, you shouldn't give it your energy.
No, I want you to understand it is important, especially those
who were socialized during a certain time, right?
Those of us who were raised in the 70s and 80s and taught to be
good girls and be compliant and don't speak up, don't make
waves, don't give your energy to the bullies, to those who had
expectations of delivery of service with giving nothing in
return. Screw you.
I do not owe you my decades of study, practice, trial and error
experimentation on self. I do not owe you.
I have given things freely and willingly, and now I will cut
down what goes out to the public as far as you'll probably get
just about the same amount of time, but it will be shorter and
it will be daily, and it will be actionable.
And the longer, deeper work will go into Patreon.
I will do nothing without reciprocity from this movement
forward. To those of you who want to give
critique, pick up a mic, write something, get in front of a
camera, do something before you form an opinion.
Because the majority of people with the loudest voices are the
armchair experts. I have lots of opinions but
don't have the guts or temerity to show up every single week
without fail. So what's going to happen on the
daily episodes? It will still be the Awake Space
Astrology podcast. And yet you're going to get a
new series called Using Astrology and I think you'll
find it very beneficial and. Each week.
There will be a longer form video that goes out to patrons
that gives them the true nuts and bolts of how to make it work
and that is exciting to me. A word about Patreon.
Recently there's been a slew of people asking me to go on to Sub
Stack. Now, I did explain it on a
couple of TikTok lives that I researched the funding of
Substack and I'm not happy with who is giving money and I'm not
going to talk about it here on the public podcast.
However, I will not put my time and energy into yet another
platform when I am on one of the most inclusive, supportive
platforms for people who create imaginative musical, literary,
game dev, 3D publishing, and yes, astrologers with podcasts.
I've been involved with Patreon since 2020 and I know their
values match with my own. I have met many members of the
team. I am A Patreon ambassador
doesn't make me a brand ambassador so much as I get to
test new features and help make it better for other people, not
just myself. It is not just a way to put.
Material behind a pay wall. There are free and public ways
to deliver information. I could not believe last week
when somebody accused me of using Patreon to gatekeep the.
American Blueprint, Civics for Everyday People, my other
podcasts that comes out in English and Spanish.
Those are public posts. You don't even have to put an
e-mail in to listen to them, it's just easier to curate.
Distributing podcasts is not a simple thing.
It takes an inordinate amount of time.
And when things don't show up on YouTube, it's because the RSS
feed is showing it as private and I have to go in and manually
change it. There are a lot of interesting
comments by people who don't understand how things work.
That includes politics. That includes economics.
That includes climate. That includes podcasting.
Educate yourselves. I know I'm being a bit terse,
but I have gone full bore for five years, educating people,
uplifting people, helping people, taking the slings and
arrows from people who have not bothered.
To listen with both ears and process what I say in the Gray
matter. I will still be of service, but
I'm changing how I do it. I think you'll probably like it
pretty well. That the one person who has to
be happy with what I do is me. And if you were socialized
female and you are a woman of a certain age, then you know
exactly what I'm talking about. And if not, and you're still
wondering, don't over give, don't deplete yourself in
service. There is nothing spiritual about
working from an empty cup. If you want to be an example, be
an example with boundaries. And those are good lessons for
this week with that grand trine in water.
It's powerful energy, and we can look at how we're spending our
own energy where we're frittering it away when the
flood of information comes at us and we're worrying about things
we can't do a damn thing about, when we're worried about what
one more ne'er do. Well, POS has to say on some
news media, sure, it might be a promise or a threat.
Can you fix it? No.
If you can fix it, do something about it.
If you can't put your attention to what you can, it's that
serious. As we move forward, find your
strengths. Work from your strengths.
Stop infantilizing yourself and handing your power over to
people who would so gladly misuse it.
To those who support my work, you have my utmost gratitude.
To my patrons who make sure what I do isn't compromised through
making brand deals and corporate greed, thank you.
You helped keep this original. It may not be the most popular,
but I'm not here for a popularity contest.
I'm here to make sure usable information comes out every
single week. So Speaking of usable
information, we're going to talk about how you can use that grand
train happening this week to your own advantage.
And then we'll have Maverick Joyce on and you'll be able to
hear that interview. It's very uplifting, and we'll
put all of their information in the show notes.
If you're looking for someone who can help you tune your
Mercury, tune your mind to make being Neurospacey more of a
superpower than you could ever imagine, then I think you'll
enjoy this interview. We'll be talking about how to
move with the energy and recognize some resistance
patterns and how to let go and release and move into the flow
as well. That's how we're going to end
the podcast. Again, to my patrons, both free
and paid, thank you. And one of my favorite people,
Maverick Joyce, they are a holistic therapist and coach,
and we are going to be talking about a program they created to
help people move beyond the labels and shine their lights.
Welcome, Maverick. How exciting to have you on.
Thank. You.
I'm so excited to be here. So tell me, what happens when
people get a label, any kind of label, especially when we're
looking at official diagnosis, right?
What happens to their consciousness when that happens
A lot of times. Not every time, but a lot of
times. Yeah.
Well, it's really easy to identify with the label, which
can mean basically like a narrowing of your consciousness.
And there are so many narratives, societal and
cultural narratives that we have around diagnosis and labels and
like implicit, like emotional learnings around like how that
means we're damaged or like, you know, pathologized.
And so it's really easy to get sucked into like that.
I think you call it the transactional consciousness like
when the. Transactional.
Yeah, our social cultural programming, our default
setting. And when that happens, it just
kind of it limits the scope of your consciousness, like you
can't embody the fullness of your shine.
Right. Because you're so much more than
that. Yeah.
It can be a. Relief.
I mean to have an explanation of who you are, you know, and why
you are the way you are. But after at that point you
brought it up before we started recording, you were talking
about rejection sensitivity and and how that inspired you to
work with people in a different way.
Can you tell me a little bit more about that?
Yeah, Oh my gosh. I could go out for days, but
there's just a very like limiting narrative out,
especially like on social media, especially on TikTok, Like you
can really get stuck in this kind of loop of how it's like
something you have to live with forever.
You're never going to heal from it.
There's a lot of narratives around there like, oh, you just
don't have enough dopamine or, or this and that.
And I think, you know, when we kind of intellectualize the
problem instead of like being in the body and we talked about it
in terms of like dopamine or serotonin, like, I mean, it's
great to like know about that stuff.
But I, I think you can actually pull us away from the solution
because like the embodied felt like narrative experience.
If we're to like narrate how these started.
Like this is like ancestral memory.
This is like ancestral inheritances, like this connects
to white supremacy, you know, and like a lot of people don't
see that. But like these are like survival
mechanisms of like our ancestors assimilating to avoid rejection
so they could survive at the at the root of this is, is that
authentic piece like that authentic connection to self,
and I call it embodied desire, like finding your yes feeling in
your body. And that comes from the
inspiration of, you know, like Audrey Lorde, like black
feminism, Dr. Eve Tuck, what you've spoken about, you know,
Abraham Herrick's like, it's this is like a universal
spiritual truth that exists that so many people are tapped into.
And if people like really got deep within themselves, they,
they would feel that truth. Of it too, right that's.
What's I focus on? When we talk about going deep
into ourselves, that's really funny you brought that up
because I've been thinking a lot about that today.
And we, we are in the afternoon on a Sunday, but it has captured
my consciousness most of the day.
And I, I was sitting there and I was like, maybe I'm too deep.
Not the first time I've thought those thoughts.
Maybe I'm too deep. Maybe I need to lighten this up.
Maybe I need to be more shallow in my explanation of astrology.
You know, maybe. And yet there's thousands of
people who listen. But that's due to what it's due
to. Always been told you're too
deep. Yeah.
Too much, too intense, too deep. Yeah, and now you've been, you
know, both a a compatriot and a student of mine for a long time
while you were working on becoming a therapist.
And watching your journey has been delightful.
Watching you grow, watching you have your epiphanies.
Nobody has more enthusiasm than the maverick.
You care so deeply to help people connect.
Like what? How do you know somebody's ready
to move beyond the label? So there are a lot of ways to
identify it. For me personally, it usually
comes through 1st in how a person is talking about
themselves. So like if we're having a
conversation, the words that someone is using, maybe like the
tone that comes through with that, the energy, like just like
those subtle body movements that happen while talking.
And there's also just like for me, like my particular
sensitivity is like the clear sentient kind of realm.
I just like feel things and like get intuitive hits to like
follow up and ask questions on things that just bring it to
fruition and clarity. So that's how the process works
for me. That's cool, I was just curious.
And what about your own journey prompted you to be so enthused
about this? How?
Many reasons. So I, I've been through
rejection sensitivity myself and I have such a Jupiterian
Sagittarius influence chart. So like the truth is so
important to me. And I have a Saj moon and the
9th house Venus. And Mark, what happened was when
I had a child, it's just like the truth like smacked me in the
face and I couldn't deny it. And that started my, my journey
and my avalanche. And I just, I noticed as I went
through my own journey that like for me, there was something
about getting in the depths, getting uncomfortable, sitting
with that and then emerging on the other side to the, the
beauty, you know, like that the sunset or the sunrise, like
after the storm. And I just really loved that.
It's almost kind of weird to say, but it's like I kind of
enjoy the discomfort of transformation in some way.
Like it's like I've trained my brain to be comfortable with
discomfort and I've trained my brain to like seek the reward of
transformation like that. Like, right, I don't know,
dopamine, whatever. Right, it is.
It's a dopamine that's in body electronics.
We say love the pain. And we don't mean like, oh, pain
you're the greatest, you know, it's, it's yeah.
Deep acceptance of the present moment regardless of discomfort.
And it causes immense amounts of transformation.
And we've been kind of trained away from that.
And let's go back to rejection sensitivity because I think it
is something everybody has to some degree in astrology.
It's the 5th house, you know, it's where we have risk and
reward, where we put ourselves out there.
And sometimes people like the yuck, you're Yum.
Sometimes people say you shine too bright, you're too much,
your passion is is too much. And you're usually around the
wrong people when that's going on.
But. What do you think?
Could be a better conversation around rejection sensitivity
than the one you brought up before the interview.
I think focusing on what someone is desiring in life, they want
out of life, focusing on their courage and cultivating courage
and who they want to be, what they want to be like, how do
they want to be connected to the web of life?
I think like questions around that just start to sort of draw
out the healing path forward 'cause if you stay focused on
the damage, you're not going to be able to see the solution.
So it's finding a way to kind of like shift that.
Like I think you've called it like turning the ship, like the
focus the ship away from, you know, the damage and what's
wrong with you 'cause thoughts are just like, and I say this
all the time, thoughts are just like physics, like what happens
inside it. Just, it's just a mirror.
It's just a mirror because like things that like anything in
motion stays in motion, thoughts are the same way.
So if you are thinking about how damaged you are and you're
thinking about all the things that are wrong with you, your
thoughts are going to gain momentum in that direction.
So it's finding ways to like, splinter off from that to turn
the ship around. When I see that, you know, I'm
online all the time and I see a lot of those things and I see
how it stops people from experiencing life because of a
label. And it it does, I have to say it
makes me feel a little bit sad because I think people are being
robbed of experience. Me too.
Stopping a ship to turn it around is a hell of an endeavor.
You know, we use it as a euphemism, but it, you know,
when you're thinking of a big cargo ship, it takes a minute to
put on the brakes. It does.
So in your coaching program, what are some of the ways you're
going to help people identify how to to redirect those
thoughts and and what do, what do they get out of it for doing
that? We start with the body.
We are so conditioned to be in our heads and not in our body.
So we spend like the first two months just really connecting to
the body and understanding how the body works, understanding
sensations like reforming new relationship to the body,
tracking sensations because sensations are the language of
the body and the sensations. It's like like a tree, I always
call it like a tree, like your roots, that's your body and the
leaves, what you can see those like your thoughts, your
behaviors, your beliefs. And so you need to tend to the
roots so that like those nutrients can go up into the
leaves and people can see like your bright shine.
Otherwise, you know, and, and otherwise that doesn't happen.
And what does happen is we have compliance based education and
just a very restrictive culture. And when you're neurodivergent,
especially like those roots aren't tended to.
So then your leaves like, are kind of like humbled and they
don't really unfold and shine. And so we started the body and
just really being curious and fostering this like culture
'cause there's a group process too.
So really fostering a culture, the group and individual
sessions that is about expansivity, curiosity,
generosity. Like we're thought explorers
here. Like the first thing that comes
out of your mouth, like we don't have to attach to it rigidly.
Like that's who we are, what we are and what we stand for and
believe. Like it's like, let's, let's
verbally process. Cause actually humans verbally
process. Like we say something and then
we have to like talk it out to like get to where we really
mean. And, and you know, in this
culture, it's like you're judged like before you can like
continue your thought process, you get stopped and you get
reprimanded and judged and vicious people get vicious.
I'm thinking about online specifically, but.
Oh yeah, because of the anonymity.
Yes, yeah, and like, and who knows now too, like the way
there's so much social manipulation and control, like
there's probably bad actors and AI bots and.
Yeah. Yeah.
So it's this program designed for people who are
neurodivergent? Yeah, it's kind of like I, I was
thinking about what you said about like the anti process that
you have and how it's like designed for introverts but
works for anyone. And that's like the same way I
designed this program like in mind for ADHD years and
neurodivergent people, but it works for anyone.
It's kind of like that bottoms up processing.
Right, right. Yeah.
I love that so. And it's funny because, you
know, as an older woman where all they did when I was a kid,
they tested your IQ. Yeah, my mom had me tested just
like Sheldon's mom had him tested.
And I just got to be the quirky, smart girl, right.
Who probably wasn't ever going to get married and have a have a
baby or, you know, have a boyfriend or any of that because
that was your litmus test of success.
I was married twice. Thank you very much.
Don't like it? Overachiever.
Right. That was one of the things, yes.
And when, when TikTok blew up and, you know, during the
lockdowns and all of a sudden people started talking about the
different ways neurodivergence expresses.
At first, I was a little resistant to that because, you
know, when I was growing up, autism was a very narrow
diagnosis. And my mom actually worked at a
special school supporting children with those very, very
high needs. And so my understanding was
limited. But the more people started
talking about, I was like. Yeah.
That kind of describes me. Oh, maybe I'm not just the weird
quirky girl that's really smart and very verbal because it was
all considered non verbal. Well, what happens if you're
hyper verbal? And so, and you contributed a
lot in back when we had the discord, etcetera.
You contributed so much to the learning on neurodivergence and
it was like, oh, that whole I can't put things in a drawer.
They cease to exist. That's a thing, huh?
And, you know, my dad's exactly like that.
It was liberating as an older person to go.
I'm not just weird, you know? And luckily I came to those
understandings with enough work and therapies and modalities
under my belt not to become overly attached, and I could use
it more as a liberation agent. But I do worry about younger
people who haven't had the time. And by younger, he could be 20
years younger than me. I'm at that age where everybody,
like I used to get so mad in my 30s.
Like, why do these people treat me like a child?
Because you look like you do. Everybody looks like they're my
children and my children are grown, but I still see babies.
It's a perception thing. You'll see it someday, but I've
always. Started to see it with 20 year
olds so. Right.
You're like way, you're 20 really, you infant and it's not
it's just so cute. You contributed greatly to my
understanding, which I really, really appreciated because
anytime anybody puts a learning material up, I'm like, oh, let
me learn more about this so I don't misspeak or I can correct
how I speak about things. I worry about young people
though, because they they don't have the same access to
resources in the same way that that I did it or if you know,
there's so much keeping people stuck right now.
Yes. What would you say to encourage
somebody to explore how to flip that script?
Just be curious, question everything.
And that's like a big part of this program is critical
thinking, because critical thinking is one of those things
that has been systematically removed from schooling.
Because when you think critically, then you are a
threat to the status quo. And the billionaires don't like
that. That's another part of it.
I, I took part of this methodology from one of my
teachers, Doctor Jim Fook, Critical Reflections.
And I'm using that in part of the group processes on an
individual. So again, we're like taking that
dance of like individual and collectivist and we're putting
it together again, 'cause they're dance partners that have
been isolated. And there's something else I was
going to say along the line. Oh, so like if you're not, so if
you're just listening to this and you're like, oh, well,
critical thinking, what does that mean?
What kind of questions do I ask? One of my favorite, like
critical thinking kind of questions to ask is where does
that come from? Like when you have a thought or
a belief or a reaction to something, pause, breathe into
your body and ask where does that come from?
That's a powerful question. Yeah, before we hit record, you
mentioned something about the rugged individualism that people
are vilifying isn't correct. It's toxic individualism versus
being self actualized. Talk about how self
actualization isn't toxic. Yeah.
So self actualization is this deep connection to yourself and
it's and it's a journey. Like when I say self
actualization. Yeah, self actualization.
I'm not talking about like a place you arrive at and never
leave this. It is an ongoing process and
journey. It is something that you return
to. It's like a, it's like a prayer
to yourself, you know? And that's beautiful.
Yeah. It is.
Yes, and it is so important because when you are lining up
with your sole self, then you can align, you can show up for
the collective in a way that is aligned with clarity in your
actions and your thoughts. There is just this can be kind
of hard to describe, but there's just like this knowing and
everyone experiences it differently.
But part of self actualization is that connecting through the
body because all of your different bodies interface in
the physical body. So your spiritual body or
emotional body or mental body, they all connect through the
physical body. And so when you get hasn't in
your physical body, that's when you start on that path of self
actualization. And as you go further down that
path, you just you get this, this knowing this feeling, the
sense of when you are aligned and when you show up in Group
spaces and community and collected the spaces like that,
then you are like basically radiating, radiating outwards
like a sun. You basically, you're basically
your inner sun is shining instead of like, instead of
getting trapped in like a ozone layer and like then just like
like pollution or gases are coming off, you know, it's.
Right, right, right. You're able to be expansive in
yourself, in community. Yeah.
Being in community doesn't mean a denying of self.
Yeah. Yeah.
And and I think in community spaces that are trying, we have
so many good people who are trying.
But if we were to describe community, people have trouble
describing that, what that actually means.
Then whether they mean agreement, absolute agreement,
unity consciousness, which I think is like the Borg and Star
Trek. It's OK to disagree in
community. It's how we do it together,
right? Yeah.
And being individuals, each little molecule makes an atom,
and they're different. Yeah.
They're celebrating the diversity.
I love that you're bringing that in now as somebody who's been a
self actualizer for many, many, many, many years.
And you're very right. We are never done.
It's not a destination and there's always a surprise around
the corner. One of the things I've noticed
with people who've tried to do this alone is there can be stuck
points and it can be some awareness, can be painful.
Discover on your own. Yeah.
I'm almost sensing your program is like having a spotter and a
Sherpa and a guide, you know, as a coach, being able to bring
people through some of those experiences.
Can you talk about that? The process is really like
having someone hold your hand while you go deep so you can
excavate without, you know, being terrified about what
you'll find. That's.
Beautiful. Because what I found is that
what we're most terrified about is usually only scary to us.
Like the things we have shame about or guilt about or are
terrified to experience are like other people see that
differently and us. And so it's kind of like, I
mean, JK Rowling is a turf. We don't like her.
And also the the Dementor example like is just so perfect
for this like that, like how it how it do.
Yeah, yeah. And you have to like stay steady
and calm and face your fear. And that I think hopefully I'm
remembering that correctly. Chocolate.
Yeah. Chocolate helps.
Yeah, which is. Which is funny too, because
chocolate helps ground you. But.
It does. Yeah, yeah, I was like
channeling when she wrote this. I think she did actually.
I got that since when I was reading the books when they
first came out and I was like, she's channeling this, which I
think is really funny because to her it's a made-up story and
yeah, there's lots of problematic things.
It was actually very reflective of British culture, having gone
to university in England. All of it was very familiar to
me as far as the biases and the social problems and the labeling
of people and you know, whatever it was, whether it was bodies or
races or whatever, but the UK is like.
That. So to me, it was a reflection of
British boarding school and with Magic didn't invent some of
those concepts. And not that I'm an apologist
for her, but she did channel a lot of stuff in there and I
think it would be good. Instead of a wholesale rejection
of that work, look at what it did teach you, especially when
it comes to organizing right now.
So because I was like, she gave a primer.
Because see, I saw, I saw the, the the.
Authoritarianism coming down the Pike back in the 90s, so.
I was like, people will be able to organize because they read
this book as kids and. Then.
She did The Dirty of being, you know, obnoxious and bigoted.
But don't conflate the two. Yes, you know, don't complete
the two. You can reject that and remember
there was some good stuff in the work when and that's go for.
It that we do in the program, that's part of the work we do in
the program, like don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Because so often when we think about our experiences, we judge
them all bad, all good, all or nothing thinking.
Which whenever we have all or nothing thinking, it's a sign
that we're in our survival instincts, that we are thinking
of things through our we're looking at things through our
trauma. And and so that's the cool thing
about critical reflections is that ask these questions that
get you to look at your hidden assumptions and biases and kind
of like unearth them a little bit and like dig them up and get
to move them around and reshape them in ways that fit you.
That's really helpful. Yeah.
Oh, I love that. So when does your program start?
Tell us more. It is going to start the first
weekend in December. I think it's the 5th or the 6th.
I'm going to start with a group call and everyone starts out
with like a three hour intensive first to really like get a deep
foundation established and like a a care plan kind of structure
established. And there's going to be
individual calls and group calls that happen group calls twice a
month. Individual is going to be
really, it's like you have you have this many hours to use and
you can arrange them as you like.
So if one hour works for your brain, great.
If you like the intensive style, you can do it that way.
And then asynchronous support too, because as an ADHD year, I
love me some asynchronous support.
Like I love the voice memos back and forth randomly the text.
So all of that is available for like, if like I don't like, I
say lightly emergency, you know, like not, not a real emergency,
but like an emotional urgency kind of feeling comes up or
questions or I forgot to mention some session.
Yeah, yeah. And there'll be an online like
community too that'll have like different prompts to help you
tune your consciousness. So like focusing on
celebrations, like things that happen during the week, like
what you want to happen it. Neurologically, that's so
important. It is.
That's exactly the way we start mystery school meetings with
celebrations to attune the group 100% because if you don't,
people will just get in the habit of because we have the
habit of what I call bitching and moaning that that's part of
our habit in society. And celebration isn't
superficial. It it is so important.
So where can we find this? I know you're going to give me
everything in the show notes, but so I'm just going to recap
real quick. You've got it's a group program.
It lasts for how long? Six months.
Six months, that's great. That is a great time because it
takes a minimum of 12 weeks to make any kind of shift and
that's neuroscience. So six months you're really
getting people. So six month group coaching
program that starts people from the bottom up rooting,
grounding, integrating and learning to cover.
Spirit too. Yeah.
Yeah, we get spirit in there. Intuition I bring in.
I bring in astrology too, a little bit like in an esoteric
way, but more as like part of the frameworks I use.
I don't like give people sessions.
Right, Yeah, you're, you're a very good astrology student.
So I, I feel confident in, in your competency.
Maverick's been been in my sphere for years now, what, like
4 years? Yeah.
That's.
Crazy. And I'm really excited about
where you're taking this. And so what's the, what's the
web address? And I know you'll give it to me
and we'll put it in the show notes.
But yes, so it is if you I have an application for the program,
just cuz, you know, I wanna make sure everyone like is gonna be a
good match for each other and also, you know, just making sure
that I'm not taking anyone outside of my like scope of
practice as a coach too, right? Perfect, Yeah.
Yep, Yep. So yeah.
Ethics. Yeah, ethics.
Yeah. Yeah.
So that page is it's unlock your innergenius.neuroclearwellness.com.
So yeah, yeah, and yeah. And I mean, you can also follow
me on Instagram too, the dot neuro queer dot therapist, and
I'll have all the information there too, so.
Right, so it is a safe queer space as well, Yeah.
Yeah, it's important. Expansive, inclusive, and
plural. Beautiful.
Thank you. I am so excited to have you in
here. Watching your journey over the
last several years has been a great privilege and you have
taught me probably as much as I've taught you, which is always
the benefit of coaching and teaching as we learn as much
from those who come to us as as yeah.
Yeah, true teaching and coaching is really reciprocal.
I'm proud of you. That's super cool.
It's fun to watch this go. Thank you so much.
Don't forget to read the show notes everybody.
Thank you Maverick so much. Well, it's always wonderful to
connect with Maverick and you can check out Maverick's
coaching program in the show notes.
Right now we're going to do some Patrons shout outs.
Because of patrons, this podcast and everything else I do out in
the world is possible. You can join Patreon for free.
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newest Pete runs. There is more good stuff coming
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single week. So thank you for joining us.
All right, Next up we're going to have a sneak peek of that
Oscar Wilde piece that I was talking about and then we'll end
the podcast on how to use your energy throughout this week.
It is an intense week, but intensity doesn't mean bad and
you can use it as a. Transformational force to drive
even deeper into your own authenticity.
So you can make your difference. In the world.
I'm really excited because this week is Halloween and one of the
things I do every single year during spooky season, especially
the week of Halloween, is I choose an author and I do their
astrology and I read from their work.
I've done Edgar Allan Poe, Mary Shelley, and this year we're
doing Oscar Wilde. Oscar Wilde was known for his
comedic works, for his wit, for his amazing mastery of prose.
And yet he wrote one of the most disconcerting and interesting
books called The Picture of Dorian Gray, which I think is
just perfect for the times we're living in.
So if you're a patron at any supporting level, that's the $5
level in up. Be sure that you're signing up
with your browser, not the app, because Patreon can't do
anything about the 30% Apple surcharge.
So if you want to sign up, use a regular browser.
You can do it on your phone even just not on the mobile app.
You can still join the Patreon for free and you can look at
public posts. A lot of people don't realize
it's, it's not just a payment gateway that there's stuff there
at all levels. And I even go live with all
patrons, including free patrons a couple times a month.
All righty, so I'm going to just talk a little bit about Oscar
Wilde's astrology here. If you're a supporting patron,
you're going to get the full meal deal this week.
But one of the things. I love about.
Oscar Wilde In high school, I was in The Importance of Being
Earnest and I played Lady Bracknell and which is a super
fun play to be in. But I was intrigued when I read
The Portrait of Dorian Gray because of how he used the
language very, very differently than other authors I had read,
whether it was 19th or 20th century, and his descriptive
prose. And it was really, really
beautiful. And I also liked, you know,
psychological horror and things like that.
It was a big Alfred Hitchcock fan.
Go go figure. Scorpio raising right?
Anyway, when we look at Oscar Wilde's chart we see a Virgo
rising, which he was a very dapper and dandy man.
People don't ever give Virgo energy the credit it deserves
for being well put together. He had a very cultivated and
curated look. He had Venus in Libra and his
son in Libra in the second house.
Not a surprise he made his income from the arts and they
were trying Saturn in Gemini at the top of his chart conjunct
the mid heaven. If this chart is accurate, it's
got it's a broaden rating C so it may not be exact but it's
close. It's in the ballpark because
Rodden herself rated this chart so she was a stickler, let me
tell you. He had a Scorpio Mercury and A
and a Sagittarius Mars, both in the 3rd house in this chart.
Not a huge surprise. His Mercury was in opposition to
Uranus in Taurus. He was born in 1854, which it
had some very similar energy to a few years ago, like 2021-2022.
And the world was changing in a very similar way different, but
it was still changing. And he was kind of the product
of that social change. Of course, his Pluto was in
Taurus. It takes forever for Pluto to
move through Taurus. So that that takes like 40
years, you know. So he was at the beginning of
that. Neptune was in Pisces in his
chart, not a huge surprise but in square to his Saturn.
And he did face difficulty for his work and his personhood in
life. He was jailed for immorality
because he was gay. He had Jupiter in Capricorn in
the 5th and and I don't again. I think people sleep on
Capricorn energy a lot. The 5th house is our creative
self-expression. He was a very creative man and
Capricorn is all about realization and and becoming.
So that's a little look into who he is.
I'll go a little deeper in the Patreon, but but he was a master
of prose and language. And so I'll just read the
preface for the main podcast and, and if you're a patron,
you'll get much more than that. So moving we're reading from
Project Gutenberg. If you're looking for really
interesting books to read and maybe investigating classic
literature, Project Gutenberg is a not-for-profit project that
keeps books alive. And when we look at Oscar
Wilde's chart, we see a Virgo rising, which he was a very
dapper and dandy man. People don't ever give Virgo
Energy the credit it deserves for being well put together.
He had a very cultivated and curated look.
He had Venus in Libra and his son in Libra in the second
house. Not a surprise.
He made his income from the arts and they were trying Saturn in
Gemini at the top of his chart conjunct the mid heaven.
If this chart is accurate, it's got it's a broaden rating C so
it may not be exact, but it's close.
It's in the ballpark because Rodden herself rated this chart
so she was a stickler. Let me tell you, he had a
Scorpio Mercury and A and a Sagittarius Mars both in the 3rd
house in this chart. Not a huge surprise.
His Mercury was in opposition to Uranus in Taurus.
He was born in 1854 which it had some very similar energy to a
few years ago like 2021-2022 and the world was changing in a very
similar way. Different, but it was still
changing. And he was kind of the product
of that social change. Of course, his Pluto was in
Taurus. It takes forever for Pluto to
move through Taurus. So that that takes like 40
years, you know. So he was at the beginning of
that. Neptune was in Pisces in his
chart, not a huge surprise, but in square to his Saturn.
And he did face difficulty for his work and his personhood in
life. He was jailed for immorality
because he was gay. He had Jupiter in Capricorn in
the 5th and and I don't again. I think people sleep on
Capricorn energy a lot. The 5th house is our creative
self-expression. He was a very creative man and
Capricorn is all about realization and and becoming.
So that's a little look into who he is.
I'll go a little deeper in the Patreon, but but he was a master
of prose and language. And so I'll just read the
preface for the main podcast and, and if you're a patron,
you'll get much more than that. We're reading from Project
Gutenberg if you're looking for really interesting books to read
and maybe investigating classic literature.
Project Gutenberg is a not-for-profit project that
keeps books alive and they they keep books that are in the
public domain alike. That means they're not copy
written anymore. They're past their copyright.
And it's so easy in a world with expendable values of where it's
just unconscious consumerism, where we forget to enjoy and
savor art from the past, including literature.
And so if you've been curious, you can find everything,
including like the Wizard of Oz books on there, which I think is
exciting. The preface of the Picture of
Dorian Gray by the Ineffable. Oscar Wilde.
The artist is the creator of beautiful things.
To reveal art and conceal the artist is art's aim.
The critic is he who can translate into another manner or
a new material is impression of beautiful things.
The highest as the lowest form of criticism is the a mode of
autobiography. Those who find ugly meanings in
beautiful things are corrupt without being charming.
This is a fault. Those who find beautiful
meanings and beautiful things are the cultivated.
For these there is hope. They are the elect to whom
beautiful things mean only beauty.
There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book.
Books are well written or badly written.
That is all. The 19th century dislike of
realism is the rage of Caliban seeing his own face in a glass.
The 19th century, just like of Romanticism, is the rage of
Calliban not saying his own face in a glass.
The moral life of man forms part of the subject matter of the
artist. But the morality of art consists
in the perfect use of an imperfect medium.
No artist desires to prove anything.
Even things that are true can be proved.
No artist has ethical sympathies.
An ethical sympathy in an artist is an unpardonable mannerism of
style. No artist is ever morbid.
The artist can express everything.
Thought and language are to the artist instruments of an art.
Vice and virtue are to the artist.
Materials for an art from the point of view of form.
The type of all the arts is the art of the musician.
From the point of view of feeling, the actor's craft is
the type. All art is at once surface and
symbol. Those who go beneath the surface
do so at their peril. Those who read the symbol do so
at their peril. It is the spectator and not life
that art really mirrors. Diversities of opinion about a
work of art shows that the work is new, complex and vital.
When critics disagree, the artist is in accord with
himself. We can forgive a man for making
a useful thing as long as he does not admire it.
The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one
admires it intensely. All art is quite useless.
Oscar Wilde is one of my very favorite writers and was known
for his sardonic humor. I'll be talking about that more
in depth this week as our Spooky season special in the Patreon.
You can go to Patreon dot dot com forward slash the awake
space. To check that out, that will be
for members at the $5 level. And all righty, we're ending
this month with an intense grand trine.
Mars is currently trying Jupiter, which is trying Saturn
in Pisces and Neptune because Neptune is slid back into.
Pisces as of the 22nd of October.
I said earlier in the year that this would be a time of
unraveling and and a lot of truth being spilled and that
make him out in unexpected ways. There may be some things dug
from the depths and that could happen anywhere from archaeology
to finding lost civilizations. Treasure we could hear more
about. Treasure being found as
different parts of the world experience.
Different kinds of effects of climate change, whether it's
lakes drying up or floods that wash away dirt that has been
hiding something so we could have hidden treasures arise as
much as some of the uglier things that are happening in the
world. It's really important not to put
our focus on the full assault on our consciousness that is being
done by mainstream media, by various authoritarian messengers
around the world. It's important for each of us to
understand our consciousness is our own to wield.
And with everything that's happening in Scorpio right now,
with Mercury and Mars and the Sun in Scorpio, that's about
power. And power isn't about dominance
and control. In fact, only the weakest of
consciousnesses operate in that respect.
And unfortunately, we have a long history with that being
considered power. Each one of us has our own
power, and it's not about slinging spells or firing off
fire bolts or using bully boy tactics, but it's understanding
our own ability to stand through intense times and to contribute
to our community, our society at large, to be connected to our
ancestors. I know there's a lot of talk
about if your ancestors were oppressive when we die, that
falls away. There was wisdom there too, some
of us. Have been robbed of traditional
wisdom since the times of ancient Rome, but there are
ancestors that go back that far. This is a time to tune in to the
wisdom side of our ancestry. All of us have that.
Somewhere when I look at the astrology of this week, starting
on Monday the 27th. Again, we have Mars in a trine
with Jupiter. It's exact moving into the
evening of Monday, and that is an exaggeration of action in the
outer world. In the inner world, it can be a
magnifying lens on our own internal excavation.
So often we get lost in the abyss.
Of trauma. Shadow work is something people
get stuck in, and I've written about that and I've recorded
about that in the Patreon and here on this podcast, that you
can't have a shadow without light.
You can't. That abyss, that darkness is
where we're not looking to our own internal light.
And Scorpio is the sign that governs transmutation,
transformation and alchemy. And when we can look at
ourselves and find our strengths, that's where our
power lies. That cannot be defeated,
regardless of circumstances. We have a great.
Opportunity this week, each one of us.
To contemplate, to meditate on our own inner strength, our
talents, our strengths, our true strengths, our talents, our
capabilities. If we do that and stop looking
where we have no power, where we are weak, where we are unable to
be of effect, If we can look where we contribute the most,
whether it is through kindness, whether it is through
contribution in volunteering, and whether it is offering aid
where we can give it, worrying about things outside of our
control depletes us, it erodes us, and we become apathetic.
Apathy isn't not caring. It's the.
Absence of power, feeling like we can do nothing.
That's why people say fuck it. That's why people say.
I can't. That's why people say I'm tired,
because you feel powerless. And of course we feel powerless
in the face of massive systemic change, because we are, to some
effect, powerless to stop it. But maybe we're not supposed to
stop the change. Maybe we're supposed to envision
a better future. And this grand trying is the
time to do that, To envision not only how we wish the world to
be, to write a better ending, but to understand how we can
contribute. That's been my meditations the
last few weeks. How can I contribute in
meaningful ways that energize me versus leave me tired and and
cranky? We're all going to be a little
more sensitive right now. It's hard not to be.
You're not uncaring or unfeeling or unempathetic when you look at
what goes on in the world and then turn your attention to the
part of the world you can impact.
There is always plenty of work for us in the world to remember
that we are a collective and none of.
Us get out of the collective experience, no matter how much
work we do. But some of us can contribute in
greater ways by learning to hold our consciousness steady.
And that's why I'm really excited about how this podcast
is going to move forward by helping you use astrology to
understand how to wield your consciousness instead of
allowing it to be grabbed and dragged by the wind and the
media and the messengers and the propagandists.
To use your critical thinking to allow yourself to find your
strength to contribute in meaningful ways, even if they're
not grand and don't bring you any fame or recognition.
I once got a library billed. I spent from 2008 to 2015
involved in the project. And at the end of the project,
there was a group of people who infiltrated and took it over.
And I was tired and I had other things I wanted to build and
grow, and I had done the bulk work of the work.
My name isn't on the plaque on the music on the library.
And I'm OK with that. I didn't do it to have my name
on a plaque. I did it so my community would
have a library. And to this day, there was a
place for children who ride the bus in all weather and the
elderly who ride the bus in all weather.
They have a dry space to go. They have access to computers
and the Internet even when they don't at home because it's a
rural area, they have access to books and services that they
didn't have before. Now, some people might be upset
their name isn't on the plaque. I'll never forget when it was
finally finished and I was back from a road trip where I'd been
teaching my workshops. And I walked through the library
teary eyed, seeing our vision realized.
And I was walking back to my car and the head librarian, who is
now retired, David, came running across the parking lot.
Lori, Lori, did you see it? It's just like we said it would
be. I said it is.
It's magnificent. Everything from the room for
tiny tots where they could play and have puppet shows and their
parents could be available and they wouldn't disturb the rest
of the library with their happy squeals because we made sure
there was soundproofing and yet visual so that nobody could get
hurt in there, To the study room for teenagers where they too
could make noise while they studied and learn things, but it
wasn't hidden away because of safety.
To the space for the seniors to gain assistance in learning how
to use computers. Just like 1 old fellow in our
early pilot days when he walked in and said my grandkids said I
need to learn this googly machine.
It was wondrous to see the rows of books and the things
available. And David looked at me and he
said, I'm so sorry your name isn't on the plaque.
I said that's. OK, I didn't do it for that.
My names are on the by my name is on the bylaws and he said
that they are and boy was that a whole story.
I said, but I didn't do it for that David.
I did it so we'd have a library and he goes that's AI know Lori
and those of us who've. Been there, know we don't always
have to do things to get the credit and there will always be
those who seek it. There will always be those who
are mentioned, and often they are not the ones who do the bulk
of the work. And that's OK, as Margaret Mead
said. Never doubt that a small group
of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.
When we wield our consciousness in the direction of building
instead of destruction. When we wield our consciousness
in support versus restraint, when we wield our consciousness
and tune our Mercury into a space that sees what is possible
versus what cannot be done, that is where we have the greatest
influence. Don't go through this week with
despair there. Will be a great effort to make
you. Feel that way?
To end the podcast, I'll give you another quote, this one by
Oscar Wilde. The best revenge is living well,
and that takes time to build with our consciousness to focus
on living well regardless of circumstances.
Where joy is an act of resistance, we're creating.
Art is an act of resistance we're cultivating.
Our consciousness is the highest aim we can set our sights on.
Starting next week, every single day, you'll gain tools and
understanding for how to tune your consciousness to understand
how to use your astrology. And yeah, they'll be short
episodes, but they'll be easy to take action steps because I'm
here to teach, not entertain. I'm helping you use your own
soul's technology, not to put band aids on a sore reality.
I'm Lori Rivers, and I want to thank you for listening.
And I hope you got your perfect parking.