To Jerry

The minute I heard my first love story,
I started looking for you, not knowing
how blind that was.
Lovers don't finally meet somewhere,
they're in each other all along.--Rumi

Buddhapest.

I wish for you love, enlightenment, sex, yoga, music.

Here are two horoscopes for your birthday, gifts from the free will astrologer, Rob Brezsny. The first one is for last week, but it includes your birthday--today, October 3rd. The second one starts tomorrow, October 4th. Included are Sacred Advertisements from Rob's book, PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings.

#1. Libra (September 23-October 22)
Would you be willing to get down on your
knees in the dirt and howl out adamant prayers? Would you be crazy enough and
sane enough to beg the gods, muses, and guardian angels to dissolve anything
that's interfering with your ability to be your authentic self and live the life
you were born to live? Until you do, you may have to tolerate being less than
authentic and living only part of the life you were born to live. The good news
is that it's a perfect moment to start smashing the obstructions to your
happiness.

SACRED ADVERTISEMENT
Push hard to get better, become
smarter, grow your devotion to the truth, fuel your commitment to beauty, refine
your emotional intelligence, hone your dreams, negotiate with your shadow, cure
your ignorance, shed your pettiness, heighten your drive to look for the best in
people, and soften your heart�even as you always accept yourself for exactly who
you are with all of your so-called imperfections.

#2. Libra (September
23-October 22)
Here's a brief mythic history of the birch tree, according to
Philip Carr-Gomm's book Druid Mysteries. The birch used to be called the pioneer
tree because it was often the first tree planted on virgin soil, and so in a
sense gave birth to the forest. The word "birch" is derived from a root meaning
"bright" or "shining" in Indo-European languages. In Britain, birches were made
into maypoles, which celebrants danced around during the fertility feast of
Beltane. Siberian shamans, at the climax of their initiation ceremonies, climbed
a birch tree, circling its trunk nine times. In the spirit of this rich
folklore, Libra, I nominate the birch to be your tree of power as you begin a
phase of bright beginnings and exuberant fertility.

SACRED ADVERTISEMENT
Psychologist Carl Jung believed that all desires have a sacred origin, no
matter how odd they may seem. Frustration and ignorance may contort them into
distorted caricatures, but it is always possible to locate the divine source
from which they arose. In describing one of his addictive patients, Jung said:
"His craving for alcohol was the equivalent on a low level of the spiritual
thirst for wholeness, or as expressed in medieval language: the union with God."

Therapist James Hillman echoes the theme: "Psychology regards all
symptoms to be expressing the right thing in the wrong way." A preoccupation
with porn or romance novels, for instance, may come to dominate a passionate
person whose quest for love has degenerated into an obsession with images of
love. "Follow the lead of your symptoms," Hillman suggests, "for there's usually
a myth in the mess, and a mess is an expression of soul."*

Do You Love Me?

A lover asked his beloved,
Do you love yourself more
than you love me?

The beloved replied,
I have died to myself
and I live for you.

I’ve disappeared from myself
and my attributes.
I am present only for you.

I have forgotten all my learning,
but from knowing you
I have become a scholar.

I have lost all my strength,
but from your power
I am able.

If I love myself
I love you.
If I love you
I love myself.