No changes here this month, but at home it's a different story. I got a new kitchen this month. I have been waiting for it since 1978. Woohoo!

Comprehensive Energy Clearing: After an argument or break-in, when you have uninvited guests or energies or just to clear a space for quiet times. Regular price C$47. On sale until Apr 30th for C$37. More here

Manifesting: In the " How To" section of this website I have a number of ideas or techniques for you to try. How about "Manifesting"? We all have needs. This technique can get us what we need in a balanced way. I learned the technique when I was 9 years old and desperately wanted one more piece of a chocolate bar.

I will be doing readings at the Soaring Heart Wellness Centre on Main St in Shelburne ON Canada. The shop is lovely, the energy there is great. Stop in anytime to enjoy a fresh baked organic muffin and cup of tea while you browse for organic foods, books, herbs, clothing, and a delightful selection of gifts. Call 519 925 2822 to book your place or drop in; a spot may be available.

We are happiest when we are not fighting life. Being like water is moving around obstacles the way that water in a river freely moves around rocks. Fluid, accepting, allowing. Finding the easiest course. We are like water when we go with the flow.

But we often don't in small ways and in big ways. For example:

Small: The wind blew a neighbour's garbage can right into the road. I had to get out of the car to move it so I could get by. I thought nothing of it. It was a force of nature.

Medium: Someone parked so close to the back of my Jeep in the parking lot that I had to move the Jeep ahead a bit to get my grocery bags into the back. A bit annoying, but no big deal.

Big: We were about to leave for an important family get-together. I was ready at the door for an hour, but Tom wanted to check the brakes on the car since it is a long drive. He decided that brakes were not good enough so took them apart to fix them right then. We were hours late. I hate being late. I wanted to spend quality time with the family. I didn't want them to think I was being rude. I didn't want them to think I was married to a rude husband. I wished Tom had attended to the brakes yesterday. This was not the plan. You see how quickly a simple thing has escalated to become a big deal? The deal was all in my head. Tom is like a rock in a river. He is a force of nature. I could no more prevent him from looking at the brakes than I could prevent the sun coming up.

Humungous: Well, some things are almost too big to talk about. When Clift and June got older, they set up their finances figuring that when it was time, he'd go first. But June did instead. Clift said, "This isn't what we talked about. This isn't how it was supposed to happen."

The garbage can was pretty easy for me to handle gracefully - a small rock for me to flow around. But maybe that's the way to look at this. When we meet with the small stuff and handle it reasonably well, that can give us practice to move up to the big stuff - the stuff that really scares us.

Who knows why life does what life does? There are a thousand, thousand causes and conditions that bring about each event in our lives. As brilliant as our plans may be, we can't begin to take all those thousand, thousand things into account. There's no point in getting annoyed at the rocks in our river. Big or small, they're a force of nature. We just need to move around them the best way we can.

That's when we are at our happiest. When we are not fighting life, but flowing, accepting, allowing and moving into the easiest course. We are at our happiest when we are being like water.

Here are a few of the stories and articles I have posted last month:

• Boundaries
• Design Links
• Egg Art
• Serenity
• Setting Boundaries
• Things that Work
• Beginner's Mind and Dreams of Bellies
• Winter Blahs

This in between time, between daylight and dark is a time when all creatures can stand with one foot in one world and the other foot in another. It is a time for releasing the past and moving into the future. A time for moving from one sort of activity into another. And a time of seeing the differences between the two worlds while moving through them by the grace of the similarities.

Tired of this one yet? I'm not.

Your usual morning routine plays a part in this meditation. Choose a time when you normally step outside - whether it's for a breath of air first thing after waking up, or when you are rushing out to work.

1. Stop and take a conscious breath. Notice the weather without having an opinion about it. Feel the temperature and movement of the air on your cheeks.
2. Take a second conscious breath. Listen for a moment without having an opinion about the sounds. Birdsong, traffic, whatever.
3. With your third conscious breath, remember that you are connected to all around you - all things around you sharing this space and time.
4. With your fourth conscious breath, appreciate something in your environment. It doesn't have to be big. It could be something as simple as the colour of a leafy tree or as mundane as the scent of your morning coffee.
5. By this time you may be feeling a sense of grace and connection and quiet joy with your day. So with your fifth conscious breath, intend to carry the feeling and memory of this sense of grace and joy with you through your day.

Then go about the rest of your routine.

Through the day you may or may not remember that moment of quiet joy first thing. If you do, good. If you don't, don't fret. It's still working for you.

If you breathe quickly, you may want to give each step two or three breaths.

This is another of those simple meditations that can fool us into thinking it's not powerful.

Don't worry if by the fifth breath you don't feel much of a sense of joy. We all cycle in and out of different levels of joy. Just do the meditation anyhow and know that something in it is working for you.

There are no right or wrong ways to do a meditation. The instructions are guidelines; adapt them to who you are and to your needs at that particular time. Be curious about the process itself.

Remember most meditations become richer the more you practice them. They reveal more of themselves. It can take practice to remember to do a meditation when you need to, and it can take practice to go through the steps. But that's why it is called practice, and for most of us, we practice for the rest of our lives.

"Your life purpose is whatever connects you to the mystery and joy of not knowing."

-- Alan Watts

Gift Giving - It's Easy!

To order a gift for a friend, contact Janet and let her know what you want to give, pay for it, and Janet will email you a "Gift" page that you can print out to present to your friend. (as a pdf) Here's an example.

That's all there is to it! Contact Janet now to make the arrangements!

Old Issues: I have started an rss feed for the text versions of Starry Night Ezine. They can be found here.

UNICEF My Favourite Charity .