Hippocrates once said - A physician without a knowledge of astrology has no right to call himself a physician. And many centuries later - super psychologist Carl Jung made this comment - We are born at a given moment, in a given place and, like vintage years of wine, we have the qualities of the year and of the season of which we are born.

Jyotish is the traditional Hindu system of astrology, originating in ancient India - it’s found to date back to around 10,000 BC. Based on The Vedas - the oldest sacred text of Hinduism - it sees the stars and planets as having a powerful influence on our lives, and these planetary influences are considered the ‘fruit of karma’, or past actions.

In many mythological stories, Mercury is often referred to as The Messenger Of Gods, as it is the planet of expression and communication. So what happens when it’s not in such a benefic (or beneficial) position? Well, you guessed it - there’ll likely be difficulties with self expression, speech, and communication in general.

Apart from communication, Mercury also governs the way we speak, and our intellect, so a ‘weak’ Mercury can lead to difficulties in expressing oneself effectively.

My Guest

Geoff Rupp has spent the last 10 years studying with Masters in India, gaining insight in Ancient practices from the East, with the desire to integrate these teachings into our lives back here in the West. After 30+ years in the corporate sector in television, Geoff gazed within, seeing that there was more to life (and beyond that), so enrolled himself in the study of the cosmos by undertaking serious studies in Vedic astrology, Vedic Meditation, Sattva Yoga, Himalayan Breath-work, Kriya yoga, and other modalities all designed to enliven our potential, to be the best version of us we can be.



www.geoffrupp.com



Book Vedic Astrology Reading www.geoffrupp.com/jyotish

The word 'Yoga' is derived from the Sanskrit root 'Yuj', meaning 'to unite; ’to join' or 'to yoke’.

So yoga means union, but we don’t see a lot of uniting going on with trikanasana these days do we?

Have we lost the point of yoga, or have we never found unity to be the point?

As per Yogic scriptures, the authentic practice of Yoga leads to the union of Individual consciousness - The Self, with that of Universal Consciousness - also referred to as God.

The desired outcome is to achieve perfect harmony between the mind and body, humans and nature, heaven and earth. In other words - it all becomes whole again. And Wholeness is in fact the true meaning of healing - to ‘return to wholeness’.

So, back to the word ‘yoke’ and unity.

In Hinduism yoga leads to oneness with all that is, non-duality, Self-realisation.

Yet, how many of us are really, truly surrendering to the union of Mind, Body and Soul, irrespective of our spiritual or religious leanings.

From what we see at an average yoga class, and there are many, I think perhaps the Soul has been mostly left out of the trilogy.

For those cultures and religions devoted to and practicing the true art of yoga, it must be very frustrating to see what’s been going on here in the west with this ancient and sacred practice over the past 50 or so years.

“Om shanti shanti shanti” are often chanted during yoga classes as a call to peace. In the Buddhist and Hindu traditions, the word “shanti” repeated three times represents peace in body, speech and mind.

Here today to help us to find peace in body, speech and mind, by using ancient practices appropriate for most of us today is Brad Hays.

Brad has been a dedicated student and practitioner of Ayurveda, Yoga and Tantra for more than three decades. He has devoted over 4000 hours to formal training in acclaimed institutions and with highly recognised teachers in the US and Australia.

His website says his mission and passion lies in imparting the most relevant, powerful, and practical life skills from the ancient Vedic Sciences of Ayurveda, and Tantra Yoga. His niche is making these powerful, ancient, esoteric teachings highly accessible to modern life and real situations.

Brad says these 5000-year-old Vedic Sciences continue to change his life for the better – and intends for us to experience the same.

‘Destiny is not a matter of chance, it's a matter of choice. It's not a thing to be waited for, it's a thing to be achieved’. I had this quote by William Jennings Bryan stuck on my fridge for decades, as I've often thought about the difference between fate and destiny. Maybe we can control our destinies, but not necessarily our fate. And the difference is what? Some would say that destiny means there are opportunities to turn right or left along the path, but fate on the other hand is a one way. So is my fate predetermined then, but the stops along the way are up to me? These are some of the questions that many thinkers throughout history have also asked themselves. Medical astrology was used by our elders to help decode this existential angst.

Astronomy and astrology were combined with medicine for thousands of years, beginning in Mesopotamia about 4,000 years ago, the oldest recorded civilization in the world, now modern Iraq, and continuing well into the 18th century. In fact, ancient physicians were required to pass astrological exams within their medical training as physicians.

Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, based his medical theories on the relationship between the heavenly bodies and human bodies, stating, as a physician without a knowledge of astrology has no right to call himself a physician. Likewise, Galen, the Greek physician, writer and philosopher agreed, further developing Hippocrates’ work.

Medical astrology however, came later, reaching its epitome in Europe about 500 years ago. Part art, part science, and not without controversy, the use of astrology in medicine was by no way fringe. It was prominent in the training of physicians and lay practitioners alike by the end of the Middle Ages.

This fascinating and ancient science illustrates centuries of connections between astrology, human personality, and health. Medical practitioners used astronomy and astrology as a key part of diagnosis and prescription. It's an ancient branch of astrology based mostly on the idea that various parts of the body, diseases and medicine, have an association with the nature of heavenly bodies, such as the sun, moon, planets, and the 12 astrological signs. It associates each sign of the zodiac with parts of the body, from head - Aries, to toes - Pisces, and everything in between. These associations and the impact of the heavens on the earth of us humans were believed equally by both the educated elite, and average working class folk for millennia.

Centuries later, we're once again starting to study plants and their own individual embodiment of the planetary forces which are uniquely expressed in them. Once this plant to planet relationship was reintroduced to us, it enabled us herbalists and astrologers to not only better understand the plant, but helped us to understand how to strengthen its medicine and therefore healing capabilities on a profound level.

To get a better understanding of all of this and how to relate it to Toxic Silence, I'm so pleased to introduce Naturopath, Herbalist and Medical Astrologer, Elizabeth Cowley. Elizabeth has been working with plants and planets for over 20 years so she knows this stuff on a deep level, and I'm thrilled to be allowed to pick her Mercurial brain. Yep she's got a Gemini sun.

Elizabeth Cowley

Elizabeth is a highly experienced Naturopath and Medical Herbalist with over 20 years clinical experience. She combines herbs, flower essences, nutrients and her keen intuition to help re-balance her clients.

Elizabeth can be reached here - 0409 336 922

@naturolizzy

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