Exploding the Mercury Retrograde Myth

By now I'm sure you've heard about it. "Mercury is Retrograde! Arghh!".

Everyone comes out the woodwork during Mercury Retrograde - Astrologers and non-Astrologers alike - to give the dire, doom-and-gloom prophecies of everything and anything that can go wrong.

But what's the reality behind the event. What's the cause and what are the symptoms to watch out for? If life is about balance, how do you know if you're IN or OUT of balance with this particular phase?

Mercury Retrograde is quite simply a 'reversal of thought energy'. Just think how much 'thought energy' is whirling around you right now - not only from you, in your field of energy, but everyone else on the planet.

Memories of yesterday, worries of tomorrow, anxieties of today, what Sarah said, what you'll say to Frank, what Bill didn't tell you, why Lisa isn't calling you, what project you need to finish, the list of things to cook for tonight's meal, the meeting you need to schedule, the bill you haven't yet paid.

Forget the physical realm, we're talking all POSSIBILITIES that exist on the purely mental level.

Wow.

Mercury retrograde pulls all that mental energy back in on itself, to stop itself from going into overdrive.

So what happens if you're out of balance as Mercury Retrograde kicks in:

1. Your mental energy starts becoming your worst energy. Everything forces you in some way, big or small, to SLOW DOWN. That's when you get the infamous COMPUTER CRASH, plane/train/bus/car delay or breakdown. Your cell phone cuts out.

And notice what you do - you keep calling, you keep pushing, you become frantic and your mind continues to buzz. Who knows - it's possible your own mental electricity causes the malfunctions to begin with - computers are very sensitive to their regular users.

More breakdowns ensue forcing the necessary reflection that you didn't NEED to get there on time, you don't NEED to send that email, that it is best to wait, and that you need to chill the *&%! out and breathe.

2. You've become overextended and lost the plot. The past returns to take your attention away from your repeating-repetitive brain. The trouble becomes that you become wired into old dramas and re-play old stories and the pattern replicates. The trick is to relive the past long enough to resolve (relive is to relieve under Retro) and then get back to the present, where you'll have enjoyed a brief respite from your current mental minefields - hopefully with new, fresh insight to get you unglued.

Can you avoid 'retro crap'? Yes if you're not overextended and you use the time as a Time-Out. Don't push ahead starting new things that will end up overextending you or others. That's a guaranteed set-up from the start. Ideas are great - that's Mercury. Chewing on them is great, that's Retrograde. Working on your INNER thoughts is wonderful, Retrograde is about your interior world. Who cares what others are thinking or doing right now - everyone's overextended anyway, no doubt.

Just don't rely on outside sources - the media, your friend, your boss, your casting agent, your director, your lead singer, your band member, your partner. EVERYONE else is going through the same thing - working on their INNER thoughts, or so they should be. How can someone deliver if they themselves are over-extended?

If you look outside, you'll only get crossed wires now (from the majority).

Can you buy a new computer or car during Retrograde? I'm beginning to think it's not only possible, it's encouraged, if you're VERY clear about what you want, you've thought it through a lot, and aren't seeking a quick fix, or a distraction from your own head.

If it makes life easier, great. If you spot a sign slowing you down, heed it and don't push. Maybe a better deal is around the corner. All communication clues are important to follow. ignore them at your peril - that's when you'll wind up a Retro Victim, complaining you were duped, ripped off, let down or wasting your time.

So isn't time to become one of the few and much needed CLEAR CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION during this time? And the only way to do that is to clear your own head, mind, brain, thoughts first.

What can you do to ensure retro-success?

1. Stop. Think. Wait. Listen.
2. Clean up the house, desk, hard drive.
3. Back up important stuff, duplicate documents, cut keys.
4. Relive less successful parts of your past - forgive, forget, clean up, move on.
5. Relive to Relieve.
6. Change your mind, change your course, try the Third option when trapped between 2 difficult ones. Or choose not to choose.
7. Observe instead of reacting.
8. Be patient, in 3 weeks, the view will be different.
9. Use the time to go over stuff you've started - finish it, toss it,revamp it or let it go.
10. Realize 90% of stuff in your head right now probably won't pan out in the physical realm. Focus on the positive potentials of the 10% - give yourself something AWESOME to look forward to.

Breathe.

Mercury Retrograde doesn't happen TO us. It happens BECAUSE of us and WITH us.
It's a gift to slow down, let your life catch up with you, let all the WHAT IFS and MAYBEs and POTENTIALS and POSSIBILITIES and UNANSWERED QUESTIONS and UNQUESTIONED ANSWERED swirl around us, until they find a target, a nest, host or a home.

Until then we have plenty of chances to find BETTER THINGS TO THINK ABOUT AND BETTER WAYS TO COMMUNICATE THOSE THOUGHTS.

What's your mind doing 24/7? Working with you or against you?
Where's your focus?

Follow that, and you'll be 10 steps ahead of the rest of the gang, who are running around in Glitch City, in a whirlpool of mental madness.

Welcome to the New Mercury Retrograde!

Love,
Neil