​Sometime back, we talked about the moon and how it influences the mind. Even the word "honey-moon" comes from the fact that moon is related to one's emotions or ecstacy!   The word "Lunacy" came from the observation of the Greeks the impact of moon on brain" :) It is said the on full moon days, the lunatics become more disturbed.. not that moon is causing it, but whatever we are, it gets amplified or heightened.  Hence the attempt to bring-in consciously what we want to amplify in our life.

Looking around, we do find many living masters (from India) celebrating this. Here is a short list.

Moon is consciousness, whether it is Indian tradition or Greek tradition and in many other traditions. Phases of the moon brings different levels of consciousness...As we mentioned earlier, major Indian religious festivals are celebrated based on moon phases, like Chaturdhi (4th moon), Shashti (6th moon),Navami (9th moon), Ekadasi (11th moon) etc.

Accordingly full-moon (purnima) is always considered good for Enlightenment. We will talk about  new moon (Amavasya) at a later time.

Buddism and full-moon- The Moon and Religious Observances -The outstanding events in the life of the Buddha took place on full moon days.
https://www.budsas.org/ebud/whatbudbeliev/217.htm

Great Article
The boys’ coach lived in a Buddhist monastery for a decade and taught them to meditate in the cave.

When the 12 Thai boys who were trapped in a cave and were rescued one by one were first discovered by British divers last Monday, they were reportedly meditating.
“Look at how calm they were sitting there waiting. No one was crying or anything. It was astonishing,” the mother of one of the boys told the AP, referring to a widely shared video of the moment the boys were found.
Turns out that their coach, Ekapol Chanthawong, who led them on a hike into the cave when it flooded on June 23, trained in meditation as a Buddhist monk for a decade before becoming a soccer coach.
According to multiple news sources, he taught the boys, ages 11 to 16, to meditate in the cave to keep them calm and preserve their energy through their two-week ordeal. And British diver Ben Reymenants, who was involved with the rescue operation, told Vox on Thursday that each of the boys did an hour of meditation with the coach before they were brought out of the cave between Sunday and Tuesday.
“He could meditate up to an hour,” Ekapol’s aunt, Tham Chanthawong, told the AP. “It has definitely helped him and probably helps the boys to stay calm.”
Ekapol, 25, went to live in a monastery at age 12 after he was orphaned. According the Straits Times, he trained to be a monk for 10 years at a monastery in Mae Sai, Thailand, but left to care for a sick grandmother. He then was hired to be the assistant coach of the team, known as the Wild Boars.
Coach Ake, as he is known, still maintains close contacts at the monastery. The abbot there told the Wall Street Journal he’s “a responsible young man who meditates regularly.”
That meditation would be a useful practice in an extremely stressful situation like being trapped in a cave is really no surprise. Buddhist meditation has been around for 2,600 years, since the Buddha began teaching it as tool for achieving clarity and peace of mind, and ultimately, liberation from suffering.


Recently, scientific researchers have shown in clinical settings that mindfulness meditation (a specific meditation practice and one that’s taught in Thai Buddhism and elsewhere around the world) can reduce anxiety and depression, as well as pain.
Though there are few randomized control trials on meditation and mental health, a 2014 meta analysis by Johns Hopkins researchers for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality found that meditation, and in particular mindfulness, can have a role in treating depression, anxiety, and pain in adults — as much as medications but with no side effects. Meditation can also, to a lesser degree, reduce the toll of psychological distress, the review found. The research on kids is still fairly preliminary, though more and more schools are implementing mindfulness meditation programs.

​Someone suggested Vaastu to me. Happened to readup on some Vastu literature and found the following info interesting..Let me know what you think about it or have personal experience with it. 
The last time I heard about Vaastu, was when I was living in Iowa during 2005-2007. Had the opportunity to visit Fairfield, Iowa where Mahesh Yogi's  TM city is located (Transcendental Meditation) and saw large number of east-facing houses, only on one side of the street!!

My quick notes on Vaastu principles:
Our home as one of our mindset influencers.
Look at the locations where you spend most of your time and notice the vibrations in those locations
How is our mindset affected by where we are or where we live?
The inside of our home is a microcosm. Use Vaastu Principles for greatest energy flow. Some tips:
a) North - Lakshmi and Kubera, Abundance, wealth
b) South - Release Energy, Death
c) East - Spiritual, Good for Altar or Pooja or prayer Room
d) West - Occult, Saturn, Tough Lessons
e) Doors into the house should be situated in the North or East

​According to ancient religious scriptures,  the divinity is inherent in each of us, but we don't recognize it.. It is easy to identify ourselves with our little egos, but not with our own divine nature. Science is helping us understand God better, in fact. The latest discoveries of quantum physics, Higgs Boson (a.k.a God particle)  and quantum physics is closer to metaphysics than ever before.
 - what we see as solid reality is not solid and the Observer effect.
- The theory of uncertainty  by Eisenberg and non-local reality.
 
God is said to be infinitely compassionate! Just that we don't experience it. The energy is living within us whether we think (with mind) about God or not!  A great master suggested as a spiritual practice that if we deeply believe divinity is within us for some time, miracles will start happening. It is a not logic-based, linear or science based concept. Our human nature requires us to use logic and reasoning. We can't get rid of it.  So, ultimately belief in God becomes more like a deep trust that one has to cultivate to experience miracles in life on a daily basis which will help us overcome limitations of human life.

Just happened to remember and share this interesting piece of information: (especially if you like reading poetry). Years back, prior to coming to US,  I read this poem by Vivekananda on 4th of July...Surprisingly, he passed away on July 4th, 1902.
http://www.ramakrishnavivekananda.info/vivekananda/volume_5/writings_prose_and_poems/to_the_fourth_of_july.htm

Behold, the dark clouds melt away, 
That gathered thick at night, and hung 
So like a gloomy pall above the earth! 
Before thy magic touch, the world 
Awakes. The birds in chorus sing. 

The flowers raise their star-like crowns -- 
Dew-set, and wave thee welcome fair. 
The lakes are opening wide in love 
Their hundred thousand lotus-eyes 
To welcome thee, with all their depth. 
All hail to thee, thou Lord of Light! 

A welcome new to thee, today, 
O Sun! Today thou sheddest Liberty! 
Bethink thee how the world did wait, 
And search for thee, through time and clime. 

Some gave up home and love of friends,
And went in quest of thee, self-banished, 
Through dreary oceans, through primeval forests, 
Each step a struggle for their life or death; 

Then came the day when work bore fruit, 
And worship, love, and sacrifice, 
Fulfilled, accepted, and complete. 
Then thou, propitious, rose to shed 
The light of Freedom on mankind. 

Move on, O Lord, in thy resistless path! 
Till thy high noon o'erspreads the world. 
Till every land reflects thy light, 
Till men and women, with uplifted head, 
Behold their shackles broken, and 
Know, in springing joy, their life renewed! 

Recently heard about this wonderful place not very far from Bay area. Had the good fortune to spend last week-end at Sivananda Yoga Farm at Auburn, CA. They have periodic Yoga teacher’s training if you are interested, bunch of farm animals (kids would love), a pond, cabins of different types and sizes, and food included in prices.  They give you vegetarian food twice a day (8am and 6pm)..that is it!!   The wifi is off at 10:30pm and about 50 + acreage of surrounding forests, one Durga temple (15 min walk ) and one Siva temple on a hill-top (108 steps), some distance away. Tons of informative literature, especially if you are interested in Yoga Asanas and Pranayama, and Hatha Yoga (advanced pranayama).
The last one mile or so to this place, is on a gravel road, phone signal is spotty, wifi is free.  If you have older parents’ visiting, they would definitely love this place.

Check out https://sivanandayogafarm.org/  if you are interested.
 
“ If you do not find peace within, you will not find it anywhere else “  -  Sivananda

Just wanted to share this. When I first heard about this,  I was wondering, why did I not know this earlier.  (bad) Karma is unchangeable or it is difficult, to say the least. When things are good, nobody wants to change  so here is the knowledge on how to change it when things go south! 
 
You might have heard of the great saint called Dattathreya in India, who represented the wisdom tradition – a very high intellectual tradition. In the book called “Thripura Rahasya” there is a great conversation between Dattathreya  and another towering personality called, Parasurama,  who keeps asking questions to the saint.  One question is “how to change your Karma or diffuse karma” ….and the response was “Karma is time, you cannot change time….BUT …you can change your space and change your time!!!”

So there is a relationship between space and time and by changing space, you can change your Karma     Looks like tribal knowledge, if you are not successful in New York, go to San Francisco and vice versa!  Most of us might have done this in our lives unknowingly…but it is interesting to see how karma works out in people’s lives, when they move houses or cities.