Did you feel special enough today?

You should.  On a daily basis, feeling special keeps your Sun happy.   You’re wired for this.    Your Sun is your ego.   And an unfed ego grumbles.   Denied affirmation and appreciation for too long, it becomes wild and voracious, a danger to the other planets in your chart.  And to the people in your world.

Sun signs aren’t just the index to horoscopes.  They’re instructions.  They tell you how best to give your ego the healthy stuff it needs to keep you bright and sparkly.   A Taurus Sun needs a dose of nature daily.  Gemini needs the delight of chatter.  A 5th House Sun must have the freedom to play.   But all Suns need to feel important.   After all, this is the “I’m the center of the solar system!” archetype.

Whatever your Sun’s sign or house, feeling special and worthy of attention is a daily must-have for your Sun.   You need to shine.   You need to feel competent and gifted.  You need to feel like you matter.  This fuels a healthy ego.  Yet most approaches tell us to do the opposite.  They tell us to tame, hide, or deny our ego.  And controlling this lion is hard.

Many seek the help of spiritual masters.  I live in a town where famous gurus often visit. I remember one particularly famous one who offered darshan — a sacred event in which one sees and is seen by a genuine divine being. Several hundred of us descended on the church.  Then, in a gesture obviously designed for subduing egos, we knelt and crawled to her little rug.  There we offered our bent heads to her transformative touch.

She touched me.  I’ll admit it: I felt nothing.

But I did feel something a couple weeks later in the YMCA parking lot. As I opened my car door, a toddler appeared (his mother was standing nearby). He had the biggest bluest eyes I’d ever seen. “Washoonaym” he said.

After a confused moment, I realized his meaning. “It’s Dana,” I replied, “And what’s your name?” He didn’t answer, but turned again with great enthusiasm to his mother, “It’s Dana!” He clapped his hands with glee. His mother and I smiled at each other and as I walked away, I heard him say again, “Her name is Dana!” His mother softly instructed, “You should have told her your name.”

But I was already gone… into the bliss of being touched so deeply by this little guru whose teaching was just what I needed.  His giddy un-self-consciousness was like a Zen stick on my head, rousing me from an episode of self-absorption (sure sign of an underfed ego).

The little boy’s joy in seeing me, a stranger, was instantly infectious.  His joy woke me up and said: Forget your little ring of troubles and savor life!  Feel the delight of meeting everything with a spirit that’s fresh and alive!

As I consider my vows for this Taurus New Moon, I still remember that bliss.  And I can summon it.  I can imagine myself greeting everyone and everything with the same un-self-conscious enthusiasm as that little boy had shown me.  I can see myself stepping out my door and shouting “It’s a blue sky!” Or in the afternoon, at Starbucks, I might sing, “It’s the guy making coffee and his name is Aaron!” And if I could see you reading this, I’d want to say “It’s you! It’s you! I’m so glad you’re here!”

You see, when you give the Sun, energetically, the effect is just as good as receiving it.  Your ego gets the boost.  Even better, you reverse the usual black magic of holding others hostage for your bliss.  (Grumble.  Grumble.  They just don’t appreciate me!)   Again, energetically, it doesn’t matter whether you hear it said or say it yourself.  You just need to fill your space with a little solar positivity each day.   Like me remembering my parking lot guru, you can summon a joyful solar moment from your memory.  Or you can build new neural loops, sending new happy thoughts to start their revolving in your head.

Here are a few of my favorites from my Bliss Tape for the Sun.  Feel free to cycle a few of these through your mind.   Or let them inspire you to invent Sun cheers of  your own.

I treasure my own company.
It’s fun to be me!
More and more, I see myself as a person of great value.
More and more, I recognize, I have much to offer this world.
I’m capable and confident.
Throughout the day, I can hear myself say, “I got this. I can do it. Good job!”
Today I love myself, just the way I am, right now.
I am who I choose to become.
More and more, I behave in the ways that make me proud.

 

The Sun, Moon and Venus are the three planetary archetypes of your bliss.  You need each in the proper dose, every day, to enjoy your birthright of happiness.  Learn more in my free book, The Bliss Recipe,  which you can download here.

Is your Sun, Moon, or Venus feeling underfed?  Give yourself the Bliss treatment with  my  ultra-nourishing Bliss Tapes.  Each pleasurably passive practice is 22 minutes (20 minutes is the minimum your body needs to shift its rhythm).  Unwind physical tensions, clear energy channels, and refresh your thoughts and spirit–all while lying in bed!