The word sidereal hit the news this week.
The word derives from Latin:
a star, a constellation.
Here, from a chapter from Lyall Watson's 1939-2008 wonderful book, The Dreams of Dragons: Riddles of Natural History 1987
The Arteries of Earth
Precisely every 12 sidereal hours - that is, hours set relative to the earth's movement through the galaxy, and not about its own axis - the earth throbs.
The cause remains mysterious - it may be something to do with lunar and solar tides - but the effect is clear. The pulse of our planet beats regularly, once every 11 hours, 57 minutes, and 57.3 seconds, earth time. And its effect can be felt more strongly in Rome than in Geneva.
Is this ch'i, bubbling up through cracks in the planet? Probably not. But it is evidence at least of the existence of a global rhythm that has local peculiarities.
....Gravitational anomalies produced by the variable thickness of earth’s crust mean that there are differences of as much as 100 meters in the mean level at various places. There is a trough, almost a hole, south of India and another great dent in the area that has come to be known as the Bermuda Triangle. And there are equally permanent hills around Iceland and Hawaii, and in the Sea of Japan.
An awareness of natural rhythm is .... part of our birthright. A gift from Mother. With one ear to the ground, you can almost hear her great heart beating. It is a very comforting sound.
photos: Lura Astor helping bring Tai Chi Chuan to Las Vegas 1980s one breath at a time
courtesy of: Tai Chi Chuan Club
