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August marks the beginning of Harvest season and the celebration of Lammas. This is a time for not only reaping the benefits of our ripened crops, but for paring away that which we no longer need. It is also traditional to hold tournaments in which individuals can demonstrate athletic and mental prowess! All in the name of fun, of course . . . My recent move from California to Illinois brought me to the not-so-surprising realization that I own a lot of . . . stuff. As I began packing up my two-bedroom apartment in late May, I found myself sorting through everything with a willingness to let go. Still, four trips to the Salvation Army later, I was purchasing box after box in order to fit what remained in a 17’ truck. We are supposed to reap the fruits of our labors. But is it just the physical bounty we must catalog? Certainly our material items are a measurement of our success. We purchase the best items we can afford or spend extra money to stock up on items we will use in the months to come. And there is something to be said for all of this! We are meant to be abundant! We are to take delight in this world and what it has to offer us by way of our abilities to create! And there is more. |
July 29 2010 1 Comment
13 VIEWS
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As Father’s Day approaches I think of the extraordinary man who I am fortunate enough to call my father. Forty years ago, I can only wonder what he was thinking as he and my mother went through the paperwork and other legalities associated with adopting their first child. I believe we were all brought together by no mistake! When my mother crossed over late last year, my sister and I had the opportunity to go through the boxes of old family photos (slides, mostly). In them were pictures I now cherish, highlighting the special memories time slowly erases from the mind: Dad and me in the snow, decorating the Christmas tree, posing for family albums or snuggling with my sister and me in the magick of storytelling, his soft voice enthralling us for centuries of tales scribed by extraordinary authors. |
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“Just get over it!” “Let it go.” How many times have those words reached our ears? How many times have we sought to follow those instructions . . . and have had no idea how? It seems simple enough in concept. If you don’t like the way something tastes, stop eating it. If you don’t like the way something feels, stop touching it. And yet when emotions are involved, everything seems much more complex. We often find it deeply challenging to walk away from abusive relationships, to let go of the attachment we feel to someone else’s pain, or to that of our own. |
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Beltane translates as “shining fire.” Great bonfires, decorated Rowan branches (May Bush), decorated eggs, flowers and ribbons marked this celebration in ancient times and today. A cross-quarter day, Beltane marks the midpoint between the vernal equinox (Ostara) and the summer solstice (Litha), and falls opposite of the pagan new year (Samhain). A time for purification, transition, protection and divination, great bonfires once illuminated the hilltops and their smoke cleansed as it sent wishes across the veil. Also known as a time for Handfastings (“marriages” intended to last for a year and a day at which time the couple could part or cement their vows), Beltane remains a time of great feasting, family gatherings, magickal energies, dancing around the Maypole, sexual empowerment and celebration with the fairy-folk and other elemental beings. A time for balance, passion, beauty and vitality, this is a celebration of love, union and fertility! It is a time of male and female harmony, and the energies of duality. |
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As I watch my two-month-old daughter sleep, my heart is filled with tremendous warmth and peace. She is still, and as she smiles and squeaks, I cherish the sensation of her tiny warm body against mine, knowing that too soon she will not choose to fall asleep in my arms. In this moment, I wonder at her smiles . . . and the nature of her dreamtime . . . Quieting my mind, I breathe in the stillness of this moment and slowly begin the process of connecting with her as she sleeps. Her sacred temple is uncluttered and clean. It is filled with Light and surrounded by the same! I am in awe of its beauty and the purity of her connection to all that is. |
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Awe is defined as “an overwhelming feeling of wonder or admiration.” Its nature implies innocence, discovery and raw, unaffected emotion. It is the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual recognition of being touched by the Light, Magick and Mystery that both surround and radiate from within each of us. It is the key to understanding the Whys and Hows of this physical existence and what waits beyond it. |
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“I thank God for my relationships, that I may understand eternity.” A small part of a daily prayer, this statement carries tremendous energy with regard to the power of relationships and the nature of eternity. Eternity, like infinity and God, is an almost impossible concept for the human mind to grasp. There is no tangible point of reference. We have never been there, seen it or touched it. The great mystics and spiritual teachers speak of it, and science has created theory after theory as to its shape and form. Still, for the human mind, there is no real understanding. But what of eternity’s connection with relationships? As human beings we are here exploring the nature of relationships from the moment of our conception in the womb! We develop relationships with places, things, people, concepts, animals and ourselves. So how do relationships correspond to eternity? |
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Everything is a relationship. The nature of these relationships is based on our approach to and understanding of ourselves and the energies at play in our lives. Perspective, empowerment, emotion, balance and change (or lack of these things) are at play in all relationships. From money and career to love and friendship, these energies are at play, either solidifying or cracking the foundation of our interactions. |
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Would it be possible to have a world without “Darkness?” Our physical experience is made up of opportunities to learn and evolve, to reconnect to Spirit as we make choices to discover, integrate and potentially master the energies of the earth as so many Ascended Masters have done before us. The classroom in which we all journey through life is vast, and no two people will ever have identical experiences. However we are all presented with the choice between Light and Dark. Many days we choose to embrace the darkness around us. Darkness sometimes masks itself in our emotions, but it is always present in the following: |
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Today I am sad. I suppose there are a multitude of circumstances contributing to or even justifying this, but the fact is, I am. There was a time when I might have scolded or forbidden myself for allowing this emotion. There was another time when I might have sunk into a place of depression and sorrow. Today I just. . .am. So I will let the sadness be what it will be, and as the rain falls outside in the darkening sky, I will gather my coat and shoes and walk outside, that the Goddess’s gift of purification may cleanse me as it blesses the ground beneath my feet. |
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Someone recently expressed to me his understanding of God as “a metaphor for human relationships.” An identifiable definition for many living in a world that seems to suffer from loss of faith and an understandable separation from the rather dogmatic nature of The Church. If God is only a metaphor for human relationships, God IS human relationships. Simply redefined, God is reduced to a human thought or energy and no longer exists outside of our own fragile physicality. God does not exist without the mind or emotion of the human. God is no longer a creator being, a dispenser of justice or puppeteer. To this, one must ask, “What is the true nature and purpose of God?” Was God created for humans? Were humans created for God? Or is there some truth rather somewhere in the middle? |
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How can I tell the difference between a Dream or Astral Travel? Dreams are often part of a complex psychological detoxification process we go through as the subconscious purges itself. But there is an additional type of “dream” state in addition to this. Better known as Astral Travel, this state of awareness is a regular experience for each of us, occurring at least once a day as we drift into twilight awareness before or during sleep. Telling the difference is not quite as difficult as it might seem! |
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Today the concept of philosophy carries a myriad of definitions boiling down to a sad concept that it is akin to any belief or opinion an individual has about how to live. In deep hermetic teachings, however, philosophy is the core of truth, carrying the seed of absolute truth within it. Truth carries its own definitions for us these days as well. It often requires scientific validation to earn any credibility, this need seemingly outweighing spirituality’s own very real existence and strength outside the boundaries of science. All philosophies are born of only one. They share its deep root, which penetrates all that is. For this core holds the keys to all things and the understanding with which to actually utilize those keys effectively. This core philosophy is the foundation of our existence! |
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There is much talk these days of initiation. Everyone is performing them for just about anything one can imagine; some people even offer initiations through computer screens, but their promises of great powers and enlightenment go sorely unmet. What IS initiation anyway? Ancient teachings describe initiation as a direct and physical handing down of power through lineage and authority empowering the individual’s ability to hold light (power) and to connect with clarity and understanding to the beings and energies associated with that lineage. So what is lineage? Lineage is a delicately, and specifically structured handing down of information (most commonly associated with the “oral” traditions) and initiations performed through a direct and traceable line of teacher to student (from the first authorized teacher through that lineage to the current authorized teacher through that lineage). |
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 A Flower for Mom We are being told that Mom has 24 hours left with us. We know. We knew. And it doesn’t make it easier to let her go. For me, the comfort comes in knowing that I was able to spend a few weeks in total service to the woman who gave me life. Not by birth. But better. She gave me her heart and soul not because she bore me, but because she and my father wanted a child so badly and could not conceive, that they reached out to adopt. The cancer that made her sterile 56 years ago at thirteen is the thing that brought us together 39 years ago. It is also that same cancer that now takes her from this world. |
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It wasn’t until I began dreaming about having a child that I began to truly investigate the nature of Spiritual Contracts. I wanted to understand their nature, where they really come from and why they are important. Ancient teachings tell us we are all spiritual beings with only one physical lifetime to experience this planet. Recognizing this, we spend hundreds of thousands of years in preparation for those short years here. We study people, planetary systems and the nature of life itself, sometimes even remembering those people and places when we take physical form. During our time as pure spirit, we develop relationships with other spirits, much like we do here. Those relationships go beyond the scope of our physical understanding, rooted instead, in a deep spiritual bond. |
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My mother is my best friend. Of course she has a heads up on everyone else! She’s known me the longest and we’ve been through the most together.
When I was three days old, she gave herself to me at a Salvation Army adoption center in Chicago, Illinois. She chose me, she used to tell me, out of all of the other babies. Because she knew she would love me best. And she has. Long recognized for her wit, poise and candor, my mother is wise and beautiful. She is the bravest and strongest woman I will ever know. In her battles and in her loving, she has always taken a “no prisoners” attitude, living her life with grace, compassion and a sense of humor. |
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What’s in a Name? Everything! Names carry tremendous energy, which translates to the vibration we carry in life every day. Today’s teenagers and young adults change their names just as the “flower-generation” did years ago. We ache to identify with our names, to be known by the “right” name, seeking the perfect ones for our children and ourselves.
So why the obsession? Because it matters! |
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And so I come to you again after a bit of an absence . . . These past few months have been filled with much news on many fronts. So much, that I have not had the coordination to manage both my thoughts and other duties in tandem! But as my belly grows large with the promise of new life, my time has grown more and more still and precious.
I am expecting my first child. In my first few months, the wonder and magickal nature of the experience grew obscured by the medical professionals meeting their malpractice obligations to warn me of the 100s of things that could go wrong. I allowed myself to be caught up in the modern bureaucracy of having a baby, and the well-intentioned advice from men and women alike did little to abate my growing trepidation during that time . . . |
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As I begin my return trip once again from Atlanta to Los Angeles, I am once again reminded of the beautiful and extraordinary communities of which I am fortunate enough to be a part. My spiritual family is strong and ever growing, embracing the brightness of new lives and the gifts that are accompany them. My part is that of both guide and seeker, teacher and student on this journey of enlightenment. Each day is a new discovery and opportunity for awakening! And I am grateful. |
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