Personal Development | Ascension Lifestyle

07 Mar 2016
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Cry of the Millennial Witch

I feel a divide growing within the spiritual movement.It has been growing slowly, almost imperceptibly. Like a frog swimming in a pot of gradually boiling water that hasn’t realized the danger he’s in.Here it is, dare I say it: The realm of the mainstream spiritual has become shallow and dogmatic.

In an effort to reach divinity, enlightenment, and guru-status, we’ve banished and demonized the “negative” and the struggle of the human experience. We’ve lost touch with the glorious bittersweet medicine that our pain and suffering offers when truly acknowledged by the Self and the tribe, and subsequently integrated with compassion and love.

I tried. Fuck, I tried. I did the meditations, I did the training, I did the work. I focused on the positive, I focused on the light, I focused on letting go of my darkness. Just release, they said. Don’t even bring attention to what it is, they said, just release it. I advanced in my healing skills, in my awareness, in my intuition. I worked deeply with clients doing soul retrievals, secretly reveling in the shadow of the underworld. I knew that there were those in my spiritual community who did not approve of my work. But I worked anyways, because I saw how deeply I could connect with my clients. I saw and acknowledged their pain. I focused on the integration of their experience, rather than the denial of it. I cried tears of joy when I heard of how much my work was helping them heal themselves. And at the same time, I was jealous. Why wasn’t the work healing ME? Why wasn’t I feeling better? Why wasn’t MY shit releasing?

That growing awareness backfired. More and more, I felt I was wading in the shallow pond of the world while my spirit was so deeply imbedded in the dark muck of the earth, in a place no one wanted to look. I was not offering the same sense of acknowledgment to myself that I offered my clients. I was still trying to uphold the notion that I was supposed to be a certain way, that I was supposed to be zen and happy all the time if I was going to be a healer. But nothing was in balance. I didn’t feel real. I didn’t feel authentic to myself. I was trapped between the the worlds…I was too spiritually minded to be a muggle, but I wasn’t the right kind of spiritual for the actual spiritual community.

I am part of a generation of witches rising up to say Fuck it. A generation of witches that has been burned too many times, and refuses to silently wither away in the flames again.

Don’t bring your attention to the fire, they said. Just release it and let it go, they said.

But not this time. This time, we are taking those flames inside of us, acknowledging them and respecting them and feeling their searing pain, and letting them transform in our bellies so we may breathe out the fire of an awakened dragon. As awakened dragons, as millennial witches, as priestesses of the moon, as unpredictable beautiful bitches, as wild wolf women, we have a list of demands and decrees:

–Our sexuality will be honored as spiritual, sacred, divine, and primal. It is communication with the divine, it is a link between heaven and earth, it is pleasure for pleasure’s sake, it is the human experience. It is a force all its own and won’t be controlled or belittled.

-And yet, our spirituality will not be sexualized, fetishized, or infantilized. The Priestess is not a fetish. The days of gurus sexually manipulating and abusing the Goddess are SO over. We’re not buying what you’re selling. No one gets to tell us how pure or impure we are, and what makes us that way, and whether we need to change that or not.

-We don’t want our spirituality to taste like candy. We don’t want rainbows and unicorns and sugary sweet confections of relentless positivity and the law of attraction. We want our spirituality to taste like dark chocolate; deep, rich, a little bitter, a little sweet, sensual and complex. We want it real, we want it deep. We won’t accept anything less.

-Many of us swear. Like, we really swear. We fucking swear a fucking lot. Deal with it. What’s a witch who doesn’t curse? (Not to mention it’s good for your brain—google that shit.)

-We will not be shamed. For our sexuality, for our lifestyles, for our choices, for the shortage of fucks that we give. Our lives, our power, our choice. Get on board or get out.

-You will not tell us to simply “let go”, “clear”, or “release” our feelings and issues by way of ignoring them. We don’t just release; we integrate. We take our darkness and stew in it, letting our unique human experiences mingle with our divinity, creating a powerful form of alchemy that’s whole and complete. We know the light is only half of what makes us powerful. Once integration is complete, what is no longer needed naturally releases as a byproduct of the process.

-We do not live in binaries, so don’t categorize us in them. Don’t tell us what’s “good” and what’s “bad” because we know better than that. Don’t tell us to live in the light to banish our shadows. In fact, don’t tell us what we are or what we should do at all. We are fluid and becoming more so. Gender fluid, sexually fluid, socially fluid, spiritually fluid.

-We hold a deep respect for social and cultural issues. We won’t use “Namaste” as a substitute for “goodbye” just because it sounds spiritual. We won’t wear a bindi on our foreheads just because it’s cute. We won’t discount another’s experience and point of view just because it’s not ours. We realize that our individual path is not more important than an entire marginalized culture’s. We listen.

-“Omg I can’t say anything without someone getting offended and everything has to be sooooooo PC nowadays.” <—Nah. We don’t see it like this. We see a generation coming into their own, attempting to own their view of the world and how they’d like it to be. Clearly, there’s a growing outcry for more sensitivity and change. You could stubbornly fight it or try to understand why it’s happening. Change won’t happen without conversation, so be open to the conversation, even if you don’t see it the same way.

-Be aware when you respond to our feelings. There’s a tendency, when someone admits they are feeling something other than complete joy or satisfaction, to apologize and suggest ways to be rid of that feeling. F that noise. The only cure for feelings is to feel them. Completely. Sink into them and allow their wisdom to wash over you. We don’t wallow, but we do feel. Everything. We refuse to repress or push our feelings aside just because they make us (or you) uncomfortable. (P.S. We hardly think “You should meditate on it.” or “Have you tried going gluten free?” are appropriate responses to anything. And this is coming from someone who both meditates and is gluten free.)

-The second you use any of the new age buzzwords— manifesting abundance, the law of attraction, meditation, energy healing, authentic, etc etc— our discernment kicks the fuck in. It’s not that we don’t believe in manifestation and meditation and energy healing, we definitely do. Manifesting is our middle name. But without the realness of our human and divine darkness acknowledged by our teachers, coaches and mentors, the spiritual movement becomes oppressive and dogmatic dressed as light and love. And not to mention, manipulated for profit when the actual authenticity is not behind it, considering the growing trend. We will search you, hard, before we will work with you.

-Maybe the most important of all, we know that Truth is found in paradox. If it’s not a contradiction in itself, we are wary. If we are not contradictions in ourselves, we are not real.

We will not accept less than what we are. We will not be only partially ourselves because it’s prettier or happier. We will be gritty and raw and beautiful and whole. We love fiercely. Love is at the core of our beings, but we know that sometimes love is the awakened dragon burning down the bridges that no longer serve us.

Sincerely,

the witches you love and fear

**As nothing is just black or white, I acknowledge and appreciate the spiritual teachers and mentors in my life that have never oppressed me and have always wanted me to be myself. You know who you are and I thank you from the bottom of my fiery heart.

About the Author: Ora North

Leo sun. Scorpio moon. Writer. Photographer. Healer. Witch woman. Shadow dancer. Moon bather. Fire breather. Optimist. Fucking drama queen. Crystal wearer. Unapologetic empath. Lover of fuzzy animals, coffee and travel. Goddess of the Underworld. Secret Celtic mermaid.

You can find Ora at www.oranorth.com

04 Mar 2016
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The Cat Litter People – Getting In Touch With Your Inner Wildness

I’ve done a fair amount of pet sitting over the years. While at the home of one high-brow cat, I spent several days visiting various pet stores in search of a certain brand of cat litter that was odor-free and promised “superior clumping ability,” which was what I wanted according to the empty container I carried on my quest. (For the uninitiated, “clumping” is a euphemistic reference for how the cat’s deposits will interact with the litter, for easier disposal.)

I’m no stranger to synchronicity, yet it always amuses me greatly to see how Spirit uses “the subject at hand” for its teachings. So here I am, having successfully located a sister litter to the one the cat’s human prizes, spelunking gleefully in foreign bookshelves. (As a writer, the opportunity to peruse other people’s books is one of the joys of housesitting.) I fasten on a book with the intriguing title, Deep Play, by poet and naturalist Diane Ackerman. I de-clump the cat litter and settle down to read.

In Chapter Three, “Sacred Places,” I am astonished by the words, “…people seem desperate to clump and bunch, swarming all over each other in towns while most of the land lies empty.” Ackerman is describing her return to Phoenix after being succored by the Grand Canyon, contrasting the Canyon’s ineffable vastness with the matrix of human habitation. Yet what sprang immediately to my mind was: cat litter.

Terror of the Still Point

Human beings have superior clumping capability. As Ackerman so astutely observes, we long for proximity to one another. Yet we bemoan the intrusiveness we thus create, jetting off to remote isles and mountain retreats to renew ourselves in nature’s immense silence.

Perhaps we wouldn’t need to “retreat” if we understood how to advance. Personal evolution isn’t woven into the fabric of Western culture as it is among indigenous peoples; it’s something we must open to on our own. Most of us, having lost touch with the numinous, fear the wilderness within. We cluster noisily with our own kind to stave off this beckoning hunger.

The needs of the stomach come before the trip to the litter box, however. Fast food bows (or meows) to the life force in a carrot or a pear; asphalt makes way for rock-strewn paths. Having clumped and bunched with the best of them, at some point we set out in search of deep nourishment: the sense of the sacred that is everywhere. We seek it in distant landscapes until we learn to recognize it inside ourselves.

There is a defining moment, a dawning recognition (literally, to know again) of “what you know, before you know that you know.” For me, it came when, on a descent to the truth of my being, I began throwing my arms around trees and sobbing from the depths of my soul. I’d never done anything like this before, but it felt like they were hugging me back.

When you can allow yourself to surrender to your own “still, small voice” and behave in a similar manner (that is, following your inner guidance, even if you look like a fool) you begin your journey to wildness.

And then, whether you range across continents or remain in your own backyard (or hi-rise), you’ll know you’re forever free of the litter box. When you carry the replenishment and the release inside you — and know that you do — clumping and bunching becomes optional.

After all, there are no litter boxes in the wild.

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About the author:

Amara Rose is a “midwife” for our global rebirth. Her services include transformational guidance, talks, e-courses, a digital download CD, and an inspirational monthly newsletter. She is widely published in health, business and new thought magazines, both digital and print. Learn more: http://www.liveyourlight.com

http://twitter.com/Amara_Rose

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26 Feb 2016
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6 Illustrations That Show What It’s Like In An Introvert’s Head

This article first appeared on QuietRev.com,

illustrations by Liz Fosslein and Mollie West

Dear Extroverts,

We love your energy and excitement. But as introverts, we sometimes feel misunderstood. We wish you could visualize what’s going on inside our brains—you might be surprised! Here are six illustrations of what it’s like to be in our heads.

Sincerely,

Introverts

1. According to The Introvert Advantage by Marti Olsen Laney, introverts have a longer neural pathway for processing stimuli. Information runs through a pathway that is associated with long term memory and planning. In other words, it’s more complicated for introverts to process interactions and events. As they process information, introverts are carefully attending to their internal thoughts and feelings at the same time.

2. According to studies by psychologist Hans Eysenck, introverts require less stimulation from the world in order to be awake and alert than extroverts do. This means introverts are more easily over-stimulated.

3. The flip side of introverts’ sensitivity to dopamine is that they need less of it to feel happy. Extroverts’ brains run on an energy-spending nervous system, whereas introverts’ brains run on an energy-conserving nervous system. This is why introverts feel content and energized when reading a book, thinking deeply, or diving into their rich inner world of ideas.

4. Introverts’ brains aren’t as strongly rewarded for gambling or taking risks as extroverts’ brains are. The brain’s reward and pleasure system is activated by dopamine neurotransmitters. Scientists found that extroverts’ brains responded with more pleasure to positive gambling results. In other words, introverts feelless excitement from surprise or risk.

5. The introvert’s brain treats interactions with people at the same intensity level that it treats encounters with inanimate objects. Introverts process everything in their surroundings and pay attention to all the sensory details in the environment, not just the people.

6. As introverts are thinking, they reach back into long-term memory to locate information. An introvert will often compare old and new experiences when making a decision, which slows the processing down but leads to carefully thought-out decisions.This means that introverts have an active dialogue with themselves and usually walk around with many thoughts in their minds.

This article originally appeared on QuietRev.com.

You can find more insights from Quiet Revolution on work, life, and parenting as an introvert at QuietRev.com. Follow Quiet Revolution on Facebook and Twitter.

24 Feb 2016
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Heart Roots: Energy, Love, and Resonance

Being a free moving organism (within the confines of gravity, humanness, and my understanding of space-time), I am not rooted in any physical way such as the trees are. However, my lungs are rooted to the Earth’s atmosphere in that, without drawing from it, they fail and stop, as do I. My digestive system is rooted to the flora and fauna within my food chain in the same way. Because my body is largely comprised of water, I am rooted to the water system. The rootedness I am writing about here is the rooting of the heart; the ways through love and energy I am rooted to my experience of myself and to all that I experience as other. This includes the natural world, other people, and all the actions, beliefs, objects, and situations I encounter.

Energetic heart rooting is feeling and responding to interactions through what is sometimes called in energetic discussions, “the subtle body.” When we are fed by an experience or person who resonates with us, our hearts root to the experience and responds, while we serve as the roots of inspiration and love for others.

We sometimes hear of music resonating with someone, of someone’s voice or message resounding out to the masses, or of two people who feel they share a resonance, wavelength or good vibe. These phrases are echoing and interpreting into human interaction the phenomenon of sympathetic resonance: when two objects vibrating at the same frequency vibrate together and even increase or re-sound each other’s vibrations. The frequency at which an object usually tends to vibrate when touched is known as the natural frequency of the object. Merriam-Webster gives one definition of resonance as: “the intensification and enriching of a musical tone by supplementary vibration.” The Pond Science Institute site shares that “A sympathetic vibration is a vibration that is sympathetic (in tune or forming unisons) between two or more individualized objects.” Just as a violin string when vibrated in a particular manner produces sounds, so when in energetic contact with a frequency we find harmonious, do we make sounds: we act with our bodies and we speak with our voices, our hearts singing.

When thinking about energy, it is a good idea to include chakras. Chakras (from the Sanskrit chakra or “wheel”) emerged in Indian beliefs, are mentioned in The Vedas ancient text, and are integrated into Yoga practices. Chakras are believed to be energy centers or nodes in the subtle or energetic body. They are sometimes referred to as spinning wheels of light, and energy and breath pass strongly through them. There are many chakras, but 7 major ones. The word chakra is also sometimes used in texts synonymously with nerve plexus (a branching out network of nerves). In descriptions of chakras, they are sometimes said to have petals and the body to have breath channels and wind. The root chakra, located in the tailbone area at the base of the spine, relates to our sense of security, survival, and groundedness; our foundation and root. The heart chakra, located in the center of the chest, above the area of the anatomical heart, relates to our ability to give and receive love, and to experience peace and joy within. This is the area where resonance is often felt, though it can be experienced all over the body.

Love is mercurial and works in its own way, but one way for me to understand it is through this idea of resonance. The people, places, and ways that I love resound with me, sometimes in mysterious and indescribable ways. Maybe I love you because I feel peaceful in your presence, or excited, or both, because we sat together in class all year, because we were raised in similar family situations, or because of the sweet way your face creases when you laugh at something silly I say. Maybe I love the tart flavor of Lemonheads because I’m a bit of a masochist, or maybe I love strawberry picking because it makes me sing a Beatles song in my head. If we see the emotional heart center as a plant which is fed by energetic vibrations, the things which strike and resound in our hearts, which are felt there, are those things whose frequencies interact with that of our heart naturally. Vibrations of the world around us speak to our hearts and our hearts respond, vibrating back out.

Namaste is a common Indian greeting and also a spiritual phrase. Also found in The Vedas, in Sanskrit the word is namah + te which means, “I bow to you.”

India Arie sings a similar message in, I see God in You:

“I know you cannot read my mind

But I hope you’d feel the vibe

I think it’s time I let you know that

I see the God in you”

When I say, ‘I love you,’ I am saying, you are a root for my heart: you feed me, you connect me to the Earth, and my heart wants to feed you with energy too. Rooting into love, God, the Tao, or universal energy and life connects us to the world and validates us.

“People can’t, unhappily, invent their mooring posts, their lovers and their friends, anymore than they can invent their parents. Life gives these and also takes them away and the great difficulty is to say Yes to life.”Resonance is not always instantaneous; it can build over time. As we spend time with someone, learn about the inspiration behind a modern abstract artwork, or read more about a confusing social trend, we can open up to the possibility of new connections and sympathetic vibrations. We can “tune in” and become “attuned to” new ways of thinking, being and relating. As we age, we can also tune into ourselves over and over, stay curious about our own attunement, and learn about what makes us buzz, tick, and sing. We learn how to tune ourselves like an instrument, sooth our own souls, and connect our hearts to our energetic roots. Just as a root holds the soil that feeds it, so we hold the things that give us love. Over time our song will change and our energetic roots will break and re-grow. My heart roots through resonance to the thing it loves, regardless of how long that thing stays nearby.

–James Baldwin, Giovanni’s Room

Losing a loved one, a root, or a mooring post can be very painful. Some sources of love and memories will continue to vibrate with us for the rest of our lives or, depending on your beliefs, beyond.

One of the songs my husband, whom I resonate with very strongly, picked for our wedding mix was:

Good Vibrations by The Beach Boys. They sing,

“I’m pickin’ up good vibrations,

She’s giving me excitations”

If you’ve ever been in love, you know what they mean. Whether through romantic, friendly, familial, or universal love, our invisible energetic roots to life tingle in these moments of awareness of good vibrations. In the tapestry of life our energetic roots weave our hearts into the rippling, layered whole, nourishing us, and giving us opportunities to connect and create. When we’re rooted into things that feed us, we bloom and grow.

by Julia Travers

22 Feb 2016
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You Belong Here: Full Moon in Virgo

There is nothing to fix. Each one of us is made to fit our lives. Precisely. The measurements are exact. The tailoring is to a tee. The height. The width. The depth. It’s perfect. We need not ever struggle to fit into the fabric of ourselves.

We are all complex, paradoxical, flawed. As we fumble, topple and blunder our way out of the messy cocoon of unconsciousness (an ever-evolving, never-ceasing emergence), we do so perfectly also.

But we worry that we are wrong.

We fear we are ill-shaped. We fret that we were a mistake. We wake in night sweats, covered in panic’s perspiration. We question the meaning that makes us. We second guess our nature. We refuse our resplendency. We want to be another. We are taught to be other. We want to be in accordance with life, but we tend to attack our own.

Not fitting is excruciating. It’s excruciating as long as we try to fit. Or fix. Or make different our distinct markings. If we added up the hours spent counting the things”wrong” with us, we would be buried under a heap of lost time. What could we do with the energy otherwise? What life can we steal back from what the internal naysayers took? What will we do when we discover that we are as we were meant to be.

The week of February 22nd opens up with an exacting full moon in Virgo at 10:20 AM PST. A hard-working earth sign, Virgo can go overboard with its need to get things right, perfect and precise. Virgo can spend all its time worrying over what is not done, what is not in place and what does not belong.

But Virgo is also known for its ability to uphold the natural order of things, Virgo’s keen sensibility for streamlining and making sense out of a mess harkens back to the profound wisdom of the earth itself. Virgo wants to find efficiency because it is the most intelligent option. Virgo wants to find the home for all things lost. Virgo understands the innate order, the flawless mathematics and the subtle splendor of organisms at work. Nothing in nature is wasted. Nothing is without a purpose.

None of us are.

Knowing that we are of this earth, born from the wise order of the universe, is enough to know that nature doesn’t make anything without a purpose. If we are here, nature has called us here for a reason. That reason is our responsibility to discover but we can have faith that the reason fits like a crown of glory around our soul.

You are the perfect you. Don’t break yourself to fit in.

This full moon sits in the same sign as Jupiter. Though the two are not close by degree, this is still important to note. The nature of a full moon is to illuminate a place in our chart and this full moon will not only highlight the part of our chart that contains Virgo, but will also illuminate the work that Jupiter has accomplished (or gotten us to) here as well.

Jupiter has been in Virgo since August of 2015, increasing the tiny tasks in the area of our chart that contains Virgo (check your full moon horoscope for more information). Jupiter brings all kinds of abundance. In Virgo, Jupiter increases data collecting, giving and assimilating. Virgo rules the digestive system. Virgo wants to make use of what it takes in. What good is more information if we don’t digest it, incorporate it and are ultimately transformed by it?

Standing in opposition to the full moon and Jupiter is the sun, Neptune, Ceres and Chiron in Pisces. The nature of a full moon is to incorporate opposites, to find balance and to remember that one extreme always has an opposite and equal extreme.

If Virgo is the master of precision, Pisces is the energy that animates the master. Virgo categorizes, Pisces unites. Virgo sobers, Pisces intoxicates. Virgo worries, Pisces looks for the perfection in all things, or swims in assuming it will all get where it needs to go eventually. Not twisted in torment over the imperfections of life, Pisces has a much greater ability to operate on faith. Faith in the human spirit. Faith in goodness. Faith in the energy that brought us here. Pisces believes that everyone, at their core, is worth loving. Pisces is ultimate kindness. Pisces is unlimited compassion. Pisces is acceptance.

To stand at the center of these polarities, to be in balance with criticality and faith, to practice precision and embody unity, and to see the micro and the macro is what this full moon is asking of us.

We can know all of the things we must work on, all the ways in which we can do better, all of the things we must grow into and still feel appreciation for the day, for the skin that we are in and for ourselves. We can hold one another accountable while still holding one another with a compassionate heart. We can look at the world, in all its pain, sorrow and injustice and still know it’s worth fighting for, still know that there is love here, still believe that justice will, in the end, win. We can know that even in the most intense struggles to become ourselves and to find our way, we are still, and will always be, a perfect fit for our own lives.

Full moon blessings,

Chani

Chani has a degree in Feminist Counseling from George Brown College and a BA in Integral Studies from California Institute of Integral Studies. She has studied psychological astrology for over 20 years and is currently studying Hellenistic astrology with Demetra George. Chani devotes her spare time to studying, practicing and supporting restorative justice practices. You can find her at http://chaninicholas.com

19 Jan 2016
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Fire and Water: The Deeper Meaning Of What We Unleash

When I was deep into my spiritual awakening, I had startlingly prescient dreams; in one, the words, “violent emergency” reverberated through my mind. It was a violent emergence; birth is fierce. There is an ocean of difference, however, between Nature’s ferocity and that which is deliberately inflicted by human beings with their own agendas.

Theologian and author Thomas Moore writes, “Deep in the etymology of ‘violence’ is a strong Latin word, vis. It is the power in nature that we sense in the surging sea and the growth of grass. In our experiences of violence we witness the vain attempt of life to push itself into existence and visibility. This is a sexual power. Sex is not just about making bodies but making souls as well. The people of the world need every opportunity to be creative and visible. They need to enjoy life, not just survive. Without that opportunity, they will turn to violence, in spite of themselves.”

Life’s Novocaine

We tend to go through life anesthetized against our own yearning. The call to claim our power can be terrifying, because it means accepting our invitation to the Dance — and most of us have forgotten how to dance, if indeed we ever knew. We find it easier to lash out in anger: rage, the undiscovered country. If being “outrageous” means getting the rage out, Americans are black belts. Having lost touch with the wilderness within, we savage the Earth and each other in an effort to combat our loneliness.

War is the grand expression of this misdirected energy. It’s akin to our ability, or lack of it, to harness the power of the sun. Yoked to our solar egg, we could shine on in all our ecological radiance for millennia. Yoking means union, but we’re used to living the more limiting definition of bondage. Trussed to our desperation, we sigh, “That’s life!” Since interdependence — becoming what Kenny Ausubel christened “Bioneers,” or biological pioneers, co-creating with Nature — feels so foreign, we stay (un)comfortably in the familiar, pump up the volume, and wearily watch as the world turns.

There is a way out: it’s through. The trees are gods and goddesses who in their stillness keep the Earth’s counsel; the animals are our allies. We can commune with a snake or a sea lion as easily as with the people we call kin. The key lies in reclaiming our wildness — not as violence, but as an abiding, sensuous connection with Nature. Instead of experiencing everything at one remove, we can allow it to enter us.

My Inannic odyssey delivered me deeply into this truth. In illness and vulnerability, I threw my arms around trees and sobbed out my grief, feeling their loving embrace. I began talking to crows, paying tribute to their visceral wisdom in a poem that concluded, “A coded conversation/In guttural cries/Opens my eyes/And lifts me higher.” Stunned from exhaustion, I’d never lived in such clarity. With my brain on an extended vacation, I was forced to access a more primitive part of my being, to participate organically in the instinctual world, not merely watch.

How Peace Begins

This is how peace begins: by singing the wild symphony of Nature back into our cells, feeling the music of the spheres in our marrow, embodying the feminine creative principle. By raising our resonance, we become “the vessel which can contain all blessing,” as one ancient text describes peace. This is also how we heal our bodies, and the body of Gaia: “immune” means sacrosanct, inviolate, whole. In celebrating all life, we pulse a radiating joy that resurrects our daily dance. And you can’t wage war while dancing.

We’ve entered a new era. It is only in recent memory that strong antiwar sentiment (Iraq, Vietnam) has held sway. For much of human history, war has been an acceptable means of “protecting our interests,” “keeping the world safe for democracy,” or any number of other platitudes. If thousands, perhaps millions, of innocents had to die in the process, well, they were war heroes. And the villagers in other countries, slaughtered in the name of whatever deity one invoked, deserved death because they were “the enemy.”

Jeannette Rankin, the first woman elected to the US House of Representatives and the only member of Congress to vote against US entry into both World Wars, once declared, “You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake.”

She makes an enduring point. Did anyone “win” the Indian or Chilean ‘quakes? Are we “winning” the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan?

What’s really going on here? What is the higher purpose of the impulse to violence we all harbor within, to a greater or lesser degree?

Fire and water are complements; harmonized, they elevate consciousness and catalyze healing. I sang these words often during my own dark night of the soul. Instead of the old, tired dominator matrix, using firepower in an “us” vs. “them” scenario, we can embrace the true fire within us, and discover the myriad ways to channel this potent energy for good.

Embracing the True Fire Within

Becoming a spiritual warrior is a profile in courage (which means heart.) Spirit asks, “Have you the conviction to stand by your heart? Are you willing to transmute war in the alchemical fire?” The fire within is the perfect peace of God/Goddess/Creator/Innate Intelligence, which expresses outwardly as enthusiasm (from the Greek, “possessed by God”), inwardly as a calm awareness.

We’ve mastered communicating from our wounds. Now we’re in a pivotal age, creating a context in which it’s safe to share who we are in love, in truth, in well-being. Our collective task is to marry scared and scarred with sacred, density with destiny, jaded with jubilant; to become inclusive not exclusive. Because none of us is truly free until all of us are.

This is one of the meta gifts of these disasters (which means, “against the stars”): they bring us face to face with The Other, in our psyches and out in the world, so we can see how they’re one and the same. All anyone can do is introduce you to yourself. So as you look in the mirror of your brother’s or sister’s face, be kind to your own confusion, criticism, sadness, or fear. Acknowledging your strand in the evolutionary web is, in itself, a giant step on the path to peace.

It’s time for each of us to create a personal crucible: a safe container for our energies. Envision your inner chalice. Then place this cup, brimming with fiery potential and the waters of life, into your heart, where it will become a perpetual font of inspiration and renewal — and, in time, of unconditional love.

As the Maya say, In Lakéch: I am another yourself.

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About the author:

Ascension Lifestyle author Amara Rose is a “midwife” for our global rebirth. Her services include transformational guidance, talks, e-courses, a digital download CD, and an inspirational monthly newsletter. She is widely published in health, business and new thought magazines, both digital and print. Learn more: http://www.liveyourlight.com

13 Jan 2016
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Have you ever asked yourself, What is my purpose? Awakening Your Potential with Corey Sheikh

This year we are pleased to announce our collaboration with a unique individual who is helping people on their path to ascension. About a month ago we had the pleasure of meeting Corey Sheikh, a young introspective entrepreneur who is the co-founder of the Ottawa Wellness Center located in Ottawa Ontario Canada. After hearing his story, we learned that he overcame tremendous obstacles meanwhile going through a transformation process prior to getting to where he is today. We caught up with Corey and conducted a brief interview with him to help you understand his world a little better. Press play above to tune in to the podcast.

Sheikh, a young spiritual visionary entrepreneur, leading along with his team of fellows leaders, a movement that helps individuals who are going through their process of inner and outer transformation. After co-founding the Ottawa Lifestyle Center at the age of 20, Sheikh faced countless business obstacles leading to a profound spiritual awakening. Sheikh’s life took a massive turn from the otherwise traditional “young man’s” path – opening into a world of expansive esoteric, metaphysical and spiritual study & introspection. A process that unfolded at a blistering pace, opening up a new world of intuitive insight along with the download of the INFINITE Vision in which encompasses a number of initiatives. Sheikh and the collective community in which he is connected are focused on creating.

The Ottawa Wellness Center is the only holistic wellness center in his area that authentically helps their clients develop themselves, physically, mentally, and spiritually. It is truly a one of a kind business that is changing the face of conscious capitalism both from the business to consumer relationship, as well as the business and employee relationship. The relationships with his clients and co founders come first above all aspects of his business. Armed with an ambition to change the world, he is well on his way to raising the consciousness of the collective through the lives his wellness center has changed.

Corey believes that everyone has an inner potential that can lead them to accomplish anything they desire. With a holistic approach to health and lifestyle his wellness center offers group exercise and personal growth classes, specialized programs, and 1-on-1 personalized services ranging from personal training to holistic healing based services. All in an environment built for anyone, to thrive and evolve physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Using a combination of martial arts, fitness, body movement practices, personal growth, lifestyle principle and meditation based techniques in his growing programs. He has created a space for anyone, with any goal to feel confident with the support, guidance, and tools given to them along their journey of Transformation.

In the city of Ottawa Ontario, he has developed the city’s first holistic transformation program. Taking into account all aspects of the mind, body and soul to enable individuals to reach any lifestyle goal.

The work environment at his center operates more like a family, yet still maintaining high quality professionalism. His fellow lifestyle leaders are of the highest caliber, ranging from top tier health and wellness experts with backgrounds in fitness, Muay Thai, Nutrition, Meditation, Healing modalities and more; to experienced, customer service and care professionals looking to make the experience of his clients as memorable as possible.

corey sheikh ayp team ascension lifestyle Having learned first-hand how to overcome his fears, Corey has become passionate about helping others cross the bridge to reach their highest potential. In addition to his holistic wellness center, Corey will be embarking on transformational coaching that specializes in helping others enhance their well-being, remove blockages, reconnect with innate self-knowledge and self-healing, as well as help people through the process of transformation.

In the companies next step, they step into their new campaign “Awaken Your Potential”. A campaign focused on documenting the journeys of individuals going through their journey of personal transformation and release of their collective “INFINITE” vision. Bringing their vision to the world of a conscious lifestyle center, leader university and online platform they will look to bring their programs worldwide through the networks of conscious individuals moving through their personal journey of awakening.

If you’re in the Ottawa area, stop by the Ottawa Lifestyle Center or visit them online at: umtbc.com

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09 Jan 2016
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Can You Miss Yourself?

Most books, films and songs that speak of love refer to romantic love between two people. We’re taught to look outside ourselves for completion, to seek the Other and to rejoice when we connect, or to keep searching.

What we’re really seeking is a piece of ourselves, which is why we often feel incomplete when we link up with someone whom we hope will fill the empty place inside us. The wedding of the light and the dark, of the magnetic, receptive, lunar, “feminine” self and the dynamic, assertive, solar, “masculine” self, has to take place first within our own being. And yet — it’s through relationship that we get there!

The beloved is a catalyst to help us merge the complementary aspects of ourselves. This is a radical idea, and challenging to hold. It turns everything we believe about romantic love on its head. I’ll illustrate this apparent paradox with a personal example.

At the turn of the millennium, I forged a profound heart connection with what The Mayan Oracle (a book/card set based on the Mayan calendar) calls a “companion of destiny.” We unfolded deep layers of love within ourselves through the conscious soul work we did together.

Then he was gone, and as much as I know we are all One, as much as I began expanding into a greater knowing and loving because of the place he awakened in me, still there was a poignancy, a longing that lingered.

I began stretching to allow this love to be a lens I looked through all the time, not pegged to an individual. The gift of my companion’s essence, what we shared, lives on inside me, so in a sense, I felt like I was missing myself. It was a strange sensation — like seeing my reflection and wondering where the mirror was.

The way out is always through, and the way through lies in joining with other companions on the path. When I find and connect with my spiritual siblings, my sense of fullness grows. From this strength, the familiar heartache we all know transmutes into a sort of laughing pain; it doesn’t really hurt, because my high self knows the truth.

A friend of mine entered into a relationship recently, knowing at the outset that it would be brief. Her partner had made clear that his life mission would take him elsewhere. Now she feels pain. I congratulated her instead on her courage. She will not look back at the end of her life and wonder, “What if?…” She chose to walk a road that was being paved three feet in front of her.

Becoming whole — embodying our masculine and feminine energies, both within ourselves and as a planetary organism — is the creative quest of our time. It’s about affinity, like attracting like. In this ripe moment of personal and collective possibility, we’re all beginning to remember who we are on a soul level, and to integrate these energies as never before. Whether we call these complements yin/yang, receptive/assertive, or light/dark, in essence it’s about sacred reunion. As we are able to celebrate this marriage first in our own hearts, the joy and the love we then have available to share in relationship increases exponentially.

I invite you to sound the clarion call for your own companions of destiny — those who can see and honor your authentic self. The Mayan Oracle says, “When you have been truly seen, you feel empowered, and remembrance of a shared sacred trust is ignited.”

Acknowledge your connection with all life, and allow the simple to nourish you. Sitting beneath a tree, enjoying the sun on your face and the wind in your hair, being thankful for life itself, is wholeness exemplified. The romance of living — and the wedding — begins first within you.

Expansion Exercises

Here are some suggestions for connecting with yourself and your companions of destiny:

1) Five Questions To Wake Up With Every Day:

What brings me joy?
What am I proud of?
What am I grateful for?
What am I excited about?
Who loves me/Whom do I love?

Try them all or choose one and ask yourself this question every morning before you open your eyes. It’s a fabulous way to set the tone for an abundant, flowing day.

2) Loving Through Time. Name, out loud to yourself, all the people you love, or have ever loved. Remember your second grade teacher, the kind man at the candy store, that stranger who gave you money for bus fare? The list will become expansive and extraordinary as you reach back in memory. As your circle grows, you’ll feel your own heart grow more and more full of the love you seek.

3) Mudras, Meditations, Affirmations. The Mayan Oracle and other books are chock-full of specific actions you can take to transform different patterns of “shadow wisdom.” For the companions of destiny focus, The Mayan Oracle suggests the mudra: left hand over heart, right arm at right angle with palm forward and fingers together. The meditation is: “I am the faithful arrow that flies into destiny’s dawning.” The affirmation is: “I open to new beginnings. I receive guardians and guides.”

How has the journey to become whole affected your life? Join the conversation in the comments below.

About the author:

http://twitter.com/Amara_Rose
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https://www.linkedin.com/in/amararose

02 Jan 2016
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Beyond the Brain to Inner Wisdom

In my last essay, The Evolutionary World Inside Our Brains, I explained briefly the amazing complexity of our brains as they regulate our internal homeostasis and coordinate functions throughout the body, while simultaneously creating our three-dimensional world as we perceive it. What I presented just barely scratched the surface. There is so much more, and new discoveries and insights come about every year. What I want to address this time is the amazing intelligence beyond the brain, what we CranioSacral Therapists call the “Inner Wisdom.”

Think about the miracle of one single fertilized cell growing into the complex body you inhabit at present, a cell community of somewhere between 50 to 70 trillion cells, all containing the exact same library of information we know as DNA. And yet from that first, single fertilized cell, your cells differentiated into such varied tissues as the retina in your eyes, the enamel of your teeth, liver lobes, blood cells, and toenails, to name a few. What guided the process of growth and specialization? What directed the body of a nerve cell in the spinal cord to extend its axon to exactly the same muscle in your foot as in mine?

At present we do not have a scientific answer. Whatever it is that directs our growth and evolution, it is not measurable with our present technology. Ancient wisdom traditions speak of the oak tree being already present in its entirety within the acorn. In modern terms we may think of it analogous to a hologram. Each fragment of the hologram contains an image of the entire picture, not just one aspect like a puzzle piece. So even at present, theoretically every cell in your body contains the blueprint for the entire body in its DNA. Yet under normal circumstances, the retina will not turn into enamel. It follows its own function faithfully for the benefit of the whole body.

Down to the smallest cell and its components, your body is processing information and making decisions. Intelligence is not the same as consciousness. So bear with me as I claim that Consciousness, or Inner Wisdom, is present in every cell of your body, without exception. This is opinion, not scientific fact. In my opinion, Consciousness is the basis of all being, and it presents itself in as many variations as the vibrational spectrum of the Universe. We experience just a fraction of what is there, but that does not diminish the value of that which lies beyond our perception.

If consciousness is the basis of every cell in your body, then each organ or tissue has its own, more complex consciousness. This in turn is part of the whole body consciousness. And extending outward in the human community, the individual is part of the collective consciousness of the family, the community, the culture and the whole of humanity. No one exists outside of the context of the whole, yet each may be addressed individually. As one bully can affect a lot of people in the neighborhood, one cell gone cancerous can affect the whole organ if not addressed appropriately.

So can we address a single cell or a specific organ that is acting up using not laser beams but consciousness, i.e. Inner Wisdom? As CranioSacral Therapists we say: “Yes, we can.”

In our normal waking consciousness we are mostly tuned to the outside world, hung up on the past, and projecting into the future. But in a state of grounded mental relaxation, we can tune into the consciousness of an organ, body part, tissue, emotion, personality aspect or archetype. In a state similar to visionary dreams or deep meditation, we can access Inner Wisdom itself, as well. More uniquely personal than any professional advice, our Inner Wisdom offers meaningful explanations and suggests plans of action that are in accordance with our soul’s purpose.

But how can we be sure that we are not just making stuff up when we are in a dialogue with our heart, the Wounded Child, or our anger, for example?

This is where CranioSacral Therapy (CST) has the most elegant and beautiful tool at hand, quite literally. During a treatment session, the therapist’s hands are monitoring the client’s body for the quality of what we call the Significance Detector (SD), which tells us what is meaningful and what is not. What is a Significance Detector?

The CranioSacral Rhythm (CSR) is a cyclical expansion-contraction motion of the skull and spinal cord, which is caused by a production-absorption cycle of the cerebro-spinal fluid inside the brain cavities. This expansion-contraction occurs normally with a rate of 6 to 12 cycles per minute. For a trained hand it is palpable anywhere on the body. During a CranioSacral Therapy treatment the therapist continuously monitors the rhythm. Occasionally, it comes to a spontaneous, abrupt stop. This is called a Significance Detector. At that point a therapist trained in Somato-Emotional Release may ask a question such as: “What are you noticing right now?” This is intended to bring conscious attention to what might be fleeting images, thoughts or feelings in this moment. Inner Wisdom is bringing them up from the non-conscious to the conscious mind. Like dream images, if you don’t catch them, they might be gone without delivering their message.

Many times, a novice client to this form of treatment will not be aware of anything happening other than feeling deeply relaxed and possible slightly annoyed by the question. But with a little experience, it becomes easier to catch the image or feeling before it is gone, just as the practice of dream journaling becomes easier over time.

The image, memory, words or feelings that came to mind at the instance the SD signaled relevance, may appear nonsensical, whimsical or meaningless at first glance. But exploring the image not through rational thinking but with intuition and an open mind will reveal layers upon layers of meaning, often times leading to profound revelations which in turn lead to healing.

The CranioSacral Therapist is participating in the process not as guide or counselor, but as observer and body worker. We are the hands of Inner Wisdom; we follow the Inner Treatment Plan. We do not attempt to direct where the treatment “should” takes us. We do not make value judgments, or suggest strategies and solutions. We do not analyze.

Our hands listen to the body tissues and the SD, and with the gentlest touch we follow the physical, emotional and energetic releases of tension that happen in the process from superficial to deep. We ask questions only if necessary to clarify messages, get into more detail, or focus attention back from distractions when the SD indicates that the dialogue is going off topic. When that happens, the silence of the CSR starts to waver and quiver before the rhythm comes back on. When our attention returns to the focal point of significance, the SD becomes still and deep again. Now we are tuned again to Inner Wisdom.

Messages from Inner Wisdom seldom appear without encountering some resistance from another aspect of the psyche. Otherwise we would never run into trouble. Until we have reached absolute enlightenment (if there is such a thing while in physical form) we will have to deal with resistance. This is not as bad as it sounds. Even resistance has at its core a positive intention. It means to do the right thing, and often is simply not aware that its actions are now obstructing growth and getting in the way of happiness.

Let me give an example: During treatment the therapist’s hands are guided to the heart. Instantly the CSR stops and goes into a profound SD. The therapist asks: “What is going on here?” The client responds e.g.: “I feel sad.” “Tell me more about sad”, might be the next question, or “What does sad look like?” The answer could be: “Sad is hiding behind a huge wall. I can’t see it, I just feel it.”

Further internal dialogue may reveal that the heart has been walled off for protection after a devastating experience years or decades ago. Now Heart wants to expand, open up, and let its light shine brightly. Resistance shows up as rage. Rage will not let Heart take down the protective walls. It is concerned about more damage and suffering if Heart is not guarded behind walls. In order for Rage to allow any opening of the heart, it first needs acknowledgment for a job well done. Rage kept the person from falling into a catatonic depression, or committing suicide. Rage provided the energy to move on and take a pro-active stance towards survival. It is not aware that circumstances have changed, and at this point it is acting like a bull in a china store. A new, potentially very supportive relationship with a gentle and safe person could be at risk if Rage does not scale down its presence.

Through skillful negotiations between one personality aspect and another, conducted by the client’s Inner Wisdom, a new balance can be found between the need for protection and growth. Rage may agree to step back from active duty, but remain on call for situations of true danger. It may actually be relieved to get a break, because it is exhausted from being on the job non-stop for years or decades. It might call in Discernment to take its place protecting Heart, while Rage itself gets ready for retirement in Florida.

Much of the inner dialogue may happen without a spoken word and at a pace much too fast for communication between client and therapist. The best we can do as therapists is to stay out of the way when Inner Wisdom is doing its thing, and only assist when the process gets stuck. It never ceases to amaze us how ingenious and effective Inner Wisdom’s solutions are to the most rigid blocks in the way of growth and personal evolution.

A compassionate attitude towards even the peskiest resistance will make it easier to integrate the whole into a situationally appropriate support system without the bull in the china store. This is an ongoing, never ending process, and a life skill. Like any other skill, it grows with practice. With endless patience Inner Wisdom presents us with just the right circumstances for practice, again and again, until we get it.

Treatment with a CranioSacral Therapist trained in Somato-Emotional Release is a way to open the door, but we all have to go on our own journey. Ultimately one learns to apply the inner awareness of what is significant and real, along with the inner dialogue skills, without dependency on the therapist.

The ultimate goal of CranioSacral Therapy is Self Realization. To me that means being tuned into the Inner Wisdom and the Wisdom of the Universe continuously, not just every now and then, but as a new state of “normal”.

CranioSacral Therapy is one of many, many paths toward that goal. It happens to be the path I was guided to travel, with great results. For that reason I became a CranioSacral Therapist myself, and it is my pleasure to open the door for my clients to go on their own journey towards healing and personal evolution.

Shana Dieterle, PT, CST, is a CranioSacral Therapist practicing in Missoula, MT. She has trained with the Upledger Institute International and is presently working on her Diplomate certification. It is her pleasure to explore the amazing health benefits of light touch therapy to optimize brain function and self-healing.

For further information and contact information, go to www.ShanasHeartofHealing.com

24 Dec 2015
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Catalyst

It’s dinnertime, and as I pull my car into my unpaved country driveway, Gaia is waiting for me, nine pounds of sienna fur and intelligent eyes that see into my soul. I sing to her, we play; her purring brings me joy. But when I first moved here, this cat and her gray companion were more a duty than a source of pleasure.

The former tenant, Brian, had begged me to feed them, even leaving behind a hefty bag of cat food. They weren’t his cats, he explained. They’d befriended his cat, Sunny, and soon he was feeding all three. When he moved, he was torn: the other two belonged on the land, a twenty-acre parcel consisting of seven dwellings. Yet they’d become accustomed to eating at Brian’s cottage. So I inherited them, grudgingly.

Connecting with my medicine animal

Initially I ignored the pair lounging on my deck, though the orange cat was slowly winning my heart. One day I bought a cat-sized bowl, placed it outside my front door and filled it with Rice Dream, a milk substitute that she lapped up eagerly. I intuited she was female, yet Brian had called her Fred, which didn’t suit her at all. She was one with her environment, this little wild cat, a natural embodiment of the living Earth. So I started calling her Gaia. And our pas-de-deux began.

Gaia was at once wild and wary. She’d tear off like a shot when I approached. Once I called out as she was sprinting away, “Gaia! You don’t need to be afraid of me!” She froze mid-flight, turning to look at me appraisingly. After that, our dance grew more intimate.

One night our relationship took a quantum leap, thanks to a little Divine intervention. I heard the telltale rustling, followed by a thud that meant “mouse”. Sure enough, in the morning my ceremonial rattle was on the floor, and there were droppings on my altar and silverware. Disgusted, I thought, “The cat would sure be helpful here!”

At twilight I heard Gaia about ten feet away, and spoke to her from my porch: “I’ll make a deal with you. Keep the mice away, and I will feed you.” I felt intrinsic agreement from her.

The Rice Dream gave way to premium feline fare from my local health food store, and there hasn’t been a mouse in the house since. At first Gaia proudly brought her prey to me for acknowledgement, often leaving entrails on the porch. I explained that while I was thrilled with her work, I preferred she dispose of the mice elsewhere. No more mouse remains appeared on my porch.

Interspecies connection requires that we humans hone our communication skills. This cat clearly understands everything I say. I only wish I spoke meow as well as she speaks English.

Innate intelligence personified

Gaia has been extraordinarily patient with me, as my primitive human brain struggles to understand what she’s trying to tell me. After the rains started, I heard her mewing one night and immediately fetched a large box, lined it with an old towel, and placed it on the porch. But she wouldn’t climb in. It took a few frustrating attempts until I realized I could turn the box on its side, thereby creating both a door and a roof. Gaia crept inside, and I rejoiced.

She has been one of my most powerful teachers. If I’m in a nasty mood, she doesn’t want to be around me. If I’m relaxed and cheerful, she’s there on the deck. She dislikes being photographed, and loves it when I sing. I make up little songs about her and croon them as I stroke her soft fur, feeling the vibration of trust and pleasure course from her being into my own. One time when I was crying, both she and her gray companion mewed their compassion. Cats are innate intelligence personified; it’s up to us to decode the message.

Maybe what developing countries really need are feline ambassadors. Who could refuse that mew of hunger, the warmth as they rub up against you, the loving eyes gazing bottomlessly into your own? I know I can’t. And I know that when I leave here, I will continue Brian’s legacy. Because, much as I love her, it would be wrong of me to take Gaia from the land that is home to her, and from her friend. So I will grieve, and I will remember.

A catalyst is defined as something that alters the speed of a reaction while itself remaining stable. She has been as potent a force for my personal growth as any workshop I’ve taken, book I’ve read, or relationship I’ve shared, and I am profoundly grateful.

I may be buying the cat food, but Gaia is feeding me.

Coda: A month after releasing my cottage for a work stint on the East coast, I returned to see how Gaia was faring. A kindhearted man now inhabited my former space; when he saw me tentatively approach, he beckoned me in and asked all about Gaia. “She hasn’t come up on the porch yet, but she’s been watching me,” he said. He was writing down what I fed her, and I knew she was in good hands. But his final words moved me to tears: “When she’s eating on the porch again, every now and then I’ll bend down and whisper your name.”

About the author:

http://twitter.com/Amara_Rose

http://www.facebook.com/LiveYourLight

https://www.linkedin.com/in/amararose