Letting Life Unfold

Goddess is at work in me today... She has shown me several signs of things, one of which is this article. May it give you some inspiration today as well :)

Present In The Progression
Letting Life Unfold

Our lives are guided by natural rhythms that are particular to each of us and cannot be altered by force of will alone. Life itself is a journey made up of processes and events that manifest before us only to be swept away when time marches on. Whether we envision ourselves creating a career, building a family, or developing the self, we instinctively know when the time has come for us to realize our dreams because all that is involved comes together harmoniously. When the time is right, the passage of destiny cannot be blocked. Yet as desperate as we are to touch these beautiful futures we have imagined, we cannot grow if we are not fully present in the evolutionary experience. The present can be challenging, uncomfortable, and tedious, but life unfolds as it will, and the universe will wait patiently as we make our way into the unknown.

The fate that awaits us is not dependent on our pace, which was preordained before we ever appeared in human guise. Therefore there is no reason to rush through life to reach those pinnacles of development associated with the paths we have chosen. Enjoying and fully experiencing the journey of life is as important as achieving goals and reaching milestones. There are lessons we can learn during those moments that seem immaterial or insignificant that we cannot learn at any other time. Appreciating these takes patience, however, because human beings tend to focus on the fulfillment of expectations rather than the simple joys of being.

Like many people, you have no doubt longed for a device that would give you the power to fast forward through certain periods of your existence. Yet haste is by its very nature vastly more stressful than serene fortitude. When you feel yourself growing impatient because the pace of your development is deceptively slow, remember that everything that will occur in your life will occur in its own time. Quelling your urge to rush will enable you to witness yourself learning, changing, and becoming stronger. There is so much to see and do in between the events and processes that we deem definitive. If you are patient enough to take pleasure in your existence's unfolding, the journey from one pinnacle to the next will seem to take no time at all.

Identify, Self Esteem, Trust... Intuition

Identifying with myself... I keep pulling the trust card in ANY deck of cards I've used for the past three days. Along with that I've pulled Self Esteem and Indentify. How apropo was this email that came across my desk today? Goddess, is hard at work in me and I must admit. It feels good.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Adapted from How to Know God,
by Deepak Chopra (Three Rivers Press, 2000).

You will never trust your intuition until you identify with it. Self-esteem enters here. At the earlier stages of inner growth, a person is esteemed who belongs to the group and upholds its values. If the knower within tries to object, he is stifled. But the knower within can provide you with a new source of self-esteem. Find out how, here:

The word redemption conveys only a pale sense of how all-involving this whole expedition is. There is much more to the knower within than just being free from sin. Someone who still felt burdened with guilt and shame, however, would never embark on the voyage. You don’t have to be perfect to try to reach the angels, but you do have to be able to live with yourself and keep your own company for long stretches of time. A sense of sin hinders that ability.

The knower within has little to do with the five senses; it doesn’t care how rationality looks at a situation. The knower just knows. This mystery is the subject of a famous Zen parable: A young monk goes to his master, the abbot of the monastery, saying, “I must know the meaning of life. Will you tell it to me, sir?”

The master who was famed for his skill in calligraphy, picks up his brush and swiftly writes the word Attention on a piece of paper. The disciple waits, but nothing more happens. “Sir, I am determined to sit here until you tell me the meaning of life,” he repeats.

He sits down, and after a moment the master picks up his brush and again writes the word Attention on the paper.

“I don’t understand,” the disciple protests. “It is said that you have attained the highest enlightenment. I am very eager to learn. Won’t you tell me your secret?” But for the third time the master has nothing to say, only dipping his brush in the black ink and writing the word Attention. The young monk’s impatience turns to discouragement.

“So you have nothing to teach me?” he says mournfully. “If only I knew where to go. I have been seeking for so long.” He gets up and leaves. The old master follows him with a compassionate look as he takes his brush and with a single stroke writes the word Attention.

Epona; Crystals

I have been given a wonderful gift…The gift of insight from a fellow woman of spirituality. She says I should be a reader that I have great insight, and am deeply in touch with people and emotions. Perhaps I should…

Goddess today (indeed this past week) has been guiding me to work on my inner self. It’s a journey I avoid sometimes. But while it can be painful, it also has its rewards in visions, insight, and peace.

I picked up cards this weekend, I couldn’t help myself. No matter what, when I saw them, I knew I must have them and so it is this way with all good cards I have in my home. I have been guided always in matters of divination (in any form) and I never ignore the advice.

The deck I received is called The Ascended Masters by Doreen Virtue. It’s a lovely deck, and I’ve been using it exclusively since I got it.

Today’s card, chosen when thinking of humanity was the card of Epona.

Epona is a protector of the environment and nature spirits. She is aligned with the use of crystals in that as part of nature they cleanse, replenish, and soothe.

The message in this is a simple one. Get in touch with nature, and get in touch with yourself. Perhaps it really is that simple. The goddess in me thinks so. What about the Goddess/God in you?

Earth Angels

I picked up this wonderful book on my way out to vacation this June. It's called Earth Angels by Doreen Virtue. It's a wonderful little book designed to help you know if you're an Earth Angel among other things.

Some of what I read even as open to mysticsm as I am, sounds foreign to me. But since I began practicing Wicca many years ago, and now have found myself on a spiritual journey, I've learned that not EVERYTHING written will always apply to me or my beliefs. However, that said, someone else may find some resonance with something I find foreign. Keep that in mind when you read something a little outside your belief boundary. Remeber too, that we are all different, and yet we are all beautiful and all of our thoughts, ideas, and journeys are our own and are therefore purposeful.

In any event, back to what Goddess guided me to today. Last night before I had even gone to bed, my hand found this book and before I knew what I was doing, had placed it snugly inside my purse. Light reading for today eh?

When I bought this book I read it straight through. And so much of it appealed to me. I believe angels exist, what's more I believe there are many different types of angels. I believe that indeed some people are Earth Angels. I believe in some way, I might be one. Might you?

Characteristics of Earth Angels (As listed by Doreen Virtue)

1. Feeling different, separated, or alienated from others. Ok, my Virgo mind is saying "Yes, but you have just described every teenager, most Pagans, and anyone who wasn't or isn't miss or mister Popularity". But the truth is, for this characteristic, it's not so much the dramatic angst we associate with being a teenager per se. This characteristic is defined by people who perhaps do have social graces (in my opinion) and may even be popular, but still feeling separated from others by some personal definition. You can be in the midst of a crowded room and still feel separate. Do you ever feel this too?

2. Intense sensitivity to other people, chemicals, or violence in any form. Ah now this one even more than #1 do I resonate with. I am a sensitive soul, always have been. I feel things very deeply... do you?

3. Strangers telling them their problems as well as really personal information. This happens to me all the time. Perfect strangers offering up their shortcomings, their intimate concerns, their vulnerabilities. I have always tried to take a guardian role in this respect and listen and offer what advice I can instead of running away in a blind panic. Has this happened to you?

She lists many more, and provides sheilding exercises you can do to help keep some of the emotional end of this at bay.

My inner Goddess speaks to me today of the need to rise above my concerns and be the "Earth Angel" I think I am to others. My journey of discovery is deeply personal, but it is also one that shines brightly so as to help others when possible. I will not ignore that call... Will you?

Be blessed today,

Muse

Chakras; Clearing, Cleansing, Releasing

Chakras:

Vishuddha
Vishuddha (also Vishuddhi) or the throat chakra may be envisioned as relating to communication and growth, growth being a form of expression. This chakra is paralleled to the thyroid, a gland that is also in the throat and which produces thyroid hormone, responsible for growth and maturation. Symbolised by a lotus with sixteen petals.

Anahata
Anahata or the heart chakra is related to complex emotion, compassion, love, equilibrium and well-being. It is related to the thymus, located in the chest. The thymus is an element of the immune system as well as being part of the endocrine system. It produces T cells responsible for fending off disease and may be adversely affected by stress. Symbolised by a lotus with twelve petals. See also heartmind.

Fullfilment feeling and the heart chakra
According to contemporary buddhist teacher Tarthang Tulku, the heart chakra is very important for the feeling of existential fullfilment.
As result of energetic imbalance between chakras arises an almost continuous feeling of dissatisfaction. When the heart chakra is agitated, people lose touch with feelings and sensations, and that breeds the sense of dissatisfaction. That leads to looking outside for fullfilment.

When people live in their heads, feelings are secondary, they are interpretations of mental images that are fed back to the individual. When awareness is focused on memories of past experiences and mental verbalizations, the energy flow to the head chakra increases and the energy flow to the heart chakra lessens. Without nurturing feelings of the heart a subtle form of anxiety arises which results in the self reaching out for experience.

When the throat chakra settles and energy is distributed evenly between the head and the heart chakras, one is able to truly contact one's senses and touch real feelings
~*~*~*~*~*~

I didn’t need to pull a card or rune today to know that my Inner Goddess work today is in the chakras for me (specifically the chakras listed above). I have a wonderful book called Chakra Clearing by Doreen Virtue. It is a small book, one that could easily fit in a purse or handbag, or back pocket for those men out there. I need to carry that with me at all times. Need to put into practice what is in that special small book of inspiration.

While Goddess speaks to me of chakras today for specific things, take a moment and listen and see if she speaks to you? Does she whisper that one of your chakras needs cleansing? Needs enhancing? I find that in the quiet moments of the day knowledge comes without hesitation, we just need to be receptive to it.

Spend some time today enjoying your chakras, clearing them if need be, and freeing your spirit to dance in celebration as your inner Goddess would want you to do.

In light & love,
Muse

Lunaea Weatherstone; Come to Your Senses

I have been fortunate enough to come across this exquisitely talented woman's writings on more than one occasion. She is a featured author on my personal Wicca site , she publishes articles regularly in the wonderful magazine of Goddess - Sage Woman, and has always been a kind, open, sweet woman in correspondence. Today, I didn't have time this morning to do any ritual and while I'm displeased with myself, I knew I could find something to put in today's post. Find it, I did. Lunea Weatherstone; writer extraordinaire provides in today's post an article about summer, with a short exercise that in just a few moments will inspire you & help you get grounded again.

Many Thanks Lunea for the writing and the permission to post it today. It is always a joy and a refresher, revitalizing my soul, when I get to read your inspired works.
Muse

~*~*~*~*~*~

Come to Your Senses
by Lunaea Weatherstone

Summer was never my season. Too darn hot, too many tourists in the beach town I live in, too much traffic, too much. Just too much. And then, one summer, I fell in love. Swoony with passion and sensuality, I suddenly realized what the lure of summer was to many people. The lusciousness of ripe fruit, the slow touch of sun-warmed skin, languid listening to soul-stirring music on long summer nights… it all made sense to me (pun intended). And since then, summer has been the sensual season for me. I invite you to come with me on a summer celebration of the senses.

When we are locked too much into daily routine or into our heads, as I know I get, the senses sometimes become merely an irritant. Only the things that annoy us manage to get through the filters of concentration and work. "What's that NOISE?" we snap. This house is a mess, there's a strange smell coming from somewhere, the neighbor's dog won't stop barking, there's an itchy spot right there that I can't reach, this milk tastes funny, yadda yadda yadda. Sure, we will stop and smell the roses just as soon as we get this report typed up, but in the meantime, would someone PLEASE take that smelly tuna can out of here?

Yet, it is that very scent of the rose that brings us back to center, and so quickly. I have been struggling to write this column, even though I knew what I wanted it to be about, until I remembered that, of course, I needed to awaken my own senses before I could write about the senses. And in so doing, I awaken myself to life, to contentment, to hope. In times of depression or stress, we often deprive ourselves of the very things that would bless and heal. The realm of the senses is filled with the Mother's gentle remedies for whatever ails you, from trauma to the blahs. Here, take my hand and let's explore.

With your right hand, gently caress your left hand as you would soothe a fretful loved one, then clasp your hands, in full awareness of the feel of the flesh, the skin, the life pulsing beneath the surface, the warmth. Just hold your own hand for a moment, until your senses are fully attuned to each touch. See how simple it is? You are back in your body, back in the Goddess's mobile temple of the senses, ready for more. And boy howdy, does She have more!

Begin with sight. As a child of Oshun, the Goddess of beauty and art, there is no such thing as merely utilitarian for me. The humblest soapdish has to have morning glories on it; the measuring cup in my kitchen is cobalt blue glass that delights my eye each time I use it. Conversely, outer disorder creates inner chaos for me. When my Virgo eye focuses on the mess or dirt in my home, it practically immobilizes me to the point where I can't even do anything about it. That's when it's time for a beauty transfusion to change my focus.

Right now, wherever you are, stop and look around. Find three things that please your eye, your sense of aesthetics. Just admire them for a few moments. Here in my office, for example, my sense of sight is awakened when I turn my attention to a small statue of the Virgin Mary draped in Mardi Gras beads (Our Lady of Les Bon Temps also awakens my sense of humor), a pattern of huge cabbage roses on the vintage curtains, a deck of tarot cards tied with a white and gold ribbon that reminds me simultaneously of Greece and of my friend Katlyn, for some reason. Almost anything can open your sense of sight if you bring your full attention to it. And so it is with the other senses as well.

Now find something in your immediate vicinity whose smell you enjoy. This could be a beeswax candle, baby lotion, a carnation, a book, a pencil, an orange. Did your mind's nose smell each of those as you read the words? Each inhalation draws scent into your being, into your soul, and yet we often neglect to pleasure ourselves with this sense. It's important that we use scent every day to keep the senses awake. Aromatherapy oils are excellent for this, as all you have to do is breathe them in, right from the bottle. One of my favorites is bergamot, a citrus-y bright scent that lifts my spirits and cleanses my mental palate. Breathe deeply of many different smells to awaken this most evocative sense. You are embedding memories with each sniff.

Hearing is perhaps the most invasive sense, and the one we most often need to defend ourselves against in this hectic world. Even more important, then, to remember the blessings of sound, and to give thanks for it by listening to what gives us pleasure. For me, the most sublime expression of sound is music. I was talking to someone recently who said that all music was just noise to him, and I was shocked to my core. I'm just unable to imagine life without music of some sort… of many sorts! My sense of hearing brings me comfort, energy, sorrowful release, great leaping joy, all through music. And there are so many other sounds that bring pleasure. Think of a sound you love. The first notes of a favorite song, windchimes, your beloved's laugh...

Change as many of your daily sounds as you can control to something that pleases you. If the ringer on your phone makes you jump every time, find one that does not irritate you. There's no need for an ugly little "bloop" noise when your email comes in when you can have, for example, the dulcet accent of Counselor Troi telling you she senses something from the holodeck. If neighborhood noises intrude, play a tape or CD of rain falling, and feel your shoulders relaxing when you no longer feel bombarded by the world's avalanche of sound. Sink into the vast ocean of all the beautiful things there are to hear.

Mmmmmm, taste… perhaps the sense we all indulge most often. Think of it: probably there's not a day that goes by when you do not give yourself at least a taste of something yummy. The only thing is, you didn't think of it! Bring your attention to the sense of taste. When you eat or drink or kiss or lick (even an envelope!), keep your senses alert to every nuance of flavor, all the vast smorgasbord of deliciousness the Goddess has laid out for you. Find something right now to taste, and give it your full focus. Savor the juice and sweetness of a summer fruit or the eye-opening chill of mint. How much better everything tastes when we remember to taste it. As a friend of mine once said, "There's really nothing like food when you're hungry!" Simple truths make us smile...

Now touch your own hands again. Come back to the sense of touch. Run your fingertips over your keyboard, the chair you are sitting on, your hair, your cheek. Feel your feet on the floor. Wiggle your toes. Feel the surface of a table, a stone, a glass. Touch is perhaps the easiest sense to get pleasure from, as so many things feel good, or at least interesting. Again, it's a matter of bringing your attention to the details. That table, for example. Touch it quickly, and your impressions are "hard, chilly, flat, so what?" Now slowly, with the whole surface of your hand flat upon its surface, touch the table. Smooth… polished… firm… silky, almost… made by human hands… touched by other hands… infused with energy…

And what you may find happening -- as with the scent of the rose, the taste of the fruit, the sound of the windchime, the sight of your own face in the mirror -- as you turn your gentle attention to the table, it becomes something you love. And surely that is why nature gave us these five seductive senses -- to find more ways to love.

Inspirations

Today I woke with a mood of somber-ness about me like a shroud. I spent the morning with a quiet ride of anxiety all the way to the door of unease. I opened my eyes to the reality that awaited me of my life. And two hours later, I realized this is what happens when I decide not to spend my morning with my goddess.

Your inner goddess doesn’t ask much. Devoting time to her daily is as necessary as breathing. The minute I realized my mistake, my energy centered a bit and a smile found its way to my sour frame. I’ve spent the last 5 minutes spying small ways to celebrate her today.

And I have been rewarded.

She has inspired me to begin anew an arduous journey of healing. She inspires the goddess within me, by providing a vision of the end result clearly and perfectly. The goddess inside me takes over and runs with the energy, showing me the emotions I would feel, the completeness I would feel. And now, the somber mask I wore is replaced with a silk scarf of calm.

What the journey is, dear reader is not important (at least outside of the realm of the personal). But what I impart to you today is the very same thing imparted upon me: Take some time to celebrate your goddess, both inside and out. By doing so, you focus less time on what’s going on that detracts from joy, and you wind up glimpsing the inspiration that may be the spark to a journey of peace.

A small step begins the path…

Be inspired,
Muse