So I'm in this totally AWESOME Journaling Group that meets once a month. It's an all-women group hosted by SisterSpirit, and we talk (and write) about self-knowledge, wisdom, intuition and-- this year-- ourselves in relation to each of the seven chakras.
This month, we are focusing on Fourth Chakra. Heart Chakra. It's green, and gold. Here are some of the things that this particular embodied energy focal point is about:
generosity, transformation, balance, awareness of universal consciousness, wealth, imagination, determination, will power, the heart and upper back, circulatory system and immune system
It is the element of Air, and the sense of Touch. It is the heart of emotional healing, personal evolution, and clear vision. It is said that if you truly want to manifest something in your life, you have to envision it with your Heart, and not just with your Mind. The Heart Chakra is the center of the chakra system in that it connects the three higher and the three lower chakras. Through this chakra, we learn to get in touch with our core being and our inner truth. It is the balance point of the higher self and how we manifest that self here in the mundane world. "As Above, So Below." (Some of this is quoted from VJ's notes for our group. Thanks VJ!)
And after writing and thinking about this for a bit, I had the realization that WEALTH and DOLLARS are a part of that healing Green Energy of the Fourth Chakra. Who Knew?? And that when I do finally dig myself out of debt and have money to spare, my heart's desire is to buy land and create spiritual and physical sanctuary on it, using (guess what!) Green Building techniques, and Green Energy sources-- in a more mundane sense of the words. To create a place of healing. So in a fairly direct way, me receiving money (which just happens to be green in our culture) allows me to give healing in bigger and better ways, the more money I receive. It allows me to magnify the amount of green heart-healing energy I give back to the world. Through my very use of money, it becomes a green energy in and of itself.
I know-- it's crazy.
For someone who actually has felt rather dirty about accepting money to heal people and be their Life Coach in an eternal Wise Woman sort of way... this was a real revelation. I heal emotional issues for my clients-- and I do it through the chakra energy of my heart. Green Energy.
And suddenly, I'm coming to terms with the reality that if I DON'T get paid in money what my healing energy is worth, I won't have the basic building blocks (food, clothing, shelter, freedom from debilitating debts) that I need if I want to stay energized and capable of helping others to heal. I've had this block against earning money for what I just naturally do. Money is not natural. I knew the block was there, but I didn't seem able to budge it. And this week, my Journaling Group changed all that.
So I thought I'd share. I'm really thrilled, actually. I finally understand ENERGETICALLY how important the money piece is to the whole healing circle of green energy in today's world. I'm finally making peace with the role money plays in my life. I'm learning not to resent my need for money. If I'm lucky, this might even make it easier for me to draw money-- and opportunities to earn money-- into my life path.
And now that I'm beyond the shock and awe of having that particular personal block to a healthy relationship with money just ...disintegrate... I'm starting to realize how unhealthy our whole nation's relationship with money is right now. I mean, here are some signs of a blocked Heart Chakra:
Feelings of jealousy, indifference, loneliness. Becoming needy, grabby, or demanding. Asking others for love and fulfillment, rather than looking within for self-love and self-fulfillment. Fear, despair, hate, longing. Pretending we don't need other people. Pretending we can cope with everything the world and life throws at us-- all by ourselves, alone.
And I thought, what a perfect description of the relationship I have had (and I think most of us have in this flailing economy) with money. It's amazing what a perfectly nice person will do to someone else, even someone they love, once money enters the picture. For myself, I've been jealous of those who have money. I've felt desperate to get or earn money. I often looked to others and their ways of earning and spending, instead of focusing on the relationship *I* want to build with money, and the strengths and abilities I want to use to earn it.
I have spent the last five years in a constant state of financial fear. I have hated my dependence on money, and yet I longed to have more of it. I have pretended all was well, in my financial world, while quickly falling into debt and despair. And I have insisted that I shouldn't need money-- or help with my budget and/or cash flow-- to get by. I have bought into the myth that talking about money, and my relationship to it, is shameful.
I've been very unhealthy and wrong and just BLOCKED, without even knowing HOW I was blocked and unhealthy. All I knew was that I had to find some way to unblock if I wanted to actually be able to have money come into my life (ie: income), rather than always watching it leave. And now, I'm excited to understand that money doesn't have to be evil. I begin to feel GOOD about my potential to earn large quantities of it. Because I spend large quantities of energy doing good work for other people (and therefore for myself) and for the Earth.
It is fair and reasonable that I be recompensed in a format that enables me to keep doing what I do-- only better. I'm excited to learn how much MORE I can do as a healer now that I've finally unblocked my Heart Chakra. And I'm curious to see the effects of finally allowing my definitions of "Abundance" and "Wealth" to include financial well-being, and an abundance of income. My definitions remain very broad-- but I realize now that it's okay to wish for not only an abundance of good friends, good food, good health, and good experiences-- but also to look for a good income as a vital part of truly Abundant Living. Wish me well-- it's turning out to be quite a journey.
Showing posts with label Will It. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Will It. Show all posts
Friday
On Circles
I've had reason to think about circles lately-- particularly the circle of life. Life, growth, death, decay, rebirth, life... The circle turns for us all, in little ways, and in the ultimate circle-- bringing each of us closer to our next life. We all die. It made me think about what is important in my life-- and it was an easy conclusion:
The relationships with people, with places, with things, with plants and animals and ... It's the relationships I've formed-- the really good ones.
I'm so glad to have the relationship I do with my cat (I think she likes having me for her person, too, which is nice), with the sweet gum tree outside my apartment, with my growing Spirit Family, with my closest friends, with myself and my Goddess. I truly live an abundant life, when measured in those terms.
--------------
On other topics, I recently put a circle of white-blue fire around my home, and feel much safer for it. I bring it up because as my openness to subconscious knowledge and conversations grows, the variety of conversations I have also expands. Last night, I spoke with a little fire Gnome who was a living part of my wall, and came out to catch flies-- I directed him to my back patio. Interesting conversation, that. I hadn't been thinking of my fire as a living thing or a habitat for other living things-- other magick-- until then, for one. And for another, I hadn't really grasped the concept of astral projection as such.
I just thought I had a vivid imagination in which I often ended up telling myself stories about horrible things happening, and getting really emotionally upset-- all while knowing these things I was "experiencing" in my imagination weren't happening to ME... weren't real.
The Fire Gnome explained to me, the "silly human!" that I was actually doing astral projection for most of these "experiences"-- and that's why they had such an emotional effect on me. They were happening- to someone. I was simply taking that person's place until the part of the "story" they couldn't deal with was over-- and other times I was just making up a story in my head. Which is why I don't always get so overwhelmed by these stories.
So now I need to find an unobtrusive and undraining way to stop myself from unintended astral projection trips. And I need to learn to tell the difference. Right. Suggestions?
-----------
The Fire Protection Wall:
A great and simple spell in which you dedicate several rocks to maintaining the protection spell on your home, your possessions, your person and pets. You do this with a spell, and by drawing a symbol on each rock in red, while concentrating on the spell of dedication (which calls on the power of the four elements, and asks the fifth-- Spirit-- to witness and bind the protection spell).
Then you place a rock by each of the entrances/doors/windows to your home, and one in each of the four corners of your home-- in a circular pattern, visualizing the wall of fire springing up behind you as you go until you complete the circle. The point is NOT to hurt anyone, but to keep them outside of your personal space. The strength of the wall is dependent on the strength of your will and your vision to place it there-- and your dedication to maintaining it. I'll look for the original spell- hang on.
Ahh-- a very useful bit of Gypsy Magick from Patrinella Cooper's book by that name (omit the 'k'). Page 42 discusses creating your own Duk Rak. As you place each seal, say, "I place you here to protect all that I have and all that I love by earth, sky, fire and water, forever. Le see kel. Le see kel. Le see kel." There is more than I've described to this ritual, so please consider buying or borrowing this excellent book-- or use it as a starting point for your own ritual of protection.
If a ritual does not hold meaning and feel powerful to you, it won't channel your power and your intentions very well. Be your best self, use your best intentions, do your best.
All the best,
Saphora
The relationships with people, with places, with things, with plants and animals and ... It's the relationships I've formed-- the really good ones.
I'm so glad to have the relationship I do with my cat (I think she likes having me for her person, too, which is nice), with the sweet gum tree outside my apartment, with my growing Spirit Family, with my closest friends, with myself and my Goddess. I truly live an abundant life, when measured in those terms.
--------------
On other topics, I recently put a circle of white-blue fire around my home, and feel much safer for it. I bring it up because as my openness to subconscious knowledge and conversations grows, the variety of conversations I have also expands. Last night, I spoke with a little fire Gnome who was a living part of my wall, and came out to catch flies-- I directed him to my back patio. Interesting conversation, that. I hadn't been thinking of my fire as a living thing or a habitat for other living things-- other magick-- until then, for one. And for another, I hadn't really grasped the concept of astral projection as such.
I just thought I had a vivid imagination in which I often ended up telling myself stories about horrible things happening, and getting really emotionally upset-- all while knowing these things I was "experiencing" in my imagination weren't happening to ME... weren't real.
The Fire Gnome explained to me, the "silly human!" that I was actually doing astral projection for most of these "experiences"-- and that's why they had such an emotional effect on me. They were happening- to someone. I was simply taking that person's place until the part of the "story" they couldn't deal with was over-- and other times I was just making up a story in my head. Which is why I don't always get so overwhelmed by these stories.
So now I need to find an unobtrusive and undraining way to stop myself from unintended astral projection trips. And I need to learn to tell the difference. Right. Suggestions?
-----------
The Fire Protection Wall:
A great and simple spell in which you dedicate several rocks to maintaining the protection spell on your home, your possessions, your person and pets. You do this with a spell, and by drawing a symbol on each rock in red, while concentrating on the spell of dedication (which calls on the power of the four elements, and asks the fifth-- Spirit-- to witness and bind the protection spell).
Then you place a rock by each of the entrances/doors/windows to your home, and one in each of the four corners of your home-- in a circular pattern, visualizing the wall of fire springing up behind you as you go until you complete the circle. The point is NOT to hurt anyone, but to keep them outside of your personal space. The strength of the wall is dependent on the strength of your will and your vision to place it there-- and your dedication to maintaining it. I'll look for the original spell- hang on.
Ahh-- a very useful bit of Gypsy Magick from Patrinella Cooper's book by that name (omit the 'k'). Page 42 discusses creating your own Duk Rak. As you place each seal, say, "I place you here to protect all that I have and all that I love by earth, sky, fire and water, forever. Le see kel. Le see kel. Le see kel." There is more than I've described to this ritual, so please consider buying or borrowing this excellent book-- or use it as a starting point for your own ritual of protection.
If a ritual does not hold meaning and feel powerful to you, it won't channel your power and your intentions very well. Be your best self, use your best intentions, do your best.
All the best,
Saphora
Sunday
The Decisions I Make/ The Actions I Take
I do say Goddess, and I see Her as a woman... but I also honor the Horned God, Her consort. He is eternal. In my vision, he has deer antlers, a leather hide covers his head, shoulders and back. He holds the essence of Fatherhood, of Forest, of Animal and of Protection. He overlaps with the Goddess on many of these in my mind. With all, he has a place in my energy, too, and in the great circle that is birth, growth, death, decay, regeneration... You see... in my resonance with the Spiritual Path, there is one great Energy around and in us-- we are all one in that sense-- and the Goddess/God is one. One. We do not "connect with" something outside of ourselves-- we ARE CONNECTION-- because our energy is Her energy. It is up to us to make good use of it.
I see this belief echoed over and over in many religions today. That there is One, that there is Energy, and that feeling that energy within ourselves is our way of having a relationship with that One. Most religions also seem to believe that creating or recreating ritual actions-- ritual songs, ritual books, ritual ceremonies-- is the best way to enhance that relationship. There are many many variations, many ways and words to describe the energy, the relationship, the feeling of connection with something so much greater than just me or just you... Many names for the One... Even many people who can talk scientifically about Energy, and feel it, acknowledge it even where science has not yet proven it to be-- without ever feeling that any GREAT ONE exists. Myself, I am far more comfortable with the idea of Energy than the idea of Magic. I've seen some Pagans differentiate between fake hocus-pocus, and Spirit-Energy by spelling the word, "magick," and sometimes I do the same. Developing the language of my conversation with the Goddess.
One of my favorite aspects of Paganism-- especially the NeoPagan Movement here in America-- is that the vast majority of Pagan Paths all have great respect for the right of each other person to practice their own belief and forge their own rituals of connection with their One or their Energy or their Spirit Guide. True freedom of religion. That level of acceptance-- and the fact that there is still a feeling of community among all these individuals... that really resonates with me.
(Bear in mind that forcing your beliefs, expectations, or your demands, on others in the name of your religion is wrong. In fact, connection and acceptance -- true acceptance-- of a spiritual path CANNOT be forced. Undertaken in those conditions, it will be only a way of "keeping up with the Joneses" --brittle, fake, and for the sake of appearance, so that those so forced might somehow be accepted by their oppressors. I've seen lots of teenage girls haunting the magick shops, trying to find acceptance by wearing the "right clothes" or looking "enough" like they think they "should" to be convincing in the role of Witch. That's just not how it works.)
There are a very few firm statements I hold with so far in my research and my Journey, and even these have had contradictions in my experience of life as we live it:
-The Rede: An' It Harm None, Do As Ye Will
-The Rule of Three: karma-- your actions will come back at you three-fold.
-Meditate on Abundance (You won't find this directive in any well-known guide book or rule book about religion or paganism or even Wicca... It's mine. But you can add it to your way of life if you want. Visualizing what is deeply important to you and what is good in your understanding and your way of life is a great way to generate the energy you need to make it happen, I believe. Of course, you are free to disagree with me, so long as you don't hurt anyone in the process.)
And yet, I read a personal story from a Cottage Witch who acted to protect her children and her neighborhood from a masked stalker. She did this by calling on the great Energy of the Goddess in her protective form to return the stalker's bad actions back on him. She willed him to find no hiding place, no haven, and no pleasure for his bad actions toward others from that time on, until his own karma forced him to stop these bad things. From that day on, he was seen, confronted, and chased away every where he went. She believes that her spell worked, and so do I. And I honor her action. For all that the protective energy she deployed could easily harm this man, and that he did not agree to the magick that she laid on him... I believe she acted within the intent of the Rede. I believe that she called on the forces of karma, and did not work for revenge or for harm on another human being. And I know there are many who would disagree with me on this. But I have also found many who would (or did) do the same.
This brings me to the topic of personal responsibility. I was hoping this post would be a bit shorter than the first few, but apparently not. Hold onto your patience with BOTH HANDS, friend.
I have felt, and do feel, that each person is individually responsible for their actions, or lack thereof. So when guys got drunk at school parties, and did or said bad things-- yeah, they were drunk. But that doesn't absolve them of blame. I believe they are still responsible for what they did because THEY DID IT-- and because THEY CHOSE TO DRINK themselves to a state where they COULD do it. And if I say something hurtful about someone, and they are hurt by hearing it-- even if they heard it because I trusted someone to keep it a secret and THEY TOLD-- I am still responsible for hurting that person because I SAID IT. Personal responsibility.
Another example-- right now, I should be doing homework. In fact, I should have been doing homework for a good eight or ten hours now. I don't have a lot of wiggle room in my Masters Degree program as it is, grade-wise. But I have to take responsibility for the fact that I decided sharing my spiritual journey was more important (or more interesting) to me just now than doing my homework. And I have to accept the consequences of that decision. Which really sucks, now that I think about it.
Of course, it can be a good thing, too. I get to take personal responsibility for my success in the world of fiber arts. I get to take personal responsibility for the choice to take better care of myself and limit the number of responsibilities I take on at any one time. For getting my Masters in Library Science, and for following the budget I set each month. I get to take credit for my intelligence, and my good choices, and for the good works that I choose to do to make the world a better place. Because I am responsible for the decisions I make, and the actions I take.
You see, I've come to the awareness that it is only through action that change can occur. If we will change-- WILL it-- and act accordingly, we give the Goddess room to play and to bring those changes into our lives. To give us our Abundance. We cannot control the circumstances we sometimes find ourselves in, nor the things that others do, but we can control our reaction to them, our decisions and the actions we take because of those decisions. In the Spiritual as well as Mental, Emotional, and Physical realm, our decision to make positive changes in our lives and in the world around us are our own personal responsibility. I feel that this is the basis from which our power springs. It is the power of choice. The power of Whitch, if you will.
We are all living beings, infused with energy, who live and breathe and die and return to our Mother Earth. You do not have to share my Spirit Journey to share my belief, or to have something I say resonate with you. In fact, each of us is in some ways a Solitary Practitioner in that we cannot truly be anyone but ourselves, each individually. And it is only when we each act from our most authentic self that we can feel our connection with the Earth and with the Energy that pervades the people in it. (No, "in" was not a typo-- I count the air we breathe and the magnetic energy holding us to her surface, the atmosphere and the clouds protecting us from burning to death from the sun, etc, to be a part of our Earth. We are definitely IN it, from this perspective.)
So... All who came here, thanks to thee.
Go in peace, and Blessed Be.
I see this belief echoed over and over in many religions today. That there is One, that there is Energy, and that feeling that energy within ourselves is our way of having a relationship with that One. Most religions also seem to believe that creating or recreating ritual actions-- ritual songs, ritual books, ritual ceremonies-- is the best way to enhance that relationship. There are many many variations, many ways and words to describe the energy, the relationship, the feeling of connection with something so much greater than just me or just you... Many names for the One... Even many people who can talk scientifically about Energy, and feel it, acknowledge it even where science has not yet proven it to be-- without ever feeling that any GREAT ONE exists. Myself, I am far more comfortable with the idea of Energy than the idea of Magic. I've seen some Pagans differentiate between fake hocus-pocus, and Spirit-Energy by spelling the word, "magick," and sometimes I do the same. Developing the language of my conversation with the Goddess.
One of my favorite aspects of Paganism-- especially the NeoPagan Movement here in America-- is that the vast majority of Pagan Paths all have great respect for the right of each other person to practice their own belief and forge their own rituals of connection with their One or their Energy or their Spirit Guide. True freedom of religion. That level of acceptance-- and the fact that there is still a feeling of community among all these individuals... that really resonates with me.
(Bear in mind that forcing your beliefs, expectations, or your demands, on others in the name of your religion is wrong. In fact, connection and acceptance -- true acceptance-- of a spiritual path CANNOT be forced. Undertaken in those conditions, it will be only a way of "keeping up with the Joneses" --brittle, fake, and for the sake of appearance, so that those so forced might somehow be accepted by their oppressors. I've seen lots of teenage girls haunting the magick shops, trying to find acceptance by wearing the "right clothes" or looking "enough" like they think they "should" to be convincing in the role of Witch. That's just not how it works.)
There are a very few firm statements I hold with so far in my research and my Journey, and even these have had contradictions in my experience of life as we live it:
-The Rede: An' It Harm None, Do As Ye Will
-The Rule of Three: karma-- your actions will come back at you three-fold.
-Meditate on Abundance (You won't find this directive in any well-known guide book or rule book about religion or paganism or even Wicca... It's mine. But you can add it to your way of life if you want. Visualizing what is deeply important to you and what is good in your understanding and your way of life is a great way to generate the energy you need to make it happen, I believe. Of course, you are free to disagree with me, so long as you don't hurt anyone in the process.)
And yet, I read a personal story from a Cottage Witch who acted to protect her children and her neighborhood from a masked stalker. She did this by calling on the great Energy of the Goddess in her protective form to return the stalker's bad actions back on him. She willed him to find no hiding place, no haven, and no pleasure for his bad actions toward others from that time on, until his own karma forced him to stop these bad things. From that day on, he was seen, confronted, and chased away every where he went. She believes that her spell worked, and so do I. And I honor her action. For all that the protective energy she deployed could easily harm this man, and that he did not agree to the magick that she laid on him... I believe she acted within the intent of the Rede. I believe that she called on the forces of karma, and did not work for revenge or for harm on another human being. And I know there are many who would disagree with me on this. But I have also found many who would (or did) do the same.
This brings me to the topic of personal responsibility. I was hoping this post would be a bit shorter than the first few, but apparently not. Hold onto your patience with BOTH HANDS, friend.
I have felt, and do feel, that each person is individually responsible for their actions, or lack thereof. So when guys got drunk at school parties, and did or said bad things-- yeah, they were drunk. But that doesn't absolve them of blame. I believe they are still responsible for what they did because THEY DID IT-- and because THEY CHOSE TO DRINK themselves to a state where they COULD do it. And if I say something hurtful about someone, and they are hurt by hearing it-- even if they heard it because I trusted someone to keep it a secret and THEY TOLD-- I am still responsible for hurting that person because I SAID IT. Personal responsibility.
Another example-- right now, I should be doing homework. In fact, I should have been doing homework for a good eight or ten hours now. I don't have a lot of wiggle room in my Masters Degree program as it is, grade-wise. But I have to take responsibility for the fact that I decided sharing my spiritual journey was more important (or more interesting) to me just now than doing my homework. And I have to accept the consequences of that decision. Which really sucks, now that I think about it.
Of course, it can be a good thing, too. I get to take personal responsibility for my success in the world of fiber arts. I get to take personal responsibility for the choice to take better care of myself and limit the number of responsibilities I take on at any one time. For getting my Masters in Library Science, and for following the budget I set each month. I get to take credit for my intelligence, and my good choices, and for the good works that I choose to do to make the world a better place. Because I am responsible for the decisions I make, and the actions I take.
You see, I've come to the awareness that it is only through action that change can occur. If we will change-- WILL it-- and act accordingly, we give the Goddess room to play and to bring those changes into our lives. To give us our Abundance. We cannot control the circumstances we sometimes find ourselves in, nor the things that others do, but we can control our reaction to them, our decisions and the actions we take because of those decisions. In the Spiritual as well as Mental, Emotional, and Physical realm, our decision to make positive changes in our lives and in the world around us are our own personal responsibility. I feel that this is the basis from which our power springs. It is the power of choice. The power of Whitch, if you will.
We are all living beings, infused with energy, who live and breathe and die and return to our Mother Earth. You do not have to share my Spirit Journey to share my belief, or to have something I say resonate with you. In fact, each of us is in some ways a Solitary Practitioner in that we cannot truly be anyone but ourselves, each individually. And it is only when we each act from our most authentic self that we can feel our connection with the Earth and with the Energy that pervades the people in it. (No, "in" was not a typo-- I count the air we breathe and the magnetic energy holding us to her surface, the atmosphere and the clouds protecting us from burning to death from the sun, etc, to be a part of our Earth. We are definitely IN it, from this perspective.)
So... All who came here, thanks to thee.
Go in peace, and Blessed Be.
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