spiritual practice
How To Trust Your Spiritual Teacher
If you have a spiritual teacher, how do you know you can trust her? Weren’t you told to trust yourself first? Wait, how do you know you can trust your therapist, or even your doctor? Especially with all the sexual assault cases coming to light these days, it is scary to think that someone who is supposed to be your protector, care-giver, or mentor will use that position to manipulate you into a situation that is abusive, sometime violently abusive. Thinking about this can be horrifying, but so is not thinking about it.
What about the idea ‘trust yourself’? The problem with just trusting yourself is that if you grew up in an alcoholic, drug-abusing, violent family, or in some of the more subtle dysfunctional family dynamics, such as having a narcissistic or wounded parent, your radar for self-care is damaged. You do not yet have the skills to discern what is healthy for you. Your brain and nervous system is literally wired for dysfunction as your default normal setting. This means you will choose the dysfunction you know, because it is all you know. You will seek out an alcoholic lover; or you will find jobs with narcissistic bosses, for example.
The Season To Restore Harmony And Balance
The Wheel of the Year is turning again after last month’s Autumn Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and Spring Equinox in the Southern Hemisphere. One can now feel a shift in the air. In both of these seasons I usually feel this change in my body, along with emotions of hope and excitement.
One of my favorite movies to watch again as Autumn approaches is, You’ve Got Mail. Yes, I’m a romantic. To quote the film, “Don’t you love New York in the Fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly-sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address. On the other hand, this not knowing has its charms.”
In Astrology, most of the planets are now direct again, or moving forward, with the exception of Uranus and Neptune, and we are clear of Mercury Retrograde until mid-November. And Mars is getting back up to speed;, helping with the forward movement.
How To Send Spiritual Protection To A Loved One
When you are separated from loved ones due to distance or circumstance, you can use a simple ritual to send them light, protection and love. Intention and focus gives this ritual it’s wings, as you request protection from Spirit on behalf of another. It ensures that you enlist help for them in the most powerful way possible!
This ritual is especially useful for distant loved ones who may be facing health problems, who are traveling, or those in the midst of dangerous or emotionally traumatic situations.
Preparation
Wear yellow when performing this ritual. Play music that reminds you of the person you are requesting protection for. This ritual can be performed whenever the need arises, and continued on a nightly basis if need be. Continue reading
Oracle Cards As A Divination Tool
Oracle cards are quite different from Tarot cards. They are easier and not as complex to read as the traditional Tarot, and there are a plethora of different oracle card decks available. Personally I own over 20 decks and I realize I have barely skimmed the surface of all of the versions available. To get started there are many reputable lists and rankings available online.
Oracle card creators represent different philosophies, traditions and belief systems, and therefore each deck is unique. Oracle card decks typically contain about 56 cards, or less. Each card has its own meaning. Oracle cards are typically prophetic and can be used for many different purposes.
I like to pull an oracle card every morning, just to give me an idea of the kind of day I will have. The nice thing about them is they do not need to be put in a specific spread the way one typically does when working with the Tarot. You can pull as many as you feel is best for you.
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Needing The Love Of A Spiritual Teacher
The love of a spiritual teacher is not human love and this is often misunderstood in our Western culture. Many people are drawn to spirituality because they are profoundly lonely. For those looking for the love of a teacher, you can count on that loneliness to be a profoundly unconscious desire to be connected to the Self and to Spirit.
On a dangerous note, this is how cult leaders thrive, by preying on those who don’t realize they are seeking spiritual love, and by offering a manipulative human love. Human love can never fill the gaping hole, and because cult leaders tend to be sociopaths, it can take years for cult followers to wake up. By then there will be a great deal of damage control needed in order to heal.
Meditation Is For Everyone
Meditation is a wonderful technique to reduce stress. It is commonly used with the aim of reducing anxiety, stress and depression. Reducing stress has the potential to improve your quality of life. It’s believed to improve health and that reduces healthcare costs.
Meditation is basically a spiritual practice to focus the mind on a object, activity or thought. The goal is to achieve a clear, calm and relaxed state. Meditation involves a state of awareness in which the stress activity of the mind is neutralized.
Meditation has been practiced for thousands of years in religious traditions and spiritual belief systems. Since the 19th century, it has spread from its mostly Eastern origins to other cultures, where it is practiced today in both personal and professional settings. Meditation is not a form or prayer. Meditation is awareness. Awareness is meditation.
How To Interpret Signs From Spirit
We sometimes ask for signs from the Universe, or from our loved ones, guides or angels. But we aren’t always sure when, and even if we are receiving them. And when we do receive them, sometimes we are not sure what they actually mean. How does one recognize and interpret a sign?
Signs can come in so many different ways, shapes and forms, and are sometimes so mundane and subtle they are easy to miss, and dismiss. Some common signs you may be familiar with include feathers, pennies, butterflies, rainbows, numbers, and so on. But unless you find a feather on your pillow, a butterfly in your car, or some pennies in your shoe, you might just write it off as coincidence.