Lifestyle
Solitary Bliss
I like to do many things by myself – alone. I can concentrate better when I’m left to my own devices. I feel centered and complete when I’m in my own little retreat; my energy is my own and I don’t have to be disrupted in any way, shape or form.
When I am out in nature taking walks, or wanting to spend time with God in prayer, I am at my most peaceful. I like to meditate alone. I get more out of whatever I’m doing when I am doing it with just me, myself and I.
I respect those who need others to feel connected. I feel we are all on our own journeys and that is what makes us all unique. Continue reading
What Did You Give Up For Lent?
You’re out with your friends on a Friday night and suddenly you notice that one of them has switched from his favorite microbrew beer to lemonade? Is it time for Lent already?
Giving up something for Lent sometimes evokes head-scratching in non-Catholics, but what might seem like just another Catholic eccentricity can actually be a practice with deep spiritual significance.
Lent, the period of 40 days that precedes the celebration of Easter, has its origin in the early days of the Church. This year Lent began on March 5th and it ends on April 17th.
Converts seeking to become Christian, who at that time were mostly adults, spent several years in study and preparation. Under the threat of Roman persecution, becoming a Christian was serious business, so their process of preparation was intensive. Then they went through a final period of “purification and enlightenment” for the 40 days before their baptism at Easter. The rest of the Church began to observe the season of Lent in solidarity with these newest Christians. It became an opportunity for all Christians to recall and renew the commitment of their baptism. Continue reading
Let Color Be Your Daily Inspiration
We can use colors to help us in daily growth. Applying different colors can create significant shifts in our everyday life. Having colors in our life can help us to see how we can achieve are personal goals.
Green is gives us balance from our head to our heart. It offers us a more positive outlook in life.
Blue gives us a strong sense of right and wrong. It empowers us to make better judgments and smarter decisions. It also teaches is not to overreact to many things in life.
Orange brings warmth and happiness into our life, and offers emotional strength in difficult times. Continue reading
Meditation The Key To Mental Freedom
When we allow our minds to dwell too often on our past, or obsessively contemplate our future, we rob ourselves of the enjoyment of the moment.
Being fully present is the key to happiness. Being fully awake and aware of what is going on around us, in the here and now, is true mental freedom, in my opinion.
When I meditate, and focus only on my breath, I get to a point where I am free of thought. I can then completely allow all thoughts to come and go.. observed, but not noticed. It is then when I arrive at my “happy place”. I love to arrive at this inner place I so love. It’s a place of complete awareness, serenity and bliss; there really is nothing like it.
After my morning meditation I can go about the rest of my day without any ‘blinders’. The blinds to my mind have been pulled up and I can then connect with those that are on the same frequency as myself. Continue reading
The Disappointed Jesus In London
To be fair, I did not visit to the city of London solely for esoteric purposes, but I found the energy signature quite different and stark there, compared to Athens and Berlin.
I found the atmosphere in Berlin, for example, electric, yet peaceful. Stepping off the U-Bahn at Wittenberg Platz in the middle of the high season, I was engulfed by a comforting low-level hum of German families and tourists doing their Saturday afternoon window shopping. The people here did not seem to have a care in the world. The streets were crowded , much like that of London, but not once did I feel a sense of angst or claustrophobia. The warm buzz was actually quite welcoming and pleasant… and this is major coming from a highly strung empath like myself.
Berlin woke me up on a Sunday morning with the nostalgic chiming of church bells. I was staying inside one of the surviving wings of the Neues Schauspielhaus on Nollendorf Platz, in the Schöneberg district of Berlin. It was built in 1905 as a theatre and concert hall, in the then fashionable Art Nouveau style. Maybe Bertold Brecht was there in the 1920s, discussing his plays with someone in the very room I slept in that night, or maybe the bands Depeche Mode or The Human League used it as a dressing room in the 1980s. While those bells were ringing in the distance, I almost expected Christopher Isherwood’s character Sally Bowles to sneak down the corridor of this old building, back from a busy, decadent night’s work at the Kit Kat Club cabaret. Continue reading