Spirituality
Winter May Come, But Spring Will Always Follow
The delicate African Violets on my window sill are beautiful this season. The window is the best place for them, as each one soaks up the sunlight from the East. The Sun smiles on them this morning.
The key thing with violets that many people don’t realize is that we hurt them the most by over-watering. Water is a good thing for plants, right? Violets, however, are native to the tropics where heat, sun, and a dry atmosphere is more prevalent.
The unique needs of these violets teaches us how to follow our own path. This is the true beauty of nature. See, each of us is different. When we look around us, we can’t follow someone else’s path, or be jealous, or worried that the path they are following is different from our own. Continue reading
The Twelve Archetypal Secrets Of Sacred Love
The need for true love and meaningful romance is a profound longing we all share as spiritual beings in human form. But finding the love of your life is not an easy feat in this day and age. Yes, the pursuit of romantic love is certainly not for the weak and cowardly.
I have heard many weary love pilgrims claim they have called off the search. Many even choose to believe that they no longer want an intimate relationship with anyone; they are completely content to remain single and unattached for the rest of their lives. Who needs a soulmate after all, right? The truth is that we all share a deep-seated need for affection and authentic connection with that one special mate. And deep down we all know it. Continue reading
From The Inner Circle At Stonehenge
A radiant dusk was upon us when we reached the top of the concrete staircase. Emerging from below, our trivial conversation abruptly ceased. We were stunned into an instant, breathless, respectful silence. Before us rose the towering magnificence of Stonehenge… graceful and glimmering in the late Summer sunset!
Being so suddenly in the presence of the most famous prehistoric monument in Europe, was the most memorable moment of my entire journey. I had the privilege of being a member of a small private party on a special tour to this magical place. Our visit took place after hours, with special permission from the authorities.
The exclusive access we were granted enabled us to visit Stonehenge at sunset, and later under starlight, after the site was closed to the public. Most importantly, we had the unique privilege to enter into the inner circle, which is not accessible to day visitors. Continue reading
The Rosary Is A Powerful Tool
I look at so many people struggling, and so ready to get angry at the littlest things, so disconnected from the divine spark inside of them. I know a great tool to deal with this: I often pray the Rosary and thank God for all of the blessings in my life.
It really works for me. The promise of the Rosary is true, in that it will bring blessings into your life. It has brought so much goodness into mine.
I gave a friend, who is suffering from a horrible depression and feeling of incompleteness, a Rosary to pray. I found that she was happier after learning and praying the Rosary.
I wish I would have known about the Rosary many, many moons ago, but it’s never too late to learn the Rosary and see what blessings it can bring into your life. It really works. 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
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
Spiritual Awakening, Now What?
A few years ago, in the time leading up to 2012, I wrote a blog post about the symptoms of spiritual awakening. Well, here we are in 2014 and some of us are wondering what to do now?
Some of us feel as though we didn’t make it. Some of us are wondering if we made it, but don’t know it? Some feel as though they have awakened, but have hit a plateau and are unsure of what to do next.
All of these examples are types of plateaus we must face in our diverse journeys. I can only offer advice on what I have personally dealt with and come to embrace in my own.