buddha
How To Live A More Spiritually Aware Life
To lead a more spiritual, and therefore a happier and more fulfilled life, you do not need to develop a passion for incense, or hire a guru to assist you in going through some form of spiritual awakening. Instead, you may be comfortable with more down to earth approach.
Firstly, it is important to recognize that religion and spirituality are not necessarily the same things. Religion is just one form of spiritual practice. Spirituality itself is something that comes from within the individual.
Spiritual awareness is a sustained belief that there is much more to life than meets the eye, something greater than yourself, even though you have no evidence for it. Hold onto this belief or feeling, as it is very, very real!
One of the best ways to get in touch with your spirituality is to spend time in nature. It does not matter whether you live, in a town, city, or rural area, connecting with nature is imperative, as it will help to bring a sense of peace to your overworked mind, and it will uplift your spirit with its rejuvenating power. By doing so, it will assist with your spiritual development.
To become more spiritually aware it is also important to learn to control your inner dialogue. Becoming a more spiritual person involves monitoring your inner voice and making sure that your self-talk is healthy. Meditation can be particularly helpful in this respect, as well as recognizing any negative thought patterns or false beliefs that you may have.
Tarot And The Future
The Tarot is a wonderful resource for gauging which direction we are heading in life. However, too often people seeking information will misunderstand the system. They want to know the future, but the Tarot does not create the future. The Tarot is a metaphysical tool and does not negate metaphysical laws. We can certainly see which direction we are headed in our lives, based on the insights the Tarot can provide. However, it is important to pay attention to the whole message that is coming through.
Rushing to the end of a Tarot reading is unwise, since there are often elements of change that are integral to the outcomes. I often explain it like this: the Tarot works in much the same way as a Global Positioning System (GPS). The end point will represent the coordinates that we either desire, or are currently headed toward. The other cards represent the path to get there. At times, the Tarot will provide directives that help us along the way. Just like with a GPS, we cannot expect to get to the right location if we are unwilling to follow the instructions necessary to get us to the right place.
Magic And Manifestation
Every human being has powerful magic inside of them, and part of my job is to teach people how to use that energy. I understand that ‘magic’ is somewhat of a loaded word. So, let me re-frame it for you. Jesus called if faith and told us that with a small amount of faith we can move mountains. Buddha called it thought manifestation and explained that our conscious thought produces our reality. How we focus our energy will eventually manifest in one way or another in our lives.
One thing that concerns some people with this kind of talk is the idea of darkness, or evil. Darkness does exist, but I believe that it exists only as a catalyst to increase our vibrational frequency, if we are ready to do so. My personal belief is that darkness cannot stick if there is nothing for it to stick to. This is why when discussing lower vibrational frequencies the best action is to increase our vibration.
There is really no war of light versus dark. We can turn on the lights and then if there is something that needs to be cleaned up, we can clean it up. The darkness does not struggle when the lights come on. It just goes away. For nearly all problematic circumstances our primary goal should be to change our consciousness and increase our vibrational frequency.
Cats Among Us
Everyone enjoys companionship in some way, shape or form. One of my favorite sources is the domestic cat. I believe those of us who are “owned by cats” will live longer than those who live without at least one cat in their life.
Think of their versatility: home defense against small varmints, free earthquake alarm, lap warming, purr therapy, and so much more. However, the main reason why I love my two cats so much is their silent gift of unconditional love. Cats are very ritualistic. They tend to come to you when you need them the most. It’s almost like they can feel your energy, they just sense when you need a friend, and without a thought, they are there, to comfort, heal and love. When I go to bed every night, my cat always jumps up and sleeps near my head. Faithfully every night. Continue reading
The Rise Of A New Spirituality
In Beyond the Postmodern Mind, Huston Smith writes that “Rationalism and Newtonian science has lured us into dark woods, but a new metaphysics can rescue us”. Mankind will never give up its quest to find spiritual meaning and purpose in this world. This quest is what has been driving both science and religion for centuries.
The Buddha said, “The teacher appears when the student is ready.” The same principle applies to the human species as a collective. We have been exposed to new esoteric and scientific insights as we evolved – always when the time was right and the world was ready. Prominent religions all over the world were all founded on esoteric guidance and metaphysical wisdom delivered at various times throughout history by great teachers and prophetic messengers. But as time passed and these religions expanded, they were often contaminated by human bureaucracy, superstition, doctrine and dogma, which distorted the original teachings. Continue reading