culture
The Legacy Of Limiting Beliefs
So many people live their life with the beliefs of their ancestors. Others just follow like sheep whatever their spiritual community, or the culture that they grew up in, or now live in.
Some people never question or challenge any of the things they have heard since childhood. Some of these limiting beliefs and ideas have been passed down from generation to generation, and have remained the same for thousands of years. Unless we question some of these outdated beliefs or information, we will stay stuck in limited thinking – always inside the box.
Sometimes we stay stuck thinking or feeling only how our parents of grandparents felt and thought. For example, people whose parents or grandparents lived through a great depression, or have had to endure a scarcity food or heat supply, the primary survival necessities, may feel they have to save everything. What if I will need it someday? I paid so much for it and its too perfectly good to discard. What if, what if.
Restlessness Is A Spiritual Growth Opportunity
When I was a teenager, one of my more ‘vocal’ cousins said to me, “You don’t seem to stay in one place for very long… just five minutes and, poof, you’re off again!”
At that time of my life I could put this down to my musician father’s wanderlust. He was a Sagittarius, and we not only often moved towns and countries, but frequently continents too. Such an unsettling way of life is usually not ideal for a Cancer like myself, but I seem to have inherited my father’s restless genes.
Today, my husband and I are in a tranquil setting since our international relocation over two years ago from a more volatile environment. Still, the restlessness persists. My menagerie of pets – five dogs and three cats – at least keep me relatively at peace.
I do know that actions provoked by restlessness can involve inevitable stresses, as was the case with our most recent big move. Unlike the days when I was still doing things solo, or when I was still living with my parents, this time I had the many pets to consider. Their well-being moving from one continent to another was one of the biggest stresses I have ever experienced. Continue reading
Soul Rescue Versus Soul Retrieval
Sometimes soul rescue and soul retrieval are intertwined as being the same thing. There is a subtle, but key difference in my view.
In the case of soul retrieval we are finding an aspect of self and returning it back. Soul rescue refers to being of service to a spirit or soul that is temporarily lost, or needs guidance to continue its journey in non-ordinary reality, in the realm of Spirit, having left the physical plane.
In the shamanic community there is a technique known as soul retrieval which represents the fragmented self. The fragmented self is a part of us that becomes temporarily ‘disconnected’ from our etheric soul, from the context of associative memories of a time in our life. Continue reading
Live. Laugh. Love.
Do you feel unfulfilled? Stuck in a rut? Try to live, laugh and love a little more… for these are the three L’s of fulfillment.
Live
Firstly, to attain lasting fulfillment it is necessary to actually live your life. This is especially important for anyone who feels stuck in their life or circumstances. I sometimes come across clients that are so bound by their routines that they are unwilling to see a different way.
To have a fulfilling life we must be willing to engage with life in a dynamic way. Take a proactive approach and shedding some of your routines. There are often very simple ways to engage in shifting stagnant routines. It can be as simple as taking the long way to or from work and appreciating the scenery of the new way. Continue reading
We Need A Critical Mass Of Love And Kindness!
In the 1950’s, Japanese researchers were studying a group of monkeys located on several Japanese islands. The scientists would regularly drop food onto the beaches for the monkeys.
One day, a female monkey picked up a sweet potato and washed the sand and dirt off in a nearby stream. Soon after, the mother of the juvenile monkey was also washing her sweet potatoes in the stream. In this unusual case it was a youngster had taught an adult and not the other way around, as is more commonly observed.
Over the course of the next five years, one by one, several of the other monkeys of the group also picked up the habit of washing off their sweet potatoes. The exact number is unclear, but something amazing is said to have happened – as if overnight, all of the monkeys were washing their potatoes in streams, and in the sea. Even monkeys on the other islands, crossing natural barriers. Continue reading
The Sins Of The Forefathers
Ancestor worship is a wide-spread belief system, in both primitive and sophisticated cultures. Ancestral healing unfortunately gets very little attention these days, even though some of our patterns and energy imbalances may well stem from our genetic pool.
My first exposure to the concept of communicating with our Ancestors occurred many years ago, during initiation into the Southern African culture of divining and healing. During my training to become a Sangoma*, in a remote area in Southern Africa, time was always put aside for offering prayers to, and for consulting with the Ancestors. My mentor taught me how the Ancestor energies affected their still living relatives, and how, in most African cultures, they are seen as being our link to the spirit world. Continue reading
The Wisdom Of Real Food
My relationship with food evolved the day I decided to start my own garden. I didn’t have much space where I lived, so I rented a plot in a community garden nearby, for a very small fee.
Although it soon became a part-time job, it also turned into my sanctuary. Any stress from the day cleared when I went there. I was always eager to go there and visit my growing family of fruits, herbs, flowers and vegetables. It made me feel like a child again!
Connecting with the Earth on such a deep level also gave me a new perspective on my spiritual identity. From being inspired by fellow gardeners to teaching my son important life skills, I was motivated to get serious about treating my body like a temple and also raising awareness in others. Something I once took for granted and paid little attention to, became a great passion and concern for me. Continue reading