spiritual journey
Journeys And Destinations
One often hears the saying “It’s about the journey, not the destination.’ But what does it truly mean? I believe the events of the past year has brought many of us to a deeper understanding.
The importance of the ‘journey’ became more evident with so many cultural holidays, birthday parties and family gatherings that had to be cancelled during the worst of the pandemic. For example, the significance of planning these special events became especially obvious this past Christmas, as well as the many cancelled festivals here in Spain.
The Christmas holiday season is usually a hectic time, with much hustle and bustle, including the mandatory family conflicts or ‘differences of opinion.’ But the joy of the season leading up to Christmas and New year is typically a time of excitement, especially for children.
People normally spend lots of time planning these celebrations and the excitement leading up to any gathering is often more fun than the event itself! Not having these occasions to look forward to has created a void in the lives of many people all over the world.
Instead, Christmas 2020 was a difficult time for many. It certainly brought up a myriad of personal challenges and negative emotions, particularly for those unable to visit loved ones, or not being able to have relatives home for the holidays.
Here in Spain, the locals are constantly planning their many fiestas. Each town and province has its own special festivals and cultural traditions, especially in the summer months. I have even witnessed the locals take to the streets in very cold weather, just to enjoy the vibe and camaraderie!
The Spaniards have a deep sense of community and they love letting their hair down whenever they can. Having grown used to the culture here, it made the silence of the empty streets this past year even more jarring than it might have been somewhere else.
The Karmic Fruit Of Our Past Life Seeds
To be the architect of our own destiny is a spiritual concept that has been spoken of for thousands of years. The Vedas call it Karma. The Bible refers to it as ‘reaping what you sow.’
Karma is a Sanskrit word that means action, as well as reaction. It has made its way into our everyday language to represent the good or bad we create in life that will eventually come back to us.
However, the true meaning of karma goes much deeper than that. In this life it does refer to ‘sowing and reaping’ in the short-term, but it also extends into the long-term, over thousands of years and many lifetimes.
The Padma Purana, an ancient Hindu encyclopedic text of spiritual truths, compares karma to seeds that are sown and harvested in due course of time. It explains that every activity we perform bears four kinds of effects. The first is merely a seed, the second is not yet fructified, the third is in the process of being fructified, and the fourth has blossomed and is already mature.
The karma we are experiencing today, are the sweet and sour fruits of the past seeds we have planted, – not only in this lifetime, but also from thousands of years and lifetimes before this life.
Therefore, we may not be able to recognize why certain things are happening that seem out of sync with the efforts and energies we are extending in the now. Similarly, it may sometimes be disheartening and difficult to understand why the desired results of our best endeavors do not appear to be coming to fruition.
To thoroughly resolve these misgivings, a broader scope of our soul’s journey before and beyond this one body and lifespan must be considered. Clarity can come with spiritual vision and higher consciousness.
The Spiritual Life Lessons Of The Spider
I recently saw with my own eyes a burly, grown man run screaming from his garage because he saw a spider! I could not help but wonder what he thought might happen to him? Was the tiny spider going to pounce on him and consume him entirely?
Of course, in some places in the world there are indeed deadly little creatures that could cause irreparable harm, or even death. However, in the area where we live there is really not much chance of this ever happening. Instead of running away screaming, the arachnophobic lumberjack should have appreciated instead the spiritual wisdom and life lessons his petite visitor embodies.
When we look closely at the life of a spider, we must recognize and respect its truth. It operates in a world that is dictated only by nature and honest survival. It makes its living by adhering to the laws of nature.
The spider creates creates a home for itself where it can be safe and comfortable by applying formidable patience and diligence. It takes infinite care in this process with extreme precision.
The spider does not have a strict deadline as to when it’s home must be complete. The web is carefully spun after a perfect spot is chosen that will be most advantageous. This miraculous, fragile home must be able to withstand rain, sleet, snow, extreme winds and any other element that nature sees fit to throw it’s way.
Once this arduous and time-consuming task is completed, the next phase is just as critical. The spider will then take on the task that all creatures, man and beast, must comply with and that is securing a source of nourishment.
Now Is A Hopeful Time For Your Future Happiness
When 2021 finally rolled around a month ago, many of us expressed a great feeling of relief and welcomed the New Year with open arms. The year 2020 was extremely challenging, to say the least. But now we are already one month into a hopeful new year. At last, with some light appearing at the end of the tunnel, we can begin to feel a renewed sense of hope and optimism.
However, we will have to muster some more patience and courage. We can still not let down our guard for the foreseeable future. For the sake of our loved ones and our communities, we must continue to follow the latest health and safety protocols for just a while longer.
In addition, we should continue to give what we can from where we are and with what we have, whether this is in the form of financial donations, personal support for those who are still struggling, or healing thoughts for our family, friends, neighbours, colleagues and, indeed, the entire planet. We must also empathize with those who have climbed steep mountains over the past year and see how we might help them with their journeys.
For the wise and sensible the coming months can be a time of great personal growth and inner reflection. We can pat ourselves on the back for what we have accomplished thus far and have overcome under great duress. We can now look forward with more confidence. We have, after all, come this far!
We must now gather our thoughts and feelings and focus on what we can do to generate genuine happiness, well-being and fulfillment for ourselves and others in the future. It is okay if others do not yet share the same optimism and positive outlook for the future. They must walk their own path. Their negativity must not stop us from learning, growing, expanding and loving life.
The Tenth House Profection Year Of Elliot Page
Elliot Page, compassionate cinema sweetheart and transgender braveheart, has come out to all the world, fully embracing their non-binary status.
We don’t have an accurate birth time for Elliot, but we do know they turned 33 this year, and that means a tenth house profection year for Elliot, until their next birthday in February 2021.
Tenth house profection years are raised high up for all to see. Think of the tenth house as an elevated stage looking down on the other houses, that appear like small ants to the tenth house actor.
The tenth house is our public life; what we aspire to be. When the tenth house is activated, our voice grows louder and stronger, and we’re given the opportunity to impact others, leaving a mark that is in alignment with our soul’s higher yearning.
Elliot is a public figure, and I couldn’t think of a more perfect time for them to create a platform through which they could be heard more powerfully!
Did Elliot consult me without my knowing it, perhaps in a dream, or in an ethereal Zoom chat room? All is possible, when you consider that Elliot has a Sun sign in Pisces, making their otherworldly energy and ability to tap into psychic realms and dreams more than possible.
But it does seem more likely that Elliot utilized their own intuitive genius for sensing just the right time to connect with others in a heartfelt, and beautifully received manner.
Sun in Pisces people have magical attributes. They are shapeshifting, empathic humans who excel at weaving stories together, until they become one theme, desiring for the world’s inhabitants to love one another, and to swim together in the vast, connected ocean.
Astral Travel To Your Favorite Destination
Traveling to sacred sites has always been something I love doing, ever since I was a young girl. There is something undeniably magical about visiting a spiritual place that has much lore or mystical history associated with it. Some of my favorite destinations include Mount Shasta in Northern California, Sedona in the Verde Valley of Arizona, and Machu Picchu in the Andes Mountains in Peru.
These sacred sites are all home to powerful energy vortices and ley lines in the Earth’s electromagnetic field, containing more metaphysical energy than ordinary places. Visiting here feels as though you have stepped into a different dimension, or another place in time. Millions of people around the world travel to these locations in search of enlightenment and healing, gaining a broader perspective, raising their awareness, or simply to have a special spiritual experience.
With the advent of Covid-19, few people have had the luxury lately of air travel and long-distance trips. Many spiritual travelers are feeling frustrated and trapped. Some are going stir crazy not having the freedom to travel anywhere in the world. Even local excursions and short-distance trips are challenging these days. I enjoy traveling in the Mount Shasta area, for example, since it is not too far from where I live, but I am reluctant to stay over in a hotel during this time.
However, spirit recently reminded me that I could still travel to my favorite sacred sites by way of the astral realm. It made me think of the Celtic concept of the immram, which refers to the taking of a soul journey, a sacred pilgrimage, a wonder voyage to a sacred site where the soul needs to go. Spiritual seekers and metaphysicians have been taking these inner voyages on the astral plane through the ages.
We are not limited to the physical body or the mundane world. In the same way we can physically visit a physical place of interest, we can also journey there on the astral plane. Traveling in this way, we can journey anywhere we want to, while remaining in the physical comfort of our own home.
Multi-Tasking Does Not Cultivate A Quality Life
I’m sure there has been a time in your life when you may have been too active on a hot summer, day without adequately hydrating, or juggling far too many tasks at once without taking a break. While you may have crossed the finish line, or pleased your boss by checking off all the tasks you completed, your sense of well-being was probably rock bottom, and your nerves frazzled. You possibly also questioned whether or not the best version of yourself showed up for life the next day.
Although many of us have found ways to multi-task our hectic lives, research is increasingly showing that effective multi-tasking is in fact a myth. Working on multiple projects at once doesn’t necessarily make us high achievers, or a successful super humans. Multitasking for most individuals merely replaces quality with quantity, and often leaves us feeling overwhelmed and disconnected from our deeper purpose.
As a spiritualist, I make it a practice not to judge how others achieve their everyday objectives and goals. But I do counsel many people who seem to have traded quantity for quality in their lives, and are missing out on the gift of savoring the sweet taste of personal achievement that is purposely focused and uninterrupted.
While old habits are tough to break, each of us has the innate capacity to build new processes within our mind. Psychological tools, such as Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) for example, can be used to re-program the mind to think differently.
Metaphysics and New Thought spirituality also teaches that through positive thinking we can manifest healthier outcomes in all areas of our lives. Many indigenous peoples also have a long tradition of spiritual practices, such as vision quests, dream interpretation, divination, and rituals and ceremonies, to help seekers find their best path.