spiritual journey
What Heaven Is Really Like
Is there a Heaven? And if so, what is it like? You have probably thought about this at one time or another, as this is a concept found in many religions. Well, I can tell you only what I saw.
Although my time there was brief, I will never forget it. Imagine walking into a place that is the most beautiful that you have ever seen. That is what I experienced. The gardens were breathtaking. I have never seen flowers look the way they do there. And there was a sense of peace and happiness there that remains beyond words.
I had seen all of this when I had a near-death experience. It was just a glimpse, but I remember it as if it were yesterday. But it was not my time, for I had my life journey to continue, and with it the spiritual gifts that were given to me and which I will treasure for the rest of my life.
Your Life Path Number
When it comes to our birthdays, we may think of our zodiac sign first, but did you know numerology is just as insightful? Each of us has a Life Path number which can be easily determined by our date of birth.
For example, the Life Path number for someone born on January 14, 1974 is 9. January is the first month of the year (1). The 14th reduces to 5 (1+4). The year 1974 reduces to 3 (1+9+7+4=21; 2+1=3). When we add each of these together, we get 9 (1+5+3).
Everyone has a Life Path number between 1 and 9. Life Path 1 people are, not surprisingly, natural leaders and go-getters. Their 2 counterparts are usually peacemakers and diplomats, as in the phrase, “I am second.” A 3 person is usually creative and good at connecting with others, while 4’s are pragmatic problem-solvers. If you have a 5 Life Path, you are a compassionate person determined to better the world. Those born under 6 tend to be domestic and make good parents, while 7 people are known for being investigative and quick minds. If you have an 8 as your life path, you are ambitious and must guard against being a workaholic. And those under 9 are known for their compassion and warmth.
Dealing with Change – Insights From My Garden
Being alive is about experiencing change all the time. The natural order of the world is change and transition. As I was working in the garden this past week, I was observing changes, as well as intentionally creating changes. I had cultivated some seedlings and it was time to transfer them into their new homes.
As I was taking these seedlings and transferring them into the garden, or into larger pots, I observed that they all experienced some sort of shock. Most of them drooped down and looked very sad after their move. Some of them recovered very quickly, within a few hours. Others recovered after a day or so.
Stop Comparing Yourself To Others
I believe that my own tendency to compare myself with others began at a young age, when my mother would constantly compare me to my cousins. For example, she would talk affectionately about their lovely physical attributes, like their thick hair, high cheekbones or deep-set eyes. Their personalities were louder and more assertive than mine too.
I was an overweight kid, and the more withdrawn I became, the more I would eat. I felt that my overweight was seen by others as greed, but I now believe I was layering deep insecure feelings.
I now know too that I was not meant to be like my cousins. In hindsight, I thank my mother for the life lessons. Perhaps she helped me in learning about insecurity and experiencing an inferiority complex. Today, I have a much deeper understanding of how my clients feel, when they don’t feel good enough. Or, as is often the case, when they are concerned about their children not feeling good enough for whatever reason. This is not always due to faulty parenting. Parents often suffer terribly when they see their kids, whatever their ages, suffer from lack of self-esteem. They see their kids as having every reason to be super-confident, yet witness them withdrawn and unhappy.
Pay Attention To Your Dreams
I believe that all dreams have some level of meaning and value in our lives. Dreaming is not only the way the subconscious deals with our time-space, physical reality, but they often also have psychic or spiritual significance. I am a strong advocate of paying attention to our dreams, rather than just relegating them to the sidelines of our human experience.
Even our so-called ‘pizza dreams’ can hold significant meaning in our life. Pizza dreams are highly realistic and very bizarre dreams that we often believe actually happened when we wake up, despite them being outrageously improbable. They are called pizza dreams, because of the urban myth that we tend to have these disturbing dreams after eating too much pizza before we go to bed.
In working with dreams, the best thing you can do is to keep a record. Always keep a dream journal on your nightstand, or near your bed, along with a small, soft light and a pen. Whenever you awaken from a dream, write it down as many details as you can remember. This may initially only be a few key moments from the dream, but if you make this a habit you will eventually begin to remember more and more details from your dreams. Write everything down, no matter how weird or peculiar it may seem.
There are a few key things to remember when you begin the process of interpreting dreams. Firstly, intuitive dreams use symbolic language. There are a few general archetypes within dreams that are common symbols connected to the collective unconscious, but many symbols within dreams are usually individualized symbols. Continue reading
Shamanic Healing For Chronic Illness
When treating chronic illnesses, such as depression or pain, we too often look only at the symptoms, and not the root cause. The fact is, most if not all of these conditions have at their foundation some form of loss: the loss of sensation, loss of control, or the fear of loss. For this reason shamanic medicine can be quite effective as a form of treatment.
Shamanism, the connection between the physical world and the spirit realms, is all about connections. As we look closer at chronic illness, we find that much of it is caused by a lack of connection: to our authentic selves, to our spirit guides, to nature, and to our intuition. This is whey shamanic healing can be of great value.
For thousands of years, before the emergence of modern medical practices, shamans were the healers and diviners of the community. Fortunately, their practice is as strong today as it was then.
A trained shaman is able to determine which type of healing we may need: soul loss or retrieval (often through past-life work), spiritual retrieval (a power animal, angel, or other spirit guide), or reconnection to the earth and spiritual realms. There are shamans with different specialties, just as we have physicians with different areas of practice. Continue reading
The True Purpose Of Life
It is often said that the purpose of our existence is love. This is in part true, we are constantly evolving into a greater understanding of love. But this is really only half of the answer. The purpose of life is also the experience. The point of it all is to have interactions.
Yes, it is true that each of us has incarnated with a specific purpose for being here. Ultimately the purpose of life is to recognize our most authentic expression of what it means to be us, and then cultivate the freedom to express that authentic self. Love most certainly facilitates this process, but you could say a better explanation of the meaning of life is the experience itself.
We all incarnated on this planet from perfect love, and will return to perfect love. Within the realm of spirit we are all one. In fact, we are all one at this very moment. However, in the time-space paradigm, it is easy to lose touch with this Oneness of Spirit.
Each soul living on this planet has an innate desire to cultivate unique creative expression. Whether that creative expression is writing, musical expressions, serving others, cultivating human ties, and so on. Most of us incarnated with the specific intent to accomplish multiple ‘purposes.’ And so we go through life having a multitude of different kinds of experiences. Continue reading