life design
The Spiritual Calling Of Animal Rescue
I have always felt that I have two life callings: my work and taking care of rescue animals. And I aim to do both to the best of my ability.
A neighbor stopped me today as I was walking my dogs. This often happens when I am out with them. He asked me why I chose to walk the dogs, while I have a large plot of land for them to freely roam.
Well, they do run around on the property, at least the two younger ones do, but the pleasure of walking them is immeasurable. It is a true joy to see them relishing in the unfamiliar smells and the intriguing creatures they encounter in the countryside. They even made friends with a nearby farm’s goats and another neighbor’s cat.
I also enjoy the lovely countryside around me, which I will be less likely to experience on my own had it not been for the reminding me every day that it is time to go ‘walkies.’ Apart from the obvious exercise being advantageous for my health and well-being, it is also a sort of a meditative process and spiritual practice, because I am required to be very present in the moment.
One of my dogs is a warren hound, known in Spanish as a podenco. They are a Mediterranean rabbit-hunting dog breed. So, she’s a hunting dog and if she suddenly makes a dash to chase something, she could easily catch me off guard and pull me over. I can therefore no afford to be distracted or preoccupied. Instead, I must mindful and aware, which is very beneficial for my inner peace and spiritual alignment.
My dogs and cats are all rescues, some from unthinkably harsh backgrounds. Looking after them has involved a lot of care and veterinary visits, including many specialist observations and surgeries. When you take rescues into your home, they tend to come with much fear and many insecurities, which takes patience and unconditional love.
Two large rescue dogs, that have since departed this life to cross over the rainbow-bridge, wouldn’t allow me to touch them and refused to come inside the house. I provided them adequate shelter outside, but it still bothered me, because the winters can be harsh here in Spain.
Life Invites You To Dance
In the quietude of the morning, as the sun gently rises with a golden glow glistening through the trees, I feel a calm within reflecting the clear blue sky. The season is changing. The heavy heat and humidity of summer has dissolved into an idyllic balance of coolness, warmth, and lightness in the air.
It is a time of transition, moving toward autumn, but not fully there yet. For me, it is a season of revitalization and renewed inspiration. The vastness of nature expands all around and the interconnectedness of every soul within it reaches the forefront of my awareness.
Today, I will be intuitively teaching a dancing with nature class at the World Peace Sanctuary nearby. All of life is a dance with nature and its Creator. We are invited into that partnership and party of life, to move together in joy and harmony.
But how do we join the flow? It begins at the feet, at the root of the tree of life. In Srimad-Bhagavatam, the great celestial sage Narada instructs, “As pouring water on the root of a tree energizes the trunk, branches, twigs and everything else, and as supplying food to the stomach enlivens the senses and limbs of the body, simply worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead through devotional service automatically satisfies the demigods, who are parts of that Supreme Personality.”
Not only are angels, nature spirits, and demigods part of the tree, but so are we. Like leaves upon it, we are connected not only with the twigs, branches, and trunk, but with the root, the very source and sustenance of all life. By watering that root with our whole-hearted attention and intention, we are nourished, supplied, and satisfied.
But what does this mean practically? It means peace and growth rest not in pursuit of individual desires, but in harmony with and service to Divine desires. Endeavoring to serve separate interests is futile and unfulfilling, just as watering the leaves and limbs of a tree individually would be. They would dry up and die if simply watered separately. Continue reading
When My Guides Would No Longer Guide Me
Like most people, I have faced my own share of difficulties and life challenges. In fact, there was a very challenging period in my life that lasted about 15 years.
I remember in those days asking my guides for support and guidance. I was in desperate need of finding a path out of the chaos caused by a strange series of events in my life. I was praying, humbly requesting divine intervention.
Nothing. Silence.
In the past I had always received feedback from my guides. I have even had magical messages and miraculous signs proving without a shadow of doubt that God and my spirit guides exist.
One time, I was dealing with a very toxic employee, who was spreading nasty rumors about me and my business. I was at my wits end with stress and frustration. On my way back home from my office, a negligent driver unintentionally pulled their car right in front of me on the freeway, almost forcing me off the road! Fortunately, I swerved just in time. After I recovered from my initial shock, I noticed the license plate frame said: Happiness Is Loving Satya.
That same day, my electronic garage door was not working for some reason, so I had to enter the house through the front door, which I never did. I found a tree service business card left on the porch. The tree service owner was once again my namesake. An unusual name for man.
I’ve had hundreds such magical, confirming moments. I have even been told I would receive tangible gifts from my guide, and I did receive those gifts.
But now, during the most difficult, confusing, terrifying time in my life, there was nothing. Nothing. Silence. Why aren’t you responding, I asked. Are you still here with me? Have you abandoned me? Why is this happening?
Technology Does Not Make Love Any Easier
I have personally found over many years of falling in love myself and having been in both good and bad relationships, as well as doing love and relationship readings for thousands of clients all over the world, that romantic love is more about personal soul growth, spiritual evolution and enlightenment than anything else. I find that only once we have learned certain life lessons and spiritual insights, especially with regards self-love, are we truly ready and able to love others unconditionally. Only then you can truly love someone one else, and have them love you equally in return. When this finally happens it is a lovely thing indeed, but in today’s world it is becoming be a rare thing.
Having a tight-knit, loving family or a lasting romantic relationship has become almost ‘abnormal’ in our modern world. In my view technology has been hindering us more than it is helping. The many social media platforms and dating apps we use these days has made love and romance even more complicated. These social networking sites have also created many new problems in long-term relationships and marriages, and I have witnessed it destroying many good relationships.
For example, too many of folks are curious about their ex-partners, because they now have more access to ‘stalking’ others. Some even want to reunite with their ex, who has married someone else in the meantime. Social media offers them an easy way to renew contact and often leads to trouble. Don’t get me wrong, technology is a great thing if used properly, but sometimes it can be also be too convenient and intrusive in other people’s lives.
Love, Joy And The Pursuit Of Happiness
According to the United States Declaration of Independence “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” are the inalienable birthrights of every human being given to us by our Creator, God, Source, the Divine.
Sadly, I find very few people to be successful in their pursuit of happiness. The same is true for finding love and joy. It seems many are merely stumbling through life trying to find it.
A teacher once told me life is like school. For some of us it’s like kindergarten – easy, uncomplicated, and lots of fun. For others it’s like graduate school with lots of difficulties and challenges to overcome.
Searching for joy, love and happiness does seem to be a ‘wild goose chase’ for many people. It truly is like chasing wild animals. The faster we run after it, the more it seems to flee. I don’t believe joy, love and happiness can be found. Well, at least not in the ways that many of us are hoping to find it.
Like happiness, the right to love is also the natural inheritance of every person. The well-known channeled text, A Course in Miracles, delves into the idea of love from a spiritual perspective. It states that it is impossible to teach love. Instead, the goal should be to remove the blockages or obstacles we have to allowing love’s presence in our lives.
I have seen repeated evidence of this in doing readings for many years now. Certain reading themes are repetitive and common themes are ‘finding love,’ or the ‘lack of love,’ or ‘loss of love.’ In all these readings one thing always becomes very clear: love itself is not an ‘out there’ thing. It is also not something that can be received from another person or thing.
In readings, Spirit will often say, “Love is not a feeling.” This one initially took me a while to understand myself, until I realized that love is in fact an intrinsic quality of being. It is already within each of us. We refer to it as the Higher Self, the Soul, or the Spirit. No one is ever separated from this innate love because it is an intrinsic aspect of our very being.
The Special Magic Of Autumn
I’ve often wondered if in a former lifetime I might have had a birthday in the fall? More specifically, I sense it must have been in the month of September, because I typically experience increased awareness and great change during this month.
Being a Gemini, born in June, this makes absolutely no sense, but I don’t always pay attention to what makes sense. I rather go with what feels right.
I feel a special magic in the air in the fall that I do not experience in any other season. In the autumn the world of the living seems to move closer to the afterlife and our deceased loved ones.
Traditionally All Hallows’ Eve on October 31st is believed to be time when the veil between the two worlds is most thin and we can more easily connect with our departed loved ones on the Other Side.
In the Northern Hemisphere September is the time of year when Mother Nature is shedding her leaves as the cooler air moves. Might this also be a time for us to let go of the aspects of our lives that no longer serve us? And could it be that our deceased loved ones in Heaven support and help to facilitate this need for us to surrender and let go?
The energy of September is an in-between state of transition that will ultimately spark us into new beginnings. But sometimes we need a little bit of extra magic, as it takes much courage to let go of the old and familiar to step onto a new path.
Our family and friends in Heaven want to see us progress and grow while in the Earth realm. Our loved ones who have crossed over to the Other Side can see forward and backward in time. They have the ability to open doors for us who are still in this life.
Enlightenment Is For Everyone
The term ‘enlightened’ seems to be everywhere these days. But what does it really mean? From a spiritual or metaphysical perspective enlightenment simple means refers to our level of awareness. Enlightened people are deeply aware – of themselves, the world around them, of the realm of Spirit
In a world of increasingly empty noise and superficial values, true awareness has become a rare commodity. It’s easy to immerse ourselves in all the empty noise and meaningless materialism. It’s much more challenging to look at the things of this world with greater depth and see these things (and yourself) for what they really are.
When we begin to see more clearly and authentically we become more enlightened. We begin to see the light of truth. And when we do, we become more aware how our beliefs, choices, and actions all have consequences.
For example, you might be tempted to answer with harsh words to someone who has wronged you, or to swat a spider in the sink rather than take it outside. Each one of these actions, no matter how small, radiates outward and impacts the world around you.
Choosing peaceful or harmonious action is a vital step on the road towards enlightenment. Stop to think, before you act.
Another common thread in the fabric of enlightenment is lack of attachment. In many spiritual traditions, including Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, unhealthy attachment is seen as the root of all human suffering. This could be an attachment to material wealth and possessions, to beliefs and ideas, to people and animals, or to our memories and our ego.
Enlightened people are able to release attachments that are not serving their best interest and highest good by letting it go gracefully. If you spend less time worrying about these earthly fixations and obsessions, your spiritual inner being will naturally start to flourish. And once it does, you’ll become more aware of the signs, synchronicities, and subtle messages the Universe sends us all the time.