passion
Follow Your Passion And Truth
In Native American tradition, human existence and well-being is based on the Medicine Wheel, also known as the Sacred Hoop, that consists of the Four Directions, Father Sky, Mother Earth, and the Spirit Tree. Together these ‘spokes’ of the wheel honor all aspects of human existence, growth, balance, and well-being: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual.
In each lifetime, we are destined to achieve progress in one or more of these areas until, finally, after many incarnations, all the ‘spokes’ of our wheel are complete – all the way from the inner hub to the outer rim. At that point, we have completed our various missions through many incarnations in a myriad of schoolrooms, and we finally achieve ascended mastery.
When all our spokes are complete, we leave this dense, earthly dimension and arrive at the highest plane of existence, the realm of the Great Spirit, traditionally known as the ‘Hunting Grounds of the Ancestors,’ and since the arrival of Christianity, as ‘Heaven.’
In this state we never need to descend again, and will remain infinitely in the higher dimension. We are liberated from the endless cycle of rebirth and reach a new level of consciousness and enlightened existence, known as nirvana in Buddhism, moksha in Hindusim, and eternal life in Christianity.
As a result, from a spiritual stand-point, we are offered a smorgasbord of options and choices that we may need for our particular journey in this lifetime. The enthusiasm and passion we feel when we are guided to a particular path is spirit directing us toward the ‘curriculum’ we need to complete in order to achieve our ultimate goal of transcendence in one or more spokes of our wheel.
The Simple Secret To True Happiness
It is easy to become too focused on the pursuit of happiness, to the detriment of true happiness. For many years, I was constantly setting goals for my ‘future happiness,’ only to eventually realize that I had been missing out on the joy available in the present moment.
I am certainly not alone in this, as I find many of my friends and clients tend to postpone joy and contentment, believing that they will finally be happy once they have achieved milestones, or acquired certain possessions.
Meanwhile, the key to living one’s best life is to fully embrace the present moment. This does not mean that we should stop dreaming of a better future or no longer pursue important personal goals. However, our future hopes and ambitions should not cause us to put our life on hold, nor prevent us from being fully immersed in the now.
If you are also someone with such an intense future-focus, I encourage you to begin living more in the present. You will soon discover a more fulfilling and joyful way of life.
Future-Focused Thinking
The first step is to let go of future-focused thinking. Many of us tend to constantly think about the future, worrying about what lies ahead or longing for future achievements. This mindset deprives us of the beauty and opportunities that exist in the present.
The Fire Season Of Love And Joy
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), there are Five Elements, namely Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. These elements are each associated with the seasons, certain emotional states, and specific organs in the physical body. I am personally fascinated with how accurate these correlations can be.
In the summer season, for example, the element of fire rules. The four organs associated with the fire element is the heart, small intestines, pericardium (or heart protector) and San Jiao, or the ‘triple energizer,’ which is the hollow space inside the trunk of the body.
In TCM, the solid organs each has its counterpart in a ‘hollow organ (Fu).’ The heart, for example, is a solid organ, and the small intestine its hollow counterpart. San Jiao is a body cavity that is able to influence the functioning of other organs and our overall health through the free movement of Qi, the fundamental life force energy.
The fire element represents expansion of energy expanding with heightened activity and excitement. It is further associated with love, joy, harmony, but also disharmony. In extreme cases, too much fiery excitement can cause insomnia, restlessness, and even manic behavior.
A good example of how the joy of the fire season manifests in our everyday life is the fact that summer is the peaktime of the year for weddings. This time of the year our hearts are most open, seeking to be filled with joy. We seem to radiate more light and love in the summer, just like the warm sunshine.
Transform Your Life With Enthusiasm
Enthusiasm is a powerful energy that can have a profound effect on our life. It is that feeling of excitement and passion for something, and a great motivator. It inspires us to achieve our goals, stay focused and make the most of every day. Without something exciting to look forward to, life tends to become dull and dreary, and also very challenging.
The energy of enthusiasm is a key aspect of future manifestation. Our emotions predict what we can expect to attract into our life, or not. When we lack enthusiasm it is usually a warning sign that we are unlikely to manifest much to look forward to anytime soon.
To invite new possibilities, opportunities and blessings in life, we must think about it, set an intention for it, imagine it, visualize it, pray for it, meditate on it, and consistently work towards it mind, body and soul. The moment we start to do this, our emotional energy frequency shifts to feeling inspired, hopeful and enthusiastic. Then you know you are on track to making some of your dreams come true.
Enthusiasm also keeps us motivated and determined to keep going, even when things get tough. It gives us an energy boost and drive to keep going and push through any obstacles that may arise. It helps us to stay positive and look on the bright side of things. It also keeps us focused to stay on track with our goals.
Without enthusiasm we become less productive. When we are truly enthusiastic about something, we are more likely to put in the necessary effort to get things done. This empowers us to achieve more in our life and make the most of our time.
Why Do Old Souls Return To Earth?
Evolved souls have many options to choose from when they reincarnate, so why do we choose to come to this world? After all, planet Earth is a highly challenging environment for advanced soul growth.
The energy conditions here offer an excellent spiritual ‘classroom’ for younger souls. Earth offers many experiences to learn from. Justice and injustice. Love and hate. Pain and joy. Feast and famine. Wealth and poverty. The magical experience of having children is also very appealing and unique to Earth.
These learning opportunities are a strong pull for young souls, but for the older soul the physical experience here tend to be frustratingly slow and dense. Existing in a frail human body is an added challenge.
There are other planes of existence where a physical body or constant efforts to maintain a raised vibration are not at all needed. In those higher dimensions there is no time-space limitation, nor dense material form. There is only pure consciousness. There are also other planets in the Universe, beyond our solar system, where the energy vibration is much higher and lighter, and the expansion of consciousness much more evolved, and less taxing.
So, why do some old souls choose to repeat the human experience once again, and sign up for another difficult life journey in such a spiritually inhospitable place here on Earth?
The Spiritual Practice Of Flower Power
Every now and again, I purchase a bouquet of flowers as a gift to myself. Placing a vase of flowers on your home altar or sacred space adds nature-inspired ambiance, brightness, and sensuality to one’s spiritual self-care.
I also love to diffuse the essential oils of flowers, especially when I meditate, but they don’t have the tangibility and energetic beauty of a stunning array of fresh blooms. Analogous to eating whole food versus taking a supplement, fresh flowers represent the wholeness, divine design, and awe-inspiring beauty of Gaia, Mother Nature, our Earth Mother, the Divine Feminine.
Unadulterated, the ‘flower power’ of a beautiful bouquet commands marvelous healing energies, blesses the giver, and inspires bountiful gratitude in the recipient.
The most powerful spiritual practice involving flowers is to plant your own flower garden with perennial varieties, such as tulips, black-eyed susans, and chrysanthemums. With careful planning around the seasonal calendar one can also have different species in bloom at different times throughout the entire year.
Cultivating a thriving garden of flowers is a magnificent form of energy work. It attracts and manifests emotional healing, abundance, and the fulfillment of wishes, especially in aspects of romance, marriage, fertility, and parenthood. By lovingly nurturing and caring for the delicate beauty of living flowers, we invite much love, beauty and abundance into our lives.
What If There Is No Tomorrow?
A sense of anguish sometimes strikes us while we are experiencing something good in our life. In the midst of the delightful feelings of happiness and joy, we grimly remind ourselves that we must enjoy it while it lasts, because all good things come to an end.
Yes, everything does come to an end, right up to our own passing from this world to the next. Yes…our inevitable death. Thinking about this can be sad and depressing, but it also not… if we choose otherwise.
There is an ancient philosophy of reflecting on one’s mortality known as memento mori, which in Latin means ‘remember death.’ This profound saying does not only serve to remind us of that our death is inevitable, but also invites us to think about death in a more meaningful way.
In Stoicism, a school of ancient Greek philosophy, memento mori was seen to be a thought process to attribute deeper meaning to life. The philosopher Epictetus famously said, “Keep death and exile before your eyes every day, with all that seems terrible – by doing this, you will never have a base thought, nor an excessive desire.”
Although the notion of memento mori seems at first scary, sad, or tragic, it is in truth a reminder that everything and everyone will eventually come to an end. The moment we sensibly embrace this universal truth, we become so much more aware of how precious every moment of our life is. And ideally it then inspires us to live more fully and intensely, without wasting any more time on trivial things and petty issues.