self-expression
Mandala Meditation
Mandala is an ancient word simply meaning ‘circle’ in Sanskrit. Mandalas are patterns which range from simple to complex, and are said to represent the Universe and its energies. Varying designs have appeared for centuries in cultures around the world. These beautiful and intriguing works of art can be used in any meditative practice.
To use a mandala in your spiritual practice, begin by choosing one which has special meaning for you, or has a design you personally find harmonious. Many can be found online, in design books, or in color-it-yourself art books. The colors and patterns can also hold intrinsic meanings.
When you have found a mandala you like, use it as a focal point for meditation. State your intent beforehand. While studying the design of your mandala, let your mind stray into the subconscious.
This work is quite similar to candle or crystal work, in that the imagery directs our thoughts rather than the other way around. If you’ve ever found yourself getting lost in the patterns of a tile floor, or the wallpaper in a favorite room, then you’re already well-equipped for mandala work!
The Spiritual Power Of Your Voice
With so many talent shows on television these days, there seems to be so much singing talent all over world. The exposure created by these reality shows allows otherwise unheard of individuals to find an international platform for their gifts. Some of their voices bring us alive, others pull back our deeper layers of emotion, and some simply reduce us to tears.
There are youngsters taking the stage on some of these shows who have the voices of angels. Some have never even had a day’s professional vocal training and yet, they sing like they’ve had years of coaching to develop what is already a beautiful gift. They were clearly born with their gift. Like many inventors, and also great composers of music and literature, they bring in many lifetimes of their gifts to share with us.
My father was a singer and songwriter and had a lovely voice. He became quite famous when I was still very young. His voice would get people in a happy, nostalgic frame of mind with his sing-along compositions and, as a good-looking man, he sure got the ladies swooning with his ballads!
“If you look inside my throat and inside that of a person who cannot hold a tune, nor has quality in their singing voice, the anatomy is just the same,” he told me once. He then asked me a question, which really was food for thought: “So, where does a beautiful voice come from?”
Learning To Love Yourself
Sadly, my inner-critic began speaking to me at a relatively young age and continued to do so well into my 20s and beyond. Personally, I feel this played a large part in me losing my job at the age of 24, during the 1980s recession. It was a time in which work was so hard to find, and when I finally did, even more negative self-talk began to have an effect on my life.
With no job and no money, I felt worthless, stupid, disliked, and that I had no potential whatsoever. Most fortunately, however, I proved myself to be wrong and later found, from experience, that the way to a happier, more confident and fulfilled life was by learning to slay that inner critic and start loving myself. Furthermore, you can too! Here’s how.
Firstly, remember that you do have a choice. Which one will you listen to: your inner critic or your inner guide? I remember the time when I told my family I was going to start working in the spiritual field. Yes, they laughed and said to me that it would never work out for me, and I that I could not do it.
Sadly, this boosted my inner critic once again, but at this particular time in my life, circumstances and the need for a more fulfilling job made me look at things from a different perspective.
Shifting Into A Creative Vibrational Frequency
You are more powerful than you may be consciously aware of. You have access to more creative power than you think, and if you want to raise your vibration in the quickest way possible, you need to integrate your physical body with the light of the spirit of your higher self.
When your vibrational frequency shifts into a creative state, you will experience a shift in your health, relationships, income, and your entire life. It is very crucial for you to imagine yourself in the future.
To jump start this process you need to write an outline script for your future life. Find a peaceful, quiet place where you feel comfortable and then start scripting life the way you want it to be in a few year’s time. Write every detail about it, every little detail, whether it seems important or not.
Be true to your own wishes and desires. This outline is not something that you need to show to anyone else. This is for you and you alone. It is your life, you design it. Write in words what you want and how you want it to be. It will start to happen the way you want it to be. Believe!
You need to be in the right state of mind to get down to every detail that you need to write, otherwise it will not be as effective or successful as it can be. If you don’t seem to find the right mind frame to think properly about what you really want, you should invoke the angels and get their help, guidance, and assistance.
Is Honesty Always The Best Policy?
A client recently shared with me how being honest in her work environment did not serve her best interest in the end. Being completely honest caused her to not receive her annual salary increase. She feels that had she used a lie about being ill, or even having a flat tire, as a reason for not making it to work on time, as opposed to going back to sleep after the alarm went off, she would not have had her employment record blemished. Despite meeting targets and good customer feedback during the previous twelve months, being honest had actually gone against her in this instance.
Our conversation reminded me of a similar incident I experienced myself many years ago.
My father and I had entered into business with partners on the island of Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. Whilst my father was winding up the sale of the family home, after his divorce from my mother, I’d gone ahead and rented a small apartment close to the business, whilst learning the ins and outs from the family we were going into business with.
There was a lot of building going on, in and around that area. My apartment was owned by the construction company, whose office was on the ground floor of my apartment building. On a regular basis I passed the workmen, as I entered and left the building. Despite all the construction activity, my apartment was private, secure, and surrounded by a balcony with blinds, which reached halfway down the window. Nobody from below could actually see inside.
The Easter Angel And The Golden Ticket
It was around Easter, one year in the early 1970s, when I had a profound angel encounter. I was playing outdoors with many other children my age. We were eagerly running through a large open field looking for Easter eggs.
Well, they were not exactly real eggs. If you are from my generation, you might remember those plastic eggs that would break open to reveal inside them candy, colorful stickers and small, cheap bracelets. Some also contained little pieces of paper with trivia or inspirational messages. I remember thinking the words on the paper were more valuable to me than the tiny Tootsie Rolls or Hershey Bars.
On this occasion, I soon had a full basket and was sitting on the ground opening up my eggs and stuffing my goodies in the plastic bag we were all given. We were to return the eggs, so they could be recycled.
There was a very angelic looking women at the Easter egg hunt. She was helping some of the children find their eggs. Whenever they seemed to be having a difficult time, she would go to them and say something encouraging, or would help to cheer them up in some way. I kept my eye on her since we arrived, as she stood out from everyone else.
Later, while standing in line to return my empty eggs, she knelt down in front of me and asked, “What did you get?” I opened my bag and showed her all the candy and goodies. Then I lifted my hand and said, “This piece of paper is my favorite.” It was a golden slip of paper which read: It is wise to not put all your time, energy and love in one basket.”
The Power Of Observation
In this busy world we rarely take the time to observe things around us. Most people see and feel things only through their own personal lens. Of course, it is only normal to identify with your own feelings and the things you have seen, heard or experienced. But sometimes so much of what we believe as reality is the only way we will accept it. It is necessary in some situations to take a step back and observe a situation, look at all sides of it and try to remain neutral.
I have worked with some clients in my hypnosis practice who just can’t seem to look at a situation from a different perspective. It is much easier for people to observe someone that looks much like them on a television screen playing out a scenario. They may see, feel even hear things that could not be recalled at the time of the event. Another way is to view the scene in a different way in order to rewrite the script to achieve a different outcome by observing. The incident with a different outcome may show the possibility of different realities.
For example, when there is a car accident and four or five people witness and observe it. When questioned, the people usually all have a very different account of what happened. Through their own personal lenses they believe it as gospel. But is it really?