spirituality
The Second Chakra
The second chakra, or Swadhisthana is located just under the navel. It is symbolized by a white lotus flower or crescent moon. The animal totem of the second chakra is the crocodile and the musical note that resonates with this chakra is “D”. This is considered the sacral chakra.
The color of the second chakra is orange. Foods to stimulate the second chakra include oranges, apricots, carrots, and cantaloupe.
Physically, Swadisthana governs reproduction, mentally it governs creativity, emotionally it governs joy, and spiritually it governs enthusiasm. This energy is also where we tap into our creativity and pleasure. It rules the reproductive organs and the corresponding gland is the sexual endocrine glands. This chakra helps to balance our spirituality and sexuality, and is also the area in the body where we hold blockages relating to sexual trauma. Continue reading
What Did You Give Up For Lent?
You’re out with your friends on a Friday night and suddenly you notice that one of them has switched from his favorite microbrew beer to lemonade? Is it time for Lent already?
Giving up something for Lent sometimes evokes head-scratching in non-Catholics, but what might seem like just another Catholic eccentricity can actually be a practice with deep spiritual significance.
Lent, the period of 40 days that precedes the celebration of Easter, has its origin in the early days of the Church. This year Lent began on March 5th and it ends on April 17th.
Converts seeking to become Christian, who at that time were mostly adults, spent several years in study and preparation. Under the threat of Roman persecution, becoming a Christian was serious business, so their process of preparation was intensive. Then they went through a final period of “purification and enlightenment” for the 40 days before their baptism at Easter. The rest of the Church began to observe the season of Lent in solidarity with these newest Christians. It became an opportunity for all Christians to recall and renew the commitment of their baptism. Continue reading
The Disappointed Jesus In London
To be fair, I did not visit to the city of London solely for esoteric purposes, but I found the energy signature quite different and stark there, compared to Athens and Berlin.
I found the atmosphere in Berlin, for example, electric, yet peaceful. Stepping off the U-Bahn at Wittenberg Platz in the middle of the high season, I was engulfed by a comforting low-level hum of German families and tourists doing their Saturday afternoon window shopping. The people here did not seem to have a care in the world. The streets were crowded , much like that of London, but not once did I feel a sense of angst or claustrophobia. The warm buzz was actually quite welcoming and pleasant… and this is major coming from a highly strung empath like myself.
Berlin woke me up on a Sunday morning with the nostalgic chiming of church bells. I was staying inside one of the surviving wings of the Neues Schauspielhaus on Nollendorf Platz, in the Schöneberg district of Berlin. It was built in 1905 as a theatre and concert hall, in the then fashionable Art Nouveau style. Maybe Bertold Brecht was there in the 1920s, discussing his plays with someone in the very room I slept in that night, or maybe the bands Depeche Mode or The Human League used it as a dressing room in the 1980s. While those bells were ringing in the distance, I almost expected Christopher Isherwood’s character Sally Bowles to sneak down the corridor of this old building, back from a busy, decadent night’s work at the Kit Kat Club cabaret. Continue reading
Hugged By An Angel
What is the difference between a Spirit Guide and a Guardian Angel? In my experience a Spirit Guide is a loving person who has walked the Earth long before we were born. It could be a relative who has come back to guide you through this lifetime.
When I was a young boy, my mother used to tell me that certain Spirit Guides were trained and chosen to be sent down to help someone who is asking for a guidance. They always try to help you, but they will never take control of your free will. They always let you make your own choices and decisions.
At times we might have as many as four to seven Spirit Guides in our inner circle. If you ask, you shall receive. You have to believe that they were sent for a reason. They are here to help you reach the goals you have set out in your life. Continue reading
In The Powerful Presence Of The Maiden Goddess
Many centuries have come and gone since the Athenians ascended the Acropolis to seek the guidance and protection of Athena, the maiden goddess of wisdom, war and divine intelligence. Her status as the favorite daughter of Zeus, and powerful patron deity of the city of Athens, remains evident to this day.
Expecting to be mostly drawn to the Theatre of Dionysus Eleuthereus, when I visited the Acropolis of Athens in Greece*, I was instead keenly aware of the omnipresence of Athena’s legacy. My undergraduate education in literature and drama afforded me a reasonably good understanding of the role of the god Dionysus in ancient Greek culture. I knew about the festivals and plays, and as a student I often imagined visiting the remains of those historic open-air auditoriums. Continue reading
Journey Born Under A Divine Star
In the coming weeks I will be posting a series of articles from my travel blog, which I wrote during my recent trip to Europe. The blogs are a collection of spiritual adventures, pilgrimages to sacred places and accounts of my personal odyssey into self-realization. Let me be your guide to sacred sites like Stone Henge in the United Kingdom and the Oracle of Delphi at Temple of Apollo in Greece.
I was very excited that my journey began under one of the most rare and powerful aspects in astrology, namely the Grand Sextile, or Star of David. The ancients associated this unique alignment of six planets with the birth and anointing of a king. This rare alignment of the planets occurred on July 29th, 2013. Seven of the ten planets were involved to create six sextiles, three oppositions and two Grand Trines! Continue reading
Living A Life Of Increase
To become more, to expand, and to seek more complete expression is inherent in our human condition, because it is an innate quality we possess due to our original spiritual nature. ‘Increasing’ or ‘becoming’ is what drives the expansion of the entire Conscious Universe.
We are each of us a mirror reflection of the Universal Source; we are created in the image of the Divine. We are a perfect imprint of the magnificent Holographic Web of Consciousness. And because we are spiritual beings who reflect the Divine in physical form, we also possess the innate qualities of Divinity. We are self-aware and conscious; we have the capacity for reason, sentience, imagination and creative thought; we command creative freedom and the metaphysical power to manifest; and we have the capacity for complete self-actualization, individuation and transcendence. All these qualities are the expression of our inner Divinity, a direct reflection and extension of the Higher Self. Continue reading