traditions
A Symbol To Know The Unknowable
This morning, I ran into one of my friends in our little Spanish town, and we decided to grab a coffee and catch up. I was delighted at how she took an interest in my Om/Aum pendant. She commented on how I seemed to treat my pendant as something rather sacred, and with respect – an interesting observation! She loved the flow of the shapes, and asked if the pendant had any specific meaning.
I had to remove the pendant and study it closely to try and remember what I was taught years ago, in order to give her a brief description to the best of my ability. One by one I tried to connect with each swirl in the design and was surprised that I had remembered quite a lot of what my mentor had taught me. It was a long time ago, when we used the Om/Aum chant in our meditation sessions.
With my pendant on the table I began to explain the meaning of the dot at the top of the symbol, and recalled that this related to the silence after chanting Om/Aum. It represents the Enlightened Self, and is known as the transcendental state of Turiya. Continue reading
The Art Of Palmistry
Palmistry, chiromancy, or palm reading, is one of the oldest methods of foretelling the past, present and future, by reading the lines of the hand. It is a form of divination practised all over the world. The earliest recorded evidence of this divination technique has been found in Asia, from where it spread to the rest of the world.
Each person has unique lines and shape of hand. Thus the use of fingerprinting in identifying individuals. In palmistry, the lines and shape of the hands indicate a person’s character, marriage, how many children they will have, as well as the foreboding of positive and negative life events. Continue reading
Psychic Plants
Plants are everywhere, even in urban environments – from the windowsill potted plant to the hundred-year-old oak in a city park. What you may not know is that plants, just like people and animals, are psychic and react strongly to the energies around them.
In a well-known experiment, scientist Cleve Backster, who was at the time working with police departments to develop polygraph (lie detector) machines, attached a plant to one of these machines. He found that the plant detected intent. For example, the plant reacted with humanlike responses, such as fear and anxiety, to his thoughts of burning the plant.
The plant also showed an empathic response to pain, such as when Backster cut his finger. The results were even the same when he directed his thoughts toward the plant from some distance away. All this from a common potted plant found in an office! Continue reading
The Cosmic Weather Channel
We have all checked a daily weather forecast at some point. Will it be hot or cold? Will it rain or snow? But did you know that a different kind of ‘weather’ affects our lives just as much? We are also impacted by the ‘cosmic weather’ – the astrological positions of the planets and other heavenly bodies, as well as related phenomena, such as eclipses, solstices, equinoxes, aurora borealis (Northern Lights), solar flares, and meteor showers.
The recent “Great American Eclipse” was a large-scale event which many people observed. But what did it mean? Solar eclipses represent the shadow of the Moon (the yin, feminine, and intuitive) obscuring the Sun (yang, masculine, and logical). An eclipse therefore creates the illusion of twilight in the middle of the day. From a metaphysical perspective it is the perfect time for added insight, previously hidden knowledge, and inspired ideas. Continue reading
Feng Shui Your Life
If you’ve been feeling stuck, depressed, or just in need of change, tap into the power of Feng Shui. This ancient Chinese art, of arranging the home for maximum energetic potential, is easier than you think to apply in your everyday life.
The best way to start is to create routines and rituals for yourself. Everything in the natural world exists according to a series of daily patterns or routines, and we are no different! Take time each day to meditate, incorporate gentle physical activity such as a walk or yoga, sit down and eat mindfully at each meal. It’s also crucial to create a sacred space to escape from the stresses and sensory input of the modern world.
Are you the kind of person who finds it difficult to start things? Make a dream board filled with visual representations of your hopes, dreams, and aspirations, then place it where you can see it multiple times a day. Continue reading
Finding A Snow White Feather
Some time ago, I was sifting through my box of notes and papers collected over the years, and among all the documents and media cuttings, I found a list which describes the symbolic meaning of various colored feathers. Finding the list was a lucky coincidence. Or was it?
My husband and I live in a rural area outside a small town in South Eastern Spain. The people here are very friendly. Yet, without intending any disrespect, it is unlike many beautiful Spanish towns. I guess you could say that ours is somewhat soulless? It certainly is devoid of much in the way of any natural beauty, or cultural architecture. Another thing we don’t see much of either, is bird life.
More recently, I was thinking hard about an upsetting situation, while leaving the town hall. The outlook of the problem I was dealing with seemed bleak. But, as I left the building and turned a corner, I looked down and there was a beautiful snow white feather! A sign, or another coincidence? Continue reading
The African River Man
During the time of my ukuthwasa (period of initiation to become a traditional healer or sangoma) some decades ago in Southern Africa, my mentor and some other village elders would join our group of ithwasa (sangoma trainees) by the campfire and discuss other spirits. That is, others in addition to those of our ancestors.
We heard many tales of other spirits who control the rivers, oceans and lakes, as well as those who live in the sky and control the rain. There were also stories told of sacred places where spirits inhabited mountains, trees and rocks. I loved hearing those stories from various individuals whom have had unique experiences and felt they had seen and communicated with those various spirits. Continue reading