Daily OM for June 1 – Recognizing Happiness

Recognizing Happiness
Analyzing the Path

by Madisyn Taylor

 

When we take the time to recognize when we are happy and what that feels like, it becomes easier to recreate. 

Those of us on the path of personal and spiritual growth have a tendency to analyze our unhappiness in order to find the causes and make improvements. But it is just as important, if not more so, to analyze our happiness. Since we have the ability to rise above and observe our emotions, we can recognize when we are feeling joyful and content. Then we can harness the power of the moment by savoring our feelings and taking time to be grateful for them.

Recognition is the first step in creating change, therefore recognizing what it feels like to be happy is the first step toward sustaining happiness in our lives. We can examine how joy feels in our bodies and what thoughts run through our minds in times of bliss. Without diminishing its power, we can retrace our steps to discover what may have put us in this frame of mind, and then we can take note of the choices we’ve made while there. We might realize that we are generally more giving and forgiving when there’s a smile on our face, or that we are more likely to laugh off small annoyances and the actions of others when they don’t resonate with our light mood.

Once we know what it feels like and can identify some of the triggers and are aware of our actions, we can recreate that happiness when we are feeling low. Knowing that like attracts like, we can pull ourselves out of a blue mood by focusing on joy. We might find that forcing ourselves to be giving and forgiving, even when it doesn’t seem to come naturally, helps us to reconnect with the joy that usually precedes it. If we can identify a song, a picture, or a pet as a happiness trigger, we can use them as tools to recapture joy if we are having trouble finding it. By focusing our energy on analyzing happiness and all that it encompasses, we feed, nurture, and attract more of it into our lives, eventually making a habit of happiness.

The Emerald Rose Meditation (Hare Moon)

The Emerald Rose Meditation

(Hare Moon)

Before you go to sleep, turn on meditative music and recline. Take a few deep and complete breaths to center your awareness. Quiet your thoughts and let go of any tension you may be feeling, in your mind’s eye, imagine a beautiful emerald colored rosebud. It is a dream rose, a flower bud more incredible and exquisite than you have ever imagine before. Instantly, a magickal doorway appears as the emerald rosebud opens slowly. You step through the door with your imagination and find yourself in a world of plenty. In this magickal world, you live like a God or Goddess with a carefree heart and immortal spirit. You are free from fear and pain. There is no trouble, problems, heartaches or old age. Your energy is always vital, and you feel wonderful, inspired, and uplifted. You are strong, vital and sensual and you play with the delight of a young child. So many good things are yours. Your life is prosperous and your ideas are fertile and productive. Everything is abundant and unforced, willing and effortless. As you experience this world, a renewed sense of abundance and prosperity fills you. The loving spirit of the divine embraces, guides and illuminates your path to plenty.

Now take another deep, complete breath, and imagine stepping out of the emerald rose in your mind’s eye. Continue relaxing and drift to sleep. As you do, imagine being in the magickal world of plenty.

Mojo Rising Medicine Bundle

Adapted from Plant Spirit Shamanism, by Ross Heaven and Howard G. Charing (Inner Traditions, 2006).

Focusing our intention can help us to get what we need. This ancient shamanic technique uses the spirit power of plants aligned with your own desire to make a simple bundle that you carry with you. It’s like a spiritual radio, transmitting its energy and your requests to the universe and receiving the blessings that the spirits send back. Here is how to make a mojo bag to attract what you need.

Before you create a mojo bag, be clear on your intention, what you want the charm to do. Holding this intention in mind, take a walk in nature and allow yourself to be drawn to the plants that reflect your purpose. Spend a little time with them and speak to them of your needs. Request that they offer a little of themselves to help you.

The creator has given us clues to the healing and spiritual power of plants by ensuring that their outward appearances reflect their uses and intentions. Thus, the seed pods of the honesty plant, dried and relieved of their outer skins, are shining, translucent, and silver, round like coins and round like haloes. They can therefore be used to attract spiritual blessings and truth (honesty) or to draw in wealth, according to your intent.

When you take your plant materials home, dry them and then gently crush them. Mix them with a little rum, Florida Water, or essential oil and allow them to dry again.

Choose a piece of fabric in a color that corresponds to the qualities you wish to draw into your life. Colors are have traditional associations with certain energies: red with power and energy, pink with love, green for abundance, blue for peace, white for purity, and so on.

Place your plant material in the center of the fabric. You may add other objects to help: for more money, for example, add a few small coins on the homeopathic principle of like attracting like; a magnet to pull in success; a rose quartz for love, and so on. You can also write out your intention on a piece of paper and include it if you wish.

Sew up the bag or tie the bundle with a ribbon to keep the materials in place. Then smudge it with sage smoke and sprinkle it with a little Florida Water or essential oil. Carry your mojo bag with you.

The System of Chakras

by: Anodea Judith

A chakra is a spinning vortex of energy created within ourselves by the interpenetration of consciousness and the physical body. Through this combination, chakras become centers of activity for the reception, assimilation and transmission of life energies. Uniting the chakras is what we experience as the “self.” It is through our chakras that our self grows and changes and interacts with the world.

The word chakra comes from the Sanskrit word for “wheel” or disk” and originated within the philosophy of the ancient yoga systems of India, most specifically from the Tantric texts. In this system, there are seven major chakras arranged vertically along the spine, starting at the base of the spine and ending at the top of the head. In the physical body, these seven chakras correspond to major nerve ganglia, glands of the endocrine system, and various bodily processes, such as breathing, digesting, or procreating. While the chakras do exist within the physical body, exhibiting strong influence on such things as body shape or health, they are not made of any physical components themselves. A physician could not operate on a chakra anymore than an emotion, yet both can and do affect us physically.

In the psychological realm (by which I include the mental, emotional, and spiritual), the chakras correspond to major areas of our lives, such as survival, sex, power, love, communication, perception, and understanding.

Taking the original meaning of the word chakra one step further, the chakras within us can be seen as our internal “floppy disks” that store our programming about how to function in life. The base chakra contains our survival program such as what we like to eat and when we need exercise; the second chakra-our sexuality program, including ethics and preferences; the upper chakras-our modes of perception and information storage. Our body is the computer hardware, and each of us has a slightly different model, programmed in a distinct language with unique operating systems. Ideally, one’s work on the chakras is to examine the programming we have been given on each of these levels, eliminating destructive programming and consciously recreating something more beneficial.

Philosophically, the chakras correspond to major archetypal concepts, such as the elements of earth, water, fire, air, sound, light, and thought. The elements describe the essential nature of that chakra’s function, such as earth that contains, water that flows, or fire that transforms. Numerous other correspondences, such as colors, sounds, herbs and gemstones, have also been correlated to the chakras and can be used as tools for accessing and developing them.

There are many smaller chakras throughout the body, such as those in our hands and feet. These are functioning centers like any of the others but are not usually attributed to major philosophical areas. Yet, those working with their hands are likely to have well-developed hand chakras, and a runner might have well-developed channels through their foot chakras.

As a composite system, the seven chakras describe a set of patterns that are evident through many aspects of life. In terms of cultural evolution, they describe the stages our race has been through and where we are going, from the first chakra survival consciousness of the Paleolithic era to the power-dominated (third chakra) consciousness of the present era.

In terms of individual development, the chakras describe the progression from infancy to early adulthood that repeats itself again from adulthood to old age as we establish our survival strategies, form sexual relationships, develop our personal power, communicate, plan ahead, and learn. As we understand the significance of these levels, we can better develop appropriate strategies for coping with our situations, whether personal or cultural.

Chakras are sometimes referred to as lotuses, for they open and close like a flower, and in
the Tantric system they are shown with a varying number of petals. The petals, ranging from four at the base chakra to 1,000 or more at the crown, express their vibratory rate.

When a chakra is closed, the life force energy cannot travel through that part of the body, and one might say that the programming in that chakra is locked in a restrictive pattern. If this is the case, we feel a lack in our lives in its related area (such as the ability to communicate, chakra 5), and our physical health in the chakra’s related functions may also be affected (sore throat, tight neck).

A chakra can also be “overblown” if it is out of balance with the other chakras in the system. In this case, that particular chakra uses so much of the body’s energy and the mind’s attention that other areas become deficient. An overblown third chakra causes an attachment to holding power over others hindering the ability to find the love and balance associated with the heart chakra directly above. As the chakras are discussed individually in the following pages, the results
of a chakra that is too closed or too open will be examined more closely.

With attention and understanding, we can control and influence our chakras. They can be developed like muscles, programmed like a computer, nurtured like a seed, or closed like a book. Development of the chakras occurs through understanding the system as a whole and then working directly on specific areas. Techniques may include physical exercises, processing of old traumas through therapy, visualization and meditation, chanting of mantras, working with their elements,
herbs, or gemstones, and personal ritual, as well as the general lessons that are brought to us through our daily lives.

The body is a vehicle of consciousness.

The chakras can be seen as the wheels of life that carry this vehicle through its evolutionary journey toward enlightenment. Within us, these wheels are like gears, each one appropriate for different activities or stages of life. As we open our chakras, we become more conscious and more fully alive. Our journey becomes smoother, more productive, yet more exciting as we become more fully who we are.

Conclusion
Together, the seven chakras form a connecting ladder between matter and consciousness, body and mind, Earth and Heaven. Each of us forms this ladder as the steps are found within us.

In order for us to be whole, the ladder must be complete. Therefore, each chakra is of equal
importance, and the blocking of one chakra can make an excess or deficiency in another part of the system.

Individually, the chakras can give us important clues about our strengths and weaknesses,
outlining areas in which we need to work on ourselves. It must be remembered, however, that the chakras form a complete system, and diagnosis or attention to any one area should always be seen in relation to the whole.

With our chakras opened and fully functioning, we ourselves form the rainbow bridge between Heaven and Earth, ever evolving towards realization and integration.

The Elemental Aura

The Elemental Aura

Author: Bluethorne

Greetings to you all,

I have written many things in the past concerning the aura and its impact on the daily lifestyles and healing aspects of the world. In almost all of the articles and papers I’ve written on this, I’ve delved into myself for an enlightening answer to the path that unites the mundane world with the retro-spiritual or elemental world.

I have developed a very thorough and well thought-out path on the earning of this, which goes well beyond any lazy eye tricks or alterations of the mind. I have taught and written on my website about the ‘awakening of the senses’ and their path to visiting the auras within us and in the world around us. I have not truly taught this path to anyone, yet I will delve into it here for you now.

I know that most things of this sort are discovered and documented from the perspective of the creator. So I will offer my perspective as well on this with the hope that it could possibly be of use to someone.

I have had this idea that all things are parts of ‘one’ whole being and are mimicked and duplicated in certain ways to turn into the fashions that they are brought forth in our world. And with thi,s we have the mundane world (the life we see everyday, the non magickal and boring life which society has decayed our real world into). With this decayed society, we can think of it like an outer shell of the world, the shell which all things are part of which we see, and just beyond that lies many other paths of worldly view.

If we visit a local sanctuary or park, we may see certain things that society has brought up to gather our attention such as the many colorful manmade structures or awful things that are disheartening to the world. Yet beyond these lie the natural world, the grasses, trees, plants, flowers, and the sky.

If we learn to look past the mundane world into the natural world, we will begin to feel a harmony growing within us as the natural life cycles of the world begin to rear their wheels into motion at the sensitivity we are now focusing upon it. It becomes more ‘real’ then before and now these things speak out to us. We can hear them and feel them if we learn to look and feel as they do.

When we have learned this path of natural harmony, we begin to feel the power of the world lending us its elemental focus and channeling all of the powers of its creation to us. When this begins to happen — if we utilize the same attention we focused towards the natural world by looking past the mundane and into it and becoming part of it — we will begin to feel the elements of the world opening up to us and the elemental world will become visible to us.

Just as we focused on the natural, we will now focus our intents on the elemental world, the world that lies beyond the natural, within it, around it, and below it. We will see the sky as the Air and feel its empowering winds. The enlightenment of its channeling powers will become one with us.

The Earth will open up to us and hold us still as a centering block that all emotional and physical disruption will break upon.

The Waters will flow within us as the waters of life and we will see the connection between ourselves and the waters of the world as the lifeblood of all things natural.

And the Fires will burn within us and all around us, bringing great courage and forthcoming advances in all things to us, so that we may open our minds and hearts to the path of the elements.

With this new becoming — if we simply open our eyes and look past the natural and into the elemental world — we will see the connection that the elements hold to our auras. And in looking at our ethereal self in the same fashion as we would hold towards viewing the elemental world, we will see our auras and the mimicking encounters with the elemental world will be now visible to us in all things.

The world will be our stage and our hearts will be our will. The elemental aura will flow within us and the paths of all things good will now are with us. We will require no strange eye techniques or afflictions that may alter the body (or give special attention to certain folk who can see the aura over others), as all will see and view the world as one.

The aura extends past ourselves to every part of this world that we call life. All plant life, mineral life, animal life, and even the life of the dead, will be visible to us in the elemental aura form.

Through this we can learn many of the magicks that elude us: herbal crafts become an art form that ties the auras together in certain beautiful fashions to create herbal cures and tonics for all that may ail us.

Ritual work now becomes an extension of the self through the elementally auric world to emit a channeling of energy through the elemental pathways to manifest our wills.

Divination becomes a simple alteration of the elemental auras in certain ways to view their altered states and the paths that they take in their alterations.

By being one with the element, and viewing its state in the future, we can become as the elements are and see our own futures (as the candle burns, as the water evaporates, etc).

Many other paths are available to us that I will not go into at the moment, but I feel that this is a great and natural path that we should all take the time to learn. It is so enlightening and loving beyond most things of this world.

I can guarantee that if you work this path, you will succeed and the world will be a better place all around you. The elements, the trees, the Goddess, all things will love you for the dedication you show towards becoming as nature should be and for attending to its will.

Brightest Blessings,

Bluethorn~

Interacting with Totems Part 4

Interacting with Totems

Author: Robert Oakes

Once the totem has been identified and understood, it is time to learn how to interact directly with the animal spirit.

Totems form an invaluable ally on the spiritual path. Acting as healers, protectors, teachers, and guides, they can have a profound impact in one’s life.

Part 1 of this article looked at recognizing the various types of totems, while part 2 addressed finding a personal totem. Part 3 covered working with the totems in daily life, and part 4 will deal with interacting with the totem.

The following sections are tools and methods that can be employed in creating a beneficial relationship with an animal totem.

Guided Visualizations/Journey

Having access to someone that is adept at shamanic journeying is probably the best way of having interaction with a totem. Be careful in selecting someone to do this work, as many people like to see themselves as a shaman, but do not have the discipline and training. As with everything else use common sense, caution, and look at their track record. If it feels wrong then it almost always is, and conversely if it is appropriate then it should feel that way.

Not having access to a traditional or contemporary practitioner is not the only way to contact totems. Guided visualizations, either commercially done on a CD/MP3, or ones personally prepared from a script can be used to journey with totems.

Oracle Cards

Jamie Sams Medicine Cards, or Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm’s Druid Animal Oracle are both solid sources of information on specific totems, and offer a useful tool in receiving guidance.

Totem Dreams

As mentioned in part 2, dreams can be used to interact with totems. These can be spontaneous dreams that carry messages from a totem, or ones that are incubated by the dreamer. Incubation can be as simple as asking the totem to bring a message in a dream. It is helpful to make the request formally before going to sleep, maybe with an appropriate offering. Examples of an offering might be tobacco tied in cloth, or food put out for that totem.

Song

Almost all pagan cultures use song or chant to connect with spirits and totems. If possible, learn a traditional song for the totem, or using chant and words create a new one. Song can be a touchstone to communicate with a totem and call in their assistance.

Prayer

Prayer forms the most basic type of communication. Prayer is simply focused intention and it can be done internally or verbally. As long as prayer comes from the heart, it is effective in communicating with totems and spirit in general.

Vision Quest

Time spent alone in nature on a fast, is one of the most effective means in connecting to a totem or guiding spirit. The silence it provides is the perfect space to hear spirit.

Totem Art

Sacred art exists the world over, and can be a conduit for spirit communication. Both creating totem art and having it nearby can be a powerful touchstone to that animal’s medicine.

Carvings can also be used to represent the medicine of animal. A carving imbued with the spirit of a totem is called a fetish, and can be used to connect to a totem more easily.

Sweat Lodges Ceremonies

Sweat lodges are found in most cultures around the world in one form or another. Cultures such as the Ojibwe (Anishinaabe) of central Canada have sweat lodge ceremonies that focus on interaction with totem animals.

The sweat lodge creates the perfect environment to have profound spirit contact.

Totem Assistance and Messages

Totems can often bring important messages. This might be in the form of dreams or visions, or it might be in waking reality. Be observant of animals and their behavior. Watch for unusual or repetitive antics, especially of those of a primary totem. Take note if the totem looks healthy or sick. Seeing the totem with food in its mouth can be a sign of abundance. Watch for synchronicities.

Get in the habit of asking for a totem’s assistance when requiring protection, healing or guidance. Like any relationship, familiarity strengthens the bond.

References

Animal Speak; The Spiritual and Magical Powers of Creatures Great and Small, Ted Andrews, Llewellyn Publications ,1996

The Once Unknown Familiar; Shamanic Paths to Unleash Your Animal Powers, Timothy Roderick, Llewellyn Publications ,1994

Medicine Cards; the Discovery of Power Animals through the Ways of Animals, Jamie Sams, St Martin Press, 1999

Druid Animal Oracle, Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm, Fireside, 1995

Crystal Ball

Crystal Ball

The crystal should be without flaw-no scratches on its surface or bubbles within (the new acrylicplexiglass “crystals” work quite well, but scratch very easily). Rest the ball on a background of black. A black velvet cloth is ideal. This can, in turn, rest on a table in front of you or can cover your hand(s) if you wish to hold the crystal. This black background is to ensure that you see nothing around the ball to distract you as you gaze into it. Initially you should work alone, in a room that is quiet and dark. Your temple, of course, is the ideal place. Have just one small light, preferably a candle. Place the light so that you do not see it reflected directly in the crystal. Burn a pleasant-smelling incense, since it will help you concentrate. Work in a consecraed circle, at least to begin with. Later, if you should want to use the crystal elsewhere, you can simply imagine yourself surrounded by, and completely encompassed in, white light; though even then I would strongly advise casting a small circle about yourself with you athame. Start by saying some protective prayer, then ask the Lord and Lady for their guidance and their protection.

Now sit and gaze into the crystal trying to keep your mind blank. This is not easy and will take some practice. Do not stare at the ball unblinking; this will just cause eyestrain! Gaze-blinking your eyes naturally, as necessary. Do not try to imagine anything in the ball. Just try to keep your mind blank. After a while (anywhere from two to ten minutes) it will seem that the ball is filling with white mist or smoke. It will gradually grow more and more dense until the ball seems full of it. Then, again gradually, the smoke will thin and fade, leaving behind a picture- almost like a miniature television picture. It might be in black-and-white but it more likely to be in color. It might be still or it might be moving. It might be from the past, present or future. Also, it is very likely to be a symbolic picture, requiring some interpretation-much like a dream.

Initially you have no great control over what you see. You must just take what comes. As you become more adept, you may meditate for a few moments before gazing on what you wish to see. Then, when you start to gaze, clear your mind and try to keep it blank. Most people seem capable of success at scrying. If you get nothing the first time you try, then try again the next night, and then the next. It may take a week or more before you get anything, but keep trying. Do not, however, try for more than about ten minutes or so at each attempt.

If you can’t obtain a crystal, it is possible to use a regular convex magnigying glass lens. Polished carefully and laid on the black velvet, it will work almost as well as the ball. Whichever you use, ball or lens, keep it purely for your scrying. Let no one else use it or even handle it. Keep it wrapped in a cloth (its black velvet or a piece of black silk) and do not permit sunlight to strike it. It is traditional to “charge” the crystal by holding it up to be struck by the light of the full moon, once a month.

If you can’t obtain a crystal, it is possible to use a regular convex magnigying glass lens. Polished carefully and laid on the black velvet, it will work almost as well as the ball. Whichever you use, ball or lens, keep it purely for your scrying. Let no one else use it or even handle it. Keep it wrapped in a cloth (its black velvet or a piece of black silk) and do not permit sunlight to strike it. It is traditional to “charge” the crystal by holding it up to be struck by the light of the full moon, once a month.
 
Buckland’s Complete Book Of Witchcraft
Raymond Buckland
ISBN 0-87542-050-8

‘THINK on THESE THINGS’ for May 10

‘THINK on THESE THINGS’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

There are so many things we must come to know. If there are obstacles we have made them. And if there is unrest it is because of a lack of holiness, of recognizing the truly important. If our appetites are too great, it is not that we crave food or drink, but something higher than that which we are experiencing.

Sometimes we fail to know the needs of others, but more often we can see their needs more clearly than we can our own. And we can help ourselves quickly by recognizing the truth of our own being.

We are spiritual beings and to operate in the strict physical and mental sense is likened to running a car with only gasoline. It cannot be done efficiently. It takes water, gasoline, and oil.

When we learn that it takes our physical, mental, and spiritual beings to make one person, then we are whole and have eliminated the inability to help ourselves. The outcome depends on you and me. And it is our duty to disqualify the thousand and one excuses that keep us from that duty.

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Available online! ‘Cherokee Feast of Days’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler.

Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones……and also for those who don’t have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com
Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com

Elder’s Meditation of the Day May 9

Elder’s Meditation of the Day May 9

“Without a sacred center, no one knows right from wrong.”

—- Thomas Yellowtail, CROW

In the center of the circle is where the powers reside. These powers are called love, principle, justice, spiritual knowledge, life, forgiveness and truth. All these powers reside in the very center of the human being. We access these powers by being still, quieting the mind. If we get confused, emotionally upset, feel resentment, anger, or fear, the best thing we can do is pray to the Great Spirit and ask Him to remove the anger and resentment. By asking Him to remove these obstacles, we are automatically positioned in the sacred center. Only in this way do we know right from wrong.

Great Spirit, allow me this day to live in the sacred center.

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Daily OM for Friday, May 4 – Noticing Synchronicity

Noticing Synchronicity
Interconnected Experiences

 

 

Things happen in our lives for a reason, even if that reason is not clear to you right away. 

When events appear to fit together perfectly in our lives it may seem at first that they are random occurrences, things that are the result of coincidence. These synchronous happenings, though, are much more than that, for, if we look at them more closely they can show us that the universe is listening to us and gently communicating with us. Learning to pay attention to and link the things that occur on a daily basis can be a way for us to become more attuned to the fact that most everything happens in our lives for a reason – even when that reason is not clear right away.

When we realize that things often go more smoothly than we can ever imagine, it allows us to take the time to reflect on the patterns in our lives. Even events that might not at first seem to be related to each other are indicators that the universe is working with, not against, us. This idea of synchronicity, then, means that we have to trust there is more to our lives than what we experience on a physical level. We need to be willing to look more closely at the bigger picture, accepting and having confidence in the fact that there is more to our experiences than immediately meets the eye. Being open to synchronicity also means that we have to understand that our lives are filled with both positive and negative events. Once we can recognize that one event is neither more desirable nor better than the other – they all have an overall purpose in our lives — then we are truly ready to listen to the messages the universe gives us.

While we may not be able to see everything in our lives as being synchronous, we can certainly use hindsight to be more aware of how the universe guides us. This sense of wonder at the mysteries of the universe and the interconnectedness present in our lives will help us see our overall ways of being and will in turn make it easier to work more consciously towards our spiritual evolution.

“22 Commandments” For The New Age

                          “22 Commandments” For The New Age
                                       Ann Waldrum

            1. You shall learn of Honesty  and attempt to heal your fear of  it,
              to use this in daily living.
            2. You  shall learn  to Love  Unconditionally–beginning with  your-
              self.
            3. You shall help all people  in your worlds come to physical  heal-
              ing.
            4. You shall dwell  on things of high and pure  energy in others and
              self to change Earth.
            5. You will  learn and practice  Pure Service  — unconditional  and
              with love energy.
            6. You will release  Judgment into the Void–You will  see, identify
              and choose for yourself Only.
            7. You will  Recognize One God  –the God  that corresponds to  your
              vision.
            8. You will destroy no  one in any way — through  gossip — through
              killing  their gifts  — discouraging  self love  by injuring  the
              physical body by foreign substance — incorrect foods — incorrect
              labor.
            9.  You will  use your  mind in  the way  the Source  prepared — by
              faithfulness of prayer — by study and spiritual growth.
            10. You will learn self discipline so that you respond to  the Earth
              with wisdom.
            11. You will take full  responsibility for your own life  — blaming
              no other.
            12. You will seek  to learn about your God —  seeing the Connection
              clearly.
            13. You  will  be  known for  your  Gentleness, your  Loyalty,  your
              Kindness, according to your beliefs.
            14. You will grow in Peace  by change of attitude and  understanding
              of others.
            15. You  will learn to  respond and act  from the Highest  Center of
              Inner God — the Love Response.
            16.  You will learn to Love All Mankind by seeing the Highest in all
              people without exception.
            17.  You  will promote  the healing  of  Mind, Body,  and  Spirit by
              teaching and living the belief in Man’s Divinity.
            18.  You will show  faithfulness in your study  of yourself and your
              persona (masks) in order to Free All Parts of Self.
            19. You will Live your life as ordained by your faithfulness  to the
              Truth, as you understand the Truth.
            20. You will Speak in Love, Honesty and Wisdom.
            21. You will Think in Love, Honesty and Wisdom.
            22.  You will  live  in Moderation  (Balance) in  All Areas  of your
              life.

April 29 – Daily Feast

April 29 – Daily Feast

Life stirs up our priorities – makes us think beyond our usual knowledge. There are enormously important things basic to all of us such as the family. The family as a whole is important, and so is each individual. Family makes us consider health and spirit and the capacity to take care of ourselves. The invisible circle gathers all we love close to us. But the final arc involves the making of who we are personally. Each person must know contentment, must be in awe, reverent toward the spiritual, recognize truth, and not go strictly by the depths and height of feelings. Searching for happiness leads us far afield when the search is for self, for a divine connection, a knowing that we are indeed divinely centered. We are a part of the earth, part heaven, one with every living thing. For this reason we love. The ga lv quo di, the precious, the dear truth is that we love.

~ It is the command of the Great Spirit, and all nations and people must obey. ~

BIG ELK

‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

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Daily OM for April 18th – No Going Back

No Going Back
Every Step Is Forward

 

 

Sometimes during our spiritual growth we can feel as if we are going backwards, rest assured you are not. 

There are times when we feel that we are spinning our wheels in the mud in terms of our spiritual progress. This can be especially true following a period of major growth in which we feel as if we’ve gained a lot of ground. In fact, this is the way growth goes—periods of intense forward movement give way to periods of what seems like stagnation. In those moments when we feel discouraged, it’s helpful to remember that we don’t ever really go backward. It may be that we are at a standstill because there is a new obstacle in our paths, or a new layer to get through, but the hard work we have done cannot be undone.

Every step on the path is meaningful, and even one that seems to take us backward is a forward step in the sense that it is what we must do to move to the next level. In addition, an intense growth spurt requires that we rest for a time in order to fully integrate the new energies that have been liberated by our hard work. When we feel we are not making progress, we can encourage ourselves to take a moment to rest. We can meditate more, feed ourselves well, and get extra sleep. Before we know it, we will be spurred on to work toward the next level of our development, and this rest will make sense then as something we needed in order to continue.

Once the sun rises, it doesn’t go backward but instead follows its path in one direction. It may appear to stand still for a moment in time, or to move more slowly at some point or another, but really it is steadily moving forward on its path. We are the same way, and once we have moved through something we can never really go back. We may be resting or revisiting issues that seem old, and it’s natural to feel stuck, but in truth we are always taking the next important step forward on our path.

You’re Forgetting Something…

You’re Forgetting Something…

Author: Chi

The Pagan culture has forgotten something, very dire, and very central to who we are. (And I say this with no degree of arrogance, because I forget it, too) We lie docile in armchairs or on couch cushions, meditating for some time each day and quietly hoping divinity will swoop down and come to us in the midst of our internal peace. Which is all fine and good-

-For a while.

But there is, undeniably and importantly, something else. There’s another kind of divine contact, another way to get to the core of who we are. I have often contemplated that perhaps we like to quietly go about our spirituality because it’s easier that way. We like to think that if we sit in quiet for a few minutes that we can manipulate energy and reach the divine – it is, after all, much easier than “the old fashioned way”.

So, what is “The old fashioned way”?

To break your leashes. They may have been put there by the media or today’s society. But break them, every now and again, in thousands of little ways.

Be natural. We have the ancestors of empires that ceased opportunities, we have tribal blood in our veins, and even back further we have our cousins in the animal kingdoms, of apes and chimps, and back even further we even have the spirits of other creatures; if you go back far enough we are the gazelles on the grass plains, and we are the cheetahs who are hunting them.

We’re like a plump house pet. A tubby dog or cat. We laze around the house. Our idea of excitement is dinner time (just for the sake of the food) . But common house pets, if you give them a chance, can race through the rainforest chasing prey – even if it’s a rainforest of garage tools.

Now, animals are capable of things that many humans, me included, find unacceptable. Gang rape and cold blood murder aren’t foreign in the animal world. But think: mothering instinct, playfulness, and a respect for the harshness and caring of nature are parts of the animal world too. Is it not unreasonable to think that there may be some part of spiritual wisdom that comes from the chaos of the natural world, maybe even a kind you can’t get from reading books and meditating?

Think about it. How often do your eyes flash with an animal instinct? How often do you race through the forest? How sacred is the feeling of the earth on the soles of your bare feet? When the wind whispers to you, do you hear what its saying? Do you know the smell of rain or drought? Can you tell when it’s going to snow based on the pinkish color of the skies?

There are ways of reaching the divine, or some altered state of consciousness, from exhilaration. From going off our instincts. The bears and the snakes know the earth better than we do.

But in every house cat, there is the spirit of a lion or tiger or panther (oh my!) and in every dog there is a wolf or coyote; in every canary there is an eagle. And no matter how ‘cushy’ they seem, they have that instinct inside of them, there are still their roots in the feral realm, they have a deep connection with the earth, and maybe ours will never be that pure.

But it’s still there. The living things of this world are our cousins. We have that wild spirit inside of us too, we have a pack instinct somewhere, even if it’s buried under “does this make me look fat?” or “Darn you, Microsoft! Why won’t you open Word?” It’s there, but you have to get rid of your quiet house pet nature to get to it, even if just for a minute.

When was the last time you pounced an unsuspecting sibling? When did you last roll around in the soil and not worry about your clothes? Do you know how bright a butterfly’s wings are when you hold still, and let one land on your nose such that you can see the light through its wings? Do you ever chase the dragons made of incense smoke around the room? Do you know the best mattresses or furniture in your house to jump on?

Can you play tag with your cats? Do you climb just to climb and play just to play? When was the last time you ran just to see how far you could go? Can you feel Divinity when you swing from tree branches? Because it’s there…

Most of us like to think that we don’t care what others think of us. But that isn’t totally true, no matter how much you think it is. And I’m guilty too, here…Otherwise, I would probably walk around public naked whilst chasing and pouncing on strangers (To clarify, I don’t) .

But there is a kind of divine peace that comes with the excitement of getting in touch with that childlike, wild part of ourselves. Even if we can’t be animal, we can still make snow angels and roll down grassy hills.

And you can do this in your back yard; with your parents, kids, friends or siblings; you can be alone in a deep forest; you can be puddle-jumping across the parking lot. You can do it in your dreams, the astral plane, or anywhere, because it’s all a way of discovering Divinity “the way nature intended” so anywhere you can be with the Divine you can let loose.

Sometimes I think that we’ve forgotten our roots as people. We come from so many diverse cultures, and we come from such a rich earth and animal kingdom that there must be some profound glimmer of it left – but where?

It’s in the parents that still have contests to see who can go the highest on children’s swing sets. It’s in those of us that know how to talk to the trees and grass. It’s an animal part of us, and a childish part of us, but it is vital. Maybe society can’t take us impersonating lions in the middle of the grocery store. But I’m sure we won’t shred the fabric of life as we know it too much if we dance to music on a whim, or if we race to the car, or roll around in the park.

You can’t forget how to play, how to run, or how to climb. Some part of it is always going to be there, and you have to be able to connect to it when you need to.

SYMPTOMS OF SPIRITUAL AWAKENING

Goddess Comments & GraphicsSYMPTOMS OF SPIRITUAL AWAKENING

1. Changing sleep patterns
2. Activity at the crown
3. Sudden waves of emotion
4. Old “stuff” seems to be coming up
5. Changes in weight
6. Changes in eating habits
7. Food intolerances, allergies you never had before
8. Amplification of the senses
9. Skin eruptions
10. Episodes of intense energy followed by periods of lethargy and
fatigue
11 Changes in prayer and meditation
12. Power surges
13. A range of physical manifestations
14. Looking younger
15. Vivid dreams
16. Events that completely alter your life
17. A desire to break free from restrictive patterns, life- draining
jobs,consumptive lifestyles, and toxic people or situations
18. Emotional and mental confusion
19. Introspection, solitude and loss of interest in more extraverted
activities
20. Creativity bursts
21. A perception that time is accelerating
22. A sense of impendingness
23. Impatience
24. A deep yearning for meaning, purpose, spiritual connection, and
revelation
25. A sense that you are somehow different
26. “Teachers” appear everywhere
27. You find a spiritual track that makes sense to you
28. You are moving through learning and personal issues at a rapid
pace
29. Invisible presences
30. Portents, visions, “illusions”, numbers and symbols
31. Increased integrity
32. Harmony with seasons and cycles
33. Electrical and mechanical malfunctions
34. Increased synchronicity and many other small miracles
35. Increased intuitive abilities and altered states of
consciousness
36. Communication with Spirit
37. A sense of Oneness with all
38. Moments of joy and bliss
39. Integration
40. Living with purpose
41. Feeling closer to animals, rock, and plants
42. Seeing beings of other dimensions
43. Seeing a person’s true form
44. Physically manifesting thoughts and desires
45. Left-brain fogginess
46. Dizziness
47. Falling, having accidents, breaking bones
48. Heart palpitations
49. Faster hair and nail growth
50. A desire to find your soul mate or twin flame
51. Memories surface
52. Other chakra openings

author unknown  

~Magickal Graphics~

Daily OM for April 13th – Mountains

Mountains
Keeping Things in Perspective

 

 

From the top of a mountain, we are able to witness life from a different perspective bringing us a new awareness.

Mountains have always captured our imaginations, calling us to scale their heights, to circle and worship at their feet, and to pay homage to their greatness. Mountains can be seen from thousands of miles away, and if we are lucky enough to be on top of one, we can see great stretches of the surrounding earth. As a result, mountains symbolize vision, the ability to rise above the adjacent lowlands and see beyond our immediate vicinity. From the top of the mountain, we are able to witness life from a new perspective—cities and towns that seem so large when we are in them look tiny. We can take the whole thing in with a single glance, regaining our composure and our sense of proportion as we realize how much bigger this world is than we sometimes remember it to be.

Mountains are almost always considered holy and spiritual places, and the energy at the top of a mountain is undeniably unique. When we are on top of a mountain, it is as if we have ascended to an alternate realm, one in which the air is purer and the energy lighter. Many a human being has climbed to the top of a mountain in order to connect with a higher source of understanding, and many have come back down feeling stronger and wiser. Whenever we are feeling trapped or limited in our vision, a trip to our nearest mountain may be just the cure we need.

There’s a reason that mountain views are so highly prized in this world, and it is because, even from a distance, mountains remind us of how small we are, which often comes as a wonderful relief. In addition, they illustrate our ability to connect with higher energy. As they rise up from the earth, sometimes disappearing in the clouds that gather around them, they are a visual symbol of earth reaching up into the heavens. Whether we have a mountain view out of our window or just a photograph of a mountain where we see it every day, we can rely on these earthly giants to provide inspiration, vision, and a daily reminder of our humble place in the grand scheme of life.

Experimenting with Circles

 

Experimenting with Circles

When you feel comfortable in your ability to cast a circle, it is time to start finding new ways to do it. There is no limit to what you can do to create sacred space. It can be as simple as sitting and drumming the circle into existence or chanting something to create the energy to draw your circle. Movement is something used in lieu of everything else. It is possible to use a piece of recorded music to cast it, or to dance to the music to cast the circle. You can create a circle by telling stories or sharing your day with others.

Some of the techniques that can be used will be very difficult at first, and that is why you should learn to cast in one of the first two ways before you begin experimenting. If you do, you know what the end result should be and will know when you reach it. As you develop a new way to cast a circle, you will find certain things that work and certain ones that don’t. Don’t be afraid to change elements around or substitute things in or out to make it work. This is one of the first totally creative things that you will do as a witch.

 

Necromancy for Today

Necromancy for Today
image
Author: Bluethorn

A truth of this divination can be found in many paths of the world, yet for myself I have discovered a way of bringing forth what lies in this realm from within. Although perhaps thought of when the implication of ‘within’ is stated as solely useable by the writer, in this case as in all cases of truth writing, this is not so and can be easily learned by anyone with patience and a true will for all things magick.

I state divination as magick because I feel that it is a power to be learned through true faith in its ideology, and because this power does not belong in the hands of the common mundane person.

Necromancy as a practice of spirit divination is something I will be explaining from my own personal account and of events that have taken place within one or more of my past incarnate lives.

As with all things magick in my life, I bring forth the spirit I seek from within myself, or I simply go to it, for I feel that although these methods perhaps do not follow what society tells us of necromancy, they are safe and practical.

First we must destroy within our minds this ridiculous idea that society has given us of what this divination is all about, there is no secret knowledge of an afterlife, no spirit knows more than you, no luck or special power can be called to serve you, and no spirit can be conjured up to do your bidding.

All beings of this world and beyond are contained within the same set of rules which apply to us as living entities and are with us at all times as we are all one with the world.

True necromancy is a divination of empowering the spirit of others into ourselves, of traveling in astral form through space and time to visit the carnate life of the spirit we take within. Indeed this power can be used in the same fashion to take our own spirit to this level, and reawaken the dormant past of our own previous lives, if we may wish so.

In most cases we find that the only things we can learn from within this magick are of lessons of pain, suffering and death, for all spiritual beings, which have died, have felt all of these things and more.

A great reason through for learning of these things is to prevent them from becoming our fate; for all beings of this world endure the most tragic of lessons in one or more of their lives, but to die and learn that lesson can bring forth a salvation of reliving that lesson ever again, in any of our reincarnations.

In the end; when all lessons of pain and suffering have been learned we are free to live a good life, far from any of these horrific things; yet to learn them is to experience them completely as they were learned by the spirit we take into us, that alone can be far too much for an unprepared person to conceive.

As an initiator of necromancy the preceding path is given solely as a construct for us to build upon, thankfully there are vast more pleasurable and positive aspects of life to be learned than there are of darker things. At the time when we have learnt of all that death can teach us, the spirit world no longer holds the barring darkness of pain out for us, and we can now be taught the rest, if we may so wish it.

A problem I see with taking this beyond where we are is that if a lesson of peace or love for instance is learned then we will not spend a lifetime enjoying and learning of it, as many of the goodly lessons take entire lifetimes (sometimes more) to learn.

If one was to say ‘what occurs when all lessons have been learned?’ a simple answer is that they truthfully have not, for in the end, the final lesson is to dissipate and be reborn as a new spirit, and simply to begin learning once again from scratch.

At this time I suppose that all sounds quite theoretical, yet you will see and begin to understand the reasoning I have for writing all of this soon enough if you can continue to read on under your own free will to the following sections.

Beyond the Theoretical 1 –

History tells us of many people who have delved within the realm of Necromancy, written of conjuration and selfish gain from such a thing, yet just like all history it is written solely with lies and hardly ever sparks any remote truth. A truth is that these people spoken of in most cases were very close to death, they believed this to be an ending extreme of magick, all looked inward on them selves as if it would be a bad or evil thing to work this divination.

In a world of manifesting reality such a thing became so for them, and perhaps a spirit did manifest and carry them away, yet it was not due to the divinatory aspects of what they did, it was due to their fear which manifested for them.

No great demon or throng of demonic spirit will appear if you can understand the reality and truth of nature, that being that these things do not exist unless we give them power to do so.

A great magick user could create such a reality if bent on doing so a lot easier than a thousand weak folk believing in a Hell, for this reason it is safe to practice such a thing if taken from the self if we follow the truth of it.

Not to say that magick of within is weaker, simply that when we learn it properly there no longer exists anything to protect ourselves from, as it is entirely from us, and not ‘borrowed’ from elsewhere.

In its entirely, the self is never ending and borderless with no limitation or barring rules to hold us back, it is the elements united, the path of the Stars, the day and the night, and all things great or small of all realms, for within us is a mirroring of all the great patterns and strengths of the world.

Drawing of power from within yields us the same result as without (or from some object or tool), except that since it is from within we have absolute control and understanding of it, and so in actuality our results are far more potent and can be indefinitely more powerful if we wish them to be.

I believe that a wondrous aspect of self magick is that we require no preparation, circle, candle, wand, or anything of that sort for there is no conduit beyond us, and no fear of failure, resulting in absolute dominance of our minds and magick with no doubt available whatsoever.

What doubt could arrive if we remove all tools and variables that could hinder anything from occurring? Without a doubt or deterrence we are free to live however we may wish, if this path draws us into learning then Necromancy is a tool which we can utilize for such self education.

Although self education may seem pointless in a world where a piece of paper is more substantial than an intellectual mind, when we see the true knowledge and begin to learn of it, there is no longer a cause to worry about such papers, as you become empowered with what it takes to succeed on your own terms.

No one educated by society is ever remembered as unique or as an innovator, it is when they tear away from society and grasp reality that they become great and empowered with what it really takes to shine in this world. Perhaps it may sound illogical to state that self knowledge can be learnt through a method of empowering the self with the spirit of others, but in actuality this path is self knowledge because the spirit world around us is one with us, unlike what people write in books with the idea of making money.

Arguably as the idea of learning or writing text books to actually teach goes, from those who write such things it may seem that their intent is to teach and they are rewarded with money, yet the reality of it is that these people would not write them if no one would read their work. No publisher would pay anyone to write anything that no one would read or buy, and so textbooks for classroom education would not be written.

With this idea in mind we can now see that all modern written learning instruments of our society exist solely to make money, and therefore self education is far more pure and enlightening path to follow. Self-education is a path of learning what we must know for ourselves, as we only learn what we care about and what is meaningful to us, as opposed to a bunch of useless facts to ‘plump up’ a book for publication, solely to meet page quotas.

Learn of this magick for yourself and you will be rewarded with the confidence and power to change the entire world around you for the better, and the prosperity of your life will easily become evident.

Beyond the Theoretical 2 –

True Necromancy begins as any form of divination, with a unification of the source you are working with, to drive a shade of that medium upon yourself. Although when many think of Necromancy they automatically think of graveyards, cemeteries and crypts, yet in reality death is all around us, most evidential in the Fall when crops die and trees go to sleep.

In the Spring or Summer it is difficult to utilize a Necromantic approach as the world is being reborn and living, yet it is not impossible to attain a shroud of death upon yourself. Essentially death is the reformation of the body to the Earth construct to which it began, by the removal of the Water, Fire, and eventually Air from the body, leaving only the Earth to rest, or to begin again.

It is essential to note that places of earthly magnificence are empowered by the initiating construct and prime to necromantic endeavor, since they contain little to none of the empowering elements.

Perhaps interesting to note that most spiritual seekers in the world find their answers in places most devoid of light (Fire), motion (Water) and of a sort of dank or stagnant Air formation, for in these places there is no great spiritual presence over any other except for that of the Earth.

In Necromancy there are many approaches that work successfully and I will explain a few of them briefly, including a few negative or positive aspects of each.

1. To become as the dead and take upon yourself this shroud is to remove much of the elements from yourself as possible. By not eating we remove energy and become weak (no Fire), by not drinking we move the Water, eventually we will find shortness of breath and lose the Air as well. A bad part of this is that it may be difficult to recover if we have not worked with elemental empowerment in the past, and by becoming so close to the Earthly construct we could die.

2. We could remove the elements from our surroundings and create within our rooms an aura of stagnant death that could then open up a greater presence of spiritual awareness. Doing so may include things like closing the blinds to your room, not touching anything for a long time or visiting it at all, closing all air vents and removing the production of any circulation in the air, creating a sense of how it would be like to visit a crypt type environment. A drawback of this is that it might take weeks to prepare, and leave lasting effects within your home such as odors or terrible air conditions.

3. You could visit a crypt at a cemetery, or a place that has been undisturbed for many months or years to work your Necromantic practice. A major set back I see of this is that divination goes hand in hand with meditation or trance work of this level, and may render you motionless for hours straight. The deeper you go the easier it becomes to get engrossed in its power and lose connection with your physical self for great periods of time. When experienced with this work however it becomes easier to regain your stature and return to your physical manifestation if the needs arise, however to begin with this is highly difficult.

4. A practice, which I utilize, is the containment of an aura of Earth within me through the elemental world, in this we awaken our senses to feel and see the aura around us, and replace our current aura wit hone of the Earth. I have written much of this in other guides however and do not feel it to be a necessity to go far beyond the scope of this topic. If you wish to draw upon the power of the elemental auras then I would insist that you explore those sections on the rest of my website.

Beyond the Theoretical 3 –

The bonding of the self towards a necromantic approach can be seen in each of these, some can be combined with others, as can easily be seen by reading them over. Basically the idea is to become at a point where the spirit world of the dead (or construct of the Earth), can enter our bodies through an astral or elemental channel. If we succeed in the attainment of this connection we will become as the spirit is, free from the physical and elevated beyond the ethereal plane, in a form of trance we will have attained the connection we require.

After this connection has been established it will be quite easy to travel or call upon elements of the spirit world for we will be quite similar to how it manifests upon the astral plane we are now part of. Although theoretics yield us the fundamentals we require there is an aspect of divine magick, which we must utilize, for it is not simply enough to walk within a place of spiritual awareness and become part of it, and so I will write of the steps I take.

The following however is my personal account of such a thing and as a personal path of self empowerment, it works for me because I have brought it forth from within myself and so it may perhaps not work for many others, yet the fundamentals are there to learn of.

The Drawing of Power –

From within the Earth a power of the spirit lingers, drawn by the will to contend with the people of magick to unite its ways with those of the living. As one with us all it is in a sense already with us, yet to draw on its power for an awakening to its nature we must empower ourselves with its manifestation. In the ways to which we would draw the power of the element of Earth within us, we will follow the path to this end as well, for as it is a unification with the Earth in a basic sense anyway.

The drawing of Earth power comes up and into us from our base just as the Earth to plant life occurs, beginning at our feet it travels up to our base and spread through us from there. At the time the power reaches our mind, it also reaches our hands and fingers, and so the unity of the mind to a conduit of physical transference is now reached.

If this is done in a place of death as prepared above, the spirit of the Earth will come within, instead of the element of Earth, and thus empowering us with the spirit. Assurance that it is a spirit of the dead comes by chanting something along the lines of:

“Bring forth a spirit whose death I haven’t known,
Empower me with a life to which I have yet been shown”

Of course this is a simple chant, yet it works all well for me, run it through your mind and voice as you begin, until you can no longer think of these words, as they are part of you.

These are my words and yet they may work for everyone, I’m not entirely sure, they rhyme solely because I find them easier to remember the deeper into this work I get, and just as this is, all things of this world will blur and eventually disappear the deeper you get into your trance.

There is of course more preparation, which must come into play to ensure true results beyond simply selecting a place, and calling some words, for most people’s minds are far too skeptical for this to work without some kind of persuasion.

We will create that persuasion through further drawing the shroud of death around us, in the end though this ‘buffer of persuasion” will no longer be required as we will never doubt it again.

Persuading the Mind 1 –

To persuade anything in our society into the minds of the skeptical we must create a manifestation of its attributes in a physical manner so that an understanding can occur. Many years ago this was not so, as people believed in many more things than today, nevertheless thought we can create a shroud of persuasion which will alter our perceptions into seeing and believing a truth of magick. Altered perception comes when we have enveloped all five primary senses to states where they can see, hear, smell, touch and taste a thing; in this case the spiritual manifestation of death.

1. Sight is perhaps the easiest of senses to persuade and the most awakening for its power to convince us of a thing almost in its self draws what we need. I think it is humorous to note that society has blinded us so much to what reality actually is that all we have to do is remove that blindness and restore our natural sight, yet for now we will use what we already believe as truth to persuade our sense of sight.

To allow a room to go untouched for a long period of time usually draws a blanket of cover over the air to produce a sort of ‘fog’ by casting odd shadows and interrupting our sense of sight from crystal clarity is a good step in the proper direction. Such a thing produces a sense of reality, which our eyes cannot focus on, especially if we are tired or have overstrained our eyes, which is a thing we will work towards accomplishing.

Although many say that hallucination often yields things that are not true to be seen, for that is the definition of hallucination anyway, though if we attune ourselves to a state where such illusions would occur enough, they become reality.

Stating such a thing may be odd, yet once you experience it through your own eyes the shadow and lights will no longer play tricks on them and you will see past the foggy air and find your focus on the spirit world.

2. It may, to begin with, be difficult to hear what we must focus on to alter our perceptions of reality in a positive degree, yet if we learn to close off the worldly distractions of our hearing we will find a sense of peace. To open this sense in the proper degree we must concentrate on listening to the natural in the mundane world, for although it is difficult to understand, it does exist in such a way that if we listen, it will speak to us.

When we close our hearing to distraction we find that we can hear our heart beating and hear the air touching us, these things come naturally and are tools we can use to focus on. I believe that hearing and touch go hand in hand with one another, as most sound simply touches our inner ear to certain ways, and the product of such a thing is that we hear it.

If we concentrate in the proper ways we can elevate our sense of touch to magnify our hearing, in essence whatever we may touch, we will also hear. Beyond simply hearing what we touch, we can elevate the power of this unity to a state where we hear noth8ing with our ears, only with our touch, and through that we can further block the sound interference by going further and into a trance like state.

Within the deduction of touch and sound we find that the less we feel physically, the less we become within the physical world and the easier it becomes to leave our bodies towards the beyond. We are left now with how this is a persuasion, well to find the unity of touch and hearing is to bring forth what holds us back from our goal in two more of the five senses of persuasion, together with the reality we bring from our hallucinatory condition we will now be able to hear the spirit world calling to us, and since we can hear it, if we bring back our sense of touch in the same degree, we can touch or feel it as well.

3. I’ve always found a quite close relation between smell and taste, and so I will explain the persuasion of these together as well. In actuality I suppose that all five senses are closely related in many ways, yet to separate them as I have done here creates an easier sense of the persuasion we can use, opposed to trying them all at once. To persuade these two senses in the proper direction is as simple as entering a room of stagnant air with low circulation, it sort of catches us and lingers on our skin in a quite odd way.

Going beyond this if we go a day or two without washing our mouths then something eerie and stagnant is bound to elevate our senses automatically with no persuasion, if you so wish it. I’ve heard and read that the closer a person becomes to actual death, the better for this work, even to a point of wearing a dead person’s clothes, and laying down in their casket for a sleep (although even I wouldn’t go this far). I suppose a way of persuasion is what it takes in any degree, yet a stable mind, focused on the magick and path ahead is far more potent a path than many other dramatic forms of persuasion.

Persuading the Mind 2 –

Beyond these small amounts of tips and whatnot lies the actual atmosphere around you, if for instance you feel more empowered by this work on a night of great rain, thunder, and lightning; then use that night as well. All of these things however, center on the same ideas of awakening within yourself what society has taught for all of your days as being wrong and foolish to pursue.

The real problem I see with society is that it does not wish you to become your own person and actually succeed in the world if you are not of a certain minority group. Society cares nothing at all for the middleclass, white male who obeys ‘law’, pays his taxes, and who lives his life going to work or school everyday hoping to one day get a break.

Although these people are invisible to the society of today by not oppressing themselves like minority groups solely for attention in one way or another, they still exist, and in the end no matter what a person believes or doesn’t believe, the fact is that these humans are born and die; when they die they all lose their life empowering elements, and decompose in the same way back to the Earth.

The body does such a thing as this, and as far as all religions go, they do not touch on that aspect of the worldly truth, the spirit may go on; but seeing as the body is always to the Earth, there is always a way to bring back some part of it, as the connection will exist for all eternity.

With this truth known, and the persuasion of magick achieved we are free to begin actual magick from the self, meaning that we are the guiding power of our magick, and the only tool we require is our own body. Within this work however there lies a certain fear perhaps of dying or being lost in the spirit world, we will create a buffer which ties our spirits to our bodies, and a warning system which will deny anything beyond what we want from happening, we can do this because we will be in total control of our fate. The buffer which will tie our spirit to our body comes by bringing with you objects which elevate your senses of taste, smell and hearing to levels which your body will sense as recognition and be glad to awaken to, of course these objects will lay around you yet the deeper you become immersed in this magick, the weaker your senses become to the physical world when traveling beyond ourselves.

By remembering and yearning for such tastes, smells, and sounds; our body will pull us back to our physical self. The denial of unwanted actions from occurring will come naturally to us when we have achieved a state where we leave our bodies, for in the same way this magick occurred we will go backwards from where we stand and the borders of where we go will always be evident, simply by stepping beyond our border permits us to step back in the same way.

A hardship of this is that it is addictive, and the further we go, the further we will want to go beyond that, and the longer it will take us to return; at some point if we are not smart enough to follow the correct path back, we may become lost; and our bodies may shut down after months or years if we take it to that degree.

Awakening the Spirit –

When we have succeeded at persuading our minds to believe what truth we seek, and have brought the shroud of death upon us we are ready for the next step. It is difficult to explain for certain of how this works as many times I’ve tried to teach of magick I’ve been met with blank, drooling faces, yet I will write of this and hope it is understood, by a logical person who thinks on their own I’m sure it will be no problem.

Drawing the spirit of others within is in essence a path we utilize to draw our own spirit to surface and be taught and empowered with the spirits around it. Though the previous writing of this guide tells of leaving the body, these things are as one; for to leave the body is to enter the spirit world, which is as well to be united and to learn from other spirits of the realm.

To draw upon the power to do so from ourselves we must first find the power in the physical world and become along the same wavelength as it; them we can draw it up from below us, in through our feet and into our minds.

An important thing to note before we begin is that we must bring some forms of healthy life with us to our magick, for upon the return from deaths surface, we must draw that power and life back into us or we will not succeed in returning.

To raise our arms above us as the mimicking perhaps of a great tree is the formation we will use to draw this power through us; just as the roots absorb the spirit of the Earth below, so shall we, yet in this case it will not be a nourishing spirit but one of decay and death for that is how the Earth spirit exists in our atmosphere and state of mind which we have created.

We will feel the spirit of death pulling our spirit from us the further it gets within, we will become weaker physically and be forced to either sit or lay down the further we go, if we do not sit or lay of our own will then we will be thrown to the floor.

The further still that we go, the further from our bodies will our spirit become, to a point of seeing it from just outside the body, to a ways away, and eventually we will no longer see or feel anything.

We will still be aware of our surroundings though as in the spirit world our senses work through our mind, and not our bodies; having no physical form permits no touch to be felt as would occur in the physical world, yet everything else will feel identical. The things will feel identical even to the point of walking upright on a solid ground (although this is simply how our minds perceive the spirit world).

The spirits we may come across in the spirit realm will be of a style towards which we would see ourselves, walking, interacting and speaking, just in the same fashion we would interact with one another. Having died perhaps in different ways, to speak with such spirits could create many quite unstable results.

Although it may seem as if we are merely speaking to them, the reality is that the spirit world manifests solely for us in our minds, and our perceptions have given us a resemblance of our physical world. In speaking or interacting to any point is to draw the spirit from our manifestation of the realm and into ourselves, upon doing so we find our experiences first hand of the lessons or knowledge that we seek.

In many ways we will not be aware of this interaction beyond speaking within the spirit world, yet upon our return to the physical we will be flooded with images, thoughts, feelings, and dreams of what the spirit we spoke with was teaching us. Within the spirit world we will have to face ourselves to separate from our spirit guide, to return to ourselves this can occur simply as saying “thank you” and walking away, when the release is accomplished and the spirit walks away in our manifest reality, it is leaving us in the physical world and our senses of elevation will be most evident to return to our bodies.

If this does not occur then simply waiting will tire our bodies eventually and pull us back with a guiding path to return with, if we disobey this path back and do not follow our senses of return then we may become lost, and join the realm with our own lessons to teach.

A Return –

Bringing forth the path of return from the spirit world is to essentially drive our spirit from the spirit realm back to our bodies. This can be tricky if not done properly for if we stay away too long in our awkward state, we may suffer brain or body damage and be forced to live with that unless we can heal ourselves.

A way to protect ourselves from having this occur is by keeping many living things of power close to us so when we leave our bodies, the living and positive energies will be available to heal us if we are gone and are unaware of what is occurring. Plants and caged animals serve this purpose well of staying near to us, as will certain large amounts of water in unmoving conditions, candles on surfaces where they will burn out before they set ablaze, and perhaps a window with sunlight or moonlight showing.

Things of living nature are essentially what we want for the spirit world is far from nature, and so nature will ease our return to our bodies as well as provide the nourishment we need to survive without our spirit. After the return to our bodies has taken place it is most essential to drink much water, to warm ourselves and to breathe fresh air, in essence to re-empower ourselves with the elements we have drawn out.

These techniques can of course be modified to suit anyone of any degree, and so just as this writing comes from myself, so will it from you if successfully achieved. If it has not worked then you are simply too attached to what society deems true, and when that falsehood leaves you, your results will be far more positive.

Daily OM for March 28th – Seeing Inside

Seeing Inside
Sight Versus Vision

Vision comes from within and shows us how to navigate the realms of thought, feeling, and emotion.

Sight is the ability to see the physical world while vision is the gift of seeing beyond it. Sight enables us to take the physical world in so we can participate in it with knowledge. It brings us pleasure through our eyes, which perceive the colors and shapes of all the myriad expressions of nature and human beings. It helps us feel in control, allowing us to see what is coming toward us, which way we are going, and exactly where we are standing at a given moment. We are able to read signs and books, navigate the interiors of buildings with ease, sense and perceive how a person is feeling by the expressions that cross her face.

As anyone who has lost their eyesight can tell you, though, there are things that are clearer when you cannot see the world through your eyes. One of the reasons many meditation instructors advise sitting with the eyes closed is because we automatically become more in touch with our inner world when we are not distracted by the outer world. It is in this state that vision becomes our mode of seeing. Vision comes from within and shows us how to navigate the realms of thought, feeling, and emotion. It enables us to see things that aren’t yet manifested in the world of form, and it also connects us to that part of ourselves that exists separately from the world of form.

As we age, even those of us with perfect eyesight will generally lose some of our acuity, but this loss is usually replaced with inner vision. This is the time of life when we are meant to turn inside and take what are sometimes the very first steps of a journey that cannot be traced on a map. We call upon intuition and feel our way along a path that ultimately carries us beyond the realm we can see with our eyes and into the land of spirit.

Elder’s Meditation of the Day – March 26

Elder’s Meditation of the Day – March 26

“In our modern world today, we may seem like drowning men because of the loss of much of our spiritual tradition.”

–Thomas Yellowtail, CROW

Our spiritual tradition shows us the way to live in harmony, balance and respect. The tradition taught us how to behave and how to conduct ourselves. The spiritual way taught us to pray and to purify ourselves. Handed down from generation to generation were the teachings about a way of life. Our relationship to Mother Earth and to each other was very clear. The Modern World does not relate to spirituality but to materialism. If we do not allow spirituality to guide our lives, we will be lost, unhappy and without direction. We are spiritual beings trying to be human, not human beings trying to be spiritual. It is said, Know thyself.

Grandfather, lead me to spirituality.

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