Healing Light and Shadows: Arica Palms and Banana Plant
by Sheila Finkelstein
Thank you, Jan, for the invitation to participate in these month’s “Nature as Healer” issue. Life’s synchronicities often amaze me. I participate in a weekly writing group. A recent, timed, four minutes of free flow writing fell perfectly into place for this issue.
The prompt was to a quote that unintentionally appeared this day, William Wordsworth’s, “Come forth into the light of things. Let Nature be your teacher.”
The Buddha Chick Life theme of the month was far from my thoughts as I wrote (then edited for this): “What is Nature teaching me as I look out through my patio’s wall-to-wall windows, across the width of my house?
I see a variety of leaves, the dead and live ones of the ginger plant and other bushes. Then there are the Arica Palms, many of the long slender leaves browned and crisp, ready to drop.
During the past six years ago, the palms have grown quickly, blocking out the light that had my first banana plant grow so tall. The latter produced a huge bunch of good-size bananas. My excitement with the growth of this first banana plant, for me, resulted in my taking a couple thousand photographs. The picture-taking actually became part of the healing aspect of Nature for me. Being in it, and with it, as I took photos of whatever called my eye and soul, became a stress reliever as well as a re-energizer. Further healing, relaxation and release of the anger at the impact of Parkinson’s Disease on my husband, occurred as I ran the downloaded photos as a slide show on my computer. Ultimately 100 of these photos, along with healing music, resulted in "Banana Sky" DVD, so others could experience some of the same.
The banana and the palm plants and their behaviors taught me about the beauty of light and shadows... the reminder that in order for there to be shadows there must be light.... I also saw the beauty that's available in death. This visual, visceral experience over several months shared powerfully the cycle of life and death at a time when I didn't really want to be dwelling on it. The fear, in denial, of losing my husband was there underneath it all.
On the more intellectual level, I learned that an individual banana plant lives only as long as its fruiting cycle. Then it dies off. Subsequent to the passage of the first, the palms grew larger and the banana plant had new shoots. Ultimately there were two and three plants with far less light, now overpowered by the palms blocking most of the sunlight.
The next season of the banana plants had one with two bunches growing on each. Albeit smaller bananas, they were still lively and tasty. The plants continue going through their cycles, simply differently and abundantly in their own way, teaching and reassuring us ongoingly of the Natural rhythms of life.
Sheila, www.sheilafinkelstein.com, is a photographer, an author, and a relationship coach who works with individuals and groups, teaching them how to use photography as a tool for creating new ways of seeing their world.
As caregiver to her husband, Sam, of 47 years, who was afflicted with Parkinson's Disease for over 12 of those years, Sheila found the camera to be a tremendous aid in restoring her own emotional balance. No matter what, each day ended with "I love you."
Sheila now passionately helps her clients find - and experience - wonder and magic in their relationships. The individuals with whom she works, together with their partners, build a treasure chest of actions and memories, so they know they are loving fully (before it's too late). They deepen their communication in areas in which they’ve been avoiding. They experience the loving touching that had been missing. Acts of love occur spontaneously, including giving and receiving unexpected gifts. Acknowledgment abounds. See www.LoveWithNoRegrets.com for more information.
Nature and energy medicine have been linked together in cultures around the world for thousands of years. In energy healing traditions, imbalances or blocks on an energetic level, which include both our mind and body, are treated. Among the many methods used to do so is contact with natural elements. Historically, each tradition had different ways of classifying the elements – the Greeks used the classical four of earth, water, fire, and air. Hindu systems added a fifth element – ether. Chinese systems included these, and added others such as wood and metal.
In the classic 7-chakra system, each chakra is associated with an element, and we can work with these elements to help strengthen, balance, or clear our chakras. Although the elements vary, the most common mapping is:
1st (Root) – Earth 2nd (Sacral) – Water 3rd (Navel) – Fire 4th (Heart) – Air 5th (Throat) – Ether 6th (Third Eye) – Light 7th (Crown) – Space/Source
Spending time in nature connecting to each of these elements is one powerful way to clear and strengthen the energies associated with the corresponding chakra. However, visualization work is also very powerful – you can connect with the vibration of each element within your mind, particularly if you visualize somewhere you have actually been. By connecting mentally with the energy of the place and its elements, you can actually shift the energetic balance of your subtle body, benefiting both your physical body and mind.
Here’s some ideas for working with the elements and the first four chakras, each of which is linked to one of the natural elements of earth, water, fire, or air:
Root Chakra - Earth
Our root or first chakra is associated with our ability to feel grounded, safe and secure, as well as being physically associated with our bones, adrenals, and immune system.
To strengthen your root chakra using earth try:
· Gardening, or working with plants indoors or out.
· Sitting or lying down on rich, fertile earth, focusing on the feeling of solidity and nourishment beneath you.
· Anchoring yourself into the earth by visualizing tendrils of light extending from your root chakra (at your tailbone) down into the earth beneath you. You can do this even when meditating inside, by imagining the earth beneath the building you are in (I start my meditation each day this way.)
Sacral Chakra - Water
Our second or sacral chakra is associated with our emotions, creativity, sensuality, sexuality, and ability to adapt. Physically it is associated with our reproductive organs, bladder, ovaries (in women), and prostate (in men.)
To nourish your sacral chakra using water try:
· Soaking, standing, or swimming in water. Imagine it cleansing and dissolving that which you do not need.
· Gazing a body of water. Watch the way it moves – the fluidity and adaptability, and the way it parts and moves around obstacles.
· Visualizing yourself sitting on a beautiful beach, preferably one you have been to before. Imagine streams of light flowing between the body of water and your sacral chakra, in your lower pelvis area, cleansing and nourishing your energy there.
Navel Chakra - Fire
Our third or navel chakra is associated with our personal power, will, mental activity, sense of individual identity, and boundaries. Physically it is associated with our digestive system, including our pancreas.
To clear and empower your navel chakra using fire try:
· Standing in the sunlight with your eyes closed and focusing on the heat of the sun on your skin (with sunscreen on of course!) You’ll get your vitamin D quota for the day too.
· Gazing a candle flame, or fire in a fireplace. Allow your eyes to blur a bit, and connect with the heat and movement of the flame.
· Visualizing the sun or a flame in your navel chakra, just below your belly button. Imagine the heat of the flame is clearing away debris, fueling your will, and empowering your sense of personal boundaries and identity.
Heart Chakra - Air
Our fourth or heart chakra is associated with our ability to love and be loved, to connect with people, and to feel compassion, equanimity, and balance. Physically it is associated with our heart and lungs, and with our thymus gland.
To heal and open your heart chakra using air try:
· Spending time in a clean, green park with plenty of fresh air. Focus on breathing in the oxygen produced by the trees and plants around you. Feel the breeze on your face and skin.
· Standing in the wind and asking it to take whatever is blocking your heart with it as it blows through and by you. Ask it to bring in new insight and compassion.
· Visualizing a beautiful light breeze blowing from front to back through your heart chakra. You can also work with breathing exercises – focus on taking long, deep breaths, inhaling healing and compassion, and exhaling anything you no longer need.
Don’t forget to say thank you to Mother Nature when you are done – gratitude can shift our awareness and energy faster than almost anything else. I hope you enjoy these simply ways to work with your chakras and the elements.
~~~~~
On a side note, I’m very excited to announce my first teleseminar – Healing and Empowering Your Sacral Chakra, starting June 4th and running for 6 weeks. The sacral chakra is central to women’s energy bodies, and the focus of many women’s spirituality traditions. In this class – which you can participate in live or through recordings - I will guide you through many methods for working with it. Here is the link to learn more:
Also, I’m doubly excited to announce I will be teaching at a retreat in Bali this Fall, with Cyndi Dale, Chantal Monte, and Anthony J.W. Bensen. This will be an amazing, transformative spiritual adventure - I hope you can join us! ~ Lisa Erickson.
Lisa is a meditation teacher, energy worker, writer, and mom to three. She loves helping people heal and explore the unseen aspects of themselves through chakra (energy center) meditation and related energy body work. She specializes in women's energetics - the distinct characteristics and phases of women's subtle bodies, and the special spiritual doorways available to women through their feminine divinity. In her work she draws on many diverse traditions, including Vajrayana Buddhism, Tantra, Zen, gnostic Christianity, shamanism, yoga, astrology, and several energy healing systems, most particularly the work of Cyndi Dale. She writes on all these subjects at her blog Mommy Mystic (http://www.MommyMystic.com), as well as writing regularly on Buddhism for Bellaonline (http://buddhism.bellaonline.com/Site.asp), where she is the Buddhism site editor. She offers classes, workshops and personal sessions through The Maat Institute (http://www.themaatinstitute.com.) Lisa's column here is entitled, "Women's Energetics."
Read more May 2012 articles by clicking the "Previous" link just below
Leave your comment below to be entered into the Giveway Drawing for this book.
I would like to share with you my thoughts on the book written primarily by Master Steven CO, along with Eric B. Robbins, MD and John Merryman. The book, The Power of Prana, Breathe Your Way to Health and Vitality, I found it to be a text book to be used by the medical community and those that have difficulty with their own health. I love how Master CO bridges Eastern Medicine to our Western Culture.
I was hooked by this beautiful book in the Introduction. The question asked was, "Why Do People Have Low Energy?" We are lacking in our life force. We are depleted of energy and feel mentally and physically ill. During the Introduction as well, Master CO talked about our medical health system and shared what his experience had been during his residency. He talked about what the procedures would be when a patient would come in complaining of fatigue or lack of energy. The doctor would run tests to rule out health issues and if nothing was found to be wrong, the diagnoses may be, "It is all in your head or you are way over stressed." Wow, did bells start ringing in my own mind. Master CO was speaking to me, that is how I felt. I am a woman who manages Lupus, Fibromyalgia and four other auto-immune disorders. I was finally (after eight different doctors) given my diagnoses and use many Eastern, turned more Western techniques to manage illness and build my life force (energy).
The definition of Prana Energy as I understand it is allowing yourself to be guided by the invisible energies within yourself, one of which is using your breath. Before you know it, you will feel the flow of Prana or Life Energy within you and understand what is good for you and what you need to heal and grow and achieve happiness and inner peace. I have found the breath as a life energy in this book, The Power of Prana, to be of great value for healing and another practice I can richly benefit from. Knowing nothing about the subject or the word Prana, I also found it enlightening, and the perfect theme for further investigation. I use meditation, yoga, breathing rituals already in my healing and for equanimity. My reading intentions became clear and were quite basic for myself, to learn the "Nine Energizing Breaths" to simply enhance a healthier lifestyle of healing.
That's the beauty of this book. As Master CO points out, its applications are multifaceted. Everyone can enjoy the book for a variety of reasons--to help with low energy, as an alternative to medical treatment options, to satisfy curiosity or as a point of entry into more advanced esoteric study. I didn't expect a book chock-full of information, but it is. Rather than just heading to the exercise pages and skipping everything else (which you can readily do), I, instead, read the book cover to cover—actually twice. It is very organized, very explicit in directions, and goes above and beyond breathing basics. In fact, The Power of Prana touches base on a complete system of spiritual practices and meditations.
I am still practicing the Nine Energizing Breaths for my well-being. I have seen and felt change in the flow of my body. I am pleased to share with you that most anyone can learn this technique. Master CO explains each one and what it's purpose is and what the result can be. Another important learning for me was the step by step meditations he takes us through for body wellness. He teaches us what is happening to our being in the contemporary world we live in. I know many of us relate to the "never stopping syndrome." Master CO also teaches us in Part One of this book a spiritual and energetic framework for our contemporary world and how to heal. In Part Two, you will learn how to build your energetic foundation. In Part Three, the real fun begins as you learn the Nine Energizing Breaths and how they relate to your life. They are also joyous as a practice for keeping centered and healing. In Part Four, Master CO goes deeper and adds advanced practices for enhanced purification and sustained energy. This is where I learned meditations that went deeper into my being.
There is so much to this book, far more than you can see upon the surface except through the dedication of practice each day, for a few undemanding minutes, and then more and more as you come to peace, health, vitality, and awareness. These practices Master CO lends to us you will not find in a doctor's office, in a medication, or by reading a book. You must take responsibility to bring awareness to your heart and mind and this book will absolutely do just that. I started off by calling this a "text book" and that is exactly what it is. It is a book to be studied, practiced, to go back to again and again. I am thankful I have had the opportunity to read and now add the practice of Prana Power through the sacred breath given to me. I hope you, too, will take the opportunity to sit and experience many teachings and healings within your energy force.
Thank you to Master CO for your wisdom, love of Eastern medicine that applies to our current world, and for writing The Power of Prana, Breathe Your Way To Health And Vitality.
Namaste,
Cindy Hively
Don't forget to leave your comment below to be entered into the Giveway Drawing for this book. The winner will be drawn May 1.
Master Stephen Co is a personal student of Grandmaster Choa Kok Sui and one of only two Certified Master Pranic Healers in the world. He is a senior instructor at the World Pranic Healing Organization and has taught thousands of people throughout the world, including the United States, Asia, and Europe. He is the author of The Power of Prana (Sounds True, 2011) and Your Hands Can Heal You (Free Press, 2003).
Grow and Glow With Conscious Intention Healing (Part I)
by Cindy Harpe Hively
I want to share something that is a passion and near and dear to my heart:
HEALTH AND WELLNESS LIVING ... AND AWAP... ("As Well As Possible").
Even though you may be living with a life difficulty, or with an illness, is your life on the "Grow and Glow?" I sure hope so. It is still a new year, a new month, a new YOU.....Yes, it can be a new YOU! All of these growth seeds can be tough to measure, but you know when you have it and when you don't. As we learn from our dis-eases, we can still cultivate what is within to heal and make us feel better, no matter how many tough life difficulties are knocking at our door. It is so true. Along with cultivation I am now living with CONSCIOUS INTENTION HEALING. This has been a challenge, but this practice is providing healing for myself and others.
I have been working on my own life difficulties these last two months and have miraculously seen and felt a shift in healing. I am working on my life intentions and with other women who are challenged with life difficulties of all kinds. Every morning when I wake up I choose my intentions for the day, what am I going to do and how I am going to feel. What will be my attitude and how will I determine what part of myself (mind, body, spirit) I will give my intention to for healing. This is very scientific stuff and as someone who has begun to practice living with intention, I know it works. Here is an example of what science is saying about conscious intention healing. This information wows me because we do have the information now to start healing in new ways.
Your intentions play a vital role in your healing process, as a positive attitude promotes healing. This knowledge is undeniable and instinctive. Medical communities in cultures all around the world have known for thousands of years that a focused positive patient is more likely to heal. Yet using your intentions to assist your healing is not promoted in the Western medical system.
Why is this important aspect of healing overlooked and what can you do about it? Since the 1950s when Watson and Crick solved the structure of DNA, the scientific community has been obsessed with finding a structural biochemical explanation for every biological event. In 2003, the human genome was sequenced and at that time this promised to be the final frontier in molecular biology, which would leave few remaining mysteries. Rather than solving all biological questions, it became very evident that there are many important mechanisms which are poorly understood. Stem cells are particularly effective at highlighting some key concepts that remain unknown. Every cell in a person’s body carries the exact same genetic information, yet the brain cells look and function dramatically different than skin cells.
How is this possible? It turns out that there are proteins that associate with the DNA, and it is these proteins that determine which genes are “turned on” and which ones are not. It is this selective control of the DNA that results in these cells having completely different properties. These discoveries resulted in the development of a new field of study known as epigenetics. This is important in regard to healing because these proteins are incredibly sensitive to their environment. The slightest change in your environment results in significant changes to these proteins, which subsequently influence every aspect of cell metabolism. When you are trying to improve your health, regardless of what the medical condition is, the goal is to change cell metabolism such that balance can once again be restored. Your environment has a significant and detectable impact on changes in every cell in your body.
A crucial factor in your environment is how you choose to perceive events, as your body reacts differently when relaxed as opposed to when it is stressed or tensed. If you perceive a situation as positive and ideal for healing, then this changes the environment within your body. This directly influences cellular events and consequently your health. Know that your own thoughts and intentions influence your biochemistry, thus assisting your healing process. Remember that your cells are conscious organisms doing everything possible to maximize their contribution to your health and well-being. Every cell in your body is functioning together for the benefit of the whole organism: you! This knowledge is very empowering because you have the power to influence every biochemical event that occurs in your body.
“Know what needs to change for your particular imbalance to be corrected efficiently. Know that metabolic processes are dynamic, allowing change to occur, then use your intentions to manifest this difference.” –Adam
Your intention is what your focus is for that day. The idea is to set your intention in the morning and then be that throughout the day. Rather than just let stuff happen to you and your negative feelings react, you can control them by focusing on what your intention for that day is. For example what would your day be like if you were to choose to be peaceful for the day, to focus on being peaceful in everything you do? You might wake up and have a day ahead you are not particularly looking forward to, but what would it be like if you chose to be playful instead of, perhaps, resentful? What difference would that make?
Intention is also where you support you in becoming the most powerful version of yourself you can possibly be. It is empowering you to live the life you want to live. Whether you want the intention of fine-tuning your body, focusing your mind, healing your pain, mastering your emotions, or reaching greater spiritual heights, with setting your intention, and with practice, you are starting a new way of thinking and living. There are days I feel so excited because my mind, body and spirit supports me on my journey.
The connection of Body, Mind and Spirit is undeniable. Recognizing this truth, you are able to assist your own being in perfecting the art of using intention, an empowerment of the mind, to create your physical reality with deliberate purpose. Our body is the first place our thoughts manifest in the physical world. When we use our mind, we affect our body. With focused positive intention, we consciously shape our body, our relationships, and our life. With a strong spiritual foundation, which means you are grounded in love and compassion for yourself and others, you are able to connect mind to body.
The intelligence of the body is often overlooked in Western culture. As important as it is to master the mind, it is imperative for us to ground and center ourselves in our bodies so that we can most effectively utilize this intelligence. When was the last time you stopped to feel your heart beat inside your chest? Do you feel the subtle effects different foods have on your body? While we are shifting quickly, we are largely a society of people disconnected from our bodies, enduring greater occurrences of obesity, sky-rocketing stress levels, and evermore devastating disease gone awry.
Looking back in my life, I can see where experiences have brought me to the place of illness, sadness, and lack of trust. I have been revisiting these experiences with the Intention of forgiveness for myself and others, to heal. This disconnect from our physical bodies is evident in our relationship to the larger body that houses us, the Earth. It is time for us to embrace a new way. I invite you to discover this ever-expanding community of conscious Intention, to get clear on what you want and who you choose to be and to step into full alignment with your goals and your destiny. Together, we will manifest our biggest, brightest imaginings.
So what to do? What happens when we set intentions, we can cultivate infinite growth and healing; we realize we can be changed and we have the power within to change. I know some things are harder than others. This is a practice. What I am talking about is a life long project. It requires a wise heart, mindfully understanding why we have held onto beliefs that do not serve us well, and how to let them go with conscious intention.
Put on your "Scientist Lab Coat" and study why you may hold onto these thoughts and mindsets. There are people that are doing this now (in many ways). Sometimes it's not easy to gratify easily attainable wellness. It is a new way of living. Here we have another reason to practice turning the microscope lens within. Over time, it will become easier to react to such desires and really begin to act in a way that brings true growth, by practicing Intention Healing. ("Practice makes progress not perfection," as Jan Lundy would say.)
Can you imagine how your life would change if you start this very instant observing mindsets in your life that will lead you to wellness by setting conscious intention. And then, who knows what will emerge! They say the future is already here, just not evenly distributed yet.
Below are a few "Glow Growth Conscious Intentions" I am working on this year. What are yours?
- Grow in generosity (give more of myself)
- Grow in compassion (connect more deeply with myself, people/planet)
- Grow in physical health (deeper care for 'lifestyle habits')
- Grow in mental health (deeper knowledge/understanding of the world)
- Grow in family/community (build more and deeper ties with others based on shared values)
- Grow in balance/wisdom (continual movement towards deeper harmony within and without)
- Grow in fun! (deeper joy at every moment)
Now go get your GLOW on and begin your new GROWTH with INTENTION.
Cindy calls the Roanoke Valley in Virginia her home. She is surrounded by beautiful mountains that inspire and heal her everyday. Having worked twenty five years in the retail industry, she moved up quickly and loved her career, but had to quit work due to chronic illness. She is on a healing journey through Metta meditation, mindfulness practices and self compassion. Cindy's heads up the "Mindful Living" department here. She also writes here: "Awakening The Woman Within" with Goffstown Today, www.Goffstowntoday.com Simple Steps Real Change, FB page http://www.simplestepsrealchange.com Psychological Health of Roanoke, VA, www.PsychHealthRoanoke.blogspot.com Cindy (Harpe) Hively FB page, http://facebook.com/cindyhivelybc
Goddesses for Every Day: Exploring the Wisdom and Power of the Divine Feminine Around the World
by Julie Loar
Guest Author and Book Giveaway!
I've just begun to read this unique book which is full of fun and wonder at the outset. Author, Julie Loar, has created a work of art, gathering together the wisdom and legacy of goddesses from around the world. From White Tara in the Tibetan tradition; to Woyengi, a creation goddess of the Nigerian people; to Kali Ma, a beloved luminary to Hindus, Ms. Loar pulls out all the stops to deliver 365 goddesses. No small feat!
As a trained teacher of anthropology and comparative religions, you can imagine how much I am enjoying this book. As a woman on the path to understanding myself—and connecting to the Sacred Feminine within—I'm reveling in its ability to open and inspire me to explore the fullness of the Feminine in its many forms.
We're pleased to present an article by the Ms. Loar, one that is sure to stir your heart too. It's based on her book and is a thought-provoking piece on how we can (and should) reclaim Feminine power by connecting with the Sacred within. Enjoy!
Leave a comment below and you will be entered into a Giveaway drawing to win a copy of Goddesses for Every Day. May your inner goddess grow!
~ Jan Lundy, Editor
Reclaiming Feminine Power by Julie Loar
Nearly forty thousand years ago a Great Goddess was revered, and clay figures of her are the earliest depictions of humans that have been found.Cultures were more agricultural, time was experienced as circular, and the growing cycles of earth were honored.Seasonal festivals celebrated the annual ebb and flow of life as people moved in conscious resonance with shifting cycles of light and dark, life and death.Western culture no longer moves in harmony with natural cycles.In fact, we can no longer see the stars.
In ages past, women were revered as givers of life, and each stage of a woman's life was viewed as an important crossroad, or rite of passage.Women understand cycles because they frame our lives, and there is an intrinsic ebb and flow to the feminine experience.The stages of a woman's life are demarcations of menstruation:pre-puberty, childbearing years, and the cessation of menstrual flow.Each month of an adult woman's life forms a complete cycle of birth and death; a microcosm of life itself.Across the globe these phases were seen as Maiden, Mother and Crone, or Elder, and worshipped as a “triple goddess.”Women’s cycles were seen as mirrors of the cycles of the Sun, Moon and stars.Most ancient cultures honored the elder Crone as a woman who had come fully into her power.Today we fear age, losing the wise voice of experience.
Serious scholars of myth have noticed that the tenor of the stories began to change, and symptoms of this shift in Greek myths included an increasing glorification of war, accompanied by a deteriorating value of agriculture and cyclical time. Western culture has devalued, even demonized, aspects of the feminine for nearly 4,000 years, effectively pushing these archetypes beneath our conscious awareness.The goddess was diminished and was replaced by a solitary, authoritarian male god.The loss of the divine feminine has resulted in a rupture of mind and heart, reverberating through the centuries in violence, alienation and growing environmental devastation.
A resurgence of the sacred feminine is sweeping the planet, but what is the nature of the feminine side of the divine?How is Goddess different from God?These realities profoundly affect the way women view and value themselves and likewise how men perceive everything feminine.The many facets and myriad manifestations of the Goddess embody a seeming paradox, complex and sometimes contradictory.Like life itself, her expressions can be alternately gentle, fierce, loving and nurturing, or creative or destructive.Feminine power is magnetic and attractive, unlike masculine power that sets out to conquer, however subtly.The power of woman is also like the all-encompassing depths of the ocean—able to contain all the joys and sorrows in the world—and still give.
I believe humanity has a deep need to revere the feminine side of the divine.This unmet need is surfacing in our time in such examples as the phenomenal popularity of The Da Vinci Code, which highlighted principles of the feminine.Apparitions of Mary, mother of Jesus, are on the rise around the world.One of the most documented in recent times was in Zeitoun, Egypt, where hundreds of thousands of people of diverse beliefs stood side by side, over a period of twenty-three years, watching as Mary appeared over a small church in a suburb of Cairo. Millions make annual pilgrimages to Fatima, Lourdes, and the site of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico.Worldwide response to the death of beloved Princess Diana of Wales also spoke to our need to revere a feminine archetype.
Women can reconnect and reclaim feminine energy by learning to move more consciously in resonance with cycles:monthly, yearly, and the stages of our lives from maiden, mother and elder crone or grandmother.Embracing the deep symbolic meaning of the cycles of our blood is empowering.Indian cultures have moon lodges where women can be apart when they bleed as this is seen as the height of their monthly power.Paying attention to the phases of the Moon is a simple and powerful way to honor the constant, but ever changing, Moon.We can create a symbolic moon lodge in our own lives.
Seeking the wisdom and counsel of a grandmother can bring that stage of life back to its once-honored place.The strength of a grandmother is a potent force indeed, someone who has stood at the gates of birth and faces the portal of death. We should be willing to sit at the bedside of someone who has chosen to die consciously through hospice. These gateways were once the domain of the crone before being stolen by the patriarchy.
Women can learn more about the diverse myths of global goddesses, taking in the rich legacy of feminine power that was suppressed for so long.Many of these goddesses are alive and well in Hawaii, Africa, India and neo-paganism. Ancient Egyptians said every woman was a nutrit, a “little goddess,” after the nature of the great goddess Nut.I believe it’s time for every woman to live like she believes it.
Julie Loar (formerly Gillentine) has been a student of metaphysics, mythology, and symbolism for more than thirty years. She has traveled to sacred sites around the world researching material for her award-winning books and teaching. She conducts workshops and lectures nationally, and each year she leads a sacred journey to Egypt. She was an executive in two major corporations before turning to writing full-time. Julie lives in Colorado.
The Intimate Life: Awakening to the Spiritual Essence in Yourself and Others ~ Judith Blackstone
A Book Review by Linda Lyzenga
A Book Giveaway Courtesy of Sounds True!
Leave a comment below to be entered into the Giveaway drawing to receive a copy of The Intimate Life!
The Intimate Life ~ A Book Review by Linda Lyzenga
“As we learn the spiritual lessons of compassion and non-grasping, as we trace our way backward through the labyrinth of our psychological defenses, as we attune inward to the subtlest essence of our being, we are transformed into lovers of life. “
Reading this concluding sentence in the book, The Intimate Life by Judith Blackstone, PhD, gave me a picture of the author holding up a mirror and inviting her readers to share in her accounts – professional, client experiences, and personal observations of fundamental consciousness and then take a look at themselves in the mirror. This, my experience with the book, sums up what the author has tried to do – answer the question: how can we deepen this capacity for contact, to become adept at love.
She broadens our typical definition of love to something more than just romantic love between two intimate partners to a more encompassing response of our heart to our own selves and to the world around us.
I have to say that this book found me. Its effect on me was a warm, dynamic response. – An invitation - overall, quite stunning. Am I recommending it? Dare you look in the mirror? Transparency, a major theme, is needed to relate to the personal accounts in the book and tenacity is required to read her sometimes clinical repetitious explanations. Her repetition, not really redundant, merely reminds, reinforces, and supports her recognition that this may be new stuff. Indeed, to much of what was covered I say, “I don’t understand – but I “get it.”
Each of the seven chapters concludes with experiential exercises which help bring into focus the awareness, emotion, and physical sensations that are fundamental consciousness. Most of them allow for sharing the exercise with a partner. Personally, I did not have that advantage, yet benefitted from them nonetheless. They did indeed awaken something inside of me. This is what I loved about the book - As a woman reading Dr. Blackstone’s book my heart resonated with the subtitle -AWAKENING TO THE SPIRTUAL ESSENCE IN YOURSELF AND OTHERS.
Interestingly I found that the author’s personal statement brings last month’s theme here at Buddha Chick Life, In Love with Life together with March’s theme, Celebrating the Feminine – as I awakened a bit more to the spiritual essence of my feminine self.
The author, Judith Blackstone, is a licensed clinical psychotherapist in New York, author of numerous books and an innovative teacher in contemporary spirituality. If you’re at all familiar with Sounds True, the publisher of this book on spirituality and relationships, you’ll recognize Dr. Blackstone as one of their contributing authors and teachers.
Can I recommend it?
Familiarity with body awareness through breath and body work &/or the practice of yoga, this could be a helpful resource for your healing journey.
The Hindu Chakra System is foundational to Dr. Blackstone’s teachings here. Her generous explanations of this, which I had only limited understanding of, were very helpful.
If you’re daring to awaken to your spiritual essence and have been looking for greater intimacy in the truest sense of the word, this could be the book you’ve been looking for. Or, is this the book that has found you?
It our pleasure to announce that one of our gifted columnists, Kaveri Patel, has just released her first book of poetry: An Invitation. And what an invitation it is, one that I'm certain each us hopes we can accept with as much passion and determination as Kaveri has.
This soulful work contains 51 poems that take us on a remarkable journey " in" as we reconnect with our True Nature. Kaveri shows us the way—with courage and grace—how we too can passionately plunge into our own vasts depths to re-discover who we really are, as well as who we are meant to be.
Affectionately dubbed "Mermaid" by some of her friends (and suitably so), Kaveri leads by example, sharing her journey of diving and resurfacing; healing old wounds, cultivating loving-kindness and self-compassion and, ultimately, embracing the Sacred Feminine, a healing, unifying force like no other.
We hope you enjoy this interview with Kaveri. May it inspire you to embrace your own wisdom found in the waves of life ...
An Interview with Kaveri Patel
First of all Jan, thank you so much for the invitation to share my book on Buddha Chick Life. I respect the writing and music of so many BCL contributors and feel honored to share this sacred space with you all.
1. What led you to the writing of your book, An Invitation? I attended a women's writing retreat where I came across a book of poems by Mary Oliver. Something about the book called to me so I bought it. A few weeks later, I watched a movie called "Listen to Your Heart" and realized life is too short to wait for the 'right' time to publish a book. I began to visualize the cover art work and layout and intuitively knew I needed to give birth to my own book of poems.
2. How long have you been writing poetry? I wrote my first poem about apartheid in the eighth grade in response to Alan Paton's Cry, The Beloved Country. I've been writing off and on ever since. My first poems were mostly romantic in nature, seeking that so-called other half of my missing soul that would complete me. Through postpartum depression, suffering, and a series of awakenings, I began to realize that my house of trust had to be built on a foundation fashioned from my own faith.
3. How has writing in this way impacted/changed your life? Through mindfulness and compassion practice, I've learned to connect with a loving presence who has been there all my life. She's been the spiritual shaman retrieving all unwanted parts of my fractured soul that I banished from consciousness. Writing helps me to pause and remember her. I can stay present with the mud of messy thoughts and emotions without getting stuck in them. Releasing them into the wide open space of a kind and caring heart, I identify with something larger than my small self. I become her, Infinite Love.
4. What do you perceive is the relationship between writing and spiritual growth? And healing? As women, we often look to the external world, our partners, our children, our family, friends, and coworkers for validation and acceptance. After reading Peggy Tabor Millin's book Women, Writing and Soul-Making: Creativity and the Sacred Feminine, I began to trust my own body and intuition to write and discover my own truths with Mother Nature as divine witness. When we pause to listen deeply with kindness and curiosity, our Sacred Feminine intuition will always guide us to true healing- a place we can safely call home.
5. What do you hope the reader will gain from reading your book? My sincere wish is for all women, all beings who read these poems to catch a glimpse of their True Nature and savor the sweetness of their own being. I know that's a tall order. I ask readers to look beyond the waves, all the stories of small self, beyond the labels given to us by parents, teachers, spiritual teachers, and others to the ocean's bottom for the pearl of wisdom they seek. Only by diving into the depths of our own being with patience, courage, and faith as our guides can we find the love we always sought elsewhere.
6. Do you have a favorite poem in the book?
Wow, that's a tough question! I'm not sure I have a favorite poem, but some of my favorites include: "Mornings", "Planting a Poem", "Leap of Faith", "Boddhisattvina", "I'm in Love" and "Thank You."
An Invitation can be purchased by contacting Kaveri directly:
Buddha Chick Life’s February theme is ‘In Love With Life’, and I find that refreshing in a month that we usually associate with cupids and valentines. There is so much pressure around the search for romantic love, and the expression of it. Women especially are conditioned from a young age to consider romantic love as the primary foundation for happiness. But isn’t loving your life the real key to happiness?
In relation to Energetics and energy body mappings – the topic of this column – the heart chakra is the center of our ability to experience love in any form. It is also the center of our energetic structure – literally the center chakra in the most commonly used 7-chakra mapping. And although there are many different energy center mappings that have evolved around the world through various healing and spiritual traditions, I have yet to find one that does not center on the heart chakra. The heart is the universally acknowledged center of our being.
What does it mean to open our heart chakra? In a way, all of life is about opening our heart chakra, especially once we consciously embark on a path of self-development. In our relationships with everyone in our life, from parents, children, and closest friends, to those we just interact with once a day or once a lifetime, we are always faced with choice points – situations in which we can choose to act from love or some other emotion or state. And either way, we feel the results. We learn over time, how it feels to live from love vs. something else. As social creatures, every human interaction becomes our spiritual practice, an opportunity to open our heart more.
But there are also formal spiritual practices and meditations designed to help us open our heart.Within these practices, our ability to access love is often described in terms of levels:
-The first level might be called emotional love. This is what we are culturally conditioned to think of as love – the actual feeling of love. The affection or warmth we feel for someone when we are intimate with them, or when we have a meaningful encounter in some form with them.
-The second level can be thought of as expanded or unconditional love. This is when we begin to experience love as a force that comes through us, and that does not require an attachment – a person we have feelings for – in order to be triggered.
-The third level is universal love. This is when we begin to know the source of our own being as love. We experience our entire being as an expression of love, as opposed to experiencing love as an emotion or state that comes and goes.
These levels are of course just a way of talking about love – the gradations and variations are infinite, perhaps as infinite as the number of people on the planet. But in many spiritual traditions – some people might say all spiritual traditions! – the spiritual process is about moving from emotional love, through expanded love, into universal love. And then learning to integrate that love into our every thought, word, and deed.
Here is a simple heart chakra meditation that anyone can use to begin to open their heart energy and explore the movement between these levels:
-Sit quietly and take a few deep breaths. Now visualize some being that you care deeply about, and who instantly evokes a deep sense of affection and connection in you. Often our most ‘uncomplicated’ relationships are the best focus for this – young children or even pets, with whom we have little emotional ‘baggage’, so that our mind doesn’t get pulled into mental conversations or distractions.
-Visualize this being for a few minutes, until you are actively feeling the emotion of love towards them. This may even manifest as a warmth or tingle in your chest area – your heart chakra. Don’t worry if your mind wanders – as with any meditation, just keep bringing your focus back.
-Now let go of the visualization, and see if you can sit in the feeling of love that you have generated. Don’t try and control the experience, but see if you can simply sit quietly in the feeling, without the visual cue. If it fades, simply re-establish your visualization for a bit.
-If you feel as if you are able to sit in this beautiful feeling of love without your visual cue, try to move your awareness towards the center of this love. See if you can find this center. In other words, actively seek the source for this feeling of love. Over time, this search will open you up to love in a universal way, to love as the source of your being. You may begin to experience yourself as an expression of love, rather than the other way around.
This practice is really a lifelong practice – in some spiritual traditions, it is literally so. There is no end to love, and so there is no end to the deepening this practice can activate. As our heart center evolves, we can learn to work with that energy in a new way in our daily lives as well. And that truly gives a whole new meaning to ‘In Love With Life!’
Lisa is a meditation teacher, energy worker, writer, and mom to three. She loves helping people heal and explore the unseen aspects of themselves through chakra (energy center) meditation and related energy body work. She specializes in women's energetics - the distinct characteristics and phases of women's subtle bodies, and the special spiritual doorways available to women through their feminine divinity. In her work she draws on many diverse traditions, including Vajrayana Buddhism, Tantra, Zen, gnostic Christianity, shamanism, yoga, astrology, and several energy healing systems, most particularly the work of Cyndi Dale. She writes on all these subjects at her blog Mommy Mystic (http://www.MommyMystic.com), as well as writing regularly on Buddhism for Bellaonline (http://buddhism.bellaonline.com/Site.asp), where she is the Buddhism site editor. She offers classes, workshops and personal sessions through The Maat Institute (http://www.themaatinstitute.com.) Lisa's column here is entitled, "Women's Energetics."
Beginning June 1, join us for "Writing for the Health of It," our new online course. 5 minutes a day, for 30 days, to write yourself into a happier, healthier you!
Receive a daily dose of compassion, mindfulness, and loving-kindness sent directly to your Inbox or by Twitter. Subscribe today!
Join us for an upcoming online course, retreat, or special event that will help you live with inner calm, clarity and wisdom.
RSS Feed
