Meditation: On Love

Just finished meditating. I am overwhelmed with this sense of Divine Love. I feel so peaceful.

I began like always with a prayer. Further into the meditation I visualized a lotus blooming in my Heart. And it grew, and grew ... warmth spreading through my Heart, extending out through the Crown of my head. I held my focus and felt I was in the presence of an embodiment of the Mother. Such pure, nurturing love radiating, pulsating in my Heart, spreading to my Third Eye, Solar Plexus, pooling and bursting through my Crown. Holding this sweet fire, as it seemed to dissolve any blockages in the Heart chakra. Then spreading tingling to my hands and fingers, I love this sweet feeling. Even now I feel pressure in my Third Eye and Crown; my Throat and ears on fire. (Sorry, I'm not really clairaudient yet!) 

Messages of love came to mind. I will share a passage I wrote in February of 2012 as part of an assignment given while I was a student in the School of Metaphysics:

"Love is acceptance of wholeness that is intrinsically ours, of which we are a part of, and the recognition of this connectedness with all of creation. Love is the embodiment of this awareness.

Love is what is experienced when we feel connected with all of Creation. Love is expansive, inclusive, and beyond judgement. It transcends perceived separation, taking the forms of forgiveness, acceptance, and thankfulness. It is complete acceptance of ourselves for who we are -- and for that matter, anyone, for exactly who they are. Love is openness and awareness to the giving and receiving of energy with another aspect of ourselves -- since we are all connected -- and experiencing the life-generating fields from this movement of energy."

In this age of consciousness, especially following the completion of the Venus transit in 2012 (initiated in 2004), energies of love are much more readily abundant and available to us. It is important to connect to love -- love of ourselves, and the feeling love resonating when we connect with fellow souls. 

I am grateful. I strive to rest in the Heart. Whenever I experience any fears, doubts or worries, by focusing my awareness on the Heart center and trusting fully in this awareness,  anything else vanishes. It is remarkable and the more I practice, the easier it becomes. 

Today's meditation was a blessing, a validation and reminder to continue this and to share this message. 

Living From the Hara

Summer Solstice occurred last Friday. As the sun set on the shortest night of the year, I reflected on what I’ve been experiencing. Gratefully, it is fulfillment and manifestation -- this blog being one example. And not to talk too much about dreams, but in fact the night before the Solstice, I dreamed about being in my backyard tending three separate fires. Fire represents expansion. How fitting to be dreaming of fire also as the sun’s light was the longest of the year.

Manifesting means expanding beyond any fears, limitations or preconceived notions about what we believe is possible. It means utilizing qualities we have built in ourselves, igniting these with the creativity of our minds, and pushing outward with our will and personal power – our Hara.

I recently had my first Zen Shiatsu experience (also on the Solstice). The session begins and ends with assessing the Hara. In martial arts and Japanese healing arts like Zen Shiatsu, the Hara refers to the area of our lower belly and more. (More specifically, the tan tien or tan den is a point in the Hara and on the Haric Line resting below the navel.) All of the meridians of the body flow through here. It is our power center. 

In Healing Touch, we learn that when one is aligned with their Hara Line, they are grounded and strong in the intention of their soul's purpose. From Barbara Ann Brennan's book Light Emerging it states, “When our personal wants and desires are aligned with our spiritual longing or higher desires, our purposes are aligned and the creative principle in the universe can function unhindered” (288).

Yes! This is it, this is what I want -- to live from intentionality.

 "... to align the aspects of thinking, feeling, and willing. When thought, feeling and will to action are in harmony, they hold a synchronistic vibration (or harmonic resonance) that creates the possibility for a powerful and significant shift in health and wholeness” (Healing Touch Level 3 Workbook, 46). When aligned with the Hara, we bring the energy of intentionality into physical manifestation. It is quite possibly our most potent creative power.

At the apex of this year's light, I hope you too are manifesting your desires. Pour your light into your creations and relish their fulfillment. This is your power. 

My First Memory is a Dream

I was 2 or 3 years old. The dream goes, I was in my bedroom, in my crib. I had woken up during the night and was standing up in my crib, looking out of the open window across the bedroom. It was very quiet.  I had a sense of being self-aware.

Then the scene flashed, and I was in my mother's arms, and she was talking to me, soothingly, while looking out the window with me and explaining what was going on. Looking down onto our backyard, there were emergency vehicles - a fire truck, ambulance, police cars - and their lights were flashing silently, the sound of sirens became muted.

This only lasted a few seconds. Then the scene flashed again to me asleep in the crib. I remember hearing a chord, like the ending sound you hear to a movie's closing, as if to end this episode in my dreamtime. 

The thing is, I seemed to be observing these scenes as they happened, while also experiencing them. 

One can interpret the dream and say, I was piecing together elements from my recent experiences in daily life. Maybe I sat in a fire truck recently with my mom or saw some police cars with their lights flashing.

Another interpretation is me using my mind to see things outside of myself - outer circumstances which are drawing my attention. I'm doing this with the help of my highest Self, my highest guidance. And then finally coming back to a state of rest. The interesting thing is, there's an element of being Self-aware by experiencing and feeling the observer perspective.

I view this dream as me becoming aware of my own exploration of the world. Recognizing parts as outside of myself, rather than all-inclusive. It's fitting as my first memory because it’s surreal, quite literally a different world; definitely not a fixed reality, and surely the beginnings of my observer mind.

What are your first memories or dreams? Let’s explore. 

Hello and Welcome

I’m a Scorpio (Sun in Scorpio). While this might be a generalization, it’s a good place to start. Scorpios are intense, passionate, mysterious – and equally curious to explore all such things. What is hidden and obscure to many is the Scorpio’s dream. All things written here are always topics of meditation, exploration, and scrutiny in my everyday life.

On my journey as a healer, a spiritual entity and a human being, I can’t help but continually search for greater understanding about myself and the world each day. This is my inner mantra, my heartbeat.

I can’t help it – it’s simply what I do. This goes on whether written or not…  so why not share my insights and explorations along the way? Maybe they can spark something in you, too.

I’m a Chicagoland native.  I’m married and have a dog (best Puggle in the world!), 3 turtles, a tortoise, and a lizard (the snake and toad passed away a couple years ago, unfortunately). I am studying and practicing in energy medicine to become a healer. My previous career was in Life Sciences – trajectories in life ranging from veterinary to ecological sciences, settling in research and development of eco-friendly commercial plant products for a time.

I thirst for knowledge and wisdom.  I explore topics related to metaphysics, astrology, energy work, healing arts, science, and even philosophy. Connecting ideas and fields of thought within cultural and narrative contexts, these topics are sometimes covered more distinctly and objectively, while other times more fluid and interwoven in personal experience. Throughout are the underpinning that we are individual beings of light, endowed with free will, intelligence and a purpose to be creators. We are first and foremost spirit, encapsulated in a soul, harnessing universal energy and substance into energy bodies and finally physical matter. We are meant to live our soul’s purpose, gaining wisdom and understanding each lifetime to become whole and complete as a spiritual being – and in fulfilling our individual paths, we also elevate the collective.

My love of nature is profound and integral to who I am. I have a daily spiritual practice that hinges upon meditation, mindfulness and energetic practices. My ways to express these are through Kundalini Yoga, Middle Eastern Dance (bellydance), and Shamanic Dreaming. I have studied formally and informally many modes of spirituality, including Metaphysics and Shamanism. Many of my practices lead back to honoring the Divine Feminine, embodied in the Earth Mother – hence my love of nature.

All in all, my spiritual practices are geared to expand mindfulness and elevate consciousness, and integrate spirituality into physical life.

Oh. And I’m still human. I love electronic dance music (even before this term was coined), dancing, working out, biking, and working with plants and animals (especially reptiles). I love all kinds of food and being healthy, invigorating activities, comedy, and driving fast … shhh….

This blog is for me as much as it is for you. If you find something that startles you or disturbs your preconceived notions about the world, good! Please help me do the same. Otherwise, how else will I continue to learn and grow?

There is no one path. There is only the beauty of the individual journey and how it finds its way. Here is mine.