What is New Age Anyway?

It’s people taking responsibility for their own lives, not blaming others for their problems. It’s people who deliberately decide to learn and grow.

It’s people who don’t have to be right, except for themselves.

It’s people seeing problems as lessons, perhaps in a long series of lives and lessons.

It’s people who believe we are what we think we are, and can change ourselves by changing our thinking.

It’s people who feel they can change the world by changing themselves, not by trying to change others.

It’s people who search for strength from the universe by going inside themselves.

It’s people that recognize that love doesn’t have to have conditions attached.

It’s people knowing and loving themselves in order to better know and love others.

It’s people who see others as not better nor less but rather different than themselves, yet part of the same whole.

It’s people that choose their own path rather than follow dogma.

It’s people honoring your right to your own path, not theirs.

It’s people who realize that now is all we have, since yesterday is just a thought and so is tomorrow.

It’s people interested in owning themselves rather than things.

It’s people who see joy in life rather than pain, having experienced enough pain already.

It’s people curious about extra sensory perception and all it implies.

It’s people in all walks of life, from business persons to flower essence healers, psychologists to UFO investigators.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

New Age is not a religion with a hierarchy of priests and rituals, seeking converts, though some new-agers choose some ritual.

New Age is not often gloom-and-doomers, though many are concerned about ecology, the economy and other forces that affect our world.

New Age is not a movement based on guilt, anger, fear, or hurt, it is a journey toward the love that is our god.

New Age is not allegiance to one master; it is learning from many masters in the quest for the oneness of god [all that is].

New Age could not become a cult because of what is said above.

New Age is not just humans doing, it is humans being.

Copyright © March 2001 Heart Links

Pantheism

by Paul Harrison

Pantheism is the belief that the universe and nature are divine. Every religion has had its pantheists. Pantheism is the perennial religion, which continually emerges from all transcendental or idealist religions.

In addition people in every religion have seen God in nature, whether they formally express that identity or not. Examples include Shaftsbury, Rousseau, and many poets from Wordsworth to Robinson Jeffers.

Pantheism has taken many diverse forms. Strict or scientific pantheism holds that God and the material universe are identical. Its first adherents were the Greek materialist Heraclitus, the Chinese Taoist Chuang Tzu, and the Stoic philosopher Zeno of Cittium. Later proponents have included the Christian David of Dinant, the neo-Confucian Chang Tsai, and the author of these pages, Paul Harrison. Taoism is a form of materialist pantheism, as are some types of Mahayan Buddhism.

There have been many other types of pantheism. All of them identify God in some way with what is considered most fundamental in the Universe.

Some pantheisms are idealistic or world-negating – believing that the visible world is unreal or an illusion, masking an underlying unity. These include the Eleatic school of Xenophanes and Parmenides, the Upanishads, and most schools of Mahayana Buddhism.

Related to pantheism, and included in this history, is panentheism. Panentheists believe that God is present in the sensible universe, but also extends beyond it. These include the neo-Platonist Plotinus and most Christian and Islamic pantheists such as Meister Eckhart, Ibn Al’Arabi or Attar.

Many panentheists, while accepting that the material world exists, are world-rejecting, believing that the material world is in some way separate from and inferior to the spiritual world. A common view is that the body is the prison of the soul, which can only be liberated if it suppresses the body’s needs, and only fully liberated after death.

The world-negating and world-rejecting pantheisms are as distant from scientific pantheism as it is possible to get. In a sense they are the reverse of pan-theism – “everything=God” – in that they deny or denigrate the “everything” part of the equation, at least in any normal sense of the word “everything.” They despise or deny the world of the senses and of the body. They are included in this history for completeness – and to remind us of pitfalls to avoid.

The Pantheist World View

The ancient faith of Pantheism is experiencing a modern resurrection. Pantheism, never a dogmatically defined philosophy, has evolved into a meaningful path for modern life. Its tenets are simple: the Universe is divine, the Earth is sacred. The Pantheist doesn’t get his or her God from any book or prophet, nor does he or she place ultimate faith in any of the inventions of Man, but rather in the creative Universe itself. It has been said that whatever you put your ultimate faith and trust in is your God, but to say that to the Pantheist “God is Nature” is incomplete. Pantheism can be viewed as a theistic religion, but alternatively as a world view relevant to the non-theist. Pantheism has known a long and varied religious history, dating back beyond Spinoza, to the Stoics of ancient Greece, the philosophers of ancient India, and the animism of many native cultures. However, there has been no organization to represent modern Pantheists until the formation of the Universal Pantheist Society in 1975. Today there is a great need for an ethical Pantheism.

In the modern world, the destruction of the biosphere and the need for an ecologically valid ethical system places Pantheism in a new position. While it is not necessary that Pantheism be seen as the sole solution toward revising human attitudes and behavior toward the natural world, the institution of the Pantheist world view is one way of insuring the survival and well-being of all life on Planet Earth. The label “Pantheism” isn’t necessary so much as an awareness of the wholeness and holiness of life.

In the struggle for responsible use and preservation of the Earth’s environment, reverence for Earth may be the only philosophical baseline that can match the powerful impetus of economic special interest.

Adherents of Pantheism understand it as a way of life, a way of viewing a world where human beings are but one of many living things. For the Pantheist, creator and context are one entity, the Universe being experienced holistically. Pantheists who use a theistic terminology define God as the Universe taken as a whole. The Universe is a creative process, thus our Creator; but at the same time we are a part of it. Pantheists derive their fundamental religious experience through their personal relationship with the surrounding Universe, recognizing that humanity is not apart from Nature, but that Nature is the ultimate context for human existence. Humanity’s unity with the Universe is our fundamental religious impulse. Thus, those who are uncomfortable with deities and names for deities, can still find comfort within Pantheism.

But Pantheism remains more than a mere philosophy of life, because all Pantheists, whether approaching religious ideas from a theistic or non-theistic viewpoint, have a sense of reverence for the world. Thus, Pantheists oppose the world view of anthropo-centrism – that is, a belief that the world was created exclusively for the benefit of human beings. Pantheists consider that anthropocentric attitude to be equivalent to specism; perhaps worse than racism in its capacity for undermining the very existence of our species as a part of the community of living things. The Pantheist religion is seen as a system of reverent behavior toward Nature rather than anthropomorphic deities.

Pantheists celebrate three different approaches to “knowing” or growing closer to the sacredness of the Universe: the way of knowledge, the way of devotion, and the way of works. By integrating these approaches, we recognize the unity of body and mind, nature and spirit, and fulfill the wholeness of being alive.

The intellectual approach (knowledge) for the Pantheist is the study of Nature. This includes everything from the most rigorous scientific research to personal observation of the natural world.

Pantheists likewise have their own forms of devotion which are significant approaches to religious experience. Communion with Nature may involve artistic expression, nature observation, or various forms of outdoor activities. Wonder, reverence, and awe are promoted by the simple practice of sensory awareness, and a sense of the miraculous is a vital aspect of a Pantheist’s personal devotion. Pantheists recognize that becoming connected in a real way with the genuine and awesome power of the vital primeval life-stream, both in external Nature and Nature within ourselves, is an authentic form of meditation, transcending temporary relaxation.

A dedication to living an ethical life style (works) is one of the most important modes of religious experience for the modern Pantheist. Doing some good in the world is properly understood to mean not merely to aid the well-being of neighbors, community, and humanity at large, but also to protect the natural environment upon which all living things depend. A respect for other creatures demands an affirmation of wildness and natural diversity. In working to preserve the biosphere, Pantheists are preserving a covenant with the Earth. An ethical Pantheist does not practice conservation out of simple self interest, but rather as a religious motivation, inspired by reverence for the world. This results in a concern for the natural, social, and psychic environment.

Reverent behavior toward the earth necessitates a personal commitment toward living in greater harmony with the biosphere. Mankind must use materials in the environment, just as any species, but blatant destruction is self-defeating. A devotion for the welfare of both humankind and the natural environment requires recognition of modern need for new life-styles of creative sustainability, in which we are producers as well as consumers.

Pantheism is in accord with current social movements which emphasize recycling, simple living, natural foods, and self sufficiency. Dietary choice helps to lighten the burden on the biosphere, to enhance understanding of our dependence on natural forces, and to honor our own bodies. Pantheists often avoid processed, denatured food, learning to eat and perhaps grow fresh, natural foods. Although some Pantheists are vegetarian, others simply try to live lower on the food chain.

Pantheist life-styles emphasize personal growth, natural living, creativity, and an attitude of nurture for living things, as opposed to the spiritual decay of materialism, high energy consumption, and consumptive forms of work and entertainment. To achieve a fully sustainable society may require a transformation of social and economic systems where such things as composting toilets and solar electricity can become commonplace. However, beginning with individual efforts, we can each work for such ideals by increasing recycling, gardening, non-motorized or at least public transportation, reducing waste, stopping pollution, and preserving natural habitats. Whether through lifestyle changes, or by pursuing educational, social, political, and spiritual outreach, we can work toward improved health, economic freedom, and a closer connection with natural forces. We can each find ways to cultivate our inner selves and help expand our human potential. For example, among the aids to personal improvement is periodic self-analysis and writing a personal mission statement. No one else can do it for you or tell you what to do; each of us must take responsibility to implement a lifestyle of Pantheist fulfillment.

For the Pantheist, the Universe as context is a way of understanding one’s place in the world. We know that the fulfillment of a meaningful life depends upon a good relationship with our ultimate context: the Universe and the Earth. Humankind and our inventions are integral parts of the Universe, but should not be allowed to become out of balance with a healthy biosphere. Imbalance is unhealthy for both Nature and the individual as well. The promotion of harmony among people and context is the Pantheist’s ultimate religious pursuit, both for our personal life and as a societal objective.

© Copyright 1979 Universal Pantheist Society

To charge an herb is a process of reverence. You must acknowledge the gift of nature, understand that it will benefit your work and be willing to take its own force into you.

Take a small portion of the herb in your dominant hand. Cover it lightly with your other hand. Close your eyes and begin to breathe deeply. Calm all other thoughts in your mind. Breathe in fully and breathe out completely.

Begin to focus in on the herb between your palms. Visualize the energy from it as one color and your own as another. Concentrate and picture the energies or colors slowly mixing, swirling together and becoming one. Feel the pull of the mixed energies enter you and move up your arms. Color visualization is one of the easiest forms. Focus all your thoughts on the colors blended together, moving throughout your body. This will take some practice so don’t be discouraged if the visualization is not strong on the first attempts. Keep practicing and it will get stronger as you progress.

Note – To help with your visualization, take a small pinch of the herb, crush it between your fingertips and release its scent. Take in that aroma. Your mind will file it as information and you will be able to use the scent to enhance your perception of the herb’s vibrational energy.

Once the herb is charged (or fully fortified with your energy) it is ready for use.

by Elaine Woosey

At the age of 72, Sophia Loren is one of the world’s most beautiful women. Sophia Loren’s beauty secrets include using olive oil; in fact she says she has often bathed in it. Olive oil is one of the old-fashioned beauty secrets, and because it closely resembles our own natural oils it is totally absorbed into the skin.

Some of the most satisfactory beauty secrets are those you can make yourself with familiar ingredients. Old-fashioned beauty secrets handed down through the years, added to and improved upon, often turn out to be the most valuable of all the beauty secrets. It will take time to determine which beauty secrets are the best for your particular skin type. Not all the beauty secrets will be right for you or bring exceptional results. With practice you will learn how to adjust the ingredients, to meet your own specific requirements, and make the most of these beauty secrets. Bear in mind climate conditions often alter textures.

Remember with these homemade beauty secrets they lack the usual preservatives of chemical additives, so will not last long. To ensure you get the most benefits from using homemade beauty secrets only make small quantities and keep them chilled.

Below you will find beauty secrets for your skin and hair.

Beauty Secrets for Cleansing

Apricot Cleansing Cream 4 tablespoons of apricot oil 2 tablespoons of sesame seed oil 2 tablespoons of butter 1 tablespoon distilled water Beat the ingredients, by hand or in a blender, until completely smooth and creamy. Keep in a refrigerator

Olive Cleansing Cream 4 tablespoons green olive oil 2 tablespoons of sesame seed oil#2 tablespoons of lard (vegetable fat) 2 drops of any essence Beat the ingredients together until creamy. Keep refrigerated.

Beauty Secrets for Toning

Cucumber Toner 1 peeled cucumber 1 teaspoon of witch hazel 1 teaspoon of rose water egg white Mash the cucumber, add witch hazel and rose water; beat the egg white to a froth; mix well. Refrigerate. Strain before use.

Rose Vinegar 4 cups of dried red roses ½ cup of essence of rose 1 pint vinegar Put all the ingredients in a lidded glass jar; allow to stand for three weeks, often shaking it. Strain, and dilute with equal parts of distilled water. Use as a toner.

Beauty Secrets for Facemasks

Cucumber Mask 1 cucumber ¼ teaspoon of lemon juice 1 teaspoon witch hazel 1 teaspoon alcohol 1 egg white, whipped Peel the cucumber and extract the juice, add lemon juice, witch hazel and alcohol. Stir well; then blend in the whipped egg. Allow to dry on your face for a minimum of 15 minutes. Rinse off.

Honey Mask 1 tablespoon of honey 1 egg yolk 1 teaspoon olive oil Beat the egg yolk into the oil, then blend in the honey. Apply to your face and leave on for 15 minutes before rinsing away.

Miscellaneous Beauty Secrets

Anti-Sunburn Cream 1 egg white, beaten 1 teaspoon of honey ½ teaspoon of witch hazel Blend all the ingredients together until even. Smooth over bad sunburn. Always refrigerate.

Rose Essence 3 handfuls of dried rose petals sweet almond oil as needed In a glass bowl or jar, put the dried rose petals and cover with the oil. Put the pot in a pan of simmering water, heat until the oil has removed all the colour of the petals. Strain; keep tightly lidded.

Beauty Secrets for Your Hair

Olive Oil Conditioning Put a very small amount of olive oil onto the palm of your hand; rub your hands together so they glisten. Now apply to your hair where it needs it most i.e.: at the ends. Scrunch it sparingly through the rest of your hair avoiding the roots. Leave for ten minutes so the hair shafts can absorb it, then comb through, and style as usual. Your hair will absorb the oil and it will help to define curls and add weight to light flyaway hair. This is one of my favourite beauty secrets. For very dry hair, massage 2 tablespoons of warm olive oil from roots to ends. Wring out a towel in hot water and wind round your head turban-style and leave on for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes shampoo and rinse your hair using your normal shampoo and style as usual. This will give deep conditioning and leave your hair soft and manageable.

Beauty Secrets for Your Hands

Cuticle Softener I tablespoons of fresh or frozen pineapple juice 2 tablespoons of egg yolk ½ teaspoon of cider vinegar Mix together – a very sloppy texture in which nails should be soaked for 30 minutes. It can be preserved for a while in the refrigerator.

Protective Cream (wear under gloves) 1 dessertspoon of fuller’s earth powder (buy sachet from pharmacists) 1 dessertspoon of almond oil 2 egg yolks Mix all three ingredients together into an even blend; keep chilled until use. Keep on during the day under gloves or overnight, then rinse off.

I have collected these beauty secrets together for you to make at home, some of them are well-known beauty secrets and some are little know beauty secrets. Above all, I hope you find them to be useful beauty secrets.

(‘Silver Wheel’) Major Welsh Goddess. A star goddess. Her palace was called Caer Arianrhod (Aurora Borealis), Goddess of time and karma. Mother aspect of the Triple Goddess in Wales. Goddess of beauty, the Moon, fertility and reincarnation. Mother of Llew Llau Gyffes by her brother Gwydion. Her consort Nwyvre (‘Sky, Space, Firmament’) has survived in name only. Caer Arianrhod is the circumpolar stars, to which souls withdraw between incarnations, she is thus a Goddess of reincarnation. Honoured at the Full Moon.

Celtic Moon-Mother Goddess. Called the Silver Wheel that Descends into the Sea. Daughter of the Mother Goddess Don and her consort Beli. She is ruler of Caer Sidi, a magical realm in the north. She was worshiped as priestess of the moon. The benevolent silver sky-lady came down from her pale white chariot in the heavens to watch more closely over the tides she ruled. Her Festival is on 2nd December, she is also honoured at the Full Moon.

In addition to native variations by locality or over time, there are often several possible transliterations into the Roman alphabet used for English, Arianrhod Aranrhod – Arianrod.

A star and moon Goddess, Arianrhod was also called the Silver Wheel because the dead were carried on her Oar Wheel to Emania (the Moon-land or land of death), which belonged to her as a deity of reincarnation and karma. Her consort Nwyvre ‘Sky, Space, Firmament’ has survived in name only. Caer Arianrhod is the circumpolar stars, to which souls withdraw between incarnations, thus she is identified as a Goddess of reincarnation. The Mother aspect of the Triple Goddess in Wales, her palace was Caer Arianrhod (Aurora Borealis), or the secret center of each initiate’s spiritual being.

The moon is the archetypal female symbol, representing the Mother Goddess connecting womb, death, rebirth, creation. (Albion, the old name of Britain, meant ‘White Moon’). The Celts “know well the way of seas and stars”, and counted time not by days, but by nights, and made their calendars, such as the famous Coligny Calendar, not by the sun, but by the moon. Ancient astrologers took their observations from the position of the moon and its progress in relation to the stars – the starry wheel of Arianrhod.

In Celtic Myth the Goddess has three major aspects: the maiden, the mother and the crone. These three represent the three stages in life of a woman. Blodeuwedd is the flower maiden, Arianrhod represents the mother and The Morrigu at last is the crone. These three aspects of the Celtic goddess may have different names in different regions and regional legends. For example, Morrigan also takes the mother role at times.

Arianrhod is said to be able to shapeshift into a large Owl, and through the great Owl-eyes, sees even into the darkness of the human subconscious and soul. The Owl symbolizes death and renewal, wisdom, moon magick, and initiations. She is said to move with strength and purpose through the night, her wings of comfort and healing spread to give solace to those who seek her.

Arianrhod is the daughter of the Welsh Goddess Don and the sister of Gwydion. Gwydion was counselor to King Math who could only remain alive if his feet lay in the lap of a virgin at all times except when he led his armies into battle. During one such battle the virgin who had held King Math’s feet was raped, and so there was need for a replacement. Gwydion recommended his sister, Arianrhod. King Math put her virginity to the test by asking her to step over his magic wand. As she stepped over the wand she gave birth to a boy child with yellow hair. The child cried loudly, and Arianrhod, humiliated, ran for the door, dropping yet another small object on the ground in the process. Before anyone could catch a glance at the object, Gwydion wrapped it and hid it inside a chest. King Math then performed rites for the yellow haired boy child, naming him Dylan. Dylan immediately ran for the sea and received the sea’s nature and was never seen again.

A time later Gwydion presented Arianrhod with the object that he had hidden in the chest – a second boy child. Arianrhod was outraged at the “evidence” of her humiliation at the hands of King Math and rejected the child.

She laid on him three curses:

He shall have no name except one she gives him.

He shall bear no arms except ones she gives him.

He shall have no wife of the race that is now on the earth.

Gwydion was outraged by these curses and worked to break them. He disguised himself and the boy child as shoemakers and traveled to Caer Arianrhod. When Arianrhod went to have shoes fitted, the boy child threw a stone at a bird and deftly hit it. Arianrhod commented on the child’s skillful hand. At that Gwydion revealed himself and the child and stated that she had just named him – Llew Llaw Gyffes, the Shining Skillful Hand. This threw Arianrhod into a firey rage and she stormed back to Caer Arianrhod swearing that the boy would never bear arms or have a human wife.

Again Gwydion tricked Arianrhod into breaking her own curse. He disguised himself and Llew as travelers and sought refuge in Caer Arianrhod. While they were there Gwydion caused an illusion showing a powerful armada of ships advancing on Caer Arianrhod. Making ready for battle Arianrhod threw open her armory and armed her retainers. Gwydion suggested to Arianrhod that she give arms to him and Llew (still in disguise) and they would fight at the defense of the castle. She readily agreed and thereby, unwittingly, granted arms to her son, breaking the second curse. Gwydion then revealed themselves to Arianrhod and told her that she may as well take the arms back from her son, as there really was no battle to be fought.

Enraged at being tricked a second time, Arianrhod took comfort in her third curse – that Llew would have no human wife. Gwydion, upset at the cruelty Arianrhod was showing her son, vowed to break this curse also. Gwydion went to King Math and explained Llew’s plight. Combining their magic they created a woman made of flowers, Blodeuwedd, to be wife to Llew, and broke Arianrhod’s third curse.

Humiliated by King Math, thwarted by her son, forsaken by her brother, Arianrhod retreated to her castle Caer Arianrhod. Here she later drowned when the sea reclaimed the land.

by Keri Desherite

The power of scent, and the virtues of the oils of various plants, have been recognized by religious and magical practitioners since ancient times. Whether through the inducement of subtle and powerful sensory memory, or the direct stimulation of the body and nervous system through chemical reaction, scented oils can help to shift consciousness and enhance psycho-spiritual well-being.

The ancient Egyptians used a compound called kyphi (the name means “welcome to the gods”), which was said to induce hypnotic states. Priests in the City of the Sun, Heliopolis, burned resins in the morning, myrrh at noon and kyphi at sunset to the sun god Ra. Kyphi had more than religious uses, however. It could lull one to sleep, alleviate anxieties, increase dreaming, eliminate sorrow, treat asthma and act as a general antidote for toxins. (“Aromatherapy: A Complete Guide to the Healing Art” by Kathi Keville and Mindy Green). In the Book of Exodus, requirements for the Tabernacle include fragrant anointing oils and an altar devoted to burning incense (Exodus 30).

Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki discusses the psycho-spiritual impact of fragrance in her book “Highways of the Mind: The Art and History of Pathworking” as she describes how our brain and neural systems function while doing spiritual work. “The olfactory sense is the only one that connects immediately with the mid-brain, with no kind of transformer between the particles coming in and the actual organ of scent. Much has been written about the memory stimulation brought about by different smells. It is because of this direct contact with the hidden ‘Halls of the Gods’ that incense has always been of the greatest importance in magical work” (p. 41). Whether incense, scented candles, or scented oil, stimulation of the olfactory senses can have a powerful impact on any work involving the mind. The virtues extend to magical, psychic, and healing work, as well as psychological adjustments and intellectual pursuits.

What types of uses can fragrant oils been put to?

Anointing is a powerful ritual practice which conveys blessings on the recipient. Even in modern times, priests and sovereigns are anointed with sacred oil as part of their investiture. Magical practitioners frequently anoint themselves with sacred oil as part of self-blessing or purification prior to doing ritual work. Sandalwood, myrrh and frankincense are among the oils used for such rituals.

The connection between love and roses doesn’t end with flowers in a vase. Rose oil is used to heal and open the heart on the spiritual level, and is a primary component in many rituals for attracting love. Rose oil is used to anoint candles for love spells, or worn as a perfume to attract a lover or to induce a more romantic state of mind in the user.

How else can you use oils and incense to enhance your own spiritual well-being? The possibilities are almost endless. First, decide what effect you want to achieve. Do you want to feel more peaceful? Become more prosperous? Balance your chakras? Commune with angels or spirit guides? Successful ritual work begins with a clear, specific intention. Once you have your goal clearly in mind, consult several of the many books and websites which list correspondences and find out which oils are associated with your interest. In many cases there will be more than one listed. For example, mint, patchouli and pine are all associated with increased prosperity. Select the scent with the strongest positive associations for you, or experiment with blends.

Oils work best when coupled with visualization or ritual work. The scent stimulates the mind and spirit, and the mental focus and physical gestures reinforce the inherent virtues of the oils. After the ritual or visualization has been performed, anointing yourself with the fragrance, putting some on a diffuser, or using some in your bath can renew the energy raised and released in the ritual. Just as the smell of fresh-baked cookies can instantly transport you back to the emotions of childhood, a ritually-charged scent can trigger the effect over and over again.

“Every thought we think is creating our future.” – Louise L. Hay

Researchers have discovered that the average person thinks anywhere between 50,000 to 70,000 thoughts per day. Since the majority of us spend anywhere from 16-18 hours awake each day, we think a thought on average about every 1.1 seconds. That’s a whole lot of thinking going on. With this much thinking taking place there is nothing more important than to focus that energy on a meaningful goal that targets your objective. Whether you are an individual or business manager looking to improve your own condition, the GOAL is the instrument that puts order and purpose into all of this thought energy. Your thoughts lead to action. Your actions create habits. And the habits of your life will determine your ultimate destiny.

The principal premise of the personal development movement is that thoughts become things and that we get whatever we focus upon most. The questions that I think are worth asking are:

a) If thoughts are our currency for acquiring what we want, then what is it that you are spending your currency on?

b) Are you getting a good deal?

c) Are you experiencing the life you deserve?

I have yet to meet someone who claims to like setting goals. Most of us have tried goal setting at some point in our life and failed and just decided it was too much of a hassle. When we come to realize that the goal is comparable to a canvas for an artist we then begin to recognize the importance of goals in channeling our energy towards a desired purpose. The 60,000 thoughts are going to be there day in and day out. It would make good sense to focus those thoughts to an area that would result in a marked improvement of your life.

We are all familiar with the retail buying experience. We walk into a store. Locate the merchandise we want. Pay for it. Take it home. I submit that we engage in this exact same experience in designing our lives. Problem is that when our lives are not going the way we want we are unwilling to admit that we created that condition. It takes a great deal of courage to admit that our belief system might need some rewiring if we are not leading the lives we want.

Look around you right now at your surroundings. Everything that you own is a product of your thoughts. Likewise, everything that you don’t own is a product of your thoughts. Some quality thoughts are considered “too expensive” to even consider contemplating so we never even entertain them. When is the last time that you reminded yourself how “awesome” you are in spite of whatever problems are lurking in your life?

So we often spend our time with the thoughts that are most real to us and the thoughts that we know we can afford. Funny thing is that we have a budget of 60,000 thoughts each day to create whatever we want. In spite of that possibility so much of humanity traps itself in the “closeout thoughts aisle” and then wonders why life has become a battle for basic survival.

Here are a few of the more famous closeout aisle thought patterns:

“It’s just the way I am. I can’t help it.”

“I can’t control what I think.”

“They are just thoughts for Gods sake! That doesn’t matter!”

“I just feel that way and there is nothing I can do about it.”

The reality is that we CAN help it. There is no more important skill in life than learning to control the focus of our mind. In so doing, we can literally change our destiny. Every decision you make stems for the viewpoint of what you think you are and the value you place upon yourself. In the blink of an eye you can change your beliefs of what is possible and recognize that those limitations you encounter are all part of a flawed belief system.

I spent about thirty minutes trying to log my thoughts. Within minutes I discovered that my focus was literally “all over the universe.” Hundreds of disjointed thoughts entered and left my consciousness in a matter of minutes. Trying to keep track of them all was an exercise in futility. What this simple exercise taught me though was to understand the importance of goals. A goal certainly adds a focus and structure to thinking. The more ambitious the goal the more it forces us out of the “closeout aisle” and into the realization that the biggest obstacle in our lives is usually ‘us.’ The one thing I can guarantee you is that you will spend your thought budget every single day. Consciously or unconsciously you will think one thought every 1.1 seconds. With this being the case don’t you think it might be a good idea to make a concerted effort to focus your attention on the things that you want to create? Isn’t that the entire purpose behind having goals? Isn’t that the entire purpose to happy living?

A good friend of mine is working diligently on expanding his business. The one thing he is focused on is understanding that his growth in the past was a direct result of his thinking. Now as he confronts the future he recognizes that his thinking has become the obstacle to getting to the next level. Interesting dilemma isn’t it? You want to grow but you have to be willing to change your thoughts to do so.

Sounds real easy until you have to confront this issue yourself.

The one question that he reiterates to me every time we speak is… “What would a person have to believe and think about regularly to experience this?”

I have no doubt that within this question lies all the wisdom that an individual or organization would ever need to be able to achieve whatever they wanted.

What would a person have to believe and think about regularly to experience this?”

As I started asking myself that question I began to uncover counterproductive illusions about beliefs, ideas and thoughts that I nurture without even realizing it. Maybe you can relate? It reminds of the comment Mark Twain once made when he said, “I have been through some really terrible stressful things in my life… some of them which actually happened.”

The secret of business success is ridiculously simple. So much so that we often dismiss it. What thoughts have you planted that are creating your current experience? What illusions do you regularly entertain that prevent you from being responsible for every area of your life? You can blame others for the unhappiness you feel, or you can take responsibility for your life. But you cannot do both. You must make a choice.

The ‘divinity that shapes your destiny’ is you!

Every day for the rest of your life you will think roughly 60,000 thoughts. Unless you focus that energy into some meaningful purpose you are doing yourself a huge disservice. Set ambitious goals for yourself and you will be well on your way to choosing the best thoughts energy can buy! The focus that this will create in your life will speak volumes. A question that will assist you in this regard whenever you experience a setback is: “What would a person have to believe and think about regularly to experience this?”

Think about what you think about, before you think that next thought!

Be careful with what you agree with!

Anteros

Aradia
Italian witch goddess. She came to earth to teach her mother Diana’s magic.
Symbolizes the air element, the moon.

Astraea
Italian goddess of truth and justice. Also known as Astria.

Carmen
Italian goddess of spellcasting and enchantments.

Cel
Italian god of death and the underworld.

Comus
Italian god of revelry, drinking, and feasting.

Copia
Italian goddess of wealth plenty.

Corvus
Italian messenger god.

Fauna
Italian goddess of the earth, wildlife, forests, and fertility. Symbolizes
prosperity as well.

Faunus
Roman and Italian god of woodlands. Symbolizes love. Also known as Pan [Greek].

Frebruus
Italian god of purification, initiation, and of the dead.

Fortuna
Italian goddess of fortune, fate, destiny, blessings, luck, and fertility. Often
invoked when one wants to receive money by chance, like in a lottery or contest.

Jana
Italian goddess of the moon.

Jove
Italian-Roman sky god.

Lethns
Italian earth and nature deity. Invoke during sky, water, or element of earth,
or for divination.

Lucifer
Italian god of sun and light. Brother and soulmate of Diana, father of Aradia.

Lucina
Italian goddess of childbirth.

Lupercus
Italian god of agriculture, wolf-god.

Marica
Italian goddess of agriculture.

Nox
Italian goddess of the night.

Pertunda
Italian goddess of sexual love.

Umbria
Italian goddess of shadows and things which are hidden or secret.

Uni
Italian goddess of witchcraft.

Vertumnus
Roman-Italian god of fruits.

Virbius
Italian god of outlaws and outcasts; the guardian of sanctuaries.

To do this, face Northeast. Hold your athame point downward near the ground. See
and sense the circle before you. Pierce its wall of energy with the athame and
trace an archway,  tall enough to walk through, moving counter-clockwise along
the circle for about three feet.  Move the point of the athame up at the arch’s
center and down the other side until it is near the ground.

As you’re doing this, visualize that area of the circle’s energy being sucked
back into the athame.  This creates a void, allowing passage in and out of the
circle.  Pull the athame out of the circle’s wall.  You’re free to walk outside.

Once back inside, close the door by placing the athame at the lower North-
Eastern point  of the archway.  With your athame trace the circle’s perimeter
clockwise, as if redrawing  that portion of the Circle of Stones, again
visualizing blue or purple energy flaring out from the blade and converging with
the rest of the circle. It is done.

Today the technique has been expanded, but is still true to the original intent. You
can begin with a seed, or young sprout. Simply prepare the soil for planting, in a
secluded area, which is suited to the physical needs of the plant. Place a stone or
crystal of your choice about three inches deep into the soil. Quartz crystals are a          
good choice, but you may wish to consult a table of correspondences for various
stones, etc. Next fill in the soil over the stone, and plant the seed (or sprout) as is
appropriate. Then lay a circle of 8 stones around the plant site. At each of the four
elemental quarters  place a crystal of the same type as the one you buried (these
four are part of the 8 forming the circle). The other stones may be of any kind  you
wish, as long as they compliment each other, in relationship to their occult nature.
Space the stones to allow for the growth of the plant.

I will give two techniques for the raising of a plant familiar.  These will show you
how to establish contact with the plant numen, and how to communicate your
purposes to the plant familiar. In this way the plant will become charged, and
conscious of your needs. Then you  will have a physical and spiritual helper, for
your works of magic and healing.

This technique is important to magical work involving herbs. Dry herbs in an herb
store are not charged (in most cases) and can only serve through their remaining
physical properties. There is, however,  the placebo effect to consider, as well as
coincidence, and self-delusion. These have been used successfully for quite some
time. I will not deal with these here, as most popular Authors are doing an excel-          
lent job of passing this off on us as authentic spells. I intend to give you the actual
techniques which empower herbs, and whose effects were the basis for the powers
attributed to herbs  from ancient times. No Con, just the facts.

Method 1:
If planting by seed, wait 7 days after the sprout appears to proceed with the
following (if a young plant, wait 7 days after planting it). Remove the stones
between the quarter stones, and plant a seed at each point. Next bury the quarter
stones where they lay, at least an inch deep. The seeds may be of the same type as
the plant within the circle, or an assortment. Each day, place both palms upon the
ground within the circle, forming a triangle with fingertips (index fingers touching
& thumbs touching). The stem of the plant will be in the open area of the triangle,
centered between your hands.

Using your imagination & visualization abilities, sense your power flowing out
through your arms, from your personal power center (just below the navel for
women, and at the solar plexus for men). You must also talk to the plant and send
it visuals, communicating your needs and desires through mental images. You
must take good care of  the plant from this point on, and keep it from harm. To
create a strong bond with your plant familiar, you can add 3 drops of your
own  blood to a quart of water, and use this to water the plant as needed.

Magically, you have first increased the level of the numen through the crystals.
Secondly, you have extended its power and influence to the other plants. This is
because these plants became alive under the influence of the center crystal and
plant. They were also bathed in a cross quarter current of energy, controlled from
the center entity, through the quarter crystals. If you need the physical parts an
herb for your spells, potions or whatever, then use only the plants enclosed within
the original circle of stones, and never the center  plant. The center plant IS the
familiar, and the others are merely extensions of it.

The final step in creating this plant familiar, is to establish your “link” and your
“rapport”. To do this, you must sit comfortably before the plant, and stare at it.
Allow your eyes to lose focus and your vision to blur. In this state, observe the
shape of the plant, trying to leave your mind blank. The plant will “send” you an
image as you stare. You will receive this as a distortion of the plant’s shape, so that
it will begin to resemble some other creature such as an animal or an insect. This
new shape is the spirit of the plant, and  you will employ this image as you work
with the familiar.

The familiar can give you extra power in any magical work, whenever you
summon it. “House plants” can become protective entities for  your home through
plant magic. Plants can be given as gifts, charged  for a special purpose.

To summon the familiar, you simply imagine your plant in it’s setting, and
visualize it becoming the spirit creature. Mentally call it to yourself, and allow it to
enter into your personal power center.

To empower through the familiar, mentally send in into any herbs which you are
charging (instructing it as to the desired effect) and imagine that it passes power to
them, imagine them glowing after contact with the familiar. When you are
finished, always return the familiar to the plant.