Slowing down

I’ve spent the past month in the tropical paradise that is South-East Asia. This region once was my home for seven years, and returning here has made me realise how much of it I missed while living here. I’ve previously failed to engage with some of the amazing colours, scents, sounds, elements of nature and the powerful energies of the Earth here. Why? Because at the time I was an achiever who worked for 12 hours a day without ever pausing to consider the point of it all, because I would have realised there was no point and that would have made me feel very insecure indeed.

I bet that sounds pretty familiar to a lot of people.

This time it’s been different. The humid, soft and occasionally overpowering heat combined with a perfect balance of daylight and pitch-black nights, white sandy beaches, turquoise sea and good food has been a delight for my urbanised senses.

Slowing down has been so good. Island rhythm is gentle and steady, and the weather alone is enough to help us let go of stress. However, the most important thing is what happens inside our heads. We can find this sort of stillness anywhere, if we just stop listening to the noise and hear the silence that is within us. We have just been lead to believe we have to travel in order to find ourselves.

‘A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.’ George Moore

Look at the world a bit differently today. When walking on the street, stop and look up, observe the buildings, colour of the sky, textures, surfaces and and sounds. Instead of turning on the TV, spend a moment looking into the mirror and seeing yourself. The world, politics, weather and other people are going to do what they do regardless of the amount of stress or worry you invest. Invest into love instead.

Hello, 2012

It’s finally here – the much dreaded, long awaited, anticipated , celebrated and speculated end year of the Mayan calendar. For some it’s just another year of course, but there is something for us all to contemplate in the shift that is already happening around the planet.

For me the symbolic meaning of 2012 is not only about the ending, but especially about the beginning. It’s about allowing the natural cycle of rebirth to manifest at all levels of my life, seeing an even bigger picture, allowing things to arrive at their natural end in order to allow something new to be born. It’s about waking up to realise we need to look after our environment and go back to basics.

2012 is about shifting our personal focus from greed into serving humanity – and serving doesn’t mean sacrifice but the universal law of giving and receiving. We are being called to drop our stagnant ideas of what the world should look like and how people should run their lives and relationships. We’re being taught to shift our consciousness and perspective to a more unified, tolerant and unconditional state, where old learned patterns will be dropped in favour of true acceptance of ourselves and all life.

We are learning to take back our power from our circumstances, and cultivate it in a way that makes us powerful but not overpowering. A truly powerful being does not play power games but uses their wisdom to grow into a more authentic life. We are turning to God, Goddess, the Universe, deities, angelic beings, spirit guides and totem animals only to realise all of them exist within us.

I wish you an empowered and incredibly loving 2012! Thank you for sharing pieces of your life with me in 2011.

Angels, auras and fortune telling

There are as many spiritual paths as there are people. It’ s often said that it is the journey, not the destination, that matters most.

Like most things, spirituality is not exempt from being commercialised. Chögyam Trungpa, a controversial figure himself, came up with an excellent term that I think describes this very well: Spiritual materialism.

The spiritual supermarket is indeed well stocked. There’s something for everyone, including skeptics.

We live at a day and age where most of us in the Western world are free to practice any sort of spirituality we wish. The selection goes far and wide. We have angel therapy, reiki, card readers, Theta healing, creative visualisation, modern shamanism, witches, wizards, popular Buddhism, past life regression and crystal gazing. We have traditional religions, too, along with yards and yards of bookshop shelf space taken up by self-help publications. On many levels this is good, of course – I am not judging any of these methods and practices as all roads lead to one destination.

I, too, have explored all sorts, and honour certain old ways (such as tarot)  greatly, and will undoubtedly explore more in the years to come.

However, what I find concerning is the readiness with which spiritual seekers are ready to give their power away in their search for meaning.

There are some fairly big egos on the field of New Age, a lot of power games, many self-proclaimed masters channelling evolved beings or archangels. There are all too many people unwilling to explore beyond the surface to realise that their guru is, in fact, only human. Ethics and responsibility can often go amiss where the blurred lines of therapy and psychic work are concerned. Most therapists are genuine and come from the right place. Others don’t, and they’re most likely unaware of it.

There is nothing more precious than your inner knowledge and wisdom. If something doesn’t feel right or ethical, walk away. If you feel the need to consult a specific therapist each time you’re facing a decision, take a reality check. If someone claims to know you better than you do, question it. The therapist is, of course, responsible for the service they provide, but having healthy boundaries is also the responsibility of the recipient.

Most of all, never think that another human being is above (or below) you in the spiritual ranking. We are all incomplete in our own perfect way. A good therapist will not come up with a ready made package, but provide you with tools to create your own. A good teacher will share what works for them and encourage you to make up your own mind.

Navigating the spiritual maze with your inner compass might take a bit longer than following a set path of rules, but listening to yourself every step of the way builds a solid foundation of inner reflection and self awareness – and these are things that can never be taken away from you. All you need is to remember that all of us are divine, including you.