Perhaps the biggest spiritual lesson of all is to realize that there’s nothing more spiritual than being human and living life as fully as one can every moment. I love how Liz Greene (a well-known psychological astrologer) describes spirituality – she says that, there is a spirituality to every planet in astrology (every planet represents a specific experience of reality) and she gave the example of that, there is a spirituality to even an atheist, someone who does not believe in God. Spirituality can be a dangerous place if it is used (often subconsciously) as a defense against facing something in our actual physical experience; which, unfortunately is rather common especially in religions. People experiencing pain in their reality chooses to follow religious practices or other escapist means (such as drugs, excessive partying, excessive work) in hope of ‘transcending’ their pain while in truth, the pain must be lived through and dealt with for what it is in order for us to be fully ‘be’ with life. And perhaps the most spiritual person is one who can fully own his or her power as a human being fully capable of creating his or her own life, face whatever challenges that comes unexpected, while also honoring that, maybe, there is something larger than her/himself that governs the laws of life of which he or she is intimately connected with while at the same time, he or she can readily choose to harness its power to her/his empowerment and manifestation.
May all beings experience their deepest spiritual nature through remembering all that is, the Love and Light he or she embodies within her/himself. Namaste.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Detachment and Inner Freedom
As transiting Saturn prepares to fully return on my astrological birthchart, greater life lessons come up to test my reserve to live in complete integrity to myself. Deeper levels of onion peeling, in particular to that associated with my identiy reveal themselves to be eliminated such that I can live more fully in the present, without the encumbrances of social expectations and attachments to material reality. Several days ago walking in the middle of times square I suddenly felt my heart open and realized that there was still a part of me attached to my identity of once being in the workforce of a high-paying banking job and the expectations that I was still carrying towards myself. Through momentary grieving, I was able to let that go and immeditately I was able to experience a deeper sense of Inner Freedom which enabled me to be able to appreciate all that life has presented me thus far in my own journey. It's all too common that we complain about life, but the paradox is, there really is nothing to complain about because the seed of the complaint lies solely in our misperception of ourselves and of our reality.
Expectations, whether they are from others, or self-imposed, keep us from truly living our essence and from seeing and experiencing life for what it is. It keeps us from therefore experiencing the deeper levels of Love, Gratitude and Reverence which is everything that we really exist, breathe, and live, for. It is the Heaven that many seek to bring on Earth, yet the truth is, Heaven is already on Earth. It merely requires an open, unbiased heart to know it.
To be in a state of detachment is to have no expectations, no attachments to outcome of events, circumstances, the way others treat us, for which we have little control. What we can control is our own reactions and perceptions to our outer reality. With this realization, true freedom is possible.
In service to true freedom... namaste....
Expectations, whether they are from others, or self-imposed, keep us from truly living our essence and from seeing and experiencing life for what it is. It keeps us from therefore experiencing the deeper levels of Love, Gratitude and Reverence which is everything that we really exist, breathe, and live, for. It is the Heaven that many seek to bring on Earth, yet the truth is, Heaven is already on Earth. It merely requires an open, unbiased heart to know it.
To be in a state of detachment is to have no expectations, no attachments to outcome of events, circumstances, the way others treat us, for which we have little control. What we can control is our own reactions and perceptions to our outer reality. With this realization, true freedom is possible.
In service to true freedom... namaste....
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
The Pursuit of Wealth
The past 12 to 14 months of my life has seen the transit of Saturn into my second house in my astrological chart. Saturn is the planet of limitation, stress and challenge. It is also the planet of transformation, although it is not normally referred to it as such (Pluto is more often known as the planet of transformation.). The reason I say Saturn is the planet of transformation is because transformation is only possible through getting rid of what is not essential, to reveal what is essential. And the role of Saturn does exactly that – through stress and limitation, it reveals to you what is not essential, and reveals to you what is.
Saturn in my second house propelled me onto a quest for wealth, or to be more precise, material wealth, money. Traditionally the second house is believed to represent money and self-value. So you may wonder, why is money and self-value tied to one another? With my moon node also in second house, my transiting Saturn really took me onto a new height with my self development. The moon node indicates some of the most core soul developments and lessons. Topic for another discussion!!
During this Saturn transit, I lost money, including making faulty investment decisions. I was also pushed to understand the value of money and learned not to squander on things that don’t bring me value. I had to let go of negative beliefs around money as well as get clear with myself what I truly value, because before this, the many things I valued didn’t really come from me, many of which I later discovered were expectations placed on me by others or expectations I placed on myself!
All in all, however, this is what I have learned. Money is an outer reality result. It is an energy that allows us to acquire the things or experiences that we want, need or value. Things that can be purchased have what we call a “price”, which means then that everything may have a different ‘value’. So in other words, money is the measure of ‘value’. It does not determine the ‘value’ of an item. Because the ‘value’ of a thing, be it a pair of shoes, or a holiday package is determined by supply, demand and other human factors. The truth is, ‘value’ in the material world is most often than not, totally subjective. Who says a TV should cost ten thousand dollars and one carat of diamond few thousand (USD here..)? It all started with someone’s perception of its value and then demand and supply took it further. Similarly, a person’s self-value can also be subjective. It is subjective to the person valuing that person, namely, yourself. Who says you are valuable or not valuable. You do! And why would someone decide that a person is not valuable? Perhaps we have been told as a child that we don’t do this, we are not good, if we say this, we are not good, if we don’t get good grades and get a good job, we are not good, and on and on… Perhaps our society has many labels on us. If we make this much money, we are again, not good enough. But guess what, you are the true appraisor of your own value. And if you can peel away all of the untruths that I just mentioned above, about how others decided to put a ‘label’ on how valuable you are, you will start to be able to see that you are fully valuable just the way you are. You can start to see that value comes from within. And when you start seeing that you’re already valuable whatever you do, wherever you are in your life, you’ll stop sending out these vibes to the world that you are not good enough, and that, directly affects how much wealth you can create. Think about at work, if you think you’re a valuable employee, you’ll perform better, not because necessarily you are more skilled than the other employees (you can be but that’s not what matters), simply because you feel better about yourself and you really believe you are contributing to the good of your company. Others will get that vibe off you and start to perceive you as good at what you do. You have greater bargaining power and can get a better salary. Same in business. You believe that whatever you sell offers great value to the world and consequentially, you can get a better price for your products or services and be able to manifest more customers. This is the relationship between value and money.
My greatest lesson with my Saturn second house transit is the gift of learning to see that true wealth comes from remembering that my value comes from inside, that I am my own appraisor. It is like saying, that we each have a shining light within ourselves. God is within and once you remember your own greatness from within, noone else can take it away. No situation can take it away. Our self-worth has nothing to do with what others think of us, what we do, nor whether we fail or succeed at something or not, because whatever you think you should be or you can be, you already are. Should you fail at something or experience a setback, it is only teaching you something you do not know. Don’t tie your self-value with anything that is unessential, anything that can change – which, unfortunately, is everything in the material world. You are much greater than that. Outer success comes and goes. You can be on the top one day, next day you can be rock bottom. It is the cycle of nature. As Roger Hamilton (one of the wealth coaches) says, true wealth is when you are happy when you have not a penny in your pocket. This isn’t to say that you should go squander all your cash and just be happy. It is simply to remind you of the prosperity that you can experience right here, right now. And from there, you can go and create the beautiful vehicles of wealth that you want, or you can simply sit back and have a margherita.
I am yet to experience my Saturn return in the third house. Until then, cheers!
Saturn in my second house propelled me onto a quest for wealth, or to be more precise, material wealth, money. Traditionally the second house is believed to represent money and self-value. So you may wonder, why is money and self-value tied to one another? With my moon node also in second house, my transiting Saturn really took me onto a new height with my self development. The moon node indicates some of the most core soul developments and lessons. Topic for another discussion!!
During this Saturn transit, I lost money, including making faulty investment decisions. I was also pushed to understand the value of money and learned not to squander on things that don’t bring me value. I had to let go of negative beliefs around money as well as get clear with myself what I truly value, because before this, the many things I valued didn’t really come from me, many of which I later discovered were expectations placed on me by others or expectations I placed on myself!
All in all, however, this is what I have learned. Money is an outer reality result. It is an energy that allows us to acquire the things or experiences that we want, need or value. Things that can be purchased have what we call a “price”, which means then that everything may have a different ‘value’. So in other words, money is the measure of ‘value’. It does not determine the ‘value’ of an item. Because the ‘value’ of a thing, be it a pair of shoes, or a holiday package is determined by supply, demand and other human factors. The truth is, ‘value’ in the material world is most often than not, totally subjective. Who says a TV should cost ten thousand dollars and one carat of diamond few thousand (USD here..)? It all started with someone’s perception of its value and then demand and supply took it further. Similarly, a person’s self-value can also be subjective. It is subjective to the person valuing that person, namely, yourself. Who says you are valuable or not valuable. You do! And why would someone decide that a person is not valuable? Perhaps we have been told as a child that we don’t do this, we are not good, if we say this, we are not good, if we don’t get good grades and get a good job, we are not good, and on and on… Perhaps our society has many labels on us. If we make this much money, we are again, not good enough. But guess what, you are the true appraisor of your own value. And if you can peel away all of the untruths that I just mentioned above, about how others decided to put a ‘label’ on how valuable you are, you will start to be able to see that you are fully valuable just the way you are. You can start to see that value comes from within. And when you start seeing that you’re already valuable whatever you do, wherever you are in your life, you’ll stop sending out these vibes to the world that you are not good enough, and that, directly affects how much wealth you can create. Think about at work, if you think you’re a valuable employee, you’ll perform better, not because necessarily you are more skilled than the other employees (you can be but that’s not what matters), simply because you feel better about yourself and you really believe you are contributing to the good of your company. Others will get that vibe off you and start to perceive you as good at what you do. You have greater bargaining power and can get a better salary. Same in business. You believe that whatever you sell offers great value to the world and consequentially, you can get a better price for your products or services and be able to manifest more customers. This is the relationship between value and money.
My greatest lesson with my Saturn second house transit is the gift of learning to see that true wealth comes from remembering that my value comes from inside, that I am my own appraisor. It is like saying, that we each have a shining light within ourselves. God is within and once you remember your own greatness from within, noone else can take it away. No situation can take it away. Our self-worth has nothing to do with what others think of us, what we do, nor whether we fail or succeed at something or not, because whatever you think you should be or you can be, you already are. Should you fail at something or experience a setback, it is only teaching you something you do not know. Don’t tie your self-value with anything that is unessential, anything that can change – which, unfortunately, is everything in the material world. You are much greater than that. Outer success comes and goes. You can be on the top one day, next day you can be rock bottom. It is the cycle of nature. As Roger Hamilton (one of the wealth coaches) says, true wealth is when you are happy when you have not a penny in your pocket. This isn’t to say that you should go squander all your cash and just be happy. It is simply to remind you of the prosperity that you can experience right here, right now. And from there, you can go and create the beautiful vehicles of wealth that you want, or you can simply sit back and have a margherita.
I am yet to experience my Saturn return in the third house. Until then, cheers!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Awakening, Ascension, Consciousness
"Divine Bliss"©Jane Nussbaum, www.artofvisionarylight.com/
The field of consciousness is a plane or dimensional existence that exists in the form of frequencies which fluctuate in a so-called range or spectrum. In simpler terms, you can think of it as a musical scale of notes that resides (if you have to physically see this) in our Central Column, an energy channel that runs from the base of our spine (or coccyx area) to the pineal gland inside our brain.
The pineal gland is one of the most spiritual organ within the body as it is also sometimes referred to as the “seat of destiny”. The kundalini energy, (for those who are well-versed with the metaphysics) moves from the bottom of the Central Column, traversing the energy gates of each energy center (or chakra), bringing each energy center to its higher expressions often through the form of purification or simple transmutation of lower, dense energies. And when the kundalini energy reaches the “seat of destiny”, the codes containing our life path is remembered, resulting in a merging of the lower and higher mind, calling forth a firm sense of purpose and knowing of one’s destiny. Destiny need not be limited, necessarily, to a specific life goal, job or career even. It CAN be a piece of work or a vocation per se. However, it doesn’t have to be limited to that but can involve a much larger field of experience which encompasses all aspects of reality as can be possibly conceived by human existence, OR, to make this simple, any experience that brings you Joy and Bliss.
The totality of consciousness exists as a separate, yet complete micro-cosmos which rests in every cell of our physical body. In Hermetic sciences, what is without is within. As above, so below. As below, so above. What is outside of us, the entire cosmos, exists also in its totality in every cell of our body! Yes, hard to believe or conceive visually right? Because your mind is used to thinking in three-dimensions but what if our world, our cosmos, is actually multi-dimensional! 4th, 5th, 6th or more! In that perspective, the plane of existence can traverse because space and time is not necessarily linear. So if you can meditate and go deep enough within yourself. Yes I do mean, inside yourself (for those who meditate, you may understand what I mean here!), you can literally feel the pulsation of cosmic energies during times of change, times of spiritual growth, expansion, contraction, conflicts and so forth. And the reason there can be conflicts is, because, not every cell in your body is resonating at the same frequency at the same time! If there is no time, yes, every cell IS already in the state of perfection, we are indeed in the Garden of Eden, and therefore there wouldn’t be conflicts. But since we are physically in 3-D formation, one cell can be in a higher frequency (like playing a D note) while the other can be playing an F sharp and bang there is a conflict, there is chaos, which… IS beautiful.. because, in this situation, if one is conscious enough, this can give birth to a higher “overall” note, which some people call, a harmonic convergence – the birthing of a higher consciousness.
So, let your body sing and swim in this sea of consciousness called existence, in the ocean of time also known as the web of life. For without time there is no space, without time and space, creation is not possible. Life is not possible. May you be showered with Joy, Bliss and Happiness, always.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Fate and Consciousness
As a student of astrology, I love making predictions from reading astrological aspects of people’s charts (my own especially!) I just get unexplainably excited when I spot major astrological transits coming and my mind, running at God-know-how-many hertz per second, can come up all kinds of scenarios! Recently, I’ve had the opportunity to read many charts of couples breaking up from long-term relationships (several were marriages) and they all were experiencing either a Pluto or Uranus transiting their seventh house or aspecting Venus in one way or another, but of course with a natal chart disposition of relationship challenges. Anyway, I’m not writing this piece on when you’ll break up with your loved one. Ha! Not yet! The point that I’d like to make here, is that, being able to read into someone’s chart and see how it indicates an external event happening in their lives, makes me wonder more about the role of fate and consciousness. As also someone who at least tries to be as self-aware as I can, I am interested to know whether becoming more conscious of ourselves and reality can influence or even change our fate. Even more explicitly, if we can be super-duper disciplined with our spiritual practice, practicing our peace, being highly conscious of ourselves and reality, is it possible to avoid negative karmic situations, and hence I would say, change our fate altogether?
After some pondering and, probably drawing on the resources of the higher psychic faculties of my mind, here are my conclusions. (Comments are soo welcome!) The first thought that came to mind, when this question was projected, is that, the definition of fate evolves as your consciousness evolves. Ha! (I hope you’re falling out of your chair thinking that I’m just trying to make things sound sophisticated without delivering substance… wait.) Any student of metaphysics would have heard, that, one’s perception of anything can literally and physically change the substance of the thing being observed. This goes back to the principles of the Buddhists, that “All is Empty” – hence, that which you choose to project onto a thing, an event, a person, makes that thing, event or person. So this is also applicable to fate. For someone without consciousness, fate means whatever that happens to him that is predestined, with the implication that there is a lack of choice. However, for everything that does and will occur, it has to be meant to be, and therefore, it has to be predestined. The meaning of something being meant to be is just that it has occurred and will occur. To look at this from the other side, basically there is nothing on Earth that is NOT meant to be if it has already happened or is happening. Everything is destiny. Everything that has occurred, is occurring and will occur IS by definition, a grand unfoldment of destiny. Therefore, is there even a need to discern whether there is fate or no fate operating in our reality?
This goes to my next step of explanation. When one is conscious, fate is choice, fate IS free will. Because, when a person is conscious of what is unfolding in their lives, that person is, practically speaking, in touch with his or her higher will - that part of ourselves that is deciding or directing where our lives are going. Some like to call it our soul or higher self. However you call it it doesn’t matter. Now, is it possible to be always in touch with your higher will and hence be able to totally direct your life willfully. Probably. I think an Ascended Master can, someone who has mastered all his/her Earth lessons and fully function in the higher frequencies of Love and Truth. I’m not quite there yet so I really can’t tell you from experience. But drawing on deeper insights gained from the unfoldment of my spiritual practice, I believe one can, through disciplined, well-intentioned and willful spiritual practice, be, at least the majority of time, highly conscious of his/her higher will and therefore be able to observe the unfoldment of his/her life’s events with detachment. So you could be having cancer, and still be in joy, or you can experience the loss of a loved one, and still be in joy (in fact I met a spiritual teacher who told me that’s exactly how he felt when his mother passed away, and this is not because he didn’t like her, you know what I mean), or you can go through an accident, a divorce, even depression, whatever mundane stress in the physical reality, and still be in joy. Why? Well, those seemingly negative events occurring in your life are results of karma from the past that are meant to play out in your current lives regardless, but because you’re conscious of your higher will’s need to experience such events, for whatever purpose (each change or event there is a higher purpose), you’re totally equanimous with it. You can allow it to unfold, rather than use your energy to control it from occurring, allowing for greater efficiency of the usage of your energy, which are inner resources that can be directed towards more creative and constructive expressions in your life, making this world a more productive and blissful place, as positive energies can only positively impact the world and make this world a better place.
Consciousness, then, is not meant to change fate or karma. Karma is karma. Everything is fate. Fate is not meant to be changed. But consciousness can take you beyond fate, and take you to peace and your higher purpose, which is all that matters, anyway.
Now is it worth it to be become more conscious?
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Bowing to the Presence of Love
Love sees no fear.
Love heals all pain.
Love bridges division and heals wounds from the past.
Love laughs at folly and celebrates changes as divine grace
Love listens to love and becomes still…
Love has a quality to itself, unmatchable by any other experiences
It is the experience of the Now,
Of presence, of ease, of complete surrender and of the Truth
So what is Love?
I say.., Love is the essence of existence.
To Love, is to Be.
- Cherie
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
I-n-ee Meen-i Mi-ni Mo… the Power of Decisions
Making decisions is probably one of key steps to self-mastery. The reason I say this is because to master oneself requires one to step up to the responsibility of becoming the captain of one’s fate, the creator of one’s life. And to be able to consciously do so, one must be able to make decisions in regards to one’s life direction. The map of our lives, when seen from a birds’ eye view may look like a tree with many branch-offs. Every now and then we’re faced with crossroads at which we must consciously choose the path down which we shall walk. The summation of the paths we have chosen make up our life journey. And the journey itself, as well as the destination, together can determine the quality of our experiences. Many would argue that it is the journey itself that is the ultimate purpose. I say, that both are, for one is dependent on the other because one cannot truly enjoy the journey without a clear sense of direction. For without a strong sense of “destination” or goal to journey toward, the journey loses much of its meaning. Such is the beauty of our existence in time. Time affords us the experience of crafting our lives like a work of art. And a tool we use to craft our lives is called making decisions.
The common issue people have with making decisions is the fear of not knowing what is to come if we choose one over another path. Sometimes we are afraid of the consequences of going down both paths, simply because of fear itself. Fear is a natural human response to the unknown and it springs from the mind alone. Fear is also a protective mechanism linked with survival. The mind doesn’t know and thinks it knows, while the heart, which is connected with our higher knowing, has the capacity to trust in a higher power which is the true decision-maker in our journeys. Of course we can use our mind to gather information and knowledge to help give ourselves more faith and confidence in making our decisions (that would be called informed intuition), but when it comes to matters of the heart, sometimes we are called to only trust. What then are we really trusting? Trusting ourselves or trusting in a higher power? Perhaps there is no need to draw a distinctive line between the two. We are the higher power that comes through us. In trusting the higher power, that is the ultimate power that chooses, we are in essence, trusting ourselves. In the process of making decisions, depending on the matter involved, one may go through periods of confusion. Confusion, which is the opposite of clarity, and clarity, meaning, to have no obstacles, is simply the state of being enveloped by one’s fears and doubts. To overcome confusion, one must search relentlessly within oneself for the source of fear. And when a decision is made, the Universe naturally steps in to support and provide. Sometimes even, when a decision is made, the road that was once fogged suddenly disappears and transgresses into a completely new road with more fruitful promises than expected, and then you realize that all the confusion, the fears, the indecisions were simply a test of faith and courage, and that everything you thought might happen had you chosen one path over the other, never even ever were meant to occur, according to the agenda of the divine. Now are you still afraid to choose?
The common issue people have with making decisions is the fear of not knowing what is to come if we choose one over another path. Sometimes we are afraid of the consequences of going down both paths, simply because of fear itself. Fear is a natural human response to the unknown and it springs from the mind alone. Fear is also a protective mechanism linked with survival. The mind doesn’t know and thinks it knows, while the heart, which is connected with our higher knowing, has the capacity to trust in a higher power which is the true decision-maker in our journeys. Of course we can use our mind to gather information and knowledge to help give ourselves more faith and confidence in making our decisions (that would be called informed intuition), but when it comes to matters of the heart, sometimes we are called to only trust. What then are we really trusting? Trusting ourselves or trusting in a higher power? Perhaps there is no need to draw a distinctive line between the two. We are the higher power that comes through us. In trusting the higher power, that is the ultimate power that chooses, we are in essence, trusting ourselves. In the process of making decisions, depending on the matter involved, one may go through periods of confusion. Confusion, which is the opposite of clarity, and clarity, meaning, to have no obstacles, is simply the state of being enveloped by one’s fears and doubts. To overcome confusion, one must search relentlessly within oneself for the source of fear. And when a decision is made, the Universe naturally steps in to support and provide. Sometimes even, when a decision is made, the road that was once fogged suddenly disappears and transgresses into a completely new road with more fruitful promises than expected, and then you realize that all the confusion, the fears, the indecisions were simply a test of faith and courage, and that everything you thought might happen had you chosen one path over the other, never even ever were meant to occur, according to the agenda of the divine. Now are you still afraid to choose?
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