Friday, May 28, 2010

We are not alone...

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And as I write this, a number of decidedly different approaches to this statement come to mind. The first one in the movie ‘Contact’ where Jodie Fosters character follows it with: ‘Because that would be a terrible waste of space...’

A lot less ‘far out’, but in many respects as hard to wrap our minds around, is the fact that we are not alone as we are alive here on earth. And I can just hear you think: ‘Duh...’
But it is not the world population that I was thinking of, although we are certainly not alone in that respect either. However, there are two more perspectives on us ‘not being alone’.

The more obvious one is that we share the earth with nature in all its shapes and forms. And whether we see ourselves as custodians or as part of a grand whole ~ one can even call it Gaia ~ we are not the only ones to whom the earth is ‘home’. Some even say that Gaia, the earth as a whole, is a living organism in its own right, and that humanity is only a tiny part of that life form.

Still, this is all from a physical perspective. The earth, nature, humanity ~ we all have shape and form and yes, take up space.

And then there are the etheric beings.
They may not take up physical space, but they are no less real. The Angels, guides and etheric teachers that help us on our personal path, that light our way, and sometimes lighten our load... Etheric animals, or totems; the familiar spirits that protect us...
Also the fairies, sylphs and gnomes, the Deva’s we may sometimes see from the corner of our eye; they are not a figment of our imagination; they are just as real as you or me.

Realizing this, the complexity of our environment grows exponentially...
Every part of the earth, of nature, no matter how small, can call upon help from an etheric helper specialized in fulfilling the needs of that tree, or plant, or blade of grass.

There seems to be one big difference between nature and humanity. Nature knows it is not alone. Nature is fully aware of the etheric, and therefore unseen beings that are there to help.
It is us humans that have decided that only those things we can see are real, dismissing our etheric helpers.
As a result we often feel alone, with no-one there to talk to. Misunderstood even.

But what if we would permit ourselves to accept the fact that we are indeed surrounded by our guides and etheric teachers. To accept the fact that Angelic Forces really are watching over us. To allow ourselves the knowledge that we are never ever truly alone...

That might just bring us peace of mind.
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Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Steep Learning Curve

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There are times in our lives when we start something which pretty soon turns out to be a steep learning curve... And whether we anticipated that from the get-go, or whether we just jumped in, head over heals ~ it doesn’t make much of a difference once your in it.

It also doesn’t make much of a difference whether it is about something relatively simple like revamping a website or a blog, or if it is about skills like speaking in public, managing an organization, or communicating with the world around you from a perspective of equality.

What happens is that, either by decision or through circumstance one finds himself in a situation where there is no turning back, and it isn’t clear yet what the next step is or where this path will lead to. And suddenly we are thrown into about the oldest manner in which we learn things: trial and error.

We take a step, try something ~ and it is either going to work, or it isn’t. It’s that simple.

The worst thing we can do to ourselves in a situation like that, is to take our apparent failures, our errors, personally. In a situation like this, taking a step in the wrong direction ~ or even a wrong turn ~ isn’t a bad thing; it is something we learn from. And the next thing we try is going to be different, and may work better.

When we find ourselves on a steep learning curve, our previous perspectives on success and failure are no longer true. Success may not refer to the ultimate goal any longer, but rather to being successful at taking the next step and making it work. By the same token, failure to make that next step work doesn’t reflect on our person ~ it just tells us that we need to try something different.

Although we can get a sense of ‘waiting for the other shoe to drop’, a more realistic way to look at it is that everything we thought we knew is no longer true. And therefore we need to re-evaluate.

We need to look with new eyes at the things that turn out we actually can do. And often, when we take stock, we will find that there are way more things that we can do than we previously thought we could!
If we dare take an honest look at the situation we find ourselves in, it becomes clear what our strengths and weaknesses really are... Where we have room for improvement; where we really don’t want to apply ourselves (and resolve to ask for help) ~ and where we are ‘better’, more successful than we had ever realized!
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Friday, May 21, 2010

Overwhelmed

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There is a difference between being very, or even too busy ~ and being overwhelmed.

We can be busy, and still find ourselves taking on more work ~ whether that is because of an inability we might have to say ‘no’, or because we feel we should, we can, or we will just do the extra work. Either because it is important to us, or because we like doing it. But even when we feel guilt-tripped into doing the extra work ~ being busy with all the work that needs to be done, still may not be overwhelming us.

Until...

The breakpoint usually comes with some innocuous event. Something that isn’t even a whole lot of work; but rather than our focused attention, it requires our attendance.
And with that our so carefully crafted schedule that would allow everything to get done just in time, falls in upon itself. Suddenly nothing fits anymore. Times are off. We feel we are running late with our (real or imagined) deadlines. And somehow we just can’t seem to catch up with what needs to be done.

We are overwhelmed.

When only one, be it unexpected thing was added to our plans ~ thrown upon our paths. We may not have seen it coming, and it certainly wasn’t anything we saw coming. And this one thing that appeared into our lives outside of our control and without our consent ~ has thrown us off...

As it turns out, we can handle pretty much even the most busy schedule ~ as long as we feel we are in control over it. Almost always it is the thing that is outside of our control that makes the difference, that lets the whole house of cards fall down. At least that is our perception...

In reality, our schedule was tighter than it should have been ~ making us busier than is healthy for us ~ already. Otherwise we would hardly have noticed this one thing that was added to it.
We had put ourselves into a position that had taken away our flexibility as far as our time and energy were concerned. Setting ourselves up for a disruption. Any disruption.

In the energy of this point in time it is easy to take on an overloaded schedule; and actually feel that not only can we do it all ~ it is normal to do it all.
It is one of the pitfalls of the high frequency energy; we can do things faster, and therefore we think we can do more. And we can. But only for short stretches of time when it is really necessary to do. Because in this high frequency energy we also need more time to kick back; to rest, play, enjoy, or smell the roses.

And if we don’t take that time for our Selves, we can quickly find ourselves being utterly overwhelmed...
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Tuesday, May 18, 2010

The Shaman’s Dilemma

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In earlier times, when the shaman was the ‘go to’ person when healing was needed, this could present him with a dilemma ~ it might have started as follows:

The shaman is called to a sick person. The person has not been feeling well for a bit, but as time goes on, instead of getting better, the person seems to be getting more ill. Seeing the person, the shaman might start cleansing the energy around the person. He then might do a healing ritual, casting out the illness, and replacing all the areas where the illness had taken hold with a light and healing energy.
Sometimes this would be enough. The cleansing of the energy combined with the healing ritual would have the person up and well really quickly.

But then there were those times when more was needed...

The shaman might have meditated; traveled through the other worlds only he has access to ~ and he may have found the medicine that will cure the person. The shaman, being well versed in healing and herbs, knows that this is a dangerous cure.
He also knows, that it is exactly what the person needs in order to get healed.

And here is the dilemma:
When he gives this cure, will the person recover from this illness; find the greater balance of body, mind and spirit in healing and wellness? Or will the cure help the person to pass over, and will the soul find greater balance on the other side?
The argument can be made that either way, the person has found the required healing.

In those days however ~ and really, they weren’t all that long ago ~ the consequences for the shaman could have been severe. Where, if the person were to recover and heal, his fame (and probably fortune) would grow; if the person were to pass over, it could mean death to the shaman as well...

The question, for the shaman of old as much as for us today, is ‘What is best for that person?’ Not just from a physical perspective, but also from a spiritual perspective.

And as we truly do not know what is best for the other person and the path they are walking, the lessons they intend to learn, how far they are in that process ~ we tend to focus on the part that we do know: the physical perspective.
And we assume that what is best for the person, is to recover from whatever is ailing him; considering it a medical failure if the person passes over in spite of the treatment given...

And yet, who is to say that making that transition might not have been the healing of the soul?
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Friday, May 14, 2010

Freedom

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Freedom, the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. It is a concept that would allow others to do the same. It involves a sense of being independent from others.

I often wonder how that works...

Throughout time humanity has organized itself in communities. Sometimes very small communities like family groups ~ other times larger communities, depending on the availability food and other resources.

The structure of the community ensured the survival of the group, so it was in everybody’s best interest to function within that structure, for each member to take on the responsibility to do whatever was needed for the protection and sustenance of the group.
The worst thing that could happen was to be ‘set free’. To be pushed out of the group, the community, and to have to fend for one self.

Today, when I look around me, it doesn’t seem to work that way anymore. Times have changed. And our chances at survival have, without a doubt, greatly improved.
And this gives us a new arena in which to explore the concept of ‘freedom’.

Where a number of years ago freedom still was defined as the ability to do, say, or think whatever you want, as long as you don’t hurt anyone else doing it ~ that too seems to have changed.

Our desire for personal freedom seems to have put us in a space where on one hand we expect to be taken care of as far as our ‘basic needs’, our survival is concerned. On the other hand, we seem to feel less and less a sense of responsibility to do our share.

Listening, more and more people are talking about the magical, mythical, non-existing ‘them’. As ‘they’ have the resources to take care of me. ‘They’ have to take care of me; it is my right...

And maybe even more troubling ~ the sense that if one feels that another person does not deserve to be taken care of, or helped; it is okay to ensure they will not get the help they need, even if that involves fighting the police or emergency responders.

What appears to be happening is that the ‘freedom’ we all so much desire, is equated with anti-social behavior. The structure of society is being abandoned in favor of the desires of the one, with lots of strings, but no responsibilities attached.

To me that is no freedom.

Freedom is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint, where I allow others to do the same.
It involves a being independent from others ~ this means that the responsibility for our own actions, our own behavior, even our own lives is what will give us the ultimate freedom.
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Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Celebrations

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Out here in the Netherlands, the first week of May is filled with celebrations...
The series is kicked off on April 30 when the birthday of the Dutch Queen is celebrated. Then there is May 1st, our Labor Day celebration and on May 2nd the Celtic celebration of Beltane. On May 4th all those that have fallen in war are remembered, after which on May 5th our independence, our freedom from oppression is celebrated.

To me the timing is interesting, as it coincides with the ‘planting’ of a Maypole, an ancient tradition which refers to the tree of life and is put up to bring fertility to the community, to their agricultural efforts, and to their life stock. Often a circle is hanging from the top to represent the cycles of life. While dancing around the Maypole, this circle is then set into motion.

Some of the celebrations this first week in May have their roots in history, or even tradition. Beltane, the mid-point of the Spring season, has been celebrated on May 2nd longer than anyone can remember. Germany capitulated on May 4th 1945, signifying the end of WW II. So remembering those that have fallen, and subsequently celebrating our regained freedom makes perfect historical sense.

Yet, Queen Beatrix’ actual birthday is in January ~ April 30 was her Mom’s birthday. Dutch practicality decided to keep the, often outdoor celebration of the Queen’s birthday on April 30, as the weather could be expected to be better than in January...
And it is said that the celebration of Labor Day in this part of the world is from German origin, where it was signed into law in 1933.

So what makes that first week of May a time to celebrate ~ independent from factual history?

It seems that Beltane, the mid-point of Spring is the key here...
When we look at the cycle of the seasons, starting with Winter, we begin the cycle looking inside ourselves as to what we really want to accomplish over the coming year. Then, come Spring, we start getting everything ready to actually do it ~ we feel we need to clean house and make space for the new things we want to bring into our lives. At the mid-point of Spring, we are then ready to bring all that we have ‘dreamt up’ out into the world, out into nature which at this time is already showing its impending abundance.

With the celebration of Beltane, we bring our plans out for the world to see. It is a statement that says: ‘This is what I will apply my efforts to, in order to reach my accomplishment. And in sharing this with Nature and with the world, the energy gets moving in the right direction ~ enhancing my chances to reach my goals.’

Now, that is something worth celebrating!!
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Friday, May 7, 2010

Life Lessons

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Just when I think I understand how it works, something happens that throws everything off again...
This is especially true for things that seem to be related to my ‘life-lessons’.

Looking at those I have to admit that for the longest time I didn’t have a clue about them. Yes, I knew that everybody has their specific things they encounter in life that are hard for them ~ just as I had mine. And bit by bit I took those on, learned more about them, handled them...

But as life-lessons go, it seems never enough to handle them and be done with them.

So how does this work?

I have come to understand life-lessons as those things I decided I wanted to learn more about as I journeyed through life. It usually has to do with a concept like ‘equality’ or ‘self worth’.
The thing is that we, as we are going about our lives, tend to forget we so much wanted to learn about a concept like that when we decided to reincarnate again, that we took this on as a life-lesson.

From the point of that decision on, two things come up:

First, if we are taught a great sense of for instance ‘equality’, we are not nearly as apt to seek out what it really means to us, what it feels like, what it can do for us. In other words, if we are taught equality, it becomes harder for us to experience all aspects of equality. Yet if we are placed in a position of non-equality while growing up, we eventually will go and find out what equality really is...
In other words, we learn more/better through adversity than through ‘smooth sailing’.

Second, if we want to learn all there is to know about something like equality, than it behooves us to set ourselves up in such a way that we come across issues about equality throughout our life. This means that whenever we feel we have ‘handled it’, we already start creating the situation where a slightly different issue about equality will enter our lives to be looked at, understood and handled...

And hopefully, looking back at our time in the earth-plane, we will find that indeed we did learn an awful lot about all kinds of different aspects of equality.

In the meantime, as we are going about living our lives, we tend to just see the issue pop up yet another time, and another time, and another time...
The good news in that is, however, that as soon as we realize this is one of our life-lessons, we start recognizing what is happening, and are a lot more likely to handle whatever it is that is coming our way this time around, and to move on...
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Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Time and Energy

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There are several ways in which time and energy can be linked. The most direct way seems to be through the frequency of energy...

Over the last 15 years or so, the frequency of the energy around us has incrementally become a lot higher than it was before. And with every step up in frequency, time seemed to start moving faster.

Where did the time go? Time flies! Is it that late already??

As we caught up, we found that whatever we set out to do, could be done faster as well. And as we got the hang of that, we pretty soon took the next logical step ~ we started doing more things in the same time.

It was not as much that we found ourselves multi-tasking more often (although I have to admit that this too became a lot easier to me). It was more that as things didn’t take as much time anymore, we could accomplish more in the same amount of time ~ and so we took on more things to do...

All the way up to the point where life seems to have become chaotic, non-structured ~ scattered even.
And all of a sudden we find ourselves not being able to get anything done. The things we start don’t even get finished...

So where did we go wrong?

Maybe, when we started experiencing time in the sense that we had ‘more time’, we should have put a little bit more time and energy for our Selves on our calendars, all those years that we used the ever higher frequencies of the energies around us to take on more and more.

It seems that the focus in the todays society is directed so far outside of ourselves, that maybe we forget every once in a while to take time for ourselves. Our inner selves.
To take some time to take a breather, to relax ~ to not try to accomplish anything for a moment, other than to connect with our own Selves, with the reality of who we are. To take some time to truly adjust to the ever higher frequency of the energy around us...

On the other hand, maybe these higher-frequency-energies are also calling for a slightly different approach in the things we do in a day.
In order for us to stay balanced with the way we use time and interact with the energies around us, it can be very helpful to take a minute to consciously finish one task before we start the next one. This way we put the energy of each task in its own place in time.
In this manner, instead of having a day filled with ‘everything’ ~ we create for ourselves a day filled with a series of tasks that we are able to prioritize and accomplish efficiently.
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