My Shadow and I have a marvelous time! I boldly foward, she dragged behind Both in and outer mirrors, we; What one is, one can never be Sisters of such kindred kind and by a riddle intertwined: For I oft forget with this darkness mine If I'm pushing forward Or am dragged behind.
We all have a dark side, a part of us which is "unacceptable" or "rejected" from our normal selves. These are our flaws, faults, bad habits, and 'sins'. Throughout life we are told what is good and what is bad, what good girls do and bad boys don't -- we are told who we are supposed to be, and we absorb this to one degree or another and make it into ourselves. The parts of us which succumb to this pressure, the 'bad' parts, makes up our dark side -- our shadow.
One psychologist put it into a masterful analogy with the image of a mental 'holding bag.' When our parents tell us that "Big boys don't cry," the boys take that more sensitive part of themselves and place it in the bag. Little girls who are told, "Nice girls don't play in the mud," take that mud-loving part of themselves and tuck it away in the bag as well.
Throughout our formative lives we repeat this process continually in a multitude of subtle and unconscious mannerisms. Being taught that it's not polite to stare, that nice children share their toys, that popular boys play sports and popular girls wear makeup -- all of this requires taking parts of our whole identity and pushing them away from ourselves. We begin as a whole circle, without definition, and slowly carve pieces away until we are left with what we know as 'me'.
Of course, as we cut away these silvers of soul, we store them -- we are never completely apart from ourselves. This shadow-self is a powerful and viable force in our everyday dynamics and interactions, both within ourselves and amongst others. This is the part of us that sneaks out when we least expect it, causing us to act in unusual ways or say things we would never say under "normal" circumstances. The quiet child who suddenly explodes in rage; the well-spoken socialite who finds herself insulting a patron; the securely married husband who seeks out an extramarital affair. The common excuse is that I just 'wasn't myself', or that the Devil made me do it. Both of these are partially true -- it was yourself who did it, but not the self that you are familiar with; and the Devil is not all around you, but forever within.
This is where the shadow is of great importance in Satanic and Luciferian faiths. Our acceptance of our Shadows is one of the facets of our ways which set us in stark contrast to those around us. The Christians and Muslims personify the shadow as Satan or Iblis, and deny that they indeed have these bad qualities. They are not rude, nor dishonest, nor cruel, nor prideful! No, it is Satan that has these qualities, and it is Satan who causes them to act the way they do! The vast majority of Pagans also seem to reject this shadow-self as something to be denied, although not externalized into a Prince of Evil. Personally I feel this is likely because of the extreme efforts taken to reject all that is traditionally (i.e. Christianly) defined as evil in order to separate themselves from the taint of the 'Satanic'...this, however, is another discussion.
The shadow in Satanic thought is not something externalized nor sought to be rejected and stamped down. Indeed, it is known to be a part of us, a treasured part, for it contains a portion of ourself which we have lost over time. If we do not befriend the beast, it will destroy us, and this is where a good deal of self-destructive behavior comes from today. The shadow is as much a person as we -- it is the person that we were but cannot be. As such, it tends to act like a person in some regards, and since it is part of who we are, it cannot be eliminated from us. As such, we must learn to accept our dark sides and utilize them for our best interest. We befriend the beast to use its strength, or else we risk becoming its meal.
We all, generally speaking, know what we are good at. We are smart, or charming, or atheletic, or poetic. We are good at computers or are the ever-loyal friend. We are the stalwart upholder of justice or the prize-winning chef of the meal. We also generally know what we are bad at -- being punctual, keeping the house clean, dressing in style. These hold no mystery to us, because they are readily evident from within and without. Our shadow aspects, however, are a different story. The shadow is what we do not want to admit we are, what we hate in other people -- the enemy which we ourselves are. Who wants to admit they they embody everything they stand against? Who wants to admit that they are their own dark twin? However, it must be done, and it can be done, in a variety of ways. I shall only mention two of them here:
The simplest is feedback. When I asked a friend what she thought my absolute worst trait was, she responded with, "You act superior, like you are always right." My first reaction, of course, was, "I do NOT act like I am always right!" You must put aside this reaction and examine the claim for what it is. I asked her for an example; she gave me one, and upon replaying it in my head, I found she was right. I went through the last few weeks in my mind about times when I had been challenged as to the correctness of my knowledge, my actions, or my words. I found consistantly that when accused of being incorrect I became defensive and almost angry, and took it as a personal challenge to prove that I was not wrong, but that they were wrong in saying I was wrong! My friend was correct. As much as I hated to admit it.
The next simplest is that of self-reaction. What traits in others absolutely DISGUST you, which do you LOATHE and hate with an unbridled passion? These characteristics are likely the ones you seek to push away from you because you unconsciously know that you yourself contain them. The lustful churchgoer will decry the notion of normal sexuality and the habitual teller of "little white lies" may abhorred those who stretch the truth. Is it any wonder, then, that one thing I detest about people is when they assume their way is always right?
Once we have identified our shadow-selves, even in part, the task because how to bring this into ourselves and make ourselves more 'whole' again. Stronger, more complete, more enlightened (or endarkened, as you may see it). This is something that comes to the part of each individual. There is a careful balance to be struck between what is socially bad and must be controlled due to societal punishments (such as the murder urge), and what is personally bad and needs to be controlled or integrated for personal health (such as the sexual urge). My personal example of wanting to always be correct, is something that I will work on both acknowledging and controlling -- acknowleding that I am sometimes wrong as well as right, and that others are the same. That being wrong is not a contest, and that this behavior is more damaging to me than helpful. On the plus side, I now have a much better understanding of my actions and thoughts at times, and can see myself and my world more accurately. This is the light to my shadow.
In short, the old adage is true: We are our own worst enemies, and our own greatest allies. We are neither beings of pure light nor pure darkness, but a subtle twilight in between. It is in integrating our positive and negative that we gain our greatest self-worth and lordship, for the whole is great than either half alone. We learn from our demons as well as our angels, from our evils and our virtues, from inner sinners and inner saints. This is the great paradox of Satanism: that we must embrace the darkness to reveal true light. In Tenebris Generascitur Lux.
If you have been watching the news recently, you are doubtless concerned, worried, and perhaps even frightened, by the terrible
things going on. If you had been watching it last year, you would have been even more worried and frightened.Indeed, if you had been watching the news, five, ten or twenty years ago, you would almost certainly have had the same reaction.The news, as brought to us by the media, is always predominantly bad. What little good news is presented is used almost like salt; to improve the flavor of the foul dish we have been served up. The threat of impending war, the Middle East situation, roaming murderous paedophiles, floods and earthquakes. On and on and on it goes. Yet, is this really ALL that is going on in the world? And by paying so much attention to all of it, what are we doing to our own mental state?
My mother is a big watcher of the news. She follows every nuance of the Middle East situation, is concerned by what the Western powers are planning with their warlike remedies for Terrorism, knew every detail of the OJ Simpson trial, and so on. She sometimes confesses to being depressed and worried; perhaps because of all the bad things going on, and the helplessness she feels about it. My suggestion to her was simple. STOP watching it! The news, as presented by the media, is NOT reality. It is not ALL that is going on. It is not even a small portion of what is happening. It is a carefully selected edit of reality, designed to sell newspapers and boost viewing figures. Bad news achieves all of this. Good news does not.
Here is a simple proof of this fact. Someone once started a newspaper that reported primarily good news. It went bust almost immediately. Hardly anybody bought it. It is a perverse quirk of human nature that people do not want good news. They want bad news. That is what they get, and the network ratings soar as a result. The more graphic and terrible the news, the more people will tune in to watch it. The more it can be incessantly churned with "expert analysis", the more fascinated people get.
Yet, what does this constant digest of misery do to us individually and as a society? It adds to our anxiety, fear and general dis-ease with ourselves and the world we live in. We come to regard the world as a predominantly dangerous, violent and scary place. It can even cause us to become desensitized to the pain and suffering of others. When we are shown, for the thousandth time, the starving human faces from the third world, we might be tempted to flick over to "The Simpsons" or "Ally McBeal" instead. After all, they are more entertaining, are they not?
None of this implies that we go through life with blinkers on. It simply means that we need to be much more conscious of what we are allowing to shape our consciousness. For instance, only a fool would remain completely oblivious to the terrible happenings of 11th September 2001. However, that does not mean you have to become a world expert on the matter, or absorb the same images and analysis countless dozens of times. Much of what gets reported is not really "news" at all. It may sound rather brutal to say this, but the fact is that most murders, rapes, paedophile assaults, and many forms of vehicle accident are not really "news". Why? They have been happening since human beings first became sentient, and will continue to happen until the day we all cease to be. Hence, why exactly do these events constitute news, why do we all need to be informed about them as a nation, and why do they continue to morbidly fascinate us?
Moreover, it gets worse when we are obliged to hear about dire events in countries where we have no connection whatsoever. We learn all the gory details about coaches crashing, child murders, people burning to death etc., in countries halfway around the world from us! WHY? If we do tune in with morbid fascination, and then go off and do nothing whatsoever to assist, are we not engaging in a sort of international nosiness? Are we not merely being ENTERTAINED? If you find this thought offensive, ask yourself: what are you DOING with this information?... If the answer is nothing, I rest my case.
Personal development trainer, Brian Tracy, said that one of the the best time saving techniques is to stop watching and reading the news. If anything truly important happens, you will get to hear about it eventually. This is absolutely true. For example, for the last two years, I have lived in Italy, and have only been exposed to Italian news networks. They tend to focus mainly on domestic issues, and this does not greatly interest me. Hence, I lost the daily digest of international calamity I had been previously accustomed to. Often, I did not know what was going on in the world. Yet, I did not find myself lacking anything. If it was a lack, it was a refreshing one, as I found it easier to be more focused on the present; on the NOW. As ever, if something really important happened, I would hear about it directly or indirectly. However, being relieved of the incessant nitty-gritty morbid fascinations of the world news media was truly a refreshing experience.
There IS a lot of good news going on too, but you and I are not getting to hear much of it. Hence, we have to find our own by (a) being critical of what we are receiving through the media, and firmly deciding how much of it we attend to; and (b) finding out own sources of good news, be it directly in our lives or through suitable alternative media, e.g. magazines and/or the internet. Just as many parents censor the daily dosage of sex and violence their children are receiving on TV, we need to do that to ourselves as well!
Each of us has enough problems and anxieties in our own lives, and in our own country, without being incessantly exposed to things we can do little or nothing about. This is not intended as a "head in the sand" approach to life. However, we do not NEED this tidal wave of negativity we are being force-fed, and would be better off without most of it. Ultimately, each of us is responsible for the state of mind we enjoy, the world we choose to live in as a result, and the mental food we consume in order to create both.
A note from Asoka:
I have created a section in my discussion group called "The Good News Zone". This came as a result of reader feedback on the articles. The idea is that it is a place where people can share positive news; people helping people, people helping animals, etc. At the moment, it is empty, and I really need people to contribute whatever good news they have access to. It seems a good idea, and I hope it is supported. People can visit it at http://www.aksworld.com/discus
________________________________________________________
Dr. Asoka Selvarajah is the author of "The 7 Golden Secrets To
Knowing Your Higher Self". His work helps you achieve your life
dreams through learning practical, effective spiritual and
personal growth strategies. You can visit his website at: http://www.aksworld.com/7gs.htm
________________________________________________________
Well, mine does, sometimes anyway. We all read articles of self help, spiritual articles, articles on love, do this and do that articles but I wonder how many of us, no matter what we do, always seem to end up back in the same place we were before we read them. Life is that way, ya know. But you know I find that when I really stop and do nothing at all is when I make the most sense out of what is going on inside of me. Each of us have our own way of getting out of quick sand but I can tell you one thing for sure that sitting still in the moment helps tremendously!
It's times when I let my mind take over is when it all gets screwed up! Don't feel this way; don't feel that way...well pooh ... WHY NOT! Feel it, really feel it, ask yourself why if nothing else BUT and the big BUT at that, is to try to remember what put us where we are right then and there. Maybe its just been one of those days or we have failed to wake up smelling the coffee, who knows, LOL.
Ohh, Then try to talk to someone about it. How often do you get, well now let's be positive, don't be negative! Yeah right! Easier said than done sometimes. You see that's OK though.... Delve into that negativity, feel it, you are not going to know how to deal with it unless you get to the root of why it's there. You are going to know that what you are feeling does not feel good to you at all, and it's time to do something about it yourself, YOU are the only person that can change the way you're feeling.
Many articles we read while in that whirlpool of negativity do nothing but confuse the issue sometimes. I'm not saying however they don't help us, because I truly believe that anything we read can be helpful to our growth. Self help; spiritual articles and the like are a wonderful way of sharing the message of love with others and helping others! Except when we aren't really sure why those certain feelings come creeping up on us. Instead of being still, we read everything positive we can get our hands on, and then think well damn, what the hell is wrong with me. I'm telling you, NOTHING and I mean NOTHING is wrong with you or me. Life is not all sun shiny and rosy on a daily basis. I agree life is what we make it. We take the good with the bad as well as the happy with the sad. We learn from it and continue down our chosen path. So what if it takes two or three times before we learn from what we go through in life ... that's OK, Rome wasn't built in a day!
It's time to be real, find out who we really are, not mold ourselves by what others do or say or tell us to do for that matter. It's time to live in the real world ... feel what doesn't always feel sooooo good ... otherwise how would we know what really feels good to us? It's like how would we know what is hot without cold, happy without sad, so on and so forth.
Think about it every second we take a breath we remember a little bit more of why we chose this role in life. Live it to the fullest. Just because we feel the way we do at times doesn't mean we don't have the means to change. That we do! It's up to us when that change is going to occur within ourselves. Not up to our friends, family or neighbors. When you're feeling down or confused about something, go inside and find out why. There may not be a specific reason. You and I feel the way we do at times just because! Remember that's OK! We know, we will know what is causing the feelings of confusion we are having at that moment sooner or later.
Don't be too hard on yourself; go with it. Can't figure it out? Then ask for help, it's there for us, all we need do is ask! Tell it to God! He is always listening to us and never does He walk away from us and think geeeeeesh you are really losin it, smile. He cares, loves us, and wants most of all for us to be happy.
"Be not afraid of the dark, it is within us all, while most
of us revere the light, such as my sister-lightside Isis, there is much power
to be gained and learning to be found in the shadows.
Come to me in you hour of sorrow or anger, for I am a part of you and bring
to you compassion and acceptance, it is not wrong to embrace the dark, for without
it, we could never know light.
I am all you have been taught to hate or fear, to not speak of and to hide.
The woman who betrays her sister, the woman who abandons her child, the woman
who seduces married men, the woman who uses illusion to deceive others, the
woman who stays with her abusive husband.
I am the darker aspects of you who have been shunned and locked in the closet.
I am all that you judge, especially that which you judge as wrong in yourself.
I am a necessary element in your soul, I help you to experience the dark so
you can better appreciate the light. I am your balance, you could not exist
without me.
Love me for who I am, and you learn to love and accept yourself wholly."
About
The Author: Dekora is a Master Teacher of Magnified Healing, and provides
online psychic readings and healings through her website Mystical
Messages. She is the author of the newsletter Australian Animal Wisdom which
can be found online at http://www.oocities.org/aerinleigh/
.
This afternoon the clouds rolled in and the sky darkened. It looked quite stormy and I wondered if we would really get some rain. Then the sky got lighter and more brilliant. "Missed us again", I thought. Wrong.....just as the sun shone brightly, it started to rain. And how beautiful it was. A sun shower. Rain looks so different with the sun shining through it as it falls. Like little diamonds tumbling down from the sky.
It occurred to me that there might be a rainbow. I hurried to look out the window towards the eastern sky and there it was. I ran outside and against those dark, previously gloomy clouds was a huge, colorful rainbow forming an arc across the heavens. I looked closer and saw the faint double rainbow forming. It was magnificent! It was again amazing to see what a little light could do. Diamonds and rainbows all in a short period of time!
About a half an hour later as the sun was starting to go down I decided to sit on the back steps and watch. I love sunsets and this one was awesome. As I sat there watching the colors of the lingering clouds change from pinks to purples to golds and peaches I thought about Light. I thought about whether or not dark was the opposite of light. Or if darkness was just the absence of light. I thought about how, in this Universe, there is always light somewhere. If it's the dark of night at my house, it's the light of day in China. If I were in a spacecraft floating above this Earth, the dark of space would be offset by the light of the sun. If I look up at the clear night sky I see myriads of stars. And they are all suns shining in their own solar systems. I thought about flying in the sunshine way above clouds which shadow the earth.
And so I thought that our Creator must be giving us a message here. That somewhere in our Universe there is always light. That darkness is just the absence of light. And that the absence of Light in our lives is our own creation of Darkness. For somewhere inside us is the Light. And if we look diligently and deeply we can find the switch that will turn on the Light and Illuminate our way. The darkness is to be blessed for without it, we would not be able to experience the Rainbows of our lives. For surely, they point to the "pots of gold" that enrich us!
Most people have heard about how we have animal totems to guide us through life,
in her book Medicine Cards Jamie Sams presents us with the Medicine Wheel
- seven different directions of which we have one animal guarding each. We also
have two animal guides who walk with us throughout all our lives and help us.
One thing we don't acknowledge as much are our shadow totems.
This concept was brought up to me recently, when surfing around the internet
I stumbled across an article that introduced the idea that we have certain 'shadow
totems', that is, animals who embody our dark sides, those personality traits
that are generally shunned by society and which we stuff deep down and ignore,
sometimes to our detriment.
I took this concept one step further as I am working to embrace my dark side
as well as the light, to accept it as a necessary element of my psyche which
needs to be balanced with the light if I am to be whole and healthy. So I took
my medicine cards (also put out by Jamie Sams with her book) and shuffled
long and hard while asking them to reveal to me two animals who are my shadow
totems, and here to help me embrace and learn from my dark side.
I received in reply, Deer and Black Panther. Now it might seem
strange that Deer would show up as a shadow totem, after all these are gentle
and loving creatures, not "dark" as we perceive them in any way. But that is
the whole point! I carry a lot of warrior energy, and can be quite demanding
of myself when it comes to spiritual growth and personal work. Therefore the
Black Panther being a hunter and carrying quite a bit of warrior energy seemed
right to me. Deer did not until I read a little more about it's medicine.
Deer medicine is that of gentleness and compassion. It goes through life with
love and joy for all, and when it comes up against things that seem daunting
and fearful its medicine is to approach it with gentleness. This is a huge lesson
for me because I can be so demanding of myself and others. Deer has stepped
up as one of my shadow totems to teach me to be gentle with myself when dealing
with the dark - not to be so eager to deal with it and judgmental of myself
when I don't get it right away. Deer is here to teach me that I am all right
how I am, and I need to give myself a break sometimes, be gentle with myself
so to speak.
Black Panther's medicine is embracing the unknown, he is here as a teacher of
not only being fearless and moving in to the unknown with confidence and surety,
but as a reminder that again, it's all right if I don't get it all right away.
He is guardian to the void, he is a protector of me if I enter it and this affords
me the ability to move into the unknown and not be afraid. At least this is
what he tells me *grin* I still fear it a little! But together, Deer and Black
Panther work well for my own personal shadow totems given the way that I deal
with my spiritual growth.
Another aspect to shadow totems is the idea that any animal we do not like may
be carrying a message for us. For me, this was Dog, an animal I liked to a certain
extent, but have been impatient with and judgmental of for some time. When I
got down and honest with this, I was able to see that Dog mirrored back to me
the very traits that I have trouble accepting in myself, or in others. It mirrored
back to me the frustrations that I have when it comes to certain people, and
pointed out that this was some of my shadow work which I had not completed or
worked through yet. It was very enlightening.
I encourage everyone to try and discover their shadow totems as they can be
very helpful along your journey! As to be shown them in your dreams, meditate
on them, use the medicine cards, whatever comes naturally to you. And
also, don't be afraid to look deeply into why you fear or dislike certain animals,
these are your mirrors, your lessons, and can provide you with great insight
into who you are and areas you can work on.
I wish you blessings of balance in light and dark!
About
The Author: Dekora is a Master Teacher of Magnified Healing, and provides
online psychic readings and healings through her website Mystical
Messages. She is the author of the newsletter Australian Animal Wisdom which
can be found online at http://www.oocities.org/aerinleigh/
.
My third message from Quan-Yin related back to the long-lasting debate: Can Magnified Healing be used with Reiki? Generally, the answer has always been no. Why? Because Reiki is calling forth the energy around us and guiding it. Magnified Healing however is creating energy from nothing. (Or perhaps more accurately from a combination of our love and our will.) As such, the two are incompatible, or so the 'experts' say.
Well, Quan-Yin doesn't know who the 'experts' channelled to determine this, but she flat out wants it know that it wasn't her. Magnified Healing is not such a strictly-governed only-one-way-works energy. Neither, for that matter is Reiki. In fact, almost no energy is. Imagine that.
It's true though. Most energy isn't governed by laws, and in fact all energy can be approached and coaxed in at least one way that deviates from the 'norm'. All truly-ascended lightworkers understand this because they work with this often. However, there are some who still just do not get 'it', that the universe is not about right and wrong, but instead about flexability, co-operation, and the paradox of diversified unity.
So how then can Magnified Healing and Reiki be used in conjuction? Quan-Yin says that it is quite simple, and in fact there is no one way to do so. Examples that she gives are: Use Magnified Healing to create Reiki energy. Use Magnified Healing to magnify Reiki energy. Use both Magnified Healing energy and Reiki energy in unity. Use the flow of Reiki energy to project (carry) Magnified Healing energy. She promises me that not only do all of these examples work, but that they are only the tip of the iceberg. She urges me the importance of exploring for yourself. There is no right or wrong way. The best way is simply the way that resonates the most with your intuition at that moment. Be open to new ideas, and you will be open to new possibilities.
She also expresses that Magnified Healing and Reiki are not the only ways to work with energy or heal that can compose together to make beautiful music. Quantum Touch is a good vibrational amplifier, and in fact all energy work can be blended in some way. The infinite resources and energies of the universe are out there for us to explore. Instead of being so concerned with what is right or wrong, what does and doesn't work, we should instead be reconnecting with our intuition, our higher self, because then we will find that we already know how to access much more than that which has ever been formally taught.
Message 4: Channeling IS Imperfect
So, one day I asked Quan-Yin flat out, how do I know that I am even getting your messages right? She smiled and gave me a simple laugh. Appearantly, I never will. All that I can do is allow myself to be a conduit for her. Yet my own ego, my own thoughts, my own feelings can color her messages. In truth, she hardly ever even 'speaks'. She merely projects feelings. It is my brain that converts this to language. Since I am the one who may put the flaw into the message, I am incapable of seeing this flaw. At least this is true until some part of who I am changes.
Further, no one is truly perfect, because no one way is the right way for all. What may be true for one ascended master, or even spirit guide, being, or any other entity, may not be true for another or for us all. So what one person may channel may not even be right for everyone anyway.
So how can we trust any channelled information then? We can't. Or more accurately, we should trust in ourselves, in our own intuition. If the information feels wrong, seems wrong, then somehow it is, or at least it is for us.
There, she explains, is the second crux of the matter. Each of us are in our own way different. As such, there is no such thing as 'universal' truth, when we each come from a unique point of view.
So basically, my message to you, from her, is not to trust a word that I (or anyone else for that matter) give to you. Decide for yourself what is and isn't true. Also remember though as a general guideline that the widsom of one may only be serving one, but the wisdom of many often serves many. While this is not always true, generally there is wisdom in numbers.
Stephanie Pui-Mun Law is a freelance artist, whose work consists of fantasy, the otherworld, and the surreal. She has been illustrating since 1996. Stephanie graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1998 with a double BA degree in Fine Arts and Computer Science. Her portfolio of published work and list of recent clients includes Wizards of the Coast (Magic: the Gathering CCG, Forgotten Realms), Cricket and Cicada Magazines, Precedence Entertainment (Wheel of Time CCG, Rifts CCG), HarperCollins (covers for "The Demon Child Trilogy" by Jennifer Fallon), Elemental Designer Games (ChessMage CCG), Skotos (Castle Marrach RPG), Alderac Entertainment Group (Warlord, Seventh Sea, and Legend of Five Rings CCGs), Talislanta, and Black Knight Games.
Most of her inspiration comes from mythology and legend, ranging through various cultures -- Roma (Gypsy), Celtic, Greek, Roman, Indian, and Chinese. It began with an early interest in Greek and Roman mythology, and as she grew older, she began to explore tales of other cultures, beginning with a desire to know more about the culture of her own background, the Chinese. She has also been greatly influenced by the art of the Impressionists, Pre-Raphaelites, and Surrealists, along with current popular fantasy artists. What she tries to convey with her art is not simply fantasy, but the fantastic, the sense of wonder, and that which is sacred.
As far as technique goes, her usual media include pencil, pen & ink, intaglio printing, watercolor, acrylic, and digital (Photoshop). Her preferred medium at this time is watercolor.
In addition to painting into the wee hours of the night, Stephanie dances Flamenco at any spare moment, plays piano, and burrows through her books like a true bookworm. Influences from her music and dance are also scattered through her art, for she finds inspiration for art and images in everything around her.
Web of Light
Ghostwood
The Passion of Thorns
To view and order more of Stephanie's beautiful artwork, visit her website
at:
Thought For The Moment
Message from the Angel of Healing
When you find yourself in situations or experiences which are challenging, do not ask to be freed from them; ask, instead, to be healed of them fully and completely, for there is a huge difference between freedom and being healed. Freedom carries with it a sense of release without transformation while being healed means lightness and a freedom to live your life at a much deeper level.
By Jenny Boylan.
The Dark Side of the Light Chasers: Reclaiming Your Power, Creativity, Brilliance, and Dreams
By Debbie Ford
Debbie Ford believes that we each hold within us a trace of every human characteristic that exists, the capacity for every human emotion. We are born with the ability to express this entire spectrum of characteristics. But, Ford points out, our families and our society send us strong messages about which ones are good and bad. So when certain impulses arise, we deny them instead of confronting them, giving them a healthy voice, then letting them go. It is to these feelings that Ford turns our attention, these parts of our selves that don't fit the personae we have created for the rest of the world. She shows us the effects of living in the dark, of keeping all our supposedly unsavory impulses under wraps.We find ourselves disproportionately frustrated and angry at the selfishness of friends, the laziness of colleagues, the arrogance of siblings. When we are unable to reconcile similar impulses in ourselves, Ford explains, we waste our own energy judging others instead of empathizing. But most important, we deny ourselves the power and freedom of living authentically. Through the stories and exercises in The Dark Side of the Light Chasers, Debbie Ford shows us not only how to recognize our hidden emotions, but also how to find the gifts they offer us. The very impulses we most fear may be the key to what is lacking in our lives.
Reviewer: Gayle Hudson
We know the shadow by many names: alter ego, lower self, the dark twin, repressed self, id. Carl Jung once said that the shadow "is the person you would rather not be." But even if you choose to hide your dark side, it will still cast a shadow, according to author Debbie Ford. Rather than reject the seemingly undesirable parts of ourselves, Ford offers advice on how to confront our shadows. Only by owning every aspect of yourself can you achieve harmony and "let your own light shine," she explains. "The purpose of doing shadow work, is to become whole. To end our suffering. To stop hiding ourselves from ourselves. Once we do this we can stop hiding ourselves from the rest of the world."
As threatening as shadow work may seem, it is often very effective in creating transformation. Ford's step-by-step guidebook is modeled on a highly successful course she developed about embracing the shadow. Ultimately, she helps readers illuminate the gifts and strengths that lie within the shadows. Although this works sound vague, clouded in dark metaphors, Ford manages to make it clear and specific. She has the writing gifts of a successful seminar leader--inspirational, trustworthy, and able to convey murky material with grace and ease.
Reviewer: A reader from Claremont, CA United States
Picks up off where Shakti Gawain left of in Living in the Light --- written 15 years ago! Both books are artfully written to lead the reader on a journey to embrace the self -- the parts of the self that most of us don't even want to acknowledge we have. When we begin to acknowledge the parts, the whole can begin to come into being, and the whole is greater than the sum of the parts! I highly recommend this book.
Monthly Australian Animal
Wisdom Penguin
By Dekora
Penguin is a messenger of Agility and Play. He gets great joy out of life and is excited just to be alive! He is here to remind us not to be so serious in life! We need to take some time to experience joyfulness and play amid the everyday routine.
Sometimes we are way too serious! We get too wrapped up in what we think is
life instead of what life really is. Penguin wants us to experience the joy
and happiness that is being handed to us. He wants us to regain our childlike
innocence and to see things through the eyes of a child - without judgment,
without assumptions, without a need to change anything or anyone.
Penguin says we are here to work at living, not live for work! And it's time
to trust things will work themselves out, take time to reconnect with spirit
and to regain your trust that the Universe will provide us with all we need,
so pay heed to the messages being sent your way and know that it will all work
out for the best of all involved.
Birthing is also a symbol that Penguin carries with him, along with Study. A
symbol of rebirth, especially at this time. We are about to enter into the dark
time, Winter, and he reminds us to not get too down with the dark. The dark
is necessary, and you may feel drawn to study of it in this time. Take time
to study if you are called to it, but don't get too wrapped up in it. There
is a need to balance study of the dark with light energy less we get caught
up in it. Enter the darkness, feel what comes up, and know that there will be
rebirth in the Spring.
About
The Author: Dekora is a Master Teacher of Magnified Healing, and provides
online psychic readings and healings through her website Mystical
Messages. She is the author of the newsletter Australian Animal Wisdom which
can be found online at http://www.oocities.org/aerinleigh/
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Aries (March 21 - April 19) : Integration
You may be feeling like you are of two minds this month, it is because your male and female sides are seeking to be more balanced and in harmony, they are moving to extremes to get your attention. Take time this month to bring yourself into balance with both the dark and the light, it will be a meeting of the two minds, of two energies, so to speak.
Libra (Sept. 23 - Oct. 22) : Traveling
A reminder this month that the destination is not important, it is the journey that counts. Do not hurry to reach the end, for when you get there you will then wonder, what is next? Why have I wasted my time hurrying to this? Remember this - the journey is the important part. You don't have anything to lose, so move with the energy and be one with the Universe.
Taurus (April 20 - May 20) : Abundance
Be whole. There is not health in only working with the spiritual/inner world. There is no health in only being wrapped up in the material/outer world. The key is to be whole in both worlds, a balance of the two energies of materialism and spiritualism. Take time this month to intergrate your spiritual world with the physical, or vice versa. Balance is the key.
Scorpio (Oct. 23 - Nov. 21) : Compromise
Compromise has carried negative connotations for some time because it seems to indicate a "win-lose" situation. This card is telling us not to compromise our truth. It is one thing to meet someone half-way and to understand someone else's point of view, but we must not compromise or betray our own truth in endeavouring to understand them. Be honest and true to self.
Gemini (May 21 - June 20) : Patience
It is a time of waiting this month for Gemini. You have planted your seeds, you have watered them, and now you must await their growth and harvest. This is a reminder to you not to hurry the process, know that there is a time for action and a time for passive waiting. You will have your action eventually, now is a germination period. Be patient.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22 - Dec. 21) : The Source
Return to the Source. The energies of the Source ask you to come out of your head and tap into it on another level. Experience what it is like to be one with the whole. The Source wants to remind you to sit with it for a while and use it to add to your creativity and to help solve any troubles you have right now. This month, learn how to be at the Source.
Cancer (June 21 - July 22) : The Fool
A fool is someone who goes on trusting, regardless of his experience. This month the Fool asks us to accept all experiences into your life, let it happen, and then drop it. Repeat again. Continue dying to the past so you remain in the present. Live in the moment this month, and trust your intuition and you cannot go wrong when it comes to walking your path.
Capricorn (Dec. 22 - Jan. 19) : Laziness
There is a difference between laziness and non-doing. Laziness is where one feels like they have no energy and dull. Non-doing is when you are full of energy, but physically you are alert and aware. Don't let your mind deceive you into rationalising laziness into non-doing - deep down you know the truth. This is not your final destination, there is more to come, be aware.
Leo (July 23 - August 22) : Exhaustion
Exhaustion comes around when we spend all our energy in upholding an illusion of who we are and how we should act in any given moment. Yes there is chaos in our lives, but the answer is not trying to control the chaos, instead it is to remain flexible and move with it, act spontaneously, open your heart and intuition - go with the flow and be free.
Aquarius (Jan. 20 - Feb. 18) : Beyond Illusion
This card represents the face of consciousness, looking inward to what is eternal. We are reminded not to look outside for what is real, but to look within. Focusing on the outside leaves room for judgments - and they keep us trapped in our illusions and sleeping, in old habits and patterns. Drop your opinionated mind and move inside.
Virgo (August 23 - Sept. 22) : Awareness
You are starting to see beyond the veil of illusion to the truth of what life is all about. Keep letting this awareness into your existence and watch as you become clearer with each moment as to how you want to live life. Feel and know that your intuition is accurate and can help you make your decisions. Be clear and nuture your awareness.
Pisces (Feb. 19 - March 20) : The Dream
The idea that one day we are going to meet our soulmate, the one to fulfill all our deepest desires and needs is illusory. There is no such person, in fact, WE are our own soulmate. Real love comes not from trying to solve our neediness by depending on another, but by developing our own inner richness and maturity. Then we have so much love to give that we draw lovers to us.
Reviewer: A reader from Claremont, CA United States
