Love outside the box

Racing home through traffic, wondering what to create for dinner, swinging by the supermarket, get home, feed dog, birds and teenage child, check mail, email, phone messages, change clothes, walk dog, cook dinner, do dishes, empty garbage...maybe now I can sit down for a minute, phone rings etc etc

 Lately, life seems intense, maybe you can relate. It seems every time I log on to Facebook I see posts telling us that its time for change and life is intense. ....it makes me long to sit on a sweet scented grassy hill with a clear view of a turquoise ocean.  I could watch joyful dolphins playing in the waves. The salt air would fill my lungs and I would feel renewed and inspired. A wonderful clarity would encompass me and my life would look different through the lenses of another aspect of myself.

I long for the epiphanies that come when I am in that space of intimacy of nature and myself. In those moments I never feel alone.

Just now, while picturing the scene of sitting on the hill, I had a realisation. Without meaning to sound like Carrie from 'Sex in the City' I realised....

All we need is love but I want to love outside the box. The lines of the box are often made of expectation, disappointment, being someone you think you should be and all sorts of fears and obsessions.

Love, we all want it, we've all looked for it, we all want to feel it. Yet it seems that there is always a price to pay or a structure and limitation to fit it into to. Is it possible to love outside structure and expectation? Is it possible to just love for no reason at all? Not so one can feel fulfilled, not to fit into a role of being a lover, spouse, parent or friend and not to love just so we can be loved back.

Maybe we can love to just feel it, to enjoy it, to appreciate people and life unfolding. Maybe we can let the lines get blurred and smudgy and perhaps a porthole of rich, deep inner love that we sometimes glimpse will emerge, refreshing and energizing our souls.

They say there are only two emotions, love and fear...maybe we fear to love outside the box...somehow I want to choose to love the fear.

The shadows and the light are all part of the same thing, without one or the other we cannot know the whole. There is no perfect way to love but real love will transform you, move you and let you see outside the lines.

Without wanting to sound like Sting, I will end this blog by saying 'If you love someone, set them free, free free set them free! 

                                                         

Spirit Messages Within a Mad Mind

I get messages from Spirit quite often but guess what, so do you. It's that thought lurking in the back of your mind that won't go away and the gut feeling that feels like it is more than indigestion. Its the knowing that you constantly push away, replacing it with an empty logical thought.

In a world where we are educated from a young age to listen to logic, we can miss the simplicity of our innate inner guidance.

So what is the big secret? How do we access our natural given intuition and guidance. Courses will charge you big bucks to find it, others will worship someone they think is more intuitive than themselves but at the end of the day you are a complete package, yes you! All you need is within you and trusting ourselves is the first thing we need to practice.

Our loved ones in Spirit, our guides and angels and our own higher wisdom appear in the form of thoughts and gut feelings.  These thoughts and feelings have a wise and clear sense about them where as our mad thoughts are often based on fear and what we think we should feel or think.

I saw a you tube video of some guy that stares and apparently you get enlightened from watching him stare....well who am I to judge, maybe he really does heal people with his stare.  I sat there watching for about 10 minutes. He had nice eyes, but so does my dog and he can be pretty healing too. Its all good and I support anything that brings about positive change,  but the point I am making is to remind you and myself that we are divine amazing intuitive beings and we have all we need within.

Talk to your higher self, talk to angels, talk to guides, ask for help and take even a few seconds of your day to breath consciously and ask yourself what you are really feeling, beyond the mad thoughts that race through your mind and sabotage your self esteem and judgement.

Perhaps we can choose to follow the thoughts and feelings that seem authentic and see what happens. I am sure you already have at some point and can remember what a good outcome occurred.  For example once I had a gut illogical feeling to have a throat scan. I had no visible symptoms.
I followed it and as it turned out I had a cancerous growth which I was able to deal with before it got out of hand.

Take 5 minutes to reflect on what you truly feel regardless of what you think is acceptable, be authentic, be true and let your beautiful soul shine.

An Angels Visit to a Dental Chair

Recently, as I sat in the dental chair, my face numb right down to my chin and the dentist deep in my mouth with pliers, I decided to drift off into another realm.  I imagined I was in a beautiful garden. Emerald green grass  scattered with purple and pink petals beneath my feet felt soft and soothing with each step. The sunlight gently warmed my being as I heard sweet bird calls coming from the tall trees.
                                                                       
As I turned a corner, a golden ray of sunshine blinded my vision and I knew I was now in the Spirit Realm.  A sweet and loving angel beckoned me to sit with her on a large, sparkling rose quartz crystal. I glided towards her and as I arrived she gently pushed my fringe back and her diamond green eyes met mine. Entranced, she began to impress thoughts on to my mind.

'Many of you have recently released major baggage and it is now time to show the world who you really are. Your true authentic selves have never had more room to shine than now. Do not be concerned how this will occur as you each have unique and specially carved paths that your higher self is aware of, but not your conscious self. Prayers will now be answered quicker than usual so do not hesitate to reach out to us. The global shifts and changes are reflections of you all shifting and changing, as in truth we are all one. Structures end so new ones can be formed bringing fresh meaning and direction. This is truly what is happening under the surface of your lives. Many of you are more awake than you have ever been, be open to rivers of love and magic moments'

Somewhere in the background I heard a man's voice gleefully state 'I got it all' and I was spun back to the present moment. The dentist hovered over me, excited to be showing me my extracted tooth while the dental nurse stuck her sucker thing down my throat. Not such a magic moment I mused.

I raced home and jotted down the message and re read it a few times. I can relate, I do feel like I have been releasing major baggage, particularly the last few years. It does feel like a dawn of a new age, and it's exciting to be part of it inwardly and externally.

Fear of change and fear of the future is our challenge. If we can put fear aside and focus on faith in ourselves and know we are always looked after, we allow room for magic to occur.  Let the magic begin!

*Angel picture by Reed Osama

The Last Fragipanni

Amidst the confusion and noise of the passing traffic, I felt a calm presence. My mood was low and I worrying about various people, places and things. In my internal fog, I walked, my gaze towards the grey cement beneath my feet. Suddenly, the calm presence urged me to look up.

In front of me I observed the last Fragipanni flower resting boldly on a bare grey branch, bold but forlorn. It's bleak honesty touched me as I walked by, it reflected myself, my sense of lonesomeness in a vast world that demanded me to perform, to contribute, to give, to be something in contrast to bareness and just being.

The exquisiteness of the white and yellow flower was a reminder of my own inner beauty and a sign of the impending winter. A fresh crisp breeze caressed my face as I contemplated how the Spirit of the Fragapanni tree might be feeling with only one bloom left after a long Mullumbimby Summer.

The first time I hugged a tree, I was sixteen. I remember it clearly. It was a sunny Winter Melbourne day. I wore my blue jeans and a long, black hippy coat. Sitting in the picturesque botanical gardens, I was feeling sad and confused about love...quite spontaneously, I hugged a nearby tree.  Sincerely I whispered to the tree; please help me, please comfort me. Immediately I felt a wave of pure, unadulterated love wash over me and in that special moment there were no words, just a feeling of unspoken compassion and understanding emanating from the tree. It felt so real, I didn't question it, I just felt grateful. As I walked away, I felt uplifted, reassured and revitalized.

Now, I am a closet tree hugger which I highly recommend!

My recent encounter with the last Fragipanni was a symbol and a reminder that I can be a light, that there is always beauty to highlight the grey, that there is contrast for a reason.

 Life is a palette of choices and experiences. We are the artists of our lives, creating, dismantling and creating again and again.

Trees do have a spirit, because they are alive, be nice to them and give them a hug, maybe they need one too!

Is the Meaning of Life 42? 

Yesterday my gentle  23 year old son asked me 'But why, what's is life all about? Why should I struggle and toil, what for? Why?' As his sweet hazel eyes stared into mine I felt compassion and understanding. I remember asking the same question as a youngster myself and recklessly throwing myself into situations where angels feared to tread to find the answer. One thing was different then, there was no internet.

This information fed generation are different, they have google god, they text, they Skype, they You Tube and goodness knows what else to find answers to life. Yet still, in one way, nothing has changed, the question is still asked, what's it all about?

As my son continued to wait for my God like answer, a million things ran through my mind. I know what is my meaning to life, it has taken me 54 years, but he won't relate to it, he has to find it himself but he is looking to me for guidance. I made a joke about the meaning of life being 42 from the book 'The Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy' we laughed and he wandered back to his computer.

I thought about how to answer him properly for the next 24 hours.  Then I had an epiphany, finding  joy is the reason for being here.  I thought about how I have always gained great pleasure from being of service to others, the joy of feeling connected to nature, to my higher self, to Spirit and  to knowing even if some small way, I can make someone feel good. Sure there are more philosophical and deeper answers to the meaning of life, but I wanted to keep it simple and relatable.

Thinking he would rush into my arms and say something like "I know mum always has the answer' I went to him and told him my epiphany...he looked at me like I was crazy . 'Yeah whatever mum, I'm sort of busy' As my aura deflated like a flat cappuccino, I retreated to the couch and pondered the complexities of parenting.

It really is a solo and unique journey here on the earth in many respects. No wonder sometimes it feels lonely even when you have a million people around you.

Only we can make our own minds up and choose how to view and live our lives. We are often guessing and making it up as we go.

Many claim to have the answers but at the end of the day it only matters what feels right for us.

What is your 'meaning of life?'

Maybe it really is 42?

 

Write, eat and be merry!

Apparently I am a writer but for some god forsaken reason, I haven't been owning it. Writers usually think their writing stinks but if they are a true writer they keep writing anyway, under the sheets, in the coffee shop, on their laptop and file it somewhere they don't even remember because after all, its shit. When they're not writing they walk around with a commentary going on in their head that should be on paper yet they feel like an empty sack and can't remember why.

With all the crazy planetary alignments of late and stepping in the teen years of the 2000's, recently something snapped inside me...I woke up one day with the thought I am a frickin writer, start frickin writing!  I dragged out one of my favourite notepads, found a pen and now I am off. The book I started last year is getting a shine up too. I couldn't believe I hadn't written in this blog for almost a year, so I am back! Be bored, be stimulated or laugh at me, just click me away, I don't care anymore, my writing might stink, it might delight but finally I realise its all about me! ME ME ME!

Lately, I have been eating like a troll in an amusement park. Since Easter egg chocolate touched my lips, seduced my tongue and started dating my hips, sticking to them like glue. Every time I stand on my scales I can hear them laughing at me so I reach for something to stuff in my mouth to dull the pain. Emotional eating is my downfall, I know it, I feel it, but I can't always seem to be functional and do what all the experts say to do. Ring a friend, go for a walk, examine your feelings.  What is functional and what is dysfunctional, does anyone know anyone who is actually 'functional'?

At the end of the day, we are all souls in physical bodies trying to navigate ourselves through an incredibly complex world of choices, emotions, disappointments and enlightenment. Each time we fall, we pick up a little wisdom while we are down there. Maybe it will always be like that, maybe it won't.

We don't have to be perfect and it is okay to be dysfunctional .....but its also good to remember our time here is short, so lets not waste it on focusing what's wrong with us and start loving ourselves warts and all.

Chocolate anyone?

The Value in your Venus

People can be bloody annoying, no doubt about it.  The driver that pulls out in front of you unexpectedly, the shop keeper who was plain rude or perhaps the guy standing in the queue at the supermarket who smells like he hasn't seen soap and water for years. (It happens in Mullumbimby where I live, I can tell you, the alternative lifestyle has it's side effects!)

No matter how spiritual, tolerant and loving we may think we are, it doesn't prevent some people annoying the hell out of us. Sometimes it seems impossible to accept someone elses approach to life.

We are all walking around experiencing our own reality, from our own perspective and sometimes, hard as we may try, its a challenge to understand where someone else is coming from.Yet is it because we all have variable priorities when it it come to what is important?  The guy who cut us off may value his own needs more than others, or the smelly guy in the queue believes going natural is more important than smell.

Many years ago when I began to study astrology, I quickly realised that one of the greatest gifts of understanding someone's personal planetary make up was the gift of acceptance.  After all, if someone has ten water signs in their chart and cries easily, is it really their fault? If someone with an overdose of the element fire in their natal chart displays a restless nature and seems attention seeking, perhaps they just need a creative outlet to express themselves and they haven't worked that out yet.

The planet Venus is ruled by the Greek Goddess Aphrodite and its placement in our chart not only indicates what elicits our love, how we fall in love and what we love, it also shows us our base values. What is really important to us ?

Below is a list of Venus in the signs and what values are important to each one, If you don't know where Venus was when you were born go to http://alabe.com/freechart/ and plug in your birth details for a free chart and look for what sign Venus is in. It's fine if you don't know your birth time. You can also work out what Venus signs your loved ones have to further your understanding of them. 

So next time before we judge someone, perhaps we should take a deep breath and accept them for who they are. Easier said than done sometimes I know, but there's always room for self improvement!

If your Venus is in;

ARIES; You value action, possibly sport or movement based activities, you expect honesty from all yet value conflict, conflict makes you grow.
TAURUS; You value stability, solidness and you like to know what is going to happen next. You value things you can touch and see and sensuality. Good quality products reign, never give a Venus in Taurus a cheap or tacky present, they love quality and the good things in life.
GEMINI; You value a good mind, interesting opinions and great thought provoking conversations. You value those who are good listeners for your chatter.
CANCER; Family is everything to you, your best case scenario is a loving secure family unit. You value creativity, art and beautiful ambiance.
LEO: You value your heart connected friends, colour, romance and excitement. A drab or grey world would never do for you. You value good business sense.
VIRGO; You value organisation, clarity, solid promises and punctuality, a clean environment. Nature is important to your equilibrium.
LIBRA: Harmony within all relationships are paramount to you. You value the arts, music and beauty. Conflict amongst people is abhorrent to you.
SCORPIO; You value honesty, loyalty and intensity. You can be frank and to the point and at times, insensitive, as you value the truth over subtleties.
SAGITTARIUS; You value truth and the bigger perspective on things which is why you are often accused of being insensitive. You value a quest, a mission and a higher purpose.
CAPRICORN; Even if you live an alternative lifestyle, when it comes down to it, you value tradition and solidness in people, you abhor flakiness and false promises.
AQUARIUS; You value your freedom immensely and always feel your way of doing things is the only way, often you are right. You value history and the future and see how it interconnects.
PISCES:You value your own and others feelings enormously. You value your spirituality and often follow your intuition more than logic.