Rainbow Dreams

Working with Positive, Powerful Affirmations

2008-04-14T21:15:00.001+10:00

An affirmation is a statement we make about a person, thing or situation. It is something that we “state” to ourselves or to others on a regular basis. Affirmations are created based on our beliefs and can be positive or negative in nature.

Whether the statement is positive or negative you are affirming that belief on a regular basis and eventually you will believe it and act according to that belief.

The amazing thing about affirmations is that those negative statements can be turned into positive, powerful statements, which in turn can be used daily to bring more light, love and happiness into your life.

Positive thinking is essential for your personal growth.

By working with positive, powerful affirmations you can begin to change the way you think and feel about yourself, and start to create a future that you desire. You do this by identifying the negative and unproductive beliefs you have, and turning them into positive, supporting beliefs.

We suggest that you create affirmations that are in tune with your current situation but that can still effect change in the areas that they hope for.

Before you begin to create your positive, powerful affirmations, it is important to remember a few key points:

Present Moment – Your affirmation must be written in the present moment. For example, “I am financially supported” represents the now, whereas, “I will be financially supported” makes you feel like it is off in the future, not in the now.

Positive Words – Chose your words carefully because if you said “I am not poor” your energy is focusing on not being poor, and the universe hears the word “poor”. Instead change your words to be positive and uplifting “I have enough money for all that I need” or “I am wealthy” are better choices of words.

Short and Specific – While creating your affirmation, you want to chose words that are to the point and allows you to keep your affirmation short. The more succinct your affirmation, the easier it is to remember and the easier to work with.

Feels Right – When creating your affirmation, you want it to “feel” right and be in tune with your current situation. For example, if you are completely broke and there are bills attacking you from all sides, it is not going to help just saying "money now pours into my life offering me great abundance" as this is clearly not the case and trying to repeat such an affirmation would just create an undercurrent of disappointment with your current circumstances. Instead you could use an 'umbrella affirmation' such as "the universe now supports me in my endeavours to manifest great wealth". Create something that you feel is right for you but is also a little bit of a stretch.

Repeat, Repeat and Repeat – Once you have created your positive, powerful affirmation say it to yourself as often as you can, write it down as often as you can and think it as often as you can throughout your day. The best way is to write it down and place it where you can see it often. They say it takes 21 days to break a habit, use this rule with an affirmation and repeat it often throughout the day for 21 days.

Visualise – As you repeat your affirmation, visualise yourself being in the situation. Really feel yourself there, having achieved whatever it is that you wished for. Visualisation helps you with the feeling and belief of your affirmation.

Update – As you work with your positive, powerful affirmations your energy will change and you will begin to feel better and better. Update your affirmations with your feelings and take into consideration that you want affirmations to be a little bit of a stretch for you.

It is better to create your own affirmation that is applicable to your own situation however if you choose an affirmation from a book or the internet, change it to fit your situation. If you are using an affirmation daily and it is not manifesting, think about why and maybe you need to create an ‘umbrella affirmation’ that will help support you in achieving your affirmation when the time is right. You need to honour where you and why before you can move forward.

Affirmations are truly the key to getting yourself in line with what you want, need and desire in life.

Blessings in creating positive, powerful affirmations,
Nicole and Tara

~
Nicole Graham and Tara Spicer are currently on a virtual book tour promoting their recently released writing journal, Journal for the Modern Goddess.

Awakening the Chakras | 9 week cycle

2008-04-01T22:21:00.005+11:00

ENROLLING NOW!

A journey into Self, using creative visualisation, music and dance, this 9-week cycle is designed to help participants to explore, experience and balance their own chakras, and is more indepth than the 8 week cycle.

It starts with an introductory overview, and goes on to focus on the seven major chakras in turn (one per week) before culminating in an integration session.

Although music and dance form the primary focus, sessions also include sensing, working with elements and colours, guided visualisations and short meditations.

This class runs for 2 hours, 1 night per week, over 9 weeks.

From: Monday 28th April

Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm

Where: Om Shanti College, Griffith Shops

Cost: $250 ($225 if booked and paid before 14 April)

For more information email Michelle.

For bookings email Om Shanti College.

www.chakradance.com

Journaling through change

2008-03-25T23:13:00.002+11:00

We (Tara and I) are very excited that Michelle is one of our Virtual Book Tour Hosts (thank you Mich). We are touring the virtual world promoting our recently released guided journal and companion meditation CD, Journal for the Modern Goddess.

In our previous article we discussed the benefits of journaling, today I thought I would talk about ‘Journaling through Change’. Having moved from Australia to Hong Kong, I went through a huge cultural change and journaling helped me cope with those cultural changes.

As we go through changes within our life, whether it is a change in relationship, a job, a family member passing away, moving to a new home or even a change within you, journaling through your life changes can be more beneficial than just talking about them.

When we created our Journal for the Modern Goddess we included a section dedicated to ‘Moving Forward’. This section allows the journal owner to recognise the changes she is going through, at that moment and turn them around to focus on how she can move forward, and through the change.

There are many different journaling techniques you can use to help you move through change, the three journaling techniques we used are:-

Asking Yourself Questions – In our guided sections (Dreams and Inspirations; Moving Forward; Gratitude and Happiness), we provide a number of questions that allows the journal owner to ask herself. By asking herself the questions she can start to journal her answers and allow her answers to flow.

Our questions are guides; therefore any journal writer can ask herself a range of questions such as “how do I feel at this moment in time?” “What makes me happy?” “What changes are going on around me and how do they affect me?” etc.

Asking yourself questions provides you with prompts to move from not writing to writing, and from there you can allow your pen to flow.

Guided Meditations – Our journal comes with a companion guided meditation CD and we encourage the journal owner to write down her experiences from the meditation and if there are any actions she may need to take to move her forward in her life.

One of our tracks was specifically designed to release your fears and when there is change going on, usually there is a fear about the change.

Meditation allows a person to relax and journaling directly after listening to a meditation CD is powerful because the insights you gained through your journey can be put onto paper immediately.

Free Flow Writing – We have also offered journal pages for the journal owner to write whatever she feels like without being guided. Some call this “intuitive writing” and others call it “free writing”. Free flow writing has one rule, and that is, there are no rules.

Free flow writing is you put pen to paper and write whatever comes into your head. If it is “I don’t know what to write”, then you write that and any thought or feeling, you write and you don’t stop. At first you may set yourself a time limit of 10 minutes and over time you may increase the time.

During this time you do not worry about punctuation, spelling, grammar, capitalisation, paragraph breaks etc. Do not worry if it doesn’t make sense, because you are writing purely for you. Free flow writing leads you places you never would have imagined. Allow your thoughts to flow and your pen will naturally move without you having to think about it.

Overall journaling can be an effective tool for processing the changes going on in your life – As they say; the only constant in life is change. Don’t be afraid to journal your way through your change.

Happy journaling!

Nicole Graham and Tara Spicer are currently on a virtual book tour promoting their recently released writing journal, Journal for the Modern Goddess.

Journaling Techniques

2008-03-23T21:29:00.002+11:00

Feeling a little stuck? Not sure what to write or how to start? At a loss for ideas? There are a range of journaling techniques that you can use to get your thoughts on to paper.

As mentioned in our article, Journaling through Change, we have used three different journaling techniques (Asking Yourself Questions, Guided Meditations and Free Flow Writing) in the Journal for the Modern Goddess.

There are many other techniques and some of them are:-

Qualities and Attributes: Write down the qualities and attributes you possess and then write down ones you wish you did. Identify one quality you demonstrate well and write about the how and the why, then identify on quality you wished you possessed, and write how you could demonstrate it in your life. You’ll be amazed what comes forward during the writing process.

This technique can be adapted to use words that describe how you are feeling in this moment and you can write about why you are feeling the way you do.

Dialogue: Another technique is to dialog. Dialogues are imagined conversations between two or more people or higher beings. It could be a dialogue between two parts of a person.
Dialoguing could involve writing a conversation between a present or past relationship, someone who is living or deceased. It could be about your role as a mother, sister, aunty or friend. Dialoguing could involve writing about an event or circumstance, traditions, cultural background, marriage, religion.

Dialoguing helps you move through any patterns, resistances or disagreements you may be having with yourself or with others. If you need to discuss a situation with someone, this technique can be powerful as it will allow you to form your thoughts so that you can say what needs to be said in a constructive and diplomatic way.

List Making: List making is a great way to help writers block. You could create a list of 100 things you are grateful for, or if 100 is a little daunting start with 25 or 50. Some examples are listing ways you could nurture yourself, how you can improve your life, what you wish for, places you would like to visit, things you value in life, ways to be more creative, ways to be more productive etc.

Once you have your list you can ask yourself questions to get the writing process flowing.

Art Journaling: This technique uses a combination of sketching, collage, scrapbooking, writing, clippings from the newspaper, images from magazines, photos – anything visual. Art journaling is a powerful way to move beyond words.

Use your journal entries as triggers to inspire art. Review what you’ve written over the past week or month and find word images you can translate into drawings or paintings. If you are concerned it will look messy or you will not like what you create, use separate paper and paste it into your journal once you’ve finished. This is a very creative alternative to words.

Overall journaling can be an effective tool of healing and self-empowerment for everyone. There are many more techniques beside the ones I’ve mentioned; however it is recommended that you find the techniques that suit you. Once you become confident in journaling, explore and experiment with other techniques.

Happy journaling!

Nicole Graham and Tara Spicer are currently on a virtual book tour promoting their recently released writing journal, Journal for the Modern Goddess.

Benefits of Journaling

2008-03-16T19:10:00.004+11:00

Journaling is the practice of keeping a journal that explores your thoughts and feelings surrounding the events of your life. It is more than keeping a diary and recording the activities of your life, journaling allows you to clarify your thoughts and feelings, thereby gaining valuable self-knowledge.

Below are some examples of the benefits to keeping a journal.

Reduces Stress: Journaling has a proven benefit of reducing stress. The process of writing your thoughts and feelings down allows you to let go, and not carry as much with you throughout your day. This is a powerful form of self-expression, and through that expression you can gain clarity, release, and relief.

Increases Focus: Taking the time to journal can help you disentangle thoughts and ideas so that you can identify your true feelings and bring a clearer focus to what you want. This allows you to begin to live your life to the fullest.

Promotes Self-Healing: Through journaling and reflection you can uncover and record patterns and cycles as well as heal the past, heal relationships and soothe troubled memories. You will gain surprising and valuable insights into yourself as you journal, and again when you revisit past writings.

Encourages Personal Growth: As you express yourself you can integrate life experiences and learnings, explore night dreams, day dreams and fantasies, which in turn allows you to move forward in discovering who you really are.

Better Know Yourself: Journaling helps you create awareness of your beliefs and options, as well as help identify your values. This self discovery reveals different aspects of yourself, and allows you to better know yourself and make changes where you feel there is a need.

Better Communicator: Instead of saying something you may regret at a later stage, journaling is a safe way of expressing feelings and half-formed thoughts until you are ready to communicate them to others in a healthy and constructive way.

Setting Goals: You can clarify what you want and what is most important to you through journaling. Once you have identified those, you can begin to set goals and create action plans to support you in achieving what is important to you.

No Structure: Start today, stop tomorrow and that is how it should be. Journaling allows you to write whenever you feel like it. It is your journal, and your journey – record what you want and when you want based on your personal needs.

Overall journaling can be an effective tool of healing and self-empowerment for everyone, from those suffering great personal battles to those who wish simply to empower and clarify their own unique light and wisdom.

Your journal is your own sacred space, where you honour yourself and the unique light that you bring to our world.

Nicole Graham and Tara Spicer are currently on a virtual book tour promoting their recently released writing journal, Journal for the Modern Goddess.

About the Journal for the Modern Goddess:

This beautiful hard covered, spiral bound writing journal helps women uncover the beautiful, unique and powerful Goddess that they really are.The journal features 6 coloured inserts with inspirational quotes, guided questions, affirmations and 204 lined pages for journaling. The coloured inserts divides the journal into sections - Gratitude and Happiness; Moving Forward; Dreams and Visions; Journal Pages; Guided Meditation; and Sanctuaries and Sisterhood.The companion guided meditation CD features 3 tracks that provide women with sacred journeys that inspire and encourage them to create positive life patterns. These tracks help them to recognise and invite magic, inspiration and loving energy into their lives.

The journal retails for $34.95 AUD including GST.

To view or purchase the journal, please visit Nicole and Tara’s website, Journals for Empowerment. Please visit:

Tomorrow, Nicole and Tara will be talking about the best way to use their beautiful journal over at Chakra Goddess. Visit them at www.chakragoddess.com

There is a reader’s competition, to find out more, visit http://www.journalsforempowerment.com/virtual-book-tours/competitions/ This week’s clue is: Our Goddess is gracious in victory

2008-03-16T14:40:00.002+11:00

Coming soon to Rainbow Dreams, a series of articles from The Modern Goddess, Nicole Graham. To read an article with Nicole, click here.

The Crown Chakra

2008-01-30T21:09:00.000+11:00

It is within you
that the Divine lives.

Joseph Campbell

Thought, Universal identity, oriented to self-knowledge

The crown chakra relates to consciousness as pure awareness. It is our connection to the greater world beyond, to a timeless, spaceless place of all-knowing. When developed, this chakra brings us knowledge, wisdom, understanding, spiritual connection, and bliss.

The Crown chakra is the final chakra in our journey. Anodea Judith asks us to imagine that our torso is a sturdy stem with its roots sunk deep into the earth. Imagine your roots are nurtured by water in the sacral chakra, and that your stem is fed by the firey solar plexus to rise into the air, vibrating in sound and light, to at last explode into a thousand shining lotus petals at the top of the crown. At the centre of the lotus, your individual point of awareness connects with the orarching field of divine intelligence, knowing there is no separation. In the true meaning of the word yogo as union, the individual and divine are at last linked in their common field of consciousness. To be aware of this unity and to go beyond that awareness into simply 'being' this unity is the essence of realisation.

The crown chakra represents the underlying conscicousness that is the basic operating principle in all of the chakras. Only consciousness is capable of seeing, speaking, loving, doing, feeling, and living. In our work in the seventh chakra we seek to free that consciousness from its usual distrations to experience its own limitless nature. This is the ecstaatic culmination of the liberating current in its final goal of ultimate freedom (mukti). This is the seat of enlightenment and the ultimate source of awakening.

Yogis spend their lives in practices designed to achieve this state of ultimate freedom, although there are few who achieve full enlightenment. Yet, we all have some enlightening moments, those little 'ahas' of realisation that give us a small taste of liberation. For most of us, it is only a glimpse from which consciousness then descends back into manifestation. But from this awakening the sweet nectar of divine wisdom condenses into ever firmer realities, step by step, extending downward through each of the chakras. Like raindrops collecting into pools, the chakras condense consciousness into the various qualities of manifestation, both within and around us. In Sanskrit these ualities are called tattvas, represented by elements we have been balancing in the lower chakras.

Manifestation begins in consciousness with an initial conception. You first conceive of an idea, then daydream about it by creating pictures or blueprints (chakra six), talk about it to others (chakra five), bring it into relationship (chakra four), give it energy (chakra three), achieve connection (chakra two), and finally manifest it on the physical plane (chakra one). If you want to see what divine consciousness looks like, you need only look around you to see the hidden signature of creation in the natural world. To see the manifestation of your personal consciousness, just look at your immediate surroundings. As you remove blocks and distractions from your consciousness, through healing old wounds and focusing the mind in meditation, the field around you will gradually become ordered and spacious.

Consciousness is the operating force in each of the chakras.

Chakra Attributes

Colour: Violet

Function: Understanding, Knowing, Bliss

Healing Essence of the Chakra: Located at the top of the head and extending upward to the Heavens, it is called the “Crown Chakra,” “the gateway to divine spirit.” A true aspirant grounds such energy to include the work and focus of daily life. Wisdom emanates from those who walk in spirit with both feet firmly planted on the ground.

Keywords: Enlightenment, Prayer, Meditation, Transformation, Divinity, Wisdom

Affirmations:

I am guided by my higher power and higher wisdom.
I am awakened.

Interpreting excess or deficiency in the seventh chakra

Excessive characteristics

Dissociation from the body
Spiritual addiction
Confusion
Over-intellectualisation
Living "in your head"
Disconnection from spirit
Excessive attachments

Deficient characteristics

Spiritual cynicism
A closed mind
Learning difficulties
Rigid belief systems
Apathy

Balanced characteristics

Spiritual connection
Wisdom and mastery
Intelligence, presence
Open-mindedness, ability to question
Ability to assimilate and analyse information

The seventh chakra self evaluation

What attachments do you have in your life and how could you release them?
What is your concept of the divine and how much time do you put aside to contemplate this?
Tune into what thoughts occupy your mind on a daily basis and decide if they serve you in a positive way or are they self-limiting beliefs?
How can you bring a sense of the sacred in your daily life?
How often do you show gratitude towards everything that you have in your life?

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Participant's responses:

You make my day

2008-01-21T20:44:00.000+11:00

I would like to thank Rebecca from Gratitude Practices for honoring me by awarding me the You Make My Day Award.

Rebecca, it has indeed been an honour sharing this journey with you and the other participants at Rainbow Dreams -- in fact, you made my day!

I thank you all for your support and love, its humbling. So now its time to honour my fellow travellers.

The Rules: Give the award to up to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel so happy about blogland! Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so that they can pass it on. Beware! You may get the award several times!
There are so many people who inspire me on a daily basis with their courage in showing up for their lives, following their hearts and working to manifest their dreams. I don't read a lot of blogs, but the ones I read are listed on the side of my blog.

All these goddesses visit and participate in Rainbow Dreams regularly. Visiting their blogs always brings a gentle smile to my face as I witness their strength, vulnerabily and beauty:

Please visit their blogs!

The Third Eye Chakra

2008-01-21T14:38:00.000+11:00

Your vision will become clear only

when you look into your heart.

Who looks outside, dreams.

Who looks inside, awakens.

Carl Jung

Chakra Six: Light, Archetypal identity, oriented to self-reflection

This chakra is known as the brow chakra or third eye center. It is related to the act of seeing, both physically and intuitively. As such it opens our psychic faculties and our understanding of archetypal levels. When healthy it allows us to see clearly, in effect, letting us "see the big picture."

After refining your energy body through the purification of sound in the fifth chakra, the journey moves deeper into your inner world. Anodea Judith guides us to our sixth chakra, the centre of illumination, the gateway to wisdom, and the luminescent source of the light within.

To enter this chakra is to discover a world of indescribable beauty. It is to seek the light of consciousness and learn how to focus that light in order to see clearly. This is the homeland of intuition, dreams and visions.

The sixth chakra is often called the third eye, an etheric organ of consciousness that lies directly behind and between your two physical eyes. The third eye is capable of seeing beyond the density of the physical world into the subtler realms of energy and spirit. Only be training your consciousness to be focused and directed can you harness the immense gifts of this visionary centre.

Shiva, one of the principle Hindu gods, is sometimes depicted with a thunderbolt emanating from his third eye for the purpose of destroying illusion. As you learn to focus your attention, you have a means to free yourself from illusion and begin to perceive the ultimate nature of reality.

The name of this chakra, ajina, means both to perceive and to command. To perceive is to see or recognise a pattern. To command is to hold a picture in your mind as a guiding template for manifestation. It is important to be conscious of these internal pictures so that you create from clarity and intention rather than illusion.

The sixth chakra is about seeing in the deepest sense. What does it mean to really see? Even when our eyes are open, we remain unaware of many things that are within our visual field. To see deeply requies a focus of consciousness in a particular direction and to look at something long enough to turn its patterns into meaning. We use the expression "I see" to denote understanding, even using it in reactin to words, feelings, or ideas. It is this kind of seeing that is the basis of insight, the ability to see inside, and to perceive the patterns we create. Through insight we are able to free ourselves from constricting patters and to achieve liberation.

As you enter this chakra, look deeply within. Take time to detach from your suroundings and look at them objectively. Focus your attention. Validate your intuitions. Follow your dreams.

Chakra Attributes

Color: Indigo/Cobalt

Function: Intuition

Healing Essence of the Chakra: Located in the center of the forehead between the eyebrows, it is identified with the Third Eye. This chakra asks that a person look within to find the wisdom of the soul. It affects the brain and the neuralgic system, which stimulate the endocrine and pituitary systems. At the highest level, when this chakra has connected with the Heart Chakra, divine love and light emanates out to the world.

Keywords: Clear Vision, Genius, Imagination, Dreams, Quiet, Inner Peace

Affirmations:

I see the light and it guides my way.
I listen, I hear, I speak the truth.

Interpreting excess or deficiency in the sixth chakra

Excessive characteristics:

Hallucinations
Delusions
Obsessions
Nightmares
Intrusive memories
Difficulty concentrating
Excessive fantasising

Deficient characteristics:

Lack of imagination
Difficulty visualising
Insensitivity
Excessive skepticism
Denial (can't see what's going on)
Inability to see alternatives

Blanced characteristics

Strong intuition
Penetrating insight
Creative imagination
Good memory
Good dream recall
Ability to visualise
Has a guiding vision for life

The sixth chakra self-evaluation

Can you see what is really going on in your life or do you try to keep certain things buried?
Do you have a personal vision for your life?
Are you aware of what archetypal influences may be guiding or limiting your life?
Are you aware of your dreams and the symbolic messages they may hold for you?
Do you trust your intuition?

The Throat Chakra

2008-01-18T15:01:00.000+11:00

Kind words can be short and easy to speak,

but their echoes are truly endless.

Mother Teresa

Chakra Five: Sound, Creative identity, oriented to self-expression

This is the chakra located in the throat and is thus related to communication and creativity. Here we experience the world symbolically through vibration, such as the vibration of sound representing language.

As we move into working with our Throat Chakra, Anodea Judith tells us to take a beath and listen to the air rushing into your lungs. Let the breath out with a sound, touching your fingers to your throat, and feel the vibration of the fifth chakra. With this simple motion of moving air through your body you express the consciousness inside and influence the reality around you. This is the essence of communication.

Sound, vibration, rhythm, music, voice, words, communication. Thse are all aspects of the fifth chakra, located in the throat, literally the bottleneck of the whole chakra system. Its name, Vissudha, means purification, as the release of sound urifies and orders the energy body for entry into higher consciousness.

This chakra is about opening the voice, speaking your truth, and freeing your creativity. It is where you take the will from the third chakra, add it to the breath in the fourth chakra, and energise the ideas coming down from the mind to express yourself in the world. Through communication you connect, expand, and unite with others, creating your world as you go.

The essence of this chakra is to find resonance and harmony with all that is vibrating around you. It is to open to speaking and listening, toning and singing, moving and dancing, and from this synergy you open your creativity to express your deepest self.

To open the fifth chakra is to commune, a word which forms the root of communication, and literally means to be one with. To communice with self and spirit is to take yet anotehr step toward the realisation of unity with all things.

Chakra Attributes

Color: Blue

Function: Communication, Creativity, Connection

Healing Essence of the Chakra: Located in the throat and neck region of the body and extending upward to include the lower region of the brain or cortex, this area holds the communication center. Through the Throat Chakra one may speak long-held truths of past hurts and, in the process, find much inner peace and a sense of personal freedom. With a healed and healthy fifth chakra, one’s words are kind, clear and truthful.

Keywords: Truth, Self-Expression, Song, Poetry, Clarity, Communication

Affirmations:

I am the messenger.
I speak my truth with clarity and courage.

Interpreting excess or deficiency in the fifth chaka

Excessive Characteristics

Talking too much or inappropriately
Gossiping
Stuttering
Difficulty being silent
Excessive loudness
Inability to contain (keep confidences, etc)

Deficient characteristics

Difficulty putting things in words
Fear of speaking
Speaking with a small, weak voice
Secretiveness
Excessive shyness
Tone deafness

Balanced characteristics

Reasonant, full voice
Clear communication with others
Good communication with self
Good listener
Good sense of timing and rhythm
Lives life creatively

The fifth chakra self evaluation

Are you comfortable with your own voice? Have you ever listened to its reasonace?
Do you allow other people to have their say and be heard?
In what ways do you express yourself creatively?
Do you feel that people hear you?
Do you communicate your feelings open and honestly?

The Heart Chakra

2007-12-30T13:53:00.001+11:00

"To love is the great amulet

that maks the world a garden."

Robert Louis Stevenson

Chakra Four: Air, Social identity, oriented to self-acceptance

This chakra is called the heart chakra and is the middle chakra in a system of seven. It is related to love and is the integrator of opposites in the psyche: mind and body, male and female, persona and shadow, ego and unity. A healthy fourth chakra allows us to love deeply, feel compassion, have a deep sense of peace and centeredness.

Now that we have awakened the firest of our will, we are ready to enter the sacred and tenderrealm of the heart. Here lies the very centre of the chakra system as well as the heart of our being, the chamber from which we give and receive love.

As we move onto the fourth chakra in Anodea Judith's Chakra Balancing Workbook, we must ask ourselves these questions:

How do we open our hearts to love? What is this mysterious essence that has such power to rule our lives? What is its purpose in our journey through the chakras and how can we align ourselves with this purpose?

These are the essential questions we ask of the heart, the organ whose beating defines life itself. But when we speak of the heart, we are speaking not of a physical organ out of a realm of connection, where we are beckoned to expand beyond ourselves and find union with another.

Love is the essence of life. It is the ultimate healer, the most potent teacher, the inspiration for great works. For the child love provides the assurance of survival. For the adult, it brings the intimacy that allows acceptance and invites expansiveness. And while the desire to receive love is a basic need of all human beings, this alone will not open the heart.
.

The Sanskrit name for this chakra is Anahata, meaninging unstuck or unhurt. To open the heart is to treat others (as well as things) with honour and respect and refrain from causing unneccessary harm. This occurs naturally when we discover the divine nature of the self within and realise that a similar nature resides within others and indeed all of life.

An open heart feels compassion and empathy for both self and others. It understands the tender nature of spirit, the delightful joy of connection, and the deep peace of body, self and other, light and shadow, masculine and feminine, inner and outer realms. The result of this balance is peace.

Chakra Attributes

Color: Green

Function: Love

Healing Essence of the Chakra: Located in the region of the heart and between the shoulder blades, it is the area of the body where love resides, in the cave of the heart. The ecstasy of love teaches us to let go and trust in the world, ultimately transcending the flames of sexual passion and emptying our life, giving spirit and spirituality into the world.

Keywords: Love, Unconditional Love, Surrender, Compassion, Forgiveness, Grace,

Peace

Affirmations:

I am unconditionally loving of myself and others.
There is an infinite supply of love in the world.
I am love.

Interpreting excess or deficiency in the fourth chakra

Excessive characteristics:

Codependency (focussing too much on others)
Poor boundaries
Jealousy
Being a martyre
Being a pleaser

Deficient characteristics:

Antisocial, withdrawn
Critical, intolerant
Lonely, isolated
Lack of empathy
Fear of intimacy

Balanced characteristics:

Caring
Compassionate
Empathetic
Accepting
Self-loving
Peaceful
Centered
Content

The Fourth Chakra Self Evaluation

Are you able to love yourself as you are or do you put up certain conditions?
How often do you show your appreciation to those around you including strangers?
Are you holding onto any feelings of grief?
Do you have any feelings of hatred or resentment towards someone in your life? If so, what can you do to forgive this person and free yourself from these old wounds?
What parts of yourself do you deny? What can you do to reclaim aspects of yourself that you may have sacrificed to be accepted?

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See participants' responses:

i Goddess meditation

2007-12-29T14:14:00.000+11:00

by Anita Ryal Revel

I'm back

2007-12-27T00:25:00.000+11:00

So sorry that I've been away for the past month - travel commitments for work became very overwhelming and made it impossible for me to post.

When I returned, I came down with a bad case of tonsillitis, which seemed to suck the very life out of me.

I'm now on the mend and will start posting again next Monday.

I hope you've all had a magical Christmas.

mich
x.

The Solar Plexus Chakra

2007-11-26T20:10:00.000+11:00

“There is a force within that gives you life—Seek that.
In your body there lies a priceless jewel—Seek that.
Oh, Wandering Sufi, if you are in search of the greatest treasure, don’t look outside.
Look within, and Seek That”.

Rumi

Chakra Three: Fire, Ego identity, oriented to self-definition

This chakra is known as the power chakra, located in the solar plexus.

It rules our personal power, will, and autonomy, as well as our metabolism. When healthy, this chakra brings us energy, effectiveness, spontaneity, and non-dominating power.

Chakra Attributes:

Color: Yellow

Function: Will, Power, Laughter, Anger, Joy

Healing Essence of the Chakra:

Located above the navel, it corresponds to the solar plexus in the physical body.

This chakra opens the channels of power and acts like a radiant sun, storing power and energy for future use.

By directing the full force of our intention toward our dreams and goals and moving creatively through life, we leave the limiting aspects of our childhood behind.

We are transformed into sacred and peaceful warriors.

Keywords: Leadership, Power, Authority, Integrity, Consciousness, Courage, Action

Affirmations:

I honor myself.

I offer my light and service to the world.

Interpreting excess or deficiency in the third chakra:

Excessive Characteristics

Dominating
Controlling
Competitive
Arrogant
Ambitious
Hyperactive
Stubborn
Driven (compulsively focussed toward goals)
Atracted to sedatives

Deficient Characteristics

Passivity
Lack of energy
Poor digestion
Tendency to be cold
Tendency toward submission
Blaming
Low self-esteem, lack of confidence
Weak will, poor self-discipline
Use of stimulants

Balanced characteristics

Responsible, reliable
Good self-discipline
Positive sense of self
Confident
Warm
Energetic
Spontaneous, playful, humorous
Able to take risks

Answer the following questions:

How do you rate your energy levels?
Do you take appropriate action when your energy feels diminished?

Do you feel the need to conform?

Do you seek approval from other people?

Do you take responsibility for your own actions, or do you let other people control you?

Does shame influence your behaviour?

Do you assert yourself without dominating others?

Can you stay focussed on activities and see them through to completion?

Do you take risks in your life?

-------------------------------

Participant's responses:

The Sacral Chakra

2007-11-18T13:24:00.001+11:00

"Beneath heaven nothing is more soft and yielding than water.

Yet for attaching the solid and strong,

Nothing can take its place.

Therefore the soft can overcome the hard,

The weak can overcome the strong,

Under heaven everyone knows this,

Yet no one puts it into practice."

TAO TE CHING

Now we move up to the second chakra, the element of water and our feminine energy.

The second chakra, located in the abdomen, lower back, and sexual organs, is related to the element water, and to emotions and sexuality. It connects us to others through feeling, desire, sensation, and movement. Ideally this chakra brings us fluidity and grace, depth of feeling, sexual fulfillment, and the ability to accept change.

Where the earth is solid and fixed, water is fluid and formless. Where earth is solid and fixed, water is fluied and formless. Water follows the path of least resistance and flows downward, following the shape of earth or being absorbed into it. Where earth provides consistency, water induces changes. And Through change our consciousness begins to expand. Without water, growth is impossible. Water makes life juicy.

Our bodies -- made mostly of water -- are shaped by the structure of bones and muscles, but within these bodlies flow our emotions and desires, our wants and needs, our feelings and sensations.

The Sanskrit name for this chakra is Svadhisthana, which translates as "one's on place". This refers to the personal nature of the second chakra aspects of our emotions and sexuality. It is important that we stand in "our own place" within this chakra and define our sexual and emotional issues in a way that is suitable to our individual characters. If our roots are deep and well-watered, then our fruit will be sweet -- the Sanskrit verb svadha means "to sweeten". From the centre of one's own place, we sweeten life by opening to pleasure.

Pleasure is the motivating principle of the second chakra. Pleasure promotes well-being and is a natural healin force. It teaches us how to open up, how to move, how the reach beyond ourselves. Pleasure comes to us through any of our senses: seeing a sunset, tasting a meal, listening to music, savouring a lover's touch.

The senses are the first gatewa between the outer and inner world. To open our senses is to become sensible instead of senseless. Through the senses we first get "in touch". to be in touch is to know what we feel, to be awake and aware. To be in touch is to be connected.

The pull of the erotic in this chakra represents the universal urge to connect with others. through desire, emotion, pleasure, and sensation, we enter the complex realm of sexuality -- a place where we dissolve our boundaries and enter into intimacy with another. Dissolving is the beginning of our upward journey, whose ultimate goal is to enter mystic union with divine conciousness. While some traditions teach that pleasure is a dangerous distraction on the road to enlightenment, healthy pleasures -- such as touch, play, laughter, sexuality, and experiencing beauty - lead to contentment and peace, rather than an insatiable desire for more. In fact, it is often the denial of these simple, biological pleasures that leads to overindulgence and addiction.

Emtions are a composite of feeling and sensation. They give us a powerful source of information about our well-being. But we must understand the complext nature in order to stay afloat in the watery aspect of the second chakra.

Chakra Attributes

Sanskrit Name: Svadhisthana, which translates as "one's on place"
Color: Orange
Element: Water
Function: Desire, Pleasure, Sexuality, Procreation

Interpreting excess or deficiency in the sacral chakra

Excessive characteristics:

Sexual addictions
Obsessive attachments
Addiction to stimulation
Excessive mood swings
Excessively sensitive
Poor boundaries, invasion of others
Emotional dependency
Instability

Deficient characteristics:

Rigidity in your body, beliefs or behaviour
Emotional numbness or insensitivity
Fear of change
Lack of desire, passion, or excitement
Avoidance of pleasure, fear of sexuality
Poor social skills
Excessive boundaries
Boredom

Balanced characteristics:

Graceful movements
Ability to embrace change
Emtional intelligence
Nuturance of self and others
Healthy boundaries
Ability to enjoy pleasure
Sexual satisfaction
Passion

Healing essence of the sacral chakra

Located in our lower belly, it is where we relate to our bodies through the procreative centers. Through a healthy second chakra one can heal relationship problems, transform deep and hurtful emotions, and balance life.

Keywords: Life Energy, Creative, Procreative, Giving, Receiving, Inner Truth

Affirmations to practice this week:

I make my decisions from a place of hope and faith.
My creative drive is strong and exciting.
My sexuality is fulfilling and meaningful.
I am life.

Those of you who have bought Anodea Judith's Chakra Balancing Kit can move on to their workbooks, and if you like, blog your responses and link back to this post.

For those of you who don't have the book but would like to know a bit more about the first chakra, visit Anodea Judith's site and answer the questions below:

Do you express your emotions clearly and honestly?
Are you in touch with what you truly feel?
Do you set appropriate boundaries for yourself and in relation to others?
What pleasurable activites do you bring into your life?
Do you move towards change and new experiences, or are you resistant?
What are your passions?
Do you value your own feelings and respond to them?

-----------------------------------------------

See participants responses to this post:

Mich

The root chakra

2007-11-11T13:47:00.000+11:00

"Put seeds and cover them.

Blades will sprout

you do your work."

Rumi

As I'm sure you'd all agree, every journey begins with a single step.

In Chakra Balancing Anodea Judith suggests we take this step by making solid contact with earth, the element of the first chakra. So it if fitting that we begin our journey upward through the chakras by initially going down.

Located at the base of the spine, this chakra forms our foundation. It represents the element earth, and is therefore related to our survival instincts, and to our sense of grounding and connection to our bodies and the physical plane.

Ideally this chakra brings us health, prosperity, security, and dynamic presence.

The root chakra represents how we interface with the physical ealm: our body, home, finances, work, and environment. It represents our physical identity -- the ability to identiy with our body and its needs.

Increasing your contact with the natural world is an essential part of first chakra development. To treat the physical world as sacred is to honor what you do with your body and environment, the food you eat, the things you buy, and your means of livelihood.

On a psychological level, the root chakra is associated with the survival instinct and the will to live, hence your basic health and vitality. As te final chakra in the descending current, it is here that you bring things into manifestation or completion. In order to fully manifest, you must be able to ground your energy into the earth.

Chakra Attributes

Sanskrit name: Muladhara, meaning root support
Color: Red
Element: Earth
Function: Survival, grounding

Excessive characteristics:

heaviness, sluggishness, slow movements
resistance to change
overeating, obesity,
hoarding
material fixation, greediness
workaholism
excessive spending

Deficient characteristics:

fear, anxiety
resistance to strucutre
anorexia, underweight
spaciness, flightiness, vagueness
disconnection from your body
restlessness, inability to sit still
difficulty manifesting

Balanced characteristics: The following characteristics indicated a balanced first chakra. They are also the rewards that come from first chakra work.

Groundedness
Physical health
Being comfortable in your body
A sense of safety and security
Stability and solidity
Right livelihood
Prosperity
Ability to be still
Presence in the here and now

Healing Essence of the Chakra

Located at the base of the spine, it governs all aspects of grounding, inner security, sexuality, and safety issues brought from childhood or past lives. Becoming conscious of the first chakra allows one to tap into a life affirming power that is deep and profound.

Keywords: Grounding, Sexuality, Life Affirming, Primal, Foundation

Those of you who have bought Anodea Judith's Chakra Balancing Kit can move on to their workbooks, and if you like, blog your responses and link back to this post.

For those of you who don't have the book but would like to know a bit more about the first chakra, visit Anodea Judith's site.

Affirmations to practice this week:

I enjoy being in my body and I nourish it each day.
I am connected to the earth and the safe foundation it provides for my future growth.
I believe in my abundance.

You might want to answer these questions:

What is your relationship to your body, diet and exercise?
Do you suffer from any physical ailments?
Is your home environment nurturing & clean?
Are you on top of your finances?
Are you satisfied in your work?
How regularly do you spend time in nature?
Does fear hold you back in your life?
Can you take care of details and stay centred?

-------------------------

See participant's responses:

Mich
Angela Eclectic Recovery (see response in comments section)
Hélène Deroubaix
Anna

Chakras

2007-11-07T10:21:00.000+11:00

The word ‘chakra’ is Sanskrit for wheel or disk and signifies one of seven basic energy centers in the body. Each of these centers correlates to major nerve ganglia branching forth from the spinal column. In addition the chakras also correlate to levels of consciousness, archetypal elements, developmental stages of life, colors, sounds, body functions, and much, much more.

I believe Chakradance™ explains it best:

“A chakra is a spinning vortex of energy. A human being’s energy field is complex and multi-layered, and includes subtle energies which western science has only recently begun to detect. Chakras are the energetic gateways through which our various subtle energies interflow. Like electricity, chakras are invisible to the naked eye.

Every human being has 7 major chakras and many hundreds of minor ones. Together, they are the network through which mind, body and spirit interact as one holistic system.

Each chakra represents an aspect of consciousness vital to our lives (safety, sexuality, power, love, communication, intuition and self realisation). Physiologically, each chakra is connected to physical organs and endocrine glands, the health functions of which are directly affected by the state of the corresponding chakra.

We can think of the chakras as energetic floppy disks, each containing vital programmes influencing the various aspects of our lives. Some of our programming may be positive, affecting our health, emotions, thoughts and behaviour in a positive manner; others may be negative, having the reverse effect.”

The ideal state is where the chakras are balanced. To find out what the state of your chakras is, do the chakra test.

-------------------------------
See participant's results here:

Welcome to the journey!

2007-11-06T15:54:00.000+11:00

"It is the tremendous experience

of becoming conscious,

which nature has laid upon mankind,

which unites the most diverse

cultures in a common task."

Carl G Jung

Welcome to the start of our journey, as we work our way through Anodea Judith's Chakra Balancing kit.

In the Chakra Balancing Workbook, Judith says the Chakra System is a map for the journey through life. Its seven rainbow colours represent the full spectrum of human possibility that stretches from the ordinary to the extraordinary, from Earth to Heaven, forming a bridge and describing the steps between them.

This map is an archetypal formula for wholeness that addresses the full spectrum of human possibility.

To navigate its territory is to take an exciting journey of awakening -- in body, mind, and spirit.

THE SEVEN WONDERS OF THE SOUL

"There is a bridge between time and eternity; this bridge is the individual soul, the Jiva."

Chandogya Upanishad

There are many challenges on this journey.

Try something new, and you might feel buterflies in your stomach. Try to speak up, and you might get a lump in your throat. Fall in love and you might feel your heart leap with joy and fear. These are all common activities that happen through your chakras. They occur for most people quite by accident. Sometimes the experiences are better than others.

Learning about the chakras gives you access to your programmed responses so you can minimise their negative effects and maximise their positive ones. But furst you need to understand just what the chakras are and how they work in your energy body.

The word chakra is Sanskrit for wheel or disk and signifies one of seven basic energy centers in the body. Each of these centres correlates to major nerve ganglia branching forth from the spinal column. In addition the chakras also correlate to levels of consciousness, archetypal elements, developmental stages of life, colors, sounds, body functions, and much, much more.

You can read more about Anodea Judith and the chakras here and and you'll also find some articles.

Those of you who have the kit, begin with CD one. Part One takes you on a journey through the general territory of the chakras. Its purpose is to make initial contact with your own energy centres and their and their contents.

Next week we'll explore how to deepen your connection to your first chakra.

-------------------------

Read participant's responses:

Mich

Update

2007-11-06T00:19:00.000+11:00

Just a quick note to let you know I've had a family emergency to deal with.

I'll make the first post on the Chakra Balancing series when I get up in the morning.

Thanks for you patience,
Michelle

Make a wish

2007-10-28T17:52:00.000+11:00

Next week we'll be starting our journey through the chakras, but today we're still working with Isha Lerner's Inner Child Cards.

A well, vessel, or cauldron can hold sacred waters for rituals, blessings, purifications, and healings.

Water is the essence of all life.

The answer to the question of whether the cup is half full or half empty depends on how life is being viewed at a given moment.

This question is being asked of you now.

Along with this question, you may be granted a wish.

In the traditional tarot, the Nine of Hearts is often considered the wish card.

Your wish should reflect what you feel you deserve in life, where your heart is, and how much you love yourself.

Wishing is a way to observe how well you are seeking your individual fulfillment.

Can you accept a happy life?

This is not an easy question to answer, and much care should go into this inquiry. Sometimes wounds of the past must be healed before you can grow into your wish.

Forgiveness of self and others is one step toward greater fulfillment.

The mermaid in this card is holding her vessel toward the waterfall to be filled. She has reached a point of acceptance in her life and is ready to have her cup run over.

Hold your own cup high toward the waters of life and dare to fill it completely.

Imagine the possibility of unlimited love, joy, and wisdom pouring into your heart.

This may be it time for spiritual initiation or purification in your life.

Believe in miracles, and follow your dreams.

You may also want to visit Jamie's Wish Casting blog.

--------------------------------------
Participants responses to this post:

Infinite Bliss
Spring Dawn
Yoga Gal (see response in comments section)
Aurora
iGoddess

The colourful & fragrant gardens of our minds

2007-10-21T11:48:00.000+10:00

We'll be starting work on the Chakras on the fist Sunday in November, however until then we will continue with our journey into our selves with Isha Lerner's Inner Child Cards.

There are times in life when we are shown the gateway to new awareness that is beyond our current boundaries or resistance.

This new awareness offers another view of the world that can recapture, or open us to, the magical garden wisdom that lives within us.

It is there that we may learn to master our abilities and gifts.

When the fairy on this card is ready to open the garden gate, she will discover a world of herbs, flowers, and trees that await her arrival.

They will revitalize and heal her. There is an abundance of energy available to her.

The butterflies on the gatepost are the aspects of her soul that are ready for metamorphosis.

She hears the garden calling, and so she peeks.

This is a wondrous time in your life when you may be exploring the secret passages of your spirit or completing an important evolutionary cycle.

There is a rich and flowering place within you.

You must journey there.

Close your eyes and envision yourself entering

the colorful and fragrant gardens of your mind and heart.
What do you see?

--------------------------------

Participants who have responded to this post:

Hélène Deroubaix
Yoga Gal (see response in comments section)
Blessed Be (see response in comments section)
Infinite Bliss
iGoddess
Journey Through Life

Chakra Balancing

2007-10-14T15:50:00.000+10:00

I wanted to get a feel from you all this week to see if you're interested in healing and awakening your energy body.

A couple of months ago I bought Anodea Judith's Chakra Balancing Kit. It includes a work book, two audio CDs and Chakra Cards.

We could spend 7 weeks travelling through the Chakras together and journal our experience in our blogs.

You can check it out at Amazon they have new and used copies available. I bought mine from the local new-agey book store.

Anodea Judith has such a wealth of knowledge to share about the chakras - you can even buy the kit directly from her if you wish.

Please let me know in the comments section if you'd like to do this - if so, we can start on Sunday 3 November 2007.

Namaste.

mich

The Butterfly of Transformation

2007-10-07T18:52:00.000+10:00

This week we're working with Isha Lerner's Inner Child Cards.

Once upon a time,

I dreamt I was a butterfly...

Suddenly I awoke...

Now, I do not know whether I was then

a man dreaming I was a butterfly,

or whether I am now a butterfly

dreaming that I am a man.

Chuang Tzu (c.360 BC - c. 275 BC)

In this card, a magnificent soul potential in the form of a butterfly is being unveiled by two fairies.

In Welsh mythology, fairies were known as the mothers or the helpers.

These fairies are liberating the spiritual quality of humanity.

There is a connection between the soul and the butterfly in Greek mythology. This stems from the belief that the human soul becomes a butterfly while searching for a new incarnation.

The process of transformation is extremely powerful in our lives as we search for a broad understanding of the future and a gentle surrender to the past.

As we emerge from old wounds, we take on new colors and wear new wings of hope -- much like the butterfly miraculously, unspiraling from the dark cocoon.

This butterfly is released into the light and is offered new conscious awareness. This may very well be happening in your life right now.

The butterfly is an essential emblem of love, suggesting, in China, a wedding of souls.

This winged gift is a reminder today that love, soul unity, and art are fluttering into your life. An inspired rebirth is taking place. It is time to reveal your true colors. The flight has begun.

As you emerge from your cocoon of transformation

note your true colours. What is happening in your life right now?

--------------------------------
Read participant's responses to this post:

SpringDawn
Infinite Bliss
Scarlet (see response in comments)
Angela ~ BlessedBe (see response in comments)
Creative Faery
Turtle Heart
Hélène Deroubaix

Open Heart

2007-09-30T20:05:00.000+10:00

This is love:

to fly toward a secret sky,

to cause a hundred veils

to fall each moment.

First, to let go of life.

Finally, to take a step

without feet.

Rumi

Fill my heart with Love,

that my every teardrop

may become a star.

Hazrat Inayat Khan

This week we draw wisdom from Isha Lerner's Triple Goddess Tarot.

This stage of initiation entails dedication and commitment, for the tasks involved are some of the most difficult to comprehend for the human soul.

The individual must seek to embrace the essence of love within and avoid the temptation to seek it elsewhere.

The beloved with whom we choose to share our intimate life is but a reflection of our own loving nature.

To the extent we seek love outside ourselves, we meet with disillusionment and disappointment.

Imagine for a moment that love has two dimensions: the horizontal, confined and enclosed by time and space; and the vertical, representing the infinite, eternal link with spirit.

Human love often gets caught up in the horizontal zone, fostering the desire to own, possess, and control one’s “love object.” Such strategies, motivated by fear, are doomed to fail.

Aphrodite offers love to humanity from the vertical plane; her touch encasing us in an orb of shimmering joy.

Find more time to care for your body, your hair, your attire and your environment.

It is a very good practice to stand up with arms reaching toward the heavens in the shape of a chalice.

Imagine you are being filled with the elixir of divine love.

Let the radiant light of Aphrodite pour into your heart.

You will find that people cannot resist you, for the joy that emanates from your loving demeanor is both healing and contagious.

Light a candle in your home symbolising the purity of love you wish to share with the world.

How do you dare to be the rapturous beauty

that lives within your heart?

--------------------------------------------

Participants who have responded to this post:

The Witch & The Princess (see response in comments section)
Electric Recovery (see response in comments section)
Infinite Bliss
Spring Dawn
Creative Faery
Hélène Deroubaix
The Modern Goddess

Womb of Potential

2007-09-24T21:06:00.000+10:00

How shall I begin my song

in the blue night that is setting?

In the great night

my heart will go out;

toward me the darkness comes, rattling;

in the great night my heart will go out.

Papago Medicine Woman Chant

This week we draw wisdom from Isha Lerner's Triple Goddess Tarot.

In her explanation of this card, Isha says:

The wheel of life moves me toward expanded horizons. The sky appears wider, the mountains stand taller, and the space around me is vibrant with possibility. In the midst of life’s wild and quickly flowering currents, I remain centered, allowing the rainbow bridge of opportunity to connect me with my destiny.

At this stage of initiation, the spiritual seeker confronts more and more subtle growth opportunities and challengers, in order that a more permeable and transparent ego identity can be forged beyond the confines of attachment and fear. This stage of life heralds a deep and abiding inner freedom.

The Rainbow Goddess carries the potential to manifest in all spheres and in all circumstances. You are invited into the Womb of Potential where, like the Rainbow Goddess, you gestate your dreams. Hidden treasures within you are waiting to blossom.

You are asked to open your heart and soul to the many opportunities that surround you each day. The wheel of fate is shifting and new values, concepts, and ideas are forming within. You may wish to take a class, rearrange your daily schedule, or branch out and do things you have been thinking about but have not taken the time for. It is not to your advantage to remain stuck in the same routines, fearing the significant changes looming on your horizon. Meet this wonderful opportunity with an open mind.

How are you stepping out of the norm and opening yourself to new opportunities?

------------------------------
Participants who have responded to this post:

Infinite Bliss
Beverley Keaton Smith (see comments on this post)
Electric Recovery (see comments on this post)
Jessica (see comments on this post)
iGoddess
HopeSprings/SpringDawn
TurtleHeart
Hélène Deroubaix
The Modern Goddess

Awakened Aphrodite

2007-09-17T22:46:00.000+10:00

Sorry I didn't post last week - I've had some technical issues which took some time to resolve.

This week we're working with Isha Lerner's Triple Goddess Tarot once more.

We are the mirror, as well as the face in it.

We are tasting the taste of eternity this minute.

We are pain and what cures pain.

We are the sweet cold water and the jar that pours. Soul of the world, no life, nor world remain,

no beautiful women and men longing.

Only this ancient love circling the holy black stone of nothing.

Where the lover is the loved, the horizon and everything within it.

Rumi

At this stage, the adept knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that the schooling of life is found within, and that each of us has the freedom to become fully awake through our own efforts and will.

New levels of spiritual insight and contentment flood in on a regular basis and are readily assimilated.

Wells of creativity and vitality are unearthed. Your power to serve the world with great compassion and skill comes to the fore. You are no longer hiding your light under a bushel, for there is nowhere left to hide.

The path into Awakened Aphrodite’s embrace entails constant discernment, for She embodies the truth of real love.

No longer does She confuse mere seduction, which is fear-based, with love, which knows no fear.

Loving and kind to all women and men, She refuses to perpetuate the competitive and jealous ways of others.

She is at home in Her physical body and grateful for the gift of life. She shares this joy with all around Her. She attracts many things to herself, yet knows the path of discrimination.

Take time for yourself. Sleep when you need to, vacation and play when it is appropriate. Do not overwork or bury yourself in competitive work habits.

Awakened Aphrodite accepts life.

Live life fully. Above all else, do not be afraid to love completely and honestly. Honour thyself and love will return one thousand times over.

How are you honouring yourself?

------------------------------------------

Participantes who have responded to this post:

Cherry Girl (see her response in the comments section)
Bohemian Mom
Infinite Bliss
HopeSprings/SpringDawn
Hélène Deroubaix
The Modern Goddess

Who are you?

2007-09-02T21:22:00.000+10:00

Praise and blame,

gain and loss,

pleasure and sorrow,

come and go like the wind.

To be happy,

rest like a giant tree

in the midst of them all.

~ Buddha

This weeks soul-searching exercise is from Isha Lerner's Triple Goddess Tarot.

We all need to establish the principle of universal harmony and balance firmly within ourselves in order to rest assured that behind all appearances, no matter how seemingly cruel or random, resides a greater truth, one that expresses the higher laws of spiritual governance.

At this stage of initiation, the spiritual aspirant pauses to reflect upon the origins of life and to seek a greater understanding of his or her karmic circumstances and conditions.

One of the many wisdom Goddesses, Athene applied her considerable wisdom to commerce, farming, and many other mundane arenas of life.

You are invited into the temple of Athene, where balance and discrimination are elevated to the level of skillful means. Careful consideration and observation give you the chance to set your karmic records straight.

We must strive to live according to higher principles and truths, walking a grace-centered path with awareness of spiritual laws and justice.

Cultivate discernment in your life, but learn to let go of the burden of judgment, condemnation, and criticism.

Embrace the notion that your judgments are always fundamentally about you and not about the other person.

We’re constantly creating circumstances and conditions in our lives that will help us see ourselves more clearly.

Reflect on your life objectively,

review it as if you are looking into someone else's world.

See yourself clearly .... who are you?

---------------------

Participants who have responded to this post:

The Modern Goddess
Infinite Bliss
Aurora
Hélène Deroubaix
Spring Dawn
Lilithmother ~ see comments for her response

Our Inner Muse

2007-08-26T20:00:00.000+10:00

This week's exercise is once again inspired by Isha Lerner's Inner Child Cards.

The three fairies in this card celebrate the muse of the Triple Goddess.

The first goddess was said to be Mnemosyne, or memory, which is the sacred gift in us that offers the ability to recite prose, song, rhyme, and riddle.

The three muses provide clairvoyant insight and intuitive skills. From these divine creators come the words music and amusement.

The fairies pictured in this card play delicate violins. Such beautiful stringed instruments were said to have been made to echo the ecstasy of creation.

The fairies play their instruments with magic wands that have been transformed into bows, accentuating the divinity of their play.

They are among peach tree branches, from which magic wands were made in ancient China. The peach tree is associated with the planet Venus and represents art, music, and love.

The precious gift to you today is the memory of the muse in your heart. Open to the joy of artistic expression. The music of the universe is constant and flowing. The keynote here is the potential of joy -- your joy and the joy of life.

How do you satisfy the muse in your heart?

--------------------------------

Participants who have responded to this post:

Blossoming spirit

2007-08-13T08:49:00.001+10:00

"Earth, ourselves, Breathe and awaken, leaves are stirring, all things moving, new day coming, life renewing."

Pawnee Prayer

This week we continue to work with Isha Lerner's Triple Goddess Tarot. The card is Blossoming Spirit and the goddess archeytype is the Virgin of Light.

Called the “visible face of God,” this “robe of light” comes to those who have become so familiar with the infinite power of love and wisdom in the universe that it has now merged with their inner being.

Blossoming Spirit (The Hierophant) comes to heal any rigid beliefs or misuses of power exhibited by the Emporer, reminding humanity of the never ceasing need for unity of body, mind, and spirit.

The power of the heart, the fourth chakra, has been activated, aligned, and utilised as the primary source of inspiration for the journey ahead.

At this stage of initiation, the essence of the divine spark becomes available to all living beings, sparking the potential for bliss within the heart of humanity.

The luminous core of all mani-festations is feminine in nature. Ultimately, the unseen face of the Goddess—sometimes detected in the imagery of sunlight filtered through the natural landscapes of the earth—is offered as “the Light of the world.”

The light of creation is born out of the spark of love embodied within the human being. Its source is the Great Mother Goddess.

Each day there is a seed of inspiration seeking fertile ground to gestate and grow. These various inspirations and ideas are ready to be fulfilled within your life.

What is ready to be fulfilled within your life?

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Participants who have responded to this post:

Opportunity knocks

2007-08-04T21:23:00.000+10:00

I'm travelling again this week, so its unlikely I'll be able to get to a computer for the next couple of days, so I'm posting early.

This week we're staying with Isha Lerner's Triple Goddess Tarot.

A Pirali Bengali Brahmin from Calcutta, Tagore once wrote:

"The same stream of life that runs through the world runs through my veins night and day in rhythmic measure. It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the earth into numberless waves of flowers."

In The Spirit of Findhorn, Eileen Caddy wrote:

"The key to your happiness and contentment lies within you, within your own heart and mind.

The way you start each day is very important; you can start off on the right foot or on the wrong one.

You can wake up with a song of joy and gratitude in your heart for the new day, for being alive, for the very wonder of living, and for being in tune and harmony with the rhythm of all life. You can expect the very best from the coming day and therefore draw it to you.

Or you can start the day with a chip on your shoulder, disgruntled and out of rhythm.

You are responsible for what today will bring, and knowing it gives you an even greater responsibility than those souls who are not aware of it and therefore know no better. You cannot blame your state of mind on anyone else. It all rests with you."

At this stage of initiation, the soul moves beyond judgment, error, and limitation, for the lightning bolt has struck a responsive cord within. The aspirant is shown the power of his or her motral and spiritual choices.

At this level of awareness, the opportunity for self-transcendence is made known.

One is shocked into stillness and surrender. Defensive strategies and systems of denial fall away and all that remains is the wisdom of one’s true nature.

Through Her ability to swiftly change and alter realities, Oya (Goddess of Winds, Tornadoes, and Lightning) ignites the spark of transcendence within your soul.

She aids you as you burn through the veil of attachment that has hindered your ability to fully embrace your destiny. Her bolt of lightning, along with Her fierce winds and storm, electrifies your inner life.

Powerful, unexpected events may surface at this time, asking you to look deeply into the interior of your present life circumstances.

Have faith in yourself and the changes you are invited to make at this time. Move with this energy by speaking your truth and making the necessary changes to set yourself free from the confines of the past.

What growth opportunities knock
at the door of your heart?

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Participants responses to this post:

Back to the basics

2007-07-29T19:31:00.000+10:00

This week, we're working again with Isha Lerner's Triple Goddess Tarot.

Rumi said:

"A new moon teaches gradualness and deliberation and how one gives birth to oneself slowly. Patience with small details makes perfect a large work, like the universe."

I know we're not entering into a new moon, but as we move into the full moon, we become aware that we are the moist and vast ocean of the heavenly Womb.

The tides and waters of the earth respond to our changing reflection.

Allow the magical light of your Moon glow to illumine your path inward to the place where your soul’s thirst is quenched.

Feel, dream, imagine, and open to the spirit of the feminine orb of light that embraces you soul in the luminous sweetness of the night.

At this level of initiation, the committed seeker lifts the veil of the Goddess one more time. Here we engage with feelings and concepts not yet fully formed in the light of day. At this stage, profound wisdom engages both the imagination of the psyche and the genius of the soul.

Moon Goddesses are always protector deities who lovingly watch over all living beings on Earth. They teach us, by example, to extend ourselves well beyond the boundaries of the individual self into the realm of service to the world. The path of the Moon allows each of us to explore the vast region of the collective unconscious and to solve the deep mystery of the soul.

The Moon card invokes the mother archetype in each human being, so tonight I ask these questions:

Are you safe?
Do you help to create a safe environment in which others may thrive?
Are you comfortable in the darkness of your own soul?
Are you protective of those who are especially vulnerable among us?
Do you take good care of yourself?

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Participants who have responded to this post:

Kim - MidWest Musings (posted in comments section)
Infinite Bliss
Creative Faery
Hélène Deroubaix
iGoddess
Aurora
Journey Through Life
Blessed_Be
The Modern Goddess
Bohemian Mom

Fullness of life

2007-07-22T21:57:00.000+10:00

I hope you did something special last week to connect with the Fire Grid, and had fun creating your future, the week before.

Whether you created a MindMovie, a Dream Board, Treasure Map or a list, you didn't just take a step in the direction of achieving your dreams, you took a gigantic leap!

So congratulations to all of you who have made the commitment to YOU!

This week we're staying with the theme of abundance and working with the Triple Goddess Tarot.

The Western world is in radical need of balance and harmony, and we must learn to embrace the natural rhythms of perpetual change, birth, death, and rebirth.
Love is the principal ruler of the Fullness of Life Goddess; although She births and manifests through Her womb, She also manifests divine love through Her heart.

At this stage of initiation, life begins to mirror back to us our deepest held beliefs and patterns of relating to the world. The power of the earth and the resource of your own worth are evident as this archetype awakens within your daily life.

The Earth Mother embodies all stages of life as the Triple Goddess: Wise Crone, Bountiful Mother, and Maiden. Known by many names in many cultures, She is Gaia, the feminine earth steward who watches over agriculture and the ecosystem. Your body is Her temple.

Experience Her sensual temple by walking with your bare feet on the earth, smelling the scent of nature’s perfume as you walk amid the flowers, or touching Her skin as you climb a mountain.

Fullness of Life offers an opportunity to ground and centre your attention on the physical realm.

Become ready to receive life’s riches on a daily basis. Re-invite the Fullness of Life into your daily routine by immersing yourself in nature, bathing in fragrant bubbles or under the stars in a clear stream. Remember, the natural world is a mirror of your own divine potential.

What does abundance mean to you?

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Participants who have responded to this post:

Healing the earth - July 17, 2007

2007-07-15T14:18:00.000+10:00

When I logged on today I had two emails sitting in my in-box demanding my attention.

The first was from our very own Creative Faery, Marie, and the second was from my bother-in-law Yen.

The thing that really drew my attention was, that both emails -- although from completely unrelated sources -- were about the same thing.

When I pulled a card from Isha Lerner's Inner Child Deck, I pulled the Earth Child, so I know we're supposed to do this. I mean, how many times can the Universe boink me over the head in one day?

Here is a summary of the website (taken from a letter to Oprah Winfrey), and this week's task for us to follow:

We are the Light of the Light and we bring you a message of Love and Joy from the Universe, a method to achieve the highest frequency of human vibration. A message so powerful it has the potential to change the world as we know it. We know your heart, dear one, and we offer your guidance and direction a chance to manifest the power of intention on a global scale. This is a distinct opportunity to apply the principals of "The Secret", not for one's own personal desires, but for all of humanity, to create a wondrous world which is your destiny.

You are presently in a position to assist your planet during this time of change and transformation. We bring to your attention a worldwide project that will facilitate the lifting of your personal vibrational field all while lifting the earth's own energy field; catapulting you collectively into a state of healing. Take care of the "I" and the "We" which you seek for these earth changes will follow. When you maintain a pure, joyful expression of gratitude, you allow the Divine Love of the universe to radiate out to all.

You are a carrier of this Divine Love energy, as are all humans. The key is to remember your true creative potential while living in this physical body, then maintain an open heart for this Love to flow through. This powerful thruth will assist you in bringing a wonderful metamophosis to your world; providing peace, prosperity and unlimited future potential for all human beings.

On July 17, 2007 at 11:11 GMT, there will be a cosmic opening which will rain down incredible creative energy upon the earth. We wish to share this event with you and humbly request your assistance in sharing our message with the world. This will take but one hour of your time but will affect the rest of your life. It is easy to participate. Simply discover that which brings you your greatest joy then meditate, pray, sing, love or dance with appreciation and a grateful heart. Embrace the moment and be truely thankful for that experience. This event will act as a catalyst to begin a worldwide healing and then together we will create a global movement toward change.

One hour of your time can heal the earth. Learn how at the website below. Thank you for considering our truth and sharing it with others.

http://firethegrid.com/eng/home-fr-eng.htm

There is a world-clock on this site, so you can check the correct time in your city to meditate.

Tell me ...

2007-07-13T20:41:00.000+10:00

Hey goddesses,

Just touching base with those of you who are doing Gayla's e-COREse. Tell me ... how are you going?

I know it can be overwhelming, but I just want to congratulate each and everyone of you for making the commitment to yourself.

Rainbows & stardust,

mich

Creating your future

2007-07-08T17:53:00.000+10:00

I'm posting tonight, instead of tomorrow, because I have it on good authority, that I have family descending upon my door-step tomorrow night!

My step-brother Garry and his partner Yen are coming to stay for a couple of days, so undoubtedly the red wine will be flowing and there will be chatting and laughing well into the wee hours ...

This week's journey inward is from the Inner Child deck.

In the Five of Swords, the river raft of the Four of Swords finds a place to dock, and the fishing rod or sword is secured in the sand.

The boy leaves the raft behind and begins to explore a variety of uncovered truths that are awaiting him. He gazes at a starfish, which reveals the potential of his creative mind.

In numerology, the number 5 is connected with freedom, adventure, and unexpected changes on the path of life.

The seals on the shore symbolise the emergence of unseen life forces coming to the boy. His awareness is fresh as he discovers new ideas. Most exciting is the realisation that clarity is brilliantly emerging like the bright sun in the sky behind him.

As you venture from your raft of the past, be aware of the truth and freedom that await you.

Freedom misused can be confusing and chaotic.

Be thoughtful and discriminating as you gather resources and information. Know your boundaries-the lessons of the raft.

Clarify your goals.

The boy is on a slippery rock, and he must move carefully to stay surefooted.

Anticipate illuminating insights from places deep within you. This is a creative and purposeful time. Most importantly, focus your attention and thoughts.

Reflect on your goals and write them down ... to help bring them to reality publish them on your blog, or create a dream-board or mind movie. Remember to stay positive - for example don't say "I will become more positive", put it in the future tense and say "I am a positive person with a great future!".

To help you get started, think about the key areas of your life:

Where you live

Lifestyle

Work

Money/financial

Love

Family & friends

Health

Spirituality

Gratitude

Here are some links to give you some ideas:

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Dream-Board

http://www.mindmovies.com/

Here's what Nicole (The Modern Goddess) did for one of her other posts click here.

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PARTICIPANT'S RESPONSE TO THIS POST:

e-COREse 21 day challenge

2007-07-04T20:59:00.000+10:00

Hey goddesses! A group of us have already signed up for Gayla's e-COREse and we're underway, its not to late too join up.

If you're a little curious, we're in week one. Exercises and affirmations in the first week are focused around getting more aligned with your centre of wisdom. The part of yourself that knows exactly what you want, how to get it and what motivates you above all else. In this core of all wisdom that resides within, you are absolutely sure about your true purpose for living. It just takes some time playing around in there to unleash it!

Oh by the way, just between you, me and Gayla ... life WAS meant to be easy! Gayla is convinced the old saying 'life wasn't meant to be easy" was based on a limited belief that we have to get sucked into every chaotic piece of information coming our way. We don't. We have the power to choose what gets deleted and what gets right of passage in our mental computers. We just need to know a few tools as to how to do that.

The exercises are meant to be built upon. Each day you will add what you've learned the previous day to the exercise you're practicing today.

So let's begin! What do you have to loose? Find out how to enrol in this free course here.

Angelic Wisdom

2007-07-02T20:56:00.001+10:00

This week Isha Lerner's Triple Goddess Tarot demanded our attention ...

The Temperance angel stands before us with quiet focus and grace. She reveals the awakened heart of humanity, for at this stage of consciousness we have pierced through yet another veil of illusion.

At this stage of initiation the seeker is beginning to understand the power of fate and purpose, at last able to be fully of the earth while infused with spirit.

Your angels and guardians surround you with loving guidance and protection. Their elixirs of healing energy embrace you and you are at peace knowing how very loved and adored you are by the precious helpers from above and beyond.

Ground the cosmic beauty of angelic wisdom into the roots of your earthly life.

You are invited to explore the essence of life within the realm of birth and death and beyond, for the soul does not confine its adventures to the spiritual plane alone, but involves itself in the great laboratory of experience here on planet Earth. Our task here on Earth is to fully interweave the spiritual dimension with the material; to mix the gold of spirit with the silver of embodied existence.

When the soul is thirsty, it becomes a vessel, ready to be filled and then poured out into new life circumstances.

What do you fill your cup with each day?

Now is the time to explore this esoteric question. Seal the cracks in your own cosmic vessel so that you may soothe your soul and revitalise your life force.

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Participants who have responded to this post:

21 Day Challenge ~ Free e-COREse with Gayla Maxwell

2007-07-02T20:45:00.000+10:00

Just in case you missed the post on my blog about a free e-course, get your spiritual butt over to Gayla Maxwell's site and sign up.

What if you could live every day of your life on purpose -- naturally motivated and with passion?

Imagine what your life would be like if you were feeling the following each and every day:

excited about the mystery that is unfolding today

looking forward to the opportunities that lay in each moment

a greater connection to the place within you that knows unlimited clam and joy

a greater level of awareness -- minus the critique!

even more clarity

a sense of living in your natural flow

having a positive sense of direction and purpose

Gayla is offering this course for a limited time free - if this is something you'd like to do, sign-up here.

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Rainbow Dreams participants who have already signed up include:

Discovering your true self

2007-06-25T18:55:00.001+10:00

This week, I have once again drawn inspiration from the Inner-Child Cards ~ doesn't Isha Lerner (creatrix of these cards) have a beautiful, magical soul?

There is a universal belief that one's reflection is a vital part of one's soul.

It is said that reflective surfaces are soul catchers or doorways to the world of spirit.

Buddhists accept that all existence is like a reflection in a mirror.

Depicted in this card is a beautiful fairy seeking the deeper meaning of her existence.

Unlike Narcissus, whose soul was trapped in his water reflection because of his vanity, this fairy is uniting with her beloved self, or the aspect of her ego that is all loving.

She sees in her own image the potential of sacred beauty.

When we are ready for inner transformation, we come face-to-face with our true selves.

This is a time of profound personal awareness and insight.

Find a place of solitude and serenity and explore your hidden talents.

Intuitive gifts strengthen you. Perhaps you can visualise your true face.

What does your original face look like?
Who is your true self?
Are you radiant and glowing?

Reflect on the above questions and post your answers in your blog, then leave a message attached to this post with the URL address to your response.

Love & light to all!

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For responses to this post visit:

Creating your bliss

2007-06-20T19:28:00.000+10:00

Here's the first post that I posted for our circle which was posted on my blog. I thought it best to move it over here ... and linked back to those participants who have already responded to this exercise (see below).

I was watching The Secret, and decided to pull one of my Inner Child Cards.

It is important to discover the center of gravity within the soul, that magical core that draws forth creative will. This empowerment helps us build the world according to our deepest values and guiding principles. Personal responsibility and constructive actions are beginning steps toward the foundation of a beautiful life for ourselves and others.

The gnome children portrayed in this card are busily creating a home with various tools and a cooperative spirit.

The foundation for this house is an apple tree, signifying the Tree of Life. In Greek myth, the apple tree is a symbol of abundance.

A new consciousness is being built.

In Thailand, many people creating houses construct replicas of those structures, to be inhabited by spirits. These miniature models are called houses of spirits. This ancient practice welcomes guardian angels into the households and fashions talismans for the overlighting power of universal love and truth. From the awareness achieved with this practice, family members can develop inner strength and reverence for all life.

These gnomes are very focused. Their work is taken seriously. They hold a vision that they are in a process of manifesting.

What in your life is being built?
What inner vision do you carry?
What must you do in order to accomplish your true goals?

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To read participants responses to this post visit:

True Love

2007-06-18T23:09:00.000+10:00

For inspiration this week I drew an Inner-Child Card and pulled out the the Ace of Hearts.

The essence of true love is, above all, faith-in the ineffable reverence that grows out of the union with a beloved. This beloved can be your inner self or another human soul.

The root meaning of love is to acknowledge absolute concern for another being. In order to express this empathy for another, one must secure self-love in one's own heart.

In this card, two mermaids joyously push a Winged Heart up from the sea. It is offered as an inspired sunrise, touching the golden light of the sky. This heart reveals the acceptance of love at the highest level, for the heart is the vessel of life, adorned with wings of spiritual freedom.

An ace in any suit is always positive. This card affirms that a new opportunity in the realm of love is rising out of the depths of the past, symbolised by the ocean. This new love may be a person, an idea, the realisation of a dream, or a new creative endeavor.

As you meditate on this card, open your heart to what it offers you, because it holds the key to exploring the higher dimensions of universal love. Have faith in love, for it can comfort you in times of crisis. Love is like an eternal flame whose steady light can always guide you during times of personal darkness. Love is always there, and will never abandon you.

What does love mean to you? You can write about, paint it, take a photo, scrap it ... what ever moves you!

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