Tag Archives: beauty

Beauty All Around Me And Quietness Within.

shrine-candelabra-AGAINThere is a feeling of great satisfaction to be found in finally getting on with tasks that you have been wanting to do for ages but can’t quite seem to find the time for. It is much easier to think and be creative in a space that has some order to it and having beautiful things to gaze upon has also become incredibly important to me over the years. Our physical environment is an important reflection of how we think about ourselves, even if someone else picked it all out that very fact says a lot about you.

candlelight dinner

At night my Beloved and I love to light candles all around the room and turn the lamps off, candlelight is not only more romantic than electric it is also softer. Of course you need good light to read by but how about scheduling in times where you have the softness of candles warming the space. Quiet time with no television or computers, time where you simply sit with your thoughts and feelings and allow yourself to be rather than do. I go on about this sort of thing a lot and yet even I notice resistance in myself when contemplating time spent in this fashion.

meditation sunset

We live in a culture where it is all about doing, not surprising when you consider the ways in which society is dominated by the masculine. As we come into balance as a civilisation it is important to learn how to value ‘being’ as much as we do action. The best way that I can do this is by embodying this principle in my own life, not just when I am with my Beloved, but when I am on my own. So I will consider how best I can achieve this, regular sitting meditation is probably a good place to start. I am booked in for a 10 day Vipassana at the end of January next year so getting into training is probably a good idea!

vipassana

I will keep you posted on my progress, even as I am writing this I can feel resistance so it is going to take some focus and a strong intention. Perhaps I will actually make a statement here, to be doing at least four sessions of meditation a week by the beginning of December.
Aho!

A Charming Life: Pleasure And Responsibility.

 

Here are the four sisters from "Charmed", one left and lo and behold another sister!

Here are the four sisters from “Charmed”, one left and lo and behold another sister!

I’m feeling very irresponsible, I want to watch episodes of “Charmed” rather than write  this post! I don’t watch television except for shows sometimes on my computer or on dvd, but it can be a rather wonderful way to switch off. I just can’t handle ads interrupting the program, so much better to watch at your convenience and pause when answering calls of nature.

There are actually some tv shows around that are very high quality, with profound social messages, and sometimes it is a bit of fun or fluff that is pure entertainment.  “Charmed” falls mostly into the latter category, with an occult theme there will often be some kind of message going on but for the most part it is good stories and witchy action in designer clothes. All three characters are gorgeous, each in their own way, and I enjoy looking at beauty as much as the next person.

There is something about pleasing yourself and not taking life too seriously that really enhances the enjoyment of life. It’s a balance between really enjoying life and attending to the necessities of daily existence, tax for instance. If you would like to have a really good belly laugh on that subject as a matter of fact, I suggest you watch the first episode of  “Black Books” with Dylan Moran, I’ve seen it more than once and don’t get sick of it.

And with that I am going to go and watch my show, before my Beloved comes home, somehow I don’t think the beautiful clothes and spells will do a lot for him. We watch “Lord of the Rings” and the friday night football, the “IT “Crowd is also hilarious and fun to share the laughter with another.

As I keep saying, life is good!

A Life Fragrant With Gratitude: Be In Your Heart.

hearttreeApologies to those reading my posts at the moment, they have suddenly lost their format and the lovely picture of me toning my name seems to have completely disappeared! I don’t have time to do more than write my post so will have to hope that someone somewhere is frantically working to fix the sorry mess and that I will come back to my beautiful creation to find it is in harmony again. (Seems like it is now sorted and it was only going wonky at my end!)  Thinking of what I am grateful for helps to bring me back into my heart, the best place to be no matter what is going on around me.

PinkOshoFlowerPoem

Gratefulness in the character is like fragrance in the flower. 

A person however learned and qualified in his life’s work, in
whom gratefulness is absent, is devoid of that beauty of character
which makes the personality fragrant.

If we answer every little deed of kindness with appreciation,
we develop in our nature the spirit of gratefulness; and by
learning this we rise to that state where we begin to realize
God’s goodness toward us, and for this we can never be grateful
enough to His/Her divine compassion.

The great Sufi poet Sa’di teaches gratefulness as being the means
of attracting that favour, forgiveness, and mercy of God upon us
in which is the salvation of our soul.  

There is much in life that we can be grateful for, in spite of all the
difficulties and troubles of life.  Sa’di says, “The sun and moon,
and the rain and clouds, all are busy to prepare your food for you,
and it is unfair indeed if you do not appreciate it in thanksgiving.”

God’s goodness is something one cannot learn to know at once; it
takes time to understand it.  But little actions of kindness which we
receive from those around us we can know, and we can be thankful
if we want to be.  In this way man develops gratefulness in his nature,
and expresses it in his thought, speech, and action as an exquisite

form of beauty.

~ Inayat Khan

Heart Pop

And perhaps the magic of gratitude will help to smooth the path as I feel the movement of ancient fears, they sit in my heart in this moment and the trick is to let them keep moving, sit with the feeling. I have made moves to find a time to do my next therapy session, possibly tomorrow and my body is beginning to respond to my intention. Anyway, it’s all good, life is a grand opportunity for a rich array of beingness to be inhaled and explored, the oneness from which we all come!

The Pollinators: Beauty And Seduction!

I’ve looked at different ways of organising ourselves as a community in quite a few posts over the last year and I am happy and inspired at all of the wonderful ideas that keep bubbling up. The vested interests can’t keep us down forever and the lid is getting looser and looser, will it just pop off one day? Then we can live in our tiny homes or yurts, off the grid, living a healthy and happy life in a gift economy. Or how about a city where the gardens grow up the buildings and it is designed with features such as pollinating corridors, no-one owns a drill you just borrow it when you actually need it, kind of the opposite to consumerism.

Vertical garden of the Musee du Quai Branly in Paris, France, created by Patrick Blanc

Vertical garden of the Musee du Quai Branly in Paris, France, created by Patrick Blanc

I’ve written on all of these subjects and more, and I’m quite sure it represents a mere smidgen of what is actually literally going on out in the world. So there is a positive story going on in a global context that doesn’t get much press, because if you look at what passes for news you might be tempted to think that we have finally arrived at Armageddon, the ends of days.

Butterfly in flight.

Butterfly in flight.

There is such beauty in the world that most people forget about as they grow older, the child whose eyes opened wide in wonder at the arrival of a butterfly on a leaf, is watching reality tv shows and completely missing the luminescent reality that abounds upon every side in the reality that is right here now! It’s films like “Wings Of Life: The Hidden Beauty of Pollination” that can help to remind people that life as we know it is quite magical and we have a responsibility to care for it.

Beauty and seduction is how Louie Schwartzberg describes the relationship of the pollinators to nature, the love story that feeds the earth. His slow motion photography takes us into a surreal world that is always there before us, unacknowledged and unseen for the most part. Perhaps if more of us fall in love with it we will manage to keep it, and ourselves, from the destruction that may still await us………..if we do not wake up SOON!

Enjoy, Ohm shanti……….

,http://www.nextworldtv.com/page/21675.html

Aphrodite Rocks!

Blissful blessings have been well and truly showered upon me by Aphrodite today, I have spent the weekend embodying her energy and she has been most generous in her response. I had the best day at market that I’ve ever had, possibly something to do with the shoes that I wore, high heels that would have made the Goddess proud! If Aphrodite turned up in modern dress I am quite sure she would be wearing heels, that was my excuse anyway when I welcomed people to my toning circle yesterday.

These are the heels, an op shop bargain the Goddess would applaud!

These are the heels, an op shop bargain the Goddess would applaud!

It was the New Moon in Libra and so was all about harmony in relationship, balancing of the emotions, and appreciation of beauty, which is where Aphrodite comes into the picture. We explored her lush garden in a meditation and if you missed it and want a sense of it then have a look at my last post, possibly a bit over the top but we are talking about a Goddess so you can’t really go too far with superlatives.

The energy in our circle was very gentle and caring, the word that came up for me very strongly is tenderness with the emphasis very much on self-love. It somehow seems easier to be kind to others, when it comes to ourselves the inner critic often takes over and drowns out that other much gentler voice. And be kind to the critic too, they are trying to help even if they are misguided, acknowledge that sincerity even as you let them go.

Be as gentle with yourself as you would with this kitten.

Be as gentle with yourself as you would with this kitten.

It always does come back to love doesn’t it, it’s the stuff of which everything is made, it makes not only the world but the entire cosmos go round………and round and round and round. So if you are in the habit of self-flagellation then consider the possibility of creating a practice to change it, every time you notice yourself going into judgement with yourself or another, let go of the judgement and replace it with love. If you can’t actually feel the love then pretend, the old cliché “Fake it until you make it” is very true as most clichés are.

More about loving practices in future posts, until then farewell, with love and sonic blissings!

Beauty Walks Before Me.

Beauty walks before me, lies within my heart and soul, warms the blood running through veins that pulse with joy and delight, as I gaze upon the paradise that lies all around me. Ripe fruit hanging from the trees leaps into my eagerly awaiting hands, succulent juices running down my chin as I bite into soft flesh, sweet aroma filling my nostrils until I am wont to swoon with ecstasy. The sound of music wafts into my ears as my body begins to sway to the sound, filling my cells with the joy of rapturous frequencies, feeding the force of life as it spirals from the earth up to the sky.

watergoddess

Arms and legs move as the muscles yearn to stretch into shapes of ecstasy, dancing to the pulse that burns within the fiery centre of my heart, opening my soul to the depths of all that is. Desire running through every atom that I am, as I merge into all things, softest silk caressing my skin as I spin myself into eternity and beyond, calling upon Aphrodite to gift me with her sensuality, with her love. Her divinity is mine, is everything upon which I cast my eye and all that I may sense through sparkling tendrils spanning galaxies, my mythic life glowing with potential.

Aphrodite.

Aphrodite.

Beauty is in every step that I take, it wells up as I gaze upon my own features, lovingly tracing the lines and shapes of my own glory, loving myself with such tenderness, gentle caring that softly guides me to the space that will serve me best. This inner radiance warms my soul and then radiates out to the world, going wherever it is needed the most, letting go of judgement as the energy of love washes all clean. Sound vibrates my being and carries my strong intention, frequencies shimmer and I melt……………….into even more of WHO I BE………ohm shanti, shanti, shanti……………..peace.

The Navajo Beauty Way Ceremony

In beauty may I walk
All day long may I walk
Through the returning seasons may I walk
Beautifully I will possess again
Beautifully birds
Beautifully joyful birds
On the trail marked with pollen may I walk
With grasshoppers about my feet may I walk
With dew about my feet may I walk
With beauty may I walk
With beauty before me may I walk
With beauty behind me may I walk
With beauty above me may I walk
With beauty all around me may I walk
In old age, wandering on a trail of beauty, lively, may I walk
In old age, wandering on a trail of beauty, living again, may I walk
It is finished in beauty
It is finished in beauty

Anonymous (Navajo)

http://www.native-american-market.com/navajo_beauty_way.html

Phoenix Rising.

A tender spiral invites me to swirl down and down into my soft sweet centre, there are no thoughts there, simply a warm acceptance of my beingness. I flow with the current, as the moon tugs at my innermost parts and asks me to sink into those depths, to let go of surface attachment and to be………… I pause in the midst of madness, and my blood chooses that moment of divine timing to release, carrying sadness, grief and anger, a river of loss and abandonment returning to the source from which it came………….. and being transformed.

Quantum Fractal Energy Mandala: On Facebook.

Quantum Fractal Energy Mandala: On Facebook.

Nothing is ever truly lost, not love nor beauty, for where could it go? In deepest grief this knowing may take a very long time to be truly accepted and integrated. Though we may distract ourselves and pretend that our world is complete, there is always this yawning abyss waiting to engulf us, we fear that it will take us and we may never find our way home again. And yet home is where we’ve always been!

To gradually peel away the layers of self, the false images we created for protection, that became an armour that seemed unbreakable. With each release another distraction loses its charm, and we can begin to become more present with what is actually before us, the truth of the beauty of what our present moment contains. Surely this is worth the trials of sitting with discomfort, with pain and a sense of emptiness that sometimes seems unbearable, for the light at the end of the tunnel may seem far away, but that it is there is certain.

My long dark night of the soul is far behind me, but I would go there again in a moment if that was what the journey required, the blessings that have come to me in its wake are too many to be counted. From the ashes of my pain I am reborn, and the world is a beautiful place………………

The Prayer of Light

Love before me Love behind me Love at my left Love at my right Love above me Love below me Love unto me Love in my surroundings Love to all Love to the Universe

Peace before me Peace behind me Peace at my left Peace at my right Peace above me Peace below me Peace unto me Peace in my surroundings Peace to all Peace to the Universe

Light before me Light behind me Light at my left Light at my right Light above me Light below me Light unto me Light in my surroundings Light to all Light to the Universe

Free Like Me.

I had a wonderful night of dancing and connecting with gorgeous friends, one was someone I hadn’t seen for a few months and she was amazed at the change in me. It’s so nice to get that kind of feedback, you know in yourself that everything has changed, but the fact it’s obvious to others makes it even better. I guess it’s the fact that you are being witnessed, that you are being seen as who you are.

As human beings we are relational, and much of our development comes through our interaction with other people. In fact if you extend that relating to the total environment we live in, then all our growth comes through the way we relate to the world around us. So it’s incredibly important to consider the shape and feel of your environment, I like to have order around me so I tend to clean up after myself. I also like to look around me and see beauty which is easy to organise when I have my own place, as a house sitter it can be challenging but I’ve been lucky so far. I do think I take a positive energy field with me wherever I go, but the spaces I have cared for have all had a good feel about them.

In the tarot the suit of Cups represents relationship, and often people see it automatically as romantic, but it’s really about your relationship with yourself. All your other relationships reflect that back to you, and in the larger context I’m discussing you can also look at the environments you inhabit to see how you’re doing. There’s so much information out there if only we can find the eyes to see, not just our physical sight but seeing with our heart and our intuition, feeling into things with our body sense.

Let go if you can of the usual ways that you perceive the world around you, if you have problems you are trying to solve, dance or sing the solution, write, draw and dream. There is so much more to the world than the current paradigm allows us, dare to be different, ride the edge, you will probably encounter challenges and resistance along the way, but at the end of the day you will be happier and free.

This is a clip of the band I was dancing to tonight, they are called Free Like Me, and this is the song of the same name. It’s all about what a beautiful world we live in, if you are free, just remember that sometimes the prisons we create are in our own minds, and only we have the power to break free!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9NCuM5xrCk