The Source

It's almost Christmas!

The past few days have been filled with shopping, shopping, and more shopping. Why? For presents, presents, presents of course!

We enjoy buying gifts for the ones we love, and let's all be honest, we love receiving gifts too. We delight in seeing the eyes of a young child light up as he or she opens up colorfully wrapped boxes on Christmas morning.

If only the act of giving could be carried on throughout the year...
If only we could maintain that level of joy and excitement with EVERY gift we are given, regardless if it's wrapped in a bow or not...

Happiness is something that comes from within. It cannot be found outside of yourself. I have always found this concept to be very interesting.

For example, the sun would have no warmth without your skin. YOU are the creator of warmth within yourself (thanks to fancy receptors in your skin, of course). A flower would have no scent, unless you were there to smell it. YOU are the creator of the smell within yourself.

Both the sun and the flower, in this example, are not separate entities; they combine into one being through the actions and observations in the PRESENT moment. Present...get it? Gift? Ho ho ho

So be in the present...always, and be thankful for everything because everything truly is a gift from the divine...

...or it could be a gift from Oprah.

A Wrinkle in Time

...I heart that book by Madeleine L'engle, but this entry isn't really about time travel and tesseracts...I think?

Last night I was reading a book that brought up the topic of Jyotish. It's basically Indian/Hindu astrology. Pulling it up on wikipedia reveals a whole mess of stuff that I'll probably never understand, but the event described in the book I was reading goes beyond "normal" Jyotish.

In the book, the author describes how a friend of his had tracked down a Hindi monk that happened to have the author's Jyotish scroll.

According to the book, these scrolls were written hundreds of years ago. They were writings that described the life of a person that would be born at a specific point in time. Many of these writings were lost and are scattered throughout the world. The real kicker is, these ancient seers didn't write a scroll for everyone that would ever be born. They only wrote them for the people they KNEW would seek these scrolls out.

The author's scroll was so exact it predicted his father and mother's names, the name of his children...even the day he would die.

Shivers ran up my spine as the list of accuracies went on and on.

But the ability to see the future is not so strange to these ancient mystics. They believed we are all connected--one universe. They were simply adept enough to tap in to a small pattern in the tapestry of time and see a future self that was also a part of them.

It's sort of like life is one huge fractal. I am a part of you, and you are a part of me. We really aren't that different...only different forms of the same type of energy.

The Gift of Release

Three days ago, I started a 21-Day Consciousness Cleanse. It's the first book by Debbie Ford that I've read, and I thoroughly enjoy her method of bringing light to one's inner light.

The 21-Day Consciousness Cleanse is, in my opinion, a revolutionary DIY manual to greater awareness. Covering the past, present, and future, Ford brings to light a new gift for each day of the week for three weeks. These gifts allow one to access the hidden obstacles of the psyche, "cleansing rituals" to overcome those barriers, and ultimately a better understanding of who we are.

Each day begins with a morning practice. The reader is required to describe the state of one's emotional, spiritual, or physical flame. The reader sets an intentions for the day, how they will achieve that intention, and create their own healing mantra that they must repeat throughout the day.

Following this morning practice is a "cleansing ritual," which is usually some form of a journal activity.

Today's (Day 3) ritual, for instance, was about the Gift of Release. I was required to acknowledge all of the toxic events of my past, how they made me feel, physically manifest them into a drawing, and ultimately destroy that physical manifestation by burning it and offering a prayer to God, letting go of those toxicities and using those past events as fuel for a greater future.

I find this entire process to be extremely helpful and quite fun! It's one thing to read a book, but to actively participate in the process through these simple exercises is enthralling and unique to this genre.

I still have 18 days to go, and I look forward to learning more about myself and sharing what I learn with you. ^_^

New Beginnings and Endings

Today is a both a day for celebration and a day of great sadness for me.

Yesterday was my last day of classes for this semester. As of now, I've passed all of my classes, and I am quite happy with my grades. I'm just waiting for one more grade to be posted.

Sadly, on the heels of this semester's end comes the news of a dear friend and classmate's passing.

He was on his way home to his family when he and a friend were involved in a tragic car accident. The other passenger survived, but it was too late for my friend. Details of exactly what happened remain unclear at this time.

I wasn't necessarily close friends with this person, but I knew him fairly well. He was always kind and had a smile on his face. He would always ask how I was doing every time he saw me.

The news of his passing was shocking and hard for me to believe. Even as I type this, my hands are still shaking.

This event only reminded me how quickly everything can change in an instant. Our time on this earth limited, and we need to live each moment in appreciation for the people in our lives.

I still don't want to believe that our friend is gone. He was such a bright light in our lives, but I know that his light will shine on.