A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING

A New Awareness

As with any journey of discovery, there comes a time when you must leave the comfort of what you know as a light-hearted view of life to explore the true nature of your reality. With this in mind comes the realization that this newsletter must now evolve to present more in-depth information so that you can further your own journey of discovery and kindle within the curiosity to explore your own spiritual truths and path.

Functional Materialism

Recently a number of people have approached me with a quandary of how do we live in the functional materialist world of society and expectations but still live a spiritual life based on not having excesses and possessions. Unfortunately in Western society we haven't been able to come to terms with these two seemingly diverse aspects of living, yet.

Many Eastern societies have traditions which see healers and spiritual leaders, living unencumbered, simple lives with the support of society as a whole. In the Western world we see the opposite. We see the spiritually and materialistic rich getting richer, charging amounts that can sometime boggle the mind but still leading spiritual lives and helping others. Yet when we compare these two extremes and try to make sense of how to make it work for ourselves we get lost in the maze of which is the proper path. We wonder if we truly aren't spiritual when we desire to have more than the necessities life and we wonder who sets this needs. We can also run into problems as Eastern philosophy becomes more mainstream in the west, whereby the teaching of poverty and physical detachment gets confused with how we live and how society expects us to live. All in all it can be a very difficult quandary to find yourself in.

Within the confines of a purely spiritual existence very little is needed; food, clothing and shelter are the accepted bare essentials. Society has different expectations beyond these basics, especially Western society. Investments or savings, homes, cars, designer clothing are all touted as being "essential" for establishing our worth. If we rent versus owning we are sometimes made to feel less that successful. Even our outward appearance is called into question by these experts if we fall below their expectations.

So is it wrong to desire to have more than the basics?

No, it isn't. It is in the "how" of getting of these items and the importance we place upon them that we see the differences emerge. We all know that hard work and determination will see us succeed, at least that's what we've been told. Yet there are some that seem to have those hard sought advantages drop into their laps. We all know someone who has managed to escape what society has said is "their lot in life" to become more or less than expected. We all know someone who without visible means of support manage to live well, raise families and still find time to enjoy their lives. All with or without the financial means that society expects them to have. All different scenarios, all spiritual life potentials.

What we do know from a spiritual perspective is that there are certain things that need to be present to be able to have a functioning materialism. Gratitude is important! So is expressing that gratitude and in the demeanor with which we accomplish that expression. Sharing also brings more of those joys to us. Enjoying something for the time it is with us while remaining detached to the actual possession of items, helps in keeping that very item available to us. There must also be a certain amount of detachment. The importance of having these and other material items will also tend to remove them from our possession just as quickly as they came. Another facet of our functioning materialism is in the "how" these items were obtained. Taking advantage of people and situations, praying on the weak, desperate and disillusioned, using power and strength over the weak and timid, these circumstances and others only serve to place our functioning materialism on very shaky ground.

Indeed walking in a life of functioning materialism while trying to live a truly spiritual life can be difficult. It is about choices. It is about gratitude. It is about detachment and it is about being totally honest with ourselves and others.

I bid you peace as you find your balance between functional materialism and living your spiritual life. Blessings.

CRYSTALS

Astrophyllite

Astrophyllite is a very rare, fragile crystal. It is only available from a few locals around the world such as Mont-Sainte-Hilaire Quebec, Canada, Pike's Peak Colorado, USA, Narsarsuk Greenland, Brevig Norway and the Kola Peninsula, Russia. Astrophyllite is sometimes referred to as "star sheet" as the colouration can look star like. It is a dark brown black stone with golden bursts of colour resembling stars.

As a tool for physical healing, Astrophyllite works to balance and restore harmony on a hormonal level within the body. It is said to help ease the fluctuations in hormone levels due to reproductive cycles and menopause. Astrophyllite also allows the body to release the emotions and toxic remnants of past experiences that we hold onto that cause our bodies and hormones to become out of balance. It also allows healing for past life traumas that are trapped within the spiritual memory. There is also some evidence that Astrophyllite helps with emotional outbursts and emotion based panic attacks.

Spiritually, Astrophyllite is a stone of self-awareness. It is sometimes referred to as the "know thy self" stone. Astrophyllite aids in accepting and combining the multidimensional aspects of the spirit. It can help to accept and understand the roles we play in our lives and helps to forgive aspects of ourselves and others that distract us from our course. Astrophyllite also aides in melding the lessons from all past lives to aid in the transitions through this life, especially if the karmic understanding has not been accepted. Astrophyllite also helps to bring light to hidden aspects of ourselves that we sometimes choose to ignore or hide away. Astrophyllite can also aid those who desire to have out of body experiences and those who are seeking to infuse Light into their spiritual selves. It can also serve as a connection between our own psyche and the Universal Consciousness.

Astrophyllite rarely needs to be cleaned. Quickly rinsing Astrophyllite under running water then leaving it to dry under full sun and under the stars at night should both clean and energize the Astrophyllite.

Astrophyllite (Polished)

Thoughts for the Months Ahead

August is here and the summer is half over. Families plan last minute vacations before heading back to work and school. August with its bounty of crops; crisp apples, sweet corn, juicy peaches and more. All the seeds that were planted in the spring have grown and ripened into untold bounty and so it is with our spiritual lives. However this is not the time for deep, quiet introspection. This is a time of harvest and of celebration. A time of sharing; joys, successes, achievements and bounty.

September is also on it's way and with it the start of Autumn; an ancient beginning to the new year. Steeped in bounty and joy. The harvest shared among family and friends. A time of hard work, a time of satisfaction in a job well done and a time of celebration. The larders are full and even in spiritual terms we can feel the similarities.

Late Winter and early Spring we planted our spiritual seeds. Seeds that we wanted to see sprout and grow. Bringing us much of what we desire and some things we hadn't planned on but still when we look across the last season we can see the results of our spiritual works. Some we see will need more work, more fine tuning to bring them truly into focus. Others are ripe and ready for our enjoyment. Still there are some that won't sprout. We should and mustn't discount them as failed or as unreasonable. They sometimes require more time to be come the truly magnificent manifestations that we desire.

Still we must celebrate all of the of the hard work we have done and all of the wonders and goodness that have come. This is a time to celebrate, a time to rejoice and a time to share.

MONTHLY MEDITATION

"Imagine Soaring"

"A bright sun filled day slowly drifts by, and with it white billowy clouds dance in the ever present breeze.

How I long to be free like them or like the birds that drift on the currents of air floating high above the fields.

To be free, to drift along on upward breezes, to dance high above the world.

To see the world from a new vantage high above the noise and congestion, high above the cities, away from the blinding lights.

How beautiful it all looks, greens and blues, yellows and more, every colour joins together to form a

beautiful mosaic that is beyond my simple understanding. A beauty that is perfect in its symmetry and in its design.

A beauty shaped by Grace, a beauty that also resides within and that shapes me."

August 2011