Sunday, August 29, 2010

Just Surrender

The other day, I was swimming under the Moon and all of the sudden I realized I should stop pushing and just let the water carry me, take me, literally going with the flow. When I was doing this, I couldn't help but think how many times in my life I had pushed the river and try to go against the current just because I was stubborn or scared of the unknown or did not trust the future. Many times, we find ourselves pushing instead of surrendering and trusting. It is hard to let go of needing to control situations or people, but if we allow ourselves to surrender we can go with the flow and let it take us to where we need to go. Trust is a key word. Trust the Divine. Trust the Plan. Trust that you are where you are supposed to be with the people you are supposed to be to help you grow and evolve. If you trust, you are able to surrender and live the life you are meant to live. When stress hits you, then you can take a deep breath and just know that this too shall pass. The lessons presented to us are the ones we need to learn and the Divine knows that we have the tools to deal with them. It is hard to develop that type of trust when all we see on television is bad news, the world is a negative place, and people tend to see the glass half empty. It is our choice to see the glass half full and stop pushing and see what happens. In his book, The Seven Laws of Spiritual Success, Deepak Chopra has one of the laws as "The Law of Least Effort". When I think about this law I think about the principle of surrendering because we do not need to be pushing all the time. Like all things in nature, plants don't work hard to grow, they just grow. The river flows without any effort. We can live using the same principle, we don't need to go against the current, we just need to use the least effort and let our internal compass guide us to where we need to go; tune out all distractions and just pay attention to our heart since our heart knows what is best for us.

Mercury, the planet who rules communications and technology, stationed retrograde on August 20 and it will turn direct on September 12. Retrograde periods are special for surrendering because things seem to go wrong. Communications get impacted and people do not understand the message as it is supposed to be understood but something totally different. This time is bad for signing contracts or making agreements since we have a tendency to not see the small print or sign something that we may regret in the future. Technology is impacted and you can find yourself swearing at the computer because it freezes out or systems don't work, websites are down, and there are blockages everywhere. When you face opposition or blocks, just let go, surrender and meditate. Like the Hanged Man card in the Tarot, these are times to just stop and do "NO" action. These are also times when we can go back and evaluate the decisions we took in the past, see what has worked, what has not worked, and change the course of action in the future once Mercury turns direct.

Blessings )0(

Monday, August 23, 2010

It's a WOMAN's World - The Male Perspective

For the past few months, I've been delving into the Women's Mysteries and the Blood Mysteries as part of my Priestess path. I had a great friend who was kind to introduce me to these concepts and they really resonated with me and I took them to heart since I believe healing can take place if we honor our mysteries as women and empower ourselves. We need to get rid of the shame we have lived with for so long because women tend to get the message that they are dirty, weak, less than men, among other messages that we get from the environment. While in my journey, I was also introduced to Male Mysteries because of my need to understand the Male energies in my life and how to reach harmony since we all contain both male and female energies within- yin and yang. In my search, I came across a book called "Fire in the Belly - On being a man" by Sam Keen. The word belly with being a man called my attention immediately because belly is always associated with WOMAN, with creation, with power. When I opened the book, I couldn't help but be amazed by the title of one of the chapters "it's a Woman's World". After reading several feminist books, I found this book that seems to portrait the same concepts but with the opposite sex. In this chapter, the author talks about how men have defined themselves as opposite of women, how they need to be strong, how they need to provide, how they need to be aggressive, how they need to find meaning because they come from Women but they can not be like them, so they decided to be the opposite but the question remains as of what does it mean to be a man? Men have not taken time to decide what being a man is, what rites they follow, how to deal with their own archetypes as women have the maiden, mother and crone. One of the phrases that called my attention was "Men have invested so much of their identity, committed so much of their energy, and squandered so much of their power in trying to control, avoid, conquer, or demean women because they are so vulnerable to their mysterious power over them." This phrase talks to me about how men try to be different from women, and how women fight patriarchy to gain their rights but in the end, each gender is fighting to define itself against the other. We are comparing ourselves to another, taking the reference point outside ourselves instead of defining ourselves from within.

Another phrase that was really reassuring to me was when the author said "Feminists who argue that goddess-worship historically preceded the notion of God as father are certainly correct. What they fail to see is that the goddess, since her historical dethronement has remained alive and well, and continues to exert power from deep in the hidden recesses of the male psyche. Granted she has been sentenced to remain in a kind of internal exile, under house arrest, but her power is obvious from the efforts spent to keep her imprisoned." As men start to realize that they can create their mysteries as women have theirs, and that they don't need to define themselves based on women, they will be able to evolve and release the energies that are tied in keeping up with a mask that does not belong to them.

It is time for all of us to define ourselves from our own point of view, not as our parents define us, or society, or the other sex. It is important to switch the point of focus to the Goddess or God within and start defining who we are without comparing ourselves to others. It is time to stop fighting for power or trying to see what gender is better. We all hold the spark of spirit within and we can achieve whatever we set up our minds to. It is time to release the energies tied in controlling and trying to exert power and instead replace them with learning about ourselves. One of my favorite phrases is "Know Yourself" and unless we let go of comparing and competing with others, we will not grow or evolve; instead, we will live prisoners of our own limitations and the cages we create for ourselves. It is not a Woman's World. It is not a Man's world. It is a world we share and we can all make it better if we dedicate time to go within and define ourselves by our parameters, and not other people's parameters. It is time to let go of competition and start cooperating and working together. We can all coexist and make this world a better place to live.

Blessings )0(

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Eat, Pray, Love

There are some movies that touch our hearts more than others, "Eat, Pray, Love" was one of those for me. Although I read the book a few years ago, watching the movie reminded me of how many good lessons that book/movie has. Sometimes we get to a crossroad in our lives when we see the paths ahead but we are not sure which one to take because fear is there... fear of change. I like when the protagonist is in bed with her husband and he says "I don't want to go to Aruba" and she responds "I don't want to be married anymore". This woman's journey of leaving a relationship that was not fulfilling and having the courage to go around the world trying to find happiness is a big lesson because it takes courage to push the boundaries and fears and risk everything just to find yourself. When I moved to the USA, I had to leave everything behind - family, friends, job security, my own apartment, everything. I could only bring two bags with my belongings and the rest stayed behind. I know that taught me how to detach from material things and the fact that everything is temporary and we are in constant state of changing, evolving, growing, moving. Nothing remains the same unless it is dead. Most of the people fear change because they don't know what to expect, they don't know if the future is better than the present and they may sacrifice their happiness for fear of change. Another phrase that really called me was when her boyfriend told her it was better to be unhappy and together than be sad and separated. How many times do we stay in situations where we know we are unhappy but for fear we just remain the same? Life is too short to waste it in situations or relationships that don't work or make us happy. I know at times I like things to remain the same, I like routine as any Virgo, but I also know that change and chaos bring the seed of transformation and if we don't transform we stagnate and die so I welcome change, I welcome transformation, and like the phoenix I have risen many times from my own ashes.

"Il bel far niente" is a phrase that really resonated with me from this movie. This phrase means "Do Nothing" and in the movie, they talk about how American people are always doing something, if it is not reading, writing, watching TV, busy, busy, busy and they do not master the art of "Do Nothing" or "Il bel far niente". I can definitely identify myself with that although I am not American but I have led a life of doing instead of being for a long time and just now I am beginning to understand that it is not what I do but who I am that defines me. With this concept in mind, during the movie, the protagonist was asked to choose a word that defines her, not a word that defines what she does but who she is and I believe I was blessed with having a word that defines me as my maiden name Amor (Love). I think love is who I am. I can also use "Will" or "Strength". Many times, it is hard to find a way to define ourselves by who we are instead of what we do. If you ask somebody who they are they will say I am a teacher, I am a wife, I am a .... the list can go on, but these words define roles in life and not the essence. If you had to choose a word, what would that word be?

We, women, are usually concerned about physical appearance... we do not want to look fat so we usually diet a lot to make sure we don't put on weight. While the protagonist was in Italy, she went to a pizza place with a friend and her friend did not want to eat so the protagonist looked at her and she said "have you ever been naked with a man who got up and left because he did not like what he saw? I bet you not, he was happy to have a naked woman with him." This phrase was amazing because I think we are our worst enemies when it comes to appearance. We feel horrible when we are actually beautiful, we are Goddesses and we hold the Goddess within. It is within our power to choose to feel beautiful, to accept ourselves as we are and let go of being skinny or not eating and sacrificing ourselves for beauty. I don't say don't eat healthy, but I do say don't torture yourself feeling that you will look horrible if you eat a pastry. You will be beautiful because it is the beauty within that reflects in the outside and as we grow older, it is that beauty that shines and not the physical one.

The last thing that really resonated with me was when the protagonist was in Bali and she told the old medicine man that she broke her relationship with her new boyfriend because she had finally found balance in her life and this relationship was threatening her balance. The old man looked at her and said "sometimes being out of balance brings balance to your life" and this really resonated with me since many times we try to keep things like they are... balance and harmony... without noticing that chaos may bring balance in the end. Sometimes you need to break it to build it again. Destruction creates space for new creations, and new creations bring opportunities to grow and evolve.

Blessings )0(

Monday, August 16, 2010

Darkness and Power

As the year starts waning and the day starts getting shorter, some people tend to see darkness with fear. Somehow darkness has become associated with evil or bad things when it is actually the void, the unknown, the uncharted path, and the seeds of new beginnings. Darkness is our place of power and that is one of the reasons why some religions fear darkness because in that place is where we can make your dreams come true, where we can have power, where we can be who we are meant to be and not be controlled or dominated by a religious belief.

Last weekend, I was studying the Demeter and Persephone Mystery from Dea, Rites and Mysteries of the Goddess by Olivia Robertson. While reading that Mystery I could understand that we tend to fear what we don't understand and darkness is the void, it is the nothing, the fertile ground where seeds can grow and where we can find the jewels of power and wisdom. Patriarchy has equated darkness with evil and bad instead of the place of creation, the magick womb where all our dreams manifest in a thought, in a seed, in a wish. If we tune with the seasons, as the year wanes we start going on a journey within. Looking at all those things that prevent us from achieving our dreams and start facing them. We can also look for answers or guidance on our path and confront those things that block our way. Fall is the time to let go of the old and winter is the time to plant the seed of our desires, the ones we want to manifest during the next spring.

It is time for us to realize that darkness is just the opposite spectrum of the light and without darkness there can be no light. It is what keeps us balanced and in harmony. It is time to shed the fear and embrace the darkness. The dark can bring us depth and power, but only if we embrace it and we don't fear it. It is hard to let go of the beliefs that they have taught us when we were kids but it is up to us to choose to be different, to choose to embrace darkness so our light can shine more strongly, that we take the time to sit in the void and create our future.

Blessings )0(

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

The Power of the King

Leo is the sign of the lion, of the king, of the heart. Leo is associated with healthy ego and power, with the ability to shine, to be the center, to stand for what you believe in your heart. The New Moon in Leo gives us an opportunity to look within our hearts and see what our true calling is. Many times we live our life by following somebody else's steps, another person's path, instead of making our own path as we walk along. Many times, we have a family that conditions us to be what our mother or father wanted to be but couldn't so now we are the next evolution and we should fulfill their purpose. It takes strength to be able to stand up and say no to those mandates. You have to be brave to go against the flow and follow your heart. Many times, fear and anxiety makes us live in the shadow of another person without allowing us the ability to shine in our own light. Each of us is unique and in that uniqueness, we make this world a better place. Unfortunately, we live in a society where uniqueness is labeled weird, strange, wacko, and many other beautiful names that will only have power if we give that power to them.

Leo is ruled by the Sun, and as we know, every planet rotates around the Sun. The Sun it is the center, and it is not afraid to take the spot light and shine with all its strength making sure that each planet is touch by its rays. Our lives are similar to the Sun, we have the power to shine, to touch people's lives, to change the world, one person at a time if we decide to be different. If we decide to live from our hearts instead of follow the mandates of society that want to make us as if we are people out of a factory, a number, all the same, everyone should want the same, love the same, be the same, no uniqueness... It is in our uniqueness that our power resides. It is time to feel our power, it is time to stop pretending we are machines out of a factory, it is time to show the world we are not afraid to be unique, to be different, to be special.

You can be the king/queen of your own life, live with purpose, live with heart, live the life you were born to live not the one that people expect you to live. The choice is yours. As a friend of mine says "nothing is impossible", just be bold, be brave, and follow your heart. You only get to live your life once and it is too short to waste by following somebody else's path or being in the shadow of somebody else. Make your own path. Feel your power. Don't be afraid! You can do it!

Blessings )0(

Monday, August 9, 2010

I have a reservation...

Every journey has a story and this trip is no different in that sense. When my husband and I started our journey to Oregon on Friday evening, we did not expect an adventure but instead a nice trip. When we were reaching I-80, traffic was a pain and we were going two miles an hour. At that moment, I thought, maybe now it is time to stop and grab something to eat, but then I decided to stick with it. Sometimes slow motion is not that bad... and if we give up at the first sign of blockage we will never get anywhere so that was the first sign in this magick journey. Face the blocks, stick with it and keep going, soon enough you will find an easy flow and get moving. Just as I decided to stick with it, the traffic started moving so I was happy I did not stop.

When we got to Redding, we decided to stop for some food and by the time we finished, it was pitch dark. My husband was tired so I decided to continue driving (and I like speed... I was doing 90 miles an hour on I-5.... this runs in the family since my uncle was pulled over in I-5 for doing 90... not sure if it is an Argentina thing... or we just like running in my family). As much as I like running, the road from Redding to Yreka was quite curvy and it was very dark. Curves were not signal very well and I was grabbing the wheel pretty hard trying to figure out what would come next. Thank Goddess for GPS devices since I could foresee the curves and slow down. The GPS reminded me of divination tools since I believe in free will but I know divination provides you insights into what options you have in the future. Intuition is like our internal GPS telling us what to do next, if we pay attention to the road, we can choose the best option for us.

By the time I was getting near Yreka, the road was flat so I was speeding once again, I just wanted to make it to the hotel and lay down since it was almost 11 PM and I had worked that day. Without noticing it, I got off the ramp, parked in the hotel when I realize a security person coming to my car... I got off the car and said "I am about to check in, I have a reservation" I was looking at this guy face to face and I could see the confusion on his face. After the initial shock, he was able to say "I understand you have a reservation but I am stopping you because you were driving too fast.. you were doing 80 in a 65 mph road" Then I realized he was a cop so I played stupid and I said... "I did not notice I was going so fast... I am sorry" He asked me for my drivers license and I was already out of the car so I pulled my bag, handed the driver's license and handed that to him. He asked for the registration and I gave him that as well, but when he asked for the proof of insurance I noticed I had 7 cards but none of them was the current one. I was leaning inside the car with my sexy pose and trying to figure out the insurance thing when he said.. "is that still valid?" and I said "yes it is but I don't have the current card." So he said, let me write this down and I will let you go with a warning this time :) So I sat in the car and waited. He told me to not drive fast anymore and left... After that, my husband was astonished. He could not believed how I handled the cop and made him let me go with a warning and no ticket although I was driving 90 (well 80 for the cop) and did not have proof of insurance. Now he calls me Luke and says I am using the dark side of the force to mind control people... The rest of the family is using "I have a reservation" as the phrase to disengage cops...

One thing I learned during this journey was to slow down but never stop.. just keep going and life will show you the way.. and if not, I will use my magick phrase.. "I have a reservation."

Blessings )0(