Free Will vs. the Plan - that's the question! Can we handle free will or do we need our lives to go according to plan? If there is a plan, can we derail and decide what feels right in that moment? After watching the movie The Adjustment Bureau, I couldn't help but think of how events in our lives impact the roads we take. Looking back, when I met my husband, I was engaged with a man who I'd been for over 7 years. We were thinking about getting married and then there was my husband... a derail in the plan. I did not think twice when I bought the tickets to come meet him in person after two months of talking online. I broke my engagement, got my passport and got on a plane for the first time in my life to come meet this man who I've only chatted online and over the phone. Yep! Big derail! I had my life in Buenos Aires, my perfect career, my beautiful apartment, everything that I wanted but I fell for this guy and I was not afraid of leaving everything behind to follow my heart. Was that part of the plan? Was the plan for me to move to California and work in the Dollar Tree for two weeks when I was an educated woman who spoke two languages? Maybe not, but the experience taught me that sometimes we hit the wall, sometimes we face hardship, but in the end, things are ok and everything is part of the story we are creating day by day.
Sometimes I wonder if I had not got married, if I had not moved to California, how would my life be? There are times when I wish I could get a glimpse of how life would be if I had taken the other road. Would I be different now? Maybe. Or maybe I would just be the same and had experienced similar situations in a different place. Like astrology says, if you don't learn the lesson, things repeat themselves in different places, different people, same lesson. Talking about Astrology, that science could be considered by some as "The Plan" because it can predict the situations that can arise, the pressure that can build up, the possibilities, but in the end we can decide... Like Arthur O'Shaughnessy said:
"We are the music-makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams;
World-losers and world-forsakers, 5
On whom the pale moon gleams:
Yet we are the movers and shakers
Of the world for ever, it seems."
Are you a shaker? Or do you follow the plan? Do you want somebody else to decide for you or are you ready to make your own choices? There is free will but it is up to us to decide how to use it or whether to use it at all. Some people want to go with the flow, make no decisions, let life happen to them. Others prefer to be the dreamers of the dream, the weavers of the web, not let life happen to them. Who are you? Are you driving in the driver's seat in your life or just being a passenger observing what is happening to you? If you are, and you are not happy about it, you can change today. Don't let the Adjustment Bureau decide what life should look for you. Make your own choices, decide today, allow yourself to dream your dream, to live the life you are meant to be and if you have to adjust in the way, be the one making the adjustment.
Blessings )0(
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Just Be
"While Eeyore frets,
and Piglet hesitates,
and Rabbit calculates,
and Owl pontificates,
Pooh just is."
(From The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff)
When I read this paragraph, I couldn't help but feel identified with many of those roles. There are times in life when I hesitated, others when I was calculating and strategizing, others when I was fretting. In my world, I always equated being with doing. The more I did, the more I felt I was and there was an underlying feeling that it was never enough. I kept filling my schedule with activities and things to do since in my mind that meant I was amazing. Last year, I started realizing that I wanted to be more like Pooh, just be. I did not want to equate doing with being but start separating the two and knowing that even if I did not do anything, I could just be and that was ok.
The more I read about Tao, the more I realize that this philosophy really talks to me. "Through working in harmony with life's circumstances, Taoist understanding changes what others may perceive as negative into something positive. From the Taoist point of view, sourness and bitterness come from the interfering and unappreciative mind. Life itself, when understood and utilized for what it is, is sweet." (Benjamin Hoff - The Tao of Pooh). Many times we see challenges in a negative light but Tao says that challenges are only opportunities to grow and evolve, to become stronger. If we look at situations with a simple mind and not over analyze them, we can see that each situation, whether positive or challenging, presents a seed of opportunity. Can we take that opportunity and grow in our path? Can we see it as a chance to become more the person we are meant to be instead of what society or the complex mind would let us believe? Part of the teachings of the Tao is to have a simple mind. Our minds usually play tricks on us and they make things seem worse than they really are. We always tend to imagine the worst scenario without realizing that we can make a decision, grow and then become better. Sometimes we need to let go of the mind and just experience, just be. Sit in the present moment and go with the ebb and flow of life. If we learn to trust that every experience is part of our journey and that we are able to stand anything that is put in our path since it is meant to guide us to where we need to go, we can live our lives from a different perspective and not lose our happiness. Happiness is not based on what we have or don't have, it is based on simplicity and just being. Don't let the monkey mind rule your life and rob you of your happiness, choose to let your heart guide you and just be.
Blessings )0(
and Piglet hesitates,
and Rabbit calculates,
and Owl pontificates,
Pooh just is."
(From The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff)
When I read this paragraph, I couldn't help but feel identified with many of those roles. There are times in life when I hesitated, others when I was calculating and strategizing, others when I was fretting. In my world, I always equated being with doing. The more I did, the more I felt I was and there was an underlying feeling that it was never enough. I kept filling my schedule with activities and things to do since in my mind that meant I was amazing. Last year, I started realizing that I wanted to be more like Pooh, just be. I did not want to equate doing with being but start separating the two and knowing that even if I did not do anything, I could just be and that was ok.
The more I read about Tao, the more I realize that this philosophy really talks to me. "Through working in harmony with life's circumstances, Taoist understanding changes what others may perceive as negative into something positive. From the Taoist point of view, sourness and bitterness come from the interfering and unappreciative mind. Life itself, when understood and utilized for what it is, is sweet." (Benjamin Hoff - The Tao of Pooh). Many times we see challenges in a negative light but Tao says that challenges are only opportunities to grow and evolve, to become stronger. If we look at situations with a simple mind and not over analyze them, we can see that each situation, whether positive or challenging, presents a seed of opportunity. Can we take that opportunity and grow in our path? Can we see it as a chance to become more the person we are meant to be instead of what society or the complex mind would let us believe? Part of the teachings of the Tao is to have a simple mind. Our minds usually play tricks on us and they make things seem worse than they really are. We always tend to imagine the worst scenario without realizing that we can make a decision, grow and then become better. Sometimes we need to let go of the mind and just experience, just be. Sit in the present moment and go with the ebb and flow of life. If we learn to trust that every experience is part of our journey and that we are able to stand anything that is put in our path since it is meant to guide us to where we need to go, we can live our lives from a different perspective and not lose our happiness. Happiness is not based on what we have or don't have, it is based on simplicity and just being. Don't let the monkey mind rule your life and rob you of your happiness, choose to let your heart guide you and just be.
Blessings )0(
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Prolonging the Agony
When do you say bye? When do you put an end to a situation? How do you decide? Sometimes we hope the universe will make a choice for us because we are to afraid too make a decision. It scares us so much to know how much we can lose but we don't see how much we can gain. Every time a door closes, another one opens and we always need to make space for the new. Sometimes, we think that things will get better or we want to delay the end. Change is always feared. Who knows what will come? It is better bad known that the unknown, who knows what else can happen. Are we ready to settle for a mediocre life just because we are too afraid to make a move.
Today I was reading about the Tao and the following phrase came up "Even if the time and the place are right, we can still miss our chance if we do not notice the moment, if we act inadequately, or if we hamper ourselves with doubts and second thoughts. When life presents an opportunity, we must be ready to seize it without hesitation or inhibition. Position is useless without awareness." (365 Tao). How many opportunities have you seen passed because of hesitation? Do you live from your mind or your heart? Sometimes, everything is ready for us, to have the happy life we deserve but because of other situations, we hesitate and our opportunities passed us by.
Are you delaying a decision and in doing so missing the opportunity to have the life you want to have? In what areas of your life are you prolonging the agony? Delaying the inevitable? Buying time and missing opportunities? Life presents opportunities to us and it is in us to choose what we want, to follow our heart, and to live fully. Last weekend, I almost died at the beach and looking back, I can say I have lived passionately and fully, I have followed my heart every time and not hesitated when the opportunities presented themselves so I would not regret anything. If you were to face the same situation, would you be able to say the same?
Don't delay the end, don't extend your agony, make a decision to live your life fully from the heart today.
Blessings )0(
Today I was reading about the Tao and the following phrase came up "Even if the time and the place are right, we can still miss our chance if we do not notice the moment, if we act inadequately, or if we hamper ourselves with doubts and second thoughts. When life presents an opportunity, we must be ready to seize it without hesitation or inhibition. Position is useless without awareness." (365 Tao). How many opportunities have you seen passed because of hesitation? Do you live from your mind or your heart? Sometimes, everything is ready for us, to have the happy life we deserve but because of other situations, we hesitate and our opportunities passed us by.
Are you delaying a decision and in doing so missing the opportunity to have the life you want to have? In what areas of your life are you prolonging the agony? Delaying the inevitable? Buying time and missing opportunities? Life presents opportunities to us and it is in us to choose what we want, to follow our heart, and to live fully. Last weekend, I almost died at the beach and looking back, I can say I have lived passionately and fully, I have followed my heart every time and not hesitated when the opportunities presented themselves so I would not regret anything. If you were to face the same situation, would you be able to say the same?
Don't delay the end, don't extend your agony, make a decision to live your life fully from the heart today.
Blessings )0(
Sunday, February 13, 2011
My Chinese Journey
Every year has a topic. Last year, the topic was health - how to become healthier and whole. I lost weight, ran my first 5K, and dedicated a big portion of my time to work out and become fit. This year, the topic has shifted from health to... YES! You guessed it! Chinese! In January, I decided I wanted to study Mandarin, and since I made that decision, many other things have popped up in my life guiding me in the right direction. It was funny to see how much opposition I faced from others when I made my decision. For example, I went to Barnes and Noble to buy some study cards and the lady at the register looked at me and asked "are you going to China soon?" and I responded "no, just studying Mandarin for fun." She looked at me shocked and said "I would be studying Spanish if I were you" so I responded "I have the Spanish covered, now it is Mandarin time." Some of my friends looked at me surprised and questioned why would I study Mandarin instead of other languages and the truth is, I just like it. I find that language fascinating and filled with meaning. It is amazing to see that Chinese is an ancient language that comes from the times when the Chinese people wrote in turtle shells and use sticks and it is still in use today. I also find it interesting that a symbol can convey meaning and that people in China look at the symbols and understand. When I see that, I can't help but think in other ways that symbols convey meaning such as Tarot or Runes. I've always been fascinated by symbolism so it makes sense I would like a language like Mandarin.
As I study Mandarin, I am also learning about the Chinese culture and traditions. It was interesting to find out that Chinese people use a lunar calendar instead of a solar one and as a Priestess I find that fascinating. I also noticed their traditions are filled with magic such as during the New Year, they eat fish because the word of fish also means good fortune and by eating the fish, they believe they will bring about good fortune for the next year. It seems as the Chinese people have traditions that really tune with me.
I have also started learning about the Tao and Confucian wisdom and came about with these phrases that really hit home with me:
"One who knows does not speak; one who speaks does not know." (Laozi)
"Knowing it is not as good as loving it; loving it is not as good as delighting in it." (Analects)
"Knowledge is to know when you know it and when you don't know it." (Analects)
It is interesting to see how many of the concepts in magic tune with this knowledge since one of the withcraft concepts say "To Know, To Dare, To Will, To Keep Silent" It is important to be humble and know that we are always learning and if we stopped learning and believe we know everything, we just know nothing or we are dead.
Chinese is a very complex language but in that complexity I find beauty, and in that beauty I find another path to Goddess, to serve Her, to commune with her. I know I could have studied Italian or French but I decided to study Chinese because complex does not scare me, roadblocks do not make me afraid, and easy does not do it for me. When people look at me with doubt or think I am strange because I am studying Mandarin, I would say that I have searched in my heart and my fire is burning bright with this language. Sometimes we face opposition and those are the times you need to be honest with yourself and keep truth to your heart.
Blessings )0(
As I study Mandarin, I am also learning about the Chinese culture and traditions. It was interesting to find out that Chinese people use a lunar calendar instead of a solar one and as a Priestess I find that fascinating. I also noticed their traditions are filled with magic such as during the New Year, they eat fish because the word of fish also means good fortune and by eating the fish, they believe they will bring about good fortune for the next year. It seems as the Chinese people have traditions that really tune with me.
I have also started learning about the Tao and Confucian wisdom and came about with these phrases that really hit home with me:
"One who knows does not speak; one who speaks does not know." (Laozi)
"Knowing it is not as good as loving it; loving it is not as good as delighting in it." (Analects)
"Knowledge is to know when you know it and when you don't know it." (Analects)
It is interesting to see how many of the concepts in magic tune with this knowledge since one of the withcraft concepts say "To Know, To Dare, To Will, To Keep Silent" It is important to be humble and know that we are always learning and if we stopped learning and believe we know everything, we just know nothing or we are dead.
Chinese is a very complex language but in that complexity I find beauty, and in that beauty I find another path to Goddess, to serve Her, to commune with her. I know I could have studied Italian or French but I decided to study Chinese because complex does not scare me, roadblocks do not make me afraid, and easy does not do it for me. When people look at me with doubt or think I am strange because I am studying Mandarin, I would say that I have searched in my heart and my fire is burning bright with this language. Sometimes we face opposition and those are the times you need to be honest with yourself and keep truth to your heart.
Blessings )0(
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Too much to chew on...
As I woke up at 4 AM with sharp stomach pain, I couldn't help but wonder what realities are just too much to chew on that I am having a hard time digesting. When I look at my life, I see areas where reality is just too hard to chew and I think the physical manifestation of those big chunks of information is a serious case of indigestion. Wishing there would be a Pepto for emotional indigestion or a serious case of unhappiness and confusion, I reach out for the normal Pepto to treat the physical manifestation of what is brewing within. Yes, there are those days when we wake up and see the world different, like the veil was lifted and reality hits us like a hard slap on the face. We may have been waiting for something that will never manifest, we may be thinking that a person will change, we may be hoping that the job we are so unhappy at will somehow be different tomorrow. Many times, we put all our expectations on the outside - whether it is people or things - for situations to get better and in doing so, we give our power away. We think we will be happy if .... and you can complete the sentence. We shift the focus from ourselves to outside factors believing that if the situation changes, we would be happy. We have 0 control on the outside factors but we do have control over ourselves. We can choose to take a different road. We don't have to let life happen to us, we can make life happen to us by directing our energies and making our own decisions.
Sometimes it is easier to let life happen to us, let other decide our future, because in doing so we don't need to feel responsible for what our life look like. We don't have to take ownership of the fact that we are unhappy and we could choose to be happy. We just go with the flow expecting things will get better someday.
A few years ago, one of my astrology teachers told me "if you don't make a decision, the universe will make it for you." For example, those people that complain about their jobs every day but never choose to find a happier job may get fired or let go because they were not happy but they were not able to make a decision.
As I try to digest my reality and make sense of the road to take, I know I have let life happen to me during the past few months waiting for things to change but I can see that many things will only remain the same. It is too much to chew on at times but in the end, I want to be the driver of my own life and not be sitting on the passenger seat. I want to have control of my life and where I want to be. I don't want to wake up one day and realize that my life has passed me by and I just let things happen to me, that I have lived a flavorless life and have regrets.
Like Alice, I can choose to make my own path. I don't need to wait for others, I can decide for myself on what is best. Our lives are our creations so we can choose to create something beautiful, with intention and power, or we can let it grow and see where it takes us. One path has ownership and power, the other one is just the opposite. We can always choose and it is up to us to decide what's next.
Blessings )0(
Sometimes it is easier to let life happen to us, let other decide our future, because in doing so we don't need to feel responsible for what our life look like. We don't have to take ownership of the fact that we are unhappy and we could choose to be happy. We just go with the flow expecting things will get better someday.
A few years ago, one of my astrology teachers told me "if you don't make a decision, the universe will make it for you." For example, those people that complain about their jobs every day but never choose to find a happier job may get fired or let go because they were not happy but they were not able to make a decision.
As I try to digest my reality and make sense of the road to take, I know I have let life happen to me during the past few months waiting for things to change but I can see that many things will only remain the same. It is too much to chew on at times but in the end, I want to be the driver of my own life and not be sitting on the passenger seat. I want to have control of my life and where I want to be. I don't want to wake up one day and realize that my life has passed me by and I just let things happen to me, that I have lived a flavorless life and have regrets.
Like Alice, I can choose to make my own path. I don't need to wait for others, I can decide for myself on what is best. Our lives are our creations so we can choose to create something beautiful, with intention and power, or we can let it grow and see where it takes us. One path has ownership and power, the other one is just the opposite. We can always choose and it is up to us to decide what's next.
Blessings )0(
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Planting the seed...
There are times in life when we feel we are sinking deep in the cauldron, when we feel there are no happy feelings around. There is nothing to hold on to, nothing to keep us from just drowning in the darkness. We look around for signs that we will be ok, that the pain will pass and that we will be back to feeling joy. Darkness is as much a part of the cycle as it is light. The only issue is darkness has a bad reputation and nobody wants to be seen as dark.
As the wheel of the year moves from the dark to the light, we also shift our vision and start bringing some clarity and illumination into our lives. We plant the seeds that we want to see manifested during the spring and summer, and we prepare. We confront those areas that no longer serve us and as the weeds that grow near the plants we are cultivating, we work on weeding out the unnecessary to leave space for our projects or visions to grow healthy and strong.
One of my favorite ways of planting the seeds is to create vision boards or treasure maps. These vision boards are boards that hold our vision as the name indicates. These boards contain pictures, words, symbols, among other items that symbolize all those things we want to manifest in our lives. As I start looking for pictures and phrases for my board, I can help but notice the pattern in the phrases such as:
"Yes, You Can"
"Get Inspired"
"The Perfect Time to Make a Resolution"
"Life is too short to take yourself seriously"
"For a Better Tomorrow Take Action Today"
"Bridging Cultures"
The pictures I have selected all show women who are happy, who irradiate light and who are shinning. Has my darkness taken me so low that I can not see my own light and I need to see it in pictures? What am I afraid of? Resolution, decision, action are all words that involve change and transformation.
Every morning, I take a card and read the meaning. Today's card said "Don't worry about making the wrong decision, instead, worry about not making a decision at all." This phrase really resonated with me since sometimes I feel I give my power away and I let outside events or other people to control my destiny. It is time for me to decide for myself. To choose to live the life I want to live. To take ownership of where I am and where I want to be. I know I can make it happen. I know I can manifest it. I just need to shift from the darkness to the light and see that everything is possible and that I have the power to manifest a bright future filled with love, happiness, joy, and purpose.
Blessings )0(
As the wheel of the year moves from the dark to the light, we also shift our vision and start bringing some clarity and illumination into our lives. We plant the seeds that we want to see manifested during the spring and summer, and we prepare. We confront those areas that no longer serve us and as the weeds that grow near the plants we are cultivating, we work on weeding out the unnecessary to leave space for our projects or visions to grow healthy and strong.
One of my favorite ways of planting the seeds is to create vision boards or treasure maps. These vision boards are boards that hold our vision as the name indicates. These boards contain pictures, words, symbols, among other items that symbolize all those things we want to manifest in our lives. As I start looking for pictures and phrases for my board, I can help but notice the pattern in the phrases such as:
"Yes, You Can"
"Get Inspired"
"The Perfect Time to Make a Resolution"
"Life is too short to take yourself seriously"
"For a Better Tomorrow Take Action Today"
"Bridging Cultures"
The pictures I have selected all show women who are happy, who irradiate light and who are shinning. Has my darkness taken me so low that I can not see my own light and I need to see it in pictures? What am I afraid of? Resolution, decision, action are all words that involve change and transformation.
Every morning, I take a card and read the meaning. Today's card said "Don't worry about making the wrong decision, instead, worry about not making a decision at all." This phrase really resonated with me since sometimes I feel I give my power away and I let outside events or other people to control my destiny. It is time for me to decide for myself. To choose to live the life I want to live. To take ownership of where I am and where I want to be. I know I can make it happen. I know I can manifest it. I just need to shift from the darkness to the light and see that everything is possible and that I have the power to manifest a bright future filled with love, happiness, joy, and purpose.
Blessings )0(
Sunday, January 16, 2011
There are no happy endings...
Today, I was watching the movie Bedtime Stories with my nieces and when Adam Sandler said "there are no happy endings" that phrase really struck me. I started thinking about the meaning of that phrase and it dawn on me that endings and happy usually don't go together. There are just a few endings that bring happiness like finishing school, but the majority of the endings in life are usually connected to sadness. The ending of a relationship, the ending of a life, and many other endings. We usually take endings as bad things, but we usually forget to think that when a door closes another one opens or that we need to make room for new things to happen. Everything is part of a cycle of birth-life-death-rebirth and endings only mean new beginnings. If we can move pass the fear of change, we will start seeing that endings are not as hard or sad as we think they are. They are just opportunities to start again, to change the course, to choose what's better for us. Many times, we take the road of "better as is instead of searching for something better" or "better bad but known than bad unknown..." or something like that, I know there is a saying in English but I can't remember it right now. The point is that we stagnate in a bad situation for fear of the unknown instead of making space for a new beginning, and this new beginning can be happy. Change brings transformation and many times we choose to stay the same to avoid change but in doing so, we prevent growth. Change is part of growing, of evolving, of finding what is really good for us.
As I said before, choice is part of our lives and we choose every day what we want. Whether we choose to stay the same and stagnate, or change and give ourselves a chance for something better is up to us. It's about breaking the fears that bound us to the situations we are right now and letting go of what does not serve us anymore. Many times it is easier to blame others for what is wrong in our lives, but in doing so, we lose our power. It is time to take full responsibility for our lives and be aware of our happiness or sadness. I know there may not be happy endings, but there can definitely be happy new beginnings after one ending so it is up to us whether we make that happen or not. Choice is always ours. Will you focus on no happy endings or will you focus on happy new beginnings? The choice is yours.
Blessings )0(
As I said before, choice is part of our lives and we choose every day what we want. Whether we choose to stay the same and stagnate, or change and give ourselves a chance for something better is up to us. It's about breaking the fears that bound us to the situations we are right now and letting go of what does not serve us anymore. Many times it is easier to blame others for what is wrong in our lives, but in doing so, we lose our power. It is time to take full responsibility for our lives and be aware of our happiness or sadness. I know there may not be happy endings, but there can definitely be happy new beginnings after one ending so it is up to us whether we make that happen or not. Choice is always ours. Will you focus on no happy endings or will you focus on happy new beginnings? The choice is yours.
Blessings )0(
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