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We Are All Addicts!

Understanding the Psychology and Spirituality of addictive behaviors

In language, addiction means the need or the strong desire to do or to have something, or a very strong liking for something (Cambridge Dictionary)!

In Order to define the concept of ” Addiction”, we will need to delve into the psychology of addiction which entails understanding the root of any type of addictive behaviour.  

A person with an addiction uses a substance, or engages in a behaviour, for which the rewarding effects provide a compelling incentive to repeat the activity, despite detrimental consequences. Addiction may involve the use of substances such as Alchohol , inhalants, opioids, cocaine, and nicotine, or behaviors such as gambling, shopping.

There is evidence that addictive behaviors share key neurobiological features: They intensely involve brain pathways of reward and reinforcement, which involve the neurotransmitter dopamine. And, in keeping with other highly motivated states, they lead to the pruning of synapses in the prefrontal cortex, home of the brain’s highest functions, so that  attention  is highly focused on cues related to the target substance or activity. It is important to know that such brain changes are reversible after the substance use or behaviour is discontinued.

When individuals engage in an activity that is pleasurable but cannot stop doing it, even to the detriment of everyday living (such as work, hobbies, family time, finances, etc.), and health and wellbeing suffer as a result, this behaviour would be considered an addiction.

While we know that addiction is a disease that is primary, chronic, progressive and fatal, with a describable and predictable course and  typical common, addiction affects all aspects of the person. When we think about the disease of addiction from the perspective of our spirituality, we can see that addiction is a disease that is born out of the human condition. There is deep hopelessness, meaninglessness and longing that the addict is trying to suppress with some substance or process, rather than finding healing through faith, and re-establishing the relationship with the higher self. The addict is seeking a greater depth of peace and fulfilment but only finds greater emptiness and pain. The separation from the divine and from healthy spirituality is intensified by an increasing pattern of actions that could be considered sinful for one reason only which is sabotaging one’s own life and purpose.

While ancient writers didn’t understand addiction in the same way we do, they certainly understood the nature of addiction. The Biblical writers saw the patterns of addiction and discussed it more as bondage, temptation and sin. Indeed, addiction is a disease that will drive/lead us into wrongful acts. However, if we look at it from a perspective of separation from the divine, then we come closer to understanding the spiritual dilemma of addiction. In the book of Genesis, we see that humans are caught up in an addictive process from the beginning. The “original” temptation in the Garden of Eden posed as the following:

  • Good for food – it addressed a need
  • Pleasing to the eye – it was attractive in some way
  • Bestowed wisdom – a promise of something beyond ourselves, something we think would make us complete

Addiction sets up a trap for us: while appearing to address a deep need, we are drawn to its attractiveness and the promise of feeling complete in some way — an alternate “god” is introduced to rob us of true spirituality. We become spiritually malnourished, believing we have found peace, abundance and fulfilment in the very thing that will rob us of it. In addiction, we mistake:

  • Numbness for Peace
  • Indulgence for Abundance
  • Gratification for Fulfilment
  • Intensity for Intimacy
  • Control for Safety
  • Perfection for Competency

The Cure to Addictions

Because addiction causes changes in the brain, addicts experience symptoms such as impulsivity and cravings. which pushes people to crave instant kick of which even addiction they have, instant gratification, instant feeling good, which unfortunately does not last long, and make the circle of addiction grow tighter and faster! this can happen whether the addiction is for food, sex, porn, coffee, gambling, a person, a lifestyle, a drug, a behaviour…etc .These symptoms can make quitting more difficult, but choosing effective treatment options can improve your ability to succeed.

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Quitting any addictive substance requires a process, both emotional and practical. in order to quit, one’s need to plan how to quit, how to deal with withdrawals and how to avoid relapses.

1. Prepare to Quit

Remind yourself of why you made an intention to quit, and how will you support this decision.

2. Consider your Environment

Eliminating everything that reminds you of your addiction, you will be surprised to realise that we are our environment, and you are the people you spend most of your time with, as social beings we get influenced by our social circle, no matter how strong our identity is. A change of routine, habits, and even friends or social circle will definitely give you the support and motivation you need.

3. Connect to your Spirituality

we are by default spiritual beings having this human experience, however, we tend to dismiss our nature and wander away from our connection with our spirit and higher self, which are the closest and deepest part of ourselves and we get busy with 3D matters, we follow the path of materialism, and we neglect our heart, our emotions and our deep connection to the higher power, to the divine. for these reasons a void is created within us, and we develop a deep feeling of nostalgia, and or emptiness that we try to fill with physical things (3D), or with addictions. So the key to let go of addictions, is to go back within and connect with your spiritual nature, this can be done, by dedicating some time for grounding, meditation, breath work, contemplation and journaling….the answers you seek are within …

4. Ask for Support

whether it is a professional support if you have major addictions, or a friend or a relative or a loved one support, we all need a good heart and ear to lean to, someone who can hold an unconditional loving space with no judgment, someone who is trustworthy and reliable.

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Expectations, Disappointments & Curiosity!

Exploring The Unknown with Curiosity and Wander, instead of Negativity and Fear

“The first and simplest emotion which we discover in the human mind, is curiosity.”

EDMUND BURKE
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Curiosity is a natural and spontaneous movement of consciousness. We see it through all forms of life. In a way, it is a celebration of all forms of experience, as well as an inherent ability to penetrate the nature of experience. With curiosity, we penetrate the unknown which propels evolution and transformation beyond the conceptual limitations of the Separate Self.

When we are seated in curiosity, expectation and disappointment dissolve into an experience that is here to be penetrated, studied and released, without definitive conclusion. Disappointment can be painful, but it’s a melody from their depth of need: the unfulfilled need that is intrinsic to disappointment can bring us to deeper layers of ourselves, to places where we have denied ourselves a resource. Expectation can deflect us from the present moment and generate stress and illusion, but what is the fire behind it? What is it that we’re not allowing in ourselves that propels us to grasp towards the future, even to attempt to control the future? Both expectation and disappointment are naturally arising emotions, but where do they begin to dictate our direction, distort our perception and weigh down our sense of well-being? How do they become background states of being?

Curiosity will ask these questions, but won’t dictate the answers. Beyond conclusions and contractions, the seat of curiosity is alive in the here and now, receiving information without filters through the Felt Sense. It will invite trapped experience to life, and as a seat of perception, will open a channel of transformation.

Expectation!

Expectation can cause a severe distortion in the perception, it causes the activation of imagination of form based on data stored in the memory. Rooted in the impulse to control experience, expectation projects outcomes and actively interferes with direct perception. To live in expectation is to live in a state of vigilance or stress. Stress hormones activate the part of the brain monitoring our survival activities which moves through duality – fundamentally, the duality of good and bad, right and wrong, it is the duality that is the source of separation.

When we expect the worst, we tend to create the experience of the worst – and live it fully even before anything ever happened. If we expect the best, we create the experience of the best, which can involve relying quite heavily on denial to upkeep the projection. The eyes of expectation look outward and in this way, it is always disempowered. any outside expectation one’s have affirm the inability to have it within, it is created from the energy of lack, and from undeniable avoidance to confront the self and processing the root cause of the created void, It is as if the contractions within the personality are dialoguing with the imagination in a manner which precludes surprise or shock. This tendency to live in expectation is generally based on pain and a refusal to experience or process that suffering which is already alive within. In denial of suffering, it restricts the vitality available in the resource of the present moment.

Disapointment!

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Whatever we expect, we will always be disappointed. When we expect our worst nightmare, and it doesn’t happen, we can experience a secret disappointment – as we will have to wait a little longer for the release of inner form through physical manifestation.

Often our positive expectations are based on bypassing the suffering of the heart into fulfilment, peace, love and freedom. Because these Non dual Qualities are expected to arrive from the outside, in the future, consciousness is blinded a priori to expanding into them in the here and now.

A feeling of disappointment can be the background atmosphere of a lifetime, which perpetually reaffirms itself each time an external object fails to bring satisfaction. It can be especially poignant when that object has previously awoken a sense of connection with our True Nature. Suffering around repeated disappointment can generate a background state of disappointment that constantly fulfils itself. For example, when parents have promised fulfilment to their children to distract them from the difficulty of the present moment – and later broken those promises – then the pattern of broken promises begins to be expected. It makes us feel ‘at home’. Disappointment begins to feel safer than an unexpected fulfilment.

When disappointment becomes an expectation, parts of the psyche that were alert with anticipation start to freeze in depression as consciousness is withdrawn from form. In this way, the stress of expectation solidifies into a freezing of vitality under the verdict that ‘life is disappointing’. The allocation of blame on outer authority further disempowers the psyche, adding to the feeling of impotence in form. Such a client needs a lot of encouragement. They will be reluctant to take time and space. In a way, they have dis-appointed themselves from their lives.

Curiosity! The Non Dual road

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Curiosity is ‘the impulse towards better cognition,’’ meaning that it is the desire to understand that which you do not (James, 1899). He noted that, in children, it drives them toward objects of novel, sensational qualities—that which is ‘‘bright, vivid, startling.’’

Philosopher and psychologist William James

The movement of exploration arising out of curiosity delivers its own reward in the form of impressions through the psyche. Curiosity is a quality that moves beyond the judgmental mind – exemplifying the dialogue, flow and evolution inherent to being here, now.

Curiosity liberates consciousness and brings authenticity to the sense of connection. As much as it is active through the penetration of form, it is equally receptive in the unconditional allowance of impressions. It has the power to dispel illusion and invite contractions into life, liberating the flow of learning and insight. In this way, curiosity awakens and can open the excitement of increased vitality that comes with the receptive side of the sense of truth.

Above all, curiosity is needed in the nature of expectation and disappointment and the living contractions in the here and now that lead us to displace our direct connection with the layers of who we are.

Food for Thoughts!

When we experience tension or disagreement with another person, it can be helpful for conflict resolution and bias reduction to wonder how their experiences may be shaping their beliefs and behaviour. Curiosity is about continually pressing a stop button, and calling your “I am presence”, going within and asking questions. When those questions are open-ended and directed at our own thoughts and assumptions, we can gain insight and self-knowledge.

Here are some questions you can ask:

  • What factors in their past or present could be influencing their reaction?
  • How do my experiences differ from theirs?
  • Why are they reacting this specific way?
  • How are my experiences influencing my perception of the situation?
  • What Can I learn from this situation that could be beneficial for my future encounters?
  • How did I contribute to this conflict? how can I own the responsibility of my part? Am I feeling like a victim here? what does that make me (disempowered, weak, projecting on others….?)

When we’re able to understand how perspectives other than our own come to be, we are cultivating the skill of empathy a seed from which compassion can grow.

In fact, it’s in our nature to be compassionate. But it is often our own beliefs about our ability to change that hold us back. Grant yourself the same compassion that you would give to others by questioning those beliefs—once you do, you can increase the likelihood of forming a new habit.

Practice silent curiosity as you move about daily activities. Both allow the sense of curiosity towards what you perceive, and notice curiosity in other life-forms. When you’re resting or can close the eyes, be curious about any thoughts, feelings or sensations. It can be simple, like being curious about an area of stress in the body.

Mindfulness practices, such as meditation, can assist in changing our neuroplasticity, which is the ability of our brain to change old beliefs and thought forms in response to our past experiences. it can help us cultivate curiosity about the potential distortions colouring our thoughts, and serves in recognising our patterns and how our thoughts and reactions are being influenced.

Curiosity may or may not have killed the cat, but it doesn’t have to kill you. Instead consider that curiosity is the birth of all possibilities…and it is the doorway to your limitlessness

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Unveil Your Life Purpose

and start living your best life!

What is My life Purpose?

Most people will ask at some point, “Why am I here?” It can be a scary question or a thrilling one. Leaning into the discomfort of this existential question can lead to a better sense of self and more rewarding paths forward.

Finding your purpose in life adds psychological and emotional improvements and satisfaction to your life . You want more zest, more flavour, more fullness. In the strictest sense, you want to become a better person.You want to wake up excited, jumping out of bed with a thirst for life that you haven’t felt since you were a child. Think of uncovering your passion like the work of a master sculptor, slowly chipping away the stone to reveal the masterpiece underneath.

Your life’s purpose is this masterpiece, simply lurking beneath the surface, waiting to be released. It is in life is as unique to you as your fingerprint. We all have a particular set of talents, experiences, skill sets , and interests that light us up. Purpose is related to these, but it is your reason for being.

You need a sense of purpose to sustain you over time. And even when life feels like a series of compromises, you can still discover and connect to your purpose by exploring what brings you joy and dedicating more time to it.

why finding your life purpose is important ?

Have you ever woken up in a dark room with no source of light at all? Did you manage to do anything worthwhile? That’s how living a life without a clear purpose is.

When you live life with no purpose, you lack the Meaning of Life!

Here is the importance of finding your purpose and how it can help you improve the quality of your life:

1. Your purpose is the reason you get up every morning and can lead to better relationships and improved physical health. Life without a clear purpose can get boring and unsatisfying. Once you find and understand your purpose, your life will never be the same again. You’ll start attracting things you’ve always wanted into your life. You’ll have health, wealth, and peace of mind. Remember, everything starts from within. Your outer world is a clear reflection of your inner world.A purposeless life will always manifest fear, worry, and poverty. Since you want to live a meaningful life, pay attention to your thinking patterns and set aside a few daily minutes to find and clarify your purpose.

2. Having a clear vision on your life purpose will serve you in challenging your limiting beliefs, which will assist you in flying far from the life you were living before you unveiled the meaning behind your existence. Understanding that there is a bigger cause, will trigger your big picture thinking, and you will find yourself dismissing the old limiting beliefs that kept you stagnated and restricted.

How to Find Your Life Purpose?

Here are few tips to help you unfold your life purpose:

Identifying your values :

Values exist, whether you recognise them or not. Life can be much easier when you acknowledge your values – and when you make plans and decisions that honor them.

If you value family, but you have to work 70-hour weeks in your job, will you feel internal stress and conflict! And if you don’t value respect, and you tolerate bullying at work or in life, people in your life who disrespect you in some way, this will create extreme stress and anxiety caused by the absence of alignment in your life.

When you know your own values, you have clarity on what works for you, and what does not, what add value to your life, and what does not, you also know where to invest your time and energy, and what or who is not in resonance of your soul vibration, and does not fit your path.

  • What job should I pursue?
  • What type of relationships I want to attract?
  • Should I start my own business?
  • Should I compromise, or be firm with my position?
  • Should I follow tradition, or should I forge my own path?
  • What do I value the most?

So, take the time to understand the real priorities in your life, and you’ll be able to determine the best direction for you.

Explore Your Passions :

Your passions or your hobbies are a key indicator to what your soul purpose might be, in fact, your soul purpose might be ingrained in them that it is difficult to spot it. Try to spend time exploring your interests, because your soul purpose is what you are good at, the thing you do effortlessly. If you are finding it difficult to find it, ask your friends and family to tell you what they think you are the best at, something that comes naturally to you.

Turn Your Pain into a Purpose:

We all go through struggles in life , overcoming these struggles shapes who we are, our personalities, choices, and perspectives. our uniqueness in persevering life hardships, can be expressed through different mediums such as arts : music, paintings, creative writing…etc, or by choosing to teach others the wisdom we harvested by overcoming our own issues. Others will choose Social Activism to serve humanity and defend the less fortunate.

How you choose to transform your pain into a purpose is unique to you, and to your soul signature!

spend time with people who inspire you:

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

If you spend time with people who are positive and purpose-driven, they are likely to inspire you to have the same mindset. You may even discover your purpose through them.

Look beyond your colleagues and family members and ask yourself who you choose to spend your time with. Evaluate those relationships and make sure you are surrounding yourself with aspirational, positive people who lift you up.

Spend sometime Reading:

Reading is a great way to expand your mental horizons, it is also beneficial in improving your empathy, your creative and critical thinking, because you put yourself in the characters shoes, and you imagine yourself, and your choices if put in similar circumstances.

Reading also connects you to other people across time, place, and cultures. This helps you cultivate the sense of connectedness that generates a sense of purpose in life.

Practice self-acceptance:

Self Acceptance helps you in accepting all of you, the perfect and the imperfect. it teaches you to be kinder and more compassionate towards yourself. This acceptance helps you overcome the rigidity of the dual thinking of right and wrong, you reach an understanding that mistakes are not failures, they are life experiences through which we harvest wisdom that benefits us in our path of growth and evolution.

Self-Acceptance then becomes a catalyst in overcoming the fear of making mistakes, the fear of failure, the fear of the unknown, leading us to more freedom in trying new things, forging new paths, exploring non travelled journeys, taking risks, which can lead us to the meaning of our existence at this time and dimension.

Join a cause:

We all have a cause that we feel passionately about. Perhaps you have strong feelings about social justice, animal welfare, or the environment. 

Fighting for a cause ties together several ways to find your soul purpose including:

  • Giving back
  • Doing something you’re passionate about
  • Surrounding yourself with people who inspire you

Maybe you want to raise money for research into a particular disease or give inner-city children access to green spaces. Whatever it is, getting involved with a cause will help you find more purpose in your life. 

It is worth the try!

Behind every successful person is clarity of purpose. And unless you find yours, you’ll continue to cruise through life on autopilot. You may find yourself knocked off-course and lost, uncertain how to move forward or which direction is forward. Or, life may be smooth but one day you may look back and wish you had used your time differently.

Identifying, acknowledging, and honouring your purpose is the foundation of a well-rounded life. It requires some courage because it opens up questions and ideas that might not be comfortable. Yet it’s worth it. Purpose provides you with an inner compass that guides every decision and leads you to the experiences that will light up your soul. 

Finding your purpose and connecting your purpose to meaningful work can be hard. Supportive guidance can help. join our 4 weeks program “Unveil your life purpose, and live your best life”! and journey through the process with ease, and clarity.

email us on : ikram@earthedbeing.com

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Earth Magic

From Old Shamanism to Modern Ecology

Evolution and Patriarchy

Did the modern society advance since the ancient times? Did this advancement or evolution include humans?

Looking at the situation of the world today, I do not agree that human were included in the evolution process, we find patriarchal led society driven by control and power, where few wealthy “elite” control the masses, we are witnessing a world where equality is still a distant wish, and prosperity is out of reach to many. Evolution created advanced societies where the human race is dangerously disconnected from the Natural and the Spiritual worlds.

Ancient Matriarch in Old Egypt, and the connection to EARTH:

let us look back into ancient times, and reflect on old prosperous matriarchal societies such as old Egypt. Ruling Pharos had no objection recognising the equality between the Sacred Feminine and the Sacred Masculine. The matriarchal consciousness was associated with eternity, cycles of time, ritual, magic, altered states, and arts. The patriarchal consciousness was associated with history, linear time, dogma, rationality, waking reality, and science. Both were of equal value.

Throughout history, strong patriarchal societies existed when the sun was worshiped while matriarchal societies submerged when the moon was worshiped. During much of Egyptian history, people worshiped both the moon and the sun, which gave rise to both . For the most part, both the sun, Ra, and the moon, Konsu, were a vital part of the religion of ancient Egypt.

ancient egyptian paintings
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It is very clear, that the connection to Earth, embodied and embraced by the Sacred Divine Feminine had a huge impact in the prosperity of the matriarch society. The question worth asking here is why and how does Earth play this vital role?

The Human Race Connection to Earth is a Spiritual Connection

Our relationship with the Earth is not merely physical. The Earth is alive; it is spiritual. All living entities of the Earth are an expression of the spirit. The soil of the Earth, for example, consists of minerals and organic matter, holding the roots of plants. There is a mysterious, spiritual and alive quality to it. This gives us an indication to the relationship we have with nature, which is of a communion, the life in us or our spirit, is constantly in communion with the spirit animals, plants, waters, mountains…etc , this is what we call Ecology

Ecology Explained

Ecology is the only conclusion of our high human potential: to find our wholeness , we need to love ourselves, and the context that keeps us alive. Just as the organic, logical relation between the cells of the human body, ecology is the rule that makes everything stay together, connected, working, functioning, surviving. Ecology as the rule of Interconnectedness is our default software as beings. When did we as humanity forget it?

“Shamanism represents spiritual ecology. Shamanism is not about the simple veneration of Nature, it is about a reciprocal spiritual communication that restores the lost connection that our human ancestors had with the amazing spiritual power and beauty of our garden called Earth.”

Michael Harner, The Way of the Shaman

In any shamanic tradition around the world the main factor is maintaining balance and harmony within and without!. the concept of balance starts by being in tune with our inner being, and extend it to the community and then to nature. a level of Respect for the ecosystem is also the foundation of the entire ritualistic behaviour of the shaman; the shaman only uses his routines to protect and give forth, from one generation to another, the rules used to live in Sync with nature, to honor it, respect it and express gratitude for it. Rituals of gratitude are part of the ceremonies led by Shamans and the indigenous towards the primordial elements (fire, water, sky, land, wood, metal etc.), animals giving humans food, towards the land, towards the spirits of nature (the wood spirits, spirits of the mountain, oceans etc.), towards ancestors who brought them in this existence and from whom they inherited centuries of wisdom… this profound respect is in fact a constant state of connection with the environment, with all that life is. All this was lost for modern humans, this daily routine of connection, this inner attitude of respect and connection with All There Is, as without our ancestors and without all the environment has to offer… we would not be alive.

Shamans are medicine men/women, healers, seers, (reading signs in the human body but also with the help of the natural elements in the environment). They perform all these activities for the greater good of the community calling for help from the spirit guides. The shamans keep the balance between sky and earth, they balance the body-heart-mind of people and keep the respectful balance between man and nature. They watch out for balance and reciprocity in giving and receiving, by respecting the cycles of nature, they know when to harvest a fruit, when to stop consuming and letting the tree rest and recuperate. Being great observers of life, they feel the subtle signs of change in nature from one season to the next. they know the movement of the main stars in the night sky and if this is going to be a good year for the crops or not. Shamans are the first to understand when ”unseen dimensions” change their harmony (sometimes referring to changes in the electromagnetic field of the Earth reversing its poles, causing the change of the sky routes that birds follow, or the surface water flow used by fish and wildlings to navigate.

a new era of Shamanism

Antony Steven, a psychologist and MD says this two million years old Self, the ordaining centre of the collective unconscious, this continuous chain of experiences called individual life, this Self is a collective character: as Jungians discovered, the particular experience of each and every one of us, counts and influences be it the pathology, or the healing process of everybody. The two million years human understands what it means to be sick and what’s necessary for healing because, as Stevens argues, “acceptance, empathy, attachment and affiliation with this indigenous Self residing in our psyche is the key to adaptation and health”.

(The Two Million-Year-Old Self, Anthony Stevens, 1993)

As per Anthony, there is a resurrection or an awakening of the archetype of the Shaman within each and everyone of us, calling us to reclaim our inner balance and inner union, which will lead us to the union and balance with our community and our nature. each one of us does the mirroring. What is it that psychologists actually do? They mirror and help us in the process of self- resignification. What is it that artists do? They mirror the interior and exterior universe and re-signify it in relation with the Self.

The shaman fulfils some of the transcendental artistic expression, some of the counselling and accompanying done by psychologists and philosophers. Acting as a mirror and also being the creator of the collective dream, he is the storyteller and keeper of the cultural memory, reminding us of the work of a Jungian analyst helping us read and rewrite the ‟circuitry” of our soul. We now live a time when this shaman is showing himself again to the world.

PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT AND KEEPING IT CLEAN AND BALANCED , WHICH IS IN FACT THE FUNDAMENTAL ACT OF RESPECTING THE CYCLE OF LIFE.

Embodying the sacred feminine energy

In shamanic culture there is no distinction being made between the natural world and human world, and this is the reason why the human beings community is constantly conscious of the fact that it always has unlimited access to resources by respecting the simple rule to not overly consume, destroy etc. This identification with the environment informs humans (gives them hope and belief) that they live in abundance, that humans are not alone, that life means continuity and cycles, that passing through various stages of evolution and various sufferings are a given Principle of life, of the great All That Is.

“Our interconnectedness with all that exists is an absolute truth: nothing and no one can exist outside of All There Is, the Universe, the Whole.”

Evelyn Rysdyk, The Norse Shaman 2016

All the characteristics listed above, are none but of the embodiment of the sacred feminine energy, the compassionate, inclusive, empathic part of us, the one that sees the world with an eye of togetherness not of separation, the intuitive one, which is always in tune, & communion with nature and with the Creator, the seeker of balance and peace.

By being conscious, living with Presence & awareness, we can co-create and prosper, we can elevate and inspire those around us to elevate too!

There is only one way! which is the way of LOVE! the way of Feminine.

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You Are Your Biggest Saboteur

how your limiting beliefs can block you from your dreams

A belief, is the attitude an individual cultivates towards what he perceives as truth. In epistemology, philosophers use the term “belief” to refer to personal attitudes associated with  ideas and concepts. However, a “belief” does not require active introspection and circumspection. 

The mind acceptance of the belief is usually underpinned by an emotional and spiritual certainty, this showcase the multi- dimensional nature of a belief, it engages who we are on a mental, emotional, spiritual and physical level, which explains the power of our belief system and the reason it has a strong grip on us.

“For some of our most important beliefs, we have no evidence at all, except that people we love and trust hold these beliefs. Considering how little we know, the confidence we have in our beliefs is preposterous—and it is also essential.”

—2002 Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman
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Longing for “Thee”

Experiencing Melancholy

After almost three months spent away from my home town, recovering, and soul searching, I felt an urge to come back, to be with my family again, and to catch up with my friends, everything was normal, after 4 days only, I started experiencing melancholy, a feeling of emptiness, a void in my heart with an under tone of sadness & grief, that I had since childhood, something I was never able to articulate properly, as a child I felt misunderstood, because I could not convey this emotion to those around me.

The emotion seems like my soul grappling with a pervasive emptiness that lurks in its dark and unexplored corners. It was a paradoxical yearning for some inexplicable “more,” a continuous yearning for fulfilment, while being purely satisfied with the moment. it reaches its peak, when I am involved emotionally with a partner, when I am grieving after breakups…etc, and I used to interpret it as an emotional attachment.

When this relished sombreness kicks in, my heart becomes extremly heavy, that it can’t be contained in my chest anymore, the intensity of grief, send me into the depth of the most turbulent ocean, the pain is so powerful, that even a mountain would break from its burden. So this time, I was blessed to sit in this emotion gracefully and question it, to dive deep in it, allow it to show itself. I burnt and burnt and burnt…

What do we long for ?

Listen to the story of the reed
As it laments the pain of separation:
Since they have cut me from my reed bed
My wails bring tears to both woman and man
Those ripped away from their beloved
know my song
Having been cut from the source,
they long to return

 Rumi

In the Sufi tradition, longing (shawq in arabic) is a state experienced along the mystic path . The mystic path is the inner journey in search of God. In Sufism, the mystical journey starts with the awakening in the seeker’s heart (qalb in arabic) of a perturbing need to find the divine as a living reality and to attain His nearness at all cost. In the light of this awakening, the seeker senses God as beloved (habib In arabic), and as the sole object and purpose of his/her existence. Love for this remote, glorious, and supreme Being draws the seeker farther on his/her arduous journey. Love is the energy that fuels the mystical journey, and without love the seeker cannot sustain the demands and hardships of his journey.

God the Beloved appears at times close and intimate—as indicated by the Qur’anic verse, “We are nearer to him than his jugular vein” . This state on the Sufi path is named proximity (qurb) and intimacy (uns in arabic, which is similar to “un” in French which means one). Often, however, God is felt as inaccessible and absent. Sufi vocabulary calls the polar state of proximity-remoteness (bu’d) – the separation. There are Sufis who by temperament and disposition are prone to the rapturous feelings that arise from states of nearness. But to many the love of God often seems unrequited. In the search of Him whom the heart desires, a lover wander in pain and desolation “in the wilderness of loneliness,”

The Love Affair

Rumi & Shams

Rumi, a thirteenth century Sufi teacher, and one of the world’s greatest poets of mystical love, knew of these mysteries of the heart. His verses tell the stories of the soul’s love affair with God, whom the Sufis call the Beloved, the love affair that leads from the pain and anguish of longing until we are reunited with our divine nature. This is the great mystical journey that draws us from ourself back to our Beloved.

Rumi was a learned scholar until one day in the marketplace of Konya he met a wandering dervish, Shams-i Tabriz, and fell at his feet after the ragged dervish recited these verses,

If knowledge does not liberate the self from the self Then ignornace is better than such knowledge.

ShAMs

Shams was the spark that ignited the fire of divine longing within Rumi, awakening the passion of the soul, such that Rumi said of his life “I burnt, and burnt and burnt.” His time with Shams transformed him, and the love that was awakened still speaks to us now, so many centuries later:

The tender words we said to one another Are stored in the secret heart of heaven: One day like rain they will fall and spread, And our mystery will grow green over the world 

rumi

Through this painful intimacy of love our heart is changed. No longer caught in ourself we are open to the Beloved. Ruined in the tavern of love we can taste the intoxicating wine of His presence. This is when the bliss begins. At the beginning it may come as a gentle lover’s foreplay, like butterfly wings at the edge of the heart, but in this gentle touch the whole of oneself is saturated with love, a love that runs through the body and soul, in which nothing is excluded. Then one is really reborn, reborn in love, in the deep knowing of one’s true nature and the love that is present in oneself and in everything.

Later the states of bliss deepen and intensify, become almost painful and one wonders how the body can bear it, and yet it continues, sometimes for hours. Sweetness, intoxication, drunkenness.

When one returns from the blinding light, when one’s mind is given back and a sense of self returns, then and only then can there be an inquiry into the nature of this bliss. It belongs to the nature of the soul. In Sanskrit it is known as anandamaya kosha, the sheath of the soul. For most people the only experience they have of this bliss is in the brief moment of sexual orgasm, which in reality is not a physical experience but a momentary immersion in the bliss of the soul. It is given to humanity for the sake of procreation. But for the mystic the real love affair is never a physical encounter, even though they may use the metaphors of sexual love to describe it.

If physical union is sweet, the real union of the soul, of lover and Beloved, is far sweeter:

“The clothes of the body were sweet silk,
but this nakedness is sweeter.”

It is easy to speak of divine love, to read poems about its ecstatic nature, to dream of being taken in rapture by a divine lover. But to live this passion is different. It is heartbreak and devastation, despair and burning. One thinks of Rumi and his relationship with Shams, who for Rumi embodied the divine light. Rumi’s disciples became so jealous of their close and intoxicating relationship that Shams had to leave Konya and go to Damascus; then Rumi became so desperate that finally his son Sultan Walad went and begged Shams to return. Shams returned, but then one night Shams went out never to return, murdered it is said. It is even suggested that another of Rumi’s sons was among the murderers. Rumi did not know he had died and twice went to Damascus to find him. He could not be consoled and was thrown into the despair known only to lovers:

“You are the sugar and you are the poison, do not torture me furthermore.”

Only when Rumi had traversed this spiritual darkness of complete despair and abandonment did the light of Shams once again reappear, this time within his own heart and he knew there could never again be any separation. It was from this inner union that the poems started to pour from Rumi: the story of the heart’s mystery that is experienced by every lover, the love affair that draws us to union.

This Sufi myth echoes the notion, prevalent in many ancient systems—as in Platonism, Gnosticism, and Neoplatonism—of the soul’s exile from its heavenly abode and its descent into this lower world. Consequently, it echoes also the desire of a few awakened souls to take the upward journey back and to ascend, via states and stages, to the primordial home in the vicinity of God. This has been expressed in many stories or myths like Layla and Maajnoon.

To summarise, it is apparent that we are all longing for a divine union, and it is expressed through the cry of the heart to experience oneness, what does it mean, feel and taste to be one with God. As social beings, we have a constant desire to have a partner, a lover, a companion, to experience true love, the kind of love that ignites the passion of the soul, it stripes you from your armours, and makes you surrender and give yourself to the beloved, it bypasses the mind, terrifies the ego, even the body feels intimidated from it. A love that keeps you awake all night, and make you wish you never experience it, it burns you alive…until you loose yourself, let go of the self, and you renounce your ego.

The experience of true love, can be manifested in a strong soul connection, romantic or not, human or not, soul mates can be friends, companions, lovers, Mother/child, father/child, plants or animals. while some can have their soul spark ignited by soul mates, others can get activated while visiting a place or a site. Once ignited, your life will never be the same again, your heart gets broken again and again in longing, until it opens up to unconditional love, until it perceives nothing but love, until there is a knowingness that separation is an illusion, and that we are always in union, in oneness, oneness with love, oneness with the beloved and oneness with god, this union is eternal, and it is immersed in an infinite love, A love like no other, A love that is beyond time and space.

Be The Light!

Posted on by ikram0408@gmail.com

THE AQUARIAN AGE

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There is no doubt that humanity have experienced challenging times in 2020. We all have felt restricted with the Covid19 outbreak, and the lockdown of mostly all countries, limiting us from moving around, socialising, in another words, we were pushed to face ourselves and dive deep into all the untapped territories within our psyche. we have been challenged out of our stagnated energy, and of the ego imprisonment.

What is the Age Of Aquarius?

An astrological “Age” shifts about every 2,150 years, the planet Earth moves into a new zodiac sign as part of her rotation, this move happens around the spring equinox. The astrological “age” occurs every 2150 years. This time, we are coming out of the Age of Pisces and transiting into what’s the called “the Dawn of the Aquarian Age”

[In the Age of Aquarius,] the power is turning over to the individual, and giving the freedom for you to choose your own reality based on what aligns with your soul.”

Adama Sesay, astrologer

What does this Shift means for Humanity?

The Piscean Age has been dominated by hierarchy, and power. The key phrase for this age was from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, “To be or not to be.” To make a successful and happy life, you needed to resolve this question. The key to the astrological sign Pisces is “I believe.” During this age, in order for you “to be,” you needed to find someone or something to believe in.

The Aquarian Age will be dominated by networks, and information. The key phrase for this age is “Be to be.” The key to the astrological sign Aquarius is “I know.” This is the age of information. Nothing is secret anymore. All information is available at your fingertips. Where the Piscean age was organized in a vertical, up and down structure of hierarchies, the Aquarian Age is organized in a horizontal network, opening the world up to true equality.

During this age, the focus is no longer on your identity and existence (“to be or not to be”), but on accepting yourself as a whole person (“be to be”) who does not need to believe in something outside of yourself. You are ready to accept that you have the knowledge and wisdom within yourself. It is no longer necessary to attach to something outside yourself, but to become a leader of one: yourself. Instead of being a railroad car that is pulled by an engine, you become your own engine. It is your responsibility to stay on the tracks and to keep moving forward.

The age of Aquarius is the age of human power, it has been predicted that this age will be known by the sovereignty of individuals. People’s knowledge and wisdom will be cultivated based on their own experiences, not dictated or influenced by systems, governments, religion, teachers or Gurus, individuals are starting to take leads and active roles in their life, and their curiosity and keenness to know the truth about their life and the world is awakened.

Since this age will be in Aquarius, it will be embodying the characteristics of the water bearer air sign of Aquarius, known for their independence, non conformity, in thinking and acting, love for freedom, their great vision, and innovative abilities in all aspects. Aquarians are also the most humanitarian signs of the zodiac.

Given all of the above, there is a very promising shift happening the new age is bringing more inspiring and upbeat creative energy to our world, however, this shift will be bringing the best and the worst out of mankind, some people will welcome it by surrendering and accepting changes, opening their hearts and being open to receive themselves and others. Other people will be resisting, because they don’t understand it, and they will be willing to go back to what it was, to the life they know of.

Transformation is a painful process, however, understanding this transition, and enduring the pain and the release we are encountering on a personal and collective levels, will make it smoother, easier and less painful, also trusting that we are heading towards a great growth and expansion potentials, planting seeds for a more loving, heart based and free world.

Be The Light!

Posted on by ikram0408@gmail.com

The Dark Night of The Soul

Who Are we when we are navigating through darkness?

Many of you have certainly heard about the dark night of the soul, or the period when are forced to go inward and acknowledge our feelings, process our traumas, and make peace with it, forgive ourselves and move on.

I have been going through a pretty extended and intense dark night of the soul, which I am pretty used to by now, given the fact that I have been on this journey of self – discovery & healing for few years now, but this time, it was different. I had been pushed to clear, purify and cleanse my heart after a powerful heart activation, which triggers the rise of my deeply suppressed emotions, so I had to dive thru very rough waters in total darkness, blindfolded, and unable to see what’s in front of me…

THE FEAR OF THE UNKOWN

The Foggy or clouded sight refers to not being able to perceive or see what’s coming towards me, which is so crippling for someone who has navigated her life using her strong intuition, someone who is very much in tune with sensing her environment, sensing and detecting people’s intentions.. I felt like a warrior who was sent to a battle field with no protection, no swords,…It is the most frustrating, frightening and vulnerable space I had ever been…

In fact after a couple of difficult months, I was finally able to grasp the wisdom laying behind this experience, I am finally able to see the opportunity I was given to understand my patterns, and receive the messages my higher self was trying to convey to me.

Throughout my life journey, I have been faced with so many setbacks, betrayals, dishonesty …etc, having to go thru a betrayal after another, a heart break after another, I lost trust in everyone, I was not able to forgive myself for being so naive and trusting towards everyone. As a coping mechanism I rose up my walls, and made an intention not to let anyone in my heart space, people can exist in my surroundings, because I am able to sense their energy, but nobody is allowed further because of the history of betrayals and dishonesty, and all the pain I vowed to myself not to go through again.

The main blind spot in my vision was my inability to get this : ” you don’t have to do this alone” because “you are protected and looked after”, those were the messages I kept on hearing in my prayers and meditation, in another words, believe and have “Faith”, faith in God, in my journey, “Trust” that everything is perfect the way it is, and “surrender” to the divine plan, and timing.

In the midst of my fear and mistrust, I dismissed the divine existence , I doubted his ability to protect me, and questioned his plan. This urged me to have full control of my life, an urge to know what’s next, where AM I heading?, so any environment which has an unknown aspect of it, was considered not safe, hence, my choice of distancing myself from people, and ceasing of having any relationships, given that was a foreign territory that I am not familiar with.

This revelation allowed me to find many answers to many of my inexplicable behaviours, and provide me with a road map to my patterns, and a compass to use while journeying in the depth of my fears.

ITS ALL ABOUT FAITH!

“Faith” is the answer, the knowingness that we carry in our heart that there is a bigger presence, directing our lives, and that everything we experience in this physical realm is divinely guided, to allow our souls to grow, evolve and live in total happiness and Joy, the blissful life we are meant to have.

Once we start trusting, we are able to shift the narrative of our life, and it is easy for us to be in a space of “Love over Fear”, tune in to compassion, and activate our ability to forgive ourself and everyone involved in the old narrative of our story. We will look at people, situations and relationships differently, because our heart is open to offer empathy, to ourselves and to humanity, having a deep knowing that everything happens for us and for the higher good of all involved parties.

Be the Light!

Posted on by ikram0408@gmail.com

Re-thinking Rejection

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A Curse or Blessing!!

When was the last time you experienced rejection? Was it a parent who was never present enough for you? was it a guy or relationship you thought was worth investing in, and you were proved wrong? was it a boss who overlooked you for a promotion? or someone who thought you were never good enough, no matter what you did?

Rejection may seem like a curse, an enemy, it is disheartening, it makes you feel you are not good enough, and pushes you to question your self-worth and value, but in fact, if you take sometime to think about it consciously, away from the EGO games, because if you think about it, its the Ego who gets rejected and no one else. So once you calm your emotions, you will realised that Rejection is your best friend, you can use is as a catalyst for success and a proof of your high value. instead of internalising it and making it about you, change your perception and look start looking at it as a development tool, a massive catalyst for your success, instead of a humiliating force.

Rejection as a Projection

Before getting discouraged or start doubting yourself, think that rejection can be a projection of the other person’s own insecurities, and has nothing to do with you. In life we encounter different kind of people, some of them are using projection as a defense mechanism, and defense mechanisms are used to cope with feelings and emotions that we have trouble expressing or coming to terms with,

We attract people into our lives who mirror BOTH extremities within us, so that we can have the opportunity be aware of our own dichotomy. The law of attraction responds to both extremes. We are a perfect match to them, even though they seem to be the opposite of us, because that denied self is still part of us and is still therefore, subject to the law of attraction. But these people tend to be our opposing mirror. They reflect the attribute we suppressed and we reflect the aspect that they suppressed. current concept of projection suggests that someone who is projecting, is projecting their own denied self onto someone who doesn’t have those traits at all. But projection is a two way street. Often what we project onto someone IS actually a trait that they possess as well and we only recognize it because it causes a flare up of the wound of that rejected aspect within ourselves. Also, to have someone project upon us, we have to be a vibrational match to that experience, meaning that the experience of being projected upon is also reflecting something that is being denied within ourselves. So instead of falling into negative thinking, own the situation and transform it into a success a story:

I will share with you a tool I am using when I am experiencing a strong emotion or an uncomfortable situation in my life.

first calm your mind and go inward, then ask yourself the 3 below Questions :

  1. What is this?
  2. why I am experiencing it?
  3. How Can I change it?

  1. What is this ?

This question will help you identify the emotion triggered in you when you experienced rejection, what are you feeling, where is it located in your body, and what physical sensations comes with it.

2. Why I am Experiencing this?

When you ask why, you are now exploring your subconscious mind, you are basically looking for your “STORY” here, everyone of us has a repertoire of stories cultivated based on previous experiences, and we keep on feeding that story, and if we are not able to face it, we dive into the illusion of being a victim of our circumstances.

3. How Can I change it?

Now is the time to take charge of your life, to change the narrative of your story, to understand that the world is not there to get you, and that you are not a victim, but you are an active performer in this play, called LIFE.

So use this opportunity to explore new part of yourself, to call back fragmented parts of your soul that you keep rejecting, embrace them and know that you are WHOLE.

Rejection as a Protection

Sometimes, God or the Universe removes people, or situations from your life because they are not just for you, either you are supposed to be somewhere else, with someone else, or doing something completely different, which is in line with your life path and your destiny. Rather than believing that life is against you, open your heart and trust in what is unfolding for you, Surrender, don’t resist it. And I promise, you will go through a life changing experience and you will be grateful for the journey that leads you to where you are and who you are, you will feel blessed for the rejection which initially was a Protection for your heart and soul.

Be The Light!

Posted on by ikram0408@gmail.com

Pachamama Ceremony

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Who is Pachamama?

Pachamama stands for Mother Earth in the Quechua language. She is the goddess of fertility and provides sustenance and longevity of life according to Peruvian mythology.

Pachamama is also the origin of the four Apus. These four Apus are Water, Earth, Sun, and Moon. They represent the masculine aspect of nature while Pachamama represents the feminine aspect.

What happens in the Pachamama Ceremony?

The Ceremony is a sacred spiritual ritual which has been practiced since ancient times by Andean families and communities, it is usually led by Shamans, and it serves as an act of gratitude to mother earth, for her blessings, healing, and abundance it helps in the restoration of nature’ balance, sustain the equilibrium of “Give and Take”, and through it, the indigenous people get her permission to continue harvesting its resources.

They organize the offerings to mother earth or the goddess within an altar, and it can include cocoa leaves, flowers, water, seeds, candies, or anything representing the four elements or the four Apus.

Participants seek earth blessings and put their intentions and wishes for the coming year. The shaman writes all intentions on the cocoa leaves and burns in the fire while reciting his own prayers, having total faith in its manifestation in the physical reality.

What did I learn from the Pachamama ceremony?

I have been seeking the real meaning of “Balance”, and more intrigued by how I can implement it in my life, this imaginary scale which can guide me through life shows me when to ‘push and continue’ and when to back off and receive, when to plant a seed and when to harvest it… etc

It is very apparent how the indigenous people, or the keepers of the Earth, have always lived in Sync with nature, balance and harmony was the only way of being they knew of.

If you spend time in nature, you realize that all living beings are in total flow with each other and with their eco-system, there is an unseen sacred dance of life between feminine and masculine, that’s why spending an hour in nature can leave you calmer and more balanced, because without you knowing, you become part of this dance.

Here is my perspective on this, the universe comprises two energies, masculine and feminine, Yin and Yang, ie: Sun and Moon, day and night, left and right, light and shadow… etc. Both energies exist within every one of us, regardless of our sex and gender.

Both energies are necessary for the balance and longevity of life here on earth, but can easily fall out of balance.

The Masculine energy or “Yang”- the state of “doing”- is usually represented by the solar plexus chakra in the yogic tradition, it is the head, the intellect, discipline, structure, protection, and when out of balance is greed, abusive power, aggressive energy, etc.

The Feminine energy or “Yin” -the state of “ Being”- is represented by the sacral chakra, it is the heart, emotions, intuition, creativity, sensuality, presence, and joy. When out of balance, it will cause loss of creativity, emotional instability, fear, sexual dysfunction… etc.

Our society is in masculine overdrive “Patriarchy”; aggressive or otherwise harmful expressions of masculine energy within ourselves and our world have become normalized. It leaves us feeling overworked, stressed, and undernourished. The masculine and feminine, the heart and head are no longer meeting each other, honoring each other, or appreciating one another’s gifts.

When the masculine is allowed its genuine expression, it holds space for the more organic parts of life while keeping us on track with our vision and goals, while the feminine brings us into embodiment, into our feeling, sensing, and ever-changing bodies. It draws us to experience the world with presence, joy, and from the heart.

Few tips to get you started with balancing the masculine and feminine within:

  • Ask yourself throughout the day, “Am I in a state of doing (trying to get somewhere) or being (accepting myself as I am)?”
  • Dance, add more intuitive, circular movements to your flow. Close your eyes and let your body lead the way.
  • Use your hands to feel your body. This nourishes our desire for touch and intimacy.
  • Breathe into the pelvic floor and womb space.
  • Get outside and connect to Mother Earth.
  • Practice gratitude, it connects you to your heart and the nurturing spirit in nature.

Finally, please share your balancing experiences on the comments and if you found this article beneficial, please spread the love and share it with your friends!