Posted on by ikram0408@gmail.com

The Magic In You!

How to unveil it and embrace it in your everyday life?

Our souls yearn for magic. Kids love all stories about magic, and even as you get older magic and fantasy still have their place in your heart because they all have the ancient archetypes that we have experienced in our life’s journey, but it gets easier and easier to forget the “spells” that bring it out. And that’s when attracting magic into your life becomes a fundamental need.

As adults, we constantly find ourselves stuck solving problems, fighting (or protesting) against all the injustices we feel like we are victims of. These are the kinds of circumstances you try to survive, but while you’re doing that you forget to look up. The good news is that it’s possible to attract or re-attract the magic. Shaping a magical vision of the small things is a mental state, and everyone has the power to create their own “magic button” to bring them into that state whenever they want.

How to unlock Magic in your LIFE?

“Magic happens when you have encountered the Divine. It is the life-altering experience of connecting to the divinity that dwells within yourself and in the world.” — Phyllis Curott

The best way to find magic in everything you do is to be observant, to believe that there is an unseen world, bring in your heart, and tune in to your energy, emotions, and senses in every experience.

Below are a few tips to unleash magic in your life:

1. Do Something Different: break the habit of being on autopilot all the time, A new study by Daniel Gilbert (who wrote a great book called Stumbling on Happiness) and Matthew Killingsworth, confirms that most of us are ‘mentally checked out’ a good portion of the time.

It turns out that just under half the time, 46.9% to be exact, people are doing what’s called “ Mind Wandering” we do not focus them on the outside world or the task at hand, they are looking into their own thoughts. Unfortunately, the study of 2,250 people proposes,

Researchers found that people were at their happiest when making love, exercising, or engaging in conversation. They were least happy when resting, working, or using a home computer.

People reported that their mind wandered no less than 30% of the time, during everything except love making. And here’s the kicker: people report being unhappy during mind wandering. Something that we do nearly half the time makes us unhappy! No wonder there are so many spiritual and religious traditions trying to implore people to ‘live in the present’.

2. Spend more time with Kids: Kids are so in tune with their magical imagination, from talking to their imaginary friends to believing that they have superpowers, so spending time with kids will expand your mind and attract magic back to your life, it will bring your playfulness and quick side by involving your inner child in everything you do.

3. Gardening: working in your garden, or touching plants and flowers with your hands, feeling them, will help you in connecting with their spirits. The more present you are the easier you can establish communication with these living beings, brining more grounding and awareness to your daily life.

The freshness of the Now and why we perceive the continuity of time

Rumi teaches us that despite the appearance of continuity, the whole of existence is recreated every moment. Since everything is fresh every moment, if we dis-identify from our time-bound mind we could get out of our own way, live in the now, and be the agent for whatever the present moment manifests.

Source of the new!

There surely exists a deeper world.
What’s the telling sign, you ask?
The renewal of the moments, the passing of the old.

A new day, an extra night; new gardens, new life,
every breath brings about fresh insights;
newness is richness, joyfulness.

Where does the new come from?
Where does the old end up?
See past the walls of perception…
experience the boundlessness,
the universe has no beginning, no end!

There’s magic in a lot of the surrounding things, in the small things alongside you every day. It could be a sunset, the starry sky, a child’s smile, the birds chirping, the breeze against your face, the rain that refreshes and nourishes life… In a Nutshell, Seeing the magic in everything around you means recognizing and being thankful for all the wonders in your life. So for you to find and attract magic, start by being present, and thankful for the wonderful gift you already have, the gift that keeps on giving with each beat of your heart: LIFE.

Be the light,

Posted on by ikram0408@gmail.com

Pachamama Ceremony

Photo by Jairo David Arboleda on Pexels.com

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!

Posted on by ikram0408@gmail.com

The Art of Vulnerability

Photo by Juanjo Menta on Pexels.com

Are you brave enough to be vulnerable?

This might sound weird to you, Vulnerability and Courage may seem like two extremes, but in reality, it takes so much courage from a person to show his vulnerability in relationships, to open up his heart and be prepared to get hurt by the other person.

What is Vulnerability?

Vulnerability is being open to be criticised, judged, and even hurt by other individuals, it’s having the courage to take risks despite the uncertainty, is taking a leap of faith even if you do not understand what the outcome will be, it’s showing up no matter what, having integrity and commitment.

Dr. Brené Brown, a researcher who has done lots of research on vulnerability, and is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling book, Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead, has used a phrase in her 2010 TEDx Houston talk, The Power of Vulnerability, which is one of the top ten most viewed TED talks in the world.

The phrase Daring Greatly was quoted from Theodore Roosevelt’s speech “Citizenship in a Republic.” The speech sometimes referred to as “The Man in the Arena,”:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does not strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat”- Theodore Roosevelt

I love this quote, there is no vulnerability without daring, most of us have developed a fear of the unknown at some stage, a fear of failure, of being criticized, because of social conditioning. Some take risks, they prefer to experience with total faith, surrender, and acceptance of the outcome, others choose not to, thus they prioritize staying in their comfort zone, they cannot let go of control, of the outcome, because it has to be the way they want it to be and since they have no guarantee, they miss the whole experience, the experience of life! The MISS LIVING!

In our modern society, vulnerability is mistaken for weakness. Mostly, people believe that we all should wear armor, that we should protect ourselves from heartbreaks, disappointments, criticism… etc.

we live in a world where people first instinct is to doubt you when they first encounter you, and it becomes your responsibility to prove them wrong to win their trust, so we completely miss the fun part, the authentic human experience, acting and being who we truly are, facing life with wide open arms, choosing to show up, to be seen, to have no masks on, to be fully exposed, and having a deep understanding that with this choice comes a 50/50 probability of either failure or success.

Although I don’t believe that there is any loss here because when we take a chance we grow and we learn about the life, each time we engage in a new relationship, we get to unfold another aspect of ourself and of the other person; we expand our horizons and discover alternative possibilities and ways of living and being; we heal our wounded parts, and throughout this journey, we experience Joy, one of our birthrights, we explore what freedom means, and how it feels to be free and carefree, not having to calculate any of our doings or sayings, we become innovative and creative; we create from a space of freedom and love.

Being heartbroken or fooled, Judged or hurt does not diminish the impact of the experience of being vulnerable, because we already lived it, it is part of us now, it’s true it did not go the way we had wished, but it will shape who we are and through it, we gained so much wisdom, if we get hurt, we learn with time that it’s via a broken heart that we get to develop and awaken to the true meaning of love, that the more shattered our hearts are, the more light goes in, that trough grief and sadness, we cultivate mercy and compassion; we become more sensitive and empathic to our surroundings, so there is only winning.

“Sorrow prepares you for joy. It violently sweeps everything out of your house, so that new joy can find space to enter. It shakes the yellow leaves from the bough of your heart so that fresh leaves can grow in their place. It pulls up the rotten roots so that new roots hidden beneath have room to grow. Whatever sorrow shakes from your heart, far better things will take their place.” — Rumi

Let your soul guide you!

The Soul will always choose love because that is its essence! It is pure Love and Light. The Ego, however, will try to protect you by inducing fear in your thoughts, trying to stop you from being vulnerable,

We should live life from the source of our internal power that comes from the soul, listening to our intuition or the soul’s voice which always whispers wise words coming from a place of love and strength.

When the ego’s voice arises, we should acknowledge it. Thank the ego for looking out for us and release it from its duties. Bow to your broken heart in gratitude, for if it hadn’t shattered, you would have never been initiated on this path to your soul awakening.

Embrace the beauty of your soul. Feel it. Let it guide you. and always TRUST…that you are Divinely guided.

Lots of Love💕