I have been sitting in silence today.
Feeling.
For all the people with whom I have been spending the past year.
And the seasonal Christmas period.
Sharing meals. Telephone calls. Ideas. Friendships new. And those of many years.
My Anam Cara family.
Anam Cara refers to the Celtic spiritual belief of souls connecting and bonding. Taken literally it means 'soul friend' and comes from Irish monasticism regarding a monk's spiritual advisor.
In each of our lives we can open to people who guide us. Souls that radiate from an aura of openness, trust and flow. Forming a deep bond by acceptance of us as we truly are.
The Irish poet, philosopher and Catholic priest, John O'Donohue in his 1997 book Anam Cara talks about being blessed with your Anam Cara as knowing that you have arrived home.
And to know your Anam Cara in another requires that you know the Anam Cara in yourself. That you have reached a deepened love of yourself. In doing so you open to a deepened level of love of another.
Many of us have experienced significant and transformative life changes over the past recent years. Ones that have challenged us to confront the meaning of our relationship with ourselves and with others.
In reflecting on where we have been it seems opportune to remind us of where we are headed as we move into 2014.
And, as John O'Donohue writes with such enormous beauty about the Celtic Wisdom of Anam Cara, his words perhaps speak most succinctly...
When love awakens in your life, in the night of your heart, it is like the dawn breaking within you. Where before there was anonymity, now there is intimacy; where before there was fear, now there is courage; where before in your life there was awkwardness, now there is a rhythm of grace and gracefulness; where before you used to be jagged, now you are elegant and in rhythm with your self. When love awakens in your life, it is like a rebirth, a new beginning.
May you be blessed with the ever new beginnings of a deepening knowing and emerging of your Anam Cara self and family.
Much love
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Friday 27 December 2013
Monday 16 December 2013
A Future to Love
In 2011 Alan Clements published 108 reflections on the Art and Activism of Freedom in his book 'A Future to Believe In'.
Not only is the book a marvellous reflection of numerous aspirations and inspirations for planetary cultural movement, it has a large selection of sayings, and blendings of brilliance, from numerous writers, poets, teachers and activitists, in one wonderful book. You can dip your fingers, find your feelings, and create great mind maps, among a collection of many sections.
Yet the best part in it for me is one, simple, beginning.
It opens with a dedication. One of my all time favourite quotes from the poet and artist e.e. cummings:
'i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)'.
It is so wonderful. Not just because it is so beautiful in its simplicity and poignancy. But also because it reminds me of how strong and how vulnerable we are. And of what a privilege and a responsibility it is to be caretakers of another's heart.
Holding our own heart in esteem. As well as that of another.
And while my heart belongs to me. As yours does to you. We have an opportunity. To hold others' hearts in loving care, compassion, and energetic communication whenever we offer ourselves in friendship and companionship.
And that opportunity entails trust. And an obligation to ourselves to choose who our heart soul companions are. Those who understand how important it is to honour our soul heart. Who hold it dear and precious. And protect it from derision. Who choose authentic service to an entrustment to it.
Soul companions, together, in allegiance to the heart.
Creating A Future to Believe In. A Future to Love.
What a wonderful world that will be.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All right reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Not only is the book a marvellous reflection of numerous aspirations and inspirations for planetary cultural movement, it has a large selection of sayings, and blendings of brilliance, from numerous writers, poets, teachers and activitists, in one wonderful book. You can dip your fingers, find your feelings, and create great mind maps, among a collection of many sections.
Yet the best part in it for me is one, simple, beginning.
It opens with a dedication. One of my all time favourite quotes from the poet and artist e.e. cummings:
'i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)'.
It is so wonderful. Not just because it is so beautiful in its simplicity and poignancy. But also because it reminds me of how strong and how vulnerable we are. And of what a privilege and a responsibility it is to be caretakers of another's heart.
Holding our own heart in esteem. As well as that of another.
And while my heart belongs to me. As yours does to you. We have an opportunity. To hold others' hearts in loving care, compassion, and energetic communication whenever we offer ourselves in friendship and companionship.
And that opportunity entails trust. And an obligation to ourselves to choose who our heart soul companions are. Those who understand how important it is to honour our soul heart. Who hold it dear and precious. And protect it from derision. Who choose authentic service to an entrustment to it.
Soul companions, together, in allegiance to the heart.
Creating A Future to Believe In. A Future to Love.
What a wonderful world that will be.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All right reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Wednesday 11 December 2013
Thou. Art. Beautiful
I am drawing again.
For some time I have been unable to use my right hand dominant due to an injury that was destined for surgery. An intervention I was resisting.
Fortunately, a splint and hand physiotherapy, regular affirmations, and TLC, has led to recovery, without the surgery.
Such a relief. No more pain. And back to art. A new fresh start. Of my favourite meditative practice. Of blissful blessedness. And time well spent.
My desk now strewn with new supplies, colours, papers and pens. And my creative reflective flow and wellspring restored again.
All art forms can play a powerful role in the wellbeing, healing and thriving process. And of enjoyment, appreciation, self reflection and awareness. Experiential and feeling essence.
Time, stands still, in the creation and observation. A transformative, meditative and contemplative immersion. And illumination. Of the Spirit Self.
Art allows me to constantly renew my passion. For plunging deeply into the boundlessness and vastness of the inner meaning-making world. Revealing mystery and beauty. As inspiration, splendidly, joyously, kissing the Spirit inside awake.
And it can be anything creative that draws out what is personally unique, satisfying, real and beautiful in each person absorbed by it.
Music, drawing, painting
Photography, cooking, decorating
Dancing, designing, gardening
Building, sculpting, dressmaking
Tailoring, baking, coffee-making
Tinkering, plastering, celebrating
Wrapping, stacking, packing
Any thing, beauty making
Your particular art
Expressing You, as Art
In Making Art
Thou Art
Beautiful!
May you always be blessed with knowing Thou. Art. Beautiful.
Much love
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Photo: Thou. Art. Beautiful on a Walk with Nature by SaraSwati Shakti © 2015. Added later to the blog, after my hand had completely recovered.
For some time I have been unable to use my right hand dominant due to an injury that was destined for surgery. An intervention I was resisting.
Fortunately, a splint and hand physiotherapy, regular affirmations, and TLC, has led to recovery, without the surgery.
Such a relief. No more pain. And back to art. A new fresh start. Of my favourite meditative practice. Of blissful blessedness. And time well spent.
My desk now strewn with new supplies, colours, papers and pens. And my creative reflective flow and wellspring restored again.
All art forms can play a powerful role in the wellbeing, healing and thriving process. And of enjoyment, appreciation, self reflection and awareness. Experiential and feeling essence.
Time, stands still, in the creation and observation. A transformative, meditative and contemplative immersion. And illumination. Of the Spirit Self.
Art allows me to constantly renew my passion. For plunging deeply into the boundlessness and vastness of the inner meaning-making world. Revealing mystery and beauty. As inspiration, splendidly, joyously, kissing the Spirit inside awake.
And it can be anything creative that draws out what is personally unique, satisfying, real and beautiful in each person absorbed by it.
Music, drawing, painting
Photography, cooking, decorating
Dancing, designing, gardening
Building, sculpting, dressmaking
Tailoring, baking, coffee-making
Tinkering, plastering, celebrating
Wrapping, stacking, packing
Any thing, beauty making
Your particular art
Expressing You, as Art
In Making Art
Thou Art
Beautiful!
May you always be blessed with knowing Thou. Art. Beautiful.
Much love
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Photo: Thou. Art. Beautiful on a Walk with Nature by SaraSwati Shakti © 2015. Added later to the blog, after my hand had completely recovered.
Sunday 8 December 2013
Sunday Serene.
Sunday evening.
There's a lot to be said for a day of rest.
Between a week now passed.
And seven days next.
Sunday.
Peaceful pleasure.
Spent at leisure.
In meditation.
Gratitude.
And Contemplation.
For what is completed.
And that in preparation.
In the inner sanctum.
And the outer condition.
Surrounded lovingly.
By splendid company.
Sunday night.
Weekly cycle
Comes full circle.
Sweet Serenity.
Wholesome Harmony.
What a lovely place to be.
Sleep tight.
Goodnight.
SaraSwati Shakti.
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
There's a lot to be said for a day of rest.
Between a week now passed.
And seven days next.
Sunday.
Peaceful pleasure.
Spent at leisure.
In meditation.
Gratitude.
And Contemplation.
For what is completed.
And that in preparation.
In the inner sanctum.
And the outer condition.
Surrounded lovingly.
By splendid company.
Sunday night.
Weekly cycle
Comes full circle.
Sweet Serenity.
Wholesome Harmony.
What a lovely place to be.
Sleep tight.
Goodnight.
SaraSwati Shakti.
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Tuesday 3 December 2013
I See You. You See Me.
Have you ever thought you make a difference just by being here.
Just by being here you are enough.
You have everything you need to live a life deeply completely.
Every act, thought, moment, is you and yours.
To do with as you wish.
To be kind, loving, truthful, honestly lovingly you.
And in the honestly lovingly you, you heal the world.
No pretending, no fighting, no defending.
Just you.
Resiliently real you.
Well Hello You.
Meet resiliently real me.
I See You. You See Me.
What a wonderful way to be.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Just by being here you are enough.
You have everything you need to live a life deeply completely.
Every act, thought, moment, is you and yours.
To do with as you wish.
To be kind, loving, truthful, honestly lovingly you.
And in the honestly lovingly you, you heal the world.
No pretending, no fighting, no defending.
Just you.
Resiliently real you.
Well Hello You.
Meet resiliently real me.
I See You. You See Me.
What a wonderful way to be.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Monday 2 December 2013
Honouring the Betwixt and Between
There is a quickening fraternity. People everywhere are transforming, shifting. Appreciating meaning, breathing, feeling. Noticing all the wonders that life offers, believing. That they too are worth a happier, better living. Finding their place of conceiving, a new better world in the making.
Transformation amplifies with every new decision to live a life more passionately authentically. Simple, precious moments that resonate intently & intensely.
And in every transformation there is always a shedding. Of old skin, people, places, things that no longer fit in.
As new life continues to kick in. A time of betwixt and between sets in, allowing us to make choices of what we will now, in the new paradigm, invite in.
The cycle of renewal always presents endings with beginnings. Honouring the process of dissolving the old, as the new begins.
Each clear, peaceful, passionate choice can bring a dissolution of an old world that we live in. People, places, things, gain different meaning. Progressively letting go, as that which no longer serves us recedes, and our new slice of heaven on earth proceeds.
With every new joy, old habits dissolve. New patterns begin. Reinforcement of what we love most moves in.
And we begin to better know, appreciate, & cultivate those moments of aliveness, unique to each within.
Allowing a new barometer and set point of blissfully being.
Bubbling with effervescence, peacefulness, passionate patience, as things drop into place, knowing absolutely, unwaveringly, that all is beautiful, all is well, all is as it is meant to be, and that life is blissfully boundlessly soulfully real and free. What a wonderful place to be.
Boundlessly, blissful wishes to One and All in honouring the Betwixt and Between.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Transformation amplifies with every new decision to live a life more passionately authentically. Simple, precious moments that resonate intently & intensely.
And in every transformation there is always a shedding. Of old skin, people, places, things that no longer fit in.
As new life continues to kick in. A time of betwixt and between sets in, allowing us to make choices of what we will now, in the new paradigm, invite in.
The cycle of renewal always presents endings with beginnings. Honouring the process of dissolving the old, as the new begins.
Each clear, peaceful, passionate choice can bring a dissolution of an old world that we live in. People, places, things, gain different meaning. Progressively letting go, as that which no longer serves us recedes, and our new slice of heaven on earth proceeds.
With every new joy, old habits dissolve. New patterns begin. Reinforcement of what we love most moves in.
And we begin to better know, appreciate, & cultivate those moments of aliveness, unique to each within.
Allowing a new barometer and set point of blissfully being.
Bubbling with effervescence, peacefulness, passionate patience, as things drop into place, knowing absolutely, unwaveringly, that all is beautiful, all is well, all is as it is meant to be, and that life is blissfully boundlessly soulfully real and free. What a wonderful place to be.
Boundlessly, blissful wishes to One and All in honouring the Betwixt and Between.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Monday 25 November 2013
Paved Way
I was reminded in a conversation yesterday about one of my all time favourite movie scenes. It is in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Where Harrison Ford has to cross the big chasm and take a leap of faith. He can't see the path. But when he throws sand out into the emptiness in front of him, the bridge that crosses the ravine reveals itself. It shows up. And meets him.
That is a bit like life. When we have faith and grace. What we need, we meet. The right time, place and conversation, creates the bridge that keeps us going.
The promise of what could be, and the reality of how, start to reveal themselves in the now.
Each step creates the next meet. And, as we follow it, trusting our heart and gut, more of the mystery, is revealed. Helping us reach, our destination.
We set an intention, have a mission, are full of purpose, and when we can't quite see how the Universe will greet us with it, we let go. And see. And take each step that reveals itself wholeheartedly. Knowing intrinsically. Only in that moment. That it is the right component.
And that happens when our foundations are set. When we have done the preparation. Of love and faith in ourselves. The willingness to take 100% responsibility. For our destiny. And our belief in our divine life mission. We have clarity, with each decision.
We know. Why. We are here. And we move with a purpose clear. Grateful, for every opportunity. To live a life personally, unstintingly, dear.
The Way is paved
Let the road
Rise Up
To Meet You
Greet You
With Intention
And Gratitude
As Grace lifts You
Shifts You
To the Next Right Place
Much love
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
That is a bit like life. When we have faith and grace. What we need, we meet. The right time, place and conversation, creates the bridge that keeps us going.
The promise of what could be, and the reality of how, start to reveal themselves in the now.
Each step creates the next meet. And, as we follow it, trusting our heart and gut, more of the mystery, is revealed. Helping us reach, our destination.
We set an intention, have a mission, are full of purpose, and when we can't quite see how the Universe will greet us with it, we let go. And see. And take each step that reveals itself wholeheartedly. Knowing intrinsically. Only in that moment. That it is the right component.
And that happens when our foundations are set. When we have done the preparation. Of love and faith in ourselves. The willingness to take 100% responsibility. For our destiny. And our belief in our divine life mission. We have clarity, with each decision.
We know. Why. We are here. And we move with a purpose clear. Grateful, for every opportunity. To live a life personally, unstintingly, dear.
The Way is paved
Let the road
Rise Up
To Meet You
Greet You
With Intention
And Gratitude
As Grace lifts You
Shifts You
To the Next Right Place
Much love
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Thursday 21 November 2013
Stay. Right. There.
Go into that space. Your sacred place. At your centre. Of Life. Stay, Right there. In your heart.
Feel the force.
A force, capable of creating a phenomenal difference in the world, lies right there. In that place.
Listen to it. To the voice. Of love. And wisdom.
Engage. In that Truism.
Silence there speaks possibilities. Of human dignities.
Sacred Centre.
Loving Mentor.
Stay. Right. There.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Feel the force.
A force, capable of creating a phenomenal difference in the world, lies right there. In that place.
Listen to it. To the voice. Of love. And wisdom.
Engage. In that Truism.
Silence there speaks possibilities. Of human dignities.
Sacred Centre.
Loving Mentor.
Stay. Right. There.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Monday 18 November 2013
Sweet Setting Days
Summer evenings are coming on
I can feel them nearly here
Readying for southern hotness
End and new year party cheer
The days are getting longer
Potent, bright, and light
Heightened activity
Greeting welcome restful nights
It can all get rather busy
on Summer high temp days
Waiting for day end southerly's
to recover from the haze
A favourite time in Summer
is to sit in cooling breeze
Feeling sunset and the setting day
of soft, sweet, nature scenes...
Single Rose, Like Sweet Shiraz
Wafting through the air
Breeze on skin, Dessert Treats
Company to share
Light and Shadow
Of leaves on trees
Creating pretty scenes
Of gentle ballerina movements
Lovely and serene
Garden blossoms Bright as buttons
Swooning in soft play
Appreciating the simple setting
Of another day
Butterflies moving fast
Above the glistening lawn
Snatching spots of sunlight
Before it moves along
Insect critters making beds
Ready to recline
The final activity they complete
Their rest to now define
Setting hues with songbird tunes
Getting in their share
Of last news and announcements
Before the night descends
Daylight colours inching out
Revealing ending light
Moments edging slowly
Closing hours of delight
Goodnight dear Sun
It's been a blast You gave the world today
The Moon now shines her glowing face
Till you come back again
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
I can feel them nearly here
Readying for southern hotness
End and new year party cheer
The days are getting longer
Potent, bright, and light
Heightened activity
Greeting welcome restful nights
It can all get rather busy
on Summer high temp days
Waiting for day end southerly's
to recover from the haze
A favourite time in Summer
is to sit in cooling breeze
Feeling sunset and the setting day
of soft, sweet, nature scenes...
Single Rose, Like Sweet Shiraz
Wafting through the air
Breeze on skin, Dessert Treats
Company to share
Light and Shadow
Of leaves on trees
Creating pretty scenes
Of gentle ballerina movements
Lovely and serene
Garden blossoms Bright as buttons
Swooning in soft play
Appreciating the simple setting
Of another day
Butterflies moving fast
Above the glistening lawn
Snatching spots of sunlight
Before it moves along
Insect critters making beds
Ready to recline
The final activity they complete
Their rest to now define
Setting hues with songbird tunes
Getting in their share
Of last news and announcements
Before the night descends
Daylight colours inching out
Revealing ending light
Moments edging slowly
Closing hours of delight
Goodnight dear Sun
It's been a blast You gave the world today
The Moon now shines her glowing face
Till you come back again
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Saturday 16 November 2013
Cultural Croative
I recently came across some notes from a conference I attended at the National School of Arts in Sydney some years ago. One of the keynote speakers covered the topic of Diversity and the Sustainable Society. Key to the address was the concept of a silent revolution. And he described it as the rise of cultural creatives. Those individuals with a more evolved consciousness, concerned with personal growth, a holistic, balanced, cultural, artful, experiential approach.
It reminded me of the work I see many individuals doing. Quietly. Individuating. Reclaiming. All parts of themselves. Authentic, Diverse, and Creative. Defining, and refining. Their true selves, in the making.
And it is in that process of becoming more whole and complete, that the questions of culture and diversity meet.
It is clear that our world is rich in variety. And how lucky we are to experience its enormity. We can learn so much. From partaking in everything. From the smorgasbord of availability. A beautiful, rich and riotous pot of tastes and flavours. Cultural, traditional, creative and spiritual concepts to savour.
And we create, our own personal take, on the samples we make. We choose what best fits into our own selective creative ingredients. At each point of development. As we mature. And nurture. The life we prefer.
A few years ago I felt a compelling need. To claim back a part of my family of origin's cultural heritage and creed.
I was born in Australia, blending in, splitting off those parts of my blood link that I had dissociated with.
But my innerverse had other plans.
With persistent sincerity, my family of origin's culture came knocking within. Signs and reminders telling me, perhaps it's time to dip back in.
A trade show called Croative at Sydney Harbour reconnected me, to Croatia's cultural and creative history. And all those parts inside of me that were calling back to me.
I explored some more. Refamiliarised myself. With memories, trips, and family gatherings. Cultural objectives. Spiritual Religious creeds. Habits. Language. Historical stories and feeds.
A new cultural link ignited in me. It was time. To re-marry my Australian and Croatian identity.
I am now a citizen, of both nations. Balanced and together. Separate compliments. I found, common ground. A more whole, content, development.
It reminded me that while there is diversity. And we are each different. We are all the same.
In each of us finding wholeness, completeness, and authentic sustainability, respectful individuality and commonality, our collective Spirit has much to gain.
I hope each of you finds those parts of yourselves calling you back to what is creatively and culturally yours to claim.
SaraSwati Shakti
© Copyright 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
It reminded me of the work I see many individuals doing. Quietly. Individuating. Reclaiming. All parts of themselves. Authentic, Diverse, and Creative. Defining, and refining. Their true selves, in the making.
And it is in that process of becoming more whole and complete, that the questions of culture and diversity meet.
It is clear that our world is rich in variety. And how lucky we are to experience its enormity. We can learn so much. From partaking in everything. From the smorgasbord of availability. A beautiful, rich and riotous pot of tastes and flavours. Cultural, traditional, creative and spiritual concepts to savour.
And we create, our own personal take, on the samples we make. We choose what best fits into our own selective creative ingredients. At each point of development. As we mature. And nurture. The life we prefer.
A few years ago I felt a compelling need. To claim back a part of my family of origin's cultural heritage and creed.
I was born in Australia, blending in, splitting off those parts of my blood link that I had dissociated with.
But my innerverse had other plans.
With persistent sincerity, my family of origin's culture came knocking within. Signs and reminders telling me, perhaps it's time to dip back in.
A trade show called Croative at Sydney Harbour reconnected me, to Croatia's cultural and creative history. And all those parts inside of me that were calling back to me.
I explored some more. Refamiliarised myself. With memories, trips, and family gatherings. Cultural objectives. Spiritual Religious creeds. Habits. Language. Historical stories and feeds.
A new cultural link ignited in me. It was time. To re-marry my Australian and Croatian identity.
I am now a citizen, of both nations. Balanced and together. Separate compliments. I found, common ground. A more whole, content, development.
It reminded me that while there is diversity. And we are each different. We are all the same.
In each of us finding wholeness, completeness, and authentic sustainability, respectful individuality and commonality, our collective Spirit has much to gain.
I hope each of you finds those parts of yourselves calling you back to what is creatively and culturally yours to claim.
SaraSwati Shakti
© Copyright 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Monday 11 November 2013
Enchantment Enhancement
Recapturing our childlike sense of wonder and awe at the marvels of life and the universe creates a magical quality. It connects our spirit to those things that capture and enrapture us. And it invites the universe to meet us. At that place of resonance, passion, innocence. A joyful unfolding, enfolding. That new pilgrimage beginning. Of freshness. And newness. Creating, trueness to you'ness. This is enchantment. A magical incantation. A delightful meditation.
Every day enchantment enhancement is a necessity. To remind us that we are here. To experience an epiphany. That God works brilliantly.
And it is only in hindsight that we often get that revelation. After we have trudged, and trialled, and resisted. The unfolding plan of our destiny, on track, with who I AM.
As Shakespeare said it.
It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.
And it is that we owe to ourselves. To find what it is that is our rapture, enchantment, beauty and contentment. An inner moment that explodes into outer enjoyment. Our heart beat. And mind feat. Our sumptuous banquet of enchantment enhancement. And only you know what that is. Explore it. Indulge it. Give in to it. Cultivate it.
But what about my responsibilities, my duties, my fears and anxieties, I hear you say...Aha, that is precisely when we need to play. It calls for an emergency enrapturement. A joy rehydration. A funplay intervention invention. A deep immersion. A creative intrusion. And then, magic...attitudinally we shift. We see the wood for the trees. And deal with what is truly real, in front of us. Not the fears and anxieties, but the opportunities and enlighten-ings.
Tune in today. Don't wait. Breathe and say 'I feel great'.
'Right here. Right Now. It's terrific'.
'I am enjoying myself prolific'.
Energy shift. Enchantment Enhancement lift.
And to put Shakespeare another way. All the world's a stage. So play!
Joy and Rapture
Wonder Creature
Awesome Feature
Love to meetchya!
So Hum.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Every day enchantment enhancement is a necessity. To remind us that we are here. To experience an epiphany. That God works brilliantly.
And it is only in hindsight that we often get that revelation. After we have trudged, and trialled, and resisted. The unfolding plan of our destiny, on track, with who I AM.
As Shakespeare said it.
It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.
And it is that we owe to ourselves. To find what it is that is our rapture, enchantment, beauty and contentment. An inner moment that explodes into outer enjoyment. Our heart beat. And mind feat. Our sumptuous banquet of enchantment enhancement. And only you know what that is. Explore it. Indulge it. Give in to it. Cultivate it.
But what about my responsibilities, my duties, my fears and anxieties, I hear you say...Aha, that is precisely when we need to play. It calls for an emergency enrapturement. A joy rehydration. A funplay intervention invention. A deep immersion. A creative intrusion. And then, magic...attitudinally we shift. We see the wood for the trees. And deal with what is truly real, in front of us. Not the fears and anxieties, but the opportunities and enlighten-ings.
Tune in today. Don't wait. Breathe and say 'I feel great'.
'Right here. Right Now. It's terrific'.
'I am enjoying myself prolific'.
Energy shift. Enchantment Enhancement lift.
And to put Shakespeare another way. All the world's a stage. So play!
Joy and Rapture
Wonder Creature
Awesome Feature
Love to meetchya!
So Hum.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Sunday 10 November 2013
Pilgrimage Begin
The word pilgrimage has come up a lot lately. A sacred voyage.
Often described as a voyage to another place, somewhere away, somewhere immersed in an alternative reality. To find communion with oneself, out of everyday disparity.
And what a valid way to reconnect, and explore, a different cosmology of people and places foreign. To tap into something that has been uncommon. A new dimension and way of gaining clarity. Of an issue. A wound needing healing. A clean depth of feeling. A more peaceful way of being.
Yet, what if all of life is a holy endeavour, a sacred pilgrimage, an opus dei. A meaningful, symbolic, purposeful harmonic. Where every experience can be opened like a gift of potential musicality. A divinely orchestrated dance of poetry. Every day. Joyful pleasure and practicality.
And, with every journey, a plethora, an orchestra, a walk with nature. An experience of the wild and tame. A gentle experiment. A passionate contentment. An ordinary extraordinary. And vice versa. So much to see. Heartfelt. Mindful. Soulfully clear.
No matter where we go, or where we stay, our inner castle is always right here. And every exchange a rich wholesome sphere.
I have been revisiting Robert Bly's writing and poetry this weekend. His book Iron John was passed to me yesterday by a dear friend. The author's note and prologue were enough to reconnect me again. To something Robert Bly narrated, that resonated, so strongly way back when.
What is most alive of all is inside your own house. And so you are from one holy city to the next.
And so You Are. Alive. Inside. Holy.
You are your home. Your essence. Always. Wherever you are. Wherever you go. Whatever you do. Moment by moment. Your pilgrimage always emerging. On your life's journey. Passionately from within. A playful poetry. Of the novel, the deeper, the truer thing. Always ready, to begin, and begin, and begin...
Many happy pilgrimage beginnings.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Often described as a voyage to another place, somewhere away, somewhere immersed in an alternative reality. To find communion with oneself, out of everyday disparity.
And what a valid way to reconnect, and explore, a different cosmology of people and places foreign. To tap into something that has been uncommon. A new dimension and way of gaining clarity. Of an issue. A wound needing healing. A clean depth of feeling. A more peaceful way of being.
Yet, what if all of life is a holy endeavour, a sacred pilgrimage, an opus dei. A meaningful, symbolic, purposeful harmonic. Where every experience can be opened like a gift of potential musicality. A divinely orchestrated dance of poetry. Every day. Joyful pleasure and practicality.
And, with every journey, a plethora, an orchestra, a walk with nature. An experience of the wild and tame. A gentle experiment. A passionate contentment. An ordinary extraordinary. And vice versa. So much to see. Heartfelt. Mindful. Soulfully clear.
No matter where we go, or where we stay, our inner castle is always right here. And every exchange a rich wholesome sphere.
I have been revisiting Robert Bly's writing and poetry this weekend. His book Iron John was passed to me yesterday by a dear friend. The author's note and prologue were enough to reconnect me again. To something Robert Bly narrated, that resonated, so strongly way back when.
What is most alive of all is inside your own house. And so you are from one holy city to the next.
And so You Are. Alive. Inside. Holy.
You are your home. Your essence. Always. Wherever you are. Wherever you go. Whatever you do. Moment by moment. Your pilgrimage always emerging. On your life's journey. Passionately from within. A playful poetry. Of the novel, the deeper, the truer thing. Always ready, to begin, and begin, and begin...
Many happy pilgrimage beginnings.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Wednesday 6 November 2013
Soul Reveals
One of my all time favourite poets is Kahlil Gibran. Along with Rumi, I will dip into his works and stay constantly in awe of his writings, their depth of beauty, and intensity of emotional integrity.
I was recently gifted his complete Treasury hardbound. Yet it is my copy of The Prophet in a gorgeous purple embossed jacket, so lovely to hold, and a tiny spiritual compilation by Suheil Bushrui, that continue to capture my heart. Two books from which I will not part. Collections that include his fine art. Visual and literary topical poetry. Universal eternal relevancy.
He writes on a number of themes. On Truth. On Peace. On Life. On Death. On Laughter and Tears...
And each time I return, there is something new that I learn.
I was pondering today what it is to be a traveller of life. When things don't quite go the way they seem and there is a need to let go and see what appears. To go into that place of the unclear.
And then, as usual, his wise words revealed.
A traveller am I and a navigator, and every day I discover a new region of my soul.
It reminded me of how much there is to know. To experience. To discover.
With each new day. And with every opportunity. An immense curiosity.
With every connection with oneself and another. A brilliant developing glimmer. Of newness, reflection and connection. Of learning, revealing, affection.
What it is to be human. What it is to see. To know and to believe. The divinity that exists in you and in me. Namaste. At a deep soul level.
To discover more intently, more honestly, and clearly, as we continue to travel.
A soul journey of exception. How lucky are we!
May you navigate with beauty. And with ease. All new regions your Soul Reveals.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
I was recently gifted his complete Treasury hardbound. Yet it is my copy of The Prophet in a gorgeous purple embossed jacket, so lovely to hold, and a tiny spiritual compilation by Suheil Bushrui, that continue to capture my heart. Two books from which I will not part. Collections that include his fine art. Visual and literary topical poetry. Universal eternal relevancy.
He writes on a number of themes. On Truth. On Peace. On Life. On Death. On Laughter and Tears...
And each time I return, there is something new that I learn.
I was pondering today what it is to be a traveller of life. When things don't quite go the way they seem and there is a need to let go and see what appears. To go into that place of the unclear.
And then, as usual, his wise words revealed.
A traveller am I and a navigator, and every day I discover a new region of my soul.
It reminded me of how much there is to know. To experience. To discover.
With each new day. And with every opportunity. An immense curiosity.
With every connection with oneself and another. A brilliant developing glimmer. Of newness, reflection and connection. Of learning, revealing, affection.
What it is to be human. What it is to see. To know and to believe. The divinity that exists in you and in me. Namaste. At a deep soul level.
To discover more intently, more honestly, and clearly, as we continue to travel.
A soul journey of exception. How lucky are we!
May you navigate with beauty. And with ease. All new regions your Soul Reveals.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Friday 1 November 2013
On Awakening
Another morning. Another day. Another invite to explore and play. To live a life of earthly delight.
To experience. To create.
To meet. To art.
To dance. To do.
To be. To craft.
Each day presents endless possibilities.
Presents of tuneful proclivities, illuminations, new opportunities.
Blending the regular with other alternatives. Collecting and selecting memories, activities.
Doing and No doing. Routines and Surprises. Dealing and Creating. Appreciating, Venerating.
Today. Is Saturday. Some scheduled. Some Not. Allowing God/dess to work a divine beauteous plot. And Listening. To the Birds. A Wonderfully Noisy Lot.
Sunrise accompanies
holy epiphanies
Joyous harmony
Happy symphonies
Awakening, Intending
Rising, Ascending
God, in veins, travelling
Oxygenating, playing
Life Force engaging
Energy heightening
Shifting, Lifting
Revealing, Enlightening
Soulful Essence
Daily Presents
Enjoy the gifts your day brings. Awaken to the presence within.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
To experience. To create.
To meet. To art.
To dance. To do.
To be. To craft.
Each day presents endless possibilities.
Presents of tuneful proclivities, illuminations, new opportunities.
Blending the regular with other alternatives. Collecting and selecting memories, activities.
Doing and No doing. Routines and Surprises. Dealing and Creating. Appreciating, Venerating.
Today. Is Saturday. Some scheduled. Some Not. Allowing God/dess to work a divine beauteous plot. And Listening. To the Birds. A Wonderfully Noisy Lot.
Sunrise accompanies
holy epiphanies
Joyous harmony
Happy symphonies
Awakening, Intending
Rising, Ascending
God, in veins, travelling
Oxygenating, playing
Life Force engaging
Energy heightening
Shifting, Lifting
Revealing, Enlightening
Soulful Essence
Daily Presents
Enjoy the gifts your day brings. Awaken to the presence within.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Tuesday 29 October 2013
Crafting Heartfully Mindfully
On the school run this morning I was listening to boys discussing their hottest iPad app Minecraft. They were working in tandem. They were deciding whether to create their own new world. Or join each other in building a new world. Ultimately they decided to join each other. Individually together.
They described how it works. 'You mine. And then you craft'. Fabulous metaphor reinforcement of the subject of my last blog. Find the treasure. Create a new world with the virtues unearthed and found.
On continuing to listen I also discovered that apparently Minecraft has a sensitivity feature. You can either keep the feature, which apparently slows things down. Or you can block it, so you fast pace ahead. A personal choice.
It made me think of the bigger picture.
The world we are in now.
People are being called to build a new world.
Russell Brand is leading intensely, using his firey brand, of Spiritual Revolution.
Andrew Harvey is preaching more quietly, a Sacred Activism.
The Vatican is moving more popularly, taking social media by storm.
Jeff Brown is spreading more intimately, ascending with both feet on the ground.
Everyone has a brand, so to speak.
The core for each of us is about getting to the Truth. Mining for that. Crafting with that. Digging deep for it. And following that. The Way. And the Light.
I see it as a necessary and inevitable evolution of the world needing to improve itself.
There are choices we will necessarily and voluntarily make as the world changes. And those choices will be based on our own preferred sensitivity. What speaks to us personally. Our own truth and validity. And who we will build the new world with.
We can burn off quickly, or more slowly. The pace can be firey. Or it can be gently. Both are significant and powerful energies.
Whatever your choice, consider crafting it lovingly, gracefully, heartfully, mindfully, with sensitivity. We are all in this together.
Perhaps, as the Dalai Lama puts it, we can do it kindfully, and peacefully.
Much love on your spiritual evolution solution. Crafting Heartfully Mindfully Lovingly.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
They described how it works. 'You mine. And then you craft'. Fabulous metaphor reinforcement of the subject of my last blog. Find the treasure. Create a new world with the virtues unearthed and found.
On continuing to listen I also discovered that apparently Minecraft has a sensitivity feature. You can either keep the feature, which apparently slows things down. Or you can block it, so you fast pace ahead. A personal choice.
It made me think of the bigger picture.
The world we are in now.
People are being called to build a new world.
Russell Brand is leading intensely, using his firey brand, of Spiritual Revolution.
Andrew Harvey is preaching more quietly, a Sacred Activism.
The Vatican is moving more popularly, taking social media by storm.
Jeff Brown is spreading more intimately, ascending with both feet on the ground.
Everyone has a brand, so to speak.
The core for each of us is about getting to the Truth. Mining for that. Crafting with that. Digging deep for it. And following that. The Way. And the Light.
I see it as a necessary and inevitable evolution of the world needing to improve itself.
There are choices we will necessarily and voluntarily make as the world changes. And those choices will be based on our own preferred sensitivity. What speaks to us personally. Our own truth and validity. And who we will build the new world with.
We can burn off quickly, or more slowly. The pace can be firey. Or it can be gently. Both are significant and powerful energies.
Whatever your choice, consider crafting it lovingly, gracefully, heartfully, mindfully, with sensitivity. We are all in this together.
Perhaps, as the Dalai Lama puts it, we can do it kindfully, and peacefully.
Much love on your spiritual evolution solution. Crafting Heartfully Mindfully Lovingly.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Friday 25 October 2013
The Royal It.
The last week or so has had a full concentration of princes and princesses. Princess Mary was in town with her little ones. And Prince George had his christening surrounded by all number of princely and princess royalty.
There has been much attention, celebration and ceremony.
This led to some friendly facebook banter between a colleague and I about what it would be like to live the life. The pluses. And the minuses.
It came as a reminder about the light and shadow side to everything.
Every Princess has a pea.
Every Prince can be a frog.
That's what the wisdom of fairy tales reminds us of.
The psyche holds both. The beauty and the beast.
The story revolves and evolves around this reality.
Around how the beast is acknowledged so that the beauty is encouraged.
So what is the beastly pea or the frog for the psyche?
It can be low self-esteem. Or perhaps guilt. Or shame. Or fear. Something hiding unrevealed. Any number of lurky, jerky, icky, sticky 'It's'.
There can be countless unique Its. Which present in dis-ease.
And It keeps presenting itself. Until we've mastered It.
We can block It. Medicate It. Sedate It. And distract It. But It is still there. It has a purpose.
Its aim is to polish us. To make us work on things so that we can evolve into our own better royalty.
It gets louder and louder, until we've dealt with It.
As we learn to greet it, welcome it, each time it arrives. To say 'hello, Ah yes, I've seen you before'. To love it. To invite it in. We begin to master it.
In acknowledging it we make it conscious. We take it's subversive power away.
It can no longer work on us underhandedly. We can work on it.
We've caught it, revealed it and then, can beat it. No longer in the shadow. Now in the bright light. Transformed. Out.
We've wonderfully cleared it. And then can replace it. With something better. And more beautiful.
May you find and transform your Royal Prince and Princess It. And reveal more better and beautiful within.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
There has been much attention, celebration and ceremony.
This led to some friendly facebook banter between a colleague and I about what it would be like to live the life. The pluses. And the minuses.
It came as a reminder about the light and shadow side to everything.
Every Princess has a pea.
Every Prince can be a frog.
That's what the wisdom of fairy tales reminds us of.
The psyche holds both. The beauty and the beast.
The story revolves and evolves around this reality.
Around how the beast is acknowledged so that the beauty is encouraged.
So what is the beastly pea or the frog for the psyche?
It can be low self-esteem. Or perhaps guilt. Or shame. Or fear. Something hiding unrevealed. Any number of lurky, jerky, icky, sticky 'It's'.
There can be countless unique Its. Which present in dis-ease.
And It keeps presenting itself. Until we've mastered It.
We can block It. Medicate It. Sedate It. And distract It. But It is still there. It has a purpose.
Its aim is to polish us. To make us work on things so that we can evolve into our own better royalty.
It gets louder and louder, until we've dealt with It.
As we learn to greet it, welcome it, each time it arrives. To say 'hello, Ah yes, I've seen you before'. To love it. To invite it in. We begin to master it.
In acknowledging it we make it conscious. We take it's subversive power away.
It can no longer work on us underhandedly. We can work on it.
We've caught it, revealed it and then, can beat it. No longer in the shadow. Now in the bright light. Transformed. Out.
We've wonderfully cleared it. And then can replace it. With something better. And more beautiful.
May you find and transform your Royal Prince and Princess It. And reveal more better and beautiful within.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Wednesday 23 October 2013
Now Love
The world is under enormous pressure.
There is an urgency emergency.
To love.
There is no other time.
To love.
Love like you have never loved before.
Love yourself.
Love others.
Love the world.
Now is the time.
Right Now.
Every Now Love counts.
And if it's hard.
Just love yourself in that limitation.
In any loving way.
And wait...
for the hardness to dissipate.
Whatever it takes.
Till you feel the expansion.
Just love.
In work. In rest. In play.
In action.
In feeling.
In vibration.
Just Love.
Now Love.
Love.
Love.
Love.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved
www.lovingpsyche.com
There is an urgency emergency.
To love.
There is no other time.
To love.
Love like you have never loved before.
Love yourself.
Love others.
Love the world.
Now is the time.
Right Now.
Every Now Love counts.
And if it's hard.
Just love yourself in that limitation.
In any loving way.
And wait...
for the hardness to dissipate.
Whatever it takes.
Till you feel the expansion.
Just love.
In work. In rest. In play.
In action.
In feeling.
In vibration.
Just Love.
Now Love.
Love.
Love.
Love.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved
www.lovingpsyche.com
Monday 21 October 2013
Love Throb Heart Beat
I have been marvelling at how magical life can be. In complexity. In simplicity. And, in wonderful multi-dimensionality.
Despite the busy-ness, God/the Universe/Guru/The Force/Divine Love, whatever your version, insists on finding a way in. Always there.
It was only last week, among running a number of errands, that I happened upon and joined the local library. A couple of people suggested it to me. To fill the void of the emptying bookshelves that I have been decluttering. The receiving, and not the keeping, is becoming more appealing.
A book on display, on Poet's Day, naturally, caught my eye.
The Complete Poems of Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
That same night my Jungian Depth Psychology facebook feed posted a note. On Coleridge.
Clearly the universe had something in mind that I was meant to learn, to read. And what a poet, & poetry, indeed.
I could barely contain my inner enthusiasm for the gift that I had found. Further deepening my love of poetry and topics of many things for me divine.
Let me share just some of his incredible lines from a notebook.
Those of you who know me will need no explanation, of why it has created in me a sensation.
I just love the last two lines.
And in Life's noisiest hour,
There whispers still the ceaseless Love of Thee,
The heart's self-solace, and soliloquy.
You mould my Hopes, you fashion me within;
And to the leading Love-throb in the Heart
Thro' all my being all my pulses beat.
You lie in all my many Thoughts, like Light
Like the fair Light of Dawn, or summer-Eve
On rippling Stream, or cloud-reflecting Lake.
And looking to the Heaven, that bends above you
How oft I bless the Lot, that made me love you.
Called a Doctor of the Soul, Coleridge was not only a poet. He had diverse interests as a lecturer, a promoter of non-violent society, a philosopher, folklorist, psychologist, playwright, travel writer, and hobby naturalist. And a literary critic of Shakespeare. Quite an awesome multi-dimensional career.
May your Love Throb Heart Beat be filled with multiple magical moments. Hearts are throbbing everywhere. Finding their beat. Can you feel it?
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Despite the busy-ness, God/the Universe/Guru/The Force/Divine Love, whatever your version, insists on finding a way in. Always there.
It was only last week, among running a number of errands, that I happened upon and joined the local library. A couple of people suggested it to me. To fill the void of the emptying bookshelves that I have been decluttering. The receiving, and not the keeping, is becoming more appealing.
A book on display, on Poet's Day, naturally, caught my eye.
The Complete Poems of Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
That same night my Jungian Depth Psychology facebook feed posted a note. On Coleridge.
Clearly the universe had something in mind that I was meant to learn, to read. And what a poet, & poetry, indeed.
I could barely contain my inner enthusiasm for the gift that I had found. Further deepening my love of poetry and topics of many things for me divine.
Let me share just some of his incredible lines from a notebook.
Those of you who know me will need no explanation, of why it has created in me a sensation.
I just love the last two lines.
And in Life's noisiest hour,
There whispers still the ceaseless Love of Thee,
The heart's self-solace, and soliloquy.
You mould my Hopes, you fashion me within;
And to the leading Love-throb in the Heart
Thro' all my being all my pulses beat.
You lie in all my many Thoughts, like Light
Like the fair Light of Dawn, or summer-Eve
On rippling Stream, or cloud-reflecting Lake.
And looking to the Heaven, that bends above you
How oft I bless the Lot, that made me love you.
Called a Doctor of the Soul, Coleridge was not only a poet. He had diverse interests as a lecturer, a promoter of non-violent society, a philosopher, folklorist, psychologist, playwright, travel writer, and hobby naturalist. And a literary critic of Shakespeare. Quite an awesome multi-dimensional career.
May your Love Throb Heart Beat be filled with multiple magical moments. Hearts are throbbing everywhere. Finding their beat. Can you feel it?
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Friday 18 October 2013
Last night, I had a dream...
There is nothing like the creative force that is the dream. It can provide amazing breakthroughs and revelations.
There is the big dream. For the future. The one that inspires us. Keeps us on the superconscious, big picture, path. What I want to be and achieve in the world. The day time dream.
And then there is the night time dream. The one that swells from our inner resources, from our alternative to logical living state. This dream provides its own fodder. Its own creative information about the process that is going on for us. It's often related to the big dream theme, aimed at getting our attention, and getting on with it. The issue needing clarity is seeking our attention, so it can be identified or transcended. And so our worldly work can better come about.
The day and night dreams often work in tandem. Influencing one another in deeper, wider cycles.
Today, I am talking about the latter. The night time dream. Excellent topic for a powerful eclipse full moon night tonight. The full moon being the rich, symbolic representation of the feminine. Of deeper issues coming to light. Those gurgling below the surface. Wishing, to come into sight. When dreams can certainly become more potent over those few nights.
In doing so, I will take a step back in time...
Many years ago when I was confronted by a significant and very painful change in my life, and told a friend at the time, she described a dream she had.
I had a dream about you night before last, then the next day your email arrived...which serves to remind me that dreams are far more than I give them credit most of the time. The general gist of the dream was about living in a new environment which was full of glassed walls but all on different levels like a sunken lounge room that opened onto a huge garden with many people and lounges surrounding, open fires but there was exotic jewellery for sale and the treasures were abundant. You went for a walk to the end of the street and returned...
The dream captured my attention. I was intrigued by it. I took it to my clinical supervisor who, like me, revels in psychodynamic work and symbology.
This dream preceded the richest, deepest, multilayered and most necessarily Self indulgently subconsciously experimental part of my life. A metaphor for the time I immersed myself willingly and compellingly into the deepest, darkest, and most painful parts of my psyche, desperate to come out. And finding the many rooms, and layers of abundance buried deep within, opened, revealed. The garden of blossoming jewels and treasures, within and without.
I called it my night work. Because that was when I was free to enter my many inner rooms.
As a parent and as a professional I had a busy day schedule. It was at night, how appropriately, when all was asleep and quiet, that I could learn, integrate what I explored in the day, and clear many of my inner states, using tools that I learned from various sources and traditions.
It was safe work. I was well supported in the shifting paradigm, to understand and to mine the learnings from my deeper self. And to tune into a new wisdom. Listening, and honouring, my own intuition.
Others were out
Partying
I was within
Studying
Contemplating
The Sun and the Moon
The Light and the Dark
The Day and the Night
The Sky and the Sea
To have, and To Be
Staring into Space
Peering at Life, looking
Squarely in it's face
Knowing without a doubt
Something important
Was playing out
Revelling in the passion
for the Self, in compassion
And of Ages, and Sages
Sifting through pages
Esoteric, Religious Wisdoms
Wonderfully divergent &
united schisms
Separating out, re-uniting
Without doubt
The Inner Self is Out.
Rich dreams. Not all is as it seems. From the dark arises much light.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
There is the big dream. For the future. The one that inspires us. Keeps us on the superconscious, big picture, path. What I want to be and achieve in the world. The day time dream.
And then there is the night time dream. The one that swells from our inner resources, from our alternative to logical living state. This dream provides its own fodder. Its own creative information about the process that is going on for us. It's often related to the big dream theme, aimed at getting our attention, and getting on with it. The issue needing clarity is seeking our attention, so it can be identified or transcended. And so our worldly work can better come about.
The day and night dreams often work in tandem. Influencing one another in deeper, wider cycles.
Today, I am talking about the latter. The night time dream. Excellent topic for a powerful eclipse full moon night tonight. The full moon being the rich, symbolic representation of the feminine. Of deeper issues coming to light. Those gurgling below the surface. Wishing, to come into sight. When dreams can certainly become more potent over those few nights.
In doing so, I will take a step back in time...
Many years ago when I was confronted by a significant and very painful change in my life, and told a friend at the time, she described a dream she had.
I had a dream about you night before last, then the next day your email arrived...which serves to remind me that dreams are far more than I give them credit most of the time. The general gist of the dream was about living in a new environment which was full of glassed walls but all on different levels like a sunken lounge room that opened onto a huge garden with many people and lounges surrounding, open fires but there was exotic jewellery for sale and the treasures were abundant. You went for a walk to the end of the street and returned...
The dream captured my attention. I was intrigued by it. I took it to my clinical supervisor who, like me, revels in psychodynamic work and symbology.
This dream preceded the richest, deepest, multilayered and most necessarily Self indulgently subconsciously experimental part of my life. A metaphor for the time I immersed myself willingly and compellingly into the deepest, darkest, and most painful parts of my psyche, desperate to come out. And finding the many rooms, and layers of abundance buried deep within, opened, revealed. The garden of blossoming jewels and treasures, within and without.
I called it my night work. Because that was when I was free to enter my many inner rooms.
As a parent and as a professional I had a busy day schedule. It was at night, how appropriately, when all was asleep and quiet, that I could learn, integrate what I explored in the day, and clear many of my inner states, using tools that I learned from various sources and traditions.
It was safe work. I was well supported in the shifting paradigm, to understand and to mine the learnings from my deeper self. And to tune into a new wisdom. Listening, and honouring, my own intuition.
Others were out
Partying
I was within
Studying
Contemplating
The Sun and the Moon
The Light and the Dark
The Day and the Night
The Sky and the Sea
To have, and To Be
Staring into Space
Peering at Life, looking
Squarely in it's face
Knowing without a doubt
Something important
Was playing out
Revelling in the passion
for the Self, in compassion
And of Ages, and Sages
Sifting through pages
Esoteric, Religious Wisdoms
Wonderfully divergent &
united schisms
Separating out, re-uniting
Without doubt
The Inner Self is Out.
Rich dreams. Not all is as it seems. From the dark arises much light.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Monday 14 October 2013
Right Now. Now Right.
It amazes me how often we take ourselves out of real life.
We ruminate over the past. And that is gone.
Or we worry about the future. And that is unknown.
We forget what is truly real. And that can only be, Right Now.
Right Now is really the only reality.
Right Now in every moment is what it's really about.
Each precious moment as we are in it, is what is so rich, so palpable, so infinitesimally, immeasurably, real.
The past is a memory, and the meaning we put on it. And while memories are always important, they can also be distorted, in the present.
As for the future. We can't really control it. We can make plans. And reliably take actions to secure the best for future days. We can predict. Yet we really have no idea what will actually transpire. Our world can change in an instant. It is our vision and feeling in the now that will precede it. Negativity will hinder. Positivity will linger.
And that is the power and the prayer.
Holding respectful acknowledgement of the past and an ideal vision for the future is important. Yet staying in one or the other keeps us somewhere else rather than right here and right now where the only real wisdom and power resides.
In this moment check in with yourself. Right here, right now, how are you? Acknowledge it. Honour it. Accept it.
If it feels good and right, appreciate it. That allows you to appreciate life. And have gratitude. Acknowledging that all Right Here Right Now is good and right. That is your gratitude prayer. For more Now Rights.
If it is not tolerable, acknowledge it, express it to yourself, feel it with your body and your heart. Free it. Then make a choice to change it, leave it, or just accept it. Choose wholeheartedly, and stay in it knowing that your choice or action will work toward making it Now Right too.
Energetically and intentionally you are then Now Right. On track. Right Now. The inner condition of satisfaction, gratitude and relaxation perpetuates itself. You are Being, Right Now.
Wishing you all wonder and self appreciation in the right now, real life, now right, delight.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
We ruminate over the past. And that is gone.
Or we worry about the future. And that is unknown.
We forget what is truly real. And that can only be, Right Now.
Right Now is really the only reality.
Right Now in every moment is what it's really about.
Each precious moment as we are in it, is what is so rich, so palpable, so infinitesimally, immeasurably, real.
The past is a memory, and the meaning we put on it. And while memories are always important, they can also be distorted, in the present.
As for the future. We can't really control it. We can make plans. And reliably take actions to secure the best for future days. We can predict. Yet we really have no idea what will actually transpire. Our world can change in an instant. It is our vision and feeling in the now that will precede it. Negativity will hinder. Positivity will linger.
And that is the power and the prayer.
Holding respectful acknowledgement of the past and an ideal vision for the future is important. Yet staying in one or the other keeps us somewhere else rather than right here and right now where the only real wisdom and power resides.
In this moment check in with yourself. Right here, right now, how are you? Acknowledge it. Honour it. Accept it.
If it feels good and right, appreciate it. That allows you to appreciate life. And have gratitude. Acknowledging that all Right Here Right Now is good and right. That is your gratitude prayer. For more Now Rights.
If it is not tolerable, acknowledge it, express it to yourself, feel it with your body and your heart. Free it. Then make a choice to change it, leave it, or just accept it. Choose wholeheartedly, and stay in it knowing that your choice or action will work toward making it Now Right too.
Energetically and intentionally you are then Now Right. On track. Right Now. The inner condition of satisfaction, gratitude and relaxation perpetuates itself. You are Being, Right Now.
Wishing you all wonder and self appreciation in the right now, real life, now right, delight.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Photo mandala titled Yes © SaraSwati Shakti, added in 2015 and published with it's own verse separately on www.facebook.com/lovingpsyche.
Thursday 10 October 2013
God/dess Largesse
It is the Festival of the 9 Goddesses in India. Where they celebrate Navaratri over 9 days in honour of each Goddess and her Divine qualities. And I have had the privilege of hearing about the beautiful experiences and tapping into the energy of the retreat in Peedam.
For me Goddess is everything feminine. All the features of Self determination and individual and collective creation.
She is a force and creative power of her own. And combined with her God, she is even more pervasive. Shakti, with Shiva, in union, and communion.
God in Heaven, Above. Mother Earth, Below. Conscious & Subconscious. So many variations.
Spiritual traditions honour both the Divine Mother and the Divine Father. You can't have one without the other.
If you have recently been following my blog/tweets you will notice an evolving Loving Psyche theme of the Yin Yang, and their loving combination. Both heart and mind revelation. Fabulously fine qualities independently and equally splendidly in evolution.
I encourage you to remember, during this lovely Goddess week, that
God/dess stirs in Largesse
God/dess lives in detail
God/dess is in all time
Eternal
Inside, & Outside
Above, & Below
And Side By Side
May we honour God/dess within, without, and all about.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyhe.com
For me Goddess is everything feminine. All the features of Self determination and individual and collective creation.
She is a force and creative power of her own. And combined with her God, she is even more pervasive. Shakti, with Shiva, in union, and communion.
God in Heaven, Above. Mother Earth, Below. Conscious & Subconscious. So many variations.
Spiritual traditions honour both the Divine Mother and the Divine Father. You can't have one without the other.
If you have recently been following my blog/tweets you will notice an evolving Loving Psyche theme of the Yin Yang, and their loving combination. Both heart and mind revelation. Fabulously fine qualities independently and equally splendidly in evolution.
I encourage you to remember, during this lovely Goddess week, that
God/dess stirs in Largesse
God/dess lives in detail
God/dess is in all time
Eternal
Inside, & Outside
Above, & Below
And Side By Side
May we honour God/dess within, without, and all about.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyhe.com
Monday 7 October 2013
Reclaim HeartFlame MindFrame
I often find the world out there
Over stimulating
I come home
For a holiday
In my Temple
Where I can reclaim
My Laughter
My Play
Or
in Nature
Seclusion
To break the illusion
of Reality
& Find
Compatibility
with my Soul Self
my psyche
Authentic Inner me
Then
When complete
I can venture out
On wider terrain
The circle moving around
My secure frame
Peaceful gain
Spreading it out there
Lighter HeartFlame
Clearer MindFrame
Inner Outer
Sweet Neat
Resplendently Complete
Again.
These are a couple of the ways that I like to reclaim my HeartFlame MindFrame.
May everyone be blessed with the wisdom of knowing how to reclaim their HeartFlame MindFrame so that the world can continue to be a better beautiful place.
How do you reclaim your HeartFlame MindFrame?
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Over stimulating
I come home
For a holiday
In my Temple
Where I can reclaim
My Laughter
My Play
Or
in Nature
Seclusion
To break the illusion
of Reality
& Find
Compatibility
with my Soul Self
my psyche
Authentic Inner me
Then
When complete
I can venture out
On wider terrain
The circle moving around
My secure frame
Peaceful gain
Spreading it out there
Lighter HeartFlame
Clearer MindFrame
Inner Outer
Sweet Neat
Resplendently Complete
Again.
These are a couple of the ways that I like to reclaim my HeartFlame MindFrame.
May everyone be blessed with the wisdom of knowing how to reclaim their HeartFlame MindFrame so that the world can continue to be a better beautiful place.
How do you reclaim your HeartFlame MindFrame?
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Friday 4 October 2013
Dark Light
This morning I was reminded of the importance of the dark work. I do it regularly. Yet I needed to be reminded again. Of course. It's the new moon tonight. A time to release and let go of what has been suppressed. So that more light can get in, and spread.
When we focus purely on the light and ignore the dark work we can get sidetracked into thinking everything is sweet and neat. And then kapow! Something hits. Something we haven't worked through. An old wound, a repressed state, a negative blackness. It can feel hard, & get ugly.
Yet it is the dark night that can bring the greatest riches. That requires us to face things, to recalibrate to what is true for us.
When we do not take responsibility for our own dark, our own shadow, it can leak out in ways that can damage us and others. We protect and project. And do not embrace our own inner turmoil or discomfort so we can transmute it.
That is why there is day and night. Spiritual maturity knows this to be true. So we can deal with the subconscious suppression lurking to come out. To purify our inner intent so the light can continue to come about.
Go into yourself. Find what's irksome. What fears and attitudes limit your progress. Name them. Write them down, draw them, dance them out. Choose your method. And burn it. Let it go. Let it out. Safely. Then replace it, with what you want for yourself so that it waxes with the growing light of the moon into the next cycle of life.
So sweet the hour, 3 am
Awake and open, New Moon again
Releasing all tension
From eons past
Remastering intention
Raising new mast
Steering again
On course, to last
And given that spiritually we need to work in deeper cycles until the levels are released for certain, you may wish to keep using the new moon cycle for that cleansing. It's a lovely and potent calendar reminder. All you need to do is look up!
All love
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved
www.lovingpsyche.com
When we focus purely on the light and ignore the dark work we can get sidetracked into thinking everything is sweet and neat. And then kapow! Something hits. Something we haven't worked through. An old wound, a repressed state, a negative blackness. It can feel hard, & get ugly.
Yet it is the dark night that can bring the greatest riches. That requires us to face things, to recalibrate to what is true for us.
When we do not take responsibility for our own dark, our own shadow, it can leak out in ways that can damage us and others. We protect and project. And do not embrace our own inner turmoil or discomfort so we can transmute it.
That is why there is day and night. Spiritual maturity knows this to be true. So we can deal with the subconscious suppression lurking to come out. To purify our inner intent so the light can continue to come about.
Go into yourself. Find what's irksome. What fears and attitudes limit your progress. Name them. Write them down, draw them, dance them out. Choose your method. And burn it. Let it go. Let it out. Safely. Then replace it, with what you want for yourself so that it waxes with the growing light of the moon into the next cycle of life.
So sweet the hour, 3 am
Awake and open, New Moon again
Releasing all tension
From eons past
Remastering intention
Raising new mast
Steering again
On course, to last
And given that spiritually we need to work in deeper cycles until the levels are released for certain, you may wish to keep using the new moon cycle for that cleansing. It's a lovely and potent calendar reminder. All you need to do is look up!
All love
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved
www.lovingpsyche.com
Monday 30 September 2013
Poetic Flow
What is it about poetry that is so compelling?
Poetry speaks to the heart. It has a different vibration than that to which the mind is attuned. It has an energy that flows, moves, and creates an emotional connection. To the self. To others. To the world.
And when I have been focusing intensely on my routine work and the sometimes jerky nature of its implementation, when there is much detailed research, or when things sometimes go off the smoother rails, so to speak, like right now, it is where I go to let go and reconnect. Art in general has that power. To switch from the mundane to the beautiful. To take a break. To refresh, to feel, and move away from the tiredness or the stuckness, to a new gracefulness and intention.
As Robert Fitzgerald put it "Poetry is at least an elegance and at most a revelation".
That is why I have recently changed my workspace. I have two workstations. One for my organised structured work that always must get done, and a separate space for my poetry and art work, which is dear to my heart. One is more organised. The other much less so. And I switch and blend between them. The right brain and the left brain. Creative space and routine space. It is working well. It helps balance and counteract fatigue and invite new thinking. It brings my heart back when my mind gets cluttered. And creates a new energy that is more inspiring, more creative, more open to options, solutions and renewed vigour.
I invite you to come and join in. Experiment with a poem. Begin.
It is a poem about poetry by John Fox, a poetry therapist and teacher who discovered the benefits of poetry to deal with distress. He wrote it when he was thirteen during an experience when he was inspired by a skater. And likened it to the experience of writing poetry. The letting go into the feeling experience transitioning.
Let go, slow down, and breathe, with me.
Read it with your feeling heart, and see.
It skates boldly onto
the page, tips one vulnerable foot
back and forth slowly, till finally
the edge of a toe
cuts a simple, sharp line
through the world's cold resistance
and with that plain courage, a statement of intention begins;
and you can't turn back any longer
from the weight of feeling and letting go
into the flow that follows.
Poetry is a choice to feel it all,
not all at once but to gradually sink down
within ourselves, to give what fear
we hold behind our knees
to gravity and grace,
to discover what makes our whole world turn;
the place our necessary weight
lifts to lightened joy.
Ah, yes...The feeling imagery is soul food. The changing pace. Movement. New momentum.
I hope you find the creativity that inspires you to lightened joy. Whether it be art, dance, music, writing, whatever does it for you. Blend it in with the routine. And see.
All of it works for me.
Much love
SaraSwati Shakti.
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Poetry speaks to the heart. It has a different vibration than that to which the mind is attuned. It has an energy that flows, moves, and creates an emotional connection. To the self. To others. To the world.
And when I have been focusing intensely on my routine work and the sometimes jerky nature of its implementation, when there is much detailed research, or when things sometimes go off the smoother rails, so to speak, like right now, it is where I go to let go and reconnect. Art in general has that power. To switch from the mundane to the beautiful. To take a break. To refresh, to feel, and move away from the tiredness or the stuckness, to a new gracefulness and intention.
As Robert Fitzgerald put it "Poetry is at least an elegance and at most a revelation".
That is why I have recently changed my workspace. I have two workstations. One for my organised structured work that always must get done, and a separate space for my poetry and art work, which is dear to my heart. One is more organised. The other much less so. And I switch and blend between them. The right brain and the left brain. Creative space and routine space. It is working well. It helps balance and counteract fatigue and invite new thinking. It brings my heart back when my mind gets cluttered. And creates a new energy that is more inspiring, more creative, more open to options, solutions and renewed vigour.
I invite you to come and join in. Experiment with a poem. Begin.
It is a poem about poetry by John Fox, a poetry therapist and teacher who discovered the benefits of poetry to deal with distress. He wrote it when he was thirteen during an experience when he was inspired by a skater. And likened it to the experience of writing poetry. The letting go into the feeling experience transitioning.
Let go, slow down, and breathe, with me.
Read it with your feeling heart, and see.
It skates boldly onto
the page, tips one vulnerable foot
back and forth slowly, till finally
the edge of a toe
cuts a simple, sharp line
through the world's cold resistance
and with that plain courage, a statement of intention begins;
and you can't turn back any longer
from the weight of feeling and letting go
into the flow that follows.
Poetry is a choice to feel it all,
not all at once but to gradually sink down
within ourselves, to give what fear
we hold behind our knees
to gravity and grace,
to discover what makes our whole world turn;
the place our necessary weight
lifts to lightened joy.
Ah, yes...The feeling imagery is soul food. The changing pace. Movement. New momentum.
I hope you find the creativity that inspires you to lightened joy. Whether it be art, dance, music, writing, whatever does it for you. Blend it in with the routine. And see.
All of it works for me.
Much love
SaraSwati Shakti.
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Tuesday 24 September 2013
ManWoman. Art.
Art for me is an inner expression. It is representational art. Of what I and my subconscious are working on or experiencing at any given time. It informs me of my process. Brings it into conscious form. And often simplifies it to a core message.
One of the processes we are collectively working on is the balancing, and bringing into cooperative and collaborative alignment, our masculine and our feminine. Qualities that combined are essential to giving wholeness.
And what does that mean? It is the divine interplay between our own inner masculine and feminine energies so that we can apply them in our more refined outer existence.
Whether you call it animus and anima as Jung put it, or Shiva and Shakti, Adonai and Shekinah, right and left brain, conscious and subconscious, Sun and Moon, God and Goddess, or any term in any tradition, it is how we work with our feminine flow and masculine structure.
The qualities of the feminine can be both positive and negative. Likewise the masculine has light and shadow elements.
Our task is to focus on the virtues of each to bring about an alchemical process of being more complete. And that's where the magic is. Things work better for us.
It is a big, beautiful, and often complex topic.
Today, as a simple visual representation, here is how my own art expression showed me the balance.
I have included both the raw form drawing at the top. The one that flowed from my feminine subconscious. And then the more structured form below it, refined by an artist.
Both are beautiful. Each is valid. Inner expression and outer representation. Flow and structure. Subconscious and Conscious Collaboration.
Notice how the masculine and the feminine, side by side, each bring golden gifts into the world as they deposit their jewels into troughs of abundance.
Wishing each of us an abundant collaborative journey from idea to reality with our feminine and masculine forms.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
One of the processes we are collectively working on is the balancing, and bringing into cooperative and collaborative alignment, our masculine and our feminine. Qualities that combined are essential to giving wholeness.
And what does that mean? It is the divine interplay between our own inner masculine and feminine energies so that we can apply them in our more refined outer existence.
Whether you call it animus and anima as Jung put it, or Shiva and Shakti, Adonai and Shekinah, right and left brain, conscious and subconscious, Sun and Moon, God and Goddess, or any term in any tradition, it is how we work with our feminine flow and masculine structure.
The qualities of the feminine can be both positive and negative. Likewise the masculine has light and shadow elements.
Our task is to focus on the virtues of each to bring about an alchemical process of being more complete. And that's where the magic is. Things work better for us.
It is a big, beautiful, and often complex topic.
Today, as a simple visual representation, here is how my own art expression showed me the balance.
I have included both the raw form drawing at the top. The one that flowed from my feminine subconscious. And then the more structured form below it, refined by an artist.
Both are beautiful. Each is valid. Inner expression and outer representation. Flow and structure. Subconscious and Conscious Collaboration.
Notice how the masculine and the feminine, side by side, each bring golden gifts into the world as they deposit their jewels into troughs of abundance.
Wishing each of us an abundant collaborative journey from idea to reality with our feminine and masculine forms.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Sunday 22 September 2013
Sensational Awareness
The Toltec Mystery school tradition crossed my path a few years ago. It has decided to enter again. A friend, and separately a client, recently reminded me of Don Miguel Ruiz's Four Agreements. I now have them type gifted, on pretty pink large ink, beside my desk.
And, this morning my eye caught his book, The Mastery of Love, A Toltec Wisdom Book, on my shelf.
As my fingers flicked through the old familiar pages, I was drawn to a prayer.
The perfect prayer for today. I dedicate it to my friend. Yes, the one who gifted me a copy of the Four Agreements. But I am not sure if she has this one.
It is her birthday today. She has walked the Camino twice. And today she is somewhere walking the spectacularly sensational Great Ocean Road. She, like me, revels in awareness with Spirit, and Nature. And the pleasure of being alive.
This is the Prayer for Awareness. Yes more, always rich, wonderful, sensational, more...
It is a bit long, but she won't mind.
Breathe into it if you will. I hope you find something fulfilling in and from it too.
Today, Creator of the Universe, we ask that you open our heart and open our eyes so we can enjoy all of your creations and live in eternal love with you. Help us to see you in everything we perceive with our eyes, with our ears, with our heart, with all our senses. Let us perceive with eyes of love so that we find you wherever we go and see you in everything you create. Let us see you in every cell of our body, in every emotion of our mind, in every dream, in every flower, in every person we meet. You cannot hide from us because you are everywhere, and we are one with you. Let us be aware of this truth.
Let us be aware of our power to create a dream of heaven where everything is possible. Help us to use our imagination to guide the dream of our life, the magic of our creation, so we can live without fear, without anger, without jealousy, without envy. Give us a light to follow, and let today be the day that our search for love and happiness is over. Today let something extra-ordinary happen that will change our life forever; Let everything we do and say be an expression of the beauty in our heart, always based on love.
Help us to be the way you are, to love the way you love, to create a masterpiece of beauty and love. Beginning today, and gradually over time, help us to increase the power of our love so that we may create a masterpiece of art - our own life. Today, Creator, we give you all of our gratitude and love because you have given us life. Amen.
By way of further insight, Don Miguel Ruiz, born in rural Mexico, was raised by a curandera (healer) mother and a nagual (shaman) grandfather. As a former medical surgeon, and now a nagual himself, he is spreading the rich esoteric Toltec centuries-old wisdom throughout the world.
May you commune with Creator, and with all that pleases you around and throughout your senses.
Much love
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2103. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
And, this morning my eye caught his book, The Mastery of Love, A Toltec Wisdom Book, on my shelf.
As my fingers flicked through the old familiar pages, I was drawn to a prayer.
The perfect prayer for today. I dedicate it to my friend. Yes, the one who gifted me a copy of the Four Agreements. But I am not sure if she has this one.
It is her birthday today. She has walked the Camino twice. And today she is somewhere walking the spectacularly sensational Great Ocean Road. She, like me, revels in awareness with Spirit, and Nature. And the pleasure of being alive.
This is the Prayer for Awareness. Yes more, always rich, wonderful, sensational, more...
It is a bit long, but she won't mind.
Breathe into it if you will. I hope you find something fulfilling in and from it too.
Today, Creator of the Universe, we ask that you open our heart and open our eyes so we can enjoy all of your creations and live in eternal love with you. Help us to see you in everything we perceive with our eyes, with our ears, with our heart, with all our senses. Let us perceive with eyes of love so that we find you wherever we go and see you in everything you create. Let us see you in every cell of our body, in every emotion of our mind, in every dream, in every flower, in every person we meet. You cannot hide from us because you are everywhere, and we are one with you. Let us be aware of this truth.
Let us be aware of our power to create a dream of heaven where everything is possible. Help us to use our imagination to guide the dream of our life, the magic of our creation, so we can live without fear, without anger, without jealousy, without envy. Give us a light to follow, and let today be the day that our search for love and happiness is over. Today let something extra-ordinary happen that will change our life forever; Let everything we do and say be an expression of the beauty in our heart, always based on love.
Help us to be the way you are, to love the way you love, to create a masterpiece of beauty and love. Beginning today, and gradually over time, help us to increase the power of our love so that we may create a masterpiece of art - our own life. Today, Creator, we give you all of our gratitude and love because you have given us life. Amen.
By way of further insight, Don Miguel Ruiz, born in rural Mexico, was raised by a curandera (healer) mother and a nagual (shaman) grandfather. As a former medical surgeon, and now a nagual himself, he is spreading the rich esoteric Toltec centuries-old wisdom throughout the world.
May you commune with Creator, and with all that pleases you around and throughout your senses.
Much love
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2103. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Wednesday 18 September 2013
Myth Madness
It has been a week of reigniting my passion for myth and archetypes. I have dipped into Robert A. Johnson's writings on the ancient myth of Amor and Psyche, the story of a woman's task of becoming whole, complete and individuated in his book She. He also wrote He about male psychology and We about the psychology of romantic love. It has been total immersion, as love always is.
Added to that has been watching Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief, in preparation for the school holiday, next in the series, movie release. Resplendent in ancient mythical Gods, Goddesses and demigods.
This interaction between divine forces and the human experience reconnects me to the perennial hero's journey, and another of my favourites, Joseph Campbell.
Myth engages all of me. My sense of adventure, my belief in love of self and others, and the work of living and participating in a meaningful life.
Each of the mythical stories focusses on our ordinary world being interrupted by forces outside of our control, our challenge to express and transform beyond our former selves, into something more golden, more complete. I see that happening to many of us as we tackle life events, and accept the challenge to become a better human being, and bring that as richness to the making of a better world.
As Joseph Campbell put it:
A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from his mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.
It is the working through of spiritual tasks. How we accept the challenge to overcome limitations and master higher virtues in the process. How we move through our own inner battles, holding onto our humanity, and bring back to the world those gifts we have opened up, and better mastered in ourselves.
For me none best describes it than C.S. Lewis, and the way he has blended the Jesus story and wisdom, through Narnia. And Jesus is a hero of mine. His sacred heart, his teachings, and his mystical path.
My favourite of the Narnia series is The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Edmund and Lucy are each challenged to surmount old dependencies and to find self-reliance, and overcome their own unique spiritual tests.
Seeing life through those eyes makes it even more riveting.
Much love on your hero/ine's journey.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Added to that has been watching Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief, in preparation for the school holiday, next in the series, movie release. Resplendent in ancient mythical Gods, Goddesses and demigods.
This interaction between divine forces and the human experience reconnects me to the perennial hero's journey, and another of my favourites, Joseph Campbell.
Myth engages all of me. My sense of adventure, my belief in love of self and others, and the work of living and participating in a meaningful life.
Each of the mythical stories focusses on our ordinary world being interrupted by forces outside of our control, our challenge to express and transform beyond our former selves, into something more golden, more complete. I see that happening to many of us as we tackle life events, and accept the challenge to become a better human being, and bring that as richness to the making of a better world.
As Joseph Campbell put it:
A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from his mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.
It is the working through of spiritual tasks. How we accept the challenge to overcome limitations and master higher virtues in the process. How we move through our own inner battles, holding onto our humanity, and bring back to the world those gifts we have opened up, and better mastered in ourselves.
For me none best describes it than C.S. Lewis, and the way he has blended the Jesus story and wisdom, through Narnia. And Jesus is a hero of mine. His sacred heart, his teachings, and his mystical path.
My favourite of the Narnia series is The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Edmund and Lucy are each challenged to surmount old dependencies and to find self-reliance, and overcome their own unique spiritual tests.
Seeing life through those eyes makes it even more riveting.
Much love on your hero/ine's journey.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Sunday 15 September 2013
Rainy Days and Mondays...
My day started with a quick peruse of my LinkedIn news feeds. And I came across an article. Things successful people do on a Monday morning.
It made me ponder about the meaning of success. What does that look like for each of us?
I know that it can look different to me than it can to some of you.
And it can be different from person to person.
Whether it is running a business, a corporation, or a household I believe that success needs to include structure, nurture and play. I call it the holy trinity of balance. Our masculine, feminine and inner children in divine interplay.
For me, I like to look to Nature to help me to make that call. To connect to her heartbeat. After all she is the mother.
And today it is rainy. It is a soft and gentle day. So I have blended that into my day. And it has kept me happy. And more rested in my actions. That helps my life to stay successful. Because I have invested in the nurture necessary to keep me sustaining the stamina for the other elements of work and play, for the more focussed elements of a work day.
My coachees are familiar with my use of nature cycles in organising, planning and connecting. It brings a dimension to business that is dynamic and organic, softer and creative.
Success to me is about getting the balance right. You may wish to consider it too.
So, as an alternative to Karen Carpenter's lovely lament, my rainy day and Monday has provided a happy, gentle high.
For those of you interested in reading the article find it here:
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/business/worklife/things-successful-people-do-on-monday-morning/story-fni0d8zi-1226711294929
My wish is that each of us finds the success that brings the deepest joy to our lives in work, relationships and play. Have a happy day.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
It made me ponder about the meaning of success. What does that look like for each of us?
I know that it can look different to me than it can to some of you.
And it can be different from person to person.
Whether it is running a business, a corporation, or a household I believe that success needs to include structure, nurture and play. I call it the holy trinity of balance. Our masculine, feminine and inner children in divine interplay.
For me, I like to look to Nature to help me to make that call. To connect to her heartbeat. After all she is the mother.
And today it is rainy. It is a soft and gentle day. So I have blended that into my day. And it has kept me happy. And more rested in my actions. That helps my life to stay successful. Because I have invested in the nurture necessary to keep me sustaining the stamina for the other elements of work and play, for the more focussed elements of a work day.
My coachees are familiar with my use of nature cycles in organising, planning and connecting. It brings a dimension to business that is dynamic and organic, softer and creative.
Success to me is about getting the balance right. You may wish to consider it too.
So, as an alternative to Karen Carpenter's lovely lament, my rainy day and Monday has provided a happy, gentle high.
For those of you interested in reading the article find it here:
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/business/worklife/things-successful-people-do-on-monday-morning/story-fni0d8zi-1226711294929
My wish is that each of us finds the success that brings the deepest joy to our lives in work, relationships and play. Have a happy day.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Friday 13 September 2013
Real Love Deal
People ask me how I can be so joyful, so peaceful.
I have been, and witnessed others, in the depths of despair.
But I do not have to stay there.
I do not need to hang my suffering like a badge of valour to convince others
that I know what it is to be deep, intense, and in grief.
I am already that depth. I already know the pain we can all meet.
Love is not just fluff and bubble.
Love is fierce and strong.
Intense, and long.
I remain.
Inner and Outer.
Devoter.
To the Real Lover.
The Real Love Deal.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
I have been, and witnessed others, in the depths of despair.
But I do not have to stay there.
I do not need to hang my suffering like a badge of valour to convince others
that I know what it is to be deep, intense, and in grief.
I am already that depth. I already know the pain we can all meet.
Love is not just fluff and bubble.
Love is fierce and strong.
Intense, and long.
I remain.
Inner and Outer.
Devoter.
To the Real Lover.
The Real Love Deal.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Thursday 12 September 2013
Winds of Change
It's wonderful windy Sydney September again.
I love the wildness of the wind. Listening to it is one of the most vital of expressions. It howls and whispers at the same time. It has a life force that brings so much energy swirling around me. Trees become animated in dancing reverie. Leaves dance their wild Watusi. Clouds speed and re-create at great velocity. It's a force of Nature that tells me to be ready. There is change and activity in the air. Mother Nature is ruffling her feathers preparing for the new. Clearing out the cobwebs, and creating new thoroughfares. Certainly in some traditions it signifies that invisible forces are energetically at play.
As many of my readers know, I work in the field of change. And dealing with changes, whether they are self-directed or involuntary, can be tricky. Often there is no map to guide the way. Much of it involves faith as well as action to move toward a new vision of how life can look, especially one that keeps satisfying the evolving soul, the deepest part of being. The very core of creativity and life activity.
Listening to the core regularly and in the moment is a vital clue to whether actions feel right. Turning to inner guidance keeps the radar tuned to which actions need to come next toward the broader goal. Meditation and stillness allow for that to occur. Moving through fear gently and toward opportunity excitedly is the key. And despite the swirl of change, like the wind around us, a more careful, graceful course can be maintained through the blustery days.
It was September last year after I attended a spiritual retreat on higher consciousness that the following poem flowed through. It certainly preceded some significant changes in my own life.
So, in preparation of the new, growing consciousness of us all as we keep transforming toward our greater soul selves I invite you to feel into it.
Winds of Change
The winds of change are blowing
Maintain your inner knowing
The Angels are A'Rushing
Cleaning, Clearing, Flushing
Surrender to the Power
Where new things will take flower
The seeds have all been planted
Just sow with glowing lantern
The fertile soil, God's Garden
You've asked. And it is granted.
May September blow her blessings upon you, and may your prayers be answered.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
I love the wildness of the wind. Listening to it is one of the most vital of expressions. It howls and whispers at the same time. It has a life force that brings so much energy swirling around me. Trees become animated in dancing reverie. Leaves dance their wild Watusi. Clouds speed and re-create at great velocity. It's a force of Nature that tells me to be ready. There is change and activity in the air. Mother Nature is ruffling her feathers preparing for the new. Clearing out the cobwebs, and creating new thoroughfares. Certainly in some traditions it signifies that invisible forces are energetically at play.
As many of my readers know, I work in the field of change. And dealing with changes, whether they are self-directed or involuntary, can be tricky. Often there is no map to guide the way. Much of it involves faith as well as action to move toward a new vision of how life can look, especially one that keeps satisfying the evolving soul, the deepest part of being. The very core of creativity and life activity.
Listening to the core regularly and in the moment is a vital clue to whether actions feel right. Turning to inner guidance keeps the radar tuned to which actions need to come next toward the broader goal. Meditation and stillness allow for that to occur. Moving through fear gently and toward opportunity excitedly is the key. And despite the swirl of change, like the wind around us, a more careful, graceful course can be maintained through the blustery days.
It was September last year after I attended a spiritual retreat on higher consciousness that the following poem flowed through. It certainly preceded some significant changes in my own life.
So, in preparation of the new, growing consciousness of us all as we keep transforming toward our greater soul selves I invite you to feel into it.
Winds of Change
The winds of change are blowing
Maintain your inner knowing
The Angels are A'Rushing
Cleaning, Clearing, Flushing
Surrender to the Power
Where new things will take flower
The seeds have all been planted
Just sow with glowing lantern
The fertile soil, God's Garden
You've asked. And it is granted.
May September blow her blessings upon you, and may your prayers be answered.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Monday 9 September 2013
Affairs in Order
The last few days for me has been a process of clearing, cleaning, sorting, filing, donating, distributing. Out with the old. In with the new.
There is something to be said about having your affairs in order so that any unfinished business does not contaminate the freshness that needs to emerge for a new start. A new season of life.
Whether it be physical, emotional, or psychological, whatever is not 'closed' so to speak, bleeds into the next phase of life, relationships and work, and can be unnecessary stressors.
Taking whatever time is necessary to say goodbye to an old phase. To de clutter as much as possible. To get rid of anything that is being held on to that is no longer relevant. And to organise what is. Opens the vista for new possibilities. New horizons.
Crying tears, remembering joys, all refresh the spirit for new hello's.
To do that each time approaching a new phase of life is liberating.
Knowing that:
This journey is mine
It's now changing course
Forever the past
Free of discourse
Ready to clear
All that's not right
For this turn of events
New vista in sight
Let go of the old
and into the new
A better future
is now in view
Happy Spring cleaning...
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
There is something to be said about having your affairs in order so that any unfinished business does not contaminate the freshness that needs to emerge for a new start. A new season of life.
Whether it be physical, emotional, or psychological, whatever is not 'closed' so to speak, bleeds into the next phase of life, relationships and work, and can be unnecessary stressors.
Taking whatever time is necessary to say goodbye to an old phase. To de clutter as much as possible. To get rid of anything that is being held on to that is no longer relevant. And to organise what is. Opens the vista for new possibilities. New horizons.
Crying tears, remembering joys, all refresh the spirit for new hello's.
To do that each time approaching a new phase of life is liberating.
Knowing that:
This journey is mine
It's now changing course
Forever the past
Free of discourse
Ready to clear
All that's not right
For this turn of events
New vista in sight
Let go of the old
and into the new
A better future
is now in view
Happy Spring cleaning...
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved.
www.lovingpsyche.com
Friday 6 September 2013
My Body is a Wonderland
I was contemplating how so many of us are getting back into our bodies. Giving them the honour they deserve. After all they are the vessels of our spirit, our senses, our intuition, our life force, and deserve special care and attention, always.
Certainly after the winter hibernation and rest, it feels right to get the blood flowing and our bodies moving again. But we can also overdo it. And damage ourselves by doing so.
So it's also the perfect opportunity to learn to really tune into our bodies and what they are communicating to us.
Our bodies have wisdom.
They tell us when we are stiff, tired, sore, uncomfortable and where we may need to nurture ourselves, take it more slowly, breathe more fully, rest more deeply. And when we invest in this gentleness, the strength, stamina and endurance are more sustainable and rewarding as well.
When and how far to move, the pace, the progress and the rigour are all matters for us to consider. In work, or in play, are we working too hard? too forcefully? Or does it flow naturally?
It's worth listening to that and responding. Taking a kind approach. Having the discipline to scan around and check in with all parts of ourselves to see where we need to attend.
Our bodies are too precious not to give them the loving care that will keep them happy, healthy and vital.
So for me...
My body is a wonderland
Her intelligence is right at hand
She teaches me what I need to know
Wisdom flowing through her so
I clothe her, bathe her
Because WonderGod made her
So very right
For my earthly delight
And when she hurts I attend
to what she needs to mend
She is so precious and so true
She tells me what I need to do
I take care of this wonder world
with nourishing air, water, food
& enough exercise to keep her ripe
essential, pleasured, supple, light
And thank you John Mayer for the inspiration today.
Enjoy your beautiful bodies in this beautiful sunshine.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved
www.lovingpsyche.com
Certainly after the winter hibernation and rest, it feels right to get the blood flowing and our bodies moving again. But we can also overdo it. And damage ourselves by doing so.
So it's also the perfect opportunity to learn to really tune into our bodies and what they are communicating to us.
Our bodies have wisdom.
They tell us when we are stiff, tired, sore, uncomfortable and where we may need to nurture ourselves, take it more slowly, breathe more fully, rest more deeply. And when we invest in this gentleness, the strength, stamina and endurance are more sustainable and rewarding as well.
When and how far to move, the pace, the progress and the rigour are all matters for us to consider. In work, or in play, are we working too hard? too forcefully? Or does it flow naturally?
It's worth listening to that and responding. Taking a kind approach. Having the discipline to scan around and check in with all parts of ourselves to see where we need to attend.
Our bodies are too precious not to give them the loving care that will keep them happy, healthy and vital.
So for me...
My body is a wonderland
Her intelligence is right at hand
She teaches me what I need to know
Wisdom flowing through her so
I clothe her, bathe her
Because WonderGod made her
So very right
For my earthly delight
And when she hurts I attend
to what she needs to mend
She is so precious and so true
She tells me what I need to do
I take care of this wonder world
with nourishing air, water, food
& enough exercise to keep her ripe
essential, pleasured, supple, light
And thank you John Mayer for the inspiration today.
Enjoy your beautiful bodies in this beautiful sunshine.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved
www.lovingpsyche.com
Wednesday 4 September 2013
'I could...'
I love my work and all of its facets. Much of it recently has involved helping people negotiate changes at work such as the loss of a job. And there can be much to contemplate in that process.
It often interests me that many people then try to recreate what they have lost, and in doing so, may miss the opportunity to really look at what else they could do.
Life changes. And we change. Everything is evolving. What was right for us once may no longer be the best for us next. And we can take what we have learned, our skills, interests, our more complete selves into those next opportunities. And become more authentic in our work. I call it the re-authenticating process. Who am I now? What could I do?
It is at that place of being in the question that each of us can get a chance to contemplate what 'I could...', What is my loving work? What would I like to do with my life? That is the inner exploration.
The following is what came to me during one of those contemplative days to keep me motivated in my own exploration.
If you are in a life question, you may like to recite it or adapt it for yourself in the direction of the fresh and new authentic you...
Silhouette of Dawn
Through curtains drawn
Golden morning beholding
Possibilities unfolding.
Choices to be made
Give, Receive, Trade
Meeting the opportunities
Loving new communities
Plans to make
Actions to take
Step by step in the moment
Floating in Divine movement
Leaving, and weaving
Past to Future, Streaming.
End, and Beginnings
With all of the trimmings
Standing tall, heart and soul
No more misgivings.
A new consciousness beckons
I take the road to the heavens
Leaving behind
Life less of my kind.
Thank You. Now True.
And, once you are more decided, then "I can" and "I will" kicks in...
Best wishes in your truer you exploration.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved
www.lovingpsyche.com
It often interests me that many people then try to recreate what they have lost, and in doing so, may miss the opportunity to really look at what else they could do.
Life changes. And we change. Everything is evolving. What was right for us once may no longer be the best for us next. And we can take what we have learned, our skills, interests, our more complete selves into those next opportunities. And become more authentic in our work. I call it the re-authenticating process. Who am I now? What could I do?
It is at that place of being in the question that each of us can get a chance to contemplate what 'I could...', What is my loving work? What would I like to do with my life? That is the inner exploration.
The following is what came to me during one of those contemplative days to keep me motivated in my own exploration.
If you are in a life question, you may like to recite it or adapt it for yourself in the direction of the fresh and new authentic you...
Silhouette of Dawn
Through curtains drawn
Golden morning beholding
Possibilities unfolding.
Choices to be made
Give, Receive, Trade
Meeting the opportunities
Loving new communities
Plans to make
Actions to take
Step by step in the moment
Floating in Divine movement
Leaving, and weaving
Past to Future, Streaming.
End, and Beginnings
With all of the trimmings
Standing tall, heart and soul
No more misgivings.
A new consciousness beckons
I take the road to the heavens
Leaving behind
Life less of my kind.
Thank You. Now True.
And, once you are more decided, then "I can" and "I will" kicks in...
Best wishes in your truer you exploration.
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved
www.lovingpsyche.com
Monday 2 September 2013
Have you ever...
Have you ever had a flame
in your heart burn so bright
that you need to breathe to cool it down?
I have.
Have you ever cried pitifully
for the state of humanity and the suffering in it now
and throughout all time?
I have.
Have you ever really looked at someone
and realised how much love you have and
how truly amazing they are?
I have. Often.
Have you ever had a flame in your heart
burn so deep that
it brought tears to your eyes?
I have.
Have you ever had a flame in your heart burn so hot
that when you breathe, it fans and spreads so wide
it could embrace the entire world?
I have.
Have you ever had a flame in your heart
burn so bright?
I have. Right now.
May it spread far and wide.
SaraSwati Shakti.
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved
www.lovingpsyche.com
Saturday 31 August 2013
Your Legacy is in front of you
And still on the theme of Spring...
How important to woman is the seed of man. It invites beautiful fresh souls onto the planet to keep our evolution turning, and in creation.
It's Father's Day, First of Spring
What seeds of life those men brought in!
Their children are sprouting all over the place
Spreading more blessings for the world's embrace
How important their guidance
And their protection
Building the best
Of Paternal connection
Happy Father's Day all daddys true
Your legacy is in front of you
In gratitude to the planted seeds of fatherhood for fostering our earth's progress.
Much Love
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved
www.lovingpsyche.com
How important to woman is the seed of man. It invites beautiful fresh souls onto the planet to keep our evolution turning, and in creation.
It's Father's Day, First of Spring
What seeds of life those men brought in!
Their children are sprouting all over the place
Spreading more blessings for the world's embrace
How important their guidance
And their protection
Building the best
Of Paternal connection
Happy Father's Day all daddys true
Your legacy is in front of you
In gratitude to the planted seeds of fatherhood for fostering our earth's progress.
Much Love
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved
www.lovingpsyche.com
Thursday 29 August 2013
Blessings Blooming Blossoms
I was woken by boisterous birds this morning. A pleasantly noisy dawning. It's almost Spring!
And on a day like today I can feel the new season leaping out to get a jump start. It will be 26 degrees, and stunning.
One of my most popular retweeted and favourited micro poems on twitter is 'Blessings Blooming Blossoms'. I hope that means there are blossoming lives everywhere...
Many of my poems are prayers, affirmations and/or gratitudes. And, in homage to this delicious day, here is the full version of my prayer for our happy leap into Spring.
Read it with your heart and body. And park your mind.
Blessings Blooming Blossoms
Blessings dropping Blossoms
Beautiful Lakshmi Blooming
Abundance Expanding
Boundless Bounty Exploding
Harvesting Seeds Planted
Well Rooted, Well Watered
Well Tended, and Selected
And Lovingly Sorted.
Admiring the Plenty that
Preparation found
Bursting forth from Sacred Ground
Lustily reaching Lofty Heights
Shining, Glowing, Regal, Bright.
Golden Wattle, White lily, Bird of Paradise
Each gifting it's Heavenly slice
Bouquet of Colour, And Fresh Air
Sunshine, for your Body to wear.
Receiving all that is Now Ripe
Picking, and Choosing
A Fulsome, Happy Life.
So many metaphors for our personal transformations as we move into our springtime nature. All we have prepared and anticipated now bursting forth in colour and sunshine.
And, in case you are not familiar with Lakshmi, she is the Hindu Goddess of prosperity and beauty. What a perfect reflection she is for the coming season.
Bountiful Love Abundance and Beauty
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved
www.lovingpsyche.com
And on a day like today I can feel the new season leaping out to get a jump start. It will be 26 degrees, and stunning.
One of my most popular retweeted and favourited micro poems on twitter is 'Blessings Blooming Blossoms'. I hope that means there are blossoming lives everywhere...
Many of my poems are prayers, affirmations and/or gratitudes. And, in homage to this delicious day, here is the full version of my prayer for our happy leap into Spring.
Read it with your heart and body. And park your mind.
Blessings Blooming Blossoms
Blessings dropping Blossoms
Beautiful Lakshmi Blooming
Abundance Expanding
Boundless Bounty Exploding
Harvesting Seeds Planted
Well Rooted, Well Watered
Well Tended, and Selected
And Lovingly Sorted.
Admiring the Plenty that
Preparation found
Bursting forth from Sacred Ground
Lustily reaching Lofty Heights
Shining, Glowing, Regal, Bright.
Golden Wattle, White lily, Bird of Paradise
Each gifting it's Heavenly slice
Bouquet of Colour, And Fresh Air
Sunshine, for your Body to wear.
Receiving all that is Now Ripe
Picking, and Choosing
A Fulsome, Happy Life.
So many metaphors for our personal transformations as we move into our springtime nature. All we have prepared and anticipated now bursting forth in colour and sunshine.
And, in case you are not familiar with Lakshmi, she is the Hindu Goddess of prosperity and beauty. What a perfect reflection she is for the coming season.
Bountiful Love Abundance and Beauty
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved
www.lovingpsyche.com
Wednesday 28 August 2013
Your Unique Self
I have picked up a novel again. It was given out for free amongst some old books this morning. Yet it is more than just a novel. It speaks to me more deeply. It is by the German novelist Hermann Hesse (b1877 - d1962) and titled Demian. I remember reading The Glass Bead Game/Magister Ludi by the same author when I was a teenager and it had a profound affect on me. I will have to find a copy to re-read at some point and see how I have changed. The following extract may give you an idea of why he was an extraordinary writer. And why it appeals to a deeper core. Every person has their own unique story. How we interpret our stories, the meanings we place on particular events, and the metaphors and examples we choose all form a rich tapestry/weaving of our own lives and the futures we create for ourselves and others.
Here is a prologue extract:
I cannot tell my story without reaching a long way back. If it were possible I would reach back farther still - into the very first years of childhood, and beyond them into distant ancestral past.
Novelists when they write novels tend to take an almost godlike attitude toward their subject, pretending to a total comprehension of the story, a man's life, which they can therefore recount as God Himself might, nothing standing between them and the naked truth, the entire story meaningful in every detail. I am as little able to do this as the novelist is, even though my story is more important to me than any novelist's is to him - for this is my story; it is the story of a man, not of an invented, or possible, or idealised, or otherwise absent figure, but of a unique being of flesh and blood. Yet, what a real living human being is made of seems to be less understood today than at any time before, and men - each one of whom represents a unique and valuable experiment on the part of nature - are therefore shot wholesale these days. If we were not something more than unique human beings, if each of us could really be done away with once and for all by a single bullet, storytelling would lose all purpose. But every man is more than just himself; he also represents the unique, the very special and always significant and remarkable point at which the world's phenomena intersect, only once in this way and never again. That is why every man's story is important, eternal, sacred; that is why every man, as long as he lives and fulfils the will of nature, is wonderous and worthy of every consideration. In each individual the spirit has become flesh...
Every man is more than just himself; he also represents the unique, the very special and always significant and remarkable point at which the world's phenomena intersect. What a truism that is.
Excellent fodder for the psychotherapist/humanist in me. Hope something in the extract resonates with you as well. And your unique, powerful, self.
By way of background 'Demian' reflects on Hesse's preoccupation with the workings of the subconscious and with psychoanalysis. He studied the works of Freud, underwent analysis with Jung, and was for a time a patient in a sanatorium. The book was an enormous success and made him famous throughout Europe. He also later turned his attention to the East and wrote a novel about Buddha titled Siddhartha. Another novel to perhaps dip into.
Take care and love Love
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved
www.lovingpsyche.com
Here is a prologue extract:
I cannot tell my story without reaching a long way back. If it were possible I would reach back farther still - into the very first years of childhood, and beyond them into distant ancestral past.
Novelists when they write novels tend to take an almost godlike attitude toward their subject, pretending to a total comprehension of the story, a man's life, which they can therefore recount as God Himself might, nothing standing between them and the naked truth, the entire story meaningful in every detail. I am as little able to do this as the novelist is, even though my story is more important to me than any novelist's is to him - for this is my story; it is the story of a man, not of an invented, or possible, or idealised, or otherwise absent figure, but of a unique being of flesh and blood. Yet, what a real living human being is made of seems to be less understood today than at any time before, and men - each one of whom represents a unique and valuable experiment on the part of nature - are therefore shot wholesale these days. If we were not something more than unique human beings, if each of us could really be done away with once and for all by a single bullet, storytelling would lose all purpose. But every man is more than just himself; he also represents the unique, the very special and always significant and remarkable point at which the world's phenomena intersect, only once in this way and never again. That is why every man's story is important, eternal, sacred; that is why every man, as long as he lives and fulfils the will of nature, is wonderous and worthy of every consideration. In each individual the spirit has become flesh...
Every man is more than just himself; he also represents the unique, the very special and always significant and remarkable point at which the world's phenomena intersect. What a truism that is.
Excellent fodder for the psychotherapist/humanist in me. Hope something in the extract resonates with you as well. And your unique, powerful, self.
By way of background 'Demian' reflects on Hesse's preoccupation with the workings of the subconscious and with psychoanalysis. He studied the works of Freud, underwent analysis with Jung, and was for a time a patient in a sanatorium. The book was an enormous success and made him famous throughout Europe. He also later turned his attention to the East and wrote a novel about Buddha titled Siddhartha. Another novel to perhaps dip into.
Take care and love Love
SaraSwati Shakti
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved
www.lovingpsyche.com
Sunday 25 August 2013
Loving Psyche SaraSwati Shakti
Loving Psyche evolved from a deep period of introspection.
And healing.
It was my calling,
my mantra,
my yearning.
I was experimenting
and exploring
me,
and my world,
my relationships,
Spirit, and
Mother Earth.
And, what did it unearth?
Treasures, beyond my imagination.
Soul rewards gifted from living intention
and prayerful mention.
I became me, myself, I.
Loving Psyche,
Saraswati,
Shakti,
Marie.
This is my story,
my art,
my poetry,
and other tidbits
that inspire me
Reflections for Humanity
Subconscious Superconscious Glory
This is what became of me.
Welcome. Come. See.
SaraSwati Marie Shakti is a qualified and experienced psychotherapist, educator, advisor and coach with success leading personal and professional change, and a passionate interest in lifting the human Spirit. You can find her on http://www.LovingPsyche.com
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved
Photo courtesy Pauletta Pilgrim
And healing.
It was my calling,
my mantra,
my yearning.
I was experimenting
and exploring
me,
and my world,
my relationships,
Spirit, and
Mother Earth.
And, what did it unearth?
Treasures, beyond my imagination.
Soul rewards gifted from living intention
and prayerful mention.
I became me, myself, I.
Loving Psyche,
Saraswati,
Shakti,
Marie.
This is my story,
my art,
my poetry,
and other tidbits
that inspire me
Reflections for Humanity
Subconscious Superconscious Glory
This is what became of me.
Welcome. Come. See.
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved
Photo courtesy Pauletta Pilgrim
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