Loneliness

 by Amari Magdalena

Loneliness in the 21st century has become endemic. Covid certainly played a role yet separation has grown. Most affected are 18–24-year-olds and people 65 and over. Isolation is the partner of loneliness and they are causing depression, anxiety, and psychological disturbance for many.

What is Loneliness? Loneliness is the state of distress or discomfort that results when one perceives a gap between one's desires for social connection and actual experiences of it. It is also described as: an unpleasant emotional response to perceived isolation. The bottom line is that too many of us experience isolation. Certainly, Covid created a lot of isolation for people living alone. The very structures of many of our dwellings, also contribute. Many of us live in apartments without social offerings or in our small separate boxes. Add to that an increase in violence in a city that heretofore had little, and you have fear. An unstable political situation only exacerbates the feelings.

Many of us grew up with family nearby. For me, even though we moved a lot, everywhere we lived, there was family. We had many gatherings with family. Our neighborhood, in the time of wives at home, had many the coffee klatch. There was almost always someone we could call on in an emergency or simply for company.

That is true no more. Many of us left our families and headed west. The tenor of many of the larger cities in the west, was such that we became more fearful. Trust was a factor with a lot of schemes and charlatans playing on our naivety. The burbs for a while provided some of the old klatch gatherings yet wives returning to the workforce or college in the 70’s women’s movement changed that also. All of these factors contributed to a cultural evolution and ultimately, we ended up with more isolation.

One symptom of that is the cyber dating phenomenon. Religious practices where many had socialized, experienced a fall out in attendance. The usual meeting places and/or family gatherings became few and far between. Many of us moved even more having to establish ourselves from scratch, again and again.

Meetups developed to fill some of the gap yet, like all organizations, they didn’t always last due to human foibles and that old nemesis, ego. Another group of us developed physical limitations which further exacerbated spending huge junks of our lives, alone. We couldn’t do the things that others were doing. Others experienced economic downturn which severely limited our spending on leisure activities.

So many factors in 2024 have caused too many people to feel loneliness. Awareness and commitment to some type of involvement may help overcome the feelings. Getting out more even to the store and talking with people may ease the untoward feelings. Making a huge effort to find some opportunities to socialize with like-minded people is another avenue. For seniors, joining a senior community, may after we get over accepting, that we too are ‘old’ people. Picking up the telephone and connecting with old friends may help. Bottom line, all of this requires some effort.

There have been some efforts to house older and younger people. This may be yet another avenue for easing feelings of loneliness. If you have a hobby, finding other people who enjoy it, may bring opportunities to be with people. Seeking counseling if you’ve gotten to the place of feeling depressed. Seeing if your city has a directory with organizations that may be of interest can help.

And, then there is technology. Yet another factor. It is forcing us to carry our smart phones around even in the house with sites that send you a code for access. It consumes way too many hours of our lives that we might have spent with other people. It’s lightning-fast changes often leaving us feeling inadequate and alone. Kids are spending more time inside than out. Adults may be getting depressed in an effort to keep up.

Bottom line, is once you realize that you are lonely, it is important to do something about it. For me, I know that if I spend too much time alone, I have to be the boot in my butt that says, “get out there.” No one is coming to you, if they don’t know where you live. Volunteer. Put on some glad rags, and get out of the house. Accept that this is a different time and you need new tools to cope. Also commit to learning to enjoy and love yourself. Fill in your circle.

“Find company within yourself and you’ll never spend a day alone.” -Connor Chalfant

“We are living in dystopia, in a world that is dominated by technology and disconnect, alienation and dysfunction.” -Steven Wilson

“Negative emotions like loneliness, envy, and guilt have an important role to play in a happy life; they're big, flashing signs that something needs to change.” -Gretchen Rubin

“We can all fight against loneliness by engaging in random acts of kindness.” -Gail Honeyman

“We have all known the long loneliness, and we have found the answer in community.” – Dorothy Day

Entering the Void at Summer Solstice

 

By Rev. Amari Magdalena

Polarities of their nature bespeak irony.  And so it is with our seasonal celebrations.  At the “High Noon” of summer light as we extol the virtues of the maximum hours of daylight, we turn the corner into the void and begin the process of contraction.    From Winter Solstice to Summer Solstice, we are in a phase of expansion, seeding and growing our hopes and dreams.  From June 21^st until December 21^st, we begin to draw our energies within, ever so slowly to celebrate harvests and then release.

 Both our sun and moon express four distinct phases, which parallel one another nicely.  While the moon completes each phase in 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, the sun’s phases are more protracted taking our calendar year to complete.  In earth-based traditions throughout the world sun and moon celebrations served as calendars or markers for the passage of time.

 June 21^st decrees the celebration of the North (the polar opposite of the South that we are experiencing).  Along with the summer solstice, it is also near Father’s Day marking the maximum influence of the principal we know as masculine.  While our Spring and Fall Equinox represent balance, the solstices symbolize extreme.  Solstices are more “Tonal” (tonal being ordinary reality); equinox’ are “Nagual” (extraordinary with the availability of magic).  The summer solstice then is a time of excessive immersion into the material world (Tonal).

 Given the extremes and the irony of our celebration of the North in summer and the South in winter, both celebrations are about light; more of it and less of it.  As we acknowledge the longest day of the year with the highest point of the sun, let us remember to take advantage of all that is revealed in the blazing light. 

 Summer Solstice in ancient times was a daylong celebration and observation in northern most climes was 24-hours and 12-hours in the lower latitudes.  In total light a circle was set with many burning candles lit.  A large bonfire was constructed nearby.  Singing, dancing, chanting and/or drumming began.  Vigilance was kept throughout the night until dawn, when the candles and fires were extinguished. 

 The summer solstice may then be a time to give oneself permission to totally immerse into the masculine principal yet acknowledging the winter solstice conception that led to this luxurious fertility.  Set your ceremonial circle with objects of light and representation of the golden, orange, red colors of the sun’s brilliance.  Acknowledge fire for its power of transformation.  Strew the altar with seasonal flowers and ripening berries.  Feast and surrender to the fire within.  Engage in fire ceremonies.  Trance dance.  Tone.  Make joyful noises with percussion and flute.  Invoke Archangel Michael or the Celtic god Lugh (pronounced Looch), God of light, warmth and inspiration.  Sing the praises of the sun in all its representations including the sun ship of the Christ energies.  And slowly but surely, put out each candle in tribute to the returning darkness and the great mystery of the void.  Honor this phase of growth, trust and love and “Coming into Being.”

"A single sunbeam is enough to drive away  many shadows." St. Francis of Assisi

Invalidation

 

By Rev. Amari Magdalena

 

In the world of cyber communication, lacking the in-person reading of intent, we may often feel invalidated. The meaning of the word used in communication is: “the process of denying, rejecting or dismissing someone's feelings. Invalidation sends the message that a person's subjective emotional experience is inaccurate, insignificant, and/or unacceptable.” Sounds pretty harash and rendering a complete denial of another’s emotional sharing.

On the surface, of course, most of us would not want to be found guilty of doing such a thing. Yet, we do it more than is good for having the recipient feel heard. The problem, listening. As a culture, we are failing in the listening department on more occasions than leads to comfort with others in social intercourse. Most of us are pretty guilty of this, certainly without malintent.

Indigenous cultures used different tools for communication. Some had such clarity of thought, they could telepath with others in the tribe; verbal communication was not always necessary. Others used tools like the talking stick and answering feather which encouraged others to listen to the speaker rather than be preparing their immediate response.

Years ago, I introduced the talking stick to a group of fairly diverse people whose similarity was to share a degree of spiritual experiences in their lives, including paranormal occurrences. To my surprise, the group in the main completely rebelled against the concept. They didn’t want to listen preferring to either debate, invalidate, or obfuscate. I found that numbingly aberrant yet was not surprised.

In a cultural setting of competition, rather than cooperation, there is always a tangible quest for one upmanship. Being Number One is more important than actually supporting group consensus and team building.

As we now see daily the destruction of an emphasis on competition, global greed, dismissive politics on earth preservation and freedom of rights of each person’s choice as it relates to their body, it is not surprising. At the same time, we are certainly witnessing the demise of yet another Empire. All previous ones have devolved and fallen yet humankind continues on personal and global paths of destruction.

Given the innate intelligence of humankind, it is then disturbing that history continues to repeat itself over and over and over again. Real communication goes wanting. Relationship building meets its demise. We are not communicating with one another; we are engaging in monologues and duologues. We are collectively behaving like many of the animals that we thought ourselves superior to.

Can this be altered or amened? Yes, it can with the big IF, we choose to individually and collectively effect a change. We can start listening without composing our answers. We can ask ourselves what is the person sharing with us? Are they asking for advice? Are they seeking solutions from us? Are they simply venting and needing validation for their feelings? Can we sit in silence and hold space? Can we shut up??

Some spiritual traditions require periods of complete silence as a way of going further within. For many it’s like doing hard time in isolation and almost crippling. Yet, the benefit may long outweigh the personal needs of the self in deference to the greater good of the universal whole.

Perhaps next time you hear or read of someone simply sharing their experience, you will choose to simply listen and say, “I hear you” or whatever is appropriate to the feelings being expressed. In cyber space, you could send a heart or care symbol and let the other know you heard them without pontificating or rendering solutions not asked for. You could be silently reverent and say to the Universe, “may peace prevail for the good of this individual and humankind.”

“…validation between partners is the communication of understanding and acceptance.” – Alan E. Fruzzetti

“Our desire for sympathy and attention is another major reason we complain. Think about the things you complain about. What are you looking for when you share? I would bet that a lot of the time it’s validation like, “Yeah, that is annoying,”” – Whitney Goodman

“Sometimes, this can be as simple as paying attention and making good eye contact and nodding, or saying “uh-huh” or “right” or “okay.” At other times, validating requires a more thorough acknowledgment of the experience, such as “I know you are really disappointed” or “you look really sad.”” – Alan E. Fruzzetti

“You can disagree with absolutely everything someone, is saying, but you can still validate them.”–James W. Williams.

Does The Universe Care for or about Us?

 

By Rev. Amari Magdalena

Yesterday I posted a word for consideration: Pronoia. Its definition is that “The Universe conspires for my Joy and Abundance.” Nice thought, no? Yet a few people took exception recalling devastating things that the Universe had delivered to them over their lifetimes.

It got me thinking about the times, in my own life, when The Universe most definitely was not conspiring in my favor, or so it seemed. One of the philosophies that I’ve long admired is the Tao. In this belief system one learns to not weight oppositional forces in our lives differently. This belief allows us to surf the waves of our lives in a more even way. We will have some grand things in this lifetime and some pretty challenging things that we may view as soul disrupting. By accepting these oppositional forces, we may be more at peace.

I do not deny that many of us are delivered some pretty devastating things in our lives. There is no denying that. It may also appear that some people receive more than their fare share of those events. Death of a child is certainly at the top of the list. A whole list of tragedies can easily be complied.

Yet, in a long-life review, I believe we also become aware of great graces afforded us. This is, I suppose, a count your blessings scenario. Too often, we forgot that count and allow the bleak occurrences to cast shadow over the better things.

The belief of greater good, allowing for the not so good, can afford us to better appreciate the general balance that life affords us. That is, if we notice. It can also gift us contentment. Contentment gives us an overall view of greater good without the transient, and often prioritized, desire for happiness.

If people were to study my life of 80+ years, they would find a whole laundry list of the ‘not so good’ things that happened. They’d discover that much of my adult life has been a financial struggle. Uncovered would be unexpected deaths, suicide, murder, molestation, mental and physical abuse. They could easily conclude that The Universe did not bring me Joy and Abundance. And, of course, that would bolster their predominant belief about pronoia.

For many years, I too, allowed the negative to rule my life. On further study, I came to adapt a different view, a perspective that gave me greater peace. I learned that I’ve had a fantastic life filled with good surprises, seeming last minute positive interventions, overall goodness, great people, amazing places to visit, abundance of innate talents, etc. In total sum of nine decades, The Universe has conspired for my highest and best good.

Some would say, what about all of the health challenges you’ve experienced in the past 1 ½ years and continue to deal with daily? What about your precarious economic situation? Yup, those have been doozies, no question. Yet the offsets have been human kindness, friends who are supportive, unexpected monies forthcoming, love, and great mental/emotional health. In balance, I can attest that The Universe has indeed delivered more Joy and Abundance than not. Mine has been simply to recognize it and appreciate it.

I would much rather embrace an overall belief in goodness than await the dark side of random deliverance of the negative. It would also be my sincere hope, that many of us can come to the belief that The Universe does give the proverbial damn about us. I would wish that philosophy for anyone wanting to experience a fuller, affirming, and gloriously abundant life!

“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it--always.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

“A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.”
― Nelson Mandela

“A good life is a collection of happy moments.” ― Denis Waitley

Who Do We Trust?

  

By Rev. Amari Magdalena

Erik Erikson believed that trust is developed from birth to 18 months. During this stage, the infant either comes to view other people and himself or herself as trustworthy or comes to develop a fundamental distrust of his or her environment. Trust is defined as a firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.

As we move through infancy, early, middle, and later childhood into adulthood, trust may become an issue in our interrelationships. If the initial trust was broken in the earliest developmental stage it may take considerable therapy to learn trust.

Early broken trust leads, in shamanic shields terms, to a skewed South Shield.* The untrusting child carries that lack into each relationship in hopes that somehow magically, the other person will help them overcome their trust issues. In essence, they are looking for that compensatory partner. Of course, the rising dissolution of these relationships speaks to this issue.

When you may hear someone saying: “I just don’t trust anyone.” What they are truly saying is they don’t trust themselves sufficiently to even speak to trust of others. It’s a signal to any therapist or spiritual advisor that inner work is needed.

For an aware adult, that lack of trust may signal a need to develop and foster trusting themselves. Inner child work along with redirecting the North Shield and awakening the Nagual shields of West and East, can make a huge difference in healing basis distrust. This inner work was some of the most successful that I experienced with students and myself.

I was left with my grandparents from about 4 to 10 months. That helped me later understand why I was so attached to them. At the same time, the parental absence at such an early juncture, surely had its impact. There was no social media platform in those days to have us see missing persons in our lives. And written communications at such an early development stage didn’t have any meaning. I’m certain trust was broken.

Thus, I recognized my own need to develop adult trust. That can be done, with a lot of work. First one develops self-trust built on evidence that we can become reliable, truthful, and strong. As we assess and build more self-trust, we can then extend it to others.

At the same time, we need to attract trustworthy people and have some device for forgiving small lapses in trust. I’ve often said that compassion without discernment can be dangerous. That suggests that after we deal with the ‘me,’ we learn to deal with the ‘we,’ and then if we are most fortunate, we come to embracing the greater ‘us.’’ In actuality, that is part of our life work.

We may wish to develop markers of trust in new relationships. A European friend of mine observed how Americans almost instantly trust people rather than build trust over time. That instant trust and superficial bonding can lead to disappointments. In the romantic realm I once wrote a piece on 22 guides for Metaphysical Lovers to help people avoid the karmic macarena.

Discernment certainly comes into play if we are going to embrace and recognize another’s worth for inclusion in our emotional world. Our media often exposes us to such unrealistic pictures of romantic love that we may have incorporated delusional expectations about ourselves and other people’s worth.

The bottom line, is start building self-trust. Develop criteria for the types of people you’d value coming into your lives. Become trustworthy. Demand trustworthiness in all of your relationships. When that wounded inner child shows up, take some time to talk with him or her and see what old emotional issues are still unmet. Become the person that meets those needs and perhaps you will stop finding others and entrusting them with your basket of unmet emotional needs to foster.

Trust is elemental. Our world has shown us many, many examples of misplaced trust on all levels. Yet ultimately it is up to us to discern what is and is not working for our emotional stability. Start with you. Become more reliable, trustworthy, and strong. When we have that inherent trust in self, others, and life, our lives become the heaven we seek.

“Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.” William Shakespeare

“Trust is the glue of life. It's the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It's the foundational principle that holds all relationships.” Stephen Covey

“Trust is built with consistency.” Lincoln Chafee

“He who does not trust enough, Will not be trusted.” Lao Tzu







*Awaken Your Inner Shields: Transform Your Life." by Amari Magdalena

My Brand's Better than Your Brand

By Rev Amari Magdalena

Wonder why there is so much seeming descension in the world when we talk about ascension? Competition is the culprit along with its twins Comparison and Envy.  We are in competition with one another, not unlike the survival of the fittest animal world.  Sad truth or real recognition?  In a world much in need of cooperation and collective consciousness for good, how on earth do we surrender our survival instinct?

Let’s start with the word “Brand” or “Branding.”  Like so many very “testosteronized” words, this evokes an image of placing a hot iron on an animal to identify ownership. It’s like “more bang for the buck.”  And, I could come with other examples of expressions in our lexicon that demonstrate a masculine warrior mindset.

Language creates culture.  More than ever we are seeing this evidenced as American English is being impacted by emojis, memes, hip-hop, and many other sources of modification and adaptation. It appears we are talking to one another through our brands (personas) and not our authentic selves.

I was involved in advertising and marketing many years ago in a more in-depth way.  I came to understand the psychology of advertising. We had to assure that our product or service was miles ahead of the competition.  Some of that was about adding bells and whistles.  Other aspects were aggressive methods of mind games.  Personally, I strove to only develop marketing materials for products I believed actually added value when the company was mine.

Of course, today with multiple websites, I am completely aware of the need to share what I offer.  Yet, somewhere in the gap of manipulating one another and creating perceived need, is a call for truth and connection.  Connection is the much-needed game, yet our attempts to brand, separate us.

Capitalism is being held most responsible for our current raging consumerism.  Even small children are targeted and turned into consumer robots at earlier and earlier ages. We are programmed to want more. I’m reminded of the song Madonna sang in Dick Tracy, More. Lyrics ended with “and what will we want when we have it all?  More!

Sadly, we are easily hypnotized into to purchasing goods whether we need them or not.  Being good trained consumers, we often look for products whose names we recognize.  How do we know about them? Moving away from brick and mortar stores, print and broadcast media, now we’ve moved into internet commerce.

Countless books are available to teach us how to master social media to get our goods or services before the public and enjoy huge success. Multi-Level Marketing, formerly pyramid schemes, hasn’t died.  It is enjoying a resurrection with new products.  Affiliate marketing is now on the rise. And, we continue to be lured into spending.  Each brand flashing and popping up via information obtained in algorithms, commands our attention. Clever programmers are developing workarounds to overwrite ad blockers software. We are being invaded.

What happens with invasions? People run and scatter.  Result? Separation and the replay of that old game of Us and Them, lack and fear, yours and mine magnified.  Pink Floyd sang so brilliantly about this: “Us, us, us and them, them, them…in in the end we’re only ordinary men…” I’ve found that one of the saddest brands for causing separation and even wars, are religious organizations.  Our God is better than your God.  Oh my!  Everywhere, we are being pulled apart rather than moved towards one another.

Obviously, I understand the need to best present our products and/or services so that we can prosper. Personally, I believe there IS enough for everyone and that we ultimately choose based on our own pyramid of needs and wants. If this little tome stands for anything, it is to say that let’s take offensive and separating language out of our sharing.  Let’s adapt a philosophy that believes that there is no scarcity and each of us will be drawn to right, for us, products and services.  And, perhaps we could enjoy more camaraderie with those in our similar industries that adapts a win/win attitude for all.

And, for heaven’s sake, quit “Branding” anything, animals included!  Develop logos that you love. Write copy that speaks to the truths of your essence and intention to serve through offering your product and/or service.  Refer to others when you can.  Reframe from stealing ideas from others and claiming them as yours. Share your wisdom when you are able to help others. Embrace humanity not corporatocracy. Purchase locally when you are able.  Return to the goodness of Me and You.  Focus on the planetary citizenry and the health of our small planet in making purchase choices. Contribute to the common good as you are able.

“A thorn defends the rose, harming only those who would steal the blossom.”  Chinese Proverb

Sludge

By Rev. Amari Magdalena

Years ago, I was driving an older Honda.  The fuel filter got clogged up.  Taking it to a mechanic, he told me that with older cars, you must keep your tank filled with gas and not let it ride down to empty as sludge accumulates at the bottom and mucks up the fuel filter and possibly the tank.  I’d been driving between Ft. Lauderdale FL and Atlanta GA.  As gas was so much cheaper in Georgia, I’d press it until I crossed the border.  Obviously, a mistake.

I got to thinking about our current political and social situation in the country.  The above is a great metaphor for what we are seeing manifest before us.    We collectively let the tank run too close to empty out of perhaps complacency or just some false sense of comfort.  In the eight years of the previous administration, there was a calmness and a steadiness that caused us to not get too concerned.  Sure, things came up, yet they seemed to get mainly handled and we rested on our laurels. 

Ahaa!  New administration and that fuel filter suddenly got clogged up and we are now looking at replacing the whole fuel system.  Sludge, it ain’t pretty, has appeared in every corner of our complacency. KKK, White Supremacy, gun violence, “Me Too”, return of misogyny, immigration witch hunts, incarcerating children, environmental protection dismantling, ad nauseum.  Everything under the hood, suddenly went to the proverbial hell and leaks and clogs prevailed.   Our engine is sputtering, and backfiring and we are wondering if we’ll ever be able to get the old car running or if we need to replace it.

"Maintenance," declared longshoreman Eric Hoffer, and lack thereof, leads to the demise of governments. Truth be told, we’ve got sludge everywhere: our oceans, our rivers, our air, even our own guts (nutritionists tells us). Folks, we’re here; no hiding from the truth, no fluff to cover it up, no mantras that are going to turn this engine over. 

It is time to stop complaining, moaning, bemoaning, gasping, choking on the sludge, and throwing up our hands.  The wheels have turned, and we must now build a better vehicle. Now is the moment for new ideas, think tanks, energetic salons of discussion, new politics/parties, new blood in the institutions, and a revision of what is the vehicle that will serve the most people.  We’ve tried universally various models: communism, socialism, dictatorship, oligarchies, monarchies, democracies, parliaments, republics, etc.  Where are the brilliant and inspired minds who can make new parts, perhaps salvaging the best of the old, and make something fantastic for the future?

We are them!  We are the solution.  Time to get out from under the hood and call the tow truck to haul off the broken-down car.  Moments to dream the dream that never was and say, “Why not!”  No more courses in how to repair the old.  Time to write the new script for a government that works for everyone and can be adapted as a turn-key model for any countries who are mired in sludge. 

As the Hopi prophesy said, we must let go of the shore and move into the flowing river and discover new banks.  Someone crashed that old car in the river and its trash has been clogging up the course of flow.  Let’s clear the debris. This is the time.  It’s why we are here!  

We can choose, delusion:

"To be frank, I think his world had vanished long before he ever entered it.  But, I will say, he certainly sustained the illusion with a marvelous grace." M. Moustafa on M. Gustafave (The Grand Budapest Hotel).  

Or the better way: "In a time of drastic change, it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists."  Eric Hoffer.

Lectio Divina

By Rev. Amari Magdalena

Lectio Divina, Latin for Divine Reading, can be an important adjunct to staying centered and in touch with one’s spirit in a disruptive world. Benedictines used spiritual readings to promote knowledge of God.  While we may not prefer biblical readings to stay in touch with our spirit, any inspirational reading can be a source of nourishment.

One of the wonders of the internet, is the ability to access such inspiration at the touch of a keyboard. We can type in “Quotations about …...” and a world of wise words are available. Perhaps we have a favorite wisdom keeper of recent or ancient times.  For some it may be Hafez or Rumi; for others, Thoreau, Emerson, or Florence Scovel Shinn.  Many metaphysical centers have magazines with daily inspiration.

What would your day begin or end like, if you chose to each day access an inspirational thought to awaken or sleep with?  Instead of the morning or evening news, you might choose to fill your consciousness with positive, life-affirming, and hopeful content over fear and evidence of man’s inhumanity to humankind.  I believe that what first enters our awareness each morning, set’s a tone for that day.  Similarly, the last thought you have before sleeping can aid or disrupt your time of rest.

Following is a week’s worth of inspirations for dawn and dusk.  Try them out and see how they affect your outlook and, perhaps, renewed faith in the basic goodness of our human race.

Sunday Morning: “Love is the soul’s light, the taste of morning, no me, no we, no claim of being.” Rumi

Sunday Evening: “Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love.  It will not lead you astray.” Rumi

Monday Morning: “Today you are you that is truer than true.”  Dr. Suess

Monday Evening: “From here on Earth, from my small place, I ask of you way out in Space, please tell all men in every land, what you and I both understand.  Please tell all men, peace is good, that’s all that need be understood, in every world in your great sky. (We understood, you and I.)”  Dr. Suess

Tuesday Morning: "In the sweetness of friendship let here be laughter and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds it's morning and is refreshed. Khalil Gibran 

Tuesday Evening: “Love is trembling happiness.”  Khalil Gibran

Wednesday Morning: "For each new morning with its light, for rest and shelter of the night, for health and food, for love and friends, for everything They goodness sends." Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Wednesday Evening: "What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us." Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Thursday Morning: "You must form the habit of living in the fourth dimension, The World of the Wondrous. It is the world where you do no judge by appearances." Florence Scovel Shinn 

Thursday Evening: “There is not there, there is only here.” Florence Scovel Shinn

Friday Morning: "If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be.  Now put the foundations under them."  Henry David Thoreau 

Friday Evening: “The world is but a canvas to our imagination.” Henry David Thoreau

Saturday Morning: “Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. Buddha

Saturday Evening: “You, yourself, as much as anyone in the entire Universe, deserve your love and affection.”  Buddha

May your lives be blessed in myriad ways and may your days have abundant sun and rain, dark and light, and other contrasts sufficient for you appreciate all that this amazing human experience offers.

"Every day, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive.  I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it.  I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others; to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings.  I am going to have kind thoughts towards others.  I am not going to get angry or think badly about others.  I am going to benefit others as much as I can."  Dalai Lama

Hope

By Rev. Amari Magdalena

We are in the midst of catastrophic events, politically and environmentally. Watching scenes of hazardous rescues from flooding waters and uprooted people, animals, houses, trees, and normal signs of life in devastation can be disheartening.  Observing a rise in hatred and acts against compassion and humanity are, at times, daunting.  Misery, disgust, and fear are strange bedfellows for sensitive, caring people. While change is a constant, it’s true, moments of it catapulted into our daily news and social media feeds, in graphic detail, can dim hope.

One of the definitions of hope is “a feeling of trust.”  You may wonder how does one keep trust, faith, and hope alive when so very much destruction is going on.  For me, it takes a certain mindset and the ability to see the light at the end of dark places.  While there is much evidenced around me that suggests that we as a country and civilization are doomed to failure, I have a clear vision of what may be on the other side of so much devastation.  I believe that we will emerge from the chrysalis as butterflies in the last stage of transformation.

Like Chauncy Gardener proclaimed in the movie “Being There” one has to prune the garden at the end of each growing season to allow regeneration to occur in the next productive cycle.  We are rapidly approaching the natural season of death as our leaves turn and begin to fall.  Already some trees are almost barren.  If we could take the position that there is great beauty in the barrenness and know, in our heart of hearts, that spring will come again, we may find solace.

Winter the truly fallow period will surely follow.  In that dormant time, if we are attuned deeply to the Creative Source that many choose to believe in, we can become more introspective and retrospective. Going within and quieting our fears, negative imaginings, sense of doom, we are more able to tap into that vast body of knowledge that connects us with the wisdom of all times.  I believe that like encyclopedias, Wikipedia, and online research resources, there is a vast pool of knowledge that we can access through meditation. Personally, I’ve often asked people of other times to speak to me through automatic writing. I find it valuable beyond imagination.  Some people will be channels, connecting in that way. Others will find solace and inspiration in the writings of hallowed visionaries of our time.

While we are best served by honoring our emotions of grief and sadness, it is equally important that we not stay in those states of mind too long.  Surely depression will follow if we choose not to lift up our thoughts after sufficient catharsis. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I highly recommend immersion in beauty.  See the wonder of what IS working and how much Mother Nature does provide in visions of amazing exquisiteness. This I find reignites my spirit of hope and wonder.

Finally, be of service to someone.  Often when we step away from our sorrows and seek to be of help to another, we feel a great gratitude.  Being of service and being useful fosters rising hope and renewed affirmation of goodness.  Reach out.

"Infuse your life with action.  Don't wait for it to happen.  Make it happen.  Make your own future. Make your own hope.  Make your own love.  And whatever your beliefs, honor your creator, not by passively waiting for grace to come down from upon high, but by doing what you can to make grace happen...yourself, right now, right down here on Earth."  Bradley Whitford

Protection from Untoward Energies

By Rev. Amari Magdalena

Today in a meditation class, I was asked about how to protect oneself from untoward energies and how to recognize them.  This is an interesting subject as many people who are more open to the mystical and psychic phenomenon seem to perhaps be disproportionally more likely to experience darker energies.

First, I’d like to share that I basically adhere to the biblical: “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.” I believe something in our subconscious subscribes to the concept of evil rather than it actually exists.  Old superstitions often leave people in fear with a deep-rooted belief in evil.

The Course in Miracles states that the only truth is Love and all else is false.  This, for me, confirms my personal belief. Yet, I am not naïve to the fact that much of man’s inhumanity to man looks a whole lot like evil. I am also aware, and have experienced, what might be dubbed psychic attack on a few occasions.  One involved a psychic attack on one of my family members when the person felt he could not reach me. The attack was experienced as very real and scary to the person.  I too initially succumbed to fear when I felt I was receiving energies from my personal Darth Vader.

We could say then that psychic attacks are real in our perceptions of them.  When experiencing them, it helps to feel empowered.  Having tools for protection can be comforting and help each of us set up appropriate boundaries to deflect the negativity. At times the attack may be veiled in so called guides who flatter our egos to control our psyches. Yet another form of negative energy direction though perhaps subtler.

In either presentation, establishing very clear and purposeful boundaries is ultimately the best protection. Many rituals exist to rid oneself of negative energy.  We might benefit from a Limpia Smoke Cleaning with appropriate protection prayers.  Some people may have a specific chant they repeat in such a circumstance.  Others may surround themselves in bright white or violet light. The construction in one’s mind of a pyramid of impenetrable light is yet another protective devise.  The Golden Shield of St. Germaine with the Violet flame is a further example of a protection creation.

I believe the most effective devise is a demand that the entity or energies step into the Light or leave.  This is stated quite forcefully with an iron clad belief that no darkness can exist in the brilliant light of pure Spirit. Added to that is embracing one’s own power and holding one’s space. Regular smudging and airing out of a home or frequently occupied space can also provide immeasurable benefit.

If all else seems to fail, I highly recommend a prayer I was first introduced to at Unity:

The Prayer of Protection

Written by James Dillet Freeman

  

“The Light of God surrounds you.

The Love of God enfolds you.

The power of God protects you.

The Presence of God watches over you.

The Mind of God guides you.

The Life of God flows through you.

The Laws of God direct you.

The Peace of God abides within you.

The Joy of God uplifts you.

The Strength of God renews you.

The Beauty of God inspires you.

Wherever you are, God is!

And all is well. Amen.”

You can substitute your name for Creative Source instead of God as you choose.  Further realize that YOU are an aspect of Creative Source/God, and as such are fully empowered to deflect anything coming into your consciousness or presence that is in any way interfering with your peace and serenity.  Hold your power, send the energy back to where it came from releasing it into Light. Clear up the parts of your psyche that are open to the concept of evil and correct your Karma. Stand in the full power of your Divine Nature.  And, remember, the I AM is impenetrable.  May you be blessed and freed of anything, or anyone, that keeps you away from your authentic inheritance of divinity.

[53 Past Blogs are in my book "Shaman Talk" available in softcover and ebook on Amazon.com]

Moments

By Rev. Amari Magdalena

Moment is defined as “very brief portion of time, an instant.” Working with energy and ceremonial magic, I’ve often experienced the mystical in my spiritual life.  Compartmentalizing, as we humans often, do, I’ve perhaps glossed over that in my material life.  Yet a movie script or a book can remind me that an integration of both is imperative now with a certain ebbing of life.

Life is a collection of moments it is said. What if I could take all the moments of love I’ve experienced over three quarters of a century and string them together, would it reach the sky?  Would it bring down heaven that I’ve sought thinking permanence was the road to bliss?  Would it wrapped around me, give me the warmth to complete this century, even alone?

We are so very often seeking completions, stability, assuredness, solidity that I feel we often miss the beautiful moments that make up a life.  So much of our energy is focused on what was or what is to be, that we often miss the rapture of moments.  We are so adept at not being present, that we miss the true gift being offered.

How could I not treasure falling in love over a Kwakiutl Mask at a museum?  What bliss that dance and butterflies on that glorious Florida weekend? Did I not feel completely appreciated at the Atlanta airport when a traveling stranger placed his hands around my face and said, “You are beautiful?” The 2 hours spent with the artist poet in which a flirtation bolstered each of our needs to feel desirable.  The room full of sterling roses on my birthday at the beach and the osprey flying free.  The awe inspired moment of births of my children.  First crush; first love. All the passionate craziness of estrus adventures in exploring the body electric.

Gluttony seems to have overshadowed small treasures for me, always wanting more.  If it was good, then often I failed to truly appreciate it with that desire to concretize it.  I’m sure many can relate to that; our need to label or define things, to make them more enduring.  And, yet as I look back over my life, it was in moments that the magic was presented.  So very many moments that only now do I appreciate more fully as I surrender the need to know what is around the next bend.

I’ve come to realize the gift of having lived long enough to recognize the folly of the more youthful longings.  As time begins to involute, I’ve come to embrace little moments of love.  Hugs from grandchildren; beautiful skies; sun breaking through the clouds; smiles of friendship; spring unfolding in flowered glory; frost speckled on windows; light streaming through the clouds; rainbows splayed across the room; seagulls at the sea; poignant love stories; beautiful cinematography; simple heart-felt hellos; listening to other’s story’s and waking up each day.

I’m realizing that the gift of having lived so long, is coming to the recognition of the glory in moments. As time becomes more fleeting, there is no time for wasting precious seconds and minutes wishing for something else. Perhaps therein lies the grace of aging.  The body begins to leave as the soul awakens more magnificently. We learn how to express gratitude without a hidden agenda of want.  If we are wise, we move into the essence and authenticity of who we truly are and learn deep appreciation for the Now. Vivere in momento!  

"Thousands of years ago, somebody came up with a notion of impermanence.  Of the beauty and inevitability of change. I had a long time to consider the value of memory. And, the idea the just because something didn't last forever, doesn't mean its worth is diminished." 5 to 7 (the movie).

[53 Past Blogs are in my book "Shaman Talk" available in softcover and ebook on Amazon.com]

Return to Passion

by Rev. Amari Magdalena

This is a piece I wrote some time ago, yet has relevance more and more in our world. Passion is a subject not all are comfortable with.  Recently during an interview for a possible teaching opportunity, it was remarked, “You are certainly a busy woman.”  This was expressed in a way that suggested that was something not to be valued.  My instant response was, “One of my friends has informed me I’m an overachiever.”  Yet, as it often happens, our first response may not be our best, I reflected on this. The truth that emerged on reflection, is that I am passionate about leading a dynamic life. Unlike many in my senior’s apartment complex who sit their days out, I will not go quietly into that good night.  I hope you will choose to set a blaze under your life too.  Here are my thoughts on passion.

Passion is essential to life.  In its absence, lifelessness prevails.  At its apex in orgasm, life and death merge and we return to the Oneness.  Unobstructed by societal mores and norms, humans are passionate beings.   We are innately encoded with the drive to express our passions on the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels.  Life lived passionately brings us into at-one-ment with All That Is. 

The turmoil, chaos and confusion that we witness around us today is a direct result of suppression of passion.   Frenzy is passion involuted onto itself and manifest in humankind as an aberration of its purpose and intention.  Lifeless people must commit acts of desperation to feel.  The daily barrage of murder and mayhem reported in the public media attests to the lack of healthy outlets for expressing personal passion.

Western society has for many years distorted the purpose of passion in our lives.  Religiosity has played a significant role in this distortion.  Rules and dogma developed by lifeless people have been foisted into consensus thinking to control this volatile commodity.  Suppression of natural passion has led to more and more deviations.    Modern media’s sexual obsession has resulted in unhealthy departures leading to permanent and incurable disease.  None of this divergence has led to health or well-being.

Integrated humans in the absence of rules on their expression of passion have fostered spiritual movements that altered the course of human history; created remarkable political concepts (i.e. democracy); built world wonders; crafted lasting artistic expression in multiple media’s; developed mind boggling technologies; explored outer and inner space; pioneered and invented ingenious tools for quality living; excelled in mastery of the physical form; and “dreamed dreams that no one ever dreamed and said why not.”

Passionless people have destroyed an entire continent’s Eco-system in less than one hundred years; obliterated animals; annihilated peoples; fostered hatred and ignorance; reeked mayhem and destruction to the products of passionate people; disavowed freedom; and fostered a dis-eased humanity.  Unfortunately, passionless people abound today--along with mediocrity.  And, the paltry partnership grows unchecked.  Crimes of passion reported every day in excruciating detail by the public media are committed by passionless people.  The powers that be who seek control of the public mind, corrupt the meaning of passion toward their own greedy end.  A vicious circle ensues with a resultant lasso roping in the cattle for kill.

Vacuous people wandering the megalomaniacal shopping malls and motoring aimlessly on grid locked freeways brandishing tune-out headsets and cell phones are the out picturing of a passionless society.  Couch potatoes eating their way to gigantism in mesmerized stupor before larger and larger cathode tubes from whence spews forth idiocraty and hypocrisy, typify the description American.  Mind control replaces necessity for crowd control resulting in fewer and fewer people having greater and greater influence.

Carpe diem was the cry of my youth and its impassioned message rings ever true.  The only mind control that we need succumb to is that which tunes deaf ear to messages of limitation and amplifies that small inner voice that says, NOW!  For it is in the now, the Tao, that passion prevails.  In the now we are afloat in the sea of possibilities and become the ‘Criatura’ or ‘Criaturo’ (Creator) of our own unique passion play.

Quantum physics has taught us that at subatomic levels we are all part of the essential ‘stuff’ of creation.  In this remarkable time of a burgeoning marriage between science and spirituality, we are gifted with all of the tools for becoming more dynamic, fantastic and passionate people.  Choosing to actively engage our body, mind and spirit as triumvirate of energies, each essential to the other, creates an electric charge--a  quantum leap--that leads us to discovery of Universes beyond our imaginings. 

Why not step out of your box of limitation to awaken dormant dreams, recalibrate your energies and resonance, and to consummate your self-promises?  Carry the gifts creation has laid upon your door!  Become passionate again about every aspect of your life and life circle.  Infuse your day with silliness, eccentricity, brilliance, sensuality, sensory indulgence, and dreams.  Let your motto be, “I cannot be contained!”  And may your personal cantata be a communion of body, mind and spirit that sounds a purifying release for believers in transformative power and PASSION!

[53 Past Blogs are in my book "Shaman Talk" available in softcover and ebook on Amazon.com]

Our Magical Attention

by Rev. Amari Magdalena

With the many untoward events going on in the world right now, our Attention becomes much more important.  In shamanism we talk a lot about Intention and Attention (thus my emphasis with Capital letters).  Attention is defined as where we place our consciousness and monitor our thoughts and words.  Intention is what we really want to achieve by our actions.  If there was ever a time to contemplate those two concepts it is now.  The addition of ‘magical’ to Attention suggests that our consciousness, thoughts and words can be re-focused out of our ordinary material reality to that extraordinary place of higher mind and heart. 

We might equate Magical Attention with the energies of the Nagual–the East to West axis on the medicine wheel.  When we invoke the spirits and guardians of these cardinal directions we are opening ourselves to connecting beyond the veils of our illusion to upliftment and illumination. The Tonal–North and South, are the axis on the medicine wheel that most of us travel in our material, ordinary world connecting us with more earth-ward wisdom and innocence. In my book, Awaken Your Inner Shields: Transform Your Life, I provide information about this.

At this pivotal time in human history, we’ve been presented with an opportunity to take an evolutionary leap forward.  What you say?  How can that possibly be when SO much destruction is reported in graphic detail daily?  My eyes and ears are pained by all of the needless suffering and violence. And, yes, I do understand how upsetting it can be.

I would answer, if you are absorbing the bad news every day, you are missing what is wonderfully transpiring at deeper levels.  If you awaken in the morning and either check out the news on television, the newspaper, NPR, or your favorite search engine’s news, your Attention is receiving mostly bad news.  Should you need updates at mid-day, even more fear and anxiety is fostered.  Home at 6, more news?  To bed with the bad news?  An appetite of that would surely lead to not only gustatory indigestion but indigestion of your very spirit.

Every single day, on Facebook alone, there is a heartwarming story of human heroism and service to humanity.  Occasionally, these stories make it to our national news.  Ted Talks on the radio often have speakers who are talking about some essential aspect of human evolution from their particular perspective.  Inspirational books have been available long before the New Age, churned them out like butter.  Many, many offerings through citywide Meet-Ups provide opportunity for spiritual succor and tools for learning how to move into your Magical Attention.

I believe another aspect of this change, which I’ve written regularly about on Facebook of late, is comprehending that for new growth, the old growth has to be pruned as Chauncey Gardner told the President in Being There.  We have to empty our mind-cups of less than pleasant thoughts, and begin to fill them with hope and belief in the process. 

As we witness the changing of our four seasons, so is the process we are observing now.  Spring brings the new beginnings; summer the growth, fall the harvest, and winter the fallow time.  We too, as a planet, are going through these vary same stages though perhaps not as timely or consistent. I believe we are in the fallow time; old unworkable forms are dissolving and dying right before our very eyes.  Yet their compost can be the manure to feed what will emerge.

Only faith, can bring us to realize that the spring and new world WILL emerge if we place our Magical Attention on that belief and direct our Intention to contributing to creating it.  Cry no more.  This is as it should be. 

Rise up and start getting involved in the processes and forms that will come forth when our chrysalis sheds it cocoon and the New Bright World emerges.  Perhaps not all of us will witness this.  Yet, we alone can plant the seeds that will bring the Dawn of the Peace as a magnificent monarch.  In my head I am singing an old song, You’ll Never Walk Alone, that was SO impactful in my troubled youth, “When you walk through a storm hold your head up high and don’t be afraid of the dark.  At the end of the storm is a golden sky and the sweet silver song of a lark……” 

Readers, I have actually seen that golden sky once in New Mexico–so awe inspiring that I pulled off the road and wept.  It was, and it is, magnificent beyond our limited imagining.  Believe me. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OV5_LQArLa0

[53 Past Blogs are in my book "Shaman Talk" available in softcover and ebook on Amazon.com]

Perspective

By Rev. Amari Magdalena

There was a wonderful share the other day on Facebook about perspective.  It got me thinking about just how relevant perspective is to our state of mind and contentment in life. For many of us, particularly those living alone, it is easy to lose perspective when we encounter the bumps and detours that life presents; no one to bounce things off of.  For others even living with others, perspective can be skewed.  All of us are, at times, fairly insular in our world view; we are the center of our universe.

When our small universe presents challenges of body, mind or spirit, we often fall into feeling sorry for ourselves with the accompanying pity party.  At times, we choose to wallow in the suffering that we are experiencing.  Some choose to isolate themselves at times like this; others broadcast it through their downtrodden energy.

It strikes me that what is needed are new filters through which to view challenges, bumps and detours. We might liken this to using a camera.  Some people are more adept with the instrument; others not.

What is clear to me is that we each have an internal camera, along with our external one (our eyes).  To a certain degree, we simply take a picture of what we see with your eyes.  Yet through processing or developing the picture our internal camera tweaks the picture: in modern terms, we might say we Photoshop it.  That internal processing is very unique and determined to a great extent by our life experiences and cultural inculcation.

Additionally, we seem to have a propensity to repeat the very same processing method we've previously used for similar pictures.  We are on a form of auto-pilot with those. This can be time-saving yet may also represent a sort of blindness.  Perhaps we do this repeat procedure to save time; perhaps it is simply habit.

If we continue to process pictures on auto-play or pilot we are not considering the present moment, circumstances, and presentation before us.  This creates a lot of views that may be outdated or distorted.  The distortion effect may lead to misunderstanding, prejudice, assumption, and limited thinking.

We could apply this to the events in our own lives or to our perception of events unfolding before us in the lives of others or the world.  Truth may go begging when our camera lens is clouded or fractured.  Recognizing any distortion by running our perceptions through a new truth filter may be of great value.  Asking or questioning ourselves, when we find ourselves making judgments about a person or circumstances, may help us discover new truths.

In my own life when I question negative thinking, I often ask, "Is this true today?
Are the feelings or thoughts or perceptions I am experiencing based in what is presently before me or some half truth from another time and place?  This helps me greatly in clearing my filter and perhaps coming up with new ways to view what my camera is focusing on.

The quote below sums up my thinking on this subject.  One can just as easily apply it to "when watching yourself and your reactions...."  I believe that we can choose to change our perceptions through highly focused awareness and commitment to re-viewing all that is within our scope; especially when it is causing us any angst or unhappiness. 

The choice to see heaven or hell each day is ours alone.  No external force can manipulate our inner camera, truly.  We alone can "Windex" our perceptions and click on a focus that creates greater happiness and contentment.

“…and so it is with life.  What we see when watching others depends on the clarity of the Window through which we look.”  

[53 Past Blogs are in my book "Shaman Talk" available in softcover and ebook on Amazon.com]