Welcome back to a new month. We hope you enjoyed our voyage of discovery into the amazing world of crystals last month. This month we will be tackling an incredibly important and fascinating subject in our mental, physical and spiritual development and growth as individuals – that of self-love. We will look at defining self-love and its importance to our lives. We will also look at some of the impediments to successful self-love and how to overcome them, plus we will touch on some practical steps you can put in place to achieve a satisfactory level of self-love and finally we will look at self-love as a “way of life”, particularly as how it applies to “new thought” doctrines.
What is Self-Love?
Perhaps it’s best if we start by defining what self-love is NOT:
Self-love is NOT narcissism and self-love is NOT arrogance, NOR overbearing pride.
Self-love is analogous to self-care and many people prefer to use the term self-care precisely because of those negative connotations that are sometimes ascribed to the term, self-love. However, whatever you call it self-love can best be summed up in the following affirmation: “self-love is the understanding and belief that I am a unique human being with talents and abilities that nobody who has ever lived or will ever live, possesses. I am worthy of love, I am worthy of respect and I am the equal of any person, anywhere.”
That definition may sound a bit daunting to those of us who suffer from self-doubt or consider ourselves innately shy and reticent but trust me – “you are an incredible human being who is blessed and talented”. We all are, which is why self-love is important to our own self-esteem and beliefs.
If you have doubts – well, let’s just listen, for a minute, to some of the greatest leaders, teachers and visionaries who ever walked the earth and really absorb what they are saying about YOU:
“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection”
Buddha (Leader of Buddhism)
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (American Lecturer, Essayist & Philosopher)
“If you don’t love yourself, nobody will. Not only that, you won’t be good at loving anyone else. Loving starts with the self.”
Wayne Dyer (New Thought Author)
“Drop the idea of becoming someone, because you are already a masterpiece. You cannot be improved. You only have to come to it, to realise it.”
Osho Rajneesh (Indian Spiritual Leader)
“You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anyone.”
Maya Angelou (American poet, writer and activist)
For me, personally, the whole concept of self-love is perfectly encapsulated in a quote from Rhonda Byrne in her seminal work, The Secret:
“Treat yourself the way you want to be treated by others … love yourself and you will be loved.”
Why is Self-Love Important:
As each year passes, life it seems gets busier and busier. We live in the age of technology, of labour-saving devices, of instant communication and yet, somehow, we seem to have less and less time to devote to the most important thing in our lives – ourselves. How many of you reading this are nodding your heads, sagely and thinking, “yep, you got that right, for sure”. Whether it is our work, our partner, our children, our community groups, our commitments to others, we seem to have little or no ability to spend time with ourselves and more importantly, time to love and pamper ourselves.
Self-love, or self-care, if you prefer, is critical to our physical, mental and spiritual health and yet we invariably CHOOSE to put it at the bottom of our priority list. Why is that? Are we not important enough to put ourselves at the top of our priority list? The truth is – many of us think we are not and I’ll go into why that is so and how to overcome these impediments in our next blog on this topic, however, for now it is important to understand that we are the ones making the CHOICE to ignore our own needs for the needs of others – we are the ones who control our own lives and yet we choose not to and do so at our peril.
Even from the standpoint of putting others in our lives first, self-love is critical. How can we be effective and helpful to our employers, our family, our partner and everyone else in our life if we neglect our own health and well-being? Not taking care of ourselves leaves us depleted, ineffective and lacking energy. What good are we to others in that condition? When we are physically, mentally or spiritually exhausted we struggle to keep our relationships fresh, healthy and vibrant. Over time this will chip away at our self-esteem and confidence.
Simply put, self-love means accepting who you are, completely and fully, always aware that you are a unique, vibrant and special human being who has much to offer to the world. By treating yourself with kindness and respect, you truly will begin to grow, mature and develop that self-esteem and confidence you always dreamed of having. People with confidence and self-esteem don’t get given it by others, it comes from within – the power is inside of you.
What many people fail to grasp about self-love is that it isn’t just about “pampering” yourself – taking yourself out for a treat or giving yourself a bonus (although those are good things in their own right), no, self-love goes much deeper than the surface and deeper than those things of this world. Self-love encompasses what you think about yourself – your thoughts and beliefs about who you are and what you are. If you are continually complaining to yourself about your body shape, or comparing yourself, detrimentally, to others, you are not practicing self-love. When someone “burns” you with a nasty comment about your body, your looks, your intelligence, your work performance, or just your mere existence as a human being – it hurts, right? It damages you, right? Well it shouldn’t and here’s why: What anyone thinks or says about you is irrelevant – it’s just their opinion and you shouldn’t give a toss about what they think of you. The only thing that really matters is what you think of yourself.
“No one can make you feel inferior, without your consent.”
Eleanor Roosevelt (American First Lady)
Loving yourself and believing in yourself doesn’t mean you will always feel positive about yourself. We all have self-doubts creeping in from time to time as that pernicious little gremlin in our heads (our ego) keeps reminding us of our past failures and our past beliefs. No, feeling temporarily angry, upset, or disappointed with yourself doesn’t mean you don’t love yourself anymore. I mean, you get angry with your children or your partner from time to time but do you stop loving them? Of course not! And the same applies to yourself. What we need to do is to cultivate an environment and a meticulous habit of loving ourselves.
The Mental-Health Benefits of Self-Love:
We live in a fast-paced world that often seems scary and out of control. It is so easy to allow ourselves to be sucked into the vortex of despair and fear that the events around us seem to be conspiring to create. Our mental health can suffer dramatically because of this – we only need to look at the suicide and attempted suicide rates worldwide to realise that, for many, this world has simply become too hard for them to cope with.
The World Health Organisation presents us with some incredibly sobering statistics: They estimate that approximately one million people commit suicide every single year – that’s a global mortality rate of 16 people per 100,000 or one death every 40 seconds – horrifying, isn’t it? Worse, they predict that by 2020 it will be one death every 20 seconds.
- In the last 45 years suicide rates have increased by 60% worldwide.
- Suicide is now one of the top three leading cause of death for both sexes aged: 15-44.
- Suicide attempts are estimated at 20 times more frequent than completed suicides.
- Mental health disorders (particularly depression and substance abuse) are associated with more than 90% of all suicide cases.
As a world-wide society we are becoming sicker and the reason, to me, is fairly obvious: As a people, in the pursuit of some overarching societal expectations and goals, we have completely forgotten to love ourselves first and foremost and to follow our own dreams, goals and desires. Simply put – we’ve forgotten to “follow our bliss”. (Much more about this in later blogs)
Simple Practical Steps to Achieve Self-Love:
(I’ll go into this in much greater detail in Blog Three of this series, but for now, I’ll just give you some food for thought on how you can begin this journey to self-love).
Say positive things to yourself (“I am unique – I am amazing”)- Forgive yourself if you mess up (We all mess up – we shouldn’t unduly berate ourselves over it)
- Prioritize your own health and well-being (Put your own oxygen mask on first)
- Don’t let others take advantage of you (Your time is as precious as theirs)
- Don’t let people denigrate you (Don’t respond – just laugh and walk away)
- Spend time around positive, supportive people (You are the sum of your five best friends)
- Ask for help, if you need it (It’s not weak to ask for help – it’s strong)
- If you hurt someone – apologise (An apology is NEVER a sign of weakness)
- Let go of anger and never hold a grudge (Anger hurts you – never the person you are angry at!)
- Treat yourself occasionally (especially healthy treats – you deserve them!)
- Accept that you are not perfect and love yourself anyway
I’ll finish today with one of the best quotes I know to sum up this whole area of self-love, self-care, self-belief, and self-esteem. It’s a quote from Richard P Feynman, an American theoretical physicist who was part of the Manhattan Project which developed the first nuclear bomb.
“You have no responsibility to live up to what other people think you ought to accomplish. I have no responsibility to be like they expect me to be. It’s their mistake, not my failing.”
Next week we will look, in much more depth, at the impediments to self-love. What stops us from achieving what I hope you will now agree is an important level – the ability to love ourselves, in all our uniqueness and all our flaws? You won’t want to miss that.
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If you liked what you read here, please do check out our previous blogs. The last four can be found here:
- Crystals Through The Ages:
- Healing Crystals:
- Crystals and Money, Money, Money:
- Crystals – What Do We Make of Them?
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Finally, today, please do pop on over to the section of my website that highlights my Visionary Fiction “whodunit” mystery, Spirit of Prophecy, which incorporates many of the ideas and philosophies discussed in my blog into a fast-paced, fictional, thriller. I know you’ll enjoy it. You can find that here:
Till Next Time I’m Sending: Peace and Light
The Ancient Egyptians were noted for their extensive crystal use. They used turquoise, carnelian, emeralds, lapis lazuli and clear quartz in their jewellery. In addition to this their funerary amulets were also made from these same gems. Crystals were used by the Egyptians for protection and health. For example, Chrysolite (known as topaz and perodite) were used as a deterrent to nightmares and to ward off evil spirits.
Perhaps the Greeks, more than any other civilization brought us the world of crystals as we know it today. They believed crystals were extremely powerful and gave us many of the words we use for crystals, today.
The crystal that was most prevalent and important in ancient Chinese culture was undoubtedly, Jade. Jade was highly valued and even some Chinese written characters represent Jade beads. Many musical instruments, in the form of gongs and chimes were made from Jade and Chinese Emperors were often known to be buried in armour made from Jade.
The middle of the nineteenth century saw a massive spiritual movement known as “New Thought” take hold across Europe and the Americas. The “New Thought” movement, with its fascination and emphasis on the power of thought, vibration, spiritualism, the occult, and energy movement saw a resurgence in the use of crystals as healing talismans. Many of the practices we see re-emerging right through to the current day owe their roots to the traditional native beliefs we have discussed earlier but rely much more on modern science and the belief that everything is energy and crystals and gemstones, like some other materials are magnificent conductors of energy.
Ultimately, crystals can only form a part of an overall wellness regime that includes: diet, sleep, exercise, meditation, natural remedies and yes, modern medical care. All these things should work together in harmony to achieve a balanced, healthy, and happy human being.
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The basic theory behind healing crystals is the idea that they harness the life-giving elements of both the Earth, in particular, and the Universe in general. The crystals harness the energy and vibrations of the sun, the moon, the oceans, and all living things. This energy is passed on to us through contact with the crystals. As discussed in previous articles there has to be this willingness to connect, this requires an open mind, on our part to receive the true benefits of the crystals. There is limited scientific analysis of the curative properties of crystals, but the anecdotal evidence is wide-spread and substantial. Our forebears used crystals as indeed they used natural herbs and plants to assist them in curing disease and promoting health. Most of these ancient remedies have since been proven through modern medicine, to be valid and viable healthy alternatives. Remember, almost all of our modern pills and prescriptions, although often mass-produced synthetically, originally came from the plants and animals in our world. Given that, would it not be presumptuous of us to assume the ancients were right about herbs and plants, but wrong about crystals? I think so. We need to approach crystals with the same holistic approach we used to determine the efficacy of herbal and plant remedies – with an open mind and a willing heart.
Enhances intuition;
Promotes self-love;
Deters negative energy;
Assists awareness;
The Divine Stone;
The protector stone;
Helps us conquer our fears;
A symbol of vitality, contentment, energy and the zest for life;
Is the symbol of purity;
The bringer of good fortune;
If nothing else, I hope I’ve piqued your interest in this fascinating world of crystals to make you want to do some further research on the subject and maybe, just maybe, dip your toes into the waters of the wonderful world of crystals. Just start with one and see what effects it has on your life. Remember, though, approach all of this with an open, receptive and inquiring mind and you cannot go wrong.
If you liked what you read here, please do check out our previous blogs. The last four can be found here:
Firstly, though, I’d like to offer you a wonderful opportunity to download, for FREE, a wonderful report full of phenomenal prosperity tips, and practical actions to take. Not exactly what your Financial Advisor might recommend, rather a magical mixture of sound financial advice and how to become energetically attuned to wealth.
I touched on this Crystal briefly in my last blog. Pyrite (or as we more commonly know it – fool’s gold) is well recognised as being a crystal that helps us to manifest wealth.
Citrine can be used in association with meditation. It relates specifically to your third chakra (the solar plexus) and resonates with the colour yellow. Our third chakra is where the seed of how we treat money and think about abundance is located, so using this stone in conjunction with your meditation can be extremely powerful.
Green jade, Green aventurine, Green moss agate: If you want to wear your crystals (and many people do) then Green Jade is perfect for that and it has been associated with abundance since ancient times.
Well, those are just some of the crystals that are associated with wealth and abundance. I do hope you will give them a try. For maximum benefit choose eight crystals, as in Chaldean – Hebrew and Kabala numerology systems, 8 is the number of wealth and prosperity. Also ideally include some green crystals, as green is the energetic and actual [in some currency denominations] colour of money.
Crystals have been around since the earth was formed, some four and a half billion years ago. Some, in the new thought movement, who are channelling from higher dimensions [Earth is on the 3rd of at least 13 dimensions], tell us that we are shifting from the carbon state to crystalline as part of the Earth’s ascension process. Ever since man first gazed in wonder at the crystalline nature of certain rocks and gems, he has used them for a variety of purposes. Almost every civilisation, in the history of the planet, has believed in and used the power of crystals for their spiritual, metaphysical and healing powers. Ancient Mayans, Incas, Egyptians and even today’s “new thought” spiritualists recognised and understood the benefits these crystals brought to our lives. Crystals are used today to heal disease, sickness, in meditation, and also in many different religious rituals.
The actual term crystal does not, in fact, refer to an object as such, but rather a form of structure. A crystal is nothing more than a particular collection of molecules or atoms and can come in a variety of shapes and sizes, each with its own specific characteristics. The composition of the crystal will determine what form it will take. For example, crystals can be made from simple salt, in your own kitchen, forming cubed-shaped crystals. Many gemstones, such as diamonds and rubies are crystals. When carbon is in the form of a diamond, it can be used to cut other gemstones as well as being used in a variety of every-day items such as watches (quartz crystal), early radios, electricity conduction and a whole host of other mechanical uses. In 1880, Pierre Curie discovered that by putting pressure on various crystals, including quartz, topaz and tourmaline, he was able to create electricity. This phenomenon, called the Piezoelectric effect, is why crystals are used as essential elements in computers, TV screens, iPhones and satellites.
What we will be focusing on when examining the power and use of crystals in our everyday lives will be principally the crystalline rock formations (often called gemstones) that we can have around us at all times to assist us. The reason quartz crystals were (and still are, in some cases) used in watches is because of their vibrational properties. Quartz crystal vibrates every second when a current is passed across it and was therefore perfect for watches which require accuracy of timing. Both our bodies and crystals have energetic vibrations. When we align our body’s vibrations with those of a particular gemstone there is a natural energetic or healing effect that occurs. For example, healing crystals and gemstones have a powerful vibratory impact when they are placed directly on your body. The energy in the crystal surges into you and assists the free flow of energy all around your body.
This is probably the most commonly asked question and one that creates much debate both within and outside the scientific community. Although most scientists will be quick to point out that there is no hard, quantifiable evidence of the benefits of crystals, I would just remind you that almost all modern medicine and cures come originally from the natural world and many of these cures have come down through the generations from natural, tribal practices. For aeons, every ancient civilisation has utilised crystals as part of their overall holistic approach to health and well-being. There are certainly studies that have suggested that crystals can increase the alkalinity of water as well as some solid science on the health benefits of crystals in skincare. For example, finely milled quartz is often used in exfoliating creams and magnetised tourmaline, when added to skin cleanser, has been shown to improve cleansing efficacy and boost circulation.
There are many various types of crystal, each of which has an effect on you. I will go into the different benefits we can expect from various crystals in future blogs, however, here I just want to give you a few short examples of the power that can be expected from certain crystals.
In my three recent blogs on happiness, I gave you some simple, yet very effective, practical steps you can take to ensure that you make that choice of happiness every single moment of your day. 
Maintain an attitude of GRATITUDE. Most of us think we are grateful people but when we sit down and analyse it, are we really? How quick are you to blame other people when things go wrong? How often do you say, “why me, what did I do to deserve this?” or “damn, nothing good ever happens to me”.
“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is, thank you, it will be enough.”
Now, don’t get me wrong, there is fear that is good and legitimate. It is what we know as the “fight or flight” response. When we are in potentially lethal situations, we have imprinted into our DNA an automatic fear that is meant to save us from these dangers. I’m not suggesting, for a second, that we get into a cage with a tiger, or try to cross a gorge on a thin tightrope (unless that’s your thing, of course). No, what I am talking about here is psychological fear – the type of fear that stops us from achieving our true potential as human beings.
So, forget that wild little ego chatter, forget what people will say (who cares?), and forget your innate sense of failure – failure is and has always been a crucial building block in success. Very few people get it “right” first time – but here’s the rub; if you don’t participate in the race, you sure can’t win it. You want to do all these things; whatever they are. They are the things that give you passion, joy, excitement and achievement – and it is your right to do them; but if you don’t even try because you are paralyzed by memories of past failures, you have condemned yourself to nothing more than mere existing.
In the immortal words of Mr. Nike,
You are incredibly special – you are a unique individual who has creative talents and abilities that nobody else that has ever lived or will ever live, has. When we realize that we are limitless in our potential then we actually can change the world. If we live to our own potential and continue to grow – if we become who we really are, instead of a facade or a mask that we put on every morning, we will live a life that is infinitely happier and more joyous than we do now. Imagine the effect of that on your loved ones, your work colleagues, your friends. They will marvel at this free, happy, contented you and as in the famous line from; “When Harry Met Sally”, they also will exclaim:
Life is SUPPOSED to be wonderful: This is absolutely true and for many, something that is equally hard to accept. Many of us were brought up in an environment where there was a scarcity of everything, where Mum and Dad (or whoever was responsible for us) worked relentlessly hard every hour in the day, 24/7, just to put food on the table and a roof over our heads. We grew up with the mind-set that life was hard, that nothing came easy, and that we would always struggle to make ends meet in this cruel, unforgiving world. The problem with that type of thinking is this: “Thoughts are things and they create the reality of the world around us “ If we believe life is hard and an eternal struggle, then that is what life will be. Let us aim to adjust our thinking, to believe in abundance and more specifically in abundance for US, personally. There’s a quote from Rhonda Byrne in her seminal work, “The Magic”, that I think describes this paradox perfectly.
Attitude is EVERYTHING: Your attitude determines what you think about, your emotional state, and your beliefs. What you think about, your beliefs, and your emotional state absolutely determines what will come into your life in the way of circumstances and people. Positive thoughts, positive emotions and positive actions will lead to an upgrade of positive outcomes. The reverse, is of course, equally true. This is an immutable law of the Universe – this is Newton’s Third Law of Thermodynamics – for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Sometimes called Karma, it’s really quite simple; what you put out there into the Universe is what you’ll get back, from the Universe. What goes around, comes around.
LOVE is the ultimate power of the Universe: Almost every single leader, teacher, philosopher, and prophet, throughout history, has had the same basic message for us – LOVE one another. (The Golden Rule). There’s a reason for that – they knew the “secret”, they understood that love is the most powerful force in the Universe and that all positive things in life come from love, whilst all negative things, come from a lack of love. What an incredible shame it is, that we, humanity, have chosen to largely ignore this simple precept in favour of other dogma that suits our EGO, our plans, our ambitions, or our need for dominance over others.
The PRESENT is absolutely all that really matters to us. We cannot change what happened yesterday – yes we can apologise for our mistakes, perhaps try to atone for them but we cannot change what we did, how we reacted, or what we said. Yesterday is gone. Similarly, why waste our precious time worrying about the future, about what might happen, what potential pitfalls lie ahead? We make our own future by the way we think, act and react today! We are the masters of our own destiny, if only we realise it.
The new thought (sometimes known as higher thought) movement first came to prominence in the middle of the 19th Century with the teachings of mesmerist and healer Phineas Quimby. Quimby believed that illness originated in the mind as a consequence of erroneous beliefs, and that a mind, open to God’s wisdom, could overcome any illness. By the middle of the 19th Century, Quimby’s metaphysical healing beliefs were beginning to mix with the mental science of Warren Felt Evans and the Christian science of Mary Baker Eddy. By the end of the Century a series of essays on Your Forces and How to Use Them by Prentice Mulford, a book by William Walker Atkinson, titled Thought Vibration or the Law of Attraction in the Thought World, along with Bruce MacLelland’s book Prosperity Through Thought Force, all served to crystalize what we now think of as the Law of Attraction – “You are what you think; not what you think you are”.
Simply this; if, as I believe, we are spiritual beings merely embarking on a human journey, then we must assume we were something before we became human and we will be something after we are human. We understand from the First Law of Thermodynamics: Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only change its form. New thought teachings tell us we are exactly that – energy! We can neither be created nor destroyed but can only change our form. It follows, therefore, that we must have existed before we became human and we will exist after we are human – we are eternal beings. Indeed, it seems to me that there are many, many, different kinds of beings, which exist on numerous different dimensions such as– Spirit, Divine Beings of Light, Extraterrestrial, Galactic, Angelic, Power Animals, Creator and Guardian Light Beings. In some dimensions both lighter and darker beings exist, just like here on Earth – as above, so below. So it is. Blessed be. In the higher vibrational realms or dimensions there are levels, a little like school grades it seems…life, the universe, and everything, eh? I don’t claim to be an expert about the “out there or the other side,” but I do subscribe to the concepts of Star-seeds, Indigos, Crystals and Lightworkers, as I discuss in the About the Book and Authors Notes section in my novel Spirit of Prophecy, which also [much to my surprise as I was never until recently a UFO sort] features a pop-in arrival of ET’s.
“We are stardust, we are golden, we are one- billion- year old carbon.”
“Remember to look up at the stars not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist.”
If we follow the Law of Attraction, we are committed to try and live our lives in “the present”. We are encouraged not to dwell on the past or to worry about the future – the past cannot be changed [although its negative limitations can be carried forwards but they can be cleared/released] and the future will be shaped by what we intend, believe and do today. There is a particularly compelling paragraph in one of Rhonda Byrne’s books where she posits the thought that our departed loved ones are still actually with us, but we cannot always see or hear from them because they are all on the “level of love”. That idea appeals immensely to me.
Karma is a layered process: ancestral, past life, familial [our cells/DNA store memories which we may or may not be aware of], inner child, and present day. Karma from a past life can have a ripple effect causing wrinkles and reverberations throughout time and dimensions. This is another theme raised in my metaphysical/visionary crime novel Spirit of Prophecy and also why Akashic Record access is potentially advantageous, since clearing negative karma in say C12th could have a cascade affect on clearing the consequential limiting beliefs that are still showing up today!
In our next blog we will look at something that we all need more of, in this frantic, fast-paced world but far too often ignore or put off – meditation. What does it achieve and why should we do it? Be sure to catch that blog.
The teachings of Buddha in this area focus specifically on the actions a person takes in their lifetime, leading directly to what type of new existence they will reincarnate into after death. Reincarnation, in Buddhist lore is an endless cycle known as “samsara”. This cycle of death and rebirth is considered to be “dukkha” (unsatisfactory and painful). This endless death and rebirth can only be halted by the attainment of liberation or “enlightenment” which can be achieved by reaching insight and the extinguishing of personal desires. The idea of rebirth is foundational to Buddhist thought, along with karma, nirvana, and moksha (freedom from ignorance).
Traditional Buddhist teaching speaks of six possible realms of rebirth (also known as reincarnation or metempsychosis). These six realms (The Gati) include three good realms; Deva (heavenly), Asura (demigod), and Manusya (human). There are also three lower realms Tiryak (animals), Preta (ghosts), and Naraka (hellish). Where you end up after rebirth is totally dependent on one thing – KARMA. Your actions, thoughts and deeds in this and previous lives will determine what realm you will be reborn into in the next life. Good Karma will get you into the three good realms – bad karma, not so great; this theory says you will be heading for the lower realms.
At this stage, I will say that personally I don’t fully agree with the six realms described above, nor the endless suffering concept of “samsara.” Based on my personal experience with animals reincarnating – the story of my show jumper Redbrook returning some years later as Hooray Henry, is fictionalized in my novel Spirit of Prophecy. These two horses had a contract with me to reincarnate in order to allow me to get the ending right the second time around. Animals have souls, and moreover as I intuit it, they form part of our soul group connections and come back offering love to assist us here on Earth [the 3rd physical dimension] and to support us and help us or teach us something we really need to learn.
People who abuse those smaller and more helpless [animals] or the innocent [children] have plenty of seriously heavy karma to shift – deservedly, and so it is! Equally, I don’t imagine that simply turning a blind eye and choosing to ignore rather than acting to stop/prevent/report/expose such abuse, will go entirely un-noticed. Maybe next time around those adopting passive “whatever,” not-my-problem strategies, will get to experience abuse themselves plus what it feels like when no-one responds to their sobs, let-alone steps up to help or support them? Living in the now, and being positive also requires paying attention, and the intention to stay in alignment with your divine souls’ integrity, and willingness to empathize and walk in another person’s shoes, surely?
Next, I want to touch briefly on the role reincarnation plays in Hindu thought and teaching, bearing in mind that both Buddhism and Hinduism grew out of the ancient Vedic principles.
In the afterlife the soul is believed to be reborn (based on your Karma) into one of three realms: Heaven, Hell, or Earth (as either a human or an animal). It is important to note that wherever you are reborn, it is only temporary. Gods also die again, once their stored karma has been used up. The same is true for those sent to Hell. Everyone gets another chance, back on Earth, to do it all again, in an endless cycle. Like Buddhism, this cycle can only be broken after one embarks on a spiritual journey, gains deep self-knowledge and thereby gains moksha (liberation, freedom, release), believed to be a state of “utter bliss”. In Hindu tradition, this state of utter bliss is identical to what is known as Brahman. Brahman is described as, the “pervasive, genderless, infinite, eternal truth, which never changes and yet is the cause of all changes. It is a metaphysical concept that is seen as the single binding unity of all diversity that exists in the Universe.” Perhaps the best definition I’ve read of Brahman is that it is the unchanging reality that existed before the creation of the Universe, exists today and will still exist long after the Universe has disappeared.
Although different Hindu and Buddhist sects exist that teach differing ways of approaching rebirth and of how to achieve enlightenment, it is easy to see that both religions approach the topic in very similar ways and that the inviolable principles of karma, reincarnation and enlightenment run through every school of thought. There are, of course, other religions, offshoots and philosophies that embrace the idea of reincarnation, including, but not limited to; Jainism, Judaism, Sikhism, Yoruba, Native American Tribes, and even to a limited extent in some Christian denominations.
There is a reason why love has always been at the centre of all great religions and faiths. Simply put, love is the ultimate power in the Universe. Everything good, joyful and wonderful in this world, and in our lives, is brought about by love. Everything negative, sad and destructive in the world and in our lives, is brought about simply; by a lack of love, lack of compassion and compounded by fear. The key to success and happiness is to “FALL IN LOVE WITH LIFE”. Yes, love is an emotion, and probably the most powerful of all emotions, but it is so much more than that – it is a force, a power that drives our very existence. If it were not for love, we would not even exist. It was the poet Robert Browning who said; “Take away love and our earth is a tomb”. If the force of love were to disappear from the earth tomorrow, humanity would dwindle and eventually die out.
What allows these exceptional achievers to reach the heights that they reach is exactly the same thing that resides in each and every one of us. We are complete – there is nothing missing in us or in our makeup. We all have, inside of us, the tools and abilities to achieve anything we desire and indeed to share our gifts and be of service and assistance to others. The key to success is in understanding and harnessing the greatest power in the Universe – Love!
I’m guessing here that there are some people reading this who are thinking; “Hmmm, you’re very good at throwing clichés around, but how exactly am I supposed to ‘fall in love with life’?” Well, that’s what I’m here for; to give practical, simple steps to achieve our ultimate goal of being happy. So, how do you “fall in love with life”? You fall in love with life in the same way you fall in love with another; initially you adore everything about them, you see only good things in that person, then over time you notice the negative things in that person; you may openly point these things out and air things if they are too serious to ignore, but in the main you focus on the positives.
Don’t criticize, judge or gossip about others. That is not giving love! There is so much to love about everyone we meet; if we look always for the positive in people. We don’t know their stories and we can only change one person – ourselves; so, “live and let live!”
We live on a gorgeous, beautiful, planet with plentiful [but not unlimited] resources. Does an apple tree decide who is worthy of getting to eat its apples? No of course not. When we, as a human race, fully embrace the concept of loving each other, embracing and celebrating our differences rather than fearing or hating them – we will have shifted the Earth, [Gaia] into vibrating at a higher and way more harmonious level. Lower emotions like fear, hatred, judgement, revenge and lack of compassion/empathy make the shadows darker, the light deserves our focus and joyous intentions. Be part of the movement to change and upgrade our world, by changing yourself. You can, do and will make a difference.
