Mindful & Sacred
"May the sun bring you new energy by day, may the moon softly restore you by night, may the rain wash away your worries, may the breeze blow new strength into your being, may you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life."
-Apache Blessing
I am what I think. All that I am Arises.
With my thoughts, I make my world.
-Buddha
We do not see things as they are.
We see them as we are.
-The Talmud
As you get older you will understand more and more that it's not about what you look like or what you own, it's all about the person you've become.
-Unknown
You are not a drop in the ocean.
You are the entire ocean in a drop.
-Rumi
On Being Spiritual:
I see myself as a very spiritual person, in revernce of nature, the kindredship with animals, as an addition to the family unit or as a totem spirit, animals greatly enrich human lives.
I am of no official religious denomination, although raised with Christianity, as a child I worshipped Fairies and Goblins, and wondered how the dinosaurs, evolution, natural selection and the fossil record fit in. As an adult, I chose to learn and know for myself which spiritual philosophy to pursue, if any. For a long time, I abandoned any kind of organized religion, but remained drawn to ancient nature reverence and Goddess worship found in Neolithic and Palaolithic societies. I studied and practiced alternatives like Confucianism, Paganism, Zen-Buddhism, and to holistically heal my spiritual wound, I tried Aromatherapy, Reflexology, and some Herbalism. I feel it is very important in this day and age of chaos, catastophy, and spiritual deficiency, to continue to carry on the ancient traditions regardless of what faith you are, and to balance healing with spirituality. Take everything you need from the ancestoral wealth of knowlede and use it to enrich your spiritual life. Use multi-demoninational ceremonies, rites, and spiritual celebrations that mark the momentous passing of seasons and our life. Regardless of our baptisms, or labels, we should intermingle and connect across religious barriers as one human being to the other.
IMAGE SOURCE: Midsummer sunset at Stonehenge, at English Heritage website.
IMAGE SOURCE: Pagan origins of Easter hare and egg symbolism, from Swide.com
IMAGE SOURCE: Celtic Wheel of the Year calendar by MyndeMayfield.com.
ANCIENT CELTIC COSMOLOGY:
Marking the Eightfold Year by Solstice & Equinox
Midwinter (Yule)
20-13 December
Imbolc
2 February
Ostara (Germanic) meaning "Eastern Star" celebrated the Goddess of Spring, the Teutonic basis for Easter
19-22 March
Vernal Equinox - SPRING EQUINOX
Attis deity
Fertility Celebrations
Beltane, or Floralia crowns the May Queen and celebrates the light of the year that shines brighter
(Germanic) Walpurgis Night
1 May
Midsummer (Litha)
19-22 June
Lammas is Loaf Mass or feasting from the fruits of the field, grain
Lughnasadh also called August Eve, celebrates Lugh deity
1 August
Mabon
21-24 Sepember
Autumnal Equinox: Harvest Home, Mabon, Feat of the Ingathering, Mean Fomhair/Alban Elfed
Samhain: celebrates the coming darkness of the year, the closeness of ancestors departed
1 November
Samhain labyrinth celebration at Shropshire, UK from the website: Druidcamp.org.
DIWALI - The Hindu Festival of Lights, according to the Lunisolar month Kartik, falls on the darkest night, on the night of the full moon. Following the Gregorian calendar, Diwali Night is a five day celebration and falls sometime during mid-October to mid-November.
According to the Hinduism Today 2012 publication, Diwali - The Celebrating the Triump of Goodness "The festival spiritually signifies the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, good over evil, and hope over despair,"
PHOTO CREDIT: Diwali, Wikimedia by Sunharnab Majumdar.
Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over,
It became a butterfly.
-Proverb
PHOTO CREDIT: Japanese Bon Lantern Festival, by C.J. Gunther.
GERMANIC HEATHENISM:
The Naughts and Blots
MUTTERNAUGHT - 21 December
Yule Blot - 19 to 26 December
DISABLOT - 31 January to 1 February
Vali's Blot - 14 February celebrates love and deity Vali
OSTARABLOT - 19 to 26 March
Summerfinding - Mid-April marks the start of Summer
Yggdrasil Day - 22 April celebrates nature, specifically trees like the world tree it is named after
MIDSUMMERBOLT - 19 to 26 June
FREYFAXI - 1 August
HAUSTBLOT - 19 to 26 September
Winterfinding - Mid-October celebrates the start of Winter
WINTERNAUGHT - 31 October to 1 November
Feast of the Einherjar - 11 November remebers those lost in battle
Ancestors' Blot - 11 November a day those of Germanic celebration of thier ancestry
IMAGE SOURCE: Ancient ivory statue of the goddess from Afghanistan, by Peter Macdiarmid from The Guardian website.
Ways To Be More Mindful of the Simple Pleasure of Sacred rites to your day:
-Make a nice pit of herbal tea, or partake in a tea ritual
-Healing baths, hotspring, skinnydip, sauna, and sweatlodge
-Power of a good cry, growl, embrage, kiss, laugh...
-Sing an incantation, mantra, song, divination, or spell
-Grounding, or Dowsing
-Geomancy using rocks, crystals, fossils, incense, smudge
-Aromatherapy
IMAGE SOURCE: Helm of Awe, Norse Paganism from Redbuttonscom.
He whose face gives no light,
Shall never become a star.
-William Blake
IMAGE SOUCE: Medicine Man uses healing sage eagle feather and abalone shell ceremonial smudge, from the DesertStarHealing website.
MORE COMING ON:
HINDU, SHINTO, DAO, BON, ZEN, ABORIGINAL, NATIVE, and BUDDHIST spiritual celebrations.
KEEP WATCHING FOR MORE UPDATES...
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