Ode to Phyllis: Happy are they who live and die enjoying what they love
And here the precious dust is layd;
Whose purely temper’d Clay was made
So fine, that it the guest betray’d.
Else the soule grew so fast within,
It broke the outward shell of sinne,
And so was hatch’d a Cherubin.
~Thomas Carew
Many of you may know that I recently moved, but maybe not that I’m living in the same neighborhood or that I’ve been here for the last 12 years. I’d gotten to know a few of my neighbors who were more settled than the mostly transient population of our village. Of those I knew by name, I’ve admired Phyllis a great deal.
Phyllis had created a fairy kingdom of a home, a loving project that spanned a half century or so. Her cottage looks like something from the English countryside. She tended a rare and unique moss in her yard. Her graceful trees sheltered choruses of birds making nests and heralding the passing hours, night and day. Her roof was thatch shingled, and I often swore I’d just seen Read More »
Or Does the ego provide the test?
I love this diagram of Freud’s psyche theory (courtesy of Wikipedia). Although the ego (when used to describe the negative part of our psyche) can seem to play a large role in our lives when out of control, it is really only a small part of who we are (or surmise we are). 
Sometimes I receive phone calls from people concerned about their experience with a teacher who appears to be lost in the ego. Each situation of course is unique, and each individual is responsible for taking care that they are not permitting another to abuse them, whether that other be a revered teacher or not.
Haven’t we all faced the decision whether to sacrifice a teaching or spiritual experience just because the teacher appears to have fallen from a pedestal? It’s how you respond to any circumstance, no matter how provocative, that can show you where you may need to shore up your inner reserves or make stronger connections with your inner teacher.
Your true teacher can safely Read More »
Paul Gauguin – Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? – 1897
What’s really important to you?
“What’s really important in life? Sitting on a beach? Looking at television eight hours a day? I think we have to appreciate that we’re alive for only a limited period of time, and we’ll spend most of our lives working.
That being the case, I believe one of the most important priorities is to do whatever we do as well as we can. We should take pride in that.”
~Victor Kiam
Whenever you hear the term ‘life purpose‘, what comes to mind? Note any juxtaposition of thought and feeling that may come up. Maybe you feel you are not doing something grand enough to qualify for a life purpose.
What is more grand than Read More »
Seven Chakra Keys
Seven chakra keys of alchemy
In this series on Alchemy, I’ve mentioned a foolproof method for successful alchemy. This method is not for sale. And you can master these keys if you put your whole body-mind to it.
So, with all this personal power you have been mastering, you should be able to just wave a magic wand and create whatever you desire, right? Not exactly and here’s why:
Although it takes spiritual alignment and alchemy to create, you need ‘something more’ to do the job successfully. That ‘something more’? A rock solid, personal value system to hold it all together.
Sadly, such habits for preserving personal power are often the most neglected aspect of living. Their lack is usually found at the core of mediocrity or even failure. How can you ensure you are building a solid value system? By adopting or reaffirming the spiritual values listed Read More »
Harp (image courtesy of Wikipedia)
Alchemy and The Golden Rule
As mentioned in my previous articles in this series on Alchemy, there are foolproof keys for successfully completing your alchemy. But it’s important to understand what opposes these keys before you can use them to shore up your reserves.
Then you can master them to safeguard and preserve all the energy you’ve hopefully begun reclaiming by following this plan.
So let’s look at another cause of most failure or sense of failure. It’s something not covered in The Secret, nor by many marketers claiming to hold the secret behind The Secret. But it’s been around forever, and is as valuable and solid as the Golden Rule.
It may well be the keynote of the Golden Rule, played on the harp strings of your chakras. To play it is to be the Alchemist of all Alchemy. But the consequence of breaking the Read More »
Do you Balance your power?
If you have been reading my previous articles in this series on alchemy, it may be obvious by now that you need both power and balance to create.
That’s because it’s as important to learn to recharge and preserve Read More »
Your energy is your true fortune
Spiritual alchemy is unique to each person. And because it’s the foundation for anything you set out to do, it requires energy.
Your personal energy is stored in your chakras on all planes, and is evident in all elements: spiritual, mental, emotional and physical. You definitely miss having your energy if it’s drained or depleted. So what do you do to restore it? Read More »
Projects require ideas, plans and energy to follow through
What does personal power and personal energy have to do with spiritual alchemy? Plenty. Because unless you have enough personal power to follow through, it’s difficult if not impossible to successfully create. To create from your spiritual concepts, you must align them with your mental, emotional, and physical power. But it takes a great deal of Read More »
“How often did you boast that you could face death at any rate with a quiet mind!”
Will you realize once for all that it is not death that is the source of all man’s evils, and of a mean and cowardly spirit, but rather the fear of death? Against this fear then I would have you discipline yourself; to this let all your reasonings, your lectures, and your trainings be directed; and then you will know that only so do men achieve their freedom. ~Epictetus
The title of this article is from the opening line of The Discourses of Epictetus, Chapter XXVI To Those Who Fear Want. (The headline and quote are also from that chapter). Epictetus had, as do all philosophers, a lot to teach us.
But I’m not mining for nuggets in his discourse so much as from the mythology about the manner of his death. For Read More »
Who in the world would reject their good?
If I asked you, “Do you reject prosperity?” you would most likely reply, “No, of course not – at least not consciously.”
And that’s true. You might be worried about finances, but you believe you wouldn’t reject the answer to improving them. Or you might feel that at least you are trying to learn what to do in an unstable economic condition.
The same is true about issues around lack in other areas of life. You wouldn’t consciously reject real solutions to concerns about health, love, joy or Read More »
If you knew you had three to six months to live, what would you like to leave as legacy?
No one knows when their time comes, but everyone knows this life is transitory. If you are looking to make your life the best reflection of your highest aspirations, maybe it’s Read More »
Many of you may know that I recently moved, but maybe not that I’m living in the same neighborhood or that I’ve been here for the last 12 years. I’d gotten to know a few of my neighbors who were more settled than the mostly transient population of our village. Of those I knew by name, I’ve admired Phyllis a great deal.