Taking oneself into the Vortex

Last year, a friend of mine, a well known figure in the esoteric field, started a new business. She was making herself more readily available to the man in the street, for those who had questions that needed answers. Who am I? Why am I here? What is my purpose? What happens when we die? Can my departed loved one talk to me? What does it mean when I see ~ hear ~ feel things? The kind of questions that are often not satisfactorily answered in our places of worship, our families, our communities. Perhaps because we have for so long divorced ourselves from all that is 'not pretty' in life. We prefer clean, clear, sanitized.

And then she took her own life. Leaving behind loved ones. Little ones.

Which left me with an awful lot of questions - and I was only a friend. No doubt the inner circle of her life, her family, had as many and more questions that may be left unanswered in this lifetime.


When I first became interested in the metaphysical world, I did as much reading as I could. And one of the first things I remember is learning about death, and the way we die. And what that means to us as spiritual or energetic beings. Essentially, it does not matter how we pass. It is merely part of the journey of the Soul - the how is not important. Only the timing is relevant - to the Soul - and no matter when or how we pass, it will be in the perfect time.

It is the same as being born. It is of no consequence whether one is born in a barn or 5 star hospital. It does not matter whether the birth is a natural one, or a surgical intervention. The hows, the whys and the wherefores are irrelevant. It matters only that the Soul arrives here. And will always do so in the perfect moment.

We cannot get it wrong.

Awake and Aware - Conscious

Once upon a time, very long ago, I was young.


And like all good young children, I was dragged off to church each week - so that I could become an even better good girl.

The whole church thing was great - I had friends there. We watched movies there on a Saturday afternoon. Each year, as a fundraiser, the lucky ones got to be in the play or pantomime that was presented. I was usually one of the lucky ones.

But I also had to go to the service each week. That was not too bad. We sang lovely songs, prayed a lot and squirmed when we got bored with the hell and damnation stuff that came from the pulpit.

Then I got a little older. And I began to wonder why I was missing out on what evidently was the best part of the deal. Where was all this amazing grace and answers to prayers? Somehow I did not seem to be on the list of recipients. I closed my eyes during prayers, hands clasped firmly together. I even scrunched up my eyes so that no light would get in to distract me. Nothing. No deep booming voices in my head to assure me that I was being good and getting better at it. Certainly no extra pocket money arrived, although I think I did make the connection with there being not much money in the household in the first place.

So I prayed harder, sang louder in the choir, joined the Youth for Christ movement, did the whole thing. Even signed up for the In magazine - anyone remember that? The brainchild of Frank Retief, the minister at a local church - not the one I attended, but you do what you can when you feel you are missing out on something. Zip. Nada. Nothing.

Aha, I thought - best I get confirmed and become part of the adult section of the Church - that will really get God's attention. I even tried to not really like the musical LP Jesus Christ Superstar - because it was a banned album in this country, so perhaps God would not want me to enjoy it. Still no indication that I was being noticed at all.

So I gave up. Played the socially conditioned game of being there week after week. Knowing that it was a waste of my time - perhaps God's as well, but who would know?

Years went by, agonising years of not being fully comfortable for turning my back on God. Some of the brainwashing had worked, so it was not an easy thing for me to walk away. But I managed to convince myself that firstly we are born, we live through whatever good or bad life we were issued, and then we die. Then definitely zip, nada, nothing. Dead is dead - come to terms with it and get on with doing stuff before it happened. Worms ate you. End of the road. Circle of life - first you eat a meal, then you become the meal. That was the sage advice I offered to anyone who would listen - and especially to those who thought my Soul should be saved.

Fast forward a decade or so - and I woke up! At long last. Day by day, I wake up even more. I thought I understood everything - and each day I learn another little piece of the big picture. I constantly have to revise and redefine and refine what I believe, because each little event, each interaction I have, each thought that I think, gives me more to think about and gives me greater clarity.

Life is not all about 'this' being right and 'that' being wrong. It has much more life to it - if you will pardon the pun. It is more fluid, more open to interpretation and more organic. It is not just one thing. It has no beginning and no end. And since the Universe expands exponentially, so does our capacity to understand it. If we so choose.

I choose to allow my understanding to increase each day.

I am so grateful that I woke up. I have seen others wake up, the most magical event imaginable - the moment when the lights start going on inside their minds - it glows from every cell in their body. Who could not love watching that process?

Each and every day now, I get to experience the grace and beauty and majesty I so craved as a child. And I consider myself to be so blessed to have found the answer to all those heartfelt prayers. God had answered - but I did not have the eyes to see or the ears to hear. Answers came...in their own good time - when I was ready to listen.

perspective

There is something about aerial shots that I thoroughly enjoy.

Even more enjoyable though, is the opportunity for me to be the photographer!

Some years ago, I bought myself a diary that had an aerial shot for each week. All the images were shot in this country , and we have such a range of different terrains that it was never repetitive.

I used to imagine that I had either been a bird in another lifetime, or was meant to fly a lot in this one. Who knows what the truth of the matter is, anyway? And who would care, other than me?

There is not as much opportunity as I would like for me to take aerial shots - it involves aeroplanes, and they really don't come cheaply.

This particular shot was taken from my amphibious plane in Sydney, Australia. I say my plane, because for 30 minutes, I owned the plane - along with a young Irish couple. That may be stretching the reality a bit much, but the young couple and I really enjoyed the fantasy of being wealthy movie stars who did this kind of thing regularly!

There is something magical about being aloft, up there with the birds and the clouds. And looking down at ant-sized people. And teeny tiny skyscrapers. And pocket handkerchief farms.

I have come to understand why it is that I love the shots from the air. It is the perspective one gets from up there. So completely different from what we see at ground level. Still looking at the same thing, but having to make adjustments to accommodate the different view. Having to shift from preconceived notions of what we think we should see - it just never looks quite like I imagined.

This different vantage point reminds me of the ability I have to see things from many sides. What may seem like an enormous building to some, is merely a speck from the sky. And yet the building remains the same. All the time. Big to some. Little to others.

Many years ago, when South Africa was in the midst of all it's troubled times, I flew across the country to visit family. And as I looked down on the land below me, the beautiful mountains, the semi-desert, the green pastures and tiny villages, it was hard to imagine that on the ground there was such division and anger and separation. Tears welled up in my eyes as I came to realise that separation is an illusion. We are all one.

We are all one - with strengths and weaknesses. Wealth and poverty. Heath and disease. We perform a dance that weaves all the possible computations throughout humanity. So much suffering. So much joy. Lots of beauty. Lots of pain. No matter our differences, we are all one. We are, because we are.

Ubuntu. Loosely translated, it means that a person is a person, because of other people. We are who we are, because of those around us. The good, the bad and the ugly - all parts of the glorious mass of humans.

And we can choose to see each other from one perspective. Or from many perspectives. Because for as many people there are on the planet, there are that many different perspectives on issues. Each one of us has our unique perspective. There is no right or wrong. It all just IS.

Who would want it any other way?

Snugglepot and Cuddlepie - ever heard of them?

Last year I went to Sydney to visit family - and what a lovely decision that was - I had a great time. Everywhere I went, the camera went with me. I took snaps of everything - even the brass plaques which were set in the paving around the harbour area leading to the Opera House.

Each one was unique - quotes from different authors writings.

I had heard of some of them, but certainly not all of them.

Now, a year later, I went out for the afternoon to walk around Kalk Bay with a friend. Shopping happened - there are so many interesting shops, along the Main Road and up the alleyways. Lots on nooks and crannies..

We popped into a shop that sells all sorts of items related to paper - old books, maps, artwork. I had rather stupidly left my spectacles at home, so the enjoyment of these things was somewhat diminshed for me. I did notice one book - it looked like a childrens book, and since it was locked inside a glass cabinet, I did not get too close. It is probably a good thing, keeping things away from sticky hands -  the Italian Gelato shop is only a few feet away!

Despite the lack of my visual aids, I did manage to read the title of said book. 'Tales of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie'.

'Never heard of it', I thought. 'Will take a closer look next time I am here'.

A couple of hours later, while sorting out all the images I have from my trips, I came across the picture that heads todays blog. Snugglepot and Cuddlepie have been on my computer all this time! They have been here for a year. And I still have no clue who or what they are. They have popped into my space twice in two hours.

Please excuse me while I go to Google to find out all about them....

Soul purpose

What is my soul purpose? This question comes up time and again when we start to explore the deeper meaning of life and why we are on the planet.

And the answer is always the same - it is to feel good. It is to enjoy life. It is to love whole-heartedly. It is to appreciate everything. Every-single-thing. No exceptions.

And the way to appreciate the things that are challenging, is to find the gift inside them. Deeply hidden, perhaps. But once discovered, understood.

When faced with a challenge, ask yourself - what does this allow? What can I do, or what will I do because of this, that I may not have otherwise done?

What do you learn from being financially strained? Do you allow yourself the chance to be an entrepreneur? Are you creative around finding previously hidden sources of income?

Physical and health challenges - what do you learn from allowing others to assist? Are you being allowed the chance to be the medical miracle? How much more greatly do you appreciate the little things in life?

Broken hearted? Are you the one who can write down your experiences so eloquently that you have a bestseller on your hands?

Out of each and every event, we can uncover the blessing it brings. It may take years of practice before you can do so, or it may take a mere couple of seconds.

This journey is the one we have chosen. Perhaps for some time you have been living a role, but not your Soul. As soon as you give up the role, become more aware and more authentically your Soul, you will understand that your sole purpose is to feel good. Now. And ever more.

A farmer has to make choices about what crop he is going to plant and cultivate. He ploughs the fields. He fertilizes the ground. He plants the seed. He does everything that he can do to make sure that he has a healthy crop. Each and every day, there are things he has to do to bring his plans to fruition.

One thing that he cannot control is the weather. He has to find a way to cope with whatever the weather brings.

So it is with our own lives. We do all that we can to live a life that brings us the joy that a farmer feels when he sees his beautiful crop being harvested.

And we also have to find a way to cope with whatever the weather brings.

We can do this by choosing good friends and family who inspire and encourage us. We can seek out literature that is uplifting and life supportive.

These things are like fertilisers- they help us to grow and glow. They feed us.

Bookstores and websites are bursting at the seams with inspiring stories and beautiful writing. Keep searching for the 'food' you need.

Someone, somewhere, has written the exact words you need to read today. Trust that you will find it, or that it will find you.

Life is perfect. If it should have been different, it would have been...........

Tracks and Deadlines!

I noticed recently that I kept mentioning, after having been on holiday, that I was now back on track. I was mainly referring to catching up with those tedious tasks that I am paid to perform each day so that I have an income. But I became aware that I was using the same phrase repeatedly - which means only one thing to me - it is time to check out what I have been saying.

Getting back on track infers that there is a direction in which I am travelling, and that the delightful holiday that I had enjoyed had somehow taken me 'off track'. I have no desire to make that my reality. I would far prefer to see the daily grind (and yes, I notice the word - will investigate that another time) as being 'off track' and perceive my holidays and travelling as the main direction. From today - getting back on track will mean going off on another adventure - not getting up to date with statutory forms and deadlines. The only deadlines I wish to acknowledge are the ones that require me to be at a specific airport for the flight to my next adventure!