hanging out

Have our gadgets and devices developed bad social posture among us? Isolating in this pandemic has made things even worse. 

Many may want to get back in social shape though the struggle is apparent. Have we forgotten how to hang out? 

Can we just drop by a friend's house. Call someone without scheduling first? Or do we just assume that everyone is super busy or super planned out? 

Do we think any second we are not being productive is a waste? Hanging Out by Sheila Liming is a call to fight against that drumbeat. 

Virginia Woolf quote @eastwestwomen

"I think of this as kind of like seizing time and taking it back from where it's been stolen from us — and that includes the work day that has just extended beyond all means of rationality. . . . Hanging out is productive, and the thing that it produces is our relationships with each other. . . . Take off your coats. Pull up a chair. Grab yourself a beverage. Hang out for a bit.”

Are we challenged to unplug? Do we need help finding our inner slacker? Maybe we have lost the art of hanging out - that's no reason to not try though. 

Who knows what can happen? We could surprise ourselves. 

purpose & meaning

As humanity evolves so too should behavior and action adjust to the delicate balance of what was then and what is now. There are bound to be missed steps or missteps along the way. It is all part of the learning process. 

As in the case of the recent bruhaha over the released video of H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama having a young boy suck his tongue. Shock waves were sent out all over the world over this. 

affection or abuse? 

As the backlash shows - where this may be accepted practice in a closed community - the Dalai Lama chose to be a world leader in an international arena. 

As such adjustment is needed to consider all others as part of this leadership. With the release of an apology from his camp we can admit this was a miscalculated misunderstanding. 

In further context here is an explanation of the Tibetan tradition, Eat My Tongue or “Che La Sa.”

@TibetCollective

The Dalai Lama retired as the political head of his exiled government in 2011 but remains the spiritual leader for 6.7 million Tibetans worldwide and a symbol of their struggle. 

His work spanning several decades involves drawing global support for the linguistic and cultural autonomy of his remote, mountainous homeland - which was annexed by China in 1951. 

In 1989, he won the Nobel Peace Prize. Let us hope he will be remembered well for his good works and contribution to our world. 

stress awareness

Stress and poor mental health are one of the biggest public health challenges that we face. Sadly we are do not take its impact seriously enough. We continue to separate mental health from physical health and vice versa. 

The reality is they are inseparable - two sides of the same proverbial coin. There is no health without mental. Stress is a major deterrent to mental health that can lead to numerous health problems. 

From physical problems - like heart disease, insomnia, digestive issues, immune system challenges, etc. To more deep rooted mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression.

from distress to de-stress

Stress Awareness Month has been held every April since 1992 - to raise awareness of the causes and cures for our modern-day stress epidemic. It is time and opportunity for an open conversation on the impact of stress. 

Time devoted to removing the guilt, shame, and stigma around mental health. To discuss stress and its effects. Open up about our mental and emotional state among friends, families, colleagues, and professionals. Take action.

passion play

Here is a Lenten season commission article I wrote for Negros Season of Culture. Featuring the procession of family heirloom saints and their floats from our hometown of Talisay on Negros Island. 

“Prusisyon # 10” by Aeson Baldevia

The Holy Week procession is a re-enactment of the passion of Jesus Christ. The last four days of Lent are the highlight of the season. These saints and the floats they are carried on are polished and bedecked in all their glory. 

The prominent families who own them and have poured their time and resources into their care and maintenance take pride in sharing this commitment and dedication with all participating residents and visitors. 

The streets are filled with many devoted procession followers and curious onlookers packed along the route – eager to witness the blessed statues of saints [santos] in their opulent and ornate floats [carrozas].

These holy heirloom figures are venerated objects treated as sacred relics - having been with their families for generations. Some were brought here from Spain over a century ago. 

Our holy week reflection and contemplation coincides with the Libra full moon this April 2023. 

when a cosmic call rings out

we grab our own forms of magic

soar through the sky and glide

far above flesh-born expectations

where few dare to fly. . . .

"Come, be one of us."

We'Moon, Stephanie A. Sellers 2021

What fuels the passion to uphold these century-old traditions? Is it the hope and fervor passed on to succeeding descendants? Or the significance of our culture and identity as an essential Lenten celebration?

The Lenten season may only be an extended weekend break for some. Yet for devoted followers who continue this tradition it is a reminder of family, fealty, and a renewal of faith. 

true prayer

During recent centuries, the nature of prayer has been misunderstood in all sorts of ways by this or that spiritual movement, and to gain a true understanding of it will not be easy.

If, however, we remember that these centuries have been marked especially by the emergence of egotistic spiritual trends which have laid hold of wide circles of people, we shall not find it surprising that prayer has been dragged down to the level of egotistic wishes and desires.

rawpixel stock photo

And it must be said that prayer can hardly be more utterly misunderstood than when it is permeated by some form of egotism.

In this lecture we shall try to study prayer entirely in the light of spiritual science, free from any sectarian or other influence.

7 generations

"Your ancestors from long ago knew how to do this. They knew the power of the feminine principle. . . .and because you carry their DNA in your body, this wisdom and this way of being is within you.

Call on it. Call it up. Invite your ancestors in. As the yang-based habits and the decaying institutions on our planet begin to crumble, look up. A breeze is stirring. Feel the sun on your wings."

~ Message from the Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers

Grandmother Flordemayo & Unci Rita Long Visitor Holy Dance 

We come from a family with shallow roots in the country of our birth. It is also the first time we have four generations living under the same roof.

Even with the help of a genealogy detective we have only managed to trace back to our sixth generation. Learning how to do ancestral healing work has been a huge gift.

We came as creators, not to be regurgitators. All of creation is energy - a combination of vibration and light. All humans have the ability to dream the world into creation.

We all hold energy that can be made manifest by the power of our intention. Clarity and discernment are key to the drive and focus that motivate the intent.

How we interpret and direct what motivates us. How we are driven and at the effect of our emotions. These dictate our results and outcome.

Get curious. Educate yourself and learn about matters beyond your circle of comfort and knowledge. Immerse yourself in the Self. Be part of the web of life.

Join our universe as a conscious creative contributor.

life contracts

We come into this life with our soul contract - made when we were limitless spirit awaiting our birth into this body. 

What exactly is a sacred contract?

In our earnest eagerness to serve best - some contracts are blurted without consideration of boundaries or intention - and may not really serve our highest good. 

Now what? What to keep and what to break - what do you want your contract to say instead? Fortunately there are tools and techniques for clearing and letting go. 

Breaking Sacred Contracts - The Shamans Cave

We all wonder why certain patterns continue to loop in our lives. We have done so much personal work in our lives, but we can’t seem to shake certain issues that limit us. 

Join Renee Baribeau and Sandra Ingerman as they share how we carry sacred contracts we made even before we were born. Contracts that can be changed to serve us best in our lives.

May this brighten and lighten our days. 

harmonic convergence 2023

Thirty years ago, New Age believers, pagans, meditation practitioners, hippies and the spiritually curious gathered at “energy centers” around the globe to let out a collective “OM.” 

The two-day event, which began on the 16th, was dubbed the Harmonic Convergence and is believed to be the first multi-national, simultaneous meditation event ever organized reports Margalit Fox at The New York Times.

The Harmonic Convergence is the name given to the world's first synchronized global peace meditation, which occurred on August 16–17, 1987. This event also closely coincided with an exceptional alignment of planets in the Solar System. 

Eight planets were aligned in an unusual configuration called a grand trine. The Sun, Moon and six out of eight planets formed part of the grand trine, that is, they were aligned at the apexes of an equilateral triangle when viewed from the Earth. 

reSOUND | reVIVE | reSONATE

Today February 20 we are blessed by a new moon in Pisces - signaling a time filled with emotion, creative breakthroughs, and fantastical energy. This new moon will make us feel like we're living in a movie. 

On February 18, the sun enters Pisces - the last sign in the zodiac, signaling unity, merging and letting go. It was also Maha Shivaratri - a sacred day celebrating the convergence of Shiva and Shakti - the masculine and feminine energies which balance the world.

reSOUND | reVERB | reSONATE @ecodeony

On February 20, it's the new moon in Pisces as Venus enters Aries on the same day. An auspicious time for artistic people in particular to accomplish great things on a stellar scale.

Ideal for meditation and contemplation - self-discipline is conducive, expressing emotional experiences becomes clearly communicable. Allowing us to listen and absorb more with less chatter and clutter.

The energy we're getting from this new moon in Pisces is a bit different from previous years - mainly because it carries the energy of Saturn, the planet of karma. 

As we urbanize and modernize may we continue to keep serene pockets of sanity to sustain and support us. Integrating healing modalities to nourish us better in these more challenging times.

Our bodies emit their own unique vibrational field - each organ and cell with its own resonance. As sensory beings we can avail of these sound frequencies to help clear energetic blockages, re-balance our bodies, and achieve a state of ease and harmony.

Allowing the magic of healing sound to embrace our being. Embarking on our own personal journey of sound healing only requires an open heart and a willing spirit.

magical mystical life

Our bodies often store in our cells and DNA what our thoughts are unable to process as thoroughly - yet pass through our generations and are often at the effect of and hence affected by.

It is beneficial then to open pathways to build and access this energetic field for deconstruction of what we inherit and a creation of our own true self.

A great way to achieve this would be by expressing ourselves through story. There are a variety of options in which we can choose to do so. Whether we keep it private and intimate or make a public declaration is truly up to each of us.

Journaling, automatic writing, memoir, storytelling, song, performance, expressive art, therapy - the list is endless.

Finding the methodology to access and activate aspects of ourselves that have been culturally exiled - whether within our families or in our communities - liberates us. To acknowledge and embrace our personal power is our birthright. 

Storytelling serves as one of life's primary teaching and learning tools - as well as a step toward discovery, perception, contemplation, or realization. The use of phenomenology - our lived experience - ignites the inner wisdom stored within each of our bodies. 

This need not be limited to the physical body either - since we are all sensate beings, perceiving life through all our senses. This is an incredibly magical journey we are on!