Starting The Path To A Spiritual Journey by Lynn Claridge

A spiritual path is easy to miss because it is subtle. It is a path to your higher consciousness with fuller awareness. Upon entering the spiritual path, you will begin to change your perceptions and see new interpretations of reality. You will learn to heal yourself from the conditioning of childhood, societal mores and traditional thinking. You move from being unaware to becoming an empowered, conscious, loving, holistic, and fully functioning person. You will start to understand the mysteries of life.

As your awareness expands, you will realize there is only one of you. Who you are expands to include all the parts of your life. Knowing and feeling connected to this full-self unfolds in stages, as there are degrees of truth along the way to full truth. It is a continual process of exploring yourself and others, participating in relationships and groups, and learning from experiences of your inner-self.

How do you start your spiritual journey?
Often it begins with a personal crisis that starts an inner desire to look beneath the surface of what is happening to find richer meaning and purpose.

These questions could include such things as.
Who am I outside of my roles and conditioning?
Why am I here?
What would give my life more meaning and purpose?
Why do these things happen to me?
How can I help myself?
Why do I worry about what my family and friends think?
How can I heal my dysfunctional thoughts, feelings and behaviors?
How can I change my life so that I like my life?”

These questions and many others need answering; this will then cause you to move into a deeper quest for life. Life is always answering your inner questions by bringing you answers and new experiences. These experiences may come to you through books or religious teachings, or by listening and learning as you grow. However, you have to be ready to see, feel and hear the insights.

Sometimes it is not even a conscious thought that begins the journey. It might be that you are having problems or you have a habit that needs changing, or a relationship that is not working. At what point would you want to enter a therapy group, a counseling group, or a family therapy group to help improve your situation. Many of these types of groups can open the doors to a deeper search.

You may respond because you have had too much pain and suffering after a catastrophic event like an illness, divorce, loss of a job or a death of a family member. These experiences force you often to look for answers. This is because you become confused, hurt or angry. When you are in this frame of mind, you can open yourself to new ideas.

Another way you can move on to a spiritual path is if you have a partner who is willing to join you on your journey, especially if they are constantly changing and growing, helping to introduce new ideas and catalyzing the relationship. When you stay in a relationship, you can evolve together.

When you decide to make you journey, some mystical experiences can bring you change that will last forever. This is an expansion of consciousness, greater than everyday life. This is where you can lift the veil of non-understanding. Once you have made the changes you will make an instant change in your life. You will release all your fears and start to understand that love is the underlying principal of the universe. You can change you life forever.

The circle and the spiral of life.
Let us now look at two different people. One is living a normal life and one is starting their spiritual journey. For clarity let us call her Susan and let us say that Susan lives her life in a line that goes from point A to point B, eventually this makes a circle from birth to death. Susan is born into a family that would expect her to follow the family’s example. This includes family values and beliefs that have been handed down from one generation to the next. Therefore, Susan stays within the comfort of her conditioning.

If Susan decides to move out from the family footsteps, it would probably be in reaction to extreme situations. Susan jumps to another point and has the tendency to over-correct and therefore, act out the opposite side of the coin. Susan may look like she is thinking for herself and acting differently; however, she is still dealing with the same coin. Susan will still condition and will still stay within the boundaries of the family circle.

Time will tell if Susan returns to the traditions or truly moves into higher consciousness. I would like to point out at this point that many who find their spiritual path do go back to traditional ways; they just experience it with a newer and deeper understanding.

So now, let us look at person number two, we will call this person Peter. Peter looks at the boundaries in the circle and is not satisfied, wanting more from his life than following the line from point A to point B. This calls forth a deeper process in a number of ways (some that we mentioned earlier) so, Peter moves out of the circle. The circle now becomes a new configuration, a spiral. The circle represents a closed system, repeating what has been modeled and taught. It is very difficult for new information to get into this system. When Peter enters the spiral, he makes a shift upwards and moves into a new dimension, an open system, which is full of information not known within the circle.

Another way to explain this is to use a mountain. Susan lives at the bottom of the mountain and everything is familiar. Is this where you are? If you are, then you may have learned for example, that you are an extension of your parents or family. You need to conform to the roles and rules of these groups. You may respond to them telling you what to do. However, you should remember your body is of physical beauty, strength and youth, and this is what counts in your life.

Alternatively, you may believe that your possessions make you who you are. Others around you may think that it is great that you have a high IQ and you did well at school. You have plenty of money and you seem to have it all. That is all very well except that true happiness and having a connection to your inner self, are missing.

If this makes you think about what your role is, and what is missing in your life, that is a good thing. This is the point that you may actually move away from the bottom of the mountain onto the spiral where you will find your true self. Are you ready to walk up the mountain and find your hidden path to your higher realizations? It may be uncomfortable at first and your rational mind might try to talk you into going back down the mountain for safety and familiarity. As you climb, you will start to find others who want to share ideas with you and who can answer a few of your questions. You may find the life you really want.

You now have some ideas to ponder over. What journey do you want to take?

We have looked at the difference between Susan who is not willing to walk away from the circle to start her journey; therefore, she will stay this way forever. We have also looked at Peter, who wants to change his circle; therefore, he will have a happier and fuller life.

Many experiences and thinking patterns can initiate your spiritual journey. The decision is up to you.
Do you want a higher awareness or do you want to live a life where you are blind to what you can really become?

About the Author: Lynn Claridge is a psychic clairvoyant and has written a book on  Developing Psychic Ability
. She specializes in psychic development through meditation and the
understanding of your inner-self. Lynn`s book is available from http://www.newage-alternatives.com/”

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Emotional Synaesthesia: The Science of Auras by Kephri Ra

The Aura, which is a halo of coloured light surrounding a person, whose colours and patterns change according to that persons health, mood, intentions, spiritual condition, and so on, is a staple of ‘New Age’ theories and spiritual paths. It is phenomena which people have claimed to have seen for as long as such observations have been recorded (and probably a hell of a lot longer). There are even special photographic techniques which can be used to get a picture of a person’s aura. And as part of the multi-billion dollar new age industry that has sprung up over recent decades there are now a multitude of professional aura readers, along with many, many books in the stores which supposedly teach interested candidates how to read auras for themselves.

The attitude of the scientific establishment to such things is, of course, that it must be a load of rubbish, and that people who claim to be able to see these auras are either con artist out to make a quick buck from gullible and naive ’seekers’, or they are poor self-delude fools. It has always been my own opinion, however, that the scientific establishment discounts such phenomena far too readily, without putting any real effort into providing a scientific explanation for what large numbers of people seem to experience as real.

The problem is that scientists base their judgments solely on the explanation given for particular phenomena by its practitioners and proponents, rather than on the phenomena itself. They see that this explanation runs contrary to science, and so they discount the possibility that the phenomenon exists. But this fails to take into account the fact that scientists and mystics use radically different kinds of language.

When mystics or occult practitioners talk about some kind of spiritual energy, or the light of the soul, or uses whatever language their particular tradition has adopted, then the automatic reaction of the scientist is to dismiss it as religion or superstition, and then not pay the matter a second thought. But just because the Vikings thought thunder and lightning where caused by one of their gods striking a hammer in the heavens does not mean that thunder and lightning don’t exist, just that they were wrong about the reasons. I believe the same could be true for many new age phenomena, including auras. Likewise if a mystic talks about the motions of the heavens being regulated by universal love, he may well be talking at least in part about gravity and the motions of the planets. And that is why I was fascinated to read of research conducted by Jamie Ward of University College London and reported in the journal Cognitive Neuropsychology which suggests that a rare form of synaesthesia could explain the phenomena of auras.

Many of you will be familiar with a condition called synaesthesia. It is not a common condition, and has only been thoroughly documented and explained quite recently, but because it is such an interested condition it has received relatively large amount of publicity, including many television programs and magazine articles. To summarise the condition briefly:  synaesthesia, in its most common form, is when the area of the brain dealing with two separate senses somehow becomes linked. When this happens the subject experiences a mingling of usually distinct faculties, and finds they are able to smell colours, taste sounds, and so on. Synaesthesia may also involve the subject associating colours, or tastes, or whatever it may be, to certain words or numbers; so that whenever they come across a particular word, the corresponding taste comes into their mouth.
The idea which is now being put forward is that the phenomena of auras can be explained by an unusually strong connection between the areas of the brain handling emotions and colours, reinforced by the innate pairings of certain emotions with particular colours, which all cultures seem to share. In this case when a person sees and aura what they are actually seeing is a mixture of their own emotional response to a person combined with their intuitive understanding of that person’s own emotional state.

I would also add, before finishing this article, that to explain such a phenomenon scientifically in no way invalidates its explorations and practical use. It is a peculiarity of the modern world that when a proper scientific explanation for such things comes along people say that they have been ‘debunked’, and that their falsity has been proven. This seems perverse to me; to explain something scientifically does not disprove something - it proves it. In the case of Auras one can easily imagine how having this kind of emotional synaesthesia could lead to an intuitive sense far more advanced than that of the ordinary person. Huge amounts of information are continually being exchanged between our subconscious minds, and for ordinary people the main obstacle to our accessing and using this information in our day to day lives is that we only really experience it consciously as very vague ill-defined feelings. A form of synaesthesia which displayed such vague feelings as concrete sensory symbols, colours, and even images could greatly increase the ability of the conscious mind to access and utilise subconscious information, and to draw out specific details. It is also entirely possible that meditation and training could induce a mild form of this kind of synaesthesia.

If science could put aside its enmity towards such ‘new age’ subjects, really think that a great deal could be accomplished

For more great new age, esoteric and spritual articles check by this author check out the Morning Star New Age Portal, which coverse many diverse subjects from astrology to witchcraft to yoga to psychic abilities or join in the discussion and debate at the New Age Forums

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Palmistry - Hand And Finger Combinations

By: Per Hogseth

HAND AND FINGER COMBINATIONS

Before reading the palm, look at the fingers to see if they’re short or long. This isn’t always easy to gauge when you’re just beginning, but a little practice will enable you to assess the finger length at a glance.

The fingers are considered long if they can fold back and touch a spot at least seven-eights of the way along the palm. Unfortunately, there are exceptions, as some people have extremely flexible hands while others are very stiff. Also, someone with an extremely oblong palm may have long fingers that only reach halfway down the palm, as the palm itself is very long. With experience you’ll be able to look at someone’s palm and instantly know if the fingers are long or short.

The problem comes when you’re first learning and find a hand with fingers that seem to be neither long nor short. Fortunately, we can cover that situation as well.

Long Fingers

If the fingers are long, the person pays attention to detail and you can say:
“You enjoy complex work. You’re patient and enjoy all the fiddly bits – you like the details in things. Your work must be very consuming and gratifying. If it’s too simple you lose interest very quickly.”

Short Fingers

Someone with short fingers is almost the opposite. They’ll be more interested in the broad strokes rather than the details and won’t have much patience.

You could say:

“You’re always busy. Sometimes you may start something new before you’ve finished the last task. You often have several things on the go at the same time. You tend to want everything right now, so patience is not your strong suit. Your impulsiveness has gotten you into trouble in the past. In some ways you are a jack-of-all-trades.”

Medium Length Fingers

Naturally, someone with fingers that are neither long nor short will fall into a middle category.

You might say:

“At times you can be very patient. However, at other times you’re inclined to jump first and think later. If something really interests you, you want to get right down to the bottom of it and work it all out. If it’s only a passing interest, you’re more inclined to skim over it and not learn it in much detail.”

We now have four possibilities to look at:

1. Square hands with short fingers
2. Square hands with long fingers
3. Oblong hands with short fingers
4. Oblong hands with long fingers

This is the classification used in Chinese palmistry. It comes from Fred Getting’s monumental book, The Book of the Hand. The four types are named after the four elements of the ancients:

Fire, Earth, Air and Water. These relate very well to the descriptions of the Fire, Earth, Air and Water signs of astrology, but it does not necessarily mean that a Sagittarian (a Fire sign), would have a Fire hand. You’ll find people with all four types of hands in every sign of the Zodiac.

The four elements: Fire, Earth, Air and Water

Fire Hands

Fire is hot, energizing and constantly moving. It can provide gentle heat, but can also burn. Consequently it needs careful handling. A Fire hand is oblong with short fingers. Someone with a hand like this is likely to be emotional, enthusiastic and creative. The short fingers mean a dislike for detail. The long palm adds intuition.

For someone with a hand like this you might say:

“You have a great mind, full of wonderful ideas. These ideas excite you. Your enthusiasm may not last for long, but it’s extremely important to you at the time. Your emotions can be a bit hard to handle at times, but they enable you to experience life to the fullest. Details are not your strong point and you tend to prefer the overall picture to the fiddly bits. You are likely to be creative and need to be busy to be happy.”

Earth Hands

Earth is the dry, solid part of our planet. Everything that happens on earth is subject to the natural rhythms of germination, growth, death and decay. Earth is timeless and expresses stability.

However, below its surface all sorts of changes are constantly occurring. This can lead to earthquakes and other upheavals. The Earth hand is very like the practical hand. It consists of a square palm and short fingers.

People with this type of hand are reliable, down-to-earth and practical. They enjoy repetitive work and are good with their hands. They enjoy rhythm. They are conservative, reserved and possessive.
However, like earth itself, they can also react violently if they deem it necessary.

You might say to someone with Earth hands:

“You’re a hard worker. You enjoy physical challenges and your hands can think for themselves. You can be stubborn at times, and you don’t easily change your mind. You enjoy rhythm and movement. You’re not usually good with details, unless you’re making something. You probably prefer working outdoors, doing something practical. You’re reliable, honest and somewhat reserved.”

Air Hands

Air is essential for life. We take it for granted and seldom notice it, except on windy days. Air is also essential for communications, as it carries sound waves. Creatures of the air, such as birds and flying insects, are fast moving and active.

The Air hand consists of a square palm and long fingers. These people tend to use logic more than intuition. They’re quick-witted and express themselves clearly. They enjoy communicating and often have careers that utilize their skills.

Their strong emphasis on logic means these people tend to distrust emotions, both their own and other people’s.

We could say something along these lines to someone with Air hands:

“You’re intelligent, clear-thinking and discriminating. Relationships are important to you, but you sometimes find logic getting in the way of your feelings. You’re reliable and like to do things completely. You’re a stimulating companion and life is never dull when you’re around.”

Water Hands

Finally, water. If you think about it, water is essentially still. Other forces have to act upon it to make it change. It’s also shapeless as it simply moves to fill up whatever space is available.

The Moon has a strong influence on water, creating the tides in our oceans. The saying, “still waters run deep”, is very pertinent to the Water hand. The Water hand consists of an oblong palm with long fingers. It’s sometimes called the intuitive hand, as these people are extremely aware and receptive.

People with this type of hand are changeable, impressionable and emotional. They’re idealistic and highly imaginative.

To someone with water hands, you could say:

“You have an extremely rich inner life. Your imagination is keen and you fantasize about just about everything. You can be influenced by others, so you’re flexible with your ideas. Your intuition is strong. You’re emotional. If you’re interested in someone, you love spending time with them. You also need time by yourself to reflect on your own life. You are happiest inside the right relationship with someone to depend and rely upon.”

About the Author: Per Hogseth is an acclaimed psychic reader from Norway. To learn more about his teachings and work and get his FREE palm reading ebook: “Palmistry for fun”, go NOW to: www.powerful-psychic-reading.com or mail to: pehogset@online.no

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