Some thoughts for the seeker
Been there, done that (BTDT) is a phrase often heard (and often joined with "Got the T-shirt"). My books show me an interest in astrology, palmistry, auras, healing, reflexology, ayurvedic medicine, macrobiotics, psychic phenomenon, pendulums, chrystal healing, aroma therapy, the tarot, yoga, reiki, UFOs, chakras, automatic writing… All collected over many years since I was 18, and all more or less tried out.
I came of age in the 1970's, during a high time for New Age matters, and a renewal in something else called New Thought. I ran to psychics, astrologers, palmists, sometimes wishing I had their gift. As a young woman who was confused and clueless about her future, it was easy and fun to seek out answers that way. And for this budding yogini there were also any number of spiritual teachings to check out and sort through.
Over the years I have been told I am an old soul, formerly an Egyptian priestess, a bitchy 13-year-old prostitute with bad teeth, a communications officer from another galaxy who arrived here some 7000 years ago (I rather like that one), and assorted other stuff. All very heady and entertaining but in the end rather useless.
Here is what I have found in my decades of dabbling with things that are "out there":
You don't need a psychic or astrologer to tell you your future or even your past, and you don't need to know your past life (assuming you believe you've had one) to know what your karma - the stuff you have to sort out - is in this life. All the clues you need to figure out how to heal and be happy are given to you right here, right now. If you have lived a while and still feel stuck, look back over your past. You'll see a theme repeating. You'll see the same issues surfacing again and again, asking you to learn and heal and move on. There is no mystery here; nothing is hidden from you in your own life. Even without clear childhood memories, you can understand what your wounds are and help yourself heal. It does take a certain willingness to poke around in the painful parts of your self. You may also find meditation can help you get at the parts of yourself the distractions of everyday life tends to drown out. Or you can imagine talking to your six-year-old self.
Can talking to an astrologer help? Certainly. The patterns of your life show in your birth chart. Do you need astrology to figure yourself out? Well, you shouldn't. You should know yourself. But if you haven't thought about the theme of your life and you need help seeing it, it does help to have someone to talk with about these things, and a palmist or tarotist or astrologer can open that door because the theme is often what they notice first.
In my own seeking experience, the messages about life and our purpose (essentially: love is all there is and all we are) started to repeat themselves. I found this boring and unsatisfying. Why was I hearing the same thing again and again? I later realized it was because it was the truth. It was a universal experience that many people had had and that was why it was repeated so often. Anything that contradicts this message of love deserves skepticism or even outright criticism. And that showed me who to trust when I was seeking further information.
When you open up to the spiritual side of your nature, it can be a very heady experience. An ego-trip. You feel so good about yourself and your new-found awareness, that you can get rather proud and haughty about it, and lose patience with those who don't get it or who are trailing behind you in their own journey to enlightenment. BTDT myself and I've seen it in others. But it goes over, once you realize that the here and now in your physical body is feeding your spiritual growth. If you fail at something as simple (and as considerate to others) as paying your bills on time, what good is having seen your spirit guide? Be aware that great spiritual truths can be found in our earthly experiences. As above, so below.
We are all on the right path for ourselves, and as evolved or enlightened as we need to be for what we are to do in this life. Pain is a sign that we are not being true to ourselves.
So seek out whatever, wherever. If you are seeking, it is because you know there is more to learn and more growing to do than what you are experiencing in your current circumstances. But don't spend money on umpteen psychic readings. Keep your own counsel in all this seeking. Not all the predictions or information you'll get will be of value. Be a little skeptical; don't hand over your will or responsbility for yourself to someone just because they went right to your pain. (A psychopath at a party can do that, too.) Understand that each person giving you a reading has their own view of things, and this will color the information you get, which is one reason they don't all say the same thing. Use the psychic not as a comfort or as someone to make decisions for you, but as someone you can ask the deeper questions of. The meaning of life questions. The meaning of your life. Find out what wound you have that must heal and what purpose (area of growth) you have in this life; the two are usually related. Details like career, marriage and health will take care of themselves.
Love is all there is, above and below.
I came of age in the 1970's, during a high time for New Age matters, and a renewal in something else called New Thought. I ran to psychics, astrologers, palmists, sometimes wishing I had their gift. As a young woman who was confused and clueless about her future, it was easy and fun to seek out answers that way. And for this budding yogini there were also any number of spiritual teachings to check out and sort through.
Over the years I have been told I am an old soul, formerly an Egyptian priestess, a bitchy 13-year-old prostitute with bad teeth, a communications officer from another galaxy who arrived here some 7000 years ago (I rather like that one), and assorted other stuff. All very heady and entertaining but in the end rather useless.
Here is what I have found in my decades of dabbling with things that are "out there":
You don't need a psychic or astrologer to tell you your future or even your past, and you don't need to know your past life (assuming you believe you've had one) to know what your karma - the stuff you have to sort out - is in this life. All the clues you need to figure out how to heal and be happy are given to you right here, right now. If you have lived a while and still feel stuck, look back over your past. You'll see a theme repeating. You'll see the same issues surfacing again and again, asking you to learn and heal and move on. There is no mystery here; nothing is hidden from you in your own life. Even without clear childhood memories, you can understand what your wounds are and help yourself heal. It does take a certain willingness to poke around in the painful parts of your self. You may also find meditation can help you get at the parts of yourself the distractions of everyday life tends to drown out. Or you can imagine talking to your six-year-old self.
Can talking to an astrologer help? Certainly. The patterns of your life show in your birth chart. Do you need astrology to figure yourself out? Well, you shouldn't. You should know yourself. But if you haven't thought about the theme of your life and you need help seeing it, it does help to have someone to talk with about these things, and a palmist or tarotist or astrologer can open that door because the theme is often what they notice first.
In my own seeking experience, the messages about life and our purpose (essentially: love is all there is and all we are) started to repeat themselves. I found this boring and unsatisfying. Why was I hearing the same thing again and again? I later realized it was because it was the truth. It was a universal experience that many people had had and that was why it was repeated so often. Anything that contradicts this message of love deserves skepticism or even outright criticism. And that showed me who to trust when I was seeking further information.
When you open up to the spiritual side of your nature, it can be a very heady experience. An ego-trip. You feel so good about yourself and your new-found awareness, that you can get rather proud and haughty about it, and lose patience with those who don't get it or who are trailing behind you in their own journey to enlightenment. BTDT myself and I've seen it in others. But it goes over, once you realize that the here and now in your physical body is feeding your spiritual growth. If you fail at something as simple (and as considerate to others) as paying your bills on time, what good is having seen your spirit guide? Be aware that great spiritual truths can be found in our earthly experiences. As above, so below.
We are all on the right path for ourselves, and as evolved or enlightened as we need to be for what we are to do in this life. Pain is a sign that we are not being true to ourselves.
So seek out whatever, wherever. If you are seeking, it is because you know there is more to learn and more growing to do than what you are experiencing in your current circumstances. But don't spend money on umpteen psychic readings. Keep your own counsel in all this seeking. Not all the predictions or information you'll get will be of value. Be a little skeptical; don't hand over your will or responsbility for yourself to someone just because they went right to your pain. (A psychopath at a party can do that, too.) Understand that each person giving you a reading has their own view of things, and this will color the information you get, which is one reason they don't all say the same thing. Use the psychic not as a comfort or as someone to make decisions for you, but as someone you can ask the deeper questions of. The meaning of life questions. The meaning of your life. Find out what wound you have that must heal and what purpose (area of growth) you have in this life; the two are usually related. Details like career, marriage and health will take care of themselves.
Love is all there is, above and below.
Comments
Is that where the bad-ass part of you comes from?
JUST KIDDING.
My question would've been: were you *always* 13 years old in that lifetime? If so, how can I hold at 49 in this one?
:)