Opening The Gate of Inspiration . . .

I liken my own personal spiritual path to a long vacation trip . . . where there are many stops and lovely gift shops.  I go into different areas of my spiritual interests and look around. I may or may not find something I want to keep for myself, but its an adventure all the same, seeing the many gifts they have to offer.

There are many such shops on the path of metaphysical philosophy.  Places that offer lots of gifts.  A spiritual path full of lovely colors, sights and sounds that connect me with Spirit. Practices that let me get actively involved with understanding my purpose on a deeply personal level.  My gratitude for Divine Spirit having led me to this path increases every day. My gratitude too for the wonderful, world wide web . . . for bringing me all this lovely knowledge.

In one such place on the web, I was exposed to the concept of the Gates of Inspiration.

I first learned about these gates on Steve Nelson’s Gaia Astrology website.   Well versed in a variety of ancient astrological and mythological viewpoints, he puts it all together in a very practical, easy to understand way.  The phases of moon being central to my own practice,  I especially love the moon magic page as an almost daily starting point for focusing my energies.

There are nine gates, called Muse Gates by Mr. Nelson and one opens every 40 days. The one that opened today is ruled by the moon, my own ruling planet and remains open until May 1st at 12:45 am EDT.  This timing event occurs on the eve of May Day . . . a cross quarter day marking the mid-point of the Sun’s progression between the vernal equinox and the summer solstice.  By this time, seeds planted earlier have started to sprout and grow and is a time celebrated by many pagans as the beginning of a bountiful period of growth.  It is a day for fun and for enjoying life.  A day to sit, dance and sing in the garden and let the sun shine into your heart and soul with thanksgiving.

This gate is of a particular importance to me as, according to Mr. Nelson, “Whatever blocks creative flow comes before the Gate to be let go. This is a time to dissolve body tensions that hold outmoded ways of thinking and feeling. Breathe deeply and move freely (yoga, tai chi, dance!) to shed the old and be present to the blessings of the new.”

Today, the sun is shining . . . and I’m starting to gear up for my own personal celebration.  My garden is growing, and some of the flowers are blooming. Inspired, I already feel my creative energy stirring.

May all your days be filled with child-like wonder.

Judy

 

 

 

 

. . . one year later . . .

I don’t write in this blog often . . . but when I do, I have something to say that will hopefully carry me onto the next leg of the journey.

Here we are, the 1st of April still feeling the charge of Aries pushing us into a new yearly cycle.  I’m sitting in my garden, with new things sprouting up all around me and enjoying the fruits of my labor of the past three months.

Last year I didn’t spend much time in it. I kept busy making mushroom ornaments and garlands. Besides, last year, here in Florida we went from extreme cold to extreme hot overnight. There were no mornings of cool to get a lot of work done.

This year, however, was perfect. Cold in January and February, but not so cold that a good bit of hard work wouldn’t warm you up comfortably. March too, though toward the end it was beginning to show signs of summer. Even now, at 8:47 pm, it’s almost too hot to have a fire, but the temp is starting to drop and a I’m starting to feel cozy.

I love my little make-shift fire-pit . . . made from the lid of an old kettle type bar-b-que grill. It’s perfect for those new and full moons when the weather is cool and dry.

My garden is my sanctuary. It’s my place of refuge, my safe-haven. This year, I have a new lap-top thanks to my husband, and a very long extension cord. No longer tethered to my desktop,  its a glorious place to sit and ponder life in this universe.

This year Spirit, working through two friends, has encouraged me to broaden my horizons a bit. I do admit that I am a happy hermit . . . happy to be alone with my own thoughts about my spiritual path. While I do enjoy the company of others, I often find that the beat of my drum is a lot different that other folks. So I’m content beating my drum as I please.

Metaphorically speaking that is.

I live in a suburban environment where my prayers are not said aloud in my garden . . . there are ears all around. And my prayers are between me and Spirit. The last 2 times I’ve tried to play music aloud in my garden was met with the neighbors behind me bringing out their music system and blasting me away.  With music that wouldn’t soothe a savage beast.

So, the ipod it is. Though I must admit, it would be nice to have a background of music when my friends come over.

Would love to start a drum circle, but I don’t think that would go over so well.

Anyway . . . back to broadening my horizons.

My friends, who are interested in all the same things as me, have encouraged me to share some of the things I know about.  Based on some of the classes they’ve taken at a local metaphysical shop, they feel that I know so much more.

I hesitate as I do not consider myself an authority on anything. Everything I do, or know, is really just reading and researching and applying adaptations of different approaches to my own personal spiritual practice.  Doing what feels right for me.

Last night, I happened across this question and instruction in a lunar report from one of my favorite astrology websites:

“Do you have a short written statement about the chief purpose of your life? It is time to read your statement. Write it, read it, and put it inside your wallet. Stay focused on what’s important to you.”

Being in a waxing moon period, and thinking about creating a series of classes I could possibly instruct, I thought that it was a good time to stop and think about this. To clarify my intention of purpose.

I’ve done many things in my life, but at my age, starting anew in any one of them has proved to be contrary to what the universe wants me to do – apparently!  We won’t go there . . . we’ll just move forward to what I’m supposed to do now. . .

So, here it is:

My Brief Written Statement about the chief purpose of my life:

“I am here to share that which I’ve learned about how to have a practical, magical, spiritual life and how to connect in an individual way to the bountiful energy of the Creator of all-that-is.”

I still can’t believe I said that! It is just as powerful for me today as when I wrote it last night. My greatest fear is that I am somewhat lacking in what I know . . . I know only what’s right for me. Can I somehow convey this to others in a broad enough scope?

I know that while I’ve come far on this journey . . . others are just beginning, or are  just as befuddled as I was in the beginning.  There are just so many different spiritual paths and practices within the metaphysical realm that it is sometimes overwhelming to find what feels right.

It would be nice however,  to share what I have learned with the hope that it may help others feel closer to Spirit.

In many ways, it does feel right.

A New Year, A New Direction

It’s been a while since I’ve written in any of my blogs. I’m not quite sure why I abandoned them, but I know now that writing is the direction I’m taking in the New Year.

I like to do so many things. I love graphic design. I love jewelry design. Yet, I also love to express myself and my own particular point of view.  I invested in an education in graphic design, yet – not being able to find work sorta threw a wet blanket onto to that aspiration. I love designing and making jewelry, but it is time consuming and very hard, in this economy, to really make a go of it.  I value my jewelry far more than others are willing to pay.

I always wanted to be a writer. But something inside of me, perhaps some early negative programming, continued to harbor self-doubt. While I always felt self-confident in the variety of managerial jobs I’ve had in my life, somehow – I never felt I was “good” enough to be a writer – in a formal sense.

And yet, I’ve had some remarkable people tell me that I need to write more.

I woke up one morning, after reading a book on how we make our own luck and how networking was an important avenue to creating more opportunities.

Opportunities = Luck.

I made the decision that I would join a local writers group, if there was one in my area. I needed to be around other writers if I was to pursue and develop my writing skills.   What Luck!  As fate would have it, I found a writers group in my local area that just happened to be meeting that very day! It was 12:15pm when I found the information and discovered they were meeting at 1pm. The location was only about 5 minutes away, so I decided to take advantage of this opportunity.  I quickly changed from my usual house cleaning garb and scurried to the meeting.

I was greeted by about 10 writers. The astounding thing is, they are all published writers, some having written several mystery/thriller novels. Most of them are working on new novels, and they read parts of the current chapters they’re working on. Friendly, constructive critiques followed each reading. This is exactly where I need to be.

As a newbie guest, not much for me to do but listen. One rule of the group is that new comers must visit 2 meetings, and read something new they have written at the 3rd meeting, before final acceptance into the group.

The next meeting, however, was to be their annual luncheon – a break from their usual agenda. The “assignment” was to be a short, 500 word story, the topic Christmas. After being encouraged to attend, I inquired about whether I could contribute a story, even though it would only be my second meeting.  Being given the OK, I really got excited about writing something to share with the group.

I wrote a little story about a woman who decided to put up a Christmas Tree after not having one for 20 years. Let me say, that for me to condense a story to 500 words proved to be difficult. It ultimately ended with a little over 600 words, but I was very happy with it.  And it seems, so were they.  Even though I hadn’t written a short story in quite a while nor ever read something out loud to a group for many years, I was nervously excited to share my contribution. After reading it I was heartily applauded.

Whether they liked it or not, and were just being polite, I don’t know for sure. One thing I do know, however, is that I need more applause for some of the things I do. It really feels good.

Everybody needs more applauding for the things they do, especially when they do things well. Realizing that made going to the luncheon one of the most important events of my life. A true gift of the season. One I can easily give to my family and friends. Applause. There’s nothing more positive than acknowledging someone’s job well done. No matter how large or small.

A good friend of mine, who’s read a lot of my stories – has encouraged me to write more. That I have something worthwhile to say that others may benefit from.

So, my New Year is going to be very different from this one and the many others I entered without a sense of direction or purpose. I’m going to dance my way into 2010 knowing exactly what I’m striving to accomplish. It’s exciting. And I haven’t felt this excited in a very long time.

I’m feeling very lucky. And I’m wishing you all a Wonderful New Year being applauded for all the fantastic things you do.