Pilgrimage to the spa, temples of repose (1)

Good morning friends.  When we heard of the word spa,  it comes to my mind that it is a process of massaging any part of the body.  It is one way to feel our body relax and  free with tension.  It’s good the may ones a week we have to go to a massage parlor or let our family do that to us.  But did you know that there is something with a different meaning of spa when it comes to religion?  Let me share this with you.

The spa is a sanctuary that enables self-renewal in an environment that can be described as being the antithesis of our fast-paced, high-tech world by facilitating retreat into the vital elements of life.The focus on ‘healing environments’ has emphasised the quality of touch, smell, hearing, seeing and sensing to bring us into harmony with a natural state of being where we are no longer required ‘to do’, but rather, ‘to be’.

In a worldwide fusion of influences, the spa has evolved into a place where we go to reconnect with our inner selves, our soul, and experience that joyous sense of gratitude for simply being alive that comes so easily when you feel good. This journey through the elements nurtures the body, yet takes us beyond its finite form into a timelessness and serenity where we are content to simply breathe, happy in our own skin.

The spa has become the new monastery, the house of the spirit, a place where we all become one in the anonymity of robes, shared baths, bareness, peace and the mutual respect we hold for each other’s space. The mystical quality of human consciousness is reflected in these temples of repose, where the hands-on therapist creates the bridge across the divide from chaos to peace, from stress to balance, guiding us further on to touch base with our inner gods, whoever they may be, bringing us home to ourselves. – The Times of Indian

Reality Check

Good morning friends.  Got your dream?  Or just still planning what you want to dream.  Some of us don’t mind to dream.  They just go with the flow.  Come what may as the others implied.  But in reality we have to check everything.  This will mean  lot to us. 

 

Look at the truth of your life now in terms of budget hours available and family needs and debt?  Do you have young children?  The tension between what is true today and what you want to happen tomorrow will propel you forward because you know where you are now and where you want to be.

 

The journey has to be almost as fun as the destination.  It needs to be an outgrowth of what you love and want to do now.  Otherwise you’re living for tomorrow.

 

That’s why it’s important to talk to women who are already doing what you want to do.  if your dream is owning a store, talk to store owners and get the inside track.  We often have the dream version of what it is to do something,  but you want to get the real version and check your grit to see if you have it in you.

 

For example, you may want to be an actor, but are you willing to live with financial uncertainty or to change your looks to please others?  Can you deal with rejection?  If the answer is no, maybe acting isn’t right for you.  Just because you’re good at something doesn’t mean it’s a path you’re supposed to take.  –Laura Berman Fortgang, author of Living Your Best Life.

Vision Quest – 3

Direct Mail from the Universe

 

We’ve all been confronted with circumstances or events that seem almost choreographed.  Too often, say the experts, we dismiss these events as mere coincidence, instead of recognizing them as the universe’s way of asking us to pay attention.  Sometimes, the nudge is gentle; sometimes it’s much harsher, arriving in the form of illness that strikes us or someone close to us, stopping us in our tracks and forcing us to reassess our lives and goals.

 

“How do we cultivate this type of occurrence?  First,” “we have to put aside the conditioning of our schools, teachers and society that don’t allow for—or acknowledge—that these experiences happen.  If you begin by valuing these experiences, it will open you up to become even more aware of them as they occurs.”

 

Andrews also suggests it may be possible to accelerate the development of a deeper awareness by removing yourself from the familiar.  While the mountainside hut may call to our romantic selves, the journey may be as simple as a hike in a forest.  “In the natural world, there are a presence and a feeling of power and spirits,” he says.  “A change in surroundings helps us go away from our prior selves, and opens us to looking at the world in a new and fresh way.  If you can’t embark on a journey to another place, go out in nature somewhere.  The natural world has a powerful presence and energy.”

 

In some cases, a message may appear to be an auspicious event, an omen tailored to us and only us.  The concept of surrendering to such events, or viewing them as messages, may seem frightening, too far beyond the realm of the familiar.

 

To become more aware and accepting of the messages sent to us by the universe, say Michael C. Rann and Elizabeth Rann Arrott, authors of Shortcut to a Miracle:  How to Change your Consciousness and Transform Your  Life, we first need to accept that there is a higher wisdom that is communicating with us at all times.  It’s up to us to listen.  We need to expect that it will communicate with us.  We need to listen for it.  Its voice is usually soft and gentle, but the more we listen and the more we pay attention to it,   the more clearly, the more often, and more directly it communicates.  It’s important to give thanks when we receive a  communication, and [to] give thanks for every miracle we experience.

ref: fityoga

Vision Quest – 2

A Bear is Always a Bear

 

When a bear wakes up in the morning, he doesn’t have to spend a single moment wondering about his goals in life.  They’ve already been defined:  hunt, eat, and make little bears.  He doesn’t have to ponder his existence, or wade through the existential mud puddles that we humans are so adept at stumbling into.  However, we share an important trait with the bear—the same intuitive powers that guide him through his life can also help guide us, should we choose t listen.

 

In our Western culture, we really undervalue what we refer to as intuition, say Larry Andrews, author of Secrets of the Silk Road; Finding the Lost Sacred Books of the Gobi.  We don’t see that value in our culture; not as much as in Eastern or Native American traditions, where people are more open to their own natural intuition.  But the truth is that there is a deeper part of us,  below our conscious mind, that presents us with opportunities.  And, if we pay attention, teachers will begin to appear.

 

And engineer by profession, Andrew found himself a few years ago completely outside the familiar zone of his structured existence, when an unexpected quest propelled him across Asia and the Gobi Desert.  As he traveled, evens and people continuously emerged to guide him.  Instead of resisting or dismissing these occurrences as nothing more than a series of coincidences, he embraced each experience that presented itself—and in the process, transformed not only his own life, but also his view of the universe and his place within it.  Secrets of the Silk Road chronicles his experiences, and though he continues his work as an engineer, he now leads groups to faraway destinations, helping to guide others on their own journey.

 

Ref:  fityoga

Vision Quest – 1

Are you feeling restless?  As if maybe there’s something more out there?  Embarking on your own version of a spiritual odyssey can help you create an authentic life.

 

Throughout times and history, we humans have searched for meaning, for a reason that explains—or perhaps even justice—our existence in the stars, proof of God, and signs to guide us along some clearly defined path.  Along the way, we’ve assembled cultures that have created sacred rituals devoted entirely to this search, often through a transformational experience such as the Native American vision quest or Christian mystical experience.

 

While looking for a deeper meaning to life beyond alarm clocks and paychecks is an important part of our evolution, the myths, legends, and historical doctrines that recount the quests of others can be as daunting as they are inspiring.  Scholar Joseph Campbell’s acclaimed study of what he calls “the hero’s journey,” for instance, examines tales of heroes battling dark forces and ascending to often mythic proportions.

 

Given that few of us have the means to launch a full-scale odyssey or the time to meditate on some remote mountainside, a personal quest may seem impossibly out of reach.  The truth is, the journey toward creating a more meaningful and satisfying life may be as siple as learning to listen to our institution.

 

 

ref: yogajournal