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Life happens too fast for you ever to think about it. If you could just persuade people of this, but they insist on amassing information.
Soul Pancake Week Seven: Stay up all night.
I love my sleep. There is nothing better than a good nap.
What do you count as staying awake all night? I think the latest I’ve stayed up in recent years was until about 5am, and it completely wrecked me. I’ll see what happens on Saturday evening, there’s a chance it could be a late one.
05/06/09: Rumors spread like wildfire and I'm tired of putting out the flames. You need to get a grip and realize that talk is cheap. Today was just unnecessary.
50 days?! :(
"And here I rest where disappointment and regret collide,
lying awake at night." - Death Cab For Cutie.
San Francisco, California.
Taking a break from the black and whites, feels good posting a coloured photo after a long while.Hope you like it and everyone's weekend is going okay ;)
What is the Mother flame? The Mother flame (Kundalini) has been described as coiled energy, white fire or light located at the base-of-the-spine chakra. This white light has to be awakened and raised through each of the chakras. Chakras are spiritual centers of light and energy located along the spinal column that are "gateways" to the "spiritual self."
Raising the Mother flame brings healing and as we heal, we magnetize the light of the Father and experience the divine interchange of energy that occurs between the Father (masculine polarity) and the Mother (feminine polarity). We start to integrate the two polarities.”Energy always follows consciousness…" Because of the purifying action of the Mother flame, care has to be taken in how it is raised. The safest way is through prayer and devotion. The goal is to reunite the light of the Mother with the light of the Father in the heart chakra. When this happens, we give birth to the Christ consciousness. The Divine Mother is our great teacher and guru. As the Mother flame rises, we begin to see the things we need to do and work on. Memories will surface and some will be painful. Healing our psychology is a fundamental step on the spiritual path and it is important to take hold of the hand of the Mother during this time as she gives us the inner guidance and strength to press onward. The blessings we receive from the Mother are endless. One of her primary attributes is to awaken us. As the Mother light rises, our consciousness begins to undergo a profound change. We become illumined. The wisdom of the Mother teaches us better ways of doing things. She helps us to fine-tune our communication skills and to improve our interactions with people. She teaches us to build healthy relationships and to open our eyes to see the needs of others. From her we learn to be more responsible and efficient. She brings harmony and order. All of this is the result of the Mother's energy flowing through us.
What is the ascension? Simply put, the ascension is a spiritual ritual whereby we "victoriously" return to God after passing our spiritual tests and meeting certain requirements. Author Annice Booth says:
Through the flame of the ascension, we become one with our own Higher Self and then with God the Father, our own I AM Presence… The ascended masters say we "ascend daily" and every good work, deed and thought aligns us closer to our Higher Self. Raising the Mother flame must be accompanied by spiritual devotion. If this is not done, the rising flame will activate all kinds of inordinate desires instead of the God qualities and virtues we are seeking.
The Mother flame and the ascension flame are one and the same. The ascension flame is the consciousness of the Mother and the Mother is the white light of the ascension flame. As we raise the Mother flame we begin to weave our spiritual garment of light called the seamless garment. Our seamless garment is woven by our thoughts and feelings and the threads represent our,consciousness. We have to replace our old garment with a new one. If we are prone towards being selfish, then we have to start giving to others. If we are filled with self-hate, then we must replace this with self-love. As we pass our initiations and start to heal we begin to add virtues to our garment of light. Sages and saints are often described as having one or more special virtues. Perhaps it is grace, honor or integrity. Some are called truth bearers and others are praised for being noble and just. Virtues are one of the gifts that come from the Mother. As we weave them into our seamless garment we can truthfully say we are walking the path of Beauty, the path of the Divine Mother and the ascension.
Whether male or female, we each have a masculine and feminine side. Everything in the spiritual and material world dances in a rhythmic flow of male and female energy. The Chinese call this yin (feminine) and yang (masculine). Wholeness requires the balancing of our masculine and feminine sides. The Mother shows us the way to do this. Our feminine side is nurturing, creative, intuitive, sensitive, comforting, caring and patient. She is the healer as well as the teacher. Our masculine side is associated more so with the "law" and as being analytical. He is power, strength, protection and discipline. When we are out of balance we feel chaotic and lack harmony. We are out of sync with the universe and our energy is scattered. We become uncaring and insensitive, abusive, aggressive or passive, indecisive and weak-willed. We become spiritually bankrupt. The Mother (Teacher-Guru) provides the nurturing, guidance and wisdom we need to successfully balance our polarities. One of the ways she does this is by explaining the laws of Father. Sometimes she is required to become the disciplinarian dispensing the discipline that is necessary for balancing to occur. Her overall desire is to liberate and restore us to wholeness. The soul of both man and woman is feminine and Spirit is the masculine side. We have to raise the feminine ray to magnetize the masculine. Until we do this, we will not manifest the fullness of our wholeness.
When we are in deep prayer and communion with God we enter into our inner altar and our "heart of hearts." This sacred place is called the secret chamber of the heart. Mystics speak of seeing a blazing flame, a divine spark within the secret chamber. This spark is also called the threefold flame or the Holy Christ flame and represents the sacred Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It has three rays or plumes coming forth from it. The blue ray represents the Father (Power), the yellow ray represents the Son (Wisdom), and the pink ray represents the Holy Spirit (Love). There is a white sphere of the Trinity located at the base of the threefold flame that is a "veritable fount of the Mother Flame." The Ascended Masters have taught us to be sensitive to these plumes and to take notice when one or more are out of balance. Are you throwing your power around? Then the blue plume is out of alignment. If you are not exercising your God given wisdom to the fullest, then the yellow plume needs improvement and if you feel hardness of heart or are unable to give love then it is the pink plume that needs healing. Ideally, all three plumes should be equal in height. A balanced threefold flame is one of the requirements for the ascension.
The Aquarian Age is also the age of the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit "conveys the essence of God" throughout our being. This is done through the seven rays. Many of the world religions talk about the seven levels of being or the seven heavens that connect us to the spiritual world. The seven rays come forth from the white light of the Holy Spirit. Each ray contains an aspect of the Christ consciousness and certain healing qualities. Most of us have heard about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Basically these are: the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, healing, working of miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits, diverse kinds of tongues and interpretation of tongues. The Holy Spirit is very mystical and the action of the Holy Spirit manifests in a variety of ways. Mystics say our prayers and thoughts flow in the Holy Spirit. The dove is one of the more well known symbols used to represent the Holy Spirit. The flame of the Holy Spirit is a joyous flame, the soundless sound. It is the music of the spheres, the gentle rain, the foam that moves with the crest of the wave and mingles with the sand. The flame of the Holy Spirit is the fresh, cool air that comes from the mountains at eventide. The flame of the Holy Spirit is the love that burns within your heart when you meet a kindred soul along life's way and when you see the beauty of a child or a devotee kneeling in prayer. It is flame of Christ-illumination that fires the mind – that sparks creative thought and gives will to the imagination. The Holy Spirit is the presence of the Father adorned by the love of the Mother nourishing Life in the newborn child. Known also as the Holy Ghost, Holy Comforter or Heavenly Comforter, the Holy Spirit can be gentle or mighty depending on the occasion and to encounter the Holy Spirit is not only purifying but also a spiritually transforming experience. According to the Ascended Masters, when we unlock the energy of the Mother it opens the door for the Holy Spirit to release the flow of light through us. The Mother helps us to pass our initiations and teaches us not only how to cultivate the gifts of the Holy Spirit but also how to be a just steward of these gifts.
Mystics and seers have always known about the violet flame. The violet flame is the seventh-ray aspect of the Holy Spirit and contains the God qualities of mercy, forgiveness and compassion. It is called the flame of transmutation and freedom as it can transmute the cause, effect, record and memory of negative karma. Karma is energy-consciousness. It is every action, thought, feeling, word, and deed. It is the "law of cause and effect" or the "law of the circle." Whatever we say or do comes full circle. We've all heard the expression, "You reap what you sow." This is karma. Everything we send out into the universe returns back to us. Karma can be good or bad. The Mother teaches us to transmute and balance our karma so that we can return back to Spirit. We are entering into a new Age, the Aquarian Age. Ages,last,approximately 2,150 years and each new cycle begins under one of the seven rays of the Holy Spirit. Each age has a sponsor. Saint Germain is the Chohan (Lord) of the Seventh Ray. He, along with his twin flame Portia (Goddess of Justice), are the hierarchs for the age of Aquarius. Portia is also known as the Mother of Aquarius. On May 1, 1954, Saint Germain and Portia were crowned as directors for the coming cycle of the seventh ray. Freedom and justice are the yin and the yang of the seventh ray of Aquarius, and together with mercy, they provide the foundation for all other attributes of God to be outpictured in this seventh dispensation. Saint Germain, whose name means "holy brother" is the seventh angel prophesied in the Book of Revelation. His gift to the earth and to all mankind is the spiritual fire of the violet flame. The violet flame is called the flame of freedom because of its alchemical ability to transmute karma. As the Chohan of the Seventh Ray, Saint Germain focuses the flame of freedom to the earth. The violet flame is the flame of the Aquarian Age.
www.sacredwind.com/divinemother.php
We can invoke the violet flame through prayer and mantra. One very simple mantra taught by the Summit Lighthouse † is:
I AM a being a violet fire!
I AM the purity God desires!
The healing benefits that come from giving the violet flame are as vast as the stars in the cosmos. The violet flame can melt hardness of heart, balance old karma and free us from the baggage we've carried around not only in this lifetime but also from past lifetimes. It can transmute negative thoughts and painful memories as well as heal old hurts and wounds.
The transforming power of the Mother will be more effective if we use it in conjunction with the violet flame. It is recommended that we give at least fifteen minutes of the violet flame each day.
Upon Friday's visit to the zoo, I found Helga walking around her barn stall, eating hay. Here's she's looking up at my wife, Janice.
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!
Self portrait, second to a photo by the same title last year. flickr.com/photos/erinlarue/389960526/
Title from the song by Josh Groban, of course.
Shake dreams from your hair
My pretty child, my sweet one
Choose the day and choose the sign of your day
The day's divinity, first thing you see
(Jim Morrisson)
Négatif argentique scanné 1990.
Pentax super A + 50mm.
Sheerwater live at the Wheatsheaf. To see more photos, click here. For information and to support the band, visit their facebook page. They are very talented and probably the most entertaining live band I've ever seen, including acts like Plan B and youme@6, so that's saying something. :)
31 things I like:
1. People
2. More specifically, people I'm close to
3. Especially my very, very good friends
4. My camera, Bella, and her predecessors
5. The 1.8 50mm lens which I'm pretty sure changed my life in a little way
6. Flickr, and all that entails (including you)
7. Hugs
8. Music - playing it and listening to it
9. Slightly off the radar bands that are a little quirky and unheard of so I can have the pleasure of introducing everyone to them
10. People enjoying my company (or acting like it!)
11. Summer days out.
12. School. (Hides from abuse)
13. This weekend just gone. It was [insert positive adjective here]
14. Christmas (which seems like an alien concept)
15. Ribena (just ask my friends)
16. English lessons.
17. Having inside jokes and things only you and someone else know.
18. Being trusted
19. My candyfloss laptop; the portal to my social life, sadly
20. Eras gone by; 20's, 40's, etc
21. Having ideas. I feel happiest when I feel creativeish.
22. Pleasing others. This is one of the things I seem to live for.
23. Completing something I'm actually proud of. I used to be a hapdash kind of person but I'm more of a perfectionist now.
24. Falling asleep on people. It's much comfier than falling asleep by yourself.
25. Wandering around the woods on my usual photo-exploration route and showing others.
26. Happy accidents.
27. My bike. (Okay... my mum's bike..)
28. My bed.
29. Texts to wake up to.
30. Not shocking yourself awake with the thought of results day on thursday...
31. People who go like my facebook page ;)
“Arise, awake, stop not until your goal is achieved.” ~ Swami Vivekananda
It had been a long week for me with travels to Umtata, Port St John’s and Pietermaritzburg. Last night I unwound at home with family, a homemade chicken curry, a few cold ones and a lovely Tullamore Dew 12 year old whiskey.
Henry J Starbuck and Louis En Marie Helberg had planned a trip to Anstey’s Beach (Durban, South Africa) to shoot the sunrise this morning. I was low on energy, looked outside before bed, saw no clouds and thought, “Good luck guys, I’m sleeping in”.
The passion bug bit me at 03:00 but I still thought, “No ways chaps, there aren't any clouds outside!” A stint on Lightroom and Photoshop just didn’t help matters; my camera wouldn't take a “No”.
I messaged our informal gang at 04:54 and “bought” my way back into the shoot.
Henry and I met on the beach at 05:45.
We were soon greeted by one of those sunrises that you don't see very often; a really blessed sunrise with pinks, blues, yellows and oranges.
Canon 6D, 17-40mm L-series lens, ISO 100, F9, 5 sec
Darkness is gone, though it seemed it would never;
Sunlight is smiling and nature survives.
I can believe that we all live forever...
When I observe how the morning arrives.
Laying awake at age ten I remember wishing that I had been a girl! I just wanted to know what it would be like and being him was getting a little dull to say the least.
The wish passed and life moved on. I found out that I was a crossdresser either that year or the one after and once that was discovered I felt right being who I was even if it was in my head or the odd time I could dress.
Never did I think that one day the girl within would escape and live a life that was real. to breath the same air and feel the same elements as those around her do.
To get caught in a rain shower or baked by the sun is a completely different feeling when I am Helen.
Being Helen is as real as being M.
It is no longer a dream or fantasy it is a reality and I can only say it is better than I could have ever imagined.
I know we can't all have the same level of freedom. just enjoy what you do have. be that a few hours a year to fully dress or just wearing nice undies under your male clothes if that is what it takes to get on with life then do it with pride and forget the guilt.
Being Helen and M is being alive .