This week we are practicing our visualization skills on those around us. So, I thought it might be beneficial to do a guided meditation designed specifically to increase empathy for others.
You might want to read the words of this meditation... slowly... into a tape recorder and then play it back for yourself. If the sound of your own recorded voice is a little disturbing, perhaps you could find someone else to read the script, or, alternatively, you could practice some self-love and just be with it how it is. Either way, it may take some time and practice to really go deeply into this meditation. When you see the three dots (... ) that's an indication to pause when reading the script. This meditation is approximately 10 minutes long.
Here it is:
See if you can position yourself as comfortably as you can... shifting your weight so you're allowing your body to be fully supported... head, neck, and spine straight...
And taking a couple of deep, full, cleansing breaths... inhaling as fully as you comfortably can... sending the warm energy of your breath to any part of your body that's tense or sore or tight... and releasing the discomfort with the exhale... so that you can feel your breath going to all the tight, tense places... loosening and softening them... and then gathering up all the tension and breathing it out... so that more and more, you can feel safe and comfortable, relaxed and easy... watching the cleansing action of the breath... with friendly but detached awareness...
And any distracting thoughts or feeling you might have... those, too, are sent out with the breath... so that inside, you can be still and quiet... like a lake with no ripples...
And now... imagining a place... where you feel safe and peaceful and easy... a place either make-believe or real... a place from your past... or somewhere you've always wanted to to... it doesn't matter... just so it's a place that feels good and safe and peaceful to you...
And allowing the place to become real to you, in all of its dimensions... looking around you... taking the place in with your eyes... enjoying the colors... the scenery... fully appreciating every detail with your eyes... looking over to your right... and over to your left...
And listening to the sounds of the place... the motion of wind or water... the music of birds or crickets... or a whole blend of sounds...
And feeling whatever you are sitting against or lying upon... or perhaps feeling the quality of the ground beneath your feet... whether it's sand or pine needles or grass... or you might be in a cozy armchair... or sitting in a nice, warm rock in the sun...
And feeling the air on your skin... either crisp and dry... or balmy and wet... perhaps you are inside, feeling the warmth of a cozy fire on your face and hands... or maybe you are outdoors, and there's just the subtlest caress of a fragrant, gentle breeze... so just enjoying the feel of the place on your skin...
And smelling its rich fragrance... whether it's the soft, full scent of flowers... or sharp, salt sea air... sweet meadow grass... or maybe the pungent smell of peat moss in the woods...
And as you become more and more attuned to the safety and beauty of this place... feeling thankful and happy to be there... you might begin to feel a kind of tingling... a pleasant, energizing something in the air all around you... something that contains expectancy and excitement... a sense that something wonderful is just about to happen...
And as you look out in front of you... just a few feet before you... you begin to discern that there is a king of transparent screen there... getting more and more opaque and solid as you look at it...
And as you watch the screen with a kind of peaceful curiosity... you gradually become aware of a human form beginning to appear on it... becoming more and more defined... until the three-dimensional image of a person is quite clear
someone you want to understand better... or resolve something with... appearing on the screen... in whatever characteristic posture they have... wearing whatever it is that they wear... doing whatever it is that they do... crisp and clear in every dimension...
And surprised but not surprised, you see that you can softly and easily enter the screen... to have a closer look... undetected by them, you can slip into the screen... and have a slow, detached, curious walk around them... seeing them from every angle... the profile... and the back... and the other side...
And experiencing the feel of the air around them... the sounds of the breathing or the voice... the smells that surround them... just slowly moving around them... experiencing a full, rich awareness of them... with all of your senses...
And now... in the safe, magical space of the screen... for the sake of your own learning... somehow, for just a short while... sliding past the boundaries and slipping into the body of this other person... entering this other awareness... and breathing their breath... for just a brief while...
And if there is any resistance to doing this, just gently noting it, and allowing yourself to soften all around it... for the sake of understanding more... to learn what you need to know... just an experiment... feeling what it is like to be in their body... breathing their breath... looking down and seeing the hands and the feet... the clothing...
And feeling what is happening in the heart... (pause)... the belly... (pause)... the muscles of the back and the neck... (pause)... open and curious as to how it is in there...
And seeing out from their eyes... what the world looks like... sounds like... feels like... as you breathe their breath... feel their feelings...
... (longer pause)...
And perhaps even seeing you over there... with this pair of eyes... what you look like... sound like... how you seem... from this body... from this awareness... feeling what it feels like to be looking over at you, while breathing this breath... soft and easy... just allowing yourself the space to experience this... in the safe, magical space of this screen... with friendly but detached interest...
... (longer pause)...
And now... softly and easily... very gently wishing this body goodbye... with whatever thoughts and wishes you feel appropriate... saying goodbye to this other... and gently moving back into your own body... re inhabiting your own body... fully and easily... breathing deeply into your own belly... exhaling fully from your own nose and mouth...
And feeling grateful for your ability to move so easily here and there... you step out of the magical, translucent screen... back into your peaceful outdoor environment... again taking in the beautiful sights and sounds and smells... and watching the shimmering screen fade...
Understanding that you have in fact added to your own understanding in a very real way... increasing your own well-being as you open your mind and heart in this way... safely and easily... and knowing that you can do so again whenever you wish...
And so... very gently... and with soft eyes... coming back into the room whenever you are ready... knowing that you are better for this... and so you are...
SAMHAIN RITUAL 1991
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30th, 1991
On-Line Ritual Facilitators:
Keymaster -- Priest
Otterkin -- Priestess
(8-13,Shadow Hawk) Hello all, Blessing Be among Thou.
(8-3,John & Karen) Hi.
(8-5,keymaster) Ok we are ready now.
(8-10,Jehana & Jeff) ready here.
(8-4,Tapestry) Ready.
(8-3,John & Karen) ready
(8-12,Frodo) I'm here, dunno for how long.
(8-6,Grey Owel) ready
(8-5,keymaster)
Tonight we celebrate the Sabbat Samhain, the eve of the New Year.
This is the time when the Goddess in her aspect as Crone veils Her face and the Horned One takes His throne. It is a time to reap the good and to banish the bad. To this end, we folded paper with that which we would banish written upon it. With the old year dying and the new year yet to be born, it is also the time when the dead may be invited to leave Caer Arianrhod and join us in the ritual and the feasting afterward. During the feast, the Lord of Misrule reigns and is free to inflict his Puckish like humor on us all. Welcome all, and let us begin.
(8-5,keymaster)
Take a deep breath.....and let it out slowly...
Relax, and visualize the link between us...
Scattered to the winds are we, but we are here together....
(8-8,Otterkin)
We enter a grove amidst tall oaks, lit by a waning moon and a circle of torches.
It is a warm indian summer night with little wind, and an aura of expectancy flickers like the flames. Our altar stands at the North, decorated with apples and pomegranates, nuts and corn. There is an empty plate and a hand-thrown earthenware bowl filled with fresh water. A chalice holds the wine. The cakes are slices of pumpkin bread with raisins, and oatmeal cookies. The small cauldron of cleansing is of old polished brass with a handle for carrying. A large, black iron dutch-oven stands on its three legs in the center of the circle. Wisps of smoke rise upward and tongues of flame reach beyond it's rim.
Four unlit torches lay near it. Here the callers of the Guardians will light their torches, to place them in empty sconces planted in the earth at the North, East, South, and West. There are small buckets of water beside each sconce.
Because we are modern pagans, the Priestess has brought a boom-box with appropriate music. Listen inside yourself and you will hear it.
Focus on the water in the chalice. A symbol of cleansing and rebirth. I add a dagger-tip of salt to represent the aspects of the earth. Great Mother, bless this cup that we may be cleansed. (The chalice is passed clockwise, with each of us sprinkling ourselves.) (When this is done, I return the chalice to the altar.)
(8-5,keymaster)
The incense we have chosen for this night is juniper and myrrh. It burns with the charcoal in the small brass cauldron. Breathe it in, and think of fire and air together. Let the strength and joy they represent become a part of you.
Great Father, bless this fire and air that we may be purified as it passes over and through us. (Cauldron is passed clockwise around the circle, by its handle)
(When all have breathed it, the Priest returns it to the altar.)
(8-7,Otterkin)
The ground beneath us has been sprinkled with ginger and swept to remove all negativity from this space. Let us join together and in the names of Danu the Great Mother and Arianrhod the White Lady, and of Cernunnos the Hunter, I cast and consecrate this Circle. (I draw the invoking Pentagram in the air with one hand and then, with a long stick from a hazel tree, draw the circle deosil, North to North.)
(8-5,keymaster)
Let the caller of the Guardian of the East, step forward.
(8-4,Tapestry)
Lords of the East, Masters of inspiration, intelligence, new beginnings, and the wind rattling my windows this night, Hail and Welcome. (Light Torch & place in sconce)
(8-5,keymaster)
Let the Caller of the Guardian of the South, step forward.
(8-10,Jehana with us. Hail & Welcome (Light torch & place in
sconce.)
(8-5,keymaster)
Let the Caller of the Guardian of the West, step forward.
(8-3,John & Karen)
Lords of the West, guardians of the dark ocean and the lands beyond be with us now in this time between the worlds. Hail and welcome. (light torch and place in sconce)
(8-5,keymaster)
Let the Caller of the Guardian of the North, step forward.
(8-11,wanda)
Lords of the North, Masters of the Earth, the hills, the valley, and forests -- join us now in this time of great joy (light torch and place in sconce)
(8-7,Otterkin) (Facing the center)
The Circle is bound. This is a time that is not a time, in a place that is not a place, on a day which is not a day, and we are safe between the worlds. So mote it be.
(8-5,keymaster) So mote it be!
(8-12,Frodo) So mote it be!
(8-3,John & Karen) so mote it be!
(8-11,wanda) So mote it be!
(8-10,Jehana from
bane, good; from death, birth!
(I then place my piece of paper into the fire)
I banish the pain of past relationships,
(8-7,Otterkin) (I step to the fire in the cauldron.)
(8-5,keymaster)
of my bitterness,
(8-7,Otterkin)
I banish the pain in my childhood memories, but not the memories themselves.
(I throw my paper into the flames.) (Each in turn comes to the fire to throw in their paper, saying aloud their banishment or not as they choose.)
(8-12,Frodo)
I banish the tensions and uncertainties that have been plaguing my life as of late.
(8-10,Jehana & Jeff)
We have banished (toss)
(8-3,John & Karen)
We have banished! (toss)
(8-4,Tapestry)
I banish depression and anger from past relationships
(8-11,wanda) (stepping to the fire)
I banish my insecurities..my deep sorrow from loves past...and embarrassment from words spoken too hastily. (toss)
(8-6,Grey Owel)
I banish the quickness of temper (toss)
(8-5,keymaster) (I go to the altar, and lift my hands above the cakes and wine)
All life is your own
All fruits of the Earth
Are fruits of your womb
Your union,
Your dance. Lord and Lady,
We thank thee
for blessings and abundance.
Join with us,
Feast with us,
enjoy with us!
Blessed be!
(8-7,Otterkin) Blessed be!
(8-11,wanda) Blessed be!
(8-12,Frodo) Blessed be!
(8-4,Tapestry) Blessed Be!
(8-3,John & Karen) Blessed be!
(8-10,Jehana & Jeff) Blessed be!
(8-6,Grey Owel) Blessed be!
(8-5,keymaster) (I now pass the wine clockwise around the circle) (Everyone takes a drink)
(8-12,Frodo) ->gulp!munch.<
(8-10,Jehana libating; (nibble)
(8-4,Tapestry) (take piece, crumble a bit onto the ground and eat the rest.)
(8-11,wanda) (breaking off a small piece and savoring it)
(8-3,John & Karen) Breaking off a piece, sharing it, nibbling
(8-7,Otterkin) My cat has cut her own door into the Circle, and I share my bit of cake with her.
(8-6,Grey Owel) (consume heartily)
(8-5,keymaster) (breaking off a piece, eating it, grokking its fullness) (I replace what is left of the cakes and the wine, near the altar, for the Sidhe to enjoy)
Will the Caller of the Guardian of the East, step forward and release the Guardian.
(8-4,Tapestry)
Lords of the East, thank you for your assistance. Hail and Farewell.
(take torch and plunge it into bucket of water.)
(8-5,keymaster)
Will the Caller of the Guardian of the South, step forward.
(8-10,Jehana of Fire and of Will, we thank you for your assistance -- Hail and farewell! (Plunge torch into bucket of water.)
(8-5,keymaster)
Will the Caller of the Guardian of the West, step forward.
(8-3,John & Karen)
Lords of the West, we thank you for your assistance. Hail and farewell!
(Plunge torch into bucket of water.)
(8-5,keymaster)
Will the Caller of the Guardian of the North, step forward.
(8-11,wanda)
Lords of the North, Masters of the Earth..we thank you for your assistance and joining us this eve -- farewell! (grasping torch and placing it into the bucket)
(8-7,Otterkin) (I draw the banishing Pentagram in the air.)
Merry meet and merry part,
and merry meet again!
Let the Circle be open but never broken.
(8-5,keymaster)
I hereby name............
Frodo............
Lord of Misrule.........
Let the Feasting Begin!
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Everything is reborn in spring -- even Easter eggs, which can be transformed into votives for your table or altar. Eggs are a symbol of rebirth and a start of a new life. Start your season off with these beautiful eggshell votive candles!
THINGS YOU NEED:
* 2lb Candle Wax
* Crayons or candle dye pellets
* 4'' Pre-tabbed Candle Wicks
* Eggcups or unfinished Wood Egg Holders
* Food Coloring or Egg Coloring Kit
* Egg Carton
* Funnel
HOW TO:
First, make a hole in the top of each egg with a pin; enlarge the holes, and pour out the yolks. Clean shells, then dye them with food coloring (follow package directions). Nestle shells in a carton. Cut wire-core wicks to 4 inches long, flatten one end, and fasten in shell with a bit of warm wax. Using a funnel, fill shells with hot wax (tinted with melted crayon or dye pellets). Let the wax cool. Trim the wicks, and light.
TIPS:
To make the holes in your eggs, gently and carefully tap a sharp serrated knife around the narrow egg of the egg. Lift and twist the small portion of egg shell to remove it from the egg body. Empty the out the yolk and clean the egg carefully.
Paint or Mod Podge your own egg holders for a unique fun look. Set aside and let dry.
Place your egg shells into an egg cartoon for safety. Hot glue the wick tabs to the inside bottom portion of your eggs. This way your wicks will not float when the hot wax is being pour in. Be sure that your eggs are dry inside before applying the hot glue.
Melt your candle making wax by purchasing a double broiler or you can also combine a smaller pan within a larger pan, to make your own type of double broiler. Be sure that you place water in the larger pan and be on the watch that the water doesn't evaporate. Heating the candle wax up to 200 degrees Fahrenheit is fine generally. I suggest adding the color and additives to your wax right around 190 degrees F. Stir the wax it for several minutes, this will make certain that the wax has an even temperature throughout and the mix is blended thoroughly.
Source: Martha Stewart
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To help speed recovery from an illness, write the sick person's name on a white human shaped candle of the correct gender. As you anoint it with 3 drops of myrrh or mint oil, visualize healing energy in the form of white light flowing from your hands and into the candle. Recite:
IN THE DIVINE NAME OF THE GODDESS WHO BREATHES LIFE INTO US ALL, I CONSECRATE AND CHARGE THIS CANDLE AS A MAGICKAL TOOL FOR HEALING
Place the candle on top of a photograph of the sick person and then light the wick. As the candle burns down, focus on the person in the photography, willing him/her to be well again. Then recite:
MAGICK MEND AND CANDLE BURN
SICKNESS END, GOOD HEALTH RETURN
Continue to focus and recite until the candle burns out on it's own. (At this point I suggest taking the remains of the candle, wrapping it in clean white cotton and burying it outside, thereby burying the sickness.)
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Candles are easily made and do not need to be any shape or form, they can even be poured in old milk cartons and used for any ritual. This is only one example.
If you have a crescent-shaped mold and some wax, you can pour your own candle. To make the moon candle in this photo, you'll need:
o Paraffin or soy candle wax
o Wicking
o Candle release spray
o Crescent-shaped candle mold
o Color and scent of your choice
If you've never made candles on your own before, be sure to read David Fisher's Candle Making Basics for some tips.
Melt the wax according to manufacturer's directions. Spray the mold with candle release spray and place the wick where you want it. Carefully pour the melted wax into the mold. Be sure to prop the wick up with a dowel rod or some other support, so it doesn't flop over into the liquid wax.
Allow your candle to cool completely before removing it from the mold. Use in your Esbat rites, or for other moon-related celebrations.
Note: The candle in the photo is frosted on the top to hide some post-cooling cracking.
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Sepher Raziel (also called Liber Salomonis) is not the same as the Hebrew Sepher Reziel ha-Melakh. It is a full grimoire in the Solomonic tradition from a 1564 century English manuscript, derived from Latin sources. As such it is one of the earliest grimoires produced in this series. It begins with directions for making the parchment, pen and ink of Art, required to write the names. It contains seven separate treatises:
* Liber Clavis which is concerned with astrology and its correct use in magic, something long forgotten by modern astrologers, with the precise interactions between planets, signs and houses.
* The Ala outlines in four sections the magical virtues of stones, herbs and beasts, and words.
* The Tractatus Thymiamatus explains why incense is essential to magical operations, and the effect of various incenses on the spirits, with a list of the key perfumes and suffumigations.
* The Treatise of Times gives details of the correct hours of the day and night for each operation, with associated angels and the proper names of the sun, moon and planets to be used in each season. This is something left out of almost all other grimoires.
* The Treatis on Purity explains the exact preparations and reasons for ritual purity.
* Samaim is a treatise on the seven heavens, with the names of their angels.
* The Book of Virtues and Miracles is a treatise on the Semiforas, the names of God, and how they are to be used in invocation to produce miraculous results.
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A few articles have been buried in the news lately about former Biggest Loser contestant, Kai Hibbard, and her comments that the show pushed her to lose weight in unhealthy ways and that her dramatic 118 pound weight loss in what seemed like 12 weeks on television actually took longer.
Hibbard says the show pushed contestants to work out excessively through injuries and all, encouraged them to ignore the advice of nutritionists and listen only to Biggest Loser trainers, use dehydration as a means of dieting and lowering the number on the scale, and that there could be many weeks between weigh-ins (which, through the illusion of TV, only look like they are happening once a week).
She claims she returned home with a low-self image about her body, poor/extreme dieting habits, her hair was falling out and she didn't look good so her family staged an intervention. She has since gained back 70 pounds of the weight she lost. You can read the entire article here:
Biggest Loser Contestant: Show Hurts People
For anyone who might think Witchcraft is bad, this kind of tv "magic" is much worse, isn't it? It's a complete illusion.
For some reason our society, even though we know that just about everything on television is for profit and entertainment, still has a huge influence over us. In one segment it is showing us what body image to aspire to, and in the next commercial it is telling us to run to McDonalds or grab a batch of Betty Crocker Brownie Mix. People sit there watching TV, zoning out into a semi-meditative state (the ALPHA state, a lighter version of the state in which post-hypnotic suggestions can be planted), watching this stuff, and it permeates their subconscious.
Shows like the Biggest Loser and Celebrity Fit Club fuel misconceptions that someone can lose weight so quickly. These shows fuel misconceptions by paying some sell-out doctor (with a good sympathetic stare) and a physical trainer condoning to sit there and encourage this kind of extreme weight-loss while spewing self-help cliches about the importance of being healthy (the opposite of what they are doing). These so-called "professionals" give the illusion that this "experiment" is about helping the lucky chosen contestnet-- and inspiring the world-- to get healthy and eat right... when the real goal is just making money, getting ratings, selling air time.
Not that I am against capitalism-- not by a longshot, I firmly believe capitalism is the best, most fair economic system-- so no, just because I am a Pagan don't think I am pinning this on "big business" or "capitalist corporations." Making money, making TV shows, fueling the economy is good. The problem is they are doing this under the guise that it is a "reality show" so people unfortunately believe what they see, even though it's been highly manipulated. This in particular is a reality show about a medical problem, and they are being deceptive, as if there were a "miracle cure" right under your nose and you, dear home viewer, are just missing it.
And then when people get inspired to eat a healthy diet and exercise and find they are not losing 5, 10 or 12 pounds a week, that they are chugging along at a steady 1 to 2 pounds, and when they hit those natural plateaus, they think there is something wrong with them. They think they are doing something wrong. Or they think it is too hard and give up.
Can you imagine if they did that with cancer patients? Get a bunch of patients whose ability to go into remission looks promising, giving them sea weed and other "healthy" diets, follow them to doctor appointments and yoga classes, then dress them up with a professional make up artist using lighting to make them look great once a week, and act like "Ohy, look how wonderful they are doing... and you can do it, too, if you really wanted to." Meanwhile behind the scenes they are getting aggressive rounds of chemotheraply and the "once a week" check-in is really every 2 months. Can you imagine viewers at home who have cancer, or live with loved ones with cancer, or who have lost people to cancer-- how would that make them feel that they didn't find such a "fast and easy" cure?
If you go visiting weight-loss forums, you often see posts like "how can I lose weight fast! Should I just eat an apple a day and drink water and get on the treadmill for 6 hours so I can drop 60 pounds in 30 days?" or "Why aren't I losing weight? I only eat 500 calories a day and I do cardio aerobics an hour a day and for some reason I am only losing a pound or two a week! What's wrong?"
People don't read, people don't study up on fitness and nutrition, most people don't have a clue about their bodies or what a normal sized portion is or what's a balanced diet or how much they should intake every day in calories... but they see the "Biggest Loser" and they want to know why they can't do it.
And the reason is that it's not just "TV magic"-- it is a complete illusion. False. A lie delivering false hope and impossible promises to desperate people in a society with a screwed-up notion of body image, instant gratification and finding miracle cures.
This is the kind of mentality that not only is keeping America fat, but making it get worse with each passing decades. Frankly, I don't have cable, I have seen about 1/2 an episode of the Biggest Loser and about 2 episodes of Celebrity Fit Club when visiting my mother, and since I have educated myself a bit on the topic I could see that it was a complete load of bunk. But I really shudder to think of the eating disorders of the next generation of kids and teens growing up with these "reality" shows... the depression, the low-self image, self-loathing for not being able to do it so fast and easily, the amount of people who may pure give up, or the amount of people who will try, fail, try, fail, try, fail, and each time put on those extra 10 or 20 "bonus" pounds your body seems to gain after a failed diet.
Why is it the FDA can restrict the use of a natural sweeting herb like stevia, but not the blatant glorification of false information via the most influential medium in our society?
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