As we feel this season transition, the natural world around us has begun to bloom in many ways. We find ourselves upon a holiday older than written word. Remaining as one of the four cross­-quarter festivals that turn the Celtic wheel, Beltane comes to us as a day of fire and life. Generally celebrated around the first of May, this brings our attention to our awakened surroundings, allowing them to bless us with abundance, fertility, and new prospects.

Existing as a day out of time, we can feel Earth energy peaking while Father Sun stretches his rays to shake off the discord of winter. Beltane, or in the Manx language? Laa Boaltinn/Shenn da Boaldyn, is typically celebrated with the rise of the moon on the eve of May, to mark the rise of Summer.

It is heralded as a solar fire festival. The word Beltane translates to ‘bright fire’. Bel being one of the first Father Gods of the Gaelic Celts of Ireland. Traditionally, bonfires are lit to honor the sun but also as a way to persuade Bels support for the oncoming season. During this time, a communal fire is created, often dubbed The Need Fire. The fire would be jumped by members of the community in hopes of purification.

Often times, livestock would be driven through the smoke for blessings as well. These consecrated fires can be seen, even still, through modern day celebrations, where fire artistry and acrobatics are displayed for the pleasure of both god and man.

The festive celebration during this sacred day varies throughout parts of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, central Europe, and the western world.Many similarities can be found, such as the May poles we scurry around, or the offering of milk onto personal effigies.

During Beltane, it is custom to celebrate the potential and existence of life­ in every form. Many find celebration through dance and song, as well as candied fruit and sweet milk. In the home front, it is customary to extinguish the home hearth, ever so welcoming the summer in.

The holiday is also typically marked by handfastings, with the marriages set to honor the May Queen and King. On this day, the newlyweds also jump over the Need-fire in hopes to instill divine grace upon their union. Cakes and candies fruit are shared amongst family and friends while mead is swilled down, offering up joy as the ultimate sacrament.

This sacred day of solar fire is a time for us to honor the divine connection we have with the world around us. It is an opportunity to celebrate the unleashing of Father Sun from the bindings of winter’s darkness, as well as our own constraints.

In this moment we feel the divinity of natural transition­ here provides a chance to breathe in the raw eternal charge provided. At this period, earth energies are her strongest. We are able to bask in this boundless bliss while also finding a reminder of potential and prospect. Celebrate life and give love to our solar unity, blessed be!

The holiday is also typically marked by handfastings, with the marriages set to honor the May Queen and King. On this day, the newlyweds also jump over the Need-fire in hopes to instill divine grace upon their union. Cakes and candies fruit are shared amongst family and friends while mead is swilled down, offering up joy as the ultimate sacrament.

This sacred day of solar fire is a time for us to honor the divine connection we have with the world around us. It is an opportunity to celebrate the unleashing of Father Sun from the bindings of winter’s darkness, as well as our own constraints. In this moment we feel the divinity of natural transition­ providing a chance to breathe in the raw eternal charge given.

At this period, earth energies are her strongest. We are able to bask in this boundless bliss while also finding a reminder of potential and prospect. Celebrate life and give love to our solar unity, blessed be!

 Happy Beltane!

Written by Faye Monk, Asheville NC

Awakening is not a thing. It is not a goal, not a concept. It is not something to be attained. It is a metamorphosis. If the caterpillar thinks about the butterfly it is to become, saying ‘And then I shall have wings and antennae, there will never be a butterfly.

The caterpillar must accept its own disappearance in its transformation. When the marvelous butterfly takes wing, nothing of the caterpillar remains.

“Your own Self-Realization is the greatest service you can render the world.”
– Ramana Maharshi

“Once the soul awakens, the search begins and you can never go back. From then on, you are inflamed with a special longing that will never again let you linger in the lowlands of complacency and partial fulfillment. The eternal makes you urgent. You are loath to let compromise or the threat of danger hold you back from striving toward the summit of fulfillment.” Continue reading →

In the nineties, Konstantin Korotkov, a professor at The St. Petersburg Federal University of Informational Technologies, Optics, and Mechanics in Russia, had created something very interesting…

This technology isn’t new; this has been created time and time again through different means.

Konstantin had created a device he named GVC, which is based off the the ancient Chinese system of energy meridians. It measures the bio-energy that all living organisms give off through a non invasive, painless evaluation.

It uses a small electrical current that is connected to the finger tips and takes less than a millisecond to send signals from. When these electric charges are pulsed through the body, our bodies naturally respond with a kind of ‘electron cloud’ made up of light photons.

This glow can be captured with an optical CCD camera system and then translated onto a computer. Continue reading →

Be completely at ease with yourself. There is no reason why you should not love yourself unconditionally. You can start right now – you do not need any reason.

I have learned how to love myself (almost) unconditionally, but that doesn’t mean I have stopped trying to change. I can love myself completely and wholly, even though there are aspects of me I want to change. We are built to move forwards. Moving forwards is a part of the human experience. You could say that we ARE change. Loving ourselves unconditionally is to embrace change and to guide it in the present moment.

Do you wish you were more confident? Maybe you wouldn’t say no to a touch of more extraversion in your personality. Or maybe you wish you were more efficient in your work life. It is possible to change and some of the answer to how lies in the branch of psychology called the phenomenological–humanistic perspective on personality.

An Exciting Psychological Theory

The phenomenological-humanistic perspective on personality is in part an answer to Sigmund Freud’s theory that people are driven by the unconscious. Continue reading →

Our world has everyone moving so fast, sometimes we forget to take a moment and actually enjoy this life. If you’re young, both mentally or physically, then this list is for you! Age doesn’t matter, it’s simply a matter of your mindset. 

1. Everything is Temporary

Everything in this world is only temporary. That stressful situation, that test you need to take, job interview, lonely feeling or anxious swirl is only there for a short moment in the grand scheme of things.

When we’re older, we look back at our lives and all the events are compressed into a single memory. Which ones stick out? Is it the upsetting, stressful times? Or do the light, happy times come to rise and remind us how amazing our life really is. When we are in the moment of a negative situation, it feels like that’s all there is; there’s nothing outside of that feeling.

Try to remember there is infinitely more than just that moment and just that feeling. When you see it in retrospect, you’ll wish your awareness extended beyond your emotions in that moment.

2. There is More to Life Than The 3D

Not only is life temporary, it’s only a tiny silver of reality that we can experience. If you think this 3D plane is all there is in the entire universe, well, you’ve got some research to do.

In moments of loneliness, stress or overwhelm, try to remember there is so much more out there, we can’t even comprehend it!

When you feel alone, remember there are an infinite number of species, beings and consciousnesses out there; and some are specifically watching over you! You are always intimately connected to everything through the energetic patterns that make up the fabric of consciousness!

Know you are never alone, and when you feel like you are, reach out to those around you and remind yourself you are loved. If no one is near by, go into a deep meditation and you will see how interconnected we truly are.

3. Your Emotions Don’t Always Dictate Reality

This one might be difficult for some to grasp. Your emotions do not

always dictate reality, they reflect it. When your emotions ARE dictating reality, then you are creating it.

If you feel a certain way about something, like uncomfortable in a situation, that feeling can push you to walk away, and thus has created your reality.

We get into trouble sometimes when we convince ourselves something is definitely a certain way, and then act on that feeling. Sometimes, we can’t be sure of something then blindly act off those feelings. It takes investigation, understanding and learning to fully be able to react to this reality in the most effective way.

Take the time to slow down and really understand the depths of a situation before you act on it.

4. Be kind To Your Body

Many young people can be quite rough on their body because they are still durable. As time goes on, our bodies will start to get worn out and you’ll wish you took better care of it when you could. Your body is a sacred temple, a vessel for you to explore this reality. Treat it with respect, listen to it and do what you need to do to keep it healthy.

If you are smoking a lot (of anything) consider taking a break to clear your lungs. If you’ve been eating poorly, take some time to replenish your body with healthy food. If you’ve been thinking badly about yourself; shift that entire mindset!

Tell yourself you are amazing, simply because you’ve come down to this planet to exist for a very specific reason; and that my friend, is amazing in itself.

5. The Best Gift You Can Give Someone is Your Presence

You don’t need an expensive gift to show someone you care. Simply being there, fully, completely present and listening intently is an amazing gift you can give someone.

When your friend or family knows you are there for them because you want to be, and your actions match your words truthfully, you are in an incredibly powerful position.

Remember that you are a powerful creator, even if you have forgotten. Be there for someone just like you’d like them to be there for you. Your very presence is so powerful, it can shift the entire vibe of a room if you let it.

Cats are truly magical creatures. They were highly regarded in ancient Egypt, and for good reason! The mystery of the cats purr has long been studied, and so far, we still don’t completely understand why cats purr!

When cats purr, they do it during both inhales and exhales by “intermittent contracting of their laryngeal and diaphragmatic muscles.”

But the actual reason behind why is still a mystery.

Cat’s obviously purr when they are happy, calm and being petted but also when they are stressed or scared.

What’s interesting is fact that they literally emit a vibration when they feel a certain way and the type of vibration corresponds to the emotion of the animal. Continue reading →