WHEN LIFE IS A LEMON...THROW IT BACK!

© 2014 - Reprinted with permission from Shining Lotus Metaphysical Bookstore Newsletter June 2014

by Mario C. Veo

Far too often we’ve been told “don’t rock the boat…we can’t all be millionaires…make the best of what you have…” and my favorite, “hey, at least he doesn’t hit me…” (a poor excuse for staying in a blah marriage!)

My view of Life is very different – I see it as an endless opportunity for discovery, an exciting adventure where I am uncovering greater and greater Insights – about myself and what makes this crazy world tick…(or not – you can thank your politicians for that!)

Yes, I have been half way around the world and back, and I can tell you that people – everywhere – are pretty much the same…some are good, sensible, basically nice people…while others are the reason why there is still so much conflict and chaos (you’d think that, if we are truly ‘made in God’s image’, then someone has sneaked in some poor, cheap reproductions!)

So, we all now have a choice – we can either start “Thinking for ourselves” (oh, what a novel idea!)…or accept that we are simple sheep, and we actually like to be led around by our noses (baaah humbug!)

There is so much manipulation going on everywhere…so much greed and exploitation that I sometime wonder when it will all implode…and then I meet some wonderful people – people who are joyful and radiant, who haven’t lost that spontaneous laughter, that still embrace Life abundantly…(and my faith is once again restored). OK, now it is time to do something about this. It is time to really look at the Concept of Self-Empowerment…and how our Power is taken away…who and what sabotages us…who tells us that “we can’t do that…“.

It is time to stop allowing others to dictate to us just how much ‘fun’ we can have (it doesn’t look like their portions are adequate)…after all, we are created in God’s Image. So, we are all ‘Creators in our own Right’…and don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise!

I’m dedicating this month to Self-Empowerment (yes!), and what we can do – effectively – to reclaim Life Abundant (yep, it is still out there…but…where are you…!!?!).

Mario C. Veo was born in Italy and grew up in Africa. From an early age his love for Spirituality and Metaphysics led him to explore a wide range of disciplines. He has studied with Sufis, Shamans and Spiritual Masters from around the world. Mario is a senior T’ai Chi and Chi Gong instructor, a Spiritual Counselor, Shaman and Healer, and teaches classes and individuals on Personal Transformation, Empowerment, Manifestation and Spiritual Alignments. He is available for personal guidance and consultations.
Mario is the featured reader on Tuesdays from 12:30pm to 6pm at the Shining Lotus™. He is also available from 12:30pm to 6pm on the last Sunday of every month.

COMPARATIVE STILLNESS: THE MONKEY MIND & THE AWARENESS OF THE INTERACTION OF THE SUBTLE BODIES

© 2014 - Reprinted with permission from Shining Lotus Metaphysical Bookstore Newsletter June 2014

by Pura Isham

How often do we sit down and engage ourselves with the guidelines we have learned from someone or from some written materials with the sole purpose of experiencing stillness? Stillness of the mind and the slowing down of the interferences of the Ego happen and they happen comparatively to our experiences of stillness, quietness, calmness, and relaxation. Yet my awareness of stillness begins with my realization that it is the I of my physical form, of my emotional body that are still while I have been focusing on my monkey mind and its influences. When is it going to quiet down??

Well, it was with a kind of soothing awareness that I realized that my physical form along with my emotional body have been calmed down even though my monkey mind was quietly, to a certain extent, on and off. A minutia of a realization, of an awareness, but an awareness nevertheless.

As I deepen my awareness of my physical and emotional relaxation, I noticed what I am choosing to call Comparative Minutia because these subtle ties have been taking place and I was not aware of them. I was busy paying attention to some degrees to the unsettled state of my monkey mind.

An interesting thing came to my attention: Minutia Hunger and its ties to the monkey mind, the Ego. This is my binding to objects, to things, which in turn feeds the Minutia Hunger and consequently gives tools with which the monkey mind will then work.

The question is: If I were not to be bound by this Minutia Hunger and its offspring(objects, things), why do I still keep them(objects, things that I don’t use or have a need for)? What do I get from this internal/external exploration of my Comparative Awareness of myself and my immediate environment(my home)?

I don’t quite have the answers to these questions yet, but it has been fruitful to explore my interaction with these concepts – Comparative Stillness, Comparative Awareness, Comparative Minutia and Minutia Hunger.

From comparative stillness to comparative awareness to comparative minutia hunger resulting in experiencing calmness, relaxation, and to some level or degrees of stillness(body, emotion, mind). I have become aware that a slow, for now, process of that in breaking the barriers(veils) of teaching(there is a lesson to be learned in everything) this awareness has taken place. Stillness with its sacred vibration, the subtle bodies with their interactions and beneficial shiftings have connected, enhanced and intertwined a plethora of Comparative Minutiae.

Pura Isham is a student of spirituality, metaphysics and esoteric subjects. As a very inquisitive person, Pura has been studying these areas for many years, most recently with her teacher, Mario C. Veo. We thank her for the inspiration she is to us, and letting us peek through this window to her personal spiritual path.