Flowers Can Heal You!

I was walking in a field near the woods yesterday and I noticed all the summer flowers in their colorful splendor. They are so beautiful this time of year. But there are more to flowers than just their natural beauty. Did you know that flowers can heal you of many illnesses? Mother Nature provides us with all the natural cures to many of our problems. And they are right there before our eyes and most people don't even know it. Many people are aware of the healing powers of specific herbs, but flowers also have healing properties.

One of the most notable persons connected with flower healing is Dr. Edward Bach. Dr. Bach was a physician and surgeon in London back in the 1930's. He became dissatisfied with traditional medical practice and began to seek alternative healing methods. He founded the Bach Flower Remedies which have been very successful to this day. One of the interesting things that Dr. Bach advocates is that many of our illnesses stem from our false perceptions about ourselves. Dr. Bach says,

We are all conscious that it is not our bodies alone which are the cause of our difficulties. We do not say, “my body is worried or anxious or depressed”; we say, “I am worried or anxious or depressed”, We do not say, “my hand hurts itself in pain”; we say, my hand hurts me”. Were we but bodies, our lives would be merely one of personal interest and gain, seeking but our own comforts and relieving our own needs. But this is not so. Every kind simile, every kind thought and action; every deed done for love or sympathy or compassion of others proves that there is something greater within us than that we see…we all carry a spark of the Divine.

For Dr. Bach, illness begins when we forget our connection with the Divine. Then we begin to feel anxiety, stress and depression. His flower remedies help to alleviate these symptoms by sympathetic action. Every flower has a certain natural vibration and can help restore harmony by sympathetic vibration. Just like a tuning fork can cause another tuning fork to vibrate nearby, so the flower remedies can help tune one back into harmony.

I have used Bach flower remedies in my own life and have found them very helpful in bringing about peace especially in times of stress. The Rescue Remedy is really incredible in bringing about peace of mind.

For more information, see: http://www.bachflower.com/drbach.htm.

Paulo Coelho

I just finished reading Paulo Coelho's book called Brida. I would highly recommend it for those folks who enjoy books on esoteric spirituality. Paulo has written a string of fiction books on esoteric spirituality. They are not only insightful, but also very enjoyable reading. He is a great author and is able to convey many of the principles of esoteric spirituality through his intriguing stories. I just finished reading Brida the other day and it really hits home for me. I have walked a very similar road between the Paths of the Sun and the Moon. The Path of the Sun being the path of the Magus or Magician and the Path of the Moon as the path of the Witch. They are really two sides of the same coin in esoteric spirituality. And I think it gives us better balance if we learn both aspects of these spiritualities. The Path of the Sun teaches us through the rational mind, knowledge and ritual that leads to a better understanding of ourselves and the universe. The Path of the Moon teaches us through the intuition, and leads to wisdom and inner illumination. But both paths eventually come together in your practice and spiritual development.

For further information, please see: paulocoelhoblog.com/

Mid-Summers Eve

The Summer Solstice will occur for those of us in the northern hemisphere on June 20th-21st as the sun moves into the astrological sign of cancer. Solstice literally means sol for sun and sistere, to stand still. At the solstice, the sun has no apparent northward or southward motion. It is a time when the sun is at its zenith at the tropic of cancer, and basically when the sun reaches the highest point in the sky. It is the longest day of the year when the light force reaches its highest peak.

Many esoteric traditions celebrate various rituals during this important event. The ancient Druids gathered at this time period to celebrate the forces of light. Many Pagans celebrate this time period as Litha or Midsummer’s Eve. It is celebrated as a triumph for the forces of light over the forces of darkness with a huge bonfire. Wiccans honor the Horned God in all his glory and the Goddess as pregnant, and ready to bear the fruit of the harvest.

One interesting ritual that many Pagans celebrate is the Wheel of Fire. This ritual consists of constructing a wheel (usually made of wood or cardboard). Everyone in the ritual ties little colored ribbons, covered with symbols representing wishes that they would like to see made manifest to the wheel. The wheel would then be taken to a hill and lit on fire with drumming and dancing. At the climax, the wheel of fire would be rolled down the hill usually into a lake or pond. Basically the ritual symbolizes the sun at the height of its cycle and its sojourn downwards again. It is the intention that the wishes on the wheel, following the cycle of the sun will be realized when the sun reaches its lowest point at the winter solstice.

Esoteric and Exoteric Spirituality

What is Esoteric Spirituality? The word esoteric comes from the Greek work esoterikos meaning inner or from within. Basically, esoteric has to do with information or knowledge that is understood by a select few individuals or group of people. Esoteric knowledge may consist of teachings and doctrines handed down from a teacher to the initiated. This knowledge may require an inner realization, either from insight, intuition or meditation/contemplation in order to understand it fully. Esoteric spirituality, in a nutshell, would consist of any religion or spirituality that centers on an awareness or knowledge that is obtained through intuition or meditation and shared with a select group of followers.

Throughout history, western esoteric spirituality has been connected with diverse movements such as the Orphic tradition, the Eleusinian Mysteries, the School of Pythagoras, Gnostic Christianity, neo-Platonism, the Hermetic Tradition, Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, Spiritualism, Theosophy and Occultism. There are many branches to the tree of esoteric spirituality and it encompasses many different topics such as: Alchemy, Astral Projection, Astrology, Clairvoyance, ESP, Hermeticism, Intuition, Kabbalah, Magic, Metaphysics, Mysticism, Numerology, Occult, Rosicrucianism, Tarot and the Western mystery tradition, just to name a few.

Esoteric Spirituality has to do with spiritual development from within. It’s greatest teachers, i.e., Pythagoras, Hermes, Plato, Plotinus, and including Jesus have taught that the soul can expand the boundaries of every day consciousness and experience higher levels of awareness all the way to cosmic consciousness. The essence of their teachings were esoteric and given to a select inner group of followers or disciples. Pythagoras had his inner group of followers called the mathematiikoi who were given the guarded secrets of the cult. Hermes’s esoteric teachings were only given to those who were initiated. Jesus taught his deepest truths to his disciples. Jesus said, Do not throw your pearls before swine. In other words, do not throw your pearls of wisdom to those who would not understand them and then trample them. This is the essence as to why esoteric teachings were only given to a select few. Certain information was only given to those who were ready to receive it. This is one of the main differences between esoteric spirituality and exoteric spirituality. Exoteric spirituality was meant for the public and is about the external teachings of spirituality. Esoteric spirituality is meant for the inner spiritual development of the soul.