inspiration

So, I’ve been combing through a bunch of my old blogs… many are no longer active, but there are still some nuggets and gems. One of the things I’ve found myself doing is going back and looking at my spiritual foundations. I’ll be re-posting some of the nuggets here. 🙂

Originally posted November 4th, 2009

(This is a payphone, in case you’ve forgotten what they look like)

We live in a time where at the blink of an eye we can communicate with everyone we’ve ever met. With the click of one button, the world can know where I am, what I am doing, and what all of my likes and dislikes are. The big question is: how much of ourselves are we going to give away to the technological world. With every application in the world available at a tap, we get further away from connecting to one another. I can remember a time where people actually walked up to one another and said “Hi, my name is….”, now the first question is: “Do you have Facebook, myspace or twitter?”

We have become so reliant on these little gadgets and devices. I noticed a funny icon on my phone the other day. It asked me if it wasOK that Google collected information on my searches, location, etc so that it could provide better quality as far as searches. Google (and many cell phone providers) have been known to collect and build profiles on users–and more along the Big Brother lines than helping me find the best vegan pizza joint in town. We really have to be careful where we give away our information, we have to use our intuition to decide if it is necessary to venture down these techno highways. They are great for the service they provide… but, does anyone remember how to use a map or even know what an Atlas is? GPS has stolen away the necessity to learn how to read basic maps, we can even have our books read to us by our IPODs, there are programs that slow brainwaves down for meditation, there are neat applications that just suck us right into a world of dependence.

Last night it seems that TMOBILE also crashed. I can still remember how angry I was getting that I could not check my email, send a text, or make a call. I also then realized how attached I was to this phone. It was a wake call… pun intended.

What do we do if all this technology disappears tomorrow? Do you know the actual phone number of the 3 top people you call the most? With a click of a button, a call is made. If I had to walk up to a payphone, I am sure that my speed dial or top 5 will not be programmed in (pay phone? What in the world is that?).

Take time each day to put away the techno-toys. Detach completely. Go a day without using them, detach from email. Send a letter (pen and paper) to a friend. Go a day without texting. Write down all the important numbers in your phone. Ask yourself “If there were no way of using electronic means of communication, what would I do?” This is an extremely valid question, and its another insight that popped up during the TMOBILE outage. I’ve been fortunate to have been introduced to a telepathy technique which is very effective. We have to look outside of ourselves and the techno boxes we’ve put ourselves into.

Much love to you all,

Mike Brazell

xoxo

I’ve done a few posts on journaling, but I really don’t think it is something that can be overstated… journal are one of the most powerful spiritual tools that we have access to. Journals are places we can catch our thoughts, our moments of gratitude, our struggles, our fears, and whatever else our soul desires. Journaling allows us to engage in self-reflection. There really are not any rules or right/wrong ways to journal, but I would propose on rule- Don’t hold back!

There are times we begin to go beneath the surface. We scratch through one layer of our life experience and then we go a bit deeper, then we become afraid of what we will find when we go all the way through… We become trapped in that middle layer, and that creates stagnation. We have to push deeper, and this can be a lonely process for many of us. Journals are companions that we can access without judgement. We can dive deeper into our psyche and it holds our memories in spaces that allow us to access when we are ready. Diving below the surface of our lives allows us to gain insight.

Many newbie spiritual practitioners always ask me how to hone their psychic skills… Journal your spiritual experiences Too often we have profound moments and we forget to capture them. When we take the time to journal the experience we can go back to it, learn from it, and evolve it. Write down the readings that you are doing for yourself, write down the insights gained in that meditation you just completed, and capture inspirations as they occur to you through the day. Magickal practitioners often create a “Book of Shadows” to capture their spellwork, lessons, and thing relating to their spiritual path work. Many in the new age community could really learn from this. I would encourage everyone to keep an ongoing psychic journal, dream journal and life experience journal. Do a google search for “keeping a book of shadows“, and read up.. add what works, leave what doesn’t.

There are a lot of people who prefer to use electronic journal (online, voice recorder, laptop, etc), but I prefer good ol’ pen and paper. There is something about putting pen to paper. It slows us down, it allows us to be a bit more tangible with our journaling. I also carry a smaller journal in my back pocket for those on the go inspirations that tend to grab me in my randomness.

If you have not started a journal, I would encourage you to start today. Allow it to be a traveling companion, take it through your day. Walk with it. Capture whatever inspires you.

You are Loved. You are Beautiful. You are Divine.

Michael Brazell