life lessons

The Spiritual Journal

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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

www.michaelbrazell.com

www.yogawitch.com

www.facebook.com/yogawitch

Birthing the New Era & Messages for 2013

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We all survived 2012.   The new era is upon us.   There are many that are happy that 2012 did not bring with it certain doom, but for many 2012 did bring much upheaval.  Some are still sorting through the pieces.  Some are finally taking a breath and giving thanks that it is over.

 

 

 The end is only just the beginning.

EarthMother-birth-Goddess-fochtman-KubbyI really hate to be that guy that comes in and bursts the bubble, but we need to be real about what this new age is bringing us.   We are not just going to hop into a beautiful new experience of love and light.  There will be light, but there is also darkness.  We are still in the womb.  The birthing process is beginning.   Rarely do children just pop out of the womb.  The birthing process is difficult.  It can take a long time.  There is blood.  Screaming.  Breathing.  Tearing.  Stress… and it all leads up to the most beautiful of all creations.

We should look at 2012 as our labor phase.  The weather, the earth, the elements are all still cleansing us. I think we have forgotten who is really in charge and mother Gaia is reminding us that it is by her will that we are allowed to be present in the delivery room.  I agree that we will meet lots of love in the process, but we have to also remember that we have to stay strong in our processes.

We just recently had our New Years eve psychic fair at the shop.  The readings at this psychic fair give me a gauge for what the year will hold for many of us.  January and February are going to be months of reprieve from the chaotic energy of 2012.  Things are going to feel “easy”.  It will be easier to move energy, things will feel lighter, and we may feel this sense of spiritual euphoria.  The lesson here is:  DO NOT BECOME COMPLACENT.  We are being given a chance to rest, to get our bearings, and to decided what we truly want from this experience.   What are you birthing in this coming year?   What are you hoping to create?  Do not abandon your spiritual processes, do not become lazy with your yoga, meditation, studying, connecting and prayer work.   This is the trap when things feel overly aligned.   Then when the energy picks up again in March/April you’ll be behind the ball instead of in the flow.

Up your protection.  Start a daily protection ritual.  This can be simply adding prayer work to your day, smudging, incensing, or whatever you feel amplifies your auric space.

This is the year of Embodied Spirituality.  The 4th and 5th dimensional energies are merging with the 3rd dimensional space (the dense space we call home).  Manifesting will happen faster than ever, but we must do it from the lower soul.  Trying to jump up and out of the body will make you feel disconnected.   A lot of new age spirituality has been about getting us “out of the body”.  Do not forget that no matter how high you soar in the astral realms, the physical body is where life is lived from.  All that you see in those realms can be beautiful, but what is it serving you here.  What are you creating.  Do not use ascension to escape.  Ascend into your experience by dropping down into your wild animal soul.  Connect to your body, your sex, your primal nature.  Our bodies hold the memories of all that we are, have been and will become.  Do not forget her in the process of trying to align.  When we forget to include the lower self we are only getting a portion of the information that we need in order to use discernment.  We will only be manifesting through the egoic space and not through the space of full alignment.

We are preparing for the new age.  We are driving forward in our experience, and creating waves of love, light, darkness, and connection.  Where are you being called?   What do you need in this time of transition?

Be safe, keep working, and do not forget….

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

Namaste

Michael A Brazell CFT CSN MAT PAT

www.facebook.com/yogawitch

www.blogtalkradio.com/michaelbrazell

www.yogawitch.com

Embracing the New Year: Gratitude and Possibility

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gratitudeSo, it seems we made it through the Mayan prophesy, and we are moving towards year that is filled with possibility.   This past year has not been easy for many.  2012 was an energy that really shook many of us up, and for better or worse we are here.  We are entering a time where possibility is unlimited, but we have to begin focusing on what is important–what is it that you truly want from the experience and what are you willing to create?

As we move into this new year it is important to not set resolutions but to set intentions.

I did feel the rocking that this year gave.   Things came into fruition that I never thought would be possible, and things also have started to fall away.  The ending of this year for me was filled with accomplishment and alignment.  New beginnings are a daily thing, and each day brings new breath.

I have a lot that I want to do this coming year, and finishing up my writing projects is going to be a big priority.  I am also evolving not only my client practice, but my personal practice.   Stagnation is not something that needs to be embraced this year, and holding oneself back from a fully embodied spiritual practice is not something we are going to be allowed to do.

This is the year of the embodied warrior.  The spirit of movement, flow, transition and owning our many parts.   The shadow elements will still be there, but it is important to recognize that they are there to help nudge us along on our journey to self discovery.   Breaking free of expectations and letting your life unfold as you want it to.

What are you holding yourself back from completing, accomplishing, or doing?   Where is your resistance, invite to the table… work through it.

My commitment to this year is going to be to get his blog up and active in a new way.   I want to take my personal writing to new heights.  I was able to finish a manuscript for the Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month) challenge and now have to edit and organize it.  I am also working on a new book on Yogic Witchcraft, and have a new blog  www.yogawitch.com and a wonderful radio show on blogtalk that is really picking up steam (www.blogtalkradio.com/michaelbrazell).

I am also taking my personal practice to a new level and am claiming my many parts.  I am a student of BlackHeart Feri and recently had the opportunity to ground new energy at the Between the Worlds conference.  I am excited to begin this new path of study, and it has already had a profound effect on my life.

Yoga is going to be taking a forefront in my journey this year.  I am deepening my personal practice but am also going to be offering new classes, workshops, and events geared towards helping others tap into their unlimited potential through yoga, ecstatic practice, and magick.  Stay tuned!

My partner David and I have done a lot of joint projects this past year, and I am thankful that I have had such a wonderful partner standing beside me through the ups and downs of the spiritual journey.  Living a spiritual life is not often an easy one, but having someone who you can share this life with is an absolute gift.  He has inspired me to finish my book this coming year and submit it to publishing.  He has also inspired me through his tireless work with community to deepen my roots here in the area.  I am working on creating and re-launching several of my meetups so that we can create the sacred space needed for touching the sphere of possibility in 2013.

There are lots of things that I neglected in 2012, and some things that I did not complete, that I will take into 2013 with renewed energy.

I thank all of my teachers, my friends, my clients, my students, my colleagues, spirit, and I thank the breath for keeping me moving–even when it seemed like giving up would have been an easier option.

Be ready to see new stuff!

What is in your sphere of possibility this coming year?  What are you leaving behind in 2012, what are you carrying forward?   What are you most grateful for?

“Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.”- Golda Meir

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

Namaste!

Michael A. Brazell CFT CSN MAT PAT

www.michaelbrazell.com 

www.yogawitch.com

www.blogtalkradio.com/michaelbrazell

Soul Satsang: Spirituality as an Escape

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I was recently listening to a wonderful podcast by Swami Ramakrishnananda on the subject of spiritual escapism.

Working in the spiritual domain I often hear people say “I am so thankful for my meditation, it helps me to escape reality for a few moments.”

I am so thankful for my “spiritual group” they help me to escape the mundane nature of my life

… and this is just a few of the avenues that many of us use to escape what is presented.  We often forget that what is presented (even if it is not what we want to face) is also part of the divine experience.  Escaping into spirituality takes away from the sacredness.  When we use our spirituality as a game of hide and seek, eventually the other stuff catches up to us…. Which is why I also hear “every time I try and meditate my brain is flooded with thoughts”… Just because you hide from reality it does not mean that she wont keep looking for you.

When we engage our spiritual outlets as spaces to just be present.  To just be whole for a few moments it allows alignment instead of disconnection.

Instead of running from– Run into.   When you run from something it only will chase you faster.  Run into each moment as a divine experience.  Let your spiritual outlets be moments of transcendence instead of avenues of escape.

What do you feel the need to escape from?

What are you running from?

What do you find yourself running towards in times of stress, chaos, or disconnect?

Does escaping into the spiritual lessen the sacredness of the experience, or does it facilitate a release… define release.

Here are some questions for you to sit with

Love and Light.

M.

http://www.michaelbrazell.com

http://www.yogawitch.com

Overcoming Seasonal Depression

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We are at the end of the year.  The collective energy of all that has changed, grown, and faded away tends to catch up to us when we slow down.  The temperatures are also falling.  Our joints become stiff, the cold naturally slows the blood flow through the body.  The dark energy of the closing of the year surrounds us.

Connection and disconnection exist in this time of year.  One of the best ways to move through the darker aspects of the year is to connect with community.  When seasonal depression sets in, we draw inward.  Connecting to friends, family and making new connections is important.  Tangible human connection is important, it is one of the great losses we’ve faced because of the rise of technology.  Start a club, a group, connect to others through Meetup.com or visit sites around town.

Engaging your spirituality is also important during this time of year.  Introspection is important but we cannot allow ourselves to get stuck there.  Deepening of the connection to our practice is important in keeping us grounded.  Expanding our spiritual circles also allows us to explore and open up to new avenues of growth.  In pulling away from things during a depressive state, many also pull away from spiritual practice.  We have to remember that even if there is struggle we have to show up to our spiritual practice.

Movement also helps us to keep things moving.  The body becomes rigid in the cold.  Things like yoga, working out, jogging, going for walks, dancing, and engaging the body allows a tactile connection to the flow of live.

The idea is to keep simple, but get started.  When depression binds us, we become stagnant and disconnected.  We also have to remember that there is joy just beyond the darkness, but the darkness is also important.  Depression takes us to the dark edges of our reality.  We have to be careful how long we stay there.  Journaling is also an important thing to add to your journey.

Daily gratitude lists are also important during this time.  We often forget the smallest things in our experience… start with small gratitude and they will lead you to bigger ones.

What are you grateful for?

What brings you out of depressive states?

Also, remember… if you are finding life to be difficult, reach out.  Sitting in our spaces alone only keeps us disconnected.

 

 

 

 

Engaging the Path

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It’s time to move into the flow of your experience.   Run screaming into the wonders that are waiting for you.  We are entering into a time of uncertainty, and this is a beautiful thing.  Not knowing allows us room to be creative.  There is so much waiting for us beneath the veil of our experience.

The hardest part of the spiritual journey is showing up.  When we show up to our experience we are able to be part of the greater journey.  The road is not always an easy one, but the life we are opening up to is a beautiful one.

Engage your journey fully.  Breathe into each moment and allow the expansion of your light to shine in all places.  When we breathe we move, and when we move we create ripples of light that tear through all that binds us.  Live your life loudly, don’t hold back, and shine like a beacon of love.

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

 

Michael Brazell CFT CSN MAT PAT

 

Mastering the Master Cleanse

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Ahhh.. delicious… Lemons, cayenne pepper, molasses and water.

 

This is the basis for the Master Cleanse.  I’m not going to go into a bunch of history on why this cleanse is in existence, but I will share my own personal dealing with it so that you can have a new perspective on an old technique.

The energy this year has been heavy and in many ways chaotic.  Many of us are feeling this shifting force hitting us in magnitude.  We are experience a variety of new emotions, changes (both external and internal), and energies as we align with our higher purpose.  Taking charge of what we are putting into our bodies is vital as we come into this new alignment.

The Master Cleanse is an easy reset button.  Sometimes we come to a point where we know we are not in alignment.  We’ve reached out for the wrong foods, or we might be more aware of the foods that are limiting us.  I do not however follow the traditional mixture.  I have found a concoction that works for me, and it does the trick.

I usually get one of the large bottles (1.5L) of smart water or Whole Foods Brand H2O.  I use 3 Lemons, and I prefer agave nectar over molasses.  Molasses costs a lot more, and agave nectar has a bit few calories and sugar.  I do a couple of pinches of cayenne  pepper, and Ta-Da a delicious drink for the day.  I get up early so that I have time to make my drink, and it typically lasts me through the day.

Leading up to “Lemonade Only”
So, being the realist that I am, I know that if I jump straight into the mixture on its own right away that I’ll throw my body into “Craving every piece of cake in a 50 mile radius” mode.  I typically do not change my diet for a few days, but add the lemonade mixture.  This gives your stomach a chance to get use to the pepper and lemons, and it also provides a mild detox.  The idea is also introduced into your consciousness that a cleanse is on the way.  It’s like buying the cleaning supplies and keeping them in your messy room.  I usually do this for a couple of days, and then slowly begin cutting out different food items, until it’s just me and the lemonade. 

I typically do the cleanse for 3-7 days, and the go into a raw food eating mode for about a week (or longer).   Set a timeline that you know will work for you.

Set an intention for your cleanse.

“As I take in this cleansing liquid so does clarity flow through me”.

Personalize the cleanse and make it yours.  Allow yourself to be fluid with it.  If you feel like doing the lemonade along with raw foods– Great.  If you feel like just adding the lemonade and changing nothing–Great.  The idea here is that you are also including the intention that you are cleansing.  Cleaning happens and a multitude of levels.

Just a quick breakdown of the ingredients.  You want to use purified water if possible.  The agave nectar gives you calories to burn.  The cayenne pepper ups your metabolism and immune system, and the lemons are great cleansers.  Lemon is a natural diuretic, which will help you flush your system

I recommend light activity during the cleansing cycle.  Yoga is a perfect match for the master cleanse.  Yoga allows you to dive deep into the muscles and joints to facilitate release of toxins and limitations.

Trust yourself, and give the body what it needs.  If you need calories, eat.  If you need to modify, modify.

Have fun with the cleanse, open up to intention, and share the journey with those around you.
Michael A. Brazell CFT CSN MAT PAT

www.michaelbrazell.com

www.blogtalkradio.com/michaelbrazell

Michael@michaelbrazell.com

 

 

Creating Sacred Space

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There are times when I feel that I need to escape the world around me.  The busy energy of the year, the technology that expands and binds, the hurried energy of time.  Having a place to breathe is just as important as the action of breathing.

What is sacred space?

Sacred space can be any place where you decide to meet the divine.  Sacred space can also be that place deep within your being that holds your energy and light.  Sacred space is the rest stop on our busy highways.

Sacred space can be a room, a park, a bench, etc.  I typically have a few different places that I can duck into around my work place that I can retreat to for a bit to find balance.  There is a wonderful fountain, and I sit and watch the water.  Just being present in that space makes it sacred.

If you are at home, you can make your space sacred by adding statues, incense, or whatever else connects you to your divine self.  Invite the divine into this space with you.  Allow yourself to be creative, even if you don’t have a lot of space you can still created a sacred corner.  When I first started connecting to my higher vibrations, I used an old shoe box with a bandana on it as my altar.  I had a few candles, a couple of stones, and my tarot deck.  Sacred space is uniquely yours.

Mentally you can also create sacred spaces.  Visualizing a harmonious environment, seeing temple, or entering into the void can bring peace both internally and externally.

Where do you find sacred space?  What is sacred space to you?

Michael A. Brazell CFT CSN MAT PAT

www.michaelbrazell.com

www.blogtalkradio.com/michaelbrazell

Beware the False Prophets

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The universal alarm clock has sounded.  The world is waking up.  The light and the dark are both stepping onto the playing field.

We have to be sure that we hold our power, that we hold our space in this cycle.  Where is your truth?  Where is your light coming from?   We have to be sure that as we beginning connecting to teachers, guides and community that we be sure we are using discernment.

We have to be careful where we place our alignment.  Blind faith is dangerous.

As light comes in, so will the dark.  There will be those that carry the bright darkness that will bring messages, but for many of these teachers their truth comes with a price.  What are you willing to give away for that person’s truth?

We each have work to do.  We each are teachers, students and holders of light.  It is important that we start connecting to our soul families.  It’s time that we start stepping into our own light and help to ignite the light in those around us. Its time that we stop being followers, and start becoming leaders. First you have to wake up to your own light and know that you are just as powerful as those that claim to hold all the answers.

A lot of people throw around “new age speak” like candy on Halloween.  Don’t get lost in all the talk of merkabas, light, and ascension.   Step out and help those that are in need.  Get out from behind the walls of your computer, your facebook groups, and actually become part of the transition.  Change doesn’t happen because you are sitting in your room hoping to astral project.  Change happens when you volunteer to help the homeless, organize park clean ups, and get your hands dirty with the world around you.  A merkaba might be great, but even better is the satisfaction that you actually made a difference in this world.

Follow your own light, and shine it brightly… shine fiercely

 

Michael A. Brazell CFT CSN MAT PAT

www.michaelbrazell.com

www.blogtalkradio.com/michaelbrazell 

 

 

Being Still, Being Present, and Just Being

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I can’t believe that we are already entering into a new month.  It seems like the year is blasting by at a rapid pace, and many of you are probably feeling the effects.  Time seems to be pushing us into greater alignment with sensations of having to hurry, having to be on time, having to keep to a tight program/schedule and in some ways this takes us out of ability to just be present.

We have to find our stillness in all the hustle and bustle.  Where is your center throughout your day?  Many of us make plans to wait until we get home to begin our meditation practice, but after plopping down in front of the computer we end up either forgetting or just deciding there isn’t time for spirit.

It is important to prioritize your connection to the divine.  Bring it into your day. Where in your day will stillness assist you in connection not only to your day, but to your divine nature.  Taking controlled intentional breaths through the day are invitations to spirit to enter into that moment with you.  When we allow space, we allow the divine to move into that moment.  We just get to be present, even if it is just for one single breath.  The key is to “allow” space for these connections to happen.  I find myself reaching out in the business of the metro station, when people are testing my patience and grace.  I find stillness at the cross walk.

Slowing down throughout the day and just saying “Thank You” to the divine for the moment that is right in front of us.  Thank you for allowing me this space to breathe.  Thank you for this job that I have.  I also take this a bit further, and I love thanking God for the difficulties.  Each time we are presented with a chance to step into our divine nature, and we truly step into that space, we are learning to be present.

Where do you find stillness throughout your day?  Where do you give your moments of gratitude?

Live, love and be blessed.  You are beautiful, you are loved, and you are Divine!

M. Brazell CFT CSN MAT PAT

www.michaelbrazell.com

michael@michaelbrazell.com

www.blogtalkradio.com/michaelbrazell

www.youtube.com/soulinteraction