spirituality

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

Psychic Development Tip of the Day- Deck of Cards

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One quick and easy tool to help you develop your psychic skills is a deck of playing cards.  They are inexpensive, easy to carry, and there are tons of things you can do with them.

1)  Using the old Zener method.  Take each card one at at time from the shuffled deck and intuit the color, number, face, suit, etc.  You can be as expansive with this as you want, but it will help pass the time and be of more use that playing angry birds.

2) Take one card at random out of the deck.  Don’t look at it, and seal it in an envelope.  Sometime during the day, intuit what card is in the envelope.  When you get home, validate and record your experience.

These are just a couple quick ideas.  You can work with a friend or group using the above method.  There are some that use playing cards to do full on spreads that are similar to the ones used by tarot readers.  As always be sure to journal your experience.  Just like anything our psychic ability is a muscle that needs to be worked from time to time.

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

Going Back to the Beginning: Fundamentals

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To say that this month has been chaotic would be an understatement.  I’ve been witness to a lot of upheaval, lots of drama and lots of change.   We are also about to enter the “dark months” of the year, and introspective times are creeping up on many of us.  Many of us are hearing our souls call to move into greater states of awakening.  It’s important to find space, to breathe and to trust our process.

I am finding myself going back to basics, going back to the places where I first met the divine.

I can remember my grandmother telling us bible stories when we were young.  We would sing “Yes, Jesus love me” and I can remember her having us place our hands on the TV screen with the televagelists of the time.  My foundation is in Christianity.  I can still remember the first time that I saw someone speaking in tongues, and have always had a deep fascination for how spirit grabs us.

I find myself going back to the beginning.  Many turn an odd eye when I mention my love for my Christian path, and my deep love for it.  For me, its more than a religion, it’s family, it’s memories of when things were easier, it’s where I first met the divine on this road.  I just started reading Mark Townsend’s “Jesus Through Pagan Eyes”, and I’ll be posting a review on it soon.

 

I’m also going to devote another blog to my spirituality beginnings.   I’m hearing the call of my past, and I’m taking time to sit with it.  To open to my safe space, and to be more engaged in my process.

Where did you first meet the divine?

M. Brazell CFT CSN MAT PAT

Coming into alignment: Purpose, Self, Breath

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This seems to be the year of integration.  Many of us are hearing the call to come into being, to begin showing up, to be the divine light we were meant to always be.  For some the process will be an easy one, for others this means making radical shifts.  Being in the present is an action of surrender.  So many of us spend so much time in the past, even exploring past lives to find some tidbit of knowledge that can unbind us from some future karma that has not yet been actualized.

Breathe!

Breathing is one of the most important things we do.  It is spirituality stripped down.  It is our common bond to all things in life.  Breathing is the religion of life.  It is the divine mother birthing a new moment, it is father god bringing us connection, light.

I see too many people living on the inhale, life catching them off guard.  Then they forget to exhale.  It is in the out breath that we inspire new life, new connection, and expansion.  We have to break living in a state of waking apnea.  When we breathe we move, and this brings us into alignment.

The physical body is where we meet the breath.  We must take care of the temple.  The physical body is the temple of the soul, where we congregate with life herself.  We often speak of alignment in our spiritual practice, but how can we align with purpose if our bodies are held out of alignment due to neglect?  Take a moment to breath deeply.  Then exhale.  Where do you feel the breath stopping?  Where do you feel resistance?  Sit for a moment with that energy, be in that space of deep listening and ask what is needed in this moment.

Purpose is an unfolding lotus.

It changes as we breathe.  The road bends, it turns, as do we.

I love yoga as it is a constant action of surrender.  It is a unification of mind, body, spirit, breath, and purpose.  It is action coupled with intention.  Desire and will holding my space as I move around the mat.  This is how I am choosing to live my life in this moment.

What is calling you in this moment?   Where do you need movement?  Are you restricted in physical mobility, can you improve on this?  If not, find the smallest level possible and breathe into that space… The body is constantly moving, even if we are not.. Let’s join her in this eternal dance.

Tuesday Spiritual Fitness and Nutrition Tip: 7/10/2012

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Most of us have tried dieting at some point.  We have gone through the ups and downs, and the “in-between” seems to remain the only constant.  For many, dieting it the final ditch effort to reach an end result.

“Its beach time, and now I have to lose 10lbs”

“I have a part to go to and I need to fit into that outfit”

These types of connections to the way we eat and the way we engage the body in fitness only lock us into places of limitation.  When we truly take our practice of bettering the body to both our physical and energetic core we begin to make lasting changes.

They body’s physical core is made up of the muscles of the Latimus Dorsi, hamstrings, quadriceps, glutes, and abdominal region.  These area also the body’s largest muscle groups and when the core is worked in unison you are facilitating a full body workout.  The larger muscles also burn more calories due to their size.  So the more you work the core, the deeper and more effective your workouts will be.

So, how do I work the core–do a plank.

I know it sounds simple.  One single exercise engages all of the above mentioned muscle groups and also helps to create balance and alignment.

In many spiritual traditions the energetic core is located in the solar plexus.  Doing meditations to also help strengthen our connection to this deep center will resonate to our physical center.

The foods we put into our body are also able to help us facilitate alignment.  When we eat things that are in our highest good.  When we avoid polluting the body with toxins we are able to create both physical and energetic balance.

Take your practice to the core.  In the coming weeks I’ll be posting videos and guides to show you how to structure workouts to engage the core.

Love and Light!

Mike Brazell CFT CSN MAT PAT

PBB2012: J is for Journey

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This has been a year of remembrance. Sometimes I find myself getting caught up in the ins and outs of life, the ups and downs, the lights and the darks, and the varying shades of gray. Sometimes we forget that the road itself is the destination, the journey is the process by which we connect into divine space. I’ve been fortunate to start working through T. Thorn Coyle’s “Kissing the Limitless”, and one of the things I love about this book is that it takes you backwards through the dark soil of your life. It allows you to find the soul seeds that you might have planted (or that might have been planted for you). Sometimes we sit in the upheaval and only see those things as damaging, when in reality those things may have been the spark we needed to grow into the spiritual people that we are. The journey we are on is just as important as the destination. We at time forget to look at the road. It’s many twists and turns, we only notice the times we trip on pebbles, but we get up. Sometimes we scrape our knees, and we learn to heal. Many of us do journey work as part of our practice. I am not saying that we should not have a destination, but we shouldn’t let the destination be the only thing we keep our eyes on. I have found that my journey needs to be fluid. I need to have space and the most difficult box for me to get out of is the one I place myself in. We often times fragment ourselves in this growing process. As those walking the spiritual path, it is important for us to re-assemble ourselves. Those thoughts from the past that grab you the strongest are sometimes the places where you have left a small piece of yourself. Go back and see what your lessons may have been in that phase of your journey. Listen to the road, otherwise you might find yourself in one of those crazy cul-de-sac spirals.

When we move into new places, we have to have appreciation for where we have been. The road ahead is built from the bricks of our past experiences. Those synchronicities that in the moment many have seemed “coincidence” that shifted us into who we are. My theory is that if we are still breathing when all is said and done that the divine must have some greater purpose for us. That the turmoil was just a stepping stone to something greater.

What have been your gifts from the struggle of your journey? Would you change your past, or do you find compassion for your road? Where are you headed traveler? What do you do to slow down and see the road beneath your feet?

Michael A. Brazell CFT CSN MAT PAT

www.michaelbrazell.com

www.deviantyogi.com

michael@michaelbrazell.com

PBP2012: I is for Imagination!

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Stagnation is an ugly monster that sits on the edge of our spiritual practice.  It lies in wait.  It’s soldiers of choice are boredom and routine.  In steps our hero, Imagination!

Creativity is a great thing in our spiritual practice, it allows us to have fun and to not take it all so seriously.  In a fast paced digital world we tend to lose that creative spark.  I am aware that it shifts, but for me, there is a tangibility in imagination.  Remembering back to when a sheet and a table became a mountain, or action figures springing to life, rushing into battle.  Imagination is a key element in spirituality.  On some levels we are using our minds eye to access realms that are just beyond our vision.  There is a beauty in being able to close our eyes and see the Star Goddess or Shiva as we see them.  Imagination is also key element in accessing and deepening clairvoyance.  Understanding symbols, going beyond prescribed messages and taking it deeper.  At times it is a powerful thing to look at the work through the eyes of a child.  This morning I had the chance to see this play out, as often times the divine brings me.  There was a mom and her little girl sitting on the metro this morning.  The mom was deeply engaged in her blackberry, but the child was in a far distant place.  In the child’s hands where these small pieces of paper, and she was deeply involved in a discussion with the paper–and then the pieces of paper were also talking to one another.  I was just out of earshot, but there was a beauty in that moment. When paper becomes more than paper, when distant realms become accessible because we realize they are not that far away.  Bringing that child like quality into our spiritual practice allows us to see it in its simplicity.  Why does it all have to be so complicated?   Things can just be a little outside of the lines and we can be okay with that.

Here are a few exercises:

  • Go to the store and buy a toy, then go home and play with it.
  • Buy a coloring book
  • Swing on a swing
  • sing nursery rhymes
  • Pull out some Dr. Seuss, or your favorite Books from yesteryear.  I loved the Ramona series, Where the Sidewalk ends.

There is a simplicity with these actions.  What if we approached our divine connection this way?  With open arms, and eyes wide open.  If anything, this will shake up your routine a bit.  Break free from your attachments to a process and just be present.

Love and Light

Michael A. Brazell CFT CSN MAT PAT

www.deviantyogi.com

www.michaelbrazell.com

Soul Interaction Discussion Question

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How do you define the soul?  Is it definable?  If your intuition is divine guidance, where is it tapping into?  What is your wellspring of divinity?

 

Each week I’ll be posing questions to take us deeper.  Feel free to answer below, write them in your journal, use them as prompts for discussions in your spiritual groups, etc.  This is a great year for a bit of introspection.

Love and Light

Michael A. Brazell CFT CSN MAT PAT

 

Grounding Through Gardening: My Unfolding Journey

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So, I have never been one to garden.  It’s not that I have a black thumb, but for me time seems to move so quickly that I barely have time to breathe much less connect to nature.  In one of my recent meditations I was asking what I could do to ground more, and the answer came in very clearly “Ground though touching sacred earth”.   I love nature and being outside, and it makes sense that connecting to the earth in a very tactile way would be fundamental in grounding down all this new energy that is coming in.  I’m lucky in that I have some wonderful friends that are avid gardeners and I can pull from their wealth of knowledge.

It will be a new way for me to engage my spirituality as well.   For me tactile spiritual experiences are important.  It lets me see spirituality in action.  I’m planning a little indoor garden and a small outdoor box garden.  I am having fun choosing my herbs and many of them I plan on using in my Deviant Yogi hoodoo mixes.  I’m also looking forward to the depth of discovery that I know will come from connecting to the souls of these plants.  The essence of life and spirituality in action moving through them as they breathe into this world.  I am going to work in specific meditations, utilize focused healing, and music.  I’ll also document my entire process so that you can all share in my joys (and struggles) as I move into this new and fascinating direction.

It is also important to have plant life inside.  It brings life and love into a home. I know this will be a great addition to my yoga room.  Plants are one of the most tactile ways we can connect to the divine.  There is a scent, touch, life, death, silence, and breathing– and they are all manifest at the same time.

What are your favorite plants?  What are your most memorable encounters in a garden/while gardening?  Share any spiritual experiences you’ve had in nature!

 

Michael A. Brazell CFT CSN MAT PAT

http://www.michaelbrazell.com

http://www.deviantyogi.com

michael@michaelbrazell.com