“There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly.”

~Buckminster Fuller

Each one of us is constantly coming up with new ideas. Nearly everyday something comes to mind that we wish for ourself, that we want to build in our life or that we would like to do for someone else.

This is the beauty of us as individual spirits, that we are always connected to our Creator, and that we are able to express this connection by being creators ourselves.

The problems for as creative beings generally start when our conscious mind, the ego-judge, feels the need to chip-in its two cents about our creative impulses.

The judgment of the ego, the worries that it interjects about the viability of our intended creation or about the opinions that others may have of the creation, is quite often what stops creativity dead in its tracks.

Once in a while we do allow our creation to come to life, to move out onto the great big world and become something, freely accepting that it may not be viable, or may be judged harshly by others. But the urge to see it live is too great to be suppressed. These are the things that are inspired, that are our passions, things which cannot be ignored because of their intensity.

And for a while we feel the power of them, we have a spring in our step and are happy to wake up in the morning. Yet, even these things can become tedious in our lives and begin to weigh on us, much like work and bills do.

Why is this? Why do we tire of our own creations?

Well for some people it is simply a part of their nature. Some people are idea people, great at thinking things up and Read more »

Popularity: 15% [?]

“The sun does not shine for a few trees and flowers, but for the wide world’s joy.”

~Henry Ward Beecher

Now that the warm weather is really here (for those in the northern hemisphere anyway) and the sun visits in its yellowy, brightness more often than not, I have been feeling more energized and happier. And recent events have brought me around to a remembrance of what made life seem magical as a child, an embracing of the things that make me smile for no apparent reason.

I thought I’d pass on some good things, some fun stuff, something positive to the world. Hey, I don’t know if these things will bring any smiles to your faces, but they really do it for me. I love stuff that is silly and sarcastic, beautiful and awe-inspiring, or just plain simple and fun.

With all of the media focus on the vile and violent, the disease and disastrous, the least we can all do is play a few fun videos, color a few pages of a coloring book, plant a few trees, anything to try and amplify what is GOOD about life on this planet.

Something that always gets me smiling and swaying is the Precious Friend album by Pete Seeger and Arlo Guthrie. If you like folk music, positive stories, sarcasm and acoustic sound then this is for you. Think about the type of music that they use (and often make fun of) on A Prairie Home Companion, yet another thing that makes me smile, and that is what you’ve got here. :)

For those of you who are feeling like the spiritual path Read more »

Popularity: 14% [?]

“There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception”

~Aldous Huxley

Well, I know that you all have enjoyed getting personal readings from me and absorbing blog articles stories about the paranormal experiences that I have in my line of work. And now, as part of my renewed intention to bring value to the world every day, the Vera Nadine Shoppe will be offering MP3 downloads of topical channelings.

These are intended to be fun and informative overviews of any number of topics, ranging from psychic development and health topics to mythology and even site-specific channelings done at ancient places.

There will be regular new channeling downloads and suggestions for new topics are welcome. Please make sure that you check the shoppe regularly for new additions.

As a matter of personal interest, and just for the sheer fun of it, our first available audio download is a channeled session: Exploring the Lord of the Rings. We ask many questions in this session, including questions about Tolkien possibly channeling this epic story and also ask if these things ever actually happened in the past history of the planet Earth.

This hour-long channeling is interspersed with wisdom, universal truths, humor and suggestions for individuals who love, and aspire to more deeply embrace, the concepts that Tolkien wrote about in the Lord of Rings.

Be sure to check out the audio sample for an interesting glimpse into the intriguing information that is contained in the full channeling.

I hope that you enjoy this new service and that you find value in what the guides have offered through these sessions!

Namaste.

Popularity: 12% [?]

“What is a cynic?

A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.”

~Oscar Wilde

I am so glad that self-development and spiritual-development are becoming more widely accepted topics, and that so many people are embracing the betterment of their lives through connecting with nature and their true souls.

Myself, I’ve been on this path for over a decade, you could say that I have been on it for my whole life, and I have experienced some fantastic changes and magical occurrences along the way.

That being said, I occasionally still find myself falling into the trap that many modern seekers do. The quest for money…the urge to master manifestation and spiritual thinking in order to create material prosperity.

This is not to say that thoughts of this nature mean that we are losing our spiritual achievements or that we are greedy, evil people of any kind. It is simply a true factor of a modern life.

In ancient times, when humans lived in small, manageable communities, staying in the same place for generations, there was more support for the spirit and the spiritual.

Spiritual leaders, the psychically gifted and those with metaphysical knowledge were honored by the community. These special community members acted as advisers, healers and intermediaries between the people and the spiritual realms. In return they were supported with food, clothing, shelter and love.

But those days and those community ties no longer exist for most of us. Thus it follows that we HAVE to be concerned with our own finances and how to get what we need in this world. The challenge is to learn to balance this with our spiritual development and spiritual outlook, without losing our focus and becoming myopically fixed on the “prosperity” issue.

Living in the UK now, I am faced with this issue nearly everyday. This has got to be the most bloody expensive country to live in on the whole planet! Money does not go far, especially when you are converting from American dollars. (The Australians have it even worse.)

Here I am, in the most spiritual enlightened town in the Northern hemisphere, fields and trails and ancient monuments all around me, and I am still worrying about paying the phone bill.

So, walking around with these very thoughts in my head yesterday afternoon, a line from a song that I was listen to caught my attention: “When did the light die?”

And at that very moment it occurred to me that with all of the planning and dreaming and Read more »

Popularity: 12% [?]

“The perils of overwork are slight compared with the dangers of inactivity.”
~Thomas Edison

I wanted to let every know that they can read my most recent article, on tools for overcoming procrastination. by popping over to AlexShalman.com

Here is a short, quick snippet from 12 Tools To Recover From Procrastination And Get Things Done:

“Today I can say that I am someone who writes every day, who walks outdoors in nature every day, who gets up early every day and who only eats an organic vegetarian diet. I can say, truthfully, that I live in Europe and that I am in a happy relationship. I can say with all honest that I meditate regularly and that I help people on their own paths of self-discovery.

But I could not say those things in a truthful way just one year ago. Why not? Because I only knew that I should be doing those things, that those things would make me happier. But the trouble is I knew, but I didn’t do. And I had been knowing those things, consciously, for several years.

So what changed? How do I overcome my procrastination, and how can you do it too?

Here are twelve relatively simple tools that you can implement to help overcome even the most stubborn case of procrastination:

1. Do not place so much emphasis on perfection: This one is at the top because it is my own biggest crutch when it comes to not getting things done. It is especially significant in keeping me from achieving personal goals. For everything that I really WANT to do in my life there is the perfect scenario for how it should be done. Yoga should be done in a light, bright, zen-inspired home studio. Books should be penned in a mountaintop cabin overlooking a desolate lake. We all have hang-ups like this. We have all seen too many movies, read too many new-age magazine articles. Oddly enough, you will write the same wonderful book whether or not you have that glow-in-dark pencil sharpener on the corner of your desk. Once you allow yourself and the environment around you the freedom to be fluid and imperfect, for that is the only state that ever gives rise to true creativity and determination, and too just begin working on the project, you will quickly see that it was all just an illusion. You do not need every bit of jogging paraphernalia to get up and run around the block and even doing the smallest bit of your project will get the ball rolling, without the need for your heavenly dream scenario.

2. Do not beat yourself up when you do delay something: Life happens and as a result, try as we might, we cannot always fulfill every commitment on time and as planned. We get the flu. Emergencies occur, even acts of God. But if you begin placing blame on yourself, giving power to the voice that says you are bad, what happens? You get more dejected, more off-track and…” CONTINUE READING–>

Also check out these other great posts at AlexShalman.com:

How To Become An Outstanding Person In Twelve Weeks

The Perfect Gift For The Person You Love

Life By Design: Using The C Word To Get Things Done

7 Things Dannon Yogurt Taught Me About Living Life

10 Traits To Be Perceived As A Winner!

Thanks so much Alex for publishing my contribution on your wonderful blog.

Popularity: 22% [?]

You may know by now that Alex Shalman has done it again! He has created a Personal Development phenomena with his Happiness Project. I love his ideas and was quite fond of his Gotta Get Goals campaign in mid-2007.

Originally begun as both an enlightening series of articles, as well as a participation contest, The Happiness Project continues on as a group writing project, which I am glad to participate in. (I just love a great, uplifting idea!)

Tell us all what happiness means to you!!! I am tagging:

Paula Kawal at Journey Inward Productions
Angela-Eloise at Blogickal
Anmol Mehta at Mastery of Meditation, Kundalini Yoga and Zen

The Happiness Project has featured some very wise and insightful people talking about their own views on happiness. My favorite, for it’s truth and simplicity, is Happiness Project: Timothy Ferriss Of Four Hour Work Week

So here is my contribution to The Happiness Project:

1. How do you define happiness?

Happiness, for me, is feeling comfortable in my own skin. It is a level of self-awareness that remains consistently grounded in the connection to all things and an underlying belief in the divine nature of creation. And yet it is a self-awareness that allows one the freedom to focus on one’s own physical, spiritual and emotional needs without guilt and without dismissing the needs of others.

Happiness is walking around with a smile for seemingly no reason and trusting that the universe has your Read more »

Popularity: 22% [?]

“The only way to make sure people you agree with can speak is to support the rights of people you don’t agree with.”

~Eleanor Holmes Norton

Here is a very short but personally moving experience that I had a couple of weeks ago…..

I was getting ready to fall asleep when I found myself in a dark, cold room with several other women.

There was only a single ray of light that flowed in from the corner of a wall, up near the ceiling.

All of the women were whimpering and cowering, clothed in woolen dresses but still freezing cold.

We were all looking at each other with both pity and worry. There was one women with a small child as well.

This was definitely some kind of Read more »

Popularity: 13% [?]