What Is Wicca?

What Is Wicca?

Wicca is a Neo-Pagan, earth-based religion, where two main deities are observed: a God and a Goddess. The main principles of this religion are respect for Earth and the abidance to the Wiccan Rede (pronounced reed), a rule of conduct which prohibits Wiccans from harming others. Wicca is a very decentralized religion, with many Wiccans developing their own beliefs, rituals, and practices.

Witches

 by Paulo Coelho

“We women, when we’re searching for a meaning to our lives or for the path of knowledge, always identify with one of four classic archetypes.

“The Virgin (and I’m not speaking here of a sexual virgin) is the one whose search springs from her complete independence, and everything she learns is the fruit of her ability to face challenges alone.

“The Martyr finds her way to self-knowledge through pain, suffering, and surrender.

“The Saint finds her true reason for living in unconditional love and in her ability to give without asking anything in return.

“Finally, the Witch justifies her existence by going in search of complete and limitless pleasure.”

in Brida

“You came here because you saw a female face in the flames. That face is the face you see now in the mirror, so try to honor it. Don’t let yourself be weighed down by what other people think, because in a few years, in a few decades, or in a few centuries, that way of thinking will have changed. Live now what others will only live in the future.

“What do you want? You can’t want to be happy, because that’s too easy and too boring. You can’t want only to love, because that’s impossible. What do you want? You want to justify your life, to live it as intensely as possible. That is at once a trap and a source of ecstasy. Try to be alert to that danger and experience the joy and the adventure of being that woman who is beyond the image reflected in the mirror.”

in “The Witch of Portobello”

Did you ever wonder what your purpose in this life?

Did you ever wonder what your  purpose in this life? Is it to enjoy, have fun, and in the end  die.
Did you ever wonder what can you take back when you die ?
Even if you had all the luxury of the life , why it is never enough
What do you really need in this life to be happy ?

Have you noticed , we never live in the present? We always live in past or future so we miss the present moment. But all we have is  present.

Are you happy now ? Think again.. What is happiness.. ? Why can't happiness last long ?

These are some questions I have in my mind.

Please do tell me if you know a happiness which will last forever .....................

Ways to calm an anxious spirit

Everyone feels anxious, nervous, or uncomfortable edgy sometimes. Here are a few suggestions of things you can do to help ease emotional upsets. Having a calming spirit can be achieved by noticing the imbalances in your body and mind and bringing them back into balance through changing your thoughts and actions.

1. Quiet Your Breathing

Observe Changes In Your Breathing - Whenever you are feeling the least bit anxious or nervous try to take notice of any changes in your breathing. Stress can cause hyperventilation (over-breathing). Quiet any rapid paced breaths by replacing them with steady and slow breaths. A daily meditation practice is helpful for maintaining healthy breathing and is also a good preventative measure for repressing anxieties.

Breathing Affirmation

2. Give Your Mind a Time Out

Clear Your Mind from Troubling Thoughts - Any time you are feeling anxious or suffering mentally it is helpful to temporarily clear your mind of all thoughts that are upsetting you. It is simply not healthy to focus on your problems 24/7. Guided visualisations are excellent mental escapes that can help you to switch your focus away from anything that is troubling you. Picture yourself in a special dream sequence where you can relax and recoup your coping skills. Choose an ocean view, desert oasis, or garden path.

Guided Meditation

3. Pamper Yourself

Pamper Your Mind, Body and Spirit - Remove yourself from the chaos and give yourself some quality alone time. Lock yourself in the bathroom and take that much-needed soak in the tub. A bubble bath is your ticket to serenity. Enjoying a rejuvenating soak is just one of several ways you can pamper yourself. Try taking a solitary walk in the park, or curling up on the sofa and reading an entertaining novel.

Me Time

4. Slow Down Your Responses

Get Your Ducks in a Row Before Reacting - Everyone has made the mistake of being over-the-top reactive at one time or another. We compound our conflicts by responding without getting all the facts first. When it seems that the whole world is out to get you and you feel like lashing out right away... Wait! The situation at hand probably does call for a response of some kind, but please slow down your response. You'll handle a trying situation in a calmer state, and come to a resolution sooner if you take the time to fully assess the situation. Get all your ducks in a row before you decide on a response.

5. Create Boundaries

Keep Your Distance from Others - You may need to step back and create some distance between yourself and anyone who is making you feel anxious. It is important to pull back from others when you are feeling overwhelmed so that you are able to reserve your energies. Having protective boundaries in place can also give you a different perspective in order to help you more fully understand and better cope with difficult situations.

Are Your Energy Boundaries Blurred?

6. Nurture Your Inner Child

Be a Loving Parent to Your Inner Child - Oftentimes when we, as adults, are experiencing situations that make us feel anxious or powerless our thoughts will turn to memories from our childhoods when we experienced fear or loneliness. When children feel small and helpless they look to their parents or guardian for protection. Take a moment to be a caring and loving parent to your inner child. Let her (or him) know that you will get the two of you through this rough period. Give yourself a hug. Don't feel silly. You know you want to, go ahead, just do it.

Soothing Your Inner Child

7. Hush That Critical Voice

Hush That Critical Voice Inside Your Head - Sadly, we can be our own worst enemies. Don't berate yourself for not being able to meet your goals or falling short in some way. You're doing the best you can. Just relax. Refuse to listen to that critical voice inside your head that says you're not good enough. Resolve to transform any nagging words into praise for those things that you have accomplished. You're doing just fine. Affirm yourself daily. You are PERFECT!

Cultivate the Postive!

8. Lean on Somebody

It is OK to Ask for Help - Trying to take care of everything all alone can make anyone feel anxious, not to mention exhausted. It can be more of a struggle never asking for a hand than you might have realised. Seek out that soft shoulder to lean on and give yourself a rest.

9. Take a Spiritual Retreat

Treat Your Spirit to a Spiritual Retreat - Taking a few minutes out of your hectic day for a mental reprieve or taking a half-hour bubble bath each evening are good stress relievers. But they are probably simply not going to be sufficient for easing those larger anxieties that are slowly eating you up inside. Everyone needs a change of pace to help bring balance to their lives. You may need to take an extended vacation from work, or feel you need to go off by yourself away from family members for a few days to find solace. Whereas an ordinary vacation can bring about its own stresses, a spiritual retreat feeds the spirit. You'll come home refreshed and more readily able to face your day-do-day stresses.

Deepak Chopra - The 5-Step Path to a Life of Love

Step 1: Believe in Love 
When you say, "I love my work," or "I love my partner," you are expressing belief and showing faith in something outside yourself. As good as that is, even better is to have faith in love as part of yourself. When anyone asks me, "How do I find the right one?" I always give the same advice: To find the right one, become the right one. Belief in love is a spiritual kind of belief. It holds that love exists as a universal quality, outside ourselves, that can never be defeated, only covered over. Thus love and no love are not equals. Love is permanent; nonlove is temporary. 

Step 2: Don't Limit Love to a Few People and Deny It to Others
It's very common to say: "I love my own children, and I love my neighbor's children. But when it comes to my kids, I love them more." That's perfectly understandable. But there's a spiritual teaching, going back thousands of years, which goes "The world is my family." If love is universal, no one can be left out. To leave others out of your love is the same as inviting them to leave you out too. 

Step 3: Make the Search for Love an Inward Search
Often we feel loved and insecure at the same time. The one we love is somebody we invest in emotionally, and emotions, by definition, are changeable. The one you love may turn indifferent or worse. The problem here is a kind of illusion. When you take someone into your heart, it's like filling a hole inside. If that person should spurn and reject you, suddenly the hole reappears as a terrible ache. Yet the hole was always there, and only you can fill it permanently. Ultimately, the inward journey is about finding your own fullness, something that no one else can take away. 

Step 4: Seek Other People Who Value Love As Much As You Do
There's an old tradition: If you want to be wise, be in the company of wise people. I'd say the same is true about love. If you want to know about any human experience, seek out those who have walked the path of that experience. In our society, we are embarrassed to talk personally about truth, compassion, faith and love. This inhibition is part of our insecurity. Think of spirit as a community; it's not a talent you develop like a teenager learning to play the guitar. Perhaps community is too big a word, however. Perhaps you can start by finding one person who is wise in the ways of love, who knows what it means to live at a deeper level. That's a wonderful step in the right direction. 

Step 5: Believe in Love As a Powerful Force
The first four steps depend on this one, believing that love has its own power. This is a power to transform. It's a power that cuts through doubt, suspicion, distrust and even hatred. Unless love has its own power, there are too many reasons to act from nonlove. We see all around us people who madly pursue pleasure or money or status because they don't trust in love. Without such trust that love can make a difference, of course, you will pursue surrogates. Pleasure, money and status are compensations when love is absent or too weak to transform your life. No one has to give up on such surrogates, but it makes a huge difference to know that they are nonlove. The power of love is that it dissolves nonlove. That's the kind of power you find on the spiritual path. 

None of the steps is automatic. Each takes work and practice. But now, more than ever, it's all important to reinvent the spiritual side of love. The steps may not be easy, but they are not impossible either. You only need to follow them with all your heart. 

Way of the Peaceful Warrior

“Life has three rules: Paradox, Humor, and Change.

- Paradox: Life is a mystery; don't waste your time trying to figure it out.

- Humor: Keep a sense of humor, especially about yourself. It is a strength beyond all measure

- Change: Know that nothing ever stays the same.” 

― Dan Millman, Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives

9 Graces of Consciousness

Graces of Consciousness

1) Love, an obvious first, will always disengage ego. Judgment, guilt, control, etc., cannot exist when you are immersed in the energy of love. The reason the other below 8 ‘graces’ work also is because they are catalysts for an opening to love or help you let go of what is standing in the way of that love.

The answer is always love; love for yourself, others and the world.”

2) Gratitude opens your heart, raises your energy, and focuses your attention on what you love and appreciate in your life. This melts away ego perspectives and invites in love.

Gratitude is the sweet fragrance of an opening heart.”

3) Forgiveness of self and others (which are always related, and outer projected judgments can be your hidden denied self-judgments), will free you from darker emotions and thoughts such as many in the ego versus soul list below, and relinquishes ego agendas like judgment, blame, resentment, etc., returning you to love.

Forgiveness sets you free, and opens the door to love’s eternity.”

4) Joy is an instant and effortless energy up-lifter, brings you fully into the present, and connects you with the inherent goodness of you, others and life. The ego cannot exist in laughter, for example. It simply has no foothold in that space of high energy. Light-heartedness and seeing the funny side of life, people, situations and yourself can help to move from ego to your true joyful self. After a good laugh problems can disappear, you can wonder why certain things ever bothered you, and you are filled again with just how wonderful life is.

Today is always the best day for having fun!”

5) Meditation positively transforms your state of being and quells the ego through calming the ‘monkey mind’ and looping repetitive thoughts, and creating the space for higher energy and perspectives to dawn, your heart to open and your soul to connect more closely with you. It will literally alter your brain frequencies physiologically that enable deeper states which are more receptive and aligned to your Higher Self. There are a lot of different kinds of meditation practices, choose any you most enjoy or resonate with. Even just some moments in quiet stillness can be of help, perhaps slowing your breathing, listening to relaxing music, spending time in nature, etc.

When you feel the rapture of bliss, you are deeply connected to your highest self.”

6) Acceptance of self/others and life is like taking a huge releasing sigh, and a powerful step in letting go of any ego state and challenging life situations.

Take a moment to accept yourself, life and others, just as you/it/they are.”

7) Feeling your feelings helps you to release them and is a way of being honest, honouring and intimate with yourself. I’m not talking about wallowing or over-indulging in negative states (i.e. nip that pity in the bud), but more allowing your emotions to be felt and in that expressed, so they can move through rather than get repressed. The ego can use emotions like anger, pain, jealousy, hurt, to loop dark stories in your mind that keep you from the truth, feeding lies about yourself, others, and life in a way that keeps you from love. Constricting emotions can in themselves cloud and separate you from love’s presence.

Give yourself permission to feel, feelings are what make you real.”

8) Oneness perspectives and an awareness that at a fundamental level we are all connected/One can do wonders for helping us move from ego to love.

You are both the sky and the one who looks at the sky.”

9) Empathy and compassion, putting yourself in another’s shoes, engaging your care and seeking understanding help to move you from ego to your love in empowering ways, and dissolves traps like blame, judgment, fear, defensiveness, etc.

Behind everyone’s eyes there’s a child somewhere inside, always be kind.”